Life News (Popular Culture)

• share
• favorite_border

Filmgoers should expand their Halloween movie list to include the odd, quirky and classic original horror films, says a Purdue University film expert.

• share
• favorite_border

The new Encyclopedia of Privacy takes a comprehensive look at the issue of privacy in the United States today and throughout history.

• share
• favorite_border

Think ghost stories are only for being told around a crackling campfire at night? Think again. An assistant professor of history at Tennessee Tech University brings ghosts, myths and legends into her American history course, scaring up interest among history majors and non-history majors alike.

• share
• favorite_border

Maintaining civility in the workplace is difficult at the best of times, but an approaching Election Day can generate new awkwardness, friction, disagreement and even argument. Civility expert P.M. Forni of Johns Hopkins University has suggestions for avoiding a political standoff in the office.

• share
• favorite_border

Vampires and gargoyles and bats ... oh my! These professors just might know who "“ or what "“ goes bump in the night.

• share
• favorite_border

Is the University of Maryland haunted? It's a question we try to answer as Halloween approaches. Come visit some of the scariest places on campus, and learn a little bit more about the history of the university as it celebrates its 150th anniversary. (AUDIO EMBEDDED)

• share
• favorite_border

The American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) has developed a brochure called "Grip and Grin: Surviving Handshaking On the Campaign Trail", that will help candidates take care of themselves.

• share
• favorite_border

One of the biggest hits during the University of Maryland's 150th Anniversary celebration this past year has been 50 "Fear the Turtle" sculptures. Displayed on campus and as far away as Annapolis, the turtles are being gathered up this week. Many will be auctioned off October 19 - with all proceeds going to student scholarships.

• share
• favorite_border

Expert available for comment on YouTube, MySpace, the evolution of personal digital media, and the social networking site phenomenon. Jeff Rutenbeck, Ph.D., dean of the Division of Communication and Creative Media at Champlain College, says that today's youth are "prosumers," not "consumers."

• share
• favorite_border

Major motion picture "All The King's Men," which opens in theatres across the country this weekend, premiered with star-studded pageantry at Tulane University in New Orleans.

• share
• favorite_border

Georgia Tech All-American wide receiver Calvin Johnson is working to improve sanitation in developing countries by helping to create a prototype for an improved solar latrine system.

• share
• favorite_border

Interview a media bias scholar who can give expert opinions on the soon to be aired ABC miniseries "The Path to 9/11," a dramatization of the events detailed in The 9/11 Commission Report and other sources.

• share
• favorite_border

The late 1960s and early 1970s were a turbulent time for the United States. In the South, perhaps nowhere was this more true than on the campus of FSU in Tallahassee, Fla. Now, for the first time in more than three decades, J. Stanley Marshall, the university's president from 1969 to 1976, will address some of the more contentious issues that took place during his presidency with a group of former FSU student leaders.

• share
• favorite_border

The much-loved and long-running science fiction series Star Trek introduced viewers to plenty of fantastical ideas"”from the Borg to Vulcan mind melds to a transporter that could beam humans across space. But behind the science fiction lay quite a bit of real science, according to Vanderbilt University psychologist Randolph Blake.

• share
• favorite_border

Tuesday, Sept. 5, marks the 100th anniversary of the first documented forward pass in American football history, a play that would change the game forever. The play was called by a Saint Louis University coach following rule changes to help prevent on-field injuries (and deaths). Earlier, President Theodore Roosevelt had met with leaders of major universities to take steps to eliminate the game's more dangerous aspects.

• share
• favorite_border

Recent studies found that the online social network MySpace.com is the country's most popular Web site, yet Americans have fewer close, personal friends than they used to. Another study found that handheld digital devices can be harmful to mental health. Michael Bugeja, director of the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication at Iowa State University, believes all these studies are interrelated.

• share
• favorite_border

Not according to a former ABC bureau chief who says that Katie Couric's ascension to the anchor chair on the CBS Evening News may signal the recognition that the era of a "news" program in the evening is over.

• share
• favorite_border

While an engineering professor and alternative fuels researcher predicts we're stuck with high gas prices, he has some tips to ease drivers' burden.

• share
• favorite_border

An expert on serial-killer celebrities is available to discuss the auctioning of the Unabomber's things.

• share
• favorite_border

The latest 9/11 film, which opens as the fifth anniversary of the Sept. 11 World Trade Center attacks approaches, is about the healing process as much as it is entertainment.

• share
• favorite_border

The Department of Cognitive Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute will host the 2006 North American Computing and Philosophy (NA-CAP) conference Aug. 10 "“ 12, 2006. The three-day symposium will feature lectures and demonstrations from leading researchers in the fields of cognitive science, philosophy, artificial intelligence (AI), computer science, information technology, and engineering.

• share
• favorite_border

Oregon Convention Center will be "in harmony with the environment," as exhibit halls are transformed by Feng Shui, kicking off the 21st Annual Meeting of Naturopathic Physicians, August 9-12, 2006

• share
• favorite_border

J-Lab, the Institute for Interactive Journalism at the University of Maryland announces the latest Knight-Batten Awards for Innovations in Journalism. The top winner will be announced at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on September 18.

• share
• favorite_border

Ads found in Cosmopolitan and Essence magazines send readers two very different health messages, according to two East Carolina communication professors. A content analysis of both magazines shows that Essence, a publication that targets a black female audience, sends different health messages than Cosmopolitan, a general audience publication.

• share
• favorite_border

What happens when veterans return from fighting in Afghanistan or Iraq and go back to college?

• share
• favorite_border

It's good to remember recent high school grads are about to head to college, not the North Pole. Here are some tips to make that transition easier.

