All We Are (or Aren’t)

Today, we are asked to examine ourselves and our five closest relations to see how and if our personalities are/were affected. Also, we have to see if indeed there is any aspect of our identity that is original. Or can be deemed original. Below, I’ve included the quote that I’ll be basing the majority of my post on.

“You are the average of the five people you spend the most time with” – Jim Rohn

Back home, my five closest relations were my mom, dad, brother, Marge, and V. Names have been changed for their privacy, and because I’ve always wanted to say that I gave somebody a code name. Moving on… First off, while I resemble my mom, I act eerily like my dad. We both share a sarcastic, dry sense of humor, have expressive faces, and big mouths (not to mention sharp tongues). This may seem all negative, but really it isn’t. We don’t even need words to communicate, all we have to do is look at each other and then Mom yells at us both. But it is totally worth it, I mean, yeah, no. It’s totally worth it. (sorry mom). Now my mom and I are alike in the fact that we tend to keep to the outskirts of social gatherings; wallflowers if you will. I love to people-watch, which really came about as a way for me to cope with being in large crowds, and thus do better in smaller social settings. Also like my mom, I normally am not too forgetful, in the fact that if someone offends me or mine, they probably need to stay away from me after that point. I can forgive, but I don’t forget, is what I am trying to get at.

 Last in the family influences, is my little brother. He tends to help me curb my mouth, and helps me to see how not all people are I perceive them to be. He can also be impish, and I think he is developing a little bit of a sarcasm edge, which I couldn’t be happier about! My other two friends, Marge and V, are outgoing and loud which leaked into my personality at times. So, overall, I’m a quiet, sarcastic, outgoing (to an extent), easy-going person.

But here, I really only have two, maybe three, people who I am in close relations with: my roomie Snow White, and my shooting girls: HW and Iowa. (I am part of the college shotgun sports club.) Overall, I don’t think my roomie is adding to my personality – we seem to be of equal temperament. However, I know that HW and Iowa are subtly – or more accurately not-so-subtly – rearranging my personality. When I am around them, my tongue gets a bit looser and my sarcasm is flowing freely. They aren’t afraid to say what they are thinking and I admire that. Also, when we shoot, I can literally see Iowa’s confidence/ego come into place when she steps into her zone. It is pretty cool to watch. Although I feel like almost everyone in the club has their shooting personality and then their normal personality. Just casual observation…

And to address the last question in today’s prompt: is there anything original in our personalities? I say no. From birth we are shaped by our parents personalities and behaviors. Children are more perceptive than adults, and thus take in many more personality traits. Examples: daycare and changing child behavior. I’ve heard more mothers complain about this than I think anyone ever should. All our lives, we try to find ourselves, within all our absorbed character traits and with what society is telling us we need to act like. But the truth is that, we have to create ourselves out of all our experiences, personality traits, thoughts, beliefs, and actions. So, again, we are not original material. We are simply a recreation, a phoenix of a person, who may or may not have lived before us. And on that note, I leave you. Until next week, ~V

Sell Me Something I Don’t Want

Hey all! Today’s topic is how commercials/ads have changed over time and what emotions they are targeting. I hadn’t made the connection between this change and remix but it fits and is true. So here goes nothing. 

Commercials have come a long way from their simple and straight-forward messages. Now some no longer mention the actual product, instead just throw in the name at the end of the commercial. Name dropping…. And hope we make the connection which then, they hope, will have us buying the product. Other commercials over-exaggerate their product, however they can. Still, other products are presented as such life-altering things that one cannot go without.

