For the Bradley crowd, the Save-a-Lot grocery store in Campustown is planning to be closed on January 3rd, this Sunday, and will not be replaced by a grocery story. The Peoria Journal Star report can be found here.
Save-a-lot wasn't the best store or in the best condition, but for students with out cars at Bradley, it was one of the few places you could walk to and get cheap groceries. It is the second store in Campustown to close recently, along with Blockbuster.
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Has the Tiger Story died down?
Perhaps the editors of the New York Post and New York Daily News looked at my blog. The day after I posted about the relentless Tiger Woods coverage, his streak of streak of apparences on the covers of the two newspapers ended at 20. Yet a barrage of newly written stories, blogs, and reports appear on the Tiger Woods Google News Search. So the verdict is up to you, has the Tiger Zoo died down? Or are there simply better stories to report?
Mexico for the Week
I´m in Mexico for the week (until the day after Christmas) so blog posts may not appear as frequently as I´d like.
Thursday, December 17, 2009
The Tiger Coverage continues on
Today marks the 19th consecutive day that Tiger Woods has graced the covers of the New York Post and the New York Daily News. For the New York Post, the consecutive coverage has matched the record set by 9/11 coverage. There is a website that displays all the covers of the New York Post and Daily News dating back to November 28th.
In case anyone is unaware about how Tiger Woods' life has unraveled these past few weeks, the New York Post has Tiger Blog to fill you in. For someone who knows absolutely nothing about Tiger and his fall out, the New York Times has a Tiger Index that summarizes his life, the tabloid coverage, and contains recent articles. Personally, the whole controversy both sickens me and is unavoidable to watch. Tiger Woods was (as, for the present, I'm not sure) one of my favorite athletes. He was great, he had an undeniable will to win, and the nerves to win under pressure. You never want to see someone you admire go through what Tiger has gone. But at the same time, its almost impossible to not follow.
Every day it seems like there's a new angle to the story whether a new mistress coming out, advertisers cutting his exposure, or the occasional story related to his athletic performance (no, not that). Yesterday, Tiger was named athlete of the decade by the Associated Press. There was also a New York Times Article about Accenture's process to completely remove his image. Also it appears that a divorce may be impending.
In the meantime, the whole saga has blown out of proportion. Bill Simmons, a respected columnist for ESPN, is even willing to call Tiger's fallout the biggest sports story of the '00s. I think I agree with him, its hard to think of a similar story that has dominated the media like this one. In an article entitledTiger Zoo, Simmons writes that it has all the components of a big-time story, not just a sports story, as it has all of the following:
1. One of the most famous living athletes
2. It started with a definitive incident
3. The story got momentum and became part of mainstream conversation
4. It changed our collective perceptions and opinions of a person
5. The story grew so big in a quick matter in time
6. There is no sign of the story slowing down
7. The story has sex, violence, and a cover up
8. The overarching moral question of who Tiger's affairs matter to
9. It's conspiracy friendly
Stories like these, are one of the few things that brings our society together. Most Americans do not watch the same TV shows or movies, read the same books, or listen to the same movies. However, "celebrity watching" is what gives are society a forum to discuss the same issues. In this week's cover story of Newsweek, Neal Gabler defends our tabloid culture.
For years, Tiger Woods was both one of the world's famous athletes and one of the most private athletes at the same time. He had a clean and calculated image worth multimillions to advertisers, a seemingly beautiful marriage, success, the admiration of fans and peers. Today, it is all in shambles.
In case anyone is unaware about how Tiger Woods' life has unraveled these past few weeks, the New York Post has Tiger Blog to fill you in. For someone who knows absolutely nothing about Tiger and his fall out, the New York Times has a Tiger Index that summarizes his life, the tabloid coverage, and contains recent articles. Personally, the whole controversy both sickens me and is unavoidable to watch. Tiger Woods was (as, for the present, I'm not sure) one of my favorite athletes. He was great, he had an undeniable will to win, and the nerves to win under pressure. You never want to see someone you admire go through what Tiger has gone. But at the same time, its almost impossible to not follow.
Every day it seems like there's a new angle to the story whether a new mistress coming out, advertisers cutting his exposure, or the occasional story related to his athletic performance (no, not that). Yesterday, Tiger was named athlete of the decade by the Associated Press. There was also a New York Times Article about Accenture's process to completely remove his image. Also it appears that a divorce may be impending.
