TA: shock/fear in advertising

I’d like to mention a few things about a technique used in the advertising world. Often times, advertisers will use shock or fear in order to motivate their audience to do or purchase something. There are a variety of opinions out there on this subject. The technique itself is somewhat questionable on the basis of it’s effects on its audience. I speak specifically about those commercials on TV designed to motivate people to stop using tobacco, or drinking alcohol. Are they too shocking? Some people argue that the cases shown in these commercials (where somebody has cancer or some side effect that is clearly and physically disabling and perhaps unnerving) are too graphic. Those employing these shock/fear techniques would argue that unless they use an ad that is clearly shocking, it will go unnoticed. The technique of using shock, however, for this purpose seems to be somewhat effective for the target audience. The major problem that I see is that they will sometimes inadvertently hit other unsuspecting audiences (other TV viewers). Should these other audiences be exposed to these types of commercials? Personally I think these commercials don’t hurt people, they give a perspective of an issue that may be worth seeing. If the shock they use is untrue, it need not be used and is actually deceiving, but real life situations can be effective teaching tools for everyone.

FW: Metzener

So my band (Metzener) had out last big show yesterday. The culmination of 3 years of rocking power, 2 albums, and much merchandise came to a close. We played a gig at “Freeze Fest,” BYU’s winter party at 7 peaks where they had free ice skating, a santa clause, a dance, and of course 2 live bands. It was a fun little gig. People came out in goodly numbers and rocked the night away with us. I kind of wonder how much I’m going to miss playing. It took a lot of work to be in a living, breathing, rock band. There’s weekly practice, song writing, recording, advertising, organizing shows, and a bunch of little things that all need to be paid attention to in order to see that everything gets done as it should. So I’m glad that I’ll have my time freed up to do other things. As far as music goes, I enjoy our music, but there’s other things that I want to do personally with song writing. I will say this, being in a band and playing shows is an experience all of it’s own. Making my own music is quite a bit different than having an actual band. So seeing people come to shows and dance and sing along to songs and crowd surf will probably be missed. Then again, I’m not really that big into large group events. I never went and hung out with other people and fans and what not after the shows. I would rather have just hung out with my girlfriend or something. But all in all, it was some good times.

FW: rivalry

I can still remember the exactly where I was when I heard about the Sept. 11 attacks on the world trade center. The BYU/Utah game last year was the same way. I remember the exact feeling and circumstances of that marvelous victory when John Beck threw the last pass of the game to Johnny Harline in the endzone to win the game. This year’s game was the same way, except that I got to witness the action live. It did not disappoint. I don’t remember ever really feeling that intense of a rivalry toward Utah until yesterday morning when I was driving to McDonalds and I saw some Utah fans standing outside holding anti-BYU signs. I couldn’t believe they had the nerve to do that. It’s one thing to be cheering for your team at a game, but a whole different issue to be standing out in the street of the home team and bashing them. That’s when I came to the sad realization that these fans are idiots, and so is the rivalry. I think that there is a true feeling of animosity between some of the Utah and BYU fans that stretches to the depth of their souls. It’s a little disturbing really. I had the opportunity to ask president Samuelson about his loyalties regarding BYU and Utah football and he told me that it’s not necessary to like one and dislike the other in order to create competition. I think that is true.

FW: happy

I have nothing really to write except for what’s been on my mind the past little while. I was sitting at home late on Friday night and all of my roommates seemed to be in a sour mood for some reason. I also started thinking about how often I meet people who seem to be unhappy, or how moody people around me are. I had this really depressing thought momentarily that happiness is elusive. So I decided to consult the scriptures on the matter, because I didn’t actually believe that depressing thought. So I did and I also read some things that some general authorities and other scholars have said about happiness and decided that first of all, we are supposed to be happy in life. And that that happiness can be facilitated by loving/serving others, and living life in harmony with commandments of God. But I feel like I know people who do these things are nonetheless not very happy. I think that those things are qualifications for happiness, but really being happy is a choice. We can choose to be happy or we can let negative things drag us down. I just was thinking about this and had nothing else to write. Take it for what it’s worth.

TA: Artistic Metaphors

I wanted to just mention some things that I think make musical lyrics interesting, rather than practice a technique, per se. I read a quote the other day that made me think about this: “Science has a great deal more in common with poetry than most of us realize; both enterprises involve unusual juxtapositions of ideas and a certain romantic vision of the world.”

I thin this idea is what helps make a metaphor or simile effective; that is, an unusual juxtaposition. Many well known metaphors and similes get stale because there is nothing new or thought provoking or interesting about them. But a good one will present an idea in a way that makes you think about it differently.