In my humble opinion, commercials always have involved some tie into popular culture and reference to core values; freedom, liberty, family, the American Dream. However, the newer generations of commercials rely more and more on sex. What’s the saying….”Sex sells”. Yup that’s the one. Moving on. From selling a hamburger, to clothing, to perfume/cologne, advertisers know how to have their product sell out. Modern commercials also use humor – the typical stupid American humor. Some of these commercials are too stupid that they aren’t even funny anymore. But that’s just me. Obviously the commercial works on others because they continue to play said ads. Another way these ads appeal to consumers is through emotions. Specifically, having the actors look so happy to have used the product, so bubbly and full of sunshine and rainbows and throwing glitter in the air. That may have been a little too harsh, but I am looking at you tampon/pad commercials. No woman is that confident to wear a white swimsuit while its her time, and most feel like road-kill so we wouldn’t be at the fictional pool-party to begin with. 

Pulling myself out of my rant mode, advertising professionals know that once our emotions are in control, we are in a very susceptible state. “…in the arms of the angel, fly away, from here…” On that happy note, ~V

Are We There Yet?

It’s a rainy day, and this blog post is not what I would like to be doing right about now. But I can’t really complain. My roommate has to be up at 2:30 AM for “All Night Pomp”. Yet another reason I didn’t ‘go Greek’. Any-who, onto this blog post. On the ever relevant subjects of the economy, technology, and society.

Specifically, the GPS unit strikes me. Not sure why. Never used one before. But at this point, I’m rolling with it. Because think about it. When the big GPS rush hit, map sales went down. Unless you are like my father who uses the giant maps and doesn’t let anyone else help navigate. Companies like Garmin became giants in the industry and now are proud employers in various cities. Thus, the economy and society were benefited. Economy by the sales of the GPS units and the job market boost. Society was improved because now people who get helplessly lost – Rashy-Ashy-Ashtray – don’t appear quite as clueless. But we all know the truth. There is also the automatic updating of road closures/routes. And having to wait for updated maps. Could you imagine? 

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Garmin_logo_2006.svg

Along with the now considered basic car model accessory, maps are interactive and appeal to younger generations. Really, though. How many people use Google Earth, or similar programs, to scope out areas before going, or to just creep on people? Thus the use of maps and navigation software are incorporated further into society and not seen as just for the RV’s and tourists.

Lastly, here is the commercial that I think of whenever I think of GPS or maps. Hope ya enjoy it. Until next time, ~V

Sort-a Word-y

Get it?!?! Ridin’ Dirty – White & Nerdy – Sorta Wordy. Hopefully you do now. It’s not every day that my creative genius is stretched so thin. So, onto this Tuesdays blog post. We were asked to compare/contrast the song, “Ridin Dirty” by Chamillionare with the satirical parody “White & Nerdy” by ‘Weird Al’ Yankovic, along the lines of the satirical portrayals of whites and blacks in the videos. Also, we are to see to what extent racial satire is helping/harming relationships between the races.

Whew. Where do I start?… To address the first concern, I think that both videos represent true cultural aspects. I mean, that when the police have Chamillionare pulled over in his video, his car screams black. Well, in all fairness, it also is on the verge of screaming Mexican, but Mexicans would have better rims. Having grown up in various parts of town, I know which race to associate various cars to. Now don’t go getting mad. It is true. Perhaps you’ve never noticed because you’ve lived in one town, but take it from someone who has an idea of what they are talking about. I think it is a cultural divide between whites and blacks and these videos just exploit the differences. Generally speaking, no white person will drive a car like Chamillionare in the video. Nor would a black person be caught dead driving a Prius (again, generally speaking). Now as for the portrayal of whites, I was dying laughing. The action-figures and comic books are spot on for a majority of people. But on a more serious note, I know that Chamillionare is saying that they/he were pulled over because of their race. But from personal experience, I always have seen more whites pulled over than blacks. And more often than not, the police officer is black. How is that for a reality check? And if blacks really wanted to make a change, they would go to the police academy and become officers, instead of complaining about the lack of representation in a VOLUNTARY organization. (This is also a subject that I have written about previously).

