Social Media = Social Change

I think one of the most powerful pieces of media these days, would not only be internet, but a certain website in particular, FACEBOOK. The much talked about/criticized/praised, website in the entire world.  Facebook hold power over almost any charity or promotion website. When people go on facebook, they are immediately connected to friends, family, and strangers.  Company's that post or advertise charitys and events on facebook are guaranteed to recieve at twice as much attention as they would if they were not advertised on Facebook.  I recently saw a commercial on a cause for helping purify water in africa, the commercial even said "find us on facebook" and there is an application for the charity on facebook, that for every "like" they recieve on their group, they will filter one bottle of water for someone in africa.  This shows the amount of power and influence social media has on the public, when someone invites people on their "friend list" into a group or charity, 90% of the time the person will join the group simply because they feel bad, and think people will look down upon them if they decline it. This works well for charities because it makes the group expand hugely. So overall, i think social media is an important part of social change today.

Kanye West's Video - RUNAWAY

My thoughts on Kanye Wests' new and first video are the following; I thought the story line went well with the lyrics, each song worked well for the different scenes in the film.  I thought that the message he was trying to get across might be that its okay to be different and if anything its a good thing? I'm not entirely sure, what makes me think this is the scene where he takes the girl wearing all the feathers into the room with the people all in white suits all looking the same, a man turns to him and says "your girlfriend is very beautiful" he then continues to say "did you know shes a bird, like a monkey in a zoo" and Kanye stands up and begins the song "runaway". It seemed like he was standing up for the girl and didnt care that she stood out from the crowd because thats what he liked about her, that she was different and unique, once again, I'm not sure if thats the message he was trying to get across, but thats a bit of a sense I got from it.  Another scene that made me think this is when the girl begins to talk about the ballerinas and how they are "turned to stone", they all looked the same it was almost as if they had no identity. I think it was a good first video for Kanye West, and knowing how he is, I'm sure there will be more to come, I dont particularly like Kanye West's personality, hes arrogant and completely obsessed with himself, but i guess he can afford to be.  Im sure there will be many more films by him in the future. Does anyone know what the film is actually about?

Coke? or Pepsi?

Coke or Pepsi, which to choose, both look and to most, taste very similair, so why do we choose one over the other? could it be Coca Cola's long time campaigns dating back to the 40's that even our generation recognizes, or is it Pepsi's clever commercials and advertising techniques that stick in our head. Personally, I enjoy the taste of both Coke and Pepsi, I can taste the difference between the two very easily, yet I still find they taste very similair.  If I were to order food at a restaurant and the asked me "Coke or Pepsi?" I would choose Pepsi,  I like the sweeter taste of it,  I drink pop on a regular bases, diet only, reguardless of "how bad it is for you" I love the taste, and its zero calories! can't go wrong there.  I would definately consider pop to be in the "junk food" category, that being said, I think diet pop is not considered a "junk food" because there are no calories or sugar.  Yes there are tons of chemicals to make up for the fact that they dont use sugar, but the taste is amazing.  When it comes to eating properly, I've been raised with healthy eating my entire life, I love eating healthy and eating vegetables, fruits etc. I like to keep my weight and appearance completely under control, and eating the right foods helps me achieve that.  That being said, when it comes to eating "junk food" I could live off of it, I absolutely love it. Anything from chips, candy, cookies, cake, brownies, ice cream I will eat.  The problem I have with junk food is that once I start eating it, I cant stop.  There's no "saving some for later" when it comes to that, if theres a bag of chips, I'll eat the whole bag. Its a love/hate relationship.

Toronto Mayoral Debate 2010

I will be voting at this years debate, for the first time ever, I think its important to get your vote in for who will be in charge of your city, its a new experience and can turn out in your favour. 
Friends of mine will not be voting, most of my friends are living in Quebec city, others live in Las Angelas California, for the ones currently living in Toronto, I believe they won't be voting, its not a particular priority or interest to them.  I can understand that because they all live with their parents, as do I, I'm simply voting because its something I can now do since I turned 19. I'm not taking it extremely seriously but I would be happy if the person I voted for was elected. The main issue in Toronto that i think the elected mayor should be focussing on is cutting TTC fares, and lowering the price of metro pass's.  The cost keeps getting higher and I think some people who take the TTC are finding it challenging to take this "cheaper way of transit" when the costs keep raising.

  Another issue I find equally as important is lowering the cost of gas, which has been rising extremely high over the past few years.