wrapp up.

Well, this semester is almost over. Through the thick and thin this comp class has been a positive class. The comp class was an overall good experience. I got a lot out of the class in terms of how to compose and write more clearly. I enjoyed the blog idea of having a personal blog and I think I will continue to post pointless things about my life that almost no one will care to read. I did like reading other people's blogs and seeing into their point of views. As much as I think blogging is a personal diary, I still get caught up in the fact that it is a diary online, everyone can read it. U can’t explain yourself and u have no second chance. This experience was one of a kind as we posted our class work so that the whole class could see and compare each others. I also enjoyed seeing how we all reflected each other’s posts and we spoke our opinions on personal blogs. I think it united the class in many ways because no other class encourages the students to personally comment on each other’s work and life. In class, we knew each other on a little more than a “hi, can I see your notes?” basis. I am going to strongly recommend that future students create blogs and have an outlet for their personal and school life. I do hope that a majority of the class continues to maintain their blogs because I am curious on their views of it and how and if they will continue. :] it’s been a good semester.

jeopardy?

if i had was to pick my seven categories for jeopardy it would deff.be:
1. chapstick
2. tacobell and chinese food.
3. the difference between dasini and all other waters.
4. if your a winter or a summer complexion.
5. how to get u a boyfriend/girlfriend. and/or laid.
6. the elaborate differences in hashbrowns.
7. why winter sucks.
mk thanks.

Mod 3: podcast

Podcast Event EssayPodcast Event Essay
Tattoos are a remarkable thing. Permanent, live changing symbols embedded into your body and in your soul for your lifetime. Yet, they have such a negative and controversial background. Personally, I have no tattoos but a majority of my family and friends do; I always ask the meaning behind each inked artwork and each one tells a story. My sister has “hope” in Japanese on her right shoulder; she says it gave her strength when her biologically father left her stranded. My other sister’s favorite tattoo is a grenade in the shape of a heart exploding, this is to give her guts to know that guys, love, and relationships are not what makes you and that you control your heart and destiny. If these personal decisions on body modification are a reflection of who you are, then why are they looked down upon? Why do we grow up in a country that strives off of expression, personality, and individualism, but we cannot get jobs or respect with a symbol on our bodies? People need to be mature and accepting because it is not our duty to judge others, we need to learn how to respect their self-expression.
In Michigan, we all know the economy is bad. But I wonder if it plays a role in the profits and use of tattoos and piercings. In no matter what economical condition, beauty parlors, tanning salons, and weight loss centers will be open, does the same thing apply for tattoos? This year, the annual tattoo expo show in Kentucky reported that up to 60% of those who attended got a tattoo (Hall). Hall reports that the nation’s bad economy plays no superior role in tattoos. He adds that people will invest money into their bodies no matter what, tattoos are no different. He says that most people get tattoos “on special occasions,” and they are always willing to invest money in their bodies, tattoos are no exception. The owner of Lost and Found Tattoos, P!nhead said himself that the economy is not affecting his business and he and Jeremy believe that Michigan can be broke as ever, and people will always want to modify themselves physically. P!nhead wonders that in a few years the economy will change, however. Being so close to a college campus, will Lost and Found Tattoos feel a drought as younger people try and save money, or are you always young and dumb? I’m sure a majority of people with tattoos got them done and a younger age, so maybe the economy won’t play a role at all. A blog user from the site everytattoo.com asks this very question, will the economy effect tattoo and piecing sales. He personally feels that some tattoos will be modified for money reasons, big ones minimized smaller and some customers just not coming in anymore. But his responses say otherwise. The television show Miami Ink has a new season coming; everytattoo.com reports on it saying that now tattoos are “mainstream, more and more people are flocking to the shop to get ink” (Miami Ink.) Personally, I do not think the economy state will ever directly affect the tattoo industry because people will do what they want with their bodies at any cost. Another personal opinion I have on the economy’s relationship to tattoos is the fact that tattoos and piercings have been taking place throughout the course of history; they will not simply stop or suffer because a few states are not making secure bank.
As I mentioned, people will always waste money on selfish, self-modifying things. However, tattoos are a lifelong commitment. They can represent something; give you hope and faith; and they can remind you of your past and your future. If this is truly the case, why would the economy effect tattoo’s sales. You can morph your body into anything you want, and you have control of your body. Do what you want with it, and not what others want. Personally, I cannot wait to get my tattoo; I want my dad and my grandpa’s name. I want to honor them for the rest of my life. People often don’t look deep enough to realize that tattoos can be positive. Tattoos and piercings are an art form; they are personal reflection of whom they are on.

