To the smooth, instrumental sounds of, "It was a Good Day" by Ice Cube, I'm awaken incredibly calmly. I guess this is my first media experience of the day, since this is the only alarm I can keep without getting incredibly annoyed/angry/upset or even throw my phone across my dorm room. I don't know why, but for some reason I cannot seem to give myself an alarm with any sort of lyrics. It also may be the lyrics of this song are not very "nice" to wake up to. My media and culture book states this very well, "On the other hand, hip-hop, like punk, has drawn criticsm for lyrics that degrade women, espouse homophobia, and applaud violence." (94) So the instrumental version of this song which I downloaded, suits me very well. After I wake up, I don't turn on the coffee pot that i'm not allowed to have in my room, and I don't pour myself a delicious blend of dunkin donuts coffee, milk, and sugar. I throw on my sweatshirt and shoes and head outside for my morning cigarette and cup of coffee.This is the only way I can start my day off right, if I don't have this morning cigarette, the whole day is completely backwards. I sit on the stoop of my building listening to the cars and students walk by for their morning classes. This may be the most peaceful part of my day, where I can sit and collect my thoughts. Me time, if you will. This is the first connection I make with the neocortex. I give myself these ten or so minutes to collect my thoughts and get ready for the day, questions like "What homework didn't I do last night? Did I email back my teacher? Am I ready for this test? Am I too stressed?" Not always am I so discombobulated, but I seem to find myself incredibly overwhelmed at times, I think about all this shit I'm supposed to do, and think about how to get it done accordingly.
(modest mouse, rhapsody.com)
After this morning cigarette, I head to the shower. I bring in my ipod, since I am ever-so-lucky to have a working ihome in this bathroom, I plug it in. I turn on the shower playlist that I have edited countless times, depending on the mood or the new band that I've recently become obsessed with. At this point in my life, I've been listening to more and more indie rock. My shower playlist consits of bands like Fleet Foxes, Dr. Dog, The Temper Trap, and The XX. I like these alternative sounds and they are soothing to take a shower too. "...or indies- record less commercially viable music, or music they hope will become commercially viable" (94) These bands are all a part of this indie culture, where their music is heard by many on the internet, before it is signed to a major label, if it is ever actually signed. Some of these artists like to keep themselves away from the mainstream, and I honestly do not blame them.
Normally, my days start with a class at either 9:30 or 11, let's say it's a tuesday. I head to rhetoric, one of my favorite classes, with one of my favorite teachers. (Don't worry Dr. W, you're still number one) I like this class so much because of the discussions we have. I feel close almost with the students of this class, since we spend so much time together in the CORE. Very often in this Rhetoric class, we watch youtube videos. This is the CONVERGENCE of this media, relating to what we're learning about in the class. To bring us into a lesson on a rhetorical analysis, my professor showed us 2 videos relating to teenagers using drugs. One was a public service announcement from the 80's, showing a father and his son speaking about marijuana. It's over dramatic persona made the class laugh- it was way too rehearsed and nothing like this could ever happen in the real world. The second was a more common ad, that most people have seen on any television station, an Above the Influence ad. It features a girl, and her talking dog, strange right? Well the talking dog explains to the girl that she's different under the influence of marijuana, and that he doesn't like it. Our professor has us compare and contrast these videos. What is the general message? Of course, it's don't smoke pot, it's bad. It's also spewing lies at us, like if we smoke marijuana even our pets are going to notice a change in our lives. And that the over dramatic PSA makes us feel almost sorry for the kid, for he learned this act by watching his father. In our media and culture book, theres a quote about PR that states "Some PR firms have edited Wikipedia entires for a client's benefit." (391) This connects to the eighties PSA, the writers of these PSA's edit the content to support a certain theme. They act like marijuana is the root of all evil and put it in a semi-believable situation to get everyone's attention. It's almost a sort of card-stacking approach. They aren't giving us all the information. In this class, we discuss a lot. The discussion period takes up almost all of the class almost every class. I find this the easiest way to get your own opinions and few points out, and still can hear others. It's a good way we use convergence, teaching others and learning what they have to say.
(Photo by me, Chillin' out with Biggie)
After class, before class, in between class, I spend most of my day listening to music. If it's not from the earbuds of my ipod, it's the speakers in my room. Constantly playing and downloading music, it's my favorite past time. When I find a new band or artist that I like, I tend to spend hours on hours replaying their cd or favorite songs. My roommate must get very sick of me, for usually about a weeks period I play the same stuff over and over. I do this to learn the lyrics, get deeper into the song, find out what I like and don't like. Recently I've discovered a new band, Bear Hands. They remind me a lot of MGMT with a mix of some more indie, less psychedelic tones. They are definately a part of the alternative scene, for when I bring them up in passing, it is very unlikely most of my friends have heard of them. "Perhaps, due to the internet, alternative music is more aternative (that is less commercial) than ever." (Media and Culture, 93) I think this quote puts that perfectly into perspective, artists whose music isn't heard on the radio is way less likely to create a bigger following. Music fans, like me, have to find music on my own, using websites like Myspace, Youtube, Grooveshark, and Pandora. The aesthetic shift is incredible, these multi-media platforms turn me on to brand new tunes! My limbic brain is always being nurtured, by the smooth sounds of music following me throughout the day. I spend hours on hours, in my bed, sitting in front of the computer screen. Making myself the most comfortable, with my christmas lights over my head, and beautiful music coming from my speakers. Oh relaxation, isn't it nice.
