I live in Munfordville, Kentucky, which is in Hart County. The local newspaper here is the Hart County News Herald, owned by Jobe Publishing Inc. The Hart County News Herald has suffered a loss in subscribers, and my own parents said they haven't read one of their newspapers in at least a year. Their online presence is lacking in that they post the actual newspaper in a PDF format (for subscribers) to peruse, which is clunky and difficult to navigate on the screen.
My parents said the things they liked the least about the Hart County News Herald were that they didn't really print much relevant news. There are things like "who's family reunion is coming up" and other less relevant stories. They don't even look to the online edition for local news. They look to websites like WBKO online for their local news.
Because it is a small community, the Hart County Herald serves its community as well as can be expected. It is more relevant to people who have lived here all of their lives and know everyone in the community, but to transplants like my parents, it's worthless news.
I agree with my parents' criticisms about the paper. Though I do not read it regularly, and haven't picked up an issue in years, the scope of the news presented in it is limited.
It would help if the Hart County Herald would print more regional and national news in their paper. Also, it would be helpful if they concentrated more on local news, not just prominent families here in Hart County.
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Sunday, September 6, 2015
iParticipate Two
According to Box Office Mojo, the following are the top 20 movies from the past 365 days.
Jurassic World | Uni. | $644,043,640 | 4,291 | $208,806,270 | 4,274 | 6/12/15 | - | |
| 2 | Avengers: Age of Ultron | BV | $457,815,697 | 4,276 | $191,271,109 | 4,276 | 5/1/15 | - |
| 3 | Furious 7 | Uni. | $351,032,910 | 4,022 | $147,187,040 | 4,004 | 4/3/15 | - |
| 4 | American Sniper | WB | $350,126,372 | 3,885 | $633,456 | 4 | 12/25/14 | 6/25/15 |
| 5 | Inside Out | BV | $345,688,000 | 4,158 | $90,440,272 | 3,946 | 6/19/15 | - |
| 6 | The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 | LGF | $337,135,885 | 4,151 | $121,897,634 | 4,151 | 11/21/14 | 3/19/15 |
| 7 | Minions | Uni. | $325,871,460 | 4,311 | $115,718,405 | 4,301 | 7/10/15 | - |
| 8 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | WB | $255,119,788 | 3,875 | $54,724,334 | 3,875 | 12/17/14 | 4/2/15 |
| 9 | Big Hero 6 | BV | $222,527,828 | 3,773 | $56,215,889 | 3,761 | 11/7/14 | 5/28/15 |
| 10 | Cinderella (2015) | BV | $201,116,210 | 3,848 | $67,877,361 | 3,845 | 3/13/15 | - |
| 11 | Interstellar | Par. | $188,020,017 | 3,561 | $47,510,360 | 3,561 | 11/5/14 | 3/19/15 |
| 12 | Pitch Perfect 2 | Uni. | $183,785,415 | 3,660 | $69,216,890 | 3,473 | 5/15/15 | 7/30/15 |
| 13 | Home (2015) | Fox | $177,352,879 | 3,801 | $52,107,731 | 3,708 | 3/27/15 | - |
| 14 | Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation | Par. | $174,912,000 | 3,988 | $55,520,089 | 3,956 | 7/31/15 | - |
| 15 | Ant-Man | BV | $170,934,000 | 3,868 | $57,225,526 | 3,856 | 7/17/15 | - |
| 16 | Gone Girl | Fox | $167,767,189 | 3,284 | $37,513,109 | 3,014 | 10/3/14 | 2/26/15 |
| 17 | Fifty Shades of Grey | Uni. | $166,167,230 | 3,655 | $85,171,450 | 3,646 | 2/13/15 | - |
| 18 | The SpongeBob Movie: Sponge Out of Water | Par. | $162,994,032 | 3,680 | $55,365,012 | 3,641 | 2/6/15 | - |
| 19 | San Andreas | WB | $154,294,686 | 3,812 | $54,588,173 | 3,777 | 5/29/15 | - |
| 20 | Mad Max: Fury Road | WB | $153,036,441 | 3,722 | $45,428,128 | 3,702 | 5/15/15 |
Of these movies, several of them were books first. Jurassic World, American Sniper, The Hunger Games, The Hobbit, Gone Girl, and Fifty Shades of Grey are just a few.
From what I have seen, mostly popular books are made into movies, though some books are made more popular by the creation of a film based on it, such as American Sniper, for example.
