Communication Arts 201

False Invasion

2007-08-04T09:28:00.000+08:00

“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the most terrifying thing I have ever witnessed... Wait a minute! Someone's crawling out of the hollow top. Someone or... something. I can see peering out of that black hole two luminous disks . . are they eyes? It might be a face. It might be..."

- Carl Phillips, HG Wells' War of the Worlds.

“Green flash! They're spraying us with flame! Two thousand feet. Engines are giving out. No chance to release bombs. Only one thing left... drop on them, plane and all. We're diving on the first one. Now the engine's gone! Eight...”

-Commander, HG Wells' War of the Worlds.

Those were just some of the disturbing lines from the infamous broadcast of HG Wells, War of the Worlds, which made a big impact to the people living on that time.

To be able to answer the question: Would you have been affected by it like the other listeners? I made a little research about the things around the place on that particular day.

Running at the same time of his show is Chase & Sanborn, a more popular show than his.

“About 15 minutes into the Chase & Sanborn program the first comic sketch ended and a musical number began, and many listeners presumably began tuning around the dial at that point.. Welles knew the schedule of the Chase & Sanborn show, and scheduled the first report from Grover's Mill at the 12 minute mark to heighten the audience's confusion. As a result, some listeners happened upon the CBS broadcast at the exact point the Martians emerge from their spacecraft.”

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_War_of_the_Worlds_%28radio%29

Orson Welles scared and made the people confused intentionally and I guess I would also be affected like the other people but not because of the “Martian” invasion but because of the Germans.

Why the Germans?

“The Radio Project also researched the 1938 Halloween broadcast of The War of the Worlds. They found that of the estimated 6 million people who heard this broadcast, 25% thought it was real. Most of the people who panicked did not think that it was an invasion from Mars that was occurring but rather one by the Germans.”

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radio_Project

The broadcast was done on 1938. 1938 was the time when Adolf Hitler started to conquer different countries and the United States of America and Germany were not in good terms. There was a small fire of fear in their hearts that would ablaze anytime soon and because of this fear, they panicked.

Another reason why I wouldn't believe in the Martian Invasion is because I don't believe in Martians. The bible didn't say anything about God creating life elsewhere. I believe that God created light, darkness, water, ground, and more in five days, life on the sixth day and He rests on the seventh.

"By the seventh day God had finished the work He had been doing; so on the seventh day He rested from all His work. And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it He ceased from all the work of creating that He had done."

-Genesis 2:2-3

Before I end this entry, let me clarify my answers. If I would hear the War of the Worlds broadcast in 1938 personally, I would definitely believe that there was an anomaly going on but not a Martian invasion but a German invasion.

Imagining that a mere broadcast made the people panicked is very fascinating. It just shows that the media before is just as influential as what media is today but the radio before was more powerful than the radio today.

Generation, What?

2007-08-03T08:25:00.000+08:00

From which generation are you from?

Music, Leaders, Events and Technology.

These are just some of the factors which makes a generation a generation. In the long run of life, several ages have passed. Some of these are the Generation X, Generation Y/Echo Boom, MTV Generation, iGeneration, and the present generation: the New Silent Generation.

In this entry, allow me to focus in different eras and how the 6^th Information Revolution: The Highway affected the people in certain generations.

I remember a certain scene in Pisay, a movie in Cinemalaya 2007 about students of Philippine Science in 1980s, where there were two boys who were talking about computer. It goes something like this:

Boy1: Orb, tignan mo 'tong computer ko! Kaya nito magstore ng files hanggang 40 kilobytes! (Bro, look at my computer! It can store files up to 40 kilobytes!)

Boy2: Wow orb, ang ganda naman niyang computer mo! (Wow bro, your computer is great!)

