Reflection

I guess this is a farewell to my blogging career. While it was short lived, I'm glad it's over. And not because I didn't like it, but just because it had a certain degree of difficulty. It was a very big learning experience as writing a blog requires a real artistic touch and you always have to be careful of what you say. But overall I don't think keeping this media blog or learning what we have in class is anything I hadn't known before about media. I know that women are always used in media, and that its all about money rather than the actual product itself. I know women can be distorted and men may come off as superior. Lemme tell you this screw the media and all the people out there who can't deal with it. Media doesn't effect who I am today because I don't let it control me. I'm not soft. I don't follow what is popular or what people tell me is cool. I'm my own man. And I believe this blog has only made me realize this more. Also as I've kept this blog I've definitely noticed the techniques and such in commercials but during the semester as we have learned about them, it just makes me hate the media today. I just can't stand how people get so soft over a certain commercial it just gets me heated and I think this just makes me hate some people in society today. And while it's important to be educated in media because a lot of what we do today is revolved around technology I just think it's destroying our society. So overall, as I sign off for the very last time I think our society needs to change from being so soft and actually just toughen up and learn to roll with the punches. I also want to shout out Squad as throughout the year y'all have been real. 

Kings to trade 6th pick?

With the draft coming up in a few weeks I'm most intrigued by the Kings and their 6th overall pick. With new "Man in charge" Vlade Divac, the Kings could end up suprising the world. With many options on the table let's break down the three most likely situations.

     The first option I'll be looking at is the Kings trading the pick. This is a very likely situation because the Kings are desperate and are in the "win now" mindset. Some scenarios rumored is that the Kings would trade the 6th pick along with assets like Nik Stauskas, Jason Thompson and/or Ben Mclemore in exchange for Kenneth Faried and Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets. This is the most likely trade scenario if the Kings were to trade as these players have played for Coach Karl and fit into his system. If I was the Kings I would not do this trade as it doesn't fill the Kings needs which is a rim protecter and a "steady" point guard as Lawson is nearing the end of his prime and has seen a handful of injuries throughout his career. Another option for trades is acquiring Lou Williams or Kyle Lowry from the Raptors but I don't want to get into that. 

     Option number two is the Kings keeping the pick. With the 6th overall pick the Kings are most likely going to pick Willie Cauley-Stein of Kentucky, Kristaps Porzingis of Latvia, or take the best available player (likely would be Emmanuel Mudiay) if the Knicks and Magic shock the world. I do like the Kings keeping this pick because I believe there is a lot of talent that can be seen in the top-10 of the draft but that top-10 hasn't been good the Kings lately. And while Kristaps Porzingis on paper seems like the absolute perfect fit for the Kings, he reigns from Europe which is always a scary place in the minds of NBA GM's because of Andrea Bargnani and Darko Militic. The next option of keeping the pick is taking the best available player that drops in the draft. This includes Justise Winslow, and Emmanuel Mudiay. These are two athletic beasts who are just physically gifted and their prowess on the court makes them special. While these guys don't address the Kings need's it doesn't hurt to take a superstar if one is their for the taking. Now the most likely option if they decide to keep the pick. Kings select Willie Cauley-Stein a 7 foot center from Kentucky who can protect the rim and run the floor like a cheetah. The Kings are in love with him and while I admit he is skilled and a talented player in his own right, I don't like his attitude. The Kings see Willie paring up with Boogie Cousins to form a scary front court made up of two Kentucky freaks of nature. While I don't like his attitude, I do believe he is the best player available for the Kings unless someone else drops unexpectedly in the draft. If they decide to keep the pick it will be interesting.

     Option number three is trading down to collect assets and still pick up a quality player in the draft. While Willie Cauley-Stein is a quality player, there are other options available and capable of being just as good with the likes of Myles Turner of Texas, and Kevon Looney of UCLA. While I don't believe the Kings will do this option and trade down, I still think it's a possibility as they heave done crazier things in the past. Overall I think they will keep the 6th overall pick land take Willie Cauley-Stein.