One reason that I have long enjoyed the band Modest Mouse is because of their use of metaphors and similes. For example, “I saw a friend the other day, opinions were like kittens I was givin’ ‘em away, yeah….” This line makes me think about throwing out my opinions to much or too forcefully in a new light. I also like this lyric quite a bit from Death Cab For Cutie: “Cuz in my head, there’s a greyhound station. Where I send my thoughts, to far off destinations. So they may have a chance of finding a place where they’re far more suited than here.” The idea conveyed in this lyric is cleverly conveyed and does encompass that romantic look at the world mentioned above. Without that cleverness and unique way of phrasing ideas, metaphors and similes often fail to accomplish anything.

FW: Music and grapes

I flew to Missouri this past week and the opportunity to peruse the on flight magazine presented itself. I read an interesting article about Maynard Keenan. He is the singer for Tool and past singer for A Perfect Circle. Needless to say, the man is pretty hardcore. However, he also has taken to wine brewing. He actually now has his own vineyard and plans his shows and tour dates around his wine making. This way he has time to test the wine and take care of everything and still rock our souls with music. I just thought that was an interesting tidbit of information that everyone should know.

In other music news, my little brother has recently started a blog that he uses to show his music. He’s studying music here at BYU and has been writing stuff for quite some time. Unfortunately he doesn’t own a vineyard, but I do think that he likes grapes. Nevertheless, I dig his stuff. He’s a creative fellow.

Lastly, my band rocked this past Friday night. Unfortunately we are getting older (in the provo scene) and many of our fans have left town, or are married, or graduated or something. Despite this, we do our best to serve the community by bringing solid rock and rock to the masses in the best ways we know how.

FW: Nothing

I’ve never been a big sports FAN. I’ve always loved to play sports, but not watch them. College has changed me, I think. When I arrived at BYU my freshman year I started watching BYU football pretty frequently. The main reason I did this was so that I could fit in with the rest of the guys. I came to school not knowing anyone, and my folks just sort of dumped me off in the dorms and told me to have a good time. So I started watching football and I’ve had an all sports pass every year.

I’ve also never followed basketball at any level. High school, college and professional were all equally shunned. This year however, some of my friends started doing this fantasy basket thing where you pick you’re players and are in a “league” with your friends. And now I’ve become a basketball fan. I seem to follow it so that I can see how my team is doing. It takes some time. The sad thing is that I don’t even have to do anything. I just watch it. And watch it. And hope something happens.

I can conclude from these experiences that college students have less social hobbies. People are social, but they don’t have as many social things to DO (this is seen in the classic example. You ask someone what they like to do. They tell you they like to talk, hangout, and make friends. None of these things involve any activity per se). In high school my friends were sort of defined by the activities I did and by geography. I wan’t much interested in dating in highschool, so my friends and I climbed, listened to punk rock, pulled pranks, and other things high school kids do. Now that I’m not as interested in stuff like that I have to find other things to fill my time. I think I do more personal hobby type of things than most college kids, but I’ve still succumbed to the trend of sport watching. If I weren’t Mormon, I would probably be entertaining myself with alcohol and women. But since people seem to do less socially than in years past, and for a lot of guys sports seems to be a big part of that, I conform. Go BYU football.

FW: my wierd roommate

I have an interesting roommate. This is the roommate that everyone tells stories about and is known for his interesting antics. For example, there's his first kiss story. This is one for the record books. My roommate, Sam, started dating this lovely girl, who wasn't too talkative. Through some cajoling by myself and the other roommates, Sam decided that the time had probably come to kiss this girl. He was nervous as all get out. It was actually pretty funny. So he takes his girlfriend out and was committed to kissing her. All is still. It's the doorstep. He moves in. The unsuspecting girl, in her confusion, was unprepared for the moment and give him the cheek. Yup, he missed, said goodnight, and that was that. But that's just the beginning. Of course he couldn't just leave it like that. He had to redeem himself. So the next night there was another date and another doorstep encounter. This time he was even more nervous than the first night and there was no room for error. His mind was racing and wild with uncertainty. Again he moved in, but this time the heavens opened and it was a success. Good night. Sam started walking back to the apartment wondering what he had just done, having kissed a girl for the first time. Much like stories of old, his deranged mind started affecting him physically and he felt sick to his stomach. Right outside our apartment door he couldn't take it anymore and barfed all over the shrubs outside. He came in with a funky look on his face and we asked him what happened. "I don't feel so good," was his response. "I kissed her." This was followed by another trip outside and the second puke of the night. It was Sam's finest hour.

