I have always perceived media to be very influential. They have the power to make or unmake, create or destroy. As a great fan of music, first hand access to a lot of songs on my playlist was through the radio. I have come to acknowledge how influential they are as their reviews about a particular product influences my decision. At the same time I have always been a follower of radio hype, being a product. service, artist, or music. Justin Bieber was an American darling a few years ago, but through media and the likes of TMZ, Bieber is a devil now, that even some people are advocating for him to be deported to Canada when they have never set eyes on Bieber before. Sometimes we might feel that we're never influenced by media in any way because we do not watch TV or listen to radio, but asking "siri" for the nearest barber shop is a direct way of media influence. For the past few weeks, I have been paying critical attention to how media affects myself and the people around me. This goes from how consumers purchase choices are influenced by adverts, to how hiphop partly influence the gang-bang and killing in our black neighborhoods.
It was no surprise to me when Obama's declaration of immigration reforms died completely just two days after it's announcement. This is only because big media outlets refused to show the live declaration, and even refused to give commentaries on it even after it's declaration, such a big issue in the history of America. On the other hand, ebola was the subject on American's lips for about three months all because the TV and radio wont stop talking about it from morning to evening. This has made me come to believe that the world is now controlled by media and they could do more than we know of. http://money.cnn.com/2014/11/19/media/networks-and-obama-speech/
Sunday, November 30, 2014
ENTRY #7 Dumb Men
I have always been of the believe that advertising have very strong effects on individuals even when you don't pay attention to them when they come on. Like myself, many people would change channels when their programs go on commercial break. For this reason, most of the commercials on TV today are found to have a little comedy or humor to grab attention of viewers or readers. I think it does work, because in many circumstances I have witnessed people discussing about some of the funny commercials on TV. I experienced tons of these funny commercials when I came into contact with the website http://www.dumbmen.com/. I believe the purpose of the site is to expose how some TV commercials make men or males look stupid. It is not clear to me who the intended audience for the website is, but I believe it basically targets men. I can say the site is very boring and underdeveloped. Even some of these adverts contain jokes but I never found any one of them to be funny. Too much pathos in all the commercials made me lose interest in them.
One commercial that grabbed my attention was the minute maid advert, where a guy had to drink a minute maid to nourish his brain in order to remember that he is talking to his child's teacher and not a lady he had slept with a long time ago. I had to sit down for a minute to analyze the commercial and watch it over again before I could grab what it really meant. The commercial advertises minute maid and portrays that all men are dumb until they drink minute maid to get their brain thinking straight. The intended audience, I believe is the general public. A great message but too much pathos causes it to lose the main idea behind it.
One commercial that grabbed my attention was the minute maid advert, where a guy had to drink a minute maid to nourish his brain in order to remember that he is talking to his child's teacher and not a lady he had slept with a long time ago. I had to sit down for a minute to analyze the commercial and watch it over again before I could grab what it really meant. The commercial advertises minute maid and portrays that all men are dumb until they drink minute maid to get their brain thinking straight. The intended audience, I believe is the general public. A great message but too much pathos causes it to lose the main idea behind it.
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Extra Credit Entry#7 What A Great Way To Convince The Masses!
There are so
many things that surrounds and controls our environment that we may not know
about. Sometimes we hear them talk about these things and argue on Tv but we
dont pay any attention to it because that doesn't put food on our table as
well. However, Im so glad to have gained a little knowledge about a few of
these things; capitalism and socialism. "Capitalism: a love story", a
movie by Michael Moore has given me a highlight of what these politicians
sometimes talk about. The purpose of the movie, I believe, was to provide a
concrete argument as to why capitalism is evil and enemy to society. The
delivery of the story was so powerful that I can say I got moved by it. The content
couldn't have been delivered any better. One thing the story failed to provide
was a counterargument and rebuttal. However, I still believe there were some
areas in the movie that tried on that approach. For example, the writer tried
finding an explanation for stocks, and many of the things that happen at wall
street. I believe this was a way of employing some counterarguments into the
movie, but answers from professors, and mathematical formulas that were
provided from these wall street moguls clearly shut down any attempt to oppose.
Delivery was superb in convincing the masses that capitalism was evil that came
to hurt the poor. It also highlight the importance of socialism as a savior for
the average American. You could tell on the reactions of people when Obama was
announced as the winner of elections. Because people believed Obama has come to
save them from the hands of socialists. On one account, the movie is very
enjoyable and fun to watch as the writer involved a lot of humor into play.
This is clearly seen in areas where he tries to find answers from CEO's and
banks, walking in front of banks and asking about money that belongs to the
American people. Without too much knowledge on capitalism, just like myself,
one is definitely bound to agree with what the movie was intended to achieve.
