Assignment 6:Create Your Own Adventure

What interests you? What is your point of exigence? What's on your mind?  What do you want to chat about? Rant about? Learn about?

'Cause really, isn't it all about you? <wink wink nudge nudge>

This week, create three writing prompts that you find most intriguing. Then, choose one prompt and respond to it.

Note:
Please don't make the other prompts "dummy" prompts - I'll be revisiting these options later next semester.

Ready...

Go!

Due Sunday, October 4th at 11:59 pm

Aditi Lohe Blog Post #5

In today's society, television is a source of mindless entertainment. Families sit down to watch movies and shows as a way to pass time. This is also a great opportunity for businesses to advertise themselves, using commercial breaks between shows. I am not a very big fan of television. Why pay for cable when you have Netflix where ever you go for only eight dollars a month? Personally, I would rather be able to watch whatever I want, whenever I want instead of being forced to sit down at a specific time and then be upset if I can't. And honestly, I'm not a very big fan of watching TV shows. There are a couple that I watch--- such as Arrow, New Girl, and Orange is the New black--- but I am still not too attached to them. I like to read as a pass time or go outside and play sports. I believe television has too big a part in society, and while I'm not saying people should just stop watching it, but maybe just a bit less.

Allie Gregory Blog #5

          I watch TV to be entertained, pretty much without exception. That is, of course, not to say that I don't watch shows that have other purposes, but even Science shows are still basically entertaining. (When I was little my favorite show was Mythbusters. Exciting stuff.)
          That being said, only a certain range of shows can actually hold my attention. Reality shows bore me. Grammy's would also fall in the category of things that bore me. I'm just not into real life drama. To me, it feels fake. I can't imagine anyone being who they really are when they are thinking about millions of people watching it, and anyone who can spill their deep emotions on national television has no sense of living a real life. I actually go as far as to feel bad for children on TV shows. I wish they didn't have to grow up with that kind of pressure.
          On the other hand, TV isn't all bad. My all-time favorites are Sherlock, Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Merlin. I love them. Pretty passionately at that. I'm the type of person who gets completely lost in a story and falls in love with characters. I like complex, intertwined plot-lines and relationships, even if they're just friendships, that inspire a range of emotions. Merlin I loved for the magic, for Merlin's undying devotion, and for his and Arthur's wonderful friendship. Doctor Who not only fulfills my love for Sci-Fi, but it inspires me. IT gives me a character in the Doctor that has every reason in the world to be bitter and hateful and give up, and instead all he wants to do is help people. I love that one for it's incredible optimism. Supernatural just impresses me on a lot of fronts. I think it struggles on occasion when it tries to get too emotional (actually a lot of the time), but it's the story of two brothers who save people. With faults along the way, it usually comes full circle quite brilliantly, and at least the first few brotherly sacrifices were tearjerkers that you really felt (They can only die for each other so many times...).
          I watch TV shows as an escape. For 20 minutes or 40 minutes or for an hour and a half if it's Sherlock, I don't live in this boring world filled with useless drama and people who care about things that don't matter. I get to be in a world of magic. A world of impossibly clever, witty people, with hearts too big and optimism a little brighter than seems real. And I don't see it as wrong to idolize the impossible, but rather as correct to shoot for the very best. While I may never have the whimsical realities of some of my favorite TV shows, I can try to have Merlin's epic devotion, and the Doctor's ever-present excitement and faith in humanity. Reality TV just can't give me that.

Thomas Werner Assignment 5: Watching TV

I don't watch TV. I have nothing against it, but when the world wide web provides every stream I need at my disposal, I have no urge to sit down at a certain time, watch only the episodes the scheduled dictates, and be tricked into buying more floam.

With the emergence of dominant streaming serives such as Netflix, HBO, Hulu, and the other sites that fill in everything in between, the need for cable television has become obsolete to me. There is still the fleeting claim to fame of TV that they have the major deals, and therefore put out the content first. But not only is that interval from air to internet bearable for me, that last grasp the major networks have is also slipping away. Now services such as Netflix are creating their own shows, combining the television production value with straight to streaming convenience. Soon cable will be something of the past.

As for my favorite TV shows: Rick and Morty, It's Always Sunny in Philidelphia, The Office, Trailer Park Boys, and Top Gear.

