T-Town Showdown Car and Motorcycle Show

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Redemption Repairs and Performance of Texarkana, Arkansas, hosted the T-Town Showdown Car Show on Veteran’s Day, Saturday, November, 11 at the Four States Fair Grounds from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The event organizers honored veterans by allowing free entry to anyone with a military I.D.

The show featured classic cars, show-quality diesels, motorcycles, ATV’s, and premium sound systems.  This event was fun for adults and kids of all ages.  Optimus Prime from the popular Transformers movie series was on site.

After the pin-up girl and sound-off contest, multiple vehicles were spotted, performing burnouts for the crowd.  This show gets two thumbs up.

Photos by:  Misty Jones

         

 

Veterans Day Parade

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The Texarkana Area Veterans Council hosted the annual Veteran’s Day Parade in downtown Texarkana, on Saturday, November 11, at 11 a.m.  The theme of this year’s parade was “Saluting Women in the Military thru the Years.”

The parade began at the intersection of East Broad Street and Hazel Street, in downtown Texarkana, Arkansas.  The festivities consisted of floats, local high school bands, antique cars, local motorcycle groups, Texarkana Jeep Junkies, the Corvette Club, Cub Scouts, and much more.   The TAMUT Eagle was also there, showing support for our student and community veterans.

The crowd was beaming with support for their veterans.  Children and their parents were proudly waving their flags and showing their support, as community organizations slowly trickled by passing out candy, flags, and cross pins to the crowd.

If you missed this year’s parade, check out the video link and photos below.

Video provided by KFLTV Texarkana – Youtube

 

Photos by:  Misty Jones

 

The Demon Haunted World

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The book club meeting held on November 8 began with the video above. The book discussed was The Demon Haunted World- Science as a Candle in the Dark written by Carl Sagan. Sagan was an astronomer born in 1934. He worked on NASA projects and wrote the Pulitzer Prize winning novel, Cosmos, that turned into a thirteen part television series that aired in 1980.

Science as a Candle in the Dark is a collection of Sagan’s articles and essays over a few decades. One of the points highlighted in the book is the effects of scientific illiteracy. Science and math are subjects most students are not excited to learn in school. Because of this, people take scientific assertions as facts when there is no proof of these assertions being true. A topic mentioned was UFO’s. Many people wrote to Sagan asking him to verify the existence of UFO’s. He could not say they existed, nor could he say they did not. However, he did think this was a hallucination.

One of the people who wrote to him said, “Your conclusion that large numbers of people in this country, perhaps as many as five million, are all victims of an identical mass hallucination is asinine.”

After the video, the moderator Dr. David Allard, Professor of Biology, opened the floor for discussion about the book and Sagan’s ideas.

In the book, Sagan discusses alien abductions and the people who claim to be victims.

“Carl Sagan talks about how he can hear his dad every once in a while in his head. He lived with his dad for so long and every once in a while he could hear ‘Carl’. Technically, that is a form of hallucination, auditory hallucination,” said Dr. Angela Sikorski, Associate Professor of Psychology.

After she said this, there was discussion about sleep paralysis, which Dr. Sikorski confirmed is real. Sleep paralysis has been a theory behind the stories of alien abduction for years. Sleep paralysis occurs when you are falling asleep or waking up. The mind is awake and fully aware of what is going on, but the body is asleep. You are unable to move or speak, but you are mentally aware of the sounds around you because you are awake. In this state, it is very possible to begin having visual hallucinations.

Dr. Dayna “Joy’ Goldstein, Assistant Professor of English, chose this book for discussion and said, “He touched my life as a scientist I could relate to and I watched the Cosmos series and he inspired me about the meter of the universe.”

A moment when Sagan inspired Dr. Goldstein was when she was at a point in her life when she was questioning religion and her beliefs. Sagan’s own religious beliefs were debated and he was not a religious man.

“As a person who never had a strong interest in math and science, I found the book very interesting and entertaining. Sagan was able to explain science in a way that made sense for the average person. The book was not full of confusing scientific jargon, but was written in a conversational tone.”

