On My IPhone

Just got my new iPhone today. I’ve been waiting for what seems like forever to get it. I felt lost without my access to socialmedia, apps, the web and other tools I had previously enjoyed on my blackberry.

It finally broke down on me and I figured I’d try something different and go with a full touchscreen. I looked at several phones and online reviews and decided on the iPhone 4.

It’s taken me a Lil while to get used to the screen but it’s amazing so far. Still trying to get used to not having buttons but it’s a small sacrifice to make considering.

Now I should be able to at least make some regular post on here so please stay tuned.

Young Free Expression

I am wearing my clean white and purple shoes and the laces are not tied. My jeans fit well around my waist and hold up against the force of gravity thanks to my brown belt. A clean white shirt covers my torso and a hair tie holds back my dreadlocks. There is a LiveStrong bracelet on my wrist as I peer through my glasses down at my purple  shuffling songs as the world goes on around me. I haven’t uttered a world, yet I have already spoken volumes to the on lookers thanks to my attire.

Expression is defined by Merriam-Webster dictionary as: a mode, means, or use of significant representation or symbolism; especially: felicitous or vivid indication or depiction of mood or sentiment. As a young person in today’s society one may feel constraint as an individual if they are unable to express themselves through primary and secondary mediums such as speech, art, fashion, music, writing and dance.

I personally believe that it is important for people to express themselves in a way that is both positive and meaningful to them. There was a time when I was a young student in school that I felt misunderstood and unnoticed. I didn’t know how to engage with my peers in a way that allowed me to empathize and sympathize with them. So I became involved with sports which allowed me an outlet of expression through the playing field. Eventually this led me to be able to openly express myself to my peers and others through various mediums. Of which I earned an appreciation for writing.

Writing allows me to open myself up to others in a way that offers them direct uncensored insight on my feelings, thoughts and ideals. The feeling I get when I am able to write a piece and have a stranger read it or listen to me read it and instantly connect with me and understand the mood, visualize the scene and relate to any of the characters is powerful.  I am fearful that there are young people out there who haven’t found their own medium through which they can show the world who they are. Everyone deserves a voice, a vision, a form of expression.

Rules To Live By

Basic Training for Life:
1. If you open it, CLOSE IT.
2. If you turn it on, TURN IT OFF.
3. If you unlock it, LOCK IT.
4. If you break it, FIX IT.
5. If you can’t fix it, CALL SOMEONE WHO CAN.
6. If you borrow it, RETURN IT.
7. If you use it, TAKE CARE OF IT
8. If you make a mess, CLEAN IT UP.
9. If you move it, PUT IT BACK.
10. If it belongs to someone else, GET PERMISSION TO USE IT.
12. If you don’t know how to operate it, READ THE DIRECTIONS or DON’T MESS WITH IT.
13. If it doesn’t concern you, DON’T MESS WITH IT.

How did you Reach That Level?

I was up watching Sportscenter on ESPN when I was rudely interrupted by a commercial break.  The first commercial in the set was a self promoting ad put on by members of the Sportscenter journalist.  Then the next was a Commercial for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

I was very pleased with the overall presentation of the Commercial.

The main thing that actually appealed to me about the commercial was when the two characters where talking about how much they were advancing through the levels of the game.  Then the one guy says, “You will never reach this level”.  It allowed me to connect with the characters in the commercial because I often trash talk with my friends about in-game progress and achievements.

This ad in particular is not trying to use “puffery” to sell sex or a perfect image.  I think that it is mainly trying to sell Wal-Mart as the perfect retailer.  It is saying to gamers “Hey you don’t have to wait in long lines at Video Game Specialty stores”.  I remember that Wal-Mart ran an ad when Madden 10 came out which followed along the same lines.

From that stand point I don’t feel as if the ad is affecting me as a consumer to shop at Wal-Mart mainly because I have a personal bias against the retailer, but I feel as if the commercial does an effective job in showing off the product (Modern Warfare 2) and it does make it appealing to me.

I think that the main target audience for this ad was males ages (17-25).  I choose this age group because the game is rated M for mature and I would say that most gamers are males.  At the time that I saw the commercial it was about 10 o’clock so I think that was an appropriate time slot to expose the age to the target market.  Sports and violence go hand in hand i.e. Football, Boxing, MMA, Wrestling and Hockey for examples.

