The dorms have been so good to me...

except when…

1. I locked myself out of my room… (I act like it's only been once….=completely false).

2. my keys scratched my student ID card that is apparently needed to get in the building at two in the AM.

3. I confused Budge Hall (a boys' dormitory) to be my own.

4. a date picks you up.

5. strangers decide it's okay to hug you upon meeting.

but especially when…

1. We jazzercise.

3. the world's third place junior bagpiper also lives in the dorms.

4. girls embellish the urinals in our bathroom?.. It was inevitable.

5. we spend a night on the steps.

Dorms these days.

I've spent a lot of time doing… school

And when I think too much about it, it's horrible, but it's a necessary evil? (as is government? according to Thomas Paine… The things I learn in American Heritage?). I'm so grateful for the opportunity to go to school and learn. :) really. School is hard, but an easy education is a contradiction in terms. (someone wise…)

Today, I encountered my visit teachee (new word) and she was making her Halloween costume. It was then that I realized that Halloween is at the end of this month… yes, it's happening, and I have no idea what I want be. But really the only holiday I yearn for is Christmas. It may be the fact that Clayton will be getting home (December 16th), or that I will be done with stinky finals, or the sole fact that Christmas is the best holiday. ever. I already have a countdown paper chain, made of alternating colors of red and green, logically. I made my family home evening group have a "family" Christmas party including: Martinellis, gingerbread making, a gift exchange, and of course the classic family Christmas picture. I for sure am already listening to Christmas music and dream about a white Christmas.

I can't wait, but until then… I will study.

I enjoy being literate.

I like being stylish. Everyone wants somebody kissable. And I'm pretty quiet.

Global Warming: HOT Topic

Fahrenthold, David A., and Juliet Eilperin. “Science of global warming debated hotly in e-mails.” Daily Herald. 6 December 2009.

SUMMARY:

Apparently scientists are hiding their findings in hopes to trick the public in believing more in global warming. “It began with an anonymous Internet posting, and a link to a wonky set of e-mails and files,” stolen files that contained flaws in their own data that seemingly were to “muzzle their critics.” Scientists were releasing invalid information to the public, and they were caught. This scheme is called “Climate-gate,” it’s a scandal that has brought much public attention on the science of a warming planet. Although the hidden e-mails don’t prove that human-caused climate change isn’t true, they raise many questions. They are trying to control what the public hears and understands. There are more than 1,000 e-mails and 3,000 documents that were all stolen from servers at the University of East Anglia in Britain.

RESPONSE:

So global warming is a hot topic… But hot enough to lie about? No. In fact it’s really not even that hot. The earth hasn’t warmed as predicted over the past ten years. But what does the media want to hear? The media wants to show something dramatic and in turn have the public respond in a dramatic way. Stressing that global warming is influential makes the media be able to make a turn to be eco-friendly and encourage low fuel emissions and good habits for the environment. It’s amazing that scientists will lie about their findings or try to “hide” them so they can release what they want to release, but the truth is always exposed or found in this case. This is proof to me that we as citizens need to find out for ourselves, rather believing everything that the media tells us. For scientists to break from using the scientific method when publishing their findings makes you wonder what other inaccurate information has been released. This is so inappropriate for anyone to do, especially a scientist.

Daily Diet: Five Hours of Television

Stelter, Brian. “In American’s Daily Diet: Nearly Five Hours of Television.” Media Decoder. 10 November 2009. http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/

SUMMARY:

The New York Times reported that the average American spent almost five hours a day in front of the TV. Television viewings have increased. Not only do most Americans spend this much time dedicated to the TV, but also most TVs are actually turned on for eight hours and twenty-one minutes each day. This article was pretty short, but got the point a crossed that television views are steadily increasing. It is said that only one-fifth as much time is spent on the Internet as watching TV. “People may be spending time watching video online, downloading torrents, playing video games, and whatever else, but they’re continuing to watch more TV on average as well.” Compared to ten years ago the viewings have gone up twenty percent.

RESPONSE:

It’s remarkable how much television one person can consume. I realize that people get addicted to a certain show and feel like they can’t miss an episode or find a need to get “caught-up” in watching every previous episode they missed before their addiction started, but five hours a day is amazing! (In a sort of bad way – yet amusing). I don’t understand where people find time in their lives to watch this much television. I myself don’t watch that much television, but do find how it could get addicting when I spend time with my younger brother eagerly watching How It’s Made, the Discovery Channel, and of course the Disney Channel. But these numbers are unbelievable; it seems like everyone is always very busy and involved in the community and work, so this truly doesn’t make sense to me. I hope that this average contains very few yet extreme outliers that influence the average. Yet TV has more to offer. There are now more entertaining and educational shows. You can find football games, even high school football games, as well as church programs and educational shows on the TV, so the increase may be justifiable, but not necessary.

