BP Spills Coffee

In this video clip you will get to see BP getting made fun of their oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Not only did BP spill some oil into the Gulf, it took them way too long to fix the problem. BP was able to get a mile deep in the ocean to drill this oil and put evenything they need to do it in place. But what happens if something goes wrong? Whats happens if something doesnt go as planed? You need to have standards in place for every aspect of the business even if you are sure that it couldnt happen, there needs to be a plan in place just in case it does happen. In this case it seemed to me that they had no plan or idea on what to do in the case of this particular oil spill.

This video make me laugh not just because they are making fun of the company and the people who work for BP. This video shows you in a humorus way that they had no idea what to do to fix and stop this leak. Can I even call it a leak? The oil was spilling out into the Gulf way faster than they could barrel it up for export. Also in this clip you will see different ways they tried to fix this spill. Within the humor you will see how insane this people must be to think that some of the things they tried would have worked. Just makes me believe that BP really wasnt concerned of the people they have affected and not to be left out the helpless animals they killed as well.

Real Or Fake-What do you think?

Me: What do you think of the Modern Warfare 3, the game play, the violence…etc.?

Adam: I don’t think the game is as good as expected. But since Modern Warfare 2 is huge Modern Warfare 3 automatically is bigger. Call of Duty likes to keep the real war like style in the game play but they do a good job of shielding you from the violence. For example when you get shot money flies everywhere not blood and gore as in real war.

Me: What do you think of the violence in real life war and how do you think it compares to MWF3?

Adam: I think people who played Modern Warfare 2 don’t realize the violence in real war because unreal war people get a head blown off, limbs fly off. Call of Duty World at War was the only game just like violence in real war.

Me: Why do you think the Call of Duty games are so popular?
Adam: Modern Warfare 3 had a lot of games building up to it. For example Modern Warfare 2 and World at War were both games of the year and because it’s a realistic war game not all aspects of it but most.

In this picture you will see me in the woods, it's the Allegheny National Forest.  My buddy and I took a camping trip when I got out of the Army.  We had no where to go, so we pawned everything we could bought a tent, some canned food, lighter fluid and went out in the woods to live.  We found this cliff to make our base and put up the tent.  This was at least a 50 foot cliff that we positioned our tent on to help protect us from bears.

In this picture that I did alter, is the same as before but with it cropped in a way that takes most of the meaning away and changed it so much that it just isn't the same.  This is a good example to show you not to believe everything that you may see.  Things are altered to get you to see what they want you to see.  Pictures are worth a 1000 words, well when you alter pictures like this, you very well could take out 800 words with it.

Frickin Fracking

Fracking is a word I have heard of before but never really knew what it was. This Fracking topic is a controversial one at best. My thoughts on this are mixed as well as vague. I need to learn a lot about this subject as well as many of us probably do. Fracking is something that is just as good for us as well as it is bad. Does the good out way the bad or vice versa? As you will see in this commercial that we watched in class, you will find out that our technology enabled us to extract this gas from over a mile down in the earth. ExxonMobil states that these natural gas deposits could supply us fuel for the next 100 years. Sounds good right? Well let’s take a look at this bit of information I found on www.fractracker.org. “Granted, drilling a well is not quite the same impact as a surface mining operation, but to protect an area from one mode of mineral extraction and not the other seems inconsistent. After all, many of the problems with coal are still relevant for gas drilling, since the drilling operator must go through the coal seam to get to the gas. The pyrite associated with the coal is still exposed to air, meaning that the drilling mud and drill cuttings probably contain sulfuric acid, the key component of acid mine drainage (AMD). And it’s not just the drill cuttings that could be a source of problems…it could be the well bore itself. Consider the Hughes Bore Hole, which, according to Wikipedia was drilled in the 1920′s to drain underground mines in the area, then capped in the 1950′s. So what’s the big deal? In the 1970′s, pressure built up and the hole burst open, and has been spewing about 800 gallons per minute of acid mine drainage ever since” (There is a picture I tried to put in this blog, that is very gross and worrysome, but I was not able to put the video along with the picture for some reason). I still need more information on this topic to determine if the good out way the bad, but I do know that the frackers make it sound good, but is it really. That choice is up to you.

