because we're not fat enough.

Today's society is full of eating disorders and the obese, so what did we decide to do to help solve this problem?

We created fried coke.


We did'nt decide to save the world or end hunger, no sir, we decided to make this nation the fatest one in the world.

According to yahoo news:

"Abel Gonzales, 36, a computer analyst from Dallas, tried about 15 different varieties before coming up with his perfect recipe -- a batter mix made with Coca-Cola syrup, a drizzle of strawberry syrup, and some strawberries.

Balls of the batter are then deep-fried, ending up like ping-pong ball sized doughnuts which are then served in a cup, topped with Coca-Cola syrup, whipped cream, cinnamon sugar and a cherry on the top."


Basically all they did is toss a funnel cake in coke syrup, yum.

Randomness

I'll begin with the interesting things first.


Blogger and blogging in general is the new 'media.' It provides news, solves murders, and gives us in sight into the little things we thought only we found interesting. Human nature and society is odd and within the last 10 years, with the help of the internet and blogging, our truely odd and diverse nature is more apparent then ever.

Like such sites as Don't date him girl who start up a fuss, there are quite a few blogs out there that are generating interest and controversity, maybe not all for the best of reasons. (If only Mother Teresa had a blog)

Blog #1
Morally Diminished is a blog about a Cacausian male who enjoys posting rather graphic photos and stories, of the ladies he has 'relations with' while living in Bangkok.



Blog #2

Jessica Cutler is a former congressional staff assistant who ran a blog called the Washingtonienne concerning her sex life, which later turned into a big scandal after her identity was figured out. Some of her ventures included government officials, some married.


The power of a blog now is truely influential on todays society.


Okay, so on to the more boring things.




I saw 2 movies this week, The Prestige and Man of the Year.


I highly reccomend The Prestige, it was one of the better movies I have seen all year. Great plot, isn't slow, and there is wonderful acting. Two thumbs up.

Man of the Year was ok, they should have stuck to one plot line instead of trying to incorporate 2. It was a funny political zinger and nails some of the current governmental issues, but just lacked that special something.

The End.

Balls.

Who has balls? OJ Simpson has huge balls. The OJ Simpson trial played a tremendous impact on American culture. Everyone remembers what happened, everyone remembers the bloody glove, and everyone remembers where they were when the verdict was announced. I would like to think that if you were found not guilty of a crime, you wouldn't go and write a book, which is hypothetical, about what may have happened if I did commit the crime.



OJ DID!


"The former football great, who was acquitted in criminal court 11 years ago of killing his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend, Ron Goldman, reportedly has been paid a whopping $3.5 million to write about the double murder that shocked and riveted the nation in 1994, according to a detailed report in the new National Enquirer.

But Simpson is not actually confessing to the murder — rather, he’s writing a “hypothetical” book — which the Enquirer reports is tentatively being called “If I Did It.” "

Read here

"If I did it."

Tist, OJ, tist.

Racked my Brain

So, I racked my brain all day and all night to come up with an issue to discuss today, that is relevant to media and society, but like all great things- inspiration hit me at the very last moment.


The telephone Verses

The Internet

OY, so here is the situation: It is late, 'ring ring' my phone goes off and it's from a fellow classmate reminding me that there is an assignment due. We both agree wit would be much easier to e-mail each other verses doing the assignment via phone.

The next day: 'Ring ring'
Classmate:"I never got your mail"
Me: "WHAT!"

Then I scramble to try to re-mail her my e-mail, only to find that my Internet connection is down. My life is over. My Internet is down. (insert a sad face here)

The problem with the Internet is that we, society, have become far to reliant on it. When my internet is down, I feel as if I had lost touch with the whole world since I am unable to check my mail or even my Myspace. I feel incompetent and incapable of surviving. I am unable to breath, ok, I may be exagerating, but it is very annoying.

We take advantage of simple things like actually meeting up in class to discuss a project, or even just staying on the phone; however, these days people are in such a hurry that 5 minutes on the phone seems to take too long.

