Another “Gulity Pleasure” OH BOY!

As the semester comes to an end I have found ways to keep myself relaxed and calm during the final week of school. I have had a Netflix account for some months now and I haven’t been on it as much as I use to; but that has changed over this past week. The other day one of my friends and I were reminiscing about the “good ole days” of watching television shows. One of the shows that came up in our little discussion was the television show of Mighty Morphing Power Rangers. I remember when I was around 6 and 7 years old I started watching Power Rangers and I remember watching it everyday after school. So that day after the conversation I had with my friend; I went on Netflix to search for the television show Power Rangers. To my surprise I found over 15 series of Power Rangers!! It was super crazy! I seen that there has been a Power Ranger series made every year since 1992! So that night I decided to reminisce the “good ole days” with watching the original Power Ranger series. After that first episode I was hooked on watching it all over again! Now everynight I watch at least 2-4 episodes of Mighty Morphing Power Rangers everynight! It’s funny because some of the episodes I don’t even remember; but then again how could I; I was 6 and 7 years old and the 1st series of Power Rangers have 145 episodes with a total of 3 seasons! So everyight over the last couple of weeks I have been on Netflix watching Power Rangers. I remember the last season of Power Rangers I watched I was aroud 10-11 years old. I think it’s kind of funny that I have gotten addicted once again to watching Power Rangers after over 10-15 years not watching it! I remember when I was younger I would  pretend o be the pink ranger because pink was my favorite color (and it still is to this day). I am committed to watching all 3 seasons of Power Rangers on my down time just because I love to reminise on the “good ole days” and its stressfree for me to think back when I was younger and my life was carefree.My question to you is what is you favorite original”classic” sitcom or television show and do you still try to find it on the internet or DVD so you can reminisce the “good ole days”?

 

Do you wanna build a snowman?

            Disney’s “Frozen” is what some argue to be the best Disney movie since “The Lion King.” Some people like it so much because it goes against the typical Disney stereotype that a woman needs a man, the man rescues the woman, etc. Instead, many people like that while the movie seems as if it’s going in that direction, it becomes a story of the love between sisters being the saving power.

            Recently in class, we talked about alternative readings. I discovered one alternative reading of Frozen on youtube the other day that turned the movie from an innocent children’s tale into a horror movie preview.  Through altering the colors, the sound of voices, the context, and manipulating movie clips, the creator made one of the main characters, Elsa, out to be a violent person. While through what I’ve read, Elsa was intended to be a villain until the song “Let it Go” came along, this clip takes it to a whole new level making is seem as if she killed her parents (who really died due to their ship sinking) through the use of her powers which seem like intentional sorcery. It also seems that at a point where Else is using her powers to try to make piles of snow to catch her sister, Anna, and can’t keep up, accidentally losing control and striking her, is an intentional act. Through altering the context, coloring, an music of the movie preview without changing any of the words from the film, the movie becomes a family friendly film into a horror movie I wouldn’t mind going to see.

 

Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus

In class, we discussed things we learned or remembered due to pop culture, so I decided to go over some of the things pop culture has taught me.

 

1 Mile = 5,280 feet

In class, I shard the example of one of the things I always attribute to pop culture teaching me. The movie Remember the Titans taught me how many feet are in a mile. In the movie, one of the players fumbles the ball, and blames it on one of his teammates. When his coach asks him how many feet are in a mile to deliver his punishment, the player doesn’t know, Coach Boone lets him know.

http://youtu.be/CHsePQ8LJGY?t=1m

 

86,400 seconds in a day

Kris Allen from American Idol taught me that there are 86,400 seconds in a day in a song delivering the message: live like you’re dying, and make the most of each day, each minute, and each second.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6jnynVLfLA

 

B-A-N-A-N-A-S

While by the time the song came out I’d already known how to spell bananas, Gwen Stefani’s “Hollaback Girl” will never let me forget it.

http://youtu.be/Kgjkth6BRRY?t=2m32s

 

525,600 minutes = 1 year

Like Kris Allen, the movie RENT also taught me a ridiculous fact about minutes in a year that I’ll never use. Again, it’s in the form of “live while you have the chance.” The song “Seasons of Love” will also serve as a constant reminder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj7LRuusFqo

