I took both video and stills at the free skate.Below there are two videos, one of which is actually a slideshow.
Enjoy…
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The common head cold is known to leave you with symptoms such as a cough, a sore or itchy throat, a low-grade fever, fatigue, congestion, slight body aches, a mild headache, and watery eyes, but is it possible for the cold to be altering the way we think and learn?
“Feelings of malaise, low mood and muddled thinking go hand-in-hand with having a cold and may be due to changes deep inside the brain instead of the cold symptoms themselves.” says a study in Brain, Behavior and Immunity. According to the research the common cold is found to have an affect on an individuals level of attention. It also shows that the common cold affects behavior and cognitive function.
A study where scientists compared mental functioning before and after head colds in 189 men and women from the U.K. explains how having a cold can result in reduced alertness, psycho-motor slowing, slower encoding of new information and slower memory speed.
The research done proves that the common cold is affecting our brains ability to learn, so is it acceptable for a student to miss school or an employee to miss work because of this?
Recently students from Lyndon State College were asked to provide their opinions, if the common cold has had an effect on their overall academic performance.
“I think I should miss school because Im sick PERIOD, why go to class feeling like that? Especially knowing that others could catch what I had” said Marcus Bessette a freshman at Lyndon State College.
Marcus was asked if he felt that the cold was affecting his ability to learn, “The Brown House (an on-campus health facility) doesn’t usually give excused absent notes for the common cold…but because I felt like I would be unable to learn and participate I just didn’t go. Now I’m suffering in my classes and could be looking at a failing grade.”
Lyndon State College is one of many schools where having the common cold doesn’t serve as an acceptable excuse to miss class. However, due to the research it is now obvious that a student should be allowed an excused absence and a chance to at least make up the missed work.
Allowing this accommodation would give many students relief. However, every school has its slackers that would take advantage of and abuse this suggested new accommodation.
Despite the common cold being enough to affect your brains ability to learn, there still is next to nothing that a school or institution can do to accommodate the needs of everyone.
The best way to ensure that you don’t miss any classes is to steer clear of the common cold and to know the ways in which can prevent it.
Dan and I are going to make a video on cold prevention tips. Hopefully get a chance to talk to a doctor or even a school nurse for our interview. There also will be natural sound allowing the chance to add natural sound pops throughout the segment as a good way to break up the sound bites from our interview . Examples of natural sound that could be used are sneezing, sniffles, people blowing there nose, washing your hands, etcetera. We could do our write-up on how the effects of a cold on the brain may be altering the ability to learn and how this might effect students, if a common cold is a good or bad excuse to miss class.
The gun laws in Vermont are some of the most lax in the entire United States of America. For example a 16 year old resident of Vermont can legally purchase a pistol and carry it concealed with no permit; but can’t attend an R-rated movie alone, or join the military.
This is a very controversial topic, since most people think tougher gun laws in Vermont would help prevent murders and accidents involving guns. If you compare Vermont’s gun law’s to some other States in the U.S they are like night and day. For instance in Chicago, Illinois a civilian cannot carry a handgun at all. This is usually a rule of thumb in cities that have densely populated areas. Whereas in Vermont there is not that many densely populated areas. But in January 2013, the city of Burlington, Vermont is banning semi-automatic assault weapons along with large capacity magazines within the city.
It doesn’t make a difference if you are a resident or non-resident of Vermont; both have the equal right to carry according to Vermont law. However in Vermont you cannot carry a fully loaded rifle or shotgun in your car, but you can carry a loaded handgun. The reason behind this is because a handgun is better suited for self-defense purposes. While carrying a loaded shotgun or rifle is considered a poaching violation since hunting is so big in Vermont and you see many animals while driving along the road. Another restriction is that you cannot have a silencer or suppressor on your gun if you are not a part of Vermont police, or unless you own a class III federal firearms license (which are hard to obtain.
Since there are few restrictions, Vermont gun supporters feel comfortable using the term “Vermont Carry,” to describe the state’s rather easy going gun law. Many Vermonters believe hunting and protecting yourself is a right that should not be taken away. Although, right now the gun laws are not as restrictive as most States, there are Vermonter’s out there who are consistently trying to add new restrictions to the law.
