Media Blog Week 9 Sound Recording, Music and Radio

Being a father of two 16 year old's and also a five year old, I find myself constantly trying to protect my youngest from the "corrupting influences" of the music that is listen to around him. I would love to say that the only people I need to worry about are the two 16 year old's and their music choices however, myself and my wife are constantly having to hit skip on our Pandora or iTunes  accounts when we are listening to music in the car or possibly through one the blue tooth speaker we own. I can say that the wife are a lot more vigilant and restrictive then many other parents that I know.

My youngest is like a sponge right now and like any five year old he looks up to his older siblings, he wants to emulate them. The tings that his older brother likes he likes as well, this includes music!!! I am sure that you can image the music that most 16 year old listen too. My oldest son particularly likes rap music. With the recent popularity of Drake, I now have a five year old that recites Gods Plan almost word for word... The verbiage of the song isn't nearly as bad as others that I have heard from my oldest but I still don't think it is appropriate from a five year old. There is one part that he really like the part when Drake says "I only love my bed and my mommy I'm sorry". Its makes me laugh, I know that I giving positive reinforcement when I laugh but its super hard not too.

Another example I can give this time involves my 16 year old daughter who is learning to play the guitar. Right now she is trying to learn Blink 182's I Miss You Its a really great song and one that she heard on my playlist but its a very sad song and has a lot of adult context. She has been playing the song over and over and now I have a five year old running around talking about the voices in side of his head. Its extremely hard to explain to a five year old why its not appropriate for him to go around sing such a song. It is also a challenge for me to try and manage this situation as I don't see a problem with my daughter listen too and playing such music. I feel conflicted.

I an one of those people that listen to all types of music, for me really depends on the mood that I am in or what I am doing. I like to listen to Metal when I am exercising, doing house work or just feel aggressive. An example of something I would listen too when feeling like this would be Killswitch Engage, As I Lay Dying some thing along those lines maybe some Pantera or Slayer if I am feeling a bit nostalgic. When I am in a kickback chill mood I like to listen to Sublime, Audio Slave, Rage Against the Machine. I also enjoy listening to a lot of late 90's Hip Hop and Rap. I really enjoy Wu Tang I can listen to them just about anytime, for me its really nice driving music when I am by myself. When I am feeling sentimental I will listen to a lot of 50's sock hop type music, it reminds of my dad and going with car shows with him when I was younger. You also might hear me listening to Toby Keith, Jonny Cash, Willey Nelson or Waylon Jennings. I like it all. 

I think that  an LBCC Radio Station would be fantastic and could have the potential to do really well. I think that as an idea its seem feasible, I know that a lot of other colleges have radio station and it works for them. I am not sure form  an administrative or finical perspective how feasible it would be. I can image that the initial investment would be substantial as I can image just the physical infrastructure would cost a ton, not to mention maintenance and other associated costs. I think that tuition is too high already soo if there would be another increase to fund I would have to say that I we can go without.

I think that for start up funds the students should look to alumni and the public for donations. In addition they should try some crowd sourcing, possibly a Go Fund Me. One other are that could be explored is Federal Grants. The student can also try to presell adds to local companies.  

Media Blog Week 8 Banned Books and Magazines

Topic 1: Banned Books and Your Book Shelf.

While I was reading the directions for this assignment, before I looked at the ALA's  website I was thinking that there would not be many Books or Authors that I am very familiar with. This is because aside from assigned readings for school I haven't read a book for pleasure since I was deployed and that was back in 2004. This however was not the case. I actually new quite a few titles.

 I am shocked by Top Ten from 2015, particularly number 6. The Holy Bible. I cant believe it. No mention if the Quran though....

Apart from the Bible I have read some passages from Fifty Shades of Gray, My wife read the whole series and to appease her I read to see what all the hype was about, and also we cant forget, Happy Wife Happy Life. My take on the limited book was, its not for me but I could see how women would enjoy the book. After all I think the book was written specifically for women.

I have also read many of Captain Underpants books to all 3 of my kids. I don't think that there is anything in those books to justify being on the list but hey the bible was also on soo....Lets see others I have read, Brave New World, To Kill a Mocking Bird, Twilight (for/with wife), The Catcher and the Rye, Of Mice and Men, Scary Stories series, I loved these when I was a kid, I specifically remember Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. I can still picture what the cover looks like in my head. In Fact, I repurchased this book a few years back so I could share this book with my children. They all loved it as well.

