NFL Hater Alternative Ways to Spend Super Bowl Sunday

NFL Hater Alternative Ways to Spend Super Bowl Sunday Super Bowl Sunday! Bread and circuses, bread and circuses! Not really into it? Thats not a problem and theres nothing wrong with you. Super Bowl haters are no more considered abnormal, non-conformists and aliens. Its not your fault that unlike millions of Americans you know better than sitting in front of TV eating junk food, pretending to understand whats going on and in fact just coming for food and drinking games. If you are not going for a Super Bowl Party youve got to fill your Sunday with some alternative plans (cause all your friends and relatives and acquaintances will probably be watching football). Alas, we’ve put together quite a list of things you can try on Super Bowl Sunday. Fear not. It’s not the average, â€Å"Go play some Frisbee golf† list of alternatives. Alternative #1: Do Something Different In reality this should become a personal philosophy of yours from here on out. Did you do the same stuff today that you did yesterday? How about the day before that? It’s time to burst out of your comfort bubble. Do something that makes you uncomfortable. Do something out of the ordinary for â€Å"someone like you.† Here’s a thought, do something you try to avoid. Or, something you’ve never done yet out of fear (nothing bad or illegal). Why do it this Sunday? Super Bowl happens every year. Pretty soon the roman numerals will reach a point where absolutely no one has a clue what number it is (we may have already reached this point). But your life is only going to happen this one, very brief and fleeting, time. And remember youve dreamt about the day when you have nothing to do and nobody is bothering you? Well, thats the day, so use it to do something you wont regret about. Alternative #2: Go Knit Something! Just kidding. Alternative #3: Watch TED Talks All Day You can do everything that the Super Bowl people are doing, just change up the programming to something more â€Å"progressive†. So chips, BBQ wings, a gargantuan hi-def plasma TV, and a bunch of high achievers (99% of which couldn’t make it through try outs in middle school). Youll learn lots of useful, have mixed emotions, enrich your outlook with fresh ideas. TED talks are awesome, mind-blowing and inspiring. Pretty close to the Super Bowl, except no one’s wearing helmets. If you are not that much into educational programs like TED, you are welcome to replace it with your favourite TV series or old movies youve always wanted to see. Alternative #4: Pretend The World’s Ending†¦ The idea appeared first in the smosh.com article a couple years ago, but it is still relevant. If you live in a big (or small) sports-nut town, then the streets, movie theatres, and pretty much everywhere else but the sports bars should be empty during the Super Bowl. You could dress up like a medical patient that just woke up out of a coma into the aftermath of the apocalypse where only roaming bands of renegades and zombies still lurk around every corner. Then, just start wandering around. Just remember: â€Å"It’s fun to pretend, but make sure you dont get overzealous and start looting because this apocalypse is only going to happen until the game is over and you will go to a very real jail.† Alternative #5: Sleep The semester has only started and youve got lots of sleepless nights ahead. Whats more, New Years wasn’t that long ago. And not to mention that students are always sleep deprived. You deserve some rest, and thats the day you can sleep through with no regrets. Alternative #6: Just Be Absolutely Clueless Stop being all defensive. Who cares if you don’t care about the dang Super Bowl? Why youve being all insecure about this? Just go about your day as if you haven’t got clue-one what football is, what the Super Bowl is, or what the big deal is anyway. Twiddle your thumbs, kick some rocks, count some sheep. Whatever floats your boat! Alternative #8: Try to Awaken the Sports-Hordes It’s true, one of the signs of a crumbling empire is that it turns into mob-rule that craves distractions: games, bread, and circuses. You’re right, the world needs saving. Instead of wasting your time watching the Super Bowl, write an epic speech that will inspire the masses, awaken them, enlighten them, and galvanize them to save the rain forest, get income disparity under control, slow down the pace of evolving artificial intelligence! The future of the world is in your hands now! Alternative #9: Alternative Party Who said that you cant host a party just because everyone will be watching football? There are lots of NFL haters, hippies and non-conformists, geeks and intellectuals, and single girls who are also going to ignore Super Bowl Parties and will be more than excited to help you organize the alternative one. The theme of your party may be just that super bowl hating, with vegan snacks and drinks other than beer. Or you may choose any other theme that is suitable to your mood, and weather, and place where you going to host it. We are not going to be that cliche to include alternative #10 in the list as you may expect. But if you have any ideas that can be added to our list share them in the comments!