In the meantime, the whole saga has blown out of proportion. Bill Simmons, a respected columnist for ESPN, is even willing to call Tiger's fallout the biggest sports story of the '00s. I think I agree with him, its hard to think of a similar story that has dominated the media like this one. In an article entitledTiger Zoo, Simmons writes that it has all the components of a big-time story, not just a sports story, as it has all of the following:
1. One of the most famous living athletes
2. It started with a definitive incident
3. The story got momentum and became part of mainstream conversation
4. It changed our collective perceptions and opinions of a person
5. The story grew so big in a quick matter in time
6. There is no sign of the story slowing down
7. The story has sex, violence, and a cover up
8. The overarching moral question of who Tiger's affairs matter to
9. It's conspiracy friendly
Stories like these, are one of the few things that brings our society together. Most Americans do not watch the same TV shows or movies, read the same books, or listen to the same movies. However, "celebrity watching" is what gives are society a forum to discuss the same issues. In this week's cover story of Newsweek, Neal Gabler defends our tabloid culture.
For years, Tiger Woods was both one of the world's famous athletes and one of the most private athletes at the same time. He had a clean and calculated image worth multimillions to advertisers, a seemingly beautiful marriage, success, the admiration of fans and peers. Today, it is all in shambles.
Friday, December 11, 2009
Happy Hanukkah!
Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah, so for all those who celebrate it, Happy Hanukkah!
For those who don't know about it, the real story of Hanukkah is a lot different from the story that is taught to children. David Brooks of The New York Times writes about the real Hanukkah story . It might surprise you that the real Hanukkah story involved somewhat of a Jewish Civil War. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has a symbolic meaning that many Jews cherish.
For those who don't know about it, the real story of Hanukkah is a lot different from the story that is taught to children. David Brooks of The New York Times writes about the real Hanukkah story . It might surprise you that the real Hanukkah story involved somewhat of a Jewish Civil War. Nevertheless, Hanukkah has a symbolic meaning that many Jews cherish.
Thursday, December 10, 2009
Back to blogging
With finals and everything, I haven't been able to blog lately. Hopefully, I'll be blogging on a more consistent basis.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
My Bradley Take
Today, I noticed on my Facebook newsfeed, that a friend or two of mine had joined a group called "I'm Dissastified with My Bradley University Experience." The group, which can be found here appears to be made up of two Bradley students, who appear intelligent, frustrated with their experience at Bradley and looking to harness the negative energy of the student body to ultimately produce change. In their description, they cite several reasons why they dislike their experiences. Also, included in the group's discussion wall is somewhat of a sister site,BU Soundoff I'll give you my take, and being a senior, I definitely feel qualified to address this.
Before I start, I'm not going to make this post into a "Bradley Lovefest," pretending like I'm an admissions rep giving a tour to a BU perspective. I'll admit, I have a little bias since my parents met here. But going to Bradley was very much my own decision. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been quick to make a comment about some part of the university that I disliked at the time or still do. Bradley is far from perfect, and perhaps even farther from the dream school that BU Admissions portrayed. After all, there job is to get you to come to the school, and it is not their direct responsibility for you to enjoy your college experience. Many of the complaints listed on the facebook are legitamate. One of my pet peeves at Bradley is when it rains in a part of campus, the water pools and makes it impossible to walk around it without getting wet. Ok, so we all have things we don't like about our school. Students at every school have things they do not like, its human nature.
I've actually really enjoyed my Bradley experience. Its been far from perfect, but I can't picture going anywhere else. I actually like Peoria, even for its flaws, which there are many. I grew up in the North Shore, where a lot of the time it seemed like whoever had the most money mattered, so it was nice to be able to leave that. Bradley is a solid school, and any criticism of Bradley has to be attributed to any other school. Universities are far from a perfect and they are all plagued by similar problems. Just because you don't like your experience here, doesn't mean that they will be better elsewhere.
One of the first issues listed by the group is Braldey's library. People who don't like Bradley, often first point at the Library as it has developed some notority for being at the top of the Princeton Review's list of worst libraries. The library is far from the best, but people never mention the resources that the library has. With Interlibrary loan, you can get most books that you need for an assingment. The group talks about the quality/availablity of food on campus. Well, I can't think of another place where you can get all the breakfast, omlets included for $1.90 (gotta love that off-campus meal plan). The group also laments about the quality of teachers. I think that is actually one of the strong suits of the University. Most if not all have a Phd. At a bigger school, it would be impossible for a teacher to read a senior thesis and critique it in depth like at Bradley. Also, through another teacher, a brodcast management internship was created for me.
