Hmm...

The "Top 10 Celebrity DUIs of the Year"... well, that's certainly quite the headline. It reminded me of what Zenny was talking about in Mediated when he mentioned how people are just as quick to tear celebrities down and criticize them as they are to worship and follow their every move with the same kind of intensity of an obsessive compulsive man who repeatedly checks to see if the stove is off.

But is that really true? Someone- I don't recall who -said in class that there are actually two separate groups of people, the worshipers and the critics. And I've been contemplating that off and on ever since... and I've concluded that I have no idea.

It seems to me that there may be some truth in that. The website I linked to above seems to be on the side of the critics, given the tone of the article, and that this and another about celebrity car crashes are the only articles relating to celebrities that I recall ever reading on the otherwise automotive related website.

And there are always going to be people like that LEAVE BRITTANY ALONE guy. Strong supporters and lovers of famous people who are clearly beyond (or desperately in need of) help. (Guess which side I may lean towards? Though to be fair, I only feel somewhat in that direction. I'm generally pretty apathetic and not very critical except when some celebrity or another gives a bit too much schadenfreude inspiring behavior. Then I can't resist. I suppose I'm a bit of an awful person.)

So point in favor of the "two sides" argument.

But I'm still not convinced. I'm still curious if dZ is right. Are there people out there who will jump from "OMG I LOVE CELEBRITY X" to "OMG HOW CAN CELEBRITY X BE SO TERRIBLE?!" in the blink of an eye. And not just because of social pressure making them act the part of a critic of Celebrity X. I mean a serious shift in opinion, a genuine change in their loyalties. I don't follow celebrities enough to have any real defining experience of my own, I know what bands, singers, and actors I appreciate the work of, and that's about it. And like most anyone, there are celebrities I find attractive, or celebrities I think may be interesting people. And as is inevitable, I'm somewhat aware of the goings on in the world of the celebrity as well... But I've never found myself at the point of obsessively following any particular celebrities. As a result, I've never been presented with a situation where I could have possibly had my loyalties called into question like dZ seems to say happens.

I suppose one entity that it may happen to is the media itself. Some years ago Brittany Spears was generally portrayed in a positive light by the media. Now it seems that all the coverage is about her shaving her head, dropping her baby, and not being a particularly good driver. But I still have yet to meet an individual person that has experienced this kind of passionate change in opinion.

So I ask all of you out there... have you ever experienced a sudden reversal like that? Have any examples of it happening? Know anyone its happened to? Anything at all?

God I suck. I ramble so damn much. CONCISE WRITING IS A GOOD THING, BRIAN. I'm so sorry to anyone who read that.

Because someone, somewhere apparently really wants to watch Desperate Housewives re-runs even while taking the kids to school...

I was thinking about things relating to the class, and I couldn't help but recall having read this some months back...
All the major GPS Sat. Nav. manufacturers (Garmin, TomTom and Mitac) are currently researching technology that would allow for broadcast television to be received by in car GPS units. Now... the obvious safety issues aside (which I won't even bother commenting on), I have to ask, what's next? A TV you attach to your face for when you're walking about town? Perhaps more realistically, TV receivers in iPods? TVs that stream into our minds as we sleep? Can't we be away from our TVs for a little while? I mean, seriously, when I drive I try to stay focused on the road. But maybe that's overrated. (Okay, I commented)

Source: Gizmodo

In the spirt of this class living up to it's name of "not bashing the media"...

...I thought I'd make my first post to celebrate things that I've found, mostly online, that show the media using advertising in highly positive and creative ways. (I personally don't consider advertising to be inherently bad, for the record. In fact, in my eyes, it rarely is. I just think this is better than a "HEY GUYS CHECK OUT SOME ADS I LIKE LOL" kind of post...)










1. Water Conservation Campaign -- City of Denver, CO

The billboard is a very common medium for advertisers in an urban area, as is the city bus bench. Here we see Denver Water using the objects to convey something more important of a message than how much a double whopper with fries and a drink costs. Plus, it's just damn clever, you have to admit.















2. "Don't Let Your Life Flash By" -- Unknown

In somewhat the same vein as the last one, this interesting project uses a series of billboards along the road, angled so that they give a "flip-book" effect as drivers go by. It ends with the message "Don't let your life flash by" and "Slow Down". Another great application of the billboard that deviates from it's usual use.


















3. "94% say they washed... 34% are lying..." -- JWT Toronto

Apparently 94% of men will tell you they washed after leaving the restroom. And apparently 34% will be lying. Now, regardless of the truth behind these statistics, you have to admit, this is a brilliant hand washing promotion campaign. The strategic placement of the doorknob drives the point home wonderfully. I don't think anyone could see that, and then not wash their hands.














4. "Atmospheric Pollution effects everyone" -- Singapore environment Council

These print ads put out by the Singapore environment Council are fantastically creative ads to drive the point home on greenhouse gasses and global warming. If it's not clear, the first one shows a witch on her broom, fallen out of the sky into a playground. The second shows an angel fallen on the roof of an SUV. And the third, shows a falling alien interrupting some poor man's outdoor meal.


So see? All of these definitely count as advertisements, and they're all well-intended as well! And brilliantly done, at that. Advertisers are not ALWAYS out to take advantage of you!


All of this found thanks to what is probably one of my favorite blogs evaaar, The Cool Hunter. WARNING: There are some image posts on that blog that are not exactly safe for work/school/etc.. Not pornographic, but still not something you'd want your boss to see you looking at at work. Regardless, it is a fascinating and cool blog that reports on all things awesome and aesthetically pleasing and interesting. I RECOMMEND IT FOR MORE THINGS LIKE ABOVE!

3 AM is a wonderful time. I think I'll go to bed now...