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Messin' With Sasquatch

• Messin' With Sasquatch 
  
• YouTube Embed Video
• Made in 2007
• Minneapolis advertising agency Carmichael Lynch

This is one of my favorite ads because it is one of the few that have really made me laugh out loud. The expressions on the Sasquatch’s face are priceless and the way he walks. Especially when the man in the passenger seat says he is sorry for pulling off the first time. It immediately grabbed my attention when all of a sudden you see a huge Sasquatch, so you are just curious what kind of situation happens with him. Another thing is that the commercial is featured in the wilderness so people who camp of go hiking would definitely like this ad. One part of the commercial was when the Sasquatch grabbed the passenger through the window and threw him in the woods which I thought was very funny. It’s memorable and effective because something like that doesn’t happen…ever! So watching that makes the viewers interested. It automatically showed puffery when the Sasquatch came into the picture because once again, it was out of the ordinary. Also when the Sasquatch grabbed the man out of the front window shield. Other than that, I can see men these days pulling pranks like that any day so it was very typical.

        

The purpose of this ad is to sell Beef Jerky. Not any type of Beef Jerky though, Jack Link’s Beef Jerky. This ad has over 10 million buys with other commercials on programming that targets to the younger population. It is shown on television networks like Comedy Central, Discovery Channel, and ESPN. The Sasquatch has even made an appearance at Wild Hockey Games! So all in all, Carmichael Lynch (ad agency) is doing a great job on targeting its audience. Most of its audience would typically be males around the ages of 18 to 49.

This ad did a great job on showing comedy but the message wasn’t strong enough for me to go out and buy some Beef Jerky. It did allow me to think on it and maybe in the future if I were to walk past some, I might buy it just because the commercial popped up in my head. Carmichael Lynch produced many other commercials that had the same message but they had different pranks against the poor Sasquatch. So not only just having one commercial about the Sasquatch,  they made more because they knew the audience loved them and would sell even more just because it got peoples attention.

 

The One and Only...Rift Fournier

 

When Rift Fournier started talking, I knew he had to be taken seriously. He spoke with passion about what he used to do in the past. He resembles a man with great ambitions and just goes out and gets his job done. He influenced me to look into my future and get started immediately. Wasting time was something that Rift never seemed to do. Rift wrote many scripts and has also starred in for TV shows and movies. He even won an Emmy Award for the show that he wrote a script for.

          

Rift said he had to do annoying things for his future boss just to get attention and receive the job. I thought that was a very outgoing thing to do and as of right now, I can barely see myself performing that well. On the other hand, it can motivate me to do something like that so I can get recognition for myself to help get a job.

 

Rift has lived the life that so many people would have wished to live. I would consider myself extremely lucky if I ever made it big in Hollywood of even become popular by news broadcasting in a local town. Rift followed his dreams and accomplished a considerably large amount of them. I think it’s absolutely amazing that he left the big business world to teach here at Lindenwood University. Having a teacher like Rift would be extremely educational and interesting. He has lived through so much and now he can tell us all about his journeys. I’m sure that he has and still is touching so many students’ lives and have impacted them to go far. The advice that he gave us to realize and to step it up for what I want to do later in life and be prepared.

       

Not only is Rift a motivational Speaker, but he also has many and funny stories. He has great character so no wonder he made it so far with so many accomplishments. Hopefully in the future, I will get the chance to take one or more of his classes. I am looking forward to it and wiling to take in every piece of advice he gives.

Now about....Web 2.0

This world wide web technology has given me the opportunity to get all of the information I need in one place. It also allows me to keep in contact with all of my friends that are scattered throughout the U.S. by using programs such as Facebook, Myspace, and even Live Web Messenger. The Live Messenger is a program where I can talk to people face to face. It has made my life wonderful because I have a boyfriend back in Mississippi, so talking to him face to face is just amazing because I miss him so much! But other than that, web 2.0 is awesome and it keeps getting better and better everyday! 

