Christmas Media

I love Christmas music!!!!!!!!!!! I love it. Love love love it. I get so excited when I listen to it and I just feel happy. I think one of my favorite parts of Christmas is all the music that goes along with it. Thank you, media, for making my favorite holiday so awesome :)

Letter

Dear Senator Hatch,

My name is Krista Emrich and I am currently a senior attending Brigham Young University. I am enrolled in a class on the media and we recently discussed the topic of books and the fact they do not have ratings. This issue is of great concern to me, and I believe we should and can do something about it. One study we looked at found there were more acts of aggression in an hour of reading a novel than in an hour of watching television. Television programs have ratings, so books, which can contain more violence, should logically receive ratings. By giving books ratings we will be helping those people who would like to be informed before they stumble across something they may not want to read, just as is done with television programs.

As a reader of books I would appreciate knowing the content of what I will be reading. Titles may be misleading, and there is no warning as to profanity or sexual content in a book. I have personally read books that have had this content that I did not expect by the blurb on the back of the book nor from the title. I do not appreciate this type of content in the books I read and would like to be warned before I pick up a book to read it.

I also feel strongly that parents would benefit from book ratings. Parents want to know what their children are being involved with and should be able to have the benefit of being informed as to the content of different types of media, which includes books. Parents have restricted or cautioned their children from seeing different ratings of movies because they do not want them to see the content of the film. I believe parents also want to caution their children with books the same way they do with movies but are much less able to do so in the absence of ratings. If parents could be informed they can talk with their children about what is in the books they are reading.

Because ratings are not a restriction and are simply a caution to the reader there is no reason to not put them on books. I believe it would benefit people, such as myself, who would like to be aware of the content of books before reading them. For those people who do not want ratings, they are not required to read them and access is not restricted by ratings, so ratings can simply be ignored by these people.

I appreciate your consideration of this issue and hope you see the importance of book ratings for book readers as well as parents. If you have any questions or would like to discuss the issue further, please feel free to contact me with the information provided above.

Sincerely,

Krista Emrich

Musical Memory

Tonight I went to an enrichment activity and we were making Christmas crafts and listening to Christmas music and just had a blast. As I was singing along to all the different songs I was kind of amazed at how many lyrics I know. It's amazing how many lyrics to songs are just bouncing around in my brain somewhere. Something with music helps us to remember the lyrics much differently than we would a lecture or a conversation with someone. When we put some sort of tune to it, it's much easier to remember and lasts a lot longer than something that is just spoken. I think it's pretty amazing the way music aids our learning and memory.

Media Saturation

I was thinking about the term media saturation and an experience I had. Yesterday as I was driving to my internship I turned off my music and just tried to listen to the spirit. I received some impressions and thoughts that brought a lot of peace and I am very grateful that I took some time to "unplug" from the world of media to listen to the spirit. I know it makes a big difference when we show the Lord that He is important to us.

Kanine Krunchies

Last week I watched 101 Dalmatians as part of our Content Analysis project and I've had a song stuck in my head ever since. The part where the puppies are watching the TV right before they go to bed there's a commercial for Kanine Krunchies, and the little jingle goes "Kanine krunchies can't be beat! They make each meal a special treat....." Well, I eat a bowl of cereal every morning for breakfast, and recently I have been eating Cocoa Crunchies (knock-off of Cocoa Puffs) and every day I sing to myself...and sometimes out loud..."Cocoa Crunchies can't be beat! They make each meal a special treat!" Ridiculous, I know. But pretty funny. Media definitely affects us :)

The Proposal

This weekend I watched The Proposal with my husband and I really liked it. It has a really cute love story, and it's even funnier for me because I'm from Canada and know how crappy it is to deal with immigration stuff.

