T.O Architectural Buildings

If your office was supported by pencils at the AGO, would you feel scared?

Wonder how they got this car to look like its coming out of the Chum building in Toronto..

Sit down, relax and people watch in Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.

We stand in the middle of the city and are still surrounded with many buildings.

Walk by this building and you could probably see behind you.

Toronto's buildings kiss the sky.
The Old City Hall in Toronto looks outdated but very artistic.
Watch commercials infront of the Chapters building across the Chum building.
In Toronto they combine many architectural features to create something new.
You can see this building if you go in the centre of Nathan Phillips Square in Toronto.
A very long and old bulding with a clock tower in front of Nathan Phillips Square.
On the side of a library in Toronto.

Reflection

On Wednesday May 21, some of the students from Orchard Park went to the CHUM building in Toronto to experience a hour on live television. We got to see most of the crew who work to make the show what it is and how it appears on television. The director was J.P. I thought he was not important at all. But he does tell what is going to happen next to the control room lady. When we went, I just saw him talking to girls and not interacting with the other members. I'm so sure that is not in his job discription. People didn't really notice him either.

The floor director was Kwami. He was interacting with the hosts, the camera guys and audience. I think his job is more important then J.P's.

I think they planned the show before we were there and they have been doing this show a long time. I think they have experience from past shows. There are other people who are infront of many television screens monitoring the show and what happens. I also saw some people talking, maybe it was their break.

During commercials the hosts gets on or off the stage to practice and some took pictures with dying fans. A lot of them relaxed. It felt very rushed. I thought during the breaks there was alot of people running around. I thought it was fun watching the show and everything that happenes between commercials. I definatly think this would be a very exciting place to work because they environment feels like everyone is doing something important and not just sitting around.

Is That Really Me?

There are many progams now that can change the way you look. It can make you look younger, smaller, taller, skinnier or however you want to look like. Even if it doesn't look like you anymore. Why do poeple want to change themselves to look a certain way. It's not like you look like that for real, so what's the point.

Photo Manipulation is starting to go the wrong way. Sometimes you can't even tell if the picture you are looking at is real or not. Photo journalists are suppose to tell the truth with their pictures, but once you changed the picture, it's a lie. "...journalists should not intentionally deceive their audience." If you are going to change the photo make sure it is clear why you are doing this and where. The audience can easily be misleaded and make up their own opinions about the picture.

In the summer 1994, two magazines came out with a photo of O.J Simpson's mug shot on the cover of their magazines. Time magazine had the mug shot darkened and Newsweek's was not changed. These pictues came out after the murder of Simpson's wife and her friend. James Gaines, the magaging editor of Time magazine said "The harshness of the mug shot- the merciless bright light, the stubble on Simpson's face, the cold specificity of the picture- had been subtly smoothed and shaped into an icon of tragedy. The expression on his face was not merely blank now; it was bottonless. This cover, with the simple, nonjudgmental headline
'An American Tragedy,' seemed the obvious, right choice."

Many people disagreed with Gaines. Major news orgainiations and black people argued that Time's picture was racist beacuse it made Simpson look more sinister, guilty and dangerous. I think it makes him look scarier compared to the other cover. Newsweek's cover makes him look innocent and less threating. Illustrator Matt Mahurin was the one who altered the image, saying later that he "wanted to make it more artful, more compelling." After all the controversy, Time took the first cover off and replaced it with another cover.

A more recent photo that was caught manipulated was by Liu

Weiqiang of the Daqing Evening News. It won many impressive

awards. The picture is made up of two different pictures. The antelopes and the train were never together. Weiqiang says that he never published the picture as a news photograph. Weiqiang also wrote in his blog, "I admit it's unfaithful, as well as immoral for a photographer to present a fabricated picture. I'm truly sorry."

Another photo I found that was altered was in Seventeen magazine. In the April 2008 issue, I found on page 18 at the bottom of the page that Hayden Panettiere's dress was shortened because she said she loved her to show off her legs. What I'm not uderstanding is that why didn't they just buy a shorter dress? Why not sew it shorter?

After viewing these cases I think it's just not worth manipulating pictures. It is not real and the audience is being misleaded.

Works Cited

http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/farid/research/digitaltampering/

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/31/012306.php

Seventeen Magazine April 2008

The News Is My Entertainment

Most people depend on the news to give them the truth about the information the audience is recieving. People trust the news and believe what is presented to them. But what if the news didn't give the whole truth? The role of politics in information and popular media is very influencing.

Just look at the Dixie Chicks. Natalie Maines said "Just so you know, we're ashamed the president of the United States is from Texas." She said this at a concert in London, England on March 10, 2003. After the concert, her comment was everywhere, especially the news. The Dixie Chicks were criticized for the comment by the American citizens who support President Bush. The news strongly disapproved of them and many people believed the news' prespective. They simply got criticized for what they thought. What happened to freedom of speech?