(tumblr.com)
Recently, I've created a Tumblr account, and yes, it has started taking over my life. I had heard of Tumblr before, but never really had a huge interest in the concept. It looked stupid, just people posting pictures and random little blog posts. But as I started going through it, I found a new way to discover some beautiful photography, and even just some funny or cool shots. It's a world of new things, typing in something in the search bar can open you to a world of possibilities. It's easy to use, and nurtures that limbic brain even more! Technically, you could consider it another blogging site, but I find it to be much more than that. "Blogs have become personal and coporate multi-media sites, sometimes with photos, graphics, and podcasts..." (52) I think it's your own place to express your feelings through pictures and art. It's very limbic-oriented. Each Tumblr tells a story about the person, the pictures they post and re-blog can actually show you a lot. It's easy to distinguish the difference between posting pictures, quotes, video, audio, and text. On your tumblr dashboard you're given a link for each of these, I think that it's a good way to organize your thoughts.
Another website I spend a lot of my day on is Facebook, or better yet Crackbook. As much as I hate that place, I find myself creeping through the newsfeed or someones recently uploaded pictures. "Facebook in particular has become one of the fastest growing sites on the internet." (53) Facebook to me, is sort of an art form. It used to be a place where we'd write on one another's walls, finding old friends, and looking at photos. It's become sort of a popularity contest, people posting witty status' and comments hoping and wishing for someone to press that "like" button. People rant and rave, about their days or that new song they just heard. People post these supposedly meaningless things for some sort of attention. I know when I see that red notification button pop-up I don't hesitate to see what someone has to say. It's not just social networking site anymore, it's a public forum.We want to capture the attention of our peers in three sentences or less, we make sure what we have to say is brilliant, or even some sort of poetic expression. All in all, a popularity contest.
(photobucket.com)
My day is clearly circled around the internet and computer, where it comes to my next topic, online TV. I've found a whole new world, watching all my favorite shows whenever I please. Websites like Megavideo, Loombo, and Sidereel are bookmarked and used very frequently. I am not so much into television, but being able to watch a whole season of a new show one right after another is helping me gain a love. Most recently, I've discovered the show Boardwalk Empire, the newest HBO hit. "Although HBO reaches less than one third the audience of apopular basic channel, it has remained the dominant premium channel in 2009." HBO always has something good for me, I love the new stories they come out with and it's easy to see why they stay the dominant premium channel. It's a story of prohibition, the gangsters, politicians, and how they connect as underground "drug dealers." Starring Steve Buscemi, playing Nucky Thompson, a politician and pretty much the king of Atlantic City. He stars as not only a public figure, but the dealer of illegal alcohol on the black market. The show is incredibly intense and risque, and if you haven't watched it, I strongly suggest you do. The only thing I have beef with on Online TV, is all the ads. I know how expensive videobandwith is, but these ads are so incredibly annoying. I know i've watched atleast 25 bounty quicker-picker uper ads on here, because they never change! Maybe I would watch the ads if they threw in some variety!
(photobucket.com)
Along with my online TV streak, recently we've set up the actual tv in my room. I haven't really gotten around to watching much of it, but this past weekend was a different story. Harry Potter weekend, hell yes. So i've been spending the last few days, catching up on all my HP. It's crazy how many times they can do Harry Potter weekends. On Abc Family they play all of them, well up to the sixth, for the whole weekend. And still, I log onto facebook and I see status' screaming "HP WEEKEND! FOR THE FIFTH TIME IN A ROW!" A little ridiculous, but we all love it. I know the most previous Harry Potter weekend was right before the new one came out. It got me so much more amped for the new movie, sort of in a product placement kind of way. I saw these old Harry Potter movies, and it motivated me to get ready for the new movie!
So by now, it's the end of the day. I've listened to music, watched tv, smoked a lot of cigarettes, and probably have done a lot of homework. At around 8, it's time for some more Hannah time. Depending on my mood, I sit back and read some of a book, listen to more music, hang out with some friends, or go out and get some food. Mostly it comes in the form of reading, or hanging with friends. Currently I'm reading the manifesto, Sex, Drugs & Cocoa Puffs by Chuck Khlosterman. Since I am only half way done through reading this, I can't really explain how well written it is. But so far, I am very intrigued. It's a manifesto, about all aspects of life. He speaks of lots of media related topics as well, such as The Real World. "In the early 1990's MTV began to shift from music video programming to creating orginal programming, including the first US reality based soap opera." (198) For about 20 pages, he rants about how since the beginning of the show there has always been the same characters in every single season. Different people, same personality traits and even looks. This really gets me thinking, wow, that's really true. It's because MTV has made such money off these "token" characters, why would they change things now? They find people to fit into the personas, "The Gay one" "The innocent-looking party girl" It's all a load of crap, trash tv is just in it for the cash.
(photobucket.com)
On another count, I might spend the evening hanging out with friends in my room. After all work is done and we're content, we can sit and play some N64 or even just chat. My favorite time is when we can all sit and talk about our days, things we've heard, new music we found, or some crazy website we stumbled upon. I find this is probably the most convergent part of my day, I learn so much more from my friends than I do other people, because I actually care what they have to say. Their opinions are very meaningful to me, I trust them. I like the things they have to say, and I keep that all in mind. It's like my own personal little newspaper, with my friends as the journalists. They show me what they've learned, and their opinions on the matter. "Maybe audiences would value news that matches the complicated storytelling that surrounds them in everything from tv dramas to interactive video games to their own conversations." (460)
And Finally, it's time for me to get my rest. I plug my headphones into my ipod, and then stick those earbuds right in my ear. I turn on my sleeping playlist, which holds songs from my favorites like Modest Mouse, Dr. Dog, Band Of Horses, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and a few others. This playlist plays on repeat the whole entire time I sleep, and I don't think I could fall asleep without it. The music is in my ears, and finally I can get some shuteye.
(photo by me)
Oh what a media filled day!!!!!
