Alicia A.: Google Street View

Kristianne D.: Did They Really Say That?

Sarah B.: Social Awareness Contradiction

Wayne Y.: The Changing Face of Video Games

Alex D.: Photo Manipulation on Hiatus in the Media

Stephanie T.: Is Taxing Pop Really a Solution?


Finally! Alleluia! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Give Thanks! Tell the world!
I HAVE COMPLETED UNIT 6 !!!!!!!!!


... I am a happy girl ...

1 Comments:

It makes me happy that you're happy, Debbie!
Ms. A.

By  Mary-Lynn, at April 7, 2010 at 6:19 PM  

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Throughout the past few years, we have slowly seen the goal to becoming healthier become a bigger and bigger impact on our lives. Diet sodas were introduced, junk food with no trans fat were selling in grocery stores, multi grain chips were brought out into vending machines, daily physical activity was mandatory for elementary schools, and countless commercials about healthy eating were played again and again on the television. I remember in my elementary school we had a vending machine filled with chips and all kinds of pop. One day, all the chips and pop were gone. In its place were apple juice, and orange juice (Minute Maid)... in the form of cans. I'm sure many of you readers have seen the Ice Scream commercial by the Concerned Children's Advertisers possibly a billion times on YTV. This commercial showcases four kids who sit on the grass while an ice cream truck drives by. They start to chase it and eventually run out of breath.

Even in popular fast food chains like McDonalds and Wendy's, we are starting to see more healthier choices on the menu. In 2003, McDonalds introduced three entree-sized salads into their menu. These salads include your choice of crispy or grilled chicken, two sides of vegetables and in 2005, a fruit and a walnut was added. This fulfills the 2.5 servings of fruit recommended for adults.

So back to the issue about taxing sugared drinks. Governor David Patterson proposed this issue for an 'obesity tax' which puts a 15% tax on soft drinks (not including diet drinks). This puts a $1 worth of Coke, to $1.15. By putting on extra tax for pop and other sugary drinks, Patterson is hoping many New Yorkers would slowly cease the habit of buying pop. Let's say I lived in New York just for the purpose of the article. As a junk food lover, I would not like seeing taxes being put on sugary drinks and chips. If this were to happen, I would of course eat less junk food, while saving money, and I would be contributing to the net gain of around $404 million a year, if not more. In theory, putting on the additional tax is a good idea. But in reality, it doesn't work. Some people who are 'addicted' to pop will find a way to access it for cheaper prices. This may lead to underground markets and more of 'bootleg' pop.

Some individuals have spoken out against the flaws of this potential tax. The American Beverage Association said, "It makes no sense to single out one food product as the cause for obesity." In a way, this statement is true. But I also think the Association said this was to defend their company. If the number of people who constantly buy pop were to decrease, the ABA would not make any money. In fact, they would be losing money. If worse comes to worse, they may even become bankrupt. But will putting on taxes will solve the problem? If it was a necessity to put on an additional tax, employees working for the ABA would lose their jobs. Much like the fact they cannot close down nicotine factories because thousands of people would lose their jobs.

To back up Governor David Patterson, the President of the United States, Barrack Obama agrees with this proposal. He states, "It's an idea we should be exploring. There's no doubt that our kids drink way too much soda. And every study that's been done about obesity shows that there is a high correlation between increased soda consumption and obesity as just about anything else." Again, if you think outside the box, Barrack Obama would want the best for the country. By putting on an extra tax on a can of pop, the number of people who buy pop will increase, which means there will be some extra money. With the extra money, the government can use it for health care and other necessities. On an online poll, 88% disagreed with President Obama that a tax should be put on sodas and other sugary drinks.

This kind of campaign does not necesairly scare me. Of course, I love chips and pop, and all kinds of junk food, but if the government decides to put on a tax, then it's decided. What's done is done. All I can do is buy less pop. First of all, it's healthier, and they government can use the extra money to cover up the cost of the health care system. (Again we pretend we're living in the United States). But in my opinion, it will be effective. People will buy less pop, more money will be saved, more money comes back to the citizens. But on the other hand, it will not make me become a 'healthier' person. Just because pop is taxed, there are also other factors that can result to being unhealthy. For example spending your day sleeping, eating, and sitting on the couch, getting no exercise. Oh! Might as well tell the governement, to pile up our bills with extra taxes because we don't get enough exercise.

