Tweeted out: How Facebook killed that little bluebird

by Sean Roberts, Alestle photographer

Sean Roberts

A once mostly redundant social networking site is now completely redundant.

With Facebook around, people must have wondered what exactly the point of Twitter was. After all, Facebook provided most of the functionality of Twitter already, plus a lot more.  The only thing lacking from Facebook was tagging people with an “@” and searching. Facebook has now added those features.

Why would I ever want to use Twitter? I already have all of the functionality of Twitter with a much more rich and diverse social networking site I am already part of.

Twitter has reached its necessary end. Most individuals have no need for a Twitter.  Those who actually continue to use it are either news services that can gain some benefit from the Twitter service, or stragglers who just like the old, but redundant system. With a few small tweaks, Facebook will not just be equal to Twitter, but far surpass it. Hopefully, when that day comes, Twitter will be seen as redundant.

After all, why tweet about your new underwear purchase when you can update your Facebook status to a much larger and more embarrassing audience of friends?

Overexposed on Halloween

by Keondra Walker, Alestle copy editor

With Halloween 2009 just passing, I’m beginning to think that Halloween gives many people a reason to wear close to nothing without anyone having an issue with it or being arrested for indecent exposure in public.

Many people (women in particular) come out of the house with their “costumes” on that leaves nothing to the imagination. I went out on Halloween night and saw many women in their Playboy bunny outfits that did not cover even half of their bottom, or their maid costumes that showed all but four inches of their body.

Yes, everyone knows it is just a costume, but people still tend to label others who take it way too far. There is still a line between sexy or classy and trashy on Halloween, too. 

But, since it is Halloween, some people believe it allows them to wear the skimpiest outfits they could find. Some seem to use Halloween to live out their fantasies of dressing as provocatively as they can with no consequences.

However, I think some costumes are much too risqué and some exposure goes too far. Enjoy yourself on Halloween, but don’t show me your whole bottom or any other “private” areas of your body exposed when you brush up against me in the club.

Hypocracy in the Miss USA pageant

by Jill Cook, Alestle Graduate Assistant and Writers Coach

Jill Cook

Carrie Prejean, the former Miss California who lost her bid for Miss USA after saying she believes marriage is for a man and a woman, made news again because of a suit and counter-suit regarding her breasts.

The Miss California USA committee loaned Prejean the money for her to have a breast augmentation surgery. In fact, in a CNN story, the lawsuit states the exact nature of the decision.

“One thing they all agreed on was that Prejean needed bigger breasts if she was to be competitive in the national pageant in April, the filing said.”

Wait a second. I thought the purpose of these pageants was to find beautiful, goal-oriented role models for women.  In fact, the Miss California home page, states, “The organization has redefined itself, just as it is redefining the world’s views of the women who attain its exclusive titles and as it is communicating women’s views of their own roles.

The Miss Universe Organization provides the opportunities — the mentoring, career training, resources and life experiences — for women to be personally enriched through the organization’s year-round support of all aspects of their lives, from their own personal career goals to social and humanitarian causes and work.

The titleholders of the Miss Universe Organization personify the combination of beauty and intelligence that defines the 21st century. In keeping with its global view and position as creator of role models, the Miss Universe Organization has a new corporate structure and enhanced corporate goals.”

Telling a candidate her boobs are too small and then loaning her money to get surgically enhanced boobs is not enriching that woman’s life. In fact, the only thing it’s enriching is some power-freak man’s (Donald Trump) cheap fantasies.

And boob jobs do not personify the beauty and intelligence of the 21st century. It only personifies the perverse notion that T&A are the only assets a woman can have.

The committee should not feel ashamed for their blatant disregard of their standards; the whole program should be completely shut down.

Balloon boy daddy should focus on family, not fame

by Rachel Carlson, Alestle A&E Editor

Rachel Carlson

Colorado authorities searched for a 6-year-old Falcon Heene last week. The search included a balloon chase across two counties and then a ground search. Come to find out, the boy was safe at home hiding in the attic.

Originally, everyone thought he had been inside a balloon his father was in the process of creating. According to FoxNews.com, after a CNN interview where the “balloon boy” turned to his father and said “You said we were doing this for a show,” people began questioning whether it was all a hoax. Now we know it is.

The boy’s parents have previously appeared on reality TV on the show “Wife Swap,” had a reality tv show in the works with the producer of “Wife Swap” and the father had previously pitched reality show ideas to TLC. It sounds like this family is full of gluttons for stardom.

It is hard to believe a parent would subject their children to the scrutiny of a reality show, let alone a publicity stunt. Many children are subjected to reality TV just so their parents can make a buck or  their 15 minutes of fame. This father is doing the same thing, and it’s sad. Instead of focusing on how to get on TV, he should look at raising his children without the cameras.

“Deer problem” is a human problem, too

by Kelly Walsh, Alestle copy editor

Kelly Walsh

I was sitting outside Alumni Hall the other day and overheard two people talking about the “deer problem” on campus.

One person commented that some poor teenager might hit the deer and be killed because they are “overpopulated,” while the other mentioned he couldn’t wait for deer hunting season precisely because of this. Both came to the conclusion that something must be done about them, as the amount hunted and killed during the appropriated days was simply not enough.

By the “deer problem” I suppose they mean the fact that humans built a university campus on top of the land the deer lived on before us.

At the risk of being called a “treehugger”, the notion that we, as humans, should take prevalence over every area we set foot on and get rid of any previous occupants, sounds dangerously familiar. No doubt the vehicles we drive and the roads we paved between the trees do indeed get in the way of deer trying to move from one place to another.

Yes, it is dangerous, and the deer as well as the drivers, have to be incredibly cautious to avoid an accident. I guess I just feel like we could use those big developed brains of ours and be as careful as the deer and drive safely.

Deer, for the most part, do not deliberately run into cars. They shy away from human activity. It’s obvious because the only time you can see them on SIUE’s core campus is late at night and early morning.

They do populate areas quickly and live in large numbers. A doe can have one or two fawns at a time, and the gestation period can be up to ten months. However, they do not breed and reproduce all too differently than we did not long ago ourselves.

I don’t belong to PETA, nor do I claim to be a strong conservationist, but I don’t believe it to be far-fetched in calling attention to this unsettling logic – that deer are a pest to be shunned away. I admit that they are larger animals and they do take up space just like us, but, as we’ve seen with the growing endangered species list, it’s not all too rational to shoot them all.

We are the first species in a long time, or perhaps ever, to so drastically dominate and change the environment for ourselves and others. History says our species will most likely be extinct someday as well. So I think we could at least like that recently popular bumper sticker asks — let’s “coexist.”