Anyway, in the end, I was finally able to log on to my internet settings at SJSU, only after resttarting and fiddling with my computer for 20 minutes or so. I sent her my answers and life was ok again.

THe moral of this tale, walk away from the internet, shut off your monitor and go do something.

Dirty obsessions TV and Radio

Howard Stern, I must admitt, is a funny but dirty little man. I swear I read somewhere that a few weeks ago he knocked up and then married Anna Nicole, but I may be wrong. His show has done many things for radio, for example, his raunchy nature has pushed the FCC regulations into fining him/ his program, quite a substantial amount of money. I also, remember the controversy between him an Oprah over the phrase ‘toss salad’ , in which he blames the FCC for targeting him and his show, but did not fine Oprah when you joked about the sexual connotations of ‘tossing salad.’

He is considered an innovator for radio, and made history by signing a five year contract with Sirus Satellite Radio. “The "King of All Media" has been dubbed a shock jock for his highly controversial use of scatological, sexual and racial humor.” In 2006, Howard was elected into Time Magazine's "Time 100: The People who shape our world" and was ranked #7 in Forbes Magazine's 2006 annual Celebrity 100.

Howard Stern has greatly influences and shaped radio because he is part comedian, radio personality, and news reporter/ instigator. What makes his show interesting is that somehow, he gets people to reveal the truth, no matter how insulting or low of a tactic he must resort to. He has been able to get Sarah Michelle Gellar to reveal what type of birth control she uses to how many female celebrities Fred Durst has slept with. His ruthless nature makes for interesting radio.

His show is the dirty version of a Barbara Walters special.






Changing the pace a little, I have my secret obsessions with TV also. Three of the most influential television programs in my opinion would be: Friends, Sex and the City, and Will and Grace.







Good television shows are great when people remember them. Great television shows are great because they have the ability to change society. For example, the show Friends, the theme song is recognizable anywhere and so is the logo, and for a period in time everyone wanted the Rachel haircut. With Sex and the City the show made the name Manolo Blanc a hose hold name. Will and Grace made gay culture more accepted, and showed that it could become a norm. These three shows all greatly impact not only us as individuals but as a society. These shows start trends, fads, and a whole new language. Can anyone tell me what I mean when I say, ‘oh he’s my lobster?’ Enough said.

oh baby, baby

What is with celebrities and fads? When one celebrity does something a chain reaction occurs and other celebrities join in. This is a never ending cycle, and with the help pf the media it spreads to the general public. First Angelina decided to adopt children- not just any children, but children of different ethnicities from more poverty stricken areas. Now there are rumors that Madonna has adopted a child from Malawi.



"Government officials in Malawi announced today that Madonna has already gone through with her adoption, choosing a one-year-old orphan from among 12 children specially chosen prior to her arrival.

'She asked us to identify boys only, which we have done after visiting four orphanages in Lilongwe," government spokeswoman Adrina Michiela said. Michiela said Madonna had wanted to adopt a girl but changed her mind two weeks ago.'"

For more go here

Reps for Madonna deny the whole thing.

Obviously, people like Brad-gelina and Madonna influence us,with help from the media. We aspire to be like them, they are our idols. However, unlike the Manolo Blanc, once we're bored and over these fads, we can't give children back, and we can just stick them in the back of out closets (if you do let me know so I can call social services). Where do we draw the line? The media should have some sort of moral duty to remind the public that just because the celebs do it, and even though the media plays it up, we don't need to mimic it. I propose the media provide safety captions, like the ones on cds which read 'explicit lyrics,' except the sign will read, 'don't be stupid, do not immitate.'

Blogger tip 2- choices.

Blogger tip #2!

When you save a post as 'Draft,' you keep the old time stamp. Blogger should let you either keep your orginal timestamp or change it to the time stamp of the date you decide to 'publish.'

Dirty

These are my dirty little secrets.


As a 21 year old college student, most young females, like magazines like these. Magazines target young women. We are the target, and it works.

