Same Sex Marriage

Being that I have lived most of my life in the state of New Jersey, I try to keep up-to-date with what is going on politically. I'm was raised in a family that didn't care to much about politics so therefore I lack knowledge of what's going on politically sometimes. But what I do know is that our governor, Jon Corzine, divorced his wife and has promised to back gay marriage.

Recently I came across this article that caught my attention, Two Sides Spend Big in Battle Over Same-Sex, Marriage in NJ, that explained the race between two sides on same sex marriage. I'd figure to follow up on this political situation since I haven't heard about Jon Corzine ever since I have been at BC. The supporters of gay marriage are trying to get Gov. Jon Corzine to sign a bill for same sex marriage before he leaves the office, its there only hope. His successor is a Republican, Chris Christie, is totally against the idea of gay marriage and there is no chance he will pass the bill. Chris Christie vows that if the bill is passed he will do everything in his power to veto any gay marriage rights.

What really caught my attention was the details of this article. The amount of money that both sides have spent in order to advertise there beliefs is over the top. It's not clear but its said that those who oppose same sex marriage have spent more than $1 million in order to advertise through radio and TV ads and robo-calls. They took advantage of our tremendous use of technology such as the television and radio in order to get there point across about same sex marriage. It's crazy to see how far and how much money people would spend in order to band gay marriage.

On the other hand, those who go for same sex marriage are fighting a tough battle to pass the bill. The state Senate cancelled a vote recently because they did not reach the 21 votes they needed in order to pass the Senate. They also have been advertising for there campaign through the use of technology. Through radio advertisements they revealed how a gay couple have been rejected health care coverage and other legal and social benefits in New Jersey. It seems like advertisement is vital in this race since they need the people of the state to understand what they are crying.

I feel like same sex marriage is being somewhat being accepted but not were its safe to express freely and marry the same sex. This is wrong since gay couples value and participate in family activities, are committed to making their neighborhoods a safer and better place to live in, and honor the law. One of my neighbors back home is gay and I always see him contributing to our community, serving the local schools and volunteering in charities. Through media and advertisement the gay community can expand there battle for same sex marriage. However those who oppose are doing a good job of getting there point across through media. So it comes down to a battle through media. The radio, telephone and TV are being used to get to the people not only in New Jersey but the whole nation.

To follow up on the article click here.

Blogging?!?!?!

I have been surfing the web for almost all of my life and strangely I have never heard of "blogs". I never realized when I would skim through my daily soccer websites that blogs even exist but they were always there hiding in the little corner of the website. Well when we first started the course and the teacher explained that we would have to post blogs weekly on issues discussed in class or text, I was dazzled. What are blogs??

"Blogs" for me was a place to freely express and share to the world what I truly felt about any kind of topic. Blogs could be used as a place to argue political views or even scandals and controversies. Blogs give you an opportunity to write about any content that is unique to your personality. It's sort of an online journal.

I dread writing any type of long papers because there are guidelines and structures to essays but not in blogs. Here you can express anything that runs through your mind at the lengths and styles that you desire. No need to write a five-page paper on topics that don't interest me. In blogs when you feel that you have clearly described and argued your point of view, your done.

As the year went on I started to get the hang on blogging. I got used to gathering ideas that would run through my mind weekly and post them online for my classmates to view. What I liked about posting blogs is that my classmates would comment on what I had to say. It was nice to see other people agree or even disagree. Its good get a different perspective from different people. The feedback from my classmates made me more comfortable about posting blogs because I knew that they always would respond with reinforcing or sometimes even diverge points.

My favorite blog I've posted this year was about the Facebook scandal at the University of South California. In the blog I express how collegiate athletes are in the public eye more than any average student and what we post on Facebook could come back to hurt us. I got to write about how our soccer coach went crazy about what we post on Facebook. He wanted to make sure that we wouldn't be posting ridiculous pictures from parties that would embarrass the soccer program at BC. In the post I got to relate real life events to what we were discussing in class. I'm more on the shy side so when I don't feel like talking in class I can just post my thought online.

I would be lying if I said that I would continue to blog beyond this class but I did enjoy it while it lasted. It wasn't the best thing I've ever experienced but I had no complaints about it. I didn't dread writing blogs like I do when I have to write essays for my other classes. I would recommend it to people who would like to share there thoughts to the world sort of like journalists. For those who like to argue there points.

