Classmate's Blog Response #3

When I read Sam's blogs, I think differently. He shows great credibility in his blogs. When he comments on other classmate's blogs, he sometimes disagrees with them and he makes a lot of sense. His assumptions about other's blogs are interesting and he words his own blogs very carefully. While reading his blog, I kind of realized that we think the same in some ways. He had previously talked about another student's blog and disagreed on how movie theaters would still be here in the future. He responds by saying that once new movies are released, they could easily be distributed and digitally transported through your own TV. We might not need movie theaters anymore. Once I read that, I thought to myself about how much that could definitely happen with today's technology. His blog is very well written and he makes a lot of interesting points. I recommend you stop and read them sometime. It is very much worth it and easy to read. Here is his blog: http://samwinreallife.blogspot.com/

WHAS -- The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Over the last month of October, Mr. Miller's J1 class did a recording project about Louisville's local news stations. We also recorded the popular newspaper, The Courier Journal. Overall, the Courier Journal had the most stories, but that is only because they can fit however many stories they want into the paper because they don't have a limited time to tell the stories like the news channels do. You can read the paper whenever and however you want to. The news stations WHAS, WLKY, WDRB, and WAVE were recorded to see how well these stations do in receiving and giving news. Let's talk about WHAS, the news channel that I had to record with my group. WHAS never had the most amount of stories or the least. They were right in the middle of everything. They had a good balance of telling news and how efficiently they tell the news. They give the most recent news and actually have time to talk a little bit about it before moving on to another story.  That was the good. The bad is that they aren't very good active reporters. They say what they're told and they're not keeping up with other stories that may have been more important at the time. Speaking of stories that weren't important, let's talk about the UGLY. The David Camm Trial. WHAS dedicated the whole news portion of the show to talk about David Camm being not guilty. I am sure this upset most people and probably everyone except for the people that are actually involved in the trial. I think that they certainly should not have done that, but if they do that then they shouldn't have the whole show just about David Camm. People want other news! WHAS is probably the most balanced of the group of news stations and most of the time they can be a very good news station. I would actually recommend WHAS to someone who just now wants to start watching the news.

Classmate's Blog Response #2

As I am reading through my classmates's blogs, one of them catches my eye. Elizabeth Brown (a.k.a E-Z-Bee (everyone call her that)) had very lengthy blogs. They always have much information to read about and they her ideas and thoughts about what she writes about are very convincing and true. She is a very talented writer and deserves to get credit for what she writes about in her own words. She always makes a point, a good one too. Her opinions carry great weight and is a very good news critic. She should be noticed for her amazing, well-written, determined, and descriptive blogs. She uses scholarly words in her sentences and it just makes her sound even more descriptive. There is no true words on how to actually describe her blog, you'll just have to check it out for yourself. http://ebrownie68.blogspot.com/

Parts of a Newspaper

When I first saw and realized how many different parts there are in a newspaper and found out we have to remember them, I thought I was finished, but in the end, it wasn't so bad. I never knew that a newspaper had different parts to it. When we first talked about the parts of a newspaper, I thought we were going to talk about, you know, the sports section, metro, business, etc. not the legitimate parts of the newspaper. When I had first laid my eyes on all of the different parts, I almost collapsed. I thought this was going to be one of the most difficult things we would have to do in J1. It turns out that it wasn't even that bad. On our test we only had to name five and I thought that was pretty easy. I eventually got the hang of knowing where the parts are every time we discussed where they are in a newspaper. There are still a few words that I am not for sure about, but other than that, I'm okay with newspapers. Now, every time I read or glance at a newspaper, I look all over and just name the parts because now it's all in my head.

