Paris has been the sight of disorder as thousands of taxi drivers blockaded the roads to airports and train stations today. These protests are the result of a nationwide protest against Uber, the private transportation service. "French taxi unions have long held grievances against Uber...they argue that enlisting amateur chauffeurs who don't have to pay steep licensing fees gives [Uber] an unfair competitive advantage" (Toor, "French Taxi").
The recent protests have prompted France's interior minister to implement a ban on UberPop in Paris, in hopes of quelling the swiftly-growing protests.
Many aspects of these protests have simply gotten out of hand. When a man in Lyon stated that he would use Uber after a taxi driver refused to take him (because he was on strike), the taxi driver assaulted the man. Just to reiterate: the man took Uber because the taxi driver refused to take him. It is one thing to call for reform, and another to bring violence and harm to the people because a competitor is successful.
Source:
http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/25/8844649/french-taxi-driver-protest-uber-pop-paris
Showing posts with label Wilson Johnson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Wilson Johnson. Show all posts
Thursday, June 25, 2015
Tuesday, June 23, 2015
Blog Post #7: Miss Representation
From post-World War 2 society to today, Miss Representation gives an analysis of women's roles in media. As a male, this was especially informative; many points that they were focusing on were subjects I would never have considered to be an issue. While many were more obvious (such as the sexualization of women in advertising), the one that hit me the hardest was the portrayal of women in the news.
I was surprised when several female news anchors pointed out how many networks had women news casters wearing low-cut shirts and revealing clothing. I'm not saying that I have never seen this before, but rather that it never stood out to me as odd. Perhaps this is because I consume most of the news via internet articles, and not some form of video on the internet or television. As I think more about it, however, perhaps the real reason I never noticed this is because, as the documentary pointed out, society has become so ingrained - so desensitized - to the sexualization of women in the media that it went right past me.
The strongest part of the documentary, in my opinion, was the struggle women have with positions of power in the United States. Pat Mitchell stated that, "a woman in power is often seen as a negative thing...we associate all the worst aspects of power, and we translate those to a woman seeking to achieve power" (Miss Representation). Even in the titles of news articles, they showed how women in politics tend to be associated with negative forms of verbs rather than a neutral form. One example showed how an article used "complains" for a female politician instead of "stated," which trivializes the claims the female politician. Unfortunately, this pattern would be very difficult to miss in media today.
Miss Representation does a fantastic job at revealing the deep-rooted problems of the portrayal of women in mass media, and how it affects women today. Although I was aware of small sections of this argument in the past, I had no idea the negative effects were as serious as they are. Seeing the number of high school kids giving accounts of depression and cutting because they wanted to fit in was heartbreaking. One thing that was also sadly apparent is that this fight has a long way to go before more positive changes take effect.
Source used:
Miss Representation. Dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Netflix. N.p., 2011. Web. 23 June 2015.
I was surprised when several female news anchors pointed out how many networks had women news casters wearing low-cut shirts and revealing clothing. I'm not saying that I have never seen this before, but rather that it never stood out to me as odd. Perhaps this is because I consume most of the news via internet articles, and not some form of video on the internet or television. As I think more about it, however, perhaps the real reason I never noticed this is because, as the documentary pointed out, society has become so ingrained - so desensitized - to the sexualization of women in the media that it went right past me.
The strongest part of the documentary, in my opinion, was the struggle women have with positions of power in the United States. Pat Mitchell stated that, "a woman in power is often seen as a negative thing...we associate all the worst aspects of power, and we translate those to a woman seeking to achieve power" (Miss Representation). Even in the titles of news articles, they showed how women in politics tend to be associated with negative forms of verbs rather than a neutral form. One example showed how an article used "complains" for a female politician instead of "stated," which trivializes the claims the female politician. Unfortunately, this pattern would be very difficult to miss in media today.
