Who is the highest paid QB in the NFL?

That could be construed as a loaded question as professional athlete contracts are complex. Even with that said, take a look at the ranking. Would it surprise you that arguably the best NFL quarterback, Tom Brady, is nowhere to be found? For this list, he ranks #20.

What is the justification for these astronomical salaries, if clearly being the best at the game doesn't necessarily warrant the top salary? The answer to that may lie in the fact that team owners and managers work differently. Some will pay top dollar for their quarterback because they feel that by doing so  he will have incentive to stay with the team and play at his highest level. He will be financially motivated to stay in top shape and lead the team to a winning season.
Apparently for some athletes, money is the motivation for playing for a team. All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman who signed a five-year, $70 million extension with the Seahawks in 2014 said, "It's all about respect in this game and the only way people show respect is the dollars."
That said, it seems that the owners of the best quarterback in the NFL see things differently, as does the quarterback, Tom Brady. Not only is Brady's salary notably lower than most quarterbacks, despite his record-setting, winning career, but Brady has consistently renegotiated his contract and passed on opportunities to up his salary. The reasoning?
The money the Patriots save on Brady can be used to sign and/or keep other key players on their roster, thus building a winning team and spreading the wealth among the players. Is this a smart move on Brady's part? While I can understand Sherman's point of view, it seems that if you look at winning records, Brady has earned respect on the field, if not at the negotiating table.
His ability to negotiate his personal contract with the team in mind has enabled the Patriots to enter the 2017 trading season with $60,553,678 in spending money and 5 Super Bowl wins under Brady's belt. Clearly, the motivation to play for the Patriots is to play on a championship team, even if it means a "modest" salary. Would you sacrifice millions of dollars to be on a winning team? Perhaps that's easier said than done.

Sources: http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/agents-take-what-you-should-know-about-tom-bradys-unique-contract/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nfl/patriots/2016/03/10/tom-brady-contract-extension/81575884/
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/patriots/the_blitz/2017/03/patriots_salary_cap_is_set_for_2017

What is Your Personal Locus?

Chapter 9 of Introduction to Media Literacy, introduces the term, "personal locus." There personal locus is defined as "a combination of an awareness of your goals along with the drive energy to search out information and experiences to attain those goals."
As I've thought about my personal locus, first and foremost I have a goal of returning home to my Father in Heaven with confidence and love for Him and my Savior Jesus Christ. I want to live with integrity according to my faith in Jesus Christ by keeping covenants I've made with God, by keeping His commandments and living His principles. These all are a protection and and a light for my life.
This week for my blog post I'm posting about an article I found that strengthens this goal I have of returning to my Heavenly Father. The article is by Russell M. Ballard, and it's entitled, "The Chapel: Our Sabbath Sanctuary." In this article, Elder Ballard, an apostle for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints shares insight on how keeping the Sabbath Day holy can bless our lives. He said, "Sacrament meeting is a wonderful and glorious time. When we step into the chapel and prepare to receive the sacrament, we should think of ourselves as being in a sanctuary, a sacred and special place where we can contemplate Christ and His great and glorious mission. We put aside the things of the world and think instead of what is eternal. We need to put aside our cell phones and ponder about Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God. We have just 70 minutes each week to focus on our love for the Savior. If we can start thinking of the chapel as a sanctuary of faith and devotion for sacrament meeting, we all will be blessed." This short article helped me understand the importance of that relatively short 70 minutes referred to as sacrament meeting. What a gift to have that block of time as a sanctuary. It truly is a time I can contemplate the atonement of Jesus Christ and His grace in my life. Media content like this helps me consider steps I can take in my life to more fully appreciate opportunities to strengthen my personal locus. Choosing to ponder this type of media content helps me reach for these goals that are intertwined with my faith.

What is your personal locus and where have you found media content to help you strengthen you r personal locus?
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Myth Busters: Fatherhood Edition

I was born and raised in a home where my father was present and involved. I knew I was loved. I knew my father wanted great things for me. I knew he cheered me on everyday. He took the time to hear my fears and he put up with all of my teenage angst. It was important to me to marry someone who at least seemed to have the potential to be an involved and caring parent. There's always hope, but there's no guarantee! I'm happy to say that my children have such a dad.
The media often represents fathers in an out of touch, bumbling stereotype. Think George Banks in Father of the Bride, Homer Simpson, and Ray Romano from Everybody Loves Raymond. Is the media's portrayal of fatherhood accurate, or is it just entertaining and something we as viewers buy into? Common sense would say that there are as many different personas of dads as there are dads. In fact it's important to note that fatherhood does not always look like the dads portrayed on TV or in movies. Furthermore, the media doesn't do society any favors by preaching a construct of fatherhood that is rarely in the home, out of touch with their children's lives, who may be the sole financial provider, but fails to provide his children with love and affection.
The Washington Post published this interesting article, "5 Myths about Fatherhood," and with it being Father's Day and with our study of the effects of media, I thought this article was a great piece to discuss. According to this article fathers are just as capable of nurturing their children as mothers are. They are crucial to the family unit, not dispensable influences as the media portrays. As men age it is actually harder to be an effective father. Health deteriorates which effects energy levels, and the ability to work and play.  What if the media took the research that has been done on fatherhood and its essential, valuable role in the family unit and portrayed fathers who were fallible, but effect and nurturing fathers? What effect might this have on society's belief and value of fatherhood? I would love to see this as a mass media experiment!
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The Social Media Bubble

