DVR's

A digital video recorder (DVR) is a device that electronically records television programs to a database that the consumer can access from his/her cable network or television. It “records video in a digital format to a disk drive or other memory medium within a device.” (Wikipedia, 2009, p. 1) Programs can be captured and viewed at a later date with the option of either fast forwarding through commercials or deleting them all together.
The DVR was first introduced by TiVo and Replay TV in 1999 at Las Vegas in the Consumers Electronics Show. (Wikipedia, 2009) TiVo gained the most commercial success despite the award for best in show being presented to Replay TV. Eventually Replay TV fell off of the market due to “early legal action by media companies forced ReplayTV to remove many features such as automatic commercial skip and the sharing of recordings over the Internet.” (Wikipedia, 2009, p. 1)More recent DVR’s now feature the ability to record onto DVD’s and control the recordings from your cell phone or computer.
The DVR is beginning to slowly change the face of how advertising is done. Due to the ability of the DVR to skip commercials, many ad spaces are hard to fill on certain programs that have a high DVR rate. New ways to advertise are being pursued such as featuring products within a TV show to showcase that product. “Banners” or “Logo Bugs” are also becoming more and more popular as form of advertising that blocks out part of the screen to portray the information for the product, TV show or movie. (Wikipedia, 2009)
The face of Television is becoming more and more changed due to the DVR. While consumer convenience is the essence of this product, advertisers have had to adapt to this turn of events. DVR’s have all of the attributes of a mainstay in our society.

Bibliography

Wikipedia. (2009, June 12). Digital Video Recorder. Retrieved June 15, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_video_recorder

Journal Article Analysis 1-3: Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination

This article about the biography, Walt Disney: The Triumph of American Imagination detailed the ups and downs of the life of the creator of the Disney empire. It shows the life and times of Disney and what drove him to design such euphoric societies and how he kept the financial struggles under thumb. Truly the audience for this article is so large that it encompasses nearly everyone alive within the realms of modern day civilization. “It is hard to think of anyone who will read this book who has not been touched by the Disney magic, from baby boomers who remember their Davy Crockett hats to teenagers brought up on digital storytelling.” (Millard, 2007, p. 895) Anyone who can comprehend the Disney dream is welcomed to walk through Disney’s life.
The article in question shows several aspects that the Disney biography addresses. Building the empire, the origins of Walt Disney and his making animation into an art form are the basis of the reading. The book is based around these three concepts and helps the reader to gain a visualization of the true inception of Disney.
Walt Disney attempts to discuss the early struggle of the Disney empire. With complex financial dealing that almost drove the early company to bankruptcy, the reader is dealt a classic plot. Of course, as we all know and in keeping with the Disney happy-ending theme, with hard work and community spirit its survival made it one of the most durable and recognizable brands in the world. (Millard, 2007) Additionally, Disney’s obsession with the direction of the Disney empire and his productions is discussed in depth.
The history of Walt Disney’s life and his beginnings are a very compelling tale. “This was a formative time for young Walt and Gabler shows how a few years in Marceline, Missouri framed the ideal of small town America in Disney’s mind: secure, orderly, supportive, and comfortable.” (Millard, 2007, p. 896) He began to fixate on this utopia myth and propel it into his animation and productions as an adult. Recreating such peacefulness is what Walt strove for in his work, whether it be production or theme park.
The documentation of the golden age of Disney, the 1930’s, with the induction of animation as an art form, is some of the most informatory. Rudimentary cartoons, like Steamboat Willie (1928) were given the special brand of Disney magic and turned into shows like Fantasia (1940) with its intense display of artistry. (Millard, 2007) While his art captured the world’s attention, it consumed Walt and left what many describe as “chilly, remote and an often lonely figure.” (Millard, 2007, p. 896)
The style of the article is a bit unorganized yet it manages to tell the story. The main ideas are represented but are unorganized and hard to locate amongst the debris of concepts and supporting ideas. Paragraphs are not structured to showcase main ideas and make them stand out. The text was not difficult to read but it left one guessing what was to be learned from the book.
In an effort to break down the conclusions and key ideas in the article, I will discuss what I learned about the article and the ideas that stuck with me. The building of such an international empire has always fascinated me, but the reading helped me to see the hard work and dedication to a vision that this took. The affect that Walt’s animation had on the art industry and his dedication to the beautification of the projects will be remembered as well.
Despite all of this dedication, hard work and perseverance, this one lone, sad observation remains, Disney appears to have given his life in exchange for the art. Portrayed as a cruel, lonely and harsh man, Walt seems to have turned out to be the exact opposite of every idealic character that he ever created.
We will not soon forget the culmination and life’s work of Walt Disney. It is immortalized in the television screens and vacation pictures of entire generation now and to come. The truth behind the happiness is viewed in Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. The building of the empire, Walt’s beginnings and the creation of an art form all accumulate to help the reader envision the life and times of Walt Disney.