Electronic Industries Blog

Television was a huge phenomenon when it first came out. People watched it mainly for entertainment and then soon after they could watch the news.  Now, we have a great resource called the Internet. The Internet feeds us information on basically anything that we need or want to know at any given time. When watching the news on TV, we don’t have to wait for something that finds our interest but instead we can just jump on the computer and find something interesting that happened anywhere in the world. When watching TV shows, we don’t have to wait for it to come on or if we missed half of it, we can just jump right back onto the Internet and find it there. The same goes for music videos, if MTV, BET, or even VH1 don’t have any videos on or the ones that they do have on don’t interest you, then the internet is the place to go for looking up good videos that fit your taste. The Internet has converted to cell phones, which is an amazing new technology. Anyone who has the Internet on their phone can get on the Internet to watch, listen, read, or chat anytime they want. Back in the day when people relied solely on their computers for their information, now they can be anywhere at anytime to get the information that they need. It saves time, but it is costly. 

Many people will pay for it though since it’s such a great necessity to have. One main convergence from the TV to the Internet is YouTube. This amazing site lets you watch anything you want including music videos, funny clips that are entertaining, movie clips, TV shows, and much more. I would think that television would be mad at YouTube because it’s allowing more and more people to stop watching TV and go straight to the site and watch it. But in an article that I read, MediaShift said that major TV programs are striking deals and promoting their shows with YouTube so television is taking advantage of the Internet while the Internet is taking advantage of television. 

I have two main website blogs that I have been visiting a lot recently. The first one is The Celebrity Body Gossip blog. Not only do I love hearing what people have to say about celebrities but it also makes me feel better about myself and to love my body the way it is.  This blog talks about celebrities that are too skinny and also has photos to prove it. People leave comments and talk about it and I find myself agreeing and disagreeing. The second blog that I like a little better would have to be Celebrity Today. This blog definitely talks about the A list celebrities and what exactly they are up to. The blog has great photos. For example, one blog talks about Rihanna and her new photo shoot and has great photos from it. I think Celebrity Today is the most effective because it is up to date and has great information. The people leaving comments aren’t mean like everywhere else so it’s nice to see positive people. I think this blog is effective for anyone who wants to know what’s happening in the entertainment industry and what celebrities are up to. It definitely will have me coming back for more!

 

 

The Final Presidential Debate

I watched the Presidential Debate on ABC. I agreed with many of the questions that Bob Schieffer asked.  The questions seemed to strongly answer the questions that I had in my mind and made me feel that I knew more about what the candidates ideas. On one of the questions, Bob asked if McCain could help balance the nations budget and McCain strongly answered yes and gave many reasons why he could do so. Another good question that Bob said dealt with having to argue between the two candidates about what was said about each other. During the argument, McCain did a great job on getting back at Obama. Obama said that inappropriate things were yelled out about him at Palin’s rallies. So McCain went right back and said that very inappropriate things were yelled out about McCain so he had no room to talk. McCain argued that he knows how to save billions of dollars while Obama is trying to spend it. McCain said that Obama is lying to the Nation such as saying that in Obama’s ads, they are filled with lies about McCain and that they are very negative. On the other hand, O

bama also said that McCain was lying because 100% of McCain’s ads have been negative. Right after Obama made that statement, McCain quickly said that is not true so I feel that Obama is just trying to get back at him in a lying sort of way and I honestly don’t want a president that lies. Aka President Clinton. Speaking of campaign ads, I thought it was a great statement by McCain when he said that Obama has spent more money on negative adds than any political campaigner in history. That definitely caught my attention. Another question that Bob asked was “Why would the country be better off if your (Obama) running mate became president than McCain’s running mate. I liked the argument that both candidates had. I remember one thing that McCain said that was great about Palin was that she understands that Autism is on the rise so that without doubt caught my attention because my brother has autism.