As someone who does not have an extensive background in science, the book was not difficult to follow. Sagan explained his thoughts in a tone that did not belittle the reader and was very interesting to read. He used examples and stories from real people to emphasize his points.

 

How To Get More Sleep?

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Sleep, what is that? Might sound like a foreign word to a vast majority of people worldwide, especially college students. It is said that people should get at least eight or more hours of sleep, but when you’re in college that is something most can only wish for. So, what is stopping students from getting an adequate amount of sleep? I’m here to talk all things sleep, how to start getting more of it and tips on sleeping better at night.

As you can probably imagine pulling all-nighters is nothing new for students and in doing so it throws off sleep patterns. So, of course, for some college students getting less than eight hours of sleep before having to report to class is the new norm. However, the real issue is that it’s not healthy for the brain or body. According to my own personal sleep diary AKA my fitbit, it tracks my sleep pattern. Some nights I’ve gotten as little as 2 hours and 43 minutes of sleep while other nights I’ve gotten closer to six hours. Either way it’s still isn’t enough to really be productive throughout the day. So, what is the secret to college students getting more sleep, here are a few tips.

1. POWER DOWN: An hour before going to bed turn off all electronics. In fact, if you have an iphone there’s a ‘do not disturb’ feature that allows your phone to not make a sound or even vibrate when that feature is on.

2. LIMIT YOUR NAPS: On average a person should keep their naps at a minimum, less than 20-30 minutes.

3. ROOM TEMPERATURE: It is said that people sleep best when the room temperature is between 68 and 72 degrees.

4. SET YOUR BODY CLOCK: Going to bed and waking up at the same times every day even on weekends are keys to a healthy sleep.

5. EXERCISE: I know that this is something that many people despise but it can be very beneficial to getting a good night’s rest. Try working out three to four hours before bedtime.

6. LISTEN TO WHITE NOISE: There are many apps and machines that offer oceans waves crashing, rain, thunderstorm, or soft classical music.

7. FREE YOUR MIND: Try meditating or writing in a journal two hours before bed. By doing this it can help relieve stress or anything that is on your mind. Also, try seeing a counselor to talk about your problems.

8. STAY HYDRATED: Sometimes if your body is dehydrated that can lead to not being able to sleep or fatigue.

9. DECLUTTER YOUR SLEEPING SPACE: Clean and declutter your room. Sleeping in a clean and organized room can actually help put the mind at ease. Also, lowering the lights and use darkening curtains.

10. EAT BETTER: Avoid eating heavy foods, if you’re going to eat something let it be a light snack two hours before bed. Try something like fruit or crackers.

“Year of Yes”

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“If you want crappy things to stop happening to you, then stop accepting crap and demand something more.” –Christina Yang, Grey’s Anatomy

The magnificent creator of Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, and executive producer to How to Get Away with Murder all share one thing in common…Shonda Rhimes. She has become a household name and is the super woman behind these hit television shows that own Thursday nights! Aside from being a producer, screenwriter, owning a production company ‘Shondaland,’ and being a mother to three girls, she is also the author of the book, ‘Year of Yes.’ When a person has that much going on it makes sense that Rhimes would say no to anything outside of writing for her Thursday night hits. Although Shonda is a busy woman that wasn’t the sole reason why she continued to turned down opportunities, but I’ll explain that a bit later.

Rhimes prefer to being behind the camera, why, because she’s a liar and she enjoys every second of it. Shonda Rhimes admits to the thrill of making things up in the opening of her book, “I’m a liar. And I don’t care who knows it. I make stuff up all the time.” Now before you freak out about that statement and boycott her shows, she gets paid to make stuff up…she writes for the shows that keeps her audience on the edge of their sofas every week. Now here’s the real reason Shonda use to skip out on opportunities, because she’s extremely shy! Rhimes explains in her book how much of an introvert she is, having panic attacks before television appearances, and saying ‘no’ to anything that involved her being the center of attention. Then on Thanksgiving Day 2013, Deloris, Shonda’s sister mumbled six simple words “you never say yes to anything.” Shonda, being the brilliant person that she is, decided to challenge herself and for one year said YES to everything that scared her.

