Advocacy

Last weeks lecture on advocacy related to business was interesting. It made me think of all the times that I acted as an advocate for companies and their brands. Ever since I started doing Gracie Jiu-Jitsu I realized I would preach to everyone I spoke to the benefits of the martial art. Not only did I speak about the art form itself but the lifestyle that came with it. Whether it be from the mental stand point to the dietary habits the Gracie family implemented. I would try and get my friends to go into the academy every chance I could. I would tell them how fun it was and most of all how relaxed the environment was. I would tell people that Gracie Jiu-Jitsu changed my life, which it did. I gained confidence like no other because what I learned from the Gracie family. Being apart of the Gracie Academy I would always wear their t-shirts and other paraphernalia. I did all this because I truly appreciated what they did for me. Receiving was never on my mind when I spoke about the Gracie brand. I really believe in the brand and what they stand for which is why it is easy being an advocate for brands that you appreciate.

Japanese Internment Memorial

The perturbing vignettes that jump out of the slab portray messages as cold as the bronze it is made up of.

Suffering and pain can be seen at first glance and can too be felt with the memorials detailed carvings. 

A vignette on the memorial is of a Japanese family destroying pieces of their culture to signify the assimilation process people were going through at the time.

The father holds his daughters doll over blazing logs while his daughter fights to stop him.

Just behind the two is the mother who presses her hands to her face in horror of what is taking place.

As she grieves a man continues to pass more memorabilia in her direction.

During this time the Japanese were encouraged to do away with their culture and give into Americanization.

On the other hand and side of the sculpture it showed that the Japanese did not entirely give up their ways of life.

A man is sitting on the ground wearing his new Americanized dress attire, using chopsticks to eat.

  

The memorial is located in San Jose, it was created by Ruth Asawa who was also a member of a Japanese internment camp.

She experienced first hand the events that are etched into the sculpture.

Subliminal Advertising of Sorts

I was watching a show on USA called White Collar and I noticed they would create scripted advertisements mainly for car companies. What I mean by this is that there would be a situation where an FBI agent would be in a bind and the car would "solve" the problem. For example, one of the agents needed to make a phone call but was driving so he pressed a button on the steering wheel which lead to him being able to make this important call. The cinematography during these in show advertisements differ from the regular style used in the show. Extreme closeups of the cars interior makes it obvious that they are trying to highlight what the car has to offer. Another situation was that one of the agents wives had to park her car but she sucked at parallel parking. So she presses a button and throws her hands up and the car parks itself. After displaying the car feature they immediately cut to an exterior shot of the car and slow pan across the logo of the car company. These advertisements are done on purpose and the director makes it obvious that they are trying to advertise the car. They go about it in a comedic way so it doesn't bother me much. It acts as like an Easter egg within the show because your just waiting for the moment when they implement the cheesy ad.    

Word of the Week #7

1. Obfuscate
2. A professor used it during a lecture.
3. Politicians try to obfuscate answers to questions that they don't want to answer.
4. (transitive verb): To make something obscure or unclear, especially by making it unnecessarily complicated.
5. Writing short and concise sentences allows you to avoid writing obfuscatory sentences.

Fathead

Fathead mistakenly sent the wrong poster to a customer last week. The brand received a request for a Tom Brady poster and accidentally sent a Tim Tebow poster instead. The customer posted a complaint on the Reddit site which attracted a lot of buzz from the community. The sales and strategy manager sent an email out to a couple of people at Fathead and let them know about the situation. He suggested that the situation could actually be a good opportunity to do "some cool stuff on Reddit." So with quick thinking a reaction time Fathead agreed to buy an ad on the NFL subreddit. The ad read "25 percent off NFL Fatheads with code NFLOOPS today only. Buy now, and there's a good chance we'll ship you the right one!" They turned what could had a huge negative affect on the brand into a lucrative decision. Fathead reimbursed the customer by sending him all 13 Tom Brady Fathead items, totaling to 40 pounds and $1,000 worth of goods. The brand knew they made a critical mistake and that they had to do something about it and quickly. This showed that the brand had a sense of humor and it put "a human face behind the brand."

Tommie Smith and John Carlos

The iconic statue of Tommie Smith and John Carlos stands glistening from the suns rays attracting curious eyes from those passing by.

The midnight blue ceramic tiles cloche the men that stand, uncertain, about the reactions that their powerful gestures would provoke.

The long bodied figure fixed as the center piece of the statue is Smith.

He bears a black glove on his right hand that wraps around his tightly balled fist, while Carlos wears the other glove that would complete the pair.

Footprints of the curious are engraved in the muddy grass that surrounds the statues base.

The mud prints lead to a combination of prints formed on the platform where the man who placed 2nd once stood.

"Fellow Athlete Australian Peter Norman stood here in solidarity, take a stand."

The magnificent statue acts as a form of living artwork because of the proud people that are also willing to take a stand just as the three men did that day.

