Media @ Magic Hat Mardi Gras/ Media Meditation #2

This Saturday I attended A Mardi Gras themed celebration sponsored by The Magic Hat Brewery, It took place on Church Street in Burlington VT, it involved many events and a parade. Shown below is the schedule of the days festivities, footage I uploaded to youtube and some pictures I took from the parade.

Mardi Gras Church Street Celebration schedule:
(obtained from http://www.magichat.net/mardigras2010)

12pm-1pm: Swing Band Caravan of Thieves plays on the top block of Church St
12pm: Registration for the King & Queen of Mardi Gras Costume Contest begins outside City Hall on the lower block of Church St. Winners get $500 EACH and will help lead off the Grand Parade with Alan Newman and Mayor Bob Kiss.
12pm-5pm: Magic Hat Mardi gras Headquarters open at the former Maplehurst Florist space on Church St for all your bead, mask and Mardi Gras needs.
12pm-2:30pm: Concert poster artist Jim Pollock signs handmade Mardi Gras prints to benefit WRCC at the former Maplehurst Florist space on Church St. For more info on the availability of Pollock's prints, see our Pollock Print blog post.
12:30-1:30pm: Sambatucada warms up the crowd with their unique Afro-Brazillian beats in front of City Hall
1:30pm: The Mardi Gras Costume Contest concludes as Alan Newman crowns the King & Queen and hands over $500 to EACH of the winners in front of City Hall
2pm-2:30pm: Gypsy-Swing Band Caravan of Thieves plays on the top block of Church St.
2pm-2:30pm: Sambatucada warms up the crowd with their unique Afro-Brazillian beats in front of City Hall
3pm: The Grand Parade begins to wind its way through downtown Burlington!
After the Parade:: The Mardi Gras Parade Post-Party begins as soon as the last float has been filed away. Hit the purveyors of potables and foodstuffs around the Marketplace and fill up on New Orleans cuisine, Magic Hat beer and friendly folly with folks from all over the world."








This was a media experience from many different angles, using the power tools listed below helped me decipher exactly how it relates to Mass Media.
eight shifts

I identify this celebration as fitting into a cultural or Economic shift for it is influenced by the celebration of Mardi Gras but also has some other unique aspects for its sponsorships and Location. Not only did the Vt based brewery, Magic Hat, sponsor it but several local and national businesses either had a float in the parade or had some other form of advertising or sponsorship. The combination of cultures and commercialism displayed throughout the day and celebration helped me decide on this.


Applying 7 out of these 10 Basic Principles of Media Education:
Value Message Principle
The celebration, parade and many represented businesses all brought along several value messages both intended and unintended for us to pick up on. I found that the celebration brought on a tradition or cultural message however each individual business brought on their own specific messages as well. For example Jet Blue had multiple people dressed in plane customs throwing out blue colored potato chips, this appealed to the consumers and was a clever way of getting the "Blue" or Jet Blue name and meaning to the public.

Ownership
The fact Magic Hat Brewery was the main sponsor of the event made it clear of their influence, however other participating businesses used several techniques to influence or advertise. An Example was the floats in the parade giving away product samples, Mardi Gras beads, candy, playing music and displaying large signs or banners. This clearly got attention to these businesses and their role in the celebration.

Emotional Transfer Principle
In my opinion the friendly and social environment Magic Hat Brewery presented was to transfer this event or emotion to their symbol or products. Not only was their existing persona of a talented fun brewery present but a new friendly cultural aspect could be interpreted as well. I found that this could be interpeted many differnt ways depending on your age and background but regardless of how it was interpreted they were aiming for an enjoyable family oriented experience.

Persuasive Techniques to Analytical Tools

Symbols: Magic Hat Brewery along with the several other businesses involved in the celebration all presented symbols relating to their products or services. In addition the Mardi Gras culture was represented through the many traditions found both in this celebration and in the native Mardi Gras in New Orleans .

