Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Mr. Wright's Video


The video is coming along great. I have my serious moments in it, but it also has the comical side as well. I believe that it is a perfect mix that won't offend anyone. One thing has changed about the video though; the audience has shifted from the general gamer to the general male gamer. I said it during my presentation that I wanted the audience to be teens that were like me when I was in middle/high school. I want to reach the ones that are just starting to see themselves as regular gamers that think nothing of their habit. It's these types of people that can cognitively think about the choices they are making, and if they think about it long enough, that have the time to change their habit before it becomes worse in their adult life. Like I stated before in previous blogs, this research topic is personal to me because I wanted to compare my findings to my own personal life. I wanted to see what things are common; I wanted to find out if I have a problem or not. I believe my video will be entertaining and informative, all in the same few minutes.

Thoughts and Advice


English 1060 has been pretty cool for me. I never had a blog site before, and the experience forced me to think about things before I post it. Also, this blog site made me think about things that I thought I didn't care about. Community health and wellness is something that is in the far corners of my brain, and with the assignments that were required, the issue was taken from the back of my brain to the front. As far as advice goes, do not procrastinate and really try to think things through. Plan the assignments out as soon as you get them. Starting on time will guarantee that the desired grade will be achieved. Another piece of advice would be to ask questions when this is need for it. It is never good to be alone in the dark, feeling like there is no help. Asking questions does not mean that someone is stupid or cannot comprehend; it only means that one is thinking about the issue, and he realizes there is something he is unclear on. Those are the main two pieces of advice I can think of right now.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Reflection Part 1 (cont.)


I am very passionate about my music. Like I said before, the excitement came when I thought to create my own music for the video. I call it a "soundtrack" in that I left the opportunity to make the snip its full-length songs for future use. I have never allowed anyone to listen to my music when I've created it in a short period of time, but the excitement and passion that I have for music and the excitement for this assignment came together to create the five songs that I have for the video. During my presentation, I said that I wanted to make a few more songs for the video, but I doubt that will happen due to the time that I have left to compile the video in the way that I want it to be presented. With the theme that I chose (Grand Theft Auto), my message will hit home with gamers of all ages because I want the viewer to analyze himself/herself in a way that they might not have done before. The video is an informative video in that I am not trying to persuade anyone to do anything. I just want the gamers to think about how they are investing their time. I want the gamer to think about how different their life could be if they were to dedicate the time spent playing video games to something else. This message is personal because I have often wondered the same thing. Maybe I would have gone to college sooner or would have married my girlfriend earlier in my life. Maybe I would have asked for a raise on my job instead of not being worried about it because I wanted to hurry home to play my new Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas game. Who knows? That's the question that I want the viewer (hopefully an excessive gamer) to ask of themselves.

Reflection Part 2


Being in this class as forced me to think when I didn't want to use my brain. All I wanted to do is come in the classroom, take down some notes, and leave with less than half of the information that was given to me. This class is different than any class that I have this semester in that we engage in conversation and we share opinions. As far as research goes, I haven't done so much research in my entire life, but it was only to help me in my future classes and assignments. My number one problem (something echoed in every reflection I've done) is that I do not start on time when I get these assignments. With this reflection, I'm sure to insert that into it because I waited a while to start on the video. The music was created in a timely manner, but the video is still a work in progress. I do have some pictures that I want to use, and I found some fonts and I decided on a theme for the video. Grand Theft Auto is the theme that I chose and this decision was carefully thought out. Moving forward, I plan on starting assignments on time and finishing them with great quality. I always try to do my best when it comes to working and creating things and classwork is no different. Like Part One, more will be added to this reflection to show that I've worked and thought about this assignment in detail.

Reflection Part 1

With the first part of the reflection being about what we've accomplished with this project, I wanted to take this time to share how I was inspired when we first got the assignment, and to show some of my work that I've done for this assignment. I am creating my own music for this video and that has given me ideas for the video. I don't know what kind of skill that is, but I saw my video as I was making the music for it. Making a storyboard wasn't necessary for me because I already had the vision in my head as far as what I wanted the video to look like. I chose to create the type of songs I created to allow the viewers to identify with the message that I want to present. Like I said during my presentation, I am targeting kids that were like me; kids that are in middle/high school who find themselves wrapped up in video games for long periods of time. I chose the pictures that I chose because I wanted people to know that this topic is not as serious as any social or ethical conflicts, but awareness is needed. I could put more into this reflection, but I'm still working on some details with my video and more is soon to come.

