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Category Archives: lifestyle
The Kodak Zi8 Review
by Diana Ciuca
I have a few too many video cameras at my disposal recently (I’ll post a video to show you). Given that, I was able to compare the new Kodak Zi8 to them and help you, the loyal consumer looking for a great gift this winter, find the best product that fits your needs Remember when Motorola Razr phones were all the rage? I do. Every 7th grader had one that fit nicely into their pocket while I had an unpopular yet better quality, bulky Nokia phone – my brick. Now that I’m older, I have a purse and don’t worry as much about the huge bulges in my pocket, so I will naturally opt out for better quality, yet chunkier things – much as our society now does with phones. One of those things is a camera. My mom bought a nice Canon camera that was affordable, large, and great quality.
Now, back to video cameras. People tend to treat the new Flip Cam as they treated Razr phones. They’re cool, hip, desireable — BUT the quality is sub par. Sure, it has a USB jack like the Kodak Zi8, but it hardly has the quality. The Kodak Zi8 features both Macro and Distance shooting (which doesn’t work as well if you’re right in between both). It also has a feature that sends it miles apart from the competition: a mic jack. No, not necessarily so that you can hear sound (although I’m sure you can do that), but so that you can have better sound quality in your videos as opposed to a dissonant sound from afar.
I also compared the Zi8 to my red flip HP v5040u (gosh, that’s a mouthfull) and the professional Canon we use to shoot our interviews. All of these offer HD recording at 1080p (p = pixels, presumably). Although the Canon fares way above the rest, it is also the most expensive and least pocket-worthy. I would not randomly throw it into my purse as I would with my HP v5040u or Zi8. Those are camcorders meant to be sold to the populace, for the common man, the average joe. And for that reason, you need to know that you are getting the best product for the most appropriate price.
According to Tiger Direct, a website perfect for comparing electronics, the Zi8 is around $180 (but only $150 at Walmart). and the Flip UltraHD is $140. From the HP Direct site, the v5040u is $150. Thus, you get what you pay for. I find the Flip Ultra HD not user-firendly given its tricky touch screen and multiple options, and it also lacks in video and photo quality. The HP camcorder is similarly difficult, although cool with its flip-out capabilities and light for dark situations. By far, I prefer the Zi8 since it is easy to use, has great quality video and camera, and fits the best in my purse. I guess its not the fancy name that counts, but the use you find out of it. By far, I would go with the Zi8.
If not, just use your bulky digital camera’s video capacity to get the job done – although it won’t have the massive storage capabilities (each camcorder comes with a memory card with a heft GB memory like 40GB) or quality of the aforementioned products. Try out the products at a store nearby, but whichever fits best is your hand, purse, or pocket is ultimately the right fit.
Check out the Kodak Zi8 at: http://store.kodak.com/store/ekconsus/en_US/pd/Zi8_Pocket_Video_Camera/productID.156585800
And don’t forget to look for my videos that I’ll be posting soon.
Ice Ice Baby by Diana Ciuca
Ice, Ice, Baby.
Cool, clean, cute: ICE. Ice watches are simple, silicone, and stylish. I apologize for all the alliteration but these watches really have got me amped. I have a watch: it’s black, metallic, Kenneth Cole, but it doesn’t particularly stand out. However, it is functional, as watches are. I suppose that is another often overlooked point; not only are watches fashionable, but they conveniently tell you the time.
Now, instead of having to dig in your purse or pocket to whip out your cell phone to check the time, you can easily look at the nice accessory on your wrist known as a watch. I hope they haven’t lost their practical value since cell phones have rapidly replaced them.
Now that you’re convinced that life without a watch is meaningless – and that a cell phone is not a watch – allow me to demonstrate why an ice watch is the hottest new thing to grab. While working, I complimented a customer whose watch seriously stood out (prior to being introduced to Ice watches) was one with a studded faceplate and braided-texture silicone band akin to an ice watch.
Similarly, a week later I read an article in Neurology Now featuring Cindy McCain, John McCain’s wife, sporting a similar item in white. I was given a purple one to review. That’s the beauty of these ice watches: they come in such a variety of colors that they can be easily matched or mixed up. While I’m bland and prefer black, nothing stopped my mother from “borrowing” my watch and receiving some praise about it, too. Even if my fancy customer and Cindy McCain might have worn different brands than Ice Watch, only this brand has so many different colors, from plain white with different faceplates to a plethora of band colors to match the season (check out their new winter line!). Buy them and wear them like skittles, or have only one that makes you stand out every day.
For more info, check out www.ice-watch.com. My video is coming soon!!
The Evils of the Merger
by Alexandra Rivera Boca Raton Community High School
Recently, the United States Department of Justice confirmed the merger between two of the largest ticket retailers in the country, TicketMaster and Live Nation. For avid concert-goers like me, this is probably the worst decision ever made in the world of music. Is any good going to come out of it?
The world of government anti-trust issues dates all the way back to the mid-1800s, post-Civil War era, when corporate giants such as John D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan broke onto the scene with trusts and mega-corporations in the oil and banking industries. Fast-forward to 2010, and the predecessors for our anti-trust laws and governmental control over some companies sparked the beginning of this awful merger that victimizes fans across the country.
