Sunday, January 30, 2011
#2 - Music
Music has always had a special part in my life. Growing up in the 80s and 90s exposed me to an intricate variety of music that became the foundation of what I still listen to this day. Even though now I have incorporated more of a range on my music preference to include classic rock of the 60s and 70s, I am not a big fan of today's music. I am a huge believer that music "artists" today are only focused on one thing and one thing only, money. That said, people now will record whatever the record executives want them to do just to get their check and not even realize the effects it will have on whatever fans they might have. And with the digital age, music has never been so dangerous as it is now. Trends and opinions can be forced upon the masses in a matter of days. It's kind of scary when you think about it. But does that mean I reject the digital form music has taken? Not necessarily. I really enjoy being able to have thousands of songs to choose from in a device that can be taken anywhere. I'm talking of course about an iPod. I have three iPods so that no matter where I might be, I can have something to listen to. One stays in my wife's car, one attached to the alarm clock, and another with me all times. Most of the time that I am out of the house, I have music playing. I installed an interface in my car so that I can listen to it through my radio. When I'm on campus, I have it playing as well. I don't think of it as I'm trying to escape the world when I walk around with my headphones on, but I do like the fact that I can have a soundtrack to my life. Especially depending on the way that I feel that day directly effects what kind of music I listen to. I really don't like walking to class all bummed out, so throw a little Stayin Alive by the Bee Gees on and I don't think anybody can walk out of tune to that song and it instantly gets me up. Yeah the Bee Gees might be a little outdated, but I have yet to find any kind of song that can do that made in the past 15 years. I'll be more than happy to exchange Justin Bieber for Buddy Holly anyday.
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
B.A. #1
WELCOME EVERYONE!! Thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my new blog.
To start things off, my attitude and feelings about communication technology is probably drastically different from most people. I used to be a person that had to try to have the latest and greatest, which usually resulted with an awesome amount of debt. But now, not so much. It isn't because of the debt issue but I just don't let technology control my life anymore. And when I say control, this is what I feel this nation is coming to. Any new technology that comes out is only "new" and up-to-date for a couple years, if that. Then you must purchase more upgrades or by something new altogether because the corporations make it seem as if life cannot exist without their products. These corporations have conditioned society to buy whenever and whatever they tell them to, regardless of whether they can afford it or not. And for what? To make our lives more manageable and to save us time? I don't think so Jack! If these great products saved time, why do most people continually say that they don't have time to do anything? "Not enough time in the day", they say. These are the people that continue to purchase things that they don't need in hoping that they will have more time, or they continue to waste their time with boredom-killing "amusement" like Facebook, moronic TV shows, and video games. These folks are sadly mistaken and it's a shame that most of the country feels that they can't live without their materialistic lifestyles. Would it be fair to say that there are some people that are addicted to technology (computers, video games, etc.)? Could there be a hidden reason as to why these corporations would want society addicted to technology? And another interesting take on things, all this seems like a plot to continue to keep the nation in debt because unless you just hit the lottery or are in elite status, most charge these technology products and try to pay a ridiculous interest rate which most can't do, hence the fact that we will continue to see a nation increasing in debt.
Now, with that being said I'm sure that the opinions are starting to form in your brains about this particular blogger but please understand that I only try to get people thinking outside of the illusion that most of us live in. There has to be some people that are skeptical and refuse to believe most of everything that is relayed through communication technology and I am one of those people. So... onto one of the most accessible commercial technologies of all....Radio.
