NBA LOCKOUT

YAY THE NBA IS BACK! I was worried that the NBA lockout was going to ruin my Christmas break. With college football season on the verge of being over, I didn't know what I was going to do with my time. I am happy that there will be a season but the lockout really irritated me. The league claimed it was losing $300 million a year and wanted to cut the players salaries by $500 million over the next five years. It makes me so mad that it took them months to figure this out. I understand that it is a lot of money and it is their money but it does not only affect the players and owners. It hurts the communities that support and depend on the season like the people who sell programs, work the concession stands, and work the parking lots. Those are the people who should be upset at the selfishness of the players and the league. We spend so much money supporting our teams and they don't think about the impact it has on the community.

Politics Schmolitics

The political world is full of news right now. There are plenty of hot topics that include the response to the President’s job bill and what the government should do to decrease the debt. The recent natural disasters have put a spotlight of FEMA and their funding for this year and the upcoming year. The presidential election in Nov. 2012 has a lot of buzz around it right now as well. Who the republican candidate will be is a huge topic in politics right now. There are different debates and polls every week. Another topic that falls into the election category is who will win what demographic votes in the 2012 presidential election. All of these topics contribute to the recent political news. These are just some the topics that were in recent news stories that I thought were interesting. At this point I feel like it is still up in the air who will end up getting the republican candidate spot. It seems to be changing every week with who the front-runner is. Also, I think it will be interesting to see which states end up supporting whom. Over all it is an exciting time in politics in America.

Occupy Everything

The Occupy Wall Street Movement has been all over the news for the past month or so.  The whole movement has been about the protesting of social and economic quality, corporate greed, corruption and influence over government. This greed and corruption is particularly from the lobbyists and financial services sector. The protesters' slogan, “We are the 99%", refers to the difference in wealth and income growth in the U.S. between the wealthiest 1% and the rest of the population. However, I think most people are confused about the whole movement and what is actually going on.  The CNN anchor Erin Burnett, covered the protests at Zuccotti Park, and responded with, "What are they protesting? Nobody seems to know." I think that says something when even the media are questioning what is going on. Most of my friends will talk about how they do not understand what is really going on with the movement. They understand the basics, but probably could not explain what is currently going on. I personally feel like I get lost in all of it when I am watching the news or reading reports about the movement.

Team Edward vs. Team Jacob

I finally was able to go see the newest Twilight movie Breaking Dawn a few days after it's release. I got there early and was still sitting in the front row. I was amazed at the turnout to see the movie days after it had been released. Twilight has been a huge phenomenon that has become an obsession for many of its fans. It has sold more the 13 million copies in just the United States according to The Strap Times. Also, Joe Naumaier reported it as being ranked No.1 on the New York Times Best Seller list in 2005.  Many people wonder what makes the series so popular. Is it the plot line of an unconditional love story?  It could be, but perhaps it has something to do with why Victorian novels like Weathering Heights written by Emily Bronte, Pride and Prejudice and Emma by Jane Austen, and Dracula by Bram Stokers were and have remained so popular over time. They are all similar in the types of gender roles their characters possess.  Or maybe the fascination comes with Edward’s admiration and protectiveness for Bella that creates a desire in readers. Although I wouldn't consider myself a "Twi-hard" I do enjoy getting wrapped up in this book series. 

Are You Typical?

I came across this video from National Geographic about the most typical person in the world. With some of the statistics from this video I forgot how lucky I am to not be so typical. It made me feel lucky to have some of the things that I have but it made me feel wasteful at the same time. Living in the United States I think we forget that we aren't the center of the universe. Our continent is so small compared to Asia or Africa but we act like we are the most important people on the planet. I was surprised to see that the most typical person was a 28 year old Asian man. This video is a great reminder of how large this world is and how small and insignificant we can be. 

Like Crazy

I happened to stumble across the movie trailer for an indie film called Like Crazy on a blog that I follow. I don't know how many times I watched the trailer-- probably close to 100 times, seriously. It was so touching and immediately I became obsessed. It won a Sundance award and received incredible reviews. After 2 months of anticipation the opening day arrived... and of course it wasn't playing in Alabama. So when I went to Orlando for Thanksgiving I made sure I went to see it. This movie was incredible! It was the most convincing relationship I have seen in a movie because the dialogue was improvised and they were having conversations that you could relate to your own relationships. You know that conversation that starts with " why are you mad at me?" and the other person answers " I'm not mad.. there is nothing wrong" but you obviously know that there is. There wasn't any glamour or glitzto the movie it just told a story about a young couple in love trying to overcome problems with their long distance relationship. The realness to the movie made it so appealing and relatable. It was so refreshing to see an unpredictable story unfold. I highly recommend seeing this movie.. and bring a tissue and put your phone away because you're going to want to contact your ex.

