Visit the Railroad Museum

For our last location activity, my group and I decided to travel to the Railroad Museum. At first I thought to myself that this museum was just all about the interior of the trains. Boy, was I wrong! This was probably my favorite location activity because I was actually excited to learn all this interesting information about how “working on the railroad” days would be like in the past.

What I selected to report on was the design of the train. What I thought was really appealing about the design of the “old train” was its inside corridors. The hallways were so extremely small that I could hardly fit though with out turning sideways. This made me think to myself about how life was lived around that period of time. Traveling by train was a normal way to get from point A to point B. In this period of time, people usually travel by cars or planes. Perhaps graffiti is also a turn off for most travelers today. People see that the outside of a train covered and paint and think “trashy”, therefore the insides are useless as well. Also, undersized hallways were also most likely accustomed to their lifestyle. Room’s fancy, padded seats that were so close to one another was probably just a normal way to travel as well. Today, trains are most likely used to shuttle supplies, therefore, making the rooms more spread out and less fancy for few travelers. Obesity is also a big issue today, so if the trains were used for passengers, the hallways would be large enough so that one could pass through. Designers worked hard on the interior and exterior of trains and we should all take that into large consideraction.

What I did like about the train was that it communicated to me on more of a deeper level. I realized that back then, glamour and fashion was easy to come by. Nowadays, people design graffiti on the outside of the trains, not caring about what goes on inside. Back then, passengers appreciated and respected the style that the designers created to make the train more exciting. What we need to realize that the transition we have made from one era to the next has been such a large one.

Location Activity: Visit the Railroad Museum

Carlie Kappl

Mass Communication

Location Activity: Visit the Railroad Museum

Okay, so in my last post regarding museums I said I hated them and they creeped me out. They still do, but the Railroad Museum was actually very interesting. I have never been a fan of trains considering they run through my backyard at home, and they are very loud and obnoxious. However, I enjoyed my visit to the museum. We even got to board one of the trains in the exhibit and walk around it.

It is very scenic. When you first pull in there are trains everywhere outside. There is a large gift shop in the entrance that sells all sorts of train stuff. I should have picked up something for my four-year-old nephew who has a love affair with Thomas the train. Next time.

And that's the thing. I would actually go back to this museum and take a closer look around at it. Something interesting I saw was that they had displays of different parts of the railroad, like this huge sledgehammer-like thing called a spike maul.

This bad boy can safely strike a spike on either said of the rail, where an ordinary sledgehammer cannot because the head on it is too short. This tool makes it easier for the worker to drive several spikes without having to move to the other side of the rail.

The exhibit also had three other trains lined up with it. These were un-boardable, but they had a festive display of Christmas presents in the front of them on a stage with a chair for people to sit and get their pictures taken in front of.

The trains were obviously massive, but it was interesting to seem them up close. For more information about the exhibits, visit

http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/en-Us/exhibits/collections/default.aspx

In another room, there were displays of old time scenes of people working on the railroad with descriptions of each scene.

Interestingly, it turns out the museum serves a multi-purpose. People can book birthday parties and wedding receptions there too. For more information visit

http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/en-Us/news/event_calendar/default.aspx for more events and for more information on how to book your own event.

Location Activity: Visit the Railroad Museum

Lauren Gregory

Mass Communication


For the location activity, our group got together and visited the Railroad Museum located in downtown Green Bay. I definitely have to start off recommending it for everyone! I mean, how often do you get to board an actual train without a pesky guide following you around?

To me, the most significant part of my tour was in a very large warehouse room that’s home to four refurbished trains. The three other girls and I boarded one of the passenger trains and immediately noticed lots of cool things; including a dining room set up in the middle.

An interesting yet inconvenient thing about the train we boarded was that the walkways were very narrow. If four college girls were scraping their arms on the sides of the train‘s walls, I can’t imagine an oversized adult with luggage trying to get on and off! That train had closter phobia written all over it.

There were many tools and things on display that struck me as being very interesting as well. My favorite being the display showing how they used dynamite to blow tunnels through the mountains.

This activity was an obvious relation to the history of dominant transportation means and how that changed over time. I found it very interesting because although trains aren’t used as exclusively as they once were, they still play an important and economical role in transportation today.

Also, after looking at most of the them, I couldn’t help but notice the size of the trains themselves were getting bigger. It actually didn’t surprise me much at all because it seems to go hand in hand with the American idea that bigger is better.


To check out an interactive slideshow of the museum click here:
http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org/en-Us/exhibits/exhibits/default.aspx

Location Activity: The Railroad Museum

Crystal VandenAvond

Intro to Mass Communication

Location Activity: Visit the Railroad Museum

"1. Describe what you saw and take a picture to support what you saw (include yourself or your group in the photograph).

2. Reflect on at least two things that struck you as odd/unusual/interesting related to mass communication.
3. Describe how the activity related to the history of that field and to at least one more medium."


Okay, for starters, our entire group went to the Railroad Museum on Broadway in Ashwaubenon. I think that this was the best location activity we have done. (Well, maybe it's tied with the Lambeau tour, but it sure beats the Neville!)

Anyways, we saw a lot of neat things here. First off, there was a train that we were allowed to go into that they used to use in the olden days. (Right). The train was so so so small inside. I hard a had time fitting through the walkways with my purse, I couldn't imagine what it was like in the olden days.

The bathrooms inside on the train were extremely small. I literally could just put my body in there and sit, that's it!

Trains have changed so much from how they used to be, and they aren't as common of a way of transportation.

For example, the photo right below is a picture of what they used to hall freight on. These little cars were attached to the train, and freight was haled. That is so interesting!! It is not like that anymore. The freight cars now are closed in, and are not made out of wood. It just really astounds me how much things change!
This whole experience really related a lot to history. Seeing how much things have changed over the years and decades.

Including advertising. If you take a peak of this picture at left, you can see me and all of these "billboards" from the olden days. These signs used to be advertising for companies and businesses. If you take a look at a sign now it has grown so much from how it used to be!

For one, they aren't as old fashioned looking, and they have evolved so much! The sense of advertising and transportation is so much different nowadays!

To get the experience that I got at the Railroad Museum, check out their page at http://www.nationalrrmuseum.org

Take a fashion website and together a list of the ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and bodies.