After all negativity Natalie Maines recieved, she made a comment the next day, "I feel the president is ignoring the opinion of many in the U.S. and alienating the rest of the world. My comments were made in frustration, and one of the privileges of being an American is you are free to voice your own point of view." She later apologized to the President. I strongly think she shouldn't have because it's her opinion and she doesn't need to apologized for what she thinks.

Natalie Maines was not the only one to object to the President, but Kanye West also did on live television. His famous comment was made after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. He said, "George Bush doesn't care about black people." He was one of several celebrities and singers participating in a live telethon and concert produced by NBC News titled "A Concert for Hurricane Relief." After the telethon the company issued a statement that read, "Kanye West departed from the scripted comments that were prepared for him and his opinions in no way represent the views of the network. It would be most unfortunate if the efforts of the artists who participated and the generosity of millions of Americans who are helping those in need are overshadowed by one person’s opinion." Kanye West was criticized at first but afterwards this was quickly forgotten by people.

I personally think Kanye West's comment was more controveial than Natalie's. Kanye West was on live television and the Dixie Chicks were not. Kanye West had a bigger audience and more influence but the Dixie Chicks did not. I also think it had something to do with race. Kanye West was talking about how black people were seen on the news compared to white people. "I hate the way they portray us in the media," West said. "If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food."

Not did the Dixie Chicks and Kanye West speak out, but Pink also spoke out about the President. She wrote the song Mr. President which was targeted towards President Bush. This song was not approved for release as a single in the U.S but Pink was more pleased by the response from her fans and other people and who have created their own videos to accompany it for online broadcaster YouTube. Some other protest songs include "Get up, Stand Up" by Bob Marley and the Wailers (1973), "Minority" by Green Day(2000), "World Wide Suicide" by Pearl Jam (2006) and many more.

Three different political stances and three different outcomes. They about the same topic but they were all handled very differently. The Dixie Chicks probably got criticized because it was probably the first time they said something that offended some people. But whatever Pink says, people don’t really care as much because they have grown to know Pink as a girl who says whatever is on her mind. Kanye West makes a big deal about things like how he got less time to perform at the MVAs and how Brittany Spears got more time than him. All three of these artists are different types of singers and have different audiences. Natalie’s comment about Bush was taken to the top unlike Kanye West’s comment.

Works Cited
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/03/15/entertainment/main544132.shtml
http://www.democracynow.org/2005/9/5/kanye_west_bush_doesnt_care_about
http://www.spinner.com/2007/07/13/20-protest-songs-that-mattered-no-20/

72 Hour Survey

Feb.22/08
Watched Tv- Muchmusic and commercials
Walked to school- Big Bear, Home Hardware, Shell Gas, Macs'
In School- People with Pepsi bottles, Kids Help Phone on fries boxes.
Walked home- Laidlaw buses, Big Bear, Home Hardware, Shell Gas, Macs'
House- Read HamiltonSpec, listened to iPod, put away vegetables form Fortinos bags, played Gamecube
Eastgate Mall- People with Walmart bags, Bay and Shoppers bags. People eating and drinking Tim Hortons.
Back Home- Bus signs with realestate agents. McDonalds Ads, Bank Ads.

Feb.23/08
House- Read Hamilton Spec Comics, ate Honey Bunches of Oats, played Gamecube
Eastgate Mall- Walmart carts and bags, Experssion shoes, people eating and drinking Tim Hortons.
Food Basics- Tim Horton cups, Food Basic bags and carts, Hamiton Spec for sale, Equality brand
Home- played Gamecube, watched TV and commercials on Barbies, cereal, Hotwheels, and McDonalds. Unloaded Food Basic bags

Feb.24/08
Home- Ate Honey Bunches of Oats, played Gamecube, sprayed Febreze.
Computer- Pop-ups for Party Poker
Made Sandwich form Wonder Bread
Sprayed Febreze around the house
Complained about Jimi Hendrix t-shirt
Played Gamecube
Tv- Muchmusic- ads for cereral and of their shows
Ate Pizza Pizza and drank Pepsi

