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In 2018 I began work for Americorps here in Denver. When I began I was opened to this change in society social media and the work place that involved binary and non binary gender identities. I have also heard this called "non conforming". I still have little knowledge of this, but I have done my best to be opened to learning about it since it was introduced to me through work. In trainings we had to watch various videos on what binary and non binary means, and how to identify ourselves. For example, I would identify as she/her/hers. This has been my identification since birth and my feelings towards my gender have always been belonging I believe. I felt in place with my body and what society calls it. I wish I understood how many people felt differently, earlier.  Upon researching, I found a New York Times article published in 2018, titled "On Instagram Seeing Gender Between the Gender Lines". It discussed the way that social media actually played a positive role

According to the Washington Post, actress Roseanne Barr sent out a tweet May 29th of 2018 that was directed at former president Obama's senior advisor Valerie Jarrett. The tweet was said to be "unbelievably racist" and in "poor taste". The tweet read as follows "Muslim Brotherhood & Planet of the Apes had a baby." After doing so Barr was immediately fired from ABC. What is devastating about that for her is that the reboot of the show "Rosanne" just started, and had a great first couple of episodes. One of which even dealt with the division of thoughts on the current president. In the end Barr tweeted once more her apologies, but it was too late. In today's world there are many PR tactics that end up very unsuccessful. In Rosanne Barr's case the quick apologetic tweet after the initial offense was PR mistake number one. This has been done many times, and tends to almost do worse than any good. Her apology was dismissed by not on

My memories of playing early video games are not very strong. I did not play many video games growing up, but I do remember some. My brother was a lover of video games and I remember the Playstation being big. Back then we had games such as, Spyro, Crash Bandicoot, and Star Fox. I also remember having a Game Boy. I liked to play games such as Animal Crossing, or Mall Tycoon where you built a farm and sort of a community as an animal or a mall. I believe that they influenced my childhood in that they were a fun thing to do when having late night sleepovers or when you could not play outside. They were not constantly played in the home that I remember. I have not necessarily been appalled at the level of violence, misogony or racism in any video games I played. I never enjoyed video games that would have those characteristics in them anyway. I do remember babysitting before and there was a 4 year old playing Grand Theft Auto, which was fine to the parents. I had no power to object to

Watching the film We Bought a Zoo directed by Jerry Maguire  left me inspired. It is a "feel-good" film that is also based on a true story. A single father named Benjamin Mee (due to his wife's recent passing) has left him confused and stuck. He decides to move, and the house he buys is a zoo. Reviving it and his family is the goal, and he does just that. The movie was full of heart, laughs, and relatable feelings. Most of all it gives us a sense of adventure.  Jerry Maguire (dir.) Starring Matt Damon

Popular Music The response of the recording industry to file sharing has been a negative one, hopefully with positive outcomes. In simple terms file sharing is as it sounds; the giving away of files for free. You could download music, movies, many files at no cost. This also means that the artists that created these files whatever they may be are getting nothing for their work. Napster, and Kazaa are some of the most well known sites that did this. As this began causing problems the record industry was successful in getting these companies shut down in court. I do not believe the 2013 ruling against Jammie Thomas will completely hault file sharing. The internet is much like the ocean, no can really control it completely. It is this weird place that can't be monitored as easily as everything else in our world. I do believe that it will bring notice to the fact that it is still happening and is definitely not okay. This is good.  Since using the "cloud" to st

What Challenges do new online news sites face?      While it is great to use the internet for its easy accessibility and convenience, online news sites still face many challenges. One challenge is sustainability. Newspapers were in decline due to cost and relied heavily on advertisements. Online news sites are no different. As stated in our Media & Culture text, "New York Times began charging readers for access to all online content in early 2011." This is also known as a paywall. Over 150 newspapers of all sizes began doing this. However, they quickly realized that readership declined because many do not believe that they should have to pay for a subscription online. New York Times had to compromise, and "in 2014 began allowing readers free access to ten articles a month, as as free access to articles via a search link." The paper seems to still be having some serious cutbacks. This issue is quite similar in the music industry, where the audience does not fee