Video Game Genders

Should video games be changed and developed to be more appealing to women?
I don't think so. I invite girls to come and play video games. I'm not the type to say something like "girls stay in the kitchen/mall/beauty parlor while we play video games and hunt." I wouldn't say that. But do we really need video games FOR girls? No. Video games are video games. Once they are labeled as "girl video games," they are no longer video games. If a girl likes to play video games, I'm happy about that. I like playing video games with girls in much the same way that girls enjoy having a boy that loves shopping come with them to the mall. Boys don't generally enjoy going to the mall. I definitely don't. And it isn't out of some misplaced feeling of manliness or toughness. I don't like the mall because it makes my feet hurt to walk all over the place and it's boring and repetitive and I don't like spending money! But is everybody scrambling to change malls all over the United States to be more appealing to men? No! The reason for that is because the only gender issue that society sees as important is making women feel as if they are more equal to men! We only want to include women in man-things and we don't care if it works the other way around. Today, women are respected for breaking gender barriers. Men are just ridiculed and assumed to be homosexual. Which shouldn't even be considered a bad thing in the first place!

Essay pt. 2

I don't know if we actually have a blog due tomorrow. But I guess I'll write one anyway, just in case. In my essay, I really tried to take apart the image that I selected, analyzing every tiny detail, and exploring every possible meaning of every detail. In this, I don't think I was as thorough as I could be. I think that, if I were to use more space, I could expand all (or most) of my ideas.
I could also introduce new topics. One thought just occurred to me: does the age of the model have an effect on the audience? The answer, of course, is yes. While the shadows make it somewhat difficult to tell, it can be assumed that the model is in his early thirties or late twenties. For many college students, this age appears to be the peak of life. Many students in college, especially those that would be working out at this specific gym, are eighteen to twenty years of age. They are not able to drink yet. Because of this, they look at people over twenty-one with envy and respect. eighteen to twenty year-olds are usually trying to make friends with those over twenty-one. Therefore, a lot of humble servitude is offered in return for alcohol. The appeal for those who are twenty-one and up is also evident in the model's age. Those who are older that twenty-one years look at people about to turn thirty with envy because the latter has been out of college for some time now. They seemingly have everything figured out in life. Compared to  a college student who is close to graduating and who has no idea what will become of himself in the next few years, the life of stability enjoyed by a thirty-year-old has to be very appealing.

I really like writing. Unfortunately, as an engineering major, I won't be doing too much of it in the future. Oh well.

Facebook

Every time Facebook is brought up in discussion in school, it is almost always viewed negatively. In class discussions, I mean. People always seem to complain that "we are losing our ability to communicate with one another" which I suppose may be happening to some. But it certainly isn't happening to me. Facebook, for me, is a great tool to keep in touch with people far away. People who say that we should communicate with people face-to-face all the time obviously don't have friends or family that are far away. If I tried to communicate with people who are far away only through face-to-face interaction, I wouldn't be able to communicate with anybody I knew from high school or growing up. I would barely ever talk to my siblings and my parents would be distant memories. I think that long-distance communications being sped up to only seconds of travel time is a good thing. Also, people were complaining in my sociology class that, because of online social sites, we don't communicate through letters anymore. Why would anyone ever want to do that. The thought of snail-mail just makes me sick. I can just zap an email. Plus I don't want to have to use paper and a stamp. People like to pretend to be old-fashioned. I guess it's because they think it's cool. But it makes me mad.

Writing My Essay

So I just sat down one night and decided to just write the thing. I went to the library where it would be nice and quiet. Amazingly, I wasn't even distracted by the internet that night. I drank down a tall cup of coffee and was ready to go. In order to write my essay, I obviously started with a good, old-fashioned, introduction paragraph. This was the easy part. From that point on, every time I started a new paragraph, or a new idea I would open my picture, put it on full screen, close my eyes, and think. When I came up with a new idea, I would open my eyes, close the picture, and just write until I ran out of things to write about that idea. Then I would go on to a new paragraph. It probably looked odd in the library for people sitting behind me. I had to open a picture of a very attractive male figure and stare at it for a while. Oh well. I guess it doesn't really matter if people think I'm weird. Well, overall, the experience of my first college paper was pretty similar to most of my high school papers. I did feel like I had more freedom and room to write about a larger variety of topics. I wasn't contained to writing one little thing like I was in high school.

