Writers Block

It is so hard to write a good blog when you can't think of anything to write about. Sure, it's easy to just pick something and write about it, but it won't be interesting for someone else to read. It has to be something you are passionate about. I know that when I write something good, the words just flow out from under my finger tips, knowing exactly what to say next. Every word fits into every phrase perfectly. I like the feeling you get when you can just sit down and write, it's so calming. You feel so powerful. Like you can say and do anything because no one but you is going to see what you put down on the page (possibly). I like the smell of a blue ball point pen on lined paper. For some reason it makes me feel so "old fashioned", I often prefer to write things out before I type it. I find I can think better. Most teachers these days won't accept a project that is hand written. I don't see why it matters? You would say the exact same thing if it was typed, and if you took all that time to write it out, obviously you put the same amount of time into it. Sure, technology is evolving, we have mini portable laptops for classrooms, Smartboards, but it's just something new, and there will probably be a new version of it next week. The written word has been around for thousands of centuries. Because of the changing times, the written word has changed and evolved along with it, but it is a constant change. It is something everyone can understand. It is something everyone has access too. It is simple, but complex, and when strung together can be turned into something beautiful. With all this changing technology, the written word is slowly dying away and eventually people won't be able to write because there is no need for it. I think writing should be something charished and we shouldn't forget it's history and the stories it has created.

Growing up

"If growing up means it would be beneath my dignity to climb a tree, I'll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up! Not me!" — J.M. Barrie (Peter Pan)

Gerontophobia, is the scientific word for a "fear of growing up." To some people it is the biggest challenge in their life they can't over come. Being grown up comes with responsibilities. Having a job, taking care of a house, paying taxes, you can't rely on your parents to be with you every step of the way and to some people- that's scary!

Hypengyophobia, is the fear of responsibility. Even though Peter Pan flew to Never Never Land so he would stay a child forever, he still had responsibility to take care of the Lost Boys, to save Wendy, to fight Captain Hook and protect the treasure. No matter where or how old you are, you are still faced with responsibility.

In the 2004 film, 13 Going on 30, the main character Jenna wishes she could be "thirty, flirty and thriving." The thirteen year old is thrown into her future life as a thirty year old and discovers the ups and the downs of being an adult. She realizes that there is no rush in growing up, you only get once chance, so do it right.

In the future, I think there will be a huge change in our education. I think that it will be mandatory for every student to have a computer and access to internet. Students will have to be able to type and work computers. Lessons will be taught online and the students will hardly talk to their teachers in person, other than over emails. I think the level of education will change, where kids in elementary schools are learning material that high school students would be learning today. In the future, it's possible the courses that will be taught will be a lot harder, and because new jobs are developing every year, there will be lots of new courses and probably some of the courses we have now will no longer be needed. It's possible that because of everyone is working on computers, paper companies and factories, that make pens and pencils, will go out of business,because they aren't needed anymore. Society will no longer learn how to write, they will learn to type and communicate in new ways we don't even know about yet. Along with newspapers, magazines, books, everything will be over the computer, because there is no need for paper. In the future, I believe that life as we know it will be different. If technology and life has already developed so much within the past 10 years, imagine how society will change in the next 5?

Is it worth it?

Superbowl Sunday. Its been the championship game of the NFL since 1967 and is the second largest day for U.S food consumption after Thanksgiving. In 2010, it costs 3 million dollars to run a 30 second commercial. There is a large portion of the Canadian population who only watch the Superbowl to see the American ads. I think that the superbowl commercials are so exspensive because it is the most-watched television broadcast in North America. Even if you are not a consistant football fan, people usually tune into watch the event, just for the commercials.
The TNS Media Consumption web site says, "The data confirms that Super Bowl advertising has enormous holding power. In the 2008 game, the index of commercial viewers to program viewers was right around 100, indicating that people opted to watch the ads instead of switching the channel. The halo extended to pre-game spots as well, but not the post-game as viewers gradually tuned away entirely".
Below is a table showing the Index of Commercial Viewers To Program Viewers: 2008 Super Bowl

Pre-Game-101
First Half of Game-101
Half-Time of Game-99
Second Half of Game-99
Post-Game-85
Avg. Primetime Show -90
Source: TNS Media Research

Watch It? Or change the channel...

The first short film I watched was an animated film called "Vistas: Ignition". I thought the film was interesting but it was too much of the same thing the whole time. I was waiting for the cars speed to change or something to run out in front of the car, I was waiting for some kind of climax to the story. I liked how they had the camera view as if you were riding in the car, almost like you're at an IMAX theatre.

"Tower Bawher" was an interesting film. The flashes of different shapes kept you curious about what was next. I found that it took me a while to figure out the story. I don't think you would know that it was about Russian constructivist art and is filled with visual references to artists of the era, unless you read the blurb beside the film.

After I watched the short film called "How Do They Put the Centres in Chocolate" I was definitely craving some chocolate after! Some of the shots were kinda fast, so it took me a few minutes to figure out what everything was (I know what chocolate looks like, but the centres looked different then they do when I bite into it!). I thought it is the kinda film that lots of people would be interested in watching and it is a type of movie that would be aimed for people who don't work in the chocolate making industry and would be interested to watch because they don't deal with it during their everyday lives.

What do you think about this short film?

CSI Effect

These days, television and movies are always in the spot light, everyone wants to know how movies are made, and the secrets of movie magic. Movies can make you feel so many different emotions, happy, sad, scared, sometimes even sleepy! They are entertaining and are our society is facinated by the glamour and glitz of Hollywood. Unfortunately, media's "versions" of reality can have a bad effect as well. Young children are really effected by what they see and hear. They are unable to disconnect movie reality, to real life. I think that media's "version" of reality has a positive effect on our society, because we are connected to new things, we can experience from the safety of our couch.

To The Extreme

Photoshopping in the media has gone way too far. Media is taking advantage of their audience (young men and women) and making them believe that people in magazines are what normal, healthy, young men and women are suppoed to look like, even when the models on the page don't look like that! Even though photoshopping in the media has it's advantages, like providing jobs, saving money and it also allows and broadens opportunities to be creative, it also has created eating disorders in young men and women who strive to look like a "Barbie doll." Even Barbie is unconventional! If she was a real women, she would be so top heavy that she would not be able to stand up and her hips would be too small she would be unable to produce children. Everyone wants the perfect skin, and a fit body, but in the media industry it seems that healthy won't cut it, and for a while, if you looked like a skeleton, that was beauty. I believe that beauty is when you are confident, and are healthy and happy in your own skin. Everyone is built differently, why would you want everyone to look the same anyways?

http://www.teen-beauty-tips.com/barbie-body-image.html