Foster Care & Adoption Netflix Movies and TV Shows
Bored on a Saturday Night? Don’t know what to pick out in the vast sea of Netlfix Streams? Here is a list of Netflix Streaming options that relate to Foster Care, Adoption, & Child Raising. Try one tonight!
Foster Care & Adoption
Stuck (2013 NR 83 Min) –Following the fates of four orphans from around the world, this earnest documentary argues that international adoption laws are deeply flawed.
Short Term 12 (2013 R 97 Min)—A new charge at a foster care facility dredges up the memories of a young supervisor’s troubled past, and her tough exterior begins eroding.
Camp (2013 Pg13 110 Min)—An Investment adviser gets more than he bargained for when he spends a week as a counselor at a camp for troubled kids and bonds with an abused boy.
The Fosters (2013 TV14 2 Seasons)—This offbeat drama charts the ups and downs of an interracial lesbian couple and their multiethnic brood of biological, adopted and foster children.
Life Unexpected (2010 TVPG 2 Seasons)—After years in foster care, teenager Lux tracks down her real parents to authorize her emancipation. But she lands in their joint custody instead.
The Cider House Rules (1991 PG13 125 Min)—A protégé to a physician who runs an orphanage sets off the see the world, but reality soon intrudes on his youthful idealism and moral certitude.
Child Raising
Raising Hope (2010-2012 TV14 3 Seasons)—Jimmy suddenly finds himself a father after a one-night stand with a murderer, but his eccentric family pitches in to help with the new arrival.
Tsotsi (2005 R 94 Min)—After shooting a woman and driving off in her car, a ruthless thug is surprised to discover a crying infant in the back seat.
Non-Streaming
Here are some classics that are not on Netflix streaming but you should check out!
The Blind Side (2009 PG13 129 Min) The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All American football player and first round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Angels in the Outfield (1994 PG 102 Min) When a boy prays for a chance to have a family if the California Angels win the pennant, angels are assigned to make that possible.
Precious (2009 R 110 Min) In New York City’s Harlem circa 1987, an overweight, abused, illiterate teen who is pregnant with her second child is invited to enroll in an alternative school in hopes that her life can head in a new direction.
August Rush (2007 PG 114 Min) A drama with fairy tale elements, where an orphaned musical prodigy uses his gift as a clue to finding his birth parents.
Westside Wingery Wins the Wing (and Taco) Game
A couple of weeks ago, a new wing joint opened up in Athens, Ohio. After hearing virtually nothing about the opening, except via word of mouth from Fluff, the new restaurant had me intrigued. Their social media presence is minimal, there’s no website, and no place to find a phone number. Is this place actually real or is it simply another ghost story created in Athens?
After dreaming about my two favorite combinations–wings & tacos, I decided to give Fluff a call and see what was up. The cute girl behind the phone gave me an enthusiastic response and told me it was officially open and it is located where 9 Tables used to be on Shafer street. I was so excited I almost dropped my phone. Tacos have finally made their way to Athens.
See I’m a taco guy. I perfect smaller bites filled with delicious flavor rather than stretching my mouth around a huge layered burrito. Athens is famous for its burritos having Chipotle, Big Mama’s Burritos, and the Burrito Buggy right on court street. Burritos just don’t do it for me. When I bite into mexican food I want to taste it all together, not a bite of lettuce, a bite of rice, then meat. The lackluster experience with burritos just doesn’t cut it with me. Hence my love for tacos. And now they have finally arrived in my town.
I am also a huge fan of chicken wings. My go-to wing joint was The Overhang on court street but due to cutbacks they have stopped serving food. My heart and stomach were crushed because they had the best wings in Athens. What the hell was I supposed to do now? Buffalo Wild Wings is overpriced, Wings Over Athens quality is subpar at best, and the Pigskin just doesn’t have that BBQ taste that I crave. I decided to go the the West Side Wingery as soon as my wallet would allow me.
