A Quote That Just Blows My Mind

I watched the movie "American Beauty" for the first time ever today and I have to say, that is one screwed up movie. Kudos to the man who wrote the screenplay for that because it is quite the intricate plot. There are so many memorable parts from that movie (and if you haven't seen it, put that on the list for things to do), but there is one line that just blows me away. About halfway through the movie, Kevin Spacey throws a line out there that is absolutely genius. He says, "Remember those posters that said, "Today is the first day of the rest of your life"? Well, that's true of every day but one - the day you die." The morbidity and sarcastic nature of the quote is hilarious but it really brings a lot more to light than just humor.

What does someone really mean when they say "today is the first day to the rest of your life?" Does it mean that what you do in that day will have a resounding impact on the next day and your entire future. Well, I guess it could. In the movie, Spacey is completely unhappy with his life when one day he has just had enough and makes a complete and drastic change. Spacey says about his past two decades, "I feel like I've been in a coma for the past twenty years. And I'm just now waking up." So does that quote really mean that a major event happens that propels you to start anew? He finds himself doing everything he ever wanted to do that he had never done in the past. So I see that quote really coming in to play when you start over in life, so to speak. Maybe that's what it means.

Who knows? Maybe it wasn't meant to be looked at in such a deep way. Maybe the creator of it wanted the statement to be as shallow as an empty glass. The creator may be thinking I'm an idiot for questioning the meaning but it just strikes me as something that should be analyzed. Was it always a statement meant to be portrayed in a positive light? I mean, it is used in this day in age as a symbol of positivity. I don't know.

Maybe I'm just someone who has been up for too long and it has no certain meaning or connotation. But it is still a great quote. Any opinions?

Thoughts on Playing it Safe in Life

Have you ever had that conversation with someone about one thing you would do in life if you had no worries about financial security or future decisions? I'm sure you have. I think I have that conversation with somebody at least once a day. It's one hell of an ice breaker with someone. "Hi, my name is Ryan. What is one thing you would do in life if you had no other life obligations?" Of course that is something that all people light up about and give a great deal of thought. There are so many things that each and every one of us WANT to do in life but somehow those dreams get lost as we get older and gain more responsibilities. I can shoot off a list of about three things right now that I would love to do at this very moment: 1) Go to Europe 2)Go skydiving 3) Take a nice long nap... on a beach in the Bahamas. I could spend all day just daydreaming about all the possibilities. This thought popped in my head just a few moments ago and I must be an idiot because I can't believe that I have never really thought about it before. With all the things we dream about doing, why do none of us ever just go out and accomplish any of those things?!

We spend our whole lives thinking about things that we want to do, but somehow we don't have enough time or we just push the dreams to the back of our minds. Granted, my list would be pretty expensive, but I am just using that as an example. One thing I have always wanted to do since I was about 10 years old has been to write a novel. I have ALWAYS wanted to write a book, and I have even gone so far as to write a few short stories and develop plot lines for my stories. But I have never put out the effort to just get down to it and start writing. That is something I need no money or no set schedule to accomplish. I have just always pushed it out of my mind whenever the urge to create has come on. I always make an excuse for why I don't have the time or the energy. That urge has come on again and I have wrestled with the thought to just go for it. I'm not thinking about it because I would want to profit off of it because I have no desire for that. But it would just be something I would be able to check off the ole "Life To-Do List." I could finally say that I have achieved one of my dreams. Maybe this time I should embrace the urge and just begin writing. I hear from people all the time that say you need to set a plan for a novel or have it all planned out, but I love the advice that Stephen King gives in his book On Writing, where he says that free writing is the best method. He has no idea how his books will end but he just goes the way in which his mind leads him.

So maybe I will embrace the urge and start a little free-writing session. Now I am no Stephen King but I have won awards for my short stories since I have been in college, so maybe I can rekindle some of that magic for this. Maybe I'm just wasting my time, but who cares? I have taken on the mindset that life is way too short to worry about everything all the time. If we worry about doing things that we dream about, we will all grow old and resent what we never did. I want to look back at my life as an old man and be happy that I did what I wanted. I don't want my life to control me. I hope to be able to do the things I dream about in the future.

