Soundtrack

"I'm shipping up to Boston" - Dropkick Murpheys
This song isn't as much as a "soundtrack" that completely describes my life, but I love to listen to it to get pumped for anything, a test, soccer game, etc.

"Time To pretend" -MGMT
I really like the general sound and beat to this song. It always gets me in a very chill mood and cools me down from whatever I'm doing. I also like overall message of this song, and the music video is completely ridiculous.

"Don't Stop Believing" - Journey
I've probably heard this song way too many times for me to enjoy it anymore, however I do think it does fit for a "soundtrack to my life". The message is in the title in that you should never give up, or don't stop believing. I like to think that if you never give up on a dream, then there is still the possibility of completing it and that is what I like about this song.

Book

I choose the book "Information and communication technologies in rural society. I picked this book because I thought it would be a good example of how technology has helped rural societies and advanced over the years. I found the book at Steenbock on the first floor. It was fairly easy to find once I found the right book shelf I was looking for. Some of the other books around my book were "Changing Classes" and "Global perspectives on Rural Childhood and Youth". Most of the books around my book had the general topic of rural society and class structure. This may not have been section to look for books about technology and communication, but my book still applied.
Call Number: HT443 E85 I54 2007


Rusten, Grete, and Sarah Skerratt. Information and Communication technologies in rural Society. New York : Routledge, 2007. Print.

Commercial blog

I picked a Ford commercial from 2008.

Most of this commercial takes place inside a crash test lab, where we can see researchers make modifications on cars, the crash dummies, and the track. The whole commercial there is a narrator who is commentating on how ford makes sure that their "systems" in their cars are the safest on the road. The narrator also describes how quickly an accident can happen, making sure the viewer knows that safety should be a big concern on the road. The narrator then lists off the awards for safety the car has gotten, and then continues to show multiple crash runs to show us how the car reacts in the event of a crash. The commercial ends with by showing us cars on the actual road and telling us how safe all of these cars are.

The obvious appeal they are trying to make here is the need to feel safe. The whole commercial is based upon that you want to be safe in the event of a crash, and ford is the safest car on the market. I think this appeal is a very effective approach to a car commercial because being safe while driving is a huge concern to everyone, especially parents who are buying a car for their 16 year old son or daughter to drive.

Research Question

How has modern communication affected society?

I think that this question can be interpreted in many different ways, and I may have to narrow it down a bit. I am very interested in how technology and the internet has affected communication around the world, and I also think there is a lot of information about it. I think the most interesting topic is the internet and sites like facebook, twitter, and myspace and how these sites have changed modern communication or society in general. Many studies have said that because of the internet, we are actually less social because were all talking online rather than face to face. People are sometimes more comfortable speaking online opposed to actually speaking in person. Communication also has changed to be almost instantaneous. Text, IMing, facebook, and twitter have made sending a message an instantaneous task.

I will probably end up changing this question to something more specific, however I am interested in doing something technology and communication related. I also think there would be enough information to support my point.     

Something Borrowed

I found Malcolm Gladwell's main point in something borrowed was somewhat difficult to pick out, however the main message I got out of it was plagerism has many different kinds and levels. There is the idea of intellectual property, there is also directly copying sentences or ideas from something written, both of which are considered plagerism. He talks about plagerism in the music business and how difficult it is to say that this particular song directly copied another song. This is also were the dispute over lawsuits occur. How can one say with complete confidence that one song copied another, or one text copied another text? The degree of plagerism depends on what was copied, and how much was copied.

I found this description of plagerism very interesting to read about. I personally believe that plagerism always depends on the individual case and there cannot be one blanket rule for all cases. The article said the degree of plagerism depends on what was copied and how much was copied. I completely agree with this. If someone were to directly copy an essay and claim it as there own, it is a serious case of plagerism. However plagerism of an idea or "intellectual property" is a bit more complicated. I immediately thought of the movie "The social network". In the movie, Zuckerberg is being sued for stealing the idea of a social network, by a pair of twins who asked him to create a social network site for them. But did the twins own the idea of a social network? Thats what Zuckerberg's defense was, and what most intellectual property cases usually amount to.  

Racism

Rand’s main point is that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 is racist. She claims that the fact that there is a Civil rights act is racist and thus depriving the rights of whites (the majority) which is contradictory of the act itself. It is obvious that Rand is a big proponent of the individual’s rights, which is why she thinks that an act like the civil rights act is immoral because it groups people into “collectives”. She relates racism directly to political philosophies like capitalism and communism. She claims that the more capitalist a country is, the less racist it is because people look at the accomplishments of the individual, rather than the accomplishments (or failures) of a group. Also, the more communist a country is the more racist it is too because the government only looks at people as a group, rather than individuals.

                I thought that Rand’s points relating racism to political philosophies made a lot of sense. The freer a county is, the more individuals look at each other as individuals. In a capitalist society, no one should be linked to their ancestors. One’s ancestors shouldn’t affect someone’s ability to succeed or fail. Rand also claims that in a communist society racism is more relevant because people are looked at as “collectives” or groups. However in a pure communist economic society as defined by Karl Marx, there is no class system and everyone is looked at the same under the eyes of the government. This should mean that there is only one collective, everyone which implies that there is no racism. However as Rand points out, a true capitalist society has never existed and this is the same for communism.   

Solution to Saturday's Puzzle

I thought the way that "Solution to Saturday's Puzzle" was written was what made it funny. The situation he is in and the way his thoughts are presented makes the text funny. I think a majority of the jokes come from the crossword puzzle when he is filling in words about Becky, himself, or the situation he is in. For example, when he wrote in "I am not an asshole" in the fifteen-letter space, that was a joke. These jokes though aren't funny if you only read the punchline, you need to understand the situation as a whole and thats what make the individual jokes funny. There are many funny parts in the piece but the next joke that I thought was really funny was the end, when he describes the word that Becky called him as they were getting off the plane, shithead.

My joke is: Why did the turkey cross the road?

To prove he wasn't chicken.