OU JMC 1013: MR GREEN

Analyzing the Media Economy

2005-11-16T14:22:00.000-08:00

Does the government need to play a stronger role in determining who owns what mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured?

Yes, the government needs to play a stronger role in determining who owns what mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured because it will reduce the amount of control that one company or producer has on a source of media creating less room for creativity in media.

No, the goverment does not need to play a stronger role in determining who owns what mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured because it is all a part of a certain freedom and diversity that really defines American media.

Cultural Imperialism

2005-11-16T13:43:00.000-08:00

Does the rapid spread of American culture worldwide smother or encourage the growth of democracy and local cultures?

Cultural imperialism does, in fact, smother other cultures because it puts a damper on these cultures. According to Campbell, "American culture in the international arena a kind of cultural imperialism that both hampers and the development of native cultures an d negatively influences teenagers, who abndon their own rituals to adopt the tastes of their American counterparts."

"Defenders of American popular culture can argue that because some of our culture challenges authority, national boundaries, and outmoded traditions, this creates an arena in which citizens can raise questions." You can also argue that it brings about similar worldviews or as Campbell calls it a "global village."

The Lesser of Two Evils

2005-11-16T13:16:00.000-08:00

Question: Should the government step back and let market forces dictate what happens to mass media industries?

Yes: Media corporations become successful only when a lot of time and hard work are put into them. Therefor, when a company becomes successful they have truly earned it. So, if the government dictates what happens to the industry, there will become a sort of ‘limit’ put onto the amount of success a corporation can have. Ultimately this is punishing the company by not letting them reach their full potential. Smaller companies still have the opportunity to compete in the market and become successful as well. They just have to work harder to earn it.

No: If the government does not step in and dictate what happens, it is possible for one corporation to completely take over the industry. This would make it virtually impossible for any smaller company to survive, and competition could possibly no longer exist. In the end, without the necessary competition, we start to lose variety, creativity, and choices.

Analyzing Media Economy

2005-11-16T12:56:00.000-08:00

Does the government need to play a stronger role in determining who owns what mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured?
No. If the government controls the media and what it produces, it is no longer regulated by culture; it would no longer be what the majority desires.
Yes. If the government took control, monopolies or oligopolies would no longer exist, and the system would give each company an equal opportunity to succed which is what America stands for.

2005-11-16T12:34:00.000-08:00

Should citizen groups play a larger part in demanding that media organizations help maintain the quality of social and cultural life?

Yes, citizens need to play a larger role in developing the medias contributions to society to make American culture more diverse and less superficial.
No, citizen groups to not need to play a larger role in media development over society because there will be too much controversy over what is right or wrong in todays American culture.

OU JMC 1013: MR GREEN

2005-11-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

ANALYZING THE MEDIA ECONOMY

Does the government need to play a stronger role in determining who owns what the mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured? No, the government should not play a stronger role in determining who owns mass media....The media is for the people, freedom of speech. Uncovering truths about the government and other scandals that go on that the american people have the right to be informed about. If the government would have had a stronger hand in the mass media nad the product that they manfacture do you think we would have ever know about the water gate scandal. We need good reporters and basically good people who are not being influenced by the government. We need people who feel they have an obligation to the America people thats what the media is for..

Does the government need to play a weaker role in determing who owns what the mass media and what kinds of media products shoud be manufactured? Yes the government should play a weaker role...instead of trying to contol the products that the media puts out, they should use the media as a tool for information on the things they should be trying to do as a government...Instead of trying to control what image we see as the mass media consumer...They should be trying to change there image and when they change there image there would be no need to try to control.

2005-11-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

Should citizen groups play a larger part in demanding that media organizations help maintain the quality of social and cultural life?

Yes: It is through the media that our social and cultural lives are formed and in order to maintain a respectable quality citizen groups must express their opinions towards the media or or social and cultural lives will be destroyed by filth and rubbish displayed simply for higher ratings.

No: Our media organizations are built for the entertainment of its citizens not for their cultural beliefs and values, leaving the citizens to look for their interests in the multiple organizations of the media.

Analyzing the Media Economy

2005-11-16T11:44:00.000-08:00

Does the rapid spread of American culture worldwide smother or encourage the growth of democracy and local cultures?

1. I believe the American culture worldwide smothers the growth of democracy and local cultures. It tries to force its beliefs and values on other cultures, so the American culture is seen as a threat by these cultures because it tries to govern the world. The American culture is viewed as dominant by these countries and cultures and this makes them turn and run the other way, rejecting America’s beliefs and values.

2. On the other hand, the American culture can also be seen as an encouragement of the growth of democracy and local cultures. Other countries need the guidance and resources of such a powerful culture. They have accepted the American culture and have taken advantage of its ways of life. Their economies have expanded with America’s help.

Survival of the fittest or Equal Opportunity?

2005-11-16T11:03:00.000-08:00

Question: Should the government step back and let competition and market forces dictate what happens to mass media industries?

Yes: People are in their field because of a choice, it should be up to them to work their way to the top, and it is their fault if they get dominated by another company.

No: The governent should step in and make sure everyone has the same opportunities, including those companies at a disadvantage, kind of like an NFL or NBA salary cap in sports.

Monopoly isn't just a board game anymore

2005-11-16T06:00:00.000-08:00

Question: Does the government need to play a stronger role in determining who owns what mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured?

Yes: The government should regulate who owns mass media (radio stations, newspapers, conglomerates, etc.) so that they ensure a monopoly isn't created in the industry and a variety of mass media can flourish equally on the market. By restricting and monitoring who owns big business, the government can control what products the media maufactures so that they don't create monopoly as well (apple ipods take note!).

No: It's a free country, and the mass media industries have a right to be owned by whoever has the power to successfully run them. Who is the government to say that specific people can own them or not, and for what reasons? A monopoly is a reflection of a prosperous and smart mass media (as Bill Gates can attest to), and if the government controls what is being manufactured, it takes away initiative of the businessmen who work in the mass media.

American Idol or American Scoundrel?

2005-11-16T00:19:00.000-08:00

Does the rapid spread of American culture worldwide smother or encourage the growth of democracy and local cultures?

Yes - Through the diverse localization of American culture in numerous nations, many cultures see such widespread influences as a way of competition with America, increasing and encouraging the growth of democracy and local cultures.

No - Due to factors such as widespread labor factories' in other countries supplying Americans with "necessities" and foreign workers' being highly underpaid and overworked in those countries, American culture worldwide smothers the growth of democracy and local cultures because workers and/or members of the country see Americans as arrogant pigs who position the corporate jobs in America and globalize the cheap labor force behind the corporations.

consenting to control

2005-11-15T20:23:00.000-08:00

Does the increasing concentration of economic power in the hands of several international corporations too severely restrict the number of players and voices in media markets?

Yes: The oligopolistic corporations that dominate the media industry limit healthy competition through their impact on prices and their subsequent control of the consumer.

No: The limited number of media corporations in power does not limit the voices represented in the media; public opinion is equally represented through a focus on diversity of opinions.

Analyzing the Media Economy

2005-11-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

Does the increasing concentration of economic power in the hands of several restrict the number of players and voices in media markets?

Yes - The more control given to a few media companies, the less room for creativity and outside-the-box thinking, leading to formulaic, unvaried output from all involved.

No - Although seemingly bad for diversity, increased concentration can spur interesting combinations of styles, strategies and ideologies, resulting in an increase in voices in media.

.Analyzing the Media Economy.

2005-11-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

In response to the question " does the media the rapid spread of American culture worldwide smother of encourage the growth of democracy?" one could answer it does both. American culture could smother growth throughout the world with what many people call "cultural imperialism." According to Campbell (page 473) "U.S. dominance in producing and distributing mass media puts a severe burden on countries attempting to produce their own cultural products." Think of it in terms like this: whenever you go out to Hastings, the amount of foreign films, CDs, or books is pretty limited. Whenver you go to another country (I've traveled to Korea, so let's say Korea...) you see nearly all the American movies as you would at Blockbuster. One may also argue that this spread of American culture can help and encourage the growth of democracy because our culture is constantly challenging authority, outdated traditions, and oushes boundaries, which can lead to other cultures and countries questioning their own culture. It also creates a "global village and fosters communications across national coundaries" (p 474).

OU JMC 1013: MR GREEN

2005-11-14T22:00:00.000-08:00

Does the increasing concentration of economic power in the hands of several restrict the number of players and voices in media markets?
Yes-- with the massive conglomerations that characterize our media today, the power of what is seen and passed on to the consumer lies in the hands of a very disproportionate group that has gained way too much control and can easily limit individual voices and competition.
No—the conglomerations bring together knowledgeable and diverse companies that can ensure multiple voices and a varied media economy.

Analyzing the Media Economy

2005-11-14T18:27:00.000-08:00

The government seems to play a role in everything in society. The control it has over the media is a different situation. The government should not have a "stronger role" in determining who owns what mass media and what kinds of media products should be manufactured. The Telecommunications Act regulated the mass media interference enough. It is now up to the Media to control its output. On the other hand the government should not completely stand back and put it in the media hands. Who knows what would own what when the situation would be said and done, which is why the Telecommunications Act came around. Although it took long enough to develop I think as far as how media is regulated things are pretty much under control. Children have access to media that is not regulated mainly because their parents aren't around to control this from happening. Also if people are upset with what is on in the media and what culture is portrayed as then "people" should be able to do something about it. In cases like parental advisory "people" do have a voice but they don't know where to start, so is this where the government steps in? Or would that be considering crossing its' boundaries? The spread of culture through media does influence other cultures. This is a positive reflection on our culture, there are McDonald's everywhere, but each McDonald's is different cultural. This is where media has a great influence globally. Even though media seems to threaten religions in some areas, it still can promote positive aspects on culture too, even if it's food.

Less is More

2005-10-26T06:54:00.000-07:00

I think that the absence of key plot movers in "Cat People" reflects a very strong choice. It shows that the director and writers weren't afraid to take a chance and didn't underestimate their audience. Without something to visually recognize it could be difficult to follow the plot of the movie, but in this case absence added to the film's mystique. Others have done this before and since: the hunter in Bambi not being shown (just his gunshot), the mystery briefcase in Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, etc. And while absence might be construed as an excuse not to come up with an answer to the mystery, I think that it takes more thought, and certainly more skill, to create a level of uncertainty. Thus, the film succeeds in making a stronger choice by including (or not including) absence.

the wire

2005-10-19T11:38:00.000-07:00

I was reading an article on SIN about the Wire at OU and the DJ made a good point: the Wire is important because it's OU student's media and we get to be a part of it. I think that university related media, such as The Wire, are very important ways that we as media "studiers" can play a role in the actual process while analyzing it in class. Resources such as this are perfect for putting our critical analysis skills to he test while having fun using media in an environment we understand and is still relatively small. It's provides a way for us to get experience in a medium without being submersed in it. We should use resources such as The Wire to become a part of media, rather than just talking about it.

Nealon's 'Author/ity': A more Paglian View

2005-10-12T13:33:00.000-07:00

Nealon's chapter on 'Author/ity' is more similar to the view of Paglia, than that of Postman's, because it takes a more logical approach to creating theories. Nealon states that just because a writing does not have an author, it can still be very useful. Also, like Paglia, Nealon states that we can learn from many different sources, not just written classics that have established 'canonicity'. Postman states that you can only learn from definite subjects, like literature, math, etc. Similarly, I think Postman would agree more that one who authors becomes an 'author', their works should not be 'canonized', which is something that Nealon denies in his chapter. Nealon's more logical approach to these ideas reinforces Paglia's idea that people should be taught logically. For these reasons, Nealon seems to share a more Paglian view.