Joshua Bell Experiment

In the middle of Friday morning rush hour traffic to work a violinist performed six classical pieces of music in a DC subway station. He played for 43 minutes collected $32 during his performance. Only seven people stopped to listen out of the 1,097 that passed by. Little did the people in the subway know that the violinist was child prodigy Joshua Bell. Bell was playing on a violin worth $3.5 million dollars and the night before sold out a performance where average seats went for $100. Doesn't this seem weird? Why didn't people stop to listen? Were they too busy to stop and listen or do they not even hear the music when they are in the zone on the way to work? After I read this experiment by the Washington Post, I assumed people didn't stop to listen because in places like the subway there are always musicians playing. Personally I think the location has something to do with the way people perceive the quality and talent of the musician/ artist/ or performer. This just shows you that we need to take the time to see the beauty around us and pay more attention to the details.

Girl Scout

Bobby Montoya, a 7 year old transgender child was denied a membership to Girl Scouts because he had "boy parts". Bobby refers living as a girl and enjoys doing "girl things". He was frustrated when he wasn't able to join the Girl Scouts. It broke my heart when Bobby said "It's hurting my heart. It hurts me and my mom both." Later Girl Scouts released this statement: " Girl Scout is an inclusive organization and we accept all girls in Kindergarten through 12th grade as members. If a child identifies as a girl and the child's family presents her as a girl, Girl Scouts of Colorado welcomes her as a Girl Scout. Our requests for support of transgender kids have grown, and Girl Scouts of Colorado is working to best support these children, their families and the volunteers who serve them..."
     I feel for Bobby because this is just the beginning of rejection and disappointment in his life. We all go through times where we are picked on or made fun of but this is going to be even more difficult as a transgender. Bobby is frequently bullied and made fun of in school and Girl Scouts would have been a place that he could feel comfortable and accepted. I am happy that Girl Scouts is accepting of transgender children but it makes me wonder if they only put out this statement because of the media attention the story was getting. This is an opportunity to teach tolerance and acceptance as well as bring light to the transgender community. I am upset that this had to happen to an Innocent child, but without this incident there wouldn't have been the progress in the Girl Scout community.

Bags Fly Free

It was one of those mornings that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. I was flying back to school from Orlando on Southwest Airlines. I let my brother book our flight and of course he picks the earliest flight possible. I wasn’t able to fall asleep until 2am and I had to wake up at 5am for my flight. I was already exhausted and irritable before my trip.  When I went to baggage claim my bags were nowhere to be found. With my luck my bags never made it on my flight—I knew I over tipped the man at the counter. Anyways, I tweeted at Southwest “ Thanks for losing my bags @Southwestair” and an hour or so later I get a response from @Southwestgabe, “@aacampisi sorry to hear that! Hopefully you were able to file a report at the airport.” I have heard stories about the PR department for companies doing this but never expected to get a response. I do think it was a nice gesture on their behalf because I checked the account that responded to me and they don’t respond to everyone. This seemed to be a common response to complaints. It did make me feel a little better about the situation but it still doesn’t help me get my bags any faster. I wish more companies would use Twitter as a tool to help customers because it is the little things like a response that make an unhappy customer a little happier. Although my bags flew free I would have liked them to be on time, thanks Southwest.

In 4 Years Time

As I reflect on my four years of college I feel like I am a part of a very special time in the University’s history. In sports, the graduating class of 2012 has had the most winning record in school history resulting in a 2 undefeated seasons, 2 SEC Championship appearances, a National Championship, and possibly another appearance in a National Championship. We hired a new basketball coach and ranked among the top programs in the nation, and the gymnastics and cheerleading teams both won national championships. Academically, the school is rapidly growing and is recruiting the brightest students in the nation. I participated in the largest sorority recruitment in the country as well as being around for two new sorority chapters to colonize on campus—and build 4 new houses.

I won’t forget being on campus when President Barrack Obama took office. Not only was it monumental that a black man was president for the first time, but it was my first time being old enough to vote. Also, Tuscaloosa helped pass alcohol sales on Sunday.

No one will forget April 27, 2011.  It was the day that changed everything we knew in Tuscaloosa. Not only did it change the landscape of our city but the atmosphere around the city.  I have so many memories from these past 4 years—good and bad that I will be able to share with my kids, family, and friends.

This song sums up my feelings on the past 4 years..