When I think about radio and the use of radio by me or anyone else that I might know, it seems pretty depressing. I hardly know anyone that listens to the radio daily, or at all. My wife listens sometimes just to check out what new songs are out, then it's back to the iPod. For the past 7 years, that is all I have listened to in my car is my iPod. I remember the time during my youth that I would sit next to my boombox with a cassette ready to record the next song on the radio that I liked so I could make my own mixtapes to listen to on the walk to the bus stop. Now, the few times, and I mean few times that I listen to the radio is usually when I have to leave somewhere that had a U of L game on and I want to listen to it on the way home. I use to get sick when I was in the car with my grandfather and he was listening to AM stations, but now I find myself doing the exact same thing. Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? As far as the future of radio goes, I think it is difficult to predict. There are still some older generations that still rock out to the oldies, but with Generations X and Y and the advances in Mp3 devices, I can see radio fading out like newspapers. On the other hand, I can see radio putting up a fight. With only a handful of corporations owning all the media outlets, including radio, competition could decline or cease altogether within the next 50 years or sooner. I mean after all these corporations keep buying each other until it's just one giant Global corporation controlling all the outlets, we will only be able to listen to what they want us to listen to. More cars are coming equipped with Mp3 interfaces already installed in the console, so this could be a glimpse of things to come as radio is gradually being taken over by advanced technology.
To start things off, my attitude and feelings about communication technology is probably drastically different from most people. I used to be a person that had to try to have the latest and greatest, which usually resulted with an awesome amount of debt. But now, not so much. It isn't because of the debt issue but I just don't let technology control my life anymore. And when I say control, this is what I feel this nation is coming to. Any new technology that comes out is only "new" and up-to-date for a couple years, if that. Then you must purchase more upgrades or by something new altogether because the corporations make it seem as if life cannot exist without their products. These corporations have conditioned society to buy whenever and whatever they tell them to, regardless of whether they can afford it or not. And for what? To make our lives more manageable and to save us time? I don't think so Jack! If these great products saved time, why do most people continually say that they don't have time to do anything? "Not enough time in the day", they say. These are the people that continue to purchase things that they don't need in hoping that they will have more time, or they continue to waste their time with boredom-killing "amusement" like Facebook, moronic TV shows, and video games. These folks are sadly mistaken and it's a shame that most of the country feels that they can't live without their materialistic lifestyles. Would it be fair to say that there are some people that are addicted to technology (computers, video games, etc.)? Could there be a hidden reason as to why these corporations would want society addicted to technology? And another interesting take on things, all this seems like a plot to continue to keep the nation in debt because unless you just hit the lottery or are in elite status, most charge these technology products and try to pay a ridiculous interest rate which most can't do, hence the fact that we will continue to see a nation increasing in debt.
Now, with that being said I'm sure that the opinions are starting to form in your brains about this particular blogger but please understand that I only try to get people thinking outside of the illusion that most of us live in. There has to be some people that are skeptical and refuse to believe most of everything that is relayed through communication technology and I am one of those people. So... onto one of the most accessible commercial technologies of all....Radio.
When I think about radio and the use of radio by me or anyone else that I might know, it seems pretty depressing. I hardly know anyone that listens to the radio daily, or at all. My wife listens sometimes just to check out what new songs are out, then it's back to the iPod. For the past 7 years, that is all I have listened to in my car is my iPod. I remember the time during my youth that I would sit next to my boombox with a cassette ready to record the next song on the radio that I liked so I could make my own mixtapes to listen to on the walk to the bus stop. Now, the few times, and I mean few times that I listen to the radio is usually when I have to leave somewhere that had a U of L game on and I want to listen to it on the way home. I use to get sick when I was in the car with my grandfather and he was listening to AM stations, but now I find myself doing the exact same thing. Isn't it ironic? Don't you think? As far as the future of radio goes, I think it is difficult to predict. There are still some older generations that still rock out to the oldies, but with Generations X and Y and the advances in Mp3 devices, I can see radio fading out like newspapers. On the other hand, I can see radio putting up a fight. With only a handful of corporations owning all the media outlets, including radio, competition could decline or cease altogether within the next 50 years or sooner. I mean after all these corporations keep buying each other until it's just one giant Global corporation controlling all the outlets, we will only be able to listen to what they want us to listen to. More cars are coming equipped with Mp3 interfaces already installed in the console, so this could be a glimpse of things to come as radio is gradually being taken over by advanced technology.
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