Am I the only one who finds this a bit strange? Nonetheless,  I have friends who have met their boyfriends/girlfriends this way. In this kind of interaction there is strange mix of reality and fantasy. But what happens to a person’s individual identity if they are represented by an avatar and emoticons that are preset and used by thousands of other people? In my mind this is where the fantasy aspect of game dating kicks in…it adds excitement, feelings of spontaneity and adventure that are not always experienced in real life therefore attracting people that are trying to find solace from lives of monotony.

By now everyone must have heard about Obama’s first White House dinner party being crashed by an attention seeking, wannabe reality tv stars, Tareq and Michaele Salahi. Wow. I mean someone  must have really screwed up security-wise. What the heck happened to the secret service? Lucky it was only a publicity stunt! People will do just about anything to get their fifteen minutes of fame, but I suppose the most important question is, is it really worth it?

One thing is for sure, the Salahis’ sure have a lot of guts and are clearly not easily intimidated by authority figures. However,  was it a clever stunt or just plain idiocy on their part? The charges they may face are quite serious…”Secret Service spokesman Jim Mackin says the agency is moving closer to beginning a criminal investigation. He says that’s one reason the Secret Service hasn’t yet explained what happened when Michaele and Tareq Salahi arrived at the security checkpoint Tuesday for the dinner honoring Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.” – Katz  (CBS News).
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/11/27/crimesider/entry5799723.shtml

This video ties into what I was saying the other day about celebrity culture. The overly sexed up nature of the video obviously shows the importance of keeping up appearances in Hollywood. In order to be noticed, to “be somebody” worth being noticed, documented or marketed, one has to make themselves actively seen or heard and in the particular case of Beyonce and Ga Ga  its all about how they look because quite frankly…. this song is horrible. Nonetheless, it is a prime example of celebrity relations with digital media so I shall post the lyrics:

Videophone- Beyonce ft Lady Gaga

Shawty, watcha name is?

(Uh, uh) Them hustlas keep on talkin’
(Uh, uh) They like the way I’m walkin’
(Uh, uh) You saying that you want me
So press record, I’ll let you film me

On your video phone
Make a cameo
Take me on your video phone
I can handle you
Watch me on your video phone
On your video, video
If you want me you can watch me on your video phone

I love how you approach me
Fresh white, with your pants, hanging grown man low
Everythin’ you sayin’ soundin’ good to me
Don’t need me to convince me anymore
Swagger, it’s right, one blade is tight
And I smell your cologne in the air
Baby, you doin’ somethin’ right
You just cancelled every other man here
You say you love my bag, and the color of my nails
You can see that I got it goin’ on
I wanna make sure you remember me
So I’m gon’ leave my number on your video phone

I got no time for frontin’
I know just what I’m wantin’
If it’s gonna be you and me,
When I call it, better see me
On your video screen

(Uh, uh) Them hustlas keep on talkin’
(Uh, uh) They like the way I’m walkin’
(Uh, uh) You saying that you want me
So press record, I’ll let you film me

On your video phone
Make a cameo
Take me on your video phone
I can handle you
Watch me on your video phone
On your video, video
If you want me you can watch me on your video phone

You’re a cutie
You should let me put you in my movies
Do a shoot to ya own hit song
You can shoot the video right here, on my cell phone
I’ve never seen the smell so pretty
I need to know I always have you with me
So take picture on my video phone
You can pick your own song
And you could be the only one

I know you like that
Turn you into a star, I got it like that
Baby, don’t fight it
Cuz when I miss your call,
I hit you right back
(On my video phone)

(Uh, uh) Them hustlas keep on talkin’
(Uh, uh) They like the way I’m walkin’
(Uh, uh) You saying that you want me
So press record, I’ll let you film me

On your video phone
Make a cameo
Take me on your video phone
I can handle you
Watch me on your video phone
On your video, video
If you want me you can watch me on your video phone

You know them G’s, they be hollain
Especially them hot ones
Brooklyn, Atlanta,
Houston to New Orleans
When they see me, they be like
“Yo, B, lemme call you!”
You breakin’ my foucus
Boy, you cute, and you ballin’

You like it when I shake it
Shawty, on ma mission, watcha name is?
What? You want me naked?
If you liking this position,
You can tape it (on your video phone)

This song is so wrong on so many levels. I mean first off, the last three lines have soft core porn implications…but besides that, the song promotes digital copies or reflections of a subject/ event or object to be just as satisfying or even more so than being in the presence of the real thing. If this is true, what is sacred enough to be untouched by technology when everything is being digitally formatted? If sermons are televised, sex is taped/bought/sold, family law or divorce settlements are broadcasted, reality tv allow audiences to watch contestants 27/4…is there no more pride left in privacy?

….does technology cheapen our understanding of intimate things in life or broaden our thinking about them?

Celebrity culture fascinates me. In spending most of their lives in the cut-throat competitive industry of fashion, art and music celebrities must know by now the impact that they have on the general public. Their function in society is to entertain, to get people’s attention; to “brand” themselves so that as they get more exposure businesses can in turn profit as well (through merchandise, celebrity gossip, candid photographs etc)- it serves as a kind of fuel for the economy.

Although living in the limelight is not always easy, celebrities like Kanye West are not stupid. They are aware that everything they do or say will eventually be known to millions of people worldwide. They choose to do things as they see fit for their own benefit, no matter how hard they  may try to justify their actions or disguise their true intentions.

