How far are you willing to go in order to gain a profit? This question posed no problem for Apple Android stores who insensitively created an app based upon the Malaysia flight MH370, just shortly after it went missing. They then persisted to ignore this issue, quietly releasing their app as if they wanted consumers to believe that the striking similarities were mere coincidences.  

 

This app was released on April 2nd of this year, just twenty-five days after the Malaysian plane first went missing on March 8th. This flight contained 227 passengers along with 12 crew members, all of whom went missing with the plane that has now, as of July 11th at 7:11pm been missing for exactly 126 days.

App displayed in the Apple Android Store awaiting downloads

How real are your pair of Beats By Dre Headphones?

Even if your friends are not headphone experts who can determine whether yours is the real deal or not, you might want to know that not all of the Beats headphones you see are genuine. The recently purchased Beats by Dr. Dre brand has filed a lawsuit claiming Chinese manufacturers for producing counterfeits of the brands headphones.

The lawsuit was filed in Illinois and stated the defendants as “individuals and business entities who, upon information and belief, reside in the People’s Republic of China or other foreign jurisdictions." Allegedly, the defendants produce and sell low quality Beats by Dre branded products while making up to $135 billion in sales annually.

ASPolitics

Hannah Crosby and Jake Malenka, two Law and Government students, are tenaciously competing in a traditional ASP mock Presidential Election. After being asked a series of questions, it’s extremely clear that both candidates are invested in this opportunity.

When asked what difference they’ll make once in office, both responded eloquently. Crosby spoke about debt, environmental protection, education, and same-sex marriage legalization. She emphasized that “we should invest in clean technology to help our environment and our economy” and that “education is the brightest part of America's future.” Crosby’s strategy for winning is confidence, consistency, and community outreach. She notes that “I, along with a few other members of my campaign, will be going around to dorms after study hours to inform ASP students about our platform and field questions that anyone has about our campaign. That will be happening up until the election.”

Malenka is running on a similar platform. 

Intern Cookies Promo

Get excited, ASP! Next Friday, our legal team at MediaMachine14 will have gathered all the necessary evidence to expose the intern cookie smuggling ring. Justice is coming soon!

#NerdCamp

Mass Media class takes a closer look at what really goes on here at ASP, more commonly know as "Nerd Camp," while we prepare for the triangle of fun during our 2014 music video.

ASP Mass Media '14 Flash Mob!

Watch the Mass Media class perform a flash mob to Bruno Mars’ song Treasure on Alumni Day!

The ASP Insight: Hobby Lobby

Mass Media students Meaghan Doherty, Shreya Khadka, and Emmett Morrill discuss the Supreme Court case decision of Burwell v. Hobby Lobby.

Ukraine Crisis Podcast

If you're wondering what's going on in Ukraine; Mau, Peter and Franklin recorded a comprehensive podcast to keep you up-to-date with the developing story. Check it out:

Israel Palestine Conflict

Sami Nardone, Mason McNulty, and Molly Gibson discuss the conflict between Israel and Palestine, as well as its magnitude, and its direction.

#bringbackourgirls podcast

This week at Media Machine 14, we're trying to keep the ASP community updated with developing news stories that are worth following. Below is a link to our podcast on the developing situation in Nigeria where a terrorist organization, Boko Haram, kidnapped hundreds of girls from their school back in April. Listen to our coverage here:

Sports Offerings at ASP

Students at ASP describe their sports experiences from their summer on the SPS campus. Check it out if you want to learn about student athletic involvement.

Thank you to all who participated!

Summer's First Coffee House, a Booming Success

Students, interns, and faculty alike assembled on the upper level of the Athletic Fitness Center Thursday, July 3rd at 6 p.m for the summer’s first Coffeehouse. Fourteen students and four interns performed multiple pieces such as poems, music, short stories, essays, and fiction. The room was packed to its fullest; everyone tuned in to listen to members of their community perform. As Kay, a Writing Workshop intern put it, “We’re all one big family, don’t be afraid to get close.”

Though the intriguing short stories and thoughtful poems were entertaining for guests,  musical pieces played by Heather Hunt, Matt and Aaron , and  Kyle and Parker had guests wanting to sing along. The Simpson Haiku team brought the laughs with multiple poems and use of props. Two students were even inspired enough to share their pieces at the end of the night. The Coffeehouse brought the ASP community closer through  celebrating their passion for art and writing together.

If you missed the performances and are interested in watching the evening, attached is the video for friends or family members at home. Enjoy!

How to Look Cool With Your Parents

Are your parents coming this weekend? Are you super excited? That's what we thought. We created a guide for Parents Weekend. Watch this video to learn the tips for greeting and walking with your parents. Good Luck!

Are They Nuts or Just Desperate?

Everyone pulls pranks and jokes once in a while, but some people can’t help taking it too far. It is one thing when there is no pressing need to give an absurd presentation all in the name of pulling a prank but it is a totally different thing to have something at stake and so resulting to some unhealthy lark. These two people pulled one over the moon and there is no coming down for them!

Tim Murray: Election of A Robot Congressman

Photo Credit

For this Oklahoma congressional candidate, Tim Murray, telling the difference between a human and robot does not come as an easy task; but for the rest of us, his accusations seem like just another round of sally that shows how desperate he is to get elected. Well according to Murray, Frank Lucas, his incumbent opponent who has served nine terms before, was executed in Ukraine around Jan. 11, 2011, in an event that was televised; so backing up his argument shouldn’t be so hard (if he wasn’t the only one who saw the televised execution on Ukrainian television). Murray announced that he was the real winner because Frank Lucas who had won by an 82.8% majority wasn’t a human being but robot or a look alike being used to represent him.