How to Write an Effective News Article

How to Write an Effective News Article Whether youre interested in writing for a school newspaper, fulfilling a requirement for a class, or seeking a writing job in journalism, youll need to write like a professional to produce a good article. So what does it take to write like a real reporter? Researching the News Story First, you must decide what to write about. Sometimes an editor or instructor will give you assignments, but often you’ll have to find your own topics to cover. If you have a choice about the topic, you might be able to pick a subject related to your personal experience or family history, which would give you a strong framework and a dose of perspective. However, you must work to avoid bias. You may have strong opinions that could affect your conclusions. Beware of fallacies in your logic. You also could pick a topic that revolves around a strong interest, such as your favorite sport. Even if you end up with a topic close to your heart, you should begin with research, using books and articles that will give you a full understanding of the subject. Go to the library and find background information about people, organizations, and events you intend to cover. Next, interview a few people to collect more information and quotes that reflect the public’s perception of the event or story. Dont be intimidated by the idea of interviewing important or newsworthy people.  An interview can be as formal or informal as you want to make it, so relax and have fun with it. Find people with backgrounds in the topic and strong opinions, and carefully write down their responses for accuracy. Let the interviewees know that you will be quoting them. Parts of a News Article Before you write your first draft, you should be aware of the parts that make up a news story: Headline or title: The headline  of your article should be catchy and to the point. You should punctuate your title using Associated Press style guidelines, which specify, for instance, that the first word is capitalized, but, unlike other title styles, words after the first word (except for proper nouns) typically arent. Numbers arent spelled out. Other members of the publication staff frequently write the headlines, but this will help focus your thoughts and maybe save those other staffers some time. Examples: Lost dog finds his way homeDebate tonight in Jasper HallPanel chooses 3 essay winners Byline: The byline is the name of the writer- your name, in this case. Lead (sometimes written lede): The lead is generally the first paragraph and is written to provide a preview of the entire story. It summarizes the story and includes many of the basic facts. The lead will help readers decide if they want to read the rest of the story, or if they are satisfied knowing these details. The story: Once you’ve set the stage with a good lead, follow up with a well-written story that contains facts from your research and quotes from people you’ve interviewed. The article should not contain your opinions. Detail any events in chronological order. Use active voice- not passive voice- when possible and write in clear, short, direct sentences. In a news article, you typically put the most critical information in the early paragraphs and follow with supporting information, to make sure the reader sees the important details first and, you hope, is intrigued enough to continue to the end. The sources: Put your sources with the information and quotes they provide, not at the bottom of each page or the end of the story, as you would for an academic paper. The ending: Your conclusion can be your last bit of information, a summary, or a carefully chosen quote to leave the reader with a strong sense of your story.

Marketing is an oft conceived word used in our daily life Essay

Marketing is an oft conceived word used in our daily life - Essay Example The term was derived from the original meaning which taken literally meant simply going to the market to shop or to sell goods and services there. Marketing has grown by leaps and bounds today. It is a creative industry that has expanded down to various genres such as advertising, distribution and selling. Customer base is figured out, their needs and aspirations realized and the relevant product developed accordingly. "Robotic toys are the latest trend in a huge toy market worth $31.8 billion in the United States alone in 2005, according to the research firm NPD Group. The toy generations breed and spread rapidly--and go "extinct" fast, too". (Jeffries, 2006) But the innocence hidden in playing with mud has made it all time favorite game of children. While keeping in view the level of fame in the children the company is planning to introduce a new product. The product is the toy machine named as Mud Master that can make mud balls just like when one has to compact it with his hands. The toy will need sand, dirt, mud, and water in it to make mud balls much faster and more compact. The mud toy is a relatively new product that the company is going to launch. At the preliminary level, the product is stipulated to reach customers through vendors, whole sellers, the company's factory outlets and its main branches. Based on the response triggered by the product, future variations in the delivery of the product will be reasoned out. PRICING: As mentioned by Kotler (2000), the company will follow a six steps procedure for setting its pricing policy: 1. Selecting the pricing objective 2. determining demand 3. estimating costs 4. analyzing competitor's costs, prices and offers; 5. selecting a pricing method and 6. selecting the final price. The company will follow the method of target return pricing long-run profit making strategy by keeping the prices low. Price is an important factor in the determination of the marketing mix as it will have effects on the supply and demand of the company. Price is an important factor for the customer while making a decision to buy the mud maker. Price will often be the difference that will push a customer to buy our product over another, as long as most things are fairly similar. For this reason pricing policies need to be designed with consumers and external influences in mind, in order to effectively achieve a stable balance between sales and covering the production costs. Price strategies are important to the company because the price determines the amount of sales and profit per unit sold. Businesses have to set a price that is attractive to their customers and provides the business with a good level of profit (Geoffrey; 191-192) The company should give more incentives to middle men or retailers in way a that they offer them free samples, by this these retailers and middle man push their product in the market, so that coca cola can be seen more in the market. And have a good sale in the market because according to the expert which product seen more in the market that sells more, basically a strategy to provide incentives to retailers and distributors. "Seen

