Attendance Statement

Because I believe attendance is very important I have only missed 3 classes all semester.  I have missed these classes because of mono or the flu and have been sure to email you prior to give you a heads up.  When I have missed I have gotten notes from other classmates and tried my best to come to the next class prepared.  I also attended all of the group meetings we had scheduled throughout our many group projects. 

Thank you so much for a great year!

P.S. Sorry about some of the fonts.  I have tried to fix most of them, however sometimes in publishes in the right font and sometimes it does not.  Even stranger is normally if I go and simply republish it, it will change the font.  Not sure why it is doing this!

Steve Jobs

Steven Paul Jobs was an American businessman and inventor.  He was co-founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Apple Inc. Jobs was co-founder and previously served as chief executive of Pixar Animation Studios; he became a member of the board of directors of The Walt Disney Company in 2006, following the acquisition of Pixar by Disney.

In 2003, Jobs was diagnosed with a rare form of pancreatic cancer. Though it was initially treated, Jobs reported of a hormone imbalance, underwent a liver transplant in 2009, and appeared progressively thinner as his health declined.  In August 2011, during his third medical leave, Jobs resigned as CEO, but continued to work for Apple as Chairman of the Board until his death.

WikiLeaks

WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organization that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news, sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers.  Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organization, claimed a database of more than 1.2 million documents within a year of its launch.  Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder, editor-in-chief, and director.

In November 2010, WikiLeaks collaborated with major global media organizations to release U.S. State department diplomatic cables in redacted format. The release was nicknamed CableGate referencing the Watergate scandal and implying that this release was as dramatic as the Presidential scandal.

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Guerilla Marketing

These are the most successful guerilla marketing campaigns

The Barbie Effect

Ever since we are little girls, in America, we are taught what is beautiful.  We are not only taught this expectation but are expected to fulfill it.  This beauty standard is nearly impossible to fulfill.  If one examines the Barbie doll, a classic representation of ideal beauty, the impractical nature of this beauty standard is easily reviled.  “Researchers generating a computer model of a woman with Barbie-doll proportions found that her back would be too weak to support the weight of her upper body, and her body would be too narrow to contain more than half a liver and a few centimeters of bowel. A real woman built that way would suffer from chronic diarrhea and eventually die from malnutrition. Jill Barad, president of Mattel (which manufactures Barbie) estimated that 99% of girls aged 3 to 10 years old own at least one Barbie doll”.  However impossible this beauty may be, Barbie is still who many compare themselves to. 

UMD Video

A video posted to YouTube, on September 22, 2011, has created quite a controversy, spawning an already 100,000 views.  The video films a discussion between two students; Gustavus Adolphus College student Phil Cleary and UMD student Blair Jordon Moses.  It takes place on September 16, 2011 in front of the Kirby Student Center at the University of Minnesota Duluth campus.  The video, clearly edited, shows Cleary being ‘threatened.’ 

This video demonstrates stereotyping.  “Stereotypes ‘are widely held beliefs about a group of people'".  From the video’s title, we can easily gather that Cleary believes Moses to be a black panther.  Moses is wearing a button containing a picture of the founder of the black panthers and makes a reference to the group, however, he never states he belongs to the group.  Cleary makes this assumption.  The black panthers are often stereotyped as a violent, terrorist like organization.  Therefore, along with the assumption that Moses belongs to the black panthers, comes the assumption that he is violent.  Stereotypes tell us that this organization is violent, prejudice tells us that we should be scared of them.  

Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune is an American game show that premiered in 1975.  Contestants compete to solve word puzzles to win cash and prizes determined by spinning a large wheel.  Wheel of Fortune has the highest ratings of any syndicated television series in history.  It is currently the longest-running syndicated game show in American television history.  

Top 10 Slogans

“A Diamond is Forever”

“Just Do It”

“Got Milk?”

“Where’s the Beef?”

“Great Taste, Less Filling”

“Don’t Leave Home Without It”

“Melts in Your Mouth, Not in Your Hand”

“Does she… or Doesn’t She?

You’re in Good Hands with Allstate”

“We Try Harder”

Source: http://www.qualitylogoproducts.com/lib/10-best-slogans-of-all-time.htm

Christmas Lights

Christmas lights are lights used for decoration around Christmas.  The use of decorative, festive lighting during the Christmas holiday season is a long standing tradition in many Christian cultures, and has been adopted as a secular practice in a number of other non-Christian, or predominantly non-Christian, cultures (notably in Japan).

The tradition of using small candles to light up the Christmas tree dates back to at least the middle of the 17th century. However, it took two centuries for the tradition to become widely established first in Germany and soon spreading to Eastern Europe. 

Candles for the tree were glued with melted wax to a tree branch or attached by pins. Around 1890, candleholders were first used for Christmas candles. Between 1902 and 1914, small lanterns and glass balls to hold the candles started to be used. 

The first known electrically illuminated Christmas tree was the creation of Edward H. Johnson, an associate of inventor Thomas Edison. While he was vice president of the Edison Electric Light Company, a predecessor of today's Con Edison electric utility, he had Christmas tree light bulbs especially made for him. 

Over a period of time, strings of Christmas lights found their way into use in places other than Christmas trees. Soon, strings of lights adorned mantles and doorways inside homes, and ran along the rafters, roof lines, and porch railings of homes and businesses. In recent times, many city skyscrapers are decorated with long mostly-vertical strings of a common theme, and are activated simultaneously in Grand Illumination ceremonies.