The web is using us!

After watching this video, it inspired me. It made me realize that this generation is changing drastically. We depend on technology for everything now-reading, writing, watching movies, playing games, or even socializing.   Technology is affecting us in every way even when we don't realize it. One important change it our literacy; I have witnessed friends using online terms in their school work, which although may seem like a careless mistake is actually a large problem. It shows that teenagers of this generation are spending too much time on the web and we forget how to properly read and write. This horrible habit is very hard to change because teens spend more time on the computer than on work, therefore computer language overcomes the language we all use to know-English.

The message behind the video above is very inspiring. It is encouraging us to change because we are spending too much time in front of the computer screen. Near the end of the video they tell us to rethink many things like love, family, friends, and most importantly ourselves. We should be taking this seriously because it is true that we do not spend enough time with friends and family. What we use to do face to face now becomes on the computer. For example, instead of stepping up to do something, all we do is talk about it on the Internet like this blog; instead of playing with friends, all we do is play video games online etc. We should really rethink our daily lives.

This music video is called Nothing On You by B.O.B ft Bruno Mars. The song uses many programs that emphasize the characters in the video. My first thoughts of the story behind the video is that B.O.B was telling the girls that they are pretty and that no matter what people tell them, they are the best in the world. I thought that the meaning of "Nothing On You"  was that the society had nothing on the girls to say they were ugly. It was evident that photoshop and other media programs were used in this video. The image presented was that the characters and the background were made of paper and magazines. The white boarder surrounding the actors in the video were used to emphasize them and telling them apart from the background. They also used this paper effect because it could represent a magazine, a source of media where models and other beautiful women can be found. By using this magazine effect, it supports the fact that they are pretty . I also found that the overlap of faces interesting. It could mean many things, but I think that the the musicians wanted to say that no matter what they look like, they are beautiful. Over all, the theme of this music video is telling women that they are pretty no matter what other people say. It is possible that there were many personal problems with B.O.B relationships that inspired him to sing this song. They might have also wanted to use the magazine idea to promote their idea. There is also the possibility that like most other songs, are written about love. The performance that stands out the most in this video is again the paper like effects. Stop motion animations is also added and together, it seems like drawings put together to make a stop motion video. This effect in my opinion made it confusing at first because it was hard to understand the point of it, but after looking deeper into the lyrics and pictures, it made much more sense. Finally, this music video has changed my perspective of the song when I first listened to it. It added more of a beat to the song and made things more clear lyric wise.

Fotoshop

Advertisements are some of the worlds most powerful messages. They can change the way people dress, act and feel.  Sometimes, producers take photoshop way too far and change even the ugliest of people into slim, fit, model like women. Companies and magazines change these men and women for their own benefits. The companies gain money while 'regular' people like will have low self-esteem. There is no other reason that people are portrayed like this in media besides from gaining money. They change people's appearance of people to advertise products and to exaggerate what the product is capable of. People like me will see these images and will want to be more like them, whether it is to be more beautiful, handsome, stronger, taller, or more skinny. For some people, this is not very healthy because they will do what they need to in order to look like those they see in the media. For instance, a friend of my sister began to starve herself just to look skinnier. She looked as if she had not eaten in weeks and although she looked skinnier, she also looked a lot bonier and 'dead.' I believe there are ways that we can reduce the number of teenagers that are negatively affected by the media. The first is that companies should reduce the amount of editing done to people on covers of magazines or advertisements. Second the media could advertise those not as pretty as those we usually see. For example, a nerd who becomes very popular. This way, people will have their confidence increased. So what would this world be like if people on the cover of magazines were not glammed up? I think that people across the whole world will have more self-esteem without question. At the same time, companies and magazines will go bankrupt. I don't think that the society can withstand this because when a large company goes bankrupt, it will end in a cycle when workers don't have the money to buy other things.

File Sharing

Although I believe that file sharing is wrong and illegal, I think that it is fine to download files off the internet because it does not hurt anyone. After reading the article about the producers of Hurt Locker suing Canadians everywhere, I found that the producers did the unnecessary. As the article says "The movie industry also comes out a loser" and I find this true because it made them look bad, fighting for a small problem and to win a couple thousand dollars. Other people got affected too like the internet providers because they were the ones who gave out the information. In a nutshell, no one won in this fight that started from a couple of downloads.

