How does a person achieve "cool" through their own perspective? What influenced their perception of cool?
People act cool, because it is one of the few ways to be remembered for a period of time after death. One way to do this is having two faces. A person knows that they cannot be liked from both parents and friends if they act the same thus bringing out different characters. Another way is to be socially known or famous. We also achieve cool by having some sort of property named after someone, or can be seen and admired such as a mansion, or a park. Such attempts of cool has changed over the course of the years, from dressing nicely to poorly, from specking correctly to illiterate. But there are some things about cool that will never change, for instance, a suit on a man will probably never go out of style. Expensive toys, such as the ipod or gaming console will be loved by many. Even the things we don’t find appealing such as popped collars, cartoon network, or Canada, may be viewed as cool by a different culture or a small group of people. Everyone does whatever it takes to be cool, but to certain people only. If you are trying to appeal to your friends, you wouldn’t care what people in Russia or Japan thinks. I am trying to say that we are all acting cool as a rite of passage to a certain group. We are all acting cool, even the criminals we lock up. They too trying to do whatever it takes to be accepted by a certain person or group. The only difference between criminals and citizens is that the majority of criminals did not receive the affection from their guardians while growing up, so they come up with their own ways of receiving attention from the world. Criminals, like most of us, try to achieve cool with the same goals, such as becoming a millionaire or to be known, as we do, but with their own methods.
Money is a very effective and easy way to be known,especially when you have a large sum of cash. Attempts of gaining millions of dollars are used by businessman, sports players, fashion designers, actors/actresses. Of course we don’t know all of the people who fall into these categories, but we know at least the best or personal favorites. One widely known criminal who become a celebrity is named Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone, or “Scarface”. Capone was different than most people. Born in a family of eight children, he did not seek to become a barber like his dad. Capone wanted to be widely known and famous, one of the ways to become cool. His methods however were not legal. After being expelled from P.S. 133 at the age of 14, he worked wherever he can such as candy stores and bowling alleys. He soon came across Johnny Torrio who introduced him to the gangster life. He looked up to Johnny Torrio, who become his mentor and Capones' idol. One of his earlier gangs Capone was involved in was Junior Forty Thieves, Brooklyn Ripper and Five Points Gang. He later moved to Chicago. Torrio son left Chicago, leaving Capone all his wealth and shares. From there, Capone become notorious and owned a large portion of Chicago’s underworld.
“Capone was notorious during the Prohibition Era for his control of large portions of the Chicago underworld, which provided the Outfit with an estimated US $100 million per year[15] in revenue. This wealth was generated through all manner of illegal enterprises, such as gambling and prostitution,[6] although the largest moneymaker was the sale of liquor. In those days Capone had the habit of "interviewing" new prostitutes for his club himself.1Demand was met by a transportation network that moved smuggled liquor from the rum-runners of the East Coast and The Purple Gang in Detroit and local production in the form of Midwestern moonshine operations and illegal breweries. With the funds generated by his bootlegging operation, Capone's grip on the political and law-enforcement establishments in Chicago grew stronger. Through this organized corruption, which included the bribing of Mayor of Chicago William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Capone's gang operated largely free from legal intrusion, operating casinos and speakeasies throughout Chicago. Wealth also permitted Capone to indulge in a luxurious lifestyle of custom suits, cigars, gourmet food and drink (his preferred liquor was Templeton Rye from Iowa), jewelry, and female companionship. He garnered media attention, to which his favorite responses was "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want" and "All I do is satisfy a public demand."[6] Capone had become a celebrity.”
Capone, unlike most of us, did not seek affection from his father the barber. He wanted to become famous just as his mentor Torrio was. He easily become known, because unlike most citizens, his methods were illegal but very entertaining. Prostitution, gambling, liquor stores, all of these were of value to many people. He was able to bribe the law enforcers, the mayor, anyone that might have got in his way. Then he brought the underworld business out of the shadows and into the street. His charm became a liking to everyone, even the media didn’t seem to mind Capone. His illegal methods got him to become a star, even after accused of murder and rape, he was still able to hold the public’s trust because he was cool. No matter how he made his money, bootlegged products, illegal breweries, he had money and fame and no one was going to call him a criminal. With money and property, he was able to buy everyone's trust and satify his costumers, in which everyone started to love him.
