B.o.B
“B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray”
Grand Hustle/Atlantic Records
Released: April 27, 2010

All of hip-hop’s monster names have made a trend of selecting young prodigies to push; Jay-Z unleashed Kanye West, Lil Wayne had Drake, and West developed Kid Cudi. Now, staking further claim in rap’s royalty, Atlanta rapper T.I., fresh out of jail on gun charges, has produced his own protege: B.o.B, aka Bobby Ray.

After a few successful years on the mixtape market, B.o.B released his debut album this week, “B.o.B Presents: The Adventures of Bobby Ray.” Perhaps what works most for B.o.B is the stark distinction in styles between he and his mentor, T.I. T.I. is known for his gritty, gangsta-hustle persona, while B.o.B is a true muse, classically trained in song.

An accomplished acoustic guitar and cello player, rapper and singer, B.o.B flows seamlessly between genres. You may remember his name from a pair of 2007 singles that came down on decidedly different ends of the spectrum: the ultra-gangsta “Haterz Everywhere” and the funk ballad “I’ll Be In the Sky.” He is most at-home as an indie-rocker, but has moments that span gangsta rap, R&B, gospel, pop, and “emo”-alternative rock.

“The Adventures of Bobby Ray” is able to explore all these genres, with the help of a very diverse guest list. Notable features include Lupe Fiasco, T.I., Paramore’s Hayley Williams, Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo, and Bruno Mars. Mars sings the chorus of the platinum-selling mega-hit “Nothin’ On You,” currently atop the Billboard Hot 100.

But easily the biggest Easter egg on the album is the guest spot appearance of Eminem, who joins B.o.B and Williams in “Airplanes Part II,” the album’s next single which is already gaining popularity. Williams’ heart-wrenching vocals, a knocking bass line, and a fluctuating piano melody set up Eminem’s gritty tone perfectly. But with basically the same production and flow as “Airplanes (Part I),” the inclusion of both tracks does make the album repetitive.

Photo: pigeonsandplanes.com

The album, and B.o.B as an artist in general, is very nostalgic. In “Lovelier Than You,” he sings “If I could rewind/Both the hands of time…” Not only is B.o.B’s sound a throwback to acoustic pop infused with funk, but its one of his most prominent themes. And this is a refreshing quality, with so many new hip-hop artists interested in speaking about looking ahead, moving forward and living the life of a future star. B.o.B reflects on simpler past experiences to achieve a sentimental connection with listeners.

Unfortunately for me, the album’s other theme, B.o.B’s mainstream arrival and an introduction to his unique style, is overstated. Getting to know the artist was much more entertaining on his less-scrutinized, creatively free mixtapes. On “Adventures,” you can feel the major label’s ‘play it safe’ mentality, selecting tracks with bigger hit potential. Still, B.o.B finds ways to shine and bring new things to the music scene.

Overall, his hooks are catchy and his musical instincts are strong, personally producing a majority of the album. B.o.B’s “Adventures of Bobby Ray” is definitely worth your time. There’s something for every music genre fan out there. I give it four of five iPod stars. For those looking for a deeper look into the adventurous mind of B.o.B, I recommend his “B.o.B Vs. Bobby Ray” and “May 25th” mixtapes.

Songs to know: “Don’t Let Me Fall,” “Airplanes,” “Ghost in the Machine,” “Letters from Vietnam”

James Cameron’s Avatar, the highest-grossing box office hit of all time, is available for the public to own on DVD and Blu-ray this week.

The film is coming off what many considered to be an upset in the Best Picture category of the Academy Awards, as the low-budget, independent film The Hurt Locker took home the top honor. Twentieth Century Fox, which released Avatar, has stated that the April 22 DVD release is in recognition of the film’s environmental themes for Earth Day.

Photo: Avatarmovie.com

Avatar surpassed Cameron’s previous work, The Titanic, as the highest-earning movie of all time. The film took in $2.7 billion world-wide. The commemorative Earth Day release is the first of three planned releases, which include a special edition DVD in November and a 3-D version in 2011.

Despite shifting away from the spectacle of 3-D and IMAX screens, Avatar is expected to continue earning, with the increased popularity of Blu-ray technology in home entertainment. According to Variety and the Digital Entertainment Group, Blu-ray sales in the first quarter of 2010 are up 74 percent from last year.

