the medium is in the message?

The other day I was just surfing the web when i came across an intriguing, unusually familiar photo online. In big red letters below a stenciled, black and white face read the word-OBEY. It caught my attention and after thinking about it for a few minutes, trying to figure out exactly what this poster's message was, I decided to Google the slogan.
What I found was this: In 1986 South Carolinian, Shepard Fairey, started a street art campaign to heighten the public's awareness of the relationship between them and their immediate surroundings. A student of Rhode Island School of Design at the time, amateur Fairey initially designed stickers of the Obey Giant, unaware of the popularity the campaign would eventually gain. Following the Big Brother-like stickers exposure, intrigued viewers responded immediately. The campaign sparked both a fearful understanding and a strange humor in the observing public. Fairey's intent of self-awareness is rooted from the theory of Phenomenology- "to reawaken wonder about one's environment." By uncovering the importance of this wonder to our society Shepard Fairey has slowly become one of the most widely recognized underground graffiti artists of our time.
Though interesting, learning about Shepard Fairey's history was not what I found most attractive about this search. Most captivating was a phrase coined by Marshal McLuhan which i found on Fairey's site. "The medium is in the message." This phrase is distinct from its familiar counter "The message is in the medium" which many of you may have heard. The phrase "The medium is in the message" can be explained (as best as i could in my own words) as follows. Messages (advertisements, comics, television shows) are given constantly through every medium known to man (song lyrics, 6 o'clock news, headlines in newspapers, etc.) and the focus on these messages is great. Whether it be on a funny billboard or a controversial commercial, one's focus is usually put on the content of each medium rather than on the medium itself. What McLuhan suggests is the opposite. More focus should be put on the actual medium through which each of these messages is delivered, for not only does the actual medium play a significant role in shaping our society as we know it, but the characteristics of each medium embed themselves into the messages the medium exposes. In other words, people perceive messages in different mediums differently due to the reputation each medium has. McLuhan uses an example of a light bulb, a medium with no content. At night, the light bulb creates an atmosphere by its mere presence. A lighted room. In the same way a murder shown on the 6 o'clock news creates a presence in itself. "It may be less the individual news story itself — the content — and more the change in public attitude towards crime that the newscast engenders by the fact that such crimes are in effect being brought into the home to watch over dinner," an extension of fear. So you see, the medium is in the message in that the medium is the message. Medium itself alone can change societies perception of the world. It influences opinions, fears, values etc. judging by the credibility it has gained.
To tie it back to Shepard Fairey's underground art- we should be aware of our surroundings, and the ever-changing influences of technology on them. Instead of naively allowing mediums to shape our daily lives, we should strive to gain deeper knowledge and stronger beliefs so as not be so easily influenced.

stupidity

The problem with America is stupidity. I'm not saying there should be a capital punishment for stupidity, but why don't we just take the safety labels off of everything and let the problem solve itself?

okay so this may be a little on the harsh side, but seriously people, how are some of you so stupid. (okay so thats a little harsh as well, but sometimes its amazing.) I want to say taking safety labels off products would actually do America way more good than harm. Im not saying by any means that Im the smartest person in the world, because heaven knows thats not true, but i am saying that i actually can't hold conversations with certain people sometimes. And its not even that people aren't smart. Its that some people harbor not even the slightest desire to be. I don't understand how some people just have no interest in learning about their immediate surroundings, not to mention beyond. Personally, I hate feeling incapable of having a conversation about a certain subject because I don't know anything about it. But i love learning. The more I think about it though, I guess in a way , its beneficial. I think lots of people are scared to learn. The saying ignorance is bliss applies exactly, to say that the less people know about anything, the less likely their life ,as they know it, can or will be challenged. Ignorance can be a bubble, sectioning uninformed, ignorant, intolerant people off from the rest of us. This theory doesn't apply to just one subject or group of people either. It applies to anything and everything. SO, get out there and learn.

...monster

"I believe there are monsters born in the world to human parents. Some you can see, misshapen and horrible, with huge heads or tiny bodies; some are born with no arms, no legs, some with three arms, some with tails or mouths in odd places. They are accidents and no one's fault, as used to be thought. Once they were considered the visible punishments for concealed sins.
And just as there are physical monsters, can there not be mental or psychic monsters born? The face and body may be perfect, but if a twisted gene or a malformed egg can produce physical monsters, may not the same process produce a malformed soul?
Monsters are variations from the accepted normal to a greater or a less degree. As a child may be born without an arm, so one may be born without kindness or the potential of conscience. A man who loses his arms in an accident had a great struggle to adjust himself to the lack, but one born without arms suffers only from people who find him strange. Having never had arms, he cannot miss them. Sometimes when we are little we imagine how it would be to have wings, but there is no reason to suppose it is the same feeling birds have. No, to a monster the norm must seem monstrous, since everyone is normal to himself. To the inner monster it must be even more obscure, since he has no visible thing to compare with others. To a man born without conscience, a soul-stricken man must seem ridiculous. To a criminal, honesty is foolish. You must not forget that a monster is only a variation, and that to a monster the norm is monstrous." ~ John Steinbeck from East of Eden

Published in 1952, John Steinbeck's East of Eden is an allegorical novel focusing on the ever-lasting battle between good and evil. When i read this novel in high school, i can honestly say that the above excerpt scared me...because the more i think about it the more I realize that it actually makes sense. Steinbeck introduces antagonistic Kathy as a perfect example of this monster. Leaving the reader with no hint of conscience anywhere in the story, Kathy terrorizes one person's life after another, killing them either physically or mentally. As a reader, to have an inside look at an individual such as Kathy is gut-wrenching, but to think that there may actually be people like her in this world is frightening. Steinbeck's logic used towards proposing this is so convincing that it will be forever ingrained somewhere in my mind.