Markets and Marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Markets and Marketing - Essay Example Socio-cultural factors include health consciousness, age distribution, population growth, individuals’ career tastes, and safety concerns. Statistical data show that UK’s birth rate has increased over the last two years. This increase in birth rate adds value to Tiny Tees. While analysing current UK society, it seems that people are highly concerned about the health of their family members. Hence, people tend to purchase quality cloth materials for their toddlers. Furthermore, trends indicate that people buy more number of baby clothes in order to keep their babies away from the greater risk of getting infections. Secondly, a detailed study of technological factors may aid Tom to assess the risks and opportunities arising out of the UK technological industry. Generally, marketers consider technological factors including research and development activities, technological growth, automation, and innovations. It is obvious that UK’s technological sector has undergon e tremendous changes over the last two decades and hence the country’s technological sector offers a range of potential opportunities to Tiny Tees. The UK government encourages and supports technological innovations. Similarly, automation is very effective in the UK and it has been still developing at a greater pace. UK’s well developed transportation sector also offers better scope to Tom’s planned acquisition project. In short, technological factors can greatly contribute to the positive effects of the proposed acquisition. Thirdly, assessment of economical factors is necessary for Tom to understand the financial scope of the proposed project. Researchers have identified that economical factors including income growth rate, interest rates, inflation rates, and exchange rates play a pivotal role in determining the market success of a company. The global financial crisis 2008 negatively affected the economic growth of United Kingdom despite the monetary measures taken by the Bank of England. The profitability decline (given in Table 1) of the Tiny Tees can be greatly attributed to this economic crisis. Even though the UK economy is rapidly improving its growth status, it has not been completely recovered from the impacts of global recession yet. Therefore, the STEP analysis may assist Tom to forecast the future economic/growth status of the Tiny Teens effectively. Finally, it is necessary for Tom to analyse the political status of the market in which the planned project is going to be launched. The UK’s political spectrum seems to be stable. â€Å"Faster economic development† has become the mantra of the UK politicians and hence they try to promote country’s business sector by every means. As a result, entrepreneurs and other small scale traders get increased financial as well as technical assistance from governmental agencies. This situation will certainly contribute to the development of new ventures. Since the p lanned acquisition project comes under the category of small scale business, Tom would obtain greater support and assistance from the UK government. The UK government’s current business policies also provide the marketer with extensive future expansion opportunities. In short, the STEP analysis will help Tom to determine whether or not to acquire Tiny Teens. Question 2 To define, â€Å"

A journal Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

A journal - Essay Example Initially I used to jot down a few points in the margin to make me remember things, but learning to create visual learning pegs by labeling notes along the margins, using contrasting colors and styles took my learning strategies to a different level. Other learning skills such as associating different patterns with physical objects, or filling in information from texts and handouts and constantly discussing the topic with colleagues had never occurred to me before and which made learning for me a tedious job. This new way of learning helps me not only to store matter well in my mind but also to recall the matter easily. I think condensing techniques are useful tools that facilitate memorization because when I think of the way I used to try and memorize things, makes me wonder why I never employed these techniques before; because now I find memorizing much easier. Another helpful tool I picked up, was fitting in new matter into the old concepts and reviewing them from time to time. I found this to be exceptionally useful because it helped me to revise a matter that I had deviously learned and it made memorization easier task. Note- taking was a familiar task that I made use during lectures, but the manner in which I used to handle it was a bit monotonous. I came to know that one of the primary goals of note-taking is the gathering of relevant information which could be used for after-class study and organization of ones thoughts. Learning the right technique helped me to jot down notes in a comprehensive manner, which in turn increased my speed and pace. I also learned to take full advantage of the optimal memory curve, by labeling in the margins, using a different color and style. Creating important charts involving visual, auditory and intellectual capacities, in addition to making use of headings, labeling, indenting and other details has gone a long way in helping me to memorize and recall as