However....I feel there were quite a few scenes, and language, probably about half the movie....that they could have done without. Most of the scenes/comments etc. were of a sexual nature, which I did not appreciate, and I hate profanity, it just drives me nuts. If you can say the same thing without swearing, what's the point of swearing? It just makes you sound unintelligent, in my opinion. It's kind of sad, but that's pretty much what movies are like these days. I did like the movie, it was totally cute, and maybe I was more aware of sexual content since we just talked about it in class.........:)

World's Strictest Parents

As I was watching some TV for our sexual content assignment I came across this show called World's Strictest Parents and found it interesting so I watched it. It's like those shows where there are "troubled or problem teens" and they send 'em to boot camp, but in this show they send them to live with this family with strict parents to help shape up their attitudes and behaviors. This family they sent them to was ridiculous! The mom and dad were addressed as sir and maam out of respect. I'm not so sure that kind of respect is what I would want in my household. One of the kids that was sent to the house rebelled against the rule and said that "normal" people don't do that! And the parents were very firm in their belief that normal people said yes sir and no sir to the parents. WHAT?! Did I miss the boat, or do you really call your parents sir and maam? Mom and Dad work pretty well for me. Another thing they did was spy on their children to make sure they were exactly where they said they would be. They would literally hide in the trees and peek around. Another thing they did was rummage through all of their belongings so they would know exactly what they have, making it easy for them to tell if they would lie to them or not. What ever happened to granting kids some autonomy and trusting them a bit? If I lived in this household I would have been pushed SO far from those rules and also far from my parents. I will say that the family were very hard workers, the parents did display some love for their children sometimes, and they did have good values. I would definitely agree with most of their values, but they take it to the extreme in most of their behaviors. Very nice people, just a little crazy. I just wonder if that is reeeeally the best idea for shaping their attitudes and behaviors......and what people think when they watch this show! Are we promoting super strict parenting?! I hope people watch it and realize they need to do what works for their family and also see how these people are pretty extreme in a lot of behaviors.

Werewolves...games as media?

Are games considered a type of media? Not video games, but just a game you play with your friends, like a card game, board game, etc.??? I'm not sure...but in light of our class discussion on media violence, in response to the violence part, I'm writing about a game.

My brother had his birthday party Friday night, so we all decided to play this game called Werewolves. I don't know how many of you have played it (I hadn't even heard of it) but it's basically Mofia, on steroids. It's a really fun game, but it's also really violent!!! First of all, the game is all about killing other people so you win. And when someone dies, the instructions say the person is "lynched, hung, drowned, and shot with a silver bullet". Maybe a little extreme? That is quite the death! Is that really all necessary?

Then I thought about how not fun the game would be if we played in very neutral terms, such as simply "getting out" instead of dying, and having different colors for people instead of horrific monsters like werewolves, along with witches and fortunetellers. Back in the day games/violence/things weren't always so graphic, they really did use to be simpler! I thought about how TV shows and movies have also escalated in violence because of the "rush" we get from viewing it. The game that I played, Werewolves, would really not have been any fun if there weren't more emotions involved by including people's lives etc. Where is society heading?

All in all, a very fun game, I plan on playing it again. But I am also aware of how "into" the violence we tend to get, and how we need to be careful consumers of violence through all sorts of mediums.

Photography and Athletes

BYU created a new web page for recruiting athletes, and it is way cool! They got an amazing photographer to come and photograph some athletes to put on the website, and my husband happens to be one of them :) I think it's cool that we are using the internet even more in our recruiting methods. I know that athletes come to check out BYU and go on tours etc., but now they can see how awesome our athletes are online, read stories of how different athletes came to BYU, and what the athletics program is all about before they come out here. It's a really cool website. Check it out, and the second picture (the pole vaulter) is my husband. :) The pictures are awesome!

byuathletes.com

Google Maps

I love Google Maps. It's genius. But today I was frustrated with it. Sometimes it takes you on a route that is so so so much longer and complicated! Sometimes I understand that they make it a little longer because it is "easier"...whatever. Today it had us turning to a street that literally didn't exist. Ridiculous. So luckily Utah uses the grid system so we just made up our own way. Sometimes I just don't understand why it can't be simple...who's in charge of looking up the google map route anyway? Crazy technological tech-ness. Sheesh.