It is definitely a great way to convince the masses and the average American to
hate capitalism and love socialism.
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
ENTRY #6 A Tale Of Kanye's Innocence
Unlike the other music genres, Hip Hop is extremely
explicit. It is this explicity that makes it extraordinary. When rappers talk
about the guns, sex and drugs, they don't usually actually mean them. It's just
a way of making their music look 'gangsta'. Like an illusion, this has always
been Hip Hop.
In 2004, Kanye West released an album that deviated from the normal concept of Hip Hop. He did not talk about guns or drugs the way Hip Hop usually does, it was all about the normal everyday stuff you may even hear in a Pop song. It was a super hit debut. My favorite and perhaps the one critics use to compare his latest songs is 'Jesus Walks'. It got the Christian community feeling like God might have sent an angel. After a couple of platinum albums and finally getting rich, Kanye raps and sings like the devil himself! About five years from 'Jesus Walks', he collaborates with Jay-Z on another called 'No church in the Wild'.
So now Kanye has absurd and weird signs and pictures in his videos which people compare to the Illuminati; or as he calls it his "beautiful dark twisted fantasy". The question is, if you were in this clustered industry, what could be the limits of the things you would do to maintain the popularity and hype so you can keep on selling records? Come to think of that, haven't people revealed naked photos online to gain or maintain stardom?
This looks like a Kanye West defense but it isn't. It isn't a tale of his innocence either, it is however, a tale of his "dark, twisted" strategy of staying relevant in the Hip Hop industry. Attributing his attitude in the last few years to the loss of Donda, his mother would be very unfair to his ego; he's had it since he came into the limelight, even when he sang "Hey Mama" with Donda West on her birthday.
Kanye West is identified not only by critics (who may be biased by judgment) but also the whole public to be extremely arrogant, egocentric, defensive; couple that with extreme hard work, innovation and talent and you'd be probably be looking at none other than a genius. His devil-like indications in my opinion do not actually make him evil as the critics say but just an outcome of ego and talent coming together to maintain popularity. We live in an age where people believe everything new they hear and see. People do not investigate anything, they just yearn to see and hear new things and follow the trends. There are a few geniuses however amongst us who are ready to give these people something to believe.
Do you ever wonder why people can't stop talking about Lady Gaga or Rihanna or Kim Kardashian? Do you even read on how the Beatles stayed relevant? Let’s not forget Kim is the talk of the moment as her recent instagram picture on a magazine cover has the whole of showbiz America going crazy. I think Kanye is achieving the same result in a different scarier style. So therefore, I believe people who think Kanye West has changed may be getting it so wrong. I believe he is a genius in his trade and he's got to be respected for that.
Once again, this isn't a tale of Kanye's innocence.
In 2004, Kanye West released an album that deviated from the normal concept of Hip Hop. He did not talk about guns or drugs the way Hip Hop usually does, it was all about the normal everyday stuff you may even hear in a Pop song. It was a super hit debut. My favorite and perhaps the one critics use to compare his latest songs is 'Jesus Walks'. It got the Christian community feeling like God might have sent an angel. After a couple of platinum albums and finally getting rich, Kanye raps and sings like the devil himself! About five years from 'Jesus Walks', he collaborates with Jay-Z on another called 'No church in the Wild'.
So now Kanye has absurd and weird signs and pictures in his videos which people compare to the Illuminati; or as he calls it his "beautiful dark twisted fantasy". The question is, if you were in this clustered industry, what could be the limits of the things you would do to maintain the popularity and hype so you can keep on selling records? Come to think of that, haven't people revealed naked photos online to gain or maintain stardom?
This looks like a Kanye West defense but it isn't. It isn't a tale of his innocence either, it is however, a tale of his "dark, twisted" strategy of staying relevant in the Hip Hop industry. Attributing his attitude in the last few years to the loss of Donda, his mother would be very unfair to his ego; he's had it since he came into the limelight, even when he sang "Hey Mama" with Donda West on her birthday.
Kanye West is identified not only by critics (who may be biased by judgment) but also the whole public to be extremely arrogant, egocentric, defensive; couple that with extreme hard work, innovation and talent and you'd be probably be looking at none other than a genius. His devil-like indications in my opinion do not actually make him evil as the critics say but just an outcome of ego and talent coming together to maintain popularity. We live in an age where people believe everything new they hear and see. People do not investigate anything, they just yearn to see and hear new things and follow the trends. There are a few geniuses however amongst us who are ready to give these people something to believe.