One of the ways of being cool or at least seemingly cool because you are being acknowledged by many people is getting attention any means necessary, through pity or heroic action. This is mostly seen through celebrities. Whether they are having another baby, or had sex in public, or addicted to drugs, it would instantaneously be on the media and magazines. There is one man who sought for this kind of attention, although he did not use the standard methods of gaining attention. Instead, Keith Jesperson, aka “The Happy Face Killer,” used fear to gain the everyone’s attention. Born with an abusive father, and a family who hates him, Keith grew up with a thirst for attention. Like Capone, he didn't want to grow up and become like his father. He sought attention from the people he wanted to grow up and become, The Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Unfortunately, after a training accident, he was dismissed and from there on he sought revenge against society. “Keith Hunter Jesperson (born April 6, 1955, Chilliwack, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born American serial killer known as the "Happy Face Killer" for the smiley face he drew on his many letters to the media and prosecutors.[1] He first drew the smiley face on the wall of a toilet where he left an anonymous confession to killing Taunja Bennett, this was hundreds of miles away from the scene of the crime. When that didn't elicit a response, he began writing letters…while Jesperson sat in the Clark County Jail for the murder of Julie Winningham, he began talking to his attorney, Thomas Phelan, about other crimes that he had committed starting with Taunja Bennett. Keith also confessed to a large number of murders that he didn't commit. He sought attention from the media by taking credit for many more murders. Many of these murders happened when he had a conclusive alibi and he later recanted most of these confessions.” Jesperson, never was given attention or love from his family (and I feel attention is something we all crave from especially from our family), he was given abuse. Abuse from his father was the only form of attention he was given and that was only from his father. He focused his experience with his father on all the victims he have murdered. His signature weapon was a rope in which he strangled his victims. He then sent varies amounts of letters to medias across the nation, always labeled with a smiley face. He later felt that confessing to more crimes then he has done would give him a higher body count, in which case would label him a bigger threat to society, for his goal was to harm society. He methods strikes fear into society, confessing to more crimes than he has committed makes him look more dangerous to society so he can become known.
Another way to look at how these criminals became to be, other than how they become who they are, but why. Why didn't Capone try to become like his father, a barber? There maybe a lot of answers to this, for instance, because he grew up with seven other siblings all trying to achieve their parents attention, there wasn't much left for Capone, so he became independent. Or because becoming a barber didn't appeal to Capone, so he did what he could to not become like his father, and Torrio was his way out. For Jesperson, he was the middle child, but he was treated like a stranger compared to his two brothers and two sisters. For instance he had to pay a thirty dollar rent while his siblings paid nothing. Also, he was the only one abused by his father, and no one in his family tried to stop the father. This of course scared Jesperson for life. But in doing so, Jesperson enjoyed torture, and in his early like, burned animals as a hobby. His path was chosen, when he started burning animals and because no one in his family cared for him, he was allowed to do this freely. Because he had no control in his life, he got a sick pleasure out of controlling who lives and who dies. These criminals path was chosen from the start of their early life and what they say as cool only because of the environment they lived in.
There are many ideas of cool, and usually a persons perception of cool comes from the environment they live in. But sometimes a person's path is not chosen by their culture, for instance, religion, ethnic, etc. Sometimes, you don't like what your culture offers, so you seek somethings else. These are all methods to become cool and fit in with a certain group. Killing is no exception. Killing has gone on for as long as a living organism was determined to live. Killing is no different than being a celebrity. They both have their ups and down, and they want to be the star attention, the unique one, out of the environment they live in. We all are trying to become “cool” so we are to be remembered for years to come, and we all will do whatever means necessary to become cool.
Sources
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al_Capone
http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/serial_killers/predators/jesperson/murder_1.html
Monday, January 25, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Hw 36
To Bao Lin,
Know that i am doing HW 36 on whatever you posted up as your rough draft.
Argument 1: Teenagers are idiot and are taught by the media how to feel empty. Thus, in our own time, we feel as the media tells us. "They are being utilized as “rats” for the experts to experiment on, and seek what is cool to them and sold it back to them resulting they are the ultimate consumers who are supporting the “wicked” corporations to reflect their ignorance of the whole situation." As from the book Fight Club said, "We are selling rich women their own fat asses back to them." It's just the irony in what we do that makes me laugh inside. Anyways, you say that we sell this idea of cool, which then gets sold back to us. This is how we move on and this is why people are trying to act cool.
Argument 2: Nothing every last and if we accept that, maybe we would stop trying to act cool. You wrote that emptiness is not like nothingness because emptiness, in other cultures, emptiness is like having an empty cup, you can't say you have nothing because you have a cup at least. With this empty feeling, you try to fill it up with something. The quote you choose was "we are claiming that everything is “impermanence”, constantly changing. Within this definition of emptiness, we tend to “behave in ways that only solidify your [our] own ego and cause harm to yourself [ourselves] and others." I feel that you're telling me that, because we believe that everything changes, we have no control over the change, thus we change ourselves. We try to fill the void with our own interest. I feel like this is "filling an empty cup with an empty glass (Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky)". We fill this void with senseless actions and looks, all pointless because everything will change again and we must change with it; the cycle of cool.
Argument 3: Cool would not be bad if it were not a competition. This argument reminded me of a quote, "An eye for an eye, and the whole world would be blind." ~Kahlil Gibran.(I don't know if he originally said it but it is close enough.)"We like to knock off others to make ourselves to feel better, special and unique in the group often offers the sense of importance which satisfies people in a short-term. " If life were not so competitive, maybe we could live peacefully, without all this nonsense of, who can look, act, and pretend for the rest of their life, to be cool. Without rivalry, there would be no competition. Without competition, everyone can act like and for themselves.
