- 1. This I can remember clear as day. While I was growing up, around the age 10-12 , Marshal Mathers,Eminem, was incredibly popular.
I would love to listen to his music. Something about it caught my attention and had me drawn to it. At the time, I can remember I had no idea what he was actually talking about. Anyone who has listened to Eminem's first couple albums would completely agree with why they wouldn't want a young teenager listening to his music. It is incredibly vulgar. It pushes the limits just about as far as they can go. He was rapping about things that no one else even had the guts to rap about. I think thats why I like it so much. It was fast paced, and almost dangerous. I didn't really know the full meaning of what he was saying, but he was saying it and no one else was.
2. I remember listening to one of Eminem's songs called "Cleanin Out My Closet". Now if you haven't heard the song you may not understand, but if you have then you know exactly what I mean when I say a mom would not want her young son listening to. It is a very catching song, with a quick pace, however, it is about cleaning out his closet, what I mean by this is he is getting everything off his chest. Saying terrible things about his mom, his family, his upbringing. Anyway, I was listening to the song, not really catching the true meaning of the song and my mother heard what I was listening to and told me to turn it off and not to listen to the music. Only problem with this is it only make me want to listen to it anymore. It must be a teen thing. I always wanted to do what I was not supposed to do.
3. My favorite style of music is Old School Rap music. Which when people look at me, probably wouldn't be their first guess. Something about the simple beats and deep lyrics in the song really just hit well with me. My top 5 favorite artists are obviously Eminem, started listening to him as early as I can remember and still do to this day. Second up would be Curtis Jackson, better known as 50 cent. He paired up with Eminem early on and had a bunch of big blockbusters in the early 2000's. Tupac of course. The legend had so many hits, and his lyrical content is still unmatched to this day. RIP. Next up and probably my all time favorite Biggie Smalls. Biggie was apart of Notorious B.I.G and I still listen to his songs now. Has some great songs, with great content and beat. Anytime Biggie comes on in the car everyone quiets down and we turn the volume up. Can never go wrong with a Biggie song. My 5th favorite would have to be Young Jeezy, now he isn't much like the other rappers. He makes what I call "hype" music. Its music that you listen to before a football game or during a workout. Its fast paced, big bass and gets you fired up. Still put Jeezy on anytime I'm working out.
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Musics Influence
Thursday, August 17, 2017
Books and Magazines
- Three magazines that I have read over the last couple years would be Mens fitness, Eastbay, and Extreme Terrain. With Mens fitness, I was and still am interested in tips about staying healthy and new workout routines or new fitness products that are hitting the market so that I am staying up with the times. Just like anything else, fitness is always changing. People are finding better was to do certain lifts or better routines to get the best results. For example, just yesterday I had read about this new product that helped keep your energy levels up in the Gym. It was called Test 180X. It had great reviews, was fairly priced so I tried it. With Eastbay and Extreme Terrain, those magazines are catalogs to the websites. Showing there new products and what you can save on. Eastbay sells athletic wear. I like to see the new styles and brands as well as the technology behind it. Extreme Terrain is all about jeeps. Showing the new products, things you candy to your jeep and what is trending. I feel that with the interested I have in these magazines it would probably say I'm the type of consumer that like to "keep up with the jones'". I like to stay on top of what is new and what is trending. Not that I jump on any bandwagon that I can see. Rather I like to know whats new and whats going on so that I can stay up to date on all my interests. In todays world, that is an ongoing task.
Thursday, August 10, 2017
Blog Project #2 Topic 2
Sons of Anarchy
1. Sons of Anarchy debuted in 2008 and ran until 2014 having 7 full seasons. It originally was featured on Fox although I cheated and was able to just stream it on Netflix as it has already ben out for three years.
2. The genre that the show falls into is American Drama and I'd say it fits this well. Every episode is packed with drama, sometimes too much drama.
