Vlog

Blog #5 Blackberry

When I was looking though all the class wikis I found it highly ironic when I came across the iPhone’s and Blackberry’s pages. This was because IPhone’s are widely known for their “flash” and Blackberry’s are known for their business aspect. Both of these phone companies’ wiki pages greatly reflected the type of phone it is. The iPhone has a very catchy image which makes you want to know more. The Blackberry on the other hand has graphics which look very boring, at first glance, like the kind you find in the stock section of the newspaper. But, when you take a more in depth look into the graphics they are very helpful. Overall I think that the Blackberry page has made the strongest argument in print compared to all the other wiki’s.

The Blackberry page has done a number of things very well. Their page is very organized which makes it easy to navigate through the page. It is neat there is not a lot of clutter or irrelevant information as well. Another thing they did well was the ratio of pictures to writing. They have a few graphics and a solid amount of writing. There was not an overwhelming amount of one or the other.  Something else this group did well was explaining the diagram which they had. They also included their sources which allow someone who is interested in the subject a place to go to get more information.

One thing that they could have done a better job on was incorporating a more up to date picture of a Blackberry phone. They also could add things that their competitors do that are better than them. That would create less of an argument if they admit that their product is not the best in every area.

Looking at their wiki made me wish we had more organization in our wiki page. That would be something I would change in my groups page. My question for the group is do they think Blackberry will include any of the groups ideas for the future by chance?

 

Ownership and Regulation of the Media

I feel as though the U.S. government should have less power in the restraint and blocking of material that might hurt the national security. Free speech radio and media is something which my family is a strong supporter of and it would be a great detriment to the American people if the government had even more power over the mainstream media than they already do. Subsequent to major incidents such as 9/11 the people should have the opportunity hear an unbiased source which will deliver them the truth without regard to their feelings. If we take a look at the genocide in Rwanda in 1994 the U.S. was very hesitant to come in between the civil war. There was little support from the American people because they were not aware of what was actually going on in this third world country which was highly unknown to most American before the war. If the mainstream media was able/willing to air horrifying events which actually occurred there is no doubt in my mind that the American people would have come to the Rwandans and put full support behind American involvement in Rwanda. Thousands of lives could have been saved if the government had less control over the mass media.

There would not be that many difficulties in having an invisible hand, in economic terms meaning the government is present just with little interference.  Changing something as major as an entire sector of the government would take a lot of time and money in which the government has little of.

One problem may be the over excessive use of gore. This would make for a very explicit news cast, which may or may not be taking well by the American people. When events which need such type of coverage air it would turn into a material that would be targeted to a more mature audience. Young children would be less able to participate in matters dealing with national security. Another negative would be how the government would handle a situation where a source abuses their power. Who would say, how much is too much. There would have to be a regulation of some sort but not one that would reduce the content so much that it does not have the same strength.

One major positive effect of the government having less of a role in media regulation would be the American people being less blind to what is really going on in the world. People would have more knowledge about the situations in the present and would be able to take a side knowing that they have explored both sides of an argument evenly. Since my position in this matter is not adopted already by the government we need go in search of the truth; we need not to only digest what the mainstream media wants use to, but go beyond that. Viva la revolution!

 

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia is an explicit sitcom style comedy created by Rob McElhenney, Glenn Howertonand and Charlie Day, who are also stars in the show. The show is about three childhood friends Dennis, Mac, and Charlie, who refer to themselves as “the gang”.  Dennis has a sister “Sweet Dee”, and father, played by Danny DeVito these too also play major roles in this show. These five colorful characters own Paddy’s Pub a deprived bar in South Philadelphia and all drink profusely. All of the characters in the show are very selfish, unethical and manipulative, which makes for great comedy.

One subtext is that if you only care about yourself then your life will never advance.  A different subtext is that if you drink too much it will be hard for you to lead a productive lifestyle. There is a very prevalent drinking problem in our society that this show depicts in a harsh manner. Most of the problems which arise in the show are rooted in the evils of alcohol and its effects on people. This happens all too often in our culture, families get torn apart, people lose their lives from bad decisions while drinking, and it is just terrible for your health.

This show does not show up in print media that often because it is a show that is not as popular of a series as Gossip Girl or Entourage. It is not a very main stream show which gets a lot of media attention.