 

            Now lets talk money and taxes! My attention was caught when McCain brought up the story about Joe the plumber (man in the picture) and how he had a small business. McCain clearly stated that if Obama were to get elected, Joe would have to pay higher taxes, which would make him suffer. But if McCain were to get elected then Joe would profit more without paying with higher taxes. Obama basically wants to spread the wealth around, which sounds like a good idea, but in reality it won’t work like that. I thought it was funny when Obama said “when I voted for tax increase for people making $42,000 a year, it was disputed by everyone because of a claim McCain kept on making. Even fox news kept on disputing about it which doesn’t happen very often for me.” Then McCain made a funny face which really made me laugh.  That was kind of off key to make a statement on how a news channels disputes on things because they do it every second of the day so it isn’t even a big deal. Obama was being kind of a hypocrite because he said he 100% agrees with not wanting to pay taxes but he feels that he wants the economy to exceed so that’s why he’s doing it. Obama in one statement also brought up how President Bush doubled the United States Debt. He proves a point but I wouldn’t blame it all on Bush. Along with that statement he also said, “McCain’s economic policy that he is purposing is eight more years of the same thing and it hasn’t worked.” That was kind of a boost for Obama but I still have faith in McCain.

 

I plan to vote for John McCain.  His delivery was well put and he out did Obama. I felt that McCain had more negative comments about Obama than Obama had of McCain because McCain found many flaws in Obama. 

Journalism Can make a Difference For Games!

An article that got my interest was about how gaming needs some more journalism. The writer of this article Aaron Conklin said that Entertainment weekly has always been sketch about gaming.  They would write about it one day and completely leave it out the next.  Conklin describes how he is kind of disturbed by this because he feels that Entertainment Weekly doesn’t have that much expertise in the area where gaming should be talked about.  Conklin said that the writer of this one particular story, that he was writing about games in a way that he would be avoiding them because he doesn’t want to get outplayed by his sons or daughters. Conklin is saying how its ridiculous or someone to write a paper, even though he respects this certain writer, about comparisons between two games or two types of gaming systems if they have never played the game in the first place.  He feels that writers that write about something should be interested and wanting to tell the readers that they should get a certain game because its awesome.  Conklin said that, not hating on the Entertainment Weekly journalist, that it’s possible for writers to write about games and not having their readers feel lost or dumb because they don’t understand. Also that it is better having some credibility and not telling your readers that you kind of know what you are talking about.  Conklin really feels that if we have expertise writing about gaming, then the gaming industry would have a better understanding in the world of games.

 Aaron Conklin

This writer seemed a little mad about what the Entertainment Weekly had to say about games. The main thing that set him off was that the writer said that he kind of knows what he is talking about. If I were to read an article and it said that this person sort of knows what he’s talking about, I would put the article down. Conklin and myself both have the belief in having good credibility and having some practice in what they were talking about, such as playing games to review how good they are.  I’m not such a big fan of games, but when I hear that there is a good one how, I want to go check it out. So it is very important for writers to really tell their audience that this certain type of game is really fun so I would feel more confident buying it or at least excited to play it with a friend. 

 

In today’s world, a writer must really give it his all to speak to the audience and tell them how they personally feel about something.  It lets us know and have more knowledge on what we’re reading about so we’re not half as clueless as if a writer were giving no effort on something he only half cares about.  Also, giving it some thought, I noticed that whenever I hear about video games…the article is always criticizing them. They talk about how violent they are and that it’s not good for your children.  I have also heard that on the Wii, there are issues concerning how dangerous it can be, even though it’s a great game to get involved with because it’s allowing you to be active and really get involved while having fun.  Overall, I feel that journalists should put a little more effort on giving us information on games and not criticizing them as much.

Article on how journalists need to be better writers on gaming

News story stating that a man has been murdering people based on the video game "Grand Theft Auto"

Television and Violence

The issue about television and violence caught my eye right away.   Back in the day, crime wasn't seen as big as a problem.  But today, more and more violence occurs.  Who are we to blame? Could it possibly be the media's fault or the game makers that include violence?  The media impact during the 1960's showed a very significant level of interest.  I believe that this caused people who were crazy to want attention so they went off killing people or doing horrible things.  As his went on, people began to see violence as an everyday thing so they didn't think too much of it.  I believe that having that belief, you are bound to become violent without thinking it is a bad thing.  Also, same thing with video games.  Children and adults play them all of the time.  The violent ones are extremely popular in today’s society.  The bad thing with that is once again the players are playing so much that they begin to become more and more use to the violence.  This is called desensitization.  In chapter 2 is says that’s desensitization is a process by which viewers of media violence develop callousness or emotional neutrality in the face of a real-life act of violence.  I have never witnessed any type of real violent act, but if I were, I would be more scared that ever and not know what to do in the situation.  In my perspective, I couldn't see myself having desensitization.  Sure, I watch a lot of violent movies and have played violent video games, but I know that they are fake and not real.