 

 

To this day, when I say the word “noun,” good ol’ Schoolhouse Rock pops into my head.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0m89e9oZko

 

 

 

 

Sterling Says…

Up until recently, I used to believe that racism was just a southern problem. My friends aren’t racist, my family isn’t racist, and therefore I was exposed to very little racism growing up. In fact, I was exposed to very little culture growing up. At my high school, I was introduced to roughly three black students over the course of four years. One of them I became decent friends with. I can remember plenty of students of Asian and Hmong descent and a handful of foreign exchange students who mostly kept to themselves. This past school year was the first basketball season in over a decade of playing the sport that I have ever played with a black girl on my team. I do not view others based on their skin color, nor do other cultures make me uncomfortable. I’m not sure if it was the lack of mixed cultures in the area where I was raised that lead me to the conclusion that racism only occurred in the south, but I was very ignorant in believing so.

“Racism and discrimination are very real issues. This incident with #Sterling exemplifies such ignorance that (sadly) manages to stay alive.”

This was the tweet I had sent on April 29^th of this year. While running on the treadmill in my campus’ workout facility, I was watching ESPN on one of the televisions (it’s amazing how much further I can run while watching TV). I expected to hear all about the excitement of the NBA playoffs, but overshadowed by this was the disappointing decisions made by Donald Sterling.

Sterling, an attorney and billionaire (and now the former owner of the Los Angeles Clippers) was plastered all over ESPN accompanied with terms like racist, derogatory, and monstrous. Confused and alarmed, I plugged my headphones into the treadmill and listened in on what was being said.

On that day, Sterling was banned from the NBA for life. Additional punishment? A payment of $2.5 million to the NBA. His girlfriend, V. Stiviano submitted a recording to TMZ of Sterling making racist remarks about blacks. The remarks came after an Instagram photo posted by Stiviano of her and Magic Johnson. Reported from CNN, the recordings are as follows:

     “In your lousy f**ing Instagrams, you don’t have to have yourself with — walking with black people,” Sterling says.

     “If it’s white people, it’s OK?” the woman responds. “If it was Larry Bird, would it make a difference?”

     “I’ve known [Magic] well and he should be admired …. I’m just saying that it’s too bad you can’t admire him privately,” the man on the recording says. “Admire him, bring him here, feed him, f**k him, but don’t put [Magic] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”

I just could not believe what I was reading. How could such a prominent figure that supports athleticism be racist towards blacks? Hadn’t numerous black athletes played on his team, promoted his ownership, and ultimately earned him money? The whole thing seemed ridiculous to me.

Thankfully, Sterling was punished appropriately. I feel as though the NBA handled Sterling’s remarks appropriately and by no means was his punishment too harsh. However, I feel terrible that such an event has to cast such a dark cloud over the NBA playoffs and it is a shame that the athletes, coaches, and NBA fans have to deal with such an incident.

Due to Sterling’s comments, racism has been brought to the forefront of social media. Headlines have more recently appeared with Michael Jordan’s name tagged in something along the lines of “admits he considers himself to be a racist.” Headlines, such as this one, project false pretenses onto its readers. Rarely do people stop and take the time to comprehend the context of the nature. This racist affiliation with Michael Jordan happens to come from a comment in his book, written years ago. It merely addresses the racism that Jordan was faced with and how he handled that in his younger years. The accurate context would be that Jordan threw a soda at a young girl, after she called him a racial slur. He then admits to being racist towards whites, something that it took him a while to overcome. His book exemplifies growth and maturation for the sensitive subject, not that Michael Jordan is a racist now.

This Sterling incident opened my eyes to the cruelties of racism. It’s important to remember that this issue has never gone away and it’s unfortunate that it takes one man of a high and powerful social rank to stimulate solutions. We should be conscious of this form of hatred from the beginning and what we can do to prevent it.

Skinny is out fit is in

 

The most popular New Years Resolution is said to be weight loss. That is exactly why January and February are the best months for gyms in terms of revenue. Many of the people whose New Year Resolution is to lose weight remains committed for the first two to three months of the new year. After down, the attendance at every gym decreases. However, what is it the genuine motivation for people to want to lose weight ? Is it truly their health? A nice body? Or maybe attention?