Do you ever wonder why people can't stop talking about Lady Gaga or Rihanna or Kim Kardashian? Do you even read on how the Beatles stayed relevant? Let’s not forget Kim is the talk of the moment as her recent instagram picture on a magazine cover has the whole of showbiz America going crazy. I think Kanye is achieving the same result in a different scarier style. So therefore, I believe people who think Kanye West has changed may be getting it so wrong. I believe he is a genius in his trade and he's got to be respected for that.
Once again, this isn't a tale of Kanye's innocence.
Entry #5 ASU to offer more short classes, could this be the way forward!?
It's quiet interesting that a practice that has been popular among many private colleges is now been adopted by a major university such as Arizona State University. I'm not surprised at all as I'm currently taking an 8 week class in my community college. Does this mean this particular practice has been proven to be better than the normal 16 week scheduled classes? Let me take a minute to dive a little into the reason behind ASU planning to indulge itself in this practice for more of its classes. It is expected to afford students more scheduling flexibility and financial savings, as well as early course completion and early graduation. The practice is also expected to attract more students to ASU. Scheduling flexibility I can confirm that is definitely true, because I find myself in a similar situation right now. But I still do not know how that helps because the kind of pressure and stress I find myself in at the moment because of the 8-week Eng 101 is nothing fun. This is because everything that was supposed to happen in the 16-week course has to be compressed to still fit in the 8-weeks. As a matter of fact, I was happy when I learnt that the class would last for only 8-weeks but i wasnt ready for the pressure. I guess I'm well off dealing with the 16-weeks schedule because at least i have breathe moments. I cant imagine if I had 3 other classes like that. But I still support it because you live through it today, you have fun the rest of the time. About financial savings, perfect card to pull to support any ideas when dealing with students or consumers. It's always a win for consumers or students to hear about cutting cost so I guess it's definitely going to attract more students. Most of what students are to expect have been laid out in the report but the very important one is that student should expect to move with the fast pace of the course system and I bet it's not going to fun at all, especially if you're full time. Expect to finish early of course. I can say I would have been surprised if more than half of the response that came from students were positive. How the whole practice has been explained with the schedule changes and semester outlines are very confusing and it'll take a long time for students to get accustomed to it. It's definitely possible just as the online classes have now become very popular and easily understandable among students. This system would favor some of the students, especially the non-working group, but the working class of students would suffer as an 8-week full time school is much more like a full time job with overtime during that 8-weeks. I believe more time need to be put into the education of the system so students can get comfortable with and to know what they signing up for. The best option I would take as a student is to mix the schedules. Most of my classes would be the normal 16-week syllabus, and 8 weeks for classes I feel more comfortable with. With this practice, I believe students have more options as to their schedules and time spent in school. A good practice and hopes that it comes to stay.
ENTRY #4 The Sideline Story.......
In sports games like soccer, basketball and many others,
we've got the on-field players and those who are found at the sidelines. The
sideliners are called reserves. Reserve in sports is just a milder word for the
obviously harsher "second choice". Other people will say Plan B. The
fact is a plan B is only necessary when plan A fails.
In one true account, Flannagan played for the Liverpool reserve team until he retired. The requirement is that you show something special or amusing to break into the first team. Anything apart from that makes you a failure. So technically this man was a failure.
Ten years after Flanno retired, his son is one of the most versatile and promising young first team players in the team. The most amazing thing is that he broke into the first team at a very tender age. The son creditted his father as being his personal advisor and trainer. There is way more to that; the boy said his father was his major inspiration!
In one true account, Flannagan played for the Liverpool reserve team until he retired. The requirement is that you show something special or amusing to break into the first team. Anything apart from that makes you a failure. So technically this man was a failure.
Ten years after Flanno retired, his son is one of the most versatile and promising young first team players in the team. The most amazing thing is that he broke into the first team at a very tender age. The son creditted his father as being his personal advisor and trainer. There is way more to that; the boy said his father was his major inspiration!
Question is how does a loser become a source of inspiration
to a winner? Statistically, people who are outside the game see the mistakes
and problems on the field way better than the players. Take a draft game for instance,
you can't afford to admire the spectators! Maybe you are a sidelined, a
reserve, plan B or second choice and are worrying about not getting the chance
to show what you are made of or being disrespected or looked down on; I'm not
advising, I'm pointing out the merit of being a sideliner or reserve: YOU CAN
SEE BETTER!
I've trained myself to locate the good in any difficult situation I get into. For instance being at the sideline makes you a reserve, second choice, but have you noticed that the coach is always seated with the reserves? Now if a team is a nation, the coach is the head of state or the president. The coach is at the sideline because there he can see well. So being a sideliner or reserve, you stand the opportunity to both play sometimes and see better. The latter a first team player may never have. Flannagan was credited by his son for being his personal trainer. This is because being at the sideline he could see both the positives and loop holes in a match. With this he trained his son. He did not have to pay to take a coaching course. Experience, they say, is the best teacher.