• share
• favorite_border

According to a British Victorian literature expert, Rowling's threat to kill at least two main characters in her final book is her way of taking control and is not unlike actions taken by other authors whose books have become extremely popular with readers.

• share
• favorite_border

Daimler Chrysler officially announced it is bringing its "Smart Car" to America this week. But a time-use expert at the University of Maryland was already ahead of the curve when he purchased not one - but two - of the tiny cars from a U.S. dealer in New Hampshire earlier this summer. "I think I may be the first person in Maryland or the DC area to own one," says John Robinson, a sociologist and a national expert on time usage.

• share
• favorite_border

People who want to live a moral life, a life of service and love of neighbors often ask, "What Would Jesus Do?" But a Baylor English professor said they could just as easily ask "What Would Superman Do?"

• share
• favorite_border

How does "Highlights" magazine, first published in 1946, fit into 21st century childhood? Very well, says Donald Stoll, a writing arts professor in the College of Communication at Rowan University.

• share
• favorite_border

Riding a bike is safer and more enjoyable on a bicycle in good working condition. Western Carolina University's assistant director of outdoor programs. Josh Whitmore, has extensive experience with bike maintenance and can address common maintenance issues.

• share
• favorite_border

Mark Will-Weber, former senior editor at Runner's World Magazine, cross-country and track coach at Moravian College, and author of two books on running, offers tips for running in hot weather.

• share
• favorite_border

With the heavily traveled 4th of July weekend and hurricane season looming, TRAFFIC is on the minds of drivers everywhere. What causes of traffic jams? Are there any feasible solutions? These are just two of the questions that can be addressed by renowned Israeli traffic expert Prof. Avi Polus. He has been used as an expert traffic source by the Wall Street Journal, among others.

• share
• favorite_border

Greg Snyder, associate professor of religion at Davidson College, explains that the Biblical reference to "666" is a numeric code for a feared Roman Emperor, and not an indication of apocalypse.

• share
• favorite_border

Fears of 666, long believed to be the dreaded mark of Satan, are based on a "widespread misinterpretation" of the chapter in Revelation -- appropriately, chapter 13 -- in which the number is discussed, according to a University at Buffalo expert on the origins, nature and meaning of cults, superstitions and cultural identities.

• share
• favorite_border

"Too many Americans have nightmares instead of dreams," NAACP President and Chief Executive Officer Bruce Gordon told 594 graduates Sunday at his alma mater, Gettysburg College.

• share
• favorite_border

The Da Vinci Code, the Ron Howard movie based on the best-selling book by Dan Brown, was released Friday, May 19, in theaters across the United States to a loudly mixed chorus of critics and fans. University of North Dakota pop culture scholar and English professor Kathleen Dixon observes that the Da Vinci Code--love it or hate it--is a cultural phenomenon.

• share
• favorite_border

Michele Dillon, professor of sociology with a focus on religion and culture at the University of New Hampshire, is available to discuss the religious controversy around The Da Vinci Code film, especially in relation to the Catholic Church and Opus Dei.

• share
• favorite_border

It took nearly seven years, but a University of Maryland time-use expert finally managed to get his answer to better fuel mileage into this country "“ the "Smart Car." "I think I may be the first person in Maryland or the DC area to own one," says John Robinson, a sociologist and a national expert on time usage.

• share
• favorite_border

The TV drama "The West Wing," which concludes its seven-year run this Sunday, has helped reshape the cultural understanding of the presidency, according to Trevor and Shawn Parry-Giles, University of Maryland political communication experts who have closely studied and published a book analyzing the series' content, "The Prime Time Presidency: The West Wing and U.S. Nationalism."

• share
• favorite_border

Are future national park trips for America's youth likely to be on-line virtual experiences rather than the real thing? A University of Illinois at Chicago ecologist says there may be cause for concern.

• share
• favorite_border

Moms make great subjects for movie makers - just ask Maryland Associate Professor of Family Studies Susan Walker. She's come up with her list of 15 great movies about Mom - just in time for Mother's Day.

• share
• favorite_border

1) Home & Garden: Keeping Cats Out of Your Newly Planted Garden; 2) Parenting: The Challenges of Motherhood Later Than Sooner; 3) Parenting: Prepare Kids for a More Productive Adulthood

• share
• favorite_border

Medical teams assigned to the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) rushed to the aid of injured construction workers after the collapse of scaffolding outside the university's administrative building today, May 5, 2006.

• share
• favorite_border

The recent public fervor over immigration and the future of undocumented or illegal immigrants is a recurring theme in U.S. history and culture, says University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Associate Professor of English Linda Frost, Ph.D., author of the 2005 book "Never One Nation: Freaks, Savages and Whiteness in U.S. Popular Culture: 1850-1877."

• share
• favorite_border

First there were fish. Then there were crabs. Now, 20 University of Maryland terrapins are taking up residence in Baltimore and other venues around the state plus the District of Columbia for the next six months.

• share
• favorite_border

Sick child who shares name with fictional character in Akeelah and the Bee will join the stars at the movie's premiere April 20.

• share
• favorite_border

The University of Maryland holds it's 8th annual open house - called "Maryland Day" April 29. This year, we're celebrating our 150th Anniversary with the "World's Largest" strawberry shortcake. Great visuals!

• share
• favorite_border

Let there be ...projector light. Following its record-breaking 2005 program on the theme of "In/Justice," the Virginia Film Festival has chosen another illuminating theme for its nineteenth annual event: "Revelations: Finding God at the Movies."

• share
• favorite_border

In considering Katie Couric as the lone anchor for the "CBS Evening News," CBS is going against the network news grain in more ways than one, says Rowan University journalism professor Candace Kelley.