THe magazines all have something in common. They have some flashy cover with a catchy hook. LEARN HOW TO ORGASM IN UNDER 5 MINUTE or BRITNEY IS A LESBIAN! The point of magazines is to sell advertisment, and to sell a concept. For Cosmo or In Style, their target is directly marketing to females and to fashion. When I was a manager at a clothing store called Express, there was always a copy of In Style and Cosmo sitting on the back break table. It wasn't there for recreational purposes but it was there for research- for us to keep up with trends and styles. Magazines like these are filled with advertisments and short articles telling you "Which Brand of Make up is best." Any real publications are pushed way in the back and are often lost in the magazine. Also If anyone notices, most magazine articles are targeted at their target market. For Cosmo it would be 18+. The stories deal with female issues such as rape, women in blue collar jobs, or teenage pregnancy.


The facinating thing about the tabloids however is that most of the magazine is articles, its just that the articles tend to lack credibility. Tabloids are targeting towards everyone, generally home makers. There is less advertising, and there are nearly no substantially important articles- like about the war in IRaq- unless Lindsey Lohan was declared a terrorist.

Magazines for me, and for the majority of people I know, are quick impulse buys. They are kept at the register by the candy for that very reason. People purchase magazines because they are bored- and that is why magazines have become so bright and flashy, too attract attention.

TV IS GOD

Television is the most powerful medium out there. HANDS DOWN.

Television has the largest influence on us Americans today. Here are a few examples:



The presidential debate that was ever aired on television.
Those who listened on the radio, clearly though Regan would win, so why did Kennedy? Because those who watched on the television believed that Kennedy looked better and was more poised.

The vast majority of Americans continue to rely on broadcast and cable television as their primary source of information.



“Many people regard the television images of the brutal effort to suppress a crowd of young people marching for freedom in Birmingham as the turning point in the Civil Rights movement. On May 2 and 3, 1963, Police Chief “Bull” Connor’s forces employed watercannons, billy-clubs, and attack-dogs to try and suppress the peaceful crowd. The events in Birmingham shocked the millions of Americans who watched it replayed on television. Only a year later, Congress passed and President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.”

View more examples here

There are 219,000,000 televisions in America, ranking us #2 amongst 215 countries; China is number 1.


No wonder we are a nation of such avid consumers. Do you remember the tickle me Elmo frenzy?



Now, with commercials and advertisements bringing about a new version- of Tickle me Elmo, another mass hysteria around the doll was created. Without television, would parents pay nearly $300 for a red doll, the same red doll that they probably already purchased a few years back—except it doesn’t have a 10th anniversary edition sign plastered across it.

Television is god, because we do what it says. It is our puppet master and when they tug the strings it tells us who to vote—what to eat, where and what to buy. What power.

UPDATE

If TV is god, then people with money are god's best friends. For Example,

PARIS HILTONS NEW VIDEO!!!

Kite Runner

Kim Pham
September 27, 2006
MCOM 72

The Kite Runner Essay

Propaganda can be found in many forms and is as blatant as a flag or as subtle as a joke. Its message can influence society positively, as in campaigns to reduce smoking; however, they are also used to win wars, elections, and to sell Nikes. According to the book Age of Propaganda by Anthony Pratkanis and Elliot Aronson, "every day we are bombarded with one persuasive communication after another. These appeals persuade not through the give-and-take of argument and debate, but through the manipulation of symbols and of our most basic human emotions. For better or worse, ours is an age of propaganda." (Pratkanis and Aronson, 1991) Propaganda is the manipulation of information used to fulfill a certain agenda. Propaganda utilizes persuasive techniques which are applied by advertisers, politicians, journalists, and others who are interested in swaying public opinion. Khaled Hosseini’s, The Kite Runner, fails to be a source of propaganda since it does not succeed in effectively utilizing fallacies, or the alteration of information, to change opinion; it remains unbiased by depicting situations and characters both a negative and positive manner.

