Jaleasa Carroll

Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana Miss Carroll is a gifted Junior at Hampton University. Jaleasa is the oldest of two, with a younger brother who just completed basic training. Being a Public Relations major and Marketing minor, Jaleasa is currently studying under the renowned Scripps Howard School of Journalism and Communications. As a recreationally photographer, Carroll and a few of her Hampton friends are trying to launch their local Hampton Roads magazine, Light House Magazine. After graduating she plans to become an event planner, hoping to “be behind the scenes” at fashion shows, clubs, high profile parties, and red carpet events. With the many connections of networks not only at Hampton, but at Scripps Howard itself, for this rising star the sky is the limit. Eventually, Miss Carroll aims to open her own lounge on the East coast of the country; preferably being located in Atlanta, Georgia. After her long and illustrious career, she plans to reside there in Atlanta or Charlotte, North Carolina.

From just meeting her it is apparent that Jaleasa Carroll is a unique leader rather than a generic follower. She would describe her style as “bohemian sheik; clean cut, but at the same time a whimsical flower child.” Of course I asked the question “what made you cut your hair in such a different fashion she?” Jaleasa spoke to the fact that she likes to be different and unique. Carroll is one that is easy to bore, and is constantly bored with her hairstyle especially. With her hair already short, she decided to chop it all off. After cutting out her hair ‘perm’, she found that her only option was to personify her unique sheikness in her hair do. Thus, the bohemian sheik high-top fade. For any other woman this short cut would cause her to feel uneasy, however for Jaleasa, she felt lighter and freer. Recently, she decided to dye the front half of her hair in what I like to call a “sherbet” technique (blond faded into hot pink). Of course the next question asked was how and why she came to dye her hair in such a scheme. Apart from her ‘Restless Hair Maintenance Syndrome’, this turnout was by complete accident. Her original aim was to dye the very tip of her hair do in the blond color, however, the tip turned into half of her head. From there she winged the hot pink blend into what I now like to call her “bohemian sheik high-top sherbet fade sundae” – a little bananas, a lot of cool, a little bit nutty, but exactly what she was craving.

Scoobert Doo & The Scooby Dooby Doo Universe

Scooby-Doo is one of the most iconic cartoon characters ever released. With more than 10 television show spin offs of "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!", the franchise has lasted from 1969 to Today. With this longevity, Scooby-Doo has had a lasting effect on every generation the show has encountered. Even in this age of technology, Scooby-Doo and the gang has kept with the pace by creating their own interactive webpage. The Doo is not only an American icon, but a universal one.

My favorite series of Scooby-Doo were the original, "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!", the late 80s and early 90s version, "A Pup Named Scooby Doo", and the latest member of the family, "Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated". The original 1969 show created the culture, attitude, and chemistry of the characters. The theme song is what I believed helped to form the hype of Scooby, along with the funny action noises, classic illustrations, and of course Scooby Snacks. The 1988 version of the show is what I believe helped to tie in all generations, young and old, because of the extreme youthfulness not seen previously. In this series, Scooby and the gang are in elementary school where they encounter "monsters" in there community, and create humor upon their many childish ideas. The latter of my favorites is a very contemporary and artistic representation of Scooby-Doo and Mystery Incorporated, created in 2010. I like this series (while some feel in opposition) because it goes into detail about how the Mystery Inc. originally began, why there are so many "monsters" and "ghosts", while intimately showings the romantic relationships between Fred and Daphne, and Shaggy and Velma.

Scoobert and the gang have racked up a number of awards throughout their illustrious career. The Scooby-Doo franchise has received two Emmy nominations, with one of them being the 1989 Daytime Emmy nomination for "A Pup Named Scooby Doo - again, one of my favorites. "Scooby-Doo, Where Are You!" was ranked first on the 2005 list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons of All Time by Channel 4 of the United Kingdom. also held the Guinness World Record for the most episodes of an animated series ever produced from 2004-2005. Once again, the Doo is more than an American icon, he is a universal one.

THE DANISH "SCOOBY-DOO, WHERE ARE YOU!" THEME SONG

PR of the New Century

First it was MySpace. They dominated for years and eventually became isolated from assorted social environments that are more prevalent now. Not to mention, everyone who harnessed MySpace remebers having Tom as a friend.

To some extent, I would even classify YouTube as a social media networking website. The reason – YouTube’s users have the ability to provide feedback and share video resources with anyone scattered throughout the world. Isn’t that basically the premise of social media, to bring people together regardless of location, through digital channels of exchange? They may be networking with different ideas, overall information and content, but on the surface, they are still expressing themselves through visualization and video communication.

Moreover, we have all experienced the joy of YouTube. A friend recommends a video that catches his or her attention and eventually you return the favor to one of your close associates. This could be classified as social networking as far as I am concerned, because there are videos that intermittently trend and experience a large influx of traffic, based on their accessibility.

This accessibility can directly correlate to friends recommending videos, and even those that are featured on the landing page. Individuals could also post specific videos via their social networking platforms, which could also influence people into viewing videos on-line. Regardless of the street that directs them to the actual video—it to some extent was facilitated by social media and the influence of other individuals through social means.

Nonetheless, as the road continues to be paved, time will tell what new applications appear and which ones will fail to sustain relevance. I would have to assume they are all vulnerable, considering new social networking programs could rapidly appear as technology continues to expand. This expansion in a sense cannot be predicted and foreshadowed; it eventually takes its course, with the ever-dynamic environment that we classify as the social media landscape.

In addition, social media continues to pave the road of social innovation. It has become nearly impossible to avoid utilizing social media networks. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Digg, Delicious, Foursquare or Orkut, it really doesn’t matter. There are so many different options to choose from, that we are all bound to discover one that we align with.