As you can probably tell my expectations were set extremely high. Hey, I like Fluff Bakery so I can’t imagine this place will disappoint. Walking into 9 Shafer st made me a little worried. There was no signage out front except a tiny chalkboard sign. Remnants from 9 tables were still on the door and outside wall. There was no one else in the tiny establishment and the display of crappy off-brand Cheetos and bottled sodas made me uneasy. Was this all that this place had to offer? But immediately I had to remind myself of my favorite places to go in Youngstown and Akron. The crappiest place on the outside is usually the best place to eat. Dive bars are my home, so this place doesn’t have to be any different. The food rules all.
Modest Mouse playing in the background and the awesome graffiti art made for a great experience. Their menu was limited, but I just took that as a positive because I could literally try everything that they had to offer. Their express menu changed every week and this item was a breakfast burrito. Previously it has been loaded pork fries, which is something that I am very upset I missed. I ordered 3 tacos, one Carolina Pork, one Black Bean, Sweet Potato & Pork, and one Bombay shrimp. I also ordered some of the normal BBQ wings.
Their pork is absolutely fantastic. It’s very juicy and perfectly cooked. The Carolina Pork Taco tasted like a pulled pork sandwich, I enjoyed it but it wasn’t enough for me. The BB, Sweet Potato & Pork taco was the perfect amount. The mixture of flavors from the beans and potato added enough ingredients that was missing from the Carolina Pork. I highly suggest the BB pork taco for a more hearty taco experience. Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better I took a bite out of the Bombay Shrimp taco. Filled with cilantro, mangos, and a perfectly seasoned shrimp, this taco was easily my favorite of the three. The spicy shrimp and cilantro combo had a perfect amount of spice that was balanced out by the sweet and juicy mango. I could eat three more of these tacos all to myself. This taco was literally so perfect for me it’s as if God himself constructed all of my favorite flavors and wrapped it in a golden corn tortilla.
But then the wings came out. The smell of the wings must have attracted outsiders because 8 more people came in to dine. After one bite I was smitten. It was like that scene in Ratatouille where you have flashbacks of your childhood. But instead of your childhood, it’s a fantasy of diving into a Scrooge McDuck-sized pool filled with BBQ Chicken. The wings were literally falling off the bone, they were steamy, juicy, and perfect for a caveman like myself. The thing I loved the most about them was that they were the entire wing, with the drummette & wing attached. It felt that you were getting more bang for your buck and also for your appetite. It was truly a romantic experience making love to these wings with my mouth. My mouth is watering just thinking about when I can make love to them again. Now that I’ve conquered their BBQ I cannot wait to try out their spicier options.
Sadly the West Side Wingery does not deliver (or have a bathroom for that matter). If you are in the mood to have an out of body & sexual food experience take a trip to 9 N Shafer St in Athens Ohio. You can call ahead and place an order at 740-541-5544.
Selma makes me Sick
Selma–Directed by Ava Duvernay, a relatively new director, made quite an impact this season with her biopic on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. The historical accuracy, acting, and explosiveness of the film made it a fantastic film to watch. I was hesitant at first to watch, I am first to admit that films backed by Oprah usually aren’t my cup of tea. I don’t know why, but I have to be in the mood to watch racial discrimination and hate filled movies. Maybe it’s my white guilt, or maybe it’s a genre that’s just not for me. But at the end of the film I had a feeling inside me that was similar to Full Metal Jacket–Empty and Sick.
The film starts out after MLK’s famous ‘I Have A Dream Speech,’ which I quite enjoyed because every person in America knows the speech but every January they seem to tune it out like a Katy Perry single. The film focused on one of his main goals: To give Black Americans the right to vote without racial barriers. The film does a great job of citing key examples: They would need a Voucher from someone else in order to register to vote and If they would try to register, their names and address would be printed in the paper to invoke physical altercation, as well as many other barriers.
The historical accuracy was what made me excited about the film. I understand it’s Hollywood and certain events are tailored so that it is more exciting (Let’s not forget the Championship game from Remember the Titans). When MLK first came to Selma he was assaulted, we all know the FBI’s intricate obsession with Dr. King in order to out his affairs, his mugshot, meeting with Malcolm X, the verbatim hate-messages left on his answering machine, the Edmund Pettus Bridge, and MLK’s secret smoking habit. It is speculated that the reason why MLK was on his balcony where he got assassinated was because he was having a smoke (smoking kills!). Much like President Obama, he hid it from the public.
