Assignment 1-3

The article of “Media Violence Causes Real Violence” explains the use of video games and who they affect the decisions of teenagers. Video games are not just the cause of being overweight but also can be the cause for violence. If you look at the Columbine High School massacre was affiliated by the video game of Doom. In April of 1999 two boys entered the Columbine High School and before they finished the killing spree there were a total of 15 died.  With video games so accessible to every one of all ages will not only interrupting young kids exercising their bodies along with their brains. They are saying that the reason for this was that these two boys that committed this crime because they did not fit into any of the cliques at high school.

The audience intended from these articles would be parents that their kids that play video games. The parents need to monitor what their kids are doing with their spare time so that this violent act will not happen again. The parents need to know more about what the kids are taking to school. If they were getting involved with their children’s lives they might have realized that these two boys were having problems with the kids not accepting them in high school. But since this has happening the schools have beefed up the security by putting in servalience cameras in all the halls and in the classrooms.    

They also blamed this act because of the music that these two boys had listened to. The parents of these two boys should have had some clue that there was a problem with them just by the way that they were dressing and that they were always laying the video game of Doom and the music that they were listening to. To me the parents are as much fault as the boys were. It was mentioned in the article of Media Violence Causes Real Violence that the shooters at the school of Columbine probably used the video games to practice acting out their rage onto the other fellow students (pg. 92).  There was a picture of the boys with a sawed-off shotgun that was pictured in the article of “Columbine Massacre” buy why wasn’t something pursued when they had taken a picture of the boys on March 6, 1999 when they were examining a sawed-off shotgun at a shooting range.

Like mentioned in the article of “Media Violence Causes Real Violence”, that the media is the scapegoat and the blame for social problems (page 80), this is true with the Columbine High School shooting.  With the expansion of the media is causing the expansion of the minds of young kids. If the violence would not have been on TV or in the video games then possible this would not have happened at all. The parents would have gotten these boys involved with some sort of activity in maybe the theater or a non school sports group. These parents are as much to blame as the kids. The parent’s needs to keep up on what the kids are doing with their spare time and to what they are listening to for music. With the video games they need to limit them to only so many hours a day or they are not to play them every day all day long.

It had mentioned in the Media Violence Causes Real Violence that is not just they cannot figure out why young white boys would commit a violent crime. But what makes the difference if they are white, black, or any other nationality it is a crime and more than likely that have seen it on TV or some other type of media like a video game. Maybe the parents need to set aside a time every so often to sit down and talk to their kids about how school is going and if there was anything that they can help with. Also schools need to make it that all kids carry clear backpacks so that you can tell what is being carried into the school in them. You did not find the problem of weapons in school when the kids never carried backpacks to school.

With as busy as families are anymore maybe the parents need to get involved with the kids and maybe schedule a sit down dinner at least two to three times a week without the TV or any media games present. Have a nice quiet dinner and discuss what is happening in their children’s lives and if there was any problems at school so that the parents can get involve and help with the problems. It is important for the parents to get involve with what is happening with their children and what they are doing in school and after school. All families need to set a time aside so that they can catch up on what is going on before something like the Columbine School Massacre tragedy happens again.

Reference

Rosenberg, J., (April 20, 1999). Columbine Massacre. Retrieved November 1, 2010 from http://history1900s.about.com/od/famouscrimesscandals/a/columbine.htm

Sternheimer, K., (07/2009). Media Violence Causes Real Violence. Retrieved November 1, 2010 from http://olinkserver.franklin.edu/search~S0?/Xpopular+culture&SORT=D/Xpopular+culture&SORT=D&SUBKEY=popular%20culture/1,315,315,B/l9xx~b1224074&FF=Xpopular+culture&SORT=D&2,2,,1,0

Assignment 4-1

From my teenage years I had and still have a favorite song, the name of it is “Tell Laura I Love Her” by Ray Peterson. The reason I like this song is because it is a sad song but the music is so relaxing and he lyrics go so well with the instrumental part. The song is about a young couple named Laura and Tommy, that are madly in love with each other and he wanted to enter a stock car race so that he could try to win a $1000. But this is a very sad song because he tried to call her to tell her that he was going to be late and had to leave a message with her mother that he wanted to enter a stock car race and that he would be late.