We all have to appreciate the opportunities we have in life and embrace our dreams. Playing it safe in life may lead to good things, but it may not lead to complete happiness. We get one chance to do the things we want in life so why not make the most of it.

I hope that this may put some thoughts in your head about maybe accomplishing things that you want to do in life. It could be as extensive as backpacking through Europe or as simple as joining a gym or trying new foods. As for me, I guess I may give the novel writing another chance when I have time here or there. Maybe, just maybe, you will all have a chance to read it and criticize my horrible work (just kidding!).

So go out and experience your dreams. I'll be here fulfilling my dream, beginning with page one.

The Rise and Fall in Hollywood

I just finished the documentary "Overnight." Now if you have never heard of the film, I suggest you go watch it. It blew me away and now I can do nothing more than think about it. "Overnight" is a documentary about Troy Duffy. Troy Duffy is a loud, arrogant man from the streets of Boston. Troy has a dream to make it big in the world of music with his band "The Brood." Their dream is so big that they decide to put their normal lives on hold and move out to Los Angeles, California - where all dreams are made. Right? Well it really started out that way for the Duff-man (sorry, couldn't resist a Simpsons reference). Troy gets a gig at an LA biker bar called J. Sloans. While he is out there, Troy gets the idea to begin writing a screenplay. He writes the screenplay during breaks between his shift at the bar. He names the screenplay "The Boondock Saints." Ever heard of it?

Well as the documentary depicts, Troy is discovered by Harvey Weinstein, one of Hollywood's most powerful movie men. Actually, he may be the most powerful movie man in the business. Harvey digs the script and offers Troy $300,000 for exclusive rights. Sounds like a sweet deal? It gets even better. Harvey also wants Troy to direct it. Even better, Harvey wants to buy the bar that Troy works at and they will be partners profiting off the ole drinking hole. That is a fantastic deal! But wait, there is even more! Troy's band is also getting the rights to create the soundtrack for this mega-movie. It seems that nothing can go wrong for this guy. His first script ever written is picked up and all his music dreams are coming true.

Of course, this is not how it will stay. As things have it, the deal falls through and his band is left without a deal. Troy is left fighting to make his movie. He ends up making it with an independent production company. More things go wrong and his movie is only shown in five theaters in the U.S. for a week. The home video sales kill though, with over six million sold. But in his deal with the production company, he sees no money from these sales.

So what this documentary shows is the fastest rise and fall of anyone in the history of the film business. A guy that had it all lost it all just as fast. Although he had some bad breaks, his attitude through it all as well as his unbelievable ego burns plenty of bridges. If you have dreams of going to Hollywood, take a look at this documentary. It is the ultimate what-not-to-do when you get there.

This film really put a lot of ideas in my mind. I think everyone has that dream from time to time to just screw it all and move to Los Angeles. Everyone has had the dream to be a famous actor or a highly respected director. As a journalist and a lover of writing, I have had the dream of writing a screenplay. Nothing would be more amazing than to see my own thoughts on a big screen. Watching something like this makes you step back a little bit from the dream and see what the reality of the situation can really be. Many production companies will buy a script just to make sure that no one else can buy it. They will then just put the script on the shelf and let it collect dust. Nothing would be more degrading than that. I respect Troy and his ambitions to push his movie but he did it in the ultimate bonehead way. You can never disrespect big movie studios like that, because they can make sure you have no future in the business. They did this with Troy. Troy has not been linked to another movie since "The Boondock Saints."

It just goes to show you just how difficult it can be to make it in the business. I daydream all the time thinking about new ideas and things that could be liked by masses, but I never really take the time to envision just how hard that dream could be to achieve.

In the end, "Overnight" offered a first-hand view of the Hollywood business. There are definitely more hardships than I would have thought. But what would I know - I'm just a college student from Ohio.

If you are interested in "Overnight," you should definitely check it out. I have embedded the trailer on here so go crazy:

Evander Holyfield to fight again... REALLY?!

