Are we allowing killers to become heroes?

Virgina Tech. We all remember the tragedy of when 33 students and faculty members died in a school massacre. Northern Illinois University. We again remember the shootings so very recently where a gunman walked into a class and fired at will. Columbine High School. Yet another tragedy of two boys walking into a high school and killing 12 people. These were all horrible incidents that were horrific in every way, shape, and form. The other day, while watching a news report on how NIU was planning on building a memorial for the students that died, it occurred to me that the real tragedy of all these shootings, is the way the media has a way of glorifying the killers. Every time I flipped a channel during the week after the NIU shootings, all I saw was the murderer's face. I hate seeing it. Its like staring hate and evil in the eyes. But no matter what channel I was on, they had his face front and center, like a movie star. What is wrong with this picture? Can we be any more of a sick society? Those people are sick, cold blooded killers, not rock stars that deserve so much news coverage. I don't want to see their ex-girlfriends, I don't want to hear from their families, I really don't care. What does that say to the rest of the sick people of the world? You kill...you become a hero.

Women's portrayal in today's music

Every morning, I wake up to my radio alarm at 6:45 am. It is always set to 103.5 Kiss FM, and artists always sing their songs to get me out of bed. But recently, I started really listening and comprehending the lyrics of some of my favorite songs, and I realized that a lot of the songs are incredibly sexist and contain lots of derogatory comments. Some of today's hottest hip-hop and rap songs are filled with women being portrayed as strippers, prostitutes, and "things". The song Low, for example is a very popular song that is played on all the hot stations on the radio. The lyrics go like this: "Work the pole, I got the bank roll, Imma say that I prefer them no clothes, I'm into that I love women exposed, She threw it back at me, I gave her more, Cash ain't a problem, I know where it goes" Here, the entire verse is describing how women are somehow just objects, and not respected as equals. This song refers multiple times to women's sexuality and how they look better without clothes. Another song that became really popular is the song Smack That by Akon. This song is entirely about how they want to meet a woman at a club and bring her home and smack her around. In one line of the song, it reads "Money? No problem. Pocket full of that now..." and "Every gal is game". Once again, women are portrayed as something men can just, and every woman could just be bought. So what are the messages being sent out to today's teens and young adults? Or do most people just read over the messages? whatever happened to songs that actually have true meaning behind them??

AIM

AOL instant messanger. Along with millions of Americans, AIM is my secret obsession. I can't get enough of it. It is instinct to log on to AIM everytime I get on the computer. I love being able to talk with 4 or 5 friends at once and still listen to music, check facebook, and do my homework. In class today, we had a conversation about the effects of technology on our youth today and it made me think about how much AIM restricts personal conversation, emotion, and comunication skills. It kinda scares me how much I am sounding like my mother, but seriouslsy, think about it, so you actually laugh out loud when you lol? Do you use emotion or think about the tone of your voice when you type on the keyboard? Not really.... Kids in the next generation are going to be less and less able to communicate well with others and are going to show lack of skills that we have today, such as grammer, real emotion, and the ability to hold a conversation.

I found a really interesting youtube video that I included below, where someone interviewed a bunch of English kids and aked them some questions about what they thought about the internet, and what they believed their lives would be like without computers. The answers may shock you.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anOqGXEOEDw&eurl=http://digital-lifestyles.info/2007/06/29/children-risk-becoming-social-outcasts-with-internet-access-report/

Oscars and Politics

"And the Oscar goes to......" these are words I look forward to hearing on the same night every year. The Academy Awards are a prestigious award ceremony for the top actors, actresses and directors in the world. Everyone who is anyone comes to his great event in LA, dressed to perfection, with millions of viewers watching their every step. What I always have wondered, is what makes these people so incredibly interesting, that their actions influence our culture and society? Some people may beg to differ with me, but Hollywood has one of the biggest influences on people's dress, actions, and decisions today. Magazines tell us to worship celebs, and strive to be like them, and have their bodies and their boobs and noses. But what really gets me, is what effect they have on politics. What happens if someone, lets say Johnny Depp, accepts an Oscar, and during his speech says, Vote for Obama! What will be the impact of the viewers that love him (like I do). Would It change opinions on who to vote for? Could movie stars actually have an impact on who becomes president in 2008?

