All About Alfie- Media Meditation #3

I have wanted a ferret for the longest time.  I had never owned a ferret, or even been around one before, and I hadn’t the slightest idea how to take care of one.  But, for some reason, I have always had an affection for them.  Maybe it’s because of Jennifer Aniston’s ferret in the movie Along Came Polly, and the fact that many people say I remind them of Aniston’s ferret-owning character, Polly.  Maybe it’s just my natural love for animals.  Either way, it has always been a dream of mine to own a ferret.  However, the timing has just never been right, or I’ve never been at a place in my life when I could reasonably take care of a ferret.

My dream of ferret parenthood finally came true last month on March 5^th, when I bought Alfalfa Gordon Gray, or Alfie for short.  Named after The Little Rascals character because he is just that, a little rascal, Alfalfa (whose middle name comes from my father, Gordon, which he is thrilled about) is my little bundle of pride and joy, and he brings much happiness to my life.  So, what does a ferret have to do with media?  Surprisingly, more than you may think.  I really had no idea what I even needed to do before getting a ferret, let alone how to take care of it before I bought it, so I turned to the lovely resource we call the internet to find the answers to all the questions I had.

Alfalfa Gordon Gray, just about to doze off...

Using the wonderful Google search engine, I searched for “How much does a ferret cost?” and “How to take care of a ferret.”  The World Wide Web offered me a variety of sources, from an article titled “So, You Wanna Get a Ferret?” to everythingferret.com’s article “Training the Domestic Ferret.”  I used Pet Education’s ferret articles to learn the things I needed to do before I even brought Alfie home (you don’t even realize how many holes and spaces you have in your home until you have a ferret to find them for you).  I was able to research prices, where I should buy my ferret, the habitat and accessories I would need, what to feed my ferret, and how to litter-box train it (I didn’t even know you could litter-box train a ferret until the internet told me!).

After bringing Alfie home and getting to know his mischievous and delightful personality, I had even more questions about what I should do to take care of my new little rascal.  Once again, I turned to the internet to ask “How do I train my ferret to stop biting?” and “What is my ferret’s obsession with my socks?”, which included searching “Can I stop my ferret from chewing socks?”, as well as a quick trip to oldnavy.com to buy some new socks to replace the ones Alfie so affectionately destroyed.

Me and my Alfie!

I didn’t realize how much work and attention my little love bug needed until it was too late and there was no turning back; I had fallen in love with this little monster and there was no way I could give him up now.  However, the resources I was able to easily and quickly obtain on the internet were a savior to me during that adjustment period when both Alfie and I were adapting to one another.  For the first time, I think, I was really truly grateful for the internet and its ease of use and access to information.  I had already spent tons of money on Alfie; I didn’t want to spend even more on books about ferrets.  I was able to bookmark all the useful sites I had found and group them together in a folder labeled “Ferret Stuff” so that I can quickly access them without having to re-search on Google any time I have a question.

I don't have any video of my Alfie, but this video shows a ferret stealing treats off a desk, something Alfie does all the time.  Video courtesy of YouTube.

Technology and the capabilities of the internet never fail to amaze me, and my ferret internet research was no exception.  Not only was I able to find out everything I needed to know about taking care of ferrets, but I also learned interesting facts and quirks about them (such as: the word ferret means “little thief” in Latin…that explains Alfie stealing my socks…).  I was also able to find a local vet for Alfie and use sites such as petco.com and amazon.com to quickly order toys and supplies that I needed and wanted.  Since I travel quite a bit, it was great to be able to access TSA’s website, as well as airline websites, to obtain information about travelling with my pet, as well as finding ferret travel regulations for different states and countries.  I was able to find a nice travel bag on amazon.com that I bought and now use to bring Alfie everywhere with me.  He has become quite popular with my fellow employees at Sears, where he has become the official Loss Prevention mascot.

Thanks to the incredible internet, Alfie and I are now living happily together in a toy-filled, ferret-proof environment filled with holey socks and giant messes.  Even if I get a little frustrated as a I trip over ferret toys in the dark on my way to bed at night, I still have a smile on my face when I climb into bed and snuggle up to Alfie, who has so quickly become the joy and love of my life.

Me and Alfie enjoying some snuggle time.

To Catch a Thief - Media Meditation #2

When most people think of technology and how it can make our lives easier, they probably do not think of shoplifting and how technology can make the job of Loss Prevention easier.  As a Loss Prevention officer, sometimes I don’t know how anybody caught shoplifters in the past without the use of technology.  The use of video surveillance systems not only works to deter theft, but it makes the observation of theft so much easier to find and watch.

The most commonly used video surveillance system in the retail industry is closed circuit television, or CCTV as it is commonly called.  This is the system that I work with at my Loss Prevention job at Sears, and it has been extremely effective in catching shoplifters.  Cameras are mounted on the ceiling all around the store and then covered by a ceiling tile dome, which is bubble-shaped and tinted so no one can see where the camera is pointing.  Despite the tint of the dome, the video captured by the camera is not affected in any way.  These cameras can pan and zoom in so close, we can read the text messages employees are sending while they are on the sales floor (and then we can go yell at them for having their cell phones out while working).

