I had to post it too.

Library Audiobooks

I'm struggling with library audiobook selection. Everything that I want to read there is not something available for a Mac Computer. I've downloaded programs and all these things to get it to play and it still will not download. Even for a book that I don't want to read. I cannot figure it out. I've tried BYU, Provo, and Sacramento Libraries. LAME. I guess I'm actually going to have to put forth the effort to read a book instead of listen to one. I was hoping I could wash the dishes at the same time. Oh how I rely on media to fulfill all of my immediate needs. How ridiculous? I think I am going to take Kaylee's suggestion to go on a media fast sometime. Maybe during finals it would help me out. I would do it for the whole month of April if I could convince my husband.

Happy.

So I got to watch it! Yes. I love watching the real thing instead of the live feed. Also, I knew some of the stuff before it was actually shown on TV. I don't know if that is good or bad.

Sad.

I'm so sad because my husband is using the TV to show his brother some home videos and I want to watch the Ice Skating finals. Maybe this is a sign that I should be working on my midterm. Ahhhhh. I can only watch a live feed online. That is nothing compared to actually watching them skate. It is right before the last group of women skaters. What can I do? Nothing. Lame. I want to at least watch the American girl and the top 3 so basically all of them. GEEEE!

Who would have thought?

That curling was exciting? I watched curling on Friday night for over an hour and I was so into the sport. I still don't really understand what they are saying, or why you would ever want to play. However, it was so fun to pick a team and want them to win. It was also fun to look on Wiki to actually find out what the objective is of the game. I'm still unsure of many of the rules, but it was so interesting to watch the strategy. If you ever get the chance to watch it... I would at least attempt to watch one round. I found it intriguing.

Entertainment Theory

We talked about entertainment theory in my media effects class today. It isn't actually a theory, but it is an idea (many theories) about how entertainment media effects an audience. We talked about how we perceive and respond to media characters. I started to reflect on how I feel about Brennen and Booth. I really love them. "Why," you ask? We should all think about why we like and relate to media characters.

I like them because... they are predictable, they are fun, and they NEVER LET ME DOWN. I always know what they are going to do and I feel like I don't have to guess how to interact with them. I could probably tell you what they would each do in various situations. I know that I will laugh when I'm with them. I also know that they will succeed in their endeavors to catch the bad guys. Compared to real life where everything is unpredictable and you don't always win, Brennen and Booth always pull through for me.

We also talked about television and arousal which I semi posted about when I talked about crying during commercials and the Olympics. However, we also talked about mood management theory and I truly believe that media is strictly used to manage our moods. Why do you think we ask, "What do you feel like watching?" Even when I use media to check the weather it is usually because I want to anticipate what to wear so I'm not annoyed if I am too cold.

The last thing we talked about was empathy. Are women or men more vulnerable to media effects because of their ability to empathize? What are the effects of massive exposure to emotionally charged images? I don't really know the answer to the second question, but I'm going to be thinking about it and hopefully discovering how I feel about emotionally charged images. Please post links to any images that were emotionally charged for you (anything that evokes emotion for you, keep it appropriate) in your comments.

Tears.

I'm pretty sure I cry when anything exciting, inspiring, sad, etc (ANYTHING) comes on television. I tear up when someone gets into the top 24 on American Idol. I tear up when someone doesn't make it. I tear up when I see someone so proud after a race, performance, etc when they are smiling so big. I tear up when they play the national anthem. I tear up when Visa does those Olympic commercials. GeeeMinnie! I cannot even believe the media does this to me.

I'M PRETTY SURE IT IS THE MUSIC THAT ACTUALLY INFLUENCES MY EMOTIONS MORE THAN I KNOW.

Book Assignment

I know this sounds lame, but I don’t think I had a favorite book as a child or adolescent. I didn’t really read very much. Two of the books I remember (which I assume means they were favorites) are Chicka Chicka Boom Boom and Go Dogs Go. Chicka Chicka Boom Boom was a book about the alphabet. The letters were all trying to get up into a palm tree. As each of the letters went up the tree the would say, “Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, Will there be enough room?”


