Susan's Collapse

Susan Boyle got famous trough the TV-show Britain’s Got Talent and immediately became a favorite. She was rushed to a rehab clinic after she collapsed after the final of Britain’s Got Talent. Even though she’s been the favorite throughout the entire show she didn’t win; she came 2nd after the dance group Diversity. Maybe it was because the 1st place was so expected that people just didn’t bother to vote for her? Anyways, the reason for why she was rushed to rehab was because of exhaustion. Some show insiders also claimed that once backstage she yelled, "I hate this show" and hurled a glass of water at a staff member before being driven from the studio.
Here's a glogster we made: http://mari09.glogster.com/edit/glog/?action=glogs_create

Blonde by Kathrine Min

The story is about a young girl named Jean who’s not satisfied with the way she looks. Her dream is to be blond with blue eyes like her friend Lisa; instead she has dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes and a small flat nose. Jean therefore makes up stories about who she really is. For instance that her mom is from Sweden and she’s blonde. Jean doesn’t feel beautiful because the ideal of being beautiful is being blonde.

This is an example of how beauty ideals affect young girls. Our beauty ideals are affected by our surroundings and vary depending on location and place in time. We see clear influences from media, film and fashion in our world today. The media is considered the most influential education medium in existence. It can be quite manipulative and make girls want to be exactly like the beautiful and skinny girls we see on the TV-screen.

Blogger challenge

"Your story of how blogging has helped you connect to a global audience and what this connection has meant to you. e.g. the friends you have made, what you have learnt about other cultures, how you are able to share your passions with others, how you are able to use blogging to share your views on topics."

I got my first blog in my Norwegian class, and then I got one in my English class before I got one in my marketing class as well. I have to say I’ve been working a whole lot more on my English blog than on the other ones. And I think I can say that I like blogging. It is way more fun than turning in papers every other week. On your blog you have the possibility to not only post school assignments, but your own personal posts telling others about your views and passions on different topics. You can even bring other creative work to your blog, e.g. a Glogster post or a timeline.

A few weeks ago our English teacher introduced us to a new project, to communicate with American students from Minden in Louisiana through our blogs. Here we’ve been getting to know students from another country and find out more about how they live and what they like to do. Though I have to say I haven’t made any friends yet, I believe we have learned a lot from each other.

When it comes to blogging outside of school, I haven’t been that “active” myself. I have posted some posts about for instance a great movie I saw last weekend or something like that. Reading other blogs on the other hand is fun. My cousin is travelling around the world for some months now and she likes to keep her friends and family updated on how and what she is doing, so I’ve frequently been reading her blog. I feel I have learned a lot from bogging. I have learned more about being creative, sharing my views and passions as well as criticizing other views. By blogging you can have fun and learn at the same time. Hopefully my blog will come in handy when I write my final paper

Link to the challenge: http://theedublogger.edublogs.org/2009/03/27/the-student-blogging-challenge-celebration/#comment-3647

Microsoft Office, OneNote

This program works like a notebook, but it is a lot more organized and you can copy and paste whatever you’d like to OneNote -everything from articles and pictures to PowerPoint’s. That way you don’t need to have a dozen different folders with documents on your computer – you’ll have it all in one place. You can make your own tabs for each subject at school, and then make several pages with notes under each tab. And you don’t even have to save, it saves automatically!

I’m very excited over using OneNote, and I hope I will learn several more functions on OneNote to make it even more effective. It is way better than keeping track of all my school papers, notebooks, power points etc. Hopefully I can use my notes during my exam as well:)

Obama talks to a new audience

Politicians have used the power of late night television to political advantage for many years. But President Obama made history again by being the first sitting president ever to appear on a late night TV talk show – the Jay Leno’s Tonight show. The Jay Leno’s Tonight show has a very large audience; many people like his show and follow what he does.

When Obama entered this show he kind of stepped off the presidential podium; which has both a positive and a negative side. The advantage is: By stepping off the podium he becomes more of an ordinary American citizen which can be very appealing because he’s then reaching out to people in a different way – a more private way. And because of his personality he does very well in these kinds of situations. Another advantage is that by appearing on this show, he appeals to a different set of viewers and listeners that which he can get involved with politics.