Shamu

“No aquarium, no tank in a marine land, however spacious it may be, can’t begin to duplicate the conditions of the sea. And no dolphin who inhabits one of those aquariums or one of those marine lands can be considered normal”.  - Jaques Cousteau

Growing up in Orlando Florida I was lucky enough to go Disney World, Universal, and Seaworld all the time. I even had annual passes to most of these parks. Most kids loved Disney but my favorite was always Seaworld. All of elementary school I aspired to be a Seaworld trainer and swim with Shamu. One time I was even lucky enough to get to pet and play with one of the killer whales after a show. As I got older my love for animals just infinitely grew. Not until a recent trip to Seaworld did I ever question the conditions that these animals were living in.  My view on parks such as SeaWorld has drastically changed.            

WDCS reports that there are many differences in captive orcas and wild orcas. Wild Orcas live to an average life of 35 years but can live up to 60 while females can live to be 90 years. While in captivity most do not survive over the age of 20. Their life in a shallow concrete tank is completely different compared to the lives they would live in the wild. In the wild orcas can dive up to 60 meters but the largest tank is only 20.7 meters deep. Out of the 136 orcas caught in the wild 123 of them have already died.I will never forget how awesome it was that I got to interact with a killer whale and even play fetch with her. Although I am extremely lucky for that experience, I never considered how unnatural our interaction was.

To Have and To Hold

It seems like all of my friends at school are getting engaged. It seems that the south puts pressure on people to get married are at really young age. I started thinking about why men don't have to wear engagement rings and began to challenge the traditional wedding. Engagement rings are traditionally given to women to symbolize commitment, devotion, and love. Historically engagement rings represented a portion of a bride’s dowry and represented social status. Traditionally men are supposed to spend 3 months pay on a ring and propose to the woman. Today, the newest trend is men wearing engagement rings. I originally liked the concept of this. Why should women be the only ones to show everyone that they are unavailable? If an engagement ring represents commitment and devotion why should the woman be the only one wearing a ring? I don’t want my fiancé getting hit on at the bar or whenever he goes out. Shouldn’t he have to wear one if I have to? The more I thought about it, the more I don’t like the idea of men having engagement rings. I like the tradition of a man asking for your hand in marriage and proposing with an engagement ring. 

Today women have more power and it is more common for a woman to propose to her boyfriend. Some jewelry companies are even starting to manufacture engagement rings for men. I am not against the concept of men wearing engagement rings but I would never expect my fiancé to wear one. In a video on Madame Noire TV, women were asked if they would propose to a man. There were many different responses. One woman said, “ If he can’t afford a ring he can’t afford anything else or to be married”, while another woman said, “ I would definitely propose.” If women want to propose, more power to her.  I think women in today’s society have the power to take the relationship in the direction that they want. If a man is taking too long to propose, why should a woman wait for him to make up his mind and wait for him? I personally wouldn’t want to marry someone who wasn’t ready to propose.

ENFJ

Last week I participated in a fellow New College student's project that required us to take the Myers-Brigg Type Indicator test. The Myers-Brigg test reveals your personality type and preferences in four separate categories. The four categories key areas that combine to form the basis of a person's personality are:

• Where you focus your attention- Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I)
• The way you take in information- Sensing (S) or Intuition ( N)
• The way you make decisions- Thinking (T) or Feeling (F)
• How you deal with the outer world- Judging (J) or Perceiving (P)

Before we were given our test results we were given a presentation explaining each of these categories. We then had to circle where we felt we fell on a scale. I categorized myself as an ENFJ. This means that I am an extrovert, intuitive, feeler, and I judge instead of perceive. As an ENFJ I am described as:

• warm, compassionate, and supportive
• highly attuned to others; their empathy enables them to quickly understand emotional needs, motivations, and concerns
• likely to value harmony and cooperation; tend to look for the best in others
• curious about new ideas and stimulated by possibilities for contributing to the good of humanity

 When I was given my test results later it revealed that I was spot on even to the degree of what I thought I was. I was fascinated by these results. It shows that I understand myself and the strengths of my personality. This was an awesome experience and I strongly recommend that everyone takes this test. Below are my papers from the test... The one of the left is the paper where I guessed what I was and on the right is the results from the computer.

Southern Comfort

I recently watched the Sundance winning documentary "Southern Comfort". It documents the final years of Robert Eads life, a female to male transsexual in rural Georgia. Eads is dying of ovarian cancer and has been refused help because he is a transsexual. The end of the documentary ends with a quote from another character " What a carious thing to be so uptight about. Nature delights in diversity. Why don't human beings?" This really moved me and I started thinking why aren't we accepting of people who are different or have different beliefs or lifestyles? I think people are comfortable with tradition and familiarity. Religion has defined our culture, even if you're not religious. Western culture is dominated by Christianity and their values. There is simplicity and security to the system of masculinity and femininity because there is a program already set out for you. I recommend this documentary to everyone because it will open up your eyes to the challenges others have to go through to be true to themselves.