Argument 4: If we label cool towards good things, (your example) air, exchanging mp3 files, the whole world would be better off. I feel like this would never work. Trying to make air cool is like making black hair cool. Cool, even though its like a paradox, would mean sort of like exclusive. If one person were to have this kind of style, that person would be cool. If a small group had this kind of style, they are promoting cool. If a large quantity of people had this cool style, the look is ruined because of how basic it becomes. I feel like this paragraph wouldn't work unless you can come up with a better example other then thin air. Besides all your other paragraphs are great and i feel like this one would ruin it.
Thesis: If we just think things through to the very end, we need to accept that nothing last forever, and wasting our entire life just to be remembered for a few more years is a poor way to live. But instead of feeling so empty, and so dependent on others that we lose all confidence in ourselves, we should focus on actually doing something rather then trying to gain approval from people we don't even know. (Apologies if the thesis is not what you are going for. I hope to at least get the jest of what your argument is and if not, I again apologies.)
I believe that this essay will turn out great overall. You have many quotes, many sources, and your own opinion that makes sense about cool. You have your theory on where cool is being mass produce, came up with your own methods that can help society forget about being cool, and I feel confident about your paper so far, even though you have not finished. Some things I'd like to point out is that you have minor grammar mistakes and hope on you final piece, you have proof read or ask someone else to do it. Also i feel like you need to work on your fourth argument because I am a bit skeptical on how that paragraph would fit into you essay. Also if you may, in the intro of your essay please give your definition of cool, and your opinion on it.
To Dinorah,
Note that i am doing this assignment on whatever you have on your essay
Argument 1: The source of all "cool"
Argument 2: What do others think of cool?
Argument 3: Does the media control cool? Because of their countless propaganda of cool, people are no doubt influence in some particular way.
Argument 4: Is cool an item? Does the item make us cool or do we become the item?
Argument 5: Methods of being cool.
Thesis: Becoming cool, or trying to be cool makes you look weak and hopeless because you're trying to become something you're not. But some people are just naturally labeled "cool" and becomes a royal prince/cess that you must be born to become. (Sorry if this is a worse thesis, and if this is wrong in some form of way.)
I feel like your idea of cool is in some ways a monarchy. For instance, one would have to be born with the looks and the personality in order to be cool. And then those cool people would have the powers to decide who else can be entitled cool. They control everything, every action, and every attention, and whatever they do, people must observe. Just like a monarchy, only the king and queen can decide who can take their throne. And if you think about it, if there are too many cool kings and queens, then they are no longer powerful, they become a normal person. Of course whoever if king or queen is not all powerful, there is always someone behind them pulling the strings. By that i mean the idea of cool is always taken from something. Because like the book Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk, "everything is a copy of a copy of a copy..."
Just like many essays, please re-read your work and check for grammar mistakes. Also i personally believe that trying to find the source of cool would be rather difficult. Its a big cycle of copy and paste. Kids turns something cool, media post the cool, and that "cool" becomes crap. Trying to find out where the idea of cool came from would be rather difficult because it can be traced back to the time humans were called cavemen. Maybe make that argument more specific towards something, like why we need to view things as cool.
Know that i am doing HW 36 on whatever you posted up as your rough draft.
Argument 1: Teenagers are idiot and are taught by the media how to feel empty. Thus, in our own time, we feel as the media tells us. "They are being utilized as “rats” for the experts to experiment on, and seek what is cool to them and sold it back to them resulting they are the ultimate consumers who are supporting the “wicked” corporations to reflect their ignorance of the whole situation." As from the book Fight Club said, "We are selling rich women their own fat asses back to them." It's just the irony in what we do that makes me laugh inside. Anyways, you say that we sell this idea of cool, which then gets sold back to us. This is how we move on and this is why people are trying to act cool.
Argument 2: Nothing every last and if we accept that, maybe we would stop trying to act cool. You wrote that emptiness is not like nothingness because emptiness, in other cultures, emptiness is like having an empty cup, you can't say you have nothing because you have a cup at least. With this empty feeling, you try to fill it up with something. The quote you choose was "we are claiming that everything is “impermanence”, constantly changing. Within this definition of emptiness, we tend to “behave in ways that only solidify your [our] own ego and cause harm to yourself [ourselves] and others." I feel that you're telling me that, because we believe that everything changes, we have no control over the change, thus we change ourselves. We try to fill the void with our own interest. I feel like this is "filling an empty cup with an empty glass (Notes from Underground, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky)". We fill this void with senseless actions and looks, all pointless because everything will change again and we must change with it; the cycle of cool.
Argument 3: Cool would not be bad if it were not a competition. This argument reminded me of a quote, "An eye for an eye, and the whole world would be blind." ~Kahlil Gibran.(I don't know if he originally said it but it is close enough.)"We like to knock off others to make ourselves to feel better, special and unique in the group often offers the sense of importance which satisfies people in a short-term. " If life were not so competitive, maybe we could live peacefully, without all this nonsense of, who can look, act, and pretend for the rest of their life, to be cool. Without rivalry, there would be no competition. Without competition, everyone can act like and for themselves.