What did you think when social media giants went public and stock began to show signs of legitimacy? May 18, 2012 was opening day of Facebook's IPO and stocks closed at $38. Nearly a two years later, stocks were up to $68 per share. This seems impossible given the reason that Facebook chose the IPO route was because of slowing membership and usage.
So, what is the Facebook appeal? Facebook started out a place where networks of family, friends, et could communicate, post pictures, and stay connected. People could share their views on this platform that reached far more people than their immediate sphere of influence. People could give instant gratification by "liking" others' photos and/or thoughts. Initially millions of people joined Facebook and it was a novel idea. While it still has it's appeal, younger crowds have left Facebook for less public forums like Snapchat and Instagram.
So, where does Facebook stand today? It seems that Facebook, as well as many of its competitors are struggling to maintain the upward trajectory. On June 13, 2017, Facebook closed at $150.68. The article I found for this week, " Tech sell-off continues with Apple, Google, Amazon, Facebook suffering, " discusses the idea that we may be existing in a social media bubble. According to this article, the recent stock price drop wiped out approximately 2 billion dollars from Mark Zuckerberg's net worth. Considering the recent stock price drop, do you think this is true or just a blip in the upward trajectory? Have you invested in Facebook? If so, how long did you hold on to that stock? What makes Facebook stock valuable? Have many of the tech companies lost their mojo now that competition continues to even out with similar features across the board? If you haven't bought Facebook stock, would you today? Why or why not?

I'll Have a Scoop of the Paris Climate Agreement in a Sarcastic Sugar Cone

It is common knowledge that the makers of Ben & Jerry's Ice-Cream are outspoken environmentalists. So when they posted an article titled,

"6 Reasons Pulling Out of the Paris Climate Agreement Was Totally, Definitely the Right Move,"

you can rest assured the article is not seriously supporting this recent shift in US policy.
Their reasons for supporting Trump's exit from the Paris Climate Agreement? The lack of clean energy jobs (then noting that China has a plethora of clean energy jobs), rising seawaters from climate change mean more beachfront property, it's cool to be a "loner" country while the 194 other countries are pulling together to tackle climate change, etc...
The sarcasm is thick, but is it an effective way to make an argument? Their article caught my attention, I took the time to read it, think about the issue of climate change, and even post this for my weekly blog assignment, so there's that. If the intent is to bring light to the issue of climate change, their verbiage was effective. Rather than take their argument as proof that the US belongs in the Paris Climate Agreement, Ben & Jerry made me realize I have no idea what the details of the Paris Climate Agreement are. I have no idea how the agreement is enforced or funded. I have no idea how we have benefited as a global population as a result of the Paris Climate Agreement. I need to be more informed. I do believe that we all are stewards of this beautiful earth and working together to take care of our planet has the potential to be far more effective than a fractured approach.
Thank you, Ben & Jerry, for lending your voice to this important issue. What do you think about Ben & Jerry's article? How did they affect your view of the US pulling out of the Paris Climate Agreement?

Do You Fidget?

What is the latest gadget trend that has reached global proportions? If you guessed the Fidget Spinner, you got it! Love them or hate them, they are everywhere. My husband saw them being sold on the streets of Kosovo a couple weeks ago.
Fidget Spinners have been marketed with a focus on developmental benefits. A retailer on Amazon states that their fidget spinners are "A Good Choice for Killing Time, Having Fun, Helping Relieve Stress, Keep Focusing." They are "Great for Anxiety, ADHD, Autism, Quit Smoking, Staying Awake On Long Car Drives, Etc." At my kids' middle school if a child has a note from their doctor, they can bring them to school to help a child focus. My daughter has complained to me that they are distracting, and some schools have banned them for this very reason.

They have been noted as a choking hazard, but they are the gadget every young school age kid wants. They can be found for $2, so they don't break the bank. They come in all sorts of designs, including a cookie!

 

If you are looking to purchase a fidget spinner, I think I found the best article reviewing different styles of fidget spinners. This "Best Fidget Spinners 2017 - Buyer's Guide" includes product pros and cons, prices, age suggestions, spinning times, and some have videos of the spinners in action. In my opinion this is a great media marketing tool for selling a product. I just might be sold on the VICOTREM copper and brass spinner.  

Happy Spinning!

Group Snaps

Once again there has been a development and marketing maneuver in the social media world to keep competition on its toes. Various media outlets, including Bloomberg, recently reported that the social media app, Snapchat has updated its Story feature in an effort to stay competitive in the social media business. After recent lackluster earnings, Snapchat hopes this update will bring back previous users, new users who want to contribute to friends' group stories, and increase use among current users.

So, what is the Story update? Story now has a custom feature which allows people to collaborate on video Stories and share them with their followers. Instead of having just a single user share video from an event, groups of Snapchat users can post video of the same event. Friends can thus share a more broad perspective of an group event such as a vacation, holiday party, prom, wedding, family reunion, etc.

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If you are a control freak who prefers controlling the storyline and content then this might not sound appealing, but if you are open to different perspectives being combined in one place, this might be something that interests you. What do you think? Is this feature enough to sell or resell you on Snapchat? After watching the promo video below, I realize I'm not as camera happy at events as these users are, so I doubt that I'll jump on board, but I have to admit, the marketing for this feature makes it look like a fun way to connect...