U.S. Debate in Boxing on Twitter

#Obama just landed a great right hook...."There's also less horses and bayonets"..(When Romney talked of fewer ships than 1917)

Tweeted by: Steph Bitten (Canada: London, Ontario)

There's always wonderful comentary on Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook and really any social media site. The third 'round' of the US precidency debate was turned into a boxing match via Twitter by the use of analogies and funny references.

The quote above is one of my favourites out of the ones that I saw from this list here. It's short, sweet and shows how invalid some of Romney's points can be. Personally, boxing has never been my thing and I don't usually keep up on it along with a lot of other sports but the use of it for the debate was rather clever and brilliant. "In the red corner we have Romney and in the blue corner we have Obama!"

And then of coarse the memes come to highlight the best lines. One created around this line, is a gif to one of my favourite American Revolution movies.

On Tumblr, everyone was cheering at this 'right hook' however more then half of my main dashboard (home screen/newsfeed) was filled with others wanting him to make a comment along the lines of "Yes but you're also someone who wanted to know why they couldn't roll down an airplane window."

Let the American Elections Continue!

Just another meme...

The typical stereotype of girls make guys sandwiches is exposed in this comic book styled meme. The original context and origin of the graphic is unknown to me however the intention is clear and rather hilarious given all the 'go make me a sandwich' and sexist jokes that suround it.
The mainstream 'go make me a sandwich' was brought back and is most popular with online gaming. Usually when a girl enters the chat, loby or game (whatever you call it on your platform of gaming) one of the 'tough' guys will tell them to go make them a sandwich. Usually how girls respond to this is over kill or an outrageously high ranking on the score board at the end of the match. In my opinion, this is one of the most accurate gaming girl memes out there~

Now you're just a meme that I used to know: A look and definition of memes

1. Copy and paste the definition of meme from Wikipedia, include a link so we know where you got it from.

 A meme is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture." A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate and respond to selective pressures. Definition from Wikipedia (source)

2. Write your own definition of meme in simple terms.

A meme is a concept and interpretation of modern pop culture, changing the meaning of something or adding a funny caption to an image out of context of altering the original lines. These are mostly used as spoofs on movies, events, television shows and the odd photograph that stands out in the media.

3. Find a cultural meme that has meaning to you and post it on your blog. 

4- Explain your meme to us. What is the meaning of the meme?

This is a spoof off the olympics and the views the international broadcast had of the Queen. Her serly expression while the countires were coming into the opening ceremonies was originally captioned "Look at all the countries I used to own." before someone made a Gotye spoof from the song "Somebody that I used to know." The paining is the makeup that Gotye wore in the music video and his expressionless face translates to the Queen. Other spoofs have been made with the same image, for example a Doctor Who one. Fans and Englanders were all awaiting a tribute to the 50 year old Brittish show however were only given the sound of the TARDIS materializing. Due to this, another set of memes were made:

And another one is the Hunger Games meme which was quite popular on Tumblr given the fact that there was still plenty rave after the movie and the books. The Queen looks just as serly as President Snow, the head of the district os Panem and the Capitol, who is the main antagonist in the trilogy.

A Study of dyed hair: Trend Tracking- The media's view

When looking through media sites and finding images, a few links both confirmed trend for 2012 as well as predicted them if they were published paged in 2011.

Here are a few for referenses and sources:

Your average teen/adult loking for trends and information: http://beauty.about.com/od/haircutscolor/a/colorforhair.htm

Celeb looks: http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/beauty-and-hair/celebrity/hair/2010/09/celebrity-two-tone-hair

Overview of hair trends for 2012: http://www.totalbeauty.com/content/gallery/best-2012-hair-trends

Predictions for 2013: http://www.squidoo.com/2013-hair-trends-hairstyles-and-haircolor-ideas
"Have fun with your hair color for 2013, since pretty much anything goes. From bold hair color choices such as purple or pink to dipped dyed ends and rainbow colored highlights."

It's predicted that the bright and bold colours of dyed hair are here to stay for another year as well as a few twists on the ombre style and typical hair-dos non-related to dye. Time will only tell if it's true or if another trend will sneak its way into the media and the hair salons and drugstore hair aisles for 2013.

A study of dyed hair: Trend Tracking

When asked about hair a lot of (female and some male) students at the school said the most they would do it dye it a natural colour, most of that section and responce said it would be to change their natural deep brown/black hair colour to something a little more lighter and unique. Unique. That's the word that was repeated over and over again by almost everyone. Those who chose to go along with the 'dip dye' fashion trend for hair who used a bright neon colour alien to natural hair colour said it was so show a unique quality of themselves, or simply be cool and in trend. I myself have 'peek-a-boo' highlights (the underlayer of hair is dyed so it can peek out from under the top layers) in the colour purple although it fades to a pretty cool teal colour or something along that colour pallet. My reasons and motives for dying my hair is what most of the artists and artistic folk at school agreed with. "I dyed my hair to bring out an inner artistic side and show my creativity and individulaity."
Two catagories for one answer- "why did you dye your hair?"
1. "I dyed it to be unique"
2. "I dyed it because it's in and I wanted to be on trend."