In the song he raced his stock car but something happened and he crashed which was very sad because he never go to speak to Laura again. The stereotype in this song would be the young teenage kids think that there is nothing between the love for one another and death. It does not matter to them how dangerous something is they will do it if it shows that special person how much they love each other. Tommy raced his car to just to get enough money to get Laura to make one thousand dollars. And Laura will never see him again and will have to find another man but if this was her first love the next one will never be the same as Tommy.

In the 1970’s all teenagers wanted the coolest and fastest car just so that the girls would go out with them. And I was one of them. If a guy did not have a cool car like a Chevy Camaro then the girls did not want anything to do with them unless they were a great athlete. And Tommy was one of the guys with a cool car so Laura followed her love except this time she was not home to take the phone call from him and could not see his last race. When I was a teenager this was the kind of music that we listened.

Assignment 5-1

From my teenage years I had and still have a favorite song, the name of it is “Tell Laura I Love Her” by Ray Peterson. And to this day I still like this song. I can remember every night before I would go to bed I would turn the radio on in my bedroom and find a station that was playing it and would listen to it in its entirety. Since I shared a bedroom with four sisters it was very seldom that I would get to listen to the music I like since I was the youngest. So we made a rule that whoever went to bed first got to listen to their music. This was fine until three of us were racing down the hall to our bedroom and someone shoved someone else and there shoulder went through the wall. So dad had to fix it when he got home from work. He was not very happy about it because that meant putting up new wall paper.

The song is about a young couple named Laura and Tommy, that are madly in love with each other and he wanted to enter a stock car race so that he could try to win a $1000. But this is a very sad song because he tried to call her to tell her that he was going to be late and had to leave a message with her mother that he wanted to enter a stock car race and that he would be late. In the song he raced his stock car but something happened and he crashed which was very sad because he never go to speak to Laura again. The way I understood this song was he was trying to save up enough money to get his love a ring but instead he lost his life for her. Now this happens on the roads and not at a stock car race. Kids will race on the roads instead of at a track and usually this does not end up with anything good. It sometimes will be over a girl but usually just to show off how fast they can go.  

The stereotype in this song would be the young teenage kids think that there is nothing between the love for one another and death. It does not matter to them how dangerous something is they will do it if it shows that special person how much they love each other. Tommy raced his car to just to get enough money to get Laura an engagement ring but instead he lost his life for her. And Laura will never see him again and will have to find another man but if this was her first love the next one will never be the same as Tommy.

The force that contributed to this tragedy was if there would not have been a stock car race then this would not have happened and Tommy and Laura would have went and did something else this night. And of course this song would have never been written about this couple it would have been about some other couple that this would have happened to. But Tommy was into stock car racing and if it did not happen this time it would have eventually because stock cars back then did not have the protection that they do know. His stock car was probably a car that was not equipped with the roll bars and seat belts.   

The stereotypes described in this song would be the teenagers of all types. In the 1970’s all teenagers wanted the coolest and fastest car just so that the girls would go out with them. And I was one of them. If a guy did not have a cool car like a Chevy Camaro then the girls did not want anything to do with them unless they were a great athlete. And Tommy was one of the guys with a cool car so Laura followed her love except this time she was not home to take the phone call from him and could not see his last race.

I would say that this era of stereotypes would be a positive entity because this is the people of tomorrow. When they mature into young adults they will realize that fancy and fast cars are not everything. And that is not the only thing the girls want. There is looks and personality that has to go along with these fancy and fast cars that the ladies want from a man. Laura thought that she had all of this but was never able to find out since Tommy crashed his car at the race. But in the eyes of parents the stereotypes would be negative entity with losing a child at such a young age. No parent should go through this with losing a child at any age. But what is bad this stereotype is still happening today. 

