SMC Media Criticism Blogs

Since the title of this blog is entitled "Heartbreak Hotel", one can only guess what this playlist will consist of. I have been in love with love ever since I was a little girl. I dreamed of meeting my prince, handsome man with a body to die for, on a white horse, white or black Mercedes Benz will be fine. Yet I have come to find that if I wait for this dream to come true I'll be waiting a long time. So the emotional state I will describe is the cycle of love from the dating to the breaking up....

Alicia Keys - "You Don't Know My Name"
Joss Stone - "Fell in Love With a Boy"
Usher - "You Got it Bad"
Beyonce - "Crazy in Love"
Alicia Keys - "If I Ain't Got You"
Lindsay Lohan - "Rumors"
Usher - "Confessions Part 2"
Whitney Houston, Faith Evans, Kelly Price - "Heartbreak"
Beyonce - "Me, Myself and I"
Destiny's Child - "Through With Love"
Destiny's Child - "Free"

To understand the way media handles “contested scientific issues”—situations where scientific knowledge as political relevance and “major policy ramifications”—I suggest we only need to look at a single issue, global climate change. Here, the basic guiding principal for coverage and reporting is revealed: the media allegiance to Industry* trumps all else. Given this, I find Chris Mooney’s recent CJR article, “Blinded Science”, a fantastic example of my perception of much of the mainstream media criticism. An author begins with a good idea, but often seems to fail to address the real problems; in doing so, incoherent or redundant solutions are offered up, and perhaps accepted, as being quite sensible. Let me explain:

Read more!

The original “Walking Tall”, which came out in 1973, is based on a true story about a wrestler, whose wife wants him to calm down, in his small home town of Tennessee, where he will go back into the workforce with his father. But Buford Pusser, starred by Joe Don Baker, becomes shocked by realizing all the corruption going on in the town and decides to do something about it. After he goes to the local casino and finds out the craps table is being played with illegal dice, he gets into an argument with the head of the table and ends up fighting 10 different corrupt security guards before he gets taken down.

Read more!

When I listen to music, I tend to apply the lyrics to my life. The most powerful thing about music is the emotion it can evoke when you connect to it. I have a song for every mood, and I have a mood for every song. There are specific artists or songs that make me feel especially “love-sick”. Since I am a pretty pathetic romantic, I chose my playlist to reflect what I feel on a day filled with fantasies of what love has been like for me, what I want it to be, and what it could be. If I am thinking about an old fashioned good time with dancing and long dinner conversation, Frank Sinatra is always good. Ben Harper has a way to open old wounds and make me cry like a baby. If I am daydreaming and just being a gushy girl, I put on a little Sarah McLaughlin. Tracy Chapman can get me on any level... happy, hopeful, sad, even adventurous. I am quite a sappy daydreamer, and this playlist is perfect for one of those days:
Fast Car- Tracy Chapman
Blue Skies- Willie Nelson
My Beloved One- Ben Harper
I Believe- Sarah McLaughlin
Lay You Down- Jack Johnson and The Animal Liberation Orchestra
When I’m Not Myself (?)- John Mayer
Sic Transit Gloria- Brand New
Hard Headed Woman- Cat Stevens
Somebody’s Cryin- Chris Isaak
Lover Lay Down- Dave Matthews
Takes Some Time- Jimmy Eat World
Wonderful Tonight- Eric Clapton
Heaven Help- Lenny Kravitz
Sex and Candy- Marcy Playground
Let’s Get it On- Marvin Gaye
Your Body’s Callin- R.Kelly
Creep- Radiohead
Gently- Tenacious D (Jack Black)
With or Without You- U2
Dancing in the Moonlight- Van Morrison
We’re Going to be Friends- White Stripes

The feeling of being in Love...
1. From This Moment - Shania Twain
2. You Say It Best - Notting Hill Soundtrack
3. Have I told you Latley - Rod Stewart
4. Don't Take The Girl - Tim McGraw
5. Amazed - Lonestar
6. Wink and A Smile - Harry Connick Jr.
7. Everything I do - Brian Adams
8. Secret Garden - Bruce Springsteen
9. I'll Be - Edwin McCain
10. Write THis Down - George Strait
11. Its Your Love - Faith Hill and Tim McGraw
12. Just to be the next to be with you - Mr. Big