Iphone, you think you’re so great.

(Credit: Larry Magid)

I’ve had an iPhone 4S for eh…about two months, I guess…and it’s cool. But Siri, (the main component that adds that “S” to the end of my phone’s name) isn’t quite as brilliant as the commercials make her look. You can ask her a handful of questions with sensible answers. The rest are…well, quite comical if you ask me.

Check out this interview that Siri graciously agreed to do with CBS News & CNET. Impressive or annoying? I will let you be the judge. Let’s just say…Siri definitely needs some work before she re-introduces herself on the next Apple iPhone.

Listen to it below. Read full article here.

Forget about the price tag?

written by: stacia_doss.
It seems nearly impossible to do so in professional sports. (Now begins my rant…) Price tags determine who will be on your “Championship-bound” team and sometimes even determine if the team will even continue to exist (in that particular city). Such is the case of the St. Louis Rams.

One. yard. short.

Before I moved to the area, I didn’t care too much about the Rams. All’s I remembered is them beating the Titans in the Superbowl years ago. (How could I forget that image to the right?) I didn’t really follow baseball, either, but I have allowed myself to be slightly sucked into the Cardinals’ news and Rams news, too. Not too long ago, I was informed that the Rams team will likely leave the city in 2014 if significant improvements are not soon made to the Edward Jones dome. In the long run, the city gains revenue from the Rams being around, but hey, they will probably be gone. From living in Greater St. Louis, I see the professional baseball fans around here far outweigh the football ones anyway.

Back to the Cardinals. I also was particularly and almost involuntarily aware of its latest Pujols fiasco. The battle to get him…who would put up the most money? It was all over the news in multiple stories. Frankly, I didn’t care, but I downloaded a local news app simply to enter an Ipad 2 contest and got a surprise “update notice” the next morning. It was Breaking News that Albert Pujols had signed a ten year contract with the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. He was drafted by the Cardinals in 2001, and he was ready for a change. Plus, the Angels clearly put a bigger “price tag” up for Pujols. People got a little sad around here, some even hostile, but hey, I’m happy for the guy.

Those are just two fine examples of how forgetting about the price tag is nearly impossible in sports. “Dream teams” only exist when they’re not dreamt up and pieced together on purpose. Real dreams of teams come together over time.  

I’m ecstatic that the NBA Lockout is over, but the past five days have brought my head spinning. Tyson Chandler to the (New York) Knicks, Lamar Odom to Dallas (Mavericks), Chris Paul to the…Who knows now? And Dwight Howard begging to be out of Orlando. Price tags…and dream teams. They go hand-in-hand, I suppose.

You can expect my next post to be more uniform than this, but I had to get that off my chest. It’s been a while. 

My! The power of Technology....

I will soon have the latest iPhone. Stay tuned to see what lovely music I may create with my device :-) Check out this awesome video/creativity. I discovered this Youtube clip that's a little over a year old on this article. Cool, huh?

Vegas, President Obama, and Silence.

 written by: stacia_doss.

*Cracks knuckles*

Its been a while since I’ve written an entry. I apologize to any followers of this blog who’ve been anticipating a new post, but life has been so busy lately!

I want to talk about…politics.

Remember this ignorant statement made by Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) a while back: “Media protect Obama because he is black, liberal?” For nearly a year, if not more, most of the news reports I’ve seen have been negatively reflected upon President Obama. And no, I’m not just talking about Fox News and other conservative news and radio stations or publications. I am referencing ALL of them.

That baloney statement was made by Rep. Walsh in September.  While negative Obama articles, polls, and general reports continued to hit the web, television, radio, and the steps of Americans across the country, no one seemed to refute his statement. Of course, the evidence was right there in front of you through all of those mediums, but earlier this week, I finally saw actual proof of the opposite in this study released by CBS (and the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism). The title: “Study finds harsh media coverage for Obama.” Well, DUH!?