Many of these attempts are not successful partly because of where Vermont stands on the overall record of gun related deaths per 100 thousand. Only 9.6 Vermonters out of 100,000 will suffer a gun related death every year. However, the reason that there is such a big controversy over Gun Laws is shown in the statistics. On the top of the list is Washington D.C. with 31.2 per 100,000 and right after that is Alaska with 20 per 100,000. Here is the difference, Washington D.C. has some of the toughest and most restrictive gun laws in the U.S. but Alaska with the second highest death rate has some of the weakest and least restrictive gun laws in the U.S.
With all the competing statistics and research that have been done there still is no one better solution than the other when it comes to gun laws. This is why each state decides what is best for their citizens.
I chose to check out the New York Times website and found that they do incorporate video to accompany their write-ups. Not every story has video, but instead of clicking into a story to see if their is video package is within, on their homepage, at the top their is a tab that says video. After clicking on this tab you are brought to their homepage for video. Automatically, the most recent video will be played but you have the option of picking from a number of categories. These categories include Editors choice, World, U.S., NY/Region, Business, Technology, Sports, Science, Health, Arts, Style, Opinion, and Travel. The option of searching for a specific video is also given as the search bar is at the top right hand corner. The site is well designed and its simplicity makes it easy to navigate around the page. Despite its simple design the site still has a professional appearance. The videos are also longer than the average 1-2 minute news package, their basically short documentaries that tend to be 5 to 15 minutes long. With a variety of videos to chose from the site keeps you interested.
iReport is a great way to not only stay updated on the latest news you may be following but also allows the chance for you to share your stories with CNN if you have any. It allows you to be apart of the discussion as well, you can comment on other stories. A good idea by CNN but it could be better, its a little unorganized as your not really sure what to do once you’ve made a profile, besides being able to post your own stories you can pretty much just continue to do what you were doing before you made your new profile.
The Lyndon State Club Hockey team has already faced some unexpected adversities early on in the season.
The first thing that the team had to overcome was the lack of proper ice at the “Fenton Chester Arena,” the team lost a week of on ice practice due to the ice being too soft. The ice also had suffered holes and cracks during some of the practices and we had to set up cones around the affected areas to prevent people skating on concrete.
The second thing was the lack of the player’s conditioning, combined with a weeklong break before the preseason games verse Castleton. This left the Hornet’s at a great disadvantage because the Castleton Spartan’s had a team made up of mostly seniors who had been practicing and have already played in two games this season.
In addition to all these disadvantages the Hornets have a younger team this year due to the seven new freshman in the lineup. Although some of the freshman are good players individually they still need time to build team chemistry as well as get used to the level of play. On top of everything the team also just recently lost their Captain and lead scorer Tim Patten last year.
The Hornet’s practiced every day Saturday through Thursday the week after break (before the two preseason games Friday and Saturday against Castleton, which don’t count towards anything). To make up for the lack of ice time the rink has offered all members of the team free stick and puck ice sessions for two weeks strait. Though not everyone goes to these since they have classes at the scheduled times; some players who have some free time take advantage of the free ice time to work on their weaknesses such as their shot and stick handling.
Unfortunately the Hornet’s lost both preseason games against Castleton. But as a result the Hornets have learned a lot about themselves through the two losses. The team now knows where they need to strengthen their game as well as how to carry themselves better in a game situation. After another whole week of practice the Hornet’s face the Coast Guard Academy this Friday at home which counts for a regular season game.
Coach of the Lyndon State Hornets Jonathan Davis talk about the pre-season:
Hockey season is finally here, and since we are both on the schools team this means we will be at practice for the next two nights leading up to our first exhibition match: LSC Hornets versus the Castleton Spartans. We’ll both be at practice and the game; we have decided to take a few pictures leading up to this Friday for the slide show images. We will take a few pictures of the game as well. As far as an audio piece for the slide, we were thinking that we could ask a specific player about their experience leading up to the game. However, we’re also thinking that if an interview with our coach Jonathan Davis is possible we would preferably interview him instead of a player. Our main objective is to shape our interview into a story of what it took to prepare for the game and the challenges that might have been faced along the way.