Miss Representation does a fantastic job at revealing the deep-rooted problems of the portrayal of women in mass media, and how it affects women today. Although I was aware of small sections of this argument in the past, I had no idea the negative effects were as serious as they are. Seeing the number of high school kids giving accounts of depression and cutting because they wanted to fit in was heartbreaking. One thing that was also sadly apparent is that this fight has a long way to go before more positive changes take effect.
Source used:
Miss Representation. Dir. Jennifer Siebel Newsom. Netflix. N.p., 2011. Web. 23 June 2015.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Blog Post #6: The Boy Who Moved On
Once upon a time, long, long ago the Great River swelled with powerful currents, cold to the touch and rich with life. In these waters swam the biggest and most delicious fish the world had ever seen, and it was because of these fish that the village of Senectus prospered.
In this village lived a young man, Lucto. Three generations of his family had been fishermen of this lucrative village, and he was on his way to becoming one himself. His family was in desperate need of this, as they were poor - Lucto's father had drowned in the Great River fishing one day, leaving Lucto and his mother to fend for themselves. Since the day of his father's death, Lucto's mother had taken ill, but Lucto could not figure out what was wrong with her. Lucto spent day and night caring for her, always willing to do whatever it took to bring her back to health. Some days he would not even leave the house.
Lucto had a secret, however.
Late at night, when no one was around, Lucto would quietly dream of life beyond the village. Somewhere deep down, he knew he wasn't meant to be a fisherman like his father before him. Every day he tried to work up the courage to tell his mother this, but every morning when he brought her food, he could not find the courage to speak his mind. He knew she needed him, and so every day he would shake off the thought, laughing to himself for being so foolish, and yet he felt a piece of him missing. No matter how hard he tried, the thought would return even stronger that night.
This continued for many months until finally he could bear it no longer. As he was about to give his mother her porridge one morning, he set down the bowl and sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her with a far-away look in his eyes for what seemed like hours.
He took a deep breath. This was it.
"It's okay, Lucto."
He blinked.
"I know this isn't where you want to be. I'll be okay. Besides, I've been telling you for weeks
now that my strength is returning, but you're always off somewhere else in that head of yours."
Lucto realized that she was right. He vaguely remembered his mother saying something
every day he brought her breakfast, but had been too focused on making sure everything was perfect that he didn't even listen to what she was saying.
After hugging his mother goodbye, Lucto grabbed what provisions he could fit into his bag and left.
This was it. He was going to leave Senectus for good.
As he left his home and set out on the road to the north, he walked with a spring in his step. He felt an energy he had not experienced since his father was alive. He felt as though he were a knight returning from war, shedding off his armor as he walked into the sunset. He did not know what lay before him on the road ahead, but that didn't matter.He was ready to begin his life.
Shortly after Lucto left, his mother returned to her former self in perfect health. She and Senectus would see many successful and lucrative fishing seasons. Lucto lived to become a great knight in a faraway land, and although he faced many troubles along the journey of his life, he truly lived the rest of his life to its fullest. He, his mother, and the the village of Senectus lived happily ever after.
In this village lived a young man, Lucto. Three generations of his family had been fishermen of this lucrative village, and he was on his way to becoming one himself. His family was in desperate need of this, as they were poor - Lucto's father had drowned in the Great River fishing one day, leaving Lucto and his mother to fend for themselves. Since the day of his father's death, Lucto's mother had taken ill, but Lucto could not figure out what was wrong with her. Lucto spent day and night caring for her, always willing to do whatever it took to bring her back to health. Some days he would not even leave the house.
Lucto had a secret, however.
Late at night, when no one was around, Lucto would quietly dream of life beyond the village. Somewhere deep down, he knew he wasn't meant to be a fisherman like his father before him. Every day he tried to work up the courage to tell his mother this, but every morning when he brought her food, he could not find the courage to speak his mind. He knew she needed him, and so every day he would shake off the thought, laughing to himself for being so foolish, and yet he felt a piece of him missing. No matter how hard he tried, the thought would return even stronger that night.
