Monday, May 24, 1999
media log - taking notice of the world around
Media Log
Dan Boujoulian
COM 371
Short, But Accurate Consumption List:
Billboards
Television (audio only)
Films (Theatre & Home Video)
Internet (news mailings, e-mail, etc)
Newspaper (Real Detroit, Orbit)
Magazines (Premeire,Entertainment Weekly,Mac Addict)
I am part of the GVSU school of communications. As a student I should be able to rattle off any number of important facts and information regarding the media and the state of our society. However I cannot. Is it because I don't understand the world around me? Not likely. It's more of a lack of interest in the world. Do you know how I heard about the NATO bombing? Did I catch it on TV? Nope. Did I read it in a newspaper. Nope. I got an e-mail from a friend in Bosnia that went to GVSU last year. What kind of communications student does that make me?
I was a media frenzied child. I admit it. Running home, watching cartoons until supper. Oh... play outside? Sure, if my mom made me. My television intake changed once we got a computer. I spent my time trying to figure out the puzzles in adventure games, or trying to make my own in some lame games I coded in BASIC.
I would eventually meet all my close friends because of the computer. During my junior year of high school I completely stopped hanging out with people at my school. My friends went to other schools, we hung out like normal friends, but we met initially at bowling party get-togethers that we set up over the computer.
My recent lax in media consumption would be due to time available. I just don't feel like wasting what few nights I don't have work or school in front of the television. I would rather spend hours on the internet or just creating something on the computer.
You are what you eat. That's what they told you. But did they ever stop to tell you that you are what you watch? Don't drown while you're trying to channel surf, just give it up and hope something decent comes on the channel you left it on. Television is an endless cycle of corporate crime that sells for 5 installments of $19.99. Television isn't the ONLY media left, but it is the most widely abused. Did media have a bad name before television? How mad could you get at someone for PRINTING something. How much could a person have been negativly influenced by print media. Not very likely. Enter the television, enter a bad social influence. It's not that TV doesn't have potential, the list of good possiblilties is endless. Unfortunately, good programming doesn't sell well.
I opted to listen to the television instead of my normal music for a night while I was doing computer work. It was roughly 3 a.m. when I noticed that programming is much different after midnight. During the day everything seems to be SELL SELL SELL and they let you know it. At night, it's still SELL SELL SELL, but they are much more relaxed about it. I was working on CD covers for some CDs I burned for a few friends. The content was that of bad soap operas. I didn't even realize that soap operas were on in the middle of the night. But I assume it was a soap opera because of the bad acting and the fact that something "totally unexpected" happened about every 10 minutes before a commercial break. Yes, it was lame. If I had been watching it for entertainment alone, I would have taken points away for lack of creativity and enjoyment value.
Television content has always been lacking, for so long as I can remember. MTV used to be enjoyable when they played music, but now it's all game shows and house parties. I don't really watch television too much at all these days. TV just doesn't entertain me like it used to, unless I am under the influence... at which point I find it witty and amazing to watch, especially the Crocodile Hunter on Animal Planet.
Far too many people spend thier lives in front of the televison. Just last week in Theories of Communication, Alex told us that our brains are less active while we are watching TV then they are when we sleep. How sad is that? I'm so glad I am not one of the ones camped out in front of the boob tube waiting to see whats going on in the ficticious lives of poorly written characters. Television today is written by people who grew up on television. That's why the content is so bad. The intriguing shows the people writing the new ones used to watch when they were young were written by people who read books. Reading. Now THERE'S a concept. I think I'll go do that right now.
Dan Boujoulian
COM 371
Short, But Accurate Consumption List:
Billboards
Television (audio only)
Films (Theatre & Home Video)
Internet (news mailings, e-mail, etc)
Newspaper (Real Detroit, Orbit)
Magazines (Premeire,Entertainment Weekly,Mac Addict)
I am part of the GVSU school of communications. As a student I should be able to rattle off any number of important facts and information regarding the media and the state of our society. However I cannot. Is it because I don't understand the world around me? Not likely. It's more of a lack of interest in the world. Do you know how I heard about the NATO bombing? Did I catch it on TV? Nope. Did I read it in a newspaper. Nope. I got an e-mail from a friend in Bosnia that went to GVSU last year. What kind of communications student does that make me?