3. The episode that I have most recent watched was titled "Los Fantasmas". The storyline for this episode is a run on from the pervious episode. In a sad turn of events, I young kid had brought a gun to school and has killed some of his classmates, using a gun that was sold by the main characters motorcycle club. Now, the police are searching for evidence to prove that the gun was sold so that they can bring justice to the case. There are some big name actors in this T.V. show starting with Ron Perlman, he plays the father figure in the series. Next up would be Charlie Hunnam who plays the main character Jax Teller. Who ends up gaining control of the motorcycle club and tries to steer it in the right direction but is struggling to do so. Then Katy Sagal, who plays Jax Tellers mom Gemma. She is the main female lead role in the series. Lastly, would be Tommy Flanagan who plays Chibbs, Jax Teller's right hand man and vice president in the Motorcycle Club.
4. Sons of Anarchy was the brain child of Kurt Sutter. He is one of the producers with a dark past. He was a know drug and food addict through his teenage years. After winning the battle with these addictions he turned that experience into the hit T.V. series. Kurt Sutter also plays a small role in the series as a convicted felon who is in the MC and helps them from the inside. Kurt Sutter has been know to be a little bit "different" when it comes to being a produce. Using fowl language and having a "take shit from no one attitude", he came come across a bit aggressive. In this article about Kurt Sutter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/sons-anarchy-kurt-sutter-bastard-817495, a reporter goes into detail about his run in with Mr. Sutter and how he thinks he has changed.
5. The T.V. series has a very aggressive style. All the characters in the film are dressed in leathers and have tattoos from head to toe. The language that is used is similar to what you could imagine in a locker room full of guys who just won a football game. There is a deep bond built between the characters, but the love they show for each other is often turns into tough love.
6. I would say that a t.v. show that is somewhat similar to Sons of Anarchy would be the hit t.v. show Breaking Bad. Both shows have a lot of violence and drug use. Both shows are about a guy or group of guys trying to gain a profit by selling illegal drugs and or firearms. I think this style is a little bit different from a lot of the less violent t.v. shows such as Modern Family, but play a key role into adding a bit of diversity.
7. What makes Sons of Anarchy unique is the vast contrast from the violence and then the show of love. Constantly throughout each episode there is either death, or near death. Someone getting tortured, shooting up drugs, or getting gunned down. But, in the same episode there is always a showing of compassion. Wether that be from brother to brother, or from father to son. It shows that even those all these guys are criminals, and most have committed murder, that they have a soft spot or two. This makes these characters seem real, and relatable. You can see the struggle that they go through when having to make tough calls. Not just some action hero that is fine with all the death and killing that surrounds him. The moral struggle that is present in every character is well depicted.
8. The stereotypes in this program are very obvious and almost act as a negative in the show. In the show, there are various types of gangs. All these gangs however are broken up by race. There is a Mexican gang, a Black gang, and a white gang. All play a very specific stereotype. The Mexican gang ride around in lowrider vehicles, blasting Spanish music. They are dressed in long cargo shorts and flannel shirts and all seem to have a similar attitude and dialect. The Black gang have all of there motorcycle "pimped" out with big rims and flashy colors and always have some sort of rap music playing in the background. The white gang has racist nazi tattoos on their necks and shaved heads. Often flaunting racist attire and symbols. Everything in the t.v. show is as if we were back in the 30s and 40's. All of the gangs hate the other gangs simply because of the color of their skin. To me, this has a negative effect as it makes me feel disconnected from the t.v. show as the area that I have grown up in doesn't have these stereotypes as prominent.
9. The target audience for this t.v. show would be 16-35 year old caucasian male and female. There is a ton of violence in the series and most adults would probably shy away from it. There is also a lot of use of foul language which would deter a certain amount of people away from it.
10. If I was a visitor to the United States this series would make me not want to come to the United States if I felt that what happened in the series actually happened there. In most parts of the United States I would say that these activities do not happen, but if I felt that these crimes were committed on a much more common basis, I would not visit the area. The culture it shows is one of violence and aggression.
11. The strengths in the series would be the character development. After watching 6 seasons of the show I am very emotionally connected to the characters. Which makes scenes when these characters look to be facing certain death, very intense. You get to see the strong and the weak sides of each of theses characters and it allows you to be able to relate to them. The weakness in the series would be the reality factor. The characters commit countless crimes throughout the season, yet hardly ever face punishment. If I were to guess on the number of murders that occur in the first 6 seasons I would take a guess at about 150. Yet, only several members of the cast of served jail time for these crimes and even when they did, were short sentences. This kind of makes everything seem a little unreal. As the vast majority of murders occurring in this series go unsolved.