In chapter 2, it also said that the commission found that only a tiny percentage of the population had any real experience with violence as a victim, assailant, or observer.  I agree with this because I don't believe that I have ever met somebody that has been in a violent incident.  Out of all of the places where I have lived in, even Jackson, Mississippi, I couldn't ever find myself running into a situation where violent crimes are being committed. 

I believe that television over exaggerates the likeliness of being in a violent situation.  Also television usually matches the killers with complete strangers but in reality, the killers tend to go for family members, friends, or acquaintances.  I can see how television can cause people to thing that everything that happens can be real and might even relate to a true story, but the thing is that not everything on TV has happened or at least it wouldn't happen as much as you think it would.  If people were to get the idea in their head that none of it is true and it's just for entertainment, then there might be less crime in our country.

  I honestly can't see why someone would act in a violent way and kill or hurt someone.  Do they even think about the consequences?  It could possibly have to do with the certain type of people who watch violent television and/or it could have to do with the type of people who grew up in an environment that was abusive or if they were in a dysfunctional family.  Or maybe it can be because of whom the crazy person hung out with.  If the crazy persons friend was crazy, then that could have a big impact on why the crazy person is like that.

Here's a link that I thought was helpful on understanding television violence so check it out!

Information on Television Violence!!

Serbia Media ft. Sasa

I interviewed Sasa Vasiljevic who is from Serbia.  He is currently a senior and is on the men’s volleyball team.  He also is the JV assistant for the woman’s Gold volleyball team. Sasa had many things to say about the media in Serbia.  When he was young, he learned about the American culture by watching children shows such as cartoons.  For example, he would watch shows like Power Rangers and Teenage Mutant Turtles.  He also said that Serbia gets MTV.  I was curious on what types of movies he watched that were exported from America.  He said that the most popular types were action and drama.  Comedy movies weren’t that popular so he never really watched them.  He explained to me that he wasn’t that big of a reader so he barely ever had his hands on an American novel.  He also told me that he didn’t see much of them either.  I asked him about the free press in Serbia and he said that it was very limited.  It isn’t government controlled so when stuff happens, people don’t hear it through the media.  They hear it through word of mouth.  I also asked Sasa if the media there was like ours in the way that it runs 24/7.  He said that it isn’t on all of the time and that it usually stops around 8pm.  Sasa said that the TV stations there are privately owned but the government controls them.  In Chapter 1, it says, “the government determines the information, entertainment, and persuasion that will be present through the media.” 

Now to MUSIC! Since other countries have different tastes in music and the way they dance, I wanted to know what type of music he listened too.  He said that he likes rap but the majority of people there prefer dance pop, techno, and Serbia national music.  Something else he said really caught my attention.  He said that many of the celebrities are singers.  He also said that it wasn’t based on talent but more on how attractive the artists were.  I feel that in our nation, we have many talented singers who are also very attractive.  Also in our nation, people who aren’t that talented can’t really get that far.

I brought up the idea of cultural imperialism and if it affects his country in any way.  He said that many people enjoy American movies but can sometimes take offense.  In Chapter 1, it says “ one study of teens from 12 countries found that many of the teens considered Americans materialistic, sexually immoral, and often criminal people who seek to dominate other cultures.” I asked Sasa if he agreed with this statement and he said that it is true but never really thought of it in a bad way.

One of the major radio stations that he remembers is called Radio BIS Plus and it was located in Kragujevac, Serbia.  It played all of the hits.

One of the major news broadcast media is called B92. 

Also----Check out this website!! 

Types of Media in Serbia!