I have two very good friends, “big brothers” if you will, who own and work at a very successful tattoo shop in Ysipilanti. P!nhead is the owner and main tattoo artist. He has several employees and interns, Jeremy is one of them. I interviewed both of them and asked them numerous questions pertaining to their industry. The first interview was with P!nhead, then with Jeremy.
Me: How long have you been in this industry and what made you want to get into it?
P!nhead: I started about November 1998 and I really wanted to get into tattoos and piercings for the groupies. Just kidding, I wanted to express people in ways that they normally cannot, I wanted to make art and to make a difference in someone’s life unconventionally.
Me: What are the pros and cons to doing this every day?
P!nhead: Well for starters, what I make in a day some people make in a week or a paycheck. But every day is different; some days I come home short of a profit. Also, this is a field that is always growing and expanding once you get into it there are jobs everywhere. It is all expressive, no one can say “that’s not good enough,” or “this is not up to our standards “because everything is self-reflective. The cons are this job is not for everyone, sure the hours can be great, like sleeping in every day, but it is demanding on time. You have to deal with people who think they know what they want or exactly how to do it, but I am the professional and sometimes they aren’t right.
Me: Tattoos and piercings usually have negative stereotypes, what are some that you see, and how do you want to change them?
P!nhead: The most common stereotypes I think of is that everyone with tattoos are bikers, pirates, criminals and druggies. Some think we are “wierdos,” people who live off of pain, torture, and violence. Or that we are sadistic and Satan worshipers. My favorite stereotype is that we are all social outcasts, who isn’t a social outcast? They think that we tattooist are just junkies who couldn’t make it in the real world. Most of my friends in the business have been in school for years and have degrees in arts, graphic designing and similar areas. But I do want to change the way people look at us. I want them to think positively and respect our art-
Me: How does the location of your shop influence what types and “sterotypes” of people that come in?
P!nhead: Well, since we are off of Eastern Michigan we get a lot of younger people coming in.
Me: Does Michigan’s economy play a role in the amount of business coming through?
P!nhead: No, not at all. A tattoo isn’t like getting a new shirt, you either really want one, or you don’t. People will always pursue what they want.
Me: Finally, what do you want to get off your chest about tattooing and piecing?
P!nhead: I want people to stop asking me what I want to do in twenty years. I have a wife, children and a successful business. I am an artist. They look at this as a hobby but it is my life.


Me: You are a new intern at the shop. Why did you want to get into this field?
Jeremy: Well, originally I just needed a job. I moved back to Michigan and the economy, well, sucks. P!nhead’s a great friend and I soon realized this is what I want to do forever.
Me: What are your goals and dreams for tattooing?
Jeremy: I want to become different and always evolve. I want to do crazy things with this art and not be so conventional.
Me: Are they any pros and cons to the job?
Jeremy: Well I could make lists about pros; they people I work and deal with, the hours, the money, and the personal expression. But as far as cons go, I really have nothing. I love doing piercings and can’t wait to start tattooing.




Work Cited
Garcia Sr., Justin"P!nhead". Personal Interview. 15 November 2008.
Hall, Gregory A. “Expo shows the draw of tattoos doesn't fade in tight times” Draw of tattoos doesn't fade in tight times (24 November 2008) 24 November 2008.