Classmate's Blog

So far after reading all of these blogs after blogs, I came to the conclusion that I really enjoy reading Ginny's blog. The pictures she uses to go with her entries are marvelous. Especially the blog about the David Camm trial with Spongebob and Squidward saying "No One Cares." Those memes always make me giggle. Other than her pictures, it's the way she describes her reasons for what she believes about her topic that is very well written. She uses strong words, unlike me, and can really get your attention. With her constant talking of issues in school, she really knows what to talk about and has the power to write such an inspiring blog. Here is her blog if you are interested in reading it: http://ginnycon12.blogspot.com/

Response to Class Discussion: Internet

The internet. Probably the world's most favorite and complex piece of machine. From a desktop to an iPhone, the internet is everywhere. I would say that when the internet came out, it started a whole new age of technology. It can allow us to do so many things. One click of a button and you're wherever you want to be. The internet can allow us to do what TV, radio, newspapers and magazines do all in one device. If it does all of these things, then why haven't they demassified yet? The internet doesn't just take over everything, it basically just accompanied other sources of media. People didn't stop watching TV, they started to watch even more of it now that it was free and on the internet. It was also a very large social network of almost everyone. There's Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. People can receive news even faster with these social networks. I know I do. I use Twitter a lot and I follow many news Twitter accounts to keep up with current events, but somehow I still fail at Mr. Miller's current events quizes... Thanks internet.

Response to Class Discussion: Radio

Radio was the first major source of everything you wanted. It had news, kid shows, adult shows, talk shows, etc. Radio changed the way we receive news. It helped get news across the country in a matter of time. It was the first national news source and it got many people's attention. Everyone loved everything about the radio, until TV stepped in. The radio did not really demassify that much though. Why not? Most things demassified when radio stepped in so why don't they? Well, radio thought of other ways to keep their head strong. They played music! Lots and lots of music! It was something that TV didn't have and every other media source. This was a huge hit for radio and that's why they're still strong today, playing today's hit music. Sometimes I will listen to the radio, but only certain times like when Christmas music is on (except this year because it came on way too early. It's only November guys) or when a sports game is on and I have no other way to watch it. Other than that, my honest opinion about the radio is that I hate it. Sorry guys, but I do.

Response to Class Discussion: Television

Ahhh good ol' TV. It is always nice to come home from a long day of working to just kick back, relax, and watch some TV. We're very lucky to have been born in this generation because I would very much rather live now than in the early 1900s. Back then you couldn't just take a break and watch your favorite TV show. All they really had was radio, but I guess you can say that was still pretty exciting for them. Television has come a long way. It was invented in 1927 and in about 10 years, 1 million people had at least one television per household. After only another two years, that number went up 8 times and one more year after that? Already 12 million people! That is insane. By 1977, 97% of homes had a television. It looks like people enjoyed the TV more than the radio.

Response to Class Discussion: Movies

Movies have been, and still are, a very big influence to American culture. When Dixon made the first movie camera, I'm sure he did not know how big of a hit this was going to be. It took awhile for movies to come around after he made the movie camera because they had to make flexible film, project it, and build movie theaters. By 1930, there were already 9000 theaters around the country and with sound! That was big back then. Now we almost take it for granted. So why do we still go to movies? Movies are so old now and we can easily just watch them at home for free on the internet. Well, the answer to that is simple. Movie theaters give off an immersive experience with their big, quality screens and amazing sound systems in a dark, quiet room with no distractions (sometimes). Movies are also still a great place to hang out. You get that social experience from movie theaters. You can finally get away from school, hang out, talk with your friends, and have a good time. Movies have been very successful lately especially with all of this new equipment. Just wait, in two years they can develop a lot of new technology. With that in mind, think of how great Star Wars Episode VII will be. #12/10/15

Will's Blog

Today, I took a look at Will's blog. I really like the way he makes you think when reading his posts. He will end with a question that leaves you thinking. I really like that he does that. He also gives very good examples of demassification and the internet. He says the demassification is like a cycle and we still have yet to find something that will take over the internet. The detail in descriptions are great and very easy to understand what he is saying.

