Blogging

I have always loved blogging, I am a writer what can I say. However my usual MySpace blogs are pieces of my poetry or quotes that I find inspirational, blogging about my political aspects, and other forms of media I had never done before this class. I love it though, and I will continue to use this site to blog about my ideas. My opinion of blogging at the beginning of the term was that it was just a way to get your thoughts out there, now I realize it is much more than that. Blogging is a form of journalism, it's a way to express your opinions about, well anything to the world. I love blogging, I love this class, and I am going to miss it so incredibly much. It was the only class I honestly looked forward to going to, and didn't want to leave. Thank you so much for all of the knowledge you have given us, and all the doors of opportunity you have shoved us through. I hope to see you around.

Music in the Media

First off, I must say I am very disappointed I missed Ehren Ebbage's performance and words of wisdom in Wednesdays class. I have checked out his music and I am very impressed!

I think the way musicians have used the internet to promote themselves is genius. As my good friend and talented musician Manasseh said, "Having a presence on the internet is almost as vital as having good songs to get ones name and act out to their audience. MySpace is probably the flagship of internet resources to get independent artists music out to people worldwide in a way that almost no other outlet can."

Using sites such as MySpace, Youtube, Reverb Nation, Facebook, iLike, cdbaby, snowcap, and purevolume gives musicians a way to get their music out there without even leaving their own home. It also gives independent musicians the ability to get their music heard by record labels and other music companies. I remember seeing Colbie Caillat's MySpace page and downloading her music WAY before she ever became mainstream and got connected with a record label. I believe MySpace is one of the major reasons she even got discovered.

Itunes has also been another form of new technology combined with the use of the internet to change the music scene completely. Cd stores are rare to find now because everyone buys their music online. I personally use Itunes every single day, whether its on my laptop while I'm doing my homework, or at the gym running on the treadmill with my Ipod at my side. I cannot wait to see what the world comes up with next!

To end this weeks blog post I thought I would add something fun. Here is a link to Manasseh Israel's MySpace Music Page. Check it out, I know you will love his stuff! And if you don't believe me, check out his music below...

http://www.myspace.com/manassehdavidisrael

What Do You Stand For?

I enjoyed Steve Smith's presentation to our class on Wednesday of last week for several reasons, mostly because I was not completely sure I was doing the right thing going into journalism with the fall of newspapers and other forms of "old" news. . . but he convinced me. He convinced me by saying these words (not all in order so please don't get mad at me!),

"Journalism begins with a set of values, What do you stand for? Understanding those values gives us a framework for the decisions we are going to make. We defend the defenseless and give voices to the voiceless. We filter the news and information based on the values we have created for ourselves, we believe we can make those powerful judgments"

These words really hit home for me. Posted on the wall of my room at home, as well as my dorm room here is a poster. You can see it at the top of this page. I love it, I have always had it in my room. I was always the "helper" the "giver" the "listener" in high school and whenever I got overwhelmed with all of those actions and other people's problems and emotional breakdowns I looked at that poster and realized it is part of who I am. I stand for many things...

I also was on the "Astor Post" which is my high school paper, and I always stood by my values when I wrote the articles. It made me realize that just like he said he felt he had to do this because it was what he (Mr. Smith, and no I don't mean brad pitt) was made to do, it was his purpose here, I feel like I have the same purpose.

I cannot wait to get out in the world and do good, to put the news out there and make an informed citizenry possible. "Journalists are outsiders. Paid to be observers, more than to actually be involved". I have always been that type of person anyways... I don't mind. I want to do something positive with my life.

Public Relations

This past week I really enjoyed the guest lecturer and her presentation on Public Relations. When I realized I wanted to be a Journalist a few years back, I thought about maybe minoring in Public Relations (since my family always told me I would be good at it) but I had no idea what it really was. So having someone sit us down and show us what the PR world is all about really helped me decide that I do want to explore that field as well. I find it fascinating that Edward Bernays was related to Sigmund Freud who was a genius in the psychology field. I also think it is amazing that Bernays decided to use communication tactics along with the psychology background he had to change people's minds/opinions. It's brilliant, a little sneaky yes, but brilliant still. The whole turning the bad phrase "propaganda" into "public relations" and using it to his advantage is interesting as well. He was able to get women to smoke in public, and change the perception of smoking in general to this elegant image by promoting women smokers. I don't necessarily agree with everything he did, nor do I want to promote/deceive someone into buying a product that is terrible for them, but I do hope some day to be able to achieve the greatness and prestige Bernays had.

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA!