Young-Kyung #2

Technology’s contribution to my relationships and communication with other people in different places is a fickle thing. Grandparents, family, friends of my parents - when I’m Skyping or calling them on the phone, they never seem to change although it’s been years or weeks since experiencing them because I don’t genuinely know who they are. That makes communicating with them something you try to anticipate and go along with, like steering a boat down a calm river you’ve visited a couple times. It’s a vaguely familiar, unwieldy but expected scene; the boat makes awkward turns sometimes, but you’re always satisfied when you step onto land because you had a new experience like anticipated, and some swell photos as well. You can get to know people who are halfway across the world.

It’s different when you’re talking to an old friend. You’re navigating the mountain path without a map. Of course you don’t need a map - you’ve been here many times before, you know the shortcut. You’re sure that there is a shallow ravine with water to drink right ahead of you, and you’ll follow that up to the top, no problem. The trees thin and the slope is definitely increasing, but suddenly you can’t go up anymore because there’s no path anymore, just an impassable rocky cliff. “Why? What’s happening? Is something wrong with me? How do I continue?” And then, in a shaky voice: “I’m lost.”

It's a really, really, really selfish thing, but I hate that. I love being able to communicate with these old friends, but it’s a strange kind of jealous wistfulness that I experience when watching them change and grow without me over something as impersonal as the internet. It doesn’t change what the relationships would have been without technology, but it has an effect on me nevertheless. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and that absence is even more prominent with technology.

Don’t get me wrong: I still love this time period and I wouldn’t change it. The above situation is uncommon. If I had been born 20 years ago, my life would have been different: I would likely still be in Korea, speaking Korean, completely Korean. I would be a different person altogether. I like being able to fly on planes, take pictures, communicate with people I know. I have one best friend that I haven’t seen in person in years - thanks to technology, I get to talk to her all the time. I like being able to text instead of calling every time I need to communicate. Although it takes away a giant part of actually exchanging words face to face, it makes it easier to get together to hang out for real.

Holden Huffman Blog Post #5

                  TV is an amazing thing.  It informs, it excites, it entertains, etc...  If you are bored and can't think of anything to do, just watch TV.  If you can't sleep and need something to help ease your mind, turn on the television.  I personally don't watch much TV, just because I'd rather do other things, but I love it anyways(I watch YouTube much more than TV.)  When I watch it, I usually watch whatever's on ESPN, a sporting event of one of my favorite teams, a movie that's on, or a random show that looks interesting.  One thing that I absolutely hate about T.V. though is the idea of being in control of the remote.  Whenever my younger siblings have the remote, Disney is on for hours.  This is torture for me, so I can't wait until it's my turn.  The issue is when it's my turn, I have no idea what to put it on, because it seems like whenever I get the remote, nothing good is on.  In this case, sometimes I will put it on the educational programming channel to agitate my family or I will give the remote to someone other than my siblings.  The thing is, people talk about all these great shows on TV and how they watch so much of them, but I just don't really feel like investing my time into watching these shows.  Overall, while I prefer YouTube, video games, or "ballin" over it, TV is great and is truly life changing.

Nate Assignment 5

Since childhood I have never been that in to television shows. The main purpose my television serves is to show me basketball and football games. But I don't even watch many of those either- mainly just Michigan State games. I guess the reason I have never enjoyed watching television is that I'm not really doing anything and once it's finished I really got nothing out of it. I would much rather live my life than watch fictional characters live theirs. Not a knock on people who enjoy TV shows, it's just not me. Some shows and movies are different though. They express ideas and are insightful, similar to good music. I fully understand their purpose, they're here to make us think, to give commentary on our life. But I believe it's important to watch them sparingly because there's no reason to listen to commentary on the world around you if you are not interacting with that world. I don't know, I guess TV just isn't for me.

Assignment 5 - Hannah Price

I watch tv because its a means of mindless entertainment. Your so in tune with the show that you have the ability to take your mind off  you life and shifts the focus to someone else's fictional or not.  Even though i do love watching tv it can be addicting and distracting. I love shows that tells a realistic story. I hate shows that try to tell a realistic story, but include things that would never happen in real life.

Tv can provide good and bad entertainment, which is determines by the type of show it it. It can influence you negatively or positively. I think that tv is a way to promote and advertise, which is why there's so many commercials on every channel.

tv- Gloria Pulley

(Random opening thoughts:  Why does Microsoft word have the font default on Calibri 11?  Can this be changed?)

