The Bus Story

When you’re looking for an exciting ride, take the bus.

Those who have cars don’t often get to experience the culture that is a part of the UTA Transit System. Inside those dark windows there are everyday people who have absolutely no similarity with one another, which only adds to the entertainment.

The bus has all sorts of people riding it. They’re readers, gamers, listeners and they all have their own agenda, including the driver.

“I almost hit that guy! Ope, on his cell phone,” said the driver as he barely stopped before barreling into a car.

“My money’s on you winning,” said a passenger.

“Well I tried, and I missed.”

Along with assuming all bus drivers have a sense of humor, others on the bus must be having the same feelings. “I feel like every time I look up, I make eye contact with someone,” was a woman’s understanding of the experience, being by herself for the ride.

Those coming on and off usually are not together; bus riders are most often on a solo trip. This is all unless they’re homeless. According to the Salt Lake City Globe there was over 4000 homeless people every night in 2007, and apparently they board the bus in packs.

“Yeah I hope Obama does what he promised he would,” was the voice of one of the three that congregated in the back of the bus. They didn’t keep the conversation to themselves however, other passengers chimed in to give their take.

There is nothing to look at outside, so listening to the passengers are a great source for entertainment.
Entertainment can come from all angles. A Hispanic family came on the bus and a UTA employee escorted them on. She told the driver to make sure they get to a certain stop. The driver did just that and the family, including a small child and a stroller, was able to get home safe and sound.

The seats are uncomfortable, some of the passengers can smell and the phrase most often muttered is “There goes my stop.” However, the Provo bus system is a bit friendlier than expected and safer as well. Dirty, cloudy windows seem to hide what’s really inside.

Movie Review: Madagascar 2

2nd times the charm

Madagascar 2 is just as funny as the first and more.

When the team of lost New York Zoo animals tries to get off their human less island of Madagascar, they instead land in Africa. They don’t know the significance of where they wound up, but quickly discover this “middle of nowhere” is a lot more familiar than they first expected.

Alex (Ben Stiller) the lion, Gloria (Jade Smith) the hippo, Melman (David Schwimmer) the giraffe and Marty (Chris Rock) the zebra make up the movie’s main team. Plus, the always-funny military penguins and King Julian with his two counterparts have their own little adventure alongside the grand scheme.

The film served its purpose in making the audience never stop laughing as well as showing the common favorite characters, the penguins and King Julian, much more than the first installment. Thanks to the characters already being developed, the story got started and the movie was past any introduction and already to the bulk before it even began. The comedy was well represented for both adult and child scenarios.

Warning: watch the first movie
Why: the second one is much more enjoyable and laughable if the characters and mannerisms are already established

So, if you haven’t seen the first, rent it for a buck at a redbox, than hit the theatre for the second.

There is a precaution, prepare yourself for a lot of the old lady from the first movie; she leads the antagonists in the second. She certainly doesn’t ruin the film, but her part is someone overdone and annoying at times. She does, however, get what she deserves in the end.

I give Madagascar 2 a 7.5 out of 10.

ch.11 q.2

         

 Advertising has always been a form of manipulation that's "ok". In the end, advertising has not always been the most ethical way to get the word out. All the random blinking pictures during the movies, the army trying to recruit soldiers by displaying untrue promises. There are so many things that are wrong with advertising. However,  like the advertising professor said, if you blame advertising for the bad things, you have to blame them for the good things. So, I do. I love advertisements and there entertainment value. Even the late night infomercials I enjoy to watch. They can reach the confines of your home, get into my mind, and make me honestly think I want what they have to offer. For the longest time I thought cingular had the least amount of dropped calls, so I bought a cingular phone. Then I read an article saying the company would have to quit airing there commercials beca

use facts were proved that the information was incorrect. I was lied to! And yet I believed! Oh well, but what I am saying is it can deceive and perhaps stop kids from doing drugs, either way,they are effective and should be allowed. 

ch.11 q.1

          The two ad campaigns that I think are good are the Itunes and Geico series. My definition of good is entertaining and convincing. I have seen them so much that I can think to myself of what I want the next one to be like. When I start wanting to think of my own commercials, thats when I know they got me. The ads that I could never see again are the low budget ones such as United Cash and CARR Chevrolet. Yeah I can remember all the different lines and plugs of each commercial, but it was only to make fun of it. Commercials should be reminisced, not completely made fun of. The Itunes and Geico commercials have reoccurring themes, the car place and cash advance are just perfect for muting or getting a beverage. They have to stun me, they have to blow me away. After watching the sony commercials, I am ready to get a Sony HD television. 

ch.14 q.1

Well there are somethings that are absolutely not ok for any audience. These include

                - nudity

                - the "F" word

                - religious attacks

The other two are not so cut and dry. If it was a personal thing, I would say no mention of any sexual behaviors outside of basic sex. 

                - anul, masterbation, gay marriage

The last would be to not have anyone have sex that is in high school

                - high school sex

Although I am cutting this out, it is sad to make me think that it would still be ok for there to be sex at all before marriage to be represented. If I had my way, I would ask for it not to be promoted, perhaps mentioned, but rarely any visual showing of sex. I think I could keep a respectable audience with all these parts. Sex sells but content earns followers. 

ch.13 q.1

          I have a problem with a lot of the music artists displaying there bodies all over the place. There album covers are becoming less and less clothed. That display of public expression prevents me from purchasing the CD. I can't let any of my friends or family see what kind of CD I'm listening too. I can't imagine my mom finding a cover of a practically nude woman on the cover of my favorite band CD

          The most apparent example I can think of is Janet Jackson, displaying her bust for over 140 million people. While Janet's fame was dampened, Justin, who was a part of the planning for the whole incident. His career just took off! All because of the strip tease? Are you serious? This is a problem, should I rip off a co-workers clothing just to get well known in a company. No of course not, as soon as extreme behavior brings fame, thats when I stop listening. 

Ch.12 Q.2

          Promotion is my dads middle name. He is a marketing engineer and he know how to promote products like nobody's business. Methods that are exaggerated and blown out of proportion are commonly used and it's really difficult to find any litigation against them. There was a string of Cingular ads that consisted of the phrase "the service with the least amount of calls." This was researched by an independent firm and actually found out to be not true. We just simply can't trust all the promotions that we hear. They all have half truths associated with them, and when they are found to be fake, little retaliation is made by those that are deceived. While there are way less of the extreme cases, there are still promotional problems that plague our media.