So I am not much of the boxing enthusiast these days. I still like to check out the big fights such as the Floyd Mayweather- Oscar De La Hoya fight and what not, but the sport is dying. With UFC and the other start-up MMA organizations, boxing just does not find itself the king of the castle in regards to prime time combat sports. I remember the days when people like Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield ruled the ring. Well, Tyson is gone as is Lewis. But, what about Holyfield? A man who is 46 years old and has career earnings of over $200 million should be enjoying his retirement in a Caribbean island somewhere. Nope, not Holyfield. It's sad but it's true. Holyfield is back for another fight. Here's the link. Read it and let me know what you think about the whole thing: Say it ain't so Evander!

The Business Side (AKA the Ugly Side) of Journalism

So it has been all fun and games with my work at The Cincinnati Enquirer but, with all good things, there are some actions that bring the fairy tale back to reality. One event that has put future decisions into perspective are the current cutbacks that are taking place because of the recession we are facing. Of course no business has been immune to the recession, but it seems that no industry has been hit harder by the economy than the newspaper industry. Now, I am not interning with The Enquirer to become a newspaper reporter. I have known since I was in high school that going into that field is a very bad idea. The newspaper industry is a dying industry. Of course, they have made many changes within their infrastructure to become a more digital commodity, but cuts have had to be made in order to grow in this area. I knew that these kind of things were bound to happen, but I didn't know how I would truly feel once I saw these job cuts being made right in front of my face.

I met with the president and publisher of the company and she gave me advice of how to cope with losses of employees and mentors in the field. I was aware that The Enquirer was going to cut 10% of their staff to brace for the trying times they were facing. I let her know that I was fully aware that cuts were to be made and that I would be fine. "Keep your head down and focus on your objectives," is what she said. It really was great advice. In hind sight, I really shrugged off the advice because I didn't think that I would really be affected by the changes. In the end, I was dead wrong.

During the day I went through my normal work. I started the day with a large cup of coffee and looked over the new videos uploaded to Cincinnati.com. Next, I took part in the daily check of all video equipment and met with the video guys to find out the stories to be covered for the day. As I went about going through my editing guide, I was called into my internship adviser's office. Thinking I was going to talk to her about a new project, I went in with a blind eye. What she told me next changed my feelings for journalism forever. The woman, who has been an employee of The Enquirer for almost a decade, told me she had been "let go." I was at a loss for words. Feelings of shock, anger and sadness hit me all at once. And I had known this woman for only about a week. I could not imagine what this woman was feeling. I mean, where is the love, the loyalty for a fellow employee; especially during the Christmas season. It was at that moment that I truly saw what this really was. At that moment, I saw the business of journalism.

We go into journalism because we want to create art for others to view. From writing articles to capturing videos of the community, what we as journalists are creating is art. While in college we dream of becoming an influential journalist whose voice can transcend a community and change the world. What we do not think about is that we can be undercut by the business. We can only do as much as our industry will allow us to do. We dream of being able to write great articles and interview interesting people, but we do not think about the fact that at any point it could all be taken away. We work in a field that does not give tenure to those that have been there a certain amount of time. Instead, when times get rough, many of those people have to stress over whether they will be coming in the next day or if they will have to update the resume for the next job opportunity. It is a scary world we are living in at the moment. As the economy continues its decline, no one feels safe with their job. But it appears that journalists are feeling the worst.

As I watched my adviser pack up her office, she told me to remain positive and continue my work with The Enquirer. Can you imagine that? The woman who has just lost her job is telling me to stay positive. As a veteran in the industry she has become used to the fact that no job is protected and it does not pay to become comfortable in one place for too long. Through school I have told myself that I can not set my sights on one place for an entire career. It has become harder to swallow since I have seen the losses in front of my eyes.

As the president told me during our meeting, the industry will bounce back. It will grow in the digital and multimedia field. Cuts had to be made to grow in this way. As the digital field of the newspaper industry grows, more jobs will be created. The once proud industry may become a proud field again if they can grow with the changing times.