12. What I like most about the show is the bond between the characters. You get to see this very strong brotherhood between the cast that reminds me of the relationships that I have with my friends. What I dislike about the series is the incredibly racist stereotypes. Like I had mention before, the stereotypes are uncanny in this series. It just puts a bad feeling in my stomach that we don't get to see a different variety of the ethnicities. The most memorable thing about the t.v. show is the twists that occur. Several times it looks as if something is going in a terrible direction and there is no way out and then the characters pull something out of their sleeves that was not shown to the audience to get themselves out. Some big shockers have happened over the season and keeps me guessing on what is going to happen next.
13. One critic wrote an article about the content in the series http://variety.com/2014/tv/columns/sons-of-anarchy-criticism-exposes-sex-violence-divide-1201358573/ saying that the sex and violence shown in the series was not suitable for the rating. Only rating at Pg-13 I would say that this critic is correct. I did not watch the series on cable, I watched it on Netflix. However, If I was a parent and my son was scrolling through the channels and landed on Sons of Anarchy, there are certain scenes that even for myself, a 23 year old male, find discomforting.
14. I watch this series just about every day. I watch it with my fiancé, which surprisingly, likes the show more than I do. With all of the season being out on Netflix it makes watching the series a nightly routine. Sometimes watching 2 or 3 episodes depending on how the last one ended.
15. I don't follow anything on social media as I am afraid of the spoilers. The last season has already come and gone and I don't want to accidentally read something that will give away a key part in the series.
16. I have learned that producer/director of this series really fits the part! You watch a lot of big hit movies or shows written by someone who you wouldn't necessarily think would be into the material. After further evaluation of Kurt Sutter, this was his life. He was a drug addict, a food addict, living a dangerous live and was able to rebound and make something of himself, very similar to the plot of the t.v. show.
17. What surprised me the most about the show was the lack of funds that lead to the ending. After reading some articles I had found like http://uproxx.com/sepinwall/how-sons-of-anarchy-ran-off-the-road-before-the-end/ describe how the show ended kind of abruptly due to lack of funds. The way the show as being ran, and with the characters involved this got expensive and ultimately lead to the end. Which makes me sad, as I only have about 10 episodes left.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc8yjWGXBP8 Intro to the T.V. show
1. Sons of Anarchy debuted in 2008 and ran until 2014 having 7 full seasons. It originally was featured on Fox although I cheated and was able to just stream it on Netflix as it has already ben out for three years.
2. The genre that the show falls into is American Drama and I'd say it fits this well. Every episode is packed with drama, sometimes too much drama.
3. The episode that I have most recent watched was titled "Los Fantasmas". The storyline for this episode is a run on from the pervious episode. In a sad turn of events, I young kid had brought a gun to school and has killed some of his classmates, using a gun that was sold by the main characters motorcycle club. Now, the police are searching for evidence to prove that the gun was sold so that they can bring justice to the case. There are some big name actors in this T.V. show starting with Ron Perlman, he plays the father figure in the series. Next up would be Charlie Hunnam who plays the main character Jax Teller. Who ends up gaining control of the motorcycle club and tries to steer it in the right direction but is struggling to do so. Then Katy Sagal, who plays Jax Tellers mom Gemma. She is the main female lead role in the series. Lastly, would be Tommy Flanagan who plays Chibbs, Jax Teller's right hand man and vice president in the Motorcycle Club.
4. Sons of Anarchy was the brain child of Kurt Sutter. He is one of the producers with a dark past. He was a know drug and food addict through his teenage years. After winning the battle with these addictions he turned that experience into the hit T.V. series. Kurt Sutter also plays a small role in the series as a convicted felon who is in the MC and helps them from the inside. Kurt Sutter has been know to be a little bit "different" when it comes to being a produce. Using fowl language and having a "take shit from no one attitude", he came come across a bit aggressive. In this article about Kurt Sutter http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/sons-anarchy-kurt-sutter-bastard-817495, a reporter goes into detail about his run in with Mr. Sutter and how he thinks he has changed.
