Justin Bieber...and nail polish?

I have successfully avoided blogging about "the bieb" but this latest news I've read tells me I should attempt to help expose the incredibly idiotic craze that is surrounding this kid!

1) As I was passing through Barnes and Noble's game section, much to my surprise, I saw this:



Apparently it's a game--the sole object of which is to give kisses to Justin Bieber.... sick....

2) More recently, Bieber has come out with a line of (you won't believe this) nail polish--and has already sold over one million bottles.

Yes, you read that correctly. Nail polish. As an article in Time put it "The beauty expert teen girls trust? A 16-year-old boy."

The names of the different colors, of course, are references to Bieber songs--though at least one of them, in my opinion, borders on blasphemy. In some respects, you can hardly blame the kid--after all, he's being treated like a god, and acts like one too.



This video might bring some relief to those who do not look so kindly on Bieber. I thought it was funny.

But let's be serious for a moment. One of the interesting things we can learn about the Justin Bieber craze comes from the fact that it is being helped by the internet (as many other fandoms are these days). Think about it--video posting, mp3 music files, twitter, etc...

If Justin Bieber was not being helped by the internet, do you think he would be a success? I'm not so sure.

Cheers!

Clementines and Media

I was eating a clementine--great snack--and as I was attempting to peel it, I happened to notice the sticker that was on the peel. It said "Make a video starring you! Cutiescitrus.com" Being the avid media student that I am, I checked it out.

The site was very similar to the Cheetos website that we viewed in class, except that it seemed more oriented towards parents, rather than kids. Parents could create incredibly cheesy videos to send to their kids (sort of a morale-booster e-card).

Ok, I totally get the advertising side of this whole thing--however, I do have a problem with trying to get kids to be online for more things. It crossed my mind that the real reason that parents are giving their kids clementines are to keep them healthier, right? So why is a company that is supporting children's health and well-being giving kids more reasons to stay online longer when they should instead be outside playing?

Almost seems like a double-standard to me....

My first impression of the internet...

As I wrote my last post, I remembered what my first impressions of the internet--and so, as a (perhaps odd) member of "generation digital" I thought I would post those thoughts here.

When I was growing up, Google didn't exist. Fact. The library that I went to as a child didn't even have a sophisticated "online" book catalog. To order a book from the system, you had to type into an ancient-looking computer, and then write out by hand an order form for that book to give to the librarian.

For me, the internet always seemed like this ominous creature (one that could potentially swallow little children who played with it too long--apparently adults were immune!) There was internet access at the library, but you had to be a certain age to use it. Furthermore, it was only my father who seemed to know what the internet was and how to use it--during the course of my siblings and my studies, we would ask him questions that weren't in the encyclopedia, and so my father would (presumably) go to this foreign and dangerous place and bring back the desired answers.

Finally, when I was about 8 or 9 (or perhaps I was 10?), the internet came to our house.

I remember sending my first email, and my first exposure to this ominous wonderland of knowledge.

"Googling-it", wasn't a term people used back then.

To the common person (like me), words like "blog," "link," and "youtube" were foreign. Social networking sites, other than chatrooms, were unheard of in my house (to be quite frank, when I first started using the internet, Mark Zuckerburg hadn't even invented facebook yet...in fact, I'm not sure if he had even graduated from highschool yet...).

So, am I from the dark ages or what?

Nope! I was born in the early 1990s--on the proverbial "cusp" of the digital generation!

The people who are just a few years younger than me can't even recall a time when they didn't have the internet. I count myself among one of the lucky few who can :)

Cheers!

The Mass and Media

I totally agree with Andi's post about media distraction--people (myself included) have an extremely hard time "disconnecting" from the media world...even to attend church.

This morning, I was at Mass, and it seemed as if EVERYONE (ok, maybe I'm exaggerating!) was texting or forgot to put their phone on vibrate.

Quite seriously, this is a grave matter--this isn't just like going to the movies, or a business meeting--if you're going to Mass, you're going to worship God Himself! So, in other words, some people are disrespectful enough to put the Creator of the Universe "on hold" to answer a stupid text from their sort-of-best friend!