TylerDurden. Online Posting. 17 October 2008. 24 November 2008.
Miami Ink Season 3. THE TATTOO PARLOR IS OPEN: MIAMI INK RETURNS FOR A THIRD SEASON ON JUNE 12 25 November 2008. < http://www.everytattoo.com/miamiinkseason3.html>

ism

mod3

Jordan Lapetz
Anne-Marie Yerks
Composition 106
3 November 2008
Libraries: Social or Educational?
I remember when I was around seven or eight years old and my older sister had to go the local library after school so she could get her school research done. Now, just ten years later, I am sitting on my couch doing this paper. It almost seems unfair that I can do the same, if not more research, in less time and much easier. However, when I was assigned this paper I did put in an effort to go to our college’s library and went through some journals to see the different types of media on social networking relating to libraries; yet again, my internet at home was more helpful in getting things done. Even when I was at the library, I did not get much done in terms of raw data. Along with everybody else on the second floor, I was bouncing back and forth with Facebook, MySpace, and an Encyclopedia or two. I realized I could not get any real work sitting here because everyone around me was doing the same thing I was doing. So the next time I went over to the library I took my laptop and my research tools up to the fourth floor; I got some work done. Then it popped into my head, everyone on the fourth floor wants to get things done. They are not here to waste time; they are here to get their homework done and go home. The majority of the people on the floor were older than twenty-four it seemed, and they also seemed to take school more seriously. Thinking back on it, it is slightly sad that in a high rated university there is little real educational work being done in the library that we students pay for. In theory, a library should be used to higher our educational standards, enlighten our minds, and enrich our culture, not sitting in a group of classmates on social networks gossiping; along with our social networks, it shows that our age plays a role in our priorities and the way we carry ourselves. With age comes maturity and with maturity comes professionalism.
My thought is this, how does age relate to what we do in our classrooms and libraries. An undergraduate seems more likely not to study or go to class than a graduate student, in my opinion. Mark-Shane E. Scale’s article states in Table 2 that the largest percentage of social networking users are students, 98%, followed by graduate students with 46% (the not viewable group represented 48%). This data alone makes my theory correct. The reasons may be due to the fact of students have more free time and they are still very socially connected to their peers, whereas graduate students are more focused and determined in their education and professional lifestyles.
This drags me to another thought: how do the two groups, students and graduate students, represent themselves on their online profiles? Looking at the same article, it breaks down the personal information the two groups share online. As I read the data, the graduate students seem to be more protective and secure on what they display, and who can see it (Scale). In the PDF file we were given in class it defined age differences under “The literature on online social networks”. The section quotes a Golden Rule from Cornell University; it states
“Don’t say anything about someone else that you world not want said about yourself. And be gentle with yourself too! What might seem fun or spontaneous at 18, given caching technologies, might prove to be a liability to an on-going sense your identity over the longer course of history.”
The paragraph spells out to me a very good moral: do not say things that you do not want to be repeated or brought back to you five years later. This is why graduate students have more professional and private social networking profiles. Those students realize what can be done and how any information either about them, or what they say, may come back to haunt them. These days the younger culture does not realize that what they say verbally and what they write, or type, has consequences. It is a foolish notion that things they post when they are 18-23 will suddenly disappear in five years. David Epstein states that a lot of these people on social networks “lack judgment” which is over 100 percent correct. Many personal, stream of consciousness blogs often go over the limit. Most people do not connect the point of what you say on the internet will be with you forever. Just try Goggling your peers and I promise social network sites will come up.


“Charnigo, Laurie and Paula Barnett-Ellis” March 2007. 3 November 2008. -40d7-a919-af47a38b9258/Assignments/6df91329-0a40-45a0-bb06-
“Epstein, David” 3 October 2005. 3 November 2008.

“Scale, Mark-Shane E.” 2008. 3 November 2008.

