Week 5 Written Analysis

I attended yet another Indianapolis Brickyard 400 race on Sunday, July 27, 2008. This race was an embarrassment for NASCAR and for Goodyear. Unfair to the fans, who paid good money to attend the Competition Yellow 400 and unsafe for the drivers who were screaming around the track on rubberized time bombs that couldn't last beyond 10 laps. Yes, the Goodyear tires used for this race didn't uphold the beating received from the track. This was like being at the NBA playoffs when the basketballs go flat and nobody has an air pump. This race was a hot, desultory marathon of a dozen 10 to 12 lap mini-races, the longest stretch of green-flag racing checking in at 13 whole laps. Throughout the entire race, the boos were audible and understandable. At one point, the audience even booed the track sweeper driver who was blowing the bits of rubber and dust off of the track. The whole event turned out to be a disaster. NASCAR clearly announced at the start of the season that this year will be the first full year of using the new Car of Tomorrow. This new car has a higher center of gravity, which puts a lot more weight on the right-side tires. So why didn't NASCAR test these tires on the track before the race? They were aware of the tire situation from the qualifying and practice laps completed the night before the race. If NASCAR was well aware of the tire situation, why didn't they change or postpone the race until a safer tire for the track conditions could be delivered?

Some of the drivers expressed their concerns in The Indianapolis Star newspaper. Matt Kenseth stated,"It was actually embarrassing, it really was, I apologize to the fans" (A8). On lap 47, Matt blew a tire and had the right rear of his car destroyed. Ryan Newman also expressed his opinion by stating, "It was a ridiculous race, there was no racing involved other than the mandatory cautions, which was ridiculous" (A8).

At least NASCAR thought about the safety of the drivers. After the first couple of blown tires the decision to mandate cautions every 10 laps was secure. This was done to ensure no serious accidents were caused due to the tire problems. I hate to have seen a driver get hurt over the tire situation. That would have been a major lawsuit against Goodyear and NASCAR. All in all, it was the best thing to do for the safety of the drivers, but very upsetting for the fans. I like to see real solid racing at the Brickyard. It is a two and a half mile track and over the past years some excellent racing has taken place right in front of us. Too bad I didn't get to experience this kind of racing for the fifth year in a row. I can only hope the problem is fixed for next years race.

So, what is NASCAR going to do to ensure this doesn't happen again? Maybe, find a different tire manufacturer, or put Goodyear on probation? Who knows, but if nothing is done about this situation, then there will be thousands of upset fans and drivers.

If you don't already know, Jimmy Johnson took the checkered flag this year. This was his second win at the Brickyard and he is only one of two to win the race from the pole setting. The other driver to ever do this at the Brickyard was Kevin Harvick.

Reference

Kravitz, B. (2008, July, 28). A bumpy ride. [Editorial]. The Indianapolis Star, p. A1 & A8.

Picture retrieved from http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/sports/story.html?id=098bcc88-4b01-415e-8671-9b43c3c5e964

Assignment 1-3 Journal Article Analysis

Article Analysis: Margaret King

In her article “The New American Muse: Notes on the Amusement/Theme Park” (1981), Margaret King seems to perfectly introduce a collection of essays that center upon the cultural impacts amusement parks may have on future American lifestyles. This is made clear as she more completely defines her audience within the confines of academia. Throughout the essay, King continues to address “students of the American scene” (56), indicating that whatever the reason the reader picked up the volume, it was done with intellectual or academic pursuits in mind rather than for entertainment alone. Yet she also makes the case that entertainment is the field in which the true heart of America might be discovered if one would only take the time to investigate. She further defines her ‘students’ to be students of cultural history and development, making frequent reference to contemporary popular culture and cultural geography as if speaking with a group of peers, thus an already informed audience to some extent. Terms such as “the man-made landscape” and “the consummate popular culture institution” (57) quickly work to subtly ‘screen’ readers and prepare them for a discussion based within the general realm of sociology. However, in identifying her audience as such, King then goes on to somewhat take them to task for not having examined the cultural phenomenon and implications of the amusement park before this.

The article is essentially a call to action, pointing out that there is a significant influence impacting the lives and culture of America that no one is yet in real control of and that nevertheless represents a great deal of control. It begins by pointing out that “it is in the world of play that decisions are made much more freely, indicating true taste, class and personality profiles, shaped by beliefs, fantasies, and inclinations of who we are and what life is about (or what we would like to think it is about, which is really the key issue in the study of culture)” (56). The author points out numerous instances in which the amusement park has been incorporated into and incorporates all other forms of entertainment to such an extent that it overwhelms the senses and begins to redefine cultural geography. Regardless of the lack of investigation into the field, the author also points out that there is sufficient evidence indicating that “there is much more to these places than meets the eye, or even the education, of the beholder” (58). While the argument seems to remain focused on trying to encourage further research in the field, this becomes somewhat lost in the structure of the article.

