Don't Give Up On Your Sweetheart

I love this song. It makes me so happy, and it is a true representation of true love in my opinion. It is such a rare thing to see in the media today. I appreciate any piece of work that supports such loyalty and sincere love. I wanted to share it with anyone who hasn't heard it. So if you haven't already heard it have a listen, and if you have here is a chance to experience this cute song once more.

Disney Princess Research Assistant

Ok so first off....I have decided my blog needs more photos of things. After all, it is a blog about media. So here we go.

I just found out I get to be a research assistant to discover the effects of Disney Princesses on little girls! I am so excited to do real research. Research has always scared me a little, but the more I have been in the human development major the more I want to discover new things. Especially about the effects of media, since there is still so much to learn in this field, and it is my favorite field ever. :) I grew up watching the disney princesses and waiting for my prince and all that good stuff - so it will be interesting to find out what the effects really are. Walt Disney was right. Dreams do come true <3

Batman is my Hero

Words cannot express how excited I am for Dark Knight Rises to come out! Ever since Batman Begins hit the theaters, I have been completely in love. I feel it is the only Batman attempt (and there has been a lot) that really takes the animated series and puts it into a realistic context. I love the morals and perfect portrayal of the character Bruce Wayne. I know many people do not like the Dark Knight because they feel it is dark --- and it is --- if you focus on the joker being the star. Batman is true through and through for the whole thing against the most vicious of villains, in yet, people still seem to give him the back seat of this film because of Heath Ledger's (RIP*) amazing performance. I am not discrediting that at all, but I feel the incredibly dark villain Heath Ledger created only made the light shine brighter from Bruce Wayne, because he remained the hero despite it all. He did whatever must be done to protect Gotham. Batman is an example of the hero we can all be inside when we stay true through the worst of circumstances. Batman is unwilling to falter. He is a true hero. He does not have to have a super power to be this and neither does anyone else. Batman is the hero that proved to all of us as kids that we do not have to have some gift or power to be amazing. We have to be true and disciplined. Batman is only human, and he has his weaknesses, but he is my hero, and I can't wait to see him in action again. I hope Christopher Nolan doesn't disappoint! (haha....like that would ever happen)

Study Breaks on Facebook

Well, this week I have had far fewer encounters with the media than usual. I had midterms in all of my classes, and all I did was study study study. I am so happy it is over, and I even did good. :D I am so happy I am surviving my 9 credit semester! So as I reflected on what I could write this week about the media, I realized how often I used Facebook as an escape from studying. I found myself every few hours thinking, 'I need a break. I better check my Gmail and Facebook just in case.' And almost every time I felt a little disappointed that not much had changed in the few hours I had not checked it. (But at the same time a little grateful so I didn't actually waste a lot of study time checking it. ha) Any who, I realized I definitely use Facebook as an excuse for procrastination and it got me thinking if that is bad? Because at the same time, I could use something that would take more than a few minutes (like a TV show or something) as a break and end up wasting even more time. But sometimes breaks are really necessary. Thoughts? Does everyone else use Facebook as an excuse?

Video Game Addictions

While discussing video game addiction in class the other day, I reflected on my own opinion of how video games effect the world and what can be done. I do not believe that video games are innately bad, but I do think they are all too often abused, which can lead to addiction. Much of the time, video games are used as an escape the world and it sucks away our precious time that could be used for such valuable things. Video games can be an amazing and good leisure activity, but content, context, and amount of time spent on them must be self-regulated. The only way to do this is to develop your own self-control, which often begins with parents helping monitor consumption for children. After reflecting on this, it made me really want to start up some program to help people overcome their addiction to video games. I honestly do believe that it can develop to be a true addiction, and there needs to be some sort of help for people who are hooked and want to get out. I have always been interested in entrepreneurial ventures and just recently won a category in the BYU Business Plan Competition. Maybe it won't ever happen, but it was exciting to think of different methods that could help people overcome this addiction and find different ways to apply research to treatments. So if anyone wants in on this....who knows....maybe we could be one of the first to start a program to help those with a video game addiction. Thoughts????

Harold and the Purple Crayon on iPad

This last weekend, I was able to spend some time with extended family on Mother's Day. The family is at the growing stage where all the cousins are having babies. It was fun to meet the new little ones and see how the older kids had grown. My cousin's daughter Poet had especially grown, though she is still just an infant. At one point during the evening, Poet's mother needed to help one of the other kids wash up and asked me to watch Poet while doing so. Poet is definitely a mama's girl and did not want her mother to leave. She resisted at first, but as soon at her mother pressed play on the iPad to start reading Harold and the Purple Crayon to her, the iPad had her complete attention and she was ok with me sitting with her. It was a simple and cute book. Poet was able to turn the virtual pages all by her self as soon as she recognized the whole page had been read. The pictures would move and appear in accordance to what was being read. As the book read, I noticed Poet began to touch the screen in particular places revealing hidden interactive things. As an example, Harold had drew a purple apple tree with his crayon, and when Poet touched the tree the apples would fall off accordingly. She knew exactly what to touch and even how to make all the apples fall off at once if done just right. This experience made me think back on Dr. Coyne's lesson on infant media. Because of this iPad book, I now am beginning to believe that there could be some good media for infants that help them, despite the controversy discussed in class. The book's simplicity and interactive aspects were very applicable to the way that babies learn, and Poet definitely knew what was going on to some degree. I was truly amazed as I saw it happen before me and was excited I got to apply it to the things I learned in class.

The Avengers!!

On Friday morning, my husband and I decided to see The Avengers to celebrate him finishing his finals at the U. We went at 10:25am, which felt so strange. I have never seen a movie so early in the day. It was a different experience to walk out of the theater and still have the whole day ahead of you! Anyway, I loved the movie! I thought it was funny and entertaining, and I loved all the character development. I loved seeing all the characters come together and interact. Seeing all their different personalities come out and the team work was wonderful. There were good morals portrayed, which is an essential to make a great movie. And thank goodness Potts and Stark were actually together, and they even looked like it in this movie! Great movie! If you haven't seen it go!