I love what I am doing. I love journalism and having the power to create art for people to view and enjoy. On the contrary, I have grown to loathe the business side of journalism. Yes, I know that this is not a great point of view to have as an aspiring journalist. Even when the economy is good, jobs are never safe. I know that. But when you finally see the losses around you, you get that new perspective that you never had before. Even though it was not an easy thing to swallow, I am glad I was there to see it first hand. We hear about job losses all the time and we don't think twice about it. I now have seen and felt the effects of job cuts in journalism. And I think it has forced me to think about my future all together. I am a junior in college and will soon be looking at the job market or grad schools. These memories will stick with me as I decide what I do with the next two years.

I know that a career in journalism is a roller coaster ride that goes both up and down. After the events of the last week, I am now unsure of whether I will be riding that roller coaster after graduation.

My first video for Cincinnati.com

So it is official! I have hit the ground running with my internship at Cincinnati.com. I now have my first credited production for the Web site. I did everything from filming to the video editing. Let me know what you think, and be honest please. I put a lot of effort into the video but I know there is room for improvement. Without further ado, this is my first video:

My very first cameo!

So, recently I had my first acting cameo. I know what you're all thinking: "Ryan! You are so talented and attractive! How have you never been on screen before?" I know, I know. It has been a long time coming, but I have finally achieved my big break. Found on cincinnati.com is a gem. It is where emotion and charisma collide to create a masterpiece. Without further ado, the "30 Second Drill."

Box Office Rankings Pt. 2

Alas, here we are again.  It's Monday, which means it is now the next installment of "Box Office Rankings!"  Since it was Halloween weekend, it can be assumed that most movies did not do as well because of other engagements people were taking part in.  With only a couple new movies, some of the older movies on the Box Office remained mainstays in the top 10.  Without further ado, here is the top 10 movies for the weekend:

1	1	High School Musical 3: Senior Year	BV	$15,035,000
2	N	Zack and Miri Make a Porno	Wein.	$10,682,000
3	2	Saw V	LGF	$10,110,000
4	20	Changeling	Uni.	$9,407,000
5	N	The Haunting of Molly Hartley	Free	$6,009,000
6	4	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	BV	$4,747,000
7	6	The Secret Life of Bees	FoxS	$4,000,000
8	3	Max Payne	Fox	$3,700,000
9	8	Eagle Eye	P/DW	$3,400,000
10	5	Pride & Glory	WB (NL)	$3,260,000

For the second straight week, "High School Musical 3" has reigned in the top spot for the box office.  This really isn't a surprise though because of the pop sensation that Disney franchise has become.  It really has fallen off its pace.  It fell 64% in earnings from its opening weekend.  It will continue to see a decline every week because most of its audience has already seen the flick.  

What really surprised me was the low earnings of "Zack and Miri."  I really thought they would dominate the box office but, at 10.6 mill, they came in at a disappointing number 2.  Even the writing and directing of Kevin Smith and the star power of Seth Rogen could not power this one past Disney.  

"Saw V" came in strong at number 3, roping in $10.1 mill.  With the low ratings this movie garnered, it has had a pretty strong total gross after three weeks.  Good for them.  There may be no story line, but it seems people still want to see the gore.

The rest of the top 10 was not too surprising.  One new movie at number 5, "The Haunting of Molly Hartley," will only stay strong for a couple weeks.  I think this movie may fall out of the top 10 by as early as next week.  Halloween drew an audience for this week.  

Overall, this was a pretty weak weekend for movies.  Be prepared for a very strong weekend coming up.  Movies such as "Role Models," "Soul Men," and "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa" will be competing for spots in the coveted top 5.

 

My prediction for next weeks' top 5:

1. "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa"

2. "Role Models"

3. "HSM3"

4. "Zack and Miri"

5. "Saw V"

Stay tuned till next Monday when we find out how close my predictions really are.  

What I've Been Watching Pt. 1

Here's to new beginnings and the first installment of "What I've Been Watching". That sounds like such a catchy title, so I'm sure there will be millions of viewers just peering in to see what Ryan's been watching over the past week. I know, I know. This is a little bit of a rip-off from EW.com's "Sound Bites of the Week", but I'm actually providing full clips instead of just little, teeny bites. Their sound clips are like bite size candy bars while mine are the KING SIZE. You get it?

