Presidential Emails

I noticed something a long time ago, but now I suppose it's interesting enough to discuss considering it has to do with President Obama. So, I decided to subscribe to the Obama campaign way back when and after doing so I started to receive all of these emails from... well someone, but certainly not Barack Obama himself. Anyway, the emails have subject lines that say "hey" or "I hear you" and other similar phrases like that. It's interesting to me that when I open them, they are usually in regards to a current event that has happened (debates, conflicts, etc) and it's always a message ending with a donation plea, of course. However, it's the simple things like the subject lines which start to trigger a personal connection with not only President Obama, or the campaign in general, but to a "side" of the rope in a sense. It is wise of whoever is actually running the networking portion of this campaign to be so lighthearted and free about what they are saying to the subscribers, not only in the message but simply the very beginning to the email.

Complete Vice Presidential Debate 2012: Joe Biden vs. Paul Ryan - Oct 11...

Centre Celebrates

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=j3roG09O6T4

The Vice Presidential debate held at Centre College is being tagged as "flawless" by the media.  This was the second time that Centre hosted a debate, the first being held in 2000. After watching the debate I realized that this debate went by flawlessly not only because of the venue, but the overall passion towards the purpose of the debate was much greater than that of the Presidential debate. I felt as though both Joe Biden and Paul Ryan contributed to the event in respectably but also allowed for comic relief and relentlessness on their parties position. It was almost as if Joe was making up for President Obamas exhaust and Paul Ryan was making up for Mitt Romneys arrogance.

 It is always interesting to me that the Vice Presidential debates are held in settings much more calm and relaxed but almost seem to be the more dynamic of the debates. What I mean is that the settings are intimate and almost seem as though the two men are simply conversing at a business table. Which brings up another point... the settings to me do feel as if the two men are in a business meeting, and I find that much more inviting in a sense. There just seems to be a motive to get things figured out, and to share instead of attack. 

A friend of mine attends Centre and was one of the lucky students selected to sit in on the debate. I spoke to her about the experience and she explained that she sat relatively far away, but was still able to focus on the event just fine. She explained that it was indeed a calm environment but that the "moments" that is, the more emotionally charged moments were not so much awkward (as it was in the presidential debate) but enlightening, even if they could have been awkward. She also stated that she felt as though she obtained more information from the VP candidates than she did from the Presidential candidates (which I may just have to agree). I don't know if it was because she was able to attend this debate, but she feels as though she felt more centered with her political position for this election because she had the opportunity to experience a sort of "meeting" that is of the upmost importance in our current nation. I am just jealous of her in the end :)

"Eye Of The Sparrow" — A Bad Lip Reading of the First 2012 Presidential ...

Yet another funny video found.

This one is just hilarious, but there is a  very interesting dialogue made in this video with race, religion, and the puppet and robot comments made by Romney, plus more. The entire video does have an intellectual quality to it and more so in my opinion represents a carefree way of thinking about the debate. Some of the events that take place in the video correspond to some of the events that took place in the actual debate, but transforms it into a funny way of looking at what people came away from with the actual event. I believe that this video would also make for an interesting discussion in class because it touches on the imagery made during the debate and that imagery as it is viewed by others. Playing off of the discussions in class about the ability for us to have visual representation on what is going on, and the way in which we can skew and rearrange certain aspects of these abilities to create the lip reading effect. I think that the current media in our lives give freedom to manipulate and express alternative perspectives, which ultimately give us the ability to "give back" to what we are being fed everyday.

Mitt Romney Style

This week I was introduced to a new Mitt Romney parody and I have to say, it's the funniest parody on a politician I've seen. It amazes me that people spend the time and money to create parodies, but what I've come to find is that there is something very special about there impact, especially come election time! I think that with parodies it's all about the catchiness of it all, and this parody is as catchy as they come.

I think it would be interesting to discuss the position of parodies in our class, considering the fact that these types of videos seem to reach college students more readily than some of the actual events taking place. I find it really funny that this particular parody mimics that of rap videos and deals primarily with that of wealth and fortune. It makes me feel a separation to Mitt even more so, but in turn makes him a certain figure in my life, regardless of whether he ends up becoming one to "make fun of".

There are also a wide range of interest when it comes to the comments that other viewers make. I almost find it more interesting to read what others say about the video, and also simply what they have to say.  Some people go off topic and discuss their opinions while others just comment on the hilarity of it. There is something to say for the reactions of others, because those reactions lay out a discussion about how media can trigger our emotions, even if the emotions are intended to be a simple way of playing the political game.