Bribery/Flattery
The majority of represented businesses had give-aways some examples were candy, beads, key chains or small toys. Although they may have not been bribing us consumers technically, they were aiming for some exposure or flattery. A major example was Boloco restaurant, this not only drove people in to get a free burrito and maybe something else but also caused much commotion outside of the storefront.

Humor
The celebration as a whole was to be a fun festive experience, I felt a light or funny attitude going along with it. I found many of the floats in the parade were also using humor as a backbone to their ideas and representations.

Plain Folks/Group Dynamics
This celebration and parade consisted of many volunteers or locals. This level of participation showed how much of a community effort it was and provided for a common, local feel. In addition they made every volunteer or way of helping be pointed out and appreciated.

Warm Fuzzies
The upbeat attitude the celebration, parade and crowd gave off along with the many clever floats persuaded through this method of "warming your heart".

RSS feeds PHISH Phans dedication/ MEDIA MEDITATION #1

RSS feeds help keep me informed of any updates or new information that is posted on with my favorite websites. It checks the websites I subscribe to for any new information and informs me as soon as anything new becomes available. This drastically saves time and changes the way we surf the web. If your not using one you should be so you can avoid checking multiple different websites in an attempt to stay up to date. Insted with RSS feeds you use one,, an RSS reader or in my case google reader, where a part of my email google reader will inform me of any updates on the websites your subscribed to. Shown below is a tutorial on how to use RSS










Thanks to these RSS feeds anyone can stay up to date with all their used websites. This means for Phish Phans like myself that we can now stay up to date and be notified on phish's where abouts, future plans and members lives or solo acts. Before I took advantage of RSS feeds, I had to check multiple websites very often in order to stay up to date with their news,however now I can can check my RSS reader and it will provide any new uploaded information on the sites ive subscribed too. This has helped me save time and consolidate my web browsing. In addition the feeds notify you rite as the new material or updates come out, I am notified about Phish concert reviews and set-lists almost immeadiatly following the end of a show. This keeps me informed of the shows I cant make or couldn't have in the past.







Below is a clip from Phish's Albany concert, one of the stops along their tour I made it to. They are playing the song You Enjoy Myself also known as YEM, this is one of their most well known songs.




What makes phish such a well known, respected and unique band is their live performances and their phans. A phish concert isnt just a show it is an experience, their light shows are mind blowing, the crowds energy is unmeasureable and their live jam sessions take your mind on a wild ride. Each of their concerts is original in terms of the songs performed, the order of them, and the way in which they are performed, just proving my case of how I have yet to attend a concert that puts on a better show then phish, and for this reason I am a proud phish phan. "Phish is Americas Greatest Jam Band"- The Rolling Stone



now for deciphering phish shows and RSS feeds from a media perspective using the mass media power tools

eight shifts

I find RSS feeds to be a product of evolution in media convergence and is most fitting to be labeled as a Aesthetic shift for RSS feeds bring several internet available mediums together. This helps demonstrate the extent in which technology and its availability is progressing.

Applying 7 out of these 10 Basic Principles of Media Education to RSS feeds and phish shows:

I find a major aspect to both Phish recordings and live shows is their production techniques. Recordings of phish shows or documentary dvds featuring their shows all capture the essence of their one of a kind performances, from the lighting with ideal camera angles and to the meaning behind their songs with editing techniques. In addition their live shows lighting and visual effects are the best of any band in my opinion. The way they sync and coordinate the lights with the music creates their unique atmosphere and provides for a deeper level of enjoyment.



Value Messages, Individual meaning, Emotional Transfer
Phish promotes value through the enjoyment they get from their occupations and shows consisting of improvisational jam's. This builds value to their music and name from their dedicated Phan base, music fans or other musicians. Many of their songs have a lot of meaning or stories behind them, resulting in the attended meaning Phish wants to give off and leaving the possibility for even more meaning through each individuals reaction to the song or concert experience. In addition the environment or atmosphere found at Phish shows is really one of a kind, the energy felt is unmeasurable. Everyone is almost linked or connected on some level by Phish's performance. When attending shows there are points when I will be looking around at the crowd and taking it all in, I feel this sense of community and appreciation for music not felt anywhere else before. I think everyone should attend a Phish show at some point for they are a truly unique experience.