            

          I had an interesting childhood in that I didn’t have cable.  I’m not really sure why my parents never got cable, considering they both watch TV now.  Honestly, I’m unsure what I did with all that time I spent in front of the television…no really I can’t remember (my childhood memories have metaphorically been dumped in a box and shoved back to the deepest corner of my closet).  It wasn’t until middle school that we finally got cable, and by then, I was out of the loop on every cartoon.  Personally, I didn’t see what the big deal was.  Animated sponges and dogs with blogs never quite appealed to me as much as learning how to cook or exploring ancient cultures and faraway places. Case in point, I have a close friend who will try to reference cartoons he watched as a child or movies that “everyone knows about.” In return, I usually stare blankly at him and just continue on, telling him about the cool Nova special that was on.  #smh #nooneunderstandsme

Yes, I was nerd.  I still am. I have no shame.

           

            To answer the actual question, yes, I do watch TV when I can.  In fact, I’m currently watching travel channel with my father.  I used to have more time for weekly nova specials and national geographic documentaries, but nowadays, TV is considered just a welcomed break from homework and cross country and college searching and learning to drive and ACTs and SATs and taking care of my sister and all the things I would rather not do. 

            But I do love my Netflix account.  Friday nights after practice and pasta parties, it’s me time. Curled up in bed, I indulge in a few episodes of the series I am currently working my way through, the X Files.  I allow myself this vacation away from educational programming in pursuit of aliens and the paranormal with my opt Sculder (don’t know what an otp is? #smh).  In a way, television is an opportunity, not just to get lost in a storyline, but to explore places, cultures, science, and history… and not just a brain rotting contraption that’s slowly poisoning our youth. But this has its limits… Prepare for a rant….

 I’m completely ok with TV but DEAR LORD! DO NOT CALL YOURSELF THE HISTORY CHANNEL AND ONLY SHOW RERUNS OF REALITY TV STARRING A BUNCH OF RED NECKS IN A SWAMP!  SHOW ME HISTORY DANGNABBIT!  ALSO, THOSE WHO SPEND THEIR LIVES CARTERING TO A CAMERA AND GET PAID MORE THAN I EVER WILL, Y’ALL NEED TO GO.  Ok, I’m done.

here's a link to a beautiful thing 

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/

   

Isabel Bandoroff: Blog post 5

The main reason why people watch TV, or at least why I watch it, is the same reason why people read. To go somewhere else and to experience life from someone else's perspective, to feel what they feel and to carry their problems and accomplishments. Tv and movies just visualize what we read in books, it takes the story one step further. This being said, there are many pointless and stupid shows. Some of my favorite shows are Scandal, Grey's Anatomy (even though I hate that I love it), that '70s show, True Detective (the first season), Freaks and Geeks, and Bobs Burgers. Shows that I hate include the teenage drama genre like teen wolf and pretty little liars. I like Scandal because politics fascinate me, and although the stories aren't true, we cannot deny that politicians do have secrets and skeletons in their closet that they don't want us to know about - but doesn't everyone have those? Grey's Anatomy is interesting because even though the cases are unrealistic and the doctors are sex-crazy drama queens, I love the characters and a future in medicine is on my radar. That '70s show is extremely funny, the conversations that Hyde, Fez, Kelso, and Eric have in the basement when they're high make me laugh so much. It along with Freaks and Geeks also show what it would be like growing up as a teenager in the 70s and 80s which I think is cool. Lastly, true detective is insanely messed up and all of the characters have psychological issues which make them compelling.

Post 4- World in pictures Thomas Winterton

I remember this night. It was just like any other night. Me and my family were watching the news, absorbing discussions and arguments on the T.V. of whatever event currently had the media in an uproar. Dogs scurrying around the house, chasing one of the cats more than likely, just an average night for what I'd like to think was an average american household. It was later in the school year so my parents were laxed on what time I had to be asleep. Without warning the screen lit up with things like "news alert" or "breaking news from the white house," apparently the White House had an announcement to make so we stay tuned rather intrigued. If I recall correctly nothing polarizing was occurring in the US at the time (at least nothing we still face today) so this announcement that was soon coming was as much a mystery to my family and I, as it was to media. So we waited. Then the screen cut to to President Obama (picture above) and then he said     THE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children. The nation came to life. Within the hour there were people in the streets of every major city in our country. Wielding flags and  embracing each other, that night America felt a sense of nationalism that I personally has not been matched since.

Assignment 5: For the Love and Hate of Television

The Emmy Awards (aired recently) are kind of a big deal. Not a big deal in that life-altering-kind-of-way, but a big deal in the sense that a lot of celebrities dress up, that a lot of companies pay more money in advertisements, and a lot of people stop watching reruns.