You can see better, you sideliner, don't waste the chance!
I've trained myself to locate the good in any difficult situation I get into. For instance being at the sideline makes you a reserve, second choice, but have you noticed that the coach is always seated with the reserves? Now if a team is a nation, the coach is the head of state or the president. The coach is at the sideline because there he can see well. So being a sideliner or reserve, you stand the opportunity to both play sometimes and see better. The latter a first team player may never have. Flannagan was credited by his son for being his personal trainer. This is because being at the sideline he could see both the positives and loop holes in a match. With this he trained his son. He did not have to pay to take a coaching course. Experience, they say, is the best teacher.
You can see better, you sideliner, don't waste the chance!
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Entry #3 Lets talk Bout 'Em Slant Reports
I was actually not sure of
what to expect when I set myself up to embark on this journey. A journey to
look out for slanted reports that are meant to inform. By slanted reports, I
mean information has been included or omitted in the reports that creates an opinionated
perspective. “How am I going to determine if any report has been slanted or not,
afterall who am I, a mere college student,” this were the questions that went
through my mind as I kept on searching and reading. "These reporters and news broadcasters are people who have gone through training and their reports go through professional editors before broadcasting." However, it wasn’t much of
a hustle before I came across a CNN news report.
http://kdvr.com/2014/08/20/ferguson-streets-were-calm-until-bottles-started-flying-47-arrested/
This news report got me thinking for a minute, as I wonder how easy it was for me to identify the slants. The news actually reports about events that happened on August 2014 in Fergurson, Missouri, where riot broke up as people protested the Michael Brown shooting incident. Whiles I dont mean to choose sides, I can say that the reporter expresses opinion as to who is the cause of the riot that night. I believe no one will argue that there was riot, and maybe it is true that bottles flew that got the police reaction to spark a riot, but as to the cause of the riot being the flying bottles, I think, is the reporters opinion that should have been avoided. On the other hand, i dont think it was intentional for the reporter to state the cause of the riot as he may believe he was reporting everything he saw. The slant goes ahead to credit the police for good work done, whereas it reports badly about the protesters as troublemakers. This is the same thing that is being established in the minds of readers. How about if maybe the police did something that sparked the throwing of the bottle and the reporter missed that part of the action. It doesnt even state anywhere that the reporter tried finding out what happened that caused the throwing of the bottle. This leaves a lot of questions still unanswered, as to the fact that, the news should have stated what is being reported is what the reporter saw and not actually everything that happened. Missing part of an action and reporting what you see leaves a big hole for questioning and can sometimes be problematic. What could have been wrong with reporting that riot started as tension between police and protesters built up. This leaves no room for questioning as this is accurate and fact.
We can see that not everybody present at the scene agrees to what the report say.
The news report the events of the night, but "until bottles fly", establishes an opinion from the reporter and I can say it puts the credibility of the source into question and should have been omitted.
I find the source of this report not credible enough as eye-witness account does not necessarily establish a fact.
http://kdvr.com/2014/08/20/ferguson-streets-were-calm-until-bottles-started-flying-47-arrested/
This news report got me thinking for a minute, as I wonder how easy it was for me to identify the slants. The news actually reports about events that happened on August 2014 in Fergurson, Missouri, where riot broke up as people protested the Michael Brown shooting incident. Whiles I dont mean to choose sides, I can say that the reporter expresses opinion as to who is the cause of the riot that night. I believe no one will argue that there was riot, and maybe it is true that bottles flew that got the police reaction to spark a riot, but as to the cause of the riot being the flying bottles, I think, is the reporters opinion that should have been avoided. On the other hand, i dont think it was intentional for the reporter to state the cause of the riot as he may believe he was reporting everything he saw. The slant goes ahead to credit the police for good work done, whereas it reports badly about the protesters as troublemakers. This is the same thing that is being established in the minds of readers. How about if maybe the police did something that sparked the throwing of the bottle and the reporter missed that part of the action. It doesnt even state anywhere that the reporter tried finding out what happened that caused the throwing of the bottle. This leaves a lot of questions still unanswered, as to the fact that, the news should have stated what is being reported is what the reporter saw and not actually everything that happened. Missing part of an action and reporting what you see leaves a big hole for questioning and can sometimes be problematic. What could have been wrong with reporting that riot started as tension between police and protesters built up. This leaves no room for questioning as this is accurate and fact.