Cavs and Warriors

     Now that my Rockets and James Harden have been eliminated that leaves only two teams left for the finals. The Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Golden State Warriors. The best player on the planet versus the future of the NBA. Lebron vs Steph. On paper it figures to be one of the most exciting finals of all time. But I don't agree with paper, because on paper the Warriors are supposed to win but the hell with that! I have the Cavaliers winning the finals because they have the great Lebron James. And while the Rockets who possess James Harden who is a prolific scorer, if the Warriors had a tough time guarding him for most of the series, I don't see how they will be able to guard Lebron. While I can go all day on how the Lebron is great let's look at the matchups for the series. First we have the Benches, the Cavaliers bench consists of savvy vets who have great playoff experience but may not possess the most depth on the planet. With the likes of J.R. Smith, Matthew Dellavedova, Kendrick Perkins, James Jones, and Mike Miller, the Cavs bench is really thin due to injuries to Kevin Love and Anderson Varejao. The Cavaliers bench in my opinion is not as good as the Warriors and I give the edge to Warriors on this one as the Warriors can make another starting 5 from their bench which includes, Shaun Livingston, David Lee, Andre Igoudala, Festus Ezeli, Mareese Speights, and Leandro Barbosa. The Warriors have two all stars on their bench in Andre Igoudala and David Lee. So if the series comes down to the two benches I have the Warriors. 

     Now let's look at the Starting 5. Starting at the Center for the Cavaliers is Timofey Mozgof and for the Warriors, Andrew Bogut. Both have European backgrounds but different playing styles to a certain extent. While both are rim protectors, Mozgov is a little more skilled on the offensive end while Bogut creates his offense with rebounding and mechanical strength. While both are good for what they do, I give the edge to Mozgov as I believe he is more important to his team, and many times throughout the year, Andrew Bogut has been taking out of games and been replaced by a smaller lineup.

     At the Power Forward Position we have Draymond Green of the Warriors versus Tristan Thompson of the Cavaliers. Green is an undersized 4 with the an all around skill set that allows him to do anything on the court, and for that I believe he is the better Power Forward this series. And while Thompson is having a great playoffs series, by becoming such a defensive stopper and rebound machine, Draymond Green is the center piece of the Warriors.

     At the Small Forward we have LeBron James of the Cavaliers and Harrison Barnes of the Warriors. LeBron James that's all I have to say. He gets the edge.

     At the Shooting Guard we have Klay Thompson of the Warriors, and Iman Shumpert of the Cavaliers. While Klay Thompson may not be available because of his concussion let's say he plays. Klay makes his noise on the offensive end and relies on his sweet shooting that makes him apart of the Splash Brothers. Iman Shumpert on the other hand is one of the best defenders in the league and is good as it gets. And this Playoffs he has suprised the world with his surge of scoring nobody thought he had. I give the edge to Shumpert because I don't believe Klay will be 100 % ready. I'm not taking any thing away from Klay though. 

     At the last position Point Guard, We have Steph Curry of the Warriors and Kyrie Irving of the Cavaliers. Kyrie Irving is magnificent in his own ways with his crazy layups and crafty shooting touch but he is not on the level as "Chef Curry". LeBron said it himself, you can't stop Steph just like you can't stop him. For that Steph gets the edge as he may be the best shooter in NBA history. 

     At three to three the series looks even to me as one team isn't absolutely over dominating. When I say this, people all over the world have the Warriors as a clear favorite because of their prolific offense. But offense wins games and defense wins championships. With that being said I can never doubt LeBron James. 

MissRepresentation

Last week we viewed the documentary, MissRepresentation and it took a look at the media and how it affects women and other teens in society. A subtopic up for discussion is at how Women are so populous to the country but, almost have no say so and are seen rather as figures for their body. Women account for 51% of the United States population and yet there has never been a female president and only 5.8% of television is owned by women. This ties back to how women are cut off by the men of the society as "women are only valued for body and looks", and results in women being a selling item in the media rather than a human being. And if "media is shaping society", then that explains to why 20% of girls have sex before the age of 14. It reveals how women are deeply influenced by the media because they are trying to fit in by using their bodies instead of creating relationships with each other. This idea of women being so objectified can be seen today as so many women and celebrities are getting surgery's and procedures done, to fix their face, or slim their body which is just absurd. There is no reason why women should feel obligated to try to "better" themselves by getting a surgery to look better when most of the time they are already okay.