Along with the accuracy, the acting was simply phenomenal. David Oyelowo plays Doctor King and you immediately know that he has the ‘voice’ of MLK. Common’s acting demands attention, much like his famed rapping abilities. Oprah’s small role is quick but very important to the advancement of the story. Wendell Pierce (Bunk, from HBO’s The Wire), Nigel Thatch, and Cuba Gooding Jr all have great performances. The white actors all convey a racist ‘Southern Slime’ Performances by Tom Wilkinson, Giovanni Ribisi, Dylan Baker, Tim Roth, and Stephen Root all make you feel uncomfortable by their presence on screen.
The only problem I had with the film is the portrayal of LBJ played by Tom Wilkinson. In the film, he is portrayed as anti-civil rights and opposes MLK at every turn, even spearheading the FBI investigation. LBJ’s portrayal has sparked controversy with historians on both side of the spectrum. Did he really call them “Niggers” like he so casually did in the film? Did he go to J. Edgar Hoover and demand MLK to be investigated? Was he secretly racist? Many historians disagree with such claims because there is factual evidence stating that he was creating a Civil Rights Bill before the Selma march, which the film carefully omits. LBJ wanted voting rights for all, which is why we passed the Civil Rights Act in the first place. The portrayal gave unfair blame to LBJ, which bothered me because it made MLK up against the world. Like I said, it is Hollywood and a good story needs as many antagonists as they can get. But this is something important to consider while watching the film.
The 50 mile Selma to Montgomery march was a peaceful protest to implement change for basic human voting rights. “We’re not asking, we are commanding. Give us the vote!”
Selma was an explosive and powerful movie that is perfect for making you think about your fellow man. Every human being deserves the same rights, liberties and respect. It made me sick to think how discrimination, racism, hate, apathy and injustice is still prevailing in our country. Take Ferguson for example. Why would the best course of action be looting and violence to your own town. “Darkness cannot drive out darkness. Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate, only love can do that.”
MLK’s march to Montgomery proved a basic elementary philosophy: As much as we hate bullies, as much as we want change, we do not fight back with violence. Violence only feeds the fire. We must fight back with peace, protest, and persistence. The fact that our country still doesn’t understand that makes me sick.
8/10
Stop what you’re doing and watch Over the Garden Wall
Over the Garden Wall came to your television screen on November 3rd 2014. Did you miss it? I sure did, I never even heard of it. I have put my Cartoon Network on hold while I was blasting through Sons of Anarchy on Netflix. Sorry for the truth but Charlie Hunnam’s ass has nothing on this cartoon miniseries.
Now I have a fascination with animation. As a product of the 90’s I grew up on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, and Boomerang cartoons. The style of animation is similar to Regular Show, Adventure Time, and Gravity Falls (Check that one out it’s on the Disney Channel but my god is it great). The lighting and different animation styles implemented are seriously one of the most creative a beautifully crafted pieces of art I have ever seen.
The story is a masterpiece of creative proportions that boggles your mind that someone actually came up with this. It starts off with two kids, Wirt who is in High School and Greg, his younger brother walking through the woods lost. Greg is hilarious and has the best lines in the show. He is also the character with the best insights to every situation. Almost everything he says is the right thing to do. They are both clad in ludicrous outfits and the further deep into the woods they go the more lost they become. The entire show is shrouded in intense mystery but the story rewards you but answering every question you can possibly ask. Each episode is split into 10 segments, each with their own adventure of utter confusion. Each episode has it’s own chaos as well. The horrifying twists that they encounter are filled with absolutely terrifying creatures that scared a 23-year-old.
I don’t want to spoil anything because the confusion adds to the experience. Each episode is about 10 minutes and it is free on Youtube or Amazon. Filled with an amazing soundtrack, terrific voice acting from Elijah Wood, Melanie Lynskey, Christopher Lloyd, Tim Curry, John Cleese, amazing characters such as Miss Langtree, Fred the Horse, Auntie Whispers, Jason Funderberker, you will be addicted to being world that Patrick McHale has created, over the garden wall.
