On the Brinck

News comment (For September 15)

Would you give up the chance to shower if it meant keeping your Facebook? How about fresh fruit and vegetables? Well according to a study by the London Science Museum, more Britons would give up these things, and even flush-able toilets, if it became necessary to keep their Facebook accounts.

This study surveyed 3000 people and brought about the conclusion that people have an extreme obsession with technology. Behind sunshine, the internet came in as the second most vital thing to the lives of the British. The internet even came in ahead of fresh drinking water.

This survey was conducted in Britain and doesn’t take into account any American perspective, but here is some for you. Collectively, Americans spend over 53 billion minutes online each month, so it would certainly be interesting to see a study like that conducted here.

If you would like to read the entire article, it can be found here. What do you think about this survey? Would you rather give up basic amenities to keep the internet and Facebook? Where would you draw the line on this “reliance on Facebook” issue?

Nestled within the heart of the Mass Communication department at Morningside college lies a small room with the power to be so much larger. I’m talking about the Fusion 93 KMSC radio studio. Home to many students throughout the week, the KMSC studio is a place where hands-on learning occurs. The array of red, yellow, and blue buttons and levers is enough to make a grown man envious. The sheer volume of electronic equipment is enough to give a tech guru chills. A large, flat-screen computer is home to many a song, but the arranging of them is the difficult part. Sitting in the relaxing studio chair is one that not too many people enjoy, but still, many are quite fond of it. Using the combination of buttons, levers, sliders, clickers, and vocal performance, radio is a medium that everyone can enjoy. When done right, hundreds of people can become one with the person doing the controlling in the studio. A control board that looks so exquisite to common folk is the source of entertainment, learning, and enjoyment for someone like me trying to establish a connection with a listener.

As I observed KMSC station manager Ryan Tellinghuisen and sports director Dan Corey conduct their weekly Monday afternoon show, I noticed things that usually go unnoticed when I’m the one in control of the studio. Thanks to Dan Corey’s collaboration with Game Time Sports Grill in the lower level of the Olsen Student Center, one lucky listener will be subject to the delicious aroma of a “steaming pizza pie,” as Ryan commonly exclaims, for winning this week’s edition of KMSC Pick’em. If it weren’t for the unfortunate sign on the door of the studio saying “No food or drinks allowed in the KMSC studio,” the studio would certainly bare the fragrance of hot wings or pizza. Instead, the smell of dust slightly burning inside of the many studio machines massages the nostrils. The discussion of sports fills the air, inside and outside the studio.

Several hours later, it was my turn at the helm of the contraption known as the control board; one button depressed, a fader raised, and an eerily quiet room with the faint screaming of music in a pair of headphones. This is what occurs when the microphone is turned on. It’s show time. “Welcome to Fusion 93 KMSC,” I exclaim, as I get ready for a jam-packed evening of fun, music, and more fun. On this particular night, a very special show was being broadcast from the warm confines of the KMSC studio, nestled in the heart of the Mass Communication department.

On a typical night, I spin the tunes of yesteryear. Well, spinning records definitely sounds cool, however it’s more like button pushing, but that is well beside the point. This night was no different in that regard, but a unique voice would make its presence felt across the skies of Sioux City on this Monday night. A young man from New York by the name of Joel Hoekstra has made a name for himself being an extremely busy guitarist. As a member of Night Ranger, the Broadway musical Rock of Ages, and even Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Joel Hoekstra’s partial presence in the Fusion 93 studio was one to bring relative star power to the transmitter atop Lewis Hall.

As Hoekstra hung up the phone, this show was back to its usual ways. The studio fan blowing to keep me cool, and the tunes a-rocking to keep the listeners cool. This is how I spend my Monday nights in my little corner of the universe, locked in the cozy confines of the KMSC studio.

For any student that spends any time on the first floor of the Hickman Johnson Furrow Learning Center, you probably know Jazmine Dirks. If not, you might be quite accustomed to actually studying. For those who may not know Jazmine, you’re in for a real treat. Seriously, she’ll make you your favorite treat at the Spoonholder as she’s worked there as long as she’s gone to school here at Morningside.

Ms. Dirks grew up in the same West Central Iowa hub as me, in Carroll, IA. There she competed on her high school soccer team, worked at the local Chinese restaurant Hunan’s, and developed her passion for reading. After interning at the Daily Times Herald, Carroll’s daily newspaper, Jazmine discovered that studying mass communications and photography in college would be the preferred way to go. As a sophomore at Morningside, she is continuing her play on the soccer field and keeping busy working at the Spoonholder, financial aid office, and acting as a server at Red Robbin here in Sioux City.

In her free time, Jazmine enjoys her occasional cup of coffee, reading through the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine, discussing with friends the quality of ice at various restaurants in town. As a connoisseur of ice chewing, she will gladly give you her take on what’s hot and what’s not on the Sioux City ice cube market. Between flipping pages and sipping mochas, Jazmine often times finds herself rummaging through the five dollar DVD and CD racks at Walmart and browsing her favorite websites for great deals.