It just is awful how women nowadays are so cautious of how they look and most of the time is the only thing holding them back. I feel for all the girls of the USA and hope that things can change soon so they will be able truly have a voice in our society so everybody can get along.

Our Media Today

Most of all media today is targeted towards teens. An example of that is this...

This is a Victoria's Secret ad targeted towards the teen girls of this world. A message being delivered by this ad is, "Bright Young Things", complimented by a girl in sweats and some other Victoria's Secret products. And while these products are supposed to be meant for college students or even a little older, when interviewed, Victoria's Chief Financial Officer Stuart Burgdoerfer stated, "They (15/16 year olds) want to be older, and they want to be cool like a girl in college..." This is saying that teenagers of the time are trying just to fit into society and are just doing what seems popular and appealing to media. Some assumptions being represented by this are that, teens especially women and girls are so dominantly effected by the media that a lot of what they wear or choose to do is based solely on what they are told is popular. Another assumption is that girls or guys with nice bodies are more important than the actual product. This is seen by the girl that is very noticeable in the ad and also seen in other ads like Abercrombie and such. This ad, will still probably be relevant 15 years from now. I believe all the ads in the future will still be sexually driven and will always be male dominant. It's just natural that a women in a bikini will sell because men will always be men. So overall, I think these ads that we are seeing today aren't going to be going anywhere soon and think that things like this is why we have so many problems in society today. See you next time tho!

KD 8?!

I love me some shoes. Especially basketball shoes. And recently the new KD 8 (Kevin Durant's 8th shoe) photos have come out and they look just perfect for me. 

Comfy? Check. Nike Zoom Air is my favorite and this is also combined with a Nike air bubble. These will probably feel like pillows on your feet. 

Traction? Check. They feature basically the same traction pattern as the KobeX and the Kobe's are noted as having one of the best traction patterns of all time.

Looks? Check. These things are straight fire. And while they look like Air Max 2015's that's why I think they'll be great. They are just the perfect ankle height and look very sleek with the flywire and look like they can possibly make some sweet patterns with that material that looks like flyknit or mesh. My reaction to these at the beginning was, "Gosh those look pretty weird for basketball shoes", but now that I've seen them for awhile, I realize that they are basically all my favorite shows into one. But I also want to talk about how these shoes got leaked. I think this is also another example of how powerful our media is. Before there was all this internet and such, you had to wait until the show unveiling to see what the shoe would look like, now the whole sneaker community can be collected and once one person gets a picture of something it spreads like a wildfire. Overall I think the shoes are sweet and just think it's crazy how much power media has on our lives and how closely connected things are nowadays. See you next time tho!

James Harden fo' MVP

I'm James Harden. He's just a stud.

And while everybody outside the state of Texas has doubted the Rockets and Harden "The Beard" finds a way to get it done. You may be wondering why I'm writing these so late and it's because I just watched the "real MVP" will his Rockets to a gutty 119-107 victory over the Clippers to tie up the series 3-3 and force a game 7. And while he had a poor night of shooting (5/20 fg) he was the leading scorer for the Rockets. The even better thing, was that Harden had the flu and was still able to lead his team to a victory. Yeah I don't think the little baby-faced Steph Curry could put up 23 points with the flu. James Harden does more than just score. He contributes by distributing, rebounding, and being sort of a distraction as the opposing team always has to keep up with him and follow everything he does or he'll torch you for about 30 points if he doesn't. And while he doesn't shoot the 3pt. as good as Steph, Harden lives at the "money stripe" or the free throw line. Harden gets to the line about 10.2 times a game and while Harden uses this to get points, it also helps as it puts the other team in foul trouble. Yes, I agree Steph Curry is very good, but I just don't think he really deserved the MVP after what I've seen the last 3 games from Harden. And even while Harden didn't play the 4th quarter when the Rockets came back, I still believe he had a lot to do with the Rockets win. And now let's get into why I like James Harden. Yes I can probably admit Steph Curry is better than him but I have a better experience with James Harden. I have his signature pair of basketball shoes and I just love em.