I think that the growing obesity in our nation is not an epidemic of large proportions. Sure, eating unhealthily could result to weight gain, but have you noticed? As the years pass, people are getting fatter and fatter ... for the lack of using a better word. This is mainly because technology has improved quite drastically. We can do things more quicker than we did before. This results in laziness. Even Bob Harper, the trainer for the American reality show, The Biggest Loser, said each time a new season starts, they receive contestants who are bigger than before.

The video listed is somewhat over exaggerated. No person with some sense in their head would drink something that looks like pasta-gone-wrong-and-looks-like-molasses. The facts are indeed scary, but this makes it effective. It scares the viewer into thinking that we they should stop drinking so much unnecessary pop.

If this new additional tax follows through, there is a chance that pop and chips can be taxed here in Canada. If this happens, thousands of Canadians will slowly decrease their consumption of pop, including me. But this won't stop me (or other Canadians for that matter) from buying pop. Sure, we may consume less, but it is a lifestyle many Canadians (and Americans!). It is hard to just cut off an addiction, much like nicotine.

4 Comments:

haha, bootleg pop... i don't think that would happen, but it's a funny thought. i agree with what you said though, i don't think this taxing pop would actually work. Taxes on pop probably won't change anything.I don't think they should single out a single product and blame it for obesity.

By  Kyle Tran (CrocoKyle), at February 1, 2010 at 7:11 AM  

Honestly, if Supersize me didn't get me to stop eating McDonald's, I don't think anything can make me stop drinking pop. So, taxing pop, I don't think it's really a solution. Anyways, I hope I don't end up on The Biggest Loser. :) Although if I keep on at my diet, yeah... I'll be a TV star in no time!

By  Joan Padaloy, at February 10, 2010 at 9:05 PM  

I agree fully, Whatever happened to us kids drinking chocolate milk or having the milk program at school. And McDonald's isn't that bad for you but when you eat it constantly its hazardous.

By  BLUKERS, at February 18, 2010 at 11:23 AM  

What you say is true. I also don't think taxing pop will work. People would continue to buy it because it tastes good. I personally think taxing pop is not such a great idea. Why single out one product when there are so many others that are just as unhealthy? We should follow better diets instead of increasing the price on something and hoping no one buys it. There are many alternatives to pop such as water or orange juice. Pop dehydrates you anyways. I don’t think taxing pop will make a difference to numerous people. Some just love pop and they’ll continue buying it.

By  DI, at March 28, 2010 at 7:11 PM  

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Okay, let's paint this scene in our heads. After school, you come home, grab a snack and sit in front of the computer. You immediately go to tumblr and see your friend post a picture of Selena Gomez. "Wow," you think, "she looks so pretty in that picture. How did she get her hair to get that beautiful curl? Her arms looks so soft! How is it possible that she's that gorgeous when she's only a little big older than me!"

Ads of celebrities tend to make them look gorgeous as if they weren't human. When we, just normal people in society, look at these pictures, right away we think: "How come I don't look like that? Does this mean I'm not pretty? Do others think I'm hideous?" Don't hate on yourself. Simple, it's called Photoshop. Photoshop takes this original picture and edits them to make the subject look even more beautiful than they already are. Not only Photoshop, but makeup does the job too! Using only simple cosmetics like eyeliner, eye shadow, mascara, foundation, etc you are able to change an ordinary face to a superhuman model. Check these out.
That was Angelina Jolie, and Miley Cyrus ...... without makeup. I can't say they're not pretty, but you can tell how much of a difference it is by putting on makeup, and no makeup.