Well no more rambling. Lets get to wait you have all been waiting for. This is What I've Been Watching:



This is a clip from SNL featuring Adam Samberg. In this clip, Samberg is acting as Mark Wahlberg in a skit called "Mark Wahlberg Talks to Animals". Why is it called that? I have no idea. I don't really get the relevance, but it is still pretty funny.



This is a clip from Jimmy Kimmel Live in which Mark Wahlberg is responding to the skit from SNL that parodies Wahlberg himself. Wahlber says he is going to go to NYC and confront Adam Samberg. Not really confront... more like DESTROY! Is he really going to do that?



Who actually thought Mark Wahlberg would go all the way back to NYC to confront Adam Samberg? Well it looks like he has from this clip. This is actually a hilarious skit. Wahlberg finally shows some acting talent that has been hiding during his last three movies. Oh yeah, "Say hi to your mother for me!"



Three SNL-related clips in a row?! Yeah I know. The show has been lacking in recent years, but I have to give it to them. They put on a few good shows in a row and ratings have not been higher in the last 10 years than they are right now. Gov. Sarah Palin is actually in this clip. Not much range as an actress, but hey, she looks good. Who cares?



Here is the trailer to "Zack and Miri Make a Porno" which debuts Oct. 31. Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks come together in this hilarious-looking (wording?) movie. And writer/director Kevin Smith looks like he may have finally put together a good movie again after a few years of bad material. I guess we will find out next weekend if this movie will be gold. I can't wait!

Well, there you have it. This has been the very first edition of "What I've Been Watching"! And what do you know. 80 percent of the clips were from SNL. It won't be like this every week, believe me. It was just actually a good week for the show so I had to give them credit where credit is due. I hope everyone enjoys the clips as much as I have. Tune in next Wednesday for "What I've Been Watching PART TWO".

Box Office Rankings Pt. 1

This is the first installment of my movie box office rankings and reaction. Every Monday, the newest rankings will be put up and my reaction will be gauged. There were a great deal of new movies making there debut this weekend, and many soared while others sank. Without further ado, here is the box office top 10:

1	N	Max Payne	Fox	$18,000,000
2	1	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	BV	$11,200,000
3	N	The Secret Life of Bees	FoxS	$11,050,000
4	N	W.	LGF	$10,550,000
5	4	Eagle Eye	P/DW	$7,343,000
6	3	Body of Lies	WB	$6,880,000
7	2	Quarantine	SGem	$6,300,000
8	5	Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist	Sony	$3,900,000
9	N	Sex Drive	Sum.	$3,566,000
10	7	Nights in Rodanthe	WB	$2,680,000

This is courtesy of boxofficemojo.com. So what exactly are we looking at here? Well, for one, the movie "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" has finally been dethroned from its number 1 spot by Mark Wahlberg and his video game action thriller "Max Payne". It was a good run though. The kid friendly movie was number 1 in America for the last three weeks. "Max Payne" went to the bank with $18 million in its pocket after the first weekend. This is big for Mark Wahlberg, whose last movie ("The Happening") tanked horribly. This movie may not be number 1 for long because this movie will only appeal to certain people. It is the adaptation of a popular first person shooter game so its numbers will fall quickly as many people will have no interest in the movie.

The biggest surprise of the week was "The Secret Life of Bees", which came in at number 3 with a respectable $11 million for the opening weekend. It only opened to 1,500 theaters (most big movies open to over 2,000 theaters) so that was a pleasant surprise for everyone attached to the film. It doesn't completely blow me away that this did so well. With actresses such as Queen Latifah and Dakota Fanning in the movie, there is still a big following for these two. "W.", the Oliver Stone directed movie chronicling the life of President George W. Bush came in at number 4 with a cool $10.5 million. "Eagle Eye" continued its hot streak by coming in a number 5 for the weekend with over $7 million in earnings. I guess people are still not tired of the explosions and Shia LaBeouf running from anything and everything.

