Television Revisited

How did people ever go without television? Forget the radio, just kidding, but seriously I kind of consider myself spoiled compared to my parents and their parents. I guess that’s why the elderly say my generation is getting dumber because people watch too much television these days. It has come a great deal since its creation. The tube itself has changed significantly along with its accessories. Look at the image to the right. This television set was one of the first of its kind. It is more speakers and switches than screen. That’s like a computer screen to contemporary standards if that. The television was still not in color but I really think that’s a bonus. Some movies and shows wouldn't be the same if they were in color. Imagine To Kill a Mockingbird or I Love Lucy in color. It would not be the same.

A lot has certainly changed from the old tube from above. The big, flat screen TV is almost the same size as the older version above. It hardly takes up any room because it is flat. There is plenty of more screen then speakers; more than likely the speakers on the flat screen work better. Also, the flat screen is in color. It is weird because my family still has the original television sets but only as a decoration. We actually have our newer, bigger TV sitting on top of it.

I remember watching a scene from Back to the Future II when they were in Hillsdale in 1955. Marty was eating dinner with his mom's family watching The Honeymooners. During the start Marty says that he has seen this episode but he doesn't realize that the first ever showing was on that day. He says it’s a re-run and the family asks him what that was. I can't imagine never watching re-runs. Back then in 1955, if an individual missed watching an episode, he or she probably would not have seen it again for years. Now we have TiVo for that. If I miss something it will come on again if I did not set it to record to my TiVo box. What a blessing.

Currently, companies are in the works to making television 3D. There will be more to come after that and after that. Sooner or later it might just be inside people's brains will some microchip. It wouldn't bother me. Less energy bills.

The Evolution of Mario

Ever since I remember I have been playing video games. From the old Nintendo all the way to the Playstation 3 (PS3). Gaming has change so much in my lifetime alone and I'm only 20 years old. Some of the characters have significantly changed in the past couple of years. Lets look at the picture to the right. This is one of the earlier versions of Mario in the game "Super Mario Bros." for Nintendo in the 1980s. He barely has a face that can be recognized. Look at the clouds in the background; are they even moving? The graphics are terrible to modern day graphics but then they were the best thing since sliced bread. 

Now lets look at the same game in the early 90s.  This game to the left is called "Super Mario World." The graphics are a lot better. There is more detail to his face and hands, plus look at that honker of a thing he calls a nose. The clouds are a lot better. One could see this almost as a real world. It is still not in 3D but just wait.

This game looks like it took a couple steps backwards to some but it was the game next in line for development. The game to the left is named "Super Mario 64." Mario finally became 2D but what's up with his hands. They look like he wearing boxing gloves 24/7. I wonder how he picks things up. Their are clouds but it looks like the game before should be after this one. This game was released six years after "Super Mario World." No way Mario was going to be down for this count.

Well, Mario hasn't quite went 3D yet but here he is in 2.5D. In the game to the right, "New Super Mario Bros.", he almost looks like a real person; at least if people were to turn in to video games. His hands look like human hands. The clouds are a little off but you can't get them all. In this games he can do spins. The graphics look great. Mario and other games and characters like so have come a long way. The first game I can remember was pong. All that was was two sticks and a ball on a flat surface with only two colors. Some how people loved that. I would probably read the dictionary before I ever played that game. Hopefully in the near future, video games will be in 3D. We already have the TV for it.

FM Radio vs. Am Radio

Radio commercial/station are no different then a T.V. commercial or a magazine ad. They all want to target a specific audience, though they would have target the whole planet. Since people are have different likes and dislikes, it is hardly possible to get everyone out there. There are some difference amongst the FM stations and AM stations.

I think the real only problem with AM radio is the amount of static. Nobody wants to hear that. We want to have a clear, crisp radio signal in the car. I found that most AM stations consist of talk shows and traffic and news. If you need a traffic report then AM is the way to go. If you want to hear about a particular subject than AM is the way to go. Sports, family life, religion are all on AM. These station are for basically adults. I was listening to one radio station back home called "Stardust 910." They bascially play oldies and old school rock'n'roll. Their ads consisted of foot cream, the new back doctor, and vacation homes in Vegas. What kind of kid wants to worry about foot cream? There was only one kids station and it was "Radio Disney." If you do not know about Disney than you need to get out more. They had ads about fast foods and toy shops.

I couldn't really find an older adult show on the radio (FM radio). These radio station focus in on current desires and local events. At the sign time, they are advertised locally all over the place. The most popular FM station in my home is "94.3 The Duck." It plays "... today's Hip-Hop and R&B and all your favorite hit music," accoding to Mike. The station frequently says who owns the station as well as what is going on in the community. Yon can even hear the high school football games on it and the most popular Art Laboe show. The Spanish radio station also compelled me, 95.9 aka El Punto Nueve. They played old school Latino music and advertise local hispanic shops or store sales. FM is for everyone. I really recommend XM radio because there is no commercials and they label their station so you don't have to search every station for what you want.