BREAKING NEWS

Funeral Arrangements Announced For Fallen Officer - Pittsburgh News Story - WTAE Pittsburgh

We have a Breaking News story in from the Dairy Queen in New Kensington. We take you to Julie Fine reporting at the scene. This is how it all starts when there is breaking news to report, but this just isn’t any news story. A K-9 cop was ambushed, shot and killed, and then the gunman committed suicide. This is what was first reported, but later we find out that after the gunman committed this awful crime, he tried to flee from the scene, other cops on scene was in pursuit of him the gunman Charlie Post tried to climb over a fence fast behind the DQ, shots were fired but at this point they are not sure if Post killed himself or if the pursuing officers had done the job for him. This is a sad criminal act that should never have happened. This has been a big deal this year with the killing of police officers. This obviously is not a good thing, these officers are out there to protect and serve, and they are a small breed of human beings just as the military personnel. When there are people put there willing to kill police officers and not scared to do so or take a life for a life, this is a major problem in the world today that some how needs to come to an end. After this story they proceed to try and lighten up everyone with the weather this didn’t help lighten the mood any since rain was still in the forecast for the next few days. Perfect timing if you ask me, a dreary day on a sad day in the community. After a quick look at what will be talked about in the weather later in the news segment, they proceed to tell us about an argument between Terrance Stubbs and Kimberly in a parking lot which ended up in the male running over Kimberly. All this for a parking spot, unnecessary road rage strikes again. Now let’s take a commercial break. Treasure Hunt is a company where you can supposedly sell your gold and valuables and receive more for then than any other company. Nissan and Acura then had commercials as well. A political bashing commercial on Obama and then a commercial for Target’s Pharmacy. I feel that these commercials are chosen because there is a stereotyping of the individuals whom watch the news. This grouping is older people probably 35 and older. This is probably true for the most part but you can see from this that we are all being targeted no matter what we do. These companies no when and where to put their advertisements to get the most reward for their buck.

Good Disney, Bad Descisions

Welcome to the dream world where all your wildest fantasies come true.  Good guys win and the bad guys always seem to get what is coming to them.  Is this fantasy life good for the youth of the world?  Disney provides a wonderful fantasy world as well as helps spark the imagination in children that is so heartwarming to witness.  But is this fantasy world a dirty one?  Let’s look at one of many clips from the world of Disney.  In The Little Mermaid, Ariel is getting married to her dream man and was willing to give up her beautiful voice to get that.  The priest that is marrying her in this movie gets an erection when he says “Dearly beloved.”  Now when I watched this movie as a kid, I never noticed this and never knew to even look for this.  I do believe that these controversial adult things should never be in “children movies.”  I also believe that even though these things are in these movies that they are still good for the kids to watch because it does help them spark their imagination which I believe is key for a child’s development.  As an adult now I really do not look at Disney as a bad company because I feel the things they do will really never be picked up by the kids.  I will still buy Disney movies as well as toys and clothes for my child.  I understand this should not have a place in the innocent kids’ lives but if they don’t know to even notice something like that is it really all that bad?

Sex Scandel in Advertising

Advertising is a very powerful tool for companies to promote their products and to entice the consumer to purchase their products.  Why is it so powerful?  Is it powerful because the products being advertised are just far superior to its competition or is it because of the way these products are being advertised?  I feel that it is both because I know that if a product is a product worthwhile then the good word will spread like a wildfire in Texas.  This is a different era in advertising because the use of women to spark the attention and interest of the consumer.  In this ad to the right at first glance you would not know that it is advertising the S-series Mercedes Benz.  When you take a closer look into the black hole between all the breasts it says “8 airbags,” this is a provocative derogatory comment about the breasts being airbags.  Is this right?  Probably not, but it is a very effective advertising tool.  Why do you ask.  Well SEX sells, enough said.  Now women are not the only ones used in this manner.  Yes they are more widely used than men, but men are used in the same way.  Media has portrayed what the “beautiful women” standard is, but when you open your eyes this is also true when it comes to men as well.  If you took a guy and he was normal in the way that he doesn’t really have abs showing and not much definition in his arms and you take the same guy with muscles, a 6-pack, and all sorts of definition.  I feel 10 out of 10 females will pick the guy with the “muscles.”  Take this ad by the Shake Weight as an example.  Now I do not know the statistics on this but I am sure there have been many women that have gone out and bought this “cheap and effective” way to try and make their man look like this man.  So before anyone gets so caught up in the use of women in the media, you need to take a step back open your eyes a little bit more and realize that this is not just a problem for the women it is an advertising technique that uses both men and women.

