After watching the lecture video on the effect video games has on the brain by Daphne Bavelier I was very surprised by the effects games can have. As someone who does not play any video games the statistics on how video games can influence the brain was intriguing. Video games are actually good for the brain and can lead to better eye sight and greater attention to detail. By playing shooter games people develop a greater ability to see things farther away and read small print without the aid of a magnifying glass. The better eye sight paired with a greater ability to pay attention to the small details leads to video game players being more capable drivers.  After seeing these results it makes me want to go and try video games.

Marvel Studios released a video on February 10, 2017 that gives fans a first looks into the next Avengers movie Avengers Infinity War. Filming for the movie began on January 23 with an expected release date sometime in 2018. For those that don’t know Avengers Infinity War is the movie that combines all of the Marvel cinematic universe since 2008 when the heroes face off against Thanos. The super villain who is attempting to control all of the Universe with the power from the infinity stones. The producer Kevin Feige, Directors Anthony and Joe Russo along with the writers Stephen McFeely and Christopher Makus talk about what is to come in the next film and the choices that lead to where the cinematic universe stands after Captain America Civil War. It is interesting to hear the reasons behind why the producer, directors, and writers chose to do what they did with the universe and to see where this next film will take them.  What I love about the Marvel movies is how all of them weave themselves together to create one giant story line. In this film we get to see characters like Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and the Guardians of the Galaxy meet up with the Avengers to fight Thanos.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3PyrgGTFp0E

Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture video on YouTube was very interesting. Before this assignment I had never heard of a professor having a “last lecture” I always thought that they would just leave the school. Finding out that this video was because he had a brain tumor was heartbreaking because cancer is a horrible disease. The way he set up his lecture to show all that he has done in his life and how people can achieve their dreams showed that anyone who has enough dedication will be able to accomplish anything they put their mind to. Finding out in the end that this whole lecture was something that he did for his kids to see made the speech that much more meaningful.

Having the Last Lecture in two different medias video and print is able to get the message to more people. However the video was more successful because the viewer was able to see more of the emotions that Randy Pausch shows in his lecture. The book lacks the audiences reaction to what was said whether it was humorous or sad the reader of the book has to make that judgement rather than laughing along with a group. The reader of the book also loses the images Randy Pausch’s uses in his presentation. The images gives another visual side to the lecture that is lost to the readers.  These reasons are what I think make watching the lecture better than reading the lecture.

Starbucks Coffee still has problems. CNN reporter Paul R La Monica reported on January 27, 2017 about the financial side of the Starbucks Company. The article starts out talking about the recent shifts in wait times being from waiting in line to waiting at the end of the bar to get your drink. This increase is because of the incorporation of the order and pay from the Starbucks mobile app that was launched in 2015. And how in turn the long looking lines at the bar is causing some people to wait on their morning cup of Joe. Another problem that the Company’s shares fell 4% on Friday (1/27) because the sales failed to meet the Wall Street’s expectation. Howard Schultz current CEO of Starbucks says that “We are now laser focused on fixing this problem, but the nature of it, too much demand, is an operational challenge we have solved before, and I can assure you we will solve again.” in regards to sales.

The last thing that the article talks about is Kevin Johnson becoming the new CEO of Starbucks later in the year. The last time that Schultz stepped down as CEO in 2000 the company had many setbacks that lasted until 2008 when Schultz returned as CEO. Fortunately the people of Wall Street have faith in Johnson and the ideas that he is bring to the company.

http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/27/investing/starbucks-long-lines-mobile-ordering-earnings/index.html

After watching President Trump’s Inauguration address I practiced my Media Literacy by looking for articles about the Inauguration from both Fox News and CNN. What really shocked me about the two news outlets was how differently they chose to report on the same story and how little their similarities were. While searching FoxNews.com I had trouble finding a news article that completely recapped the inauguration speech of President Trump, this was different on CNN because the second article I found from them was one that recapped the speech. From Fox I decided to look at two stories one titled “Inauguration Highlights: Donald Trump Becomes 45th President of United States” and another titled “’You Will Never Be Ignored Again’: President Trump Gives Inaugural Address.” Both of these articles came from the Fox News Insider whereas the CNN article came from CNN’s Politics. On the first article Fox News had the key moments of what was happening during the inauguration through pictures and captions. On the second article Fox News had some quotes form President Trump’s speech along with a transcript of the speech itself. For CNN the author Stephen Collinson recapped the Inauguration almost from start to finish. Collinson reported on the traditions of Inauguration Day, peoples concerns, what former president Barak Obama future plans are, and key points in Trumps’ speech. Another difference between the three articles is the quote’s they chose from President Trump’s speech. Fox News used quotes like “Together, we will make America strong. We will make America wealthy. We will make America proud again. We will make America safe again. And yes, together, we will make America great again,” and “We are transferring power from Washington, D.C., and giving it back to you, the people,” whereas CNN used quotes like “A new national pride will stir our souls, lift our sights and heal our divisions,” and “This American carnage stops right here and stops right now.” By doing this assignment I have learned first had how important media literacy is.

 http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/20/politics/donald-trump-inauguration-highlights/

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/20/donald-trump-inaugural-address-video-clips-quotes-highlights

http://insider.foxnews.com/2017/01/20/video-trump-inauguration-updates-highlights-fox-news-coverage

On Monday January 16, 2017 CNN reports that a twelve foot statue of the Buddha was found carved into the cliff face of a reservoir in the Jiangxi Province of China. This statue was discovered after the water level of the reservoir decreased for work on a hydro-power gate last month. Archeologists says that the statues was probably created during the Ming Dynasty (1368-644) or as early as the Yuan Dynasty.  Since its discovery archeologists have found evidence that a temple base is also located in the reservoir. The director of the Research Institute of Archaeology of Jiangxi province has dispatched a underwater team to investigate the area along with creating a preservation plan.

With the statue being preserve in the water its detailed carvings remained intact. Being submerged since the creation of the Hongmen reservoir in the 1960 the statue was saved from being being destroyed  during the country’s Cultural Revolution in the same time in which similar statues were destroyed.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/01/16/travel/china-buddha-statue-resurfaces/