They're one of my favorite shoes I own because they are comfy and they are cool looking. While Steph Curry, I don't have his shoes, and I don't know, I possibly could be giving Steph the short end of this debate but I just feel closer and more connected to Harden. So overall I feel like my likes and dislikes, are based on what I've experienced in the past and because I've always had good things with James and his shoes, I just think that's probably why I give James a slighter edge on who I like better. Hope to talk to y'all soon!

Reaction to Skip Bayless

Hey how you doing? It has been awhile since I've blogged and just want to start off with a response piece. I'm going to be sharing my reaction and response to Skip Bayless. Skip Bayless is sports debater, journalist, and host of a popular show, "First Take" which airs on ESPN. And the piece I'll be responding to is... 

Ok so now that you have read it, I want to share what I think of it. Skip why are you even talking? Yes you can acknowledge the shot he made at the end but why are you talking about all the "misses" and "blunders" when you weren't playing on the court. And yes I know it's your job and, stuff like this is why people like you, but being a professional athlete is very challenging. And yes I'm very guilty as I'm always caught putting down the players and saying like, "wow this dude sucks, how is he even in the NBA?" And while its natural for Skip to show his emotions because that's what he gets payed to do but I just think that comments like these just go over board with people who have no right to say that they "FINALLY MADE A THREE" when they themselves probably can't make a shot if their life depends on it. Overall I understand Skip's tweet but I just think that sometimes he just goes on tangents that just make him sound incredibly foolish. And while Skip is really funny I hope he can sometimes just read what he says to make sure what he says or puts on Twitter isn't just straight obnoxious. Thanks for checking out my Trü blog and hope to see y'all soon. 

Do you Trüly play Vain?

Ok let me get this out there, Vainglory is mobile 3v3 MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) that can be played on iPhones and Androids. And well now it's two days ago they released a new update which unveiled a "skin system" which is basically like different outfits for characters. And they are just sweet. 

I mean look at this stud. Doesn't he look like a Bad-a**? 

Or what about this beast?! This new update has me just really excited to actually play with a new skin for my favorite character. This game is one of my favorite mobile games because me and my friends always have exciting and crazy games that go down to the wire or are just back and fourth. And while I may come off as just a kid who likes sports and is all about sports, this game brings out my gamer side and I just think it's one of the best games on the App Store. So if I would have to recommend a game to you and a group of friends, I would definetly recommend this game. It's so addicting and I have even got one of my friends hooked after just playing two games with me. If you end up downloading the game, hit up the comment section with your name. Thanks and see ya next week!

Trüly Madison & Vine

     Madison and Vine is a common advertising technique in which brands are displayed "secretly" in entertainment like TV shows, or movies. They may not always seem apparent, but in almost about every movie nowadays, you can always find an example of Madison and Vine. And while I haven't really noticed them until I've taken Critical Thinking, it seems like everyday now I can spot an example of Madison and Vine.

     One example that I can think of that is really current to the media around us today is the two movies "Grownups", and "The Internship". When I watched "Grownups" on TV earlier this week I noticed the KFC bucket they are eating and hadn't really realized they were also using it as a source of advertising. 

Another example is the movie, "The Internship" as it clearly is basically a huge ad for Google® 

Overall as I've been in Critical Thinking I now watch TV and commercials differently as I always just end up trying find what technique is used or what the company is trying to say. That's it for Madison and Vine and the next time you watch a movie or TV show, try to look for the use of ad placements or in other words, the use of Madison and Vine. Thank you and remember to stay Trü.

