The World of Coke

Many tourist attractions are in Atlanta, but one that both locals and tourists enjoy a great deal is the World of Coke. The World of Coke is a very large museum of the history of Coke, dioramas of ancient Coke products, a sampling room with Coke products from around toe world, and the largest Coke brand store in the world. One of the things that Coke claims by having this world is that it has greatly influenced the world by its main product: Coca-Cola. This is supported by the true statements that Coke makes throughout the World of Coke, "We are everywhere." Coke has branched to every part of the world. Most people would agree that there is something special about opening that glass-bottled Coke on Christmas morning. Almost everyone, at least in the United States, has seen the Christmas Santa Coke and the Polar Bears Coke commercials. One thing about the World of Coke that I have noticed is that it has never gotten old. I have personally been five times to it and I find something new about it every time I go. There is always something that you missed last time, or some new artifact that they have found. Those artifacts are all over the building and most of them need no label, people know what it is and the recognition evokes that fun memory of the first time you saw it. One thing that most people should know about the World of Coke before going is that you should come thirsty. Because around every turn are free samples of all kinds of Coke and Coke products. There is even an entire room that was created just to sample Coke from around the world. Even for those of us who cannot drink any sort of carbonation, there are Coke product samples for us. My personal favorite would have to be the Nestle Iced Tea from China.

Music :: Akon

On my iPod, I have every single genre of music. It is all there from opera to country (very, VERY little country). My two favorite genres of music would definitely have to be theatrical score and rap/hip-hop. What do I listen to most though? Definitely rap. One of my favorite rap artists is Akon. He is a very popular artist on his own as well as featured artist on other rap artist's singles. One blog that I found on blogcritics.com says...

"At first glance, Konvicted [One of Akon's albums] appears as if its going to be more of a nod to his harder side, but tha is not always the case. "Smack That," the disc's first release, is more of an attempt to appeal to the club hoppers and the Top 40 followers and was a safe bet for a hit single. Not wanting to play it too mainstream, he also dabbles in some musical genre-hopping throughout Konvicted. "Mama Africa" contains more of a smooth reggae tone delivery and is more that just a bit akin to Kevin Lyttle's sound. Also, doing an R. Kelly-li[k]e take on the ballad "Never Took The Time," is not the way Akon wants to go if he wants to secape the "Lonely" stigma."  ---- to read more, go to: http://blogcritics.org/archives/2006/11/27/210726.php

I think that this is a pretty good description of Akon's work. The article goes on to say that even though Akon is in the rap genre, he does not actually rap. If he needs someone to spit a rhyme in one of his songs, he gets one of his many rapper friends to help him out. Akon represents the over-all rap/hip-hop genre with his vast resume of types of rap. 

This article is claiming that Akon may have released his hardest hitting song first, but that his whole album is is a very vast collection of rap types. This is all backed up by the author with his production of various songs from the album. I think that what held my attention most about the article was that it was exactly what I was searching for, which was a review of Akon. The author also supplied a very good photo of Akon for the blog post. Overall, I agree with this blog. I love Akon. I think that all his songs are awesome.

Map Response

As I was looking through the map for section-C, I noticed that one was near a place that I have been a few times, but is off of Tech's campus. This pin-point was by Aaron and was marking Club Opera. 

I agree with Aaron's summary of Opera and how it upholds the tourist view of Atlanta as "Hotlanta". Opera may be a night club, but to those in Atlanta who know the clubbing scene, we know it is one of the nicest clubs in Atlanta. I have seen very big name celebrities in this club in the VIP balcony. Everyone from Usher and Lil' John to Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan come to Opera Atlanta when they are in town. The club also offers an appeal to the look of a high class joint. Instead of grunge, it offers up tasteful red drapes and plush velvet couches. It appeals to the tourists that would want to come to Atlanta and have a late night out on the town, but still keep things classy and fun.

Aaron was dead on with all his points on Opera. Click here to look at Aaron's blog entry about Opera Atlanta.