Although people tend to rush to the theater to see the films based on their favorite books, most are left disappointed, as the films rarely live up to the experience of reading the book. For those who see the movie first, and then read the book, I feel they are at a disadvantage because their mind does not get to imagine the characters as it pleases. They imagine the actors from the movie.
Some movies bring attention to books that would otherwise go unnoticed, but mostly, the bestsellers are the ones that are made into films.
Saturday, August 22, 2015
iParticipate! One
I have actually had a longer experience with media deprivation than 12 hours before. I spent 48 hours without television, radio, cellphone, or any other type of electronic device during what was called "The Walden Experiment," which was an extra credit activity in an English class based on the experiences of Henry David Thoreau while he lived on Walden Pond and wrote Walden.
My experience with giving up technology for 48 hours was both easy and maddening. The easy part came at first, when I went to my parents' lake house (which has no technology, unless you count a coffee maker). I spent the first 36 hours of the experiment there, where the lake, my family, and nature kept me company. I hardly missed technology at all. The difficulty came when my then husband decided we needed to go home so he could get back to technology. I spent the final 12 hours surrounded by technology I was forbidden to use. He had the television on constantly, so I went outside and read a book for most of the day underneath a tree in our back yard. Being near technology and not being able to use it was the most maddening part. I was much happier at the lake house where technology wasn't warranted.
The patterns in my experience were simple and easy to discern. When I was away from technology, I didn't really miss it, but when surrounded by technology, I went mad. I had no desire to use any of it when I was at the lake house, but as soon as we arrived home, I was surrounded and couldn't get away from technology. My only solace was the lonely tree in the back yard, and my book of Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories.
What those patterns meant to me was this: I was capable of living without technology. I had proven that in the first 36 hours. But I had to be removed from technology in order to do it effortlessly. As soon as I was back in "the real world," I couldn't get away from technology in order to avoid it. The fact that my ex-husband couldn't live without the television on forced me out of my house and into the lonely confines of my back yard.
I must admit, media plays a big role in my life. I admittedly spend way too much time on social media and texting with friends. It's a great way to keep in touch with your loved ones, but it can be used in excess. When I was a teenager, kids went out on weekends and socialized. Now, they stay at home and "socialize" virtually on the internet. We have become a disconnected race of people because of technology. Tomorrow's generation won't know how to look people in the eye and have an honest conversation. I'm glad I grew up before the internet, as I feel I actually had a childhood, not a virtual one on a screen.
But, then again, this is all coming from a 30something nontraditional college student who admittedly uses technology more than she should. I really should know better.
My experience with giving up technology for 48 hours was both easy and maddening. The easy part came at first, when I went to my parents' lake house (which has no technology, unless you count a coffee maker). I spent the first 36 hours of the experiment there, where the lake, my family, and nature kept me company. I hardly missed technology at all. The difficulty came when my then husband decided we needed to go home so he could get back to technology. I spent the final 12 hours surrounded by technology I was forbidden to use. He had the television on constantly, so I went outside and read a book for most of the day underneath a tree in our back yard. Being near technology and not being able to use it was the most maddening part. I was much happier at the lake house where technology wasn't warranted.
The patterns in my experience were simple and easy to discern. When I was away from technology, I didn't really miss it, but when surrounded by technology, I went mad. I had no desire to use any of it when I was at the lake house, but as soon as we arrived home, I was surrounded and couldn't get away from technology. My only solace was the lonely tree in the back yard, and my book of Nathaniel Hawthorne short stories.
What those patterns meant to me was this: I was capable of living without technology. I had proven that in the first 36 hours. But I had to be removed from technology in order to do it effortlessly. As soon as I was back in "the real world," I couldn't get away from technology in order to avoid it. The fact that my ex-husband couldn't live without the television on forced me out of my house and into the lonely confines of my back yard.
I must admit, media plays a big role in my life. I admittedly spend way too much time on social media and texting with friends. It's a great way to keep in touch with your loved ones, but it can be used in excess. When I was a teenager, kids went out on weekends and socialized. Now, they stay at home and "socialize" virtually on the internet. We have become a disconnected race of people because of technology. Tomorrow's generation won't know how to look people in the eye and have an honest conversation. I'm glad I grew up before the internet, as I feel I actually had a childhood, not a virtual one on a screen.
But, then again, this is all coming from a 30something nontraditional college student who admittedly uses technology more than she should. I really should know better.
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