If people can't 'unplug' for a single hour once a week to talk to God, how can they be trusted to listen to their friends?

I know that sounds outrageous, but I am quite frustrated lately with the immense apathy and lack of respect that people have these days!

So I challenge you to spend a few minutes to actually talk to someone, pay a stranger a compliment, smile at a child or elderly person, and remember that although some things cannot be bought or sold, they are more priceless than all the gems and gold in Christendom!

Cheers!

Google is creepy...

Just an observation.

So I'm sitting here listening to opera on youtube.com (yes, I actually like opera...) and on almost every video that I've been switching between, there is an ad for CatholicMatch.com.

Not that there is anything wrong with CatholicMatch.com...it's just that this doesn't seem to be the first time the ads on youtube are catered to my particular demographic...

So, is the ad for CatholicMatch.com just popular today or does Google actually keep track of your searches/keywords and cater the ads on all their sites to you?

Creepy....

Cheers!

BTW... I'm listening to "Une Furtiva Lagrima" sung by Roberto Alagna...bliss...

Generation Digital!!

Today's generation--my generation--is obsessed with media. If it isn't iPhones, iPods, or texting constantly, people are online emailing and checking facebook as if it was as necessary as eating or breathing. Admittedly, I don't feel "connected" to the planet in the morning unless I've at least checked my email, and try to think up a good reason why I shouldn't check my facebook :P

However, as we discussed in class this morning, my generation is sort of an odd generation. Born in the late 80s to very early 90s, my generation still has a vague remembrance of what the world was like without cellphones, iPods, or the internet. I can still remember the first time I ever sent an email.

My generation is the first generation to actually grow up with media access--albeit limited access in some cases. Being the first generation to grow up with this new media, obviously there is much concern by parents about what will happen to this 'digital generation.'

Parental concerns are, in most cases, justly founded. Who wants their little girl to be sent obscene pictures? Who wants their little boy to receive requests for his address from perverted strangers? Who wants their teens to be exposed to the vileness of pornography?

However, there is a gentle balance to be observed (as with all matters of life--if you eat too much, you'll die, but if you don't eat enough, you'll die too!) Just because the internet is new, does not mean that it is necessarily evil--and just because your children have the ability to send emails does not mean that they will be targeted by perverts.

As we discussed in class this morning, there have been fears (some well-founded, others not) about every major addition to the media. However, the internet is the biggest, and most overwhelming addition that we have seen thus far (like the invention of the printing press, only bigger) and so parents have a right to be concerned about the morality of their children.

What they do with that concern--teach their children to use technology to their advantage, rather than letting it take advantage over them--is another matter entirely. And that topic is about parenting skills, not media.

Cheers!

Catholicism and iPhones!

Today I came across this article which describes the first application for the iPhone to receive an imprimatur!

For those of you who aren't Catholic:

Imprimatur is the Latin term for "let it be printed," which signifies the approval by a bishop of a religious work for publication. Authors are at liberty to obtain the imprimatur either from the bishop where they reside, or where the book is to be published, or where it is printed. Generally the imprimatur, along with the bishop's name and date of approval, is to be shown in the publication.

--Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary

This new iPhone app, although it isn't the first of its kind, apparently includes "a step-by-step guide to the sacrament" as well as an examination of conscience.

I think the appearance of this new app is a sign of our changing times - both good and bad.

On the plus side, I'm positively delighted that the Church is keeping up with modern technology, and, in the spirit of Pope John Paul II, using modern technology as a means of evangelization.

However, I also think the emergence of this app also shows how technologically-centered people have become (as opposed to God-centered) that the Church has been forced to resort to creating iPhone applications just to tell people a simple message of repentance.

For the record, I've got The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, The Holy Bible, and a plethora of Gregorian chant on my iPod. Now, I just wish someone would come out with a version of the CCC (Catechism of the Catholic Church) for the iPod touch/iPhone!

Cheers!