Talent V. Beauty

The question for me now a days is, do we truly like to watch tennis for the quality and for the elite competition? Even people who lack the knowledge of tennis often find themselves in front of the TV, watching women's tennis for the sexy apparel and erotic outfits they commonly wear now. I find it hard to believe that most of the nation tunes in to watch the sport of women's tennis for the great athletic ability. I feel that we watch it because of the great outfits and the great looking women that are dominating the sport of women's tennis. I enjoy watching tennis and I realized clearly that women’s tennis is starting to pick up interest from spectators more than men's tennis because it’s more exciting to see

Maria Sharapova. Serena Williams. Anna Kournikova. These names are blatantly linked with appeal and glamour that they are almost removed entirely from the sport in which the women proved themselves as elite competitors. They have been seen as sex symbols and their reputations added up on the court as well as off. Out of these top tennis players none have been seen as a more of a sex symbol then a tennis player as Kournikova did. She's one of the most recognized tennis players in the world but for what? Her only triumph was when shes was ranked number 8 in the world. She never even won two titles. But while she remained in tournaments, she ensured the women's matches were not overlooked.

When it comes to groaning in tennis, the women are focused on like no other. It's unlikely the same would be said of their male counterparts, some of them groan and moan as they power through a forehand. But then again the men are not blown up in the media for moaning like the women are. I think it's about time someone puts a stop to the grunts, groans and screams. Tennis should be a game based on class, and I don't think that includes sounds that make a tennis match out to sound like a wild orgy.

I don't think we should mix glamour and the wonderful sport of tennis. Tennis is a serious game and people should watch the match between the players not for their outfits and sex appeal. Glamour is not important, talent is important. What matters in tennis is the quality and quantity of the athletes not their sex.

Geico has many well known ad campaigns and it all started from the eye catching green gecko. Personally I never knew what they gecko was trying to advertise in his commercials but all I knew it was a funny little green gecko with a British accent and it caught my attention. When it comes to advertising, one campaign can't last forever so new ideas and icons need to be exposed. GEICO is a prime example of different types of campaigns and expanding beyond old boundaries.

Its hard to not know who the famous bright GEICO Gecko is. He works for one of the largest private passanger auto insurer in the USA. He plays with beautiful women, gets rides on bikes, in cars, even in his own van. He is a nation icon and seen all over GEICO advertisement's, but isn't it getting old? GEICO has made other ad campaigns such as the caveman, the stack of money and the pothole.

The caveman campaign to me is the best out of them all. It is funny and relates to modern days. The premise of the commercial in that GEICO advertises that using their website is so easy that a caveman can do it. It is a slogan that offends several caveman, who not only still exist in modern society but live as urban bachelors. If you think about it, making an interesting auto insurance advertisement is most definitely challenging but the caveman has been successful. The commercial is brought up when I'm hanging out with my friends because of how funny it is. Not that I have to worry about auto insurance yet but when it comes time I will think of the funny caveman and I will look into GEICO. Im sure that I'm not the only one that feels like this about these commercials.

The most recent GIECO commercial is the the talking pothole. I actually think its pretty funny, and gets the point across about the benefits of having GIECO emergency road service. And the southern voice, perfect. I give props to GEICO for coming out with a campaign I might actually enjoy watching.

This one we all remember. The stack of money with googly eyes, and that song. Still being used, but not the newest campaign. I have to admit, this stack of money did not raise my interest one bit when they first started airing this campaign. But after about 2-3 commercials I liked it. And the song is stuck in my head.

Collegiate Athlete's on Facebook

"You never know who may be looking!". These were the blustering words that came out of our coach's mouth. I have never in my life have seen our head BC men's soccer coach, Ed Kelly, so serious before he gave us a reinforcing lecture about Facebook. During pre-season, our soccer team had a mandatory meeting with the head Athletic Director at Boston College about the dangers of Facebook.

Facebook users create a profile page that shows their friends and networks information about themselves. The choice to include a network means that everyone within that network can view your profile. The profile typically includes information about themselves, status, friends, photos, notes, groups and wall posts.

