The last day of school is finally upon us. The year has flown by so fast what with a trip to Europe and less than 6 months of actual school. As this is my last assignment and last blog probably ever I’d like to get a few things off my chest. First, if you drive slow, don’t drive in the passing lane. It’s fine if your actually going to pass someone but speed up and pass don’t sit in the passing lane forever and back up the traffic behind you. This especially goes for transport trucks, particularly on the 402 when it goes down to two lanes. There is nothing more frustrating than being stuck behind a slow vehicle on a four lane highway. Second, barbequing is the best form of cooking ever. Until I was actually without a barbeque I never realized just how good hamburgers and steaks are. Lastly, as glad as I am to see summer come, winters are not long enough in Ontario. As a snowboarder I need a longer winter and more snow than London has to offer. Hopefully after school I’ve saved enough to go out West or travel back to Europe because the amount of winter in London just doesn’t do it for me anymore. For everyone reading this blog have a good summer and see you in the fall.

Hip hop has been argued against and discriminated against since its inception in the 1980’s. While the main argument against it used to be its language and derogatory stance on women and the black community in American culture, it is now being discussed for its violent messages. Hip hop has become universal in that people all over the world no matter what language they speak can rhyme and put together lyrics without any background music. A new show on BET has pitted some of America’s black teachers and community leaders against some of hip hops famous/infamous artists in a debate against whether hip hop culture is good for the world. The show hip hop vs. America brings up points about violence and language and tries to show the connection that hip hop has to people all over the world. While it is hard to defend the language and violence that comes out of hip hop it can also show the rise to success from having nothing to having everything. Many people can look up to these celebrities and see where they came from and have high aspirations of where they can go in the future.

This is an addition to one of my older blogs about downloading copyrighted movies and music. An article on CNN.com sparked my interest in the counterfeit movie trade in Mexico. Counterfeit movies cost Mexican films over $500 million dollars per year. Most of them are illegally downloaded off the internet and burned to a disc where they are sold in the flea markets of various Mexican cities. This happens in North America as well but more on a personal level from individuals downloading and sharing their ripped movies over a certain site. While most North Americans are still not privy to this practice, the number of people illegally downloading movies will keep increasing. That is one of the reasons why the music industry is being affected because downloading music off the internet if very easy compared to movies. I feel that the pirating of movies is hurting the film industry less than the music industry. Musicians make money, for the most part, one of two ways: concert sales and CD sales. While the movie industry will always have overpaid stars and large big screen budgets, the music industry suffers because CD sales are way down. A song can be downloaded in a matter of minutes or even seconds now while a movie usually takes more than a day. Movie stars will always be paid the big money but struggling musicians have a tough time making it big if no one is buying their CD’s.

Why are the NHL playoffs so important to Canadians? Even though I know I have to do homework and I don’t have time to watch TV, I cannot draw myself away from the hockey games. Even games I don’t care about get supremacy over all else. Even though I watched the games last night I still put sports highlights on in the morning to catch the goals I only saw in replays. Even sleep is sacrificed to stay up and watch the late games. So why is hockey so important to Canada? Because it is an image. Most Canadians enjoy the sport of hockey or at least can sit through a game if everyone else is watching it. Canadians are known for their hockey prowess and it is celebrated especially in the Olympics. Canada is one of the only countries in the world that actually watched the World Junior Hockey Championships and it has been said before that without this support the tournament would not be able to run the way it does. There are very few Americans that follow hockey and even less that are as passionate as we Canadians about it. I think hockey is ingrained into our culture as Canadians and we have no choice but to enjoy it. Hockey is the one sport I follow outside of playoff time and when the Stanley Cup Playoffs roll around I am glued to the TV most nights with a few beers and some good friends.