Media Inventory

Which family member uses it most?
TV- Children
Telephone- Parents
Cell- Mother
Computer- Me
Which family member uses it least?
TV- Father
Telephone- Me
Cell- Brother and Sister
Computer- Parents
Use is restricted?
TV-No
Telephone- No
Cell- No
Computer- No
Unrestricted?
TV- Yes
Telephone- Yes
Cell- Yes
Computer- Yes
Mostly for entertainment?
TV-Yes
Telephone- No
Cell- No
Computer- Yes
Mostly for homework?
TV-No
Telephone- No
Cell- No
Computer- Yes
Expensive?
TV-No
Telephone- No
Cell- No
Computer- No
Cheap?
TV- Yes
Telephone- Yes
Cell- Yes
Computer- Yes
Favourite Media tool- Father- Newspaper
- Mother- TV, Newspaper
- Sister- TV, Computer
- Brother- TV
- Me- TV, Computer, Magazine
Least favourite?- Father- Computer
- Mother- Computer
- Sister- Radio, Newspaper
- Brother- Radio, Newspaper, Computer
- Me- Radio, Newspaper
Do children of different ages or sexes prefer different items?
Yes, because the parents have influenced their children at a young age. But when they grow up they are more independent and choose what they prefer.
Which item is used the most?
The television is used the most because it is in the centre of the house. It is also in the living room which is where everyone comes to sit and they end up watching television.
Which item is used the least?
The radio because no one listens to it. It takes too long to find the station you want to listen to and there are a lot of commercials on the radio.

Press A, Press B- It will make you smarter!

Kids love video games, it's pretty obvious. The gaze in their eyes as their minds get sucked in the game, how their usually locked up in a dark room and their no attention span to anything around them. These are the usual effects video games have on kids while they are playing. They are non-stop gamers that can't put the controller down. "I have to beat this level mom," is probably the most common sentence they will say in hours. Games are useless, or are they? Can they really make you smarter?

Research conducted at the University of Rochester has shown that action video games can give a person the ability to monitor more objects in their visual field and do so faster than a person who doesn't play such games. "Players can process visual information more quickly and can track 30% more objects than nonplayers," says Daphne Bavelier, associate professor of brain and cognitive sciences, and member of the Center for Visual Science.

Shawn Green, a student of Daphne Bavelier, recognised the link between video games and visual attention. Both of them tested games like "Grand Theft Auto 3", "Medal of Honor", and "Half Life" with gamers and non-gamers.

In the first test, the conductor would flash a small object on screen for 1/160th of a second, and the participant would indicate where it flashed. If you didn't pay attention you wouldn't know where the object flashed. The gamers noticed the object far more than non-gamers. The second test had one to 12 small objects on screen at once and the participant had to type how many objects they'd seen. The gamers saw the objects more often. In the last test, there were black letters flashed in a very rapid pace. One letter was white, and it may or may not have been followed by a black 'X'. Gamers picked out which letter was white and whether or not an 'X' followed it compared to non-gamers.

This study shows that the brain can be trained to see more attentively. In video games you work at solving a series of puzzles which exercises your brain because your brain is like a big muscle. If you use your brain, it will get stronger. If you don't then it won't be very useful.
Now they even made games with math problems and tricky mazes that give a major work to your brain. The top 10 games that will make you smart(er) are:
10. Hot Brain (PSP)
9. Re-Mission (PC)
8. Tetris DS (DS)
7. The New York Times Crosswords (DS)
6. Brain Age 2 (DS)
5. SimCity DS (DS)
4. Math Blaster (PC)
3. Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree (Wii)
2. Big Brain Academy (DS)
1. Brain Age (DS)

The next time your mother asks you why you are playing video games and not doing your homework, just tell her video games make you smarter and they're more fun.

*My old colour killed my eyes.

http://www.usabilitynews.com/news/article1121.asp
http://parenting.kaboose.com/behavior/video-games-smart.html
http://www.gamegrep.com/other/2416-top_10_games_that_will_make_you_smarter/

Where's my entourage?!?!

Harajuku fashion gets its name from the Harajuku district of Tokyo. There are many young people dressed in unique ways to stand out. “Harajuku became famous in the 1980s due to the street performers and wildly-dressed teens who gathered there on Sundays when Omotesando was closed to traffic.” [1]

But when you think of Harajuku girls, Gwen Stefani’s back up dancers comes to mind. “The Harajuku Girls are four young women who were hired in 2004 as backup dancers for Gwen Stefani’s Love. Angel. Music. Baby. album.” [2] You may have also seen them in Gwen’s numerous music videos like “Rich Girl,” “Wind It Up,” Hollaback Girl,” and many more.