Companies have even extended special offers for individuals that use social platforms. For example, Mashable recently reported that Ann Taylor offers individuals that are mayors on Foursquare a 25% discount in New York City. They even plan to expand the offer to other stories, depending on the successfulness of the campaign in the New York City locations.

If you are unfamiliar with Foursquare, it is a social networking option that allows you to check-in at various destinations throughout the day. Depending on the number of times that you have checked-in, you are awarded different titles. Users are also granted the capacity to recommend different locations in your hometown, which provides personal advice for your prospective, to varying web friends throughout the world.

Not to mention, people can update their social accounts at their convenience, regardless of their location. For the most part, the convenience factor is facilitated by mobile smart phones, which have hypothetically transformed the way that we function.

All-in-all, the changes have enabled people to update their information wherever, whenever and however. It also helps provide a quality user-experience, and eliminates the hurdles of staying in contact with those individuals, which are important to you and require constant contact.

At some point, I also believe we will all be expected to be fluent in social media and basically unable to stay truly connected without it. This naturally leads one to question—if social media is beneficial to those involved with it, or if it will create more of a divide amongst individuals, who don’t have access to the Internet on a daily basis.

What do you think will happen in the world of social media and technology? Would you classify social media as beneficial or detrimental to society as a whole? Consider the questions and share your thoughts with your social friends—start the digital conversation.

Martha Jarvis Jackson is Glass Art

When I think of art I think of unique work from a person that believes that what they do is going to turn heads. I don’t think of basic art such as self portrait by pencil or paintings of a basket of fruit. I think of art that I never seen before or that looks difficult to accomplish. When I think of art I think of glass art, because it’s unique, turn heads, not basic, and difficult to accomplish.

Glass art seems like the hardest work of art to accomplish. As an “Urbanflypr” employee I had to visit Martha Jackson Jarvis Studio for research about the creative process for glass art, and during the visit she explain the past work she done. The work she had done was all glass art, and she explained that it took months to accomplish. One of the hardest pieces of glass art she had to do was the moral for Anacostia Station, which she named, “The river spirits of Anacostia.” This was a piece of glass art that she said took years to accomplish. This whole moral surround Anacostia Station in a visual acquits life standpoint and gives a nice visual presentation for Anacostia Station. “The river spirits of Anacostia” was unique because it visualized fishes made from glass, It turned heads because it was made to give a visual presentation for Anacostia Station, it wasn’t a basic piece of art work, and it took years to finish making it difficult to accomplish.

In conclusion glass art defines my definition of what art is because I like to be amazed by an artist, and when I seen the work that Martha Jackson Jarvis did I was amazed. Glass art is hands down the most vivid piece of art I have ever seen and I can’t wait until I see more. This is Darren Timothy McIntyre Jr and I approve this message.

Ms. Anacostia

East of the river is the place, but Anacostia's the name of the historic area. It not only shelters the black community of DC, but is also home to our very own Fredrick Douglass. Filled with numerous of recreations  to accompany the youth of Anacostia is now under going a major makeover. There's more housing to take citizens in and well known neighborhoods such as Barry Farms are being rebuilt. The Anacostia area now has more restaurants and shopping malls than ever before. It was once known for the worst area in DC, now its considered to be part of the tourist attraction. Anacostia and it's people have excelled through a lot over the years. Going back century's ago when our founding fathers walked the very streets as wee see today. And our ancestors which were slaves, lived on plantations which we call our neighborhoods today. East of the river was canceled out for a long time, it was said that only welfare and convict citizens come out of Anacostia. But now there is living proof that "Ana" is more than that. Talent runs in every citizens blood in the Anacostia area, and the youth have dreams just like any other child in DC. I believe that Anacostia brings life to DC, it's a very unique area with very unique people, Anacostia has kept hope alive for DC.

BAM LOOK AT THAT BACON SIZZLE

Duke Ellington School of the Arts has always been at the epicenter of young artist development in the greater Washington area. This due to their commitment to excellence in the caliber of students they like to accept they pick the ones with the most potential. I can personally speak on this from the visual arts perspective, my discipline when I attended their institution. The Visual Arts department is one of the smaller departments in the school and my class was no exception starting from the humble begging’s of just around 12 people. I started out, as a young mustache that only knew how to draw Dragon Ball Z characters, could not make a value scale, and was not a fan of implementing color in my work. Through the facilitation of my teachers I grew to go far beyond my meager beginning I was able to accomplish stupendous feats with the medium of charcoal, watercolor and the graphic arts. This then led to my plans toward a career in the visual arts, which I have initiated by pursuing higher learning at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art. At this current institution I am trying to find my niche.

Anacostia's Hotspot

When you think of 'hot spots' in Anacostia, the neighborhood library probably doesn't come to mind, but since it opened on April 26th of this year, that's exactly what it has become.

The library can hold 80,000 books, DVDs, and CDs, plus it has 32 computers that are open for public use.Many people in the neighborhood have decided to take advantage of the resources the library provides. It took $14.7 million and 6 years to make the library come to life, but it was well worth the wait.

Mayor Fenty speaks about the success of the library, "This state-of-the-art facility will serve as a valuable tool for our youth providing them with additional educational resources enabling them to continue down the path of academic progress." Even though this is true, some D.C. residents think Fenty only built the library ask a tactic to get more votes during re-election, because people living in Wards 7 and 8 are not Fenty supporters.

I don't know what the real reasoning behind Fenty deciding to rebuild the library was, but whatever it was, I'm glad that he did. It was something Anacostia needed and deserved.