Whats New, Pussycat!

          In this essay I will tell of the interviews conducted for the purposes of this in class quest. I conducted five interviews, asking each person to tell of what they saw being the next big thing in our culture. I also asked the interviewees to tell me why they thought this, some had extraordinary reasons and some were rather simple, but all were very interesting and plausible.
          My first Interview was naturally with my fiancé, he believed that the next big thing that was to hit our culture is the advancement of online gaming. He said while gaming is sometimes thought to be for nerds, this is not totally true! Game worlds put a person in a state of mind that if the game was created that it is meant to be beaten by the average player. This means that the gamer truly believes that they can accomplish anything. Take this one step further though, turn real world issues into video games, we have GPS, satellites, and the intelligence to see floor plans, and city makeups. If we took this state of mind that anything is beatable, one that is always experienced in the gaming dimension, and applied real world problems, we could conquer anything. The military already is using this idea to their advantage he says, and the business world I’m sure will catch on soon.
           This idea was also shared by my roommate Hunter Jefferson, who also owns a PlayStation 3. His reasons were similar to my fiancé’s reasoning, but with one difference, he added that if this idea that could turn into a very interesting science became reality, it would not be long until the public grasped it and wanted to use it for illegal purposes, such as drug trafficking.
        The third person I interviewed was my mother. She thought that cosmetic laser surgery would be the next big thing. She sells cosmetics for Mary Kay and is always thinking about that industry. She says that when we can change our complexion permanently, and it is cheaper than it is now people (not just women) will be all for making themselves look permanently better. Plastic surgery has been immensely popular and would probably be even more so if it was paid for by insurance plans or could be afforded by the middle class in America. When lasers can change a person’s makeup permanently for a relatively low price, everyone will be signing up to be fake!
          Number four was by brother, Hunter! He is only 9 years old, but is already a forward thinker. He says that now his cell phone is wireless, his leap frog laptop is wireless, but you always have to plug them into something for power. He says that the next big thing is not wireless communication, but wireless power. Imagine never having to plug your laptop or cell phone in at night, the power just comes wirelessly through a power router, not an internet router. His reason is that everyone wants this, there is a need. It annoys him that he runs out of battery and has to plug it in, so he is sure it annoys everyone else.
           My last interview was with my friend Laura Henman. She thinks the next big thing is a car with autopilot. They are already making cars with Auto Park, GPS navigation, sensors that brake your car and pull to the side of the road if you fall asleep or a semi suddenly stops in front of you. Put this all together into one harmonious system and call it auto driver. GPS already knows where the road is, computers can steer your car, and radar can keep separation between cars. You could then do work on your computer on your way to work or even text! Airplanes already do all of this, and so can a car. There is defiantly a need for this, and since most of the needed equipment is already in new cars today it is only one more step to just build a car with Auto Driver!

Are you a Skeptic?

For this quest, I decided to use Mythbusters. Mythbusters is an ongoing television show that is viewed by many. Mythbuster is set to educated people, on when they believe urban myths and theories.

■What are the stated mission, values and goals of the organization?  (These might be stated directly in the organization's materials or you may have to determine this for yourself.)

The guys on mythbusters set out to prove or disprove urban myths and theories; during each show they use the scientific method to do this. They are trying to take real world issues and prove that there is or is not something to a myth that either benefits or hinders our society.

 ■What kind of claims or ideas does the organization investigate?
Mythbusters sets out to prove urban myths and theories. These have included many different types of investigations such as:

·         Alcohol Tolerances

·         Prison Security

·         Do Hurricane Windows Help?

·         Does a Dirty Car get Worse Gas Mileage than a Clean Car?

 ■Is there a standardize approach to investigating claims that the group follows?  Or is each problem tackled in a different way?
Mythbusters always uses a direct form of the scientific method to conduct their investigations.  They always have a hypothesis, use a test to test the educated guess, and then draw conclusions from this test.  Sometimes the tests are conducted in different ways but it is always within the confines of the scientific method.
■How does the organization present and promote critical thinking?
Mythbusters promotes critical thinking in a very subtle way, one that you may not even think about yourself after viewing the show for the first time.  The mythbuster gang use very relevant topics to the average American.  These have included things like: what uses more gas, running the air conditioner, or driving with the windows down.  Because this issue is relevant to the viewer you make your own hypothesis in your head at the beginning of the show.  This makes you think about how the inner workings of the engine compartment come together, and you decide for yourself on what you believe for the issue.  After you have done all of this thinking, you watch the rest of the show, pay attention to the test, and can improve your knowledge when they come out with their own conclusion based on real data compiled in their tastings.

 ■Does the fact that information is presented via an element of popular culture affect the questions being asked, the investigation or the results?  In other words, is rigorous critical thinking being compromised by the needs to appeal to a large audience?

In the case of mythbusters, I believe the appeal of a large audience comes from the myth itself, one that is relevant to all or one that requires a test that is going to be full of action, such as an explosion.  The critical thinking is not compromised at all because when the audience cares about the topic it actually stimulates more critical thinking on their part during the show.  Mythbusters never steers away from the scientific method, sometimes the results are inconclusive, even because they did the wrong test when looking for wow factor, but this just encourages more audience thought after the show, maybe a discussion at the family dinner table long after the show has ended.

Subculture Fashion

For the subculture fashion quests, I took a look at this quest before i went to the grocery store, and saw some people who were dressed in all black, where heavy makeup, and deciede that i was going to use them as inspriation for my quest.