10/10
Ohio University LGBT Center Public Relations Campaign Plan
Ohio University LGBT Center Public Relations Campaign Plan
My Public Relations team at Ohio University were able to conduct research, develop a plan and provide suggestions to further the awareness of the LGBT Center in the Athens community.
Our Research included:
- An in depth Situational and SWOT analysis
- New Goals and Objectives for the Center
- Critical Analysis of other Universities: Texas A&M, Purdue, Miami of Ohio, and the University of Dayton
- Formative Research Report
- Communication Plan with Goals, Objectives, Messages, and Channels
- Time Line
- Budget
- An Executive Summary of Research and course of Action
Through our research we have discovered that community members will respond best to events hosted by the LGBT Center. By finalizing our research, we have created a communications plan, which aims to better promote the LGBT Center to the Athens community outside of the university.
Written Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Robyn Podboy
Phone: (330) 757-4259
Email: press@happinesscoalition.com
NEW COLLABORATION HELPS THOSE STRUGGLING WITH DIVORCE
The divorce process can take a terrible toll on a person’s mental, physical and spiritual health…not to mention their pocketbook. It doesn’t have to be that way.
AUSTINTOWN—Rarely does choosing the right divorce attorney also lead you down the path to a happier life. Attorney Melissa Rocci and Life Consultant Robyn Podboy want you to know that divorce should not signify the end, but the beginning. RP Life Consulting (Ms. Podboy) and Divorce with Dignity, Inc. (Ms. Rocci) have teamed up to offer clients a truly unique service.
Both Robyn and Melissa aim to provide a service (for those in need of divorce counsel, and those who have already hired an attorney) that is designed to produce empowered results. Focusing on your individual needs, our collaboration will produce fulfilling results to create the life you desire! Look forward to rebuilding your life with a positive focus!
Published author and resident of Youngstown, Ohio, Robyn Podboy specializes in Relationship, Couples, and Individual Life Consulting. Robyn also facilitates a bi-weekly support group for those who have been affected by divorce or separation.
Attorney Melissa Rocci’s expertise in family and divorce law allow her to advocate on behalf of her clients and the community by referring those whose relationships are in need of individual and/or couples’ consulting.
About Robyn: A three time Published Author, Certified NLP Success Coach, Infinite Possibilities Instructor, International Retreat Facilitator and Louise Hay Heal Your Life® Licensed Facilitator offering Life Consulting, Couple Consulting, Support Groups, Workshops, and Retreats. In addition to life consulting, Robyn facilitates a bi-weekly support group for those who have been affected by divorce or separation.
RP Life Consulting and Rocci Law/Divorce with Dignity, Inc are located at:
Cider Mill Professional Center, 1570 S. Canfield-Niles Road, Building C, Austintown, Ohio 44515
http://www.RPLifeConsulting.com | http://www.RocciLaw.com
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If you’d like more information about this topic, or to schedule an interview, please contact Robyn Podboy at (330) 757-4259 or by email at press@happinesscoalition.com
Visual Rhetorical Analysis
Visual Rhetorical Analysis
Commercial Advertising in our generation today feels as if it is trying too hard to appeal to its audience. Advertising agencies are collaborating to try to connect to their viewers through what seems like its only option left: through humor. Each television commercial I watch, it tries to be edgy and appealing in a bizarre way. Commercials leave me with a feeling of confusion allowing me to ask my self, “What the Hell did I just watch?”
The new(er) Old Spice commercials are a prime example of this. They use elements of humor and abstractness to appeal to its audience. The abnormal appeal works tremendously because it’s hilarious and forces you to remember the product. Geico had a series of fake commercials that made you remember to “save a bunch of money on car insurance.” The audience never knows exactly how much they can individually save, but all the viewer remembers was that it was funny and you could save a “bunch”.