Every single camera in the store (in Sears, there are about thirty) is hooked up to televisions and recording devices in the Loss Prevention office.  There are two large, flat-screen televisions that constantly show all camera images in a grid-like fashion, so all cameras can be seen at one time, although we can call up any camera to take up the entire screen.  Both of these TVs are hooked up to a DVR system, so we can go back and look at any footage from any camera as far back as two weeks.  We can also burn footage from any camera onto DVD from the DVR system.

The Loss Prevention office at Sears South Burlington...also known as my second home.

Aside from these two televisions, there are twenty small televisions that display the camera’s current image for twenty different cameras.  These televisions are a bit outdated and only project the image in black-and-white, but they do offer us constant surveillance of the sales floor.  Finally, we have two nineteen-inch flat-screen TVs that are hooked up to VHS/DVD combo players.  These televisions are hooked up to the keyboards we use to control the cameras.  We can call up any camera onto the 19-inch televisions by punching in the number of the camera desired, and then we can pan and zoom the camera as we see fit, allowing us to observe shoppers’ behaviors, merchandise selections, and possible concealments.  Using good old-fashioned videotapes, we record everything that is brought up on the nineteen-inch TVs.  That way, if we do catch someone shoplifting using CCTV, we can quickly burn the video footage of the theft onto DVD as evidence to be handed over to the police.

Our Loss Prevention mascot, Alfie...sleeping on the job as usual!

When a shoplifter steals from our store, we must wait until he/she exits before we can apprehend him/her.  To ensure the thief doesn’t escape, one LP officer goes out to the sales floor and follows the suspect, while another stays in the office to get constant CCTV surveillance.  Using the technology of cell phones, the two officers are able to communicate with one another about the whereabouts of the suspect without looking suspicious or being overheard.

Last month, technology really helped us catch a thief who was actually an employee of Sears.  Suspecting that this man had been stealing money from the cash register at closing time, we set up a small covert camera in the ceiling directly above the cash register.  This camera gave us a better angle that we could not get with our regular cameras, and was so small it went unnoticed.  Little did our thief know that there was a camera directly above him watching his every move.  We caught him red-handed (or, rather, green-handed) stealing cash from the register, and fired him two days later.  It’s things like that that really make me love my job.

Loss Prevention isn't just all serious...it's damn funny sometimes, too.  This video is a bit lengthy, but totally worth it.  Video courtesy of YouTube.com

Sure beats a rooftop stake-out like Cary Grant did in To Catch a Thief, doesn’t it?

Cosmopolitan in Five Minutes

Owned by Hearst Communications, Inc., Cosmopolitan magazine is a magazine for women that began in 1886 when it was owned by Schlicht & Field.  Originally, Cosmopolitan was a family magazine for women that offered articles about child care, cooking, and household decoration.  The magazine underwent four format changes in its lifetime, going from family magazine to fiction magazine, then from a muckraking magazine to what it is today.  In 1965, editor Helen Gurley Brown took over the magazine and turned it into what we know it as today—a magazine for young, liberated women who are interested in beauty, fashion, their careers, and sex.

Cosmopolitan offers information on sex and relationships, fashion, health and beauty, including tips on makeup and hair, and also includes celebrity gossip, career tips, and self-improvement advice.  Geared towards women who are financially stable and even rich, Cosmo advertises clothing and perfume from designers such as Dolce & Gabana and Lancôme, but also advertises more low-end companies, such as JCPenney, and common hair and make-up companies like Garnier and Maybelline. 

Although Cosmo is mostly geared towards women who care about their looks and sex, the magazine also includes real-life stories and advice on how to stay healthy, take care of your body, and avoid or handle situations, such as stalking and sexual harassment.  Cosmopolitan also reaches out to the career woman by offering advice on how to land the perfect job, get ahead at work, and handle difficult work-related situations.

Cosmopolitan focuses on the limbic, or emotional, part of the brain.  The magazine uses sexy words and images to make you feel envious towards the people in the magazine so that you will follow the advice given and buy the products advertised.  Cosmopolitan makes you think that you can always get smarter and sexier than you already are by following its advice.

Cosmopolitan's Fun, Fearless Female Campaign.  Video courtesy of YouTube.

Three trends that Cosmo follows are epistemological, economic, and aesthetic.  Bright, bold, sexy words (such as sex, arousal, and erotic) are enhanced by pictures of sexy men and women who are barely clothed and are often portrayed engaging in romantic activities. Cosmopolitan underwent an economic shift when owner John Brisben Walker sold the magazine in 1905 to William Randolph Hearst.  Because Hearst owned many other enterprises, his legacy became the magazine’s current owner, corporate conglomerate Hearst Communications, Inc.  Aesthetically, Cosmopolitan has shifted from a more conservative, modest look to the more glamorous and sexed look it has today.  There has also been media convergence within the magazine.  Instead of just publishing a magazine every month, Hearst Communications also publishes Cosmo books, has an extensive website that features online articles, videos, quizzes, and forums, has Facebook and Twitter pages, and has a radio station on satellite radio, so readers now have many ways they can access information.