I think a lot of the people who don't like Bradley are unrealistic in what should be available to them here. Likewise, there are an equal number of people who do not ultilize the resources that the school does provide. People get so caught up in one negative aspect about the university that it ruins their entire experience.The cost of the university is a huge (no pun intended) concern to many. Last year, I was able to go into the financial aid office, and I came out with a scholarship application for a scholarship I had no idea the school provided. For my senior year, the university gave me an additional scholarship basically for going into the office and asking. There are a ton of seminars, lectures, and training avaiable through the library and the Career Center which I don't think people ultize. Speaking of lectures, the school also brings some pretty good speakers, which a lot of students only attend if its mandatory. I think the Study Abroad and Global Scholars (there's a little box for it the Degree Audit online) also are experiences that many people don't know about.
My advice would be to make the most of your Bradley/college experience. Take advantage of what the school does offer, not what it doesn't offer. Enjoy college, its only 4/5/6 years, so make the most of it!
Before I start, I'm not going to make this post into a "Bradley Lovefest," pretending like I'm an admissions rep giving a tour to a BU perspective. I'll admit, I have a little bias since my parents met here. But going to Bradley was very much my own decision. Anyone who knows me, knows that I have been quick to make a comment about some part of the university that I disliked at the time or still do. Bradley is far from perfect, and perhaps even farther from the dream school that BU Admissions portrayed. After all, there job is to get you to come to the school, and it is not their direct responsibility for you to enjoy your college experience. Many of the complaints listed on the facebook are legitamate. One of my pet peeves at Bradley is when it rains in a part of campus, the water pools and makes it impossible to walk around it without getting wet. Ok, so we all have things we don't like about our school. Students at every school have things they do not like, its human nature.
I've actually really enjoyed my Bradley experience. Its been far from perfect, but I can't picture going anywhere else. I actually like Peoria, even for its flaws, which there are many. I grew up in the North Shore, where a lot of the time it seemed like whoever had the most money mattered, so it was nice to be able to leave that. Bradley is a solid school, and any criticism of Bradley has to be attributed to any other school. Universities are far from a perfect and they are all plagued by similar problems. Just because you don't like your experience here, doesn't mean that they will be better elsewhere.
One of the first issues listed by the group is Braldey's library. People who don't like Bradley, often first point at the Library as it has developed some notority for being at the top of the Princeton Review's list of worst libraries. The library is far from the best, but people never mention the resources that the library has. With Interlibrary loan, you can get most books that you need for an assingment. The group talks about the quality/availablity of food on campus. Well, I can't think of another place where you can get all the breakfast, omlets included for $1.90 (gotta love that off-campus meal plan). The group also laments about the quality of teachers. I think that is actually one of the strong suits of the University. Most if not all have a Phd. At a bigger school, it would be impossible for a teacher to read a senior thesis and critique it in depth like at Bradley. Also, through another teacher, a brodcast management internship was created for me.
I think a lot of the people who don't like Bradley are unrealistic in what should be available to them here. Likewise, there are an equal number of people who do not ultilize the resources that the school does provide. People get so caught up in one negative aspect about the university that it ruins their entire experience.The cost of the university is a huge (no pun intended) concern to many. Last year, I was able to go into the financial aid office, and I came out with a scholarship application for a scholarship I had no idea the school provided. For my senior year, the university gave me an additional scholarship basically for going into the office and asking. There are a ton of seminars, lectures, and training avaiable through the library and the Career Center which I don't think people ultize. Speaking of lectures, the school also brings some pretty good speakers, which a lot of students only attend if its mandatory. I think the Study Abroad and Global Scholars (there's a little box for it the Degree Audit online) also are experiences that many people don't know about.
My advice would be to make the most of your Bradley/college experience. Take advantage of what the school does offer, not what it doesn't offer. Enjoy college, its only 4/5/6 years, so make the most of it!
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Black Friday Report
As promised, I said that I'd give a report about how Black Friday 2009 turned out. I kind of thought that people would spend less due to the recession, but it was not the case as this
Yahoo article points out. Data from Martin's, a Chicago based research firm, indicates that spending on Black Friday increased from $10.3 billion on Black Friday 2008 to $10.6 billion, a small increase of 0.5 %.