This continued for many months until finally he could bear it no longer. As he was about to give his mother her porridge one morning, he set down the bowl and sat on the edge of her bed, looking at her with a far-away look in his eyes for what seemed like hours.
He took a deep breath. This was it.
"It's okay, Lucto."
He blinked.
"I know this isn't where you want to be. I'll be okay. Besides, I've been telling you for weeks
now that my strength is returning, but you're always off somewhere else in that head of yours."
Lucto realized that she was right. He vaguely remembered his mother saying something
every day he brought her breakfast, but had been too focused on making sure everything was perfect that he didn't even listen to what she was saying.
After hugging his mother goodbye, Lucto grabbed what provisions he could fit into his bag and left.
This was it. He was going to leave Senectus for good.
As he left his home and set out on the road to the north, he walked with a spring in his step. He felt an energy he had not experienced since his father was alive. He felt as though he were a knight returning from war, shedding off his armor as he walked into the sunset. He did not know what lay before him on the road ahead, but that didn't matter.He was ready to begin his life.
Shortly after Lucto left, his mother returned to her former self in perfect health. She and Senectus would see many successful and lucrative fishing seasons. Lucto lived to become a great knight in a faraway land, and although he faced many troubles along the journey of his life, he truly lived the rest of his life to its fullest. He, his mother, and the the village of Senectus lived happily ever after.
Blog Post #5: Anonymous Strikes Again
Canadian government websites went dark Wednesday due to a DDOS attack from Anonymous. This attack occurred due to the recently-passed anti-terrorism bill, C-51, which "contains a variety of increased powers for the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)" (Payton, "Anti-Terrorism"). Although it is a relatively short bill (62 pages), its contents have been the subject of many protests months before it was passed. One of the biggest subjects of controversy of it is the focus of the word "would" instead of "will."
Many new rules being enacted focus on the potential of someone committing an act of terrorism rather than what he or she plans to do (i.e. a focus on the hypothetical rather than certainties). For example, the threshold of arrest is now lowered so law enforcement can arrest an individual based on suspicion of terrorism alone. One can also now be arrested for promoting terrorism, and radical websites can be taken down (though whether they remain down is another story entirely).
What is interesting is that Canada's current transformation is similar to what was seen with the Patriot Act in the United States in 2001. From both CBC and BBC sources I read, neither made a comparison to it. Although I have read neither the Patriot Act nor C-51 word-for-word, there is a clear commonality between the two. The Patriot Act, similar to C-51, has numerous rules based on suspicion of terrorist activities rather than hard evidence. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the weeks to come.
You can read C-51 here.
Sources used:
"Canadian Government Websites Go Dark after 'cyber Attack' - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 17 June 2015. Web. 18 June 2015.
Payton, Laura. "Anti-terrorism Powers: What's in the Legislation?" CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 01 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 June 2015.
Many new rules being enacted focus on the potential of someone committing an act of terrorism rather than what he or she plans to do (i.e. a focus on the hypothetical rather than certainties). For example, the threshold of arrest is now lowered so law enforcement can arrest an individual based on suspicion of terrorism alone. One can also now be arrested for promoting terrorism, and radical websites can be taken down (though whether they remain down is another story entirely).
What is interesting is that Canada's current transformation is similar to what was seen with the Patriot Act in the United States in 2001. From both CBC and BBC sources I read, neither made a comparison to it. Although I have read neither the Patriot Act nor C-51 word-for-word, there is a clear commonality between the two. The Patriot Act, similar to C-51, has numerous rules based on suspicion of terrorist activities rather than hard evidence. It will be interesting to see how this develops in the weeks to come.
You can read C-51 here.
Sources used:
"Canadian Government Websites Go Dark after 'cyber Attack' - BBC News." BBC News. N.p., 17 June 2015. Web. 18 June 2015.
Payton, Laura. "Anti-terrorism Powers: What's in the Legislation?" CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 01 Feb. 2015. Web. 18 June 2015.