Usually TV ads depict character’s in stereotypical ways but I did not feel as if this ad portrayed characters as such.  If I had to decide on a stereotype based solely on this ad, I would say that it is how competitive they make the two guys in the ad.  I feel as if this is a normal thing because I am competitive with my friends but at the same time I realize that not everyone is that way with their friends.  Maybe it’s a guy thing which would make sense if their target market is males ages 17-25.

The ad was effective for me but it did not make me go out and buy the product.  I have gotten away from playing video games as often as I did when I was younger so I don’t really buy games that often.  But I am intrigued by the game itself and I would be more than willing to go and rent it and see what all the hoopla is about.  So in effect, they did get me.

did you see that?

Have you ever seen a car wreck, a fight, or some other type of event that you felt you needed to share with friends or even the world? And after witnessing this event did you go out and tell your friends and or the world, well you’ve been participating in Citizen Journalism.

According to Dictionary.com Citizen Journalism can be defined as the non-professional reporting of the news; also called participatory journalism.  It allows people without journalism training to use modern technology such as blogs, social media websites and other internet outlets to create, change or fact check media.

Citizen journalism has its advantages and disadvantages as does any other media source.

As a positive it allows for prompt reporting, self-expression, new ideas, a first person view, production cost are relatively low and the ability to check the facts of questionable facts.

Although it is also very easy for Citizen Journalist to mis-print stories, leave out important details and be incredibly bias.

Citizen Journalism has played a crucial part in reporting some of the most important news stories over the past few years.  Including the Virginia Tech Shootings in April of 2007.  Footage taken from students’ camera phones, Facebook status updates and twitter messages all allowed mainstream media such as CNN and inside look to what was really going on. Other incidents such as the protest in Burma in 2007, Mumbai attacks in 2008 and the Hudson River plane crash in early 2009 all were covered by Citizen Journalist.

Usually when you see events covered on the news stations, you see them from a distance.  Meaning you see a news reporter standing in front of a scene, in front of the police tape giving a break down of the events that took place.

With Citizen Journalism you see pictures, ammature video footage and first hand accounts of what took place.  Things you would normally never be exposed to thanks to media GateKeepers.

Although these incidents were covered by mainstream media; pictures, videos and eye-witness accounts where first distributed by citizens then picked up by news stations. Some professional journalist may not like that ammatures are posting coverage of the events but they can see the benefits in a first person exposure to the events.

Who’s Playing With Who?

So I was playing Left 4 Dead on Xbox 360 with a buddy of mine and there came a point in the game where I felt as if the game was playing back with me.

I was playing the Woods level and there came a point in the game where we had to face off against a Tank.  The creature initially came straight for me and knocked my character across the screen.  I looked around and tried to move my character but I couldn’t do so.  I thought it was some sort of glitch but upon further inspection I had been knocked up into a tree.

Stuck up a Tree

I couldn’t believe that this actually happened and couldn’t help but laugh but even the game couldnt believe it.  Just as we finish laughing at the situation of the game’s characters says, “Aww man, Would you look at that”.

At this point i was a little freaked out, I had never experienced game character’s commenting on in-game stuff like that before.  But maybe thats the direction of next generation gaming.

Roses are Red Violets are Blue

I slid my key into the door and opened it to an amusing sight

As you walked around that corner in your body hugging dress and it reminded me of the first time,

I saw you from across the room

There we were in an unassuming place

Filled with unfamiliar faces

A drink in my hand and doing a quick scan

And then,

I saw you from across the room

There you were with your coordinating top and bottom

Glowing smile in all and I knew that I had to

Make my way across the room

A lil chit chat and a few quick facts and I knew this was the one I wanted to get into

Time goes by and I can’t get enough so we must continue at my place and

We make our way across the room

It doesn’t take long for us to get to it

Our bodies call to each other in a primal way

You nibble on my ear and whisper,

Let’s play

You stand and slowly walk away as you peel off one piece at a time

I can’t help but admire all that is about to be mine, as you

Make your way across the room

Jump back from the past

Every night better then the last

I can’t wait to see what’s in store, as

I make my way across the room

Me and My Generation

According According to Dictionary.com nostalgia can be defined as a wistful desire to return in thought or in fact to a former time in one’s life, to one’s home or homeland, or to one’s family and friends; a sentimental yearning for the happiness of a former place or time: a nostalgia for his college days.