Argument 4: If we label cool towards good things, (your example) air, exchanging mp3 files, the whole world would be better off. I feel like this would never work. Trying to make air cool is like making black hair cool. Cool, even though its like a paradox, would mean sort of like exclusive. If one person were to have this kind of style, that person would be cool. If a small group had this kind of style, they are promoting cool. If a large quantity of people had this cool style, the look is ruined because of how basic it becomes. I feel like this paragraph wouldn't work unless you can come up with a better example other then thin air. Besides all your other paragraphs are great and i feel like this one would ruin it.
Thesis: If we just think things through to the very end, we need to accept that nothing last forever, and wasting our entire life just to be remembered for a few more years is a poor way to live. But instead of feeling so empty, and so dependent on others that we lose all confidence in ourselves, we should focus on actually doing something rather then trying to gain approval from people we don't even know. (Apologies if the thesis is not what you are going for. I hope to at least get the jest of what your argument is and if not, I again apologies.)
I believe that this essay will turn out great overall. You have many quotes, many sources, and your own opinion that makes sense about cool. You have your theory on where cool is being mass produce, came up with your own methods that can help society forget about being cool, and I feel confident about your paper so far, even though you have not finished. Some things I'd like to point out is that you have minor grammar mistakes and hope on you final piece, you have proof read or ask someone else to do it. Also i feel like you need to work on your fourth argument because I am a bit skeptical on how that paragraph would fit into you essay. Also if you may, in the intro of your essay please give your definition of cool, and your opinion on it.
To Dinorah,
Note that i am doing this assignment on whatever you have on your essay
Argument 1: The source of all "cool"
Argument 2: What do others think of cool?
Argument 3: Does the media control cool? Because of their countless propaganda of cool, people are no doubt influence in some particular way.
Argument 4: Is cool an item? Does the item make us cool or do we become the item?
Argument 5: Methods of being cool.
Thesis: Becoming cool, or trying to be cool makes you look weak and hopeless because you're trying to become something you're not. But some people are just naturally labeled "cool" and becomes a royal prince/cess that you must be born to become. (Sorry if this is a worse thesis, and if this is wrong in some form of way.)
I feel like your idea of cool is in some ways a monarchy. For instance, one would have to be born with the looks and the personality in order to be cool. And then those cool people would have the powers to decide who else can be entitled cool. They control everything, every action, and every attention, and whatever they do, people must observe. Just like a monarchy, only the king and queen can decide who can take their throne. And if you think about it, if there are too many cool kings and queens, then they are no longer powerful, they become a normal person. Of course whoever if king or queen is not all powerful, there is always someone behind them pulling the strings. By that i mean the idea of cool is always taken from something. Because like the book Lullaby, by Chuck Palahniuk, "everything is a copy of a copy of a copy..."
Just like many essays, please re-read your work and check for grammar mistakes. Also i personally believe that trying to find the source of cool would be rather difficult. Its a big cycle of copy and paste. Kids turns something cool, media post the cool, and that "cool" becomes crap. Trying to find out where the idea of cool came from would be rather difficult because it can be traced back to the time humans were called cavemen. Maybe make that argument more specific towards something, like why we need to view things as cool.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
Hw 35
How does a person achieve "cool" through their own perspective?
I feel that people act cool, because it is one of the few ways to be remembered for a period of time after death. One way to do this is having two faces. A person knows that they cannot be liked from both parents and friends if they act the same thus bringing out different characters. Another way is to be socially known or famous. We also achieve cool by having some sort of property named after you, or can be seen and admired such as a mansion, or a park. Such attempts of cool has changed over the course of the years, from dressing nicely to poorly, from specking correctly to illiterate. But there are some things about cool that will never change, for instance, a suit on a man will probably never go out of style. Expensive toys, such as the ipod or gaming console will be loved by many. Even the things we don’t find appealing such as popped collars, cartoon network, or Canada, may be viewed as cool by a different culture or a small group of people. Everyone does whatever it takes to be cool, but to certain people only. If you are trying to appeal to your friends, you wouldn’t care what people in Russia or Japan thinks. I am trying to say that we are all acting cool to get a rite of passage to a certain group. We are all acting cool, so what’s the deal with criminals? Are they acting cool to? And to whom? I feel like we are all trying to achieve cool, but criminals methods are different then who are law abiding citizens. Criminals, like most of us, tries to achieve cool with the same techniques as citizens, but with their own methods.
Money is a very effective and easy way to be known, even achieving millions of dollars can make a person known. Attempts of gaining millions of dollars were used by businessman, sports players, fashion designers, actors/actresses. Of course we don’t know all of the people who fall into these categories, but we know at least the best or personal favorites. One widely known criminal who tried to become a celebrity is named Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone, or “Scarface”. Capone wanted to be widely known and famous, one of the ways to be cool. His methods however were not legal. After being expelled from P.S. 133 at the age of 14, he worked wherever he can such as candy stores and bowling alleys. He soon came across Johnny Torrio who introduced him to the gangster life. One of his earlier gangs Capone was involved in was Junior Forty Thieves, Brooklyn Ripper and Five Points Gang. He later moved to Chicago leaving his wife Mae Josephine Coughlin, after she gave birth to their son. Years later, after an assassination attempt on Torrio, he left his wealth to Capone and fled to Italy. From there, Capone become notorious and owned a large portion of Chicago’s underworld.
