Now for the question as to why this should be avoided.  In the Star Trek example, a split infinitive would result in either ”weakness (to go boldly) or over-formality (boldly to go): either would ruin the rhythmic force and rhetorical pattern of the original.”

 In reading “Game/Genre: A critique of Generic Formulas in Video Games in the Context of ‘The Real’” by Zach Whalen I realized there is a lot more to video games than I thought.  The three main concepts within this field explained were Genre, Mode, and Milieu.

Genre – the way a game is played

Mode – the way a game’s content is presented

Milieu –  a game’s narrative content

One mildly interesting aspect of games that Whalen discusses is the genre of MMORPG.  It is almost the equivalent of Reality-tv on television but in this case it is the idea of worlds.  An example would be The Sims because of its in-depth communities.  There are also cases where communities are created online for people who share an interest, such as a game.

Personally, this article was of little interest to me.  I do not feel that Whalen did a great job of keeping the readers entertained.  It was a very wordy article also, which really does not help.  I guess the real problem for me is that I am not a huge fan of Video Games and would much rather submerse myself in another form of media.

Let me explain my second statement. There would be occasional episodes where Chandler and Joey would fight like a couple. I do not think however that it was done is a homosexual way, but in a, you are my friend and you hurt meway. This was always done in a comical way and even though there was the odd hug between them, its not like they would passionately kiss or anything. Females are allowed to hug after expressing emotion and I think Chandler and Joey’s character said that hey, guys can do this too, and here it is in a funny way.

Aww, memories of Joey and Chandler as best friends… 

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_cat.html

http://www.menufoods.com/recall/product_dog.html

There was a couple on the show who had been married for 10 years and he had been cheating on her with hookers and strippers. So Dr. Phil goes on a rampage about how the wife hasn’t had an STD test and that she has 2 kids she needs to be looking after. UMMMM, the man sitting there was the father, he has some responsibility too, I guess Dr. Phil just neglected to mention this.

What happens next you ask? After the commercial, the wife gets mad at her husband and tells him that he married her and that she is not forcing him to stay with her so he needs to decide what he’s going to do. Dr. Phil then says, and I quote “you are UP ON YOUR HIND LEGS preaching to him, what are you going to do?” (emphasis added).

I stopped watching at this point, but all I can ask is why is this man still on TV giving people “advice”?? I don’t get it…..

Viewer Discretion is advised for the following..

Saddly, I have no video to show for it, because YouTube doesn’t seem to have them, but here are a few of my “favorites”…

1) The new Malteser commercial – I have to mute it when it comes on

2) The tri-cyclen low commercial – lets aim at 12 years olds who should try being their own GIRL….ummm, correct me if I’m worng, but shouldn’t you be a woman if you are going on the pill…just a thought

3) If you have cable, the channel thats like a guide and it has that chick that says “I love to shop”..ya, she gets muted too

4) Then there is that Razer phone commercial, I can show that one..

There are more, but these are the main ones. Anyone else have any favorites??

Abby’s statement that “television has become a dominant and disturbing influence on the national psyche” is a perfect portrayal of what we as a society experience today.  We can not go anywhere without being exposed to images of ‘perfection’ and what is ‘desired’, let alone the products that everyone should have.  TV has become a major seller for these types of things, and I do not mean just products, but images and also sex.

Abby emphasized how the portrayal of women has a “negative impact on young females” and this really is what to be expected when most, certainly not all, images of women on TV are unattainable.  Abby even mentioned how it is rare to see a powerful woman on TV, even though it has been quite a few years since the feminist movement.

So can young women ignore these unreachable images? No, because they are everywhere, but the important thing that is begining to be said is that people do not need to strive for these images.  Strong role-models help and some of the commercials coming out, like Dove, help too.

This commercial is the same idea as the cola commercial, just with beer….

I remember when Napster come out, it was the greates thing, and seeing it go was really problematicbecause then I had to find a new place to get music.  I used Kazaa for a while but then I found LimeWire and have been using it ever since.  I do agree that people tend to “not observe laws that they find inconvenient” to an extent.  I would never shoplift but I don’t even think twice about downloading music.  I can justify this for myself because I do not SELL the music, I simply USE it. 

I guess the great thing about being able to download music off the internet is that you get to listen to it and see if you like it.  There is nothing more frustrating than buying a CD to discover that you only really like 3-4 songs on the whole disc.  This way you get only the songs you want! 

In some ways I guess I do feel bad about the artists losing some record sales, but at the same time, it’s not like no one buys their CD’s anymore.  I will even buy a CD from time to time.  As far as the companys getting this under control however, I do not think that will EVER happen.

This idea of high-culture, middle-culture, and low-culture audiences is by no means a new idea but worth some attention nonetheless.  Before I comment on that, it is important to first mention  what high art and low art is.  High art is artistic material that requires some sophisticated and cultivated tastes in order to enjoy it.  Low art is the opposite in that it requires little sophistication to enjoy (apparently).

Now the part that bothers me about this is that the “elite” use some German word (well, its kitsch, but that is besides the point) to basically call low art “trashy”.  These people claim that only high-culture audiences enjoy complexities and detail in their entertainment/art, that middle-culture audiences enjoy prime-time television and that low-culture audiences are factory workers who like “kung fu movies, comic books, and supermarket tabloids”.

I guess since I have never been a big fan of comic books I have the priviledge of joining the middle-culture audience.  I do like TV though and not fine art like Opera so I can move up no further.  My only statement to this is that I would consider many movies today to be complex and detailed, but somehow I do not think this is quite what they were striving for.

I think it really is okay that there are different levels of art, but they did not need to cut down people who work in factories and label them as basically un-educated people who were just getting by.  Everyone is going to enjoy different things which should not be looked down upon.

And here is something for your entertainment, some News Bloopers.

This is a long clip, but the first 30 seconds or so is what’s important.