News App Analysis

Heavy Headlines is a news application for fans of heavy metal music. It compounds news from various outlets and nests them in one convenient place.

Upon downloading and opening the app, I was greeted with a message that informed me the app was collecting “brootal” information, AKA, my favorite bands. It then instructed me on how to expand and collapse headlines which appeared on the screen. The headlines did pertain to some of my favorite bands, highlighting the band names in red. It also shows new album releases, just added, and top selling. Another quirk to mention is when the app refreshes it says, “Demanding Data”, or "Summoning Stories." I guess the app is supposed to be as brutal as the music which it promotes.

While I was refreshing the app did crash. That may be because my phone is overloaded, that it’s an old model iPhone 4, or an application error. When I re-launched it, the problem did not recur. I swiped to expand a news story and it gave me a brief summary. I clicked on it, and the article appeared it a neat format. In the header it noted where the article was originally from. The layout was very neat and readable.

While browsing the news I was greeted with this message:

That enticed me to look at the various themes.Some cost money, but I’m good with the current theme.

I then found there was a menu which allowed me to select the feeds from which my news came from:

Under the favorite bands tab I can see that it has listed what is in my music folder and allows me to turn on alerts of news related to those bands. It even allows me to be notified when those bands are in my area. That’s pretty sweet.

Back on the main menu I wondered what the ticket and circular buttons did in the top right corner. When I pressed the ticket one, it stayed on the main menu.The circular one took me to a list of things I’ve already read.

Overall, this app is well-constructed, visually appealing, and organized. I’m actually not going to delete it. The best feature is that I’m able to get news about my favorite bands all in one place. Unlike just getting it from Twitter or other social media outlets, I don’t have to browse through other user posts and/or news about bands I don’t care for. 

Imitation KISS: King of Buffoons

From Left : Frehley, Stanley, Criss &Simmons

The childish feud between classic rockers Paul Stanley and Dee Snider is just that, juvenile for two men gracing their sixties. Stanley is the lead singer/rhythm guitarist of KISS, a rock band who rose to fame in the early seventies. Snider is the lead singer of Twisted Sister, a rock band who rose to fame in the 80s. Twisted Sister is nothing but a twisted rendition of KISS, but Snider felt he had grounds to insult the band which so inspired him. 

"I don't see how people could accept this. Tommy Thayer? I'm sorry. It's insulting. Not only did he play in a tribute band of KISS, he's imitating Ace in his entire Act!" Snider said during an interview with Eddie Trunk.

From Left: Singer, Simmons, Stanley & Kulick

I find it rather unsettling that I don't disagree with the mock drag queen. My father raised my sisters and me on KISS. We used to run around in the living room jamming to their 90s version of rock and roll. Growing older, I expanded my already vast knowledge of the band. I've read biographies, watched documentaries, and of course, listened to the music old and new. I found my favorite version of KISS was indeed the original. Although I'm a child of the new millennium, the sound of 70s rock and roll enraptured me. I loved the same things about it that my father did. My love for the band outgrew nostalgia and matured. I came to respect the music after immersing myself in the time era from which it was born. 

Dee Snider

There was something unique to KISS back then. The music was their rendition of prior influences, such as The Beatles. Maybe the only real aspect which set them apart was the wacky look. I sympathize with Snider's opinion, and even find myself standing behind him despite my dislike for his band. Maybe he mimicked the sound and look of KISS, but this was a band which he loved. This was a band he respected. Over the years, the members of KISS seem to have lost this notion of respect and maybe just a little self-respect. 

I remember reading an interview with Stanley and Simmons in which the two of them alleged KISS would never "sell out." In summation, they said the band would continue to adapt to the times. In 1983 the band unmasked on MTV following the loss of two original members, Peter Criss and Ace Frehley. Vinnie Vincent and Eric Carr had previously replaced them and adapted their own characters, their own make-up. 

In an interview with Yahoo News, Simmons confirmed, "New members had come into the band, and then new characters were happening . . . and it just wasn't convincing to us anymore. We had always adhered to a philosophy that if Peter and Ace ever left, then KISS, at least in that form, would cease to be. And I think, instinctively, we did that. Without killing ourselves, without taking the Cobain way out, we simply killed off that version of KISS and did a different version."

I'm sorry, but is the present version  of KISS not exactly the epitome of everything this statement isn't? Forget Simmons insulting Nirvana fans far and wide! Just take a gander at the blatant hypocrisy! Several members have come and gone since the loss of Frehley and Criss. At present, Tommy Thayer has replaced lead guitarist Ace Frehley, and Eric Singer former drummer Peter Criss. After the loss of these two originals, the makeup came off in 1983 and it appeared the band had moved on. The 90s version of KISS that I grew up on was fast-paced and extreme. It was everything the band used to be only ramped up a few hundred notches. I certainly felt this adaptation was appropriate. The legendary characters were in the past, immortalized by the times in which they were created. Everything was looking up for unmasked KISS. Of course, not all fans were pleased with the loss of their beloved, painted KISS, but the band stood behind their decision. 

From Left: Vincent, Simmons, Stanley & Carr

"Everybody hated it. People didn't want the paint to come off, but you know what? Tough. It had to happen. You want your heroes to stay the same forever, but then the consequence of that is you get bored with them. We had to take it off. it had to run its course." Simmons responded. 