Nealous and Postman

2005-10-12T13:13:00.000-07:00

Nealon’s views in his Author/ity chapter are similar to those views of Postman because both Nealon and Postman believe that reading allows individuals to interpret and process their own information, as well as make their own decisions. Both Nealon and Postman believe written mediums are superior because they force the reader to interpret information set before them by means of knowledge they have already acquired. It is evident that both Nealon and Paglia feel this way because both feel that written works have over time affected our culture much more greatly than television media.

Nealon - postman or paglia?

2005-10-12T13:02:00.000-07:00

While beginning to read Nealon's chapter on author/ity, it seems as if his views are very similar to those of Postman's. But after further analysis, it becomes more clear that they are actually more along the same lines as Paglia's. Nealon, like Paglia, believes that words and pictures are more valuable in today's world than literature. In the chapter he talks about how Catholics learn from listening to the priest instead of reading the bible. He also mentions how TV is more of a reality than books are. These are key examples that prove both Paglia and Nealon's views on the importance of images and orality over authority. Postman's point of view doesn't completely disagree with Nealon's but there's not as strong of a parallel as Paglia's since Postman believes that books are more important than the media even though the majority of what we take in each day is from what we see on TV or hear from someone else who saw it on TV.

OU JMC 1013: MR GREEN

2005-10-12T12:58:00.000-07:00

Nealon's ideas on author/ity I believe closely align with Paglia's view of the world and society because of how he suggests that an author of any kind can produce significant work that shapes our culture. For example, Nealon says that while literature authors are traditionally recognized, works by film and visual artists are just as profound and meaningful. Paglia asserts this point as well, including examples of dancers and sculptors, while Postman strongly argues that it comes from books and their authors alone. Nealon recognizes the author as an important figure, but also points out that works that are seemingly authorless, like Beowulf or possibly the Iliad, are still quite poignant. Postman views writing as the perfect medium and subsequently disagrees with the idea that any version of authorship can be significant.

Nealon and Paglia

2005-10-12T12:21:00.000-07:00

At certain points while reading Nealon’s section on Author/ity it seemed as if he was conflicted over whether or not he associated himself the most closely with Postman or Paglia. However, after looking at the entire piece and assessing everything he said, it seems that he relates the most with Paglia’s views. This is because Nealon and Paglia both support the idea that a meaningful work of art does not have to come solely from literature alone. The range of what is considered art is not just limited to written work any longer, and great works of art can come from literature as well as films and visual works. For example, Nealon writes that the oral traditions of Native American’s can still be considered a work of art, even though it does not have an author. Also, Paglia believes that in the Catholic Church when the Priest verbally teaches the bible to his congregation, that it is also considered a work of art. Postman on the other hand would most likely not agree with this and say that the greatest works are from literature alone.

Postman, Paglia parrallels

2005-10-12T11:34:00.000-07:00

Nealon initially supports a Postman view of culture, but acknowledges the presence of Paglian undertones as well. Nealon bolsters the concept that our culture finds its foundation on literature, but has been shaped by visual communication as well throughout the centuries. Nealon comments on a culture that is closely tied to a tedious balance of both literary and visual forms of communication. Nealon’s discussion of "Beowulf" reveals our cultural beginnings from a Paganistic world containing Dyonisian themes to the world we now know. His discussion of the loss of a known author in literature correlates to Paglia’s assumptions about an orally and visually motivated culture.

Nealon and Paglia

2005-10-12T10:31:00.000-07:00

From the surface, it seems that Nealon correlates more directly with Postman, but after taking everything that was being said into deep consideration, I see that Nealon and Paglia's veiws go hand in hand. Nealon states that "... we are accustomed to presenting the author as a genious, as a perpetual surging of invention, it is because, in reality, we make him function in exactly the opposite fashion." Paglia states that "Television is actually closer to reality than anything in books." Paglia is obviously inferring that books are no where near to reality, because we all know T.V. is not parallel with our everyday life. Nealon is also stating the same view by inferring that the world choses who the number one sellers are, and society actually choses what they write about it. After all, we chose what sells.

The Optimism of Nealon and Paglia

2005-10-12T10:29:00.000-07:00

Throughout his chapter on Authority, Nealon's reflection on authorship by his optimistic acceptance and belief in the importance of oral literature written into text and authorless texts' importance in literacy parallels with Paglia's acceptance and belief of importance toward a media form such as television. For instance, Nealon explains that the authorless Native American folktales are a necessity to literature and goes on by insisting, "even if you argue that Native American oral traditions don't count as American literature because they have no authors, you would still leave open the question of who the first American author is." Similar to Nealon, Paglia contradicts Postman by optimistically explaining his belief that television is basically a visual form of literature in which the viewer scans information and learns. These two opinions are very similar despite their differentiating subjects. Nealon emphasizes that literary works such as Beowolf and other authorless works such as Native American texts, some of which were written down from oral communication, can contribute to literature just as well as literature written by an author such as Hamlet which similarly reflects Paglia's reasoning behind how television can be used to learn information books do not visually illustrate. Authorless texts present information not found in texts with authors and likewise, television's being a "visual" for of literacy provides information not found in books. On the otherhand, Postman is blatantly not so optimistic as Nealon nor Paglia regarding other sources of "literature," and dismisses Paglia's optimistic insisting of the importance of television to today's literacy.

Respect My author/ity

2005-10-12T08:33:00.000-07:00

Originally I was going to do this piece on Postman, but as I re-read the chapter of autor/ity, it made me realize that Pagila's views offer a greater undersatnding of author/ity than that of Postman. In the chapter its claims that, " even if you argue that Native Americans oral traditions don't count as American literature because they have no authors, you would still leave open the question of who the first American author is." Anybody can be an author, it is simply putting a story onto paper. So why wouldn't the Native Americans be authors, they told stories of their families heritage to generations after their own. Writing down words of a piece of paper does not designate one to be an author. Being an author can go anywhere from writing a epic like Beowulf, or retelling a story to your family and friends. Paglia makes a good points saying "Catholics are never told to read the Bible. Instead, they have to listen to the priest..." This makes me think of times before literacy was so prominent, and people had to depend on others for information. Not having or having an author cannot make a piece of literature any less significant. Some of the most significant pieces of literature, have no author, but this does not deface their meaning.

Nealon & Postman

2005-10-11T23:00:00.000-07:00

Nealon's "Author/ity" chapter better reflects Postman's view on media, because of the intense focus on meaning. Throughout the chapter, Nealon discusses how authors of written word can give an audience a message and how that message can be contrued by the community. This message may or may not be what the author intended, but it is a message nonetheless. Clearly, this correlates with Postman's model, particularly in regards to an active audience. His view, the Apollian view, emphasizes thinking and interpretation; this is most definitely opposed to Paglia's model of the TV spewing forth the message in a non-stop, forceful way.

P.P.N.

2005-10-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

Postman/Paglia and Nealon’s Author/ity
At first glance, we think Nealon agrees with Paglia, then switches his view to having a written tradition. But if we read even further, he talks about the oral traditions and seems to agree with Paglia, still. Nealon even says "if you argue that Native America oral traditions don’t count as American literature because they have no authors, you would still leave open the question of who the first American author is." He brings up the epic poem, Beowulf, which has no author, but is widely regarded in school everywhere. As Paglia argues, "In the beginning there was Nature" which is pictured as chaotic and supports her paganistic views. Beowulf, which is filled with imagery and many allegories to the Nature and the Bible, show Nealon’s argument leans toward Paglia’s claims. Nealon even says "we do not know substantially more about Chaucer of Shakespeare that we do about whatever author or authors Beowulf had. Nealon also states that the reader may or may not interpret their works the way they originally intended, which almost always happens in literature. Nealon basically says that our author/ity comes from an oral tradition which is the same as Paglia’s argument about our society as well.

Nealon and Postman

2005-10-11T17:06:00.000-07:00

Nealon's chapter on authorship echoed ideas that were discussed in the Postman/Paglia passage. Nealon was closely connected with Postman's view of a literature-based culture, albeit later admitting that we have strong ties to a visual culture as well as a literary culture. Nealon believes that knowledge is reached through schools, and books are the basis of where we recieve our knowledge (in the school). And yet, he consented to the taking over of technology, as visual aids (i.e. powerpoints, instructional videos, etc.)are more predominent in teaching today. He also reiterates Postman on the unpredictability of a reader's responses. The material presented to them and how the audience reacts to it is uncontrollable, the author has no way to decide how his work is recieved and evaluated. Lastly, Nealon, agreeing with Paglia (this time), and believes that literacy will bring us back to our pagan roots. Nealon uses the book Beowulf (which is from oral tradition, and one of the first examples of early literature) to show that we had pagan-minded traditions that evolved to a Dionysian form of culture not unlike ours today.

Postman, Paglia and Nealon

2005-10-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

While initially Nealon appears to advocate a print based culture similar to Postman, he ultimately presents a literate society resmebling Paglia's image based one. Nealon speaks of "the death of the autor" in the same form Paglia speaks of the novel's death. We are open to broad interpretation rather than what the author specifically intended for us to obtain from the reading just as our interpretation of visual media is widespread and unlimited. The author is no longer who decides how their work is recieved, just as the media allows its consumers to decide for themselves its meaning. Nealon discusses Beowulf, rife with contradicting Christian and Pagan symbols, which is believed to be the beginning of written literacy, but states that there is no known author, it came from oral tradition of passing the story along, which is what Paglia presents as our true beginnings in a Paganistic world.

Nealon and Postman on Authorship

2005-10-08T17:39:00.000-07:00

One of Nealon's ideas about authorship is "to be invested literally with author/ity, to be taken seriously and even revered for your accomplishments" it is a way to be accepted for "great works". Postman on the other hand, says for an "author to have great works, is one who can teach us to reason". To make judgments and to consume ideas. Nealon, like Postman agrees that school knowledge is equated with book knowledge. Meaning that book knowledge has to come from "thinkers in all core areas of human thought: science, history, literature and the arts". Postman believes these thinkers to be people like: Plato, Socrates, and other famous scientific researchers. Both Postman and Nealon find that opinions not only vary but they vary from places they come from, whether its books or MTV. It overall relates to media this way, because our opinions develop from media now, not so much books anymore. So the author/ity is given to people then who might not always give the truth. This is where Nealon believes author/ity comes from "demonstrations of truth". It still can relate to media because are opinions have to be coming from somewhere, but how, why, and where they are coming from is what the question should really be. And what exactly was the author's sole intent or did his meaning come from another place as well. That is what decides authority. But, Postman believes that it doesn't come from a sole author anymore. That it can come from many places including the media. That would then mean that authority is no longer achieved, but simply should be understood.

