Online Blog Project

Less is More.

If you have ever watched figure skating, you must have noticed the elaborate dresses that female figure skaters wear.  What you might not know is how much they have changed from the beginning of the sport.  The dresses that are worn have been highly influenced by society and media technologies.

In the first olympic figure skating event, participants dressed in attire such as this.  Notice how much of the body is covered…virtually everything.

Here we see Peggy Fleming–an olympic gold medalist in the 1960’s.  This is after women started revealing more in their day to day attire.  The length of her skirt shows that figure skating dresses are keeping up with what is in style outside of the sport.

By the 1980’s, women have totally changed their appearance.  Breasts are revealed, along with the majority of the legs.  Dresses are also much tighter and now incorporate an array of materials and different crystals.

By 2009, the types of dresses seen on the competitive figure skating track are nothing like the originals.  Exposure of the body is something that is thought of while designing these dresses–custom designers and their skaters think of what will appeal the most to both the audience and their music, and if you want to be competitive you must have a custom dress.  This also shows how much money plays a role in figure skating.

Of course music, choreography and dresses are going to change with time but the extent to which they have changed is highly influenced by technology.  The sport of figure skating is a dying art, and I believe that some skaters choose their costumes based on how attractive they would be to the average viewer.  Music videos, ad’s, movies and other sources of technology have taught us that being beautiful requires not only an amazing figure, but clothing that is revealing and “sexy.”  Figure skating dresses have definitely transformed into something sexier than an ankle length skirt and turtleneck.  At one point, the skirts were so short that people were able to see the leotard bodice underneath while the skater was standing upright–this was not done because they needed a shorter skirt for certain moves or aerodynamics, they simply created this style because they knew that it would interest viewers.  Should the sport have to sacrafice it’s natural beauty just for viewers ratings and competition turn-outs?  The sport has already gone to mostly online viewing at icenetwork.com.  This site is a site that requires viewers to pay to watch figure skating competitions.  The site is pushing away average viewers and is making the sport even more exclusive.

The majority of dresses are still respected by the skating community, though some have been looked down upon.  Mainly ones that reveal too much skin and give the sport a bad name.  When someone is channel surfing and sees a figure skater revealing the majority of their body, the respect for the sport is lost.  There is truly a point where dresses go to far.

For a skater to not wear a dress that would cover their breast is revolting.  This picture, however vulgar some may think, shows skating at its worst.  For the average viewer to look at this photograph or see it occur on national television, they would no longer feel the desire to watch the sport because it appears somewhat as a circus.

So why does technology have to influence a sport so much to the point that we cannot even enjoy the the music and choreography without being distracted by revealing dresses?  If a skater was to wear something like Peggy Fleming did in the 1960’s, would they be more respected or would people chose to change the channel immediately?  After taking a close look at these pictures and realizing how much influence popular culture has on the figure skating community, I was astounded.  What skaters wear somewhat dictates how many average people watch the sport.  To me this means that there is hardly any true love for the actual sport and the media has made us think the sport is something “sexy” instead of beautiful and graceful.

FW10: Dinner Party

I dont really know who else I would invite to my dinner party.  I mean maybe for a fun dinner party I could invite say some of the original freemasons.  I would really like to know if they meant to put clues to things on the back of the dollar bill and if there ever really was templar treasure.  I am sure that that would be an interesting dinner!  We could explore the country even the world and they could tell me all their secrets. Who knows, maybe National Treasure actually has some truth to it.  I would want to know if they are proud in the ways our country has grown and if they would change anything. We could even dress up in outfits from their time period and eat what they would have eaten at secret meetings!

 

INF Research Question

Plastic surgery has been a rising technology for quite some time.  Why not look younger if it only costs a few thousand or even a million dollars?  but the newest thing I have heard of is way more extreme than a facelift.  Vaginal Rejuvenation.

