Ally Marcus (Valencia Voice)

Internet Essay

sjkeimig@syr.edu (Skah and José) — Mon, 19 Nov 2012 17:09:00 +0000

I, and everyone I know, use the internet every single day. Almost all modern Americans use the internet in some way or another. It has become a fundamental part of both in school and in the workplace. The top four websites I could not live without are YouTube, Facebook, Google, and Wikipedia.

I use YouTube all the time. It is my main mode of finding new music. I rely heavily on YouTube for entertainment. YouTube channels such as Jacksfilms, Britanick, and Barats and Bereta provide quality entertainment through videos with content such as parodies, music videos, and sketches. Now, YouTube is beginning to host its own TV length weekly sitcoms. I have a feeling that I will be using YouTube even more in the future as interesting TV content dwindles. YouTube is probably the only site as of right now that I visit more often on my smart phone than I do off of an actual desktop.

The next website I tend to use frequently is Facebook. Unlike most seventeen year olds, a good portion of my friends do not live in the same town as me, or even in the same state. Facebook allows me to be a part of my friend’s lives even when I live thousands of miles away. I am especially grateful to Facebook for allowing me to connect with my international friend’s on a regular basis. Through Facebook, we can share posts and photos which allows us to stay in contact and share a piece of our culture. Since my phone does not support international calling and texting, Facebook is my only means of communication with many of my friends from places like Norway, Ireland, England, Canada, and Australia. I also use Facebook to keep tabs on my camp friends after summer is over. I go to camp up north, so almost all of my friends there live in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. Facebook makes it easy to stay in contact and share things we otherwise wouldn’t or couldn’t through text.

Lastly, I need Google and Wikipedia to function. Google is my go to site for any and all information. It is the homepage on my laptop. It is easy and quick to use. I also use Wikipedia for similar reasons. I can get a lot of information fast though a Wikipedia page. In the past, Wikipedia was really unreliable, so using it often wasn’t smart, but recently the site has upgraded its content and my life has been made much easier for it. If it weren’t for these two search engines, school work would be ten times harder to complete and I probably would be much less educated. I am prone to looking up random things on the internet when I get bored which leads me to discover knowledge I would otherwise not have.

The internet is used all over the world by billions of people. It has become almost impossible in the modern world to function without internet access. All businesses and school systems rely on the internet to continue its duties and functions. I know my world would be radically different without the internet.

Television Essay

sjkeimig@syr.edu (Skah and José) — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 15:22:00 +0000

I like television. Who doesn’t? I wish I had more time to dedicate to watching TV because there are plenty of shows I would like to see but just don’t have the time to watch. As a general rule, my television habits fall into two categories: cable shows I follow and sports.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a ton of free time. School and various acting jobs keep me pretty busy. That said I do make time for a select few television shows each week. My absolute favorite TV show and probably the only show I follow with gusto is Dexter. Dexter is an hour long program about a serial killer that airs every Sunday on Showtime. I’ve been hooked on Dexter for years. It’s interesting and the writers always keep me on my toes. Dexter is unique as well. There isn’t another show like it on TV. I like that the producers took a huge chance in putting it on air. A show whose protagonist is a serial killer shouldn’t work, but it does. Every week Dexter kills someone and every week I root for Dexter to avoid capture. It defies logic which is probably a large part of the reason I love Dexter. Funnily enough, almost all of the other shows I follow are USA shows. These include White Collar, Covert Affairs, and Common Law. Obviously I’m a huge fan of police thrillers.

My other TV watching habits include a variety of sports programs. ESPN is often playing in my household. I am a huge football fan, so during football season, there is always a game on. On Saturdays, I watch the Gators play. On Sunday mornings I watch Breakfast with the Gators if I went to Gainesville to see the Gators play live the previous day. Sometimes I just re-watch the game on TV Sunday mornings even if I watched it on TV the day before. Sunday afternoons, evenings, and Monday nights are dedicated to NFL football. I am a Jets fan mainly, so depending on when they play decides when I watch. Just last night I went to Hooters with my father and my cousin to see the Jets play Houston. They lost, of course. The Jets are horrible but I continue to find myself rooting for them every year. After football season, I don’t watch nearly as much sports television. All year round I find myself watching Sports Center, but I don’t tune into ESPN nearly as much in the spring. Don’t get me wrong, I like basketball, but it’s just not the same.

Both the shows I follow and ESPN fall under the cable television category. My broadcast TV watching is limited. Sometimes late at night I will watch a news program or talk show with my parents on a broadcast station or a game will be playing on a broadcast station, but that is about it. Honestly, I get most of my news from word of mouth. Right now I happen to be tuning into the Presidential debates, so my broadcast TV watching is up.

TV is a large part of pretty much every modern American’s life and I am no exception. TV is my main form of entertainment after music and it allows me to watch sporting events that are happening across the country live. It’s a great invention and it will most likely remain a large part of my life until the day I die.