Atlanta's Punk Scene

This cover of Creative Loafing is talking about Atlanta's punk "scene". The image is of a man that I would not want to run into in a dark alley on the way home from class. His leather vest and fingerless leather gloves alone classifies him as a biker. Bikers are generally viewed as people not to be messed with. They ride in large gangs of other hardcore bikers with who they "constantly drink and smoke" (or most people would think). The cigarette also says a lot about how tough this man is trying to be. Most people use their mouth to pull a drag. He is SO tough, that he constantly uses his nose to smoke. This reason is completely obvious, he must have a deadly weapon placed in his mouth instead. To me, this symbolizes that this guy is so hardcore that he doesn't even care about his own life. This is also symbolized by the smoke coming from the hammer of the gun. The only thing in this picture that makes no sense to me is his glasses. He has all this hardcore stuff surrounding him, and then he has some of the geekiest coke-bottle glasses ever. 

In short, I think that this picture is trying to send a message to Atlanta that the punks are here, they are hardcore, they will die for what they believe, and they are not to mess with. The caption at the bottom references survivors. This makes me believe that something that happened to almost wipe out the punk scene might have made them so tough. Most of all, the picture says to me, "F*** off!!!"

Progress In Sports

Quick bit of background, I was born in Atlanta, GA. When I was 5 my family and I moved to Biloxi, MS. Then 3 days before hurricane Katrina, we moved back to Atlanta (we knew the exact date we were moving six months before the date.). So, I have pegged 2 places on the map. The first is Biloxi, MS and the second is Atlanta, GA, specifically Bobby Dodd Stadium.

One thing that has struck me in a good way about Atlanta is how people of every single race and ethnicity can not just co-exist, but can become best friends interact well with one another. Not to talk bad about Biloxi, but when I lived there, I really did not have a friend that was not white. Alot of that is due to the fact I was homeschooled and went to a primarily white church. I was never opposed to being friends with anyone from any race, but when I was primarily at either my house or church, I just was just only with white people.

When I moved to Atlanta, I started hanging out with people from every kind of background. Some came from the high class Sugarloaf neighborhood, others from College Park. Atlanta is a vastly diverse city and is, in my opinion, far beyond most cities in the United States when it comes to diversity.

I marked Bobby Dodd Stadium because one thing that I see racial progress in more then anything else is sports. When you get on the field, race goes out the window. The color of your skin does not affect how hard you are going to get hit when you are facing four linebackers and you have the football. I think that we could all learn alot from the athletes on the GA Tech football team, and really all the sports teams here. Race does not matter. Sure you may not exactly see eye-to-eye on one thing or another, but it all comes down to working together to accomplish a common goal.

Essay Enhancement

Using technology would have greatly enhanced the argument of my essay because my major is Computational Media. I have been editing for over 5 years and it is now my major at GA Tech. The picture to the left is a picture of my hometown, Atlanta, GA, and it also has a few of the things that I mentioned in the Essay in the picture. I think that creating a video or documentary in place of a written essay would have made it easier for me to show people what I really wanted them to see. 

Superior Races -- My Experience

Over the past three weeks, I have been thrust into the wild and wacky world of college. This is not just any run-of-the-mill college either. This is Georgia Tech. Georgia Tech is a very prestigious school and will have struggles that not many other schools will have. Tech is one of the best academic schools in the country and fourth in the world in computer science (free plug for that half of my major). Existing at this institute that all colleges face, however, is one issue that all colleges face: race. In my previous blog, I told of Walt's theory of superior races and gave my opposing opinion. Here is a personal experience of mine from the first month I have experienced as a first year yellow jacket...

Looking at the two most recent football games we have played. There is no such thing as a superior race. Once you get on that field, race goes out the window. It all comes down to how hard you trained, how much you want it, and how well you cover your teammate's rear. The video below doesn't exactly address the race issue, but listen to the lyrics. "We've got the perfect option." Now look at the players on the team. Not all are black or white!! There is a good mix of races on the team, as there always will be. That is GA Tech's perfect option: get the best players in the game coupled with the best coach in the game. Race does not matter in sports. It is ALL about how good you are at playing the game.