Carlie Kappl


Mass Communications


Take a fashion website and together a list of the ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and bodies.


My bible has an official Web site: cosmopolitan.com


Not only do I have a year long subscription with which I read through almost every article, but I often visit the Web site for extended tips on life, love and yes--fashion.



I'm not sure who gave Cosmo the okay to tell women who are 17-37 how to dress, but sure enough, fashion is one of the sections that makes it into every issue with a page dedicated to "7 things to crave right now" which shows 7 styles that every woman should own. Also, there are plenty of pages dedicated to "who wore it better?" between celebrities, choose the best style for your shape, etc.


But people actually buy into this stuff. I mean, I take some of these suggestions seriously, but I think the tips mostly account for good reading. But some fashion ideas such as the high-waisted houndstooth baggy pants that fold up at the bottom paired with a tucked in shirt? Sorry, not my style.
However, I can appreciate their suggestions on the best haircut for your face shape. These people obviously know what they're talking about, and I trust them to help me decide how to cut my hair. This could possibly in part be due to the fact they tell me I can wear my hair basically however I want.


I've been anti-bangs since about 8th grade, but when I saw Reese Witherspoon on the cover of CosmoStyle a few months ago, I actually allowed my hair to be cut into bangs.

Obviously Reese Witherspoon wasn't the only inspiration behind my look, but when you see the style on a hot celebrity, it definitely makes you whip out the scissors a little bit faster.


Curious about how to get the hair that gets you want you want? Visit www.cosmopolitan.com/style/hairstyles/ for more details.


Cosmo also has some great tips regarding makeup application and colors that are great for your skin and eye color that actually make sense. Cosmo may be corrupting the world a little by strongly influencing its readers about fashion, but if they didn't want to be corrupted, they wouldn't read the magazine, right?


Do you want to be on the fast track to becoming a "fun, fearless female"? Visit https://subscribe.hearstmags.com/subscribe/splits/cosmopolitan/cos_sub_nav_link to order your own subscription to Cosmo. Don't worry guys, there's a "Cosmo for your guy" section in every issue.

Take a fashion website and together a list of the ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceiver ourselves and bodies.

Crystal VandenAvond

Intro to Mass Communication

Research Activity

"Take a fashion website and put together a lists of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies (male or female)."

For this assignment, I checked out http://www.fashion.net/. I was absolutely astounded by the photos I seen on this page.

The pictures that they have of women up there, are something that unrealistically a woman couldn't ever look like! But it is what every woman in society wants to look like.

For instance, the picture that I have posted (at right) was one of the featured photos of the day. Now, keep in mind, the website that I was at was fashion.net. I am still trying to

figure out what part of this photo has fashion in!

This woman has to weigh under 100 pounds, and is wearing, what appears to be, somewhat of a cheetah, or leopard print outfit. She is tied up to this tree, and a snake is circling around her body. She is unable to move, because she is tied up, but yet, she is fashionous in this swimsuit!

I bet you that this company has sold tons of this style of a swimming suit. (I was unable to get the exact number of how many suits were sold, but it said that is was the most popular suit.)

Everything about this picture is wrong! Everything! This is totally degrading to women!

This picture also makes us think that we too need to be under 100 pounds, not have a single curve in our body, or a single wrinkle in our face. There isn't an ounce of fat on her arms, and her face structure is 'beautiful.'

Also, the advertisement for this dress (left). This woman is nothing but skin and bones. She also does not have a curve on her body. Not even breasts.

This dress was available in sizes extra-small, through medium, and was over $250.00!!!

If a "fashion site" sells a beautiful dress from XS-med, how is that supposed to make me feel?

My body type is not allowed to be fashionous for. I wear a size large in a top. I have extremely broad shoulders, and no hips whatsoever. My body type is not accommodated for, and I really was feeling sick to my stomach looking at the fashion site! I actually started to feel bad for the way that I look. I even know that I am an extremely beautiful person, and I have many great qualities and traits...but apparently not compared to these women!

Check out the website, look at some of the photographs of these women, and clothes, and tell me how it made you feel! http://www.fashion.net/

Take a fashion website and put together a lisis of ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and our bodies (males or females):

A fashion website that I chose to discuss was http://www.abercrombie.com/. Abercrombie fashion is an important topic to me because it was all I would wear in High School. What might be appealing to some viewers, is just wrong for others. After looking at the Abercrombie website, I realized what the website was actually portraying to its viewers. It's saying that you should have an awesome body, probably be naked, and take control of situations in life, usually when it comes to the opposite sex.

Usually, the fashion industry has a controversy about the female or male models being too thin, but in this case it is an entirely different issue. When I would just shop normally at Abercrombie, I would buy the clothes that I thought were “in” and whatever just looked nice on my body. But when I went to the website to shop online, I thought to myself, “Wow, these models are looking really hot, but they sure aren’t doing a good job modeling the clothes because they don’t have ANY ON.” Most of the male models on the websites were just showing off their huge muscles, standing against an object,playing some kind of dominating sport, or kissing a girl. Abercrombie's website doesn't usually show many of the models showing off their clothes, it just protrays how the viewers should live their life.

What I think that is absurd is that most of Abercrombie’s shoppers are high school teens. The messages that Abercrombie’s website is giving to them is that the more naked you are, the better it is. Also, the more a man is in control of a situation; the better the situation can be for him. Sex, great bodies, and controlling situations are considered fashion to Abercrombie’s fashion, but I just think it’s wrong. What these pictures aren't doing is showing the shoppers how awesome the clothes are, it's just showing the opposite.

Take a fashion website and put together a list of the ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and bodies.

Take a fashion website and put together a list of the ways the fashion industry molds the way we perceive ourselves and bodies.

Lauren Gregory

Mass Communications


Flawless skin, perfect hair, ideal height and weight are just a few things I added onto my to do list after checking out Expressfashion.com. Based on appearance, some may deem me as being out of fashion, but after browsing the merchandise and the way Express presented what they had to offer, I will take being ‘out of fashion’ as a compliment.


Although I personally consider fashion to be confusing, culture-specific, ever-changing, dynamic, and expensive, I still regard it as one of the most successful and prevailing industries in our culture. Not to mention the hundreds of magazines, stores, and Hollywood stars devoting much of their lives to be considered “in”, by those who are not.