Persuasive Techniques to Analytical Tools

Symbols: Phish's symbol brings with it strong meaning and is very recognizable. They stand for jam bands and music appreciation and they bring along a reputation that reflects this.


Humor
Phish uses humor through their past antics at live shows and some of their songs. Many funny events have taken place at phish shows, some planned by the band members and other unplanned events were made humorous by their funny easy going attitudes. A major example is in one new years show they rode on a giant hot dog, in another instance they altered their lyrics to a song to fit the event of a streaker at one show. They changed the lyrics to run like an antelope to run like a naked man, "run like an antelope out of control" to "run like a naked guy across the stage". This captured their goofy attitude an improvisational performance skills.

Plain Folks/Group Dynamics
Phish started as a group of friends having fun jamming together at UVM. For the most part they have maintained this plan folk mentality throughout their careers. They promote this were just having fun attitude at shows and this adds to the experience of attending one.

Warm Fuzzies
The joy found within a phish phan or phish concert goer during a jam session is hard to describe. Their upbeat melodies, meaningful lyrics and contagious happiness found at their shows provide for an uplifting experience unlike any other concert I have attended.


phish shows are an experience because many parts of your brain are being simulated constantly. Your mesmorized by the lights and near flawless guitar,bass, drums and piano playing. The music takes you for a fun wild ride, if you haven't been to a phish show you should really consider it for there really is no other band like them.

the pursuit is on hold due to media meditation on the State of the union adress

After Watching the state of the union address on youtube located at the link to the right I answered some questions assigned to me in my Mass Media Class.

Triune Brain- The neocortex part of my brain is being stimulated when I am comprehending Barack obama's speech and I am using my higher brain functions to interpret and find reasoning behind the information he is providing. My limbic part of brain is being stimulated because of president Obama's rhetorical presentation. His speech is slow and steady, giving me a feeling of a form of guidance or authority. When I hear the applause of the crowd I get a sense of comfort or trust, knowing they agree and support his ideas. In addition his tone of voice changes while speaking on different issues, this helped me relate to how he viewed this situations.

EIGHT TRENDS -

What i took away from obama's speech made me notice a shift on political, economic and cultural aspects. It looks to me like he is aiming for is a positive shift in all of these in order to improve the lifestyles for us.

SEVEN PRINCIPLES - The Production techniques used and reality construction established helped instill more meaning or emotions creating valuable messages. The different angles used showing people either mentioned or agreeing with what Obama said and this helps you get a larger view on the subject matter and how others feel about it. President Obama was telling us what we deserve and what is currently not working within our lives, giving us an idea of what our ideal reality should be. The way he presents his speech and the crowds reactions gave it more meaning and value to myself.

29 TECHNIQUES OF PERSUASION -

Symbol: The american flag shown in the background behind president Obama, in addition to the one found on his pin shows his pride and dedication in america.

Simple Solutions: he provides many different ideas on how to reach solutions with problems on terrorists, nuclear weapons, the war in iraq, healthcare, climate change and tax cuts.

Rhetorical Questions: He provokes questioning and exploration by using open ended questions.

Scapegoating-He blames terrorists and other countries who either have done wrong doings or ignored their obligations stating they will face consequences

Group Dynamics- Obama refers to the united states population and himself as "We" constantly throughout the speech."we are america"

Plain folks- he mentions many different examples of americans, appealing to the common citizen.

strength- Obama's speech provides strength on his ideas working towards the ability to improve the united states strength as a country.

IYOW

President Obama is suggesting that change we are aiming for is still attainable because the spirit of determination and optimism will remain constant within us citizens of Americans.

List THREE specific "facts" he provides to support his thesis.

" this war is ending and all of the troops are comming home"

"we made the largest increase in investment for veterans last year"

"As Irans leaders continue to ignore there obligations they will face growing consequences...that is a promise."