The Election Night last week was very important to me. I even skipped out of my Sororities New Member Meeting to sit in my dorm's lounge and watch the news coverage of it all night long. We were watching CNN news, as well as the Colbert Report. It was a good mix of comedy and news to the point where I was actually entertained. I was in contact with my family and friends every hour, first being scared by McCain's lead, and secondly being ecstatic by Obama's. It was the first time I had watched any kind of news and political campaign coverage in quite some time. I felt proud when Obama won, we all went crazy, jumping up and down and hugging each other. We all were proud that our generation's votes had changed our Country. That we had finally made a difference. It was one of the most amazing feelings I have ever had. Thinking back to all my friends working on the Obama Campaign back in Astoria, writing newspaper articles for my high school's Astor Post, and my mother working for his campaign as well, calling people at their homes to tell them to vote for Barack. Everyone in this country was ready for a change, ready for all our hopes to begin to come true. All night long, everywhere you looked there was something about Obama. People's Facebook status's had quotes, videos were being posted from my friends across the country like in Boston where kids were rapping on the streets and doing conga lines. Every website had a headline saying congratulations to our future president. It was astounding. I will never forget it.

This election and this class has made me realize that I need to stay in touch with the news, with my country, and with it's people. Today I subscribed to TIME magazine, and each month when I get it, I am promising myself that I will sit down and read it from beginning to end.

It's time for a change.

:)

Love Me if You Dare

What examples of media globalization do you see or experience in your life?

One of the main examples of media globalization in my life is relating to the internet. I was on one of my friends MySpace pages and noticed a music video playing one of my favorite songs. The funny thing is this video was an example of convergence as well because the song was not related to the video at all. It was a promotional video for a movie called "Love Me if You Dare" that was made in France, spoken in french, and with English subtitles. The video on her profile however, had the song "Let Go" by the artist Frou Frou along to video clips from the movie. It was a very enticing video and definitely caught my attention. After watching the promotional video I was convinced I wanted to see it. Therefore, I went on to the one and only Itunes and looked for the video. Sure enough, the video was there. So I got my credit card out and bought it. I must say I have never been a fan of watching videos in different languages, subtitles have always bothered me, so I was surprised I even bought it in the first place. However, it was so addicting that I stayed up until two a.m. watching it. I was contributing to the globalization of media, and I loved it.

"During the class discussion Mindich mentioned that over the past year CNN has experienced a spike in viewership among younger audience members. Do you see this as a sign that young people are tuning back in or do you think this is an anomaly, perhaps caused by the elections?"

I believe that it is just the fact that we are in the 2008 election that teenagers and young adults are tuning in. The fact alone that we can finally vote has made us more aware of what is going on in the world. Back in middle school and even high school when we couldn't vote, when our voices ultimately did not matter in the political aspect of our world we didn't need to tune in. I personally think that if Obama wins the election we will tune out again, because he seems to be the one we are resting our fate with. However, if McCain wins the election I believe we will be more tuned in then ever because we are all (okay not all, sorry republicans) worried what he will do to our country and the war, etc.

I personally hope that we could stay tuned in, and I will try my best to do so because I feel I am getting older and our generation needs to step up and be responsible...but I predict the vast majority of us will stay tuned out.

Let's hope for the best.

sex, reality, and hip hop n roll

MTV used to play music videos almost exclusively. Now MTV rarely plays music videos. What has replaced the music videos and why do you think that happened?

In response to this question I must say that MTV has changed immensely over the past decade, and increasingly so over the past few years. MTV itself stands for MUSIC TELEVISION; therefore you would think that the shows it airs are strictly about music. If you are thinking this however, you are wrong.

Most of the shows that MTV plays now are reality shows such as “The Hills, Exiled, Super Sweet Sixteen, and Paris Hilton’s My New BFF”. Not one of these “Reality” shows are at all like our everyday lives, nor do they have anything to do with music. Oh, but you can’t forget the fact that they all usually have background music during the show and a little side bar pops up to tell you the song name, and artist who sings it! That must be why it’s called MTV right? Well, to be completely honest I am getting quite fed up with this television network. MTV used to be where I tuned into to find the newest great hits, and enjoy an occasional reality show. Now however, I turn on the channel and hear Paris Hilton’s annoying voice complaining about how some random person (that the network specifically picked, because they think they will be entertaining) is not her kind of best friend material. Or I turn on the television and listen to parents and their kids tell each other about the sexual experiences on the show “Sex…with mom and dad”. To me this is quite appalling. I’m not a prude, I don’t think that sex is a bad thing, but I certainly don’t think that it should be flaunted by MTV for the middle-school and even elementary school-aged kids I watch during my afterschool program to see. I’m sick of listening to a third grader sing “Lollipop” by Little Wayne. Yes, the first few times are quite entertaining, but after listening to the 10th elementary school kid sing such a dirty song, it gets a little old and very concerning.

Again, please don’t think that I hate rap music , MTV, or sex before marriage. . . because I don’t. In fact most of my friends back home call me White Chocolate for loving the Reggaeton and Rap culture, but I am 18 years old and can handle all of the sexual messages sent my way. I just think that we need to censor the channels for kids a little bit more. Most of our shows are turning into pointless hours of well CRAP shows, and they are really setting a bad example for all of our young teenagers, and well, even us.

To Blog or Not to Blog

"The first thing you need to decide when you build your blog is what you want to accomplish with it, and what it can do if successful." -unknown


There are many different types of blogs. There are political blogs that tell you the latest scandal or complain about the palin/hilary SNL skit, blogs that try and justify a point, blogs that disect books or music, and blogs that simply just state what the person is thinking at any given time.