It also appears that some websites, which offered "Black Friday" specials on their websites experienced a lot of traffic from shoppers looking to save money without stepping into the chilly weather. I also learned that Black Friday is referred to as 'Black' because "the black" means profitablity. As for a reason behind the increase in sales, I think that a lot of people are allured by the sales whether or not they can afford to spend. There is definitely still the allure of what appears to be a good deal and the rush of waking up before sunrise to make off with a "steal of a deal." Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Yahoo article points out. Data from Martin's, a Chicago based research firm, indicates that spending on Black Friday increased from $10.3 billion on Black Friday 2008 to $10.6 billion, a small increase of 0.5 %.
It also appears that some websites, which offered "Black Friday" specials on their websites experienced a lot of traffic from shoppers looking to save money without stepping into the chilly weather. I also learned that Black Friday is referred to as 'Black' because "the black" means profitablity. As for a reason behind the increase in sales, I think that a lot of people are allured by the sales whether or not they can afford to spend. There is definitely still the allure of what appears to be a good deal and the rush of waking up before sunrise to make off with a "steal of a deal." Hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving!
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Black Friday; Wal-Mart vs. Amazon
With Black Friday just two days away, I came across
I think Amazon will reduce its sales gap with Wal-Mart. Living in a convenience and technology based society, means that more people are around their computers than willing to make the cross-town trip to Wal-Mart. While Wal-Mart may have lower prices, affluent people would rather purchase a produce online. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how Black Friday is different this year, due to the recession. Happy early Thanksgiving!
I think Amazon will reduce its sales gap with Wal-Mart. Living in a convenience and technology based society, means that more people are around their computers than willing to make the cross-town trip to Wal-Mart. While Wal-Mart may have lower prices, affluent people would rather purchase a produce online. In the meantime, it will be interesting to see how Black Friday is different this year, due to the recession. Happy early Thanksgiving!
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Tim Tebow: "A student athlete?"
Today, ESPN announced its
posted an article in the beginning of the season of how Tebow was only taking 1 hour of class, stating that "he was a football player this season. The fact that academics take a back seat to football at times, is a given, but that is not the topic of this post. The media needs to get off of the Tim Tebow love train. I know he's a great player and humanitarian, but he is not deserving of this award. He even admitted he's not really a student this semester. I cannot believe that the Academic All-American has been given to someone taking 1 hour of credit. Really? Zeke Markshausen, a Northwestern receiver enrolled in graduate school for mechanical engineering (3.46 GPA) was among all the more deserving student-athletes deserving of this award. The Academic All-America of the Year belongs to a student-athlete, not simply someone who is a football player like Tebow.
Saturday, November 21, 2009
College Football
I'm a huge college football fan, so every Saturday I'll give you my take on College Football. I'll start with the early games, and post later about the afternoon games in College football
Ohio State-Michigan
Ohio State beat Michigan 21-10 to win their six straight game, in what I think is the best rivalry in sports, though it hasn't been much of a rivalry lately. Jim Tressel has done an amazing job with Ohio State. They are often criticized for their results in the BCS games the past few years and for Tressel's "conservative" approach. However, if conservative means dominating your conference, a national championship, a couple other national championships, and a majority of the Big Ten championships, then I thank that a lot of teams/fans would want to be in that situation. Ohio State is the Big Ten team of the 2000s and the second best team isn't even close.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame plays UConn today, and it looks like a win is necessary for ND coach Charlie Weis to keep his job. Many are already speculating that he will be replaced by the ND athletic director at the end of the season. Bloggers have been talking about possible replacements including Jon Gruden (currently with ESPN's Monday Night Football) and Brian Kelly, the Cincinnati coach who I think is one of the best coaches in the country. In any case, I hope Northwestern's coach Pat Fitzgerald doesn't get lured away.
