My articles for the NAIT Nugget student newspaper (Sept. 24-Oct.8)

So since starting TV Broadcasting at NAIT I’ve been volunteer writing for the student paper (The Nugget). I’ve got a regular technology column (I forget if I mentioned that in the last post) and I try to do at least one entertainment-related piece for the paper per week too!

Here are scans of the articles I’ve written in the last three weeks:

• October 8 2009. A Google Wave. News & Features ( Tech Talk), Page 4.

• October 8 2009. Mraz strikes a chord. Entertainment, Page 11.
• October 1 2009. Mirror, Mirror…. News & Features (Tech Talk), Page 4.
• October 1 2009. 24 Hours, Edmonton style. Entertainment, Page 13.
• September 24 2009. Mobadass is Back. Entertainment, Page 14.

Here’s a picture preview for funsies:

I’ve had a lot of fun writing all the articles actually and I’m glad I’m still keeping up with print journalism whilst studying the broadcast side! Plus it’s awesome because The Nugget actually PAYS you for articles! Being paid for my work? What a concept.

I’m way too poor to want what I want, but I do! I do want these!

April 22 2009.

Hello all As I wrote in my last post, I’m spending the next few months trying to save up money to pay for a bunch of things I want/need.

Here are 3 gadgets on that list that will add to my video blogging and photography arsenal, in more detail:

1. Flip MinoHD (customized for my pink-loving dorkiness )

Flip MinoHD: The World's Smallest HD Camcorder (CUSTOMIZED!)

What: The world’s smallest HD camcorder
Some Specs: Weighs only 3.3 ounces, convenient flip-out USB arm plugs directly into your computer, records high-quality H.264 videos that work with iTunes, iMovie, and iPhoto, silent mode for recording in sensitive situations, more specs @ official website.
Why I want this: I’ve wanted the Flip Video before the “MinoHD” version was even developed. Now this HD one, well… It’s portable. It’s convenient. It’s high quality. It’s customizable and it’s therefore adorable. And it uploads quick and easy to a computer. It’s perfect for video blogging, capturing random but awesome shots, and amateur film making, and this is why I want it!
Cost: $229.99 USD.
I say USD because the customizable option is only available for ordering online and shipping to the United States. Therefore I plan on getting it shipped to my cousin and having him bringing it over to me when he comes to Edmonton for my brother’s wedding in July!
Official Website: www.theflip.com/store/MinoHD

2. Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash

Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash

What: A flash to attach to my Canon EOS Rebel XTi
Some Specs: Superior build quality, including a metal foot for added strength, virtually silent flash recycle, Full swivel, 180° in either direction, zoom flash head covers range of 24-105mm; maximum guide number 141 ft./43m at ISO 100, more specs @ official website.
Why I want this: I need a flash. The built-in flash on my Canon XTi is really bad and does ridiculous crazy blippy flash things during its recycle time. My friend and I have determined that we think all XTi built-in flashes do that because she has the Canon XSi which is one-up from the XTi and her built-in flash is fine and does not do weird blippy things. Anyway, I basically fear taking photographs in darkly or dimly lit areas with my DSLR because I don’t use flash (because of said blippy thingy) and I’d like to. Therefore, I need a flash! And this one will be fairly cheap!
Cost: Regular (new) cost is $369 but I’m buying a used version from my photojournalist teacher for $225!
Official Website: www.mcbaincamera.com