Saturday, June 13, 2015
Blog Post 4 - "I Wasn't Ready"
The pilot for Orange Is the New Black puts Piper Chapman behind bars as she adjusts for what will be the next thirteen months of her life. Until the reason for her incarceration is revealed about halfway through the episode (handling drug money), much is shown about her character; she is kind but light-spirited but is clearly used to getting what she wants. The pilot does not sugar coat her situation, and it shows in her face that she will have a very difficult time transitioning from her life with her supportive fiance, to eating mice for dinner.
During her first day, there is a clear class conflict between the inmates. The "newbies" are dressed in orange, standing out significantly compared to the other inmates. Those who have served more time or whose lives were just altogether difficult, tend to hold power of the weaker, newer inmates. Piper's day goes along relatively well until she begins to talk too much. For example, when asked about her day, she says that "you're not supposed to ask that question," and everyone snickers. She then insults the food in front of the cook, setting her up for failure immediately. There is also a class system between the guards and the inmates as a whole. All guards have superior position to the inmates, but within the inmates, certain inmates have more power over the others, creating a pyramid of influence and power. How does everyone get along, then? All of the inmates, regardless of social position, are in the same place, so they make the best of it when they can. The cool gives yogurt in exchange for favors, and so on. This keeps the inmates from fighting all the time, as there is a common desire to just get through their time.
The show definitely has a focus on sex, and although at first glance it may seem like a ploy to hook viewers to the show, sex is a major part of prison culture in the real world. "Ninety percent of the inmates say they have had sex with another woman while in prison...sex in female prisons tends not to be coercive ("Inside a Maximum Security Women's Prison"). Although I have only watched the pilot, it is clear that this is the case in the show, as Piper sees when walking past the showers on her first day. It will be interesting to see how similar jail culture in the show is to jail culture in the real world.
Source: "Inside a Maximum Security Women's Prison." ABC News. ABC News Network, 4 Nov. 2004. Web. 13 June 2015.
During her first day, there is a clear class conflict between the inmates. The "newbies" are dressed in orange, standing out significantly compared to the other inmates. Those who have served more time or whose lives were just altogether difficult, tend to hold power of the weaker, newer inmates. Piper's day goes along relatively well until she begins to talk too much. For example, when asked about her day, she says that "you're not supposed to ask that question," and everyone snickers. She then insults the food in front of the cook, setting her up for failure immediately. There is also a class system between the guards and the inmates as a whole. All guards have superior position to the inmates, but within the inmates, certain inmates have more power over the others, creating a pyramid of influence and power. How does everyone get along, then? All of the inmates, regardless of social position, are in the same place, so they make the best of it when they can. The cool gives yogurt in exchange for favors, and so on. This keeps the inmates from fighting all the time, as there is a common desire to just get through their time.
The show definitely has a focus on sex, and although at first glance it may seem like a ploy to hook viewers to the show, sex is a major part of prison culture in the real world. "Ninety percent of the inmates say they have had sex with another woman while in prison...sex in female prisons tends not to be coercive ("Inside a Maximum Security Women's Prison"). Although I have only watched the pilot, it is clear that this is the case in the show, as Piper sees when walking past the showers on her first day. It will be interesting to see how similar jail culture in the show is to jail culture in the real world.
Source: "Inside a Maximum Security Women's Prison." ABC News. ABC News Network, 4 Nov. 2004. Web. 13 June 2015.
Marxist Concepts
|
Applications to Orange Is the New Black
|
False Consciousness
|
It is implied that the
guards to favors for the inmates, in exchange for other favors. Since they
also can control "rare" items such as shampoo, it gives them
leverage. This can give a false sense of equality.
|
Class Conflict
|
A clear conflict between
the older and new inmates, as well as the inmates and the guards.
|
Alienation
|
Due to her mannerisms and her accidental insults (as well as the fact that it is her first day), Piper is already being alienated from the rest of the inmates. She will have to adjust if she wants to fit in.
|
Hegemony
|
The physically stronger
inmates have power of the weak.
