Three SJSU Students May Have Ad In Super Bowl XLI
Congradulation Anna Pogosova, LouLou Quintela and Kelly Sherman, of San Jose State, for being one of the only five nationwide pick to create a television commercial spot for Chevrolet. For those who missed the unveiling of the winning team you can see the video footage of the press conference here. SJSU students should be proud to have representatives in this national campaign.

Happy Birthday iPod!

The "First Cultural iCon of the 21st Century"
Five years, and one day ago, no one had an iPod. It was on this day, a monday, October 23rd, 2001 that the beloved device was born to the masses. Since then billions of the portable entertainment centers have penetrated pop cultures iconic status. Since then, some have learned to make use of its technology, use it leisurely, and some now depend on it. The is something to say about its memory holding capabilities, especially in it later models, and the fun use of the later video version. My concern is of the isolation becoming commonplace with those using the device everyday, I am exposed to it each day on campus. I myself, do not own one, and am content not knowing what it is that I am missing, but I do know what it is that i am not missing, the world around me. I apologize if this point of view is harsh, and to heart of the matter, but if quick and easy is what drives the iPod market, i must conform my message to this such audience. Careful that the consumer does not become the consumed.Happy Birthday iPod! (Now where can I store my pictures of blowing out the candles?)

From the first Animusic DVD. Pipe Dream has been voted one of the 50 greatest animation projects ever (by 3D World magazine). A group of percussion instruments perform music by way of metal balls that fly out from pipes.

The Mix of Nails and Chips
In speaking of convergence, I am reminded of my construction career experiences in the technology and commercial fields. First off, before the wireless era of internet access, I was a proud San Jose Union carpenter and had the rare opprotunity to work on a residential home for a superintendant of my company. I say "rare" because my normal scope of work entailed commercial buildings such as the now site of the Cisco System campus in Milpitas, California. Back to this home of the year 2000, the most amazing aspect of the house was that it was entirely wired for internet hook up in "basically" every room. Today wireless connection completes this vision of free in home access, but this house was revolutionary for its day. The amout of cable used in the interior of the walls made this project more "commercial" like than residential. At the same time, near 237 and 101 I was deep into building the multi-building campus of Cisco Systems. A project that lasted beyond five years. The high tech. buisness market was booming and capital money was plentiful. With these resources our client contracted us to build Cisco System's Internet House. Throughout the campus new technological devices were being toyed with for employee feedback. We built a daycare center ajacent to the buisness buildings for the convience of the family employee, but this was no ordinary babysitting location. A curious employee was able to connect to camera feeds within the walls of the daycare center. As well as, communicate instantly with staff. Remember this is the year 2000. Daily routine ideas were plentiful by the Cisco staff of developers in the likes of, having your house at the desired climate, and dinner cooking before ariving home, all from the office computer terminal. Convergence between these two industries has come along way from the amazing to the everyday, but for a humble carpenter, these years were enlightening.

Stern Words
To give my opinion of the great Howard Stern, let me first hypothesize about his drop in listener population. Bare in mind that these observations come not from a fan. I've not been a listener, either on terrestrial radio or the later satellite waves. Saying this I respect his showmanship. Although his humor and ways of sensationalism are not my bag, he created a phenomenal fanbase. I believe his jumping of the shark came in the days of his being fined by the FCC for an issue he thought similar to something Oprah Winfrey had done, but fine-free. After this interview topic hit newsstands, I believe "The Howard Stern Radio Show" at KRock FM in New York, was a redundant rant about his loathing of the FCC. Along with this monotony, I think the threat of leaving the "free-waves" helped some listeners to broaden their morning commute entertainment horizons. In hopes of a "Pied Piper" effect, Howard promoted his satellite career to a market of mostly "daily grind commuters." Now I realize this is a generalization before saying that, the economic bracket of this market is not entirely jumping with those in need of another monthly bill, (myself included.) Needless to say, not all the sheep followed. I caught the show while listening to Free FM, San Francisco's, Adam Corolla Show. Howard simultaneously aired on his Sirius channel while calling into Adams live broadcast. The opinions spewed throughout the segment were of Howards hate for terrestrial radio now, and how free he feels from the shackles of the government regulations. In truth I believe the loss of his federal foe lost the show its edge and arch nemesis. So it's on to new rivals, namely AM and FM frequencies. In short, I am amazed at the following he once had, the media achievement he has risen to, and his courage to try other mediums, and the career he has made of his...here it comes...one trick show.

From the Animusic 2 DVD - A robot band kicks out an odd-time, laser-infused techno-rock tune while riding on top of their musical starship.

