Media Blog

Thursday November 26, 2009, Thanksgiving

Went to see the movie, 2012, in a theater located in downtown Dallas, TX. Driving to the movie theater saw about twenty billboards advertising everything from further online education to toothpaste, and Beer. Of all of the billboards I saw, the Bud Light had the most striking one as they constructed a rock waterfall with a tropical scene depicted in the middle. I cannot imagine what an exorbitant amount of money was spent to construct this waterfall. However, in TX, beer drinking seems to be a popular past time of many people so clearly the cost of the billboard is worth the benefit of profit.

At the movie theater, we say many advertisements, whether it be movie posters, scenes from movies playing on large scenes, or movie preview that advertised up and coming movies such as the Price of Persia, which is coming out in May of 2010.

Throughout out the movie, there were a few subtle advertisements promoting certain products or places such as an expensive Bently car, Yellowstone National Park, plastic surgery, etc.

Friday, November 27, 2009, Black Friday

We went shopping latter in the evening around 4 pm. By that point it seemed that most of the craziness had subsided. We only went to one store, Marshalls, where we saw a few advertisements for various shoes or clothing products being sold in the store. Surprisingly, there were far fewer advertisements in the store than your typical department store such as JcPenny’s or Macy’s. Also, to my surprise there were no overhead announcements.

On our way back home from Marshalls, we stopped at Chipotle to eat some Mexican food. Just looking at the pictures of food in the windows made us hungry. We also decided to buy a hot chai tea in the Starbucks next door. Even though we had no previous intention of buying a hot drink, the advertisements were almost overwhelming.

Again driving back through Dallas area, we passed an almost incalculable number of billboards, window advertisements, cars with logo written on the side or simply people wearing certain obvious name brand clothing. Again, these advertisements were of virtually anything possible such as homeowners insurance, H & M clothing, Ford trucks, etc.

Later that evening I checked my facebook account. Several of the pop-up adds were for dating websites such as E-Harmony. I also saw several advertisements for teeth whitening strips.

"What actually makes people happy is full engagement. You are most alive when working at the limit of your abilities." ~Bill McKibben

Family Traditions

As I reflect upon family rituals and the significance they have played in my life, I realize how certain rituals have granted me a sense of family identity, the joy of shared memories and a desire to pass these same rituals, as well as establish new ones, for my future family.

For me, various seasons and holiday’s are marked with special traditions such as sleeping under the Christmas tree on Christmas eve, pressing our own apple cider during harvest season, or eating the exact same courses during our Thanksgiving meal. Each of these traditions, and many more, have become extremely dear to me and are events that I look forward to every year. The nuance of performing these same rituals year after year has never worn out but still provides me with the excitement and wonder of a small child.

Asides form the excitement many family traditions create, they also play a significant role in bringing family together to enjoy quality time and quality interactions. More often than not, life is so busy that unless we are intentional about creating such special moments together with friends and family, the moments may never happen. One such event that I look forward to every year is when my brother, sister and I get together during the Christmas season to make our decadent gingerbread houses that covered with colorful candies of all types. Even though my sister and I are in university and my brother has already graduated from college, this tradition has never gotten old and marks some of our favorite memories together. It provides the opportunity to reminisce on childhood memories and share some of our thoughts and feelings in ways that other occasions don’t allow.

Another important element that family traditions establish is the unique sense of family identity and belonging through shared experiences. One of the important rituals my family passed on to me was the weekly practice of attending church together. Worshipping together was an intricate part of belonging and spending time together as a family. Also, going on a number of trips to various places around the world was defines in many ways my families identity. My parents always remind me that every person choices the priorities in their life and how they spend their money. In my family, it was more important to travel and go on family adventures together than to drive the newest vehicles. Finally, my parents have demonstrated the importance of taking the time and initiative to visit and spend time with family. This school year alone, my parents have taken time out of their hectic schedules to travel all the way from Washington State to visit Ariana, Filip and I here at Andrews University. Again, this is owing to the fact that in my family taking the initiative to spend time with each other takes precedence over other ways of spending time and money.

Appreciating the ways in which my family traditions have blessed and shaped me into the individual I am today, I’m challenged to establish new traditions as well as pass along old ones to my new family and future children one day. Since getting married, Filip and I often enjoy conversations of our plans to incorporate family rituals into our lives now as well as establish new ones for our children in the future. Some of our plans include continuing to live without a television in our home. Instead we want to make more time to enjoy reading, cooking, and doing many arts and crafts in our home. We also want to make a point of celebrating the every Sabbath with a delicious meal and time spent together as a family in nature. This is very important even now for Filip as we spend most of our time during the week either studying, working or attending class. Another important tradition we instill in our family is the desire and commitment to spend as much time as possible with family. This includes traveling during the holidays as well as having special family night every week where we order pizza and watch a movie together or play a fun game. With regards to some of special holiday traditions such as sleeping under the Christmas tree, I also want my children to experience many of the joys I did as a child. I don’t want them to miss out on the wonderful memories that come from such special family rituals and traditions.

On a bit of a different note, when I reflect upon the role traditions have played in not only our culture but in the biblical cultures of past I’m struck by the push of modern Christian culture to minimize the importance of many holidays. Understandlable, this is often owing to societies’ secularization of festive occasions like Thanksgiving becoming “Turkey Day,” or Christmas- the day of Christ’s birth, becoming the day Santa visits the homes of good boys and girls to deliver presents. Nonetheless, as I reflect upon early Jewish culture as recorded in scripture, its evident how enriched the Jewish culture was with festivals and celebrations. Every year, whether it be harvest or Yum Kippur, the Jews created traditions of both remembering victories of the past and celebrating the blessings of life in the present.

