In my case, I think the most creative ads are those made for light beers. Budweiser has a long tradition of funny, original and clever advertisements.

That being said, I don't think many ads have an effect on the purchases I make. I usually am not one to purchase brand name products. When you make a teacher's pay and have a wife and four kids, you look at price more than the name on the package. If the generic brand is of nearly the same quality, we go with it over the name brand every time.

The advertising slideshow I presented in class has some good ads in it, but this is another of my favorites:

Books, who needs them? According to surveys,
most young people today do not read. Discuss your
reading habits and explain why you think they are what
they are. What impact do you think the decline in literary
consumption will have on mass media consumers?

I love to read books and do so as much as possible. This usually consists of reading for 30 to 45 minutes before bed as a way to relax. I would read significantly more, but the rigors of life as a teacher, grad student, parent, etc. consume too much of my time.

I am currently reading Sometimes a Great Notion by Ken Kessey, which I would recommend as an excellent example of character development and non-linear storytelling. Over the Christmas holiday I saturated myself in science fiction by Robert Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. Both were visionaries and astute thinkers not only in science, but also in politics.

I think the decline in literary readership is creating a citizenry lacking in the ability to consume more than just bite-sized pieces of information. It also is leading to inability to process information and relate it back to life in a critical way.

Like many of you, I too am guilty of letting print-based media fall by the wayside. For there are several reasons for this, with the main being the availability of these media in electronic versions. I still the Marshall Democrat-News every day even though my subscription ended months ago. I just read the paper on-line.

I read print media when I am in locations with no access to the Internet. (Restaurants, doctors' offices, etc.) In these situations I will usually buy a copy of USA Today or read whatever magazine is kept in the place. I prefer Time and Newsweek, but will read People, Us Weekly or Entertainment Weekly if that is what is on hand.

Reading for me falls somewhere near watching television and ahead of viewing movies, but as I said before it is usually the digital version of traditional print media.

Media Convergence

In class we have discussed the concept of media convergence: when the content of two media come together. For example: TV Guide is a magazine with content that focuses on the television medium.

Another example we discussed in class was the Smashing Pumpkins adaptation of a film by Georges Mielles for their video of the song "Tonight, Tonight"

Here is the video


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_f7LF3IiKI

And the original


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI0BmQaIIR4

On the tube

In general, I don't watch a lot of television. I like it, but I'm usually too busy to sit and watch an entire progam. When I do have the time, I like things that stimulate my mind. I watch CSI on Spike and I am a fan of shows like Mythbusters and Dirty Jobs.

If I take the time to watch television, it's usually in the evenings after my kids have finished their homework. We have a family room in the basement of our house and we all gather around the big screen. We have a beat up old recliner that dates back to my signle days and that is "my" chair. Occassionally, my daughter will still want to climb up on my lap to watch with me, but those days are becoming a thing of the past.

More frequently that television, my family gathers to watch movies on DVD or pay per view. But my children do watch a lot of television while I am working. They are 9, 13 and 16 and so they watch a lot of Disney and Nickolodean. Cartoon Network is also a popular channel around our house.

I grew up in a house filled with music and have listened to it from an early age. I grew up hearing a steady diet of Southern Rock from my dad and soft rock from my mother. In my teens I listened to a lot of heavy metal and later made the move to alternative.

Today, my tastes in music are quite broad and don't fit easily into any one category, but mostly I listen to rock and some country. What I listen to depends in large part on my mood. If I'm energetic and doing something like cleaning my house, I'll put on something up tempo (like Cyndi Lauper or some fast 80s music). If I'm working late at the computer and I need a "pick me up" it's got to punk music. If I'm working on something and don't want to be too distracted by the music, I'll play some classic country like Hank Williams Sr., Johnny Cash or Willie Nelson.

My MP3 player is loaded up with all these and set to shuffle so when I drive it is a great mash of songs. So if you see me at a stop light don't be surprised if the music goes from Duran Duran to Alan Jackson.

I also try to make it to a few live shows each year. I prefer small club shows to big arena events so my playlist also includes a few local bands.

Songs I might suggest:

The Gaslights and their song "Last Dollar" http://www.thegaslights.com

Kristie Stremel and her song "The Right Name" http://www.kristiestremel.com/news/

Hank Williams Sr. and his song "Lost Highway" http://www.hankwilliams.com/

I use the Internet every day. In fact, I couldn't imagine my life without the Internet. I occassionally use IM to talk with International friends, but for me, e-mail is the number way I stay in touch with the world. I prefer it to even phone conversations.

I also use the Internet for recreational purposes. I read news headlines every day and when time allows, I play the game "Eve Online," a sci-fi spaceship game. I also kill times with games like "Kitten Cannon" at the Addicting Games web site.

I use the Internet for school purposes, both as a teacher and as a student. Each of you should have visited our class web site by now. I also take classes on-line through Eastern Michigan University.

Some links I use often are:

http://news.yahoo.com

http://www.hotmail.com

http://www.addictingames.com