Lottery

2005-10-05T12:08:00.000-07:00

With the lottery opening up in Oklahoma at the end of the month many local media outlets are publicizing its arrival. The lottery, although not everyone's favorite proposal, is shaping up to be something that will greatly benefit our state's economy. In a recent article I read that the Kansas lottery commission is planning on suffering a 10-15 million dollar drop in their sales, proving the extent to which Oklahoman's have sought after tickets and the revenues that will be brought to our state in turn. Already I'm seeing many articles covering our rising economy and the optimistic outlook that the lottery is producing and in a state such as ours, its introduction will be very helpful. Our state is full of casinos that are doing extremely well and now the state itself will be able to benefit from such an active community (considering not all states are as gambling-prone as Oklahoma). The lottery and its vast media coverage, including its controversy, might be the perfect ticket to a thriving economy and state.

Anything is Art

2005-09-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

I would say that art is anything where the delivery of content depends on the form. In movies, books, and museums the rage is about how the artist delivered their work, not just the work itself. For a quick example, writing papers for college courses becomes an artform when you think about formatting, argument structure and style. One can say exactly what they want to say in a few short paragraphs, but once it becomes an artform they have to worry about HOW they relay their message.

CNN.com currently contains tons of articles that use the same format for almost all news reporting. Right down to how they structure their information, the articles have a clear form for relaying their content. One has to think that writing for the news is an artform which can be done in many ways, but that one particular way will work best for a specific news source. That's how reporting becomes art, how ANYTHING becomes art; it can be done in many ways which people will like or dislike.

Pornography or art

2005-09-27T12:50:00.000-07:00

Its true what do we really consider art. I to compare a fine work of art but take The Mona Lisa if looked closely you can see cleavage. But wounld't that be consider indesent exposure. Do it take away from the work if your staring at the chest. The artist mention in the newspaper is only a victium in our comtemptory society. Who are we to say what is consider high art or presentable. Being an artist of photography I take great offense to the issue. If I was to take a picture of say a mother and infant and of course its a nude. I could be sued for child pornography. Great works of art are in the mist of us but our society shunns those who create a piece that is too naked or provocative. Romans created beautiful works of art exposing everything and yet we say nothing because it great art a higher form. Is nude art and pornography the same? How such we classsify them? Too many rules in art, yet there should be none!! Art is your view!!

What constitutes art?

2005-09-26T23:53:00.000-07:00

Today I was reading the article on the front page of the Oklahoma Daily about the art piece in Florida of the mermaid which was surounded with controversy over the size of her "bust". They were apparently going to remove the piece if it received enough complaints but I believe that art should have no boundaries, especially abstract art, or else it is simply following societal restraints and no longer becomes original art. If the city agreed to display the man's piece of abstract art, they should allow the sculptor the freedom to express himself, despite the objections of critics. If society successfully confines the boundaries of what is art, or more precisely, what is appropriate art, we have lost that originality that comes with art itself.

New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets

2005-09-21T13:47:00.000-07:00

With the news that the NBA's New Orleans Hornets are coming to Oklahoma City for their home this season and possibly through 2007, a "buzz" has been created around the Norman/OKC area. Major professional sport is new to not only the area, but the state. It is a way of life that no one from the area has experienced, and now will be able to. This could be huge for the city, as long as people cooperate.
There's and old saying that if you build it, they will come. OKC hopes that holds true for the people of Oklahoma. More people will also likely support the team in wake of Hurricane Katrina, wanting to give the Hornets a welcome home. It won't hurt either that some big stars will be coming when other teams visit the Ford Center. Shaq, Kobe, Allen Iverson, and many others are on their way to Bricktown.
With a good surrounding area and a whole lot of potential fans, this could work out well for OKC. True, the Hornets only won 18 games a year ago, but with newly drafted point guard Chris Paul and a slew of young guns, this could be an exciting team for the city to watch.
OKC already has a top notch minor league baseball team and a semi-pro hockey team among other semi-pro organizations, so the city is qualified. It's just a matter of taking that next step, and looking at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium every Saturday, it is very possible to gain a fan base. For Oklahoma City, this should be an exciting maiden voyage, and the Hornets should be welcomed with open arms.

the death of movies

2005-09-21T13:19:00.000-07:00

This past summer the box office was doomed from the start. Anywhere from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory to Mr. and Mrs. Smith, the production this summer was at an all time low. Many critics blame the internet, saying that customers are able to watch movies for free before they come out, others say the public has a lack of interest in going to see movies when they can just watch them from the comfort of their own home. These two things may be small deciding factors but the drop off in movie theatre interest is due to the fact that there hasn't been any movie worth seeing. Well, Wedding Crashers was a popular one, but with an exeption to the movies containg crude humor this summer was a bomb. Remake after remake came out of scary movies, but all with the same story line. Customers are just fed up going to a movie paying $8 for a ticket, $15 for snacks, while watching a boring movie. There is nothing the public can do about these poorly made movies but complain, and the producers of these movies complain because they aren't making any profits. So, for the time being the movie industry is caught in a loophole, which was brought on by itself.

State Compassion

2005-09-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Having both family and friends in both hurricanes I greatly feel that we as a country are started to come close together. But also as a state. Its almost tornado season for us and who knows who will there to help. Especially some of the students who have arrived here from Louisiana they might have to go through it again, but hope and pray that we don't. We as a state i believe are the strongest because tornado threats are apart of our daily lives. We can sympathize with them. In almost every natural distrator we have been there to aid in evacuation and rebuilding. This state may no be the best but we show more compassion than most would in a time of need.

Hornets to play in OKC!

2005-09-21T10:58:00.000-07:00

The New Orleans Hornets are going to be playing their 2005-2006 basketball season in Oklahoma City at the Ford Center. The coaches and staff for the Hornets came on the news today to make the official announcement. Oklahoma newspapers, radio stations, and news crews were there to ask questions and capture the breaking news. Having an NBA team like the Hornets play in our state is going to have a huge economical impact on OKC. The owner of the New Orleans Hornets told reporters that when the basketball team was stationed in Charlotte, NC, they acquired over $150 billion for the city. Oklahoma City is going to benefit enormously from the media surrounding this team's heroic story. NBA games are shown worldwide; people from all over are going to come to Oklahoma to see not only just a professional team, but a team that has suffered a great loss and is moving on with their lives. The season starts on Nov. 1st, there should be a huge crowd in the city for most home games. I hope everyone goes out to support the Hornets, and the state of Oklahoma for agreeing to allow them shelter in our great state.

Another Devastation?

2005-09-21T10:12:00.000-07:00

As Rita grows and develops, we all sit and anxiously wait for another disaster to occur. There is no way we can fully prepare for what is coming, but we have to be prepared for the worst. Any disaster that hits our nation, hits our hearts, but for those of us from Texas especially those from south Texas it hits even harder. Can Galveston survive another attack like the deadliest unamed hurricane that hit earlier this century? It's not likely that Galveston would be any better off than New Orleans - left submerged under water and sewage grasping for life. Although the mayor has issued a mandatory evacuation of the city, and in light of recent events the city will listen and evacuate for fear of repeating the disaster in New Orleans. They may have a 15 foot sea-wall, but there's no telling if it will be able to supress the swells of the gulf waters and the torrents of rainfall. The city will evacuate and when the end of the storms pass through, there may be nothing to return to or there may still be the foundations of the city they left behind only time will tell. As we lay in wait, we can do nothing but hope and keep our fingers crossed that this one won't be like the last.

Crossing My Fingers

2005-09-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

Since I am a Houston native, every time I turn on the news I start to panic a little due to Hurricane Rita. I was supposed to go home this weekend to take a break from my usual crazy weekend antics, but I had to cancel my flight just incase something horrible were to happen. I was already upset that I couldn’t see my family, but what made me even more upset is that everyone is preparing for something like what happened in New Orleans. The media in Houston has been so overly dramatic about what could happen, and they alone started a huge amount of chaos. All of the schools have been closed there, and the businesses are doing so too. Hurricane Rita hasn’t even directly hit land yet, and it has already caused an unbelievable amount of damage to everyone. This is because everyone who is even remotely close to Houston has started to evacuate and that is just adding to the mass panic among people. The effect of this “pre-storm” on everyone extends not just all over the state of Texas, but everywhere in the United States. It has caused many people like me, who are not in Texas, to panic about possibly losing everything they know and love. However, I know we will all agree that it is better for everyone to be overly cautious and leave, then stay in the storms possible path. Lets hope and pray Hurricane Rita surprises us all and is not the devastating storm that everyone predicts.

Hurricane Rita Threatens Gulf Coast

2005-09-21T08:25:00.000-07:00

Yes, Hurricane Rita, not Katrina, is now the biggest concern for people who live near the Gulf Coast. The National Hurricane Center has bumped Hurricane Rita up to a level-4 hurricane, just 1 level behind possibly the worst hurricane to ever hit the United Stated, Katrina. The early forecasts suggest that Hurricane Rita is bearing down on the barrier-island city of Galveston. Mayor Lyda Ann Thomas has issued a mandatory evacuation. Not only has this lead to the evacuation of many coastal cities, but it has stopped the survivors of the New Orleans disaster from trying to return home, as the storm could, theorhetically, follow Katrina's course of destruction. Many who have relocated to Texas (from Louisiana, Mississippi, etc.) are now forced to evacuate once more. With the terror that was seen during the last month or so, you can bet that, from now on, when a hurricane evacuation is issued to an area, people will obey. That may be the only positive from the devastation left in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.

Internet brings us together

2005-09-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

Media brings all of society together. I hear arguments about how technology dehumanizes us as well as the internet as a means of a way people escape having to come with actual human interaction. I don't agree with this. The Internet brings us together more than it brings us apart. We have blogs/online journals, MMORPG (mass multiplayer online role playing games), AIM (aol instant messanger), online dating, etc. With all these factors, how can anyone think media makes us hermits? I mean, it's true, whevever we're online, we're staying at home, but the media provides us with communication with other people who have the same interests as we do. For example, when I go to school, I don't necessarily speak to many people. I don't really talk to people about my interests (like movies or music), but I can go online to a fan site of a specific movie or band, and talk and argue and babble about whatever I'm interested it. And the internet gives us a certain power. In reality we could be very shy people, but because the internet takes away our face and we can use a psuedonym, we tend to be more aggressive than in reality. Another example is video games. I can go online and play video games (and group) with several others and even make friends with some of them. Using the internet as a medium, we come together with common interests with other people across the globe. Without this, we wouldn't ever have the oppurtunity with traveling across the world.
The internet brings us together and allows us to talk about common topics and interests we all share, not dehumanizing us into mindless zombies.

Podcasting Casts Itself into the Media Pod

2005-09-20T22:42:00.000-07:00

Throughout the century, radio talk shows have risen in popularity. Even nowadays, with radio talk shows such as Howard Stern and local radio morning shows, talk radio has two sole purposes: to inform the viewer of a specific subject, or to entertain the viewer through talking (hence the name talk radio). With the technology of the iPod, a term dubbed "podcasting" expands the horizons for already existing talk radio shows to share news stories or let opinions be audible at any given time around the globe.

For the every day radio talk shows, recording at a specific time is obvious, and for listeners to "listen in" any time between that same time frame is even more blatant. Well, suppose my favorite talk show aired weekdays in the summer from 6 am - 9 am, and as much as I loved hearing it, sleep is definitely more important to me. However, I'd still like to listen to it later in the day. Like TiVo for talk radio, podcasting allows the sender of the broadcast to upload the broadcast, and the listeners have instant access to download the broadcast and listen to it any time with iTunes. Even more convenient, a listener can upload a podcast to his or her iPod and take it literally any where where a radio is not present! Also, anyone around the world can listen to the podcast, which can gain a show major popularity points. Like TiVo revolutionized television, podcasting is revolutionizing talk radio and people's opinions by instant global access.