Therefore, I’m of the opinion that instead of abstaining or downplaying the spirit of celebration, I believe Christians should be more festive and joyous than anyone else. It would seem more in line with how God originally intended His people to live. Though some may take issue with train of logic, it is my desire to maintain and develop as many ways as possible to create special occasion and opportunities to celebrate together. Once again, this is owing my belief that family traditions play a significant role in granting the sense of family identity and the joy of shared memories.

Google- What Their Mission will Mean for the Future

Originally named for the mathematical term for 1 followed by 100 zeros, Google has been one of the foremost innovative internet based companies that provides search engine for the masses by, quite literally, a click of the mouse! Their mission is to make the world’s information universally accessible by creating products as simple and inclusive as possible.

So how will their mission impact the future of technology? It would seem that by making information so easily accessible, we will see a trend of more people connecting to the internet and sharing their thoughts, ideas, products, art, entertainment, etc. It’s incredible to realize what an enormous sum of information we have now on the Internet, but how that quantity will continue to exponentially increase. To what point, I don’t know. Therefore, Google also plays another important role in helping provide a search engine for people to find the information they are looking for. I know from personal experience that I use a Google search engine at least one to two times a day. Without it, I would really struggle to find the exact information I’m looking for on various topics ranging from systems in the body to restaurants in South Bend, IN.

Google’s mission for the future has already resulted in a shift towards the Internet as a primary means of conducting businesses, interpersonal relationships, entertainment, education and a great many more aspects of life. The growing popularity of social networking sites is evidence of the fact that society is already moving down this path of living in a virtual world. It seems that since the introduction of the Internet, each progressive generation takes technology to a higher and more personal level. Even within my own family, the Generational divide is evident by the way my family members utilize technology. This makes me somewhat intrepid anticipating how my children’s lives will be totally immersed in technology.

Taking this idea a step further, I wonder if institutions such as Andrews University and other schools will all be made exclusively accessible through the Internet. In that case there would be no need for a physical campus. Such a change would have both positive and negative implications. On one hand, it would tremendously increase the efficiency and cost of education as there would be fewer teachers needed. Also, the cost of running the facilities of a college campus would be eliminated. However, one could argue that the sense of connectedness with others of similar ages and academic pursuits would be eliminated. And in so doing, take out much of what college is intended to serve; an education that goes beyond a

Another potential result of Google’s mission statement is the continued amalgamation of culturally different ideas and beliefs. On the Internet, everyone has equal opportunity to broadcast their ideas for others to view and respond to. No matter the location, an individual from Indian can as readily post a video on Youtube as someone from the United States. Also, people in third world countries such as China are becoming more competitive in the global job market since they are willing to accept lower pay and can have their work forwarded to them via the Internet. While this has stirred controversy among the working class of the United States, it has also greatly expedited business as offices can forward their work to a person in a different time zone to complete. Therefore, work never comes to a stand still and business is no longer constrained by twelve hour work days.

Though all the mentioned above is primarily based upon my own experience and observations, I believe this is reflective of a global trend. That is, a shift towards living in a world made even faster and more conveniently accessible through businesses and organizations such as Google.

Acumen: Making a Real Difference in the World

As the company’s very name would imply, Acumen is a keen insightful business attempting to change the face of poverty in a non-traditional way. The company’s philosophy, as described by Seth Godin, takes to heart the old proverb that states, “Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he have food for a lifetime.”

Therefore, Acumen’s objective is to help equip individuals in third world countries with a trade and financial backing to start a small business. As Godin points out, when a tradesperson sells soap as an example, both parties are benefitted. Those who buy the soap can improve their hygiene and in live longer and healthier lives. Those who make a profit have money to continue making soap and providing a livelihood to take care of themselves and their families.

Interestingly, Godin points out that the typical way organizations have approach helping these type of people was to simply provide them with money or food every once and a while. This, of course, was only a short-term solution that had no long-term benefits. Instead, empowering individuals with a skill and financial help to start a small business has the potential to end the cycle of poverty and improve the quality of life of many individuals. This, as Godin argues, is a more impacting, meaningful way to make a difference in this world. So, as Godin asks, why not join the team at Acumen and change the face of poverty.

After writing my last blog, I ran across this image. It essentially portrays how in decades past couples would often sleep in separate twin beds. Some would even go so far as to have some sort of wall-like structure separating them!

Better Night's Rest

Since getting married, I’ve noticed that sharing blankets with someone, like a comforter, while sleep in bed at night can be a real challenge. Without meaning to, one person may have the tendency to “hog” the blankets by pulling them away from the other person. This often times leaves the person without the blankets cold and lacking a satisfying night of restful sleep. My proposed mechanism to help deal with this dilemma is to have corresponding magnets in the desired ends of a bedspread and the bed frame. This would help hold the blanket in place while still allowing the blanket to be pulled off if necessary.

The benefits of implementing this tool would indirectly help many couples have a better night of sleep. It would likewise help those who simply have the tendency of kicking off their blankets while they sleep. As a result, individuals would feel better rested and would therefore make better employees, neighbors, drivers, spouses, etc. Another benefit for this tool is that some people may consider using less heat to ventilate their homes during the winter since they are less likely to be cold at night. Though this may seem like an unnecessary for some, for others it might make a tremendous difference.