Presentation Skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Presentation Skills - Essay Example Communication is the purpose of a presentation, especially the reception of the audience. The presenter must be able to transmit the required information in a manner that is understandable and interesting to the audience, whether it be one person or an entire nation. When preparing a presentation it is essential to know your audience. By having familiarity with the audience's concerns and probable opinions concerning what you are going to say, one can be more relaxed during the actual presentation and not be sidelined by unexpected questions or responses. A presentation looks easy enough to do; and it should, it indicates that the presenter is an expert communicator well versed in the subject or material at hand. This ease comes from rigorous preparation before the presentation. Next comes the planning stage; a list is made regarding information and audio/visual aids to be used. A rough draft of the presentation is made and examined; it is critical to write the draft in order to organise one's thoughts and be able to strike out any superfluous or unnecessary information (University Of Newcastle Upon Tyne, 1999). At this stage, any irrelevancies will be extracted and the logical sequence of the information can be constructed. In cases of doubt concerning content, good planning will propel the presenter to either find the answers or leave the information in question unsaid. The next stage of planning is deciding which aids to use and how many. This is where equipment in good working order is critical; an overhead projector, a laptop computer with projector, slides, video and recording equipment can fail during a presentation and this can spell disaster to the untrained or unprepared presenter. It is a good idea to have a backup plan in case of an equipment failure, such as printed poster boards and an easel. Knowing that there is a 'Plan B' will put the presenter at ease and relaxation is imperative to a good presenter. Next comes rehearsal. Some might think that rehearsing in front of a mirror is silly, but it is important to take note objectively of your own presentation skills. Can you listen to yourself well Even better is to rehearse in front of a video camera and play back the presentation, taking note of hesitancies or tendencies to exhibit nervous behaviour such as adjusting the necktie or twisting the ring. These behaviours detract from the presentation significantly. In assessing yourself prior to the presentation it is essential to be objective in critiquing your own skills. There is always room for improvement, no matter how seasoned the presenter. If you rehearse in front of colleagues, listen to their feedback and make the necessary changes well before the presentation date in order for your changes to be more natural to you. One item of interest to keep in mind is the fact that most people will only remember three things from your presentation (presentationhelper.co.uk, online, 09 October 2005). It is important to know what three points you want your audience to remember in advance and plan the presentation around those. One example of this interesting phenomenon is Winston Churchill's famous 'blood,

HRM Of Bloomberg.Com Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

HRM Of Bloomberg.Com - Case Study Example In spite of such diversity, a large proportion of work in the manufacturing industries too relates services. (Hoque 1999b). While human resources management as a concept attracted a lot of attention as a "more effective and productive approach to managing organizations' key assets, its people", there have been differences of opinion as to whether it is industrial relations management-personnel management (IR & PR) freshly packaged or a totally different discipline "aimed at integrating the management of people into overall business strategy and organizational goals" (Poole, 1990; Salamon, 1987; Storey, 1995b cited in Mc Gunnigle 2000). Three models of HRM have been suggested: normative" (prescriptive of an ideal approach); "descriptive" (identifying developments and practice in the field); and "conceptual" (a model for classification). (Storey 1992 cited in Mc Gunnigle 2000). In the normative model HRM has a "team development" orientation, a "significant role for line managers" and s eeks to develop an "organizational culture". The conceptual model differs widely from IR-PR with as many as 27 differences listed. All researchers however agree that employee commitment is not only the dominant aspect of HRM but that it is the main differentiator between HRM and IR-PR. (Storey 1992 and Guest 1995 cited in Mc Gunnigle 2000). The objective of human resource m... 'Stretch', in this context refers to additional productivity, effective contributions and taking part in continuing improvement processes. The net effect of this would be self-motivated employees, less need for supervision necessitating fewer levels of management and reduced overheads. In addition when organisations achieve a congruence of perceived interests with employees, they are less likely to be viewed with suspicion when they undertake any changes necessary to meet environmental needs. Workforce in such organizations will be willing to swap roles (multi-tasking) that help them in more effective utilisation of labour. (Guest 1987 and Beer et al., 1985 cited in Hoque 1999a, 8) The most compelling reason for carefully crafting human resources management practices in services industries, is that in the service industries, the customer is not only a recipient of the service but also a part of the service process. This is the reason why there has been a shift in human resource management practices with service firms pursuing strategies that feature greater customer orientation. There is an increased awareness in the service firms that it is critical to obtain customer-oriented behaviours from their employees, a decided shift from the past. In order to achieve these outcomes, service firms are utilizing their human resource practices to "stimulate and reinforce behaviours needed for the successful implementation of greater customer-oriented strategies." HRM practices such as design, staffing, performance appraisal, compensation and training and development are shaped by organisational conditions, such as strategy, organisational life cycle stage, technological change, unionisation, internal labour markets and whether or not