The guards have power over the inmates |
Tuesday, June 9, 2015
Post #3: Media this Week
Much has happened in the past week, from AT&T shifting away from phone contracts, to Hope Solo's spectacular performance in the opening match in the Women's World Cup on Monday. However, one article hits a little closer to home: a police office drawing his weapon while confronting a group of teenagers at a pool party in McKinney, Texas (you can see the full video from the article here). Although this event happened last Friday, the effects of this event can still be felt, and they certainly won't die down any time soon.
One thing that stood out to me when reading about these three events was style of writing. Of course, with respect to tone it is clear why the police brutality is more somber than Hope Solo's performance or AT&T's new business model.
The police brutality story was primarily factual, at most going into some detail to describe what is seen in the video. This is to be expected since it is a "breaking news" style article, focused on giving the reader the facts. The same can be said for the Women's World Cup article; it briefly recaps the highlights of the game and Hope Solo's performance, as well as some background on her and the team's performance in the past. Ironically, the article that would sound the least interesting was the most pleasant to read.
Even if you simply scan the (already short) article rather than actually read it, it is very easy to understand its subject. The article begins with, "The $200 iPhone is toast" (Goldman, "The death of the $200 iPhone"), which immediately grabs the reader's attention. Goldman then jumps to the "meat" of the article: "Two-year contracts will now only be available at AT&T stores -- online or brick and mortar" (Goldman, "The death of the $200 iPhone"). Even though the subject may not be controversial or dramatic, the author took liberties to "spice" up his writing, including attention-grabbing images such as the one above, and using phrases such as "brick and mortar." Subtleties such as these can make an article stand out among its peers, regardless of the subject matter.
Friday, June 5, 2015
Blog Post #2: A Study in Pink
This pilot episode for Sherlock Holmes holds nothing back in both content and delivery. Although the very beginning has us hurled into the war-torn crevices of Watson's brain, that is the calmest part of the episode. From the moment Watson is introduced to Sherlock, every action and moment has some purpose to the plot of the episode, even if Watson (and even the audience) can't immediately see it.
This is what makes the show so...well, good. Rather than telling us the story, it puts us in the thought process of Sherlock, and therefore essentially forces the viewer to think alongside him. The show takes great care in giving the viewer the opportunity to piece together the clues to solve the problem, but keeps it subtle enough so you have to apply logic to do so. After he has finished analyzing a crime scene, or showing off to someone (friend or foe), Sherlock summarizes every clue he found (and his logic that pieced it together) to come to his conclusion.
Now, on to the semiotics! In the last part of the episode, the murderer waits for Sherlock to choose a bottle, but Sherlock cannot help but to quickly show off his analytical skills to the cabbie (murderer). He picks the murderer apart with these signs (broken down into signifiers and signifieds):
This is a repeated pattern in the show; a new clue (sign) or event is unveiled, Sherlock and Watson spend time analyzing it, and in the end Sherlock makes a breakthrough and shares it with the other characters (and ultimately, the audience), explaining step-by-step the how he came to said conclusion. This pattern supports Propp's argument that all fairy tales are similar in structure. Obviously Sherlock Holmes is not a fairy tale, but there is absolutely a pattern among the episodes (I binged all available series last summer) and can confirm this. I will sometimes take advantage of this pattern and pause when Sherlock is about to summarize his conclusion, and try to list all the clues to see how far off I was.
This is what makes the show so...well, good. Rather than telling us the story, it puts us in the thought process of Sherlock, and therefore essentially forces the viewer to think alongside him. The show takes great care in giving the viewer the opportunity to piece together the clues to solve the problem, but keeps it subtle enough so you have to apply logic to do so. After he has finished analyzing a crime scene, or showing off to someone (friend or foe), Sherlock summarizes every clue he found (and his logic that pieced it together) to come to his conclusion.