With Photoshop, it's completely different. You're taking an original image (let's say a person), and you're editing the picture until it's someone completely different. Ads that use editing programs like these play with our minds. We think we know what we're seeing, when in reality, it's not really like that. Although, truth be told, I do like the edited pictures better, but don't get me wrong. I find it sad how they have to manipulate and alter the original images to sell their product or whatever they're advertising. It's as if they were saying "the original person is not good enough, we must change the picture to look more delightful so more people can buy our product!" When one company thinks that way, the others start to follow. Soon it is a competition between companies using their so called 'beautiful, altered' models. Between all this commotion about whose pretty and whose not, if you were to put a picture like the one on the left, compared to the one at the bottom, the company who used the picture at the bottom would definitely have more people buying their product just because the edited picture is more attractive. After seeing these Photoshopped images in ads, we really believe there are people who have flawless skin exist while people with human flaws do not live up to the high standards of these goddesses.

This all changes in September 2009, when photographer Peter Lindbergh did a photoshoot with nine models with no makeup, and no editing images on Photoshop. In these nine pictures, I can sense the picture giving off a 'purity' vibe. It changes the whole trend of "you-have-to-be-beautiful-in-order-to-be-famous." It gave me the impression that even normal people can be famous, or can be important enough to be covered on a magazine spread. I was also proud of what Peter decided to do. He did what not a lot of people would do. This reminds me of the song Fallin' For You by Colbie Caillat. It is indeed a love song, talking about a girl falling in love with a boy. BUT Colbie Caillat, like Peter, went against the "you-have-to-beautiful-in-order-to-be-famous-trend" and chose a normal guy with a normal life to be her actor.

When I see a magazine where they use 'normal' people my first reaction would be surprised. This is because I'm not used to seeing 'normal' people on a magazine spread page. It is usually someone extremely pretty (makeup+Photoshop editing). And then, I would feel happy and proud that the writer chose to put the spotlight on a 'normal' person.

Click here for the Glamour Magazine feature on their Plus Sized Models

5 Comments:

Your entry was very entertaining and imformative. It's so true that Photoshop can be used in a way to make people in the society think that they aren't beautiful. It's unfortunate but I do agree that it's a great thing that some are finally stepping up to the plate and saying that it needs to stop.

By  Sarah B., at January 18, 2010 at 7:42 PM  

Your post was really straight to the point. I completely agree with you - photo editors of magazines overuse Photoshop to manipulate the original pictures of these models (who are already very pretty) and make them look as flawless as possible. After seeing the before and after pictures of some photoshopped images, I was beyond surprised. I knew that magazines manipulated the photos they put in advertisements, but I had no clue it was this much. I, too think think that the photo shoot which Peter Lingbergh did would help make a change in what we would considered "beautiful".

By  Karennn (:, at February 1, 2010 at 7:29 PM  

I really enjoyed reading your post, it was very informative and opinionated. I completely agree that photo-shop is a used way too often and it confuses the society about what true beauty is. All those photo-shopped images look very nice indeed, very clean, fresh and spotless and that's what makes them so fake. In reality no one would ever look like that, no one is perfect like that. So people need to understand the differences between what is real beauty and what is not.

By  Jodi, at February 10, 2010 at 10:45 PM  

I totally agree with your perspective on how the celebrities in the media can play a role in a normal humans brain. It is true that many times when a person looks at celebrities they always end up trying to alter themselves to look like them. I think people need to realize that the celebrities have a load of makeup caked on to their face, and plus when the photo shoot comes along, their faces and bodies get photo shopped. I think everyone should be satisfied with what they look like, and shouldn't try to alter themselves because of celebrities.

By  Shanika, at April 25, 2010 at 9:25 AM  

Hey Debbie!
I really enjoyed reading your post. I like how you took the topic and reflected it on your reaction of what will happen when you see both the photoshopped and non- photoshopped images. I like what you said about turning the orginal picture into a complete different picture. It makes me think that the society should really focus more on true beauty rather than what we see in the 'fake' images. Nice post.