As I see it, the truth of the matter is that people in a position of power will do whatever they deem necessary to remain in power. In the case of the Kanye West VMA stunt, this is not the first time Kanye has been explicitly vocal about his opinions. Just as I am doing now on this blog …he said just what he wanted to say when he wanted to say it- the only difference is that millions of people are exposed to Kanye’s opinion (and he knows it) whereas I’m betting that only a handful of people will ever find and read this. There is such a thing as cause and effect. In my opinion, Kanye knew what he was doing when he interrupted Taylor Swift, when he announced that Bush “doesn’t care about black people,” when he interrupted Justice and Simian’s acceptance of their reward and when he implied that racism had something to do with his lack of award winning.

West like so many other celebrities construct a persona for the media. Fame does not last forever, so if you can’t keep it up.. why not be infamous instead? Point is people will still talk about you, perhaps even more since “bad” press seems to generate more talk than good

Failure is an inevitability of human experience..but who knew that it could be so funny?

Thought I would share some of my favorite fail blog videos/pictures, in order to generate some talk about them.

Here they are:

SUSPICIOUS/ COMMUNICATION FAIL

ANTI-CRIME LAW FAIL

CAREER FAIR FAIL

Based solely on stereotypes, crudeness, ignorance or just freak coincidences these fail examples are so incredibly ironic or moronic I should say that it is ridiculously amusing!!!

Also here is a cool Win/ Fail youtube game..it’s fun & informative!! ^_^

It really stood out to me for a couple of reasons, the first one being the incredible intricacy and quality of the computer graphics. In and of itself the graphics shown in the commercial are already a prime example of how far we’ve come technologically in 2009. As for the actual ad, it draws a parallel between animals in nature and technological machines. Each new device or machine that is produced and marketed becomes a new predator in the technological sphere of our lives. In a sense they “feed off” technologies of the past in order to continue to be what they are. The bottom line that the people at Saturn are trying to get at is that technology like humanity and life itself is evolving. Only the biggest and the best wll survive. The inclusion of the adriod at the end suggests a technology so advance that even humanity itself will seem inferior or prey to what could be- ie artifical intelligence. This revelation is both wonderous and horrifying.

On the other hand, sites like facebook and twitter also thrive on the number of social connections. The more friends or followers one has the more socially stable or viable they seem. Twitter is better for this purpose- people follow strangers to expand their networking pool. Twitter is more for people who want keep ontop of popular culture who want quick updates about people in power (politicians, groups, celebrities…etc), whereas facebook is more about keeping in touch with the close people in your life.

Dear sister:

just kidding…here ya go

http://www.ebaumsworld.com/video/watch/18964/

One of many parodies:

Parodies breed other parodies. All these videos also showcase elements of intertextuality between internet memes. The sheer recognition and merging of these memes add to the humour of the videos. What makes the “Dear Sister” short so fun to parody is the fact that the plot is purely nonsensical and melodramatic. It can be interpreted as satiric jab or commentary on the ridiculous plots inherent within mainstream television.  Undercutting the seriousness or tension of the senseless violence is the purposefully understated acting. Also it is important to note that in this particular case the choice of music makes the meme. Imogen Heap’s “Hide and Seek” seems to be an absurd choice for a scene that was intended to be taken seriously, instead it adds to the melodramatic aspects making the whole concept hilarious. One issue that it does raise however is popular culture’s preoccupation with violence, especially gun fights. Other popular “Dear Sister” parodies include: The Departed Dear Sister spoof, the Lord of the Rings Dear Sister Spoof, Total Recall Dear Sister spoof…etc

Images mediate our world. We are living in a screen culture. There are screens everywhere… on everything – tv, laptops, cellphones, portable gaming devices, ipods. Advertisements are constantly coaxing us to consume, to follow the latest trend and keep up with the latest technology. Some of these companies try to persuade us that by buying their product we culd keep in touch or become closer to the people in our lives. For instance, I could buy a webcam and have a web chat with family members or friends living in different countries. However, there is still a distancing effect that takes place the images of me that they will see and the typed messages they will read would not be as effective or meaningful as face to face communication but nonethless we settle for its convience.

Overall, my philosophy of technology is to use it if it would be more of a help than a hindrance. There is a time and a place for everything.  An example of this would be the current cellphone ban for drivers in Toronto.  It’s up to me to decide when to use technology to my benefit.

The influences for my ideologies mostly come from my friends and the media..I must admit I do take a certain amount of pride in my neat, trendy cellphone that has a full keyboard (LG Keybo) and at times I treat my laptop with the utmost care as if it were my child. In this day and age people form deep personal attachments to their belongings. All the world is obsessed with materiality.

In terms of using technology as an academic tool, I find it easier to type my notes during lecture than writing since I can save it on my hardrive, easily print out typed and therefore legible copies of my work and edit before producing hardcopies. In addition, having access to the internet is like having a library in the comfort of your own home keeping in mind that one must shift through a ton of information in order to find something that is truly relevant to what they are looking for. And even if the information cannot be found on the internet, the net can refer people to get their information elsewhere (for instance- a library website will tell someone if a book is available and where in the library it is located…etc).

At the heart of things if it is more convenient to be a user of technology, chances are I will probably use it.