TA: Coherence Practice

My mother has a unique blend being very devoted to her children and still remaining fiercely independent. When I was a freshman in high school, I was too young to drive, and I lived too far from my most of my friends to be able to visit them on foot. I realized that I was going to need something to occupy my time during the summer, so I bought a skateboard. Occasionally, I would ride my bike into town to the local skate park and skate for hours on end. I didn’t really seem to fit in with the other skaters who constantly smoked and had new tattoos every other week, but I still loved to skate. I’m still not sure how they afforded tattoos at that age. The bike ride was a little further than I cared to go and it wasn’t on a very safe road, so every now and then my mom would help me out by volunteering to drive me to the skate park. The great thing about this was not that she would drive me, but that she would sit there while I skated and quilt. She loves to quilt. I was not ashamed to admit that I was the only kid at the skate park whose mom was not just at the park, but was quilting. My mother has always been very good at retaining her independence while still involving herself in the lives of her children.

RA: A grotesque old woman

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/cgi-bin/WebObjects.dll/CollectionPublisher.woa/wa/largeImage?workNumber=NG5769&collectionPublisherSection=work

"A Grotesque Old Woman"
What are the consequences of extreme materialistic attitudes on old women?
The enthymeme: Extreme materialistic attitudes degrade old women because extreme materialistic attitudes cause old women to unnecessarily embellish.
The audience being addressed in this picture was the upper class. More specifically, those who attempt to use wealth and materialistic things to make themselves seem more desirable. The assumption is that anything that causes women to over embellish degrades them. The argument is that extreme materialistic attitudes cause old women to over embellish.
The picture is believed to have come from an original drawing by Leonardo Di Vinci. His name alone draws people to his work and to think about the messages he presents. This picture is interesting because he uses some humor to illustrate his point. Rather than use an actual individual to make his statement, he over emphasizes that which he is saying. This can both ease the impact of the his message, as well make it a bit more cutting. People can laugh it off if they don't wish to accept it's implications regarding materialism, or they can take responsibility for it. The picture is so unattractive that it draws viewers into it, which makes them think about it.
The nature of the picture makes it plenty sufficient. The person is so very old and so very ugly that there is no chance the point of the picture would be missed. This painting is both typical and atypical at the same time. During the era in which this piece of art was made, many high class individuals commissioned painter to paint glamorized portraits, and this is using that same medium to make a mockery. Whether the message that overly materialistic upper class people embellished too much is true or not, I'm not sure. I'm not an expert of this time period, but when it was painted, I would say that it was relevant because the extreme class distinctions that were prevalent.

FW: Haircut

I’m going to be missing class tomorrow (Monday the 24^th), but it’s for a good cause. I have an interview in Arizona early Tuesday morning and I have to be at the airport when class is scheduled. But I’ll do my best to catch up.

In preparing for this interview I realized that I’m one ugly mofo. I looked into the mirror earlier this evening and had that revelation. Needless to say I can go walking into a medical school looking like an idiot. I need to have the power of persuasion and intimidation on my side. So I went around my apartment complex looking for someone to give me a little bit of a haircut….well, not so much a cut as a trim. I found my neighbor who said he would be up to the task. I asked him to just take a little bit off and trim it up so that it was clean looking. He took the clippers and started going straight over the top! It was considerably shorter than I had anticipated. I think it makes me look a little manlier, but it’s hard to say for sure. I’m going to need an outsider’s opinion on this one. In the meantime I’ll be interviewing to the best of my ability without my beautiful blond locks.

Free Write Post

I think it is necessary for me to voice a few of my observations concerning church callings I’ve seen given at BYU.

I was once assigned the calling of FHE “dad.” This was a slap in the face. Here I was given a calling to be a “Dad” for a Family Home Evening group in a ward in which no families exist. My calling shouldn’t even have existed! By definition you can’t have family home evenings without families. It’s impossible. It would be much better to proclaim Monday night a date night. This would do much more for the propagation of families than holding a fictional FHE. There should be a standing ward activity every Monday night for those individuals who couldn’t get a date, and everyone else should date freely. If you’re in a slump and haven’t been on a date in a while, ask someone out from your ward activity on Monday night.

There are many callings that bishops make up in order to give some sort of calling to those in attendance in their ward. They are now few. I have some real examples: the Physical Facilities Chair-Person, whose sole responsibility was to set up chairs for church, or the Public Relations Committee, which I never saw perform any act of service or duty. My roommate was a Home Teaching Supervisor for 2 years. He was very good with this calling. He collected reports from the home-teachers, and would asking meaningful questions relative to individuals being home-taught in the ward. He motivated and inspired. However, his career came to an abrupt halt when the Stake President decided that it was not part of church policy to have someone in a calling such as his. His calling was immediately abolished. Of all the callings to abolish in the church, this was one that was helpful. Apparently his past two years of service in that calling were not in accordance with church policy. I think he still has to pay back the blessings that he wrongfully received for his service.