Personal Blog

SOO, I have to blog. Mhm, well I’ll just do a life update, because I have nothing else going on in my life. Hmm, okay well. I am still furious at my ex-boyfriend because he’s a tool. Possibly the biggest one in the tool shed. I loved him for over a year, and I put everything into it but he just threw it back in my face. And on top of that, he still won’t man up to anything. Seriously, no one will ever put even a percentage into him as I did. This is why I really enjoy my new boyfriend. He is a total sweetheart and he was there for me. Unlike all my “friends” from high school, he actually understands what college means. I mean academically, I will devote myself to school because it’s the only thing I have as an upper hand, but on the social aspect he wants to be involved because he wasn’t. The ex, hmm well call him Joe, was like if you’re not with me, you better be at home. He was that scared I would be abducted by aliens and he couldn’t save me. I was like honestly; but it’s what I get for dating someone a year younger than me and with the mental capacity of a rat. My bad there, but seriously, when he finds a new girlfriend she’ll have the balls to stand up to him and not let him push her into her “place”. HAHA, he’ll see I wasn’t crazy. The new boyfriend, his nickname can be Sam, doesn’t care who I talk to, what I do, or when we hang out because he trusts me. Not even a month into and he has more faith, trust, and a belief in me then Joe ever did or will. Joe wouldn’t and couldn’t understand my life either. He’s a sheltered little naïve boy, and he wouldn’t break out of his perfect, religious life and look at the real world. When he graduates from the private high school we went to, he’ll be shocked and probably curl up in his closet. I’m looking forward to it, to be honest. Sam went to a public school, and while I’m not judging how they view life by the environment their grew up in, it’s reasonable to say that if you live in a cardboard box your whole life then of course all you will ever know is brown, drab, soggy walls. Sam has faith in me and in what I want to do; unlike Joe who couldn’t look past his dumb mental “sanity”, ha! Yeah about that; Joe led such a double standard, hypocritical life that I couldn’t take it. He was always right, and I was always the dumb girlfriend. Seriously? That’s not how you talk to the “love of your life”, even at seventeen. Sam will take me whenever I need him, no matter the circumstances or what I did wrong. And I have the same respect to do the same. We just mesh. Joe wouldn’t let me be who I was or who I wanted to be; well not unless it was this perfect, religious, pure Barbie doll who didn’t argue, didn’t do anything wrong, and didn’t try and push back against his life. This is still my life, and I’m sure I will do whatever I want and have the friends that I choose, not my boyfriend. Sam accepts my friends and my family as well; Joe just put them down saying how dumb they were and how I shouldn’t hang out with them, and not even for good reasons. He had the nerve to say that my single dad raised me and my younger sister wrong, and how my mother, who has a few mental and health disorders, and my older sisters weren’t worth it. He said that if I wasn’t with him, I would turn into them. Umm, try again JOE :] Sam actually likes my friends and my family, he knows why I love them and why they love me. I can actually be myself around him and I am happy that I broke up with Joe and that I found Sam. Being with Joe for over a year was slow, painful, damaging and heartbreaking suicide. He was not worth my time, energy, money, health, and countless car rides. Sam, I hope will be. I think I just got closure with Joe. Who knew some blog would let me just completely end it mentally. I am ready to start again, and to live again. Without some controlling, selfish, conceited, airhead asshole. I am done with all this overrated, high school drama crap and I need to let it go.

*deep breath*

I am over it.

I am done with it. I am done with bullshit. I am ready to follow my heart, not some guy. I am ready to learn how to live and love again.

I’m sorry if this blog made absolutely no sense, and if I just rambled around the whole way, I just wrote down what I thought and what came to me. After all, if this is a blog it is what I feel, and I’m not scared to feel and speak my mind again. If you read it all, thanks. Just knowing someone else peered into my head for a few moments means something, if anything.

October 22, 2008 11:25 p.m. 897.