Last time I checked though, individuality was my favorite character trait, and showing up to a party in the same get up as the other girls seems like the most contradicting way to be original and remembered.

In humanities this year, I studied time and kleos, which translates simply to honor and glory; two closely related terms found in the Iliad (Greek times). After killing in battle, a warrior rewards himself with his victim’s armor, which in turn enhances the way they are viewed by others. Meaning the best warrior had the best (most) armor.

One of the most highly regarded philosophers of all time, Homer, said that the never-ending battle to gain time and kleos in hopes of not being forgotten is intrinsic and will continue for all time.

Now, centuries later, this everlasting fight for honor and fame is still around but unlike Greek warriors, people are unaware of their deepest intentions. According to Homer, the instinctive desire to be the best is eternal. The only difference now is that for teenage girls, gaining a dead man’s armor is out, and fashion is in!

Using this to their advantage, fashion industries thrive off being considered “the best” which makes them capable of fishing out the most desired models in the world. They continue on by advertising everywhere to reinforce and define their concept of an ideal person. As a result, people mimic what they see; some going to greater extents as did the MJ impersonator to the right.

One of the most apparent and problematic downfalls to the fashion industry is that by painting the walls of our country with an irrational idea of perfection, we are essentially destroying who each one of us is. If Homer was correct and a snowball effect occurred, this could potentially mean that we are sacrificing and forgetting who we are in order to fulfill our innate desire to be remembered.



For fun, watch video clips from the movie Troy, which is based on the Iliad here:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=JEmW6qYfhqE

Then…

Check out Australia’s next top model and notice the similarities between what drives these girls and the warriors at Troy.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=hd2Hu26Tm1Q

Finally…

Read up a little bit on America’s most famous plastic fashion model, Barbie!
http://www.yaleherald.com/archive/xxvi/12.4.98/opinion/holley.html

Reflect on early childhood and choose a particular television program and reflect on its effect

Crystal VandenAvond










Intro to Mass Communications










Research Activity







"Reflect on early childhood and choose a particular television program and reflect on its effect. . For example, how did Sesame Street or Power Rangers affect you then and now?"



As a child, my absolutely favorite show, in the whole-wide world, to watch was: "Blue's Clue's!"



After coming home from kindergarten or first grade, I would sit in front of the television and watch another exciting episode of Blue's Clue's! This happened every day until about fifth grade.



Watching Blue's Clue's was a way for me to escape my daily-life, or start my weekend. It filled my mind with more imagination and power.



For those of you who don't remember, Blue's Clue's was about a little dog, "Blue", and his owner, "Steve." (Upper left) Blue would give clues to Steve about what he wanted to do that day, or where he wanted to go. Steve would get only three clues from Blue. The clues had Blue's paw print on them (right). Then Steve would draw the clue's in his "handy-dandy notebook."



After Steve figured out the three clues, he would sit in his "thinking chair" to put the clues together and figure out what Blue was telling Steve.



Within this time, Blue would "Skadoo" into pictures or photos where "another life" would be. When I was younger, watching Blue and Steve skadoo into a photo seemed really neat to me. After watching the show, I would say what Steve would always say; "Blue skadooed, we can too." (Then Steve would follow Blue into that photo.) And I would try skadooing into a picture on the wall.



This never worked, and always left me with a hurt head, and sometimes a broken picture.



Also, when I were to hang out with my cousins, we would play Blue's Clue's around the house. I think that this was good for us as children to use our imaginations, and run around the house to get exercise.



But, now that I am older, I do not watch Blue's Clue's, nor do I have an interest in it. I occasionally I will scan past it on a Saturday morning on Nick Jr. Sometimes, I will stop and watch it for a few minutes to remember my childhood days.



I really think that Blue's Clue's is great for children. It helps children learn colors, numbers, shapes, etc.

To meet the characters of Blue's Clue's, check out http://www.gazehound.com/blue2.htm

Reflect on early childhood and choose a particular television program and reflect on its effect:

When I was younger, all I wanted to do when I got home from Pre School was to turn on the tube and watch Scooby Doo with my mom. Scooby Doo was probably one of the best half an hour power naps she had at that time. But as for me, it was a time fantastic time, a half an hour period for me to escape into my own world of mystery and excitement.

When I was younger, watching Scooby Doo filled up my head with storylines and gave me a sense of justice. I had planed when I would get older, I would just be like gang I would catch the next “bad guy” or “monster”. Before I watched Scooby Doo, I was like any other kid; afraid of monsters in my closet or underneath my bed whenever I turned off the light. Watching Scooby Doo proved to me that the bad guys always got caught and that monsters were actually some loonies just in stupid masks. That made me feel at ease and more relaxed to go to bed at night. Probably a disadvantage that Scooby Doo had on my childhood was that I thought all dogs could talk. I would talk to my Golden Retriever at the time, and would grab her by her collar and go searching for clues in the middle of the night around my house. Unfortunately, not only did my dog ever talk back, but my parents would always catch me. Not only did Scooby Doo make me love dogs, but at those really scary times, I realized it was okay to be scared, just like Scooby was. It was a great program that made me use my imagination and gave me strength and courage when I needed it the most in my development years.

Now that I am in college and I know that talking dogs don’t exist, I don’t ever watch Scooby Doo. I admit that I didn’t even see the movie when it came out. I am glad that I watched Scooby when I was younger; it made me have a great and care free childhood. I think that the wonderful programs, such as Scooby Doo, are the best programs to let your children watch. Monsters might be scary to some children but to others, like myself, it was just a chance of something new and exciting. Scooby Doo gave my childhood entertainment, courage, humor, fantasy and a sense of justice.

The Scooby Doo 1968 Theme Song: http://youtube.com/watch?v=H-HOyx_FH4E

Reflect on early childhood and choose a particular television program and reflect on its effect

Carlie Kappl



Mass Commuication



Research Activity

Reflect on early childhood and choose a particular television program and reflect on its effect


I grew up with three older brothers. And when I say older, I mean older. My brothers are 13, 12 and four years older than me. I was a spoiled brat, and my brothers made me pay for it. Not only did they make we watch scary Michael Myers and Jason movies, they would make me watch shows like Married with Children and the Simpsons that were probably a little out of my age range. But I enjoyed them, and my parents never censored me from these televison shows.