Millenial Generation

Is this me? Yes, because I always want to do things my way and not really have someone tell me what to do.  I feel if I work hard enough, I’ll be able to accomplish anything that I want. Basically, when I want something, I get it.  Working hard had always been a task for me, because my parents had high expectations.  Many days I just wanted to stop and just be lazy, but knowing that I didn’t accomplish something really bothered me.  I also feel that I have put so much time and energy into volleyball.  If I didn’t have volleyball, I wouldn’t have the motivation that I do now, especially in school.

 

I agree and disagree with what 60 minutes had to say about our generation. It is much more resourceful and moves at a fast pace.  The technology that we have is amazing and I feel that our generation knows how to use it the best. When we go to work, I feel that we just “roll into work” and not really care how our appearance is.  That’s mainly due to less rules and I feel that the older people think that we work better in that type of environment. I also agree with what Jeffery from Wall Street Journal had to say about parents being less strict.  The example that he gave was saying that back in the day a piano teacher and parents expected you to practice everyday.  But now it has changed to where the parents are just saying to the children to have fun and practice when you can.  Since parents are less demanding on their children’s goals, it can be kind of bad because children are becoming lazier and possibly becoming more obese. I also agree with what Jeffery said about when a student needs to talk to the teacher, the student brings his mother or has his/her mother talk on the phone with the teacher because the student can’t really be brave or is too scared to talk.  I can relate to this situation because my mom would do everything thing for me until the end of my senior year.  It was kind of hard for me because I felt awkward talking to older people and planning things out, but after doing it for a while it because very easy and less awkward.

One of the things that I disagree with is that when 60 minutes said that growing up didn’t prepare us for the work force.  In my opinion based on my life, I was very prepared for college and the work force.  Having a job made you realize how much time and effort you have to dedicate in order to get what you want, for example money. I have also had many life experiences that have shaped me into the person that I am and have learned from my mistakes.

 

The advice that I would give to older generations to communicate with me better would just to be less strict because believe it or not, us millenials will get things done without being yelled at.

What I'm Passionate About

Ever since third grade I have been passionate about volleyball.  My sister was the one that got me started because she had been playing for a couple of years.  The first day I walked into the gym and picked up a volleyball I knew I would be playing this sport for a long time.

I have been playing for eleven years and each day I learn how to improve.  It's the type of sport that you can't automatically be good at.  It takes a lot of time and practice to improve.  The reason why I love it so much is because it never gets boring or old. Each day is exciting and fun.  

When I was in elementary, my team won the city championship two years in a row.  Winning those championships was a big deal because even when I was little, volleyball was very competitive.  Soon after in middle school, my team won many games. I can't remember if there was a specific championship but I know that we we're one of the best middle school teams in the district.  After middle school, I moved to Jackson, MS.  In Mississippi volleyball was one of the sports that no one would watch or was at all competitive.  My father wanted to make sure that I went to a high school that had one of the best volleyball teams.  My freshman year, I was on varsity but rarely got to play because I was of course a freshman.  I felt that I was better than some of the players that were on the court but there was nothing I could do.  My sophomore year two seniors left so I got a starting position on varsity.  We went undefeated for 33 games and won the State Championship, which was amazing.  We got so much publicity because no one in the state had accomplished what we had.  I was very thankful for being on that team and experiencing that type of achievement.  Then my father wanted to move again and that's how I ended up here in St. Louis.

Moving to St. Louis was exciting because I knew I would be with better volleyball players and have a lot more competition.  I was also sad moving because I would miss my friends.  But anyways, thankfully I went to Parkway West and ended up having a starting spot and playing all around on varsity.  I was also very thankful for that opportunity.  I felt that our team was very good and that we all knew each other and very close which makes a difference on a volleyball court. Although we lost in districts by two points to head to state, I'm glad that I was apart of it and that it was a great experience.

I also think that moving to St. Louis made my opportunities much more larger to play in college.  It absolutely did and that's why I am here at Lindenwood University playing college volleyball.  I would of never had the chance to play in college if I would have stayed in Mississippi.

I am extremely glad that I am still playing volleyball in which I am very passionate about. I hope to play all through college and improve as much as I can.