Even though work place fires only account for 8% of all work place deaths (the lowest ranked environmental reason for deaths in the work place); it's still important to be prepared because you never know when tragedy will strike.
(Statistic retrieved from http://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/cfoi/cfch0008.pdf)
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
Friday, February 18, 2011
(Don't You Want Me Baby by Atomic Tom) Take Me Home Tonight 80s Movie Re...
This is a music video made for the the upcoming movie "Take Me Home Tonight". It's a great remake of the song Don't You Want Me Baby; but it's appeal comes from the homage it pays to all our favorite 80's tv and movie moments/characters. The youth today might not understand where some of these spoofs are coming from. But it brings light to a genre that has had so much influence on today's television. ENJOY!!!!!!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Exploratory 3
The Office - Gay Witch Hunt
The Office is one of those shows that you either love or you hate. The humor is on the awkward side and many people find it offensive.
The show takes place in a PA town called Scranton. And it is based on the characters who work in a paper supply business (Dunder-Mifflin). The main character is Michael, the socially awkward and offensive Regional Manager. The other characters all have second place major roles: Jim (the go-getter prankster), Pam (the girl next door receptionist), Dwight (the very very odd rule follower), Andy (the hopeless romantic, ex-anger management), Oscar (the know it all), Angela (Up-tight), Kevin (food obsessed, fat guy). The office pretty much takes all your possible stereotypes and turns them upside down.
Synopsis
For this particular episode Michael learns that Oscar is gay, after Toby (the HR Rep) confronts Michael about some politically incorrect terminology he has been using in the office (faggy). After Toby talks to Michael, he informs him that this is a secret and it should be kept this way. Michael then proceeds to confront Oscar in the middle of the office and tells him that he's sorry and that he never knew. Michael then asks Oscar if they can go out for a beer so Oscar can explain how he can do those things to a man (while the rest of the office overhears all this). After being harassed by a another employee (Angela... blatantly using purell to sanatize her hands after every interaction) for being gay, Oscar talks to Toby and Toby then confronts Michael.
Feeling bad about outing Oscar, Michael hosts a meeting about homosexuality, where he attempts to present himself as open-minded and progressive. Showing everyone in the office that hugging and kissing a gay man, doesn't get you sick. After all of this the head of Dunder Mifflin give Oscar 3 months of paid vacation and a company car if he promises not to press charges. Oscar agrees and before the show ends, he looks at the camera and says, "See kids, it pays to be gay." and smiles.
This episode to me was one of the craziest line pushers of the series. I had a hard time not cringing through the whole thing, because it was like watching a horrible train wreak for 21 minutes (netflix). But as you watch and see how Oscar handles the situation, I feel that the educational value comes from the ending. Oscar obliviously didn't want to be outed, but embarrasses his identity. He only once denied it in the episode and after that accepted what was happening and handled it by going through the proper chain of command. The whole educational value of the show comes from seeing stereotypes played and understanding the reason they are given so much attention is because they are ridiculous. Everyone is different and through understanding and compassion an office can run, even with conflicting ideas and personalities.
The Office is one of those shows that you either love or you hate. The humor is on the awkward side and many people find it offensive.
The show takes place in a PA town called Scranton. And it is based on the characters who work in a paper supply business (Dunder-Mifflin). The main character is Michael, the socially awkward and offensive Regional Manager. The other characters all have second place major roles: Jim (the go-getter prankster), Pam (the girl next door receptionist), Dwight (the very very odd rule follower), Andy (the hopeless romantic, ex-anger management), Oscar (the know it all), Angela (Up-tight), Kevin (food obsessed, fat guy). The office pretty much takes all your possible stereotypes and turns them upside down.
For this particular episode Michael learns that Oscar is gay, after Toby (the HR Rep) confronts Michael about some politically incorrect terminology he has been using in the office (faggy). After Toby talks to Michael, he informs him that this is a secret and it should be kept this way. Michael then proceeds to confront Oscar in the middle of the office and tells him that he's sorry and that he never knew. Michael then asks Oscar if they can go out for a beer so Oscar can explain how he can do those things to a man (while the rest of the office overhears all this). After being harassed by a another employee (Angela... blatantly using purell to sanatize her hands after every interaction) for being gay, Oscar talks to Toby and Toby then confronts Michael.