For information about how or why to watch and explain television to kids from a father's standpoint, visit http://www.medialit.org/reading_room/article52.html

Both of the above programs are fairly clean if you don't pick up on the between-the-lines subliminal sexual messages, but once you start getting older, you start getting wiser.

However, when the language itself is repeated over and over, you don't have to bother reading between the lines. When Bart grumbles, "Eat my shorts!" or Homer yells, "Damn!" it sticks with kids. So does Barney and Homer's repeated actions of slamming Duff beer in just about every episode. This is probably why when many of my friends were younger, they weren't allowed to watch the Simpsons.

I don't think the show morally corrupts you in any way; it may just teach you a bit of minor French and introduces other adult concepts. I have a bad habit of swearing and have dealt with this habit for years. I don't think it's a bad thing, but it can sometimes get out of control. Being a college student, I also drink to have a good time, which also at times can get a little out of control. I wonder if watching these television shows when I was so young had an impact on my language and drinking habits today.

And then I remember: I had three older brothers who also liked to go out and party and two very open parents dropping f-bombs all day. Too bad you can't censor your family.

Visit http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/simpsons-the-family-values-role-model-1050478.html to read why David Quinn allows his children to watch the Simpsons.

"Reflect on early childhood and choose a particular television program and reflect on its effect. . For example, how did Sesame Street or Power Ranger

Lauren Gregory

Mass Communications


Growing up in a very conservative and religious family, having time to watch tv was very unlikely. However, I was allowed to watch Full House whenever it was on. Almost like the Tanner family, I could easily relate, having three sisters and twin cousins of my own. Now, as I watch Full House on Nick and Nite, I am quickly beginning to realize that their portrayal of the “not-so-typical” yet ideal family isn’t very realistic at all.

For those unfamiliar with Full House, it was a very popular sitcom in the 80s and 90s based out of San Francisco. One of the main characters, Danny Tanner, is forced to raise his three daughters, DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle on his own after losing his wife. Moving in to help raise the girls is Danny’s brother in law Jesse and best friend Joey. The sitcom eventually featured an aunt to the girls, Rebecca, and her twin boys…all living under one roof.

Looking at its effect from a typical standpoint it might seem that Full House is on the positive end of the spectrum. Especially when compared to other popular shows of the time such as Beverly Hills 90210. For years it still seemed the only problems my sisters and I had was that we became obsessed over Full House exclusively, and constantly had this tainted version of what an ideal family life was like.

We began to treat what we saw on television as reality, and quickly separated ourselves from our “not so perfect” version. Tim Leary, a psychologist and former researcher amongst his many other highly regarded credentials, puts it this way. “You’re beginning to think that the tube is reality and that your own lives are unreal…you do whatever the tube tells you”. Also, in the video link below, I heard an unknown man's voice quoting "we are being constantly conditioned to take on a certain reality".

Looking back, it’s easy to see how oblivious my sisters and i were to the truth behind what we were obsessing over. We spent hours upon hours recreating our own episodes of the show and often got into pretty heated arguments over who got to play Michelle.

Fighting over make believe roles may seem frivolous…but try explaining that to an eight year old!

The frightening possibility that Tim Leary and many other researchers are right, would pin point many of the problems in today’s society. One such problem is growing up with an impractical perception of reality and wasting your life trying to fulfill this "fake" dream-like lifestyle that may only exist on the tube!!

When thinking of the later effects of such shows, I, like Tim Leary am afraid that television is becoming much too synonymous to what we call “hallucinogens”, which are defined as false or mistaken ideas, delusions. Looking back, I am quite certain that the typical combination of shows such as Full House, Sex and the City, and Walker Texas Ranger for example has the definite potential to create a warped perception of reality in our minds that could possibly become indistinguishable from actual reality.


Check out this weird yet interesting video called"Think for yourself" on youtube regarding
http://youtube.com/watch?v=1zXuhR7OJd8&feature=related

For kicks, check out part of one of my coincidentally favorite episodes of Full House:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=3a1P4z25zVU&feature=related

Write about media experiences that affect you emotionally or physically. For example, include experiences that invoke anger, tears, laughter or nausea

Carlie Kappl


Mass Communications


Research: Write about media experiences that affect you emotionally or physically. For example, include experiences that invoke anger, tears, laughter, or nausea.




I'm a Cosmo girl, and I can't help it. I need my monthly dose of the dirtiest tips to fire up your relationship, and I need to be in on the latest fashions and the gossip. Page after page of basically any magazine displays gorgeous, tan, thin models that I know are ridiculously retouched, but that's not what I think about while I'm shopping and trying on clothes in a fitting room tossing each one to the side because if I just lost "those last five pounds" it would look much better on me.


I have been weight-conscious my entire life. I remember joining cross country (I hate running) in six grade in an attempt to lose weight. I've never considered myself to have an eating disorder, but I do count calories and think about my food and drink consumption 24/7. I find myself always watching those silly reality shows that everyone hates like America's Next Top Model and other ridiculous MTV shows. I remember a girl being kicked off ANTM because she was 135 pounds and about 5'8". Although I know my 5'3" frame is much too short to be a "top model" it still makes me think about my physique even more.


I don't blame the media for showcasing beautiful girls, because honestly, if you flipped through magazines or TV channels and saw all not-traditionally-attractive people, you probably would cancel your subscription ASAP.


There is an excellent ad on YouTube for a Dove commercial that shows just how much retouching models go through to look as flawless as they do on glossy magazine pages. To view, visit:
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=dove+commercial

Media's Experences

Reserch Topic--Media's Experences

Allison Potts

Into to Mass Communications

I am one of those girls who like to keep on the celebrity gossip or issues around the world that are affecting me today. So there are a number of media experiences that have affected my emotionally and physically. There might be some experiences which you might laugh at me for being so attached and there could be others you might to relate to and feel how I’m feeling. One thing is for certain though; media can affect different people in different ways in which others can’t understand.

