Final Hooray

My final thoughts about this year and how my impressions of value have changed were greatly influenced by Banski's graffiti. Honestly, every time I drive or walk past a wall covered by murals I analyze the art form and appreciate it more than I ever did before. Also, Banski's artwork has allowed me to appreciate all creative forms. The article about Banski has allowed me to reconsider what I consider to be art, what I consider valuable as artwork. By reading reviews about what others have said about Banski's art, labeling it as trash and painting over it has made me realize how ignorant some can be to expression.
I recently purchased a book of Banski's from Urban Outfitters and analyzed each of his works to interrupt their value and meaning to me. That is something I have learned that it is each person's own interruption that determines somethings value. Someone can look at one of Banski's artworks and label it as trash while someone else will call it a remarkable masterpiece. Trash is a very objective subject.
Forms of literature or art are often labeled by the reviews of those who are uninformed. I have been able to rethink the value of all aspects of literature such as newspaper articles when I recently read an article out of Playboy magazine. I have always considered articles from Playboy magazine to be trash but upon reading one of articles about the greatest movies of all time I realized that there are well known authors published in Playboy. The article was very well written and was filled with lots of information about popular movies.
Now that I have taken this course I have come to realize that I should not judge a book by it's cover i.e. Playboy articles. I have also come to realize that things considered trash and things deemed valuable must be decided by the reader or viewer of that particular form. Value is something very objective and therefore difficult to define.

Skip-It

Last night a few friends and I were reliving some childhood memories, recapping on all of the ridiculous toys we owned, used for a few weeks, and then left in our basements to be covered by dust. One of my favorite toys that falls into the category of being a fad was Skip-It. This plastic, 3 foot, pink object was worn over one's ankle. I remember there was a round object on the top of the plastic rod which one skipped over. This round object had a counter and the point of the game was to see how many times you could jump over the plastic rod in a row. I remember playing this game in my driveway with a few friends. The game often became monotonous and boring after it was played several days in a row, characteristics which probably explain why Skip-It is considered a fad.

Skip-It gained its popularity from enticing commercials boasting smiling children playing with the toy with all of their friends. Skip-it was popular at school, all of my friends owned one, even the boys, for it was manufactured in a blue color as well. Skip-It was cheap in price compared to most outrageous fad toys such as beanie babies and ribbon dancers. Skip-It became a fad because it was an original toy, I had seen nothing like it. Skip-It was easy to transport and could keep someone busy for many hours at a time, characteristics that make a fad toy.

Like many fads its increase in popularity was primarily due to the fact that every 6-10 year old child at the time had one. Skip-It's were often found sold out in stores and on back order.
Often times children felt as though they "needed" a Skip-It because they felt left out in their peer circle rather than actually wanting one. This idea is present in many passing fads. People don't necessarily want the product but, because many others have they feel as though they need it to fit in. Fads come and go, but the desire to always be included will never change.

Tipping Point

The Tipping Point was an interesting book written by Malcom Gladwell which discussed how certain trends and ideas spread throughout.  Whether it be a new pair of shoes or a new book the The Tipping Point included the variety of ways that trends do spread; through word of mouth, magazines, television shows, fashion runways and the three different types of consumers.  There is the maven, connector, and salesman.  I would consider myself a maven.   I find myself relying information about certain clothing stores, sales, or trends to my friends just for their own benefit and not for my own.  The other day I recall telling a friend at school about a sale that Urban Outfitters was having on spring skirts.  I did not relay this information for any benefit to myself other than to help a fellow shopper.  

The structure in which the book was written made the information easy to comprehend and relate to as a reader and consumer.  Each chapter was formatted to describe a different method of passing on trends.  I found the most interesting chapter the one that discussed the importance of advertising for literature success.  When the YaYa Sisterhood novel was released in 1996, the book had little success but only months later as the word began to spread about the book's complex story line and how relatable it was to a variety of audiences.  This is true about books, movies, concerts, cds, clothes, food..etc people will buy anything if others recommend it and convince them it is worth the purchase.  

Winehouse.. .name a coincidence?