In every form of propaganda, there is a distinct message or agenda. In The Kite Runner, there is no distinct side for the reader to choose. Nearly every character and every situation is portrayed in both a positive and negative manner. Amir’s father, Baba, is a prime example. Baba is depicted as a giving man who built an orphanage, “draw[ing] the blueprints himself,” (13) and also as a man willing to sacrifice his life to keep a woman from being raped. Hosseini portrayed Baba as a man who believed in his convictions; however, he too had flaws, such as lying to those around him about his illegitimate son Hassan.

Hosseini’s main character Amir, a boy longing for the love of his father, witnessed Hassan, his servant/ half brother, being raped and ran, “ran because [he] was a coward” and did nothing to help Hassan (77). Even though Amir lies and runs from his situation, he was able to redeem himself by watching over his father, who had cancer. In addition, he also returned to his home in Kabul, during dangerous times, to find Hassan’s son, who was left orphaned and sold to a Taliban leader. There was an incident in which Amir repeated the same act twice, leaving money under a mattress in order to accuse Hassan of stealing and leaving money in order for the Wahid family to purchase food. Under different circumstances the same act resulted it two outcomes and changed how the reader depicted Amir, as either despicable or honorable. Hosseini’s use of showing two sides to every issue makes it difficult for the reader to assess The Kite Runner as effective propaganda, because there is no biased towards any main idea or character.

There are even two different types of opinions of Kabul, the Taliban, and of America. Amir recalls Kabul as a lovely place full of energies and trees, the new Kabul he views is a place damaged from war. “When the Taliban rolled in and kicked the Alliance out of Kabul (200),” Rahim Khan danced in the street. However, Khan later realizes that the Taliban, “don’t let you be human (199).” There are even two contradicting views of American’s. Khan states that “[…] America has infused you [Amir] with the optimism that has made her so great (201).” Another view point is that Americans are materialistic, which is shown when Farid accuses Amir of being in Afghanistan for “the same thing. Sell this land, sell that house, collect the money, and run away like a mouse. Go back to America; spend the money on a family vacation to Mexico (236).”

Without any one prevailing idea, it is difficult to pinpoint the author’s agenda. Hosseini conveys his statements directly, leaving little to the imagination and propaganda often relies on vagueness so that the reader can supply its own interpretation.

Propaganda is apparent during times of war, or national crisis. Hitler used propaganda in the forms of books, like the book Assef gave Amir, and movies to convey his message that he was a great leader and Germany should be an Aryan nation. Hitler used a method which projects a person or idea, in this case America, as the enemy through suggestion or false accusations. Another tactic often used relies on rationalization, vague and pleasant phrases used to justify such actions or beliefs, and stereotyping, used to provoke by labeling the object as something the target audience fears, hates, loathes, or finds undesirable. The Kite Runner does not point fingers at any person or situation, no one in the novel is avertedly the enemy, there is no hero. The little vagueness that is used by the author, is generally used by the main characters in his own thinking, like when Amir uses rationalization to justify is action for leaving Hassan, and Hosseini makes that apparent.

The Kite Runner, does little to change the mind set of readers whether it is based on Afghan society, the war, or the Taliban. It does little because there is no main idea. Novels such Animal Farm, by George Orwell, would be considered a work of propaganda because there is a main agenda that the author is trying to portray. The Orwell depicts and enemy as the humans, and uses a black and white fallacy to forces the reader to pick which is better, a farm with what the animals represented or a farm with the humans; communism/dictatorship or democracy. The novel did little to change my opinions on the current situation in Afghanistan. Hosseini does not illustrate the Taliban as the center of all of Afghanistan’s problems, nor does he allude to Assef as the sole enemy and therefore readers should alter their opinion. At best The Kite Runner, is merely a moral tale that tells us that despite our past, and our bad deeds, redemption is always possible(and possibly people who idolize Hitler are not morally sound), which would be good propaganda for humanity.

I am going to get you!