As to the second question: I don’t think these videos are accurate representations, and consequently think they fuel the stereotypes and ignorance surrounding this issue. I think that the racial satirizing is harming more than helping. Because most people don’t realize that it’s a satire in the first place, so these satires can create confusion. I think this is all I have to say… Until later, ~V

OH! Here are the videos I am referencing:

Country (Music) Evolution

This post is much like the last, except not. If that makes any sense… Anyway. To show the country music evolution, I turned to YouTube. Here is the video I found that I think exemplifies how country has changed over the years.

Yes, I know the video is long (28 minutes-ish) but I chose it because if one listens closely, you can detect the changes. Most of the changes occur in the background, or the instrumentation if you will.

See, country music started out as the voice of the simple people. Their instruments were cheap and simple – the fiddle mainly. Nothing fancy or from the city. The lyrics and rhythms were easy to remember and their songs were mostly stories about their lives. Gradually, the fiddle was replaced with guitars and keyboards were added. Drums and other guitars added to the instrumentation. In my last post, I summarized an article by Jeremy Hill, and his article broke down these changes more specifically than I can in my own words.

Eventually, country music found itself in urban settings – moving into the cities. Like the people. Now it seemed, there was a new group of people to appeal to. More pop and rock influences began to leak into the newer country sound. Then we ended up with the JoCo boys who thought they were country because they listened to a country music station and had muddy, jacked-up trucks. Thanks. And that is where country music leaves us.

Personally, I think the 1990’s – 2010 yielded the best country. Of course, this may be in part because I grew up on this chapter of country. Don’t feel like you need to watch/listen to the whole video. But skip around and see if you can notice how the sound adapts. Until next Tuesday, ~V

A Research Source

For my research paper, I had to go into various databases looking for anything that was about my topic. And in this blog post, I have a trial run at a summary of a potential source.

Source: http://stagemommusings.com/tag/country-music/

Again, my topic pertains to country musics current identity crisis. My professor suggested that I tailor the question more like this: How has country music historically adapted styles of other genres? Is further adaptation necessary for country music’s continued survival? That way I can include the roots of the music genre and broaden my research searches. So without further ado, here is my summary of a research source:

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In the article, “‘Country Comes to Town’: Country Music’s Construction of a New Urban Identity in the 1960’s,” by Jeremy Hill, Hill argues that country music tried to shift its perception from the hillbilly to the city-slicker with little success. Hill bases his research on the ideas of involving urbanity and country music, and how country music looked to capitalize and improve its image with the new association with urbanity. Pulling quotes from letters to the Country Music Association (CMA), Hill shows that what the CMA strove for was not always what was presented. He also takes quotes from interviews with Eddy Arnold and Dave Dudley, who were both singer-songwriters during the 1970’s. Overall, Hills purpose is to show how country music in the 1960’s did not achieve its desired image. All his research shows how country music could not escape its stereotypes and original imagery.

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Okay just a couple things that I’ve gotta say here.

1. I apologize about using ‘with’ so much. It is a necessary evil.
2. The title reminds me of the song, “Country Done Come to Town” by John Rich.

Lastly, I feel that some of what Hill is saying, or said, is true. Country music did try to change its image, but its run-down town does it no favors. Nashville may be the country music capital but it is also a city most try to avoid. Crime, dirtiness, take your pick really. And I’m not just ragging on Nashville, goodness knows there are faults in every city. But I like to think that the efforts of those 1960’s campaigners didn’t go to waste. I’d like to think that there is a hillbilly bone in over half of the people now currently residing in cities. Who knows…. I sure don’t. Let me know what you think. That’s it for today I think. Night all, and see if you have a little country in you. Ya never know… ~V

And My Topic Is…

Well hello again. I know it isn’t Thursday, but I am going to post ahead of time. Sorry for all of you who obsess with details. This one isn’t going to fit the previous pattern. Again, sorry not sorry. 