Now, on to the semiotics! In the last part of the episode, the murderer waits for Sherlock to choose a bottle, but Sherlock cannot help but to quickly show off his analytical skills to the cabbie (murderer). He picks the murderer apart with these signs (broken down into signifiers and signifieds):
Signifier
|
Signified
|
Shaving foam behind left ear
|
Cabbie lives alone
|
Photograph of children with wife removed
|
Wife not dead, loves children
|
Clothes maintained, but old
|
Dying
|
Cabbie decides to murder four people before death
|
Motivation must be children
|
This is a repeated pattern in the show; a new clue (sign) or event is unveiled, Sherlock and Watson spend time analyzing it, and in the end Sherlock makes a breakthrough and shares it with the other characters (and ultimately, the audience), explaining step-by-step the how he came to said conclusion. This pattern supports Propp's argument that all fairy tales are similar in structure. Obviously Sherlock Holmes is not a fairy tale, but there is absolutely a pattern among the episodes (I binged all available series last summer) and can confirm this. I will sometimes take advantage of this pattern and pause when Sherlock is about to summarize his conclusion, and try to list all the clues to see how far off I was.
Thursday, May 28, 2015
Blog Post #1
Hello everyone!
My name is Wilson. I was born in Victoria, BC (Canada), where I lived until I was about eight years old. My family and I moved to San Francisco for my dad's job, and we stayed there until 2003 when we moved to the DFW area, and I've been here ever since!
Since I was seven, I have played the violin and been involved in many orchestras (in and out of school), and so naturally I thought I was going to major in music. With two auditions lined up during my senior year in high school, I realized that the orchestra life just wasn't for me. As much as I loved (and still love) music, I simply couldn't have it as a career. So, I pursued what I really wanted do: software development. This may seem like a strange (and drastic) switch, but it made sense to me; I had always loved computers, and my dad is a developer himself, so I guess it makes sense.
I used to be an avid tweeter and facebook (-er?), but now I mostly use social media to stay connected with family, famous people, tech, games, and so on. I guess I've lost the patience to Instagram my food before I consume it! Regardless, I still think it's a fantastic way to stay connected, and am always blown away by the power it can have... and the occasional disasters it leads to (Kony, anyone?). At the same time, I have come to realize that Twitter is actually a really great way to network from a career perspective, so I am desperately trying to get into the habit of using it more regularly.
My top shows right now are Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, and House of Cards (I'm seriously banking on a fourth season). I'm always looking for new shows to binge on, however, so bring on the suggestions!
My name is Wilson. I was born in Victoria, BC (Canada), where I lived until I was about eight years old. My family and I moved to San Francisco for my dad's job, and we stayed there until 2003 when we moved to the DFW area, and I've been here ever since!
Since I was seven, I have played the violin and been involved in many orchestras (in and out of school), and so naturally I thought I was going to major in music. With two auditions lined up during my senior year in high school, I realized that the orchestra life just wasn't for me. As much as I loved (and still love) music, I simply couldn't have it as a career. So, I pursued what I really wanted do: software development. This may seem like a strange (and drastic) switch, but it made sense to me; I had always loved computers, and my dad is a developer himself, so I guess it makes sense.
I used to be an avid tweeter and facebook (-er?), but now I mostly use social media to stay connected with family, famous people, tech, games, and so on. I guess I've lost the patience to Instagram my food before I consume it! Regardless, I still think it's a fantastic way to stay connected, and am always blown away by the power it can have... and the occasional disasters it leads to (Kony, anyone?). At the same time, I have come to realize that Twitter is actually a really great way to network from a career perspective, so I am desperately trying to get into the habit of using it more regularly.
My top shows right now are Game of Thrones, Silicon Valley, and House of Cards (I'm seriously banking on a fourth season). I'm always looking for new shows to binge on, however, so bring on the suggestions!
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