I’ve spent many hours reminiscing about my childhood and smiling at the things that I once did and how innocent everything seemed.  I waste time surfing the internet and browsing YouTube looking for traces of my lost youth.  It seems as if tv shows these days have very little real world application as opposed to the shows I watched in my youth.  The mix of media and real world experiences has shaped me and others of my generation into the current and future rulers of the world.

Past generations have been more concerned about working hard and sacrificing so that they could provide for their families.  I appreciate all the hard work that everyone before me has done to help put me in the position that I am in today, but I will not let a corporation decide how I will handle myself in the workplace. Companies today are still concerned with the God of Maximal Profits.  That is that regardless of what has happened in the past, if you as a worker is not generating more and more money for the company then they don’t care about you.  As an individual I don’t need you to hold my hand but I want to feel respected and appreciated for my contributions.

Who do we blame for this? Should we blame anyone? Maybe we should say that our parents who told us that we could do anything; be the president, a pro athlete, a movie star or whatever we set our minds to.  This attitude could have helped motivate those who felt that they had no options and at the same time could’ve made the rest of us feel entitled to things that we really do not deserve.

So maybe we should be considered the rotten egg generation just to reflect how spoiled we all really are.  I don’t mean spoiled in the sense that we get all that we desire, but instead spoiled in the sense that we have air conditioning, video games, available access to the internet, unlimited food options, name brand clothes and at least 200 cable channels.  Is it ok that kids are getting fatter and aren’t reading books but can work computers better than their parents?

Maybe Gen Why is appropriate.  To get to the truth one has to question the perceived reality to separate what is real from what is unreal.  What’s real is that Gen Y is here and it is our time to make our stamp on the world and shape the next generation as we see fit.  How does that make you feel? I think you should be scared, if you think Gen Y is bad then wait until you see what Gen Next has to offer.

Really Mr. West

Dear Mr. West,

I’m not sure if you realize this but there are a lot of people who really don’t like you.  I’m not telling you this because I am one of them but rather as a person who is concerned with what is going on with you.  You emerge from a terrible car crash to show the world your musical talents, but while experiencing the ride of success you lost touch with the world.  I know that you have an “I don’t care what people think” type of attitude, but sometimes you gotta keep some things to yourself.

I really wonder what you’re thinking at times. How can the same person who created such hits as Jesus Walks, Stronger, Champion and  Heartless (just to name a few) do something so absolutely selfish.  You are not only dis-liked by so many but also an easy character to make fun of.

It’s okay, we get it, You’re Talented but at some point you have to step outside yourself and realize that it’s not all about you. So please just get back to the music.

Your Fan

9/9/09

A supposed day of Luck and Misfortune, Blueprint 3

D.O.A.

Run This Town

So on 9/9/09 I went out and got a copy of Jay-Z’s latest album, The Blueprint 3.  Not to be confused with The Carter 3, which was Lil Wayne’s album that dropped last year.  Jay continues to display his musical talents and cements hisself as one of the greatest rappers of all time.

The album is mainly about getting back to the roots of hip-hop and getting away from the autotune, which is becoming and increasingly popular sound and way to make up for artistic deficiency.  When done in a good way it can end up sounding like this.  Or it can be used to make seemingly boring situations slightly more interesting.

Artist such as T-Pain where pioneers of this sound but the ease of the autotune software along with the way it makes up for the lack in musical ability has led to an increase of its use.

In addition to the sounds created by the autotune other artist are creating songs which can be classified as “ringtone” music.  This term applies to rap songs that are made which have specific dances that go along with them or do not offer any type of lyrical concept.  What I mean by this is that the song may have a catchy hook but when you break down the content of the music itself it tends to be lacking.  Especially when comparing it to lyricist such as Jay-Z, Nas, Tupac, Biggie Smalls, Cam’ron etc.

If you are like me and are tired of hearing songs with lacking lyrical content or just want to take time out to appreciate a living rap legend, then you should go and check out the Blueprint 3.