Amy Winehouse has been busy covering tabloids in both London and the United States as well as making her first album Back in Black. Winehouse has a unique sound filled with maturity and mixed with chords of jazz instruments. Her sultry voice has become popular all over the world. Her cd was released in England 5 years ago but it was only released to fans in the United States this past fall. I recently began listening to Amy Winehouse more after her numerous wins at the Grammys last week.
The lyrics of Amy Winehouse's cd Back in Black discuss relationships, addictions, and emotion through her catchy yet sophisticated tracks. She uses her humilty to entertain readers with her most popular track "Rehab." Ironically Amy has been in rehab for the past month now, although her lyrics assured fans that she "said no, no, no."
The two reviews that I read of Amy Winehouse's new cd were similar in some aspects and very different in others. I read a review from People Magazine, because this magazine is usually filled with celebrity gossip and advertisements it tends to skimp on the book, cd, and television show reviews. Usually the review are very brief, only a few paragraphs long to keep the reader entertained and refrain from a tedious overanalyzation. The People Magazine review praised Amy for being so young, yet sounding so old at only 23 years of age. They recognized her unique jazz sound that is not so common this days and very admirable for such a young star. The review was geared towards everyone and anyone who was reading the magazine because it was short and to the point, even if you weren't interested you found that it was over before you even knew it had started.
The other review I read on Amy Winehouse was from the internet, a source from a musicOMH.com website which I have visited before. This review was more lengthy than the other but basically supplied the same information. This review discussed Winehouse's personal life in more detail, provided more background information into her PR stunts and recent publicity. I feel that this took away from her music review. As a reader I became sidetracked and lost. This review seemed to be geared more to an audience of gossip followers, not so much music fanatics. Yet, it did compare her other well known jazz artists which can allow a reader to relate to the music in a new way.
If I were to post my own review about Amy Winehouse's cd it would go something like this.
In Winehouse's new cd Back in Black an album just recently released to fans in the US this past fall Amy mixes sound of classic jazz instruments with her sultry voice to create pieces of music pleasing the ear of a variety of fans. Winehouse is known for her popular track "Rehab" which has blared through the speakers of many car steroes this past year because of its addicting melody and catchy lyrics. But, if you listen closely many of Winehouse's lyrics have deeper messages and can be interrupted a variety of ways by listeners. I would recommend the track Love is a Losing Game. Her mature voice and edgy style can be appreciated by a variety of music fans.

News is trash...

The dialog between Inid and her friend Rebecca in the beginning of the story is representative of an unusual definition of trash. This type of trash can be defined similarly to the type of trash I discussed in my essay, trash expressed by words. The discussion Inid and Rebecca are having demonstrates the feelings they have towards gossip and the materialistic world in which many teenage girls become immersed.
The middle of the story steers off course and I'm really not sure who this John Ellis is or his significance in the story aside from being a "weirdo" as the two girls identify him as. The story had no moral or message and all of the important points were mentioned at the end when the two girls were in their apartment watching the nighttime news.
The news stories being announced portray the corrupt world in which people today are addicted to. Stories of teenage girls writing love letters to mass murderers, double suicides as a remake of the story of Romeo and Juliet, and a wife killing herself next to her dying husband blare through the television screen. These stories are all examples of trash and are all examples of gossip because most news stories today do not have enough evidence to backup of the headlines they initially post. These headlines can sometimes falsely identify news stories to interest the viewer and I believe that it is a prime example of trash.

DCist

I found the DCist to be one of the most interesting blogs I looked at. I found the format of the blog itself including events taking place in the city to be very informative. I loved the simplicity of the blog's news. The articles and announcements posted on the blog were not dull or boring. Withing the DCist one can find nightlife events posted and comments and ratings about local restaurants.
They spoke of interesting news stories that a whole array of people would be happy reading. One blog I read discussed the issues of parking at the new baseball stadium being built in DC. The writers were informing not only members of the city but were attracting an audience of baseball fans from the area as well.
The entry does include a very serious yet informative tone that encourages citizens to be excited for the construction of the baseball stadium on North Carolina Ave. because of the boost it will place in the economy. The writer of the DCist blog I mentioned earlier is Martin Austermuhle.
http://dcist.com/2008/01/23/parking_solutio.php#more

Blog numero uno

My first memories of writing more than a few short sentences began in the third grade. The research projects were assigned each week by Mrs. Delaney. She wished for us 8 years old to be informed about certain issues and discover more about the landmarks and important historical figures who have shaped the world in which we live. I remember these assignments were titled Monday's Monkey, because you have one week to complete them and the monkey was settled on your back for the entirety of that week until you completed the paper. I learned how to research using encyclopedias, websites, and history books. I must admit in third grade much of my work my have been plagiarized because we did not understand how and why is was necessary to rephrase already perfectly written sentences. These short assignments are the beginning to my story as a writer.
The next large writing assignment that I can recall came in the 7th grade. My teacher, Mrs. Shackleton explained to the class the thesis method which included five paragraphs with introduction and conclusion paragraphs, three supports to make thesis statement and two examples of each support. The thesis project seemed methodical and restricting. Prior to the 7th grade I had always enjoyed writing freely using any styles that I preferred, now my writing was to have order. I was told to write about my hero, describe certain aspects that I believe a hero should embody and explain why I had chosen this certain person as my hero, identifying their qualifications. I chose my mother, a hard-working, conscientious, and charismatic woman who I had not spend much time with growing up for my father stayed home with my sister and I. Although at first I was reluctant to write using the thesis method it has proven to be very helpful in all my works. It provides a great framework for my papers. Aside from that essay another moment that I knew had strengthened my writing skills was junior and senior years when I decided to take an IB class. This college level class allowed me to become more in tune with my creative side. We analyzed poems and learned about symbolism, metaphors, and allusions in short fictional stories. This discovery allowed me to included some of these themes into my works. Over the years many of my English teachers have molded me by their original teaching methods and writing styles and interpretations.