Digital Journal — Time travel. Talentless pop stars. High-rolling kids. A post on members’ avatars boasting hundreds of comments and counting. DigitalJournal.com presents another week full of breaking news, wild variety and extreme craziness.
There’s nothing like starting the week with news that fast food makes us dumb. As geozone reported, scientists discovered how bad fats dry up cell membranes and slow brain signals. That afternoon I ditched my pizza lunch for a tuna sandwich, so looks like DJ members can even affect what DJ staffers eat.
Monday also gave us an intriguing story by cruiseroo on children owning credit cards and the incredible spending power of the young generation. Equally as interesting as the post were the comments on how various DJ members make sure their children remain financially responsible. But who’ll parent the parents?
Our online campfire continues to bond in the most unique ways, as seen in the unbelievably weird, comment-heavy The Schizophrenic Existence of the DJ Community post. What started as wolfman2001‘s reflection on the relation between a member’s avatar and true-life personality evolved into a conversation where innuendo was rampant and flirty comments were peppered between talk of turtles, wild confessions and saucy jaguars. Don’t ask. DJ Editor Chris says she bites.
On Tuesday, several important stories caught the attention of many members: myobservations introduced us to Barack Obama’s “secret weapon,” his wife Michelle, and GotTheScoop predictably commented on right-wing politics and Obama’s testicles (the connection is dubious); franklin got all scientific on us with a thought-provoking post on the possibility of time travel; and cgull reported on Viacom’s massive lawsuit against Google and YouTube. Big Media, you scared of a little site pulling in 100 million videos daily?
Wednesday ushered in a day of impressive range. One of the most intriguing comment threads belongs to geozone’s post on a student incubating supermarket eggs. What started as a quirky article quickly became a discussion on the merits of vegetarianism. And in possibly related news, PETA has decided to join our blogging community.
Politics sparked insightful talk with timnleah‘s These Colors Don’t Run and Szplug‘s article on 9/11 plotters confessing to their crimes. Of course, it’s not all serious gut-wrenching news on the site — cruiseroo posted a much-needed piece on pop singers with little talent and too much exposure. “I look forward to the day when a real singer comes along and shows the wannabes how it can be done differently,” cruiseroo wrote, voicing sentiments of true music fans worldwide.
On Thursday, the music news kept coming in comprehensive posts by malan on his South By Southwest Festival review. Writing several articles exclusively for DigitalJournal.com, malan reviewed a concert of rock icon Vic Thrill and penned some stunning description that immersed the reader on the streets of Austin. Special recognition goes out to malan for his up-to-the-minute reports (where he often reported from anywhere he could borrow a computer or find a Wi-Fi signal). We’re very happy to see DJ users taking the initiative to offer the community original reporting.
This week we also sadly learned one of our big contributors, gohomelaker, will be retreating to cottage country this summer and will have limited access to DJ because of a dial-up connection (a horrible thought for anyone with Digital Journalitis). We’re hoping the great lengths to which malan went to report and fellow DJ’er Sheba (who day after day posts via dial-up) will encourage GHL to report on mullet-men, chipmunks and drunken boaters she meets in Ontario’s beautiful cottage country.
Every week, a new user deserves recognition for bringing a flurry of newsworthy articles to the site. Amaranth has been posting fascinating and under-reported news, be they light or heavy stories. Personal favourites include Laugh to Survive! on the health benefits of humour and an ironic story on an IRS agent arrested for tax fraud. Am, keep up the good work, we’re hoping you don’t get audited for this report.
So who’ll take home this week’s TopFinds Awards?
The honour for Most Shocking Headline goes to hockeygrrl863 for Michael Douglas Wants to Kill His Wife, Catherine Zeta-Jones, in Next Movie. And they looked so happy together!
The Most Buried Story belongs to the oft-overlooked post More Men Report Sexual Harassment in U.S. Workplace, courtesy of museinspiredart. This kind of news, rarely found on other sites, makes DigitalJournal.com users valuable members to the global citizen journalism scene.
Finally, Weirdest Story is awarded to GotTheScoop‘s summary of a guy whose penis broke during sex. Admittedly, GTS also takes home the award for Most Painful Story to Read and Best Advice in a Story: As she concludes, “keep the lights on, guys!”
Do you have any recommendation for the above awards from the past week of DJ stories? Don’t be shy, post your nominations below.
See you next Friday for another edition of TopFinds, featuring the good, the rad and the under-reported on DigitalJournal.com.