I would like to think I am like the average student. I work full time, I go to school full time, and unless I already know you, I generally don't go to extreme lengths to get to know you in class. Most classes, unless they require alot of group work, don't really require you to have to interact with other people. Now, don't get me wrong, I am very sosciable. But school is school and I have alot of things to do (theres a time and place where you need to be social), and with five classes back to back 2 days a week I am kind of oblivious to other people- which brings me to this point. I need a group. I should have asked around in class but who sticks around after class. I will be honest, I hate doing it this way through blogger, the internet makes up kind of anti social and very social at the same time, and to be honest I feel that this course relies to heavily on blogger- since I am not a journalism major- and only use blogging as a social tool, verses one to enhance my 'career'. Anyway, There are about 70 people in the class- 40 have signed up already- so you remaining 30 better holla at me soon, or I will come find you.

Meg and Dia

I never buy Cd's, and if you read old posts, you'll realize I would Rather bootleg a CD then pay for one; however, I actually found one by a local So-Cal band, that i liked enough to buy. Meg and Dia Great different girl bands. They're fun sassy and they don't sing about the same old things, or sound like everyone else. Check them out

Because you can't step in the same river twice- Blogger tip #1.

I know I constantly put down blogger; however instead of bashing on blogger I will leave blogger tips so it can improve its product.
We don't want blogger to be like the 8 track right? It must continue to update itself to survive.(Do you like how i tried to link that to something we learned in class?)

Blogger tip #1:

Allow users to edit their comments, without having to delete them.This comes from a girl that has frequent typo errors. (For example, I left Kelley Lugea a comment and instead of proof reading it first I submitted my comment and re-read it after. I must tell you, typing 'thing' instead of 'think' makes a big difference.)

Spinach online, Spinach on paper, spinach on tv!

So basically, I read the Mercury News, Tuesdays edition, and read the online article(Which i will link later). Then I was watching CNN and decided that into the mix.



Different forms of media portray stories based on their audiences. Recently, there has been an E. coli scare on packages of spinach; TV news, newspapers, and the web have all portrayed the issue differently.
On CNN, the news cast was approximately 20 seconds long and was brief. There were no sources except for one, which stated that federal health officials said that there was no tampering involved in the E. coli outbreak.
The Mercury News released a short news article, about 500 words on the web, and addressed the issue by using a statement sent to them from the associate press. The article basically stated what the news coverage stated, however it does go into depth and includes more sources. Some of the sources included: FDA Robert Brakett, FDA Susan Bro, FBI spokes person Rich Kolko, and the Center of Disease Control and Prevention. Unlike CNN’s broadcast, there is also a list of other states reporting the same problem, as well as fatalities. There were also corresponding articles, relevant to the topic.
The San Jose Mercury News paper, from Tuesday, made the front page. It was significantly longer, and I ended up losing interest by the time I had to make the jump to the next page. Sources cited were similar; however I noticed that the magazine was more focused on particular areas in the bay area, such as Salinas.
All three types of media covered each story differently. TV media is quick brief and to the point, however; since it is so short there is little information available to evaluate credibility. Also, few if any sources are mentioned.
Print coverage is more in depth and focuses primarily on being unbiased by regurgitating information from sources. While the web article was locally targeting and contained more information/ sources then the TV broadcast, but less sources then the San Jose Mercury News article. It also fell in the middle in terms of length.

Technorati Profile

Son of the Ring

Whoaw

What do you call the son of an author? Is he too an author?

I have no idea, but author J.R.R Tolkien's son is going to finish 'Children of Hurin', Tolken's unfinished novel. Why does that seem wrong? Tolkien's son could have assisted in writing the bible, but he is still no J.R.R Tolkien. Somethings are better left as is, like Steven Kings unfinished Internet novel. If King handed your next door neighbor his unfinished book and told him to finish the novel, would it still be as good? Would you even bother to read it? Cause really, who the hell are you 'Lord of the Ring' son, and what makes you think you can do it any better, leave your daddy's stuff alone. Boo.