By  !Cindy, at May 31, 2010 at 8:53 PM  

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I remember when I was younger, I would always beg my parents for a handheld video game console. First it was a Gameboy Colour, then Gameboy SP, then a DS, DS Lite, PSP, until I finally learned that no matter how much I begged, my parents were never going to buy me one. (I still remember going to my cousin's house and asking to borrow her GameBoy Light even though it was clearly outdated even at that time. I was just happy I was playing with one). One day, for my 12th birthday, I convinced my parents to buy me a Nintendo GameCube because my best friend had one. Then if I bought one, we could trade games and we could play together. So my parents bought one, and for around a month or so, the GameCube was incredibly fun. I bought game after game, beating level after level ................ until it got boring. I could predict what was going to happen. I had a game called The Incredibles based on the Pixar movie. And after passing 3, 4 levels or so, I knew I went the right way if there were more villains for me to attack. Slowly but surely, I became uninterested in the GameCube. (The GameCube still currently sits on my tv stand collecting dust.) After experiencing the GameBoy Light and the GameCube, I started getting more involved on the internet. There were online games on the internet where you can play with people from across the world. I was so wow'd by this, I immediately signed up for the game called Runescape. It was a game where you can pick a job, fight monsters, chat with friends, and trade customizable items with each other. I became addicted to this game. At school I would be thinking about how to get past a certain part in the game, or how to finish this mission I have yet to complete. This was all until I realized there was no point into playing games like these. All you're doing is leveling up your character in an online fantasy when in the real world you could be doing more important (and healthy!) things. Over the past few years, technology has certainly improved: graphics are much better, colours are more enhanced, even characters are more lifelike. Take in NBA2k10 for example. The players in the game are so lifelike, it's shocking to see how much technology has improved from the the original 2D Mario. The below two images are both pictures of Kobe Bryant. The left one is the character in the game, and the right one is the real life Kobe Bryant. Look alike?









Originally, video games like these were made for entertainment. Some parents didn't like buying video games for their kids was because they thought some games may be violent, and you would pick up these bad habits. Other parents thought if you played a lot you would need to wear glasses. Some parents thought, "If we buy the game for our kids, maybe I'll get some time to rest."

Throughout the ages, technology has improved, and certainly, video games have also improved. Today, many people around the world are maintaining a healthy lifestyle. This was how the Wii came to be. The Wii is a video game console that uses a a censor controller so you can control how you want your player to move in the game. For example, if you were playing boxing, you would be swinging your arms and your character would swing the same way. This provides not only exercise for you, but you would also be entertained.

In my opinion, I think these games have gone both beneficial and detrimental to you. Games like Wii Fit are beneficial because not only are you entertained, but you also are working out and getting exercise. But certain games can be more harmful to you. Games like Call of Duty and Killzone can be harmful because these games are based on the army and war, and it may cause a problem to some players who might take it too seriously. It may lead to extreme violence in reality.

1 Comments:

I think that new generations are replacing human contact and real life experience with virtual reality, that is the sad part of it. But honestly our generation has become lazy compared to previous generations. Our generation has more freedom compared to back then. We have more things now to occupy our lives like games, but there are times where they over occupy your life. I agree with your last statement... videos games can get addictive and seriously affect your life. You can get violent, i think its because more people are vulnerable nowadays.

By  ChristaFX, at March 30, 2010 at 6:31 PM  

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After visiting the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty website, I couldn't help but agree with the message it brings. Everyday we are attacked by propaganda in media we do not stop and think about it. It is as if it's natural for us to be bombarded with different types of messages. This leads to many girls of different ages wondering if they're pretty enough. Girls wonder if they have the perfect body stature, if they have big boobs, or tight butts. If their clothes are fashionable, if they can fit into size 0 pants. Many girls (and even guys!) wear brand-name clothing because the media presents the brands using the advertising technique of snob appeal. "If you wear this brand, you will look cool and wealthy." Often girls would apply on makeup to make their eyes look bigger, or to hide certain features of yourself. Features you aren't proud of. Features you don't want anyone to see because you are afraid of what people will think about you. Some people who are not proud of who they are may lead to depression. Cutting, vomiting, suicide.
In my opinion, the Dove Campaign for Real Beauty is a huge success. It is great that they are putting an action towards this media madness. It is important to tell everyone (not only girls), that we are beautiful in our own special way. This is how God made us to be. We are all unique.

