Looking ahead

This is probably the cliche post everyone throws up at the last minute on the last day of blogging, but whatever.  I'm just so so so relieved to have finally figured out what I want to do with my life!  Everything this semester really opened my eyes to who I am and what I am capable of in advertising and journalism.  I even know where I want to go after I graduate - well if law school or grad school doesn't work out :)  And now I'm going to be even more predictable and say that my intro to creativity class helped me realize all I want to accomplish in my life.  It inspired me to never let my ideas go unnoticed, and to never be afraid to take chances in my work - no matter how horrible they may seem at first.  It made me even more excited to find out that this class applied not only to advertising but to journalism as well.  They really should offer classes like this in other degrees, I think people who hate their major a lot less after taking a class filled with building random machines and branching off into space on different ideas.

Overall, this class really opened my eyes up to the type of person I am.  I'm no longer afraid to express myself in a group of people, and I'm definitely more confident in all my work.  I even got more creative drawing little cartoons in the margins of m notes!  So with this class behind me and another set of classes on the horizon, I can only hope my next group of classes will be this much fun.  I mean - account planning is creative right?

Gone, but not forgotten

It seems that every year something happens somewhere in the world that draws attention to the people who survived the event.  Whether it be a war, the Holocaust, 9/11, a typhoon, car accident, school shooting - whatever, there are always survivors remaining to tell their stories.

But what happens when all the survivors of a particular event die?  Or even worse, what if there are no survivor to tell what really happened?  This is becoming the case with victims from the Holocaust.

As time goes on, people die, memories fade, and time moves forward... for some.  What remains then though is the memory of these people.  So the question is, does someone or something ever really disappear for good?  I mean sure, people come and go through our lives, days blue together, and months turn into years, but events that truly had an impact on us never really leave.  We still reflect on events that we either witnessed first-hand or through the TV, and we still recall hearing about WWI and other occurances way before our time.

So as people fear that when a group of people die, everything they brought will never be lost.  People, events, places, and time live on in our memory forever, even if the specific element is gone.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2008-05-01-Holocaust_N.htm

I love Mom's boobs

Since when did it become the norm for almost everyone in our society to succumb to the pressure of going under the knife for cosmetic surgery?  There's a huge difference between getting plastic surgery to fix a broken nose, or even out an injured person's entire body.  But having a knife wielded around your face for the sake of making your nose thinner, your boobs bigger, and your ass tighter has come to be the newly accepted thing.

Things have even go so far now as to prep children for when Mommy comes home with watermelons under her shirt instead of blueberries.  I mean if my mom waltzed in the house flaunting a chest 10 lbs heavier than a few days ago I would freak out.  Even today... ya, I would still freak out.  Never fear - in Michael Salzhauer's new book "My Beautiful Mommy" children are prepared for the new arrival of mom and the twins, some lipo, anew nose, and maybe even a tummy tuck.

So I get the whole idea of this surgeon just wanting to sell more money and hopefully rack up a few more million doing work on moms who love his book, but really?  Some children who's moms are getting these surgeries aren't even old enough to read.  I for one would be freaked out if when I was a kid my mom came in to read me a book about getting some saline solution injected in her, and then the next day I can't even lay on the couch with her because her chest took over the love seat.  Not to mention - children don't know the first thing about surgical enhancements.  They notice it happened, but do children really want to know (or should they) what really happened to Mommy in those few hours she was gone last Friday?

Parents should be responsible enough to explain to their children what they are doing to themselves before taking the final step.  If parents need a book to explain to their children the details of plastic surgery, maybe they are the ones who need a book about what they are doing to themselves since they obviously cannot explain it to their children in their own words!

OMFG! GET OVER IT!

I really don't see why everyone is freaking out about Gossip Girls new ad "OMFG."  Come on people, when was the last time you walked down the street and DIDN'T hear the F bomb?  I'm guessing it probably dates back to a few years ago.  And besides, lets be honest here - if the campaign was simply "OMG" people wouldn't notice.  And last time I checked... oh ya... produces WANTED their shows to get noticed.

Maybe I'm overreacting in thinking this isn't a BFD, but that's the type of content that sells these days.  It may be sad, but the truth sometime stings.  Besides, little girls who find this slogan offensive should not be watching the show anyway.  Now I realize this cannot be controlled, but hey if they are watching the show, seeing or hearing those four words is not going to be a shock.

Maybe it's because I'm older, but the last time I said OMFG I was at dinner with my mom and she laughed... I guess she was happy I didn't actually let the F word slip pass my lips... but she definitely found today's new abbreviations entertaining.  I'll agree that it is somewhat unfortunate that our culture has resulted to such extreme forms of advertising, it really isn't fair to cast blame on the agencies.  Rather, it is our own faults that we have let our culture develop into such a derogatory state.  It's completely acceptable for girls to call each other sluts and bitches as a compliment, and guys are praised for how many girls they sleep with in a month.  Media is just putting what we do behind closed doors on a screen... it's not their fault we've done a great job of supplying them with an unlimited amount of material. 

If parents are so concerned about their children's sensitivity, they need to take a peek between the blinds and observe the neighbors and even their own children to catch a glimpse of what reality has evolved into.

It might be shocking, but really we have no one to blame but ourselves.  More to Norway if you want a more sheltered life.

We almost all died? What!?

It's crazy to think of the world with no humans on it, but it almost happened 70,000 years ago according to a study from Stanford.  About 70,000 years ago, there were about only 2,000 humans on earth - mostly centered around Africa. The reason? Drought.  So what would the world be like without humans to keep things in order?

Would animals take over?  I mean we credit monkeys with demonstrating similar human traits, but can they run the world? If this were to ever happen, what would become of society?  I personally think the earth would crumble because no one would be around to take care of it.  Some would argue that there would be nothing to take care of, but if we all just disappeared one day, we better believe there would be side effects left in our wake.  Who would be in charge of controlling harmful substances being released into the atmosphere?  Who would take responsibility of all other things left in existence?  This may be a little far-fetched, but I don't think the world would still exist if human disappeared.  I know it survived until we came along, but it was reduced to dust and some plants.

Today, there are more than 6.6 billion people in the world, but yet there's still chaos.  So where is the balance?  Would you rather live in a world with too many people, or one where there's a shortage of humans?

X Ray vision

Ever since 9/11 it's easy to recognize that our privacy has been invaded by the government. Security at airports is the perfect example. These people search through ever little zipped up pocket in your carry-on luggage, and then lecture you to death when you accidentally forget to take a tube of chapstick out of your pocket. Not only do they then proceed to search you, but any information they ask you, no matter how personal, you are required to give them or else you might as well turn around and go home - there's no way they will let you on the plane if you're withholding information.

But now, there's another way to spy on the public! Scientists in London have invented a camera that can see through someone's clothing. Now before all the guys go "wow that's cool" let's think about this a little more...

Scientists have justified this new technology as another way to protect against terrorists, but really? Is scanning crowds of people to see what's beneath their clothes really appropriate? Wouldn't it be easier to just use this camera on people who seem suspicious? I don't understand the point in using this new technology when everyone knows it's going to cause people to feel their privacy is being invaded even more.

I don't think it's fair that the government puts this new spy technique into effect without first alerting the public to the idea that cameras can now see through their clothing.  If we are supposed to be able to fully trust the government, then they need to alert us to new technologies that while they are helping keep us safe, can also be a very big inconvenience on people's lives.

For more information about this new camera, visit:  http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/04/16/camera.england/index.html

Let It Be - Across the Universe

One of the most powerful movie scenes I have ever witnessed...