Fish out of Water

Pilipino Cultural Night (PCN) is an annual event hosted by the student organization, Akbayan. This event has grown significantly in the past five years. In fact, it has become so large that this year Akbayan moved from the Barrette Ballroom, its usual on-campus venue, to an off-campus venue which could accommodate a much larger audience.

During PCN a majority of the time is spent watching a play which exemplifies the Filipino family life and culture. As well, the play has breaks in which Akbayan members perform traditional Filipino dances in traditional costume. Many of the male costumes expose far more than accustom to the U.S. culture. Many of the male dancers wear only loin cloths and are typically completely bare on top.

All in all PCN was a great experience. It was interesting to watch the struggles and issues being addressed. One topic that was significantly addressed was the impact of gender roles on the family. They displayed the constant desire for children of the family to be accepted by and want to fulfill the expectations of the father. Much of the play also highlighted the males’ need to be the strong hold of the family, while the mother struggles to keep the family cohesive.

While sitting in the audience, I probably stuck out like a sore thumb, as a majority of the audience was Filipino. However, I have many friends in Akbayan which significantly eased the feelings of being an “outsider.” I actually felt quite comfortable at the event, as it was very apparent that the audience and performers were proud to display the culture of which they are a part of. As well, I attended with two non-Filipino friends, which also eased the feelings of being an “outsider.”

Word Count: 305

Videogames - A new platform for advertising

As our primary focus for the week is advertising, I would like to focus on product placement for this post. When thinking of product placements many typically think of television and movie placements, but now advertising is even being found in videogames.

Many of the games that include advertising are EA Sports games such as NCAA or Madden. Much of the advertising appears similar to how it would if you were to attend a professional sports game. They may appear on sidelines or on megatrons. Some examples of advertising include the placement of Coca-cola or ESPN. Currently in the debut trailer for NCAA Football 09, a Coca-cola Zero ad appears when players are calling audibles. This placement is found within the first minute of the trailer.

As well, the game Crazy Taxi which was offered both in arcades and on the Playstation 2 console had very obvious product placement. This game advertised Pizza Hut and other restaurants and chain stores as well as music from the band The Offspring.

While many are skeptical of these types of advertisements, I am not entirely against this type of placement. In fact, more often than not I am entertained by the product and brand placements. Many commonly argue that children should not be overly exposed to advertising, and videogames encourages exposure to children. However, videogames are no longer just for kids, but for teens and consumers in their 20's which is a huge consumer group.

All in all, advertising and marketing groups have become very creative in the placement of products and services. It is extremely smart to target gamers as they tend to spend less time exposed to television advertising and more time in the virtual world.

Word count: 286

EA Predicts San Jose Sharks to take the Stanley Cup

For many, the digital world has taken over reality. People have allowed online communities like Second Life to replace real-life interactions. Now, Electronic Arts (EA) has fed into these fantasy worlds and utilized their products to predict the future of the NHL playoffs.

On Tuesday, April 8, EA Sports predicted that the San Jose Sharks will defeat the Montreal Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup. They essentially did this through a simulation on the EA game NHL 08.

EA Sports also utilized Madden for superbowl predictions, including last season’s prediction when they incorrectly predicted the Patriots to take home the win.

Many take these predictions quite seriously, but all in all it is an entertaining way to start out the NHL playoffs and to shed light on EA products.

Word Count: 131

Word of the week #10

Word: ostensibly

Word usage: The site offers an ostensibly impressive feature-set. Upon entering a cell number and the password associated with a mobile account, the user is presented with a comprehensive usage analysis, including a listing of the user’s most-called contacts and networks.

Definitions:

adjective

1. outwardly appearing as such; professed; pretended: an ostensible cheerfulness concealing sadness.
2. apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories

Applicable definition:

1. apparent, evident, or conspicuous: the ostensible truth of their theories

My sentence: The girl came to class late every day. I could tell that her obstensible tardiness upset the professor.

Source: Techcrunch.com. Billshrink launches to save you money on your phone bill.

http://www.techcrunch.com/2008/04/09/billshrink-launches-to-save-you-money-on-your-phone-bill/

Word count: 116

Word of the week #9

Word: dubious

Word usage: Slanters are bad because they try to get us to assume a dubious claim is true without reflecting on it.

Definition:

1. doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt: a dubious reply.
2. of doubtful quality or propriety; questionable: a dubious compliment; a dubious transaction.
3. of uncertain outcome: in dubious battle.
4. wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt

Applicable definition:

1. doubtful; marked by or occasioning doubt: a dubious reply.
2. wavering or hesitating in opinion; inclined to doubt

My sentence: The dubious response allowed the crowd to easily side with the politician’s position.

Source: Epstein, R.L. (2006). Critical thinking. Belmont, CA: Thomson Higher Education.

Word count: 117

Drinking Coffee Elsewhere

She closed her suitcase, clicking shut the old-fashioned locks. “My mother is dead,” she said again, this time reminding herself. She set her suitcase upright on the floor and sat on it. She looked like someone waiting for a train.

“Fine,” I said. “And she’s going to be dead for a long time.” Though it sounded stupid, I felt good saying it. As though I had my own locks to click shut.

Through similes and metaphors Z.Z. Packer cleverly engages the reader’s imagination to continue reading and to look beyond the first-person encounter or situation at hand.

In this chapter, an angry, lesbian Yale student attempts to transform her pessimist thinking into a more thoughtful and open state of mind. Z.Z. Packer uses a large amount of dialogue to outline what she is thinking in comparison to what she is saying. The girl curses and yells, and shows little compassion through her words, but internally is hiding the emotions and feeling she internalizes.

…With this she put a jovial arm around my neck. I continued walking, a little stunned. Then, just as quickly, she dropped her arm and stopped walking. I stopped too.

“Did you notice that I put my arm around you?”

“Yes,” I said. “Next time, I’ll have to chop it off…”

In the cold air, her arm had felt good.”

Without these dialogues, as well as the use of comparisons and descriptions, the emotions and attitudes of the characters would not be as easily identifiable or as effective.

Word Count: 253

Word of the week #8

Word Usage: Every Friday after school all the teachers in the program met at a bar called The Rendezvous Lounge, ostensibly to swap teaching stories and commiserate before they got drunk.

Word: ostensibly

Definitions:

1. From appearances alone
   
   
2. seemingly, apparently, on the surface

My sentence: The boy ostensibly tried out for the play, but in actuality he just wanted to be the Juliet’s real-life Romeo.

Source: Packer, Z. 2003. Drinking coffee elsewhere. New York: The Berkley Publishing Group.

Word Count: 82