In class questions (dec 12)

1. Ikea Monkey meme

I find this particular meme to be funny, because it references The Dark Knight Rises, which is a movie that I watched recently and quite enjoyed. In the meme, the monkey is being compared to the character Bane because in the movie he wore a similar coat, and said "When Gotham is ashes, then you have my permission to die."

2. Australian DJ dilemma

In this situation, I do believe the Australian DJs are to blame. I think it would have been a funny prank and they did not cross any boundaries during the actual prank, but they broke a law by playing it on radio without the nurse's permission. If only they asked...

Interesting Article pertaining to Canadian Forces Reserves

http://www.cp24.com/news/military-jury-still-deliberating-in-case-of-reservist-1.1063114

In the above article, a Canadian Forces Reservist's court case is being discussed. Apparently, 1 squad members was killed and 4 were injured when a training course went awry. A claymore mine was pointed in the wrong direction when it detonated during a training course. The members of the squad in question were not following proper safety procedure at the time, and Major Darryl Watts is to blame, as he was in charge at the time.

This case is particularly interesting me, because I am considering joining the Canadian Reserves as a part time job, starting in April. Hearing about incidents like this are concerning, but I am only planning on joining for a part time position, so I'm not as worried.

ATTACHED: Picture of a claymore mine.

Sharkwater

1) I think some of the Shark Finner's side of the story was omitted, for an example, it may be the only income that family has.  The message that Rob Stewart is trying to convey is a positive message, so I don't mind that he has biased his documentary in his favor.

2) Rob Stewart and his friends seem to be unaware of the conditions that some of these shark finners.

3) I agree with the message of Rob Stewart  because it's an environmental friendly message, which will help us create a sustainable future.

4) It was clearly biased twords Rob Stewart, like when it played calm music during the shark parts and showed sharks being very calm and 'cute', while only portraying the finners uglier scenarios.

5) I do not agree with the courts overruling of the Shark Fin  Ban. First of all, I do not agree with the fact that sharks are being finned in the first place, because I find it very cruel. Secondly, the fact that they are calling it culturally biased is completely nonsense because the person who proposed the ban in the first place was of Asian heritage.

Spellbound Questions

1. Because the director wants the viewers to feel attached to the competitors, so they can share and relate to their experiences.

2. The children the documentary followed each displayed different attitudes and religious beliefs. Another thing that made them stand out from each other was their different studying methods and routines.

3. I agree with the way that some of the children acted, because I understand that studying is the key to success, and the hard work payed off in the end.

4.I think it left out many aspects of the home and school life of the children, and some of the parents may be putting more pressure on their kids than is shown.

5. Depending on the environments the children were interviewed in, I could make various judgement about each child.

News and Bias questions

1. I think that although Karl Rove as clear ties to the republican party, it is acceptable that he has been hired by Fox News because they are known to be very right wing. People who watch Fox News are not expecting an un-biased opinion.

2. It is in Karl Rove's best interest to delay the call because if Romney wins he will get tax cuts.

3. Because Trump has a reputation to keep, but he is posting clearly biased and immature tweets. It is evident that he is right wing and upset about Obama's victory.

Definition of Meme

1.

A meme ( /ˈmiːm/; meem)^[1] is "an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture."^[2] A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena. Supporters of the concept regard memes as cultural analogues to genes in that they self-replicate, mutate and respond to selective pressures.^[3]

The word meme is a shortening (modeled on gene) of mimeme (from Ancient Greek μίμημα Greek pronunciation: [míːmɛːma] mīmēma, "something imitated", from μιμεῖσθαιmimeisthai, "to imitate", from μῖμος mimos "mime")^[4] and it was coined by the British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins in The Selfish Gene (1976)^[1][5] as a concept for discussion of evolutionary principles in explaining the spread of ideas and cultural phenomena. Examples of memes given in the book included melodies, catch-phrases, fashion and the technology of building arches.^[6]

Proponents theorize that memes may evolve by natural selection in a manner analogous to that of biological evolution. Memes do this through the processes of variation, mutation,competition and inheritance, each of which influence a meme's reproductive success. Memes spread through the behaviors that they generate in their hosts. Memes that propagateless prolifically may become extinct, while others may survive, spread and (for better or for worse) mutate. Memes that replicate most effectively enjoy more success, and some may replicate effectively even when they prove to be detrimental to the welfare of their hosts.^[7]

A field of study called memetics^[8] arose in the 1990s to explore the concepts and transmission of memes in terms of an evolutionary model. Criticism from a variety of fronts has challenged the notion that academic study can examine memes empirically. However, developments in neuroimaging may make empirical study possible.^[9] Some commentators^[who?] question the idea that one can meaningfully categorize culture in terms of discrete units. Others, including Dawkins himself, have argued that this usage of the term is the result of a misunderstanding of the original proposal.^[10]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meme

2.

A meme is a popular reference that can be in the form of an image or text. Memes spread quickly because of how popular they are, and they usually have comedic value. They're like inside jokes that everyone understands.

3.

4.
This meme is called FBF or, Foul Bachelor Frog. Originating from 4chan (as most memes did), Foul Bachelor Frog represents the lifestyle of a Bachelor who is particularly unhygienic,lazy and foul. I can relate to this meme because I'm quite lazy. I'm not unhygienic though, I swear.

Trend Tracking

The trend that my group (Me, Kieran, Sami, Elijah) has chosen is Apple products. We will present our assignment in a PowerPoint presentation. The target audience we will be looking at is teenagers.