Internet + Future = ?

I think in the future the internet will be the center of everything. School will be online, work will be online, activities will be online- I think the internet will be very much a part of daily life. I think that people will be able to put on glasses and step into a virtual world and interact with people from around the globe. Sit next to others and talk to them in a way that seems like they are actually right next to each other- all through the internet. I also think that the internet will become voice activated in the future. All a person will have to do is say something and the internet will either look it up or go to the website for them. Overall I think the internet will become more and more simplified for people as it becomes more and more advanced. It will become easier for an average person to use while at the same time allowing that person to do more.

Mary the Martian.

Mary the martian is visiting our planet for the first time. While here she picks up the first magazine that catches her eye and delves into it to learn a bit more about our culture.
Mary picks up a copy of ESPN the magazine and after reading it she can conclude the following.
She can conclude that sports are a big deal in American culture, they would not have a magazine devoted to them if they were not. She can also assume that sports are a very profitable thing in America based on the salaries paid to the athletes. She can see the level of admiration that fans have for these athletes by reading the articles and scanning the pictures. She starts to believe that in order to live in America you have to dress nicely as the athletes do. Mary thinks that Americans must be very muscular, fit and good looking people. After all, the athletes in the magazine all have nice bodies and are quite attractive. She begins to wonder why Americans are so obsessed with alcohol, cars and electronics as those seem to be the only things advertised. Mary cannot understand why winning a game makes people so happy, but they seem to be in the magazine so there must be a reason. When Mary is done reading the magazine she decides she would rather go back home then stay on this "game" obsessed planet.

Gossip Girl is a show on the CW. It is based off a series of books by Cecily von Ziegesar about the lives of rich kids in New York. The main cast is made up of seven people; three boys and four girls. The actors range in age from sixteen to twenty-five although they have a few recurring adult characters over forty. The only thing every character has in common is not being overweight. They are all slim/buff and beautiful. Because the show follows the intersecting lives of all seven there is no main character. As a result of their wealth and position the women characters are dress extremely nice. But their clothes are usually revealing (low-cut) or tight. The show has very few minorities represented. One of the main characters is mixed race and her mother (who is on the show every once in awhile) is African-American. But that is the extent of minorities on the show. The only homosexual is a young man who is not featured in every episode.

Each woman character has similarities to each other and differences. One character, Serena is portrayed as the sex kitten. When the show first started she was always in bed with someone new. But as the show progressed and she got older, she stopped doing that and tried to commit herself to one man. At present time she is in a relationship, but has been tempted to cheat a few times. On the other hand there is Blair, she is one of Serena's best friends and has a different personality. Blair is portrayed as the strong one on the show who would do anything for those she loves. She had been like Serena at times but was committed to one man until he broke her heart. Instead of going out and finding solace in the arms of a new man, she decided to mourn the relationship and work on being strong by herself.

The show is aimed at girls in their teens through early twenties. I believe this because of the age of the characters and the issues they face. I don't believe the show is entirely accurate in it's portrayal of women. While there are truthful aspects in their portrayal they do not represent all women. It is sad to watch the show and see the girls portrayed the way they are, especially when I know that they could do so much better. Overall I think that with some of the girls they do a good job, trying to make them balanced- but then others they just go with the flow and subject them to stereotypes that women in shows fulfill.

Ad Deconstruction, NHL style.

Growing up I have been an enormous sports fanatic. I love to watch any sport, but my favorites are football and hockey. The NFL (national football league) and NHL (national hockey league) are pretty creative with their ads, they are the type of ads that make me want to watch football or hockey all the time. I think about times when I'd be watching TV, not really paying attention, until one of those ads came on. During the I would get all excited and by the end I was all pumped up to watch sports. These ads often give me goosebumps as well. It's odd to me how a simple video could give me goosebumps, but it goes to show the effectiveness of their marketing. If the commercial is giving me chills then the odds are better I will remember it.

Ads are created to draw people in, to get them to buy a product or in this case watch a game. I chose this one because it brings in old NHL video and uses that as persuasion for people to watch the new generation of hockey players. It ties together the old playoff hockey excitement and invites people to partake in new playoff hockey excitement.