My Lovemark

Love Marks: Cover Girl Makeup

After watching the video, I discovered that I have a love mark. I never really thought of this as a being emotionally attached to a brand but in reality I am. The brand that I am devoted is cover girl makeup.  Every type of makeup that I use which ranges from eye shadow, mascara, eye liner, foundation, and etc. it always has to be that brand. I never really thought about it as being emotionally attached to the brand, but after watching the video and sitting back and thinking about it I truly am.  

Ever since I started wearing makeup which was probably about 7 years ago, I have always used the brand cover girl. I believe that this devotion to the brand cover girl comes from mother. I believe this because that is the only brand that my mother will buy and use. She believes that any other brand is not made as well, and will not last as long as cover girl. With this brand always being around while I was growing up and the only brand that my mother would buy me while I was in high school, I guess buying this brand continued with me as I moved out. Using makeup is an everyday thing for me; I never leave the house without it on. Whenever I run out of something and need to go buy more I always look at the other brands, and for some reason one that I am not really sure of I always buy cover girl makeup. Now I believe that I always gravitate to that section in the makeup aisle is because I am emotionally attached.

When I was starting to wear makeup I didn’t really know how to wear to it, or how colors blend, and all that fancy stuff. When I first started my mother told me to go do my makeup to see how I would wear it, and then after I did that and looked terrible, she took me to the bathroom and should me how to wear makeup, and explained everything.  I cherish that moment with my mother, and I believe that this is my emotional connection to the brand, and why I won’t by any other brand. I also hope to experience a moment like this when I have a daughter.

I don’t really believe that is fulfilling any needs or value other than I just don’t want to try another brand, because once I find something that I like, I don’t like change, or like to try new things. Being picky about things like that probably has held me back on trying new things, but if something works why would you want to change it. Also another reason why I keep going back to using cover girl makeup is because when I go to store I know what I’m looking for and then I don’t have to spend extra time looking at the different brands and deciding which one I would look to purchase.  

Book V. Movie-The Notebook

                                                

In the Nicholas Sparks “The Notebook” he tells a story about a romance between a man and a woman, from when they met as teenagers until they are in a nursing home, trying to overcome the trials and tribulations of Alzheimer’s and loss of memory. Throughout the story it is clear that they love each other deeply. There was one thing that I found surprising, that I enjoyed the movie more than I did the book. When I have watched other movie versions of a book, I found that the book had so much more depth and character than the movie version did. In this case I found the opposite occurred. That in the movie format “The Notebook” had characters that had so much more depth and emotion than the book. Also, the parts that the directors and producers added to the movie did not take away from the story; instead it enhanced the movie. Producers and directors tend to do this with a lot of movies, because something that work in books don’t work in movies, and that’s that same with books, where things will work wonderfully in a book but won’t play out well in a movie scene.

 As I mentioned earlier the story describes the lives of a couple’s life from the time they fell in love as teenagers, until they are both in their later years. The Notebook spans out two different life spans of time. At first it is not clear if the two timelines are related through characters or stories, until the reader realizes that the common thread in both spans of time is a notebook that is being read by an elderly male character to a sickly female character. From the beginning of the story it is clear that this elderly male character name, “Duke” cares deeply for the female character. She seems lost and confused. The story that he reads to her is from this notebook, it tells of a young couple from different social classes and the impossibility for them to be together. However, they continue to stay in love throughout the years and miles between the two. It soon becomes clear to the reader that “Duke” does not just care for the lost elderly lady, but he loves her. Allie seems lost because she has Alzheimer’s and she does not know who he is, although he reads to her from the notebook every day. As the story unfolds it is clear that “Duke” is the same young Noah in the notebook and the elderly lady is Allie. He also reads to her every day the story of their pure love from this notebook, in the hopes that Allie will remember him and herself. In the end all his devotion to Allie pays off and she remembers their love. Just a time, Allie remembers who Noah is, her husband and best friend. This story shows the power of love and what it can do to bring two people together no matter what the odds are whether it is, social class, distance, time or loss of memory.

There are several scenarios that the movie director has added to the movie that was absent in the book. First off, the movie focuses heavily on Allie and Noah’s younger characters and their relationship, whereas, the book generalized the characters which did not show the byplay of their relationship. The lack of depth to the characters in the book, took away some of the meaning of the story. I felt this when I watched the movie, that it depicted the pure love the young couple felt and what they endured in order to be together. A second difference between the book and the movie was that in the book format, the author of the notebook which Noah is reading from was written by Noah himself. In contrast, in the movie format the author of the notebook he is reading from was written by Allie. Which she instructed Noah to read to her when her illness progressed and she could not remember who she was let alone who Noah was. Another scenario that was absent from the book was the ending. In the book they are both in the nursing home and Noah sneaks into Allie’s room because he misses her on their anniversary, hoping that she will remember him and not send him away. Instead she does and she opens her arms and accepts her love to her heart. On the other hand, in the movie Noah sneaks into Allie’s room to be with her on their anniversary, hoping that she will remember him. When she wakes up and sees Noah’s face, her face lights up and she recognizes him. They lie together and hold one another where she remembers their love and they fall asleep in each other’s arms. In the morning the nurse finds that they have passed away in their sleep still holding each other with an expression of love and peace on their faces.

Pop Culture Tour

http://cinch.fm/laureanwestmeyer/459678

IMPORTANT PSA

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