5. The T.V. series has a very aggressive style. All the characters in the film are dressed in leathers and have tattoos from head to toe. The language that is used is similar to what you could imagine in a locker room full of guys who just won a football game. There is a deep bond built between the characters, but the love they show for each other is often turns into tough love.
6. I would say that a t.v. show that is somewhat similar to Sons of Anarchy would be the hit t.v. show Breaking Bad. Both shows have a lot of violence and drug use. Both shows are about a guy or group of guys trying to gain a profit by selling illegal drugs and or firearms. I think this style is a little bit different from a lot of the less violent t.v. shows such as Modern Family, but play a key role into adding a bit of diversity.
7. What makes Sons of Anarchy unique is the vast contrast from the violence and then the show of love. Constantly throughout each episode there is either death, or near death. Someone getting tortured, shooting up drugs, or getting gunned down. But, in the same episode there is always a showing of compassion. Wether that be from brother to brother, or from father to son. It shows that even those all these guys are criminals, and most have committed murder, that they have a soft spot or two. This makes these characters seem real, and relatable. You can see the struggle that they go through when having to make tough calls. Not just some action hero that is fine with all the death and killing that surrounds him. The moral struggle that is present in every character is well depicted.
8. The stereotypes in this program are very obvious and almost act as a negative in the show. In the show, there are various types of gangs. All these gangs however are broken up by race. There is a Mexican gang, a Black gang, and a white gang. All play a very specific stereotype. The Mexican gang ride around in lowrider vehicles, blasting Spanish music. They are dressed in long cargo shorts and flannel shirts and all seem to have a similar attitude and dialect. The Black gang have all of there motorcycle "pimped" out with big rims and flashy colors and always have some sort of rap music playing in the background. The white gang has racist nazi tattoos on their necks and shaved heads. Often flaunting racist attire and symbols. Everything in the t.v. show is as if we were back in the 30s and 40's. All of the gangs hate the other gangs simply because of the color of their skin. To me, this has a negative effect as it makes me feel disconnected from the t.v. show as the area that I have grown up in doesn't have these stereotypes as prominent.
9. The target audience for this t.v. show would be 16-35 year old caucasian male and female. There is a ton of violence in the series and most adults would probably shy away from it. There is also a lot of use of foul language which would deter a certain amount of people away from it.
10. If I was a visitor to the United States this series would make me not want to come to the United States if I felt that what happened in the series actually happened there. In most parts of the United States I would say that these activities do not happen, but if I felt that these crimes were committed on a much more common basis, I would not visit the area. The culture it shows is one of violence and aggression.
11. The strengths in the series would be the character development. After watching 6 seasons of the show I am very emotionally connected to the characters. Which makes scenes when these characters look to be facing certain death, very intense. You get to see the strong and the weak sides of each of theses characters and it allows you to be able to relate to them. The weakness in the series would be the reality factor. The characters commit countless crimes throughout the season, yet hardly ever face punishment. If I were to guess on the number of murders that occur in the first 6 seasons I would take a guess at about 150. Yet, only several members of the cast of served jail time for these crimes and even when they did, were short sentences. This kind of makes everything seem a little unreal. As the vast majority of murders occurring in this series go unsolved.
12. What I like most about the show is the bond between the characters. You get to see this very strong brotherhood between the cast that reminds me of the relationships that I have with my friends. What I dislike about the series is the incredibly racist stereotypes. Like I had mention before, the stereotypes are uncanny in this series. It just puts a bad feeling in my stomach that we don't get to see a different variety of the ethnicities. The most memorable thing about the t.v. show is the twists that occur. Several times it looks as if something is going in a terrible direction and there is no way out and then the characters pull something out of their sleeves that was not shown to the audience to get themselves out. Some big shockers have happened over the season and keeps me guessing on what is going to happen next.
13. One critic wrote an article about the content in the series http://variety.com/2014/tv/columns/sons-of-anarchy-criticism-exposes-sex-violence-divide-1201358573/ saying that the sex and violence shown in the series was not suitable for the rating. Only rating at Pg-13 I would say that this critic is correct. I did not watch the series on cable, I watched it on Netflix. However, If I was a parent and my son was scrolling through the channels and landed on Sons of Anarchy, there are certain scenes that even for myself, a 23 year old male, find discomforting.