BIG Problem in America

Two out of three Americans are overweight and that’s expected to rise to 3 out of 4 by 2020.  I am sure many of you knew that America was an overweight country.  You may not have known the problem to be as great as the statistic shows, but what I am sure many of you do not know is that 1 out of 3 Americans are expected to have diabetes by 2050.  This is a growing problem that is so hard to fix.  You may be wondering why I am talking about this and tossing these statistics out there.   Well I found this show on youtube.com and found it very interesting, no it’s not a “food show” per say, but it is a show about food and a lifestyle that is very unhealthy.  Some of you may think to yourself “well I am not overweight, or this doesn’t affect me.”  Let me tell you that as much as this show mostly targets the extreme obesity problem we have.  Many of you may not think you are overweight, but you just might be.  Since I was in the Army I know this all too well, since we had height and weight checks all the time.  The military has a scale that has a range of weights for each height, and if you weigh more than what it says you should for your height then you have to get a body fat test done.  This will ultimately tell you if you are overweight or not since muscle weighs more than fat.  You may not look at me as being overweight but I am here to tell you that I am.  I am not an extreme case, but what hit home to me was the fact that I am going to be a daddy to a little boy come February.  The U.S. government says that the current generation could have a shorter life span than their parents.  As many of you I do not want to die, I would love to live forever if as long as I was able to still live a meaningful life, but there is no way I should out live my kids barring any type of tragedy.  One in eight Americans rely on food stamps, but the stocks of many fast food restaurants such as McDonalds, Burger King and Taco Bell are at an all-time  high.  This is a problem that is very complex and difficult to fix, since there are so many different hands in everything now a days to make money.  With the economy the way it is today it is very hard to stretch your dollar to buy healthy food for you and your family, but you can go and get $5 pizzas from Little Caesars or hit up the dollar menu at virtually any fast food joint.  Now with the serving sizes easily doubled from what they used to be years ago, it just seems to make more sense to get more for your money, but when you do this you risk your health as well as the health of you family over time.  When you eat food that is not healthy for you, your body processes it a lot faster because there are significantly less nutrients in the food which in turn you become hungry a lot quicker.  With that being said when you become hungry you eat, and if you become hungry faster you will eat more, which gives more money to these companies but you are slowly killing yourself in a way that you many never know.  Minorities have been hit the hardest by this epidemic with Blacks having a 50% higher prevalence of obesity and Hispanics and Native Americans at 25% compared to Whites.  This is shown is so what of a smaller isolated scale in the 8^th Ward in southeast D.C. being the most obese place in the country.  This is an issue that will take time to overcome as well as education on the problem and how to eat more healthy, but when the economy is the way it is we may not see this problem in America get any better or “skinnier” for that matter.

Media Advertising

On January 26, 1996 Under Armor was founded by Kevin Plank a former University of Maryland special teams captain for the universities football team.  Ever since then Under Armor has grown and expanded their sporting goods.  I have been a faithful, loyal and very happy customer.  Under Armor is a bit more expensive, than some other brands, but it’s a quality product that keeps it customers coming back year after year.  Did the media have any hand in my decision to become a customer?  No, I decided to become a customer because I wanted to try this brand new product from a brand new company.  Does Under Armor have great commercials, yes.  Do their commercials try to make you believe that their product will make you a better athlete, sure.  When they have commercials of professional athletes doing what seems to be the impossible, it could make people buy their product to try and achieve “The Impossible,” to become that professional athlete as well.  Under Armor got its first break in 1999 when “Steamin” Willie Beaman, played by Jamie Foxx wore an Under Armor jockstrap in the movie Any Given Sunday.  This carries a lot of weight in my opinion on people noticing the brand name, which would entice people to go out and buy their products.  People see things in movies or on professional athletes and they want to be the best so why not wear what the best wears.  Even though the media did not play a major factor in my decision to become a customer, I know that the media help this great company become the “Sporting Goods Beast” it is today.  Now “Protect this House” with Under Armor.