Class Response 4 -- Internet and Computers

The internet and all the computers in the world are amazing things. It's the one thing that has totally defeated conglomeration. It's everything you need in one device. The internet is everywhere, on your phone in your pocket, on a laptop/desktop computer, and now you can have internet on your TV! That's just crazy. The internet is possibly one of the most helpful and easiest of all technology. First off, it's cheap to record and distribute. There are also thousands of genres and niches. The internet is everything and without it, all kids might die from boredom.

Class Response 3 -- The Printing Press

Try to imagine life without books, magazines, newspapers, or any type of literacy. Sounds hard doesn't it? That is why we are very thankful for Gutenberg. Without him we would not have any of those things. He is the one who invented the printing press and started many things with his invention. In the 1300s to the 1400s, we had to do what the Church said. They told us what was in the Bible and we had to believe them because we did not have a copy for our own personal use. Soon after the printing press was invented, Martin Luther wrote the 95 theses and posted them on the Church doors. People took the document and used the printing press to make copies for everyone to read and it then everyone realized the church was wrong, thus starting the reformation. I am so glad that he invented the printing press. It really changed the world in a good way.

Class Response 2 -- Conglomeration

Conglomeration. One cool thing I liked learning about it J1. It has to happen though. Conglomeration is when bigger companies group or buyout other companies and just add it to their company as part of one. They don't just buy any company. They have certain news, sports (maybe), entertainment, etc. For some big, popular companies, it's strange to see what other companies they own. The one that really "wowed" me was that Disney owns ESPN. It's weird to think that because you have a cartoon/animation movie and show company owning a full on sports channel, definitely not something little kids want to watch.

Class Response 1 -- Recordings

When we talked about recordings in class not to long ago, it really made me realize how important recordings are. Today, when we think of recordings we think of just music records and albums and recorded television. We don't realize that it's so much more than that. Recordings are just that, but it is also tapes that you talk into, tapes that you can record a movie on, you can record history with a video camera in a war and then we will forever have proof of what that war was like. Recordings are big with music. If it weren't for recordings, the only way we would be able to hear music is actually go to a concert. Now, we don't have to move and we can hear recorded music. Recordings are probably the second best invention of communication, behind the printing press invented by Gutenberg.

Media Critique -- Ted Cruz (R-Texas) "Star Wars" Reference

The Representative of Texas made a very true, but hysterical reference on the Senate floor today. He has been giving a very long Anti-Obamacare speech since Tuesday, but today (Wednesday) he compared this fight about Obamacare to the Rebel Alliance and the Dark Side from the popular movie saga Star Wars. The Huffington Post says, "In the first few hours of his speech, he talked about Nazis, the moon, pro-wrestling and "The Little Engine That Could," and he claimed that his father wrote "Green Eggs and Ham." It seems as if he's a little coo coo, but it's almost like he has a point to what he says. Cruz states that "just like in the Star Wars movies, the Empire will Strike Back and according to the Huffington Post, he also "wondered if at some point we were going to see a tall gentleman in a mechanical breathing apparatus come forward and say in a deep voice, 'Mike Lee, I am your father." Good job, Ted. You just won the trust of the Rebel Alliance in a galaxy far, far away. The writer of this article didn't have much room for dissent. They didn't say anything of what they thought about this happening and not much criticism. The local relevance of this article is big, but it's not huge. It seems to mainly point to people who like Star Wars and people who are into politics and like to hear the silly things other representatives say.

SOURCES:http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/25/ted-cruz-darth-vader_n_3988027.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

(video of Star Wars reference in speech mentioned in the link above).

Haha Oh Carver...

Today, I took a look at some student's blog pages. I eventually came across Carver's blog http://manualrants.blogspot.com/ and read his first post. The only thing it said was, "For an automatic rant, press 2." I'm not saying this is the best post I've seen, but it just so happened to catch my eye and I, for some reason, thought it was funny. I didn't really understand it, but that's what made me laugh. That kind of confusing, non understandable, humor is the type of humor that I like. I thought I should share this because I liked it even though it was 6 words long. Thanks for the giggle Carver.