Stereotypes emerge without being aware that they are happening. This is a part of life. With teenagers they are a stereotypes group and there will always be this group because there are always teenagers and they will have their own group and type of people that they hang out with. No two teenagers from the same family will have the same stereotypes because they have different personalities. You have the younger teenagers and the older and a little mature teenagers and their stereotypes are different. The younger ones think that they are always right and that you cannot change them and the older ones are starting to see that they are not always right and are starting to become adults and see that the parents or adults in their lives are right. If Tommy’s parents would have intervened he would have been able to see Laura instead of racing his car.

Assignment 3-1

The popular culture for this week is going to be what I saw on the Nancy Grace show one night. She had on one of her shows a week or so ago about a couple that was riding their jet skis on Falcon Lake. This lake is on the border of Mexico and the Texas. This time a couple was on vacation and was jet skiing on the lake. The only way of telling which side of the boarder you are on is the pylons that are sticking up in the water. Well they went across the border and the lady said that a speed boat came up to them and shot her husband in the head. All she could do was to get out of there as fast as she could. This hit close to home in a couple of different ways since their last names were Hartley and that is my mother-in-laws maiden name and when I go to visit my parents in Texas this is a place that I like to go and see but I have second thoughts of that ever happening again. Nancy Grace interview the lady and she said that she went back to look for her husband but they are unable to locate the body. The officials are thinking that the ones on the speed boat were illegal drug smugglers and they had come back to get the body.

            This is a very beautiful spot but with all the problems with drugs around there I don’t think that I will go back when I am visiting my mom again. When my dad was alive we would go to this lake and look at the huge dam and admire the view. Mom liked to walk the dam to see if she could see any new views of Mexico. I told her about this and she said that she will not be going back. One reason is that you have to have a passport to get to the dam and we do not have one and the other reason is that drugs are so bad there that they will kill anyone if they think that you are invading their territory. I have been to this lake several times while visiting my parents in Mission Texas. One of the times that while I was there, a van pulled up and dropped off about eight to ten people. They were illegal immigrants from Mexico and they went running across the terrain with the Rattle snakes sign posted right where they went down over the hill. All you could see was there red hats and the jugs of water that they were carrying with them.

Reference

CBS, (2010) HLN Nancy Grace. http://www.tv.com/nancy-grace/show/35724/summary.html

Assignment 2-1

There is a television series on which is called American Pickers. It is these two gentlemen, their names are Frank and Mike, from Iowa that travel around the Midwest to different towns and communities collecting what some people would call junk and they call vintage items. But in the eyes of the beholder it is a treasure. They will pick up anything from old tin signs that were used for advertisement to old bicycles that were used from the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. On one episode one of the relics that they came across was an old bicycle which was called a high wheel, but this one was a unique one. It was all in one piece and you could switch the handle bars so that you were either riding over the big wheel or you were sitting above the little wheel.

Picture retrieved from Penny Farthing http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Penny+Farthing&FORM=VDRE&qpvt=Penny+Farthing# web site from the date of 10/5/10.

This is an interesting show because of some of the items that they dig up from different places. One episode they came across this guy called Hobo Jack. And he was actually a Hobo. He had some of the oddest items that I have ever seen. He had parts of motorcycles that he wanted to put back together into a motorcycle with all these different manufacturers but never did it so he sold all of the parts to Mike and Frank for $8000. And come to find out that the stuff he sold them was worth either two or three times that amount. If they are not sure if they had paid too much for an item they will call someone that knew something about it. This is a type of show that you will never get bored watching because you are always seeing new country and new different artifacts that someone thinks it is trash. But like the saying goes from trash to treasures.  

They will look at everything that looks like that it has any type of value. Mostly old vintage motorcycles, bicycles, tin signs, and old metal oil cans. But if it looks old and they want it they will dicker back and forth until they agree on a price with the land owner. They have gone as far as Georgia, Michigan, and Missouri.

It would be a dream of mine to ride with them to dig through the junk as some people would call it just to see what I can find. I go to antique shops but I don’t go to people’s door and knock and see if I can dig through old building for junk.