The biggest disappointment of the weekend was "Sex Drive" which debuted at number 9 on the box office list. It looks absolutely hilarious and it also has Seth Green (think "Austin Powers" series) attached to it. That guy is always a part of huge movies. Unfortunately people must be growing tired of the endless amount of college/teen comedies.

Next weekend will be another big weekend for the box office. I'm sure it will look completely different. Movies debuting this coming weekend include "Pride and Glory", "High School Musical 3" and "Saw V". I have to say, I'm not really looking forward to any of these movies even though I will probably still see "Saw V". I'm just going to be happy to see that franchise finally end.

This does it for the first installment of Ryan's Box Office Rankings. Next Monday I will provide you with more numbers and more reaction. Check out Entertainment Weekly's coverage of the box office rankings. Let me know how I compare!

Eminmen and 'Relapse'? YES!!

For everyone out there that has been sleeping under a rock for the last 72 hours, word on the street is that Eminem is coming out with a new album.  This was announced at his book release party (yeah, he wrote a book).  The album will be called "Relapse" and it is supposedly going to drop before the end of the year.  Eminem actually played his first single from the album on his Sirius radio station Shade 45 (yeah, he has his own radio station too).  The single is called "I'm Having A Relapse" and features the same old Eminem beats and striking lyrics.  For more on the new Eminem album click here.

If this is true, this will be Eminem's first full album since 2004's Encore, which has sold a robust 5.1 million copies to date.  Yeah.  5.1 MILLION!  It is about time he decided to come out of retirement. Everything this man has touched in the music industry has turned to gold, check that, platinum. This is a transitioning time for Eminem.  He's a single man, his children are getting older and he just came out with that new book (which is called The Way I Am).  Why not cash in some more?  Plus, with the outpouring and cries for him to come back, it was only time before he decided to blow the dust off his mic.  

No one was more giddy about the news than I was when it first was announced that Eminem would be coming back into our musical lives.  Growing up, he was a forbidden artist to listen to. My parents censored anything and everything that I ever tried to hear, and of course, Eminem basically topped that list of forbidden pleasures.  This is what made listening to him even better. When I finally became old enough to listen to him around my parents, I began to appreciate the art that he actually was producing.  Sure his first two albums were very violent and it seemed as if he was one action away from being institutionalized, but when he really wanted to get an issue across to the listener- he made sure to GRAB you from his recording booth.  It didn't feel as if he was just rapping to people- he made it seem as if he was right there next to you as you listened. 

Overall, I am so excited for this album to finally drop.  As it stands now, his album will be a part of his record label's "Three-Headed Monster" of albums.  Supposedly 50 Cent will release his album in December, followed by Eminem's album and then followed by Dr. Dre's anticipated album, Detox.  It looks like the winter season has just become a lot hotter.  

Here's the first bite from Eminem's new song "I'm Having a Relapse".  Enjoy.

iTunes no more?

I had posted a story a few weeks back about the launch of the new MySpace Store. Well, since then, the store has been launched and it is only due time until we see how this program will fare in the music download industry. I also wondered how iTunes would handle another "music giant" in the monopoly. There are now new issues that iTunes are facing which has no connection with the MySpace Music drama. Here is the story: Apple: We'll Kill iTunes.

I was reading some of the comments left at the bottom of the article by readers. On one side, I agree with some of their sentiments. Why can't Apple just "man-up" and deal with the extra charge? It is ONLY six cents extra per song. On the other hand, I do understand what Apple is thinking. That extra six cents per song will really add up quickly when millions of songs are being downloaded by users. When Apple is already paying the music industry 70 cents on the dollar per purchase of each song, they will be losing money with this endeavor. They may say that they put the customer first, but they are first and foremost, a business. They do put the customer first, but if and only if, the customer is making them a profit. Once a profit is not made, the business must move in their best interest. I think I can empathize with that. Everyone should be able to. How many people, who run businesses, can you say will continue doing something if they are losing money at a steady rate? Well, if you say you know plenty of people like that, then you must also know about their bankruptcy stories as well.

