Ads.

I recently saw a movie in my Social Psych titled Consuming Kids.  This shocking documentary showed how kids are being marketed to in levels never seen before. Advertisers will not only test their ads to find the right attention grabbing moments, but will also imply the nag factor. Just what is this factor: How much a child nags until the desired item is bought. Marketers WANT kids to nag and have searched for the proper ways to GET them to nag. With all this said, I have a question to ask. How bad are ads really?

The movie is clear that ads contribute to the lack creativity. Kids don't exorcise their brain muscles. Instead they only imitate what is scene. One child psychologist added that adds have done more then just slow the creative mind. They make children want money. In his early years up to now he'd always ask the same question. "What would you like to be when you grow up." Before the 80s the answered varied. Some kids said firemen, some said nurse. But today he reports that his new patients overwhelmingly respond with rich. Not a profession that could make them rich. Just rich. It is true adds may have contributed to that, but I have this to say.
If adds hinder a child's thinking skill so it can only imitate what it sees, then why are all the pre 1980s kids responding with generic jobs? To drive the bad add point home this movie showed an old TV show where people asked kids the same job question. As usual they answered with the same generic jobs that everyone knows about.  Now this clip does make me think poorly of the post 80s adds. But it also made me think of something else. Kids seem to imitate a lot of things through out childhood. The only problem is that what kids imitate are not what used to be. Children said the generic job titles because thats all they knew. Now all they know is something different. Is that all bad? Hard to say. 

Writing Class

Since I am a Senior I am taking my Senior Seminar. This means I have to read and write many pages a week.  I have to admit it's harder then I thought. Sometimes writing does come so easy, and other times it's as though a spigot has been opened up. But what I found out to be the worst is the reading. Before you all go and hate me, read first. I like the class. The teacher is fun to be with and is VARY energetic. No need to drink coffee before class. Your likely to get some through her via osmoses. Her aura contains it! And I like how everyone gets a chance to read and have their stories read. I also like her way of getting us to look at published writing to see what they did write, and what they did wrong. Yet, the reading is much. We have to get through 75 pages, and some of them are just the same things over and over again. One book, The Right to Write has committed that crime more then once. The book is supposed to give any person willing to write the mental and emotional push to do so. This is a good thing. But do we need well over a hundred pages of it? How many times can we be told to write before we find the task something we no hate? How many people cleaned their rooms simply because your mother said to? Not many. You had to grow up, and find that having a clean room is better on your own. The only good tip this book gave was to write every day. This is true. The trick is, one small 15 minute spirt of writing is supposed to get you think, and soon those 15 minutes tern into 1.5 hours. That is good. But the rest I do without. The second book, Deep Revision, is a darn good one. This one gives actual suggestions on how to keep writing going, and how to make some changes if need be. It's really grammar changes, but how to make your story more interesting. The last one a collection of writings from other writers. This is hit or miss. The stories are usually short. Some are good, while others are not. It depends on the story. I don't mind reading this one. I have to admit it takes me a long time to get through this all. First, I have to force myself not to get mad and see that there IS GOOD SOMEWHERE in the "Right to Write." Second, I have to make sure not to scoff at everything Then, once I have gotten through all that I can read, which takes me a while. Because of how long this takes, I usually wait till the last moment before class, which I have to leave to go too. I'll write again soon.

Dance TEST!

The End of Dance is coming on the morrow. I might as well be typing about the end of the world. I don't dance well with instructions. If you give me music and a chance to do what I feel is fun, I dance. Is it good? No. Is it graceful? Hardly. Is it fun? You bet. Thats what I thought dance was supposed to be. FUN.  Instead it's instructions, comments, and commands. This is not to say that the teacher just yells. He is not some dancer passed his prime dancing years. He can still dance.

His movements are beautiful. Each extend of his body is a graceful and carefully planned shift of his body. I love to look at his arms as they swing to the sides in the warmup. They break away from the forward contraction and fall down in a cool, swift move, as though his arms are programed to do just that all day long. I can't help but want to do what he does. But each time I try to mimic his fluid steps I fall short, stumble, or can't get it right. But I will take his test, and I will my best, because it's ALL I can do. Sometimes we are left with only what we did. We can't sit and wait for bread to be made. We have to MAKE the bread. Wishing gets you nothing, doing gets you everything. If only I had done sooner.

On the writing front:
Still not so good, but I have to finish this. I can't let this idea die. If I do, it will be just another one of millions to never be finished. I don't want that. I want and end. Well, off to try.

Two Things: Story review and Origami.

I got down to writing the story I mentioned earlier. My classmates thought it was not that bad. Their comments made me think I had gone in the right direction. Their suggestions for fixing were little, but good. Mostly they let me know of the cliche's the found, and cut down the extra words. I walked out of class thinking it was good for my first attempt at Sci-fi. 

My teacher thought otherwise. I had gone to her for a midterm grade. She was not going to give one because she thought that grades really did not matter, as long as we wrote every day and improved our work. Now, the grade she gave me was good. The comments on my story was not. 