The Emmys are not the only award extravaganza of the season though. During the first week of October, without the advertising, paparazzi, or celebrities, the Nobel Prizes are announced. But how many people are listening? With the Emmys comes television's fall lineup, but what does the common person get after the announcement of the Nobel Prize in physics?

So, what are your thoughts? Choose one or two or all of the following prompts:

Why do you watch TV? Why do you not? What shows do you love or hate?

Does TV provide a good form of entertainment? Is it just a convenient delivery system for advertisers to send their messages to the masses? Is it an inane use of time? Can it be all three?

What does it say about our society that the Emmy's have so much glitz and attention and the Nobel Prizes are quietly announced in the news? Is this bad? Good? Appropriate?

Check out these sites for more information:

Turn off your TV

Television and Health

Positive Benefits of TV on Toddlers and Children

Due Sunday September 27th at 11:59 pm 

Hannah Price-Assignment 4

This picture was taken on March 31, 1991. It shows Rodney King being brutally beaten my multiple police officers. The Rodney King incident sparked a lot of controversy in America. It showcased the brutality and cruelty black men faced in dealing with  predominantly white police officers. When the police officers were charged and wrongfully acquitted it sparked the need for change, which resulted in the LA Riots 1992.

Allie Gregory #4

 

          World War II began in 1939 when Germany invaded Poland. Two years later, the bombing of Pearl Harbor brought the US into the war, and, over it's course, havoc was wreaked across the globe. Estimates put the number of total casualties around 50 million, and for years the entire world was consumed in the fight. Then it was over. In 1945, the fighting ended, and the excitement that ensued is depicted here. The people in this picture are celebrating. They're elated, utterly relieved. Though the two people had never met before the moment he decided to go up and kiss her, it shows clearly that they're overjoyed. High on victory. Rejoicing.
          Likewise, the world is rejoicing around them. Though it is important to note that many are grieving terrible losses, and entire countries facing the idea of a crushing defeat, those who survived are feeling what we see in this picture. The winners are feeling the joy of success, but I imagine even those who lost can't help but realize that at least they didn't die.

(Important comment: I wrote this before I checked and saw that Annie had just used my picture.)

Holden Huffman Blog Post #4

                   Pictures are worth a thousand words.  They can tell a story, they can spread a message, they can capture history, and have the potential to do so, so, much more.  When on the topic of a picture that changed the world, I couldn't really think of one that wasn't already thought of, so instead I have a picture of an invention that would change, comfort, and shock not only the nation, but the world.  This picture is of Google.  Google started in January 1996 as a research project conducted by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.  This project would soon change everything after it led to the creation of a widely popular search engine.  Now, everything is suddenly at your fingertips.  If you want a recipe for chocolate chip cookies, you can now just "Google" it.  If you need directions to your Grammy's house, need your doctor's phone number, or if you just want to find something entertaining, you can search for it within seconds.  You can even search things about health conditions you may be having (although not advisable.)  Overall, Google has changed, comforted, and shocked the world.  It completely changed how we find information, it comforted us in letting us know that we have loads of information at our fingertips, and it shocked the world by how amazing and informative it is.  Google is something that has completely changed the world and will continue to for years to come.

A world in Pictures: Ben Edition

In this assignment, I'm going to take the title quite literally.



The picture before you is the first picture of Earth from the moon.
This photo not only changed the world's perspective on itself, but also signified the beginning of a new age; an age of pushing higher and farther than we had ever thought of. crossing boundaries of science and technology no one had even thought to approach. this stepping stone would assist scientific endeavors in communities across the world.

Also, something else that crossed my mind is that technically, this is just a really, really, big group selfie.

Blog Post 4 (Annie Deitz)

 

Many people recognize this photo as "that one picture of the sailor dude kissing the lady after World War Two ended."

As iconic and popular as it is, few people actually know much about this picture, so before I began answering the prompt for this week's blog post I thought I would enlighten you.

The picture was taken August 14th, 1945- a date possibly better known as the official end of World War Two. The photographer of this picture, Alfred Eisenstaedt, a Jewish journalist for Life magazine from Germany, scoured Times Square on that Tuesday morning. The woman in this photo, Greta Zimmer, dental assistant living in Manhattan , ran to Times Square on her lunch break in search of a newspaper that would tell her whether or not the fighting in the Pacific theatre had ended. The man, George Mendonsa, Petty Officer First Class on the last day of his leave, went to see a movie with his girlfriend Rita Petri, completely unaware of the rumors concerning the end of the war.