It all started when I was in middle school. I was completely obsessed and addicted to the Princess of Pop, Britney Spears. Some of you might be laughing at me while right now and asking yourself, “Why would she like someone like that?” I don’t know, I can’t help it, but I have never gotten over my obsession. It wasn’t until the 2007 VMA’S that Britney Spears was supposed to make her famous comeback, and trust me, I counted down the hours to watch it. As we all know, the performance (if that’s what you call it) was terrible! It wasn’t until after I watched her parade around the stage like a drunken fool that I completely lost it. I was sick to my stomach and I was full of so much anger towards her and I actually started tearing up. I couldn’t understand why she didn’t even try to look good. She disappointed her fans, her family and everyone that was routing for her. This media experienced affected me so much, that it still bothers me today. When I see her on the news now, I just shake my head in disappointment. Since the Britney Spears comeback performance in 2007, I will never fully recover as a die hard fan.

On a more serious note, another media experience that affected me was 9/11. I remember I was sitting in my English class and suddenly somebody turned on the news as I watched the second plane crash into the second tower. I remember looking around the room and some students were crying and others were in complete shock. I was one of the girls in the room that was crying. My aunt was just in New York 3 days prior to the attack and took a picture of herself on top of one of the towers. I actually went on an emotional rollercoaster: first—shock, second—sadness, third—denial, forth—hate and anger and five—sadness once again. It was like nothing I have ever experienced. Thinking about all the people killed, wounded and affected by this made me really upset. This affected me physically because both my brother and I had nightmares about this event many months after it happened. I don’t know if people experienced the same emotions as I did on September 11th, but I know one thing for sure, no one was emotionless.

I think that no matter who you are, media’s experiences affect you in one way or another. Sometimes you can’t control how you feel about what you see or hear and that could either open up your eyes in a different direction or make you severely hurt or damaged.

If you want to watch Britney Spears flop at the VMA’S:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=xqzfkigN0B4

If you want to watch 9/11:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=PWgSaBT9hNU

Research Activity

Crystal VandenAvond

Intro to Mass Comm

Research Activity

"Write about media experiences that affect you emotionally or physically. For example, include experiences that invoke anger, tears, laughter, or nausea."

You may call me your typical girl. I like chick-flicks, movies that make me ball my eyes out, like Titanic, and the idea of this perfect world. I blame the media for having this idea.

In my head, I have this ideal image of the perfect man. This man, I have so far, found not to exist. He is taller than me, physically fit, has shaggy hair, and dresses extremely nice. (Also none as a "metro-sexual") He leaves me love notes on my car, sends me "just thinking of you" text messages, and tells me I'm beautiful when I wake up, and clearly am not. He buys, or picks, me flowers weekly, and of course, we never ever fight! I tried to find a picture of this man on the internet, but he was no where to be found!

Anyways, I got this ideal, unrealistic, high-standard man em-brained in my head from watching sappy love movies.

I never realized the power of the media until I had to sit and do this project of writing blogs. For the last couple months, I have been watching on how the media influences me, and makes me feel. I will give you a couple of examples.

I cannot watch "scary" movies. If there is suspense or murders I'm out! They make me scared out of my wits! Even the movies that make fun of scary movies, like "Scary Movie," I cannot watch, because I will have nightmares for months to come.

Most people watch scary movies to experience a rush. Well, I get enough of a rush in my everyday life, it does not need to increase!

When I was younger, I used to love watching scary movies. I enjoyed that rush. But from me watching so many scary movies, at such a young age, I am scared to anymore.

I have seen movies where people drawn in a tub while taking a bath. I was about 14 years old when I watched a movie that had that in it. Now, seven years later, I cannot take a tub alone in my house for fear that some spirit is going to drown me. Is that even a realistic thought? Absolutely not! But whenever I am alone in a bathtub, that is all I can think about!

Plus, watching a scary movie is going to project my mood. I have a healthy, positive-thinking mind. When I watch I scary movie, or even a sad movie, my mood is no longer happy. I'm upset and unhappy. I would much rather watch a comedy, something that will make me happy, then watching something that is going to scare the life out of me.

Even after watching a scary movie, I have nightmares for weeks to follow! I wake up with pictures of these bad guys in the movie standing next to me! Ahhh! I would much rather be waking up and thinking of my ideal man sitting on my bed!

Well, to conclude things up here; I love happy movies! I love the ideas that happy movies give me, not scary movies. So, if my ideal man is reading this, when you take me to a dinner and a movie date, please, let's watch "When Harry Met Sally!"

If you are my dream man, and decide that you want to take me on a date, please check out this website which has fabulous romantic movies, and romantic love ideas. Thank you! :) http://www.theromantic.com/romanticmovies.htm

Media Experiences

Lauren Gregory

Media Experiences - Research Activity

Intro to Mass Communications

Throughout my lifetime, I have been exposed to media that invokes quite a bit of emotions. Ranging from the final episode of Friends, to 9/11, to South Park, to Facebook. It seems as though you can go through a lot emotionally just by watching a TV or reading the newspaper.

I have to say though, what never fails to get me pretty angry are television shows. The more we keep watching, it seems the worse it keeps getting. I am affected emotionally every time I turn the television on. The constant flow of drugs, sex, lying, and violence seems to be never ending. More specifically on the murder investigation shows that seem to be on every channel right before I go to bed these days.

I’ve had countless horrific nightmares throughout my life due to those and somehow I can’t seem to say no to watching them. Maybe our TV’s are apart of some strange phenomenon. OR these television shows appeal to us in an uncontrollable way.

However, one show on TV that can make me feel all of the above emotions and more is Extreme Home Makeover. I honestly can say it’s one of the best and most influential shows out there. There have many several occasions where my entire family will go through laughter, tears, and more all in in a one hour time frame.

In conclusion, the media today has the capability to make you feel many things. It has the controversial ability to warp our young minds if we don’t allow ourselves to distinguish the bad from the good, which is much harder than it sounds.

For an interesting look at television, watch this video:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=cDgd3jLU6Us

Visit the Neville Museum

Carlie Kappl


Mass Communications


Location: Neville Public Museum




Okay, I have not been to a museum since I was probably in elementary school, and the only reason I went to these museums was for academic purposes. I'm just not a fan of museums. In fact, they kind of creep me out. Maybe it's all the wax statues and the real-life settings that seem a little too real. At any rate, this was my first visit to the Neville Public Museum. We walked around through the exhibits for awhile occasionally freaking out when the wooly mammoth roared. This didn't help my so-called museum phobia one bit.