Bibliography
Andre Millard. (2007). Walt Disney: The Triumph of the American Imagination. The Journal of Popular Culture, 40(5), 895-896.

Texting

Text messaging has become a trend and mainstay mode of communication for most cell phone users today. “Text messaging or texting is a colloquial term referring to the exchange of brief written messages between mobile phones, over cellular networks. While the term most often refers to messages sent using the Short Message Service (SMS), it has been extended to include messages containing image, video, and sound content, such as MMS messages. Individual messages are referred to as "text messages" or "texts".” (Wikipedia, 2009) Most commonly, texts are sent from person to person, but this capacity has also evolved into sending and receiving texts from services and/or databases.
Texting has become socially savvy and viewed as acceptably quick electronic shorthand. Though only brief content, the social implications of texting can be huge. Timely responses and adequate abbreviations and wording can all have an impact on what the few short words imply. Anything from business deals to flirting can be conveyed via text.
Texting etiquette rules have been developed for this sort of communication. For starters, don’t hide behind your texts….Do not say things over text that are so personal that they should be said in person (canceling a date, breaking up with a boyfriend or girlfriend). (Martenson, 2008). “Consider where you are when you are texting”, make sure that it is not annoying, offensive or dangerous to those around you (I.e. Driving and texting is dumb and dangerous!) (Maughan, n.d., p. 1) Always think about the message that you are sending before you send it. (Maughan, n.d.) Texting should always be straightforward and clearly worded so as not to delineate the meaning of the message.
The tools and wording of text messaging have evolved right along with the communication style. Cell phones are available in a variety of prices that come with text capable and offer things like texting keyboards and quick texting functions. Texting abbreviation has become standard and well known in the texting community. For instance, LMK means “let me know” in text and TTYL means “talk to you later”.
Texting has become a huge fad that will probably not fade for years to come. Its social implications can help and hinder relationships and communication styles. Following simple texting etiquette and using the available tools will help to make the texting world open and convenient for all.

Bibliography

Martenson, M. (2008, November 6). Etiquette for Texting in the Dating Arena. Retrieved June 8, 2009 , from Girl Snark: http://women.gearlive.com/girlsnark/article/q308-etiquette-for-texting-in-the-dating-arena/

Maughan, J. (n.d.). Texting and Text Message Etiquette Rules. Retrieved June 8, 2009, from Life 123: http://www.life123.com/holidays/etiquette/texting/text-messaging.shtml

Wikipedia. (2009). Text Messaging. Retrieved June 7, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_messaging