A new statistic has come out recently that one in every five soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from major depression or post traumatic stress. This statistic means more than 300 000 soldiers are returning from overseas with mental health problems. Less than half of these soldiers are seeking treatment and many are turning to drugs and alcohol to cope. This was the first private study of troops undertaken during the war in Iraq and not surprisingly it shows very different results from the previous surveys the American military has done. The military study shows less than 120 000 returned with mental health disorders and up to 60 000 are already seeking medical attention. These stats show a dramatic difference and cause one to question the credibility and aim of the entire mission. There is a very vocal portion of Americans that are opposed to the war and stats like this only fuel the fire. Many people thinking rationally worldwide are discussing the possibility of the war being a fight for control of the vast Middle East oil supplies but Bush and the US government still deny any link to this. I believe the media is helping the non supporters of the war by providing daily updates about all the damage being done overseas. Not only are the stats about mental illness and injury upsetting but the amount of scandal that has happened overseas is also appalling. Many US soldiers have been involved in the maltreatment of prisoners and civilians alike. Although my personal opinion on the subject does not really matter I feel we do not have to support the war but we should support the troops that are fighting for other peoples freedoms.

Recently Pope Benedict has comforted and met with some of the sexual abuse victims of priests of the Catholic religion. While some of the victims appreciate the gesture many people feel this is a small step in gaining the trust of the clergy of the Catholic Church. The Pope expressed shame over the terrible actions that have occurred in connection with the church. This is believed to be the first time the Pope has met with the victims and openly expressed shame and apology for the events that transpired. While I feel this is a step in the right direction, I also feel these people deserve and will accept compensation for the actions of the Clergy. The Catholic religion is the richest religion in the world and also one of the largest. I would be surprised if money is not paid to some or all of these victims especially after the Pope himself has admitted that some of the priests have been involved in sexual abuse. While all this scandal has scarred the Catholic community the actual number of priests involved in these actions is very low. The Pope wants to encourage trust in clergy by the general population again which is why I feel he met with the victims. I believe that many of the priests of the world are totally innocent and they deserve recognition for all that they do instead of jeers and insults. It will be a long time before the whole situation is figured out and an even longer time before the Catholic religion recovers from it all.

The Canadian flag is an easily recognizable symbol that is respected worldwide. The flag itself is very simple with two red bars at both ends and a maple leaf in the middle of a white background but it is recognized worldwide and shown a large amount of respect. Many people were originally very upset with the Canadian flag because of its simplicity. The only similar flag at the time was the Japanese flag. Many designs were put forward and used the same colours as the British and American flags. Many people now would be appalled if the flag was changed because it has become a symbol of the freedoms that Canada stands for. Unlike an American flag, the Canadian flag is seen as a sign of peace and friendship and many people act accordingly. That is why many Americans use the Canadian flag on their luggage when travelling oversees because Canada is very well respected in the international community. While Canadians have a more basic symbol for representation than much of the world people are looked upon very highly if they are from Canada.

With the advent of email why has regular mail not been wiped out? Email is many times faster and more convenient so why do people still send letters. One may think that only old people who do not own computers are the only ones sending written letters but what about resumes and cover letters. More often than not some of the more important documents are sent or requested as a hard copy. This is why many offices struggle to go paper free and why photocopiers and printers are still a viable technology. This brings about the argument of whether a hard copy is more real than an email or text message. While this is an easily debatably topic that many theorists have discussed a personal example comes to mind. While in Italy in November I visited the Vatican and my parents requested that I send a letter to my grandma from the Vatican. She did not ask for an email or a text from the Vatican but instead a postcard that I had taken the time to hand write. It may have only been a few sentences but the important factor was that I wrote it by hand. While many people think that the computer will wipe out letters I believe that it will increase the importance of a hand written or at least mailed document.