“Capone was notorious during the Prohibition Era for his control of large portions of the Chicago underworld, which provided the Outfit with an estimated US $100 million per year[15] in revenue. This wealth was generated through all manner of illegal enterprises, such as gambling and prostitution,[6] although the largest moneymaker was the sale of liquor. In those days Capone had the habit of "interviewing" new prostitutes for his club himself.1Demand was met by a transportation network that moved smuggled liquor from the rum-runners of the East Coast and The Purple Gang in Detroit and local production in the form of Midwestern moonshine operations and illegal breweries. With the funds generated by his bootlegging operation, Capone's grip on the political and law-enforcement establishments in Chicago grew stronger. Through this organized corruption, which included the bribing of Mayor of Chicago William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Capone's gang operated largely free from legal intrusion, operating casinos and speakeasies throughout Chicago. Wealth also permitted Capone to indulge in a luxurious lifestyle of custom suits, cigars, gourmet food and drink (his preferred liquor was Templeton Rye from Iowa), jewelry, and female companionship. He garnered media attention, to which his favorite responses was "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want" and "All I do is satisfy a public demand."[6] Capone had become a celebrity.”
Capone become famous because he owned something that was very entertaining to many people. Prostitution, gambling, liquor stores, all of these were of value to many people. He was able to bribe the law enforcers, the mayor, anyone that might’ve got in his way, in which he then brought the underworld business out of the shadows and into the light. He got everyone to like him, even the media didn’t seem to mind Capone. His illegal methods got his to being a star, even after accused of murder and rape, he was still able to hold the public’s trust because he was cool. No matter how he made his money, bootlegged products, illegal breweries, he had money and fame and no one was going o call him a criminal. Because he had money and fame, attempted by most of us, he was famous and a celebrity.
One of the ways of being cool or at least seemingly cool because you are being acknowledged by many people is getting attention any means necessary, through pity or heroic action. This is mostly seen through celebrities. Whether they are having another baby, or had sex in public, or addicted to drugs, it would instantaneously be on the media and magazines. There is one man who sought for this kind of attention, although he did not use the standard methods of gaining attention. Instead, Keith Jesperson, aka “The Happy Face Killer,” used fear to gain the everyone’s attention. Born with an abusive father, and a family who hates him, Keith grew up with a thirst for attention. With no talent, and no future, he turned to the only thing he knew, anger. Anger from his father, anger from his entire family, he went on a killing spree all across the U.S.A. His methods of gaining attention was not the confession he gave to the media about killing his victims, but because he wrote letters to the media and confess to crimes he didn’t commit. “Keith Hunter Jesperson (born April 6, 1955, Chilliwack, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born American serial killer known as the "Happy Face Killer" for the smiley face he drew on his many letters to the media and prosecutors.[1] He first drew the smiley face on the wall of a toilet where he left an anonymous confession to killing Taunja Bennett, this was hundreds of miles away from the scene of the crime. When that didn't elicit a response, he began writing letters…while Jesperson sat in the Clark County Jail for the murder of Julie Winningham, he began talking to his attorney, Thomas Phelan, about other crimes that he had committed starting with Taunja Bennett. Keith also confessed to a large number of murders that he didn't commit. He sought attention from the media by taking credit for many more murders. Many of these murders happened when he had a conclusive alibi and he later recanted most of these confessions.” Jesperson, never was given attention or love from his family (and I feel attention is something we all crave from especially from our family), seeks it from the media. He we in desperate need for as much attention as possible, he confess to crimes he didn’t commit, only to either, because a more psychotic killer, or gain pity from the media’s audiences especially when they find out that he didn’t do it. He did what it takes to gain attention, even coming up with a an odd confession with a drawing of a smiley face on a toilet. His odd methods and his letter to the media became a signature of Jesperson, something to remember his by, and because of his name, The Happy Face Killer, it gives him a sort of twist image that people will remember. His attempts to become fearful, by confessing he killed more than he actually did, and the smiley faces he incorporated with his kills, gives him a twisted outlook only a “psychopath” would be viewed today. And because of his odd techniques and methods, he will be both feared and remembered by many long after his death.
There are many ideas of cool, and what cool is depends on the culture you grew up in. But even so, something’s are not determine by culture, for instance video games can be thought as cool by all people, so are animals, wild life, etc. These are all methods to become cool and fit in with a certain group. Killing is no exception. Killing has gone on for as long as a living organism was determined to live. Killing is no different than being rich. They both have their ups and down, and they will be the star attention, the unique one, out of the culture they live in. We all are trying to become “cool” so we are to be remembered for years to come, and we all will do whatever means necessary to become cool.