Feeling bad about outing Oscar, Michael hosts a meeting about homosexuality, where he attempts to present himself as open-minded and progressive. Showing everyone in the office that hugging and kissing a gay man, doesn't get you sick. After all of this the head of Dunder Mifflin give Oscar 3 months of paid vacation and a company car if he promises not to press charges. Oscar agrees and before the show ends, he looks at the camera and says, "See kids, it pays to be gay." and smiles.
This episode to me was one of the craziest line pushers of the series. I had a hard time not cringing through the whole thing, because it was like watching a horrible train wreak for 21 minutes (netflix). But as you watch and see how Oscar handles the situation, I feel that the educational value comes from the ending. Oscar obliviously didn't want to be outed, but embarrasses his identity. He only once denied it in the episode and after that accepted what was happening and handled it by going through the proper chain of command. The whole educational value of the show comes from seeing stereotypes played and understanding the reason they are given so much attention is because they are ridiculous. Everyone is different and through understanding and compassion an office can run, even with conflicting ideas and personalities.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Happy Valentines Day
In honor of the holiday I have listed some of my favorite tv couples (in no particular order)
Jim Halpert & Pam Beesly (The Office)
Carrie Bradshaw & Aidan Shaw (Sex and the City)
Claire & Charlie (Lost)
Mike & Carol Brady (The Brady Bunch)
Rachel Green & Ross Geller (Friends)
Barb, Nicki, & Margene (Big Love)
Marshall Eriksen & Lily Aldrin (How I met your mother)
Luke & Lorelai (Gilmore Girls)
Mulder & Scully (The X-Files)
Desmond & Penny (Lost)
Cameron & Mitchell (Modern Family)
Corey & Topanga (Boy Meets World)
Heathcliff & Clair (The Cosby Show)
President Obama on the National Wireless Initiative
One of the greatest things about the advancement of technology is how you actually don't have to be somewhere to see something happen. Online broadcasting of events has become really big and I am a frequent user/viewer of online broadcasting. Especially when it comes to my Alma Mater Northern Michigan University. I commonly watch online broadcast of hockey games. To move the game from the computer to the big screen we hook everything up to the television so the whole house can watch it easily.
Recently the NMU community had one of the greatest privileges, the White House and President selected NMU as a University leading higher education in technology advancement. And in turn, President Obama decided to visit the great ol' U.P. to tell us how wonderful our technology is. Being 1,000's of miles away I was excited but yet extremely disappointed. So like hundreds of other NMU alumni and students, that weren't able to get to campus to see Obama speak, we took to the computer and watched him through online broadcasting. The irony of this is that Obama was talking about NMU's wireless broadband and how NMU, despite the snow, was able to build a network that spans over 30 miles to allow students off campus (as well as fire and police departments and k-12 schools) the ability to log on.
With that said, we should take note of the possible plus sides to nationwide broadband access for schools. To give you a feeling, all the schools (K-12) that were hooked up on NMU's broadband sat in their classrooms and watched Obama live online. And before his speech the schools were hooked up and had a live discussion with Obama.
I am from the backwoods of Michigan (I mean backwoods) and for students to have the opportunity to talk to the president LIVE, well that is utterly amazing!! Since many of these children won't ever leave the upper peninsula area, having this type interaction provides them a window to the outside world... A window with a microphone.
Here is the talk posted to youtube. :)
Recently the NMU community had one of the greatest privileges, the White House and President selected NMU as a University leading higher education in technology advancement. And in turn, President Obama decided to visit the great ol' U.P. to tell us how wonderful our technology is. Being 1,000's of miles away I was excited but yet extremely disappointed. So like hundreds of other NMU alumni and students, that weren't able to get to campus to see Obama speak, we took to the computer and watched him through online broadcasting. The irony of this is that Obama was talking about NMU's wireless broadband and how NMU, despite the snow, was able to build a network that spans over 30 miles to allow students off campus (as well as fire and police departments and k-12 schools) the ability to log on.