For me, blogging has always been a place where I put my poetry and other works of literature. I have used as it as a type of diary or memoir, where I can go back and look at certain points in my life and laugh... or cry. I have always used the typical "MySpace Blog" to show my creations to the world, however I have many friends that use sites just like this one too. Personally I like to pick and choose the users that can view the little pieces of my life, so MySpace has always been my best option.

As far as reading other people's blogs I must say I do so very rarely. I have subscribed to a few other friends’ blogs on MySpace though. The four that I have are very different. Two are boys, and two are girls, split 50/50. One of the girls posts poetry and lyrics to music that I find qutie enjoyable, while the other girl posts sermons from her church or of her own. The boy's blogs have a very different feel. One writes about politics and war, while the other writes song lyrics to music he has made over the years. You see I guarantee there is not two people in this world that can write the exact same thing. Every single person on this planet has their own opinion and ideals, their own morals, hobbies, and skills. Maybe you will read a few blogs that seem to be the same, but the work spent behind them, the very foundation of their meaning, and even their purpose, perhaps can be very different.

Every blog is important, whether it states someone's favorite music and movies, books or quotes, or opinions on politics. Just because the blog seems pointless to you, doesn't mean it is perceived that way to everyone. It is a type of documentation of history that our world has never really seen before. It is a way of passing down thoughts and brilliance without having to have a hard copy of something. Journals and diaries have always been amusing or of utter importance, sometimes they even end up in a book format.

Lets look at the diary of Anne Frank for instance. Her interpretation of the Holocaust and her personal life has been a book schools make their students read for decades. Maybe at the time people thought her writing wasn't important, maybe they thought she was even wasting her time . . . but she wasn't was she? We have learned a lot from her, and we will continue to learn from others just like her for many years to come.

Blogs are definitely an important type of media, even journalism itself. I am happy to be a part of this internet savvy generation who can show the world their ideas and opinions in mere seconds. I think blogs are going to become a huge part of history; we just have to embrace it.

A little window to my soul

For my family :) Auntie Gale especially

Ever since I was a young girl I have visited my grandparents house during the summer for a week or two. I remember the long hot drive to hood canal. I remember the sign leading up to Colony Surf, and I remember their house; small and moveable :)

I used to take daily trips down to the "clubhouse" and play on the playground there. Some days I would take a swim in the pool, the same pool my dad decided to let go of me for the first time and I swam on my own. Some days I would venture into the inside of the clubhouse and see teenagers playing ping pong and kissing in the corners in which they thought they were hidden. I only hoped one day to be like them, free and experienced.

My grandparents house holds a lot of memories to me. . . watching Shirly Temple and eating bowls of strawberries and whip cream, reading harry potter books until midnight (which seemed so late back then), and playing in my grandparents motor home that sat in the covered area above the rose garden.

My grandparents have always loved their motorhomes, I've seen them go through a couple different ones, and I can't even imagine all the memories they have made in them over the years. As far as the memories I made of my own, i remember trips to Canada to visit their friends. Oh that place was beautiful, loads of open bright green fields loaded with flowers, a gorgeous house that had several stories, sparkling water, and a cute step stone path to the lady's workshop. She was the most brilliant painter I had ever seen, I only hoped one day to be able to turn something so ordinary into a beautiful masterpiece. I also remember trips to campgrounds and beaches where we would sit around the campfire roasting marshmallows and telling scary stories about murders and theives (which I later learned actually happend in my family history). I was so young, naive, and innocent. I miss that part of me some days, but others I want to stray as far as possible away from it. I guess that is just how growing up is.

There are two memories however that the motor home and their house shared. And that is the Hawaiian Rules. In my room in the motor home and in the house there was a beautiful little plaque with a set of rules I was told to follow by my grandfather. I remember the plaque had a rainbow in the background and a set of rules that went like this:

Never judge a day by the weather.

The best things in life aren't things.

Tell the truth, there is less to remember.

Speak softly, and wear a loud shirt.

Goals are relative, the unamed arrow never misses.

He who dies with the most toys, still dies.

Age is relative, when you are over the hill...you pick up speed.

There are two ways to be rich; make more, or desire less.

Beauty is internal, looks mean nothing.

and

No rain - No rainbows.

Now that at least five years have past since I last spent my summers with my grandparents I fianlly realized something. That I took for granted the time I spent there in my youth. They really have lived a wonderful life and made the best of every situation that comes their way. They have traveled to more places than I will probably ever make it to see, and they have always followed by those rules.

I think I will pay more close attention to those sweet and simple rules of life. I will live my life to the fullest, and seize the day a bit more than I ever have before, and most of all I will realize that if you don't go through a rain, you will never see the wonders of a rainbow.

Journalism

Hey everyone!

I just created this blog for my journalism class which was AMAZING. I had no idea that college journalism would be so fun. I was expecting a huge boring lecture class, but instead it was fun, small, and very interactive. I can't wait for the rest of term! :)