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

Many of you may have already seen this, but I had to post about it. I think it is absolutely hilarious, and the parts about the internet and phones I feel are very applicable to this class.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8r1CZTLk-Gk

I can't get the video to load on my blog...I'm not sure why...but the link above should take you right to it if you put it in the address bar. If that doesn't work, go to youtube and type in Everything's Amazing and Nobody is Happy and it is the first video that pops up. Really, you should take the time to watch it. It's hilarious, mostly because it's true!

Dirty Dishes

My husband and I don't have a dishwasher, which may not seem so bad...but let me tell you.......it definitely can be. It's hard because we have really busy schedules and doing the dishes never seems to fit into them. I was really frustrated about the pile in the sink when I randomly came across this poem on some random blog on the internet (I have no idea how I found it....I was looking at someone else's blog and found it on one of their friend's blogs or something...blog stalking??) and I now have this cute little poem hanging right above the sink.

Thank God for Dirty Dishes

They have a tale to tell.

While others are going hungry

We’re eating very well.

With home and health and happiness

I shouldn’t want to fuss,

For by this stack of evidence

God’s very good to us.

~author unknown

I guess sometimes a little perspective helps the mundane and not-so-fun tasks seem not as bad :)

"Up" Proposal

My friend got engaged a couple weeks ago and I just recently found out how he proposed. He and his fiance both LOVE the movie Up, so my friend decided to base his whole proposal on it. He spent a bunch of time making their own "Adventure Book" (if you haven't seen the movie...just go see it. It's awesome.) with pictures of them since they have met and all the fun things they've done together down to their date the night before.

He included a 'future adventures' section at the end of the book for them to fill in throughout their lives. He even made his fiance a pin like the "Ellie pin" in the movie.

So dang cute! I was so proud of my friend :) Look at how much the media influenced these people's future!

My favorite book

Anne of Green Gables was my favorite book as a child and adolescent, and I still enjoy it today. When I was younger my mom would read it with me at night before I went to bed. The book is about a redheaded, very imaginative orphan girl named Anne who gets adopted by a brother and sister who live together. Anne is a little hotheaded and does not like when things do not go her way, but overall is a very sweet and caring girl.

I think the biggest reason I loved Anne of Green Gables was because I identified so much with Anne. I felt like we were the same in many ways and that if she were real we would be best friends. I was a little hotheaded and lost my temper sometimes, especially when things did not go my way, but I was also very sweet. Anne places her values on good education and friends, which are and were also very important to me.

MoTab

I love General Conference! I know...maybe it's cheesy or lame to blog about it, but I love it. Today I was thinking especially about music because we just had that lecture this week. I absolutely love the music in the sessions, especially by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. Love them. I find some/a lot of times that I learn more from listening to the songs and just being able to feel the spirit more through them than the talks. When I was growing up watching conference at home I would use the time they were singing to get up and do something, but now I pay really close attention and let the spirit speak. Music is a very powerful form of media, and though there is good and bad, today I was very grateful for the good.

Tony Chestnut

I work at an elementary school right now, with the after school program, and today I was talking with my supervisor about some more fun activities we can do with the kids. She showed me this cute song called Tony Chestnut. It's like a Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes kinda deal. The song says things like "Tony Chestnut knows I love you" and talks about his sister Eileen and the man she loves Neal and on and on. The actions go along and you touch your toes, then knees (Toe-Knee aka Tony) then your chest, then your head (Chest-nut) knows (touch your nose) then cross your arms over you chest for the "I love you" part. When it talks about his sister Eileen then you lean to one side and kneel down when they talk about Neal, etc. It's a very creative idea that is really fun for kids. Just a little creativity by putting the media (the music) with some actions can make such a fun activity for kids.

Pillsbury Persuasion

As I was watching TV the other night a commercial came for Pillsbury chocolate chip cookies and boy do they ever look de-licious when they bake in the oven! They make them look so appetizing, the way they start in a ball and smooth out into the cookie...mmmmm...:) The perception factor, for me, was watching them "bake" in 3 seconds into the perfect cookie. Definitely memorable. Log that one away in my memory!