Earlier in the week, Cameron revealed details about future sequels, expressing his desire to focus on Pandora’s ocean life in “Avatar 2.”  He also hinted at expanding outside of Pandora to other planets and moons in the fictional solar system in a third Avatar movie.

Future DVD releases will include special features and deleted footage that did not make the theatrical version, including a much-hyped “sex scene” between the two main Na’vi characters. Avatar can also still be seen in select theaters.

According to the Los Angeles Times and Researchers at Wayne State University conducted a study, using information from the Baseball Register. They looked at photos of 230 players who began their careers in professional baseball before 1950.

What they did next was enlarge the players’ pictures and rated their smiles, big smile, no smile, or partial smile. Then the smile rating were compared with data from deaths that occurred from 2006 through 2009. To be as accurate as possible, the researchers accounted for other factors associated with living longer like body mass index, career length, and college attendance.

So what they found was this:  According to the LATimes and the reachers, the players who had died, their longevity ranged from an average 72.9 years for players with no smiles to 75 years for players with partial smiles to 79.9 years for players with big smiles. In other words, smiling added about seven years on their lives.

The researchers in the LATimes article claim this is no joke. Smiles reflect positive emotion which has been linked to both physical and mental well-being.

This study is published in the journal Psychological Science.

I came to Franklin Pierce for one reason and one reason only, that reason being field hockey. Unfortunately, field hockey let me down the four years that I was here. If it was not field hockey getting in my way, it was something else. However, I was not going to let these incidences get in the way of my college experience. The fact that I put my foot down allowed me to save my college career.

I found myself participating in every opportunity that came my way in order to make the best of myself and to make the best of Franklin Pierce University. Franklin Pierce became one huge opportunity for me to become the vice president of my class, to become the vice president of several clubs in my interest and to be all that I can be. Overall, I had a rewarding experience here at Franklin Pierce because it opened a door to my life that I never knew I had; I persevered through indifferences and discovered who I am.

 He said: by Kevin Flanders

I was hoping to play on the hockey team early in my freshman year, but soon realized that I would not have enough time to balance work, hockey, and schoolwork without being exhausted. Therefore, I decided to participate in an adult hockey league once a week, which enabled me to concentrate more on school.

Initially, I took all Mass Communications and IC courses, but over the last three years I have taken elective courses in many different majors, including Education, Sociology, Anthropology, English, and Recreation. My eclectic schedule allowed me to experience many different professors and material, which will better prepare me for a writing career. After taking three creative writing courses and producing short stories and poems, I am now aware of several different writing processes and learning strategies. I am even considering applying for a job with a publishing company due to my newly acquired knowledge of editing techniques and fiction composition. My advice for underclassmen who aspire to have writing careers is to not label themselves as journalists, poets, feature writers, columnists, or fiction writers. Take various writing courses that will broaden your knowledge of an array of writing practices; you never know which jobs will be open after graduation.

Happy April Fools’ Day 2010! Please be cautious of friends intending to prank you and make you out to be an April Fool. Though the Exchange can’t promise you’ll be spared from the pranking, we can help you understand how this strange holiday came to be.

Though no exact origin is known, The Museum of Hoaxes claims that Aprils Fools’ Day started from a 16th-century trend. In 1564, King Charles IX of France adjusted the measured year to the Gregorian calendar that we now live by. Previously, the beginning of the new year was April 1, which Charles IX switched to January 1.

Word of the change spread slowly in its time and also met some resistance. Those that refused to note the date change, or those that simply hadn’t received the news, were looked upon as lesser citizens. It then became a running tradition to play pranks on these so-called “fools.”

Famously effective April Fools’ pranks include a collapsed capitol building and a Google giveaway. In 1933, a Wisconsin-area newspaper reported on April 1 that the Wisconsin State Capitol building had collapsed under the force of a series of explosions. The explosions were attributed to the amount of hot gas that had collected in the building during a time of particularly heated debates.