I don’t know if it’s just me, but it seems like eating healthy and being fit is in (more than ever before). It’s like a new trend for people between the ages 16 and 30. I mean gyms, protein shakes, and sports have always existed but I had not heard about them as much until now. Or maybe that’s because Facebook, Instagram, Twitter,  and other social medias did not exist tens years ago?

As a matter of fact I do believe that the existence of social medias has raised awareness about healthy  life styles. This may sound funny but I personally decided to change my eating habits and exercise even more shortly after making a Pinterest account. I’ve always been active but I must admit that my eating habits were not the best. For those of you unfamiliar with Pinterest, it is awesome! It has a section for just about anything you’re looking for. It has a section for health and fitness, beauty, art, history, humor and many more. As I was scrolling down the fitness section I read many inspirational quotes about being fit. There were also many excellent tips on healthy eating, workouts for different body parts, and before and after pictures of people who’ve turned their lives around by changing their lifestyles. In December of 2012 I signed up for a membership at Gold’s Gym along with my best friend because working out with someone can always motivate someone even more. Although it is difficult to balance school, work and the gym, I do my best to work out at least four times a week.

 I’ve been going to Gold’s gym for about a year and a half now and I can actually say that I have never taken a gym “selfie” or much less checked into the gym via Facebook. With that being said, there is nothing more annoying than going to the gym and  seeing people on their phones instead of focusing on their workout. Meanwhile on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social networks, there are people checking into the gym,  posting gym selfies, or telling everyone if it’s chest day, leg day or whatever. On the other hand, I believe there is another reason people got really into working out. That reason is fashion. With all these neon colored tennis shoes and sports bras it seems like the colorful exercising clothes of the 80’s are back in style. Regardless, no piece of clothing beats the popular “butt-hugging” yoga pants which some people claim are deceiving. There are also the people who abuse gym gear to appear athletic knowing they don’t even run around the block.   

 

 Eating healthy and becoming fit is in the best interest of everyone. Who doesn’t want to live a healthy life free from illness? It is not easy but it can be done. If you want to everyone know you’re going to the gym, or you want to take gym selfies, do it. BUT don’t let that distract you too much from actually “putting”  in work”. Remember, your body is your temple.

Can pop culture have an impact on our salaries?

The other day as I was surfing the web I came across an article by NBC titled “How does Obama’s income stack up?”Because I had taken an American Government class in highschool, I already had an idea of what a president’s salary is like. According to Alex  Johnson, President Barack Obama reported  $481,098 in income (2013 taxes). Of those $481,098, Obama paid  $98,169 towards his income taxes. To some people, Obama’s salary may seem exaggerated. However, the President makes nothing compared to other celebrities. Johnson also  provided a chart that compares the income of  eleven different celebrities including Oprah Winfrey, Miley Cyrus, and Miguel Cabrera who I was not even familiar with.

Although I am no longer a fan of President Obama, it nearly breaks my heart to realize that an out of control 20 year old makes more money than the leader of the country I live in. Miguel Cabrera who plays for the Detroit Tigers will make the amount of money that the President makes after playing only 2.5 games.

After reading Johnson’s article I remembered watching a documentary on college sports. The documentary (whose name I don’t recall) revealed that we as a society under value education but on the other hand give significant importance to popular culture. I learned that the salaries of college sports coaches overwhelmingly outweighed the salaries of college professors. A student athlete also confessed that he spends 80% of his time training/practicing and 20% studying or in class. Although he didn’t mention anything about his grades we can assume that they’re not the best.  It is evident that some students are admitted thanks to their athletic skills as opposed to their academic skills.