In my opinion I think that there is a difference between limiting access at school and at the public Library. I think that liming access at school and removing certain books from public curriculum should be left to the local school boards who should be a lot more familiar with the local constitutes views and beliefs and curriculum should reflect that. Smaller government at a local level. I think that all titles should be available in Public Library's. I personally don't think anyone has a right to tell me or anyone the information that we choose to consume, weather or not they agree with it themselves.

Some of the books that you would find on my bookshelf include. Tons of school books, I don't do the book buy back. I would rather keep them to refer to later. That should tell you something about me. One of my favorite Fiction books was an assigned reading from one of my perspective classes is Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. The series that I most enjoyed reading was the story of Mitch Rapp, he is the star of the best selling Author Vince Flynn. Its similar to Mission Impossible. I think my collection tells me that I am I focused and dedicated, educated with a sense of mystery and adventure.

The magazines that I truly enjoy are Life, Time,Concealed Carry and Conservative Review. Like my book shelf I think this speaks to who I am as a person. Life and Time magazine give me information and news so that I can remain in the know and deepen my understanding of current issues. Concealed Carry mag is just eye candy for me and brings me an escape and chance to fantasize. The ads in these magazines are tailored specifically for me, in fact I think that many other 30 something year-old veterans would have these magazines on there list. Lots of ads about ammo, home protection, vitamins, supplements, insurance, cars, prescription drugs. I think the advertisers are hitting the mark.


   

Week 7 Blog Project # 2 Media Product Review

Watching television or movies isn't really something that I get todo often (I  am just too busy to sit, is not what I do) so I wanted to make this assignment an experience that I could share with my family as well.

Rampage staring Dwayne Johnson and Joe Manganiello was the film that I watched for this assignment. One of the reason that this film was chosen is it is a film that the whole family could watch and enjoy. Its often hard to find a film that will entertain a 5 year old, two 16 year old's and  not to mention Mom and Dad.


Depending on your age when you hear the title Rampage, you may be brought back to a simpler time before smart phones and paly stations to the iconic 80's arcade game.
This was where my mind went when I selected the film from Redbox, keeping with the theme this would have been a Blockbuster back in the 80's. My Five year old was instantly captivated by the Giant albino gorilla on the cover.

The film was based off the 80's arcade game and directed by Brad Peyton. Peyton also the directed San Andreas (2015) again staring Dwayne the Rock Johnson and the Frontier(2016). It is the typical Hero saves the day action flick that we are soo used to seeing from Johnson. However this time with a bit of a twist and carry over from Jumanji we add a few animal villains and hero's, the plot thickens with a crazy science experiment gone wrong (that was conducted in space) that causes the animals to become huge and super aggressive and you have your self a wonderfully action packed family movie.

I think that the movie does a good job of trying to break down some of barrier and stereotypes that muscle bound jocks have, One of the most important aspects of the plot is the love that Johnson's character has for the ape George and for animals in general. The trailer even makes it a point to draw attention to this in the scene where the rock is saying that "Animals are the only ones that get me" this is after one of his coworkers is trying to get the rock todo something after work

This was a great film to watch with the family, we all enjoyed it, the special effects are fantastic but aside from that like I said earlier in this article its just your typical Rock movie. I like the Rock and have even back to his WWF days and will continue to watch his films when I have the time but he always plays the exact same character. If you look at San Andreas, Skyscraper, Jumanji they are all the same. If it weren't for the special effects and the muscles I don't think he would be in Hollywood very long. Having said that it wasn't a bad film. I think that this quote from the Hollywood Reporters sums up my feeling.

"there’s no denying Johnson’s abundant charisma and brawny brand of self-deprecating humor," which buoys the "fairly mindless popcorn entertainment."
"You come to Rampage looking for one thing — Johnson tussling with ginormous animals that would kill most mere mortals — and it delivers in that vein."

The business side of me loves what they have done with, The film its self has grossed 413.60 million dollars so far and this doesn't include any of the merchandise sales. Its a Win.

This project was really fun for me, The time that I was able to spend with my family along with the research where the most rewarding part of the assignment. While researching more about the game it really brought me back in time, it was cool.  Watching the movie with a more objective and analytical approach was a great experience, however it kind of made me wish that I would have picked a Film that was a little more rich and deep but I am not sure the whole family would have been able to enjoy it.