Peek-a-boo highlights:

Dip Dye: (Natural and vibrant)


One responce that wasn't heard too often was "To be like..." Dyed hair in my opinion is a unique choice and few choose to do it because a celebrity did it or a friend did. Most use the same style as the current trend but the colours and techniques range from ombre to vibrant colours to patterns to solids. Oportunities are endless.

Jennifer's Message to her Bully

Jennifer, a news reporter on television with a little fuller figure was sent a message asking her to step out of the camera so teenagers and women around the area who watch the news station will be given a better message about figure. This is a personal belief of mine but I think he asked her to stop doing exactly what she was doing. She was giving women a message that it's okay to be a little larger - it won't effect your career the way everyone makes you think it will. She explains that she has a husband, family and lots of loyal viewers who supported her. I think that's something to be idolized. The fact that this 'stranger' as Jennifer calls him, not releasing his name because she's a better woman then he is, has his values out of place and is just a little sexist of figure. Yes, on almost all the broadcasts and news shows the female reporters have a nive slim figure with flattering porportions but that speaks out to women who look like that in a positive way and to the women who are a little larger then a size 0, it tells them they need to looks like that, which as I have had personal experience with surrounding friends and myself, can lead to poor dieting and eating disorders. Not everyone can look like a Barbie doll or a cookie cutter cut out of a Kardashian, then again... not everyone wants to. The issue with Jennifer's bully is so much more then hate, it's sending a poor message to women everywhere and the idea that this man has that he's doing good for the community is one that really does frustrate me.
There are so many posts on social media sites like this one I'm writing now cerculated on apperances vs. self-esteme vs. eating disorders and almost all of them are inspiring and supportive of being who you are and not killing yourself over trying to look like a plastic toy with blonde hair, blue eyes and a pink logo in the back reading 'Barbie' 

Link to the Toronto Star Article here

Big Bird vs. Romney

It's well known to PBS fans and viewers that Romney is planning on cutting the funds, but he and his kids love Big Bird, Sesame Street's well known and loved yellow feathered bird, and the supporters of Obama have used this to their advantage in campaign ads.

The newest ad for Obama and propaganda video, Big Bird- Obama for America is Big Bird's view on the problem by showing his support for Obama and lack of support for Romney. It's target audience is pretty much everyone whose ever loved Big Bird or any beloved character on the show or on PBS - which is much larger then one would think. This message is enticing for kids because they see a character they grew up with and enticing on another added level to voters, understanding the risks of voting Romny into presedency. It shows not only that Romney is against the funding for PBS, because when you take it to the larger scale and look at the consequences of canceling the funding and the station itself, thousands will be out of work and loose their jobs. So Romney is against the funding for PBS, willing to throw highered jobs out the window and cancel the publicly funded station... but he and his kids love Big Bird.

Media Trend Proposal- Dyed Hair

Group members: Madeline, Robin and myself
Proposed Trend: Hair
Our proposal is to do a study on the fashion trend of hair. Dip dye, Peek-a-boo highlights and random bright colours have all made their way into fashion in the recent year and almost half the girls at Riverdale supposidly have dyed their hair or show plenty of care for it with product and styling tools (some of the guys aren't too different with their sky high styles either). Dyed hair in both vibrant colours and plain natural tones have made a huge impact on todays teens, whether their trying to idolize Lady Gaga, Katy Perry or Nicki Minaj, Rihanna, or simply trying to express their individuality and artistic style its evident in teen culture.

Media Trends: Doctor Who

Doctor Who, your BBC sci-fi show that's been on televisions for almost 50 years, and has only gotten more popular. Recently the show has had an enormous trend and popularity in Canada and The United States -as well as another show Steven Moffat is a co-director of (BBC's Sherlock- Elementary is the new American version).
The Doctor, a Timelord from the planet Gallifrey has stollen the hearts of many over the world now as it's turned into a fenomenon on an internation scale.

1. What are the different techniques used to inform, persuade, entertain, and attract attention?
Different techinques used are ads in magazines (covers and teasers), half season mini-sodes (for series 7 there was a 5 part miniseries averaging about 3 minutes titled 'Pond Life'), merchandise (tshirts, hoodies- your general clothing products and costume pieces- as well as various things ranging from a TARDIS cookie jar to a toy or prop replica sonic screwdriver). The stars themseleves also play a huge role, Matt Smith and Karen Gillian are both in the spotlights on interview shows, in the common media and just by being themselves they've inticed viewers to watch the show. Also the general Doctor Whos and 'Whovians' themselves from the previous generations before the re-boot of the series by Russle T. Davies in 2005. The stories they tell about the previous episodes from 50 years ago have made the new generations of Whovians want to go back and watch the originals. A marketing scheme within the fans themselves.