The Axe Effect Campaign to me is a joke. Can a bottle of body spray really attract women and have them pounce on you like there's no tomorrow? Making you smell better will not attract women. Usually, it's personality. What about Axe that appeals to me are their commercials. I find that their commercials are very exaggerated but that is what makes them funny. For example, there was one Axe commercial where they were advertising Axe Dry Anti-Perspirant. This ad wasn't one of their usuals, where women are running across miles and miles of terrain to pounce on this guy, but it was about a guy who sweats a lot who repels a lot of people. The advertisement shows him sweating literally fountains of water. It was indeed quite hilarious.

Surprisingly, both Axe and Dove are under the same parent company. I think it's important the parent company delivers the same message. By giving mixed messages, to me, it kind of is like you're telling society you can't make up your mind. This is a huge problem because Dove and Axe are both huge companies. Not delivering the same message may later on cause difficulties and problems to the public.

2 Comments:

Oh my gosh! At first i was looking through the pictures on this post and I'm like what kind of writing material is the writing on? Then when i looked closer i noticed that they were legs! That has cuts on it as writing! Kind of saddening more then scary. And i totally agree with you that Dove does seem to be making an impact. Unfortunately I haven't noticed any Dove commercials in a while. Like on T.V or even on billboards or whatever. I hope they will continue soon. And I don't know why people say axe smells good... to me it smells ok. Until it's over powering. Hee hee.

By  Par: Shelby et Kristianne, at January 27, 2010 at 4:10 PM  

I agree with this entire post. The dove comaign is definately a step in the right direction. Females (epecially the younger generations) need to realize that this ~flawless beauty~ that the media throws at them isnt even real. That everyone has flaws, and it's okay to have them. Hopefully, through this campaign, many have been more accepting to who they are instead of obsessing on what they "should" be.

Along with the axe campaign, I completely agree. They aren't meant to be taken seriously, therefore i wont take the seriously. As easy as that.

By  Ashley, at March 7, 2010 at 11:40 PM  

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Ads, or advertisements, are used usually to promote something. Some ads may be influential or inspirational. But some ads are really 'out-of-the-blue'. They may be offensive, or just plain random. For example, take a look at the following ad:

This ad was probably made quite awhile ago, maybe 50 or 60 years back. But the funny thing about this advertisement is what they were trying to promote. In the ad, there is a lady who is craving the mountain of food below her. And to fix this problem, the advertisers are promoting 'tape worms'. To me, that just sounds extremely gross. I mean, who would want to eat worms for dinner?

In my opinion, I think in the olden days, this was the kind of propaganda used to promote different diets. Instead of eating all this food beneath the lady's feet, tape worms were introduced to stop one's desire's from these enormous cravings. In the past there were actually such things as tapeworm pills which are used to help you lose weight. Tape worms can reach to about 20 feet, and they eat almost anything. A 1900s poster (possibly this one) was used to promote tapeworm pills. The idea revolved around the fact that the tapeworms would ingest the food before you could gain weight.

Today, there are a lot of different diets out there for everyone to try. Many nutritionists are out there to help you, along with personal trainers. There is even a reality show on tv about weight loss. I tune in every tuesday to watch The Biggest Loser on NBC. The show is about a group of obese people who are in a weight loss training camp, and their goal is to of course lose weight, and also learn how to be healthy.

Some of these ads: ...

are quite amusing actually. Like that first one, promoting Tipalet. I'm assuming it's a cigarette brand, and it gives out a special scent when you breathe?! It reminds me of the modern day Axe commercial. There is a boy who smells, whose also repelling the ladies, and when he uses Axe, all the ladies just magically come towards him. In the second poster, they're promoting a cigarette brand called Camel, and in their slogan, it says: 'More doctors smoke CAMELS than any other cigarette. This advertisement's funny because it sounds like doctors are actually smoking camels, as in the animal, and it's impossible for that to happen.