1997 Vehicles

Many of my friends and I argue as to the best year for automobile production. While many people think back to the classic hot rods of the 60's and 70's others look to the future in the new Lamborghini's and Ferrari's. Myself, I look at 1997 as the best year for cars because of the Plymouth Voyager (ANN KAT to some because of the license plate). I have been the proud owner of White Lightening, as I have nicknamed it, for four years and it has stood the test of time. The van has been all over Canada and the United States including numerous trips to Florida and the East coast. The key aspects of any car are reliability and durability and the van has shown both these qualities many times over. Besides a little rust the van is in peak condition and can still perform at top speeds which I found out with a recent speeding ticket. It has never been in an accident and has had only minor repairs in the decade that my family has owned it. At the time of purchase it was a masterful creation with many of the gadgets that don’t even come standard in today’s cars. It includes foldable and removable seats, an onboard computer and tape and CD player. The heat and air-conditioning are still in fine working order and it gets my friends and I from point A to point B in style. Although it is fine running condition it does have a minor issue being that the trunk is no longer functional. The only other problem is the minor rust damage to the driver’s side sliding door and over the wheel well. While a new car may be the route for some I hope my ANN KAT chariot lasts me a lifetime.

Snowboarding Advertising

Advertising in snowboarding has now become a major factor. The mountains that advertise the most are the mountains that get the most visitors. World renowned locations such as Whistler, Aspen and Chamonix have gotten as big as they are because of advertising. Besides the basic magazine and TV ads, resorts are thinking outside the box by providing professional riders with free passes and sponsorship opportunities to ride at their resort. When little Billy and Susie see their favourite riders shredding a certain hill, their first thought is to go there and see them in person. People will also think “if Shaun White is riding at Park City then it must be good” which will again attract riders to that resort. This tends to attract people away from the smaller resorts that don’t have money for big advertising and this can be seen as a major problem in snowboarding. People will inevitably travel to go snowboarding to find “greener pastures” and most people base their trip on advertisements they have seen. Rarely will people take a chance at an unknown resort and jeopardize their trip although these can be some of the best places to snowboard. Unknown resorts often have minimal crowds, low lift ticket prices and stashes of good snow that would otherwise be tracked out at the big resorts.
The same goes for snowboards and snowboard clothing. The companies that can sign the big name riders are often the most profitable. Companies like Burton, Salomon and Nitro have some of the most famous faces in snowboarding representing their product which encourages young shreds to buy their product. These riders are risking their lives in some instances and therefore want to be paid accordingly. A small company with limited funds will not be able to pay the big name riders what they want which inevitably makes the rich richer and the poor poorer. Although the technology is very similar in almost every board people will buy a certain board because of the name attached to it. However this can also work in reverse. A company can “lose touch” with the true feeling of snowboarding which will cause the core shredders to move away from them. While everyone in the snowboard industry is out to make money, it is the true love of snowboarding that brings everyone together. Company loyalty also needs to be taken into account. Many riders are grateful for the opportunity to ride professionally and will stay loyal to a company as long as that loyalty is showered back on them. Riders such as Simon Chamberlain and Travis Parker (who ride for Stepchild and Capita respectively) stayed with a smaller company because of the loyalty they have shown towards the riders. Within a smaller company riders have more say in their product and can often design their own signature line of clothes or snowboards. I believe that people in the snowboard industry need to support the small companies and resorts if the sport is to live on with the true feeling of snowboarding.