2. What messages are communicated (and/or implied) about certain people, places, events, behaviours, lifestyles, etc.? 

Doctor who reaches the topics of humans, love, life, economy and pretty much anything a writer for an episode can think of- It's Sci-Fi you can do almost anything! Example: A two parter episode and the series 1 finally titled 'Bad Wolf' and 'The Parting of the Ways' is set in the year 200,000 and reaches the topic of television- specifically shows like 'The Wakest Link', 'Big Brother' and 'What Not to Wear'. The premise of the episode is that the Doctor and his companions are taken by force to play in reality shows that 'kill you' when you loose. The weakest link, Big Brother and typical fashion and physical reconstruction shows are all poked at and twisted into the deadly show. Another episode concerning transportation, plution and the excessive use of cars, 'GridLocked' where families have been traped along a highway under the city for more then 20 years, some children born in the tunnels. The eipose displays human resourfulness and the problems we have with backed up roads, highways and going to the worse case scenario in this episode, if you travel more then 5 feet in one day- that is a very very good day for driving. Crazy yeah?

Another topic brushed on - out of the so many there are - is human behaviour. The scenarios are all to the extreme - sci-fi and television will do that - but time after time The Doctor is faced with Humans and our emotions, reactions and our selfish needs. Whether it's panicing, willing to kill someone to save ourselves or sharing the planet with a new species that has been inhabiting the inner crusts long before Humans evolved, the concept is always relevant. Humans will behave in some of the oddest ways and most unpredictable ways. Reckless or cautious, for our own benefit or a strangers, the episodes and characters are always relatable.

Topics conveyed about events (in the past) is that there's always something the general public doesn't know- an episode around WW2 and another one around the London Blitz- and those set in the future show that even though the human race has evolved, there are still the problems we have today.

Trend Tracking

1. Research some current trends in teen fashion and culture.

2. List 5 trends that you can find and post them with pictures on your blog. 

Backpacks and sneakers (unisex)


Leather Jackets (unisex- targeted at women this season)

Skinny Jeans (women and unisex)

Leg Warmers (Women)



Dr. Martens (unisex)



3. Who is the target audience, and how is the product  specifically tailored to them? 
_Backpacks and sneakers: Mostly students - in high school and in university/college - and your typical kid on the street. The bright colours and intricate and unique designs are eye catching and can express ones individuality; which in high school is what most students need.
_Leather Jackets: The typical leather jacket- a staple to most closets and fashion lovers- is a fashion trend that has been brought back every season with a different twist to it. This year for 2012-2013 Fall and Winter, it's trendy to have a deep red and wine coloured leather jacket, leather dress, leather pants, leather bag- not all at once of coarse- but this year the leather dress has returned on runways all around the world. That's been targeted at a wider audience, more adult women in that trend as it's been on the runways and in various fashion weeks on an international scale.
_Skinny Jeans: Where would we be today without them? To the relief of many the trend of boys in colourful skinny denim has faded with the past year and now that trend is mainly kept alive by girls in highschool and early adulthood. Your typical skinny jean is still a hot trend with women of all ages and is mixing with patterned denim coloured denim as well as your typical trouser for those who don't like denim. The sexy fit and ways of customizing the product are what catches others eyes, the colours, the washes, the ability to wear them either dressed up or dressed down (formal or casual) and who wears them. All aspects are what have kept this trend alive.
_Leg Warmers: This is a new trend for 2012-2013 but a trend that is breaking through DIY websites and various clothing catalogs. The new twist this year is wearing them with the other trend, knee high boots, over wither a pair of skinny jeans or leggings with a large sweater over top. This trend is still catching on but what is making it so popular is the avalibility of it, the comfort level and the warmth- as well as the fact that it looks great with a sweater dress for the winter and fall months.
_Dr. Martens: The brand and the boot that have made such an impact on highschool students and hipsters everywhere. The comfort, colours, prints and comfort level all make this shoe so popular- as well as the brand name attached to it.

4. Have you bought a product because it was trendy, why did it appeal to you? 
Recently I bought a pair of Dr. Martens, (from an online outlet store - 6pm.com - that sells trendy brands for a fraction of the price) and adore them. They're a higher platform heel which I absolutely love and much to my surprise the cushoning inside and the foot pad is comfortable to walk in for hours on end; after an 8 hour shopping day with my friend, I wasn't feeling the strain on my foot like a normal pair of heels would cause.
On the opposite side of the scale, a fashion trend I did fall victim for was a backpack at Urban Outfitters for $55. I bought it because it looked spectacular but after one day using it for school and straining my back, I returned it for a refund and bought my trusty MEC backpack -that cost me $40- that has lasted for 2 years now- and at a much better price too.