Corrupt

2005-09-20T22:00:00.000-07:00

The internet provides people with everything they can possibly imagine. There are thousands of web sites dedicated to any topic you can think of. Just type in what you are looking for on one of the major search engines, and you will have a variety of relevant web sites right at your finger tips. But, along with all the conveniences of the internet, there are also set backs. Some of the biggest set backs are hate sites. A hate site is a web site which contains things such as gay bashing, religious persecution, racism, and things of that nature. Basically, a hate site is a web site that is demeaning to one person, or a group of people. While it may be very rare for people to come across these sites, there is still an abundance of them in existence. You would think that if a person did come across one of these hate sites, they would just exit out of it as soon as possible and be done with it. But, usually before you get the chance to get out of the web site, you see many horrendous things. These things can be just words, pictures, or a combination of the two. Regardless of what the web site contains, there should be a greater effort to protect people and exterminate these web sites.
Hate sites are not just harmful to the people being persecuted, they are dangerous to everyone who comes in contact with them. They are however, the most dangerous to children. Even though most children are supervised by adults while on the internet, it is still easy to accidentally run into one of these sites. It is probably safe to assume that these hate sites were most likely not intended for children to see, but children still have access to them. However, if children do see something like this, it can affect them for the rest of their lives. Due to all of the damage hate sites can cause to a person or group of people, we might as well consider them a form of “mental crime.” But, in the end hate sites don’t just corrupt individual people, they corrupt society as a whole.

The MRS. degree

2005-09-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

Though the popularity of a whimsical major like the MRS degree varies from campus to campus, a woman's likelihood to enter the college setting in hopes of leaving with a husband to compliment or replace a degree is evident at all universities. It is a topic of joke the way some women view their college experience with one goal in mind: getting gainfully hitched. OU is far from Ole Miss or SMU, but does not escape similar stereotypes. Though I fully plan to attain a degree and apply it toward a career, I cannot help but assume differently about the intentions of some college women on campus. I undoubtedly incriminate myself as well, as I am female, and fall into the stereotype that some women are at college to toss around a fantastical major and, eventually, marry well.
OU's campus is crawling with examples of this sad fact. Dorm rooms and sororities are brimming with women whose main goal is to hook a husband at college. Some may go as far as to readily admit their intentions. Others need only to continue in their prepatory strides of ritualistic grooming to prove their motivation for attending college. Through frequenting date parties, maintaining social connections, and batting those big ole' eyes as much as physically possible, women are becoming adept at the art of finding a mate. Some university graduates may feel a tinge of inadequacy if they have yet to hear a proposal before graduation day.
Yes, times have changed since the days where a woman's presence on campus was unheard of. Society, however, still harbors the female ideal of marriage as the solution and substitution to the workplace. A growing number of women rebel against the social norm, but it still exists. The life of a wife and mother is far from easygoing. The degree in public relations or interior decorating, however, will not be of much use in diaper-changing.
Though some women are skilled at disguising their intentions, and some may not realize them above a subconscious level, many are sucked into the hope that, through marriage, they may never be forced to lift a finger in applying their costly degree. Women craftily keep their parents from discovering what their precious tuition money is going toward: their daughter's eventual marriage and disccarding of the college degree.

Raw Homecoming

2005-09-20T20:01:00.000-07:00

World Wrestling Entertainment is currently advertising heavily for their October 3rd show in Dallas, TX. Why, you ask? Well, it's the day that their flagship show, Monday Night Raw, returns to the USA network after a three year-long tenure on Spike TV. The WWE braintrust is claiming that the event will be the biggest show in Raw's history, and they've got a reason. The show will feature the biggest wrestling stars in history, including Hulk Hogan, Ric Flair and "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. Obviously, the WWE's advertising department is playing up these superstars' appearances for all that their worth in order to attract big ratings, which they certainly will do. The WWE Champion John Cena will be putting his title on the line, and numerous "legends" will appear on camera, so the claim that it will be the biggest show ever definitely has some weight. These big names that WWE is advertising will not only draw in die-hard fans across the country but also casual fans who don't necessarily follow the current product. They're preparing for Oct. 3 to be one of the biggest nights in wrestling history, and with the huge audience they'll have (as a result of their media machine), it'd better be.

Radio--a dying medium?

2005-09-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

In today's day and age radio is losing its luster. When we heard War of the Worlds on Monday in class we were put into the shoes of the ordinary citizens in 1938, listening to the only household information medium readily available and prepared for entertainment. If we came in late to the broadcast we heard this terrifying story of an invasion that had people fleeing their homes. But today the radio is hardly what the majority of people would consider a great medium for information or breaking news. Only the few who may commute or are traveling in their cars, with a few obligatory exceptions, use radio as information and breaking news as well as soft rock on their way to work. With technological advance comes great changes over the years and the once great facet of information has now dropped to the number 3 or 4 slot, behind television and internet, depending on who you talk to. In our present world where breaking news is a regular occurence, few would say turn on the radio. My question is what new technological invention is to become the new radio? Or is the internet the medium unto which all others will be scaled against, or merely taken over by, in the future. Given that present society is much less susceptible to wild stories without proof, unlike 1938 America, radio is being constantly outdone by television and internet.

TV and popular culture

2005-09-19T12:22:00.000-07:00

TV and mass media are extremely important to our culture. Certain shows and programs shape the way America feels about ideas and subjects. Popularity has a lot to do with it too, i.e. CSI:Las Vegas became a hit, grabbing the #1 spot every Thursday night. Since then, college students enrolling in criminology and forensics classes has skyrocketed. Since The O.C. came out, teenagers all over the country have been emulating the styles, lingos, and music of their favorite fictional california teens. Also, with the show Pimp My Ride, popular culture influenced many people to go overboard "pimping" their cars out because it became "cool" to do so. While these influences from popular culture (through the medium of television) are not all negative or all positive, it is a direct and undeniable proponent in our lives that gives us direction (and license) to think something is "cool" or not, good or bad, and acceptable or not acceptable in society. One has to assume that this is not brainwashing, but merely a study of life so that we may better understand ourselves (girls learn fashion and makeup from such movies as Clueless and Mean Girls, guys learn how to be guys from Rocky, Rambo, Fight Club, etc.). When something becomes popular culture, it is accepted as the norm, and what's more normal than sitting down to watch TV (and Americans watch TV at least 3 times as many hours a week than most other countries) so that you can be exposed to what is "new" and "now"? The only people excluded from the reaches of popular culture and its sway over those who watch tv are those who choose not to own a tv, can't afford one, or have no other means of mass media communication (radio, newspaper, etc.). Does popular culture influence the way you think, feel, or act(or do you even realize that is does? Is that what you want? Like it or not, popular culture and the TV is here to stay, as well as continue to impact society.

2005-09-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

The Internet is without a doubt one of the greatest inventions of our time. It allows people to talk on AIM, email whoever they want, look up information without touching an encyclopedia, plan a whole trip in a matter of minutes, pick out and buy a designer bag without leaving your desk, and so much more. Yes, the Internet has made tremendous jumps from where it started, and its positive outcomes are obvious but what is it really doing to society?

Will people be able to communicate with one another in person a hundred years from now? I know from personal experience that people say things on the Internet that they would never dream of saying in face-to-face conversation. No longer are there meaningfull conversations over dinner; they are done at 2 am on AIM. Will malls go out of business in a few decades? Shopping is done so easily on the Internet from an office or home in minutes without driving the kids to the mall that is twenty minutes away and then looking in ten different stores to find what you want. Will there be no such thing as books or libraries in fifty years? You can find a hudred times as much inforamtion on the Internet than you can in a set of encyclopedias. Novels are available online; there is no longer a need to go to Barnes and Noble and pay 40 dollars for a hard back book that you read once.

Don't get me wrong. The Internet is a wonderful invention that modernized our culture, but is it's outcome going to be what we were really hoping for?

Lessik

2005-09-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

I'm going to talk about what we went over in class on wednesday.

What Lessik was arguing was the public domain versus the private interest, and I agree with what he claims. Throughout the film, there was a motif, or a recurring element, that he pounds into our heads. "Who owns this idea?" Who are theses copyrights affecting? Copyrights can go well around 140 years. But in reality, who lives this long? Teenagers like to think they do, but it's not true. And it's highly unusual and unlikely that an infant will have copyright their ideas, so let's say they're 15. That's around 155 years they'd have to live in order to make that much money, so what are they protecting? It's understandable to own rights to your creativity, but once you're dead, it should belong to the public to share this information or movie, etc. Like Lessik said, the Grimms Fairy Tales (which are WONDERFUL stories, by the way, and everyone should read them) were in the public domain until Disney picked them up and made them into animated movies, which are distorted from the original story. And even throughout his film, he would go from shot to shot, with fast-paced cuts fro his face, to his profile, to another shot of a camera shooting him. And every three seconds, the audience would see the message, "who owns this idea?" Lessik really gives us something to think about.

Delta and Northwest file BANKRUPTCY

2005-09-14T19:58:00.000-07:00

Delta being the number three carrier and Northwest being the fourth carrier for top airlines both filed bankruptcy on Wednesday evening. The industry consultant Michael Boyd claims it was quite a coincidence. He is referring to the 9/11 incident and the high fuel prices for jet carriers now. He also claimed that the problem is "there is so much competition out there, that fares get driven into the cellar"which the media obviously has had its share with "fair" advertisement. However these two airlines are not the only ones, the number two carrier United Airways had already claimed bankruptcy protection in early December of last year. Both airlines are stating that none of the passengers will be affected and they plan on still carrying their usual load of passengers to their regular destinations. Media has covered the 9/11 incident still today. Claiming many of the airline problems relate back to 9/11. This one however is a fuel problem but consultants are still considering it to be a 9/11 problem due to the loss of passengers and the loss of total profit. They cant afford to fuel big jetliners, and in doing that are having to jack up fare prices. The column I was reading can be found at http://www.money.cnn.com.This column claims that the airline business has had a net loss of 32.3 billion dollars, and a continuing decrease is predicted for next year of 9-10. Billion dollars as well. Hopefully the media can do something for the airline business before its too unreasonable to fly, many people have doubts already but now with the high fuel prices flying really might not be worth it.

Cell Phones vs. Home Phone

2005-09-14T13:39:00.000-07:00

In this century cell phones are used more frequently than home phones. I do not leave home wiwthout my cell phone. If I want to get ahold of anyone I also call their cell phone, never their home phone. Anywhere you go, I gurantee you will see at least ten people talking on their cell phones. You can't use your home phone anywhere but at your house. You can take your cell phone anywhere, making it easier for you to get in contact with anyone and vise versa. Cell phones are the greatest inverntion ever!

internet and how it effetcs us

2005-09-14T12:13:00.000-07:00

Technology has changed so much within the past twenty years. First every household in America has a TV set, before we knew it the internet was in every household as well. Through the web we make friends, journals, emails, and business transactions. If we never had these advantages, how different would our lives be. The internet has given us so much, but it has taken away some of our human ablities. Social interaction has changed, and we rarely get to debate face to face with one another. Instead were are given the challenge of putting all our voice tones, feelings, and expressions on screen. I do love the internet but it seems to be over-used in the wrong way. Being to look someone in the eye and tell them something is completely different then sending a person an email. Our culture needs to second guess what is happening to it, before the damage is permanent.

