There was one comment made by Max Keiser that really caught my attention. He stated that banks "purposely create artificial roller coasters in the market." So first I did some background checking on Max Keiser, and from the looks of it he is a reliable source. He is known for being a film-maker, broadcaster, and options broker. His resume includes being the host of on the edge which is a program of news and analysis, also he has his own tv show called Keiser's report. Now when trying to fact checking this statement made by Keiser, I could not find anything specifically. However, I could find an interesting story about banks purposely holding off the market a vast inventory of foreclosed homes found on wallstreetpit.com. The story talks about the fact that "banks that issued the past toxic loans are now purposely creating a housing shortage in order to artificially depress foreclosure numbers and in the process drive up the value of their inventory." This fact makes me believe the statement made by Keiser, and after reading this I have realized the extreme power the banks have.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
Shattered Glass Ops
Woody Balut
Shattered Glass Ops
Monday, February 21, 2011
Robert Larson
BIGFOOT LIKES RIDES TOO
On December 14th, 2010, Bob Dohl was doing his normal rounds at Disney World Theme Park. However, that night’s rounds would be slightly different than all the other nights of locking doors and turning off lights. As Mr. Dohl was locking the doors of the security room in Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park, he heard quick footsteps outside that seemed to be running towards the outskirts of the park. As Mr. Dohl turned to see who was there, he spotted the back of the behemoth six foot eight furry creature we refer to as Bigfoot, Yeti, and Sasquatch. When Mr. Dohl was interviewed by WFTV’s Todd Ulrich Dohl stated, when asked, if he was positive that he actually saw this creature Dohl stated, “I knew it as soon as I turned to see it. I could catch a glimpse of his furry back that covered his body, and this thing looked tall enough to start for the Orlando Magic.” Now you may question the credibility of this Dohl character, however, when Todd Ulrich spoke to head of security at DisneyWorld Resort Dan Reshford Reshford stated, “Bob is a good guy, that has worked here for years, if he says that he saw him… he saw him.”
The park was closed for two days in order for investigations to take place around the area. Nothing was found. The police stated that the chance of Bigfoot being there that night was slim to none, due to the fact that there was no type of evidence found during those two days. However Dohl stands by his word and still believes one hundred percent that Bigfoot was roaming the grounds that night. So who do we believe in this situation? Is Bigfoot just as sneaky as he’s rumored to be? Covering his tracks after realizing he had been spotted? Also, you have to take into account the fact that there is always the chance the police did not take this investigation and story into serious consideration. Or is this Mr. Dohl just a man searching for attention, hoping that his story, whether true or false, would make it into a magazine article like the one I am writing now? Well if that is the case you have succeeded Mr. Dohl. Nevertheless one must wonder is this creature a threat to mankind, Or just another thrill seeker trying to enjoy the many rides of DisneyWorld--we may never know.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
SuperBowl commercials and Timeline Paper
Woody Balut
Media Literacy
Rob Larson
February 9, 2011
Media Timeline and Super Bowl Commercial Connections
The history of media can be traced back many thousands of years, and I have learned in class thanks to my classmates that you can relate almost any invention, no matter how old, to the history of media. However, when relating these inventions to the thirty second commercials of The Super Bowl that are worth three million dollars, it is a little bit more difficult. However, after a further look into these two topics there are many comparable aspects.
There is a lot more than meets the eye when talking about super bowl commercials. Companies spend numerous amounts of dollars trying to convince people to buy their product, or join their website, or whatever it may be. There are many different things that go into making a commercial, one specific thing that many commercials have is music. Now looking at our class’ timeline our earliest invention that we noted is a flute made in 33,000 BCE. Now obviously it is not certain for a fact that we know it was made in 33,000 BCE, it is obvious that this instrument was made many thousands of years ago. Now relating this ancient instrument to commercials during the Super Bowl, there are many things that you can talk about. One of my favorite commercials in the Super Bowl was the Chrysler 200 commercial that included Eminem in the commercial, and also one of Eminem’s hit singles “Lose Yourself.” Basically, this whole commercial was based off Eminem and his music, and the fact that he was from Detroit. It’s interesting to see that what was first created sometime around 33,000 BCE has evolved into such an important part of our culture today. It is a key element in some of the most watched 30 seconds on TV in our world.