Celebrity Adoption

Celebrity adoption is the new rage in Hollywood. Many of Hollywood’s stars have been in the news for international adoption in the past few years. Websites are full of the names of those that both adopted children or were adoptees, like http://famous.adoption.com/. There has even been some controversy over the matter. Publicity stunt or just pure goodness, these wealthy celebs are opening their homes to poverty stricken children from other companies.
One of the most notable adopters in recent history is Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Both are very involved in humanitarian work and are huge supporters of adoption. Angelina adopted Maddox Chivan from Cambodia in 2002 when he was only 7 months old. She shortly after divorced her then-husband Billy Bob Thorton and gained sole custody of Maddox. (Wikipedia, 2009) Angelina and Brad both adopted Zahara Marley from Ethiopia at the age of 6 months in 2005. In 2007, the couple made their final adoption of Pax Thien from Vietnam at age 3 years. (Wikipedia, 2009) The Pitt/Jolie family also have three children of their own.
Super star singer, Madonna, ran into trouble when trying to adopt a baby, David, from Malawi in 2006. After signing adoption rights, the illiterate father of the 13 month old, indicated that he did not understand the meaning of adoption to be that of taking the child permanently. (TMZ, 2006) Madonna states her reasoning for wanting to adopt children, despite exploitation risks, as “After learning that there were over one million orphans in Malawi, it was my wish to open up our home and help one child escape an extreme life of hardship, poverty and in many cases death, as well as expand our family." (Smith, n.d.)
I believe that the several celebrity adoptions are overall a good thing. After all poor children whom need a future are being taken in by people whom are very capable of providing their every need. Despite the factor or exploitation, I believe that this type of adoption proves that some of these celebrities have a heart.

Bibliography
Smith, S. (n.d.). 'Adoption Fever' Among Celebrities Good or Bad? Retrieved May 29, 2009, from TMZ for Netscape Celebrity: http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/celebrity/becksmith.jsp?p=bsf_celebadoption
TMZ. (2006, October 24-30). Boy's Dad Has Doubts on Madonna's Adoption. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from Netscape Celebrity: http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/celebrity/weekinent.jsp?gal=went_weekof103006&current=went_madonnatoadopt_1004
Wikipedia. (2009, May 28). Angelina Jolie. Retrieved May 29, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angelina_Jolie

Elvis Presley, Barbie and Dora the Explorer

Elvis Presley is the undisputed King of Rock and Roll. He began his singing career in the mid 1950’s and quickly gained national recognition. Presley’s accomplishments include awards for 150 albums and singles, 14 Grammy nominations with 3 wins and 33 successful films. (Elvis Presley.com, n.d.) His death in 1977 is still mourned by his fans internationally.
Barbie is an international icon that took the world by storm in the form of a toy doll fashionista. Launched in 1959 by Mattel, the doll was named after creator Ruth Handler’s daughter, Barbara. (Wikipedia, 2009)” It is estimated that over a billion Barbie dolls have been sold worldwide in over 150 countries, with Mattel claiming that two Barbie dolls are sold every second.” (Wikipedia, 2009, p. 1)
Dora the Explorer is a cartoon series that began airing regular episodes in 2000 on Nickelodeon. (Wikipedia, 2009) Dora is a Latina girl that travels along with her friend Boots the monkey and others to explore and find treasure. Along the way, she helps to teach the viewer not only a good lesson but Spanish words and customs. Dora is so successful that sales grossed over $1 Billion in 2004 alone! (Wikipedia, 2009)
I chose these three icons because they represent things that were an intrigal part to three generations of my family. Elvis Presley still inspires my mother and takes her back to a much simpler way of life than what we live today. She has passed this same love on to me and I adore the music, life and times of Elvis. His death also occurred on my birthday, August 16th. Barbie was a fashion icon with whom I passed many childhood hours playing with. Her many professions and clothing choices helped to mold my professional and creative being. Dora the Explorer is the love affair of my 13 month old daughter. She is also Latina and adores hearing Dora say some of the words she knows. I have encouraged her viewing this program due to the educational and moral content. All of these icons have been a part of family’s upbringing and the way that we relate and function in our world.
Bibliography
Elvis Presley.com. (n.d.). Elvis Presley Biography. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from Elvis Presley.com: http://www.elvis.com/elvisology/bio/elvis_overview.asp
Wikipedia. (2009, May 17). Barbie. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbie
Wikipedia. (2009, May 25). Dora the Explorer. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dora_the_Explorer