Internet is my life

2005-09-14T12:07:00.000-07:00

The internet is what i use on a daily basis. I have many email acconts that use for different reasons. I have two friends from across the sea in Turkey and the UK. Both of which graduated from college so I get a lot of advice form them. I rarely go to the library, but don't think I take everything on the internet as true. I usally read the headlines on the web and play on line games. I have my own blog besides this one so i am always on the web. I am web based person. I like the newspaper and love books but the internet is so much easier to keep up with. I think anyway.

Music Television, eh?

2005-09-14T11:26:00.000-07:00

What do shows like "Laguna Beach" and "Pimp My Ride" have to do with the big "M" in MTV? That's right. Nothing. Right now, the so called "Music Television" has snowballed downhill in keeping up with its music programming since its late 80s debut, and has transformed into a more "American teen culture-based" network. Although the channel streams music videos late at night and rare occasions during the day, a viewer is required to order MTV2 to order a more constant music television. When I turn to MTV, "pimpin'" someone's ride by installing four TVs in a car and incessant teenage drama is definitely not what I had in mind. I just wanted to see the new music videos from my favorite bands (and of course, to see how badly-influenced music is nowadays), and is that so much to ask for a network that claims to be "music television?!" When I thought MTV would realize their mistake, pointless shows such as "The Ashlee Simpson Show" and "The Real World: Austin" constantly debut, and surprisingly enough, these shows on "Music Television" actually generate money. That's why their program selection is how it is. To keep the "M" in the name, MTV would have to go back to constant Music Television and launch another channel for the shows unrelated to music. Although MTV appeals to the majority of teens today, it's basically a hypocrite channel, if you will. The name MTV screams out "Hey! I'm all about music on TV, yo! Turn to me if you wanna see music on yo' TV!" Sorry, deceptive MTV, you're the worst hypocrite in the television business.

STEROIDS SCANDAL AND JUICED

2005-09-14T11:25:00.001-07:00

I have been a baseball fan my entire life. Living in Fort Worth, I grew up going to Texas Rangers' games and attending Tuesday and Thursday night games at WestSide and Univerity Little Leagues. Some of my main heros are baseball players. I look up to their talent, ability, strength, etc. So when the BALCO/steroids scandal broke out in December of 2004 I was quite shocked and disappointed. Starting with the San Fransisco Chronicle, all the media in America immediately captured every minute detail of this event. Famous players, record-breakers, some of my heroes, were named for steroid usage. Everywhere I looked I saw steroids, Bonds, McGwire, Anderson, and BALCO. It was a field day for the press. I completely understood that. The American public had a right to know about the scandal. However, I do believe one person took it a little too far. Jose Canseco, once one of the greatest names in baseball history. About two months after the BALCO scandal was exposed, Canseco published a book: Juiced: Wild Times, Rampant 'Roids, Smash Hits, and How Baseball Got Big. He accused a number of players of using performance-enhancers, including Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, and many others. Canseco said, "The challenge is not to find a top player who has used steroids. The challenge is to find a top player who hasn't used steroids. No one who reads this book from cover to cover will have any doubt that steroids are a huge part of baseball, and always will e, no matter what crazy toothless testing schemes the powers that be might dream up." Though those Canseco points the finger at may actually have used performance-enhancers, the issue of a former baseball player and steroids-user selling out his former colleagues and friends is quite questionable to me. It seems almost as though he is a bitter, disgraced ex-player who is desperately seeking the respect of the people. Also, ironically enough, it has been said that Canseco was bankrupt when he decided to write this book of his. What a money-maker this book must have been. I believe the media attention the BALCO scandal received was quite adequate. However, I do not believe Canseco was in his right to publish such a book.

The Famous Mark on Society

2005-09-14T11:25:00.000-07:00

Everyone walking this Earth is manipulated by the Famous: movie stars, popular singers, professional atheletes, Oprah. Last thursday was the premire of the third season of my favorite show, The OC. Mischa Barton plays a main role in the show as a teenage girl looking for acceptance and not to mention she is a workdly known fashion icon. Throughout the show, she wore her hair with a braid in the front right next to the hair line. This was her first time to sport this hair style. The next day, I kid you not, I saw eight impressionable girls mimicing Mischa's hair phenomenon including my twin sister, Lindsey. This would have bee perfecting normal had Lindsey not bashed the exact same hair style two weeks earlier when my little sister, Kelly, was doing her best to start the new trend. When Kelly wore her hair like that, words of disgust cam from Lindsey's mouth, but when Mischa Barton did it, she copied. This is just one example of how the world's image of beauty and attraction is in the hands of the select few that got lucky enough to be famous.

Time and Space: Sports

2005-09-14T11:00:00.000-07:00

When it comes to sports and time and space bias, there is, quite frankly, a little bit of both. When you watch the nightly ESPN SportSCenter, or the local sports news, you will find that the first things to come out are mostly space bias topics. Who won last night's game, or who got in trouble most recently. Controversial issues, such as Philadelphia Eagles' wide receiver Terrell Owens and his holdout and feud with quarterback Donavan McNabb, are presented early and often while they are going on in the media. They soon will be forgotton, however, and will be lost in time down the years. While they take up a lot of space while going on, they will not last. Time bias in sports equals legends and records. People that you will remember forever, such as Babe Ruth or Michael Jordan, can be talked about no matter how long they have been out of the game. They set their status in stone, and will never be lost in the annuls of time. Records, such as the career home run record currently held by Hank Aaron and closely pursued by Barry Bonds, will always be chased. Never lost in time.
While sports has turned very much to entertainment status, which equals a whole lot of space bias, it also includes the good ol' time bias, the legends of the game.

Shaquille O' Neal: A Leader in all aspects

2005-09-14T10:41:00.000-07:00

Shaquille O'Neal, better know as just "Shaq" by most sports fans, is a true leader. By saying leader, that's not just because of his ability to take any semi-talented NBA team and take them to the top or close to it. He made an NBA Finals appearance with the Orlando Magic, won three championships with the Los Angeles Lakers, and led the Miami heat to the Western Conference Finals in his first year on the team in 2004-2005. Obviously, there is a key component to all of those teams. The same key component that recently helped out Hurricane Katrina victims in Louisiana. The component: Shaq, a man with a caring heart who will do anything to help someone in need, on and off the court. Along with the "Officer Shaq" post in another students previous blog, the big man has also been a huge help in Louisiana. Right after the dust settled, Shaq and his wife made a trip to the devastated city of New Orleans, and decided that after what he saw, just donating a little cash would not be enough for him to do. They teamed with a furniture store and took many donations from many people, and Shaq spent the few days helping unload the trucks full of donations. He didn't have to do that, but he did. People will always first think of Shaq as one of the greatest basketball players to ever live, but hopefully no one will ever forget the biggest contributions the big man has ever made, those off the hardwood.

Time and Space

2005-09-14T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here's goes nothing...Time is experienced invidually, according to Nealon. For instance, some people do not have a problem managing their time, which allows them to be extremely productive. Other people (like me) sometimes do not manage their time efficiently at all. Procrastinators (notice the date and time of this post) wait until the last second to accomplish something, usually leaving themselves worried about deadlines, appointments, etc. That is an example of how time is different for different people. It takes time to move through space. Imagine yourself in the pre-television, telephone, Internet, etc., age and just how much time it would take to travel through space. We are talking about weeks, months, even years, to exchange information that can be relayed in a matter of seconds today. Nealon states, "the more resources you have to alleviate the burden of distance, the less time it requires." As more resources become accessible, maybe even 'we' procrastinators will be able to overcome our problem!

Shaq: Better on the court or off?

2005-09-14T08:07:00.000-07:00

Shaquille O'Neal, arguably the best center to ever play basketball has been in the news for something other then basketball lately. We all know about his dominance on the court, but few know about his dominance off the court. Recently, Shaq witnessed a hate crime committed in his hometown of Miami, Florida. A man verbally/physically abused a same sex couple walking down the sidewalk. The man sped off in his car, little did he know that the world's largest police officer (7 feet 1 inch, almost 400 pounds) was hot on his trail. Shaq followed the man until he stopped, then notifying the Miami Police Department. Only with the help of O'Neal would this perpetrator been apprehended. Shaquille O'Neal not only gives the NBA something to be proud about, but he gives people, in general, something to be proud about with his actions on and off the court.

A Supreme Court Indeed

2005-09-14T00:20:00.000-07:00

It is uncommon in a lifetime to see the apointment of a new supreme court justice, let alone two within one term. In adding two new justices to the bench, we obtain two brand new faces and whole new sets of values and opinions. Listening to multiple views of Roberts' speech earlier, once again shed light on the profuse amount of bias amongst news stations. How are we suppossed to assess the real issues at hand with the news stations being biased in their presentation of the material at hand? We cannot. We must rely on our own interpretations of what is truly being said and how it is meant to be recieved. CSPAN's coverage of the speech and the questioning was one of the most unbiased I watched throughout the day. With our news stations' biases we allow our personal beliefs to be compromised because of what we consume through the television. We allow them to influence how we understand the content spoken and to inform us of the "true" story. As this happens we once again revert back to the use of space bias. News stations want to ensure they are on top and so they must be the first one to air the piece even if all of the information is not correct in its full content.

supreme court bias

2005-09-13T20:44:00.000-07:00

A Time for President has never been more important than it is right now. I am not referring to the Hurricane Katrina, but rather what is about to come of the Supreme Court. Recently one of the judges on the Supreme Court has passed away, thus creating an opening for someone else. Sandra Day O'conner has recently resigned from the Supreme Court as well, giving two open positions for President Bush to fulfill. Once elected these individuals will be in office until they want to resign, or until they pass on. This opportunity does not come along for every President, and now President Bush has to pick two. This gives an unfair majority in the Supreme Court, because President Bush is republican he will most likely elect two republicans in office. One person should not have control over the Supreme court for an extented period of time just because of chance; time bias is extremely evident in this case. The President has to make an extremely important decision that will effect our Judicial system for many years to come. The way Supreme Court Justices are elected is in dire need of change due to certain "biases" the president may hold himself. Time is of essence here, in more than one way. Once this decision is made there is no turning back, whats done is done, and only time will give us results.