“Year of Yes,” is a journey of how Shonda Rhimes transformed from saying “NO” to all things that scared her to saying “YES” to all things that scared her. That meant one day giving the commencement address to Dartmouth University in front of thousands upon thousands of people and even appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, something that the old Shonda wouldn’t have done. I think this is a book that many people around the world could benefit from, because it challenges people to stop living life afraid of the unknown and to stop being comfortable in the place they are familiar with. As 2017, is slowly starting to come to a close this is the perfect time for those that want a change in their life to take on the “Year of Yes” challenge for 2018.

“New year, new me,” will be the statement that will be circulating around social media on January 1, 2018, so why not really mean it this time by doing something you’ve never done before? Do you feel like your life is a little stagnate, do you feel like you haven’t accomplished anything, still feel like you are the same person you were a year ago? If you answered yes to any of these it’s probably because you’ve been living your life in your little bubble that most called “a comfort zone.” A person’s comfort zone is a place that is familiar and nothing bad can come from it if a mistake happens. However, guess what, nothing extraordinary can happen from it either. So, with that being said I’m giving you a homework assignment, but don’t worry it’s not due until December 31, 2018.

I want you to go out and buy a notebook, and throughout the year write down every scary opportunity that is offered to you. Of course, you said yes to it because you’re participating in the “Year of Yes” challenge, right? Write down what was going through your mind when the opportunity presented itself and your experience after you completed it. At the end of the year reflect on what type of year 2018 was for you. I guaranteed it will be your most fulfilling year yet.
Good Luck!

Holiday Movies

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Whether it’s at home with family, or snuggled up with hot chocolate and a blanket in your dorm room, there is something special about watching movies that celebrate the holidays. Students around campus were asked to submit their favorite holiday movie they watch every year. From classics to current, these suggestions will leave you without question on what you need to watch this season.

Hocus Pocus- Katie McCorkle

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Home Alone – Brooke Rayburn

Elf – Landon Porter

How the Grinch Stole Christmas – Rebekah Drennon

The Polar Express – Sharda James

Christmas in Connecticut – Victoria Marshal

National Lampoons Christmas Vacation – Misty Jones

White Christmas – Rebekah Drennon

Die Hard – Austin Powers

Original Ghost Busters / New Years – Misty Jones

Thor Ragnarok: Calm Before the Storm

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Rated PG-13 for Intense Sequences of Sci-Fi Violence and Action, and Brief Suggestive Material

Thor Ragnarok represents the calm before the storm – the latest in the ever progressing Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), it works to answer lingering questions while setting the stage for the highly anticipated Infinity War films. Unfortunately, it isn’t much aside from that – Ragnarok tries to be some sort of 80’s film homage and succeeds, much to its detriment.

Underneath the highly appealing aesthetic, Ragnarok is chiefly concerned with Thor saving Asgard from, well, Ragnarok – the prophesied apocalypse he’s been receiving visions of since prior MCU films. The film moves full speed ahead to resolve this plot, quickly tossing aside plot points from The Dark World to make way for new dilemmas, such as whatever happened to the Hulk or to throw out there that the antagonist of Ragnarok is Thor’s heretofore unmentioned sister.

It isn’t as though the film is inherently bad – the fight scenes are nice to look at, the music adds to the energy of the film and the chemistry between characters (such as Thor and the Hulk, who can now speak) makes for great laughs. It’s more so that the only aspects of the plot that feel like they were thoughtfully done are those related to Infinity War and unfortunately, they’re the sort of things that make Ragnarok a required view for those fans of the MCU that want to keep up to date for it. But that Ragnarok seems so keen on doing away with old plot points for the sake of progressing the MCU makes me a little concerned that these portions of the movie will be just as simply discarded for the sake of Infinity War.