Friday, November 11, 2011

YouTube videos about NBA 2K12

This blog post might be a little off topic from community health, but I found it interesting that the videos found on YouTube when searching for NBA 2K12 (actual videos released by 2K Sports) use the same CRAP designs that we are using for this class. For example, the main video that I am speaking of is the video that has NBA Legend Michael Jordan and hip-hop superstar Drake in it. The video is a commercial for the game and uses Jordan to argue that his 1996 Chicago Bulls was the greatest team ever, while Drake (ignorantly) claims that the 2010 Miami Heat is the best team ever (how wrong can one man be?). They go back and forth with equal time to state their case (contrast and repetition) and the video ends with the classic, iconic image with Jordan wearing all six championship rings, proving that he and his teams were the best there ever will be.

Video that Inspired Me

The video that inspired me was the first video we watched in class about children playing violent video games. I liked everything about the video from the music to the video clips that were inserted into the movie. With my topic being what it is, I felt that whoever made that movie was showing me how it's done. I thought it was organized well and the entire movie made sense. I've already said it before that my movie will have a soundtrack produced by me and watching this movie inspired me to create different styles of music by rearranging chords in my music. Thanks to the movie we watched in class, my soundtrack is composed of things that I've never done before. The other movie that we watched about the girl was inspiring also. Both of these showed me how using the CRAP designs can make or break your movie. If you really want people to buy in to what you're saying, you need to be detailed and organized. Both movies were great examples of this and I plan on using those same CRAP designs in my movie.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Portfolio 3

Oh yes! I am excited about this project. I have so many ideas that I've came up with to do this project. First off, I make my own music, so to be responsible for the soundtrack for this movie would be the best thing possible for me to do. I do understand that this project is on a more serious note, so I will try my best to make it as serious as possible. My topic is a newer topic in American society, so it will be a little difficult to try to persuade people that this is an issue worth talking about. With that said, I will bring the most informative video with the best music and I will do my best to make it as presentable as possible. I haven't started working on the music yet, but when I do, this project will begin to take off...

Compact Disks a Thing of the Past

I heard on the radio the other day that soon the compact disk would be gone due to the growing number of people that are paying for digital music. Paying for digital music instead of buying CDs is more convenient in many ways because you don't have to waste gas going to the music store when you can go on your phone or computer and buy it. It's crazy to think about how technology has changed the lives of people on earth. Almost everything is easier than it was ten years ago, and imagine how easier things are now then they were twenty years ago. It seems as if the compact disk was introduced only years ago, but now it is to fade to black as the digital years are upon us. It's almost scary to think about, where will it go from here? Where will things be in the next ten to twenty years?

Using the Internet in an Unethical Way? No Way.. Not Me..

Have I? Probably. But, if I did, I didn't know that I was doing it. Well, other than downloading music on undisclosed and unnamed sources. I really think that everyone is guilty of that crime. I have gotten into the groove of buying my music through iTunes (even though I really don't want to), but I will say that Apple has made it a little fun to buy music. You get to see the album covers on your phone or iPod and it's interactive, too. For those that really care, Apple allows you to see the composers of the albums and songs (I find this interesting because I like to follow certain producers as they create new music). I think they did that on purpose because they knew that no one would want to pay for music, so along with buying the song or album, you are allowed access into other information about that artist.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Video Game Addictions

We were in the library the other day and Dr. Lackey found a great book for me on my research topic. This book is written by two authors who saw a need for digging deeper into this issue. All of the sources that I've found so far have only brought up the idea that video game addiction could be a problem, and people with this addiction might want to seek professional help. This book has really helped me out because it sees this issue as a problem that needs more attention. Some other sources that I've found show that too much video game play can hurt your social life, but the book shows that it has a major effect in all parts of your life. That's what makes this book a good source because it offers information for all sides of the issue.

Annotated Bib

I haven't started on the annotated bib's yet because I am still gathering sources. This topic of mine is a fairly new topic, and most of the sources are kind of short. The information is still good and I know that it is useful, but I am still digging for more information. I can say that this topic is something that affects more people than I originally thought. You wouldn't think that so many adults are playing video games. I also learned that "video games" are not just XBox 360s and PS3s. Cell phones games, computer games, and other hand-held devices are considered video games, and that increases the total of "video game" players. I do apologize for not having my annotated bib posted but I am still gathering sources.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Procrastination

procrastination (n)- slowness as a consequence of not getting around to do a certain act
                                     "The Dictionary Application for the iPhone"

Beside this definition should be a picture of me with a big grin on my face. This is something that has haunted me in every aspect of my life. If there is an extra moment that can pass before I am required to do something, I will take that moment and try to fit every requirement into that very last moment. I've been this way all of my life and I would like to change it, but it seems as if I am wired to procrastinate. I'll give myself more credit by saying that I have gotten better as I have matured, but my picture is still beside this definition in my own personal dictionary. Even with these blogs, I wait til the last minute to type them. I still try my best to make them as accurate as possible and try to fulfill the requirements of the blog; if I could only do them on time...