To me, these ads are trying to get into people's heads about 'how to get the perfect you'. The perfect you. Meaning, skinny, following all the latest trends, etc. "If you smoke this cigarette, you're one of the coolest people in town." Or "if you eat tape worms, you'll be the skinniest girl in your whole class". But in reality, these messages aren't true. You can be cool whether you're smoking or not. It all depends on what you want other people to be thinking about you. How you want to 'fit in'.

3 Comments:

Yeah, I found it weird how the tapeworm advertisement was basically saying, "Hey! You can eat all you want! Well, as long as they're tapeworms! Yummm".
I agree, not only are these ads trying to sell us their product, they're also trying to sell us this certain image.

By  Angeli, at February 11, 2010 at 7:30 AM  

I think my reaction was the same as yours. Creepy right? I was thinking, what person in the right mind would ever believe these advertisements. Especially the ad about losing weight using tapeworms was just gross. TAPEWORMS. I think the media world has lost its mind. That was the most creepiest to me. I think that technique that company was using was not that effective.

Larissa Sequeira Section: 02 Arturi

By  Anonymous, at February 22, 2010 at 7:37 PM  

When I first saw these advertisements, my reaction was quite similar to yours. Who would eat tapeworms?! Yuck. The other 3 advertisements were quite funny as well. Although the message of these ads are a bit ridiculous, I can't say much about it, since it was made so long ago, back when they didn't realize how unhealthy the products they were advertising were and the negative message it was spreading. Hopefully, when we look back at the ads today, we won't have the same reaction as we did with these ads.

By  Veronica, at March 22, 2010 at 6:43 PM  

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Once upon a time, Google decided drive around different cities with a 360 degree video camera propped on top of their van to take images of the area. When they were done, they put all the images together to make a 360 degree map and Google Street View was launched on October 7th 2009.

On October 8th 2009, I was sitting in Comm. Tech with a few of my buds. My friend, (we'll call her S for now), looked over and saw one of my fellow classmates playing with the new Google application called Google Street View. S looked up her own personal address. To her surprise she saw her own mom right in front of the computer screen! Amazed, I looked up my own address. Extremely relieved, I was glad I could only see the front side of my house. When I looked over to my neighbour's house, I could see him walking out of his house getting ready to go to work! We all laughed about it and agreed it was the pure stalker tool.

In my opinion, I think it's a great thing that technology has become such a huge impact in our lives. Years ago, the first camera was nothing but a box of wood. Now, camera's can have a 360 degree angle. Such a simple application, it can seem like you're traveling in time to the same exact place. But, the downside is this new Google Street View can be invading people's privacy. We can't do anything now without having to think twice that camera's are all around us and can videotape what we're doing. When I was looking at the street view of my address, I could clearly tell Google did not do a good job with blurring out faces and license plates. I can see my neighbour's license plate, his face, and 3 people's faces who just got out of their car. Sure, this device can be very simple to use, but what if someone were to use it for inappropriate reasons. For example, to stalk people. They can easily find out how you look like, where you live, and may just come up to your door right this moment!

The original Google Earth idea was already very advanced in technology. You could search up a street and see buildings and cars. By elaborating, Google Street View was designed. With it, you can not only see buildings and cars, but you can see inside windows, and alleyways, and even real people! So in the end, I think this new Google Street View application was not a good idea. It invades people's privacy and IT'S JUST PLAIN CREEPY!

4 Comments:

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By  dreeebbie, at January 25, 2010 at 1:47 PM  

I agree with you when you say that the application is an invasion of privacy, but at the same time, I can't say that I think it's a bad idea. It's a really helpful and fascinating application, and I guess a little less privacy is just the price that we'll have to pay for such an amazing innovation. You're right when you say that they did a bad job of protecting our privacy though. While I was playing around with it, I also found that there were a lot of faces and license plates that weren't blurred at all!

By  marychiu., at March 17, 2010 at 8:46 PM  

Haha, good thing I didn't see anyone in my family either.That's just way too creepy! Even with the faces blurred, if you know that person, you can still tell it's them!

By  Anonymous, at April 3, 2010 at 12:21 PM  

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