It was interesting to see advertisements in a place like a museum, but there were plenty around. Some of the old style ads for war were hanging up near other war-related exhibits. Other ads hanging nearby were for the U.S. Marines. A mini ad exhibit for today that was located just outside one of the galleries was for the Packers--of course. It consisted of a Wheaties cereal box with the Packers logo, an action shot of a game, and other various memorabilia contained in a plastic box.


You definitely know you are in Green Bay when you see Packer stuff everywhere. It is interesting that even in a place like a museum, where it is supposed to hold priceless works and random setting displays from a specific time period, there are still ads pointing you to the Packers stadium.

To check out more exhibits, visit:
http://www.nevillepublicmuseum.org/

Location Activity—Neville Public Museum

Allison Potts

Intro to Mass Communications


On one location activity, my group and I chose to go to the Neville Public Museum. As a child, my mother would take me there all the time but I never really understood how much an advertisement actually goes into the exhibits.

One thing that I thought was fascinating and that also related to Mass Communications were the area that dealt with the war in a corner of the exhibit. I noticed it on the wall right away. One reason is that one of my best friends from High School just joined and I am very scared and proud of him at the same time. The poster has a male US Marine soldier on it, with a quote above saying, “Let’s Go!” Not only was it a male solider, making it seem like women could not join, but what I found interesting was the quote above the Marine. “Let’s Go!” hopes to be interpreted as a positive thing. It doesn’t have other sayings such as, “Die for Your Country!” or “Bring your social security card, pack 20 dollars, get on a plane and leave your life behind!” No. It wants a positive message towards strong, brave, 20 some year old men. What this quote is advertising is that if you join the Marines you can actually “get started” with your life and do something with it. The poster doesn’t show the Marine in brutal combat or lying there dead, but it almost makes it look like the Marine has free time. Another thing about the poster that I noticed is that the Marine had a gun in his hand. To the target audience (adolescent, young men), this could mean that if you join you could “play” with guns. This ad is a great market strategy because it makes this poster look positive and happy and tries to hide all the negative aspects behind. I do understand that however, this is an old poster and that times have changed. Compared with commercials today about the Marines, you see men AND women experiencing difficult tasks and activities to reach a certain goal. Their slogan is, “The Few. The Proud. The Marines”. The slogan is completely different than the poster in the museum. It makes you feel that the few people that actually join the Marines are rewarded in the end with great accomplishment. The pictures are usually with individuals and not a single person that makes it look as if it is a group challenge.

The poster actually made me open up my eyes about how I look at different advertising techniques. I thought that going to the Neville Public Museum was a great idea to interact with Mass Communications.

To visit the Neville Public Museum:
http://www.nevillepublicmuseum.org/


To visit the US Marine Corps website:
http://www.marines.com/page/usmc.jsp?flashRedirect=true

Location Activity-Neville Museum

Crystal VandenAvond

Intro to Mass Comm

Location Activity- The Neville Museum

"Describe what you saw and take a picture to support it; reflect on at least two things that struck you as odd/unusual/interesting related to mass communication; and lastly describe how the activity related to the history of that field and to at least one more medium."

I've been born and raised in the Green Bay area. I know the things that Green Bay has to offer as a city, but what I didn't know is how much they had changed!

Recently, my group decided to visit the Neville Museum. Now, when I was younger, I used to go to this museum with my dad. It was my absolutely favorite place to go. It has changed drastically since I have been there, over 12 years ago.

Back in the day, the museum was composed of dinosaur bones. Nothing is close to that anymore! For the most part, the museum was composed of history.

One thing that I saw at the museum, is the unique picture of this car (on the left). Yes, that is right, a car! Nowadays cars are so much more high tech than this. I mean, look at the mechanics in order to make this bad boy go. It just strikes me as so interesting to see how much things have evolved from back in the day. Things are so much more different now than before. That can be a good thing or a bad thing. Way back when, things were so easy and simple. Now, everything is high tech and complicated. You either have the ability to work with technology, or you don't. That's what makes this car unique. I just can't imagine the mechanics to make this go. And to look at the size and the shape of the vechicle! It is so different now, then ever before. Things won't stop changing and evolving either.

The thing that I loved most about the Neville Museum, was that I was wrong; there still were dinosaurs there! In the picture on the right, you can see Carlie and I sitting by a giant Mammoth! I loved seeing the dinosaurs, and the childhood memories of bonding with my dad!

Okay, another interesting thing about the museum is the targeted audience. It isn't just one age group. The museum is composed of so many different things for different age groups. For instance, senior citizens can relate to the older cars, for may their parents used to drive one. And children always think that dinosaurs are neat, so seeing them in real life-real sized portions has to be totally amazing to a child! For me it was seeing these olden day photos.

Again, seeing the way that technology has changed in not even 60 years! The things that we have come across is absolutely amazing!! These photos are all black and white, and the people had very little facial expressions. If they did have a facial, it was just a simple smile. But I know when I take pictures today, that I'm being completely goofy; and I'm using my high-tech (piece of junk) digital camera. We went from huge cameras, where most middle-class people didn't own; to high tech, small digital cameras that everyone owns!

To wrap things up, seeing history in the museum really opened my eyes for me. Things change so much; cars, cameras, facial expressions. And the evolution of technology is still evolving! Keep your eyes open for change; for it's happening every waking minute!

Almost forgot, for more info and tour times on the Neville Museum, check out http://www.nevillepublicmuseum.org

Visit the Neville Museum

Lauren Gregory

Location Activity - Neville Public Museum

Intro to Mass Communications


For one of our other activities, we decided to visit the Neville Public Museum. I am fairly new to the Green Bay area, so this is my first experience visiting the museum.

When I was younger, I typically visited museums much more often in school or with my family. However, I haven’t had a chance to visit any over the past few years. Now, going back, I have a completely different outlook on what they have to offer.