The next time you’re in the market for an ice cold smoothie or looking for the best ice in Sioux City, you now know someone who can help you out.

My news comment/critique for this week takes a look at the troubles pestering the United States Postal Service.

A lot has been made of the financial troubles facing our nation’s postal service. Billions of dollars in the whole, the USPS is looking for ways to cut spending, but what would that mean for people like you and me? This article takes a look at the idea of a postal service-less America.

With the much more convenient and affordable internet just a click away, there are people on both sides of the issue. Several people interviewed in this article say they wouldn’t miss the USPS at all, citing the internet and companies like FedEx or UPS as being all they really need. Others say that receiving handwritten cards from friends and family can’t be replaced by complete reliance on the internet. Others may not have internet at all and may rely on the postal service to talk with loved ones. This is an article that strikes close to home for many people, including many rural communities that are already feeling the effects of post offices that already closed. Post office closures aren’t happening only in small towns, but even at least one of Sioux City’s post offices is on the virtual chopping block.

Along with closing post offices, the price of stamps continues to increase, and there is even talk of cutting back mail delivery days to five or less days a week. With the decline in mail flow with the popularity of e-mail and online bill paying especially, I think six-day delivery is a bit of overkill in today’s age. In 2011, companies have had to adapt to the current economic climate and the postal service is obviously way behind, as their debts show. Cutting back on delivery days would be a wise decision to save money, especially if it means not having to shut down the entire United States Postal Service. Of course, cutting back on work hours would come as upsetting news to employees of the USPS, but trust me, less hours is much better than a pink slip.

If you would like to find more information on the US Postal Service and the services they offer that you are not taking advantage of, check out their website here.

Whether you’re studying human anatomy notes, filling out a study guide, or enjoying an ice cold smoothie at the Spoonholder, you know the HJF Learning Center is a very popular meeting place for students and faculty here on campus. The sounds of air conditioner hum and blender regurgitation surround me as I click away on my keyboard. Students fumble through newspapers, snack on bags of Cheetos, and type on their Macbooks, as I sit here observing my surroundings.

This is September 2011. What many students don’t realize is that about sixty years ago, this would have been a completely different situation. Books have replaced basketballs, bleachers have been switched out for books, and carpet has taken the place of hardwood floors. Before being transformed into a library, this building was the gymnasium on campus. If you stand on second floor and look up, you can almost envision students running laps on the old track that still is suspended over second floor.

Rather than sinking a buzzer beating shot, I click submit on this story. Library patrons will soon be exposed to one extra sound, footsteps, as I leave the Hickman Johnson Furrow Learning Center.

I might as well call it the coldest assignment ever. I can honestly say I’ve never eaten my assignment, but when the assignment calls for eating ice cream, I’m all over that. I was a bit surprised when I was handed a small cup of vanilla ice cream traced with chocolate, but I was more disappointed when I noticed vanilla with strawberry streaks was one of the options. Never fear, however, I traded and picked up the “good” stuff. And good it was! I ripped the lid off like a child on Christmas morning and began devouring the very deliciousness I thought would be replaced by it’s chocolate cousin. I like chocolate as much as the next person, but strawberry is more my cup of tea, or ice cream in this situation.

This wasn’t the coldest ice cream I’ve ever eaten, and it wasn’t quite soft serve, but it had a nice mix of what I look for in ice cream. The top was easy to penetrate as it wasn’t iced over and that meant it disappeared a little too quickly, but my stomach wasn’t disappointed by that.After working at A&W all summer and having a nearly endless supply of ice cream, it was nice to feel as if I’m standing in a 95 degree kitchen enjoying a frozen treat.

Who am I kidding? I don’t miss that one bit. Well, the ice cream maybe, but not the 95 degree grease pit.

Every time I eat ice cream or drink a cold glass of water, there’s a song that always comes to mind – Foreigner’s “Cold As Ice.” Today, this class could be called cold as ice, and that is definitely a good thing.

For anyone old enough to remember what happened on September 11, 2001, you remember exactly where you were on that morning. Richard Drew is no different. However, he’s been forever linked to the terrorist attacks on that Tuesday morning through his work of photography. As smoke billowed from the twin towers, he began shooting photos of the situation. Drew noticed objects falling from the top of the building only to realize these objects were people. His most famous photograph that day has become known as the “Falling Man.”

As the tenth anniversary of 9/11 draws nearer, the story I found for this week is one that retraces the steps of this photographer on the morning of the single most deadly terrorist attack on American soil. You can read the entire article, and view the picture that put Drew in the nation’s spotlight, here.

I wouldn’t necessarily classify this story about Richard Drew “news” per say, but the circumstances surrounding him and the photograph that has become synonymous with the tragedy ten years ago makes this story extremely worthwhile.