Dress Up

Costume parties are one of my favorite events to attend because I have the opportunity to create my own costume. The pictures above are from previous parties where I was Cindy Lou Who, Buddy the Elf, and Veronica Corningstone. I made my Buddy the Elf costume. I went to Joann Fabrics and purchased the felt, fur, dye, and a pattern to make the costume. I used a children's robe pattern and then sewed together the pieces to create the top. I then used glitter paint to put the detailing around the trim of the collar. I then glued the fur around the neck and cuffs. To make the hat I used a party hat and wrapped felt around it and then put yellow ribbon around the top. I couldn't find yellow tights so I can to dye white tights yellow. Unfortunately, I didn't use gloves so my hands turned yellow and I looked like I had jaundice. It took over 3 days to complete but my Buddy the Elf costume is still my favorite costume I have worn!

Intertextuality

My cultural text is the movie Elf starring Will Ferrell. 


Four Horizontal Intertextual Connections:

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer: The Movie ( 1998)- Genre: Film

Rudolph is one of the most recognized Christmas characters. He is different and made fun of because by the other reindeer because he has a red shiny nose. Just like Rudolf, Buddy in Elf is different than his peers and is an outcast trying to prove himself.

How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)- Genre: Film

The Grinch in How the Grinch Stole Christmas can be compared to Buddy the Elf’s biological human dad, Walter Hobbs. The Grinch and Walter are anti-Christmas and holiday cheer. By the end of both movies, both the Grinch and Walter Hobbs overjoyed with holiday spirit.

The Santa Clause ( 1994)- Genre: Film

Much of plots from Elf take place in the North Pole, which looks similar to the North Pole in The Santa Clause.

Home Alone (1990)- Genre: Film

Both Buddy the Elf and Kevin from Home Alone are lost in New York City trying to find their families. Along their journeys they make new friends and find themselves along the way.

Four Vertical Intertextual Connections:

The North Pole- Genre: Geography

Many of the scenes in Elf take place in the North Pole at Santa’s Workshop. They are influenced by the mythology and traditions of Christmas. The North Pole is home to Santa, Mrs. Clause, their reindeer, and elves who work in Santa’s workshop. 

 

Christmas Carols- Genre: Music

Christmas carols originated in 4^th century Rome but became secular Christmas songs in the late 18^th century. Christmas carols are sung and played throughout Elf to create holiday spirit.

 

A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens- Genre: Literature- The struggle of Ebenezer Scrooge to believe and find true Christmas spirit is similar to the movie Elf. Scrooge’s character development is reminiscent of Buddy’s father Walter Hobbs. They both dislike Christmas but in the end they find the true meaning of Christmas. 

 

New York City- Genre: Geography

New York City represents the contrast between Christmas tradition and post modern disbelief in Santa Clause. It also reveals changing of Christmas from a religious holiday to a commercialized holiday.

Two Signifiers:

Santa’s Sleigh- In Elf, Buddy is chosen to help work on Santa’s sleigh. Santa’s sleigh cannot fly without people believing that Santa exists. Santa’s sleigh is symbolic of Christmas spirit.

Santa Clause- In the movie Elf, Santa represents the innocence and childhood beliefs of Christmas. Santa is symbolic of the people who believe in him and who don’t.

Two Public Tertiary Texts:

“ I can’t say enough good things about this movie! I’ve seen it twice, and I laughed as hard the second time as I did the first! I consider this to be the perfect holiday present for the whole family! So, you'd better watch out and you'd better not cry! And in keeping with the holiday spirit, I’m gonna tell you why! Give yourself "the gift of 'Elf'" for Christmas and discover the simple pleasure of believing in the spirit of Christmas!”- Holly McClure

http://www.crosswalk.com/culture/movies/features/elf-movie-review-1229822.html

“Funny and intelligently made, a film for kids and adults that's both sweet and sardonic.”-

Mick LaSalle San Francisco Chronicle - http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/elf/

 

Moral Myopia vs. Moral Muteness

The sport industry has become a huge part of the entertainment industry because it is filled with drama and scandals. There have been many controversies that have rocked the sport industry like the OJ Simpson murder trial, Tiger Wood’s many affairs, and the Michael Vick dog fighting ring. From the outside it appears that the industry handles these situations with moral myopia because everyone frowns upon the actions of these athletes. In reality everyone wants their team to win and seems to be extremely forgiving causing moral muteness. For example, Michael Vick led a dog fighting ring, failed a drug test while on bail, and served 21 months in jail. After his release he signed with the Eagles and is making millions. Did we forget what he did or just forgive him because we want to see him play? It infuriates me that he can kill hundreds of animals for fun and then we are going to support his behavior by allowing him back in the league. I understand that everyone deserves a second chance but when does it cross the line?