<>

 

AM	FM	Hide AllShow All
Pros and cons:	AM has poorer sound quality compared to FM, but is cheaper and can be transmitted over long distances.	FM is less prone to interference than AM. However, FM signals are impacted by physical barriers.	hide
Range:	AM radio ranges from 535 to 1705 kilohertz	FM radio ranges in a higher spectrum from 88 to 108 megahertz.	hide
Stands for:	AM stands for Amplitude Modulation	FM stands for Frequency Modulation	hide
Origin:	AM method of audio transmission was first successfully carried out in the mid 1870s.	FM radio was developed in the United states mainly by Edwin Armstrong in the 1930s.	hide

The King Has Returned

I found it very interesting what it said in the book about singers going into movies. In the movie "Don't Be a Menace to South Central..." one of the characters even say that all the singers are taking the acting job. My Grandpa told me this happened way back in the day with Elvis. He remembers him from Jailhouse Rock, King Creole, and Viva Las Vegas. My personal favorite of his is G.I. Blues. Singers in movies seem to be a building trend now. T.I. did it, Bow Wow did it, Snoop, Miley Cryus, Diana Ross etc. It does make me want to see if they can act.
The movie industry has come so far along. My old coach use to call players that were not performing well the "Keystone Kops." That coach was like 40 something. They date back to the early 1900s in silent films.

I do like to watch old movies as well. Tell me someone who has not watched Casa Blanca or Gone With the Wind. One of my favorite black and white films is "To Kill a Mockingbird." That movie itself could not have presented the racist arguement as well without the black and white background. Just look at the image yourself. It sure helps me to make a decesion. Why else do you think it is in black and white.

To me, magazines are dead. I really only read them to order stuff and when I am sitting down waiting for someone. Still, I'm only one person. Others are still reading and subscribing to magazines. One could save themselves some money and research it on the internet. I could do the same when I'm trying to by some cleats but I guess I perfer it the other way.

Then and Now

The book industry and the newspaper industry has dramatically changes in my lifetime, and I'm only 20. In the past century, only educated people were reading books. Now anyone can do it but we don't. I think as the years go by books will be nonexistent. With books now being put online (e-books) and books becoming movies people aren't reading as much. If it wasn't for textbooks, book sales would be seriouly in trouble. I too am gulity of not reading. Still, one of my favorite books ever is Hamlet. The subject matter is extremely well written. I've only read the "sparknotes" edition of the book which translate the wording to modern English. I really did not understand "to be or not to be" until I read this book. What really shocked me is the recent list of band books. I remember reading such books like The Chocolate War, Goosebumps, and Harry Potter as a kid. Books like The Giver, Of Mice and Men, A Wrinkle in Time, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Outsiders, etc. were required reading in my home state.

I was just looking at some of the best selling books of all time and guess which books were up there? To Kill a Mockingbird just by itself as sold over 30 million copies since it was first published in 1960. The Goosebumps series has sold over 300 million copies since it was first published in 1992. Also, they made 62 of those books. On top of the Goosebumps series is the Harry Potter series which has seven books and has sold over 400 million books and still counting. The 7th book itself, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, has sold over 40 million copies and was also voted the "Best Book for Young Adults" by the American Library Association. Goosebumps and Harry Potter are both children books and are both on the banned list. Maybe the association banning books used look into the books they are banning and see why they are doing so.

The Beginning

Well if you don't know me by now I'm Luis. Tonight I lose my blogger virginity, just kidding. Mass media has been in my life since day one, whether directly and indirectly. I'm sure that my mom and dad did not automatically know how to raise a child. Someone is the very beginning told someone else which got told to another and to another and so on. Eventually this is where we come to know baby books and children magazines. Still, I use media today. As a matter of fact, I'm using it to write this blog. A person has to be living under a rock to not see the T.V., hear the radio, or explore the internet.
In Southen California, most people on a Sunday night are tuned into to the Art Laboe Show. He's an old school DJ that has been playing oldies type of music since the 50s. He comes on different stations all over the state. I could be going to Vegas on a Sunday night from L.A. and all I have to do is change a couple stations to listen to him. He even tills me what station he is in in each city. He even has his own star on the walk of fame.
Even without that I still watch my Raiders games on Sunday, my Miami  Hurricanes and Ohio Bobcats on Saturday, my email in the morning, and my novelas (spanish for TV stories) in the afternoon. All these also are part of my cultures. Majority of my family are Raider fans. I only like the Hurricanes. I have a brother in Ohio. And there is not one Mexican who does not watch novelas. It all connects some. Well, thats it for now. I kind of liked this but it isn't something that I'll probably do after this class is over. It's good to spil the mind sometimes.