Glarp nnananana

As a guy, I guess I never realized how strongly girls feel about the advertisements that hurt their self-esteem. The reading today about Dove's campaign to shift the perspective of advertising was interesting to me. One thing that irked me, however, was the failure to mention how such advertising does affect males. The campaign was obviously more relevant to females, as it involves a hair care company, but many articles focus only on how females are affected. I basically wrote my paper on how advertisements make men feel less capable or strong so I won't go too much into it here. The thing is, I personally feel like less of a man when I see guys who are "roided up" or when I see a movie with one of those "ripped" actors. The fact that men feel this way is often overlooked because men are less likely to voice their complaints about such issues. The reason for this is because it is much less acceptable socially for a man to complain at all. Which is another double standard that goes overlooked. Society would look at a man who complains about such things as weak. He would probably be accused of being homosexual or something, too. Women have it lucky; they can actually complain about oppression and difficulties. Men are trapped by societies rules. They are forced to tough it out. Which I guess just makes us more manly. Which is a joke. Hmmmm...

More Like "Metube"

Well, to start off, I would like to say that I definitely didn't choose this article because it was the shortest and I was too lazy to read all the other ones. I read all the other ones, I promise. I did choose this one because it was short, though. I like shorter pieces, because it leaves more room for me to talk. Without the author elaborating on the subject, I can share some of my own thoughts without actually repeating what he or she said.
That being said, I would like to talk about youtube! I love youtube. I can spend hours on that website. It is entertaining to get little glimpses into other people's lives. Like Michael Strangelove says in his article, we all can relate to these people-even the most strange. "Star Wars Kid" is just some kid twirling around a stick, pretending to be a Jedi. But, really, who hasn't fantasized about being a Jedi? I know I have. Not only have I fantasized about it, but I've also twirled around my fair share of sticks, defeating invisible droids, saving invisible civilians. So much fun! Just as fun at 18 as it was at 8! We've all been there. And that is definitely the appeal of youtube. You watch videos of little kids being cute, and you can remember your own childhood videos.
I actually don't have much more to say. I just really agree with Strangelove. I also like his last name. But I really enjoyed this article. The brevity makes it almost poetic. He says so much with so few words. That is really the measure of a great writer. At least it is for me.
Okay. Cool.

Go Ahead and Smile. Please.

In Lenore Skenazy's "Don't Smile for the Camera," the essence of American photography is viciously and  unfairly attacked. Skenazy argues that photo albums today are basically lies. She says that, because we choose to photograph and record memories that are generally happy, we are leaving out the memories that portray "real life." Well, I have some news for her- NOBODY CARES ABOUT REAL LIFE! REAL LIFE IS BORING! Have you ever seen a movie that shows a person go through his or her daily routine at work, detailing every second of every thing he or she does? NO! Because that would be the most boring, long, and pointless movie of all time. And if it has already been made-no wonder I haven't heard of it! It probably sucks! Skenazy argues that  "Kodak moments" are unreliable in portraying truths about life. I, for one, am thankful for this fact. If I had someone following me, taking pictures all the time, I would get really angry. After the third or fourth shot of me scratching my crotch or picking my nose, I would simply steal the camera and destroy it! I am glad that the custom is to put flattering or happy memories inside of photo albums. Otherwise, I would have zero friends. Much less a girlfriend. I would be about as desirable as that dog that one all those "Ugly Dog" competitions.
Sure, we don't have any pictures of "real life," but do we even really want any? I'd much rather see my loved ones and remember them happy and healthy, than to see them sickly and dying.
My personal opinions aside, Skenazy mainly uses pathos to develop her ideas. First, she uses a very informal style, probably to make an immediate connection with her readers. By establishing a kind of "relationship" with her audience, she removes herself from a pedestal, and tries to attain level ground with them. That way, they are more likely to relate to her, and therefore, to believe her argument. In her friendly and informal dialogue with her readers, she uses humor to develop her argument. Skenazy's intended audience is probably just an everyday person, which explains why she uses such an informal style in her writing.
While I disagree with the main point of this article, the argument is well developed and the devices used are used effectively and efficiently. Also, many people will find it very entertaining and somewhat heart-warming.