I feel that people act cool, because it is one of the few ways to be remembered for a period of time after death. One way to do this is having two faces. A person knows that they cannot be liked from both parents and friends if they act the same thus bringing out different characters. Another way is to be socially known or famous. We also achieve cool by having some sort of property named after you, or can be seen and admired such as a mansion, or a park. Such attempts of cool has changed over the course of the years, from dressing nicely to poorly, from specking correctly to illiterate. But there are some things about cool that will never change, for instance, a suit on a man will probably never go out of style. Expensive toys, such as the ipod or gaming console will be loved by many. Even the things we don’t find appealing such as popped collars, cartoon network, or Canada, may be viewed as cool by a different culture or a small group of people. Everyone does whatever it takes to be cool, but to certain people only. If you are trying to appeal to your friends, you wouldn’t care what people in Russia or Japan thinks. I am trying to say that we are all acting cool to get a rite of passage to a certain group. We are all acting cool, so what’s the deal with criminals? Are they acting cool to? And to whom? I feel like we are all trying to achieve cool, but criminals methods are different then who are law abiding citizens. Criminals, like most of us, tries to achieve cool with the same techniques as citizens, but with their own methods.
Money is a very effective and easy way to be known, even achieving millions of dollars can make a person known. Attempts of gaining millions of dollars were used by businessman, sports players, fashion designers, actors/actresses. Of course we don’t know all of the people who fall into these categories, but we know at least the best or personal favorites. One widely known criminal who tried to become a celebrity is named Alphonse Gabriel “Al” Capone, or “Scarface”. Capone wanted to be widely known and famous, one of the ways to be cool. His methods however were not legal. After being expelled from P.S. 133 at the age of 14, he worked wherever he can such as candy stores and bowling alleys. He soon came across Johnny Torrio who introduced him to the gangster life. One of his earlier gangs Capone was involved in was Junior Forty Thieves, Brooklyn Ripper and Five Points Gang. He later moved to Chicago leaving his wife Mae Josephine Coughlin, after she gave birth to their son. Years later, after an assassination attempt on Torrio, he left his wealth to Capone and fled to Italy. From there, Capone become notorious and owned a large portion of Chicago’s underworld.
“Capone was notorious during the Prohibition Era for his control of large portions of the Chicago underworld, which provided the Outfit with an estimated US $100 million per year[15] in revenue. This wealth was generated through all manner of illegal enterprises, such as gambling and prostitution,[6] although the largest moneymaker was the sale of liquor. In those days Capone had the habit of "interviewing" new prostitutes for his club himself.1Demand was met by a transportation network that moved smuggled liquor from the rum-runners of the East Coast and The Purple Gang in Detroit and local production in the form of Midwestern moonshine operations and illegal breweries. With the funds generated by his bootlegging operation, Capone's grip on the political and law-enforcement establishments in Chicago grew stronger. Through this organized corruption, which included the bribing of Mayor of Chicago William "Big Bill" Hale Thompson, Capone's gang operated largely free from legal intrusion, operating casinos and speakeasies throughout Chicago. Wealth also permitted Capone to indulge in a luxurious lifestyle of custom suits, cigars, gourmet food and drink (his preferred liquor was Templeton Rye from Iowa), jewelry, and female companionship. He garnered media attention, to which his favorite responses was "I am just a businessman, giving the people what they want" and "All I do is satisfy a public demand."[6] Capone had become a celebrity.”
Capone become famous because he owned something that was very entertaining to many people. Prostitution, gambling, liquor stores, all of these were of value to many people. He was able to bribe the law enforcers, the mayor, anyone that might’ve got in his way, in which he then brought the underworld business out of the shadows and into the light. He got everyone to like him, even the media didn’t seem to mind Capone. His illegal methods got his to being a star, even after accused of murder and rape, he was still able to hold the public’s trust because he was cool. No matter how he made his money, bootlegged products, illegal breweries, he had money and fame and no one was going o call him a criminal. Because he had money and fame, attempted by most of us, he was famous and a celebrity.
One of the ways of being cool or at least seemingly cool because you are being acknowledged by many people is getting attention any means necessary, through pity or heroic action. This is mostly seen through celebrities. Whether they are having another baby, or had sex in public, or addicted to drugs, it would instantaneously be on the media and magazines. There is one man who sought for this kind of attention, although he did not use the standard methods of gaining attention. Instead, Keith Jesperson, aka “The Happy Face Killer,” used fear to gain the everyone’s attention. Born with an abusive father, and a family who hates him, Keith grew up with a thirst for attention. With no talent, and no future, he turned to the only thing he knew, anger. Anger from his father, anger from his entire family, he went on a killing spree all across the U.S.A. His methods of gaining attention was not the confession he gave to the media about killing his victims, but because he wrote letters to the media and confess to crimes he didn’t commit. “Keith Hunter Jesperson (born April 6, 1955, Chilliwack, British Columbia) is a Canadian-born American serial killer known as the "Happy Face Killer" for the smiley face he drew on his many letters to the media and prosecutors.[1] He first drew the smiley face on the wall of a toilet where he left an anonymous confession to killing Taunja Bennett, this was hundreds of miles away from the scene of the crime. When that didn't elicit a response, he began writing letters…while Jesperson sat in the Clark County Jail for the murder of Julie Winningham, he began talking to his attorney, Thomas Phelan, about other crimes that he had committed starting with Taunja Bennett. Keith also confessed to a large number of murders that he didn't commit. He sought attention from the media by taking credit for many more murders. Many of these murders happened when he had a conclusive alibi and he later recanted most of these confessions.” Jesperson, never was given attention or love from his family (and I feel attention is something we all crave from especially from our family), seeks it from the media. He we in desperate need for as much attention as possible, he confess to crimes he didn’t commit, only to either, because a more psychotic killer, or gain pity from the media’s audiences especially when they find out that he didn’t do it. He did what it takes to gain attention, even coming up with a an odd confession with a drawing of a smiley face on a toilet. His odd methods and his letter to the media became a signature of Jesperson, something to remember his by, and because of his name, The Happy Face Killer, it gives him a sort of twist image that people will remember. His attempts to become fearful, by confessing he killed more than he actually did, and the smiley faces he incorporated with his kills, gives him a twisted outlook only a “psychopath” would be viewed today. And because of his odd techniques and methods, he will be both feared and remembered by many long after his death.
