For narrative, repeat the first line of the chorus of every song of Taylor Swift’s 1989 album

1. Welcome to New York- Welcome to New York, it’s been waiting for you
2. Blank Space- So it’s going to be forever or it’s going to go down in flames
3. Style- You got the James Dean daydream look in your eyes
4. Out of the Woods- Are we out of the woods?
5. All You Had to Do Was Stay- Hey, all you had to do was stay
6. Shake It Off- Cause the players gonna play play play play
7. I Wish You Would- I wish you would go back
8. Bad Blood- Cause baby now we got bad blood
9. Wildest Dreams- Say you’ll remember me
10. How You Get The Girl- And then you say I want you for worse or for better
11. This Love- This love is good
12. I Know Places- Baby I know places we won’t be found
13. Clean- Rain came pouring down when I was drowning

Today, we watched a video where Google employee Max Hawkins lived randomly for two years, being told where to go and what to do by an algorithm by the computer. This allowed him to show up to events such as an eighth grade band concert or take a flight to Mumbai. This can be both a good idea and a bad idea. The perk of living randomly and doing random things is that you have the opportunity to see new things you never would have imagined to do. For example, Hawkins has a random Spotify playlist with songs most of us have never heard of. The downside to this exploring is that you do not know what you are getting yourself into. You could be getting yourself into dangerous situations or situations that expose you to a part you never wanted to see. Although Hawkins did not really talk about this, there is a chance the computer could take you to somewhere that endangers your life, which could be ending or altering your life dramatically. The risk factor with living randomly can be cool and thrilling, but also can be quite scary because you literally do not know what you will end up doing or where you will end up.

https://www.ted.com/talks/max_hawkins_two_years_of_living_randomly?utm_campaign=tedspread&utm_medium=referral&utm_source=tedcomshare

For me, I only watch the Super Bowl for the commercials and the halftime show. My friends and I anxiously wait until the second quarter ends just to see the most exciting fifteen minutes of the whole game. However, the past two Superbowls I have watched, the halftime performances have been quite disappointing, the only real valuable thing the performers leaving me with is memes. Maybe it’s because the performances were by men, but this year’s Superbowl halftime show was one of my favorites. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira were the performers, and they did not disappoint at all. The two women instantly made everyone question how they could look and perform the way they did at their ages as they played to many of their hit songs. Special guests included J Balvin and Bad Bunny, both of whom I have seen live at some point but could not point out if I had to. One of my favorite moments was when Lopez brought out her 11 year old daughter to perform, which instantly made me feel very unaccomplished (even though my parents are not successful and rich performers). Although many liked to compare who did a better job, I thought both Shakira and Jennifer Lopez did amazing. And truly hope the Superbowl now only asks women to perform the halftime shows, as the past male performers have let us down.

Next week, primary and caucus season begins. The 2020 presidential election is quickly approaching. Last election cycle, the phrase “fake news” emerged that resulted in distrust of the media and the politicians. Fake news can emerge again but have even greater consequences as technology has advanced. Videos can emerge of candidates appearing as if they are saying or doing something that can harm their reputation. Although videos that had politicians edited used to be funny- for example, Obama singing popular songs- it can cause damage. This could be damaging particularly to the Republican Party as Trump is a controversial figure who says a lot of dumb things, and people will hate him without looking at the facts. For the Democratic Party, because of the big number of nominees in the field, it can be damaging too. Candidates can try to make themselves appear better in order to do better in the polls and secure delegates in the primaries/caucuses. Fake news circulated all throughout 2016, so it would not be shocking to see the term “deep fake” in 2020.

The current video playing is weird as hell, however shows how simple and easy it is for anyone to create a digitally animated YouTube video. The creator produces a variety of different noises as he tries to pronounce the jumble of phrases he is saying, such as “BIM BIM BIM.” The weird word phrases runs rampantly around and shows how digital media has greatly advanced as it is a very old video.

Hi. My name is Melissa, otherwise known as Missy. I am a senior at Marist College studying political science and history. I am from Bergen County New Jersey. On campus, you can find me spending most of my time at the Marist Poll as a student supervisor. Off campus, I am often hanging out in Manhattan with my friends at concerts or other entertainment related events. After graduating from Marist, I hope to work in the nonprofit industry first in the tristate area and then eventually in Washington DC.