Medical Imaging

Medical imaging has come a long way and continues to advance. The field is ever changing and improving and “refers to the technique and process used to create images of the human body” (Wikipedia). The purpose of medical imaging is to reveal or diagnose a disease or body function (pregnancy). Medical imaging started in the early 1900’s after the development of x-rays by Professor Roentgen. Another device used was a medium that contrasted certain areas of the body to allow doctors to view blood vessels and other organs more easily. Usually this substance contained radiation to be visible under x-rays and was first experimented with in 1912. This process is still used today although the radiation is minute and most of the substance is excreted. Radiology and x-rays became very popular in the Second World War to diagnose and treat injuries that occurred on the battlefield. At this time film cassettes were used to store images. The process however was long and arduous and could take as long as 10 minutes to get a proper image. As time went on x-rays became faster and the resolution increased making the images clearer and more readable. Fluorescent screens were the next major development in medical imaging and allowed the doctor to view x-ray images in real time albeit looking directly into the beam causing exposure to radiation. The technique was perfected by putting the images, again, onto cassettes so the doctor could see up to 6 pictures per second. In 1955 the x-ray was combined with a TV camera and monitor to provide real time images while exposing the doctor and patient to very little radiation. This also allowed for routine imaging of the heart and blood vessels. Ultrasound was another technique mastered after World War II where inaudible sound waves were sent to the region of interest and a transducer provided an image from the length of time a wave took to bounce back. Digital Imaging is now the wave of the future in relation to medical imaging. Digital images include CT scanning which was first invented in 1972 by Godfrey Hounsfield. Where Hounsfield’s images took hours to take and reconstruct images, today’s CT scans can do the same process in seconds. A CT scan is basically an x-ray mounted on a rotating frame that can take a cross sectional image. These images are used to inspect for everything from brain and kidney damage to cancer. For his invention Hounsfield was awarded a Nobel Prize and was knighted by the Queen of England. Laparoscopic surgery is when a small camera is used to view the inside of the body so people do not have to be cut open and is often used for appendicitis. This invention provides doctors with an alternative procedure that is less invasive to the human body and can heal faster. These examples only scratch the surface of what mankind has done with medical imaging. There are many other inventions, some useful, others not so much, that have been used in the past to treat medical problems. The field of medical imaging will only improve in the future because of developments from doctors and scientists concerned with human well being.

Beer Advertising

When selecting a wine from the liquor store many people rely solely on the label for their choice. A similar scenario occurs in beer buying where many people sample different beers until they find one they like. Some people however buy beer strictly because of the advertisements and promotions. These advertisements can lead to brand loyalty in beer drinkers which means that person will most likely purchase the same beer over and over even if it does not have a good flavour. In fact beer advertising is one of the largest expenditures for beer manufacturing companies. Consider advertising at the Superbowl (where the majority of ads are for beer) where thirty second commercials are sold for $2 million. The same applies to hockey and other major sports that all have a beer sponsor for their stadium. In the case of the John Labatt Center a beer company has become the major sponsor and its name is in the title of the building. With all this money going into advertising one would think that people would only buy the type of beer that advertises the most, which is not the case. My personal favourite (Pabst Blue Ribbon) does little to no advertising in Canada which leads me to think that beer advertising does very little in coaxing people to buy their product. So why do companies spend so much money on advertising if it doesn’t even work?

Marijuana in the Media

Marijuana has recently hit the spotlight in TV media. Shows are capitalizing on the commonly used drug to relate their programs to younger people as well as adults that still use. Weeds is a popular program about a single mother that starts a grow operation in her house because of money issues. The storyline follows her and her family as they deal with some of the problems and issues that arise from selling marijuana for a living. Another show that has popularized the drug is Entourage, about a group of friends who “make it” in Hollywood. Drug use and drinking are an almost every day event for these four friends because they have the money and time to afford it. Because it is a TV show (loosely based on the life of Mark Wahlberg and some of his friends) they can glorify the drug to a point where an entire episode is focused on the finding of weed. Although many people will see this as irresponsible on the part of the director (Mark Wahlberg) and the TV station (HBO) I don’t find the use of drugs on television to be a precursor for young viewers to start smoking. If a child has been taught strong values against drug use then watching these shows will not entice them to start smoking. These shows are also recommended for an older audience who have undoubtedly already been exposed to marijuana and other drugs. In my opinion these shows are not doing anything wrong and are capitalizing on an activity that many people partake in whether old or young.

