Blog #5

This week’s blog was to ask what out favorite TV show was. I had a little bit of trouble deciding on picking just one TV show, because although I do not watch much television, I do enjoy a number of shows. But then it became so obvious to me. Sportscenter. The amount of time that I put into Sportscenter is just straight up ridiculous. I also just absolutely love the affiliate shows that go with it, especially NFL Live, PTI, and Around the Horn. But Sportscenter gives the most complete and well rounded sports package with style and grace. I think it goes without saying that I am a sports fanatic, and need a daily fix of Sportscenter. It is the first thing I watch in the morning, when I come home from school, and sometimes the last thing I see before I go to bed.

I hate NASCAR. But, due to the excessive viewing of Sportscenter I know that this last recent Daytona 500 was incredibly controversial but also the most compelling ending in NASCAR history. Did I mention that I hate NASCAR?

Sportscenter gives an incredibly tight package. When I watch it I usually do not have much time, and Sportscenter gives me up to the minute updates and highlights. I usually do not have the time to sit down and research what happened via newspaper or online article. I like to see the dunks, key plays, touchdowns, and stats.

Back during football season, Sportscenter was huge for me. I was in several fantasy leagues (not for money of course) and Sportscenter would give me updates on player’s stats and teams’ conditions when I needed them

So, in short, if you are into sports, do NOT watch Sportscenter, even though you probably already do. You will get addicted.

Thank you and have a nice day.

Song Analysis - Brenda's Got a Baby

Regarded as a thug. Cast off as a criminal. Thought of as just another gangster rapper. But like many legends, 2Pac succeeded in surpassing and outright demolishing any criticisms, stereotypes, and ignorant remarks about his music throughout his career. One of his most powerful songs, Brenda’s Got a Baby, was used as a weapon against critics and proved to be one of 2Pac’s most powerful songs, with deep felt meaning. The song Brenda’s Got a Baby delivers a powerful insight and depth into the lives of the people living in the harsh conditions of the inner city.
The song delivers a strong depth with the humanity it brings to the average ghetto statistic. When most people look at the statistics for teen pregnancy, prostitution, crack and/or heroin addiction, and murder in the inner city they mostly just look the other way. People disregard the lives of these people because they are looked as the lower tier of society. They also look at the statistics with an indifference, not able to put a face, a story, a life to the numbers. 2Pac accomplishes to skillfully tell a story of a girl from a very dysfunctional family who becomes pregnant by a very juvenile father. How she struggles just to survive, trying to take care of herself best she knows how, living life without any direction, help, or guidance at all from any avenue. The sad part appears when the listen realizes that the song is not the exception. When the statistics come out, and the media reports them, the meaning is lost. People fail to realize what kind of lives people live. They cannot fathom how horribly people live. They do not comprehend the cycle, and how tough the breakthrough to success is. Teen pregnancy, it carries such a negative connotation. But the way 2Pac weaves the story, the listener can understand where Brenda is coming from. Why Brenda does what she does in the song. One thing leads to another which leads to another. The song ends with again, the average person, reading a newspaper headline of a prostitute found slain. Does the reader of the newspaper know the story behind the prostitute? Do they know why Brenda decided to sell her body? Do they even know that the prostitute’s name is Brenda? 2Pac takes the insensitivity and selfish indifference out of the equation. The listen feels for Brenda. The listener can relate.
2Pac “raps” this song with true passion. His voice and words echo the pain in his heart. The listener can truly feel the angst and passion with what 2Pac voices his poem. He articulates the song with a clarity and deliverance that says he has been there. That he knows the situation and that he empathizes with more that just this story, for it is just one in many. Brenda’s Got a Baby, and the way he speaks clearly state that it breaks 2Pac’s heart.
This song is powerful on many levels. Once cannot listen to this song and speak down on 2Pac’s ability to write, speak from the heart, or claim that he is unintelligent. The song Brenda’s Got a Baby delivers a powerful insight and depth into the lives of the people living in the harsh conditions of the inner city. Thank you and have a nice day.





