Is change really good?

I was surfing on my favorite radio station's website, and I encountered a piece of news that I did not know about. Virgin Radio has a morning show called the Breakfast Show. I usually listen to it via podcast because I don't really want to stay up all night so I can listen to it as it comes on at 12 am here in Denton. Well, one of the DJ's (Chris Smith) took a leave of absence so he could attend to his wife while she had a baby. This was like 2 weeks ago. Well, while he was gone, the station played around with having Christian O'Connell (the main DJ) go solo and then they added a producer to the mike and tried that. They tested around and found out that they liked the show better without Chris Smith (the new daddy) who was out on leave. Now, Chris was an awesome sidekick. The main DJ is a little childish and is really evened out by Chris. They have worked together for a while and even switched radio stations this past year.

The news that I read last night was that he was canned. The main DJ never made any mention of the demise of Chris Smith. There was no statement and they deleted all of his pictures and anything that had to deal with Chris. The team was now broken up.

I just think that was a bad move. It would have also been nice for them to give him a proper send off and explain everything to the listeners. Not to mention, he was on a leave of absence to attend to a new member of his family. Is that a kick in the balls or what?

Why is radio so fickle like that? They did the same exact thing here in the Metroplex at Mix 102.9; canned Cappy from the Morning Mix with Tony and Cappy. Which is better? Running away old listeners from a radio show or trying to gain new ones? I know that it is easier and cheaper to gain new customers for a business, but shouldn't they work harder to keep old customers around?

Picture: To the left, Brian The Producer, to the right: Newly canned Chris Smith

Joel Osteen: Is it all necessary?

Ok, so if you are from Houston, know somebody from Houston, watch Christian TV, read Christian Books, anything besides live under a rock (and maybe not even then), you have definitely heard of Joel Osteen. He is the pastor of a little church called Lakewood Church. You can catch his sermons on TV on Sunday mornings and he is that guy on the cover of that book that everybody is reading, according to the NYT best seller list: Your Best Life Now. Now, according to fellow Blogger Mike McGuff and Christian Today, Joel Osteen has the #9 most listened to podcast online. In addition, he also has a board game based on his book.

My question is: "Is all of this necessary?" Yes, one of the points of Christianity is to spread the word. I am not against that. Not at all. However, I think that there is a point in which you can take things too far. I can understand the podcast thing and maybe localized distribution of his weekly sermons; Lakewood is a big church (so big that they had to take over the old home of the Houston Rockets) and these methods are a good chance to keep the local congregation in touch with their massive church. I can even understand the book. I have not read it myself, but from what I understand, it is a self-help book; with all that is going on in our world, why not? But is there a point of over saturation? TV, podcast, book, board game, all kinds of interviews.. That is a little much. Simplicity is enough to spread the word. What happened to just talking to your local parishioners or people in the community? That is what God would have done, not gone national or even global. One big issue is that I have a problem with the game. I don't understand the need of the game. There is just no need. If it were one of those games that was like a bible quiz game, I would understand it a little more, but I don't think that is it. It just makes me wonder...

Now don't get me wrong. Lakewood has done great things for the people of the City of Houston and worldwide. Back in 2001, they organized a huge food and clothing drive to help those who lost all in the horrible 100 year floods from Tropical Storm Allison. I just sometimes wonder if John Osteen, Joel's father, would be satisfied with how the church has evolved and what Joel is doing with it since his death. I remember the day that he passed away in 1999, The whole City of Houston mourned is death.

But a game about the book? I just don't know about that.

Photo Credit: Houston Chronicle

Random Thoughts (sorry its boring)

So I have been thinking about going abroad and taking classes in the UK. I've got a bug and something has to kill it. However, there are a lot of factors that come into play if I were to do this.

Cost is key, but if you read a previous posting, there are some possibilities. Another thing would be what would I study? The only subjects that make since is Education and American Studies. If I were to do Education, I would still have to take some certification tests once I came back here to start teaching.

However, I am already starting classes and preparing to take my subject test at the beginning of next month. With the American Studies degree, my first instinct says "Why study America in the UK? It doesn't make since." The only logical thing that I can pull from it would be that I could study it and see how foreigners construe the US while teaching about it. Also, it would be a good chance to live abroad (something that I have always wanted to do) and to take in some UK culture (no, it is not too different from ours, but there are some differences). I just think that it would be awesome. I know that I just came back from a study abroad trip, but that is not the same. We did not stay in one place for more than 3 days and it was not like a typical study abroad experience (it was still awesome!).

Additionally, I have bills here that I have to pay, take care of my new car that has a 3 year lease on it, stuff like that. I just don't know what to do. Should I continue what I am working on and forget about it? Should I just do this after I get my Masters and then go and study abroad?

I think that I will still investigate the options, but I don't know what I would do.

What would you do?

Why mess with a good thing?

I know that I have probably told all of y'all about the recent 'news' with Grey's Anatomy... The business about how they are going to have a spin off with Addison Montgomery as the lead character. Personally, I think that this is a bad move. The show is great as it is. There is a great dynamic as it is with all of the characters. If they remove one, I think that it will mess up the dynamic and take away from the show. This is a really popular show, it does not make since. I don't think that Addison is strong enough to actually be on her own. They are bringing in all kinds of people who had shows that eventually failed so who knows how that will pan out.. A lot of shows have had spin offs: Friends had Joey (which only lasted a season and a half) the Cosby's had A Different World (I'm sure that did not last long..) etc. You get the picture. They rarely work. Maybe ABC is trying to give these actors a second chance, or maybe they had contracts with some of them. I just call it a bad move. They will figure it out this fall when they see a decline overall ratings with Grey's Anatomy.

Scholarship Opportunities

This is a good tidbit of information if you are interested in continuing your education beyond a bachelors degree. Personally, I should have investigated this more before I started my course work, but I may still be eligible. I will have to see. There are several opportunities for Study Abroad and stateside study as well. These are highly competitive and world renown scholarships, so they are pretty cool and extensive. A couple that I am investigating are the Rotary Ambassador Scholarship, the James Madison Scholarship and the Marshall Scholarship. Dr. Duban from the office of Nationally Competitive Scholarships is holding a workshop on March 28th from 3-4pm in the Lyceum if you are interested. You can get more information about the different types of scholarships available at this website : http://www.opgf.unt.edu/ You can also contact Dr Duban with specific questions at jduban@unt.edu.

The James Madison Scholarship is for those who are interested in teaching Secondary American History. They will pay for your Masters degree and all you have to do is teach for the amount of years that you receive scholarship money from them (which you would be doing anyways). The deadline has already passed, but worth looking into for the next go around.

The Marshall Scholarship allows you to study in the UK for 2 years at most UK universities. It will pay for room and board, books, round fare ticket from here to there and a Masters Degree. There is no obligation with this one except for completing your program.

The Rotary Ambassador Scholarship allows you to study almost anywhere on the globe and they will pay for tuition and housing. All you have to do is be an ambassador for your country in the place that you choose to study. for Rotary International.

If you are interested, check out the website to get more details on the programs.