I think that if I produced a file that people were sharing on the internet, I would be upset, but I would just move on. I can't change anything that already happened, and suing someone would be a complete waste of time. I don't think that many people would care enough to take action for it because there is no real way to win. Finding a lawyer and paying the cost for one would not be worth going through so much trouble, even worst, it would be a complete waste of time.
Finally, I feel it is morally wrong to download copyrighted materials off the internet. First, I would be breaking the law but more importantly people's hard work would go to waste because it can be downloaded off the internet. The person who created and produced the file or video or music deserves a reward and by downloading it off the internet, it makes it free to everyone .
Sadly, as much as it is morally wrong, no one really cares. Its free, fast and easy and it doesn't hurt anyone in many ways. That's just how our society and the generation acts, and it is almost impossible to stop everyone from file sharing.

CareerMash

After reading through the website of careermash.ca , I found out that I am an innovator and my career will be going in the direction of an innovator. A great example of an innovator would be a mechanical engineer. This career is one I am interested in and might go towards, although automotive would be my preferred choice. The job of a mechanical engineer is to design and create new machines for the world. This could range from cars to iPods to computers. They use a computer-aided design software or CAD for short to help them create these creative ideas. The whole idea behind an innovator is that they "turn ideas into money" (Larry Hirst) and that is exactly what a mechanical engineer does. The minimum education requirement for a mechanical engineer is a bachelor's degree, but a PhD or master's degree would be needed for a better or higher position of the career. The pay for this job can be as low as $40 000 to as high as $130 000 a year, but most will earn even more than $130 000! This job involves mathematics, science, and a lot of creativity.
One famous, and excellent example of a mechanical engineer is Dennis Hong. He took part in creating the worlds first vehicle that allows blind people to drive independently. It has a GPS system, 2 cameras, and 3 sensors to give the location of the car and things around it like other vehicles. The driver wears special gloves and sits on a special chair that vibrates and gives pressure to direct the driver. The problem with this though, is that the driver is not driving independently. Dennis Hong then invented Airpix, which looks like a board with many holes in it. Compressed air comes out of the holes to paint a picture into a blind person's mind when they place their hand on it. This creation was tested on a Daytona track one day and turned out to be successful when a blind man drove at 30mph with obstacles. This idea that Dennis Hong came up with could change the world for all blind people and is truly astonishing.

Texting

Technology has come a long way to become what we have now as a cell phone. It is light and small and can be carried almost anywhere. These phones have changed the way we live in drastic ways. Some positive, and some negative. It is a great way for us  to communicate with other people but also makes us much more lazy and dependant on it. In america, a survey was put out for teens about the usage of short terms like "LOL," "ROFL," and others. Surprisingly, half of the teens say they have failed a homework for using these words. This shows that texting is a major influence in our lives.


Although texting is a great way to communicate with friends and families, but should not be used in public places where you can be disturbing and rude to other people. Texting can be very time consuming and dangerous in certain situations. Not only does it affect the person whom is texting, but also other people around them. Texting can also be dangerous in situations like driving and that is why the Canadian government forbid texting while driving because it was dangerous. Texting can also interfere with work and school, and can cause many bad work habits.Texting can cause injuries like carpal tunnel and eye strains as well as what is said above. Overall, texting is fun, but also comes with great responsibility and should be considered carefully.


Texting should defiantly not be used when someone is socializing or talking to other people. I have seen friends of mine who would be talking to me, and then start texting in the middle of a conversation, which is very offensive in my opinion. Someone texting a friend could wait because all they need with them is a phone, but the person talking face to face can not wait, because they need a real person to talk to. If someone goes on the phone texting, it would be very rude and would have to keep a friend waiting with nothing to do. I find that texting should not be allowed while having a conversation because it is simply impolite.


If I had to make 5 rules about texting at school  it would be the following:


1. One should not text while talking with other people. It is very rude and would be very disappointing to a friend.
2. One should only text if there is no way to contact a friend in school. This means that the phone is only for emergencies or if you can not get somewhere in time.
3. One shall have his/her phone confiscated if caught using it inappropriately. This will limit the use of a phone at school so students can work harder
4. One should not text when working, at school or doing homework. It is almost impossible to work while texting. Without the phone, you will be amazed at how fast you can work in school.
5. One should not bully or harass someone else through the phone. This will keep school a friendly environment.