"Brenda's Got A Baby"

Brenda's got a Baby
Brenda's got a Baby

I hear Brenda's got a baby
But, Brenda's barely got a brain
A damn shame
Tha girl can hardly spell her name
(That's not our problem, that's up ta Brenda's family)
Well let me show ya how it affects tha whole community
Now Brenda never really knew her moms and her dad was a
junky
Went in death to his arms, it's sad
Cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know
Just cause your in tha ghetto doesn't mean ya can't grow
But oh, that's a thought, my own revelation
Do whatever it takes ta resist tha temptation
Brenda got herself a boyfriend
Her boyfriend was her cousin, now lets watch tha joy end
She tried to hide her pregnancy, from her family
Who didn't really care to see, or give a damn if she
Went out and had a church of kids
As long as when tha check came they got first dibs
Now Brendas belly is gettin bigger
But no one seems ta notice any change in her figure
She's 12 years old and she's having a baby
In love with tha molester, whos sexin her crazy
And yet she thinks that he'll be with her forever
And dreams of a world with tha two of them are together,
whatever
He left her and she had tha baby solo, she had it on tha
bathroom floor
And didn't know so, she didn't know, what ta throw away and
what ta keep
She wrapped tha baby up and threw him in tha trash heep
I guess she thought she'd get away
Wouldn't hear tha cries
She didn't realize
How much tha tha little baby had her eyes
Now tha babys in tha trash heep balling
Momma can't help her, but it hurts ta hear her calling
Brenda wants ta run away
Momma say, you makin' me lose pay, tha social workers here
everyday
Now Brenda's gotta make her own way
Can't go to her family, they won't let her stay
No money no babysitter, she couldn't keep a job
She tried ta sell crack, but end up getting robbed
So now what's next, there ain't nothin left ta sell
So she sees sex as a way of leavin hell
It's payin tha rent, so she really can't complain
Prostitute, found slain, and Brenda's her name, she's got a baby

Baaaaaaaaby

(don't you know she's got a baby)
(don't you know she's got a baby)
(don't you know she's got a baby)
(don't you know she's got a baby)
(don't you know she's got a baby)
(don't you know she's got a baby)




2Pac. “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, 2Pacalypse Now. Prod. The Underground Railroad
CD. Interscope Records. 1991.

2Pac. “Brenda’s Got a Baby“. AZLyrics.com. 5. Feb. 2007
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/2pac/brendasgotababy.html

Blog #4

This weeks blog was asking us to listen to our favorite radio station for an hour and basically analyze what we heard in general. Well, my favorite radio station is the HOT 102.7, formerly 105.9 JAMZ. Well, for those who don’t know, HOT 102.7 is pretty much your typical Hip Hop/ R&B music station. The reason I chose that station in particular is because they usually have a better selections of late night play lists in my opinion. That said, we were specifically asked to comment on what kind of music we listen to, what is the target audience, and what we could say about the ads that played during the airtime. Well, first of all I cant say that the music I listen to is primarily rap/hip hop; but as said before do have an open heart and will listen to anything that is good in my mind. I try not to discriminate to any kind of genre, because if something is good, no matter how cheesy or lame it might be to someone I will still listen and admit to liking it. I did not like all of the songs playing during my listening period, but I did find that the DJ was doing an excellent job of mixing the tracks and keeping the sound fresh. I believe that the target audience of the broadcast was a urban one, particularly of the Metro Detroit area, because they were broadcasting live from a club in downtown Detroit. Obviously, Hip Hop is associated with the younger generation, and this time of listening was no difference. The ads also mirrored the atmosphere of the production. There were a lot of fast food commercials, as well as a lot of commercials that were promoting an event or club or something of the sort. Well that was my blog, sorry to any of the readers who had to suffer through that!

Extended Blog #1

With our first Extended blog, we were asked to write 500 words about a pop culture text or item, and for some reason I was having the hardest time thinking of which item I was going to write about. Finally, I just thought of what my favorite popular movies and albums were, and I realized that is was literally staring at me right in the face. “The world is your’s,” is what the Scarface poster reads hanging in my room. Scarface, the ultimate cult and popular classic. The following that that movie carries is legendary. The movie Scarface has literally touched almost every avenue of the entertainment business today.