I'm not insinuating anything but how much do you think he'll get paid for writing and releasing this novel? Does anyone feel that maybe another movie will be made?

bidi bidi bom bom

So, I'm currently home watching Selena; it's playing on Vh1, and I thought to myself, "whoaw how tragic."

There's something that draws us to others misfortunes. There's something that draws us to people who have struggled, to those who have triumphed, and to those who didn't get the opportunity to live to their full potential- perhaps just those who didn't get to live. For some reason we never really realize that until it happens to some famous icon or idol, like when Allyiah died, Buddy Holly, or Lynyrd Skynyrd. For some reason there death is worse then your neighbor's death, because they were special in some way, they had talent, they had something that we ordinary people didn't have. The media feeds on this. They've made "Selena", a movie based on the Jackson 5, even "What's love got to do with it," which is based on Tina Turner. Society models life after others, we strive to mimic those who have been in situations similar to our own, especially when the person/ people we idolize, triumph and become rich and famous.

I love watching those movies cause it makes those people feel more personable, but I can't help but think that the companies that produce the movies, as well as the music companies that do the music, have other motives.

Extinction.

Will books ever disappear like the 8 track? No my friends, it won't. Books are one of those fundamental things that will always be there. The basic difference between why different forms of music devices die out and why books won't die out is simple. The reason why records and tape players went extinct is because a better, more convenient media was produced. Records were big and not easily portable. Tapes only held so many hours of music and didn’t have great sound quality. Mp3 players could hold more songs and be transferred to anyone.

Books are already compact, relatively cheap, sharable, and convenient. You can’t do much better then a book. Even if you put a book online, most people would print it out. Even the talk of the new Sony Electronic books would require you to buy, a chip or disk in order to view a different book. Books haven’t changed in the last few hundred years, this is one of the few things man got right the first few times around, and evolving a good thing is a slow process.



P.S. Books will also remain in existance as long as college professors wish to sell their always updated editions of writing to poor college students.

Salvation is near.

Is there a solution to bootlegging music? The answer is no! As long as technology keeps changing, there will always be a way to get sometime for free,because everyone wants something for free. As long as there is a demand for free or cheap music, someone will supply it. Is it fair? Hell to the iz-no, but is life fair? Music companies must understand that organizations are like organisms, if they cannot change to accommodate to their surroundings, they will die out. Music companies will never completely vanish. As long as people want music and understand that in order to have music, musicians and companies must make some money, then some people will spend that money in order to have the music. It does mean companies and artist will make less, but it doesn't really mean new or less popular artist will die out. With the internet, perticularly myspace, artist can gain more media exposure then ever and for free.

Music Companies may never die, they just might go hungry for a little while.

Bush bags brownie points

Today marked five years since 9-11, and I swear I honestly forgot until I saw CNN blasting on TV when I was having lunch this afternoon.


President Bush said Monday night the war against terrorism is "the calling of our generation" and urged Americans to put aside differences and fight to victory.


"America did not ask for this war, and every American wishes it were over," Bush said in a prime-time address from the Oval Office. "The war is not over — and it will not be over until either we or the extremists emerge victorious."


It’s not that I don’t care for the war, to be quite frank I really haven’t kept up on with what’s going on. All I know is, war is bad and Bush pushed the nation for war, therefore Bush is bad (I learned this in logic; it’s called deductive reasoning). The main point of this entry is, like the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, 9-11 too, is spun as an attempt to unite a much divided country and to bring up Bush’s likeability factor in the polls, since it has dropped down to about 50%. Bush would like us to all hold hands and sing “Kumbiyah”(sp) and reminisce about how tragic 9-11 was, and how he helped our nation do something about it, verses thinking about how he wasn't always right, like when he “acknowleded that Saddam Hussein was not responsible for the 9/11 attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people."

Maybe I'm just a Bush hater but I swear his PR team is going nuts, trying to spin these moments so that he can gain extra brownie points in the public opinion polls.