Having made the case that there isn’t much research into amusement parks’ impact on American culture and that there has been an impact, the author suddenly switches approach and begins to trace through some of the broad history of the development of amusement parks and the study of them. By pointing out some areas in which the amusement park can be directly related to cultural thinking and the collective unconscious, the author provides a general outline of what still must be investigated regarding the relationship of the parks to the development of American cultural belief. This then switches again to illustrate the ways in which the amusement parks have evolved into masterpieces of crowd control and landscape definition that have served to further influence the way in which other ‘real’ centers are now designed. This process of crowd control through entertainment venues, including television and film, finally prepares the public to accept the controls that are put in place without question and without complaint, despite assertions of the value of freedom and autonomy.

The text is relatively difficult to follow perhaps because the author does not make her purpose clear in the beginning of the article. It is only in the final few pages that one realizes she is attempting to introduce a collection of essays on the topics she’s brought forward. In addition, the structure of the essay seems disjointed. Close investigation of the topics brought up reveal a sense of deeper cohesion, but this is often hard to trace and one must read several paragraphs ahead to finally grasp the connections. Moving into a more general conception of the article reveals a progression from establishing the importance of analyzing entertainment choices as a means of measuring the ‘true’ American to investigating the rise of the amusement park to meet that desire and the various ways in which the amusement park in turn helps to shape and define cultural ‘ideals’ of the perfect landscape. While the interrelationship between audience and media has been recognized and studied at least in recent years, the author of this article takes this one step further by pointing out the various ways in which the amusement park has access to a much wider sphere of influence as it can employ all of the influences of other forms of media together. Once these connections are understood, the article comes into clearer focus, but these concepts could have been brought forward with much more cohesion and clarity. Above all, the main idea of the article, that further study into the effects of the amusement park/entertainment industry upon American culture is not only merited but urgently required, remains clear.

Reference

King, M. J. (1981). The new American muse: notes on the amusement/theme part. Journal of Popular Culture, 15(1), 56-62.

Week 4 Analysis

My weekly analysis is on one of my favorite TV series show Rescue Me. The first episode aired in 2004 and it is currently working on the fifth season. Since the writers went on strike, the new season premieres, which consists of 22 episodes, will not be shown until March 2009 (Rescue, 2008). This TV series focuses on the professional and personal lives of the New York fire department. I think the producers of the show created it to exhibit their condolences to all of the firefighters and families who were killed on September 11, 2001. In such a tragic event, a very popular entity was produced.

The star of the show, Denis Leary, who plays the role of Tommy Gavin, is a character whose life is filled with torment and chaos. Tommy has to struggle with the loss of his best friend in the 911 attack, Jimmy Keefe, a cousin, a brother, and eventually the death of a son. As the show progresses, he suffers from the loss of his wife and other surviving children. During the show Tommy is frequently revisited by his former best friend through visions. To help cure some of his frustrations, Tommy becomes an alcoholic and pill junkie. Maybe that’s why so many adult Americans turn to alcohol and drugs to cure their feelings. One might think to themselves, “It makes the popular actors feel better, why not me.”

During season four, in 2007, Tommy has accepted his ex-wife’s baby as his own only to find out that the baby boy might be the son of his dead brother. This scenario reminds me of the numerous stories I have heard about this kind of thing happening in the real world. For example, a friend of mine found out she was pregnant and told the guy she was dating at the time the baby belonged to him. So, he did the right thing. They were married and over thirteen years later, after their divorce, paternity tests proved that he was not the father after all. I couldn’t imagine raising a baby for so many years only to find out it isn’t yours. Being the type of father he is, today he still pays child support and shares the parenting time with the child.

The final scenes to season four are Tommy and his father at a Newark Bears minor league baseball game, in which Tommy’s dad requested. The dad explains to Tommy “how baseball is like life, waiting for something to come and not being awake for it to happen, but having enough time for a beer, a hot dog, and maybe a blowjob here and there” (Rescue, 2008). Ultimately tragic strikes again for Tommy as his father passes away right there in his seat at the game. Once Tommy realizes, he embraces his father in his arms and continues to watch the game. Now I have to wait until 2009 to find out what is going to happen next.