Three Television Shows of Importance

Many of the early stories on M*A*S*H are based on real-life tales told by real MASH surgeons. The series seemed to be a metaphor for the Vietnam War, in progress when the series began, and not just about the Korean War. The show's producers have said it was about war in general. The hell of war’s reality encouraged a desperate need for something to laugh about. A letter to TV Guide written by a former MASH doctor in 1973 said that the jokes and pranks on the show were the most true to life. While the show was mostly comedy, there were many episodes of a more serious tone. The series premiered on September 17, 1972 and ended February 28, 1983, with a finale that was viewed by nearly 106 million Americans, 77% of viewer-ship, which established it as “the most watched episode in United States television history,” a record that still stands today.

Starring Bill Cosby, The Cosby Show was first broadcast on September 20, 1984 and ran for eight seasons on NBC, until April 30, 1992. In every way, they were an utterly typical traditional American sitcom family, with the notable exception that they were African-American. The topics of the show involved the usual difficulties of children growing up. At the time of the show's original broadcast, some people criticized the series for presenting an unrealistic portrayal of an African-American family as wealthy, and for not addressing contemporary issues such as poverty and the AIDS-HIV epidemic. Others felt that the show was simply a portrayal of what African-Americans could potentially become. Also, that portraying an African-American family as a normal family with normal, and largely wholesome, family issues was generally positive to the issues of race in the United States. Bill Cosby had creative control over the show, which was unusual for a star at that time, but has become commonplace now. Cosby wanted the program to be educational as well as entertaining. He was credited as "William H. Cosby, Jr., Ed.D" at the beginning of each episode, referencing his doctoral degree in Education, from the University of Massachusetts. The show was very much centered on Cosby's real life, and portrayed his children's lives as well. In the end, not only did the African-American community embrace the series but The Cosby Show was also highly popular with white viewers, unlike many other television shows featuring mainly African-American characters. The show is praised for its portrayal of positive child rearing methods, and examples of role models in society.

I Love Lucy, was the most popular American sitcom of its generation, and is still considered to be one of the greatest television series of all time. The series ran from October 15, 1951 to May 6, 1957 on CBS. "I Love Lucy" is still syndicated on television in dozens of languages across the world. In pitching the idea for the show, studio executives were worried that American audiences would not find a "mixed marriage" to be believable, and they were worried about costar Desi Arnaz's heavy Cuban accent. They refused to let Arnaz's role be part of the show's title. I Love Lucy is the first of only three shows to end its run as the #1 TV show in America. Along with co-creator Jess Oppenheimer, they decided to shoot the show on 35 mm film (instead of 16mm) in front of a live studio audience, with three cameras, a technique now standard for sitcoms. I Love Lucy was the first show to use this technique with a studio audience. Along with its technical advancements, Lucille Ball played the part of a motivated, and career minded woman in the days of mostly housewives and it has had a significant impact on popular culture.


Notable mentions: Monday Night Football, Murphy Brown, The Ellen Show and Yo! Mtv Raps.

Deserving of his Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures nomination in 1958, by the Directors Guild of America (USA), Elia Kazan produced the classic about the responsibilities, consequences and temptations of media power. In this film, one mans voice changed lives, for better and for worse. I felt for the characters, both big and small, as they fell to the influence of the man (Andy Griffith) they knew as Lonesome Rhodes. I appreciate how this 1957 film showed the changes to each character attributed to the fame the new celebrity. The greed enhanced agent, the naivete of a love interest, and the ignorance of Rhodes himself in not seeing that he had turned into the very thing he started his career by voicing his objections too. This is a grand story of creating a monster that would make Mary Shelley proud. I could have done without Walter Mathow's dry narration of the films underlying messages, because Kazan has done a good job of communicating the story nicely. Including issues like racism, commercialism, celebrity, pride, power and payback, A Face in the Crowd sends a great warning to every media consumer.

(MSNBC story)
Don't Play Me for a Fool.

Another potential lawsuit in Hollywood. The series "Heroes" made its debut under fire from the literary world. Uncanny similarities to comic book icons the "X-Men" are not the only finger pointing articles of the show. The shows creater is under fire for "commendering" the idea from a novel written by the same author as "The Satanic Versus." Salman Rashdie's "Midnight's Children" tells the story of children born with spacial human powers, for example, time travel, and flight. The children are delivered at the stroke of midnight by a Dr. Suresh. Now if you saw "Heros" on NBC this week, you were introduced to both a group of extraordinary teens, one with the ability to skew time, another a flyer, and a Dr. Mohinder Suresh. Tim Kring, the creator of "Heros" stands by his never reading the book, or even being aware of the storyline. Granted superhero stories are plentiful but, Dr. Suresh? C'mon! I will probably enjoy "DVRing" the show, based on its concept, but give credit where credit is due. ( I feel like a parent here.) Did he think we wouldn't find out? What could hurt the show more than if the writting went subpar is, lieing to the public's face. I believe in integrity of character more than those of the show, and would not feel bad if this news snowballed to haunt Mr. Kring.