Advertising

Advertising has changed almost as much as technology in the past 50 years. What is an acceptable form of advertising now would have caused quite a stir in the 1950’s. Women and men were always fully clothed and rarely if ever seen even touching each other. Compare that to some of today’s ads where the subjects are sometimes fully nude. Take for example many of the PETA ads that have come out recently. The slogan “I’d rather go naked than wear fur” is commonly synonymous with a naked celebrity supporting PETA. PETA has even gone as far as employing adult entertainment star Jenna Jameson to launch their new ad campaign that calls for the banning of leather. The slogan “pleather yourself” is a play on the business that she works in as well as supporting polyester leather instead of the real thing. While I believe this is a good ad and concept I am wondering how far advertisement will go in the future to shock the audience. As time has gone on companies have been putting out racier ads to attract the attention of the general public. It seems that the more “stir” about a particular ad the better the product sells. Have we reached the pinnacle of advertising until the government allows nude photos in everyday (not adult) magazines or are there better ads to come? Does sex always sell or will people be turned off by some of the ads in the future? All questions that we will have to wait to be answered...

Silent Communication

Everyone knows that sign language and morse code are two of the most popular forms of silent communication but have you ever thought of the non verbal communication we have every day. As a driver I can easily communicate my thoughts to someone in the next lane or at a stop sign even though I cannot hear or speak to them. Even walking the halls at school, I can nod to someone I know if I'm in a rush and dont have time to talk. Walking into a party I can high five or wave to someone I know or am going over to talk to. Almost all people understand this silent language and communicate in it everyday. Some will use their own interpretations of actions to communicate themselves but for the most part everyone can understand them. There are dozens of ways to communicate to someone without using any words.

The music industry has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. What was originally a growing, successful business has now started losing millions of dollars per year due to one cause: internet downloading. Before computers were as wide spread as they are, CD’s cost upwards of $20. Now that music downloading is so easy CD stores are practically giving them away at ridiculously low prices to try and compete with illegal downloading. Even though legitimate online music stores now exist it is hard to compete with free music downloading. Some artists have embraced this new technology such as bands like Radiohead where their new CD was available online for as much as you, the consumer, felt like paying. To save money many people just took the CD for free but it shows a trend that some people in the music industry are starting to embrace the idea of free music downloading and somehow deal with it. Other bands like Metallica are totally against any form of music downloading and just recently signed a deal with Apple to allow their music on Itunes. With the ease of free music downloading it will be very difficult to convince the general public to buy their music. I believe that a totally different approach to music sales and distribution is inevitable for the future if music as we see it today wants to exist.

Facebook and Myspace have forever changed the way we communicate to one another. Instead of calling a friend or leaving a message it is often much simpler to reach this person through Facebook. Facebook has also allowed us to tell the world what we are doing on a Saturday night or what our trip to Italy looked like. Aside from a few close friends I rarely talk to any of my “contacts” on Facebook and I don’t think they mind. I personally didn’t have Facebook until very recently where under pressure from my peers I “just had to see the photo of you in Rome”. Now that I’ve got Facebook I don’t even use it. I find it very difficult to go online and scan through people’s pictures or join a group where a million other people couldn’t care less what I have to say. Saying this I do like to see some of the pictures of events or parties I’ve been to but the reliance on Facebook based communication is getting ridiculous. For example, meeting someone at a bar used to entail getting a phone number but now requires an email address, Facebook name or Myspace page. Also making plans for the weekend I don’t have to call up any of my friends because they have posted who’s house we are going to or what bar they’d like to drink at that night. In short I agree Facebook and Myspace have their advantages and can be fun to use but the excess some people use them at is ridiculous.