Gone Missing

2005-09-13T20:07:00.000-07:00

It is hard to turn on any news program today and not hear about a case involving a missing person. The media has done an amazing job of putting the word out there about these cases and letting people know who to keep an eye out for in order for these people to be brought back home safely. Even though it is nice that the news spends so much time talking about these cases, you have to wonder why it is that only a select few people who go missing make it on the news. It just seems like the media wants to find only the most tragic stories, and everything else doesn’t even get considered. I also find it very strange that the vast majority of these stories are about young white women. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with young white females (after all, I am one), but it just doesn’t seem fair. What exactly has to happen to you or someone you know in order for people to give it the attention that other people’s cases get? For example, Natalie Holloway the girl who went missing on her senior trip in Aruba had hours of air time dedicated to her case for months on end. While this is a horrendous story and it is something I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy, there were a countless amount of hours where the news just kept repeating the same thing that had been said the day before, and the day before that, and so on. I think they could have spared a few minutes, even hours of valuable air time and dedicated it to other missing people’s cases. My point is that if the media is going to cover stories such as these, maybe it would be a good idea to divide the allotted time between more cases, giving them the media attention that they need. After all, we are all equal and deserve to be treated with the same respect and have the same opportunities.

a commercial life

2005-09-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

In a recent media experience I had with several friends we were all watching TV around 6:30 pm and saw a commercial for Olive Garden. The inticing never ending pasta bowl they were promoting seemed to great to resist, so off we went. My claim here is that commercials and ads themselves are effective on those who wish to be affected or, better yet, are expecting to be affected. Our TV logged hours expose us to the commercial society we live in and I just feel that this particular experience solidified the marketing strategem that companies employ. Evidently, we saw the commercial for pasta and we were so inticed that we subsequently got up and out. Without seeing this commercial we might have never thought to include Olive Garden in our dinner debate and we very well might have never known their pasta promotion was occuring. Also I do acknowledge that at the time we were hungry and we all like pasta very much and therefore this situation was even more inticing to us. I know this is a random blog but I felt I could make a valid point for the effective nature of commercialism, especially for Olive Garden.

A Barry Good Posting!

2005-09-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Baseball fans all over the country were delighted to hear that Barry Bonds come back to the game after a very long absence. Among the most excited is ESPN.com writer Jim Caple, who wrote a very complimentary article about Bonds on Monday. In the article, Caple paints a picture of Bonds as being the savior of the sport, a claim that, no matter what one thinks of Bonds, packs a lot of weight with it. He actually goes so far as to state, "Why the %#@& did it take so long to come back?" To Caple's credit, Bonds is one of the two or three most notorious names in baseball...and for good reason. He is a sure-fire hall of famer and bound to become baseball's all-time hom run leader (a statement Caple makes liberally). So, there is lots of evidence to support Caple's excitement about Barry coming back. Also, Caple points out that Bonds coming back brings more media attention and excitement to baseball; he brings a warrant to why he devotes an entire article just to Bonds' return. Caple is convinced that baseball was less important without the Giants' slugger around to crank the ball every which way and to entertain an entire nation of fans. This article does everything it can to put Bonds over as a reason to watch the game again. Even with the problems currently in baseball (and there are many), Caple assures all of us that "...at least Bonds is back."

Another Four Boring Paragraphs on Time and Space Bias

2005-09-13T19:28:00.000-07:00

Throughout today's society where people rely on media sources such as the internet, space bias media flourishes, and we, the consumers, eat it up. The internet provides the finest example of space bias, and is completely contradictory from time bias. Time bias, on the other hand, is less common today than it was years ago. However, forms of time bias still remain extant, and a great example is the museum. Though constructed for the same general purpose, the internet's space bias and museums' time bias drastically differentiate from one another.

The internet is a huge portal where people can send and receive information whenever they insist. Media is created and transmitted by the people despite the distance between them. For instance, a writer for ABC News can post a story on their website at their headquarters in NYC, and a reader can set their eyes upon it seconds with the press of a finger in Arlington, TX. The instant access and space in between the writer proves the internet to be space bias.

Contrarily, the common museum is a location where people travel to see its contents, and the people interested in its contents do not have that instant access that is provided by the internet. In a museum, there are tablets and writings that provide information about a range of subjects, and the information is transmitted by word of mouth through the visitors. A museum and its artifacts will be preserved through eternity, and can be viewed for centuries.

All in all, media through the internet and museums are exchanged in different ways while providing the viewers with the same intention: exploiting specific information.

11 Children Found in Cages in Ohio Home

2005-09-13T17:45:00.000-07:00

Although horrifying its true. Eleven children were found in cages on the 13th of Septmeber. All 11 were adopted and had various diseases from HIV to Autism. 8 of the eleven slept in 3 1/2 foot woden cages stacked in a bedroom. Some had alarms leading to the downstairs supposedly used to indicate an "escapee". One cage even had a dresser placed in front of it.
This is my most recent media expierience. I was checking e-mail, decided to check the news for anything new on Katrina. I saw the headline and immediately I felt my heart drop. This brought an interesting thought to mind. We as Americans are a culture of ready-made and quick service. Our media reflects this same speedy delivery and no bull shit presentation of our news.
The title of the article is "11 Children Found in Cages in Ohio Home." There are many other ways that this could have been worded: "Cages in Local Home Lead Officials to Possibility of Abuse," "Abuse Suspected in Local Ohio Home," etc. Yet the writers chose this specific wording to get the desired to get the reaction from the correct audience.
This is made obvious when you look at the audiences this article would most likely be privy to. One, Mothers. No mother would want to hear this and it is the worst nightmare of mothers to have an abused child. They would be the best audience for their claim. Second, children. What child wouldn't be terrified at the idea of being put in a cage to live. I am refering to middle school children even high school children. This news is terrifying. And mother's would be sure to warn their children of this even without reading the article. Third, any other compasionate people with a love for children. For all three groups this title alone would rock their worlds.
The title is geared to get the attention of all three groups. This argument is prevalent in that, the media also reflect the fast paced society we live in today. They gear the titles and even the guts of the articles or stories to be short simple to the point, knowing full well no busy American will take the time to read their stories if not in an easily acceptable form. Also the title also tells you alot about what the story has to say. Immediately it tells you that, there are 11 children were abused, they were abused with the use of cages, no one supposedly knew of this abuse. That is alot in a title. Another title in the current news states: "Bush Takes Responsibility for Blunders". What does this say? Again it is made easily accpetable by the readers. Bush made a boo-boo and has now publicly admited this. Then they say "Blunders". Their diction leads the audience to more of the story. These were not mistakes these were things that made a large impact on the country. This same effect is seen with the use of the word "Cages." Not boxes. Nope cages drawing a connection with the things that we do put in cages such as animals and things that are not worthy of beds. That word speaks volumes. All of this done specifially by the media, Made for the world and its too fast to read culture.

September 11th News (Time & Space Bias)

2005-09-13T16:44:00.000-07:00

September 11th.. This day will be forever remembered as the day of a terrible tragedy. Its place in history books that will be studied by millions, generation after generation, is the event's time bias. Also the time bias is how long it took to prepare the area around the twin towers. All work in the building: everything saved on the computers and in the filing cabinents was gone.

The country was devasted. News stations around the U.S. were forcing people to remember the horrible incident. I had to turn my T.V. off for two weeks! The spreading of the information and the devastation of 9/11 is known as space bias.

September 11th is a day that will make every American's stomach turn for decades to come.

scandalized media

2005-09-13T16:07:00.000-07:00

My co-editor from high school newspaper staff and I have been comparing stories. Katie writes for The University Daily Kansan and I write for The Oklahoma Daily here at OU. Katie and I share a similar set of moral values and precepts, but have been thrust into two widely varying worlds of moral code. To her dismay, the content of The Kansan is less than wholesome. She was even employed to write for a special section called "Sex on a Hill." Taking interest in her plight, I was obliged to read a few excerpts.
After skimming a particular article, "Improvise between the thighs," which seemed to be a guide to sex toys, I am appalled at the illicit content of this college publication. In order to better understand the mindset of the editor that would approve such an article and the writer that would devote time to it, I will attempt to see a writer's argument or purpose in producing similar distasteful works.
The authors of such articles plan to accomplish two purposes. Primarily, they would like their audience to consider them experts on the subject matter. They, though probably subconsciously, are helping to numb the reader to illicit content such as this, so the reader will be less phased on their next encounter. One could assume these goals to be met, with or without the consent of a reader who is confronted with such a piece.
Writers of articles with sexual content are not selective in their word choice, unless their intent is to use the most graphic phrases possible. They bombard the reader with innuendos and racy tales of promiscuity. Depending on the reader's moral standing and upbringing, such material is often viewed as offensive. The author seems to show no regard for the mindset of the reader and wishes only to impress an extreme set of moral codes on the reader.
Authors and editors of such content evidently approve of the message it conveys. They are trying to convince their reader that the message is "no big deal," or that everyone else is unphased by its shock value. They see innocence or purity as a hindrance to sexual understanding and quickly deem them as ignorance.
It is possible that the writers are only addressing a topic that is of interest to them and carry no underlying motives. An author of such content could believe they are doing their reader a favor in providing information. They are, however, assailing their reader with unnecessary sexual connotations and implications. The argument that everyone should be as numb to the illicit content of such material is disrespectful to the average reader's wishes. One should not be forcibly exposed to such material, and authors should not subject their readers to unabashed sexual content.

Time Bias and Space Bias

2005-09-13T12:42:00.000-07:00

It is extremely common these days for people to expand their knowledge and travel to far away places. This makes it imperative for people to be well informed of current issues going on around the world. Before all of the advances in technology, and when people had a tendency to stay in just one place, it was easy to communicate through time biased media. No one really needed to know what was going on in another country at that exact moment, so it was not necessary to have space biased media. However, time biased media is just not as efficient today as it was before. We need to know what is going on in the world at any given moment, and the best way to give people the information they need in an appropriate time span is through space biased media. And with technology such as the internet, televisions, news papers, etc. being so readily available, it would be stupid not to take advantage of it and use it as our major ways of communicating. I do believe however, that we have not completely disregarded the use of time bias. I think we simply expanded the original way of communicating through time bias and made it more practical and useful to today’s society.

Time and Space Bias in Today's Media

2005-09-13T12:00:00.000-07:00

Traditionally, our media has been time biased, and as we have progressed we have become more space biased but i disagree with the fact that we are one over the other. I believe find balances between the two biases. The creation of the internet has widened the opportunities we have to obtain widespread amounts of information through a large scale of media options. It distributes media to large amounts of people all around the world and spreads the word quickly. The internet covers large amounts of "space" and we continue to use the internet daily and will continue to do so. Our society has also become focused on the speed of which media is sent. If it weren't High Speed Internet would not have been invented. News papers and News stations want to be the first with full coverage on events, and so time is of the essence in media. We also want our media to last, but because of how quickly we are growing and changing, we no longer depend as much on time to hold our historical media value. I believe we do have a combination of time and space bias, but I believe we lean more towards a space bias.

Space Bias

2005-09-12T20:33:00.000-07:00

I think in our present society, one filled with television, newspapers, tabloids, and the very influential internet, we are concerned mainly with space bias. Countless people recieve the majority, if not all, of their news from some sort of print or electronic media and very few of us can envision a day without using the internet for some purpose. Being a student, for example, calls for a wide usage of space biased information: teachers assign homework over the internet, we turn in work in dropboxes via D2L, and e-mail has become the most efficient way to reach professors or GAs. In a world where schooling is built around electronic media the mind boggles at the countless other daily things we recieve from such media.

Time/Space Bias

2005-09-12T18:48:00.000-07:00

To me, the time/space biases center around tangibility; media lasts according to whether or not one can reach out and touch it. Case in point, my favorite thing to read on the World Wide Web is independent movie columns. These writers don't get paid for what they're doing, but they churn out columns every week anyway...they just love the movies and want people to know what they think. Readers are interested in what they think, too because of their smooth writing style and the lucid, insightful way they analyze both films and their industry. They gain a kind of pseudo-celebrity status within their respective community. Their art has an obviously strong space bias because of its availability on the Net. Anyone with access to the Web can access their material. Unfortunately, their columns only exist in cyberspace, electronically. If their website shuts down or gets struck with a virus, their words may get de-published. On the other hand, a tangibe work such as newspaper columns and editorials will have a strong time bias because it will stay intact. It may not reach a wide audience, but it will last. This goes for videotape, audio recordings, and almost any other medium; in order to be more time biased, one must have a hard copy. This, to me, is the key distinction between the two biases.