I could go on forever talking about this novel. Steinbeck repeatedly said that this book, a mixture of biography and fiction, was his life's masterpiece. The 34th chapter is the most famous part of this novel. A total of about 1 page, this chapter theorizes the meaning of life. "We have only one story. All novels, all poetry, are built on the never-ending contest in ourselves of good and evil. And it occurs to me that evil must constantly respawn, while good, while virtue, is immortal. Vice has always a new fresh young face, while virtue is venerable as nothing else in the world is."

If you haven't read this novel, you need to. Its just one of those books that sort of changes your perspective on most things.

My Feet Hurt

Watching this video makes me feel so guilty about ever being even the slightest bit lazy. Even right now, I could go running, but I'm convincing myself that its too rainy and cold outside, while I sit here and type this blog. I've always been the kind of person who puts things off the very end. Maybe its procrastination, or lack of motivation. But whatever it is, its killing me. I am killing ME. There are so many things that i want to do with my life, and during my life that i need to learn to just DO them! Id like to think that maybe just writing this out will solve all of my problems, but i think its going to take some determination.

JOGA BONITO

Playing soccer has always been a passion of mine. I've loved it not just for the game but for the people that play and the competition they bring. These videos are so inspiring to me as a soccer player but I think even if you aren't familiar with the game, the commercial are at least widely entertaining to watch. A Nike slogan for the 2004 World Cup, Joga Bonito means "play beautiful" in Portuguese. As former player and star of Manchester United, Eric Cantona hosts this campaign to bring passion and finesse back to soccer. The commercials feature clips of various soccer legends including ronaldo, zlatan, ronaldinho, rooney, and many other icons to show what an art the game can truly be. If you get a chance, watch all of these commercials, but be careful because some are just montages.



JOGA BONITO- play beautiful

squid anyone?

I guess since I'm originally from the East Coast, I'm sort of prone to love the water. Well, I love the ocean. I'm sure everyone gets feeling when your on your way home, on that last flight. You know your getting close to home when finally you recognize something; some landmark from the air. I think one of the best feelings in the world is that wave of relief that floods through you.

But I wonder if as many people would feel as comforted by the ocean if more people actually knew more about it..or about whats in it. Yeah, yeah... sharks and jelly fish, but thats old news.
Just recently I was surfing the web, and was on the discovery channel's website when an interesting story caught my eye. In 2005 a team of Japanese researchers were the first ever to film and capture a giant squid. A total length of 25 feet, the squid is said to be no more than a baby, for measuring in undocumented lengths of up to 20 meters, a 25 foot giant squid seems minuscule. But seriously, can you imagine. A squid measuring, for all we know way more than 20 meters long. We know nothing about these animals, not to mention other deep sea dwelling creatures. In 2004, a year before this video was taken, the first photos of a live giant squid were taken by the same team, I put this picture up along with the video I was talking about. Its weird to think about how big the ocean really is if we can't seem to find and study at least one of these many giants. What else is down there?

hmmmm.

so this is my first post...ever. Meaning, I've never blogged before, in fact I didn't even know exactly what a blog was until a few days ago. I don't know what the standard things to write in a blog are, so i figured i would start with a personal introduction -nothing too deep or sappy for the first post. My name is laura, and i would tell you my last name but we wouldn't want anybody stalking me, so ill I'll go on. I'm from Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. I have two brothers, both many years older than me, and two divorced parents, meaning instead of two parents I now have four (+ both brothers, who also regularly attempt to control my life = 6 parents). And i have a dog. ANNIE. i love my dog. Anyone who knows me, (well many people who know me) knows i love dogs. I posted a picture of her a few days ago, thinking i would start a blog then, but now is just the same. (p.s. i promise she is not unhappy in this picture. She may look a bit uncomfortable, but its fine.) hmmmm. (a few days later: 'that picture got deleted somehow. so this is the only one i have. she doesnt look very happy in this one)
I would go on about my upbringing but I'm a story teller so I'll leave it for future posts. Plus, there are more interesting things to write about. even though i love where im from and the people i know a challenge everyone faces when moving to another completely different place with completely new people is stop talking about "back home". Everyone loves talking about where they come from, the friends they have, the relationship they used to be in, high-school... family. But when two people who love talking about what their life used to be like are together, conversations become competitions, to see who led the more exciting life. Maybe this doesn't apply to everyone, but its something I've sort of picked up on. Its hard to stop talking about the places, people and the time one knows best. but it can be done!