Superior Races??

In chapter 4, Walt makes the claim that certain races are superior or inferior to other races. He says that because of bone structure and larger teeth, that the black race is the most inferior. He also claims that whites that descend from Semites are the most superior because they did not "breed" with any other race. In his claim about Jews, he says that they have created a subtle message to other races to "breed" with others to make inferior races by putting it on TV and all over the media that it is ok. The audience in context of the book at the time Walt is saying this is the author, but overall, it is anyone that will listen to Walt.

I do not agree with this argument. Especially in America, everyone has equal opportunities to create success or failure. It does not really matter what your race or where you come from. A prime example is P. Diddy. When he started, he was in poverty. But look where he is now. Is a multi-millionaire and a media mogul on a level that a majority of white middle class people would dare only to dream about. And he is black. At the same time, there exist Jews that may start out in a white middle class home and grow into poverty or some level of poverty. This argument is based on racism and prejudice. Granted, a majority of people (black, white, asian, or any other race) who start in poverty will not make it to be multi-millionaires. But, just because a majority of people will not does not mean that any certain race is above or below another.

Atlanta: My Hometown

My hometown is Atlanta, GA. A place where at any given time, one might see a movie or music video being filmed, happen to spot a celebrity while walking down the street, find five star shopping and dining, and also come across one of the most diverse mixture of cultures that I have ever seen. I found a website for tourists which is Atlanta.net. This website is geared to inform travelers who are thinking about coming to Atlanta about the various upcoming attractions in this great city. It is trying to entice the viewer to come to Atlanta and pay to see some of the best and biggest attractions in all the world. Right on the homepage, the site shows captivating pictures of the GA Aquarium, the largest in the US and the only west hemisphere aquarium to have whale sharks, and the World of Coke. This website is a great resource for someone thinking about visiting Atlanta. I would also think that it creates a since of desire for the viewer to visit Atlanta, even if they were not initially planning on coming to this great and diverse city. 

Twelve Hours of Communication

Communication is a vital part of our every day world. As people on planet Earth, we communicate with other people in vast and various ways. Technology has improved our lines of communication, but the internet or a cell phone is not the only way to communicate to other humans. Everything that we say, do, wear, or type is a form of communication. This is a comprehensive list of the communication that I have participated in during the last twelve hours.

Let's start last night since a few of the beginning hours were spent sleeping. Upon getting home, I spoke verbally to my parents, this would later spiral into a conversation. Before heading to bed, I had texted several people and been on Facebook for about an hour. All this between studying for English, of course. Upon waking, I cursed my alarm clock for waking me. On the Marta train on the way to GA Tech, communication lines opened to complete strangers that did not involve any sort of technology or even my own vocal chords. What I was wearing communicated to the other passengers that I was probably headed to some sort of athletic activity, which would be correct since I was headed to the gym. What other people were wearing communicated some sort of message to me as well. The woman in scrubs was probably a nurse, the man in the suite with the briefcase might be a lawyer, and the very large man with a hard hat was probably on his way to some construction site. Between the time at the gym and my first class, there was not as much verbal or technological communication, but quite a bit of non-verbal things that I would notice much like on Marta. When I arrived at class, I greeted the TA and told him one of the problems I was having with Delta/Epsilon proofs for linear function limits. I also asked a classmate what the TA then wrote on the board because I had missed it while taking part in another vital part of communication at GA Tech: the art of taking notes in class. After class, I went to eat and verbally gave my order at Tin Drum. I then immediately got on Facebook and proceeded to get into online conversations with various friends. This has all lead to where I am sitting now. Which is in the Starbucks inside the Barnes and Noble GA Tech Bookstore. Listening to a buzz of conversations by the people surrounding me. The four or five people that are on laptops very well may be emailing or instant messaging a dear friend. The couple in the corner is communicating a very cute look of the man helping the female with her chemistry. And finally, I am sitting here. While I sip on an iced Latte, I am typing this Blog for Blogger.