This image ran in the Madison Capital-Times in 1933 accompanying a false story about Wisconsin's State Building collapsing. Photo: The Huffington Post

More recently, on April 1 of 2007, Google announced plans to start a distribution service of archived emails from users’ Gmail accounts. Those wanting to own print copies of their emails for “scrapbooking purposes” could order their inboxes to be shipping in bulk. Googled planned to offset the costs of ink and paper by scattering large, boldface-type ads on the printed emails.

We at the Exchange wish to warn you of the schemes and pranks of April Fools’ Day. Remember not to take that astonishing midday text message too seriously, and try to pass on the spirit of the holiday as best you can.

Spring Break can mean a number of things to different people. To some it may mean rest and relaxation while others conjure images of sunny beaches and everything in between. With Franklin Pierce’s Spring Break over, I asked Franklin Pierce students what they did over spring break. 22 FPU students provided 30 responses (being allowed to give more than one response each).

The first number on the pie segments is how many students responses fit into that category and the second number  is what percentage of the total responses that reflects. Students responses were grouped into general categories that they fit into.

These groups were:

Went Home: This category represents student’s responses that included activities such as “going home”, “hanging out with friends”, “chilling” and the like.

Traveled: This category represents student’s responses that included activities such as “traveling to see friends”, day trips to major cities, cruises and “vacation” traveling to other parts of the country/world.

Went to Big Event: This category represents student’s responses that included activities such as “going to a concert”, going to see St. Patrick’s Day and other parades as well as other events of that nature.

Outdoor Activities: This category represents student’s responses that included activities such as taking day hikes, backpacking and camping.

Photo Courtesy of Flickr

by Whitney Pettibone
edited By Adam Stahl

When driving by the Wellington Recreational Park in Rindge on a Wednesday morning around nine, you will see the parking lot freckled with cars.  Every week a group of senior citizens gets together for a “Recreational Coffee Talk” hour.

As the guests start to shuffle in, there is a place at the long table for everyone.  The men sit on one side and the women on the other.  The men tell dirty jokes, and the women talk about the men.  As they wait for coffee, one man shows his photography of birds he found in the Everglades.  Meanwhile, Rose Wart, the “leader” of this group, goes around making sure everyone knows when they have to bring food.

Since 1987, Recreational Coffee Talk has been happening every Wednesday morning.  There used to be 35 to 40 members.  “Most of us have passed away, but as we all get older, our children want us to move closer to them so they can take care of us.  We lost most of our members that way,” Wart said.

Wart, though, says she is here to stay.  “I have moved so many times, I am staying here [in Rindge],” she said.

The coffee hour has originally evolved from the Congregational Church in town.  Now, these people who come to coffee hour, just want to talk and share their stories.

New members are always welcome.  All you would have to do is get up and meet them at the Recreational Building in Wellington Park at nine in the morning.  “They call it a senior citizen coffee hour, but really anyone is welcome to come and meet new people,” Wart exclaimed.

When sitting in on the conversation, there are many stories; from jam making to hiking the Appalachian Trail at the age of seventy.

To become more involved in the Rindge community, Recreational Coffee Talk is the place to start.  Stop by Wellington Recreation Building in Wellington Park Wednesday mornings at 9:00 am.

She Said

Every time I sign onto Facebook or other social networking sites I ask myself, why?

Why do I get satisfaction looking through people’s pictures, commenting on silly photos and updating my status? One thing is for sure, I am not alone. Any day of the week, on most computer screens around campus, people are logged onto a social networking site.

Is it worth the time?

Personally, I limit myself to a few brief times a day. It may seem like a lot, but I use Facebook for networking purposes as well as social. I have found that everyone from my internships is connected through Facebook, Linkedin and sometimes Twitter. For that reason, I think it is a great tool.

On the other hand, I believe that some people abuse social networking sites. In this day and age, all types of technology that helps connect people should be taken advantage of, but not for the wrong reasons. Anything in excess is not good for you, and that includes Facebook. There is a fine line between social networking and obsession. I notice a lot of youth transferring most of their personal social interactions online, which is not healthy. As a result, relationships, romantic and platonic fail or at least culminate extra drama that without Facebook for example, would not exist. It is also not healthily for human beings to take too much direct contact away from one another. Something I am guilty of myself is falling into the easy trap of using messaging, Facebook chat or other forms of impersonal forms of communication to form new relationships or address conflicts. The problem is, when you have direct contact with the person, everything changes and the relationship was not the same as it was online.