Surprisingly enough Tim Murray was capable of accumulating 5% of the votes cast (apparently he has a large family and campaign team who are loyal enough to vote him). Meanwhile, several letters have been released on Murray’s opponent’s, website stating that he has never been to Ukraine before and would never use a look-alike to represent him. So the question remains whether Murray’s claims of a robotic congressman are valid or he is a non compos mentis or going nuts out of desperation.

Mark DeFriest: 20 Seasons of Prison Break

In other (not) news, Mark DeFriest, who was arrested in 1979 for trying to take his dead father’s tools claiming they belonged to him (where was the will?), tried to escape from prison the most redonkulous way possible by slipping LSD in the coffee of the staff and guards. Interestingly enough, the only thing keeping him in prison is his repetitive attempts to escape from prison (precisely 13 times).

Diversity Alliance Meeting #2: Socioeconomics

Eliza Huntington co-supervisor for the diversity alliance group

At Wednesday, July 2nd’s Diversity Alliance meeting in the back room of the dining hall, the discussion focused on socioeconomic status and how people see it in their own lives. The coordinators asked so many great questions, the group never encountered a dull moment in the meeting.

Interns, Eliza Huntington and Pierce Ellinwood head the group. Ellinwood is the intern for The Quest and Eliza is an intern for the Writing Workshop. Ellinwood said of the group, “it is a no pressure environment, it’s really thinking about the diversity around us everyday and considering how it affects us, and how we project it.”

“It is a breakdown of different subjects in our community so that we can understand how diversity is active in our society today.” 

DJ of ASP Dance Under Fire for Music That Students Could Really “Turn Down For.”

Interns dancing at the triangle of fun. 

Photo Credit: Carolyn Lucey

Last Saturday, June 28th, the St. Paul’s School Advanced Studies Program held the summer’s first Triangle of Fun, consisting of a movie screening, a game room, and a dance. Excited to get their groove on after six days of class, students had very high expectations for the dance.

By the end of the night, several of the students were left disappointed with the dance playlist. Five days after the dance, a pool of students shared their opinions. Overall the songs were not recent enough; students hoped to hear chart-topping songs.

Ned Heckman, DJ at the triangle of fun dance, created the playlist in advance and 60% of the songs on the playlist came from playlists of previous Triangle of Fun dances. The students were right to say the songs were on the older side.

Humans of ASP

Welcome to the first episode of Humans of ASP! Today's question is: If you weren't here at ASP this summer, what would you be doing? 

Watch the video below to see everyone's responses and stay tuned for more episodes in the future!

ASP TOP 20

Fourth of July weekend, one of the most anticipated times of the ASP summer session,  is a time for students to catch up with friends, family... and current music. Don’t worry, we wanna make sure that when you go back home, you can still roll up with your crew and jam to these tunes.

Iggy Azalea is topping the charts, as she has been for the past 14 weeks with her song featuring the collaboration with Charlie XCX, “Fancy” and her collaboration with Ariana Grande, “Problem”.

As she is spitting rhymes, she is breaking records; she became one of the first female artists to have two songs in the Top 100 concurrently and beating Lil’ Kim for the female Hip Hop artist to have the longest #1 hit on the Top Billboard 100.

Here is our list of other popular summer songs:

• Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Ray
• We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus
• Roar by Katy Perry
• 23 by Miley Cyrus, Wiz Khalifa, Mike-Will-Made It, and Juicy J
• Turn Down for What by DJ Snake feat. Lil Jon
• Rap God by Eminem
• My Hitta [remix] by YG feat. Lil Wayne, Meek Mill, Nicki Minaj, & Rich Homie Quan
• Loyal by Chris Brown featuring Lil Wayne & French Montana
• Talk Dirty by Jason Derulo feat. 2 Chainz

https://play.spotify.com/user/1257522783/playlist/7DetngZgTUs5FsjRWYCge1

Dining Hall Staff: Underappreciated and Overworked

Every morning at four A.M, while the rest of the SPS campus is fast asleep, the lights in the kitchen turn on; bacon is fried, pancakes are flipped, and potatoes are diced. A mere three hours later, an entire community passes through the kitchen: emptying bins of breakfast, draining gallons of coffee, and dirtying hundreds of dishes. A swarm of ASP faculty, students, and interns tear through the kitchen, often without stopping to thank the staff. It seems as if there’s no consideration or thought given how long the of their breakfast took to make, or even who prepared it.

Given their tireless efforts and continual dedication to serving us, the dining hall staff should be able to consistently rely on emotional compensation, but frequently, ASP community members fall flat on basic courtesy, specifically in saying “thank you.”

The Chapel of St. Peter and St. Paul: A Structure with Character

A new home and community also comes with appreciation for new things and if you haven’t been impressed by the food, the scenery or the people, you should at least be impressed by the architecture and most especially the chapel. It doesn’t matter whether you are religious or share similar religious beliefs as the school, the artistic inspirations that emanates from the chapel should galvanize your art senses and appreciation for arts and architecture as it serves as a fortress or inspiration. Before I expatiate the fundamentals behind the marvelous structure, a good point for you to contemplate is whether the artistic nature of the chapel (which I refer to as its character) serves more than its religious purpose to you? In other words, is the chapel more than a chapel?