Thor Ragnarok – come for the Hulk, stay for the post-credits scene!

Meet NASA Engineer Gentry Lee

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As a part of this year’s PLACE lectures theme of ‘Science and Technology,’ keynote speaker, NASA Engineer, and science fiction writer B. Gentry Lee will be visiting our campus this week. On November 9th, 2017 (Thursday), Lee will be attending an informal luncheon at 12:00 p.m.-1:00 p.m. on the UC 3rd floor Tri-Stare Iron & Metal Atrium. Students are welcome to attend this event to welcome Mr. Lee.

Later that evening, Lee will be presenting his lecture “A Passion for Knowledge,” at 7:00 p.m. at Eagle Hall in the University Center. This lecture is open to the public. We are fortunate to have such a great guest visit our campus, so be sure not to miss this great opportunity!

To find out more go to:

http://tamut.edu/news/2017/11/PLACE-to-Present-Space-Engineer-and-Author-B-Gentry-Lee-on-Thursday.php

Assassins Creed: Origins — First Impressions

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Rated M (17+) for Blood and Gore, Drug References, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language and Use of Alcohol

Assassins Creed Origins is the newest installment in an ongoing series of historical action-stealth games developed by Ubisoft. For the uninitiated, the series has focused on a fictional conflict between two groups, the Assassins (generally embodying freedom and equality) and the Templars (generally embodying order and security), whose ideologies clash in various historical periods revisited under the context of this conflict carrying on into the modern-day, with descendants of major figures from both groups (usually the Assassins, hence the title) reliving the lives of their ancestors through technologies originally developed by or reverse-engineered from the products of the Templar’s modern-day iteration, Abstergo Industries. The recent release of Assassins Creed Origins is notable for its setting being Ancient Egypt, a time period long requested by fans of the series, and that this game was developed in twice the time Ubisoft has usually taken to develop and release its games – normally a yearly affair, the added time to develop Origins sees the series return under a massively reworked system. As a longtime fan of the series, this is written to offer some first impressions of the game with a full review planned to release before the holidays.

As mentioned before, the game is both old and new – new in that the foundations of Origins are built on an open-world role-playing game (RPG) system and old in that Origins is intended to depict the ‘origins’ of the Assassin Brotherhood, an heretofore uncovered subject now playing out in a highly requested era of history. It’s clear that the new system works incredibly well to redefine the series’ gameplay – Origins introduces RPG elements such as a levelling system and gear system to better embody a sense of progression, pacing it out over a vast and sprawling landscape. Quests within Origins are thoughtfully designed, with each that I’ve completed at the time of this writing feeling engaging and distinct. They often use traversal methods that are a staple of the Assassins Creed series, scaling large structures and navigating spaces in a style reminiscent of parkour, to better sell the idea that you can approach scenarios you find yourself from varied angles – which is better fleshed out by the gear you acquire, your animal companion who can soar above and scout out these locations and that Origins vastly widens the scope of what is traversable in-game to include almost any surface – whereas methods to scale a building or structure were once clearly defined, Origins contextualizes it within common logic – structures with texture are climbable, whereas a completely smooth fortress wall isn’t. As a game, Origins has an impressive set of lungs, allowing Egypt to be depicted as a living space that is a joy to explore.

Yet as an Assassins Creed game, Origins seems to falter – or at least, it isn’t inclined in the slightest to allude to the beginnings of the meta-conflict present within the series like you’d think it would. While this is only a first impressions piece and I won’t fault the game completely for this as I’ve not completed the story, it seems a bit odd to only receive the iconic item of the Assassins, the Hidden Blade (a wrist-mounted blade that springs forward from your wrist as an assassination tool), about 6 hours into the game with no real explanation of what it is or why it exists as of yet, leaving certain questions about its design that an Assassins Creed fan would want to have answered still lingering.

For the moment I can only give Origins the benefit of a doubt that all will be answered in due time and enjoy what I can get out of it now in its engrossing open-world gameplay. Expect a full review out in time for the holidays.