ASSOCIATION- It is linking together hockey and intensity. Hockey and excitement.

CELEBRITIES- It shows some of the NHL's greatest players in some of their greatest moments.

INTENSITY- It shows how one moment can change an entire game. How one shot can make you a hero. It is a fast paced, exciting commercial.

NOSTALGIA- It goes back to show a historic moment in the minds of hockey fans. They use this technique to show you, that new history will be made. It brings back images of simpler days in hockey of the way it used to be.

WARM & FUZZY- The music used is simple, yet beautiful. Put that together with the video showed and it brings simple happy feelings. It is almost euphoric in a sense, because the music is very simplistic- but it feels like so much more. Take the music out of the commercial and it loses something, but combined it does create a "Warm and Fuzzy" feeling.

Super Bowl

When most people watch football they will either have a beer or pop in hand and be eating. With this in mind it is understandable that ads for alcohol, pop and fast food are prevalent during football games and the Super Bowl. Advertisers are not going to advertise a product that doesn't appeal to a show's audience. By advertising the aforementioned things, advertisers not only meet the desires of the shows demographic but also do it in a memorable way. If they were boring forgettable commercials they wouldn't serve their correct purpose. But they do them in an exciting way that helps customers remember their product and want it that much more.

I think about when I watch the Super Bowl, my favorite commercials are usually the one's involving alcohol. No one in my family drinks, so alcohol has never been a part of my life, but they make their commercials so hilarious that I can't help not liking them. In a way it's sad, kids might watch these commercials and be more inclined to drink because of how well done they are. But for the network's the lure of money is a much bigger deal than the effect any of these commercials have on the audience.

Voting, Hamlet Style

To Vote? Or Not To Vote?
But should anyone actually ask themselves that in relation to a presidential election?

I think voting is a privilege. So it blows my mind when people don't vote. As Americans, yes it is a right, but people need to realize how many countries in the world where voting is not a right.
I am more excited for the first time I get to vote than I was about the chance to get my license. Before I or my friend's turned sixteen, all they could talk about was a license, I was dreaming of voting. Which sound's silly, but it's very important to me to exercise my American right. The right to have a say in the government. The right to decide for myself who I would rather have lead my country.

The common refrain, I've heard, is that voting doesn't matter. Your vote is just one in eighty million. One vote doesn't change anything. But if everyone listened to that, then no one would vote. When Bush was president people criticized him and would say "he's not my president", these same people did not even vote in the election if they didn't even try to help his opponent get elected, then they have no right to criticize him. I think that with voting you get the right to disagree, as well as the right to say that you had a say in the politics of your country. It's like people who voted for Obama, they can say they had a hand in electing America's first African-American president, that right there is exciting.


I was not old enough to vote in the last election, but had I been, I would have definitely gone to my local polling station and cast my vote.
Even though I had no say in the election I watched the debates, read up on the candidates and did all I could to get educated on the election.
I live in a very opinionated family, so when everyone is together you can bet there will be a lengthy debate related to politics. I think that is one of the reasons I try to be informed when it comes to political things.

If I had been able to vote in the last election then I think I would have voted for John McCain. I don't consider myself a Republican, I am conservative minded, but sick and tired of Republicans. I would have voted for McCain mainly because I agreed with him more overall than Obama. That's not to say, I did not agree with Obama on anything, but I just leaned more towards McCain.

In conclusion, I think that were voting thought of in America as more of a privilege and less of a right, things may look different.

Character Versus Image

In Media and Society class this week, we have been talking about image in politics. How the way a politician looks can affect the amount of votes he will receive. The first televised Presidential debate between John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon changed the way Americans voted. J.F.K. was more appealing visually than Nixon and it is believed that is part of the reason he won.

Still hard to believe?

As an example think of Abraham Lincoln- his character shined at the times America needed it to. But the belief nowadays is that if Lincoln ran for office in this day and age, he would not be elected. Why? The answer is actually embarrassing for me as an American, but it is believed he was not good-looking enough to be elected in this day and image obsessed age.