Most college athletes don't understand that they are in the public eye more than an average student and what they post on their Facebook's could come back to hurt them. Our athletic director basically preached to us at the meeting that anything that can be written or visually understood could be taken the wrong way and be shown in a negative light. He told us that albums posted that display our pictures at last weekend's party or a message that discriminates against other people or even personal moods such as status's could be a fatal blow to our careers. He also said that we have to be cautious not only for our own appearance and for the reputation of our school, but we have to be aware of the repercussions of having fans and what they may do as a result of athletes having a Facebook page. At the meeting, He brought up the incident that happened at USC and wanted us to learn from there mistake so that it would never happen to us.

It all began with a team nickname in a racially diverse USC football team. One of the black coaches dubbed the team's white players "White Nation". Clay Matthews, one of the white players, then took this nickname to Facebook and created a new group. Matthew's group was intended for his fellow white football players as an inside joke, however he posted a picture of a black baby in handcuffs and a reference to its potential crime. The group description also joked about the Aryan Brotherhood. Another USC student came across the group and was bothered by the racist overtones of the group so she created a group called "Clay Matthews Expresses Anti-Black Sentiment". As more poeple learned of the group, it became a public relations nightmare. One potential student mentioned in the student newspaper that he has doubts about attending USC after hearing about the controversy. Matthew's in the end apologized explaining it was an innocent joke about the football team.

Although it was in innocent joke on Facebook for the football players it got out and was a huge controversy. That is why our athletic director was so sincere in the meeting and told us to to be very careful of what we are posting on our Facebook's. From that day on I think twice before I post something on my profile.

For more on the USC controversy click here.

Funny Obama

Following up on my last post, I found this funny video of Barack Obama brushing his shoulders off to Jay-Z's song "Dirt Off Your Shoulders". At a campaign appearance he was acknowledging that he's taken some hits from his opponent and some mighty hits so he brushes the metaphorical dirt off his shoulders in the form of Sen. Hillary Clinton's many charges against him.

If nothing else, it shows that Obama has his antenna up, that he's attuned to the culture around him, especially the youth culture. He's in touch. That counts for a lot for his appeal and it counts a lot for his followers.

History

As the role of the media has increased greatly over the last century, so has the importance of Presidential media strategies. Like we saw in the Kennedy and Nixon battle for presidency. It was said that during the presidential debate Nixon was nursing an injured leg and looked tense and uncomfortable while Kennedy looked eased and relaxed. Nixon also was not wearing make-up unlike Kennedy and in the end Kennedy was victorious. From then on to modern days the appearance on television began to play a dominant role in national politics.

In the last election Obama was superior in the appearance department compared to McCain. But not only did Obama look sharp on television, he also had influential artists making hit songs supporting him. Having arguable the best rapper in the world write a hit single promoting his campaign was tremendous in gaining voters. It seems like now whoever wins the media whether it the appearance on television, political television stations and in the music industry, wins the election.

This is a video called "History" by Jay-Z

In this video, Jay-Z obviously endorses Barack Obama. Jay-Z has said that this song was made solely for Obama and its clear that he is promoting a message. In the song he preaches that Obama has made history since he is the first black president that ran and won a presidential election. He promotes this message that you can look into a child's eyes and tell him that they could be president one day. Its not an easy thing but it can happen and Obama is clear cut evidence. The song also shows the progression we have made throughout history. At one point a black person couldn't drink from the same water fountain that a white person would drink from and now we have a black president running the country.

Now if you think about it and ask yourself how many people admire and look up to Jay-Z, the answer is most of the country and some internationally. This song is basically an advertisement for Obama and his campaign. Many people are going to listen to his song and feel more comfortable supporting Obama since arguable the best rapper is preaching good things of him. Blacks in America can relate to Obama and the fact that Jay-Z has such strong feelings for him motivates blacks to register and vote for Obama. So basically Jay-Z has influenced American black communities to be ambitious, to support the Barack Obama's campaign and vote for him. Not only does Jay-Z influence the black community but also the young adults whether there black or white. Croteau & Hoyens believe that "forms of music attract and audience precisely because they promote politically charged, controversial or alternative views. Such music is especially significant because it tends to be much more meaningful to people who listen to it. (Croteau & Hoyens p.256)

Barack Obama's appearance in the media was phenomenal. His face on shirts with progress written on them were worn by everyone from rock stars to adults to young teenagers. The media played a huge role in his campaign and the results show for it.