Paved roads were first created in India sometime around 4,000 BCE. Now it may seem that the inventions of paved roads has no relevance at all to The Super Bowl commercials. However, there are some things that correlate between the two. When looking at just the top ten commercials from The Super Bowl, u can make connections between four out of the ten to the invention of paved roads. The number one, five, and ten most liked commercials from The Super Bowl are car commercials. After knowing this, one can make the obvious connection because what does a car drive on.. PAVED ROADS! It’s as simple as that. Now getting more specific with vehicles, you have tires. The number two most liked commercial from The Super Bowl is a Bridgestone Tire commercial, and again obviously without paved roads tires would be much less likely to be “Super Bowl commercial worthy” in today’s world.
In 1837 the first ever comic book was created in Switzerland by Rudolphe Topffer. It was titled “The adventures of Obadiah Oldbuck.” Now there obviously was not any commercials for this magazine being turned into a movie, however without this first comic the world of comic book would have never evolved to what we have today. Some of the more known superheroes first created in comic books are Superman Spider-Man, and one featured in a Super Bowl commercial named Captain-America. There is a Captain America movie that is coming out this July. So starting in 1837, evolving into more advanced comic books, and now one of those known superheroes has his there own movie that is important enough to get shown in a commercial during The Super Bowl. It is interesting to see how far we have advanced of these peoples’ first creations, and how important these advanced forms of media are in our culture today.
The last piece of our class’ timeline that is comparable to The Super Bowl commercials is the telegraph, which was invented in 1835. However, I feel this invention can be compared to all The Super Bowl commercials, and the idea of the Super Bowl commercials in general. Just to be able to see the advances which have been made in our world since this first telegraph was invented is amazing. It’s crazy that at one point in time a phone was unheard of, people had to communicate using dots and spaces only capable of writing ten words per minute. Now we have commercials advertising a new Iphone that can video chat in the palm of your hand. CRAZY!
At first glance the thirty seconds of greatness the world calls Super Bowl commercials and the random inventions that our class likes to call a history of media timeline may not look like they correlate, but after taking a closer look it is obvious that they are alike in more ways that one!
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Lie Detector Invented in 1902
http://inventors.about.com/od/fstartinventions/a/forensic_2.htm
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-TZ8Z5S9rI
In 1902 The Lie Detector was invented by James Mackenzie, however the more modern version that could actually be used in police interrogation was invented in 1921 by James Larson, a student at the University of California. Even though it was invented in 1921, it was not fully used until 1924. This may not seem relevant to media, but it is. The lie detector has effected many people since it was first invented, punishing both the guilty, and possibly the not guilty. It may seem like something small but it has changed our world forever and our media also. I mean think about it, how many famous people have gotten in trouble and had to use lie detectors. After this, the news about this troublemaking celebrity is spread like wildfire. Not just on TV, radio, and newspaper, but on things such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and many other social networks. Now I could not find a video about the invention of the Lie Detector, however I did find the use of a Lie Detector in a TV episode of the Simpsons, proving that it has a large affect in the media. CHECK IT OUT!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N-TZ8Z5S9rI
In 1902 The Lie Detector was invented by James Mackenzie, however the more modern version that could actually be used in police interrogation was invented in 1921 by James Larson, a student at the University of California. Even though it was invented in 1921, it was not fully used until 1924. This may not seem relevant to media, but it is. The lie detector has effected many people since it was first invented, punishing both the guilty, and possibly the not guilty. It may seem like something small but it has changed our world forever and our media also. I mean think about it, how many famous people have gotten in trouble and had to use lie detectors. After this, the news about this troublemaking celebrity is spread like wildfire. Not just on TV, radio, and newspaper, but on things such as Twitter, Facebook, blogs, and many other social networks. Now I could not find a video about the invention of the Lie Detector, however I did find the use of a Lie Detector in a TV episode of the Simpsons, proving that it has a large affect in the media. CHECK IT OUT!
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