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Need a magical dose of nostalgia, my fellow Hogwarts fans? As most of you know, it's ABC Family's Nth viewing of "Harry Potter Week" as they play each magical film over the course of the next 7 days. But sometimes, we can't all take a week off without some help from the bag of out-of-class excuses that the Weasly twins can provide. 

I know our professors might want to thank Mashable for this ingenius 13 minute clip of the overview of what we know as the greatest magical story of our generation, and maybe of all time. This way, if we can't catch one of the 8 fims airing this week on ABCFamily, we can at least get a glimpse of the story as we know it, and watch the characters as they grow overtime.

Now if I don't attend class the next few days, I solemnly swear I am up to no good. Twitter feeds are already off the wall trending about Harry Potter week, so for those of you who only tumble, we thank you, Mashable for this perfect recap. 

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Thought Miami hadn't gotten enough publicity so far from all the fraternity/sorority expulsions? How about having both 2012 Presidential Candidates visit our university to try and sway the vote a little more in our very own swing state. The NY Times have taken Miami's claim to fame of alum Governor Ryan to a whole new level by interviewing a Miami professor, Dr. Hart, about his opinions on the polls and today's elections. It doesn't look like Dr. Hart tries to save face too much when referencing his teaching methods: sorry to all you finance majors out there.

Truth be told, Miami does have an overwhelming stereotype. And we do come from upper-middle-class families who may have greater influence on us being from the  midwest and living in a swing state. But the article doesn't just give Dr. Hart a shoutout as well as Governor Ryan at his alma mater, but it also degrades Miami students for fearing something we've "rarely" experienced: economic anxiety. Should this influence our voting? One can imagine the uproar those statements caused, but check out the article for yourself and formulate your opinion before getting out there to vote! 

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Ever wanted to draw your favorite cartoon characters? I know I have. And now, thank the Walk Disney heavens, that there is an app available for kids who want to craft their very own Mickey, Minnie, and Donald Ducks. According to Andrea Smith, a writer for Mashable.com, "the Smart Stylus is your creative tool. It feels comfortable in your hand and, of course, features a cheerful picture of Mickey." This product goes above and beyond your average iphone apps, but whose to say kids won't get bored quickly? I guess you'll have to find out for yourself and purchase this childhood dream maker. 

I really think the Disney Creative Studio has themselves a hit. I know if my little brother, about 8 years ago, wanted to keep himself busy throughout our long drives down to Florida to visit our grandparents, he'd definitely have this puppy in hand drawing all sorts of disney characters and bragging about his abilities. This might even amplify kids artistic abilities and go beyond the average Gameboy hype. 

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Thought you'd heard enough about Mitt Romney's "Burn Binder" of women? Just wait til you check out what "Betches Love This" came up with this week. Not only does the site do a spin on Tina Fey's production of Mean Girls, but they put a political spin on it in more ways than you can imagine. Now don't get me wrong, this political propaganda of exposing some celebrities for their faults is somewhat cruel, but downright hilarious. Although the political debate creates much room for controvery on the sound bites of the candidates, it isn't hard to find different ways to expose the wrong issues of each platform. Now even if you don't get the Mean Girls references, it isn't hard to tell that some innapropriate judgments are being passed, but they won't fall short of making you laugh out loud. 

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How far are you willing to take your freedom of speech? And does social media count? Some takeaways for employers and managers are as follows: 1. Sometimes it's okay to fire employees for what they say online.

2. Not every work-related post on social media is protected. 

3. Inappropriate activity trumps protected speech.

There are more takeaways useful to help those understand how to monitor their posts. I never really thought about how there is more to just avoiding an inappropriate comment or two on facebook so that your workplace won't get mad at you. These helpful tips might just save you your job! But even if you aren't being "followed" or haven't "friended" your work place, it doesn't mean you can go around saying whatever you want to whoever you want. Bottom line, be careful how far you go before facebook gets you fired. 

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To all of you Packers fans out there, I am sorry. To all of you NFL fans out there, I am even more sorry. Ever heard the song "Manic Monday" by The Bangles? If one could pick a soundtrack song for the NFL's display of referee terrible-ness, that would be the song. Twitter feeds BLEW UP last night as the replacement refs ruined anything and everything that we call football as America's favorite passtime.

The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Green Bay Packers, and the ending of the game was somewhat of an unfathomable fashion. ANd fans around the globe let twitter have it, to say the least. Check out the article to find both celebrity and commonfolk opinions on last night's debacle. 

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The iPhone 5 hasn't been released for more than about a week, and there are already problems existing according to this informative article. Thank goodness TomTom, a dutch navigation map maker is willing to help Apple out! I can only imagine what people are saying about the iPhone 5 if they are experiencing problems. To me, I feel like they all seem to be the same, with an additional feature for each upgrade. But what does this mean for our society? We seem to find problems in everything we want, only after we get it. I'm sure apple will come up with some campaign for the 6th iPhone soon enough to please those who aren't happy with their close-to-700-hundred-dollar purchase (sans upgrade of course). 

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This past week, publishers challenged Georgia State in a copyright case as professors were providing students with electronically produced text for their assignments in the classroom. Coming from a four-year battle, publishers have appealed the case. The original court rulings were in favor of the University, giving professors the ability to provide such online text for their students. I think, although I do not know enough about copyright laws, that electronic text is a good alternative for students who are more tech savvy and dependent on learning that way in such a society that relies so much on our technology.

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Ever want your pet to go viral on youtube? Commercializing cats has been one of ASPCA's main routes in social media. In this clip, you see techno-cat virtually "hovering" at his home when his owner leaves the house. Honestly, I think this video is hilarious. Editing a cat at home "hovering" over a bed and dancing seems to be a good way to keep a viewer's attention.  This links to class discussions as we've watched viral videos, and how it is more of a uniqueness that requires people to watch. ASPCA is still looking for more ways to get pets adopted, and filming your pets at home might be a good way to make your cat a star!

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To be honest, without today's technology I do not think politics would be as popular or as discussed in our society. Obviously politics play a huge role, both in a ruling standpoint and in a gossip standpoint. But had such social media devices like twitter and facebook not have been created, it would be very interesting to see how political candidates marketed their campaigns, especially to those in my specific age generation.

The given article explains the significance of this idea even further, showing how twitter has become "the real-time tool of choice" for campaigning a party. We start off class discussing what is going on in the "twitter world," and more recently those topics relate to Obama and Romney's efforts to share their viewpoints with the world, whether it be speeches or insulting each other. I like how this article goes in depth about delivering media by media, and how it really can effect our voting choices and the outcomes of our political society. 

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For those of you who don't know Jenna Marbles (not sure how you don't....) she's one of the more funny viral video stars on youtube. In this online history overview of Jenna's hilarity, you get only a glimpse of the judgmental stereotypes that she degrades in her videos. I highly suggest you check her out, and her blogs, to get more then a good laugh. 

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A Whole New World....

Everyone remembers the disney classic, Aladdin. And I'm sure everyone could go ahead and sing along to one of Disney's most memorable romantic scenes. But, could you sing both the male and female parts, pitch perfect?  Check out the talent of the guy on this viral video. If your ears don't believe it, your eyes will have to!