After looking at the picture of Lincoln, what do you think? Would you vote for him based on character or not based on appearance?

Now consider the last Presidential election in America. Do you think appearance played in to Barack Obama being elected instead of John McCain?









Take into account that at the time of the election, Obama was 48 and McCain was 73.
Now I would never say the only reason Obama was elected is related to his age or his appearance- but it poses an interesting question.
Are Americans more interested in someone who looks good than someone who could effectively do the job better?

To clarify- I am not trying to start a debate over who should have won. I am just asking a question.
Does appearance mean more to Americans than character?
Does it mean that America would elect anyone who looks good over true political skills?
I sincerely hope that as life goes on, even if appearance plays a part in elections that Americans will remember good character means much more.

Downloading Music

I think the first time I ever downloaded music was when my brother installed a file sharing program called: "Lime Wire" on our computer. I didn't download very much music and when I did it was mainly European music I could not buy in America. I didn't know it was illegal until I started reading about people being prosecuted for sharing music. I removed Lime Wire and all the songs from my computer and decided to listen to the music I wanted on You Tube- no fear of prosecution there.

I think musicians have a right to be angry at people who illegally download their music. They work hard to write songs and make music so for people to steal it and the musicians not to get compensation is not right.

Recording companies need to take a different approach to putting a stop to illegal downloading. They need to educate people on why downloading music illegally is wrong. They need to show how it hurts the industry and the consumer (less new music, higher prices...etc)

Finally I think there need's to be stricter regulations when it comes to problems like this. I think people may stop downloading if the fear of an expensive lawsuit or even jail time is looming. Although using fear to curb the issue may not be the best approach. Perhaps people just need to be informed, it's hard to continue doing something illegal with your conscience reminding you of the consequences.

Me and Music

Music has always been a big part of my life. My musical interests have changed and expanded with age.

I grew up in a Christian family, so growing up I mainly listened to “Christian” music. The only times I did not was when I went places with my dad, he instilled in me a love for “oldies” music, which meant anything from 1960-70’s. When my siblings enrolled at our local high school, then the world of music opened up even more. My brother started listening to “screamo/hardcore” music. Screamo is a style of music where lyrics of a song are screamed and not sang. As a ten year old girl, I loved the way the singers growled out the lyrics. I loved the rebellious feeling listening to it gave me. When my friend’s brother would talk about screamo and I knew the bands he liked, it made me feel proud.

When I first became a teenager the “cool” type of music was rap. Rappers like Jay-Z and Kanye West were all the rage. As I got older popular “mainstream” music became more and more similar. Singers seemed more digitally done than actually talented. One of the big crazes was “emo” music, emo is short for emotional, so the songs dealt with emotions. Bands like Taking Back Sunday and Hawthorne Heights renewed the interest in the style of music originally started in the 1980’s.
I didn’t go to very many concerts, usually because of a lack of money or a way of getting there. Festivals were the best way for me to see bands I wanted all in one place on the same day. A big deal when I was a teen was Vans Warped Tour Festival, full of music and people skateboarding. I was really excited to go, but a bit disappointed when I arrived and found out how far the music style had shifted from earlier years.

I remember hiding my music from my parents. I was afraid of their reaction to the swearing in songs I listened to or just the overall content. I would bring CD’s into the car and skip half the songs, so I would be lectured. I remember when I bought a CD by a singer name MIKA and I was with my dad in the car after I bought it, I put it in and cringed afraid of what he would think of the content. But the music my dad grew up with made him pretty lenient when it comes to what I listen too, not only did he not care, but he liked MIKA. Not exactly the response I thought I would get.

Overall I think the music I listened to changed with age. When I was just becoming a teen and changing in every way, I listened to screamo and metal to get out my frustration. As I got older I started listening to more subdued music, music I could fall asleep too. Music types come and go with each generation, none better than any other- just different. But they’re all important, because each type of music has a fan somewhere.

(Image from: http://www.stmattsmanly.org.au/youthie/userimages/1243746816_arts-music-graphic.jpeg)