I really, really wanted to go out and buy some because I didn't have any chocolate chips to make my own cookies, but I resisted the temptation. I was pretty proud of myself. Persuasion facet was very good, in my opinion. Even when the commercial came on for a second and third time during the show I was tempted each time without the success of the Behavior Facet. The association facet was also well implemented because they show the kids coming home so they can eat these cookies with their mom, so the association with family and the home.

So I didn't buy the cookies...but I did eventually make my own because I wanted some so bad. Overall, an effective commercial for making me want chocolate chip cookies...but not bad enough to buy the Pillsbury brand.

The Wonderful World of Blogging

I love blogging! I think it is so fun to read blogs and find out what is going on in people's lives. My aunt and I were talking about it the other day and she said how she is terrible at calling people and talking to them, and she really hates doing it anyway so she loves blogs. She never has to talk to anyone and she can still know what is going on in their life, and if she wants to communicate in some way then she can leave her comment. While I don't agree that we don't need to call people (I do enjoy talking to people on the phone as well) I think it is so fun how we can be so connected with blogging - pictures and words, and in some cases people put up videos and music on their blogs as well.

For me, I love being able to "watch" my nieces and nephew grow up even though we live in different states. My sister is an avid blogger and I love reading her blog of all their activities and different things they are saying/doing and their cute pictures as well :)

Football and Rootbeer

I went to the football game tonight (ouch!) and afterwards my husband and I stayed to help clean up the stadium because my friend's supervisor in his major (landscape management or something) will pay for this huge conference type thing they go to on the east coast that my friend has never been able to afford if he gets a certain amount of people to volunteer to help clean the stadium for an hour and a half after the game. So, we wanted to help our friend, so after the game we went to the West bleachers, put on latex gloves, grabbed a huge garbage bag and started picking up bottles. Has no one been taught to pick up or clean up after themselves?! Seriously! I couldn't believe how much garbage there was (not to mention recycling...you could make a fortune off the recycling left behind after the games). I knew there would be a lot, but not that much. Anyway, after about 45 minutes I picked up a bottle of half drank (drunk, dranken?) rootbeer, and was going to empty it out (anything not empty we just dump out because then we hose down the entire stadium). So I unscrewed the cap just a tiny bit and got a shower of rootbeer. Drenched. Completely soaked from head to toe - not an exaggeration. Hair soaked, clothing too, and everything was super sticky - even when I blinked I could feel the stickiness. So I screwed the cap on, and drop kicked the bottle down to the next set of bleachers. I was pretty ticked.

So how does this relate in any way, shape, or form to the media? Well, the only things that kept popping into my head were songs, or titles of songs. First were ones that reflected my frustration such as It's Just My Luck, Ironic, etc. and then I kept thinking about Bring On The Rain, trying to have somewhat of a positive attitude. I tried to sing some hymns...but being worked up after the football game and just having been drenched in some unknown person's rootbeer, I wasn't ready for hymns yet. :) After I had been singing some songs in my head for a while I actually felt a lot better. Music has a very therapeutic effect on me, as I'm sure it does for most people. I think it's interesting how in most, if not all, situations I am in I can relate some song to it, or have an idea to write a song about it.

I love technology...

This might sound really cheesy, but today I was thinking about how grateful I am for technology - cell phones in particular. My husband and I both have pretty crazy schedules this semester and we never really get to see each other. We'll send each other text messages throughout the day to say hi, thinking about you, love you, etc. I also thought about all the times that he travels, which is every weekend from January-June. And I'm just grateful I have those text messages/phone calls, because I'm not so sure I could survive without them! Kind of crazy that our relationships can rely so much on technology sometimes.

9/11

Yesterday I watched the video clip that the Church put out about Finding Hope (on the main lds.org webpage). The clip is about a survivor of the 9/11 attacks. At the end of the video there are words that appear on the screen saying that we honor the victims of 9.11 - those who died and those who lived. I had never really thought about the people that survived that before and how traumatic that must be. The man in the video talked about feeling guilty sometimes for surviving while so many others had died, and also his feelings of gratitude for being able to spend more time with his family.

It amazes me how much the media can influence our thinking and our emotions. I had never thought about the survivors until that video, and if I hadn't seen that video, I probably still wouldn't think about them.