The critical argument...research.

 Well...besides the fact that I am not feeling very good, my research so far is going slow but steady. There is a lot of information out there about the music industry and how it feels towards technology and music. The Internet is a big issue as far as piracy however a few articles mention the steps being taken to use MP3 downloads and Ping by ITunes that acts as a social networking site just for music. I have found quite a bit of info regarding the sales difference when comparing CD sales to the purchasing of digital albums and single tracks. As much as I like my topic I am finding this portion of the research to be dull and slightly repetitive no matter what source I look into. I have put my research into two categories; the music industry itself and the technology used in it. I am also tracking a local band from Worcester M.A. on YouTube; this will allow me direct contact with them so i can ask them questions and get feedback. I have forgotten the name of my friends band so once he responds to my email I can interview them and see exactly how and what technology they are using. My weekend is going to be nothing but working on this paper and I am okay with that. lol

El-len DeGeneres

While the comments made by the wonderful Ellen DeGeneres were funny she still made her point. We have become so lazy from technology. As much as I love the convenience of my laptop I agree that most of our cellphones capabilities are unnecessary. We don't need to have face book apps, we have laptops for that. All a phone needs to do is let us communicate with people. People are still late to work or class because they rely so much on "faster" modes of transportation thanks to technology to get them to where they need to go even though they left for work/class two minutes before they were supposed to be at their destination. Just because your alarm has five different settings, your coffee and breakfast can be made in less than five minutes, a subway is faster than taking a car on the main streets and your cell has GPS doesn't mean they can work miracles. Plan ahead!!!

Yes a few game apps can keep you entertained during a wait at the docs office, your GPS can indeed help you find your way and yes you can pay bill on your phone but other than that you don't need a touch screen with a camera that takes half  hour long videos. Some phones you can even watch full movies and play video games on your phone internet....you could just be patient and wait till you get home and use your laptop or hey..you DVD player..remember that??

Medically we have come so far and the technology can and has saved lives so in that respect, keep up the good work people! We can grow body parts like a bladder and esophagus as well as achieve many other things that without technology we couldn't do.

Group Project

I am in a group with Evan, Julia, Chris and Megan and so far things are moving along pretty smoothly. We have all been handling our responsibilities well and through e mail have managed to trade off our research and send out a rough version of our power point slides. I am so glad that we have e mail it would have been harder to get this project done without it; two of our group members commute so it would have been tricky for them to find the spare time to come back to school. Also e mail has made communication between all of us go seamlessly.

Moving on..

Due to my odd luck I am changing my community. After reading over the essay requirements I have chosen a business community. Better Bean Coffee Company is a coffee shop in the center of town that has been around since 2005, before that is was known as the Daily Grind until Jared Cassidy purchased it.

Upon entering the shop I noticed two things, the soft mellow lighting and the brown squishy couch behind the small sturdy coffee table. When I opened up my laptop I was very pleased to see they had free wifi. For a little while the only sounds to heard was the low playing music by various artists and the idle chatter by two employees about why and if they should use milk over water in the chai tea. A few couple came in and sat talking softly over coffee and brownies. The bookcase to my left is filled with volumes of poetry and plays, the last two shelves are stuffed with art catalogs.

It is easy to tell what sort of community they wish to represent and attract, those interested in art and literature as well as a great cup of coffee! Still more observing to do though.

http://www.betterbean.biz/ourstory.html

So....community...

The Communities I was considering:
-Soccer Team
-Radio Station 91.5
-One of the many Frat and Sororities

The winner:
Radio Station 91.5

I'm choosing this community for a couple of reasons. First off not everyone can get behind a mic. Secondly it's a radio station so it's about music. Not everyone has the same tastes and some times people can be sensitive about certain artist so things can get a little heated. On the flip side music can very help form a strong bond between people. On a final note, as a kid it used to be a dream of mine to work at a radio station, I'm looking forward to observing this community.

Be cool to the pizza delivery guy

"Principal Two- Coolness to the pizza delivery dude is a practice in empathy"  

So after reading "Being Cool to the Pizza Delivery Dude" I laughed. I laughed so hard because it makes so much sense and i believe all of us at some point have had that type of job. Most people have little to no respect for people who hold jobs like a pizza delivery guy.

I agree with the fact that how we treat people in these sorts of professions effects the community, the pizza guy is most likely a part of the community he is serving. They know what is means to pull a hard days work even though they don't get the pay they may deserve for the effort they put into their work. Also like Sarah Adams mentioned, they "sleep the sleep of the just", they know what it means to be honest and reliable. Think on this, if you don't let him pass you on the highway or get to the off ramp smoothly you are effecting his life and the lives of others. If you cause him to be late to his destination the pizza will be cool, resulting in no tip and unhappy customers, also the company may loose a customer. Also the pizza guy will get chewed out from his boss, bad all across the board. This is not to say that if this happens all of these things will occur...but you really aren't making his job any easier, not to mention you come off looking like a jerk.  

The shape of us

The things we do, the choices we make shape us as a person. After reading "A High School's Secret Life" by Emily White I became a slightly more aware of my surroundings in the sense that they can play a factor in the choices we make...maybe more than I knew.

New kid in high school: Join the "popular" kids who seem to share your interest in music and risk obeying their code of conduct? or do you sit with the music/band geeks who will be more welcoming but risk being bullied by the popular kids?

The popular kids provide security but the music "tribe" as White put it offers a chance at valuable friendships. This may seem like a 'stereotypical" situation, but it is a very real situation for a new kid.