Reference

Farthing, P., (2010). About.com, a part of New York Times Company. Retrieved October 5, 2010, from http://bicycling.about.com/od/thebikelife/ss/History_4.htm

Assignment 2-2

The three icon characters that I have chosen are Dora, Eeyore, and Tigger. The one reason that these are my favorite icon is for Dora or Diego are educational cartoons or kids shows. These two shows teach the children Spanish and English how to count in both of these languages. For Eeyore and Tigger I have always enjoyed these two characters. I have no idea why but every time I see these two characters make me smile and laugh. I have enjoyed these two characters for as long as I can remember.  

With being a grandmother of young kids this is all they talk about. When I watch my two year old grandson every other word is either Dora or Diego. With only being two he can already tell you every character in all of the epesodes. He is counting in Spanish and English and could probably tell you what happens on about every show for both Dora and Diego with his eyes closed. He wanted Diego sheets set for his bed for his birthday so I spent several days looking for them but I went and found them and the first night that he slept on them he was in his crib talking to Diego. They are definitely an icon in his eyes but remember he is only two.

Image from Cindy Handley’s collection September 30, 2010.

Eeyore is a big fan of mine. I really could not tell you why because if you look at him he looks nothing like any kind of animal unless it would be a donkey. But donkeys have a longer tail that his has. But if you watch Winnie the Pooh cartoons he has some of the funniest comments and statements. In fact my husband and I was at a garage sale and he found one and had to have it which was okay since it only cost a few dollars. But my grand kids play with it more than he does. He bought it and has never touched it. This Eeyore talks if you press on his paw. I get a kick out of some of the statements that he has recorded on him.

Image from Cindy Handley’s collection September 30, 2010

I am saving best until last. I have been a Tigger fan for as long as I can remember. I like how he giggles when he bounces around. He also comes up with some of the funniest comments on the cartoons that I have watch. I know I am too old for cartoons but you are never too old for Winnie the Pooh. Tigger puts a smile on anyone’s face when he bounces around and giggles. At least he does on mine even at my age.

Image retrieved from Cindy Handley’s collection October 1, 2010

Assignment 1-4

The cell phone text messaging is a current major popular culture. It is on the news every time you turn it on. So many states are make it against the law it you are caught while driving. Several counties in Ohio have already made it a law that if you caught texting while driving which is very dangerous you will be facing a very stiff fine. Maryland is the eighth state that has it a law that you cannot even hold your cell phone while driving. This is when you put it on speaker or have it come through the car radio with the In Sync which is a Ford product.

            To me this is the best thing that the government could have done. It is too bad that it had to take few accidents to open some one’s eyes. It should be that teenagers should not be able to drive and use their cell phones at all. May all car manufactures should make it so that you can use your cell phone through the radio and not have to use the phone. The buttons to answer the cell phone is on your steering wheel and all you need to do is tap that button and it will answer the phone for you. You can even change the radio stations with this same button. You can make a phone call the same way. You just say how you want to call and it will make the call for you.

            There needs to be a team started that is Parent’s Against Texting. There could be one out there but I don’t know about it and could not find anything about it. I just made up the name. But all states need to make it a law that no one is allowed to drive and text at the same time. Maybe who ever created a cell phone that you can text on needs to take them off the market and this would have never started. To me this as dangerous as drunk driving and I do not intake alcoholic beverages but I am guilty of driving and talking on my cell phone. The only reason anyone needs a cell phone is to make an emergency phone call. There is no reason anyone needs to text and drive at the same time.

Reference

Witte, B,. (09-28-10). Maryland bans holding cell phone while driving. Retrieved September 28, 2010 from http://www.forbes.com/feeds/ap/2010/09/28/business-us-handsfree-cell-phones-maryland_7967141.html

HUMN341-F1WW

I am hoping that I can figure out how to add the followers to my posting!

HUMN341 Assignment 1-2

This is my first blog so please excuse me if I do not make sense but I am trying it at least.