Time.Space

2005-09-12T15:21:00.000-07:00

So, I think I've finally figured it out, so please disregard my first posting about time and sapce bias.

From my understanding, time bias is an oral communication or a "primitive" form of communicating. Whereas space-bias is about contact with content that the world wants to understand and know about. I believe our society is space-biased. Think about it. Nearly everyday, we watch T.V. to get some form of information (whether the information grasps our attention or not is a different story). People still get some information through word of mouth, but hardly anything of great importance. We learn the pope has died through T.V., find out who wil be the next president through newspapers, and listen to the Sports Animal on the radio. Every now and again we will gossip, but gossip is limited. It's passed from person to person within communities. But, it's restricted, because if let's say Person A spoke to Person B about some "juicy info" about Person C, well, because Person D likves in a different state, they don't know who you're talking about. One exception to this is celebrities. But then again, how do we find out about the gossip about their lives? Through television or magazines. I found out about Jennifer and Brad on the internet almost istantly after it happened. How could word of mouth spread that fast? And I even forgot to mention the internet, but I'm sure you get the picture.

My point is that our society is space biased rather than it is space biased.

TIME BIAS

2005-09-12T12:57:00.000-07:00

Time Bias, to my knowledge, is the way people used to communicate and get the word out. However, today, our world and media mainly consist of Space Bias. Time Bias according to Innis, are simple ways of communication such as manuscripts and word of mouth. People have been using these techniques for centuries. Although they have "limited distribution potential," I believe we still use them constantly in our day to day lives. True, we get most of our information from the internet, television, radio, etc, but whenever something big happens (or even small things within our communities, groups of friends, or family), we instantly want to tell everyone we know about it. Hurricane Katrina is the most prominent issue currently. People have had many discussions about it ever since. It was all people could talk about after the first few days. News that wasn't seen on the television or internet or heard on the radio was received by a friend or acquaintance who had been informed of it. Though the obvious forms of communication are space bias, I still believe time bias communication plays a major role in our lives.

Space Bias

2005-09-12T11:57:00.000-07:00

I read the article and im going to give it a try. As a world not just a country we do relie on all forms of media to even get through the day. We check out email to talk with friends and family people rarely read the newspapaer when they can get breaking news on the internet. Its a chance for people to talk with other people around the world. Conferences are held on the internet you can shop from home earn a degree; i haven't found it yet but you may even be able to order food delivered right ot your door in an hour or two. This age we are totally space dependent. News papers are great and you can read while walking but why use those when you can check you email and news on your phone. Who knows computers may be outdated too one day. Soon trees will repopulate because everything is going digital. I am a space dependedent person but I also like the time it take to sit and enjoy the world as I read the newspaper or a book from the library.

Time Bias

2005-09-12T11:26:00.000-07:00

Harold Innis also introduced the Time Bias theory, which can be related to the time before electronic media and even print media were predominant. At this time, news was shared through legends, stories, word of mouth, troubadours, town elders, and the church. A few centuries back, there was no way to inform the masses quickly or efficiently like today’s tv and newspapers. The news was all oral and subject to either how and when the church wanted to inform you, or if you went to see the troubadours sing the current events of the land. While this form of oral information seems unfamiliar, we have used it successfully for centuries, and we still use it today. Cases in point – gossiping, telling people to do something through the “pass it on” tactic, etc. These are examples of a general message, orally given, that seems to reach everyone despite the lack of mass media as we know it.

space bias

2005-09-12T09:03:00.000-07:00

Harold Innis introduced the world to the Time Bias/Space Bias theory that connects and binds communities all around the world. In this blog, I’m going to talk about the ideas of the space-binding media and its affects and roles in life now. The space bias is all about contact and reaching out with content that the world wants to share. Print and electronic media are involved heavily in this, giving instant information that is shared with different communities. This theory is also all about using the electronic and print media to expand and control the messages we see. Like with Hurricane Katrina, the media controls which images of disaster, aftereffects, and relief efforts we are allowed to see, thus expanding awareness as well as perception of what is happening in Louisiana.

the bias tightrope

2005-09-11T21:21:00.000-07:00

The media we all know and love utilizes a delicate balance of time and space bias, with some mediums more inclined to one over the other. Newspapers, my personal favorite form of mass communication, would lean toward time bias. They are the hard copy, the tangible, and more permanent form of news. Newspapers are archived and filed. A newspaper's contents aren't recycled at the top of every hour, but represent a more permanent and in-depth form of media. Whereas CNN and the Internet assume a more space biased position. They reach the masses with a single T.V. screen or webpage, but only skim the surface on some issues. All forms of mass communication contain traits of both time and space bias and cannot be entirely contained to one or the other. Some people prefer to get their news quickly, and others prefer to delve into a few excerpts. People will find the form of media that best suits their purposes. Afterall, there's plenty to choose from.

Confused

2005-09-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

I'm not exactly sure what this entire time/space bias is. Maybe it's just me, but you know what? I'm only 17 years old, so I'm allowed to be confused once in a while. I tried to look it up in the book, and I can't find it, and I looked at the notes and that just made me want to drop out of school. But if I understand time and space bias correctly then I would say that our media and society is time biased. Every issue we see or read must be reached to us within a certain time limit. We pick up a book, if it doesn't peak our interest in the first few paragraphs (this differs from person to person) then, we put it away. We flip through the channels on the television until we find something that is worth watching (for me, cartoons). Everything message sent to us must be portrayed in a specific time period, otherise the audience is lost and confused, which the media would NOT want. So, if I'm correct in my assumptions about the time and space bias issue/blog, then I say it's we're time-biased.

hurricane katrina relief

2005-09-07T15:58:00.000-07:00

Is anyone else sick and tired of people saying that the government is not getting relief to those people too sick, elderly, poor, or plain stupid to leave New Orleans before Katrina hit? The national guard was there two days after the hurricane left the region. The marines were back from Iraq to now-Lake Orleans soon after with M-16s ready to take down looters. People who say that the plight of those still in what remains of that city is not being publicized obviously do not watch the same news reports that the rest of us do. I for one have heard many dozens of reports of how bad the looting and pestilence and the toxic sludge that was Lake Ponchetrain have gotten over the last week. I have seen 24-hour news reports. The only reason that the only people you see on TV in New Orleans are African-American is because the liberal media is just trying to stir up peoples' hatred for the Republican party and President Bush.

Hurrican Katrina

2005-09-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

Recently, on the news we are seeing the horrible distruction that hurrican Katrina created. Were seeing all the people all cramped in the super dome. I spoke to a hurricane servivor that had been evacuated to oklahoma city, our church was holding a charity event were everyone brought food cloths and diaper formula and dry goods. I spoke to Marium lavez she said " that the smell was unbarable that it took five days to get any help...why did it take five days? You know it only takes 7 days to die from dihydration and 14 day from starvation. Why is no one talking about the distruction that occured in New Orleans why is this not being publicized like the distruction from (9/11) haven't just as many American citizens died. Or is it that there African American Citizens.....yea i said it......What type of president has so many of our soldiers over seas that we cannot send enough of the national guard in to help our own people!!!!.....I look forward to everyone comments............

PROUD TEXAN

2005-09-07T13:09:00.000-07:00

I'm from Fort Worth, Texas, and I am proud of it. I attend the University of Oklahoma, and I am proud of it. When I told all my friends (who now attend the University of Texas at Austin) and my family, they were confused as to why I would want to go to OU. I mean, I'm from Texas. I've lived there all my life. I've been raised on hardcore high school football, sweet tea, Sunday brunch, chicken, and Texas Ranger baseball. I had a 4.35 GPA, top 5% of my class; I could get into the business school at UT. What was wrong with me?

Then I come to Camp Crimson in order to meet new people and be introduced to my new school and its incredible traditions. Unfortunately, this was a bad experience for me as well. All I heard was "Texas Sucks" (they were not just speaking of the school), "ohhh you're from Texas," and put your horns down. Now I'm great with the rivalry between the two schools. I can put my horns down at the Red River Shootout and all that good stuff. However, I do not believe in the prejudice I faced as a girl from Texas.

I attend Camp Longhorn (no relation to the school) and for my 9th year there, I received a sterling silver ring with a longhorn on it. You would not believe all the stares I get for wearing this around. People have actually come up to me and said something about it. When I explain that it represents Camp Longhorn, they just look at me and say "I bet you also own a burnt orange t-shirt." Please!

Okay so I'm a girl from Texas and my whole life I worshipped Mack Brown and his Texas Longhorns. But I made the right decision for me. I chose to attend the University of Oklahoma. There are many of us who have. So treat us with respect. At least we didn't go to UT.

Labor Day

2005-09-07T12:39:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I was explained that Labor Day was a holiday that recognized the members of the work force by giving them a day off. Today Labor Day means a number of things:
One of the busiest Lake Days of the year.
A chance to get some extra hours at your job if you are a student.
A day off from school.
An extra weekend day.
A day to go shopping or to the movies.

The Labor Day Americans once celebrated no longer takes place. For example: My family and I went shopping at the Galleria this Labor Day. For shopping in a mall to take place, there has to be hundreds of employees on duty which is totally defeating the meaning of the holiday. Another example: I know for a fact that Texas A&M and Texas Tech both had to attend school on monday. For the students to be able to attend class, the professors, cafeteria workers, RAs, and the entire staff of the university had to be on duty again defeating the meaning of the first monday in September.
Americans do not know how to relax. There is no such thing as staying home all day and playing frizbee in your back yard. Everything that Americans want to do requires other Americans working for them like the mall, movies, putt putt, going out-to-eat, bowling, EVERYTHING. So I am here to say it is completely impossible for us to actually participate in Labor Day.

Labor Day

2005-09-07T12:38:00.000-07:00

Labor Day to me growing up always meant one thing: the lake. Me and my family every year, twice a year, went to the same cabins on Lake Buchanan in Texas. Once was for Memorial Day, and the other, of course, Labor Day. Labor Day was always the fun one, because in the midst of all the fun and excitement of water and open space, it was also football season. I have many a memory of my uncle Buck and I watching the first OU game of the season on TV, breaking from all the outdoor activities. We even listened to a few of them on the radio in his truck. Diehard OU fans we are, always have been. Of course Labor Day is meant for the workers of our country to have a day off, but it is also unique in how it is thought of by each and every person. The days of the lake have passed by as the kids in the family have all grown up, but the memories of Labor Day will always be the same, and the holiday will always remind me of those cabins on Lake Buchanan.

George W

2005-09-07T12:34:00.000-07:00

Everything is always George Bush's fault. With this horrific tragedy unfolding, the world turned to President Bush and blamed him. That's the reason I will never be president. Everything gets blamed on you. How does a hurricane, an act of nature, get blamed on the President? Rather than trying to point the finger at someone, just go out and do something to help those poor people. Volunteer at a local shelter, donate money, food, clothes, personal hygiene items etc...