Womens role in today's society

Lets face it, women are viewed very today differently than they were 30, or even 10 years ago. I think that is a wonderful thing and I am very proud of the fact that in today's society, women and men are considered equal and are given equal oppertunities in jobs, education, and rights. Yet, I still hesitate to agree that women are treated as equals today. Think about it, when was the last time a woman coached a major NFL team? Don't lie, everyone sniggers when they hear that idea. Its a mans sport, right? Or how about a coorperate CPO job? In an article I read on CNN about the top 10 highest paying jobs (which were all awarded to men) a woman commented, "Women are not only less likely to work continuously during their lives, but responsibilities at home also influence their choice of job and type of employer". What responcibilites at home? Don't men have responcibilites at home? When are we going to get away from the idea that only women should work at home, cook, and take care of the kids? And although we are told that women today are not directed to be the "femine" and "delicate" women of, lets say, 1930, I believe that society has managed to make a cookie cutter female, that makes females believe they have to follow. If you go to any magazine in a news stand, what do you see? Usually (there will always be excptions) a beautiful, long haired white girl poses in a tight, low cutting dress with captions all around saying "how to get a better figure", "Make him fall in love with", "Clothes that every girl should have in their closet". And these magazines are the bible for thousands and thousands of women in America. So whats so wrong with that?? I read those magazines all the time, I love them. Yet, it makes me wonder if there is a standard for todays women. And what happens when they don't meet the mark?

New Kind of Recruiting

Yesterday, I recieved my monthly issue of Seventeen magazine. I began flipping through the pages and I came across an add for the National Guard. I was very confused and surprised to see this in my fashion magazine. The add displays a young looking girl, obviously a teenager, smiling at the reader, and next to her, another picture is displayed of the same girl in her uniform handing bottles of water to a young boy and his family. In big letters in the middle, it says, "When disaster strikes, we're there to help." The message seems to be different than the one we saw in the commercial in class. It is much softer and "cute". The commercial we watched mostly showed young men (with the football), and the music was hard core, there was guns and shooting, and although it portrayed one woman, it seemed to be aimed at men. This add was obviously meant for women, and it has been changed to fit a woman stereotype: soft, non violent, sympathetic for young children, blah blah blah. First of all, how desperate is it to advertise the National Guard in seventeen magazine? I have never seen anything like this in a fashion magazine before. Second, I feel like this add and the one we watched in class were for two different organizations. The 3 Doors Down video showed fighting and collapsed houses and intense scenes. Yet, the magazine add shows women holding children like mothers, and being soft and loving. There is NOTHING violent or intense about the add. What is wrong with this picture? How dare the guard advertise in a popular magazine, and portray women as weak, motherly figures? You guys may think I'm over analyzing, but what the hell? If the guard is all about "Firing the shot that started a nation", then why do they feel the need to downplay that philosophy in a female aimed magazine? Two words, false advertisement.

Too much information??

The other day, I logged on to my computer and decided to check my facebook. When I got on to my home screen, something caught my attention that I had never seen before. In a large box on the screen, big bold letters wrote, "Welcome Stephanie! Would you like to show these on your profile?" Below it was a list of about ten movies that I had rented from blockbuster in the last month, including the list I had on blockbuster.com that were going to be sent to me in the upcoming weeks. I took a double take when I first saw this. It was exactly like our class discussion the other week on big brother. How could this information possibly be submitted to facebook, and why would I want this posted? I find this incredibly disturbing and invasive. What movies I rent is my personal choice, and I would rather not have it shown to anyone who can access the world wide web. Not that I have anything to hide with the movies I rent, but what satisfaction does it give anyone to know that the last three movies I rented were Harry Potter, Transformers, and The Holiday? Does that really do anything other than feed our already extremely stalker friendly Internet sites? I think it a serious invasion of privacy. If its my movies now, what else could facebook find to post? My online store purchases or what websites I visited that day? The Internet is still fairly new and will continue to grow and advance. If we don't watch or be careful of what is happening, then soon, anyone and everyone can have others personal information and then, no one will have any privacy.