Oil is missing in Iraq. A cancer cure gets ignored. Australians invent coffee made from cat feces. No wonder hypertensions skyrocketed worldwide, and no wonder the past seven days on DigitalJournal.com gave us news that was not only worrisome, but also inspirational and enlightening.
We’ll start with the lighter stories making the rounds through everyone’s bookmarks. kylalynn introduced us to butt facials, which “rid the buttocks of cellulite deposits, acne and other skin problems.” Not sure I know anyone who’d go through with that, but then again I don’t know many big-booty millionaires.
Another story that opened many eyes came from patxxoo, who broke the news about pot-smoking seniors. Grandmothers are coming out of the cannabis closet, declaring to the world their love for relaxing recreational drugs. The post prompted a mild-mannered discussion on the war on drugs, filled with comments like this one from lensman67: “Drugs is what drives the majority of crime and terror in the world and both would drop dramatically if they were decriminalized. More than a century of a failed policy is enough!” Hear hear.
A quirky story close to my yiddishe heart told the story of an Orthodox Jew who claims an Iowa hospital tried to convert him to Christianity. paigemom reported here wasn’t any kosher food available, and the hospital staff refused to call his rabbi. Hmm, doesn’t like the Spanish Inquisition to me, but kosher Jews have a hard time living without their rabbi-approved pickles and coleslaw. I feel for him, even if his lawsuits may get dismissed on frivolous grounds.
Turning to useful service articles, skyangel5402 wrote a baby-boomer piece on creativity boosting brain power. Partly self-help and partly instructional, the post gave clear instructions on how to “unleash your creative energies and let yourself bloom towards bigger and better possibilities!” Talk about sky being on a natural high — it was inspirational to say the least, even without the exclamation mark.
And Leah kept her Dr. Date reputation intact with a helpful article (well, for those who need it) on how men should approach women. Use positive body language, smile often, keep eye contact — it sounds obvious to many guys, but you’d be surprised how many dudes cross their arms when chatting, pout when they’re listening and scan the room for more beautiful girls to talk to. One other thing that DJ Editor Chris Hogg wanted to add to a general list on how to approach people, is make sure you know how to pronounce the other person’s name (“Leah” is still his most feared tongue twister).
Turning to tech news, we were treated to a bucketful of articles that kept us posted on digital culture. gohomelaker wrote a buried post on attorneys requesting MySpace to hand over addresses of convicted sex offenders using the site for predatory purposes. It’s another blow to the social network that is looking more like a pedophile’s playground than an online water cooler.
malan informed us about CBS’s plans to scrap their video site Innertube, and partner with the likes of Joost, AOL and YouTube. It’s the right move for major networks, malan notes. “CBS may just be taking the first step in the right direction that leads to more freedom for online content.” As long as they scrap Two And a Half Men, I’ll be happy.
And in an intriguing tech-politics mash-up, rob13 wrote on how Bill Gates and Bill Clinton are working together to develop software that can create strategies to reduce carbon emissions. By gauging how much pollution a city creates, this software could be a monumental tool to curb pollution, while also spreading the green message with the heavyweight star wattage of Gates and Clinton behind it. I wonder if Steve Jobs and George Bush will rebound with an odd-couple pairing.
Deserving special kudos in the tech section is cgull for his ongoing efforts to track down news on Apple and especially details about the iPhone. Whether he reported on the upcoming phone getting FCC approval or a blog post causing Apple’s stock to dangerously slip, cgull is our resident beat reporter for all things iPhone. Cgull is either a die-hard Mac head, or he works for the company. Someone start investigating.
Also worth a mention is cgull’s breaking news on a barely-reported sci-tech discovery: Scientists cure cancer, but no one takes notice. It seems Canadian researchers created a patent-less method of killing cancer cells, but pharmaceutical companies aren’t investing in the drug because they can’t make money off it without a patent. Wow. Big Pharma is choosing profits over healing a major disease. Big surprise.