As George and his girlfriend reached Manhattan and were informed of the news, they joined in the celebration; drinking and partying along with the rest of the crowd. As he became more drunk on the booze and high on the excitement, George began to wander Times Square, leaving his girlfriend in the dust. Alfred, seeing the navy officer , followed him in hopes of a picture. George locked his eyes on Greta, who looked like the nurses that served alongside him in the war. In a drunken haze, George decided to march up to her and kiss her, taking her completely by surprise. The kiss was captured by Alfred, who had finally gotten his prized photo.

This pictures symbolizes the end of World War Two and the dawn of a new America. It captured the end of a period of fear for most people in the world and the celebration of new life and a new born world. A heavy load had been lifted off of the planet's back, and it changed American life forever. World War Two ending how it did, and when it did, will continue to effect people forever.

Around Greta and George, Americans crowded Times Square, celebrating the end of the war for hours on end. A new aura of peace, happiness, and excitement prevailed across the nation, and across the world. The planet had just taken a giant sigh of relief and was about to release a "whoop" of elation. George, and millions of other men and women like him, would not have to go to the battlefield the next day to participate in another seemingly endless battle for life. Rations and mass production and stress on the home front would be alleviated. Evil had been contained and the good reigned victorious. Everything, for the first time in six years, was going to be okay.

Well, probably not for George, his girlfriend probably was not too happy when she picked up a copy of Life magazine and saw her love making out with some random chick on the cover.

But for everyone else, this picture represented a new age, an age of peace, an age of happiness, an age to start over. This photograph captures the time when a whole nation's mood changed from monotonous and tired to enthusiastic and young.


Here's the link where I found the background story of the picture, in case anyone wants to read about it more in depth:
http://www.usni.org/magazines/navalhistory/2012-07/story-behind-famous-kiss
 

Come to the dark side, Luke: Ben Edition

People are born good-natured. We aren't brought unto this world with hate in our hearts, but it can be afflicted by external forces, such as a feeling of dismay at the loss of a loved one. There is also no absolute of good and evil in humans, but it has always consumed us to put a reference on something that is absolute. Such can be found in religion, with a deity of goodness being all-benevolent, and a polar figure of malevolence. There's nothing saying that Ms. Kleppinger wasn't on her way back from abandoning some adorable puppies in the snow, resulting in her wanting to have some karmic shifting back to her side when she stumbled across an abandoned wallet. As far as "good" goes, who defines it's moral value and what place does the screwhead have to do so? The reply I get frequently is, "whoever there is the most of, are right" with the basis that even if they aren't they can forcefully make it so by eradicating the few dissidents that exist. Whenever I hear the reasoning, I always think back to a certain quote; "War isn't about who's right, only about who's left." Absolute good and absolute evil only exist in the unnatural and the ignorant. 

Post Four: Tori

so this mom had just spent seven months in Iraq, and is seeing her daughter for the first time since then. This picture isn't the fall of the Berlin wall, or a huge significant moment. But to that mom. And that little girl. It's the best moment. Soldiers coming home and seeing their families always makes me cry. 9/11 changed our nation, and the war on terror sent thousands of people away from their families, and not all of them came back. So no. This isn't a picture that changed a nation, but it shows the aftermath of a shocking moment. Which is still important. Just seeing the happiness on their faces made me feel better, it's nice to see hope in a picture every once in a while.

Nate Assignment 4

Syria is not safe anymore. Since the Arab Spring democracy protests began in the Middle East began, the country has be flung into conflict. What started as peaceful protest in 2011 has transformed into a civil war that has claimed the lives of 220,000 Syrians. Over 7 million Syrians have been internally displaced and around 4 million have fled the country. But many have nowhere to go. Until earlier this month, most European countries had tightened down on the amount of Syrian refugees they let into the country. This had led many Syrians facing likely likely death in their home country to take desperate measures to get to Europe. Smuggling through the Mediterranean has been the most popular attempt, but many of the sturdy ships carrying the Syrians to refuge were more of flimsy canoes. Europe and the rest of the world was for the most part unresponsive to reports of thousands of Syrian drownings.
That all changed with this.

On the morning of September 2 a dead Syrian boy was discovered on the shore of Turkish beach resort. This picture surfaced all over the Internet and its influence has spanned the world. Most people hadn't given one though to what it meant that thousands of Syrians were drowning. This boy was certainly not the first, but the images of his death forced millions to realize the horrors that many refugees were facing. It was a wake up call to governments that its times to start helping. Countries all over Europe and even the U.S. have announced that they are going to accept as many Syrians as possible. If that isn't world changing I don't know what is.