A tour guides voice fills the air that surrounds the statue with knowledge about the two powerful figures that sky above the inquisitive crowd.

As night falls people take their last photos before the sun fully sets.

The statue stands strong in the night and awaits the rising sun in the morning that will once again shine light on human rights.

Mystery Character Revision

His sharp red mask conceals his identity from the people of New York while the two smoky colored glass

pieces of the mask house his gunmetal blue eyes.

His suit wraps around his entire body as if it were a hand in a glove.

You can spot the blue and red hue as he swings by or you may have spotted him crawling on tips of fingers and toes up the side of a building.  

Walking the streets you would never suspect the scrawny, brown-haired man to be the friendly neighborhood vigilante everyone speaks of.

He awes the citizens of New York with his extraordinary acrobatics and heroic feats.

At one phase in his life a parasite invoked him changing his personality.

The friendly neighborhood hero was not so heroic anymore.

Not only did it effect his life but it engulfed the suit he wore as well.

The red and blue hue turned shadow black in its entirety.

He found light in the dark and once again returned to being the hero New York needed.

He learned early with great power comes great responsibility.  

Mystery Character

Responsibility was something thrust upon him.

He didn't chose his extraordinary lifestyle.

The suit chose him.

You see him on buildings, in the air, and unknowingly at times have possibly seen him walking amongst the rest of us normal people.

For the most part he uses his powers for good but during this phase in his life that wasn't always the case.

His black wardrobe is a drastic change to his usual color scheme.

Not only did this change effect his appearance, it effected his actions and personality as well.

Crawling on the tips of his hands and toes he has extreme athleticism, agility, and reaction to the dangers that are presented to him in the New York streets.

Two black glass-like shields cover his eyes making it even harder to figure out who is behind the mask.

The suit which encases him from head to toe fits like a glove to promote agility and flexibility both which allow him to swing from one place to the next.

He is usual known as the friendly neighborhood hero with great power and responsibility but the parasite that has invoked him has created a darker side.

Word of the Week #6

1. Astute
2. A professor used it to describe a students question.
3. That is a very astute question.
4. (adj.) Clever and perceptive: shrewd and discerning, especially where personal benefit is to be derived.
5. The boys astute learning style elevated his comprehension of the subject immensely.

Pinkwashing in the NFL

The NFL has recently received flack for employing to much pink during breast cancer awareness month. At the start of October every year the NFL distributes pink colored gear to teams in order to promote breast cancer awareness. This year was the first time they changed the penalty flag color to pink rather than the traditional yellow. Fans were confused about whether or not their team had been penalized or if a players towel which was also pink had fell on the ground. This dilemma resulted in the decision to change the flag color back to yellow in the upcoming week. Not only are the flags and towels pink but so are the yard markers, players cleats, gloves and bands. Some fans are criticizing the NFL for "pinkwashing." People feel as if the NFL uses the month of October as a revenue booster more so than a month to create awareness. Some cancer survivors feel as if the NFL could focus on other ways to promote breast cancer awareness. Most people buy pink paraphernalia as a way to support breast cancer when they could be donating money to more serious cancer charities. Breast cancer awareness month has turned into an excuse to wear pink and add new flavor to our wardrobes. I'll be keeping an eye out on the NFL and seeing if they address the negative comments they are receiving from fans. If they do not it could make them look bad as an organization and could lose support regardless if it is a significant amount.  

Word of the Week #5

1. Insolent
2. The academic director for the football team used it while speaking to the team.
3. Don't be apathetic or insolent because that is not the answer.
4. Showing an aggressive lack of respect in speech or behavior. (adj.)
5. The boys insolence is what ultimately caused the arrest.

Teacher suggested app that I actually want to use!

Teachers will require students to utilize certain resources that pertain to the courses they teach.

Usually these resources whether it be an app, a website, or some type of social media program are uninteresting.

I will only use it during the time I'm enrolled in the class because if I don't I will not receive participation points. 

For example, in the past I was forced to create a Twitter account for a class and I never used Twitter prior to the class.

I did not use my account for anything else besides posting in the class forum.

And after the class I never signed into that account ever again.

This time around I was encouraged to use the Pintrest app.

After minutes of playing around with the app and seeing what it was really about I found it extremely interesting and useful.

This is the first time that a teacher has had a positive effect on my media preferences.

The app allows you to look at certain categories that might be of interest to a user.

Within these categories are posts pertaining to the subject.

These posts consist of suggestions, tips, and purely informational content.

The posts are pictures that are linked to websites that gives you long form content about the topic.

As an athlete I have to eat constantly.

This requires me to cook for myself and a big issue is finding new and easy recipes to prepare.

With Pintrest I am able to find new meal ideas as well as the directions on how to make it.

Literally, the app does all the work for me.

I see myself using this app as much as I use Instgram, YouTube, and Facebook.