Orwell in Baltimore

As the Baltimore riots still continue, Oriole games are still vacant. Schools are closed. Police and National Guard roam the streets. http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/29/us/baltimore-riots.html?_r=0

There has been some "intense" debate going on with these riots. Or in other words, This issue is completely confusing and slightly hard to understand. What's even worse is how the police are just using brute "power" instead of listening to the people. It's the word "power" that brings the famous George Orwell into the picture. Power just gives off such a negative connotation as it sounds like the Police are running everything that is going on. It just makes it hard for people around the world to understand really what is going on because people in Baltimore are saying the Police are using their power, but what even is power. Orwell would consider this word vague and somewhat confusing and meaningless. This isn't the only word we see that is confusing in the language of the article. For example, we have a quote from a police officer, Anthony Batts, who states that the, "citizens are safe" and that the curfew affect is, "working". But what defines working from not working? Orwell would answer that this use of words that may sound good, are completely useless and vague as it doesn't make sense and is just another fault in the English language. And while I know these riots happening in Baltimore are terrible and causing a lot of damage, I believe that the media is keeping the rest of the world blind from what is actually happening due to the language that occurrs in the English language. Overall I hope the Orioles can soon get some fans and this thing gets all situated in Baltimore. Also don't forget to hit up my poll in the bottom right corner of my home page! And Go Pacquiao!

Pac-Man or Money Mayweather?

As the hours approach arguably the biggest fight of the century will be taking place in the famous MGM Grand, in Las Vegas. Manny Pacquiao will challenge undefeated Floyd Mayweather in a super fight, to put all the talk to rest. This Saturday May, 2nd the two fighters will be making history not only in the ring but in their bank accounts. The fight is worth $300 Million and is said that it will break Paper-View's selling records for a boxing bout. And while the 47-0 Floyd Mayweather is the favorite to win the fight for obvious reasons, I believe that Manny Pacquiao will beat him. And you may think I'm crazy but, I think that Manny has a chance to shock the world and all of the Phillipines Saturday night. First off, Manny Pacquiao is the best fighter Floyd Mayweather will ever see. While Floyd may be 47-0 but, his resume isn't spectacular. It seems as almost Floyd always fights guys when they are washed up and, are at the end of their primes. Whereas Manny has almost seen everybody the whole boxing world has to offer (Besides Floyd). Your probably saying to yourself, "Man! You sound dumb!" And while it is pretty dumb to pick against a man who hasn't lost in his professional career, I really believe this is Manny's chance. I truly believe that the way Manny will beat Floyd is with his speed and combinations. Manny is the fastest boxer in the world with some of the craziest combo punching this world has ever seen. Manny has the ability to do this to anybody he faces when he puts his combos together.

And that is what I believe seperates Manny from Floyd. As an extreme sports junkie I have watched many of Floyd's fights and have noticed that he doesn't win by stringing punches together but, rather by tiring his opponents out and picking them apart one punch at a time and being very defensive. But Floyd can't be defensive against Manny because if he is, he'll quickly fall in the scorecards and it will be over for Floyd. And while I respect Floyd as a fighter, I believe that Manny will beat Floyd by forcing Floyd out of his comfort zone to actually make him box instead of just running around the ring with his hands up blocking. Thank you for your time, and I'll see you very shortly. In the mean time hit up the comments section below! Also feel free to vote in my poll at the bottom right of the Home Page on who you think will win the big fight Saturday. Go Pacquiao! And here's a short clip of ESPN's First Take in which Stephen A. Smith and Skip Bayless debate the fight. http://youtu.be/c7LQ4rRJpDY

My Trü Relationship with Media

Phones, television, commercials, magazines, computers, where do I even start? I'm always around media. I came out the womb with media around me! I always use my phone to listen to some music during passing period, play a little game, or even check out what's happening in the world of Twitter.

I'm practically glued to media. I'm always keeping up with breaking news, specifically sports related to see who's winning the game, or who got traded. But my connection to media is much more than just my phone. When I'm at home I watch my daily dose of Sportscenter, and occasionally a movie when the time is right. But since I'm not usually home on the weekends because of baseball road trips, I can't leave the house without grabbing me, a Sports Illustrated for the road. So if I were to have to sum up my relationship with media, I would say I'm definetly glued and a guy who always needs some media whether it be technological, or the old fashioned newspaper, and magazines. With that being said, don't be afraid to share your relationship with media in the comments below, See ya next time!