I was a media frenzied child. I admit it. Running home, watching cartoons until supper. Oh... play outside? Sure, if my mom made me. My television intake changed once we got a computer. I spent my time trying to figure out the puzzles in adventure games, or trying to make my own in some lame games I coded in BASIC.
I would eventually meet all my close friends because of the computer. During my junior year of high school I completely stopped hanging out with people at my school. My friends went to other schools, we hung out like normal friends, but we met initially at bowling party get-togethers that we set up over the computer.
My recent lax in media consumption would be due to time available. I just don't feel like wasting what few nights I don't have work or school in front of the television. I would rather spend hours on the internet or just creating something on the computer.
You are what you eat. That's what they told you. But did they ever stop to tell you that you are what you watch? Don't drown while you're trying to channel surf, just give it up and hope something decent comes on the channel you left it on. Television is an endless cycle of corporate crime that sells for 5 installments of $19.99. Television isn't the ONLY media left, but it is the most widely abused. Did media have a bad name before television? How mad could you get at someone for PRINTING something. How much could a person have been negativly influenced by print media. Not very likely. Enter the television, enter a bad social influence. It's not that TV doesn't have potential, the list of good possiblilties is endless. Unfortunately, good programming doesn't sell well.
I opted to listen to the television instead of my normal music for a night while I was doing computer work. It was roughly 3 a.m. when I noticed that programming is much different after midnight. During the day everything seems to be SELL SELL SELL and they let you know it. At night, it's still SELL SELL SELL, but they are much more relaxed about it. I was working on CD covers for some CDs I burned for a few friends. The content was that of bad soap operas. I didn't even realize that soap operas were on in the middle of the night. But I assume it was a soap opera because of the bad acting and the fact that something "totally unexpected" happened about every 10 minutes before a commercial break. Yes, it was lame. If I had been watching it for entertainment alone, I would have taken points away for lack of creativity and enjoyment value.
Television content has always been lacking, for so long as I can remember. MTV used to be enjoyable when they played music, but now it's all game shows and house parties. I don't really watch television too much at all these days. TV just doesn't entertain me like it used to, unless I am under the influence... at which point I find it witty and amazing to watch, especially the Crocodile Hunter on Animal Planet.
Far too many people spend thier lives in front of the televison. Just last week in Theories of Communication, Alex told us that our brains are less active while we are watching TV then they are when we sleep. How sad is that? I'm so glad I am not one of the ones camped out in front of the boob tube waiting to see whats going on in the ficticious lives of poorly written characters. Television today is written by people who grew up on television. That's why the content is so bad. The intriguing shows the people writing the new ones used to watch when they were young were written by people who read books. Reading. Now THERE'S a concept. I think I'll go do that right now.
Thursday, May 20, 1999
Paul and Dan's Mad Libs
My friend and I were joking around today and we were listening to the wondeful radio stations in Grand Rapids. (I'm in town to get my car this weekend) Well we thought it would be funny to take some sort of religious sermon and make it into a mad lib. Only we want to do it on the web.
Basically it will ask you for words
"noun" "adjective" "something you like to do" "someone you hate" "your favorite band" "your favorite food" "first girlfriend's name" "last girlfriends name" "sexual preference"
weird stuff you know... and then it would say something like
"And then Jennifer decreed unto the unsuspecting followers. 'You will have Miles Davis' and it was good. And then they feasted upon pears and assorted fruits and it was good."
Basically it will ask you for words
"noun" "adjective" "something you like to do" "someone you hate" "your favorite band" "your favorite food" "first girlfriend's name" "last girlfriends name" "sexual preference"
weird stuff you know... and then it would say something like
"And then Jennifer decreed unto the unsuspecting followers. 'You will have Miles Davis' and it was good. And then they feasted upon pears and assorted fruits and it was good."
Thursday, May 13, 1999
TV experiment for Media & Society class
Television is so lame. That is the conclusion my experimentation lead to. Itís all a big commercial. Granted, it is 2:30 am, so content isnít really good when you have access to 3 channels. I donít channel flip because I would have to go ALL the way over to the TV to do that. I am just playing on my computer, listening to the TV instead of my normal Jefferson Airplane, This Mortal Coil, Radiohead, Catherine Wheel, Afghan Whigs or any other of the great CDs I own.í
