"18 Days" By Saving Abel

When you look at this video you see how Saving Abel uses social context to add to the affect and message of their video. “18 Days” was written in the viewpoint of a soldier away from home. This relates well to the period in time in which we live. With the War on Terrorism many artists have written songs in relation to patriotism and soldiers and many others attacking the thought of war. Soldiers work often goes unnoticed, and many call them killers.
Saving Abel shines a light on the struggles of soldiers away from home. Many families are influenced by the armed forces and deployment. Soldiers are separated from the ones they love for extended periods of time or families are caused to move from place to place frequently. As of recently the average time of deployment is fifteen months. Now with the current war, more and more people are asked to join the armed forces. This song makes one think of the hardships related to being a soldier away from home. The people in the video seem sad and discouraged. While most songs regarding the war seem more upbeat and show people with pride, Saving Abel brings to the table the “not so glamorous” life of a soldier from home.
The lyrics of “18 Days” take the standpoint of the soldier with regret and insecurity, a soldier who doesn’t want to change or give up the things they love the most. “I don't wanna have to change.If I don't then no one will” 18 Days. But like the soldiers of the present and past, they make the sacrifice and accept the need for them to continue to do their duty to protect what we call home. Saving Abel uses the social context of today’s world to help bring out their dedication to the armed forces and to help people realize what is given up by these brave and caring people.
“18 Days” really gives listeners the idea of the struggles soldiers face while away from home with the help of social context.

Blog Post 2: Web 2.0 Video

This video gives an easy to follow guide to how people and technology are connected. It has reached a broad audience and fulfilled its purpose to enlighten an audience to the importance of technology in a growing and changing world. It allows for many different types of people to understand the point without any confusion. It has surpassed the hurdle that makes communicating to diverse groups of people difficult. It adequately supplies the needed information in an interesting and intriguing way.
Technology as a medium has shaped and changed our forms of communication forever. It has become the center of our lives and the means of communication will never be the same. The purpose anyone’s message changes the way technology is used to communicate with others. It gives us a much broader opportunity and diversity of ways to communicate with others. For example, messages we want to convey to large groups of people are more likely to be posted on a website like Facebook or Myspace. While more opinionated entries tend to be posted on blogs. In the same manner email and instant messaging is a quick way for people to connect on a more private level. Using computers as a form of communication has proven a more convenient way for employers, companies, and people to communicate and share information. The internet has made everything much easier for students as well. With the click of a button, search engines like Google or Yahoo can supply quick information to help with a paper that is due. Prior to technology, communication was much more difficult and it took much longer to get in touch with people you needed. Nowadays technology and the internet allow us to be instantly connected with others.

This video gives you a Reader’s Digest version of some of the complicated parts of computers and technology. It shows us how we shape it and, in turn, how it shapes us.

Blog Post 1: Quotation on Writing

"The role of a writer is not to say what we all can say, but what we are unable to say." -Anaïs Nin

Anaïs Nin presents an interesting topic for thought thru this quote. It makes the audience ponder the thought of what the role of a writer truly is, and allows audiences to agree or disagree based upon their thoughts or ideas.
When first reading the quote you get the feeling of an “ah-ha!” moment. You may think “this is what it means”, or “this is what it is referring to”. However, you then start to delve deeper into the meaning and try to think about her intentions or ideas. You think about what type of audience she was reaching out to and if she adequately presented her thought.
This quote holds particular ideas that stand out for me. In one instance it can present the idea that writers bring about, or express, ideas or thoughts that “non-writers” do not think of or cannot comprehend. Another idea that comes to mind is writers dare to make their thoughts public and, in a sense, represent those too unwilling to bring to the table things they do or do not believe in or things they feel should be changed. For example, during the revolution one writer in particular represented a large group of people. Thomas Jefferson represented the colonies when they wished to separate themselves from Great Brittan.
Nin’s quote can be interpreted in many different ways depending on the audience that reads it and the context in which the quote was presented. For example if Nin had presented her thought in front of a writers club they may become inspired or driven to explore different forms of writing. In the same sense, if it was said to someone who isn’t too excited about writing they would get a different interpretation or feeling about this statement. It is important to keep in mind who the audience is and how you want your message to be taken.

Test Post