Historical Election in the making

A tight race between the potential first black president and the potential oldest elected president is underway. Check out CNN.com's Election Coverage 2008, if you haven't already, to gain details about one of the biggest presidential election in U.S. history.

AP photo, taken from www.wallstrip.com

Detroit, Move on already

Freep.com, Detroit Free Press' Web site, posted this story about former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's jail cell. This story follows up to the mega-saga that was Kilpatrick's text message scandal and perjury about a police whistleblower case. OK, Kilpatrick had screwed up and he is paying his price by spending four months in jail. Do we report the jail cells of dozens of celebrities jailed daily? I don't think so. But, on the flip side, is four months a just sentence? Detroit had its news field day, but it's time to give the Kilpatrick case a rest.

I AM graduating in 7 months!

It just hit me that MSU graduation approaching at an uncomfortable rate. I applied for graduation online, and in a few clicks I was set to walk with my cap and gown. I've done a lot here at MSU, but there is definitely more on the horizon (OK that was cliche). Is it time to take my mind from pong tables and textbooks to figuring my route to work every morning? You know what, I AM READY.

A perfect baby can be pricey...

It will soon be possible for parents to pick attributes of the perfect baby (I was amused by the "blue eyes" and "academically-inclined" description as perfect, anywho...). But it comes with the cost of an Aston Martin.

As reported by MSN, it could cost parents $100,000 to produce the perfect child. Through a catalogue of female donors, in-vitro parents can grow a baby of preference based on the looks and genetic makeup of the mother.

Does this make regular mankind unpure and undesirable?

Baby photo from www.jillstanek.com, car photo from www.drive.com.au

$700B Bailout Plan Rejected

The U.S. economy is the pits. After a lengthy push by both Democrats and Republicans to get the corporate bailout plan approved, it was rejected today, triggering an almost 800-point drop in the Dow Industrials. Would it be appropriate to get in touch with my Irish roots now? Or maybe my Canadian ancestry...

As a soon-to-be college graduate, I am scared to death about the real world. Where will I be able to find a secure loan for a car, home or a loan for whatever I need in the coming years? This blog may not attract too many, but please, I beg for feedback!

Image from msn.com Monday, Sept. 29, 2008 7:37 p.m. ET

Obese Pay More Insurance

Just another incentive to lose the pounds. Not only will the overweight encounter health problems, but it will set them back a few because of it. Alabama is trying this out, considering it is the fattest state in the country and obesity is costing the state more in health care, according to Dr. Sanjay Gupta's CNN report. What is your take on the fat tax?

SNL Does It Pseudo

As soon as Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin appeared on my T.V. screen as the presumptive Republican vice presidential candidate, the first person I thought of was NBC Saturday Night Live's Tina Fey. Soon enough, she appeared as Palin, along side Amy Poehler as Sen. Hilary Clinton in the opening Sept. 13 SNL sketch. SNL is notorious for imitating on the small screen, but this time, they really hit it big.

I thought of a SNL spoof before I thought of a Palin becoming vice president. Ah, the excitement of entertainment over reality. What is a journalist to do?

Terror Worries a Pseudo-Event

In my journalism history class, I am learning about pseudo-events. These are sensationalized events that question reality quote after quote. Worries of terrorist attacks, as well as stories that pile up because of them, produce hype for something that technically does not exist. We are practicing real-time news, and with the trend of faster feedback, there's only one way we're going. Predicting the future. Given the 7th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, it's time we put these worries and pre-conceived notions at rest. Let them exist as a memories, even though we should still be on guard. But regardless, stop scaring the public with colors and scales.

A Mogul turns Double-Digits

"Google turns 10!" is in the headlines today -- quite a junvenile comment for a company that dominates the Internet. Many in my generation cannot remember life before the beloved search engine -- Google was the first site I went to on the Internet, back in seventh grade Lake Orion, Mich. Wow, I can't believe it's been that long. Well enjoy the birthday festivites in your millions of Google searches this week.

I discovered this site in my reporting for my online news reporting class. Please check it out if you're at all interested in posting video online (not just for YouTube). You can upload multiple photos and make your own channel.

MOGULUS!