Another discovery came overseas courtesy of malan, who wrote on Japanese vending machines dispensing free coffee with a catch — consumers have to watch a 30-second ad before getting the java. malan explained how ad-supported business models could spread across the world, which bodes well for aggressive companies but not so much for Adbusters-reading culture jammers who prefer their free stuff ad-free.
We almost should be creating a new category called Gas/Oil, considering the slew of stories on the subject this week. BoVandy opened the floodgates with a much-needed wake-up call: Between 100,000 and 300,000 of oil barrels have gone missing in Iraq. A report believes Iraq may be overstating its oil production, which could have a monumental effect on our side of the pond. In a somewhat related post, gas went missing on a more local level when a Canadian woman discovered a criminal had stolen gas from her Dodge Dakota, as Ringwraith wrote. So this all leads to the question — should we be so dependent on this form of energy? MDee pointed us to an alternative in her fascinating article on Japan producing an alternative energy based on a rice-ethanol brew. It’d be like Saki for the gas tank. The tipplers among us would say, “One litre for you, automobile, and one litre for me. Mmm, energy efficient and it gives me a nice buzz.”
So what’s causing hypertension rates to skyrocket, according to momentsintime? Well, African cancer rates are climbing, permafrog reported, and sunscreen isn’t the best defense against melanoma, skyangel5402 found out. And the world’s most expensive coffee comes from beans excreted from the anuses of civet cats in Australia, MDee informed us. I’d say that’s good reason to get anxious about the world going to pot. Then again, based on the stories this week, it’s not all doom and gloom.
Two other stories warrant a second mention before moving on to the awards. Brandigal reported on a young man accused of burning his two-month-old baby in a microwave. Another cringe-worthy gruesome story, right? Well, we were all surprised to read comment #7, where a family member of the accused thanked Brandigal for the article and later kept readers updated on the toddler’s condition (in summary: no internal damage). The article was another example of how deeply this arena of citizen journalism impacts everyday lives, right down to people related to the subject of the articles.
GotTheScoop wonderfully blended video and information with her post on the barbaric Chinese foot-binding technique. It was great to learn about the practice through GTS’s words, but it was even more educational to see the foot-binding in action. Educational, and also horrific. My feet just hurt watching that video.
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for, the time to choose our top new user, the best original reporting and the most thorough series of articles. Welcome to this week’s TopFinds Awards.
If there was any rookie who stood out by showing impressive range and excellent writing ability, it was the winner of the New DJ User of the Week Award — ajzeller1979. This self-described “pop culture geek” covered more than just Paris Hilton news; we were also treated to an emotional piece about child abduction, insight into the NBA playoffs, and breaking news about immigration law reform. Is there nothing this writer won’t write on? I look forward to seeing ajzeller1979 grow into a respected veteran by summertime.
Penning multiple articles on a certain topic can be time-consuming but ultimately rewarding. That’s why we want to honour Picasso with the TopSeries Award for her comprehensive posts on the Planned Parenthood fiasco (and more here and here). Three articles on the subject gave us a complete overview on the all-important issue, even sparking debates from our impassioned members. Congrats, Picasso, for taking the time to tackle a big issue and provide consistent updates on a story that’s not going away anytime soon.
Finally, earning the TopJournalism Award this week is the young writer behind an article bursting with original reporting. saran81kid91 takes home the award for his in-depth review of SpiralFrog Beta, a free music-download service bound to challenge Apple’s iTunes. Offering opinions on the software, service, videos and even its potential to introduce an iPod competitor, saran went beyond the call of duty to give us the kind of exclusive we love seeing on DigitalJournal.com. He illustrated the article beautifully with photos, he did quite a bit of research and contacted the company for comment. I have a feeling this won’t be saran’s last TopJournalism award — he’s a teenager with a passion for writing on fascinating tech subjects, and he makes me jealous for being such a go-getter. When I was his age, I was eating gummi bears and worrying when the new Mad Magazine would come out. Kudos to saran for being a role model to young writers worldwide.
And so we wrap up another exciting week on DigitalJournal.com, where citizen media lives and breathes. Keep posting fresh and intriguing stories, and we’ll keep honouring those that stand out.
Note: Digital Journal’s Web TV broadcast will return next week.