The Neville Museum advertises in a much different way than you typically think of. They advertise specific places and points of time s through in-depth photographs. Like Alison said ,they advertise the war through slogans and posters. Also, the museum displays the many different forms of mass communication over the years. One exhibit that really caught my eye was the permanent one titled “On the Edge of the Inland Sea”. This exhibit was amazing because it led you through 12,000 years of Northeast Wisconsin history.

The Edge of the Inland Sea exhibit used film footage, photographs, and many different ways to present their information. But, one of the most interesting to me was the showing of how in 1925, electricity was starting to be used. They also showed that because they now had access to better advertising techniques, such as lighted signs.

Going to the Neville Museum was my favorite location activity. We were presented with thousands of essential artifacts used throughout history. We were able to get a first hand glimpse at our past and how mass communications played such an important role. For me personally, the day at the museum made it obvious that I am becoming increasingly aware of communication’s effect on history. I am becoming much more interested in the effects that I am starting to notice it everywhere.

In conclusion, I would highly recommend visiting the museum to anyone, especially those who will appreciate the value of change through communication in our society.


If you are interested in taking your own look at the museum and see what they have to offer the next few months, visit:
http://www.nevillepublicmuseum.org/calendar/

For fun, take a look at more of Brown County’s history here: http://www.rootsweb.com/~wibrown/1800s.htm

Take the Lambeau Field Tour – choose a piece of advertising and report on it

Carlie Kappl

Mass Communications

Location: Lambeau Field Tour

I have lived in Wisconsin all my life just two hours south of Green Bay in the Milwaukee area. I love the Milwaukee Brewers and the Bucks and have always been a fan of both. However, my fascination with football ended with my high school football team. I had never been a fan of professional football, so not surprisingly, I have not been to a single Packer game and the Lambeau Field tour was my first visit to the stadium. It's hard to miss Packerland considering the area is decked out in green and gold from street signs to store banners. Finally stepping inside the legendary stadium was a new experience.

The tour was very informative and I learned more about the past and present Packers in an hour than I have known my whole life. The building is huge and decked out with green and gold and football legends. I was fascinated by the very expensive VIP rooms we had access to around the stadium that can be used year-round, not just for game days. Also, I was surprised the different suites around the stadium can be rented out for businesses for meetings and not just for diehard Packer fans. Also, the Legends room can be rented out for high school proms and other events and is usually booked all year. For a complete schedule of events and to possibly book your own, visit:
http://www.lambeaufield.com/events_info/calendar_of_events/

Lambeau Field has undergone a lot of remodeling, and I thought it was interesting how they kept blocks of cement from the first stadium's tunnel and laid them in the new tunnel so each time they run out onto the field, they step on the same floor the Packers of the 1950's have stepped on.

Although I had never visited Lambeau, I am sure the other stadiums that I have been to have the same type of advertisements. I couldn't believe how many ads I saw when I was actually looking for them. Not only is the green and gold symbolizing the colors of the team throughout and stadium, but there were several ads attached to the place the fans look toward the most when they are not zeroing in on the field--the scoreboard. When I think about a scoreboard, I don't picture ads cluttering it, but that is what the two scoreboards on opposite ends of the field have. Ads for Verizon Wireless, Miller beer (which appeared many times) Farm and Fleet, etc. Displaying large pictures of beer or brands of beer is kind of like a subliminal message because each time a fan checks out the scoreboard, they are flashed with the brief image of beer, which probably makes them thirsty.

Although I have only been to Lambeau once, I don't think many other fans--unless they've taken the tour--had the opportunity to sit in a suite that costs over $100,000 to use it, or to touch the field, or to run through the tunnel the Packers run through at every game. Maybe I'll start watching pro football after all.

For more information about Lambeau Field visit:

http://www.lambeaufield.com/

Lambeau Field Tour- Location Activity

Lauren Gregory

Intro to Mass Communications

The Lambeau Field Tour (Location Activity)

"Take the Lambeau Field Tour-choose a piece of advertising and report on it."Included in this should be: "Describe what you saw, and take a picture to support what you saw; reflect on two things that struck you as odd/unusual/interesting related to mass communications; and describe how the activity related to the history of that field and to at least one or more medium."

Touring Lambeau Field was an experience I recommend for any Packer fan in Green Bay! Not only do you get an in-depth look at the stadium, but you learn about Lambeau’s history as well, which for me, was a completely new experience.

Moving to Titletown from Virginia was quite a shocking experience for me. Nothing could have prepared me for what Green Bay had to offer.

Green and yellow fire hydrants, Packer decorations, game days, the bars, and much more all contribute to the Green Bay experience. But most importantly, the stadium; Lambeau Field.

It’s been about six years since I’ve moved to Green Bay and have only had the chance to see inside the stadium once before I had a chance to tour the field. Upon arriving to our tour, we were presented with a brief history of the notorious Packers.

At this point, I was in awe of the size of the inside of the field, 1.7 million square feet to be exact! I was then told the seating capacity was over 72,000 fans! Amazing!

Continuing on the tour, I noticed many advertisements from virtually every direction. Particularly, for beer products, but also for Kohls, Mastercard, Copps, etc. I was told that Lambeau actually serves twenty different kinds of beer; ranging from Spotted Cow to Milwaukee’s Sprecher and of course, Miller Beer.

Notice, in the picture to the left, that the Miller company logo is everywhere! Even by signs indicated names of places throughout the field, such as the Lambeau Field atrium.

As I looked around the stadium, I noticed that the majority of the advertisements were for the various beer products sold at Lambeau. Despite the apparent age range of fans, the advertisements are virtually screaming that football must be accompanied by beer!

Another interesting thing I learned was that they spent close to $300 million on renovations to Lambeau Field recently. Throughout the tour I was looking around and the amount of advertisements made it seem obvious where a portion of the money was coming from. They are literally everywhere!

In conclusion, my experience at Lambeau Field may have just been a typical tour. But, I learned that much more goes into behind the scenes work than the actual game. Throughout any given game day, fans are subjected to hundreds of advertisements from every direction that they may not even have the capacity to distinguish what may be good advertisements or bad.

Overall, the Lambeau experience is a great one! Be prepared, however, wallet in hand, if you ever plan to spend a day there!