With that said, we should take note of the possible plus sides to nationwide broadband access for schools. To give you a feeling, all the schools (K-12) that were hooked up on NMU's broadband sat in their classrooms and watched Obama live online. And before his speech the schools were hooked up and had a live discussion with Obama.
I am from the backwoods of Michigan (I mean backwoods) and for students to have the opportunity to talk to the president LIVE, well that is utterly amazing!! Since many of these children won't ever leave the upper peninsula area, having this type interaction provides them a window to the outside world... A window with a microphone.
Here is the talk posted to youtube. :)
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
So is there really a difference?
They both are trying to show their affection and be honest about their feelings. Is there really a difference? Are they both equally unflattering/flattering? How would you respond? What are the guys intentions?
vs.
Essay Draft
Television and Youth have been a hot topic since the early 70’s. Researchers have exhausted the field with so many studies and contradicting data, leaving those on the receiving end (parents, children, and educators) confused on whether to allow or use the medium. As our society becomes enriched with different forms of technology, television is being coined as the obsolete technology. But the truth is youth find ways to watch television, even if it’s not on the actual medium itself. With Hulu, Google TV, network websites, and pirated tv show websites; youth are watching tv on their laptops, cell phones, etc. No longer is television the main medium to watch tv.
With children today developing in a world that is multifaceted it is important to examine how the use of extraneous technologies enhance or detract from the actual television shows. Children are still watching television but what are they doing after they watch the show? For example take the television show “Pretty Little Liars” that is aired on ABC Family. If you go to the actual ABC Family website you can go to the shows webpage. On the page(s) you can find online episodes (in case you missed one), challenges/quizzes (passing allows you a peak at the next episodes script), blogs from the characters, writers, and styling staff on every topic about the show, cast spotlight, itunes downloads, discussion boards, and so much more. So in reality, the show doesn’t stop when the episode is over.
So what are youth doing with this type of information? Are they actually going online and utilizing the information available? Are they calling/texting their friends and chatting about what they just viewed? Are they going to their cell phones to download the latest music they heard on the show? Television is very deeply ingrained in our culture and is a far call from becoming obsolete. If anything, television has become more interactive with the invention of new technologies. It is important to look at how the information from the show and other areas are applied to the life of the viewer; are the viewers actually doing research about the show and is this research leading to something bigger? How can parents and teachers harness this curiosity and use it for a teaching moment? Does the use of multiple technologies to enhance television viewing, improve the thought processes and investigation skills of the viewer?
Overall, it is important to look at how children are receiving information about television shows both from the episode and from other technologies and what they are doing with information, and then to observe how this type of investigative research effects the Childs overall development.
With children today developing in a world that is multifaceted it is important to examine how the use of extraneous technologies enhance or detract from the actual television shows. Children are still watching television but what are they doing after they watch the show? For example take the television show “Pretty Little Liars” that is aired on ABC Family. If you go to the actual ABC Family website you can go to the shows webpage. On the page(s) you can find online episodes (in case you missed one), challenges/quizzes (passing allows you a peak at the next episodes script), blogs from the characters, writers, and styling staff on every topic about the show, cast spotlight, itunes downloads, discussion boards, and so much more. So in reality, the show doesn’t stop when the episode is over.
So what are youth doing with this type of information? Are they actually going online and utilizing the information available? Are they calling/texting their friends and chatting about what they just viewed? Are they going to their cell phones to download the latest music they heard on the show? Television is very deeply ingrained in our culture and is a far call from becoming obsolete. If anything, television has become more interactive with the invention of new technologies. It is important to look at how the information from the show and other areas are applied to the life of the viewer; are the viewers actually doing research about the show and is this research leading to something bigger? How can parents and teachers harness this curiosity and use it for a teaching moment? Does the use of multiple technologies to enhance television viewing, improve the thought processes and investigation skills of the viewer?
Overall, it is important to look at how children are receiving information about television shows both from the episode and from other technologies and what they are doing with information, and then to observe how this type of investigative research effects the Childs overall development.
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