Country Music is the Best! :)

Country music is the best!  Ever since I was little all I can remember listening to was country music, mostly Tim McGraw.  I grew up listening to country music.  In my own opinion I believe that country music is the best type of music out there.  When you listen to a country song it usually tells a story or has a strong meaning behind it.  Also, country music has changed so much throughout the years.  Back in the day when I was little and shipped off to my grandparents’ house I can remember listening to the old country music.  But, country music back then and country music now are completely different depending on the artist.  A lot of country music now has a little pop or rock n’ roll in it, but that is just depending on the artist.  I believe that since country music has changed throughout the years more people like it now.  Another reason why I think country music is the best is because of all the concerts!  There are so many opportunities to go to a country concert throughout the year, especially in the summer!  For example, at the Illinois State Fair down in Springfield throughout the week there are different country singers that put on a show each night.  This fair/concert is actually really cheap to attend.  Unlike other concerts, this concert, tickets are only 25-35 dollars which is really cheap to see three different country artists in one night.  I personally think country music is the best!  It can tell a story or have a strong meaning in the song.  Either way, I can always find a country song that fits my mood everyday.  I encourage everyone out there to listen to at least one country song if it is not your type of music.

Cross Country

I have been running basically my entire life.  Throughout my four years of high school, the guys always said that cross country was not hard and basically anyone could do it.  Personally, I think cross country is a very hard sport.  Yes, anyone can run but it takes dedication to run cross country.  Through my four years of running for Lady Runnin’ Red I have learned that it takes a lot of practice and dedication to become a good runner.  For a typical practice at cross country at Metamora High School we would run about ten miles or so.  We were required to run out to the park and back to the school after practice which equaled to three miles just for warm up and cool down.  Also, once a week we would stay at the high school and have little stations where we would lift weights, run, stretch, and do core.  I think cross country is one of the hardest sports a person can do.  First off, you have to have the strength and dedication to run for a long time at a good pace with a coach yelling at you every two minutes to run faster or get the girl in front of you.  Secondly, cross country meets are horrible!  Especially in the big meets where there are thousands of girls in your heat, and at the start of the race all the girls are squished together. When the gun goes off all the girls push and shove to get to the front, some even fall and get spiked.  Therefore, cross country is a very difficult and hard sport to do. 

Social Lubricant: How a Marketing Campaign Became the Catalyst for a Societal Debate

For this week’s blog I chose to read the article Social Lubricant: How a Marketing Campaign Became the Catalyst for a Societal Debate by Rob Walker on page 265. This article is about how in the new Dove commercials they are using “real” women rather than extremely skinny, unrealistic fashion models.  In this article the debate about the models for Dove is over whether these images of the Dove girls are positive because they are more “real” unlike the fashion model types that are all over magazines or negative because the Dove girls are practically naked and trying to sell a product.  Walker then goes on about Dove’s marketing ideas and how the marketing director of Dove, Philippe Harousseau, says the campaign has been in the works for a couple of years.  Also, in this article it says that women even agree that “the media and advertising” were pushing “unrealistic” beauty standards.  I personally think that using “real” women as models for the Dove commercials rather than “unrealistic” fashion models because it shows girls that beauty comes in all shapes and sizes and you do not have to be extremely skinny to be beautiful.    

Kids, Guns, and Television

My general impression of the picture on page 293 named Kids, Guns, and Television was that violence on television is bad for children.  After viewing the picture, the image that I focused on the most in the picture was the gun on the television.  I focused on that image in the picture because it seemed like it stuck out the most in the picture. 

            The picture suggests that children who watch violence on television can act like the actors and actresses that act on the violent television shows.  The bad behavior they get from the violent television shows could get them in trouble at school.  Also, children who watch violence on television could get the thought that guns are fun to play with or shoot people.  With that, children could easily try and bring a gun to school, maybe even try shooting people. 

            The way the boy is standing, with his arms crossed over his chest and standing up straight signifies that he is trying to be or act tough like the actors and actresses act on the violent television shows.  Also, the way the boy is posing in the picture could also lead to him thinking it is okay to act up or be disrespectful at school or home because they do it on television. 

            I believe the claim or thesis of this picture is to show that children watching violence on television shows are a bad idea because it could lead to awful things.  Some of the awful things that could happen if children watched violent television shows are children wanting to act up or be disrespectful in classrooms, to their teachers, friends, and their parents.  Also, if children watch violent television shows while they are young it can influence their attitude towards everything when they get older.    

On Facebook, Biggest Threat to Your Private Data May Be You

I read the article “On Facebook, Biggest Threat to Your Private Data May Be You” by Jacquielynn Floyd.  Floyd starts off by saying she does not want to be poked, friended, or super-poked which are all Facebook terms.  After reading that the reader will assume that this article is going to be talked about how dangerous Facebook is.  The main idea I got after reading this article was that people do not understand how to keep their private life out of their public life for everyone to see. 

            Basically, what Floyd states is that your Facebook is public for everyone to see and read about your life and day to day routine.  Some people go overboard and post the exact times they have to be somewhere.  Angry critics stated that “Facebook owns you!” which means anything you post or what your friends tag you in is public and Facebook owns it.  On Facebook some people will post their life story for you to read and know about, while others post absolutely nothing.  I think this article is working because Floyd gives examples to help her argument that Facebook is a dangerous place to post your private life for the public to see. 

            I agree with Floyd that Facebook is not a place to post your personal life on for everyone to see.  Posting everything and anything on your Facebook can be very harmful to you and your future.  Posting inappropriate pictures, comments, statuses can affect you on getting into college or getting hired for a new job.  Also, I agree that you should not just “friend” someone if you barely know them or have not even seen or spoken to them in years.  Facebook is just not the place to post your life on.     

Arizona vs. Illinois

Between Arizona and Illinois, Arizona is the place to be!  Arizona is such a beautiful place to be.  The scenery is awesome, with the big blue sky, tall palm trees, and mountains in the distance.  Arizona is mostly warm weather all year round except if you are up in the northern part of Arizona during winter.  For more than half the year Illinois is cold, snowy, and rainy.  Also, in the summer Illinois is so humid outside it is hard to enjoy being outside or going for a nice run.  In the summer with so much humidity it is just gross to be outside.  Being in Arizona in the summer is great, yes it does get in the 100’s but there is absolutely no humidity, which makes it seem not so hot!  In Arizona you can go jeepin’ in the mountains which you cannot do here in Illinois.  Jeepin’ is so much fun; you can also take a four wheeler up there too! It is so cool to go up in the mountains and look at all the different kind of rocks and all the markings on the rocks. Also, out west there are a lot of stores and restaurants that Illinois does not have.  For example, the best place to have a burger and fries is a place called In n’ Out!  In n’ Out is a little fast food restaurant out west that only sells burgers and fries.  After you order you can watch them make the fries by slicing real potatoes.  Basically, Arizona is a better place to live in than Illinois.