3. Canon EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens

Canon EF 15mm F2.8 Fisheye Lens

What: A fisheye lens for my Canon EOS Rebel XTi
Some Specs: 180° Diagonal Angle of View, Rear Gel Holder (accepts up to 3 pre-cut gel filters), short minimum focusing distance of 8 in. (20 cm) gives new meaning to close-up shots, more specs @ official website.
Why I want this: Ever since I saw super wide-angle pictures posted by James Hill (a Best Job in the World candidate), I have fallen in love with the fisheye lens. I am so attracted to the effect that the fisheye lens has on images. Visually fantastic. Examples: 1 | 2 | 3 (All credit: James Hill) I knew that he had been using a fisheye lens, but I didn’t know the exact lens name and well, to be honest I didn’t try too hard to search for it. But then a few days ago on Jame’s blog, he wrote a post about the equipment he’s been using ( here ) and since then I’ve added this very expensive fisheye lens to my list of things to save up for! I want it hopefully before my trip to Los Angeles at the end of July.
Cost: Regular (new) cost is $949 but if I buy it through my photojournalist teacher he’ll get a discount!
Official Website: www.mcbaincamera.com

So there you go! (:

It is a shame because I’m way too poor to want what I want, but I do… I really do want these and I think they’ll all be quite an asset for me in terms of my filming and photography interests!

Linda

Linda-Hoang.Com Version 2.0

April 17 2009.

Hi everyone!! I’ve updated/redesigned my personal website (/online portfolio). Please check it out below:

    My personal website/online portfolio / http://linda-hoang.com Version 2.0

( http://linda-hoang.com )

P.S. You might notice the main picture is one of the pictures I had used to submit to The Best Job in the World. I didn’t want it to go to waste!

What the heck does IMO mean, like SRSLY?

March 30 2009.

Lately I’ve been frequenting the ONTD Celebrity Blog on an overly-regular basis. Now one of the great things about ONTD is the users and their hilarious comments. I’ve become rather addicted to reading comments on the blog’s posts, I think in large part to the fact that they are usually witty, snarky, and are accompanied by one or several Internet slang acronyms.

I understood the basic ones, you know – LOL, WTF, ROFL, OMG, etc. But then I started seeing ones I’ve never ever seen before, ones like NGL, IDGAF, IDGI, etc. I’ve always considered myself Internet savvy and having a pretty good handle on Internet trends and what not, but here was a pile of acronyms that I had no clue the meaning of!! Was I getting too old? I’m only 19 for godsake..

Needless to say, I needed to learn what these “new” acronyms meant. What did that mean I had to do? No, not go out and buy one of those tween acronym Internet books.

What I did was enlist the help of a 15-year-old, Generation Y, really Internet savvy girl who could tell me what these strange words meant and help me compile a list of currently commonly used acronyms!

And that’s what the following is, my compilation of some current commonly used Internet slang. Compiled thanks to the assistance of the very helpful Kelly D. (with some input by a frequent ONTD-goer, Tanvi G.)

                                          Wondering WTF these letters mean?
                                                      Here’s your new guide!

The Basics:

LOL – laughing out loud
LMAO – laughing my ass off
ROFL – rolling on floor laughing
OMG – oh my god
WTF – what the eff
BRB – be right back
BTW – by the way
FYI – for your information
IMU – i miss you
ILU/ILY– i love you

What the “Basics” sounds like:

2 Letter Acronyms:

JK – just kidding
JC – just checking
H/O – hold on
DL – down low
OT – off topic
QT – cutie
BB – baby
TY – thank you
YW – you’re welcome
NP – no problem
WB – welcome back
W/E – whatever
W/O – without

What these 2 Letter Acronyms sound like:

3 Letter Acronyms:

IRL – in real life
NGL – not gonna lie
IDK – i don’t know
IDC – i don’t care
IKR – i know right
FML – eff my life
BBL – be back later
MTE – my thoughts exactly
IMO – in my opinion
AFK – away from keyboard
ASL – age sex location
BFF – best friends forever
TMI – too much information
TBH – to be honest
TBA – to be announced
TIA – thanks in advance
ETA – edited to add
FTW – for the win
FTL – for the lose
ATM – at the moment
BFD – big effing deal
SOL – shit outta luck
O I C – oh I see
SRS – serious
FWB – friends with benefits
AWK – awkward
ESP – especially
DEF – definitely
OBV – obviously
HDU – how dare you
ILH – i love him or i love her

What these 3 Letter acronyms sound like:

4 or More Letter Acronyms:

IDGI – I don’t get it
IJAF – it’s just a fact
STFU – shut the eff up
JSYK – just so you know
TTFN – ta ta for now
TTYL – talk to you later
TTYS – talk to you soon
AWOL – absent without leave / missing
SRSLY – seriously
BFFL – best friends for life (BIFFLE)
IDGAF – I don’t give a eff
AFAIK – as far as I know
BBSOL – be back sooner or later
IAWTC – I agree with this completely
ILYSM– I love you so much

What these 4 or More Letter acronyms sound like:

Some random Internet Slang:

LAWLS & LULS – variations of “lol”
LMAOSAURUS & ROFLCOPTER – variations of “lmao” and “rofl”
WEAKSAUCE & LAMESAUCE – that is weak, that is lame
OM NOM NOM – the sound one makes when they are eating something very fast or chomping

You can also add “f” (eff) to many acronyms such as LMFAO & OMFG.

What some of these random slang words sound like:

Basically these days an entire sentence that is understandable to the Internet public can be written with mostly acronyms!

Examples:

“LOL OMG THAT WAS SRSLY FTW LAWLS ILYSM and IAWTC NGL.“
Translation: (Haha) oh my god that was seriously for the win (haha) I love you so much and I agree with this completely, not gonna lie.

“JSYK IDGAF TBH that was TMI so just STFU IDC.“
Translation: Just so you know I don’t give a f*ck, to be honest that was too much information so just shut the f*ck up, I don’t care.

“ILU IMU LIKE SRSLY YOU’RE MY BFFL BB.“
Translation:I love you, i miss you, seriously you’re my best friend for life baby.

Of course no one would actually write an entire sentence with strictly acronyms (well I hope not anyway).

When I asked my dear 15-year-old friend (who is actually quite an intelligent individual, as are many of the individuals who post comments on ONTD using tons of acronyms) why she types in acronyms and purposely spells words incorrectly, she responded with this:

“I JUST LIKE TO LEAVE VOWELS OUT GOD IDK WHY COZ ITS QT!“

Hahaha! Of course, I’m really not judging because I like to use acronyms and spell things wrong on purpose in chats and messages as well. This post was just something I thought would be a helpful reference for myself and whoever else happens to google “What the heck does IMO mean?!!?” and more.

Let me know if there are any popular acronyms that you’ve seen being used around the interwebz that you think I should add to this list!

Also, only a few more days until the Top 10 of the Best Job in the World is announced! I’m becoming so very, very nervous. If TQ (Tourism Queensland) is going for geographical diversity with their Top 10 selections, than my chances are seriously shot because there’s so many candidates from Canada and all of us are could make it but they can’t choose a large number of us if they’re trying to maintain worldwide interest. Sigh! I’m trying to stay positive and crossing my fingers, praying, and all that good stuff though. Hopefully Thursday is a happy, happy day!

I am addicted to Twitter!

Hello everyone! So I felt really compelled to blog about my addiction to Twitter.

Now I have been addicted to many things over the years: Korean boybands that I couldn’t understand; making fan sites for dancers from So You Think You Can Dance; creating random and colorful graphics; California; raw fish (sashimi) and much, much more.

But Twitter. Boy, oh boy. Do I love Twitter.

10 Reasons why I love Twitter.

1. Maybe call me an attention whore, but constant updates answering the question “What are you doing?“, what am I thinking, feeling, watching (hello live tweeting during television shows!) — is absolutely appealing to me. I just love to tell people about myself and my life!

2. Reading what other people are doing, thinking, feeling, watching, and then interacting with them through the wonderful “@Replies”, totally interesting. To add onto that…

3. Communicating instantly with people either locally or anywhere in the world — in real time! This is so compelling to me. I mean I’ve always loved communicating with people in different places all over the world because I’ve always been something of a forum junkie, but Twitter-wise, I’ve become friends essentially with a TON of local Edmonton people who are all super smart, funny and friendly! Adding onto that…

4. Getting quick advice, help, and answers to your random questions! Twitter is SO great for that! You tweet a question, maybe properly hashtag (more on that below) it with a relevant location or word related to your question, and I guarantee you will get several @Replies back with tips and tricks or whatever it is you’re looking for! Great for feedback.