My mind is open to hearing what all the candidates have to say. So I took the time to watch the bickering and arguing on the Western Republican Presidential Debate that aired Tuesday night on CNN, which took place in Las Vegas, Nevada. No one seemed to be able to say anything about the future. Each candidate seemed to only be focusing on themselves and each others’ pasts, (especially Mitt Romney and Rick Perry...and Mitt Romney and____well, basically anyone else who was on stage). Except for Herman Cain, of course, defending his 9-9-9 plan, and Michelle Bachmann who seemed to do nothing but continue to go off a long list of how terrible and evil President Obama is. Buffoonery at its best occurred within the time frame that I watched the debate, and to sum it up, CNN’s David Gergen, among others said “The Obama campaign was the winner of tonight’s debate.”

Back to my original topic: the media. It amazes me how easily people are swayed by the media, but I’m starting to realize that Americans aren’t as gullible as television and various publications make them appear to be. Mostly every report I’ve seen (until a recent one aired on CBS) has shown people shouting out how much they dislike the President, he’s bad for this country, and so on…but what about those who are for him? I know they have to exist. Everyone can’t be anti-Obama, but they seem to be keeping their thoughts to themselves and out of the media’s reach. Various emails and pages run by members of the Obama campaign show supporters do exist and in large numbers, but does the media highlight that? No. Never underestimate the power of a silent voter. 

In the words of Confucius, “Silence is the true friend that never betrays.” 

(Re-blogged) Youth league institutes TD limit to hold back 11-year-old

What is the world coming to? Little boys' TDs are limited...what are we to do! Watch video below and read article here.

Recalling a Historical Day of Tragedy: September 11, 2001

Watch below...my recollection of the site and feelings of the events of September 11, 2001.

(Volume is low.)

Share your comments, experience.

Photos are Below.

Ground Zero in 2004.

From the window of the Empire State Building.

Above the railing at Ground Zero.

Another window view.

History of my love affair...with football.

written by: stacia_doss.

I think it was probably sixth or seventh grade when I actually became interested in football. That’s when my dad started buying season tickets for Tennessee State football games for the family including: him, me, my mom, and my sister (until she left for college). My other sister was in college, and she occasionally would meet us. Anyway, before then, the most I really knew about the sport was the Super Bowl, because when that time of the year came around, we (the family) would always plop in front of the TV, eat chili, and laugh at the funny and fascinating commercials. That’s what I associated football with. A first down? Safety? Field goal? 2 point conversion?...I had no idea what any of these things were.

Since sixth grade, my sports focus had always been basketball. And after going to all these HBCU (FYI Historically Black College and Universities) games, what made them all so fun to me was just people watching and seeing the band. But after few years, I started asking questions. We would even travel for some of these games. I wanted to learn it, and know it. After all, not all games had the exciting halftimes and theatrical bands like HBCU’s did. By the time I was in high school, (I don’t remember the year), I had the chance to go to my first professional game. I went to see the Tennessee Titans play at what I believe was then known as the Adelphia Coliseum with my dad. I had been coming to the Coliseum for years, watching the college teams go head to head, but this time it was REAL. No band. No majorettes. No outrageously over and under-dressed people to watch. I was there to watch the game.

I don’t remember who the Titans played. I just remember being really hot, and sitting in what seemed like a really high (yet good) seat, and I KNEW the game. That was something I hadn’t been able to say for much of my short life before that game…even after years of watching football. It was pretty exciting. Since that day, I have been to two other professional games, and have sat in the domes of at least three other teams. I am still attending those games with my parents, and my sister occasionally joins us. My childhood of college football-watching made me the fan I am today. But my HBCU football watching molded me in another way, too. It introduced me to tons of old school music. I get a sense of joy when I hear songs like “Happy Feelings” and “Let’s Stay Together”…reminiscing on the band playing them. Maybe that bonding with my family brought out the Old Soul in me that never left…Who knows?