The Business Insider also published an article titled “Here are the salaries for the highest-paid college basketball coaches” . If you’re a college sports fan you might already know who is the highest paid coach. For those of you who have no clue, it is no other than Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of Duke University. Krzyzewski made $7.2 million in 2013 according to Cork Gaines (author of the article). Even the best paid college professor David N. Silvers of Columbia University makes almost $3 million less than the best paid coach. John Calipari coach of the Kentucky Wildcats came in second place with just $5.4 million. The third place was taken by Rick Pitino, another Kentucky coach (Louisville) who makes $5 million a year. I won’t name all of the best paid coaches but I do want to mention that Buzz Williams, former coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles basketball team came in 9th place with $2.8 million. If you think about it, the universities where these men coach or have coached at are very popular institutions. I remember when I was in high school, the majority of my classmates wanted to be a Marquette golden eagle. Others wanted to be a badger ( University of Wisconsin Madison). But is this a coincidence? I think not.

I’ll use Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin Madison to prove my point. I remember one of my current professors telling me she was professor at UW Madison before coming to Stritch. She said, “What I teach here, is exactly what I taught there”. So I ask myself, is a school (nowadays)worth more for its popularity than for its capacity to educate. Unfortunately it seems like that may be the case. In January of 2014, Forbes published the “21 reasons why student-athletes are employees and they should be allowed to unionize”. One of those reasons is that “student athletes have are required to miss class in order to play in nationally televised games that bring in revenue”. However the most important reason was that success in sports has a huge impact on application rates in many universities. Bingo! Who doesn’t want to be a student at an institution who’s famous for their football, basketball, etc team. Marquette’s tuition averages to about $36,00 per year and there are many students willing to pay that amount even if they’ll be in debt for years. I’m sure Marquette is a great university education wise, but is it really better than every other school in Wisconsin? I can’t say anything for myself but I will say its prestige has a huge impact on the students’ perspective of the school. In conclusion, popular culture can certainly make the difference in our checks.

Reality

As a reality TV fan, taking this class has rocked my world. Of course I had a general understanding that reality shows aren’t 100% real, but I’ve nit picked some of my favorite shows as the semester progressed and came to terms with the idea that reality TV isn’t really real at all.

            Not saying I’m a professional Reality TV analyst, but it amazes me how much I’ve reconsidered my shows. First of all, Survivor is in its 20-something season and I’ watched the first few seasons when I was younger, took a long break, and now I’ve watched the last few seasons. I’ve noticed how convenient it is that recording is done on a deserted island or an isolated area and during a balancing-type challenge, the wind just happens to pick up at a climatically appropriate time. Or on a challenge where there’s climbing involved, the rain comes down harder than ever, again at a climactically appropriate time. The worst part about it is that the host, Jeff Probst, comments on how “ironic” it is that it’s occurring. Good one, CBS. However, after this many seasons, it’s clearly proven itself to work.

            Next victim: Teen Mom. This one is a little different. It is blatantly obviously that the dialogue is staged. It’s understandable when a camera can’t be in a courtroom, but make it a little more natural. I don’t think that your lawyer is asking you what the outcome was in your case, what your visitation rights are, or what your charges are. If they are, you might have just gotten lucky. Similar to the lawyer-client interaction, I don’t think you need to remind your family members on a weekly basis of what the medical diagnosis is for your daughter. I understand the importance of raising awareness and what not, but there are other, more subtle ways.

            The one type of show I haven’t found the flaw in yet are my favorite: the cooking competition shows. I still, after several hours of trying to figure it out, cannot discover the trick. However, I’m not convinced that that doesn’t mean there are none, because now I’m critical and skeptical of everything. No show is safe.

Bucket lists. We all have them. They may not be written down or in any order, but there is something that everyone wants to do before they pass. Why are bucket lists such of a huge trend among people? My theory is that people want to believe that they have lived a full life; that they have done everything that they thought was important or thrilling in order to give there life more meaning, more purpose, and more excitement. 

Since I turned 18, I have started working on a bucket list. To me, it gives me something to work towards other than school and well, work. I am not crazy obsessed with my bucket list, it won’t break my heart if I do not complete all of the things that I would like to do. To me, fulfilling a task on my list just makes me value the experiment more, knowing that I had wanted to do it for some time. I figure I will share some of my top bucket list ideas. Maybe it will be something that you may want to add to yours or even inspire you to create a list of your own. 

Not in any particular order, I give you some of my list.