Where is this ideology now? We all know Simmons is a sell out. His initial goal for the band was to make money, and he's great at it. Simmons expertly marketed the four characters, making them worth millions. In the same vein as Marilyn Manson, an artist heavily influenced by KISS, Simmons was looking to make a name for something that didn't really exist. How big could KISS become before KISS was really a thing? 

Maybe it hasn't been solely about the music for Simmons from day one, but Stanley? I always looked up to him. Off stage, he was modest. For the longest time, he even refused to take part in Simmons' reality show Gene Simmons: Family Jewels. Stanley wasn't the pretentious, obnoxious character that his bandmate embodied so well. Unfortunately, however, there was this:

From Left: Frehley, Stanley, Criss & Simmons

"Well, let me put it in the simplest terms. In this case, this guy is a wannabe, has always been a wannabe and desperately wants attention and to be taken seriously, and that will never happen because he's obviously clueless that he and his whole band are a bunch of buffoons," Stanley responded to Snider's disgust.

I usually stand behind Stanley. I've rationalized the hypocrisy. I've overlooked the gall of present KISS , but this I could not. I expected as much from Simmons. Who hasn't accepted the KISS bassist is a narcissistic jerk, and struggles not to love him despite this? I thought my bias about Snider's band alone would skew my acceptance of his statement, but it didn't. I agree, and I am disheartened by Stanley's response. Stanley, Simmons, Criss, and Frehley were all wannabes of their time. They are no different from Snider, aside from the enormous success. I believe Stanley forgot to attribute the better part of his fame to Simmons expertise of marketing, and not his talent alone. In fact, the band never really hit popularity until they discovered their appearance and exuberant stage show was what would eventually put them on the map. The talent was hardly a factor in the beginning. 

From Left: Criss, Frehley, Stanley & Simmons

Snider replied on social media with a little letter back to Stanley in which he laments about his respect and love for KISS. There was one other thing he said that I whole-heartedly agree with, "As far as my "whole band being a bunch of buffoons" goes, that's a pretty ironic statement coming from you. The argument could easily be made that KISS is the "king of the buffoons", so in an odd way you've paid Twisted Sister quite the compliment. It takes one to know one." 

From Left: Singer, Stanley, Simmons & Thayer

Finish him, Snider! I can't believe I'm agreeing, but the glam rocker is right. The imitation of the legend that KISS created is ridiculously disappointing, hypocritical, and just all together sad. I'm not implying that KISS should stop rocking. By all means, rock on! Rock on Stanley and Simmons, don't hold onto what you used to be, and let your members be themselves as well! There was an imaginary line crossed when Thayer and Singer adopted not only Criss and Frehley's characters, but even their idiosyncrasies! Classic KISS had a stage presence that should never be recreated nor blasphemed by such buffoon-like imitation. 


Feud covered by Metal Injection here
40 Years Later by Yahoo here
Watch KISS 1983 unmasking on MTV here

If It's Too Loud You're Too Old: Gene Simmons Charity Event Shut Down

Right photo copyright MOVI Inc. Splash News

Classic Rocker, Gene Simmons, held the First Annual 'The Children Matter' fundraiser to "improve lives of thousads of at-risk children around the world," according to the event's website. The benefit was held the home of Rohan Oza in Beverly Hills, California. The star-studded audience included: actors Patrick Warburton, and Randy Jackson, television personality Maria Menounos, and bassist of Fall Out Boy, Pete Wentz, as well as his girlfriend Meagan Camper. 

The KISS frontman and bassist was joined by guitarist Thommy Thayer. The duo rocked Beverly Hills. Apparently, the performance was so earth-shattering that cops arrived to shut it down. Noise complaints, however, didn't deter the fundraising. "Gene put the guitar down," an unknown source claims, "but the party continued with a DJ." 

It would appear that even the almighty God of Thunder isn't above the law of noise ordinances.  

Read the story by UltimateclassicRock.com here

Farming With Drones

Hubertus Paetow is a German farmer and drone enthusiast. He has employed a drone to keep a critical eye on his farmland. The drone is outfitted with a camera and surveys the land. A mobile phone application allowed him to calculate a flight path for the drone. "I just enter the outline of my field into my mobile phone - just a rough outline. Then the app automatically calculates the best flight path for the drone, the shortest route," says Paetow.

The drone surveys the field and captures images of things the farmer may not have been informed of otherwise, like mouse and lice infestations. "These yellow spots indicate that there is a lice infestation. . . On the rest of the field we were able to prevent further damage by treating with insecticide," Paetow explains. This unique use of technology allows him to treat the field properly, and  is undoubtedly the future of agriculture. 

To read the original story by Euronews.com click here

The Typical Serial Killer

Radford University teamed up with the Florida Gulf Coast University to create a Serial Killer Database. The database is updated annually. The following information was last updated on September 6, 2014. These statistics were gathered from the examinations of 3, 873 serial killers.

In a section titled, A Problem With The Typical Profile, the database included only U.S. serial killers. The chart has six characteristics: male, white, mid-to-late twenties, white (male), and white (male, mid-to-late twenties). Almost all of the killers in this chart were male, just over half being white. Nearly a third of the serial killers were in their mid-to-late twenties. Almost half were simply white males. Just under 13% were white, male, and in their mid-to-late twenties.

For more information read the Radford University/FGCU Database here