OwenBloggers: Isha - MBA '08

On the go

A chance meeting of two ladies at the Philadelphia airport. Both wearing the same suit.

One turned to the other and said: “Nice suit.”

The other replied: “Great taste!” And then they parted ways.

Leaking TV pilots to the internet

I just ran across a review of the American version of Life on Mars. I love that show. Let me rephrase, I love the original, British version of the show. It’s funny and culturally relevant. The Americanized version on the other hand… Well, let’s just say it was a waste of production time and money. Granted, a person who has never seen the original series will probably just think of this as another bad series, but Mars (UK) “lovers” will be utterly disappointed. So take it from some who has made the mistake – don’t bother watching!

But that is not the point that I wanted to make today. Pilot episodes of TV shows are regularly leaked to the internet and readily available. I just don’t think that the studios are utilizing this very well. Have you ever heard of feedback after a leaked pilot to be incorporated into the series? Wouldn’t this be great opportunity to get the buzz going about a new show and establish fan base at the same time? Wait! That would be too easy, predictable and logical. And did I mention good PR?

So instead, the shows venture out into the open ahead of time and viewers establish a dislike well ahead of release time. Worse, they post their opinions on their blogs (here, here, here, and here), websites and even facebook.

So folks, I truly hope that the rumors are true and they will rewrite the show. Then again, it needs SO much work that maybe they should just scrap it? US TV is probably not capable of making a cult show on it's own anyway...

Technorati Tags: Owenbloggers.com,Life on Mars,TV,BBC,ABC

Blog your advert

Want to make sure that your job post will reach the right audience? Nothing easier! All you have to do is put it on industry blog so specific, that only those interested are reading it and voila! – you just got your post to go directly to those potentially interested straight into their RSS reader. Brilliant!

The only problem is that not many bloggers are likely to let others use them in as a posting board. What might work once, is unlikely to work again. If I keep on seeing post like this one too often, I just might drop the subscription.

Technorati Tags: Owenbloggers.com,Job Search,Blog

Independence Day

About 7 am my sister asked me what I was planning on doing today. She was halfway across the world at work, and she had more plans to celebrate American Independence Day then I did – she was planning on having a BBQ. Me? I just got up thinking how to reply to a particularly difficult e-mail relating to job search. Plans, what plans? I had none. But things come to even those without plans. Soon an Owen Alumni messaged me on Facebook and as we talked he suggested seeing Hancock mid day. And I thought what a great idea! I’ve been thinking about seeing the movie, but at a no specified time, which for me often means when it comes out on video… BTW, it’s a pretty good film – definitely worth watching.

As I was getting ready to go out, Brie called telling me that she would be at my place about five. A quick look at the calendar reminded me that I asked her if she was going to the fireworks show at the Riverside Park downtown. Silly me, and I thought I had no plans…

So after the movie, four ladies went downtown for a dinner and a fireworks show. Originally, we wanted to sit by the stage and listen to the music (concert started at noon and went all day until the fireworks finished close to 10 pm), but it was so crowded we gave up on the idea. We ended up by the Woodland Bridge. Not only we had a great view for the fireworks (minus the music that went with it), but also we avoided all the smoke that comes with it. The wind blew it all at the nice folks right by the stage… It was so smokey that I couldn't see the very well lit Batman building. But it was a very nice show. If you are in Nashville on July 4th, do check it out. In the meantime, you can check out the video of the event form someone who was apparently in my vicinity.

After the show it was so crowded with all the people moving away from the river and to the parking lots. I was a bit scared that it will take us longer to get out of downtown then the time we spent there. But nothing is as it seems. Since we parked further up Broadway, it took us less time than I expected, so we ended up at home at a reasonable hour. It started raining as we were maneuvering through the crowds, but it started to pour few minutes after we got out of the parking lot. It was raining so hard, we couldn’t see the road. And all I could think of was how glad I was for not walking home.

Song of the day:
Martina McBride - Independence Day

Technorati Tags: Owenbloggers.com,Nashville,Independence Day

Świat nauki bez granic?

Stwierdzając, że nauka posuwa się do przodu w szybkim tempie nikogo nie zaskoczę. Pytanie rodzie się jednak gdzie leżą granice, pomiędzy co jest dopuszczalne, etyczne niezbędne dla rozwoju nauki i ludzkości. Niedawno oglądałam serial BBC, Visions of the Future, który zajmował się odkryciami w nauce i ogólną dyskusją ile dobra może nam dać biotechnologia.

Czy eksperymentowanie z genami dwóch różnych gatunków jest niezbędne dla ludzkości? I tak, i nie. W tej chwili używamy myszy (i innych zwierzątek) jako podstawy do tworzenia „części zamiennych.” Znakomitym przykładem jest Sean G. McCormack, który urodził się bez kości i mięśni po lewej stronie klatki piersiowej, czyli z tak zwanym zespołem Polanda. W laboratorium wyhodowano mu chrząstkę wielkości CD, aby zasłonić serce i chronić je przed uderzeniami. Innym przykładem jest hodowanie kości na przeszczep. Ale żadna z tych części zamiennych nie była połączeniem genów, tylko wszczepieniem uformowanych komórek pacjenta do zwierzątka, aby dany organ dorósł do przeszczepu.

Czy to jest etyczne? Używamy biednych zwierzaków, żebyśmy mogli uratować nasze zniekształcone ciała. Czy powinniśmy walczyć z naturą i ratować ludzi dla których natura wybrała inną ścieżkę? Ludzi, którzy zgodnie z teorią ewolucji nie powinni przetrwać, a przynajmniej nie powinni dalej przekazywać swojego materiału genetycznego… Ale z drugiej strony, gdyby to było moje dziecko, to stanęłabym na rzęsach żeby to dziecko miło normalne ucho, szczękę, czy jakąkolwiek inną część ciała której albo brakuje albo jest zdeformowana.

Więc czy jest w porządku łączyć geny różnych gatunków i tworzyć  nową ścieżkę ewolucji? Tak naprawdę, jakie będą efekty dla ludzkości wprowadzenia nowych genów do naszego DNA? Myśląc o tym od razu przypominają mi się liczne książki i filmy z dziedziny fantastyki i trochę włos staje na karku. Bo czy chcemy wylądować tak jak w Gattaca, lub Doom, albo nawet jak świnki w odcinku Doctor Who?

Technorati Tags: Owenbloggers.com,Nauka,Zdrowie,Etyka,Genetyka,DNA,Medycyna,Eksperyment,Klonowanie,Natura