1) Travel the world

 

 

This particular item is on the list of many people. For me, it is more than just going to different places and seeing the sights. I want to experience it and live it. Meet the people, interact with them and share my story and listen to theirs. I want to try the foods (even the ones that I swore I never would) and learn about their culture. This item is more about personal growth and being open to the different people around me than it is about sight seeing, although that is a huge bonus!

2) Swim with dolphins

Okay, so I don’t really have a reason for this one besides that I love dolphins and I think it would be quite the experience. I do have my issues with their captivity though so I will admit, I struggle with this one. 

3) Scuba diving

I’ve always wanted to do this. Swim with fish (out of captivity! :D) and explore the aquatic life in its natural setting. This is one of those experiences that I don’t think one can fully understand until they do it. Hopefully checking this one off of my list soon!

4) Hot air Balloon

I’ve been in a helicopter and seen the many great sights but I’d love to slow it down a bit and feel the air from a higher viewpoint. There is something magical about hot air balloons. I have wanted to ride one since the first time that I saw The Wizard of Oz as a small child so of course it made it to my list! 

5) Sky diving

People tell me that I am crazy for this one but I really want to do this. I have been terrified of heights for as long as I can remember so I think that if I can get myself to jump out of a plane, I can handle going up a ladder. Of course I wouldn’t want to do it alone but I do want to feel the rush of free falling. My step dad has done this twice and said it is the best high anyone will ever experience. That being said, this one is getting crossed off of my list this summer. WISH ME LUCK!

6) Learn how to mold pottery

Another movoie reference, Ghost! I want to learn to mold clay. I actually don’t even care if I am good at it, I just want to try it for the relaxing appeal. I am a very hands on person and I think this is something that would allow my mind to wander and let go of some stress. Maybe it will become a hobby.

7) Adoption

I know this one will be a while from now but some day, I want to adopt one child. Of course, I want to physically have my own children but I would also like to adopt a child and raise them as my own. I think that adoption is a beautiful thing and I want to be a part of it some day. 

Well, that is all of the items on my list that I am sharing for now. Are there any that you have that I did not mention? 

Synthol Injecting

So apparently its becoming very popular to inject synthol into your muslces to make them look 10x bigger. Its old news to many bodybuilders because many will do whatever it takes to get some size advantages. But just recently a man from brazil known as Arlindo De Souza has taking synthol injecting to a whole other level. Not only does he look ridiculous but he believes he looks perfectly fine, even sexy. His bi ceps are 29 inches and considered to be the one of the biggest in the world, but theyre fake. His body is filled with synthol and basically looks like a bunch of lumps hanging off his body. Its very disgusting and hard to believe in my opinion but I guess it makes Arlindo “cool” in his community. He says he doesnt care if his arms explode because he just get surgery to repair it. Its very ironic though, that hes wearing a tank top with the name Zyzz on it. For those who dont know who Zyzz was, he was extremely popular on youtube and enjoyed showing off his aesthetic body online. Zyzz did take steroids but he looked a lot more appealing and way more aesthetic than Arlindo. Zyzz was all about having a muscular physique that made others jealous and Arlindo definitely doesnt have that. Synthol is nothing but toxic oil that will only infect and amputations to happen if you inject it into your body. I am very surprised that people like Arlindo still even think about injecting synthol into their body after what happened to Greg Valentinto. He holds the record for the biggest biceps in the world but it wasnt natural, not even close. He also injected synthol into his biceps to make them look ginormous but after constantly injecting and using dirty needles his bicep muscle got infected and ended up exploding. His bicep developed a very nasty ball of puss and his arm needed surgery instantly to prevent it from getting amputated. Greg says he was careless about the whole process and was only worried about having big arms like every other guy. Synthol does make your arms very big but its nothing but a tone of toxic oil overlapping the  muscle beneath the skin. It doesnt increase strength nor does it help build muscle. Its basically like putting make up on for girls, but it just has life threatening consequences. Arlindo from brazil says the synthol injecting helps him attract girls and loves the attention he gets. Im not sure if he realizes that they are most likely fascinated by the amount of stupidity he has taken just to have people look at him. Its scary knowing synthol is becoming popular over there in Brazil and it has already affected the younger community. Arlindo is 43 but synthol being so cheap and easy to get has been exposed to young boys looking to look like Arlindo. You would think Arlindo being in his 40’s would have some kind of common sense and mature way of thinking, but i guess thats not the case. Steroids are a lot more expensive and harder to get than synthol so i can see why synthol is becoming popular in poor areas like Brazil, but that doesnt mean they have to do these crazy things. This is where pop culture plays a big part with people like Zyzz and Arnold who have an enormous influence guys who want to looks muscular like them. Arlindo himself said he looked up to and worshiped Arnold because of his “perfect” body. Celebrities and popular will make “normal” everyday people in society want to do things they wouldnt think of if it wasnt for them. Having a muscular body and big arms is every guys dream and I feel like Arnold is one of those who should take the blame for that lifestyle. If we thought steroids was already bad , synthol is just on another level. It just shows how far guys are willing to go to get a feeling of satisfaction by having gigantic arms. Our body image is just too important to us and we will do anything to obtain that body we think is perfect. This is why Arlindo thinks he looks good and is happy with his synthol body, because he thinks he somehow is on the same level Arnold was on. He thinks he can finally compare himself to Arnold because his arms are so big that he may have even surpassed him. All in all i think this synthol thing has gotten way out of hand and it should be banned everywhere. People shouldnt have to see someone in public with synthol lumps all over the place, its just nasty. But than again I feel like this Arlindo guy can be used as a an example of what not to do. He is living proof of what can happen to your healthy bodies if you mess with junk like synthol or even steroids. He definitely  scared me away from those toxic drugs for good. Id rather have a beer belly than have synthol lumps all over my body waiting to explode.