"Aw, how cute. They liked the food so much they want to go back" I explained my full idea and my teacher jumped on it. It was creative and good. But my piece as it stood, did not reflect that scariness. All she saw was two happy people eating well. There were not enough hints of danger along the way.  She suggested to hype of the danger, or to start the story at their third visit. I have yet to work out how to mend this.

And in effort not to think about it, I made what you see above. The letter H done in origami blocks. Neat  huh?

Crazy.

The net wet out for a little bit in the dorm tonight. My roommate stood up from her base of operations and said "WHY WON'T THE INTERNET WORK!" She continued to shout this every few minutes while I just laughed. For some reason, I never feel scared if the net is gone. For one, I always know the net will work sometime. For two, I can always get some homework done.

But I must admit, it is funny to see everyone scurry about. It is as though they cannot live without the fast paste word. Facebook is there world. But in away, it is mine too. Well, off to bed.

Kindle me this..

Which is the better e-reader? The only reason I am thinking about a toy like this is that I saw the Barns&Noble Nook and was really surprised at what I saw. Not only does it look neat, but it also has TONS of free books, one saleswoman claimed. Well, I have looked at their website and so far, not a lot of books are free, nor were they as cheap as I had seen. When I want a book, I usually get it for 3.50 at Montclair books. Ok, so most of these books are used, but hay, if they are readable, then they are good.  

Imagine this.

I didn't get to do the Peta Pizzas. Got surprised with dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Which lead me to an interesting idea. I have only been to there once before, so what I might say will not be a direct comment on them.
Imagine you go restaurant everyone raves about. You see adds on TV with pictures of food that is to die for. After a while, you go with your wife. When you get there you are asked one question: Is this your first, second, or third time eating there? You say first, and follow your waitress as she shows to your table. Right away you notice that she happy, almost, too happy to serve you. Her smile is wider then normal and above all, somehow brighter then anyone you have seen. It leaves you and your wife perplexed, but you don't let bother you. The meal comes and it tastes just as good, even better then you both thought. You leave happy.   After a week passes, you go again, craving the food. As before, you are asked if you have eaten there. After saying yes, you are shown to a larger room then before, and see that it looks fancier and more glitzy. The your waiter is just as uncomfortably happy to serve. Again, this does not bother you. As you leave, you notice that there is no line in the receipt for tips. it's something you missed before, but again, it does not bother you.
   Another week passes and you go. All is the same only this time, except that your asked about work. They explain that by calling bosses they have gotten more business. You are shown to an even BIGGER and more glitzy room. It is brimmed with gold and metals all around. You almost wonder if you can afford the good food. You eat fast, tasting a flavor unlike all others. After finishing you wait for the check. Your waiter is nowhere to be found. No one comes by. You are about to get up when the manager comes by.
    "Was everything good?" he asks.
     "YES!" you both say, content.
   "Well, then..come on by tomorrow! It's on US!" Your happy and pay and go.
As you reach the restaurant the next day, you notice that the name has changed, the design and look is different, and ALL the workers are wearing a deep blue instead of the usual white! In fact, all the waiters look new. Not one of them looks familiar to you. You order and eat. Only this time....something happens. Before you can savor that last bite, you wake up in a strange room. You wonder why.

Today I learned something.

     I went down to the school cafe today to get some coffee. I have been trying to save my meals since I  only have 44/80 eating chances left, but I rationed that I'd need coffee and theirs is great. What I love to do is take two Splenda or Equal and add half or a little more then of regular and then add creamer. Then, once creamed, I add a splash or two off milk. I really wish they had non-fat, but since I add cream, I guess it does not really matter. 
    But, as I got there, I saw that there was no regular. Just decaf. I had made a resolution a few years back to stop drinking the goods, but have found that on some days a gal needs her jump. So I went to first worker I saw and let them know about their deficiency. She came quick and got another pot going. 
    I should have come back later, but I thought to wait, which lead me to ask,
   "Is that connected to something?" Stupid question, stupid answer.
   "Yes, they all are." But what I meant was something different. I saw, as she made the coffee, that she put in a new filter,loads of grounds, but no water. The coffee maker is a huge drip system and being a drip user in the past I naturally wondered where the water came from. 
   "So it has it's own pipe?" I asked. 
   "Yes, it does." She replied. Neat huh? All those huge drip makers in the college cafes ALL have their own water system. I like that. Now if only they had their own coffee lines we'd be all set. Just push a button and wait. I would LOVE to have that in my house someday. No thought. Just push and go. Like The Cars song. "Touch and GO! Oh Oh ohhhh!" Ok, the caffeine is now hitting me which is good. LOTS to do today. 
   I am watching movies later with my boyfriend Bobby and I plan to make some little treats to go with that. We still have some garlic and oil from his last party so I'll them and some pita bread and cheese to make some minnie pizza's. It will go like this. I'll take some onions, fry them up, and other little veggie treats and then put them on top with some cheese and other little stuff and then bake them for 15 minutes  or less.  Just until the cheese melts. I have never done this before, but I hope it will turn out good. I'll let you all know in the next AM. See you all then!

ZAP! Another idea!