The movie Scarface has been emulated, revered, and replicated in every media outlet there is. Rap songs constantly refer to the movie, and that is just the start. The soundtrack has been heavily sampled, with as recent of an example the rapper Rick Ross and his song and video, “Push it to the Limit,” which has very heavy influences from the movie. There have also been a number of movies that have been influenced by the Scarface style, the smooth, rich gangster who lives in luxury in his extravagant house to go along with his extravagant lifestyle. 20 years later, and the movie is still being copied, even the videogame industry has hopped along the Scarface bandwagon. They have just released a Scarface game in 2006 and another one is scheduled for 2007. And, it almost goes without saying the popular phrases that you hear almost every day which come directly from that movie. People might hang on to catchphrases from a movie for a few years, and that is a success by today’s standards. People to this day still quote great phrases such as, “Say ‘ello to my littlle friend,” and, “Say goodnight to the badguy.” These lines echo in eternity. Also, one of the reasons Scarface has lasted so long and stayed relevant is the story arch. Anyone who watches the movie can identify and have love for Tony Montana’s struggle, his drive, his passion. And what is better is to watch him succeed. All in all, he is the “bad guy” but you still end up falling for his charisma and rooting for him. And in the end, you see his downfall, for we all know that a meteoric rise to the top no doubt leads to just as fast a fall. We also see the adverse effect that drugs had on him, and can identify the toll that it has on people, maybe not from personal experience but from outside knowledge.

As you can see, this is clearly one of my favorite movies. Which sounds cliché, because so many other people feel the same way, but no matter how lame it may seem, this movie has touched many lives, with varying degrees. And the fact that it is still so popular today speaks volumes.

I hope this blog was not too bad on any readers out there and I hope you enjoyed it! Thank you and have a nice day.

Blog 3

The question for this weeks blog was to describe your past experiences with writing. Well let me tell you, they have not been good. English in grade school had predominantly been about grammar, so as far as grammar goes I am pretty good about it when I have to. All was fine and dandy until my eight grade English class, where I very much disliked my teacher. I naturally am not very good at writing and this class required much writing. We had a final project on where I scored an impressive F on my paper, significantly lowering my grade in the class to a C. That still bothers me, because no one paper should determine ones grade so much. High school freshman through junior year was a breeze, I easily did well in those classes, despite almost never starting or finishing any reading assignment, or doing much homework. Then I took my ACT exam, which surprisingly, I scored the lowest in the punctuation department, but scored a 30 in the reading comprehension part. Weird. Senior year English was by far the worst experience ever. I had quite possibly the hardest teacher of all time. We read over 15 big, long, books. They were good, I will admit, but the tests were brutal. We were tested on quotes in the book. We had to identify them, elaborate, and explain the significance of the quote. At any given point we had over 200 vocabulary words we were responsible for. And our papers… I didn’t get higher than a C for any paper, his grading was ridiculous. He would waste an entire pen on one paper. We had a huge research paper that was due at the end of the year, which was responsible for the majority of our grade. I didn’t do it. I passed with a C. How? I have no idea. Now I am here. Hello.

Intro

Hello, my name is Paul, I am Chaldean and this is my first year at Wayne State. I just graduated Brother Rice High school in May of 2006. Also, in case someone was wondering, I am not too worried about giving personal information on the internet, for a highly doubt that some weird insane person is going to try and hunt me down. That said, I hope a crazy person does not hunt me down! The things most important to me in my life are my family, Church, and school. I try to get to Church every week, and I hopefully get into medical school in the future. My career aspirations are to be some kind of surgeon, possibly an orthopedic one. I would like to do this in part because a while back I blew out my knee and have never been the same athletically, which is important to me. The main disappointment for me what that I was no longer able to play football because of my knees, which was a huge deal for me because I absolutely love football. Every Sunday I force myself to endure through another Lions game, and when I can attend their loss. Because they never win when I go. Another big part of my life is my music, which is mostly rap but I definitely have an open mind when it comes to music and will listen to about anything if I think it is good. Most of my library is from the early 90s, which, in my opinion, is the best time period for music ever. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 2Pac, Warren G, all the West Coast old school stuff is what I really love. I also spend way too much time on the computer, whether it be with video games, watching movies, facebook, or just plain old surfing the web, I am pretty much addicted. All in all, I am a pretty laid back and easy to get along with guy, pretty outgoing, and can get along with pretty much about anyone. Spend some time with me and I guarantee we will be friends in no time. I hope reading this wasn’t too bad for you, and thanks for the comments in advance.