Flipskript Ink

Photo courtesy of UCL News . Photo courtesy of Public Relations Blogger . Is it wrong to ban sex offenders from social networking sites? Some think so and some think not. While checking the frigid forecast on the Daily Freeman , this story was one of the latest headlines this past week. The AP reported that an Indiana law preventing registered sex offenders from using social media websites accessed by children was declared unconstitutional by a federeal appeals court. Even though U.S. District Judge Tanya Walton Pratt noted that the internet remains open to convicted offenders, she ruled that social networking did create a "virtual playground for sexual predators..." I am not a parent, but I am an auntie, teacher, childcare volunteer and mentor and can understand why officials and others would want to enact a law such as this. With the iElectronics evolution and new smartphones and tablets coming out every week, talking about this is purely inevita...

Photo courtesy of 360° Success . Finding a soul mate seems nearly impossible in today's society. With divorce rates, adultery, and sex out of boredom increasing by the second, it's not surprising that people have lost faith in the sacred authenticity love once had. The attributes and values that people look for in a potential mate have evolved drastically over the years and no one can find a perfect man today. In every sitcom and movie I have watched, women delve into their snacks and love lives, spending all hours of the night constructing their "ideal guy." (Girlfriends, Sex and the City, etc). This topic has been discussed so much that studies are being done on them. Christine Roberts of the New York Daily News wrote about a study conducted by dating website, WhatsYourPrice.com , on the perfect man for a woman. Out of the 9,000 plus women who participated in the survey, 40 percent of women who reside in NYC say that their perfect man should be in hitting t...

"What do you want to be when you grow up?" This is the first of many questions most people remember from their childhood. As time goes on, aspirations begin to change with life experiences. In most cases, what starts out as a job becomes an occupation and eventually turns into a career. It's easy to think of jobs, occupations, and careers as the same thing. While they may be linked into the same cluster, each one yields a very different meaning. Jobs can be defined as positions consisting of duties and tasks performed by a person in exchange for payment on either a full-time or part-time basis. These paid positions serve as a purpose for one to make and save money for something else, such as rent or mortgage or a new car. Some people work at a job mainly to make ends meet while others utilize all of their effort and energy to do their responsibilities as well as learn new skills. This can be a good quality and eventually impact one's career goals. An occupation is...

I was planning on testing my limit on nomophobia today, but the attacks in Newton, CT and Chengping, Beijing won't let my soul operate in peace. The Associated Press reports that a man opened fire inside of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, CT. For some senseless reason, 20 children won't be hugging mommy and daddy tonight. President Obama shared his tears with families and communities impacted by this event. I sincerely can't comprehend this through the eyes of a child: "Third-grade kid deciding what video game to play and sudden, excessive gun shots shake up horror in the building. You're scared, screaming, running for the closet hiding and all you know is that you want you mom and dad." I'm trembling and wanting to go home to my mother and brothers as I post this. These kids were between 5 and 10 years old. Why would someone that young receive such a punishment? Another incident in China involved 22 elementary children and 1 adult. Though ...

At a recent open mic, this lovely young poet, AVC, recited an original piece about rocky love. There was a certain lyric expressed that resonated with me for some time. I don't want to try and butcher her charming wordplay, so I'll just paraphrase the jist of it... He didn't want anyone all up in his business but updated his Facebook status with what he had for breakfast. When someone has a fight with the lovey-dovey, when baby snug-a-loo takes the first steps, when someone gets a new job or gets demoted, they run to Facebook. Or Tweet their worries away. Some may even Pin their cope-with-stress methods. Throughout it all, is it expected to be private? According to social media guru Bruce Newman, social media privacy does not exist. Newman writes in the Westchester County Business Journal that even sending an email to a person or a group of people doesn't guarantee that the message will remain private. Social means public and what was posted was put online for a rea...

I wish that we could all wake up to this. No more bad news, no more war, no more victims of sexual abuse, physical violence and emotional assault. Yet I start preparing my psyche for what negative sustenance the world has in store. I'm having a Wiz moment and the words of Evilene are screaming in my head... "Don't you ever bring me no bad news, cuz I'll make you an offer, chile, that you cannot refuse, so don't nobody bring me NO BAD NEWS!!!" Photo courtesy of Musique's Poetry . What is it exactly that has me fuming this breezy December afternoon? The murder-suicide of another young and thriving somebody. I don't follow sports, but when I came across this sad story on The Root about Kansas City Chief play Jovan Belcher  and his girlfriend, I bit my tongue til it bled. Prayers and condolences to the families, friends, teammates, and so forth. This is another unnecessary tragedy in an already chaotic world.   Another school shooting, thi...

Photo courtesy of Updatec . How many times were you late for work because you left your cell phone at home? How often do you spend checking your email, texting your mom and updating your Pintrest in one day? More importantly, what would Neil Postman say about this? The fear of being without a cell phone, also known as no-mobile-phone phobia or nomophobia , is rising higher than my blood pressure. The first time my coworkers told me about this, I was left quite verbally challenged but I had to see how serious it was. While reading the Daily News , I learned that people check their phones up to 34 times a say. I could be surprised but I'm not because when there is a new gadget and media platform coming out every week, everyone wants to stay in the know, or at least catch up. My sister just told me how convenient it was to have the internet in our hands. I had an immediate flashback of ALF using the computer to play the stock market on the internet...circa 1986. Then it hit me...