Project 2 Group Work

questions:
1. explain, in detail, how Facebook has kept you in contact with others. explain why you perfer to use Facebiook over other mediums of communications for keepings in touch with certain people. Agnes
2. in your opinion what is appropiate behavior and content for you Facebook; and how does your age affect this? What creates a "professional" Facebook? Jordan
3. according to the article, how do most libarians feel about Facebook. Why do they feel this way? Amouna
4. According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook; do you agree and disagree? Allison



experiment:
Survey a how many people actually go to the libary to check out books, and do research. then, break it down and see how many are graduate and undergraduate students.

multimodal presentation:

the war on censorship

The issues of what is socially acceptable and what is taboo change every fifteen years or so, but now what we see on television, in the movie theaters, or even at the check-out lane at Kroger is disappointing to some. The whole idea of an outspoken, free-spirited culture seems to be getting out of hand, and out of style. America was the land of dream imaginable, now it seems we settled for inappropriate and degrading images. We often see a television show in the middle of the afternoon that has mild language and brief nudity; or we go to see a movie and a preview for a action film has a flash of a barley dressed woman. Although it is unavoidably true that sex sells, and that companies are out for all the profit they can get, we should be concerned with what our children can see and have access to without an adult there.

Now, to narrow down the enormous genre of what should be censored, or have limited access, I strongly feel that what we see in our daily lives and simple routines have way too much sexual context. I am a young person, and I am more desensitized to sex provoking images than the older or younger age brackets, and I do read most of the magazines at the check-out stand at CVS but everything seems to be ridiculous. I feel there should be a limit to what can be seen at any given time. I am perfectly happy with a black cutout over adult magazines at gas stations, why can suggestive magazines like Cosmopolitan or all those car magazines with virtual naked girls on the cover have the same respect? Some places are way too diverse in their customers to shamelessly display such vulgar images and articles. I would like to see some slight changes; if I cannot change what we have in our magazines, then where they are displayed.

The six pictures I took are just some of the everyday images that bombard us. The pictures are all very different and give off different impressions; for this reason, I edited them uniquely. The picture of the books is done in purples and blues because they usually give off a calm relaxed feel, which is what I wanted to give off. The caption I added was my poor attempt at satire; “Barnes and Noble, not so noble.” We hold bookstores up in our minds as educated places or places that our parents would love to take us, yet there are numerous books that are less that parental approved. We should not be calm and relaxed when we see these books in the open at a retail bookstore.

The picture of the two tattoo magazines was impressive to me because of the fact that you do not even realize the two women are naked because of all the tattoos, and then when you do, the pictures take a completely different look. They change from art and showing off their tattoos to soft porn and more edgy. I chose to edit the picture in a soft finish and reduce the colors because the image already has a lot going on, but also because of the amount of skin and innuendos you have to swallow. The caption I added, “Beauty is in the eye of the book holder”, just came to me because of the fact of all the tattoos would make some people think the women are not attractive or sexual; others would think the women are beautiful. It reminds us that beauty is not absolute.

The third picture of the Gap Body model was at the mall. Everyone at the mall gets sucked into shops because of their displays, but Gap is showing a woman in her bra and this picture does not seem so radical. But think about it, a woman in her bra is being shown in the middle of the mall, at a well-known family clothing store. It struck me odd so I took the picture at the bizarre angle to make it even more intriguing. I also made the lighting darker and added a glow to it because the picture itself was way too bright to seem to be sexual. I added three words to the picture; “Pushing and pushing” because these ideas and the item the picture is selling just seems to push the limits as far as we allow them. We do not rest on any standard for too long.

The picture of the St. Pauli Girl beer was done in a simple way. I wanted to keep it simple, yet convincing because it says a lot. Again, I chose a blue color, but a brighter blue because the three boxes show some variations. The first box is bright, cheery and draws you into the photo, then as you go through the next two, it get darker and greyer. Many things are like this, they seem all cheery and good, and then they turn dark. The caption on this photo says “imported from sexual brain”, it may not make total sense, but it does not have to. We import beer, models, cigars, and everything that relates to the sexual ideals. Importing the minds behind it would make sense as well.

The L’Oreal picture is clean cut and I got the caption from the top of the box. I kept the picture almost the same as the original because it has innocence to it, yet the woman is using her eyes and face to make you find her attractive. Although this picture is not purely about sexual content, it does say something for how America sells products. If this box had a girl looking straight at the camera with no suggestive eye language, no one would pick up the box. The colors in the picture are icy, cooler tones because her eyes and face language are way too steamy.