Assn 2-1: Going Green and Pop Culture

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. This mantra of the 1980’s has become the beat that we march to 20 years later. Using less, recycling and integrating organic products into the lifestyle has been propagated as the way to save earth and its future inhabitants. Going green not only helps to ease this generation’s conscience but it also seems to help connect us to each other. With a media frenzy created around the subject, the newest pop culture initiative is to live “green”.
Al Gore, former vice president, is helping to lead the cause against global warming. His projects include the Climate Project with Repower America and the Alliance for Climate Protection. Among many admirable goals, he and his task force have set forth “to “repower” our country with 100% clean electricity within 10 years.” (Repower America, 2009, p. 1) In addition he tries to solicite the support of other countries and their leadership to join such initiatives.
Celebs have been more than happy to jump on the “green” bandwagon. Leonardo DiCaprio has made his voice heard for many green topics. Brad Pitt helped to rebuild a greener city, the Big Easy from the ground up. (Dunn, 2009) Most recently, Ed Norton whom has recently promoted his “Earth Hour” project in which he encourages everyone to turn off all unnecessary power for one hour, 8:30-9:30pm, on March 28th. (The Sustainability Ninja, 2009) Celebrities have brought the “green” lifestyle to the big screen and to main street, making living with less so fabulous.
My personal views on “going green” have mixed reviews. While I do believe that we should live as much of an organic, conserving lifestyle as possible, there is a point where we need to draw a line. I think that is pathetic that you can go to prison for killing a baby moose in Alaska, but our country still allows the partial birth abortions of human babies, with no consequence. Global warming is over propagated and I believe is just a cycle that Earth is going through. Basically, I believe that we should take all of the “green” ideas and concepts and apply them to our reality. Making small changes to our lifestyles can help to save the Earth for future generations.


Bibliography
Dunn, C. (2009, February 18). How to Go Green: Like Celebrities. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from Planet Green: http://planetgreen.discovery.com/go-green/celebrities/green-celebrities-tips.html
Repower America. (2009). What is Repower America? Retrieved May 24, 2009, from Repower America: http://repoweramerica.org/
The Sustainability Ninja. (2009, March 27). Switch off Saturday for Earth Hour. Retrieved May 25, 2009, from The Sustainability Ninja: http://www.sustainabilityninja.com/tag/edward-norton/

Assn 1-4 American Idol

American Idol is synonymous with great talent, good music and lots of entertainment. All of these components make for an iconic television show that has produced hundreds of overnight superstars and millions of screaming fans. With something akin to 44 million votes during last weeks’ show, it not only proves its popularity but also probably rivals the amount of votes cast for president in the last election. (Gokey, Lambert, & Allen, 2009)
American Idol first began on June 11, 2002 as a spin off of a British TV sensation called Pop Idol. (Wikipedia, 2009) Idol attempts to discover the best singer in the nation by narrowing down the competition in weekly nationwide votes. Judges, Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and this season’s newest member Kara DioGuardi, help to influence voter’s opinions with their remarks on each song the contestants perform via their expert knowledge in the music industry.
Now in its eighth season, Idol has only become bigger and better by showing larger voting records than ever before. After a quick survey of 10 friends, I realized that American Idol is really one of those shows that nearly everyone at least knows something about. Most (8 out of 10) knew the names of the top three contestants, while only 5 actually watched the show religiously. (Earles, et al., 2009) All had of course heard of American Idol and knew at least one name of a previous winner. Only one friend cited their reason for not watching the show was that it got on her nerves. American Idol clearly is at the top of list in reference to today’s Pop Culture.
The shear number of people viewing and voting for the contestants has proven its popularity. After a personal interview, I discovered this phenomenon to be true in my inner circle of friends as well. Truly American Idol is an unstoppable craze.

Bibliography
Earles, B., James, R., Viera, N., Knudson, K., Knudson, M., Vilhauer, A., et al. (2009, May 17). American Idol. (K. L. Cuautle, Interviewer)
Gokey, D., Lambert, A., & Allen, K. (Performers). (2009, May 12). American Idol Top Three Elimination. Nokia Theater, Hollywood, CA, USA.
Wikipedia. (2009, May 18). American Idol. Retrieved 18 May, 2099, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Idol