Donald Sterling is the owner of the Los Angeles Clippers basketball team. He is also the culprit of the most recent racist remarks. He was recorded by his girlfriend during a heated argument. The topic of the argument was black people. Sterling did not like the fact that his girlfriend, which is mixed between Mexican and African American associates herself with blacks and publicizes it. In the recording of the argument, Sterling says that he does not like it when she posts pictures of herself with blacks on instagram because she is promoting their race and color. He also mentions that he does not want her to bring blacks to his games because he does not want the people her around blacks. Another very racist thing he said was that he wished that she was not mixed. This whole thing has blown up into a huge problem that is being talked about everywhere and on every channel I watch. Through the media, the news of this happening spread so fast that it got the attention of even government officials. The mayors of Los Angels and Sacramento stood together and had a press conference about the incident that talked about the incident. The NBA has permanently banned him for life of being a general manager of a basketball team. As well as that, he has been fine 2.5 million dollars due to his actions and words. For the last two weeks, and more to come, this is going to be the topic on all sports channels, unless something huge happens in baseball other than a diving catch. It is good that our popular culture is able to spread news that matter efficiently because the younger generations of this culture does not listen to NPR or read the newspapers. This will help enrich their minds in some of the more important problems in the world. In class we talked about how pop culture helps us, and spreading news quickly and to a broader population is one of those ways. Now a days, kids get most of their information through twitter and facebook, and the fact that big name celebrities and athletes are also on those social media sites updating and tweeting, it is easier for them to know what is going on when something happens. This is because we all know that when something big happens, most celebrities and athletes are asked about it by the press to get their thoughts about the incident. And the reason for this is because if it is someone well known talking, people want to listen. Although this is looked at negatively most of the times because who wants to hear what a celebrity wants to say about a topic they know nothing of, like government politics. The main point is that the issue is still being addressed and spread even quicker than if it were some random person no one knows of who is an expert in the subject. With this issue of racism caused by Sterling, basically everyone involved in the NBA had something to say. And the majority of them said it on twitter which spread their thoughts and views on it even more. The fact that NBA players’ twitter accounts are under watch through the NBA, their point of views on the situation were all able to be taken into account with deciding what the punishment for Sterling would be, which is being banned for life and a fine of 2.5 million dollars. It is safe to say that pop culture does not only make us better by the ability to obtain and spread news quickly, it can help by letting the world have a say in a situation.