Oh yes. They were both so impressed by the 40kb capacity of the computer while in the present, some people call their 2.73gb(2,938,266kb) free space a very low disc space.

http://www.castlecops.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=611970

(Still from Pisay)

Boy1: Balang araw, gagawa ako ng Interconet, Ebox, at Compost. (Someday, I'll invent Interconet, Ebox, and Compost)

Boy2: (laughs)

Are you wondering what the Interconet, Ebox, and Compost are? According to the kid in the movie, Interconet means International Computer Network, Ebox is Electronic Box, and Compost is the Computer Post Office. In the present generation, we are enjoying these services but in a different name. It is now called as the Internet, Inbox, and Email. These are wonderful innovations of the “Highway”

It all starts with ideas. Ideas which makes the people ask for more. Ideas which trigger the minds of the people to create. Always remember that the people will never be satisfied with what they have, they will always yearn for more. This is how the technology evolves and as it evolves, information revolution follows.

How about the Filipino youth today? How does the “Highway” affects us?

“...the Internet provides several ways for young people to communicate with each other, interact with what is on a site, and create their own content. Combining new technologies with existing ones are also expanding the scope of computer-mediated communications to include personal and professional interactions. And the new media are becoming more pervasive, touching all aspects of the lives of the younger generation.”

- Alecks Pabico, iReport Issue No.3 – Virtually Yours

According to Alecks Pabico, technology has redefined the Filipino youth and I would definitely agree with his statement.

Rochy, the barkada in his article “Virtually Yours” is one of my barkadas. I am the boy who is wearing a light blue polo shirt in the picture. We are of different ages, different interests, and different personalities but was connected by technology. Because of the “Highway”, people from different walks of life are being united and converged making it easier to interact with them with the use of different electronic means.

From which generation are you from?

Me? Obviously, I'm from the Digital Age. The generation where the “Highway” plays a great role in molding the people in who they are and what they will be – the Generation Z.

The Power of Communication

2007-06-30T14:09:00.001+08:00

What is communication?

For me, communication is an art.

An art of expressing one's self.

An art of conveying ideas and knowledge

An art of gaining friends as well as enemies.

In this entry, allow me to discuss how strong and dangerous communication can be.

According to our CA201 class, there are two ways of communication. One of which is the verbal communication and the other one is the nonverbal communication.

Speaking is a skill under the verbal communication. As we speak, we send words through a channel to the receiver. When using words, one must be very careful. Words are very powerful medium. It can create great relationships but always remember that words are sharper than swords. It can be very dangerous when it is used recklessly.

There are some things that we should put into consideration before saying some things. It is very important to be well-informed and to be sensitive enough in order to have a good feedback in a conversation.

Next is the nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication is very broad. We can even engage ourselves into one without being aware of it. It is shown in the way we move, talk, and even dress.

A good example is Cameron Diaz who wore a green olive bag with the words "Serve the People" printed in Chinese. This statement is the most famous political slogan of Mao Zedong, a Chinese Communist leader, who brought a great disaster over Peru in the early 1990s.

Diaz unconsciously hurt the people of Peru who suffered because of Mao Zedong. Indeed, it is important to have an understanding of the various cultural factors that play a role in communication.

I have also learned that body language is also an essential part of the nonverbal communication. One can even finish a clear conversation without saying a word. Body language includes eye movements and hand gestures.

This picture was taken by an Italian photographer, Roberto Belleni. The man in his photograph is Giovanni Leone, former-president of Italy. If you will look closely, you will see that he is making a certain hand gesture in his left hand.

He became embroiled in controversy when, as President of Republic, visiting his native city during an outbreak of cholera, shook the hands of the patients with one hand, and with the other, behind the back, made the corna. This act was well documented, as all journalists and photographers were right behind him. The gesture was interpreted especially as offensive for the patients.

- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giovanni_Leone

This hand gesture is what they call “Corna” or horn. By extending the index and little fingers while holding the middle and ring fingers down with the thumb, a horn will be formed. In Italy, it symbolizes the devil. Because of this action, Giovanni was impeached.

See how simple actions create great effects. This is how powerful communication is. Communication can create good bonds among the people but also create severe damage when it is used improperly and/or impulsively.

We must always remember that God gave us this privilege of communicating freely and it is our duty to learn how to manage these great skills carefully and properly in order to blend ourselves right in our society.