Covers from Cosmopolitan magazine, May 1915 issue (left) and March 2011 issue (right).  Photos courtesy of Zazzle.com and FabulousBuzz.com

Some principles Cosmopolitan uses are specific production techniques, such as the use of large, bright, fonts and colors, bright backgrounds on the covers, and pictures of sexy people, including well-known celebrities.  Cosmo also uses a value message for their slogan—the idea of being a “fun, fearless female.”  Ownership is also a principle, as ads pay for the magazine with commercial motives—to sell clothes, makeup, perfume, and hair products.  The mag also uses an emotional transfer because it makes readers think they need to buy and do certain things in order to be pretty, sexy, and fun.

You're welcome, ladies.  Video courtesy of www.cosmopolitan.com

Cosmopolitan uses TONS of persuasive techniques to influence their readers.  Symbols such as celebrities as icons and the phrase “fun, fearless female” make readers think that reading the magazine will make them sexier and stronger.  Beautiful people are used a lot in Cosmo for the exact same reason, and the magazine also uses the group dynamic of “we women” to form a sense of community amongst readers.  Scientific evidence and testimonials are often used in the more informative articles to prove what the authors are trying to teach you.  Health and diet articles often quote doctors and fitness experts to prove what is good for you and what is not.  Bandwagon is also a huge persuasive technique as Cosmo targets young women and makes them think that if lots of other women or female celebrities are following a certain style or trend, then their readers will, too.  The magazine also uses humor in several articles, especially their monthly “Confessions” articles, to draw in readers in a different way.

Media: It's What Makes the Basketball World Go 'Round - Media Meditation #1

I know football is on everybody’s minds right now with the Super Bowl being played just yesterday, but I am geared up and ready for March Madness and a little bit more basketball!  As much as I love football, basketball has always been in my heart as a sport I love to both watch and play.

If you read about the history of basketball, you will find out that it was invented in a high school P.E. class by James Naismith in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891, using a soccer ball and two peach baskets for nets.  The game soon caught on and spread like wildfire across the United States through schools, universities, the YMCA, and the Armed Forces.

After two small professional leagues joined together, the National Basketball Association was founded in 1949.  The NBA started out with just a few teams in small cities such as Rochester, New York, but gained popularity through mass media.  Games began being televised and the NBA made tons of money off of its sponsors who advertised during the games.  This was all well and good, but it seems to have gotten a little out of control.  Over time, the NBA, which is America’s main source of basketball, has become more about money and media than about the game itself.

NBA through the ages (Courtesy of YouTube).

Companies like Nike and Adidas produce basketball equipment and gear cheaply overseas and sell it at expensive prices that die-hard fans are willing to pay.  These companies make so much money, they can afford to pay famous NBA players insubordinate amounts of money to advertise their products in stupid TV commercials in order to make them even more money. These lame-ass LeBron James Nike commercials are getting old and they just don’t make sense.  Nobody cares about you, LeBron, get over it!

Terrible LeBron James Nike commercial (Courtesy of YouTube).

Ticket prices have sky-rocketed, and middle class fans who really love the game can’t afford good seats, while some corporate exec and his plastic wife are sitting courtside on their cell phones, not even paying attention to the game.  Huge corporations have bought up arenas and renamed them in order to promote their own company.  My beloved Boston Garden has now become the sickening TD Garden.  And TD Bank wants us to be happy that they “brought the Garden back” by renaming the TD Banknorth Center the TD Garden?  Please.  Players are making so much money now and get so much media attention, their egos have become the size of, well, Shaquille O’Neal.  These players are too busy making commercials, tweeting smack-talk about each other, and making more money off of video games, that they have forgotten what they’re really famous for: their ability to play the game of basketball because they have a passion and genuine love for the game.

One of the things I always loved about being a Boston Celtics fan was listening to the commentating of Hall-of-Famer Celtic player and coach Tommy Heinsohn.  Tommy often reminisces about the good ol’ days of basketball and helps us remember what the game is really about, so we don’t get swallowed up by the media monster that the NBA has turned into.

Me and my all-time favorite NBA player & coach, Tommy Heinsohn, at the TD Garden in December 2009.

Mooving Experiences

Hey Everyone,

My name is Melinda Gray and I am a Professional Writing major from Groveton, NH, a small town about 45 minutes south of Canada. A fun media experience I had over break was playing with my friend's new Droid phone. It just amazes me how something so small can be capable of so much. I love how media can give us access to so much information, but I hate how it disconnects people from one another as far as physical and social relationships (i.e., some people spend more time with technology than with people and text more often than they speak face-to-face with a person). My dream for my future is to become a published author, but knowing my odds, I also plan on holding other jobs in the writing field, such as editing and publishing. I was born and raised on a dairy farm, GrayMist Farm, so I would also love to write in order to promote farming and, especially, the dairy industry. I absolutely LOVE cows!

Here's me with my cow, Tillie, whom I lost last February, but love very much!

Apparently, what we do on the farm is considered a "dirty job." Here's a clip from the TV show "Dirty Jobs" that shows what kind of things we do at GrayMist Farm. I have actually done this before, and it is one of the most rewarding experiences of a lifetime!