As I said in my last post, our English class is done with exploring identity and remix in video games. Now our class is moving on to look at other forms of remix. This includes our second essay. So let me introduce my topic to you guys and tell me what you think? Here goes nothing…

Since our paper topics have to deal with remix of some kind, at first I was lost. I had no clue as to what I was going to research. My classmates were coming up with all these great topics and there I sat. Playing with my pencil and racking my brain for an inkling of an idea. Finally, after I left class, I got an idea. The identity crisis of country music. This came to me while I was frustrated with the crap that was on my Pandora Country station. Fed up, I created a Brooks & Dunn station. With the first opening notes of “Red Dirt Road” my day instantly brightened. I’ll really be looking at how country music has created its past identity and how it is changing to keep listeners. I hope to learn why this new ‘country’ is a far cry from the late 90’s and early 2000’s that I grew up on. To me, that is the real country. Country is supposed to be a story and have a meaning behind it. There are few artists that I make the exception for, because this new stuff isn’t making me want to continue tuning into the country music stations.

My sources for my paper are slowly coming together. I’ve found some good articles via the databases that the university allows students access to. Did you all know that there is an Oxford Music Database?! Me neither. Til earlier today that is. Most of the articles are older, so finding more current stuff is proving a little difficult, but I am confident in my skills of finding research.

So yeah. This is my plan for the second essay. I don’t think the topic will vary too much from what I’ve stated above. I will leave you with some comics. Happy early Thursday! ~V

Source: http://sophlylaughing.blogspot.com/2011/06/humor-at-home.html

Birth Of A Musical Genre.
Source: https://www.cartoonstock.com/directory/c/country_music.asp

A Dungeon Survivor (sort of)

For those who had a panic attack – probably none of you – I am referring to a World of Warcraft (WoW) dungeon. Not an actual dungeon that the mind thinks of – at least I do. Anyway, onto the bigger picture.

Today in class, our teacher had a group of us (we were actually all Night Elves except for the teacher) meet up to go into a Dungeon. I wasn’t the tank or healer, and I am blanking on the actual term. Basically my job was to kill things and not die. Looks easier on paper, or in print. Let’s just say our first attempt was poorly thought out and we all died within seconds of engaging the enemy. After that we developed a system that seemed to work better as we went along. As far as our communications, since we were in the same room, most of it was verbal. Some people spoke in the chat pane but that was harder to do while trying to stay alive. We were in Stormwind City and did the dungeon that is located in the fort structure that is surrounded by the canals. Overall I would say our group worked pretty well together and all our communications were beneficial.

Entrance to the Stormwind City Dungeon. Source: http://quickdungeon.com/stormwind-stockade/

After completing the dungeon, I think it is safe to say we all could relax and breathe. But soon four of us (minus the teacher) were pulled into another dungeon. This one was completely different! First off, it reminded me of a dimension of Hell. You know how some describe how Hell has rings and the closer you get to the core, the more the torture/pain? Well that description fits this dungeon to a T. Us Night Elves, Alliance members, were dumped in this Forge Hell-pit in the hopes of getting some really cool armor, leveling up, and/or the cash prize. This dungeon there was no communication in the chat pane, but we were talking in the computer lab. It wasn’t a big deal until our healer died and then got lost in the caverns. In the end it was me and the other Night Elf hunter, plus our pets. Don’t worry, we eventually found our Tank (he had died) and the other random person in our group didn’t do anything. Our healer eventually found her way back. Which leaves me to explain how I sort of survived the Dungeon. As everyone was logging off, I decided to try a new spell/attack. Thought I had selected the less intimidating enemy. NOPE! Needless to say, I died and then promptly logged off.

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2014/12/24/choose-my-adventure-on-autopilot-in-world-of-warcraft/

And that’s it folks. No more WoW for my English class. The grand finale, if you will. Overall I felt I did my job today – and certainly killed enough enemies to prove my merit. I do have to share the credit with my tiger(?) Karma – yes I really did name her that, and my freakishly-large owl Lady. I’ll let you in on a secret – she is a real piece of work. Lashes out at me every time I call her; which isn’t often. It was the nicest name I could think to give an animal spirited as she is. Oh, and that last picture is the pit I died in. Or somewhere in those caverns.