5. #Hashtags!! The #yeg hashtag as well as #hashtagging my tweets that are related to shows I’m watching while tweeting have connected me with a ton of interesting people! Hashtags are also extremely useful for reading news happening live at an event. For example, on Barack Obama’s Inauguration day, searching #inaug09 or #inauguration09 would give you a list of live tweets, updated every few seconds, from people all over the world discussing the inauguration and even tweets from people actually at the inauguration!

6. Okay I’m sure a lot of people start using Twitter for this very reason (I know I did, LOL) … Getting updates from celebrities who tweet!!!! Notably Ashton Kutcher, David Henrie, Ryan Seacrest, etc.

7. Following news outlets and journalists! This might just be because I’m in the field of journalism, but Twitter is ridiculously useful in terms of receiving Breaking News and well, just news in general. The New York Times, LA Times, locally with the Edmonton Journal and yes I will refer to this amazingly addictive celebrity blog as a “news outlet”: Oh No They Didn’t, are all on Twitter and I must say getting quick, 140 character updates from a variety of news organizations all to my Twitter homepage (which I am on ALL the time) — sooooo convenient.

It’s very interesting to follow the actual reporters/TV anchors from news outlets as well! I’m following a ton of local ones (Global Edmonton’s Lynda Steele, CTV Edmonton’s Carrie Doll, the Edmonton Journal’s Sandra Sperounes and more!)

With all these talks about how Twitter is changing journalism, it’s really fascinating to actually see journalists in action using Twitter to find an interview or tweet something that adds more personal depth to something they might have written or reported on.

8. The slang!!! Twitter has created a plethora of cute, catchy, and sometimes ridiculous twitter-related terms! Add “Twit” , “Tweet” or “Tw” to an already-existing word and you got yourself a new Twitter term, honestly. Real-life meet ups with people from Twitter are called “Tweetups“, people who use Twitter are called “Tweeple“, a “Twoosh” is an exact 140 character tweet, and the list goes on! Check out SiteMasher’s “Twittonary” for more Twitter-related terms and tools! (Seriously! Twittonary! LOL).

9. The power and potential of Twitter in terms of assisting non-profit organizations and raising money and/or awareness! From “TweetsGiving”, “Trick-or-Tweet”, “Tweet-a-thons”, and the biggest of all – Twestival – Twitter has been used to support various charity projects! I think Tweeple (haha!) are all super supportive and really interested in taking part in Twitter-based events and projects like these and it’s a great thing. Twitter, changing the world one Tweet at a time! Haha. I mean, Twestival alone raised $250,000 USD in a single day for charity: water for goshsake! Who knows what it could be used for in the future.

10. TWITTER IS FUN!!! And it’s pretty awesome to see more and more people now are giving it a shot and becoming just as addicted as I am!

And to that end, here’s an article I wrote about Edmonton’s “Twestival” back in February! “A Twitter of Activity!”

And because yes I want to tie every blog back to the Best Job in the World somehow (and if you didn’t notice it in that “twoosh” example up there, ha!) … I promise I will send daily updates to Twitter about all of my touristy adventures on the islands of the Great Barrier Reef if chosen as the Island Caretaker!!!

Linda

Linda-Hoang.Com

I’ve just launched my I guess.. “professional” website – Linda-Hoang.Com.

This website will act as sort of the one-stop hub where all the other websites, fansites, blogs, etc., that I’m involved with, can be found and linked to on this main site.

It will also serve as sort of a professional site where I’ll be putting up some of my writing samples, graphics samples, video samples, broadcast-related samples, all that kind of career-related and/or just for fun but technically impressive (?) projects and creations I make.

So check it out!