I realize it has been about a week since the hurricane first hit and that's quite a long time to be without proper shelter, food, water and such. However, look at what is happening now. Thousands of people are getting out of New Orleans quickly with the help of the government. Our government has made this plan and is carrying it out. This was a huge disaster is going to take years to fix. The point is, our government, including the President of the United States, has stepped up to help this poor people. They're helping, and we need to help. Sure it may be the "government's job," but we as Americans have an obligation to help out our fellow Americans, our neighbors, our friends.

So stop acting like Bush was the only person who could have prevented those levees from breaking. So many people foresaw this happening and didn't do anything about it either. New Orleans has always been below sea level. No other president before Bush reinforced those levees either.

Maybe you'll just pass me off as some naive, conservative republican. Or maybe I'm just living in the present, the future. What can we do NOW? What will help New Orleans for the FUTURE? Not "what could we have done before all this happened?" It's in the past, and speculating about what could/should have been done is not going to help all those people who no longer have homes.

Commercial Advertising

2005-09-07T12:11:00.000-07:00

In today's society, the cell phone is escalating in popularity and accessibility in every household across the nation. It seems nowadays, everyone has a cell phone. In fact, I've even seen 7 year olds with phones! The last few weeks of summer, I had been watching more TV than usual, and flipping through channels that appeal to teens, such as ABC Family and MTV, and I had noticed various commercials that advertised things such as ringtones, jokes, or being able to talk to "hot" "girls/guys" through text messages (note: girls and guys is in quotations). I consider these commercials "interactive commercials" because they instruct the audience to send a text message, and you receive several messages instantaneously. Well, I'd hate to admit this, but these commercials are idiotically brilliant. In all of these commercials, there is a paragraph at the bottom in small white font that states it will charge something like $0.99 to the cell phone bill for every message received. The masterminds behind these commercials are obviously targeting gullible teens or pre-teens with cell phones because teenagers tend to be impatient, and ringtones or jokes every day of the week are in their grasp instantaneously with the pushing of a few buttons. Plus, they imply that their product is free. I'm guessing about 80% of these victims are scolded by their parents upon receiving the bill. It is apparent that these companies make a profitable amount of money from all their innocent victims. I mean, who doesn't want to hear a joke to brighten each day? Commercials like these show how ignorant our generation really is, and they degrade the general state of advertising. However, in the money-making scheme of things, these advertisements are brilliant.

Labor Day

2005-09-07T08:04:00.000-07:00

We celebrate labor day to pay tribute to those who have "labored" for our nation. Much like memorial day when we celebrate those who have given their lives to our country in its defense, but unlike memorial day, I do not think we pay as much tribute. We all think about the different wars and things that our nation has been through on memorial day, but on labor day we celebrate another long weekend and a day of relief from school or work. I think we have lost focus on what we began and I think media is partly to blame for this loss. The media has found other things for us to value over the meaning of labor day. I don't think most of us mind the extra day off, but what about those who have to work and continue to labor while the rest of us kick back and relax?

Labor Day is...well...LaborDay

2005-09-06T21:55:00.000-07:00

Labor Day from my understanding is a day to appciate the men and women who work hard to keep this nation going. But as far as I can remember labour day was a day off. We get it off for school. The funny thing is everyone I have ran into has been working on Labor Day. I would too if I was getting paid and half. Considering I have no job I really can't admire it so much but I like the day off school.

XMen Legends 2

2005-09-06T21:48:00.000-07:00

So, if there really are true video game nerds out there, they might already know this, but X-Men Legends 2- The Age of Apocalypse is nearly in our grasp. The game comes out September 23rd for XBox, GameCube, PS2, PSP, and the PC. Web-surfing, I decided to look more into this (and eventually blog about it). The game has amazing graphics (especially in High-Def) and looks so much fun to play. I've played the first game (on my little GameCube) and an ecstatic about the new one. Then again, I was a huge fan of the comics and cartoons as a child, so of course, why wouldn't I nyself grow up to love these new games?

Maybe no one cares, but I need to blog on this for my grade. But my point is, that the game looks really neat and fun. You should check it our yourself. www.xmenlegends2.com

Labor Day?

2005-09-06T21:21:00.000-07:00

Ok, so it says on the syllabus that we are supposed to be writing two entries before Wednesday on this blog thing, and one of them is supposed to be about Labor Day . . . So being the overly cautious college student that I am, I just decided to go ahead and do it so I don't get a bad grade. So here it goes . . .

Honestly I don't know too much about Labor Day. It has never really meant more to me than having an extra day added to my weekend. And as sad and shallow as some of you might think that is, you know you don't really sit down and pine over what it all means either. So, given how uneducated I am on this subject, I decided to look up information on Labor Day via the internet. But, since I am extremely A.D.D., it was really hard for me to actually sit down and try to read all about it. Fortunately, I did pay attention long enough to realize that Labor Day really should be looked at as celebration, and not just another day that we get out of going to school. We really should be spending this day recognizing and thanking all of the people who work so hard all year long in the trade and labor organizations. So hats off to all of you working men and women, and thanks again for giving us another reason to have a holiday!

Shocking Sixty Minutes

2005-09-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

A few days ago, I found myself at home in Coppell, Tx sitting on my couch with my mouth wide open as my attention was caught on the shocking sights of the disasterous Hurricane Katrina being reviewed on Sixty Minutes. Hundreds of dead bodies were shown being tossed on top of one another. A weak stomach creaped up as I visualized the hideous sight.

Most of the time I find myself sympathizing with the people involved in a tragedy, but it was different this time. I could empathize with those who discovered their friends and family were endanger. My friend whom I have known since we were in the same fifth grade class attented the Unviversity of New Orleans. She received a volleyball scholarship to attend the University. Luckily, her team had to play in a tournament about thirty minutes away from New Orleans on that tragic day. She discovered that all of her belongings including her car are under water never to return to her possession again. She was forced to return home and wear her volleyball clothes everyday until the insurance money comes in which could be months!

Back to Sixty Minutes, I put my self in the endangered peoples' shoes. It was easy because my friend who is the same age as me and from the same home town could have been one of those people who was getting tossed against there neighbors' dead bodies. It is a scary truth that made tears burst out of my eyes.

Peter Jennings

2005-09-06T20:16:00.000-07:00

A recent and very memorable media experience of mine was when ABC news broadcaster, Peter Jennings, died at the age of 67 due to his struggle with lung cancer. Although he had passed away, the news continued like Jennings would have wanted it to. Throughout ABC shows like Good Morning America and Nightline, colleagues of Jennings commemorated a mournful loss to the news industry, and recollected memories each of them had of him. Three days after his death, ABC deployed a two hour commercial-free special entitled “Peter Jennings: Reporter,” in which friends and relatives highlighted key points of his personal life and career. Even rivals Dan Rather and Tom Brokaw recollected memories they had experienced with Peter as rivals and friends. Ironically, all of this was extensive media coverage about someone who had provided the nation with extensive coverage for five decades. Whether in times of crisis, such as September 11^th, or times of celebration, such as the 2000 Millennium Celebration, Peter Jennings pursued his career like no other broadcaster in the nation, and I definitely turned to Jennings every day of the week.

Big Red!

2005-09-06T19:40:00.000-07:00

No local media is more notorious, more cheezy or more mocked than used car dealers. These salesman go out of their way to look as foolish as possible all for the aim of attracting attention and hopefully customers; it happens all over the country. One local dealership, however, takes the cake...Big Red Sports and Imports. These guys called in a favor and got the WWE's Jim Ross and Ric Flair to appear in their latest commercial. They actually constructed a wrestling ring in their parking lot and filmed Flair performing some of the most ridiculous wrestling moves in existence while Ross called the action as if it were the main event of WrestleMania. Silly? Of course. Effective? Definitely. If attracting attention was the purpose of the commerical, then they succeeded in spades. Who's going to forget the commercial with the crazy, white-haired wrestler yelling "Whooo" all the time? Not this guy. On top of that, getting those particular guys, who, in the wrestling world, are big stars, lends them credibility they wouldn't have had if one of their random employees appeared in the commercial. As outlandish and, well, stupid the commercial may have been, it worked on me. And I'd be willing to bet that I'm not the only one in this group who remembers this ad.

Hurricane Katrina

2005-09-06T18:37:00.000-07:00

After watching hours upon hours of news coverage on Hurricane Katrina, there is no doubt in my mind how serious the situation is for everyone. The damage to New Orleans, as well as other areas, is catastrophic and it just breaks my heart to know that the people who live there have to experience something as horrible as that. And when faced with a problem as big as this, it is nice to know that our nation as a whole is trying to improve the situation as much as possible for everyone. However, the media coverage is basically so focused on those regions alone that they have forgotten about the rest of the world. It is by no means a bad thing that the media is dedicating so much time and energy to informing us on the issue at hand, but they still need to dedicate a lot of time and energy on other issues that affect our lives as well. The priority of the media should not be to just educate us with what we want to know, but they should be going out of their way educate us on all of the things we absolutely need to know.

OU Football

2005-09-06T13:56:00.000-07:00

As much as the loss to TCU hurts, the Sooners have no one to blame but themselves. Both the offensive and defensive lines simply got outplayed, which is unusual based on the play of past Sooner squads. The fans were indeed shocked, but the thing is the players seemed to be stunned as well. The attitude just wasn't at the level it should have been for a victory to be had, and OU as a whole paid the price. Although the loss was not expected by anyone, people should have thought more of TCU than they did. The average fan will look at them and see that they are unranked and from a small conference and assume they are no good. With TCU, that is not the case. Tye Gunn, TCU's senior gunslinger from LaGrange, Texas, has been hurt every year since he stepped foot on campus. Now healthy and accompanied by running backs Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill, he is poised to lead the Horned Frogs to a successful season. They are now ranked No. 22, and good things are to come for them if they stay healthy, think maybe even Utah 2004.

Now, back to the Sooners. How ironic is it that the last time they lost a home opener it was to TCU and that Tulsa followed the very next week? Interesting, indeed, but I personally wouldn't look too much into it. John Blake and Bob Stoops are two different coaches who bring to the table two completely different attitudes. Stoops has inserted freshman quarterback Rhett Bomar as the starter, hoping to provide the needed spark to get the Sooners through a successful season. True, OU misses past superstars such as Jason White and Jammal Brown, but that is college football and that is what recruiting is for. Stoops has done well, and now it is time for attitude and work to turn that talent into Sooner success. The Sooners now look to do exactly what they did in that first game and pay the price, but this time they hope to get a lot more success in return, with a couple of victories to gain momentum heading into the 100th edition of the Red River Rivalry in Dallas, Texas.

OU Loses to Texas

2005-09-06T11:54:00.000-07:00

In the first OU game of the season, fans all across Oklahoma were very dissapointed. This is the second home game loss for Bob Stoops. The last time OU lost a home opener was in 1996 to TCU. The next game OU played was to Tulsa, and we had lost to them too. Makes one wonder...

Normally, OU fans are outraged after a loss. The fans start riots and Norman becomes a dangerous place to be in, but after this game, many people were angry, but more shocked. NO ONE was expecting a win from TCU. I mean, they're from Texas. And they weren't even ranked! And they're from a small conference!!!

That game showed just how much we really need players like Jason White, Vince Carter, and Jamal Brown. The offensive line from this opener just looked pathetic compared to last year. OU fans have become spoiled to seeing offensive linemen pushing the other players around giving the quarterbacks more time to find an open reciever.

All in all, let's just hope history doesn't repeat itself. OU fans should cross their fingers and hope that our team learns from the mistakes of 1996.