Our intended audience for the project is a variety of different people; it can be any one who enjoys playing hockey or simply someone who enjoys the game. The youth hockey players of our generation are also part of our audience. It can give the representation that Hockey isn’t about just making it to the pros but how it is something that be enjoyed at even a club level. Also, it relays a vital message that anyone could gain from; to work hard and dedicate yourself to the goals you’re trying to accomplish. In this circumstance the dedication and effort put in to being prepared to face Castleton.
Dan and I will be sharing the responsibilities of the project, both taking pictures, both participating in the interview, and working together to produce the sound slide.
I would like to first start by bringing up the fact that I currently write for NewsLinc. In this, I completely understand and can relate to all the hard work and effort that goes in to keeping the site not only up to date but also up online. On the home page I like the fact that you know where you are, with “NewsLinc” in a nice big font so that there is no doubt that you’re in the right place. I also like the line right below the page title that fills you in on what exactly NewsLinc is “An Online Project of The Vermont Center for Community Journalism”.
The page is also very easy to navigate and explore with the category tabs right below the title and the options to pick a specific demographic or town, also for those broader audience based stories that fall under the “around the NEK” category. Also each story has its preview write-up along with a read more button so page viewers know exactly where to click to read that story. Even if someone is new to the internet or just aren’t that good with the internet in general they still will most likely be able to find their way around the page.
I also like the “submit a tip” page which allows the chance for viewers of the page to put their own opinions into words. These “tips” most likely can used to improve the site as well as take any necessary and potential changes into consideration.
With social media on the rise, NewsLinc also provides a follow us on Twitter or Facebook option. Which is great way for viewers to stay updated on a story, event, or situation that might not have been fully released on a news broadcast.
I like the way that NewsLinc is currently operating not only because of the simplicity in regards to navigation, but also for the content that is chosen to be covered.
Snowboarding and Skiing are both becoming more and more popular every year. While these sports grow so do the companies and organizations that are involved with them. 
These companies are always looking for the best ways to promote their products. There are many different ways companies can go about this: through commercial advertisements, advertisements up on billboards, or even those annoying online advertisements that seem to interrupt everyone. However, these may not be the best ways of promoting a certain company. Many, companies are now using film edits and short movies to promote new products and their company. Using film as a way of promotion has its advantages. One, the viewers watching the film are watching it because they have an interest in the sport, therefor they are not under the impression that this is trying to get them to buy or wear whatever is being promoted, because they can enjoy it. Two, if a viewer relates to the athletes, looks up to them, or considers them role models, then watching them perform gnarly tricks and shredding the mountain powder will make a viewer want to be just like them. This means that they will be more apt to want to rock a lot of the same gear as the athletes being featured.
The companies are not the only ones benefiting from these films and edits. The film maker or producer of the video is also getting a lot out of it. Getting paid is an obvious but not all film 
makers get paid cash at the end of the day. When operating on a smaller scale with new companies and businesses often there are other rewards. One, of the big ones is free gear. Companies will give film makers free gear so that they can rep\promote for them and so that the riders in their film can also rep\promote it, simply by wearing the gear. Another, big benefit of getting a film sponsored by certain companies is that more people may want to see it. Instead of just the film maker promoting it the sponsoring companies will also put out the word, in the end building a bigger, broader audience base. Perhaps one of the biggest benefits just may be getting your name out there. Film makers want to establish a name for them-selves in order to work their way up they must first get their name and work out to as many people as possible.
Alex Shea is a film maker whose most recent film “The Weekend” premiered on the 21 of September this year. Shea has been making ski and snowboard edits for a few years now and hopes to make a career for himself in the industry. “The Weekend” is a ski and snowboard film that features a group known as the “VILLEBILLIES”. The “VILLEBILLIES” are a group of riders that, for the most part shred the mountains of Northeastern America. The members primarily consist of students who attend Lyndon State College as well as a few who used to, but have now graduated. This was a big film for Shea for it was sponsored by ski and snowboard outerwear company “FACE” as well as “Flossophy Headwear”. Despite not getting any sort of official pay for this film Shea did get hooked up with some free gear to rep from the films sponsors. The film also helped to draw in a crowd for the Ski and Ride Club at Lyndon State College on the day of the premiere. The club collected all proceeds from the premiere event to be used towards trips and other fun events for the upcoming season.
Kevin Kelleher 