George Zimmerman will not have a pretrial for self-defense claim!

The news stations have stopped reporting on this case but it is still open. George Zimmerman,27, the man accused of murdering the black teenager, Trayvon Martin, has made the decision mot to have a pretrial to plea for his immunity, but rather wait for his trial on June 10.

Zimmerman is currently pleading guilty to the murder, basically saying that he did shoot the teenager but only out of self-defense. It was just a short time ago, one night in a sub-division in Florida, when Zimmerman spotted Trayvon Martin walking and proceeded to call the police and follow him. The 911 dispatch recording that was head around the world clearly told Zimmerman not to approach or pursue Martin, but as we know he ended up shooting and killing Martin. He claims that Martin attacked him and he acted accordingly.

In the state of Florida, there is something called a, “Stand Your Ground” law – which bars prosecution of someone who uses lethal force when in fear for their life rather than opting to retreat. For Zimmerman to use this claim it would have had to be done before his second-degree murder trial June 10.

Judge Debra Nelson clearly asked him if he was sure and Zimmerman answered Yes.

The full story and Photographer information visit: Yahoo! News

Vintage Public Service Announcements

Vintage PSAs

I thought these few short Public Service Announcement videos were very interesting because they show how far we’ve come both in multimedia as well as socially. This video is just one example. If you click the link above, there are lots more.

It’s hard to believe some of the things they said in a few of these, and I guess ’10 Terrible Vintage PSAs That Should Stay in the Past’ is an adequate title for this article.

 

Meet Maddie (on things)

 

Instagram has become a huge vehicle through which more and more people are sharing their stories with the world, one photograph at a time.

I have been following Theron Humphrey (@THISWILDIDEA) for several months now. I was immediately intrigued by his story and interesting photographs, most of which feature his adopted coonhound named Maddie posing with funny props or on top of random things.

Humphrey has over 226,000 followers that, like me, are interested in his story, the incredible bond he has made with his adopted hound.

Humphrey is traveling around the country to seek out 50 different pet adopters in 50 different states to help them tell their story of adoption.

His photographs have been featured by National Geographic and CNN.

Although Humphrey isn’t telling hard news through his photographs, he is still a great example of multimedia storytelling.

NBA Superstar Michael Jordan tied the knot over the weekend

NBA Superstar Michael Jordan tied the knot over the weekend in front of his closet family and friends. The wedding was held at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea. The reception was took place at the Bear’s Club in Jupiter, Fla. Celebrities Tiger Woods, Patrick Ewing, Spike Lee and Ahmad Rashad was in attendance.

Southern Miss’s own Jamie Collins gets drafted by the Patriots

PHOTOGRAPHY- Kim Klement- US Presswire

By now, the world has seen or heard of the news for Southern Miss football player, Jamie Collins. The Linebacker was No.52 overall in the 2013 NFL Draft. Collins is said to be No. 33 in the SB Nation’s top 200 big board and is ranked 5th as an outside linebacker.

Hattiesburg was all ears on April 26th for Collins, the only Golden Eagle in the draft this year, in anticipation to see which round he would be drafted in and what team would get him. the New England Patriots drafted the versatile combine star.

This marks the beginning for his professional football career and according to all his stats, it is sure to be an interesting journey.

The right picture is worth more than a thousand words

 

 

This picture is perhaps one of the best examples of  multimedia story telling through a photograph that I have seen to date.

Photojournalists are burdened with the difficult task of capturing a single moment that sums up an entire story. This photo tells a clear story, one of struggle and pain, even without a caption.

The image of the child alone is shocking enough. Obviously the child is mal-nourished and in distress. However, what makes the photograph a Pulitzer Prize winner is that the photographer Kevin Carter was able to capture the buzzard staring at the child. It lays out the picture for you that there is something bigger going on than just the single hungry child. Even the buzzard is hungry enough to venture close to a living being and wait for it to die. Without a caption, you know that this is probably a poverty stricken place and there is probably a famine. 

This photograph completely captures the plight of the Sudan people.

 

Southern Miss Sweeps UAB

USM baseball completes sweep of UAB Saturday at Taylor Park. The Golden Eagles won the first game 21-6 and the second game 5-4. Southern Miss is still in first place in Conference USA standing. The Golden Eagles are 24-19 overall and 13-5 in league play. Conner Fisk struck out 11 batters in seven innings in the second game. Travis Creel had six hits. Mason Robbins hit 3 home runs. Southern Miss had 21 runs the most since 2011. USM also had 24 hits the most since 2008. Southern Miss takes on Louisiana-Monroe at 6 o clock Tuesday at Taylor Park.

Powerful and revealing, Whore’s Glory defines what a documentary should be

 

The documentary Whore’s Glory is an inspiring example of multimedia storytelling. Whore’s glory is a powerful documentary that compares prostitution in three different parts of the world: Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico.

It is shocking what some of the prostitutes and customers reveal in this film and the level of trust the director Michael Glawogger was able to build with these people before he began shooting it. This video clip from the documentary is an example of one of many intimate moments that made this documentary so compelling and better than others on the subject matter.

It’s also incredible how unbiased and non-judgemental this documentary on such strong subject matter is. With no narrator or commentary, Glawogger took his opinion out of it and let the subjects tell the story for what it was. According to an article in The New York Times Glawogger wrote, “Prostitution is not to be condemned or defended, prostitution simply is. It is like war. War is.”

To add more the documentary was filmed and edited beautifully. Every shot was purposeful and every quote was necessary. I would highly recommend this documentary to anyone (overage- there is nudity and some pretty shocking imagery), and I would certainly watch any of Mr. Glawogger’s other documentaries.

Are You Down With Daft? (Daft Punk Awaits Album Release)

To all of you house/electronic music heads, Daft Punk will release their fourth studio album spring of 2013. After nearly three years of repeat Daft Punk music, the new album, Random Access Memories, is talked to be one of the highest anticipated albums of the year. RAM’s single “Get Lucky” is conceived to be the most supreme sellout single of the year. Daft Punk stepped into the shadows of the music scene after switching from long term label Virgin/EMI to Sony/Columbia. The switch went into effect when Universal Music attained Virgin/EMI company in a million dollar merger. Be sure to grab the new release off the shelf May 20th, 2013 to experience this year’s biggest breakthrough in music. Other artists subject to release new material in 2013 are Skylar Grey, Armin van Buuren, and MGMT.

http://www.clubplanet.com/Articles/10196/Sony-Registers-13-New-Songs-to-Confirm-Daft-Punk-Album

Former Southern Miss Player Drafted

Jamie Collins was pick 20th in the 2nd round of the NFL draft by the New England Patriots. Collins , a native of McCall Creek, MS, started his freshman season at Southern Miss as a safety. The Patriots will begin their season Sept. 8 when they play  the Buffalo Bills.