Experian credit bureau fell under the same advertising trap of trying too hard toward its audience. The credit bureau started off with by producing a website, Freecreditreport.com. The site allowed you to view your personal credit as long as you sign up through their credit-monitoring program for a fee.
According to the company’s chief marketing officer, Mike Dean, they have been fueling their advertising campaign tremendously in the past 5 years. The site increased its budget by 200 percent and spent roughly $70 million.
This money was strictly set out to capture on thing, a younger audience. Dean explained, “We knew our creative was good, and we were targeting a younger audience. That’s exactly what we’ve received with that: we have a lot younger demographic coming into our site.” The company was trying to lure its selective young audience into their site by creating the perfect commercial. The commercial will later be viewed as a pop-culture hit.
Their first commercial consisted of Director Danny Leinor, who has been know to work on “slacker-comedies” and actor Eric Violette. Violette is portrayed as a “lovable loser” who has a hard time in life because of his hesitation not to check his credit score. The first commercial consists of Violette working in a restaurant and dressed as a pirate.
Clad with a band, catchy tunes, and a funny situation what’s not like? The ads focus on identity theft rather than simply checking your score but it leaves a taste in one’s mouth forcing us to ask the question, “Can this happen to me?” The television commercial was run about 90,000 times in 2007 and instantly became a Youtube phenomenon, racking up more than 3 million views.
Aesthetically, the band is perfect toward its young audience. The series of commercials always have Violette in some situation that no one wants to be in-all because he didn’t check his credit score. People seem to relate to people who are down on their luck and have a connection with Violette and the band. The reason why people identified with the commercial is because every element was appealing to the younger audience. Violette’s appearance is young, shaggy, friendly, and approachable. The band is having fun and jamming out no matter what situation they are in.
A reoccurring motif of ‘the lovable old lady’ appears in throughout their commercials, which adds to the appeal towards the younger audience of having a ‘Grandma’ approach. The music and lyrics are obviously the main attraction of the commercial. The clever lyrics and beat to the song make it have an appealing flow. Rhyming ‘Identity’ with ‘Iced tea’ seems to add to the overall cleverness and appeal of the commercial. The commercials seem to hit young audiences at the core and it allows them to connect with freecreditreport.com with the use of humor, catchiness, and approachability. Later editions of the commercial includes the band living with his in-laws, a Country stage show, a Renaissance Fair, a used car, bicycle riding, Hip-hop pool party, and a roller coaster.
These commercials are ground breaking because it forced Congress to pass the Credit CARD Act of 2009. The company throughout 2005-2006 had been criticized and even sued by the Federal Trade Commission for deceptive advertising. The aesthetic commercials appeal to young audiences by being free, however in the fine print of the commercial there is a claim, “Offer applies with enrollment in Triple Advantage.” This Triple Advantage after 30 days charges $14.95 per month, the complete opposite of free. Trevor Snyder, a National Guard officer deployed from Iraq signed up and later had difficulty canceling the free credit service. His opinion has a valid point that others agree with: “Unfortunately, I think the offer is purposefully designed to make it easy for you to get your credit report, and then forget that you’ve just signed up for an in-perpetuity fee.”
What the audience does not know is that the Federal Government set up a site that allows you to view your score for free at AnnualCreditReport.com. Congress passed the Credit CARD Act of 2009 to any company who advertised their report for free, they must always display they message, “This is not the free credit provided for by Federal law.” Freecreditscore.com was so successful in its advertising that they essentially target an uniformed younger audience that enjoys the approachability of the commercial, but gets tricked out of money in the end.
In 2010 the company renamed its website to freecreditscore.com and decided to introduce a new and improved band. They decided to hype it up by advertising a “Brand New Band!” and a new twist on the old commercials. With a new and spicy name, the Victorious Secrets do everything in their power to bring in the younger audience members back to the company. The new band still brought in the elements of a message “About personal financial literacy, tied to pop music and pop culture.”
The new band seems to be working allowing them access to thousands of fans on Facebook and parodies on Youtube. The creative team at Experian created the commercials “not from the viewpoint of a company with a product to sell, but from the perspective of a character with a story to tell. So you don’t feel like you’re being bombarded with an ad message; you just feel like you’re getting a glimpse into this guy’s life.”