There are many ideas of cool, and what cool is depends on the culture you grew up in. But even so, something’s are not determine by culture, for instance video games can be thought as cool by all people, so are animals, wild life, etc. These are all methods to become cool and fit in with a certain group. Killing is no exception. Killing has gone on for as long as a living organism was determined to live. Killing is no different than being rich. They both have their ups and down, and they will be the star attention, the unique one, out of the culture they live in. We all are trying to become “cool” so we are to be remembered for years to come, and we all will do whatever means necessary to become cool.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Hw 34
I feel like "cool" can be traced back to our parents. As kids, we are controlled by them, and told what to do everyday. One of the many things almost all parents will expect from their kids are; do well in school, be nice, etc. All these things the parents did when they were younger, or maybe wish they were. But being a kid, especially nowadays, we hear things like, fight the government, free will, and many things like that. And of course kids want to get in on these things, so they would fight the person oppressing them, just as the government oppress the adults, the adults oppress the kids. So as a result, we fight back, and do the complete opposite, which now become cool. The idea of rebel become cool to the young minds. Doing well in school, acting nice, dressing nice, become a sort of weakness, as in you're following the rules while others are not. This can be one of the source of cool. Another could be the environment you live in. For instance, what might be cool here might not be cool else where. The environment you live in will or might expect you to do certain things and i feel it would depend on; what race you are, how much money you have, religion, house, and parent's job(i might be missing others). Then the environment itself would have its own list such as; the different race and how many are there, the different religion and how many are there, the type of environment you live in (rural, urban, etc), and the type of buildings or landmarks there are in the place you live in. All of these things can have an affect on the environment you live in, which will of course effect you.
I feel like everyone in their own ways wants to be cool...in there own ways. I don't agree however that every race has their own cool, because a person of a different race can disagree with their own cultures view of the world. I think it's all about the choices we make that can ultimately decide what we view of the world. For instance two people can have the same life, same ethnics, same culture, everything, but something can happen to one of them and can completely change their view in the world. So i don't think a person will find one thing cool forever, of course it will change over time. The only reason a race will find something cool is because they were raised like that, but eventually they will open their eyes and see that they have a choice in what's cool. My point is that being white, black, asian, hispanic, etc. will not make them who they are and find certain things cool because of their race, it's just the environment they live in and how they personally view it.
If you ask me, I would say fuck what people think is cool. If there is one thing i agree with parents even though they don't totally believe in it themselves is, "who cares what other people think." I don't know if all parents have said that but i know i have and i still believe in it. Who cares what other people think. If a smart black kid was being criticized by drug dealers, well shit don't give in. Who would be more successful in a long run? And the map thingy is also i believe bullshit. Just because your parents do something and the media says people of your ethnic does this, doesn't mean you have to do it. If the whole world did things that made them cool, well...i don't want to think about it. In fact, maybe we're not that far from it. Anyways, doing things that makes you cool but doesn't help at all is just plain silly.
I feel like everyone in their own ways wants to be cool...in there own ways. I don't agree however that every race has their own cool, because a person of a different race can disagree with their own cultures view of the world. I think it's all about the choices we make that can ultimately decide what we view of the world. For instance two people can have the same life, same ethnics, same culture, everything, but something can happen to one of them and can completely change their view in the world. So i don't think a person will find one thing cool forever, of course it will change over time. The only reason a race will find something cool is because they were raised like that, but eventually they will open their eyes and see that they have a choice in what's cool. My point is that being white, black, asian, hispanic, etc. will not make them who they are and find certain things cool because of their race, it's just the environment they live in and how they personally view it.
If you ask me, I would say fuck what people think is cool. If there is one thing i agree with parents even though they don't totally believe in it themselves is, "who cares what other people think." I don't know if all parents have said that but i know i have and i still believe in it. Who cares what other people think. If a smart black kid was being criticized by drug dealers, well shit don't give in. Who would be more successful in a long run? And the map thingy is also i believe bullshit. Just because your parents do something and the media says people of your ethnic does this, doesn't mean you have to do it. If the whole world did things that made them cool, well...i don't want to think about it. In fact, maybe we're not that far from it. Anyways, doing things that makes you cool but doesn't help at all is just plain silly.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Hw 33
How might cool change the lives or change the course of lives of everyday people?