Title: How far will you go…

Why?:

I always find it interesting when women do not want to age or appear older.  They want to lift their eyes, their boobs, get liposuction and whatever else works to help them appear younger.  Our society is telling us that natural aging is no longer beautiful or normal to do.  When my roommate told me about this new surgery for your gentials, I was shocked.  Women want themselves to not only appear younger in the face, but feel younger to sexual partners.  Most women have this surgery after childbirth because of the extensive damage it causes on the external reproductive organs.  The surgery includes tightening and reshaping of the vagina and its muscles to gain more pleasure and feel during intercourse.  Whatever happened to the natural aging process?  Our ancestors before us were still satisfied after childbirth and did not feel the need to modify their bodies so why must we go to such extremes?  This is what I want to know…what is the big deal of just letting nature take its course…people get old-its a fact of life. So why can’t we find beauty in aging?

 

What do I already know?

-Plastic surgery is extremely popular in western cultures

-Used for face lifts, breast implantations, liposuction, botox (all to make you more “beautiful” or “younger”)

-Can cause infections and bad scarring if not done properly

-very expensive

-does not always make you feel better mentally

 

What I don’t know:

– the true extend of the surgery (invasive, same-day, side effects, aftermath etc).

– How expensive it is

-recovery time…does it take a long time to recover from the surgery?

– Outcomes (have women been satisfied after getting surgery, both physically and mentally)

– Do women’s rights groups think that it is wrong to change ones body after childbirth (a natural process)

Myth of the Boring Topic

Apple Business Card:  Should employee’s receive commission for the amount of product they sell or if they solve a computer problem?

Playing Cards: Should underground/ personal gambling groups be legal?

Menu: Should gratuity be added to all bills (for example, not just those with parties over 6 or more)?

Should restaurants be required to have health-conscious meal options on their menu to help tackle the obesity problem?

 

CD: Should free music downloading be legal?

Lighter: Should we legalize the use of marijuana?

Film: Should child pornographers get prosecuted the same as rapists?

Should pedophilia be considered a metal disease like psychopaths or sociopaths?

Coin: Should Canada and the United States have the same currency?  (like the euro)

 

 

FW8: Hot Topic

Since I have been at college, what pisses me off the most are how disgusting and disrespectful people can be.  People leave their shit everywhere–and I do mean everywhere.  We are at college, this is not a hotel or your house with a maid…pick up after yourself.  If you puke, clean it up.  Don’t leave your dirty underwear in the bathroom, along with your nasty globs of hair in the drain or stuck to the shower walls.  I don’t want to have to tiptoe around the bathroom sink looking for a place to brush my teeth because all your toiletries have been left there…and I certainly do not want to open the bathroom stall and find a revolting surprise in the toilet.  GROW UP! We are all like what…18 or older?  I am amazed at the number of people who do not know how to pick up after themselves–i feel bad for these people when they finally live in their own apartment…it is going to be a war zone and no one is going to want to visit.  I understand we are in college and people get wasted and make a mess, but seriously?  Pick it up the next day, don’t make me pay for “excess cleaning” charges cuz I am not  a slob and actually do my part in keeping the floor clean.Make him your new best friend :)

FW8: Favorite Halloween Costume

My mom always made my halloween costumes when I was little.  She was very good with the sewing machine and literally would not ALLOW me to buy a store made costume.  All my costumes were amazing but I’d have to say my best one was when I was an oompa loompa.  We died a wig green and turned my skin orange.  This costume did not require her amazing sewing talent except for making the white overall suit, but let me say, I looked ridiculous.  What probably made the costume worse was that my friends dressed up as charlies angels, and since there are only 3, I could not be one.  So try to picture three charlies angels and a big fat oompa loompa…Now I say fat, because I even put a pillow in my stomach to make me look bigger, and had huge fluffy white eyebrows…ughhh hideous but still hilarious.  Though I loved my Dorothy costume, witches, some random victorian style outfit, Cowboy (from when I was like 2) and all the other costumes I had, this one was by far, the silliest :)