Week 6 Media Blog Newspaers and Fake News

Topic 1:

Where do I get my local news? I am sure many are going to respond to this question with Facebook or some form of social media. Myself on the other hand I receive the majority of my news from the local radio. I do a lot of driving so this is very convenient for me. The radio stations that I listen to are mainly all AM talk radio stations. I enjoy many National News broadcasts such as The Mark Levin Show, Larry Kudlow and Michael Savage. During all of these broadcast you will have break away reports from local media outlets. A lot of the time I will also listen to OPB. I find these sources to be credible as I have listen for years and have never felt mislead or misinformed. I would also consider the Hosts of these shows to be subject matter experts in there fields. I also feel that since OPB is public funded that adds another layer of credibility.

I currently don't subscribe to any online publications. Having said that, I do consume some online media, although much of it doesn't pertain to the local level. It is more just articles that I maybe see on LinkedIn and I am a little curious about. I also in Nightly Business Report, A lot.

I also do this strange thing called talking to people IN PERSON. Word of mouth certainly isn't the most reliable source to get info but it is a place to find something that you may want to dig a little bit deeper into and do your won research.

I used to consider myself very informed a 5 out of 5 but I am just too damn busy now. I would say that I am maybe a 3 if that now days. I enjoy learning and being informed and when I am allocated more time I will divert more effort to again becoming more informed.

Topic 2:

I do agree with the President's view on the media but I would go as far as to calling it fake. I would say that in my opinion it is just an echo chamber for the left and a direct reflection of the owners own personal political affiliations. I think the book referred to this as a conflict of interest.

That's all I would like to post about this question online.

Topic #1 Old Spice

"She Noes Best" is the new catch phrase Old Spice is using as they continue to delight audiences with their hilarious and always entertaining commercials.

You have to watch this commercial, It cracks me up. The commercial starts with the shot of a plane flying through an ominous storm that is tossing the plane around. Extremely loud action music is playing over the sound of the storm. 
The shot then goes into the cockpit of the plain where a very panicked and "nerdy" looking actor is screaming in  an unusually shreky/loud voice that "its raining and that he has no idea where he is." Next, you hear a rather provocative and soothing sounding female voice saying "remain calm" then the camera cuts to an extreme close up of an attractive woman who you think is in a command tower, she then tell him to make his heading 240. The camera then cuts back to the panicked pilot who adjusts his heading. The camera then cuts back to the female who tell the panicked pilot to reach under his seat. 
Again, the camera cuts back into the plane for a shot of the pilot who is now holding what looks like 7 different old spice products. In his panicked voice he yells "these are just Old Spice grooming products." She tells him to "Stay with Me:" and  "Put on the deodorant" he responds with "I don't think how this can help and applies, the female then tells him to "grab and apply the pomade." He does as he is told and as he is running the pomade through his hair he transforms into a professional attractive looking calm pilot who has it all under control. She tells him to start his decent then he says where is that run way. Next the camera cuts into a shot of a living room where the female is sitting and the plane crashes through the wall and stops right next to the diner table where the woman slides over and in front of a whole turkey they both say "hello." and then the Iconic Old Spice Whistle plays. 



This ad sticks pretty close to the type of Old Spice ads that we have become used to seeing. The spot only runs for 30 and the product is only shown for about 5 seconds total. I didn't even realize it was an old spice add until the pilot reaches under his seat 12 seconds into the spot. This add uses a combination of  the Story Telling and the Association Principle to relay its message. The ad heavily relies upon stereotyping, the persuasive techniques used where a combination of snob appeal and the hidden fear appeal.
I think that this add effectively uses the platform that it was designed for which would be TV. I say this because it has flow just like a show would, you have a dramatic Setup, the confrontation and the resolution. Its not just someone talking about the product. This ad holds your attention even if you are not the target audience and that's why I think it works well. I would say that the target market for this ad is a mid twenties, lower income, single male that has self esteem issues and who probably isn't that popular or good looking. Based off the Consumer Insights information that I discovered from InfoScout, I was pretty close with my assessment of whom the target market is.
As much as I love this ad and I love all of the old spice adds of lately I can say that it doesn't make me want to purchase their products. Having said that I am certainly not who they are trying to market towards. When it comes to basics such as shampoo, conditioner, soap and deodorant you have to develop a marketing campaign and strategy that will make you stand out, give you that purple cow because all of the products are just about identical. Old Spice has done a wonderful job of creating a campaign that hilarious and each spot they put out has the potential to go viral. The "Mom Song" landed over a million views in less than 3 days. this article explains why Old Spice is soo successful
One of things that I learned about Old Spice during this assignment was how large of an online presence they have and how they are dedicated to utilizing all platforms to push their brand awareness. Pretty Cool if you ask me that the master of YouTube advertising is a deodorant company.

