Wednesday, November 14, 2007

If You Wanna By My Lover by: The Spice Girls



The Spice Girls music video, If You Wanna Be My Lover, is the worst music video and possibly the worst song ever! First off, the lyrics make absolutely no sense at all. What in the hell is zigzig ha? I would really like to know. Second, I believe this song makes a lot of sexual references. The Spice Girls are supposed to be a group that young girls can look up to. I know I was a fan of the Spice Girls when I was a little girl. In the song they say "if you wanna be my lover" and "zigzig ha"
I am pretty sure that it is a sexual reference. Third, this music video just sucks. They dance around a whole bunch of guys and some of them are old men. It's kind of gross.
Another thing I don't like about the Spice Girls song is that it is just really stupid. "If you wanna be my lover you gotta get with my friends, make it last forever, friendship never ends." What in the world is that supposed to mean? I understand that boyfriends should be on good terms with the girls friends but seriously, this song makes it sound stupid. It's really dumbed down for the audience and I understand that it is meant for a younger audience but then why are they making sexual references?
I know the 90's had bad fashion but come on, the outfits that they are wearing in this video are just hideous! and their hair, what is up with that? I mean the one girl, Scary Spice, her fro...man it is ridiculous.

If You Wanna By My Lover by: The Spice Girls

Sunday, November 11, 2007

State-wide Smoking Ban

On June 1, 2008 no longer will smoking be allowed in a public places in the state of Nebraska. All corporate and small businesses, bars and restaurants, and any other public place will be smoke free. Legislative Bill 395, proposed by Kearney Senator Joel Johnson, amends the Nebraska Clean Air Act, which has been in effect since 1980 and allows businesses to choose whether to allow smoking or ban it. Modeling itself after Lincoln’s indoor smoking ban, Legislative Bill 395 will call for a state wide consistency. The only three exceptions to this bill will be: smoking in private residences, except when used for child care, adult daycare or as a health care facility; guest rooms and suites that are rented and designated as smoking; and areas used for research on the health effects of smoking. The Health and Human Services Department of Regulation and Licensure calls this bill “the greatest health issue of our time.”

In the Lincoln Journal Star on January 19, 2007, Paul Fell’s cartoon on the smoking ban was displayed. In this political cartoon a ghost, compiled of smoke with the words “proposed state wide smoking ban” written on the stomach, has just entered into a bar. Focus is placed on this ghost because of the diagonal structure of this cartoon. Shading in the upper left hand corner of this picture places a spot light on the ghost. In the bar there are two customers smoking along with a bartender who is also smoking. Two of the three men have cigarettes fused into their faces. Also, there are two ashtrays packed with cigarette buds and two empty bar stools. The ashtrays and stools are parallel to each other and along the wall is the word “BAR”, but it is written backwards. Paul Fell’s political cartoon uses the rhetoric appeals of analogy, cause and effect, example, classification, logos, and the pathos “scare tactic” to display the sides of this argument.

One of the rhetoric strategies Fell uses in this cartoon is compare-contrast. Fell contrasts the two sides of the argument. Having bar written on the wall is not needed to show that the place was a bar and furthermore, writing bar backwards exemplifies the bartenders’ irrational logic about Legislative Bill 395. This is shown through the empty bar stools which represent the loss in customers and ultimately “death” of business.

Fell uses the ghosts because ghosts represent death, but the ghost in this picture is a caricature of a “white sheet” ghost. This ghost is complied of cigarette smoke and smoking has been proven to kill people. The packed ashtrays and empty barstools are circular, parallel structures that contradict the argument that not allowing smoking will create a “death” in the business. The fact that the ashtrays are packed with cigarette buds and the stools are empty shows cause and effect; smoking kills, hence the fact that there are only two customers in the bar.

Normally in a bar there are usually a few more people than just two. Fell uses the rhetoric appeal of example to show the impact smoking can have on someone’s life. In the cartoon there are two ashtrays packed with cigarettes but only two people. The ghost is compiled of cigarette smoke. Maybe this is why Fell made the customer and the bartender have such a surprised look on their face. They are seeing the effects of smoking and how this bill will help protect their lives.