The downside by stepping off the presidential podium and entering this show is that many people may see him as a non-serious president. They believe he should be sitting in the White House dealing with the matters of state, the economic problem, instead of appearing on a TV show, having “fun”. But at the same time we are in a new media age and citizens expect him to appeal to the public and we are also entering a time where being who you really are is what matters the most.

Some California students made an emotional video about the hardships their families are facing because of the financial crisis. They called the video “Is anybody listening?” It is a touching video and it makes you realize how serious this crisis really is. Not just for businesses but for everyone. Barack Obama answered the students’ YouTube plea saying: “I am listening. We are listening. America is listening”. The students used the media to get their points across and got a lot of attention. YouTube is a popular trend and many people worldwide watch these videos. I think the students did a great job by posting this video on the Internet; it made even the president listen to what they had to say.

Earth Hour

This Saturday 28 March at 8.30pm you can vote Earth by switching off your lights for one hour – Earth Hour.

This year, Earth Hour has been transformed into the world’s first global election, between Earth and global warming. For the first time in history, people of all ages, nationalities, race and background have the chance to use their light switch as their vote. Switching off your lights is a vote for Earth, or leaving them on is a vote for global warming. WWF are urging the world to VOTE EARTH and reach the target of 1 billion votes.

I know I will vote Earth and I encourage you to do the same. Switch your lights off on Saturday, March 28 from 8:30-9:30pm=)

Russ; the Norwegian graduation

Russ is a tradition and cultural phenomenon in Norway. In Norway, students who graduate from high school are called russ and celebrate with the characteristic festivities (russefeiring) during the first few weeks of May. It is a way of ending childhood and of entering into adulthood, but it also marks accomplishing high school and the end of 13 years of school. The festivities officially start on May 1, and last until May 17, which is Norway’s National Day. That day, they commonly celebrate with their own parades.

There are several different types of russ; differing in color of their caps and traditional uniforms which most students carry during the entire russ period: RED = general studies (mathematics, physics, biology, history, literature, English etc); media and communication, art, music, dance and drama; and athletics. This is by far the most common color. BLUE = general studies with economics. BLACK = Vocational courses (like electronics or carpentry). Since Norwegian vocational studies consist of 2 years of schooling and 1 or 2 years of apprenticeship, black russ can choose to celebrate a year earlier than the others or to celebrate in multiple years. GREEN = Agricultural courses. WHITE = sober Christians might use this color, but in most regions they wear the same colors as their classmates. Christian russ might form their own groups to have fun together without peer pressure towards alcohol, sex and drugs.

The russ wear uniforms with their respective colors. Attached to the cap is a tassel at the end of a string, in which they tie knots, often around various items that are rewards for completing assignments listed on the russ knot list. This cap is seldom used before the "russ baptism", which is usually held during the night to May 1. The knot itself often consists of an item representing the accomplishment. For instance kissing a person of the same sex earns you a pink feather. These knots are then knitted and strung along the line extending from the hat. In total, there are about 101 different tasks that can be performed to receive knots. Other examples: Having sex in a roundabout, going swimming in an industrial river, putting a for sale sign on a police car, spending the night at a teacher's house and making him/her breakfast in the morning, all without being noticed, having sex in school, showering a junior with yogurt, going through an entire school day with a sock puppet on the hand. All communication must happen through the sock puppet.

It’s common for several friends to join together to buy a russ car or a bus, painted in their respective russ color. In the russ vehicle, modern tradition requires an expensive stereo inside the vehicle, and on buses, also on the roof. The largest systems allowed can have forty speakers which can generate over sixty thousand watts and is among the best sound systems in the world. Other, more optional accessories, include bus sweaters, bus lighters/key strings, bus caps and a bus song. It is also common to have some sort of theme for the interior and name/concept. Such buses are a large financial burden; a contribution of up to $10,000 per member has occurred. Though, the average is $3-5,000 per member. Including sponsors, the budget on buses can reach over $400,000.

Most russ have personalized calling cards featuring their name, their photograph and a short slogan. These cards are swapped with other russ and handed out to children or family members; for many children, collecting huge amounts of russ cards is an important activity during May.

During these 3 weeks there are a couple of events going on. For instance Tryvann. With over 40 000 people distributed on 5 days, Tryvann is Norway’s biggest russe assembly and people come from all over the country to take part in this. On every event people select winners in different categories like best sound, best lighting, best concept/idea and so on.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russ