"Dope Ass Beats"

I never had a reoccurring dream, nor do I often dream because I do not sleep long enough to reach that dream stage (some of the side effects of procrastination). But one unconscious experience is my attraction to the low frequency sounds of bass drums and my obsession with “dope ass beats.” 

I mean, every time I am exposed to a new song with a “dope ass beat” I get really excited, LIKE REALLY EXCITED. I really enjoy listening to the loud hard kick of a bass drum through subwoofers which really amplifies the quality of the sound. One time, I was at Best Buy and someone was testing out the sound systems and turned the music up really loud. This happened on the opposite side of the store, however, I found myself slowly drifting toward the loud music. In fact, right after I bought my car, the first and only thing that came into mind was installing a new sound system. The first things I purchased for my car was a 12 inch Rockford Fosgate Subwoofer and an amplifier and the only thing I asked from my girlfriend for my birthday was to buy me a new stereo deck (one that had iPod capabilities, a touch screen, navigation, Bluetooth, etc). The instant it came in the mail was the time I rushed to Best Buy’s Geek Squad to get it installed. Yes, I am one of those people who blast their car stereo really loud with the windows rolled down with the bass turned up and I do not even care! 

You might see me with those really big head phones around my ears. These particular headphones were designed by Dr. Dre, called Beats. The reason why I have them even though they were so expensive was because the quality they produced was AMAZING. It has a built in subwoofer and is noise canceling which makes the songs crystal clear. The first time I tried them on I could not stop dreaming about them. I just HAD to get them. 

I never really questioned myself WHY because I was unaware of this obsession of music and beats. I realized that the mainstream artists that I really love to listen to and are constantly inspired by, for example, Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, and Bruno Mars, are producers of their own music (they make their own beats and write their own lyrics.)

It’s amazing how much impact this unconscious experience has on my life. Ever since I was younger I created my own beats whether it was on some beat making program on the computer, my hands banging on a table, or beat boxing. Up until now making beats is still a hobby. I don’t really know what the cause of this unconscious experience is but I think it might have something to do with my dad and how he used to beat box to me when I was a baby just to get me to dance. Maybe I make beats because it reminds me of him and how much I miss him?

Billboard Images vs Reality vs Hungry College Student

So… One day I was driving towards the gym on an empty stomach contemplating whether or not if I should grab a quick bite before the daily work out. I drive past a billboard with a giant image of McDonald’s famous Big Mac with some writing next to it. This writing, however, was in Spanish, and I don’t speak Spanish! So I assumed it said something good since it was a picture of an innocent, juicy, delicious looking burger which seemed to be smiling at you. I asked myself, how can a burger look this beautiful yet be so unhealthy? Since I gave up fast food years ago, the billboard didn’t have much effect on me. Some fast food fanatics could be hooked the second after glancing at this billboard and made the U-turn to head back towards McDonalds.

Billboards are a very great way of advertising. However, the use of imagery can force people to think uncritically especially since people don’t actually go out of their way to do independent research on what they are viewing from the driver’s seat of their car. So whatever images they see, they relate it to what they think is right, and then draw their own conclusions and judge the ad (or products in the ad) without any truthful background knowledge. 

Whenever someone sees a billboard, they are quick to form an assumption. For instance, when you see a billboard with a movie ad with an actress who did poorly in her previous film, you might conclude that whatever movie this ad is advertising must really suck because they invested in some whack actress. But wait! This movie has a different director, producer, and a whole different supporting cast. This can really make a big difference but the ad doesn’t mention it. After the image is processed in the mind, the person viewing it forms stereotypes (e.g. all movies with this actress is whack, corny, or boring). 

Another way people can think uncritically is by accepting whatever it is the billboard is advertising to be true or good. Some people believe everything ads have to offer. Someone viewing the billboard with, “The World’s Best Sewing Machine” might believe that the actual sewing machine in the image is actually the best since they have no prior knowledge about sewing machines. They kind of act similar to dogs: whatever food is given to them, that’s what they eat. In this case, whatever image they see, that’s what they embrace and admire. 

Some people might engage in lazy thinking when it comes to billboards and some might actually look at it and save their judgments for later until they do some research. Billboards are seen everywhere we go and it’s hard to avoid making eye contact with such huge colorful signs. The makers of the ads usually produce images so that the viewers are forced to think of one thing: that is the message that the companies are trying to deliver. With this motive in mind, no wonder there are so many uncritical thinkers out there.  

To the Window, To the Wall

The Facebook Wall Post---

  

Extend/Enhance 

•    Enables you to communicate with friends/family all over the world - family in the Philippines who haven’t heard from you in years will be so excited to hear from you

• A more convenient way to contact people – sometimes people don’t have phones so the best way to keep in touch is through online social networks, such as Facebook

• You don’t have to pay for this service - its free compared to text messaging

• Able to reach a person in a matter of seconds – Once you leave a wall post a notification is sent to the person you are trying to reach and that person will be able to check the post that was just left “a few seconds ago"

• Get your immediate thoughts and feelings out – It’s just one click away

• Long distance relationships – enhance your relationship with the person you met online by leaving each other gross lovey dovey messages on each other’s wall.

• Informative and entertaining – share a story, state a face, or tell a joke

Reverse

• If one of the topics on a wall post is somewhat private, then friends on Facebook are able to read the entire conversation - now everyone knows about so and so and such and such and now the private conversation is not so private anymore

• Gossip on wall posts spread faster than STD’s – self explanatory

• Excessive wall posts can be irrelevant and annoying  - YouTube videos, Application Notifications such as FarmVille can be overwhelming when reviewing your daily newsfeed 

Retrieval

• Text message-->E-mails-->Postcards-->Letters

Obsolesce

• Communicating through phone calls

• Sending an E-Mail

• Text messaging on your cell phone

•  Myspace

OMG, Angry Buff Guy On Facebook!?