How can we balance the advantages of social networking sites with the negatives?

Similar to anything else in life, people need to prioritize and use self control. Every time I have the urge to log onto Facebook or Linkedin I waita second, ask why I am doing it, and sometimes treat it like a reward. On days when I accomplished a lot and am very busy I spend time connecting with old friends or goofing around. The problem is when Facebook and other sites begin to harm people’s grades, goals and life. At this point it is time for cyber detox. I am still waiting for the day a rehab center opens that specializes in social networking addiction.

by Jeff Payne

He Said

I definitely spend too much time on social networking sites. The proof of that is that I am writing this He Said at 5:13 AM as a break from a dense collection of homework assignments. Why is this? Because during the daylight hours when I should be getting this work done I was spending time on facebook and twitter seeing what’s going on with friends and celebrities who I don’t even know but wish I did. The appeal is obvious; it’s so fascinating to see what’s going on everyone’s lives from your close friends to old acquaintances from the younger school years. However it’s starting to take over people’s lives! I know this isn’t just my problem either.  I can see that there are four other people available for facebook chat even at 5:13 in the morning. The people who are available keep changing too so there’s an even greater number of people who spend a little too much time social networking. It’s a problem that hopefully I and all of the other social networking junkies may one day quit.

photo: diseaseproof.com

by Nalina Shapiro

Placing an order for an extra cheesy large pizza or a juicy double cheeseburger, might leave a bitter taste.

Somewhere, in the massive U.S. health care bill, there is a new law requiring restaurants with 20 or more locations to include calorie counts on menus, menu boards and even drive-throughs. The law also requires the Food and Drug Administration to create new national standards for menu labeling.

The goal of the change is raise customer awareness and allow them to process the calorie information. Right now, many restaurants post nutritional information on a side wall but now calorie counts will be hard to avoid.

The restaurant industry supports the bill, which will vary from state to state. New York City was the first in the country to put the calorie posting law into place. Since then, California, Seattle and other places did the same.

According to the Associated Press and Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, said it is one step in the fight against obesity.

“Coffee drinks can range from 20 calories to 800 calories, and burgers can range from 250 calories to well over 1,000 calories,” said Wootan.

 According to the AP, there are meals excluded from the law like specials on a menu less than 60 days. Also, other nutritional information in addition to calories will have to be available somewhere else in the restaurant.

 Vending machines will also be required to post calorie counts as well as other vendors that do not have visible labels on the front package.

 Currently, the effect of labeling is unclear. According to the AP and the online journal Health Affairs, only half of customers in poor New York City neighborhoods with high rates of obesity and diabetes even noticed the new labels. To an even further extent, the accuracy of the calorie counts may be off. The American Dietetic Association published a survey of 10 chain restaurants and found calories in 29 meals and menu items averaged 18 percent higher than listed.

photo: provided by Bloomberg

by Nalina Shapiro

Experts warn this is not a new diet. 

 A new study found that women who drink moderate amounts of alcohol do not gain as much weight as those who refrain.   On Tuesday, March 9, the Archives of Internal Medicine were the first to find that alcohol may curb weight gain in women.

 Unusual, is the word to describe the new findings. Typically alcohol consumption is not advised for people trying to lose weight. 

 Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston conducted a study over a period of 13 years. They examined 19,220 women who enrolled in the long-running Women’s Health Study.

 What they found was surprising.

 Women, who drank 15 to 30 grams a day, or a drink or two, were 30% less likely to be overweight or obese at the end of the study period. 

 A 5-ounce glass of wine contains about 125 calories, and a regular 12-ounce beer has about 150. 

 How could this have happened?

 The researchers are still unclear what accounted for the results, but did come to possible conclusions. Women burn more calories than men do after drinking, which provided researchers with a possible biological explanation.  Also, researchers found that women who drink have different lifestyle habits. They were more likely to consume fewer calories in a day, and chose less fating foods.  Women were also more likely to smoke, which lead health experts to advise the research should not translate into advice for women, rather new findings.

Beer, red wine, white wine and spirits were consumed for the study but in the end red wine had the biggest effect.