MM 2003 - Elizabeth Attebery

 Judy Garland's Ruby Slippers Sell for $28 Million On December 7, a pair of ruby slippers used in the 1939 film "The Wizard of Oz" were sold for $28 million dollars.  Heritage Auctions initially estimated that the shoes would be sold at $3 million. The bid eventually went to an auction participant over the phone.  According to  CNN , the shoes were stolen from the Judy Garland Museum in Grand Rapids, Minnesota in 2005. However, they were recovered by the FBI in Minneapolis during 2018. Currently, only four pairs are currently known to exist, with one pair residing in the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.  Ruby Slippers Display at Smithsonian Museum Rhys Thomas, the author of "Ruby Slippers of Oz", stated that the slippers "transcended Hollywood, to the point where they represented the powerful image of innocence to all America." 

 Hannah Diffee's Blog While all of my classmates' blogs have been absolutely amazing this semester,  Hannah's blog is my personal favorite. Immediately, the first thing that I notice when visiting her site is how inviting her blog's aesthetic is. It is very easy to get an image of Hannah as an individual through the banner at the top of her website, which features pictures of herself along with several of her friends.   Hannah's writing style is very clean and engaging. She always starts her blog posts by introducing the topic with an image and a few short paragraphs. Her explanations are very thorough while staying concise. Several links and images are also incorporated into each of her posts, which makes her writing extremely interactive. Her storytelling is so enjoyable and informative throughout her entire blog.  My absolute favorite post from her is 10- Listening Posts . Not only did she provide several examples from her personal life, she did so while incorp...

 Washington Post App The Washington Post is an incredibly well-known source of information for many Americans, and its app provides accessibility in several ways. The opening screen features several options including the latest news and top stories as well as more specific options such as opinion, well-being, lifestyle, and politics. These options ensure that every reader can easily find something informative or entertaining.  In addition to the vast amount of article options, the Washington Post app also includes a listening section where users can listen to podcasts or verbal explanations of the most current events. This makes the Washington Post stand out, since not every news app contains content for the visually impaired or people on the go who need to stay informed.  This app also does not require a subscription, unlike its parent website. Since many news websites, such as the New York Times, require subscriptions for most of their content, having a news app that is...

 Braum's in Texarkana While I've enjoyed growing up in Magnolia, the fast food options are pretty slim compared to other towns that I've visited. Whenever I get a craving for a specific type of fast food, I usually have to wait until I have an excuse to visit Texarkana. However, my all-time favorite fast food place, Braum's, is at least two hours from Magnolia in any direction. As of right now, it's been over a year since I've been able to get some fries and a scoop of my favorite ice cream from Braum's.  However, a few years I heard that a Braum's location was set to be built in Texarkana, just one hour away. I have been incredibly excited about this since hearing about it, but it still has yet to be built. According to the  Texarkana Gazette , construction started at the corner of Moores Lane and Richmond Road, but drainage issues have caused the progress to halt.  There are plenty of locations where a Braum's could be built in Texarkana. Braum...

 Southern Arkansas University Road Safety Reynold's Street View I have lived down the road from Southern Arkansas University my entire life, so I am very familiar with the streets surrounding the campus. Now that I'm a student, I am constantly walking to and from buildings. Over the past year and a half, I have noticed that many students do not follow the rules of the road which is leading to many close encounters.  View of Southern Arkansas University Campus Layout To begin with, some students don't wait for the walk signal when crossing the road in front of the Reynolds building. Since the stop light in front of the parking lot already causes a long delay for drivers, many people are forced to wait for over five minutes because of students who refuse to wait until the appropriate time to cross the street.  This issue is not exclusive to drivers. At every crosswalk aside from the stoplight, pedestrians have the right of way. There have been countless times this semester ...

  Moana 2 Tops the Box Office on Opening Day Moana 2  debuted in theaters on November 27, bringing in $57.5 million on its first day. The film is expected to bring in over $175 million during Thanksgiving weekend. Compared to other recent animated releases, Moana 2 ranks as the third highest-grossing film on opening day. The first two are Incredibles 2 and Inside Out 2.  Although critics have rated the film 67% on Rotten Tomatoes , its earning are much higher than other films that are showing throughout Thanksgiving weekend. Gladiator II brought in $6.6 million and Wicked earned $20.4 million. Although these films are projected to multiply their earnings over the next few days, Moana 2 remains far in the lead. 

 Wicked Press Tour Goes Viral for "Holding Space" Meme Throughout November, Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo have been traveling to multiple countries on the press tour in preparation for the film's release. Many moments from the tour have circulated on social media platforms, from diverse outfits to the casts members' interactions with each other. However, the press tour's most viral moment was the interview with  Tracy E. Gilchrist . During the interview, Gilchrist stated  "I've seen this week people are taking the lyrics of 'Defying Gravity' and really holding space with that and feeling power in that." After hearing this, Erivo displayed an extremely emotional reaction, with Grande reaching over to grab her hand. The clip went viral. The clip immediately went viral, with internet users and Broadway stars alike making fun of the ambiguous meaning of "holding space." Gilchrist recently spoke about the meaning of "...

 First Wooden Satellite is Sent to Space On November 5, 2024, the first wooden satellite was launched into space. The satellite  Lignosat  was developed by Kyoto University in Japan and Sumitomo Forestry. The researchers who developed the satellite are monitoring the sensors on the robot in order to discover how timber reacts to the environment outside of Earth's atmosphere.  Professor Koji Murata , a forest science teacher at Kyoto University, state d " Wood is more durable in space than on Earth because there's no water or oxygen that would rot or inflame it". The researchers currently have a 50-year plan in store if the satellite proves to be durable during its six-month orbit. This plan includes growing trees on Mars in order to create a sustaina ble environment.  Professor Takao Doi of Kyoto University holding Lignosat With the increasing risk of space debris falling back to the surface of Earth, the researchers also wanted to create a satellite that has a ...

 Numeracy According to the Victoria State Department of Education , Numeracy is the knowledge of mathematical skills. Many people are familiar with numeracy as a required topic in education that covers algebra, geometry, and even higher-level classes such as calculus. However, numeracy covers a multitude of fields that impact us every day.  Many people are familiar with social media apps such as Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook. These apps provide incredibly engaging content every day of "for you" pages, but this personalized content could not be provided without an algorithm.  Social media algorithms use a variety of statistics in order to decide what is the most desired content for individuals and users as a whole. Numbers such as subscriber counts, likes, shares, and saves can all impact the amount of people that are shown certain types of content.  Numeracy is also relied on in politics, especially elections. Statistics are gathered to record how many people vote...