In the end, I would hate to see the death of iTunes, but I understand the intricacies of business. If you are losing money, you aren't running a successful business. For once, the public must realize that business comes before the satisfaction of the customer. Like the saying goes, the customer comes first. But if and only if that customer is carrying cash.

So who won the first presidential debate.. the polls point to Obama

With Round 1 of the Presidential Debates complete, it is now time for the countless hours of analysis and more debate about which candidate performed better. Well, according to the new CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey, Sen. Barack Obama was the resounding winner.
Here is the article: Round 1 in debates goes to Obama, poll says.

Now this poll did not surprise me one bit. It is obvious that Sen. Obama is by far the better public speaker. I feel that most of the debates will probably result in the same feelings and sentiments. If it came down to just who was the best speaker, we might as well crown Sen. Barack Obama as our next president of the United States. This is not the case, though.

One poll fact I did find very interesting was this: "More than two-thirds of debate watchers agreed that both McCain and Obama would be able to handle the job of president if elected." With many other polls that I have seen in the past, the numbers have been far different from these results. I think it is just the fact that the majority of the American public has grown extremely tired of the Bush regime. It appears that people will be happy with almost anyone in the presidency besides President Bush.

I'm looking forward to hearing more about the debates and I am anticipating more of the same cut-throat debating during the next two debates before the election.

MySpace to the rescue!

As I was browsing the RollingStone Web site I came across a very interesting article about MySpace and the music industry. Here is the article: MySpace Music Readies for Liftoff

So what does this mean for the music industry? There's really no say as to what may happen. With the way in which our world is today, people are accustomed to downloading free music. From Limewire to Bit Torrent, it has become so easy to access and acquire music that buying the products has almost become something we do not even think about anymore. Why buy it when we can just get it for free from our computers? In this article, MySpace states that they are going to offer streaming music for free on an ad-supported system. They will also offer the music for purchase through Amazon MP3. Many in the music industry are very skeptical that MySpace can help what has been a suffering business. In my opinion, MySpace is in a win-win situation here. It appears that they are getting money from each of the major music labels to put their music on Myspace's site, they are receiving money from the advertisements which are paying top dollar to be present on the site and they are going to make a percentage of money from the music that is purchased by the consumers. In my opinion, the music industry is the group that should be worried about making money. I thought this article made a great point. Why, when people are so used to just listening to streamed music, are people then going to buy the music? The music industry is being killed by the era of free downloads. But what other options do they have? At this point, the music industry has to do whatever they can to stop the bleeding. If that means selling out to the world of MySpace, then that is what the music industry has to do. Hey, it's all just business.

This is just the beginning...

My name is Ryan Lytle. I am the creator of this brand-spanking new blog. In this great country of ours, a blog has become a typical sight. Every day, thousands of new blogs are created and monotonous words of drivel are spilled on our computer screen. Many of these blogs cover a person's personal life. Other blogs are a way for people to complain about their favorite sports teams and give their own advice about what they would do if they were the coach or manager or coordinator, etc. This blog will be none of the above! As the title of this blog states, it will be my take on the ways of the world. Now you may be asking yourself, "now Ryan, what does that mean?" Let me tell you now, it can mean anything you think it could mean. This blog will be used as a tool to highlight my feelings on anything from interesting news stories, to a hot new movie and, yes, even my own babble about things going on in my life. To take a quote from Stephen Colbert, while reading my blog "you will laugh, you will cry, you will lose 15 pounds"! This blog will be informative and hopefully entertaining. Lets not forget the underlying reason I am creating this blog from the get-go. I will use this site to showcase the skills I have learned at the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University. Hopefully, in the near future, this site may quite possibly assist me with finding a great career in online journalism. I truly hope that is the case or else this is all just a colossal waste of time. Just kidding. I write because I love to. And as another great mind in history once said, "If you love something, you hold on to her." If I do recall, Kevin Arnold said this about his crush Winnie Cooper in the famed 80's television show, "The Wonder Years". That was a classic. I can only hope that in the future, this blog will be held in the same esteem as "The Wonder Years".