Throughout an episode you would hear that much music. The only times you will are at the beginning, returning from commercial, and the end. The theme song is “Temptation Sensation” by Heinz Kiessling which is the sole song played in the above allotted periods during the show. It is a jubilant classical piece of music full of string instruments accompanied by flutes. This song reminds me profoundly of the music playing in “The Sims” computer game when buying new furniture or housing materials; it could quite possibly be the same song.  I think the music selection is very ironic. The song sounds like something you would find playing in a very affluent store or a very white collar event, and then the director cuts to the opening scene in a bar or another non-attractive setting far from the epitome of “rich”.

This is defiantly a comedy intended for mature audiences due to some of the topics discussed. The point of view of the show is that people take themselves too seriously sometimes and if you do this often you will end up being miserable. Also that people should not try so hard to be “cool” because everyone can achieve that status by being who they are.

The audience of the show is expected to know right from wrong. This is because the characters do wrong things intentionally in order to create humor in what would otherwise be a dull show. The audience must have an acquired taste to a more vulgar type of humor. This show can be found in the online environment through free online websites such as Hulu and the FX channel website which the show regularly broadcasts.

Media Diary

Media diary:

Thursday

5-8 Texted friends, and talked on the phone with friend.

Friday

11-1 Went on Facebook and looked up product on the internet.

6-9 Watched tv (movie on tv)

Texted throughout the day about 5x per hour. Also checked email on phone roughly 5x during the course of the day.

Saturday

230-9 Watched football games all day long, and watched the Seahawks get their greatest postseason victory yet.  Go Seattle Seahawks! I also took an hour intermission to go to gymnastic meet.

Texted throughout the day about 3x texts per hour, also checked email on phone roughly 5x during the course of the day.

Sunday

10-11 Talked on phone with mom and friend.

12-2 Went on internet to look up hw and go on Facebook.

3-4 Played video game with neighbor.

4-6 Watched the Eagles lose their football game.

8-1030 Watched The Fighter on my computer.

11-12 Went on Facebook.

Texted throughout the day about 3x texts per hour, also checked email on phone roughly 5x during the course of the day.

Monday

11-12 Went on Facebook and computer to do hw because both professors for the day cancelled class due to snow! Snow Day!

6-9 Watched Oregon vs. Auburn for the NCAA football championship.   

Reflection

This couple of days was mainly entertainment related, then personal interactions, and lastly work associated. This was due to I think being the first week back from school. I have not been able to attend one of my four classes because I was not registered yet and my other two classes have not given any homework yet. So, I am having an easy transition from being on break not doing much to being back in school. This weekend was a kind of slow weekend as well; most of my friends went to the mountains so I had to entertain myself somehow during the day. So I chose to watch TV and go on the computer quite a bit, more than usual. When I was on break those two things helped pass time, seeing as how I could not find a job over break. Although during the evenings my phone doubles up as my computer on wheels and my  network to the rest of the world.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World is a comedy/romance about a young Canadian Scott Pilgrim (Michael Cera) who is a struggling musician in a band called Sex Bob-omb, who falling in love with a mysterious American named Ramona Flowers (Mary Elizabeth Winstead).  Only there is a catch, Scott must defeat Ramona’s seven “evil exes” in order to win Ramona’s heart.  Luckily Scott has very keen martial arts skills and can put up an epic reality defying battle.

This movie is an example of technological convergence because it is based on a comic book series. The series of six books was released by Bryan Lee O’Malley between August 2004 and July 2010. This is why there was an added sense of cartoon like effects in the film; an example of this is when Scott defeated an ex he got points, and coins. The Bluff Hampton Company was in charge of this and made this movie very original. A videogame entitled the same has been released also around the same time as the movie based off of the book series, which after seeing the movie I would not mind playing.

This film is also an example of economic convergence because it was not a very great success in revenue produced. During its opening week the movie only generated roughly 10 million dollars grossing at the beginning of August 2010 at around 30 million dollars. When considering the film’s production cost was an estimated 60 million dollars, it seems as though this movie was a failure in most people’s eyes.  I had no idea that this movie existed until my friend told me that he rented it.

This movie is also an example of cultural convergence because it was released in over 40 different countries. There are different themes in this movie which unite many different cultures; such as videogamers, rock and roll fans, and romantics.Another cultural fact is that it was recorded in Canada, but if you are from America watching this movie if the film never mentioned Canada you would have no idea that it was filmed in a different country. Ironically it shows how similar the USA and Canada really are.