“We must now know in advance the consequences of any policy or action, since the results are experienced without delay.” – Marshall McLuhan

Have you ever posted something on Facebook (a status update or a comment on a friend’s wall) and a few minutes later, maybe even a couple seconds later, found out that what you posted turned out to be really offensive to someone you do or don’t know? You regret typing up that post because of all the drama you caused. Now tension has built up between you two and when you actually see the person face to face everything is just AWKWARD.  You don’t talk about it in real life because the drama happened in cyber world. As a result you end up deleting the post pretending that nothing ever happened and you go on with your life hoping all is well and forgotten. On the inside you are super embarrassed and things are still awkward.

Example status:  Ivan -“You know what I hate? Buff guys that aren’t athletic…. Hate that shiiiieeet!” 5 mins ago
Example comments:  Joy – “hey don’t talk about my brother like that!” 5 minutes ago
Ray – “woooow foreal? thanks a lot bro” 4 minutes ago
Ivan – “okay Joy and Ray,
let me change my status to…
i dislike people who make assumptions right off the bat.. first off ray..i wasnt talking about you... damn guys foreeal?!!” 3 minutes ago
Ray- “Cool Ivan.” 1 minute ago
Ivan: “Real mature man..seriously..i havent even seen you guys in awhile..why would that give me a reason to talk mess about you..” 1 minute ago
Ray- “Whatever bro.” a few seconds ago

Sometimes the things you post online can be really offensive to others even though you think that it’s completely harmless. In this case, Ivan (skinny but athletic) posted his envious thoughts on his status, Joy (nosey) saw the post on her news feed and instigated by commenting on his wall post, and Ray (not athletic but buff) read Ivan’s post and was immediately offended. Just like what Marshall McLuhan stated in the quote above, we need to know ahead of time what our actions can lead to especially since mostly everything on Facebook is public and people can see its contents in a matter of seconds.

"HOLY SHIT" indeed.

Besides the part where Cypher is enjoying his juicy, delicious, medium-rare steak I would probably say that my favorite scene of “The Matrix” would be when Neo and Trinity bust through the security check point and annihilate the security officers when pursuing to rescue Morpheus from the agents. After the dramatic slow motion shot of Neo walking (looking all swaggered out with his flashy shades) the security guard tells Neo to remove any metallic objects after stepping through the metal detector and all Neo does is flash him real quick to reveal his artillery hiding beneath his trench coat. “HOLY SHIT,” was the guard’s response. Hah! Then Neo hits him with a little love tap which sends him flying across the hall. After he busts out his two machine guns and crosses his arms over his chest to fire simultaneously at the two guards on each of his sides. Neo is such a BAD ASS no wonder they call him “The One.” Later more back up come, guns are fired, Trinity is running across walls. They end up defeating their whole squad which is probably the most AMAZING thing EVER. I wish I was Keanu Reeves and looked that cool while fighting a bunch of annoying security guards which is why i loved this scene.

[prej-uh-dis]

Growing up my parents always stressed the importance of living a clean and healthy lifestyle namely by avoiding the abuse of drugs and any other substances. They would constantly remind me every single day of the dangers drugs and vices can impose. For instance, whenever we would walk pass a homeless person on the street my mom would point out and say, “See, that’s what happens when you do drugs; you end up not finishing school and you become homeless. 

I took this knowledge very seriously, lived my life and based my morals in accordance to their teachings and guidance. To be honest I was really scared to drugs. I developed hatred towards drugs and those who used them because my parents would tell me to stay away from these types of people. 

Entering middle school we were educated on the dangers of consuming alcohol and the use of this new type of drug called marijuana. Again, I was scared of any future encounter with these drugs and I tried to avoid anyone who used them. I was trapped in this cave or this idea that anyone who drank alcohol or smoked weed was a bad person.  My parents were the guards because they were the ones enforcing the idea and feeding me this general knowledge. They greatly frowned upon anyone who did such things and encouraged me to find friends who were not into these types of things. I grew up believing that most of the people in this world followed the same sort of morals that my parents taught me. However, in reality most people actually enjoyed drinking alcohol and smoking. What I didn’t realize was that even though a person may drink or smoke a few times that it doesn’t entirely make them a bad person. 

I had a friend back when I was a freshman in high school. He was actually my best friend at the time, however my parents did not approve of him. What I saw was a very friendly, funny, and outgoing guy but what my parents saw in him was completely opposite. They would always tell me that he was a bad guy who does “this” and “that” and I didn’t listen to them because he was my closest friend. The thing is that I never knew he smoked. The instant I found out I began to have some insecurities about our friendship. Relating back to what my parents had taught me when I was a child I told myself, “Wow, this guy is bad because smokes.” I later convinced myself that we could no longer be friends based on my parents’ teachings and I totally ignored his very existence. 

It was after graduation that I finally had escaped this cave. I slowly realized that I shouldn’t judge anyone just because they may partake in any of these activities. It was actually my girlfriend who helped me to understand and realize that just because people do these things that it doesn’t automatically justify that they are bad. Just because they were curious and wanted to try it once doesn’t make them bad people. How can you judge someone you barely know or judge someone if you’ve never even put yourself in their shoes? At that moment my eyes had fully adjusted to the light. I found out that what my parents had taught me wasn’t the entire truth. Yes drugs can destroy your body, but if I were to avoid and judged every single person that had ever smoked or drank then I would not have any friends at all.