CommNEXT 2017

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On Saturday, October 21st, Mass Communication Majors from our campus had an opportunity to attend the CommNEXT Conference in Shreveport. With Innovative Communications on the rise, it is important that young professionals stay up to date with the latest trends in the Communications Field. Successful individuals with skills in Public Relations, Social Media, Journalism, and film attended to speak and share their stories. This included Key Note Speaker Tracey Altman, one of the founders of “Holy Guacamole.”

The conference started out with lunch and “Guacamole Taught Me Everything I Know About Marketing.” Attendees were given Tracey Altman’s top ten list of tips and lessons she learned while building her brand “Holy Guacamole,” and how to apply them to their future careers. These included:

  1. Agencies are Partners, Not Vendors
  2. Think Outside the Box
  3. Consumer Counts – If you target everyone, you target no one.
  4. Social Media is About Quality, Not Quantity
  5. Business Marketing v.s. Marketing Business
  6. Know Your Brand Voice – Mandates Consistency
  7. Read
  8. MISTAKES ARE GOOD
  9. Be an Intentional Consumer – Shop like you target.
  10. Love What You Do – Intrigue=Love=Energy=Passion

She emphasized that mistakes are inevitable and everyone in these fields will make them. Attendees were left not only with yummy samples, but with the question, “What is a mistake you have made and how have you learned from it?”

After the Key Note Speaker, there were 3 different breakout session times for students to attend, and learn about topics and fields they were interested in. The sessions A&M Students attended were “Tear Down that Wall,” “How Social Media Has Changed Journalism/The Impact of Social Media on P.R.,” and “Break the Creative Bank.”

“Tear Down That Wall” was led by Scott Anderson, Executive Editor of the Bossier Press Tribune. Due to social media, the job market for journalism in the news room has dropped significantly. He emphasized that the industry now sees everyone as storytellers, and that  Journalists need P.R. Professionals just as badly as P.R. Professionals need the journalists. A worker from “The Times” was in the room and she said “We used to have 35 on staff, and now we have 10. Where we used to have 7 photographers, we now have one.” This shows how much of a need there is for the bridge between P.R. and Journalism.

“How Social Media Has Changed Journalism” and “The Impact of Social Media on P.R.” was a session split with two speakers. Dr. Pickens, the Chair of Communications and General Studies for SUSLA was the first speaker. She focused on Citizen Journalism and how we now live in a “see it, snap it, send it world.” With social media becoming more and more popular, everyone has the opportunity to be their own journalist at the touch of a button. She encouraged the idea that not all information is necessarily news and you need to fact check the sources you view. Dr. Joa, Assistant Professor of Mass Communication at LSUS talked about social media and P.R. She talked about why it is important for business professionals to know the importance of what is trending on social media, and the particular important of hashtags. She also talked about how use network analysis and ethnography to build campaign effectiveness.

“Breaking the Creative Bank” was the personal favorite breakout session of our students. It was hosted by Jazmin Jernigan, a former communications student who is now a successful freelancer and owns Aesthetic Innovations, LLC. She spoke about the pros and cons of not only starting out as a freelancer, but what it takes to be successful with your career. Her 6 Successful habits included:

  1. Creative Value
  2. Honor Your Time and Talent
  3. Educate Your Clients
  4. Find Balance
  5. Partner and Collaborate with Competition on Bigger Projects
  6. Break the Starving Stereotype

She stressed that as a freelancer, more often than not, your home becomes you workspace, and the biggest challenge is learning how to be productive but also find balance. Aspiring freelancers should “Find their niche.” What is it about your services that will make you stand out? She said “You want to bring a unique presence in a saturated market.” Jazmin also warned that starting out is hard, but in the long run, it can be worth it if you stay committed to what you are pursuing.

The conference closed with speaker Gregory Kallemburg, founder of the Film Prize Foundation. He talked about how important it is to invest in and build your local community.

The day was long, but very productive. With opportunity  to meet professionals from all over the country, it is something all Mass Communication students should consider attending on a yearly basis.