Passports are the most trusted personal documents in the world. When crossing borders or showing identification a passport is always accepted as the best way to prove who you are. With the threat of terrorism and illegal immigrants shouldn’t the forging of passports be on the forefront of our countries security issues? But on the other hand, the passport is the best protected piece of identification with a personal picture, information and all sorts of safety characteristics unnoticed by the normal person. To some peoples surprise a master passport forger has just be apprehended by authorities in Guelph, Ontario. Passports were not the only thing this person was trying to forge; travellers cheques and drivers licenses were also on the list of forgery charges. This brings up the question of how trustworthy is a passport. Already airlines and security companies are toying with the idea of fingerprint and optical scanning to identify people. This process can then be expanded into our everyday life. Things like credit cards and drivers licenses can become nonexistent being replaced by fingerprint or optical scanning. Considering the case discussed above, how hard would it be to develop forged fingerprints or fake contacts that can trick the scanners. All of this may seem very 1984-ish but who knows what the future will hold?

Since getting to college three years ago, the number of ways that technology has affected my education has been immense. First to find my schedule for the year I need a Fanshawe College username and password. After getting onto Fanshawe Online I can access all of my courses as well as my Fanshawe email, locker and all of my teachers and classmates. Instead of waiting until next class to get help from a teacher I can email them with my problems and discuss solutions through email. My teachers can also reach me outside of class time to notify me of changes or things for next class. This is also the case in class where I can take less thorough notes because I can access all the Powerpoints from class through Fanshawe Online. Through my Fanshawe Online I also have access to updates from the college as well as access to all of their services. Aside from minor inconveniences for example Fanshawe Online being down or our teachers forgetting to post some class notes, there are very few disadvantages to students of having a more technologically inclined education. Not only does it make a lot of things easier but it is a huge convenience to be able to talk to your professor in a time of need. In my opinion the school will continue to use technology to facilitate students and teachers. The website has become more and more manoeuvrable and Fanshawe does a very good job of staying on the cutting edge.

Sexism and Racism in the Media

Although the media doesn’t directly advertise sexism, it definitely supports it in an underlying way. In the beginning of movies there was still a sexist attitude towards women so all of the hero’s were men. This mentality strengthened the notion of the helpless woman being rescued by the heroic man. Throughout the decades this trend stayed constant and still continues today. Granted there are some new movies coming out recently with female heroines but the majority of movies stay with the recurring theme of the man rescuing the woman. Even though most of us are not sexist we do have sexist attitudes toward certain ideas which can be blamed in most part by the media.
These ideals are also apparent when dealing with racial issues. Because of the movies portraying black people in a certain light, many other cultures picture all blacks to act in that same way although many times this is not the case. This same stigma goes for Asian people, Indian people and even white people who cultures see in a different light because of the way they are portrayed in the media. If for example you have no Indian friends, you will have preconceptions about how these people will act, not because of how other people act but how they are seen in the media. Even though we are not racist there is a subconscious notion that all people act as they are portrayed in the movies and media.

Computer Slang

I never realized how our vocabulary is affected by the technologies we use. In everyday conversation there are dozens of words used that all get their base from technology. The article It’s All Geek To Me names some humorous examples of words, most of which I have never heard or used, but got me thinking about how our everyday conversations revolve around technology. Even something as simple as telling someone to call you on your “cell” is a phrase that most people are familiar with. To someone in another part of the world where cell phones are not commonplace this would make no sense at all. As the use of technology increases so do the number of technology phrases. Things like TM, LOL and LMAO all mean something to people familiar with instant messaging but to many, these are just a grouping of letters. With the increasing popularity of Facebook and Myspace comes a whole new set dialogue that older generations not dependent on the internet will never use or understand. As far as I’m concerned I find computer short forms ridiculous and funny especially in normal conversation. I don’t think it’s a laziness factor that causes people to do this but more the fact that they get used to replacing certain words with instant messaging slang.

It’s All Geek To Me website:

(http://technology.sympatico.msn.ca/Its+all+geek+to+me+Defining+todays+tech+terms/How-To/ContentPosting_MS.aspx?isfa=1&newsitemid=ccf557c7-59f0-48f9-9e67-4cfebb5616c3&feedname=MARC-SALTZMAN&show=False&number=0&showbyline=True&subtitle=&detect=&abc=abc&date=False)