Remembering 9/11 and the U.S. Military

On a day of remembrance which is so widely covered by the media as well and professional sports, we remember those who lost their lives in the 9/11 attacks.  The media had great and vast coverage of the ceremonies that took place at Ground Zero and Shanksville, PA where Flight 93 had crashed 10 years ago to the day.  Both places have extraordinary memorials, but the memorial at Ground Zero is breathtaking to say the least.  This is all wonderful and well deserved, but what about the military and all the lives lost as an aftermath to 9/11.  To the right is a picture of my platoon and I in Baghdad, Iraq with the famous cross swords.  This is the old parade grounds where Saddam would march his army.  As I have first hand knowledge of being there and seeing what really happens and what it is really like, I am sorry to inform all of you that what the media portrays of the war and what they show you is wrong.  All the media seems to talk about are all the American lives lost.  Granted this is a tragedy of war.  All the protesters of the war in a way are spitting on the soldiers for doing what they signed up to do, which  is fight for our country and defend the freedom and the people of the greatest country the United State of America.  If we did not step in and do something about the attacks, then we would have unconsciously shown that the lives lost is what very well could be the nations worst tragedy to ever take place.  Not only that but we would have shown not only terrorists but the world that anyone can do anything to us because we will not fight back.  In this small blog seen by not to many people I am here to tell you to not get caught up in what the media portrays because it is not always 100% true.  There is a lot of good being done in this war, and that is only because of the bravery of the military.  "The American flag does not fly because the wind moves past it.  The American flag flies from the last breath of each military member who have died protecting it.  American soldiers don't fight because they hate what's in front of them, they fight because they love what's behind them" (Unknown).

Paparazzi, Legal Voyeurism?

Let’s look back on class and that wonderful “POP” quiz we were so lucky to receive.  This quiz made me look quite like the “pop idiot.”  Normally I wouldn’t have done so bad on a quiz like this.  If he would have asked questions like, who was involved in the fight on the Jersey Shore? Or who leads the MLB in homeruns?  I would have known.  But see right now I am living with my pops, until the 17^th of September when I move into my own place, and as crazy as it sounds he does not have cable TV right now.  Kind of hard to stay up to date on who is getting divorced in Hollywood (since it happens every other week).  Yes I do have the internet but I am sorry to inform any of you who seem to care about those things, that I could care less about these people’s private lives.  If they can go through a divorce and still happen to make a quality movie that is worth watching, that’s all I care about.  I keep up to date on my sports, since that is mainly what I am into.  Those of you that care about others private lives and really not into sports, that’s fine because it is your life.  Which leads me to my next point, we should not be so involved in these actors or actresses lives or any famous person’s life as much as the media is.  Is it sad that Will and Jada are getting a divorce? Sure.  Did they seem like their marriage was one of the very few that would last?  Absolutely, they seemed perfect for each other, but the lives they lead are very rough on marriages.  Could you imagine being away from your spouse or future spouse for days, weeks, or months at a time and only seeing them maybe for a day here and there throughout that time?  If any of you say yes, I believe you are lying to yourselves.  How much privacy do actors and actresses really have?  I don’t believe it is as much as many of you may think.  Half the time they can’t even step out on a balcony to their hotel room while they are on vacation without getting their picture taken.  On top of that most of the actresses if not all the actresses have had many “up skirt” pictures taken.  Isn’t this voyeurism and isn't this illegal? 

What about those random very few times that an actress has her nipples slip out for a breath of fresh air?  They didn’t get a contract with Playboy or Hustler, but they have pictures of their bare breasts out for everyone to see.  Is this right or wrong?  I know I sure don’t want my picture taken while I am on vacation, or random “up skirt” pictures of my wife, girlfriend, sister or daughter floating around on the web.  What is vacation to you? What does vacation mean to you?  Well in my opinion vacation is a get-a-way from your everyday life.  If these people get their picture taken just about all the time, even if they are shopping or on a lovely jog, should they be able to have their “get-a-way” from their everyday life?  The media doesn’t allow this to happen because the paparazzi are everywhere.  This is the way our society has become now-a-days.  Is this right?

Media Junkie?

Media is all around you on a daily basis, no matter what you are doing there is some form of media there.  While you are driving and you have the radio on, or listing to a CD, or even passing by billboards, you are consciously or sub consciously taking in many different forms of media.  What role does media play in my everyday life?  Well I am a huge sports fan generally speaking.  Every time I watch a sporting event on a TV or listing on the radio, there is advertising consistently throughout the games.  In baseball each inning is “brought to you by” something.  Media is not only limited to advertising, but it is the media that brings the game to me pretty much where even I am.  Do we mostly consume media or do we mostly create it?  Well this is a question that could be answered many different ways, but I think the everyday American mostly consumes media for the simple fact that media is everywhere you go.  Even if you help create media, you are still consuming media while you create or partake in it.  We consume more media than we could ever possibly create, because there are so many companies within the general word “media.”  What do I want out of this communications class?  Well first and foremost I want a better understand of communications and the media, so I potentially go on and get a fun well paid job.  Knowing this is a basic beginner class I want to “consume” the basics of this field to build on with more advanced classes.