Banana Frosting on a cheesecake. I might add SOME dabbles of dark chocolate and PB, but not a lot. I just HAD to get this down! When I am on spring break I will try this. Sounds good.

Long time, No Meow.

      Ok, so this Kitten is late with her latest. Sorry, my life is busy, as I am sure yours all are. But today I came up with an idea that should be put down.

     We have Apple Sauce, but what about Pear Sauce? I had this idea in the New Cafe at Kean when I was eating my second Pare. I forgot how much I LOVE them.  I like them best when they are mushy and easy to mold. I like to pick one up and push in the soft flesh. If it is easy to push in, then they are good to eat, if not, I wait. I am sure everyone must do this. They would not taste so good otherwise. 

     For the sauce I thought I'd just take a few pears and chop them up. Then, I'd put them into a blender and get them all mashed up. For taste I'd add a few dashes of Cinnamon. I thought I'd try them out on homemade pancakes. I never use too much syrup so I thought I'd use this as a new way to sweeten my breakfast. Or maybe I could use some Banana? OR...just another crazy thought, take one Banana and then add a few small scoops of all natural Peanut Butter. Blend them together to create a new breakfast sauce, or add a dabble on Ice cream. OR add small bits of dark chocolate and see what comes up. Sounds like a neat idea huh? I sure hope so. I should try these out soon and report back on how they taste. You never know.  These may make a purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrfect breakfast, or it may be left for the dogs. Check back and find out. 

Favorite Feature writers.

    I suppose I should have a good list of who I like by now, but it seems only one had hold to my standards. As I have mentioned before, I really like Gladwell. His website displays a record of his New Yorker writings as well as his book. But so what? Why should I ask my small bit of followers to read him?

    Well, for one he picks topics that are always interesting to read about. The studies he finds about the workings of the human mind are just amazing. For example, he found one experiment that set to find out how good a person can really be. By good, this study meant people willing to help others in emergencies. 

    They completed the experiment by going to a propionate seminary school and used the students as the subjects. What they did was quite interesting. First, they split the students into two groups. The first group was told that they would give a speech on why they chose to study religion. The second group was told to re-read the bible famous story "The Good Samaritan" and then give a speech on the same subject. Then, the researchers told half the students in each group they had plenty of time to make it to the auditorium they would speak in. They told the other halves of each group that they had no time and in fact were late. Along the way, each student would encounter an actor playing deathly harmed person. As the student passed, the actor would moan, groan, and make just about any noise to cause worry. 

    By doing this the researchers found that the only factor that predicted whether or not someone would help a dying person was time. If a student, one who had just re-read the story of  a "Good Samaritan", was late to their speech, they would ignore the dying person. No matter that they on their way to talk about helping others. Time did not allow them to help. But, if they did happen to have the time, they would. This study and others is why I like Gladwell. He finds and explains well the things about human nature we all would like to know.   

Ilegal Alien Costume crosses the line.

One day before Halloween and already things are looking scary. It seems, accroing Times Record News that many are upset over one costumes little play on words. What this comstume consists of, is one alien mask, one orange jump suit with the words "Illegal Alien" pressed on the front, and one oversized green card. Many have asked Target to pull what they call a tasteless costume off it shelfs. I, however, find it's going a little to far. This is a play a words people, not an attack on Latins. I find that nowadays every one is so afraid to upset others that even the smallest things can turn into something their not. This is not an attack on imigrants, this is a fun little game.

But I do have a suggestion though. If this is really a none-offensive costume then why not make these "Aliens" look like the Coneheads? Was not their movie all about aliens wanting USA citazenship? I think that costume would have been just as fun, and none of the craziness.

I give a hoot about Gladwell.

It may be late, but this night owl feels it's her to duty let her fellow Gladwellers know that the man who brought insight in the the start of trends, insight into ourselves, and insight into the story of success has has another book that looks deep within. Malcolm Gladwell's new book titled What the Dog Saw is a collection of stories that let readers see in detail the application of real genius, his theories on organization, and his theories on how we look into one another.  This three section book has been released on October 20th 2009.
      I have yet to read it, but if this is like his many other keystrokes greatness then it should be nothing short of noteworthy.  For more information click on the title above.

Hoot.

Death from Horizon.

As I had my morning breakfast and flipped may through the paper for some light comic reading, I came across something that shocks me. Doreen Tregli, a woman from Denville has officially exhausted all that Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield has to offer and can no longer afford to live. Click HERE to read more.

I find it sad and harsh that your only alloted so much money for the year. Granted, a lot of us don't need much more then what Mrs Tregli got, but for someone who wants to live to see the birth of her fourth grandchild it can seem like little.   This makes me wonder how good Health care really is. If a woman of 58 can't even get help when needed, then who's to say we it won't happen to us? Maybe I am missing something here, or maybe I am just not in the bis, but the way I see, when someone is sick, you treat them.

Hello readers.

If this is your first time coming to my blog, Welcome. If not, you may notice some changes. Instead of using this space for a journal, I will this use space to blog about Feature Writing and the creative process that all writers endure to get those wondering questions into print. Have Fun! :-)