If you are interested in booking a tour, check out Lambeau tour times:
http://www.lambeaufield.com/stadium_info/stadium_tours/times/

Lambeau Field Tour

Location Activity--Lambeau Field Tour

Allison Potts

Intro. to Mass Communications

I must admit, that living in Green Bay, Wisconsin practically your whole life, people might expect that you have gone to at least one Green Bay Packers home game. Unfortunately, that was not the case for me. I have never gone to a Packer game, but I was fortunate, however, to get the incredible Lambeau Field Tour instead. In this tour, I got the chance to hear all about the Packer history, the price ranges of the special box seats, the actual feel of the field on my fingertips and much, much more! I must say that even though I have never experienced an actual game, just being at the stadium and taking the tour was pretty cool.

What I didn’t know was that Lambeau Field is open year round. That is 365 days of pure Packer mayhem and chaos. If you have ever been to the famous ‘‘Frozen Tundra’’, you know how big it is. It can seat up to 60,000 but that doesn’t include the many workers working behind the scenes. I got the chance to actually go behind the scenes and take notice of how obsessed Green Bay is with their Packers! What really caught my eye was that everything was in yellow and green. From elevator doors, poles, light switches, staircases, and even the pipes up above were painted these colors. The Packer’s are advertised all over the stadium with pictures, and restaurants named after the famous Curly himself. But I would have never have thought that even behind closed doors would be more Packer advertisement. Putting everything as Packer colors lets people know how important Parkers are in Green Bay’s society.

Another part of advertisement that I think everyone that has ever gone to a Packer game would notice, would be the scoreboard with the advertisement of the many choices of beer you could chose from. What stood out to me was MGD. Now, not everyone that attends the Packer games would be drinking, but it is near right impossible not to notice the huge sign attached to the screen. The beer looks cold and refreshing and makes some non-drinkers maybe want to have a little taste. If there was just one small beer sign by, let’s say, a staircase, not as nearly as many people would see it and it is quite possible that beer consumption would decrease. But this HUGE advertisement makes some people curious about why does this beer look so good, hoping to have them buy some, and to others it makes them buy more and more to satisfy their craving.

There were many more advertising tactics that went on during our tour, but far too many to name. If you were watching the game at home, on the field, or working behind the scenes, it is hard not to notice all the advertisements that go on. I am not only grateful that I experienced the tour, but it actually made me a bigger Packer fan.

On last note: Go Pack Go & The Bears Still Suck!

If you’re looking to buy cheap tickets, visit:
http://www.2guystickets.com/venue/lambeau_field_tickets.html

Location Activity-Lambeau Field Tour

Crystal VandenAvond

Intro to Mass Communications

The Lambeau Field Tour (Location Activity)

"Take the Lambeau Field Tour-choose a piece of advertising and report on it."
Included in this should be: "Describe what you saw, and take a picture to support what you saw; reflect on two things that struck you as odd/unusual/interesting related to mass communications; and describe how the activity related to the history of that field and to at least one or more medium."

Taking the Lambeau Field Tour was absolutely amazing! I am a huge Green Bay Packer fan, and getting history about the Packers was just great.

Before I begin writing the specifics about this location activity, I thought I would let you in on a little about my Packer craziness!

I blame my dad for everything. Growing up, my dad sold beer in the stands of Lambeau. He recently retired, but he sold for 24 seasons. Of the 24 seasons, he missed only two games; which were for the suspected birth of my sister and I. Now that he has quit that, my sister and I overtook his section and sell beer in the stands at all of the home games. (Tip your beer vendor!) On the right, is a picture of my sis and I in the stands.

My dad redid their basement within the last couple of years. We have carpet, with blood stains, from the Packer locker room. My parent's whole basement is composed of Packer material, including photos from my dad's beer vending days, and photos from Super Bowl XXXI, which he attended. It also consists of many framed newspaper articles of th Packers.

Now all of this plays a huge impact of me liking the Green Bay Packers. Although I have been a Packers fan my whole life, I had never taken the Lambeau Tour until about a week ago.

At the beginning of the tour, we learned a brief history about Lambeau Field, and the coaches. Lambeau Field is named after one of the greatest all time coaches of the Green Bay Packers, Curly Lambeau. Now, before the Green Bay Packers were called the "Green Bay Packers," they were called the "Acme Packers." During that time, they were privately owned; now they are owned by the city, which is where they came up with "Green Bay" Packers.

Okay, here is a photo of my group and I inside of Lambeau Field. Lambeau is very big! It can hold over 72,000 people! Inside of Lambeau, I noticed a lot of their advertising relates to beer; specifically "Miller Lite." (Which is what I sell in the stands.) If you look above our heads, at the scoreboard, you can (barely) see on the left the advertisement for MGD.

Now, to think that every single person inside of the stadium sees, and are constantly looking at the scoreboard. Not everyone that goes to the game is legal to be drinking as it is. Most are of age, from my experience, but what about the younger people that are watching the game. This is quite odd to me. I would imagine that they would put something neutral, or positive up there. For instance, an advertisement for "Nike" cleats, or something that the Packers wear as part of the uniform. But, putting an advertisement for beer, is screaming to me "Everyone must drink beer and watch football." That is exactly how it is nowadays too. When I am not working the football game, I am watching it either at home or at a sports bar, with an MGD in my hand. (It's okay, I'm 21!) Am I drinking MGD because of the advertisements? I mean, I won't even drink a Miller Lite; it is specifically MGD.

Another thing that I thought was very interesting were the box seats. The view was absolutely amazing, but I can't understand for the life of me why someone would possibly want to sit up there! Sure, the rooms either have AC or heat, but isnt 3/4 of the fun being in the crowd and getting the true Lambeau experience? Does that mean that people tailgate in the boxes as well? That does not sound fun to me at all! Plus, sitting in the boxes costs thousands of thousands of dollars, and in some of the boxes they do not let you eat or drink!

To conclude, learning about the Green Bay Packers history on the tour was a great input on the tour itself. The advertising, I believe, is very influential to the people sitting in the stands and viewing the game on TV. Also, experiencing sitting in the box seats were a lot of fun, but I do not think that it is worth your money to sit there. If you are going to go to a Lambeau game, I would recommend very strongly to sit in the bowl!

For more information on Lambeau tours, check out http://www.lambeaufield.com/stadium_info/stadium_tours/