Massive Media

The term "Media" refers to communication through numerous amounts of technology such as the telephone, the television, and the internet. "Mass" refers to a large quantity or a large size, such as large amounts of people, or a large amount of space. When someone talks about large body mass, they are referring to a fat person. Similarly, when someone talks about mass media, they are still talking about fat, indirectly. It is because there is so much media in the capacity of our world that we feed off of so often and get addicted to, that we are putting on globby pounds of media from all the juicy intake. So while media is the medium, most of us fit a large.

I just tuned into CP24 because the "Breaking News" headline caught my eye, as it usually would for anyone. There's media already, shouting at thousands of people across Toronto to watch the television; to be lured into listening, because perhaps one headline can effect anyone in the world. It read: "Electrical cables fell at Eglinton subway station during rush hour leading to the stopping of service from Bloor to Lawrence on the Yonge-University line." This was at around 5:00 pm, and is still not cleared up yet, delaying thousands. Sure there are shuttle buses being provided for the huge amount of commuters, but even the back-up plan is failing, for there are so many people. People become the media. People become the breaking news stories, the hovering helicopters, the power outages, the camera footage. This is what happens when technology fails. No matter what, the media is always there to cover for it. This defect in technology tonight just interfered with thousands of people's routines and patterns. They wont be able to heat their meals on time, they wont be able to tune into the 6:00 news, they wont be able to check and refresh their Facebook pages, but at least they have their cell phones to call the ones they live with to tell them they will be delayed, and to text their friends angrily saying how lucky they are that they don't work or go to school downtown. And even these people who are not involved in the delay, are still affected by it.
Media adds, and media subtracts. And I am thankful that I was not part of this chaos, but instead, watching the chaos in the comfort of my home, from the buzzing of my television, and in between, watching commercials about Febreeze and going green.

The Ecology of Media- the Book of Faces

http://www.facebook.com

I think Facebook is exactly like Internet Explorer. Internet explorer is a world we are introduced to that links us to websites which we then find important information on any given subject in the world. Facebook is a world we are introduced to that links us to billions of people, vast numbers of cultures, and important information on any given person in the world. It invites us to learn about the lives of others through communicating, and that is how we represent one huge online community.

Facebook keeps everyone using it in touch. It keeps you up to date, it feeds you with knowledge you don't even need to know, but are so intrigued by. It allows you to contact people from the opposite end of the world and is so powerful, that you could talk to these people for hours without paying a single pretty penny on your phone bill. To know that different cultures throughout the globe are using Facebook is fascinating.

In fact, Facebook IS it's own culture. It brings people from various other cultures together to communicate under one life-impacting website. It's not only about keeping tabs with your friends, but gives anyone the opportunity to introduce new people of different cultures into your life. Facebook even notifies you about world issues through groups and events. It doesn't matter if you are black, white, yellow, pink, or turquoise. Anyone and everyone has access and the impact that a simple, fun website can have on the world is mind-boggling.

I participate in Facebooking every chance I get, and through Facebook I have met several great people who are continuously shaping my life, and allowing me to shape theirs. With it's elegant privacy options, you even have a choice of who you do not want to contact you, like it's taking care of your safety. The power is at your fingertips. That power is accessed with Facebook.

Fashionista Alert

In the 12th chapter of Understanding Media - The Extensions of Man, by Marshall McLuhan, McLuhan indicates that clothing is an extension of our skin, just like how the wheel is an extension of our feet, the Internet is an extension of our nervous system, and the camera is an extension of the eye. It is not not a strange thing to wake up every morning and choose appropriate articles of clothing to wear, based on mother nature's choice of weather that day, or based on the visual aspects of appearance. Clothing always seems to divided into categories of aristocracy. A rich man will wear clothing that is beyond the affordable price of a middle-class man. Even though there are these boundaries, it is certain that clothing can be afforded by anybody, and even the way you wear clothes can make you look more upper-class than you are.

I am infatuated with the fashion industry. It's impossible to focus only on one aspect of fashion because all this different media collaborates to make one giant industry. Photographers, designers, journalists, stylists. All aspects of fashion represent the choices I make in my daily life. Seeing a model on television or in a magazine looking fantastic in Oscar De La Renta, or Dior, or what have you, actually influences me to make alterations on my own appearance. Media has persuaded me to include fashion in my daily routines. There are endless options to the way I can express myself because fashion is continuously changing. I know that what I read in magazines and what I see on television is accurate because every new fashion idea is filtered through professionals before being published or sold. Fashion allows my life to be mediated on a daily basis. I wake up, I choose my clothes, my accessories, my purses, my make-up all based on how I feel that day, or how the weather is. Even while out shopping, I pay close attention to advertisements. Certain people they choose for ads, and certain colours and fonts that are used for the ads influence me, and I realize that this is how they get my money, and in no way do I feel that they are stealing, because lots of thought and effort goes into selling that product. This is why I am a slave to fashion.
Ive noticed that some of the clothing that designers create, can't even realistically be worn in every day situations such as these two pieces created by designer Gareth Pugh.Realistically, I would not wear these outfits to my sister's baby shower or to my office job, but I still respect every detail. Media still allows designers to express their ideas through creativity, no matter how bizarre they might look.

How does all of this define me as a person? Because I am already participating in the world of fashion by expressing my appearance with certain clothing and accessories, and it's not even something that I need to really think about. I like to believe that is how my every day life is mediated. I would love to one day be an actual puzzle piece of the fashion industry: A fashion photographer, so I too can take photographs that will persuade others to be glamorous victims of fashion.

Blog Virginity now Taken and Sealed in a Jar Somewhere

It is 8:31 on the evening of September, 4th, 2008. As of my first day of University, I have already been introduced to a new method of writing - a new world of writing really, which I'm discovering, is a hell of a lot better than the quail feather ink pen I've been writing with for too many years. What I'm trying to say is I now have my own log called a blog. I always heard people talking about blogs, creating blogs, writing blogs and sharing blogs, but I never really picked up the excitement. Blah Blah Blog is what my thoughts whispered in my ears. I truly find the word "blog" such an odd word on its own, but to have one of my own? Now that's expanding.
I guess I wont know how I feel about my first blog post until I am actually done the post, but I'm currently feeling a bit overwhelmed by it all. In an exciting way, of course. I find this blogging business very similar to a website called Live Journal which I used to partake in, except I felt succumbed to writing only about my day to day adventures, which got boring as hell after too long so I eventually stopped having one all together, which aided in preventing me from reading everyone else's lullaby posts. I actually have different topics to discuss now, for this is a school-related blog, and my teachers will be reading these words with their careful and curious eyes. I think this is a great way to do homework, because I'm so used to the traditional book to copy to pen to paper homework, but this is really letting technology rummage through your brain cells.
I am looking at the time on autosave, and noticed that it has taken me about 45 minutes to write this. With all the thinking and text messaging and pretty flowers and cats rolling around on their sides being all adorable, I have been distracted. Media = distraction. Media = expansion. And this is how I feel now that my post is ending. Fortunately, I will continue to write in my blog, since I own it, and it is all mine, and my opinions really matter now, when they were just dust particles on planet Live Journal.

Update you soon. (Now Im giving the blog human attributes)