I’m not sure why I liked this book. I loved the rhyming and clever ideas for the letter, but I think I most of all remember and liked when my dad read it to me. He would get so into reading the book with such passion. Its not the most thrilling book, but when he would read it I remember laughing and saying it along with him. I also remember that with Go Dogs Go. That book was always so fun to read with my dad and I also remember reading both of these books to my younger siblings and having fun with them.

I am also unsure what my favorite book is right now. All I read are textbooks, and I currently do not consider them favorites. I recently just finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows.

I don’t know if it is my favorite, but I did love listening to it and I could hardly put it down. This book is the last in the Harry Potter series and it is about Harry and his friends trying to defeat Voldemort. I think this book interested me because I had seen all of the previous movies and wanted to know more information about Horcruxes. I loved the book because it made reference to events from the previous six books and it was always exciting. I also loved it because I could do the dishes and listen at the same time. It made housework much more enjoyable.

I think the biggest impact that both of these books had on my life is the fact that reading can be for fun and not just for learning. Since reading Harry Potter I’ve tried to find different audio books that I can listen and enjoy while also going to school. I’ve realized that reading or listening for fun can reduce the stress of school and provide productive entertainment (i.e. listening and doing the dishes). By reading Harry Potter I’ve regained the desire to read for pleasure just a bit more. I don’t know if I’ll ever get back to it until after school ends, but I sure want to start reading more.

Lacking of Posts

I just realized that last week was the first week that I only posted once. It must have been a bad week. (It was! Ahhh!) Ironically, I didn't post my book assignment. So, I will do that next. This week I will try to do better. With the Olympics on I feel like I am watching much more television than I usually do. I've really enjoyed some of the Coke commercials (the snowball fight posted below). I've also noticed my own analysis of advertisements and coverage of the Olympics beginning to be more detailed than ever before.

Qualitative Reserach I saw in the Media

Yesterday I watched Oprah while I was doing the dishes. She had an Australian woman on the show who has her PhD in Anthropology. Here is some information about her.

Fiona Graham was born in Australia and has a PhD from Oxford. She attended high school and college in Japan, and returned as an anthropological filmmaker years later to study geisha. "In order to research geisha, I really needed to become one," she says. "It started out as a documentary proposal. But as time went on, it got more serious and in depth, and I decided to continue."

Now Sayuki, she is the only white woman to ever become a full-fledged geisha in Japan.

This started out as a documentary, qualitative research, but has turned into her lifestyle. The geisha culture is private and no one can just come into that culture. She trained for three years to be a geisha!

"Lisa says what Sayuki has accomplished is quite incredible. "[Tokyo] is one of the most hypermodern futuristic cities in the world, but she's existing in 17th-century Japan," she says. "It's pretty extraordinary that she's able to do that."

Sayuki says she's proud to bring a touch of the ancient art of geisha to the modern world. "I think it's a good thing for geisha to be more involved in the center of modern life and more visible to young Japanese women today."

She said that she plans to live the life of a geisha for a long time. She may never finish her "research" because she enjoys the lifestyle.

I just thought it was an interesting story because she integrates herself into this culture and is learning and being accepted as she continues. (Sorry if this doesn't make any sense.) You can find the story on Oprah.com. I'm also advertising for Oprah just like they want me to when the announce that they can find the story on their website. INFORMATION IS EVERYWHERE!

Emotional.

Are you kidding? I cried through the last 30min of Remember the Titans. I could not stop. It is amazing how the music and the media just get you. I've seen this move a million times, I'm pretty sure I knew what was going to happen. Yet I still am crying like a baby. RIGHT NOW!

Bones Again.

I watched 6 episodes of BONES on Saturday and I loved every minute. I also played this new game called Monopoly Deal. I've realized that media is a HUGE part of my life. It is either the computer, the TV, or just thinking about classes on a daily basis. It is always there.