The Experian Company seems to know how to manage their advertising effectively. Money buys effective advertising and $70 million bought the company years of profit. The company knew they wanted to target younger audiences and succeeded in sending out its message through use of humor, music, and pop culture. Everyone seems to relate to the commercials and remembers them in a positive way, but the negative aspects are rarely focused on. The fact that it is not in fact ‘free’, is in itself false advertising. The sole idea of the commercials is to convince the audience to visit and use the website.
Once the young, uninformed consumer uses the ‘free’ credit report they later get charged for fees per month. This form of advertising is very clever but also unethical. If you trick people into buying your product, then it is extremely unethical. The advertisers knew what they were doing and wanted to earn a profit. The creativity and visually appealing commercials were used to earn respect of the audience and lure them into their credit trap. These commercials are an extremely important case to study due to its uniqueness. The audience is pop-culture and their interests are well represented in the commercial through its excellent portrayal of humor, music, and appealing characters.
Works Cited
NY Times Article http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/04/business/media/04adco.html?_r=1
6 Free Credit Report Commercials
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dFbNw3bpKE
New Free Credit Score Commercial
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWlGMUPaZvc
Billboard.com Victorious Secrets
Credit Crunch article
http://www.thebigmoney.com/articles/impressions/2009/04/07/credit-crunch?page=0,1
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009
http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h111-627
Experian
FTC & Credit Marketers
Grab Life by the Pawpaws
Grab Life By the PawPaws
Pawpaws, a relative of other such wackily named plants as the sweetsop, soursop, cherimoya and ylang-ylang (pronounced EE-lang), arrive to adulthood in the Appalachian area, which apparently is enough of a reason to have a festival dedicated to them.
The 11th Annual Pawpaw Festival on September 19, located on beautiful Lake Snowden in Albany, Ohio, was a typical Appalachian romp complete with music, gyros, medieval weaponry and, of course, the atypical pawpaw, otherwise known as the poor man’s banana. Growers of the pawpaw aggregate every year to celebrate this unique delectable.
The pawpaw is a fruit that grows only in the temperate woodlands of the eastern United States. They often grow to 3-6 inches in length and weigh roughly 5-16 ounces. They have a creamy yellow center as well as multiple large seeds. The closest taste that can be compared to a pawpaw is the Indian mango.
Pawpaws are also extremely rare. They are not grown commercially because of their short shelf lives. Lance Beard, a bearded gentleman, informed many people about the process of growing this year’s pawpaws. He explained that this season included both a dry spell and a wet spell resulting in many of the pawpaws hardening and cracking on the outer shell of the fruits.
Some people have found ways to preserve them by crafting pawpaws into other longer-lasting foods. Integration Acres Pawpaw Products specializes in making a multitude of other pawpaw goods such as pawpaw crackers and pawpaw jelly. Employee Meghan Amelia Featheringham explained that, in order to make the jelly, they have to extract the pulp and let it ferment for a couple of weeks.
Other ingenious and popular ways of preserving pawpaws include making pawpaw beer and soda. Eric Hedin, owner of the Do-It-Yourself Shop in Athens, specializes in the making of pawpaw soda. He makes three flavors: Pawpaw Sugar, Pawpaw Splenda and Pawpaw Honey. He described the process as churning water with carbon dioxide then adding pawpaws with liquefied honey. Hedin eagerly gave his product out for free during this year’s Pawpaw Festival.
The 2009 festival had many other activities and events, such as fencing, “The Best Pawpaw,” a pawpaw cook off and the ever-popular pawpaw eating contest. The pawpaw eating contest drew a huge crowd. It consisted of 9 contestants from ages 10 to 40 and from Atlanta, Georgia to Cincinnati, Ohio. The objective of the contest was to scrape clean 20 pawpaw seeds as fast as possible while keeping hands held behind the back. The winner was Jim Laske, a native of Akron, Ohio.
Pawpaws have recently been named as Ohio’s native state fruit.