As I have stated before the ghost Fell created in this political cartoon is a caricature of a ghost compiled of cigarette smoke. Fell used this ghost to show the rhetoric appeal of analogy in this cartoon through the ghost. Ghosts represent death. This ghost in particular represents the smoke of all the people who have died from smoking and since it has been proven that smoking can kill you this is the analogy that Fell has created with this picture.

Another rhetoric appeal Fell uses with the characters of his cartoon is the logos rhetoric appeal. The customer in the bar that is sitting on the right and the bartender both have cigarettes infused into their faces. This is the rhetoric appeal of logos because showing the characters with infused cigarettes in their faces could convince readers who look at the cartoon not to smoke. This shows the logical argument that if someone smokes a lot that smoking could become such a large part of their life that eventually it is like a cigarette is infused into their face because a cigarette is always there. Not only is convincing readers that smoking is bad a logos rhetoric appeal it is also the classification rhetoric appeal. Smoking to some people is not a big deal but this cartoon shows how smoking can play into a large scheme of things, which, by definition, is the classification rhetoric appeal. Smoking can start off a something someone does every once in a while but then it can turn into a every day thing or even worse, multiple times a day. That is how it gets to the point where it seems like a cigarette is infused to your face because smoking occurs all the time. Eventually it will interrupt and possibly stop life. That is how the classification rhetoric appeal is shown through this cartoon.

The last rhetoric appeal Fell uses in this political cartoon is the pathos “scare tactic”. The scare tactic is shown through the ghost, bartender and customer. The cigarette smoke compiled ghost represents the death of those who have smoked, whether it be from smoking directly or second hand smoke. That is used to scare people into believing that the bill is necessary to have in order to keep people safe in the work environment. The bartender and customer serve the purpose of showing the reader what can happen if smoking continues over their life time; that eventually smoking will over take their lives, hence the fact that the cigarettes are infused into their face. This scares the reader and makes them not want to smoke.

In Paul Fell’s political cartoon rhetorical appeals are everywhere. Fell’s cartoon displays both sides to the argument of Legislative Bill 395. The logos, pathos “scare tactic”, cause and effect, analogy, classification, and example were the rhetorical appeals that were apparent in Fell’s political cartoon. This shows how advertising can easily sway people one way or another.

Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance




World War Two is my favorite time period in history. Ghost of You is one of my favorite music videos because of the meaning behind the song. It's about the soldiers going off to war in World War Two and the combat stress that they experience. It's a ghost that will constantly haunt them the rest of their lives. Soldiers who saw combat in World War Two hardly ever got a break. They were always on the front lines. One infantry spent over a year in combat everyday. There were sixteen million men in the military during World War Two and only four hundred thousand saw combat. It was ridiculous because then men would start to experience combat stress. Having combat stress in the military was seen as a sign of weakness. General Patton hit a soldier once because he thought the soldier was weak for having combat stress.
Another reason 'Ghost of You' is one of my favorite video is because it shows scenes from the movie Saving Private Ryan, which just happens to be my favorite war movie. In the beginning of the music video it starts at a USO dance. The USO is an organization that started in the early 1940's. It was a place where white soldiers could go and have meals made for them. Also, the USO would have social events , like dances, and the soldiers would go and dance with young , white pretty women.
My Chemical Romance is an amazing band. They have three albums out. The first is called 'I Brought You My Bullets, You Brought Me You Love. The second is 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge' and the third is 'Welcome to the Black Parade'. My favorite album of there's is Welcome to the Black Parade but the song 'Ghost of You' if from their second album, 'Three Cheers for Sweet Revenge'. My Chemical Romance has grown tremendously over the past few years and have a large fan base. Even though their music can be classified as "emo" music, I don't see them that way. I just love the songs they sing. They are very original and no one else out there sounds anything like them.