Some people think Gwen Stefani is exploiting the “Harajuku Girls.” Nathaniel Jue said “They are a quartet of Japanese girls who parade alongside Gwen in her videos, public performances and appearances and promotional interviews.” [3] But some people say she is diverse, catchy, and confident. “Stefani has taken the idea of Japanese street fashion and turned these women into modern-day geisha,” says Mihi Ahn, Salon.com. [4]

So wouldn’t you think they all came from Japan? Are they really Harajuku girls? “Maya Chino (stage name "Love") grew up in Tokyo. She started out doing ballet when she was three years old. Before dancing with Gwen Stefani, she was a backup dancer for South Korean singer BoA. Jennifer Kita (stage name "Angel"), is a Japanese-American from Los Angeles, California. After graduating high school, Jennifer moved to San Diego and studied hip-hop at Mesa College. She later joined the dance troupe Culture Shock San Diego, and performed with them for two years. Rino Nakasone (stage name "Music"), grew up in Okinawa. She became interested in dance after watching music videos by Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and mimicking their moves. At the age of nineteen, she went to Los Angeles to study dance. She later taught dance at a performing arts centers, and formed the dance group "Beat Freaks". Mayuko Kitayama (stage name "Baby"), grew up in Osaka. She eventually moved to New York, where she practiced in several dancing studios, after dancing in Japan for several years.” [5]

So what if only one wasn’t born here and they aren’t really Harajuku girls? All that really matters is that they look, dress and act like it right. To the public, if you didn’t research, then you would think they are the real deal. They probably talk, walk, eat, and breathe Japanese. But they don’t and that’s reality. I think what Gwen Stefani is doing is alright because I don’t care. It’s probably a fade and will eventually die out like everything else and the Harajuku girls will disappear forever…or until a lawsuit appears.

-----------------------------------------

If you want to look like original Harajuku Girls, all you have to do is follow these steps.
1) Be creative
2) Be theatrical
3) Mix and match
4) Look cute
5) Have a sense of humour
6) Be confident wearing clothes that mix genres and influences
7) Be confident wearing clothes that have weird shapes
8) If you go for bright colours, make sure you have unusual, fun contrasts
9) If you wear make-up, wear it black
10) Be confident in your chosen look, period
11) Above all, be stylish! [6]

Who knows, maybe even you will one day be chased by Gwen Stefani and end up as a Harajuku Girl.

[1] http://www.mookychick.co.uk/style/harajuku_girls.php
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harajuku_Girls
[3] http://www.scribd.com/doc/300870/Harajuku-Girls-INFO
[4] http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/feature/2005/04/09/geisha/
[5] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harajuku_Girls

[6] http://www.mookychick.co.uk/style/harajuku_girls.php

Avril Lavigne and her abilty to write songs

When you think of Avril Lavigne, what comes to your mind? Is it her Canadian- punk image, her really nice hair or is it her plagiarising scams? Plagirising scams, it can not be that? Well it is and it is true, she has been "plagiarising" again.

Tommy Dunbar and James Gangwer filed a lawsuit against Avril Lavigne and Dr. Luke with claims of Avril stealing their song. The Rubinoos say Avril Lavigne copyed their song called "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" which ends up being her masterpiece "Girlfriend." Avril says "I had never heard this song in my life and their claim is based on five words."[1] In Rubinoo's song those five words are "Hey hey you you I wanna be your boyfriend" even though it's really nine. In her song it "Hey hey you you I want to be your girlfriend." She also says "All songs share similar lyrics and emotions. As humans we speak one language."[2] Technically Avril, not all humans speak the same language but if Avril thinks so, then it must be right.

After reading many articles and listening to both sides of the coin, it really makes you wonder, did she really copy them or is it just her own skills that make a smash hit which happens to sound like something we've heard before. Mmmmmmmm?

"A pair of U.S. songwriters allege her catchy single sounds suspiciously like a song called I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend, released by the Rubinoos in 1979."[3] What do you think? Did she really steal it or was it just a coincidence? "We are not so naive as to chalk it up to some sort of cosmic coincidence," Dunbar said. "The lyric, the meter, the rhythm - they're identical." [4] Nevermind. After listening to both songs they sound suspiciously alike? Hey, doesn't it reminder you of something simialar? Let's have a listen, shall we.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0d2z-dWZmE> [5]

That was the one and only Peaches, another Pop-Punk Canadian. So what did you think of the songs? Do you think they sound simialar? You be the judge of that. In Avril's defence Terry McBride, president of Nettwerk Music Group, Lavigne's Vancouver-based management company says "I'm quite sure the beats are different."[6] Maybe Terry McBride doesn't have ears?

If you haven't already listened to "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and/or "Girlfriend" then I suggest you do. Then compare the two songs. Do you think Avril plagiarised or do think they sound nothing alike?

-Sonya! * All The Things She Said- Tatu

Works Used

http://www.cbc.ca/arts/music/story/2007/07/07/avril-songwriting-fireback.html [1,3]
http://www.hecklerspray.com/now-avril-lavigne-rips-off-peaches/20079151.php [6]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0d2z-dWZmE [5]
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/09/AR2007070901127.html [4]
http://www.nme.com/news/avril-lavigne/29587 [2]