The last picture is my favorite. It is a commercial shot and I made it into a tri-photo. Each photo has a different color hue because it is such a commonly seen ad and the colors make it pop more into an editorial shot with feeling behind it. The shot seems nonsexual but when you think about it, it is doing the same thing the L’Oreal picture was; using subtle sexual thoughts to sell a product. This picture takes a more obscene place in my mind, however, because the angle of the model’s face and the sky line next to her. The caption in the picture says “Maybe it’s just Maybelline” coming off of their tag line “Maybe she’s born with it, maybe it’s Maybelline”. I chose it because maybe it is just Maybelline, maybe not.

Module1

In this new project, I was at a total loss for a subject. Then I came across the debatable issue of censorship. I went to private schools my whole life and always was taught that censorship was the correct thing. Now that I'm at a large public university, all of my previous ideals on censorship has been challenged. Questions pop up continuously in everyday life: should curse words be allowed in many medias, what words should be banned, what topics should be hidden or avoided? Or on a wide scale, what about should be shown on television or in magazines. The fact that much of our youth is left in the dark when it comes to morals these days opens many new doors on right and wrongs in society. What I am trying to convince you of is that although we have many freedoms, there should always been some form of censorship and guidelines because without leadership, Americans would be mislead.
The media I will chose to display this project will be a photographic strip. By using this media I hope to prove that graphic words, meanings, symbols and actions do need to be controlled and not left on the loose.



redo-
Censorship covers a broad range from words to clothes to television shows to library books. In my project, I will work on the appropriate style of modesty in modern magazines. Go to your local grocery store, or the gas station, there are dozens of magazines that sell "inappropriate" ideas. Many teens look to these as guidelines of what they should be. What should the guidelines for magazines be? How much is too much? In this project I want to show you that there is a limit on what should be shown in magazines in public places.

Screen capture :)

Beginning this process of creating a screen capture, I was clueless. Honestly, who uses this tool? I asked four people to help me before I realized you have to PASTE it in a paint screen. Wow, I'm slow. Well, maybe because I can't focus on anything other than my birthday being in 3.25 hours. I'll be legal! Making a screen capture was just not on the top of my list. But once I figured it out, I felt so proud and saw I could use this tool more often. By overcoming a very tiny dilemma in the digital media world, our eyes open to millions of ideas. America is not run by huge corporations anymore, and there is no one right way. We now have so much because of little ideas that people thought nothing of at the time. I am very proud of my new found skill, and I am currently bragging to a few people of my hidden talent. Small, new lessons in the digital and cyberspace world really make huge differences and open trillions of new portals of doors.
Also, these new doors and ideas are far from conventional. We don't look at anything the same nor do we act the same as we would three years ago. I was getting gas last week and I had a conversation verbally on the phone, and I was texting three people. The man next to be looks and comments to me about this and I thought to myself "the whole world has gone insane, people used to love coming to a conner store getting coffee and the paper, now we rush in and out still glued to our phones and all other outside connections." Anything that talks, blinks, moves or even intreges us the tiniest bit is incredible to us. I really don't understand our addiction but I can not picture life without all our sad inventions.

When I grow up I want to sleep with the President.

I came across this cartoon depicting a little girl in a classroom. Her teacher asked her what she wants to do or be when she grows up, something we all dealt with. Her response is shocking. "When I grow up I want to sleep with the President of the United States!" Obviously this is a change from fifty years ago when any child would respond to the question with "when I grow up, I want to be the President."

Out of the hundreds of president errors, mistakes, and conflicts, one presidential scandal has surpassed many others in the recent decades. The younger generations can conclude that the Clinton Lewinsky scandal was the most dramatic. The main issues that occurred were our president sleeping in the White House, not with his wife, our leader lied while under oath, obstruction of justice an perjury to a grand jury. These offenses should not, and was not taken lightly.