Film Essay

sjkeimig@syr.edu (Skah and José) — Sat, 22 Sep 2012 23:15:00 +0000

As an aspiring actress and filmmaker, film is a very important part of my life. I feel that the only place you can see magic happen in this world is through cinema. I try to watch movies whenever I can. I occasionally go to the movie theatre, but mostly I watch DVDs or movies streamed online.

My favorite genre of film is action. I love movies like The Avengers, The Dark Knight, and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. These movies are exciting and I enjoy the special effects. I’m also a bit of a closet nerd, so these films (which are all based off comics) appeal to me. I also enjoy “off-the-cuff” movies. I find that many of the Sundance Film Festival entries are great films. One of my favorites is Daydream Nation which came out in 2010 and starred Kat Dennings. Another fantastic Sundance film was Welcome to the Riley’s. It blew me away. It had deep emotional content and it was able to create a feeling of closeness that Hollywood blockbusters generally cannot. It also made me rethink me prejudices against Kristen Stewart’s acting capabilities. I love movies that can make me think about life, rethink my choices, and make me emotional. I am not easily emotionally moved but the magic of cinema can sometimes really get me.

I normally watch movies at night when I cannot fall asleep or with friends. My friend Robert is a movie buff, so I usually am introduced to multiple good films every time I hang out with him. Just a couple of nights ago, I couldn’t fall asleep and I decided to watch Salt. I had never seen it before, but I had heard good things about it, so I gave it a try. I thought it was pretty good. I really like Angelina Jolie. I respect how versatile she is. For instance, her characters in Girl, Interrupted, Gia, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith are completely different yet she excelled in all three.

I also like some short films. For example, a comedy group called Britanick made a short film called Eagles are Turning People into Horses for their senior project at NYU. It was hilarious. These types of films not only entertain me, but they also inspire me because I know that one day I, too, will be making films for class. I occasionally will search YouTube for student film projects so I can get a feel for what my college experience will be like.

Film is a very important aspect of my life. From the time I was a small child, I wanted to be a performer. I have acted in a few independent films shot in Central Florida which were all a ton of fun. I know that whether I become a successful actress or not, I want to be involved in the film industry. Not only is it where my passion lies, but film also gives people a voice. I can share my thoughts and opinions, as well as affect change, through the art of film.

Reading Essay

sjkeimig@syr.edu (Skah and José) — Thu, 06 Sep 2012 18:51:00 +0000

When I was a child, I loved reading. I couldn’t get my hands on enough books. From Harry Potter to the Series of Unfortunate Events, I always had a book in my hand. Now, I wish I had the time to read like that. Unfortunately, life got in the way of the release I used to find in reading books.

Nowadays I find myself limited to reading books required by school. That is unfortunate because frankly, I dislike most of those novels. I was never a fan of having to work hard to read which is what I find myself doing when I have to read authors like Charles Dickens who wrote in old English. I want to enjoy reading. Also, I do not see the point in reading many of the classics we are required to read. They are hardly culturally relevant and they only succeed in turning everyone off of reading.

Recently, whenever I find the time to read for pleasure, I find myself reading autobiographies or memoirs. I struggle finding fiction I can relate to because I am in an awkward stage between adult and teen reading (I’m seventeen) and I hate vampire novels. I just read Girl, Interrupted by Susanna Kaysen and I absolutely loved it. Over the summer I read Chronicles Vol. 1 which is Bob Dylan’s autobiography. I enjoyed this book as well. Occasionally I’ll pick up a magazine, but I generally don’t like reading them because most of them are tabloid style and slanderous. Usually I’ll get my news by watching it on television, but I have a feeling that this class will probably change my habits regarding newspapers.

I feel that reading can be both magical and bothersome. I already pointed out what I find bothersome in reading, but I can clearly remember a time when books took me away from the monotony of my everyday life. Books have the unique ability of allowing us to live vicariously through others without being labeled as crazy. The Harry Potter series allowed me to be a wizard and the Alex Rider series allowed me to be a teenage spy. As I got older, music biographies and novels that depicted Woodstock allowed me to live a life I’ve always dreamed about. Unfortunately I’m completely tone deaf but these books allowed me to at least pretend for a little while. I think that’s healthy. Books give us hope for ourselves and faith in our abilities.

My goal for this year is to read for pleasure more. I’m really excited that we are reading Cross in class because I’ve heard great things about it and I like James Patterson. Over the summer, on an airplane to Europe, I read one of Patterson’s recent novels Private Games. It was about someone trying to destroy the modern Olympic Games starting in London 2012. It was super interesting and I really enjoyed Patterson’s style. Cross should be good. I’ll be interested to compare the book and the movie then compare those thoughts with the thoughts of the critics.