FW7: Grow Up

I don’t exactly feel like talking about how I would like to go to law school and become a lawyer who deals with ethical issues or those with psychological disorders.  I will point out that I am thinking of majoring in political science and psychology, but I am still in my first semester of college–things are bound to change.  Instead, I want to tell you about being a figure skater/ coach.  This is technically unrealistic for me because in my family, going to college and having a good degree in something is extremely important.  Yes, figure skating coaches make a lot of money (mine made 1.50- 2.00$’s a minute), but it is not a “real” job.  I have loved figure skating since I was two, and if education/ a “real” job did not matter, I would have pursued the dream much further.  In the past few years I have dabbled at coaching and found it so rewarding to be able to teach a little girl a certain jump and then see the look on her face when she actually lands it.  (trust me, its a GREAT feeling).  Besides coaching, I wish that I could participate in Disney on Ice–some of my friends have done it, or are currently involved and are having the best time ever!  The dicipline of skating is not only a sport or art form, but a tough and grueling commitment.  Many do not understand, and half the people in the world do not have what it takes and that is why I love it so much–it makes me different from the rest of the world, and being able to teach others and see the joy in their lives would be highly rewarding.

FW6: Favorite Toy

I used to carry my American Girl doll around with me everywhere.  I had two, so depending on the day, or what mood I  was in, I would pick either my look-alike doll, or josephina (bad spelling).  I was addicted to both of them and would play all day dressing them up and making stories about them.  Since I had no siblings, the dolls were often my friends on those cold rainy days.  I know that sounds kind of dumb, but hey, they were some pretty cool dolls.  Each of them had their own American Girl bed and closets, they all had tons of clothes and accessories.  I look back to day and think of how much money my parents had to have spent on all that stuff.  Now it is just sitting in a box in the basement collecting dust.  Maybe if I have a little girl in the future, she will find them fun to play with?  Even if they eventually get thrown out or given to a thrift store, I will always have those rainy day memories

This is one of my dolls.  Sadly I cant find the look alike one, but It looks like me so I guess you can get the idea.

FW5: 5things

Five things I cannot live without?  Wow, this is going to be hard.  I absolutely positively cannot live with my dog.  She is a Shih Tzu and 12 years old–god bless her mean, twisted soul.  I say this because one moment she is the best dog ever and the next minute she is chasing me and trying to bite my fingers off.  I also cannot live without tea.  It is by far the best thing in the world.  I also enjoy hot chocolate, but tea is much better.  My figure skates are one of my prized possessions so I will include them also.  If i was to ever lose them (which would mean I could not skate) I would go crazy.  The toaster oven.  It is crazy and odd but yes, I am addicted.  A toaster could take its place, but the oven is more versatile.  I loveeee bagels, english muffins and toast :)  Hm…one last thing?  I must have my family.  They are my support system and are always there for me no matter what–especially my mom…she also makes the best dinners in the entire world and if i had to rely only on saga food for nutrition, I would…without a doubt…wither away to nothing!

okay I know it is really sad, but if I was little, I would totally want this toaster..It is so cute! not completely practical since it doesnt toast all the bread but oh well!  Since I am at college, I think that this one would be better..

INF Bordo

In the evenings, after I have finished my work for the day, I enjoy watching television or reading a magazine.  While flipping through channels or pages, I find myself surrounded with images of skinny, almost sickly, looking women.  They have been made to look fake.  Some of these ad’s have a sense of sexuality while others look like they are trying to tell the viewer, “you must look like me to be beautiful.”  When we look at these types of images, we subconsciously tell ourselves that we are not good enough, or must improve our image to succeed in life.  Whether those images encourage us to spend an extra day at the gym, or eating little to nothing.  The publishers and tv commercial producers have these intentions in mind while creating these images.  Who says a beautiful woman looks exactly like the models?