The merger clearly brings the two companies together and is now being called “Live Nation Entertainment, Inc.” to incorporate the titles of the two as well as to “reflect the combination of Live Nation’s concert promotion expertise with Ticketmaster’s world-class ticketing solutions and artist relationships,” according to the DOJ (whatever THAT means). The DOJ also states that “Through this merger, the parties believe that the combined company will have the tools to develop new products, expand access, improve transparency and deliver artists and fans more choice. This will drive greater attendance at live events and bringing more value to all major constituents in the industry. The combined company also expects to pursue significant growth opportunities in markets around the world.” I rolled my eyes at the end of that statement.
As previously stated, I am an avid concert-goer. I attend at least three shows per year and sometimes the numbers increase, and ticket prices are already expensive to begin with, especially in the economic state that our nation is in. Throw all of the extra “service fees” and “processing charges” on top of a General Admission price and your $15.00 ticket shoots up to about twice of what it’s worth. I usually buy my tickets from Live Nation, and they charge the same fees, but the prices are usually not that bad compared to TicketMaster’s. Thus, TicketMaster merging with Live Nation is going to make the prices of tickets completely skyrocket into the clouds while simultaneously downsizing the amount of people that are going to spend their hard-earned money on tickets. TicketMaster’s so-called “ticketing solutions” are just ways to make people spend more money than they have to.
Also, how is this merger going to increase the attendance at shows? When I go to shows, they’re usually at smaller venues, such as Culture Room (Ft. Lauderdale) or Revolution Live (Ft. Lauderdale), and even then the venues don’t reach their maximum capacities. As a matter of fact, Culture Room receives more shows because they sell their tickets so cheap that it costs Revolution too much money to hold a show there. But, this merger won’t increase attendance, it’ll just decrease it, because no one has the money to go see their favorite artists anymore, and if they do go to shows then they will attend them at smaller venues that sell tickets for more affordable prices. The days of shows at sold-out arenas and theaters are far from over, and the times of shows at underground clubs or bars are ever-present.
Aside from the merger directly affecting fans, it also directly affects bands. From their perspective, the merger means less and less fans at shows since the price of renting venues is constantly increasing and also because ticket sales are so low. According to Yahoo, artists and bands are not thrilled about this at all:
“Bruce Springsteen, already furious with Ticketmaster for directing fans to a subsidiary selling tickets for above-face value, recently posted a statement on his Web site saying a deal with Live Nation could end up ‘returning us to a near-monopoly situation in music ticketing.’”
Clearly, this merger poses hundreds of problems and it hasn’t made people very happy. America is supposed to be a democracy, which also means that mega-corporations cannot monopolize and break our anti-trust laws just to get more money to line their overstuffed pockets. With that said, although we as fans may not have a lot of power to do something about this, the only thing we can do is continue to support our artists and try not to let the merger get in the way of what we want as an audience—real live entertainment.
Jingle Ball 2009 Y100 Miami
by Melanie Bae
Jingle Ball 2009 was overflowing with a unique variety of artists. The artist were ranging from Flo Rida to Colbie Callet. It was hosted by Leighton Meester and Adam Lambert. The whole show was kicked off with Leighton Meester entering singing “Good Girls Go Bad” the hit single by Cobra Starship which Leighton had appeared on. Miss. Meester then followed the intro with her single “Somebody To Love,” but was cut short do to some “technical difficulties.”
Jason Derulo, who has the hit song “Whatcha Say,” was given his chance to sing two songs from his latest self tittle album, and his performance was one worth sticking around for. Where can I begin with Flo Rida? All you could do is ” throw your hands in the air a-air.” Flo Rida also felt it was necessary to strip and give all his clothing to the audience, and his jacket also caused some bit of commotion on the floor. 3OH3! was undesirable, in a good way. They played Starstrukk, Don’t Trust Me, and Don’t Dance. The hilarity behind this was that the whole crowd sat down during Don’t Dance, must be because it has never been a single, but 3OH!3 was fantastic.
The dance party was however put to a halt when Colbie Callet began to perform. She has a beautiful voice, but the aimless wondering around the stage and the lack of enthusiasm brought down the hype and excitement the other performs had built up. Adam Lambert sang a bit of acapella in between acts, and it was breathtakingly beautiful and pure. LMFAO was my favorite of the night. They brought such excitement to the crowd and their energy was contagious.
Timberland walked on stage with a orchestra tape playing loudly, and you could tell he thought he was creating a “epic” moment. Timberland was talking through some back-up tapes his DJ was playing, but he did bring Brandi and JoJo to the stage which was a nice surprise. Jordin Sparks was one of the closing acts, and no doubt that girl had the best vocals of the night. Her voice was flawless, and the intensity she brought to her performance brought the crowd to their feet.
The closer of the night was one and only Shakira who shook her body awkwardly and sang some song as well as she could as she danced. All in all the show was fun and the performers did a great job.