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Reading Over Research Proposals

My mind is blown away by all of the proposals that I've read. There are a lot of topics that different people are concerned with, and there were no topics that weren't relevant to larges groups of people. All of the topics that I read were very important and they opened my eyes to see what people are concerned with, and there are a lot of issues that people need to be more concerned about. I feel that this project is really giving everyone a chance to look at what things matter to them while focusing on what things should matter to other people. I feel that this project is going to bring out the best of us students because we are "thinking" about what matters and what is important.

Friday, October 7, 2011

Hol' Up! Hol' Up! Hol' Up! Woah Der!!

Ok, before anyone says anything about this change up, I’m not trying to say that childhood obesity is not a problem in America. It is a major problem and I made that argument in the first research proposal. But I’m here now to say that I am changing my research question in order to fully engage in a more serious topic that directly affects me as a person and student.

I want to research the effects of overexposure to video games. There are a ton of people that play video games in the world and with internet play (playing video games with other people in a different area over the internet) becoming popular, more and more people are beginning to play video games. The problem arrives when gamers choose to indulge in too much game play. We all know that video game are fun and are very good stress reducers, but if a gamer is spending too much time playing the game, could it have an impact on that person’s thinking? This topic is something that I deal with personally. I can honestly say that I play my Xbox 360 entirely too much, and over the course of my life so far, I have played video games too much. Anytime a new video game came out, I got it and stayed up the entire night playing it. I don’t feel like something is wrong with doing that, but maybe the research that I do can uncover some things that I don’t see, or can’t see. This issue affects me currently because I am a student now. Before, I could stay up as late as I wanted to without worrying about the consequences of not getting enough sleep. Now that I’m a student, I have to limit my game play which is kind of hard sometimes.
I already know that overexposure to anything is not always a good thing (too much food, too much time, too much weight, too much to drink, etc.). Video games are fun, but they are not excluded from examples like these. Also, I know that staring at an object for a long period of time can lead to eye complications, and sitting in one place for a long period of time can lead to posture and/or joint complications. As an avid gamer, I don’t have (to my current knowledge) any problems that I can link to overexposure to video games. But, like I said before, there could be an underlining problem that I can’t see. I will say that I have developed bags under my eyes, and I believe that is due to the lack of sleep during my high school years (during the same time, the Grand Theft Auto games became popular).
There are three questions that I want to answer with this research project. Is overexposure to video games harmful to your physical health? Can overexposure damage your mental health? Can overexposure be managed into one’s everyday life? In addition to those questions, could there be any good that comes out of overexposure to video games? Is there some kind of hidden health benefit to playing video games over a long period of time? I know the internet is the main source of information when it comes to research. I will use all of the major search engines to try to answer these questions so that the reader can fully understand all sides of this topic.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Research Proposal


We all know that child obesity is a growing problem in America. Are children are becoming more and more overweight at an alarming rate. Many people have asked the question, “why,” but some people still do not have answers. The main question is how it happening, and what can be done to stop the cycle? In addition to that, are there any factors (social, economic, etc.) that could worsen a child’s chance of becoming obese? Child obesity is something that is worth addressing because are kids are becoming less healthy. A less healthy child leads to an unhealthy adult which can lead to a number of diseases and illnesses as they get older. Living an unhealthy life can have negative effects in all aspects of daily life. As a child becomes a teenager, he/she would be picked on because of their weight. As they become an adult, the person could develop a disorder from the abuse of being bullied and would need a professional doctor to help them. The list goes on and on with this issue. With that said, child obesity is a problem in every community and this information shocks me. When I was growing up, we were playing outside; riding bikes, walking to the grocery store, and playing kick ball were the fun things to do that kept us active and moving. Also, in my family, eating fast food was a luxury that was only granted when we took long trips to other states. Even during those trips, my mom would pack snacks and drinks so we would have to spend a lot of money at McDonald’s trying to feed two adults and four children. A few things that I do know are that kids are playing more video games than ever before. Kids are more into the electronics (mp3 players, portable gaming devices, cellular phones, etc.) than ever before, but some of it is not their fault. Today’s society is like one that America has never seen before, and we have to adjust to it. At the same time (dealing with this issue), we need to educate our children, to get them healthy and to give them a better chance at obtaining and maintaining a healthier adult life. Things that I would like to find out are the actual statistics on child obesity. Then, I would look at the demographics of the situation. I would look for any type of pattern with this problem because finding a pattern would make the situation a little easier to solve. Another step would be to look at other factors that could have an effect on child obesity. Is it a cultural thing? Is it an issue based on race or ethnicity? Is one group of people more vulnerable to this situation than other groups? These questions I will attempt to answer with this project to give the readers a better understanding of this issue. My main source of information will probably come from the internet. Just typing in “child obesity” in a search engine can give you all the information you need to find out more on this terrible problem.