Media Blog Forum 2

Topic 1: Social Media

I would like to start this article by saying that I am not one of the masses that spend the majority of their day just scrolling through various social media platforms such as the ones listed on this weeks assignments. ie, Facebook, snapchat. In fact until I took Marketing I didn't even have a twitter or LinkedIn account. Any how, Although I am not a fan of Social Media and I don't recommend that anyone get there news from such sources. I do think that in many cases Social Media has empowered people to become more active politically at least online. However, I worry that people do just fall to the echo chamber and because all of their friends feel or say one thing they will automatically take that stance without any personal thoughts or insights.
Some of the people that I follow and why are.

I follow Donald J. Trump on Twitter. The main reason that I follow the President on Twitter is because everyone is always talking about his latest Tweets and I like tobe in the loop. Another reason that I follow him is that you are able to get information directly from him, I don't want to go into a rant about how biased our media in this country is so I will just leave it at that.

I also follow Mark R. Levin @marklevinshow. I follow Mark because I have been a listener to his radio show on NPR for over 10 years and I feel like he is an independent thinker who uses his years of experience to formulate a well thought out rational realistic point of view, He is not another echo chamber, like many of his conservative cohorts.

The last company that I would like to mention is one that I follow on LinkedIn, the name of the company is Cheddar Inc, I like them because they are always posting videos, almost like commercials of cutting edge technology or machinery, I see a lot of applications in third world or developing countries for the items that they post. I mainly just like to watch these videos as a form of entertainment and to stimulate thought processes.

The best "tweet" that I have seen lately was the Presidents 4th of July address that he tweeted out on the 4th. I enjoyed this because it really represents the way I feel about my Country. It made me emotional. The address didn't seem politicized it seemed sincere.

I really enjoyed the TED talk from Sherry Turkle, She hits the nail on the read. The world and the way we communicate and connect is changing at an incredible rate. One example of a boundary that I have set with my two 16 year old's is that when they text me it will be in complete sentences with proper punctuation. Another boundary that I set with the family is that there is NO cell phone use allowed at the dinner table, this includes adults. This gives us time to visit and talk about the day, it really is one of my favorite times with my family.

When it comes to playing and downloading games onto my phone and computer I would have to say that I am one of the few who don't participate in such activates. The only game that I have downloaded is Ballz and I have only payed it a few times. I just have the time or desire to spend my valuable time staring at my phone. I am the guy who still turns his phone off in class and in meetings. I would rather be connected to the real world and my immediate surroundings.

Although I don't use my phone and computer to play games and surf social media I do find that I still spend at least 20 hours a week on some sort of electronic device, usually associated with work or school.






   

About Me.

Topic 1: About You

I like to say that I am happy, chipper, go-getter guy with great attitude. On top of that I am disabled veteran, a business administration major, a husband and most importantly a father. My main goal in life is spend as much quality time building memories with my family as I can. To me that is what is truly important in life. I am currently attending this term at LBCC to finish up the last few credits for a AAOT. I am specifically taking this class because I like the instructor....... and I am interested in the content of the course. This topic of Media surrounds us every day and it is changing constantly. You even have block chain technology in the space now. I am passionate about my family, my god and my country.

Topic 2: The Information that you Consume

My 3 main sources of information come from several different platforms. I get the majority of my national and international news from a verity of NPR broadcasts and podcasts such as AM 590. I find that with the National Public Radio you tend to get a more balanced approach, a lot of the times you will have the host acting as a moderator between two different views. I like this approach because it allows me to come to my own conclusions about the topic at hand. My second source of information comes from the Nightly Business Review, I subscribe to their You Tube page and never miss an episode. I like NBR because it approaches world events and news as it relates to economics and business. I think that when you are looking at events through that scope the accuracy is increased. I also like the fact that they always have a subject matter expert on to explain, these are real experts working in the field not self acclaimed or appointed experts due to there political beliefs. My Third and only social media site that I use is LinkedIn. I like the news I receive for the same reasons as above, however on LinkedIn you have the ability to vet the source of the content in addition you are able to follow the publishers that deem reliable.

I am not concerned about fake news for myself as I feel that I have learned how to learn. I do my own research and come to my own conclusions. I am not the type of person to just spout or regurgitate what I have heard. I do however fear for my children and for the country as a whole. I know many people that get their news from Facebook posts........ I think that this fake news epidemic is a manifestation of much larger societal issues. Media to me no longer represents what it once did, I feel like media has turned from investigating, looking out and education the mass to another political tool. The worst part is the consolidation of companies, its the same message across all networks.  Its not all bad, I do see niches being created in this space and that in the future we will see technology overcome this current situation.