Sunday, December 4, 2011

Test post for the WLYC

Here is a test post for the Weatherby Lake Yacht Club. The following are the results from the 2011 CSSA Juior Regatta.




CSSA Junior Regatta







WLYC

CSSA Junior Regatta

7/9/11

SERIES REPORT

Race Scores are Class Scores.


(There was a HUGE gap of space here but I just manually erased it when editing this post)



Opti Red Class
Scoring System: One Design Scoring

Class
Rank
Class
Points
BoatOwner123456
110PatrickPatrick Stevenson112[5]33
211LexiLexi Grego[4]41411
316CateCate Perlik5[6]4124
417BrenynBrenyn Kissinger33[6]362
518GrantGrant Brown225[6]45
623BetsyBetsy Perlik6[7]3257
732JonathanJonathan Rancudo[7]57776


(There was a HUGE gap of space here but I just manually erased it when editing this post)



Laser Class
Scoring System: Portsmouth (DPN)

Class
Rank
Class
Points
BoatOwner123456
16CooperCooper Lehr11[2]112
29ZachZach Stevenson22[3]221
315DelaneyDelaney Stevenson[4]41343
417KellyKelly Milliken33[4]434
525Jack-OliviaJack-Olivia Lischer[5]55555


(There was a HUGE gap of space here but I just manually erased it when editing this post)


Sunfish Class
Scoring System: One Design Scoring

Class
Rank
Class
Points
BoatOwner123456
17BrodyBrody Kissinger[3]21112
28GabbyGabby Garrett11[3]231
312NickNick Eaton2[3]2323




PRO: Paul Fetterman




Scored with St. Pete Time Allowance Scorer

4 Dec, '11, 21:28

Friday, April 29, 2011

Extra Credit: Feminism


The first wave of feminism is related to “recovery” from being oppressed by a male dominated society. It involves fighting for human rights. The second wave of femininity is related to “image” and cultural theory. It involves a fight for recognition and equality in terms of how society views women. The third wave of femininity involves rethinking the second wave in terms of considering how women think or feel before we make judgments about their status. This image of a businesswoman is associated with second wave feminism. There are 3 women and 2 men but most importantly—a confident woman is standing in the front. The business world is male-dominated but this image suggests that women are on an equal level to men. The woman in front has her hand on her hip with a smirk as if she has an attitude about her status as a businesswoman.

Under Armour



This advertisement for Under Armour displays hyper-masculinity and the construction of the violent White and Black male. The ad features two athletes who perform intense and violent training methods on a football field. The athletes are portrayed as cave-man like as they perform difficult tasks like sprinting with a weight chained to their back, running back and forth to knock footballs off a tee, and finally tackling a padded football player dummy. Judith Butler would describe this behavior as a performance of athletic hyper-masculinity. Their roles are performances of a certain identity. Jackson Katz describes this identity as the muscular “ideal” man. These identities span across races. In this ad, mostly black athletes are shown. In one scene, a black athlete is facing the camera with a stern look on his face. The camera slowly moves up his body as he shakes his over-sized muscles in slow motion. This scene is glorifying the violent male and the performance of hyper-masculinity that Katz and Butler describe. This advertisement expands the argument of my overall topic of how masculinity is constructed by advertisements. The ad is selling the lifestyle of being a violent male athlete. There are no references to the quality of Under Armor products. The athletes continually reference the intimidating “click, clack” sound that cleats make when walking on concrete before stepping onto a football field. This reference further supports the construction of a violent male athlete. Also, the spectacle of being a football player is an entire performance itself which relates to Butler’s argument.

Beer by Women



This beer commercial claims that the company’s beer is produced by attractive women in skimpy clothing who take group showers while at work. It is quite comical and can be criticized in terms of media and cultural studies. Lana Rakow’s “male gaze” is evident multiple times as the camera angle is shot from below to look up at the women. This camera angle takes the perspective of a male douchebag. The women in the commercial are also performing a role of hyper-femininity as suggested by Judith Butler. They resemble Barbie dolls (like in Karen Goldman’s Princesa Plastica) with long hair, makeup, and sexy attire. The ad also features two men who attempt to bear signifiers of femininity in order to gain access to free beer and showers with naked women. They are quickly found to be corrupting the system which suggests males are vulnerable to temptation. The jobs that these women perform appear to be quite rugged and complex. The first woman shown is lifting a case of beer in slow motion. Another woman is using an over-size wrench but the task is unidentifiable because the camera (male gaze) focuses on her Barbie-like body. This intense beer production scene is a role-reversal for women from the domestic housewife that Sharon Sharp describes. In one scene, a woman is examining beer in a flask while wearing glasses and a lab coat. By portraying this scene as a fantasy, this scene suggests that attract women cannot perform the role of a scientist. It is also a type of culture jam because beer is not produced in this manner whatsoever.

The Onion vs CNN


In The Know: Should The Nation's Unemployed Be Buying New Apple Computers?




The “news” story from The Onion holds a discussion on buying new Apple products in order to help with the job search. The pro-Apple side argues that a new Apple product will help them stay on top of job listings and keep up to date with current technology. The oppositional side soon points out that everyone is “drinking the Apple Kool-Aid” and that a new computer doesn’t help anyone get a job more than the old one does. Apple products are also very expensive and unemployed people should not be buying them. The argument turns very comical and quite critical when the pro-Apple side “censors” the opposition when they are making a valid point and tells one of them to leave. During this moment, there is a lot of silence that allows the viewer to think which makes people realize how Apple fools everyone into continually buying its new products. Jamie Warner describes this type of culture jamming as “rebelling against the hegemony of the messages promoting global capitalism.” The “real” news story from CNN.com homepage covers the upcoming wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. The story highlights that they will be riding in a Jaguar limousine instead of a traditional carriage. CNN also covers the brand of dress Kate Middleton will wear. This story is about a fantasy life promoting consumerism. The practice of gatekeeping and agenda-setting are evident in these news stories. In terms of gatekeeping, it appears that the Onion does not limit itself on the stories it publishes. It also appears to set its agenda as a culture-jamming news source to, as Warner would say, “potentially [jam] the transmission of the dominant political brand message.” The CNN news story suggests that CNN sets its agenda to draw attention to this out-of-touch fantasy world.

Disney Sucks


The political economy approach to these films studies how Disney produces its products in economic terms and the way it pays its employees. The cultural studies approach discusses how Disney affects the culture of its audience on a grand scale. Lawrence Grossberg, while criticizing the separation of these terms, notes that “cultural studies ignores the institutions of cultural production, it celebrates popular culture and gives up any oppositional role." These films reveal how Disney is creating America’s culture and selling it for huge profits, a process which is classified under both cultural studies and political economy. Mouse Trapped 2010 portrays Disney as an evil corporation that abuses its employees. The film is very effective with its use of personal stories, continual sad music, and exposing Disney’s true operations. A lady shares her story of Disney failing to put a light in the trailer she works in. She believes that Walt Disney would not want his company treating its employees so terribly. The fantasy world that Disney creates is opposite to the way in which the corporation operates. Mickey Mouse Monopoly exposes how Disney has an extremely large influence on American culture. In one scene, a series of logos representing media outlets that Disney owns is displayed on the screen to show how Disney is controlling the American culture. Disney creates a spectacle of innocence that the executives hide behind because Disney has a monopoly on the market on how it represents itself. Since Disney has such a fun and entertaining reputation, people have difficulty criticizing it for its corrupt and sinful operations.