Here is the official website for the TV series show Rescue Me. If anyone wants to read about each season or any of the characters within the show just click on the link below.

http://www.rescuemetv.com/

References

Rescue Me (TV series). (2008) Wikipdia.com. Retrieved July, 17, 2008 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rescue_Me_(TV_series)

Week 3 Weekly Analysis

Brittney Spears has been in the media a great number of times lately over the custody battle she and her ex, Kevin Ferderline, have been dealing with for months. Since their divorce, Brittany has neglected her two sons on numerous occasions, according to the news media, and caused great harm to them mentally. Paparazzi took her picture while she was holding one of her son's in her lap, of course no seatbelt, driving down the street. So, why didn't the police take some serious action during this neglecting occurrence? You know if it was either you or I in those pictures the police would have been knocking on our doors, but since she is a popular icon in our society nothing was pursued. Her latest episodes include the shaving of her head, a trip to the psychiatric ward, and other hospital visits for alcohol overdoses. She has been arrested and charged with DUI. As for all popular entertainers, she did not spend any time behind the bars. Even if she was loaded with illegal drugs or an opened alcoholic beverage in her front seat, nothing serious would have been done. Yet for any normal citizen, like me and you, just walking down the street with an alcoholic beverage, or carrying an empty pipe, or even giving the "Bird" , would land us right in the slammer for months. All Brittney experienced was a possible finger printing and picture at most. Brittney is only human and when there's a will there's a way. To my surprise, Brittney is trying get her life back on track. She has completed many court appointed evaluations, no jail time for her numerous offenses, and even started her own little tykes dancing class. What's wrong with this picture? As a parent of two, I would not allow my children near such a negative influence but apparently, many parents don't care. The children in her class absolutely love her, just the impressions you get by looking at the pictures in all of the media views, and enjoy the dances she has taught them such as jazz, ballet, and tap. Over seven weeks ago Brittney lost all parental rights to her children, go figure, except for phone calls. She was not able to see or visit with them in any manner. Well at least the judge made the right decision to grant full custody to the stable parent in this case.

On June 25, 2008, the courts finally granted her overnight visitation rights according to Superficial.com. The reevaluation of Brittney's emotional and psychological health must has changed dramatically for the judge to make this decision. The one stunning part of this whole case is the fact that this same judge has granted Kevin Ferderline the right to give one of their sons a gun for the overnight stays. Come on now, a gun for a toddler to use. Our society is so conscious about anyone owning or carrying a gun for any reason and now they are going to allow a toddler to carry one? The courts believe it is the right thing to do for the safety of the children. Then what about the safety of all human beings? All I see is an accident waiting to happen. We all know that young children are curious and view guns as toys. We can tell them about all the dangers they cause and forbid them from touching one, but does this actually work? From my own experience, no. Kids will be kids. It is in their natures to be curious about all the things their parents say they can not touch, do, or say. The media is filled with numerous gun accidents among adults and children, happening on a daily basis. On a personal note, I was best friends with a guy in my teenage years who accidently shot and killed one of our mutual best friends. He claimed they were playing around with his fathers hand gun and did not know it was loaded until he pointed the gun at him and pulled the trigger. It was one of the hardest years of school in my entire career. So in Brittney's case, the judges unethical decision to allow the child near a gun is outrageous.

I’m personally glad to see Brittney trying to straighten out her life. She is an overall good entertainer and singer. She has been in the spotlight since a fairly young age starting out on the Disney Channel. There are millions of people, who go through nasty divorces and fight for their children, but we don’t hear about every problem or setback they might be going through and the appointed judge is not going to allow the children to carry a concealed weapon of any source. Unfortunately for Brittany, she chose to be an entertainer and with that comes all the media, magazines, and paparazzi.

Reference Article and Pictures:

http://thesuperficial.com/2008/06/britney_spears_custody.php

Week 2 Written Analysis

Apple Inc. has developed three generations of the popular music gadget called the iPod. Since the first generation, introduced in 2005, the iPod nano has become the number one selling MP3 player in history. Although most of the physical appearance is common with the first generation, the technology features have changed greatly. The third generation Nano uses a flash memory instead of a hard disk used in the iPod classic. This avoids moving parts due to rapid movement, making the iPod resistant to skip.
Like the iPod classic, the Nano has a Click Wheel used to navigate the iPod’s menus. The features include: music, movies, TV shows, pod casts, audio books, games, photos, and many other extras such as a stopwatch, calendar, and contacts. In order to secure the contacts or calendars information, the Nano has a combination lock feature to keep all of the personal information safe. With third-party connections, the third generation Nano supports voice recordings.
The iPod connects to a computer using a USB cable in which it automatically charges the Nano’s battery at the same time. One downside for this new generation is the inability to automatically synchronize. The first two generations included this feature but the third generation does not. On a single charge, the battery will approximately last for 24 hours on playback or 5 hours on video playback (Apple, 2008). In order to download music, movies, and other features, the iPod must be connected to iTunes on Microsoft Windows or Mac OS X. This is a software program created by Apple, Inc and designed to allow consumers to purchase their favorite songs, movies, and videos for the iPods. The software has recently been updated and now consumers have the ability to purchase news broadcasts, television shows, and even audio books such as the Harry Potter series. The audio book will recognize where you left off and bookmarks it automatically.
From personal experience, I think this product is one of the greatest investments I have ever chosen. I purchased the third generation iPod Nano for my oldest daughter this past Christmas, and the quality of music is astonishing. It is crystal clear and doesn’t fade in and out or even skip. All you have to do is connect it to your computer and the iTunes store opens automatically. The store itself is really easy to navigate and purchase your chosen material. I even setup an account in which you enter gift certificates or gift cards and it automatically adds these funds into your iTunes account and keeps track of your purchases. This way you always know how much money is left to purchase those favorite songs, movies, or videos.
I have borrowed the Nano on numerous occasions to workout, ride bikes, 4-wheeling, and just as I stated above, the soothing music never stops or skips a beat. So, if you are looking for a product with everlasting peaceful sound and great graphics, then I would recommend you try this product.

Reference
iPod Nano. (2008). Wikimedia foundation Inc. Retrieved July 8, 2008, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPod_nano

Icon Analysis

The three contemporary icons I have identified are The Coyote and the Road Runner, and Mary Poppin’s. Road Runner is a Warner Bros cartoon created in 1948. The Road Runner is always seen running down the road very fast being chased by the Coyote. All of a sudden, the Road Runner will stop, and Wile E. Coyote will come within inches of catching the Road Runner. During the episodes the only sounds from the Road Runner are “meep” “meep” and occasionally a tongue noise. The Coyote will occasionally make noises after being caught up in his own traps or he will hold up a sign with words on it. Mary Poppins is an icon for children’s books. In 1964 it was created into a musical Disney film and eventually it reached the theaters. Mary Poppins is a nanny with special powers who comes to help two children regain the love and compassion for their father.

I chose these icons because these were my favorite cartoon characters and movie growing up. I was truly a tomboy growing up and I enjoyed watching the Coyote’s inventions fail and come back to haunt him. I ran track and field, so I always wanted to be able to run as fast as the Road Runner. My favorite movie of all times growing up was Mary Poppins. I loved to run around the house singing and dancing to all of the songs in the movie. The very first scene in the movie was my favorite. I just thought it would be so cool to be able to fly. So, I tried. I took a box of garbage bags and umbrella’s from the house and jumped off the top of our gym set with them. Needless to say, I destroyed the umbrellas and blew out the bottom of each garbage bag. Being the devil I was, I folded each garbage bag neatly and placed them back in the cabinet. Boy did I get in trouble for this one.

Reviewing these Icons brings back so many memories when I was a child. My father would lay with me and my sisters in the middle of the living room floor and watch the cartoons on a little black and white, nine inch television. At that time, I thought it was great. As we grew up, my family would make a family night and we would all watch cartoons and eat popcorn. It’s just the little things in life that mean so much and once we grow up we tend to forget these precious moments.

The New Nintendo Wii

Who was one of those excited individuals waiting in a long line the day the new Nintendo Wii went on the market? I was and guess what, right when I was about to get my hands on one of those precious consoles, It happened. The Meijer’s associate made the devastating announcement, “Attention customers, we have sold out of the Nintendo Wii consoles.” I thought to myself, “No, I just spent four hours in line, part of this time in the freezing wind, and for what - nothing.” What now? I just had to get my hands on one of those new consoles before Christmas. My next idea was E-Bay.

To my surprise, the $250 dollar game consoles were selling for a whopping price of $1000 dollars each. There was no way I could fork out that kind of money. So I waited, and waited for about three months before looking at the pending auctions again. To my surprise, a seller had listed a console with a starting bid of one cent. I kept watching the price as it slowly crept its way up and with one minute left in the auction, I went for it. I placed my bid of $300 dollars and waited impatiently for the conclusion. And guess what, I won. I was so excited to finally get my hands on one of the newest and coolest game consoles available on the market. My winning bid even included an extra remote and two brand new games.

Since then, my family and I have all enjoyed spending quality time together playing the Wii. We are no longer couch potatoes on the weekends like before. During the first week of intense play time, my muscles became very sore due to the interactions and movements required to play the exhilarating games. I am very pleased with the whole concept and special features of the games. I would recommend this unique game console to anyone and to me; it was definitely worth the wait, time, and money.

I found a very interesting and personal story written by Glenn McDonald. Here is the link to the article if your interested in reading his experience with the Nintendo Wii.

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/59902/wii-will-rock-you/