Stay tuned for a Neary's News channel in the near future...

Michael Phelps is the new Michael

I just witnessed one of the greatest events an athlete can achieve -- winning the most gold medals ever in the Olympics. Ever. Michael Phelps is from Baltimore, trained virtually in my hometown backyard, and is doing it in Beijing. What irks me is that he makes it look effortless, like winning a gold medal is walk in the park for him. Though, I've learned that it is.

Image courtesy of EPA, obtained from U.K. Telegraph

10:18 a.m. (Beijing time)

Michael stands upon the swimmer's pedestal. Flapping his arms like he's about to lift off. Trust me, he is about to. Almost immediately, the low drone bleeps, triggering eight swimmers to leap and dive like dolphins.

Almost 10:20 a.m. (Beijing time)

Michael completes the four lengths of the 200M fly in 1 minute, 52.09 seconds, breaking his own world record. Again. This makes four consecutive world records, not to mention gold medals in the 400 individual medley, 4X100M medley, the 200M free and just now, the 200M fly. All by Michael.

He is the first person to earn double-digit Olympic gold medals. Trust me, he is not stopping at 10.

Sunny South Carolina

What a fun day today was! My parents and I drove 2 hours from out home in Lexington to spend the day in Charleston and Folly Beach. It was cooler today than it was last week, with temps only getting in the high 80s. (We saw constant 100s all last week). We spent the morning in Charleston, mainly in the Market area, basket weavers and knick-knack salespeople set up their stands for the day. We walked the Market structure for about an hour, picking up a team picture of the 1968 MLB World Champs for my dad-- Detroit Tigers no less, and a sailor's knot ring for me. Walking near the coast is always fun, but this time we just drove through -- beautiful homes from the Victorian area get ritzier as you get closer to the coast, especially when you get to Slightly North of Broad Street (or S.N.O.B. as a local tour guide put it to us last winter, you catch my drift).

The afternoon was spent in quaint Folly Beach, a coastal town that is growing leaps and bounds. 15 miles from Charleston, only one road reaches the beach -- Highway 700. It isn't long before you know you're close to the coast as you pass bayous and homes on stilts. The road ends at a Holiday Inn, probably adding to the waistband capacity of the town. We parked on the road closest to the coast -- Arctic Avenue of all names. Food was the first thing on our minds, although the waves looked inviting first. Mom packed a lunch for us, and before I knew it, my stomach was full and I was headed to the water! I could bathe in the water it was so warm. I got out to dry and threw some disc with my dad. We later bought boogie boards, which we spent riding the waves until we left at 5.

I'm Published!

Exciting news today, if you haven't figured out -- my work has been posted by another source! The story was reported in Edinburgh, Scotland, during my MSU study abroad trip. After touching it up with last minute sources, the story is complete.

Click here to read the story. Be sure to scroll all the way down.

Footworks at Snowlines, Ltd., an athletics shop in Edinburgh that specializes in running, is what made me public. I talked to shop proprietor Colin McPhail about his running habits in Scotland, setting the premise for my story. The 50-year-old is still training for marathons like nobody's business!

Get this thing started!

While looking at friends' blogs, I decided to start my own. This is day one.

I lounged on a pontoon boat today on Lake Murray, South Carolina. It was a beautiful morning. We arrived at the marina just past 9 a.m., loaded our blown up floaties, and began the nice on day on the water. My brother, Brad, Mom and Dad and I were out today. I enjoyed some classic rock with my dad while we anchored at an uninhabited island in the middle of the lake. It was cool chilling with him and talking about the ins and outs of his classic rock days. Artists like Boston, Fleetwood Mac, Journey, T-Rex, and Phil Collins were on our minds. I recall that I said, "man I wish I was alive in the 70s, then I would enjoy the concerts of the originals that day." The water was a cool relief to the hot day, when it topped about 95 with no mercy.

This is the beginning of a new stage in my life, I can feel it. Past the hard partying times, idiots, and times of stressing out. I'm carefree now and I'm loving every minute of it. There's so much to look forward to this year: graduating from college, getting a real job, possibly more world travelling (I spent 6 weeks this summer in Ireland, England and Scotland.) Stay tuned.