Veteran pawpaw eaters are eager to dish out some advice: “Don’t eat the seeds or the skin, or your toilet will be your best friend for a long time.”
4 Loko Craziness
(Pseudonyms have been used for subjects to avoid legal implication)
Underage drinking is one of the many concerns across campuses worldwide, and it is no different here at Ohio University. The Princeton Review currently ranked OU as the number two party school in America. As an undergraduate student I can clearly see that it lives up to the hype. However, some (relatively) new form of alcoholic beverage seems to be at the height of popularity among students at Ohio University, the infamous 4loko.
4loko is an alcoholic energy drink that contains 4 main ingredients: caffeine, taurine, guarana, and of course alcohol. They were created by 3 Ohio State University alumni and are headed by Pushion Projects. They come in 6 colorful flavors and just one can contains 12 per cent alcohol. Students around the university purchase and drink them because they are cheap and essentially, “A blackout in a can.”
Undergraduate student, Colonel Sanders says why he drinks 4lokos, “ I mean it’s only about $3 for one can of Loko which equals about 6 beers. You only need to buy a couple to have a good night. Sure it tastes like fart spray but on the other hand so does Natural Light.”
4lokos and other alcoholic energy drinks are a huge concern for Ohio University students and other college students alike. Their colorful cans and “tasty” flavors such as Blue Raspberry and Cranberry Lemonade are specifically marketed to college students. However not all college students are influenced by their attraction. Senior student, Marcellus Wallace said,” I like to steer clear of 4lokos because they make me ridiculously wired. When I drink one I have violent tendencies and usually end up breaking things around my apartment. I’ve seen way too many of my friends get sick from those things.”
There are also many physical dangers to your body once you combine caffeine and alcohol. Health experts say that the caffeine actually delays the effect of alcohol, which allows people to consume excessive amounts of alcohol. This energy drink is affecting college students all across the United States. There have been many reports on students becoming injured or hospitalized after consumption of the drink.
Alcoholic venues in Ohio University, such as the Busy Day Market, Big Cat Drive-thru, or the Union Street Market are known popular places to purchase the energy drink. You can buy either by cans at a time or you can buy them in bulk. Undergrad student, Frank (Loko) Leko claims to drink a 4loko at least once a day. “I usually buy them in bulk and sell them to people to make some extra cash. But I like 4lokos, they get me messed up quick and that’s the whole point.”
4loko is not alone in the alcoholic energy drink world, brands such as Jooze, Sparks, and Tilt are also popular in Ohio University. According to urbandictionary.com the term “Hyper Viper” was created on Palmer Street here in Athens. A Hyper Viper consists of drinking a 40 oz bottle of Cobra beer, and right before you’re finished you pour an energy drink (either 4loko, Jooze, Sparks, or Tilt) into your bottle. This is the definition of dangerous drinking habits, and allows for more injuries to happen at Ohio University.
Fortunately the Federal Trade Commission has been making steps to ban this alcoholic energy drink. They declared that beverages such as Four energy drinks that combine caffeine with alcohol are a “public health concern” and will not be allowed to stay on the market in their current form. Phusion Projects declared that they will remove guarana, taurine, and caffeine from the 4loko (Making future products only left with 1loko).
The FTC is making advances in the right direction but still ignores the fact that college students, especially at Ohio University, will still find alternative energy drinks to use. Ohio University is being overrun by alcoholic consumption and is finding new and more dangerous alternatives in fulfilling its urge.
Media Ethics and Society
Diversity In and Out of the Newsroom
Nate Podboy
Np377908@ohio.edu
Sensitivity seems to be absent to the certain stereotypes that American journalists carry. Journalists fail to acknowledge certain words that may deem offensive to different minorities. Journalists need to remember the certain political correctness in each of their publications, but many fail to do so including the invincible The New York Times.
Journalists across the United States face hundreds of ethical decisions every week. The issue of incorporating diversity in the newsroom or in their stories is an issue that we need to face head on. The incorporation of racial teachings and understandings is essential in the class room to allow the future journalists to cash in on the many opportunities that diversity has to offer.
Original Blog Posting Here
Podblog 