Thesis: Killers, like most of us, tries to be remembered for years to come and uses the same technique as we do.
Argument 1: We act cool, try to be cool for the money, and for a better life. Killers can think that killing is cool, and you can definitely profit from it.
Argument 2: While we try to act different and dress differently to gain attention, killers use fear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Jesperson
Argument 3: "The Morality Project," like us, killers will do anything to be remembered.
Black Dahlia, was the name of a crime scene. Nowadays, people believe that the killer posed her body as an art rather then left unintentionally. Many people relate this kill to the picture of a minator.
Conclusion: There are many ideas of cool. Even if we live in the same culture and/or community, we can find different kinds of "cool." While normal people may find cool in medias, and popular television shows, others can find cool in just about anything. Killers are no exception and their views on cool changes them.
Thesis: Killers, like most of us, tries to be remembered for years to come and uses the same technique as we do.
Argument 1: We act cool, try to be cool for the money, and for a better life. Killers can think that killing is cool, and you can definitely profit from it.
Argument 2: While we try to act different and dress differently to gain attention, killers use fear. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_Jesperson
Argument 3: "The Morality Project," like us, killers will do anything to be remembered.
Black Dahlia, was the name of a crime scene. Nowadays, people believe that the killer posed her body as an art rather then left unintentionally. Many people relate this kill to the picture of a minator.
Conclusion: There are many ideas of cool. Even if we live in the same culture and/or community, we can find different kinds of "cool." While normal people may find cool in medias, and popular television shows, others can find cool in just about anything. Killers are no exception and their views on cool changes them.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
HW 32
To me, tattoos are no big deal. So people want to put a little art on themselves, maybe their whole entire body. Some people find this offensive, as though ruining your body is insulting them in some way. They find this demeaning and demoralizing because tattoos ruins the pureness of the body or something like that. And depending on what tattoos you get, most of the popular ones are rebel tattoos, such as the skull, the thorns, sentences written from other culture, something religious, etc. Most of these tattoos signify what a person believes in or what they find interesting. However, i feel like there is a flaw to a tattoo because they are permanent. It's not the fact that the tattoos stay on your skin for years to come and that they are hard to remove i find hard to comprehend but if a tattoo is suppose to signify who you are, then that means that you better get a tattoo that you will believe in forever to come. In other words, the tattoos to me means that you believe in this one thing, and you will always believe in it, thus never growing up or out of it.
Tattoos in the past were used to symbolize many different things, but the main thing is, for most cultures, a ritual. In most ritual there is some kind of significant drawings of some sort followed by, usually, a group of people acknowledging. Most of these rituals are a rite of passage for boys to become men and they come in many different ways. Most of them are as simple as a "boy" completing a task and then after completing it, are marks with ink from some kind of plant or animal. Some of them are as painful as being drawing on by a knife or some sharp object. My favorite one was when they trapped fire ants in these nets with little tiny wholes and then they place the net all over the "boy"'s body, letting the ant bite them. Because these fire ants are toxic, some "boys" while receiving the tattoo suffer from side effects such as delirium, hallucination, and others. It's funny how much has changed because today anyone can get it if they have enough money and to me is almost meaningless. It's more for reminiscing since it serves no other purpose.
Tattoos to me aren't that popular. I don't notice them as often as i notice the clothes people wear so this becoming a trend is possible but not as popular as other things. Also getting a tattoo does not signify anything. Its like kids nowadays passing the word "love" or "hate" its been overused and has lost all meanings. So getting a tattoo does not signify brave, or heroism, or rebel for that matter, its just art on your body. Or a snapshot art on your body that specifies an event that has taken place in your life. What was once a symbol for only the bravest of people has been reduce to "for sale".
Tattoos in the past were used to symbolize many different things, but the main thing is, for most cultures, a ritual. In most ritual there is some kind of significant drawings of some sort followed by, usually, a group of people acknowledging. Most of these rituals are a rite of passage for boys to become men and they come in many different ways. Most of them are as simple as a "boy" completing a task and then after completing it, are marks with ink from some kind of plant or animal. Some of them are as painful as being drawing on by a knife or some sharp object. My favorite one was when they trapped fire ants in these nets with little tiny wholes and then they place the net all over the "boy"'s body, letting the ant bite them. Because these fire ants are toxic, some "boys" while receiving the tattoo suffer from side effects such as delirium, hallucination, and others. It's funny how much has changed because today anyone can get it if they have enough money and to me is almost meaningless. It's more for reminiscing since it serves no other purpose.
Tattoos to me aren't that popular. I don't notice them as often as i notice the clothes people wear so this becoming a trend is possible but not as popular as other things. Also getting a tattoo does not signify anything. Its like kids nowadays passing the word "love" or "hate" its been overused and has lost all meanings. So getting a tattoo does not signify brave, or heroism, or rebel for that matter, its just art on your body. Or a snapshot art on your body that specifies an event that has taken place in your life. What was once a symbol for only the bravest of people has been reduce to "for sale".
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