National Championship contenders
Florida, Alabama, and TCU all won by at least 35. Texas plays later tonight. Cincinnati is off until they play Pittsburgh in 22 weeks in what should be a great game. Boise State won big on Friday after a close start. I think the National Championship right now will most likely be between the Florida/Alabama winner and Texas. I'd love to see a team from a BCS-non Automatic Qualifier make it to the National Championship, though I don't know how likely it is to happen
Ohio State-Michigan
Ohio State beat Michigan 21-10 to win their six straight game, in what I think is the best rivalry in sports, though it hasn't been much of a rivalry lately. Jim Tressel has done an amazing job with Ohio State. They are often criticized for their results in the BCS games the past few years and for Tressel's "conservative" approach. However, if conservative means dominating your conference, a national championship, a couple other national championships, and a majority of the Big Ten championships, then I thank that a lot of teams/fans would want to be in that situation. Ohio State is the Big Ten team of the 2000s and the second best team isn't even close.
Notre Dame
Notre Dame plays UConn today, and it looks like a win is necessary for ND coach Charlie Weis to keep his job. Many are already speculating that he will be replaced by the ND athletic director at the end of the season. Bloggers have been talking about possible replacements including Jon Gruden (currently with ESPN's Monday Night Football) and Brian Kelly, the Cincinnati coach who I think is one of the best coaches in the country. In any case, I hope Northwestern's coach Pat Fitzgerald doesn't get lured away.
National Championship contenders
Florida, Alabama, and TCU all won by at least 35. Texas plays later tonight. Cincinnati is off until they play Pittsburgh in 22 weeks in what should be a great game. Boise State won big on Friday after a close start. I think the National Championship right now will most likely be between the Florida/Alabama winner and Texas. I'd love to see a team from a BCS-non Automatic Qualifier make it to the National Championship, though I don't know how likely it is to happen
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Replay in Sports?
After watching the replays ad nauseum of Thierry Henry's handball assist that set up the winning goal to put France in the 2010 World Cup field. I wonder if instant replay should be used more in sports where it is either not widely used (like baseball) or not used at all such as soccer. As
this article states, FIFA and UEFA, the governing bodies of soccer (futbol, as they call it) for the World and Europe, respectively. Clearly, Henry's goal should not have been allowed, and as a result, Ireland was robbed of a World Cup Berth. It will be interesting to see what the fallout is, and if FIFA or UEFA institute the use of replay in the future, especially the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
I'm torn. The use of video compromises the human element of referees/umpires. Referees can't be expected to make perfect calls at every controversial play. Obviously, soccer games are often decided by one goal, which makes overruling a goal more significant than overruling a home run. One solution, as the article points out, would be to add more refs behind the goals. Likewise, in baseball, more refs could be hired for crucial games. Of course FIFA, UEFA, MLB would have to pay for more sporting officials, a price that may be worth a debate over their officials' integrity.
George Ryan Pension
In the newspaper today was an article about former IL governor James Thompson, who is seeking to gain pension for a client in prison. The client is also a former governor, George Ryan, currently serving a jail sentence for corruption. Thompson, who is Ryan's attorney, is seeking to recover the pension that the disgraced governor would have been entitled to, had he not been corrupt. It appears that Ryan's need for the pension comes at a time when his wife and himself don't have money. Currently, Ryan is entitled to none of the pension. Thompson is fighting for the pension that would have accrued during Ryan's earlier tenure in state office, prior to becoming Secretary of State and Governor.
Personally, i don't think Ryan is deserving of any of the pension. I don't think you can simply remove the corruption from his "body of work" as a state official. Clearly, he had aspirations for being governor and motives for abusing the state's highest position. Even though he and his wife are old and in need of the money, it should not come from the state. Illinois has a huge budget deficit and cannot dig a deeper hole for its self by paying corrupt officials. If the Ryan's need money so badly, it should come privately from some means, but not through the state.
Click on this link to read the article:Ryan article
The First Post
I'm Aaron Friedman and welcome to my blog. I'm sure most of the people reading this are my friends, so thank you all for stopping by. The rest of you must have visited this blog accidentally, so hopefully you'll like what you read. So what made me want to start a blog? Well, I was working on my History thesis when it hit me. I like to write and share my opinions, but I didn't really like constantly draw from sources and not get to talk about what actually concerns you. Therefore, I figured that writing a blog would allow me to write about the things I care about. I'm not going to limit the blog to one specific topic. I have a lot of different interests and the blog will most likely cover: Bradley/Peoria, sports, news, politics, greek life, and anything I find interesting enough to share. I appreciate feedback, so if you have any ideas of what to write just let me know. Hopefully, I'll be able to blog on a consistent basis. Thanks again for stopping by!
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