14. I watch this series just about every day. I watch it with my fiancé, which surprisingly, likes the show more than I do. With all of the season being out on Netflix it makes watching the series a nightly routine. Sometimes watching 2 or 3 episodes depending on how the last one ended.
15. I don't follow anything on social media as I am afraid of the spoilers. The last season has already come and gone and I don't want to accidentally read something that will give away a key part in the series.
16. I have learned that producer/director of this series really fits the part! You watch a lot of big hit movies or shows written by someone who you wouldn't necessarily think would be into the material. After further evaluation of Kurt Sutter, this was his life. He was a drug addict, a food addict, living a dangerous live and was able to rebound and make something of himself, very similar to the plot of the t.v. show.
17. What surprised me the most about the show was the lack of funds that lead to the ending. After reading some articles I had found like http://uproxx.com/sepinwall/how-sons-of-anarchy-ran-off-the-road-before-the-end/ describe how the show ended kind of abruptly due to lack of funds. The way the show as being ran, and with the characters involved this got expensive and ultimately lead to the end. Which makes me sad, as I only have about 10 episodes left.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lc8yjWGXBP8 Intro to the T.V. show
Thursday, August 3, 2017
News Papers
For local news, I get my information from a small variety of sources, not that I don't enjoy being informed about the information around me, rather tired of seeing the same information regurgitated about information I care little about. For example, the size of Donald Trumps hands.
The news that I use the most of I would say is off of Facebook, but not just information that is posted by my friends and Family, I follow KATU News channel on Facebook and get most of my information form them. I do this because I don't watch much television and, for the most part, the information is relative to what I want to know. For example, they are constantly updating traffic conditions, I travel on I-5 through Portland quite frequently and I like to know where the wrecks are and conditions on the roads so I know what route to take. They are also updating weather constantly. As far as world news, I would say that I mostly get it from word-of-mouth. Then I take the information I have heard and investigate on it further. For local news, I would say it is very important because of my daily activities, like stated before I like to know the road conditions, the weather and if anything is happening in my area. The hard part being credibility. However, what I use the news for I would say I don't have many doubts about what the weather is going to be like or how the roads are, but when it comes to anything political I pretty much tune out at this point. Not that I don't care but more of just being tired of not knowing if what is going to be said has any kind of credibility behind it.I do not subscribe to any kind of online publication. I would say that I am not willing to pay for it simply because there are free options that provide just as much information. We live in a world where information is flying around faster than we can read it. Growing up in my generation if I want to know something all I really have to do is google it and search around until I feel satisfied with my findings. Free information is everywhere and I feel that paying for something that is offered for free is just not worth it. However I do see the upside in paying for a subscription. The information you are getting is most likely of a higher quality and most likely has sources cited and is way more credible. However, for me, I don't think I would want to pay for it.I would give myself about a 3 on being well-informed. I say a three because there are subjects I am a 5 on for sure, like sports, and subjects that I am definitely a 1 on, like legislation. When it comes to topics that I enjoy, like sports, I am all over it. I will read an ESPN article about different players starting through training camp all the way until the next year starts. I play the fantasy leagues and following as much as I can on statistics and injuries and how players are doing outside of football. Simply because I enjoy it. However the flip side, with almost anything political now. With the recent events in politics I have kind of just tuned out. I just don't want to hear it anymore. Every news station is jumping on stories that mean absolutely nothing to me. Like the size of Trumps hands or Hillary's pant suits. These are just topics I find have taken over the political scene instead of actually topics that need to be brought up like the wage gap and veteran affairs. It is just to hard for me to sift through all the garbage to get to the real material when it comes to politics. As far as community goes I feel that I am fairly well informed, I manage a small BBQ restaurant where I live so I like to know whats going on around me so that I can get involved with it. For example, with graduation just happening a couple weeks ago, my BBQ company catered 3 different venues for the college simply by just being involved and talking to people. It is important to me to be well informed on most topics, however I just feel exhausted. Like stated before, mostly with politics. I try to keep up with the times on most subjects just as of late have taken a break form it.
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