We can see that not everybody present at the scene agrees to what the report say.
The news report the events of the night, but "until bottles fly", establishes an opinion from the reporter and I can say it puts the credibility of the source into question and should have been omitted.
I find the source of this report not credible enough as eye-witness account does not necessarily establish a fact.
Sunday, November 2, 2014
ENTRY #1 Let's Talk Bout Em Blogs
Blogs, in my opinion, is a platform for displaying ideas, opinions, or even addictions. They may assume many forms like pictures, videos, or mainly articles in text. I believe it is a more cheaper way of getting an audience for my contents.
If you would ask me to mention my favorite blogs, you would probably regret asking cuz everything I'll mention will be about soccer. i wouldn't say I am addicted to soccer but I have a strong passion for it. I can say I visit soccer blogs that gives peoples opinions on games, management and things that affect the sports in any way, my favorite being the ones that discusses about my favorite team, Arsenal. I like these blogs because they are more critical of the performance and decisions of the team and management. Though many of these bloggers are fans, they do not let their feelings judge their criticisms and I do admire their objectivity. They help me look at things from a different perspective about things affecting my team. Ex. http://gunnerblog.com/2014/10/20/arsenal-2-2-hull-city-fragile-arsenal-falter-again/
Moreover, keeping myself informed about current affairs and events surrounding the society is something I admire, and a few of these blogs help me as such. It's interesting how some of these catchy titles may lead you to read some ridiculous things. I have "the Huffington post" bookmarked on my pc because I like to visit from time to time to keep myself updated with some of these interesting current affairs. I consider them as a form of education, advisement, and give some knowledge about some of these products on the market. They influence my opinions on views I already held. Ex. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/02/kaci-hickox-mandatory-quarantines_n_6090198.html
I have developed a very big interest in celebrity life, thanks to TMZ. Waking up to a new Justin Bieber trouble, or a Kanye West rant is enough is enough to keep myself busy for about an hour. I can say i just love the humor that is used in reporting these stories. This serves as a form of entertainment to me. Ex http://www.tmz.com/category/tmzsports
However, there are extreme and absurb blogs out there, sometimes displaying contents which are highly explicit. One good thing about such blogs is that some of these blogs advise against explicit content before they show em. I choose to watch everything because the main purpose for visiting some of this blogs is entertainment. Example is the famous "Worldstarhiphop". Irrespective of what illblogs are capable of causing, they also provide some of the most wanted data that help individuals such as myself to get through daily lives. With appropriate web protections, I believe blogs are better and cheaper tools for sharing thoughts, ideas, and innovations, advertising and enterttainment.
If you would ask me to mention my favorite blogs, you would probably regret asking cuz everything I'll mention will be about soccer. i wouldn't say I am addicted to soccer but I have a strong passion for it. I can say I visit soccer blogs that gives peoples opinions on games, management and things that affect the sports in any way, my favorite being the ones that discusses about my favorite team, Arsenal. I like these blogs because they are more critical of the performance and decisions of the team and management. Though many of these bloggers are fans, they do not let their feelings judge their criticisms and I do admire their objectivity. They help me look at things from a different perspective about things affecting my team. Ex. http://gunnerblog.com/2014/10/20/arsenal-2-2-hull-city-fragile-arsenal-falter-again/
Moreover, keeping myself informed about current affairs and events surrounding the society is something I admire, and a few of these blogs help me as such. It's interesting how some of these catchy titles may lead you to read some ridiculous things. I have "the Huffington post" bookmarked on my pc because I like to visit from time to time to keep myself updated with some of these interesting current affairs. I consider them as a form of education, advisement, and give some knowledge about some of these products on the market. They influence my opinions on views I already held. Ex. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/11/02/kaci-hickox-mandatory-quarantines_n_6090198.html
I have developed a very big interest in celebrity life, thanks to TMZ. Waking up to a new Justin Bieber trouble, or a Kanye West rant is enough is enough to keep myself busy for about an hour. I can say i just love the humor that is used in reporting these stories. This serves as a form of entertainment to me. Ex http://www.tmz.com/category/tmzsports
However, there are extreme and absurb blogs out there, sometimes displaying contents which are highly explicit. One good thing about such blogs is that some of these blogs advise against explicit content before they show em. I choose to watch everything because the main purpose for visiting some of this blogs is entertainment. Example is the famous "Worldstarhiphop". Irrespective of what illblogs are capable of causing, they also provide some of the most wanted data that help individuals such as myself to get through daily lives. With appropriate web protections, I believe blogs are better and cheaper tools for sharing thoughts, ideas, and innovations, advertising and enterttainment.
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