LET ME WEAR MY SKINNY JEANS

“Mass Media Influence on Society.” Hub Pages. 1 November 2009. http://hubpages.com/hub/Mass-Media-Influence-on-Society

SUMMARY:

Media Influence has grown drastically in the past fifty years “first there was the telegraph, then the radio, the newspaper, magazines, television and now the internet.” Our society depends on a quick source of information and communication. Television affects all of society; children usually are exposed to 40,000 ads a year solely from television ads. This article claims that five different companies basically control the media: Time Warner, VIACOM, Vivendi Universal, Walt Disney, and News Corp. These companies own 95% of all the media that we consume daily because they own theme parks, radio broadcasting networks, programming, video news, and sports entertainment. These different types of media sources greatly influence the teenagers of our nations, for better or worse. The media can drive young people to eating disorders and various self-image disorders. The media can also shape the public opinion on different ideas. It was proven that the public’s concern with drugs was once down to three percent and then sky rocketed for a short time period and is now down to three percent. This information alone is interesting, but it suddenly becomes more interesting to know that this is directly correlated with the media’s awareness and concern with drug abuse. As the media covered drug issues the public’s concern directly followed.

RESPONSE:

I think that we need to be careful with the media we consume. It truly does greatly influence us as individuals and a society. I don’t watch that much television, because I rarely have the time or interest, but one aspect of the media I am greatly influenced by is FASHION. I love fashion and am easily intrigued with the new styles, but sometimes realized the ridiculousness of the newest trends. I am usually easily converted though. But, once upon a time I disliked skinny leg jeans and thought that they made girls look “hippy” and overweight. I tried them on for fun and hated them even more. I now love skinny leg jeans and think that they elongate women’s legs; they are so fun to wear. Maybe this is because the media push I felt with the endless advertisements and fashion magazines, or the fact that they weren’t going away. But the media does influence individuals to act or look a certain way as well as buying certain products. Right now there is a great awareness for recycling and the environment in general. This push is once again from the media and because the media is endorsing eco-friendly behavior the public is acting more environment friendly. This almost seems like brainwashing! These five companies mentioned have a great influence on us, and we should be aware of this influence.

I’m Addicted… To FACEBOOK?

“Potential Facebook Addiction.” Addiction Info. 11 October 11, 2009. http://www.addictioninfo.org/articles/2171/1/Potential-Facebook-addiction/Page1.html.

SUMMARY

This article summarizes the uses of Facebook and explains the inappropriate addictions that happen through these social networks. Psychologists believe that these are unhealthy addictions to the media. Many people continue to think of Facebook while offline and use Facebook to “escape” their problems and homework, some even stay on Facebook for long period of time (Facebook stalking?) psychologists believe that notifications, messages, and invites are “rewarding you with an unpredictable high,” one that is much like gambling. Another problem is that students are losing assignment time so they can Facebook. You may just have to diagnose your addiction and change your habits, but you must recognize the mass of time wasted. Rob Bedi a psychologist and professor at the University of Victoria thinks that students should record their activity on Facebook and limit the time they spend making Facebook like a chore by recording it. Some universities have addiction counseling that you can attend to get over this addiction. Ironically there are around 155 Facebook Addicts Anonymous groups on Facebook itself.

RESPONSE

Facebook has become a way to reconnect with old classmates, invite friends to parties, play games, send virtual gifts, and inform the general public about your life by updating your status. Facebook has even become a way to share and enjoy pictures. Facebook seems innocent enough until you relate it to gambling, which is quite addicting (from what I’ve heard – I’m still not old enough for this addiction – thanks for the limitations?) It’s ridiculous that students will get this addicted to Facebook. The article suggests that students have too much time to waste, but I believe that students resort to Facebook, because it’s a formed habit. I too have wasted time on Facebook, trying to download photos I end up wasting a lot of time reading the news feed; I am fascinated at the multiple updates from just one Facebook user and the personal information they disclose. This really is a mass media source; I am invited to parties and to join groups with over five thousand people already attending. I honestly don’t even know that many people. Somebody said that Facebook is a method of “academic homicide,” and I concur. We have so many other responsibilities to attend to, that we shouldn’t be spending large amount of time on this social network. I think it’s ridiculous that there are Facebook Addicts groups on Facebook. I hope that students will enjoy this site without becoming addicted.