Happy Halloween Month! ~V

Communication in WoW

Wow. Today has been a mess and it isn’t over yet. Here is a quick run-down.

• Poured down rain while I was walking to class; results: resembled a drowned rat
• Whilst jamming out to Pandora between classes, my WiFi went away. Thanks for RUINING my jam session campus WiFi…*sigh
• Joined a WoW Dungeon! Pretty neat for someone like me

So yeah, this day has been crazy. And that’s not even the stuff I need to do for tomorrow! But back to the topic at hand.

Source: http://www.curse.com/news/world-of-warcraft-news/16121-world-of-warcraft-dungeon-quest-experience-nerfed

In my first WoW Dungeon (remember I am a Night Elf, hunter) I was ignored for the better part of the experience. Seriously. I was watching the chat pane and then I was transported to the Dungeon only to be left behind by my ‘team’. Thanks to those dungeon players on around 2:35. Throughout the dungeon I watched the chat pane to see if our leader would talk to us. Nope. Nothing. I even didn’t do my job and they just continued on. Finally I began to chip in and made some pretty good money as well as leveled up.

But the second dungeon! Simply put it was the exact opposite of my first experience. From the very beginning our leader made it clear that if we died, and we weren’t the Tank, then we were not going to be healed. So of course, what happens to me? Well first my tiger(?) Karma died. Whilst trying to revive her, I was ambushed. Literally. One second this woman was on the ground, the next I had taken her place. Let it also be on the record that the other members in my Dungeon group had gone on without me. So now I was all alone and I healed Karma, and then headed to the graveyard to help my soul find my dead – yet not bleeding – body. While I am finding my body – I look at the chat pane to see what’s been going on. Here’s the kicker. The leader of the group asked where I was. My thoughts were not G rated at this point in time. After I told him (I presume but one can never really know) that I had died, his only response was to leave. I was already going to,because at this time, I had died another time trying to catch up to the group. Monsters regenerate on a quicker time table than I did. Finding a quiet corner, I did just what he said. I left.

The rest of my time was spent trading in items I didn’t need/want and occasionally checking the trade channel. With the way people communicated – or rather the lack of communication – it seemed it was expected that each person do their job. Now the first group wasn’t bad but that dungeon didn’t seem so tense as the second one I was dropped into.

A strange end to a strange day. Not bad, not good. Just somewhere in-between. Until next time, ~V

Language and Technology

Ah, the relationship between technology and language. Language basically created technology while tech continues to change the language. I mean that we humans wrote the code for all the tech – which to my understanding is a language in itself. 

Source: http://www.ncpc.org/resources/enhancement-assets/clipart-and-stock-art/iStock-000003290557XSmall.jpg/view

The technology, in turn, is influencing how we communicate with each other. From watching our diction (word choice) to shortening certain phrases (lol, tbh, thot, jk, brb, ttyl).

We’ve had to start watching our words because of the non-verbal communications that can be, and often are, misinterpreted. Take emails and texting for examples. We have to be extra cautious as to the words we choose so that our message comes across how we intend it to. On a personal note – I know my mom struggles with this, and I am sure many others do. Moving further into our communication habits, we as a race somehow determined certain phrases to be too long to type out and subsequently shortened them. Phrases like, ‘laugh out loud’ (not ‘lots of love’ to all the confused mothers out there), ‘to be honest’, ‘that hoe over there’, ‘just kidding’, ‘be right back’, and ‘talk to you later’. Our language via technology became shorter and more to the point. No longer did the majority of people take time to formulate a longer answer, no instead, they fired back short messages. Our language was shortened to communicate faster, normally using the technology we had developed.

Now I will be completely honest right here. Okay? I have no idea where I was going with this post. I just get aggravated by how people now use poor grammar while I am talking to them and I hate that the useful and progressive technology is to a point responsible for the crumbling language. That’s all. Let me know what you think. ~V