Joe Laase, a legend? Or just another alias?

Spirituality or Science??

2010-04-09T09:02:00.000-04:00

In the scientific community there are opposite thoughts in regards to what exactly medicine is composed. The western science collective believes that medicine involves the process in which patients are alienated from their physicians. They do not believe this but I in fact believe that this alienation occurs. On the opposite, yet parallel perspective, aboriginal science or medicine promotes a holistic point of view. While they both achieve the same goal in the end, thus the parallelism, that is healing the patient, the fact remains that western science does not recognize indigenous aboriginal medicine as a branch of medicine. This reflects that western medicine somehow holds a certain degree of political power over the aboriginal communities. In Popular Culture: A User’s Guide, Susie O’Brien states “minority is defined by numbers but by relative cultural power” (200). This cultural power exhibited by western medicine is held over the aboriginal minority. Therefore, the fact remains that due to technological superiority and political power western medicine should be the accepted norm. However, the main issue in western medicine is the alienation that it has incurred over the past century. Through simply examining only the physicality of the patient, physicians do not experience the connection that aboriginals do with their line of work. In fact, healing in aboriginal communities is not a paid job. Back on topic and political power, Susie O’Brien further explains “Colonialism was not just an economic and political undertaking…It was also, importantly, a cultural project, in which these nations sought to extend throughout the world their…concept of scientific rationalism…” (217). With all aspects of colonialization in any community life often tends to follow the path of the more culturally accepted society. The fact that aboriginal communities were branded as “savage” or “heretics”, the prejudices of the settler’s became apparent and a decline in North American Indigenous healing began to decline. Through the racial depictions of aboriginal communities there was also the exploitation of aboriginal medicine. Through this exploitation western medicine found its roots. So then why does it remain a common ideal that First Nations practices of healing remain in a category of alternative medicine? This is likely due to the commercialism and prejudicial perspective of indigenous communities even though aboriginal medicine acts in unison with western philosophies on science.

A closer look at Napolean

2010-04-09T08:59:00.002-04:00

So, the other day I popped in the movie Napolean Dynamite. As I watched through the movie I slowly began to realize that this movie is more than just the comedy it deliver’s. This movie is about an individual growing up in an old-fashioned urban environment who is struggling, alongside his friends Pedro and Deb, to establish their cultural identities within their society. Obviously the most appealing thing about this movie is the fact that Napolean, Napolean’s family, and Napolean's friends, Pedro and Deb, are drastically different from the society around them. In fact, they are so completely different from those around them that they attract one another. In order to identify with one another they act in similar ways and have similar experiences which exclude them from common social order. This of course is the centerpiece of comedy. However, the question that came to mind while I was watching the movie was, “Has normal or popular culture become embedded in our minds that when we see people struggling to identify themselves we find it funny”? The answer of course is yes. I almost felt ashamed. Obviously Napolean Dynamite is spectacularly successful. It is impossible for a culture such as ours to visualize people living outside the confines of socialization. Visualizing this concept render’s us to believe, well myself anyway, that this mode of living is weird. The reason I think it’s weird and funny is of course due to my upbringing within the social norm. I'm sure we're all weird or wacky in some ways, just not as bad as Dynamite. While I cannot comment on Napolean’s upbringing his humorous teenage existence is finally accepted towards the end of the film through his memorable dance and his display of friendship for his friend Pedro.

The Rat-Race and social inequality

2010-03-19T10:26:00.003-04:00

Let’s take a moment to examine popular culture in the workplace. I mentioned the rat-race in my last blog. What exactly is the rat-race? Yes it is a movie with a wonderful cast, but it is also an explanation for one of society’s most repetitive tasks, life. Everyday people wake up, do the bathroom thing, eat and head off to work. Those that do not work follow some sort of other routine. It is globally accepted to have a job, make money and provide for a family. Some are more successful than others. In other words life is a giant rat-race. Rats are placed in a maze with a piece of cheese in the center of the maze and the quickest most efficient rat/mouse will get to the cheese first. What exactly am I saying? Life is like a maze with fortune and fame being the cheese.

There are many ways to get to the cheese. Sports, corporate business, invention and design are just some of the ways of achieving the American dream. Mainstream society however places many restrictions on individuals that limit their quickened advancement. Employers want efficient, speedy workers; coaches want strong and quick players just to name a couple. The workplace has become so competitive that machines in some instances are replacing many jobs. Therefore one could surgically implant a machine that allows them to enhance these characteristics and have an edge on competition. This certainly would level the playing field between men and women in sports, if for instance a woman wanted to play football in the NFL at any position.

On that note ideas of sexual orientation or being a female in a patriarchal society is a mountain for many popular cultures to climb. These notions of inequality are prevalent in patriarchal societies and are clear as glass. Most cultures attempt to create an equal opportunity for men and women but most fail in their task. I am not really at liberty to state how a woman feels concerning the way they are treated but I can observe that in the workplace, especially my own, women should be treated equally to men. I have also observed that on a daily basis women have worked doubly hard in their environment compared to some men yet those men still receive a higher benefit than the women. The issue is not the speed or strength someone has, the problem lies in the employer and how he treats his employee’s. Notice I say “his employee’s” rather than use a politically correct term that recognizes both sexes. The reason for this is that many high profile jobs are in fact run by men. I have an interesting link at the bottom of this blog, it’s a little old but mainly sheds a bit of light on the patriarchal conservative government. It is not a credited source but it might be interesting to watch. Anyway back on topic, as I stated before, neural implants, in the works by Kevin Warwick (an extremist), may shorten the gap, but still will not be the answer to social inequalities in Canada.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Se7AjimwHAA

Are you online?

2010-03-19T10:25:00.000-04:00

In an earlier blog I spoke of subculture in the real world. As I was surfing the internet and frequented my daily websites, such as Facebook, Myspace (music) and other social networking sites, I realized that these sites formed an online subculture. My attempt to define subculture as a culture or group of people which deviates from the norm or mainstream influence seems to work in close contact with these websites. People all over the internet attempt to identify themselves as being unique in some form or another. Pictures depicting a wide assortment of weird and wacky obsessions litter these social websites. I found myself looking at my own profile and realized that I was following the same compulsion. Mainstream influences placed in our lives are deeply embedded that the realization that life has a lot more to offer than a simple rat-race is solicited by online subculture.

Networking websites are not the only form of subculture available on the internet, I also found myself gravitate towards the massively multi-player online role playing game (MMORPG, MMO for short). Games which include, World Of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XI Online and a horde of other titles. These games offer the player a form of alternate reality in which the world is molded by every action the player makes. These channels of subculture enable the formation of bonds and relationships between players. In these worlds there are no restrictions or mainstream influences placed on personas. Another example where this non restrictive alternate reality is evident is Second Life, another world where players create avatars to interact with other players. Within these games or worlds it is evident that the real world can be completely left behind so that one may live in this parallel universe. There has been proof that people have made incredible sums of money through living a Second Life.

Basically what I’m getting at here is that facebook, myspace and all those awesome MMORPG’s offer a different medium in which to interact with subculture. Whether you are a facebook creeper or a video gaming nerd like me, you are helping to shape the online subculture of the next generation.

The Ultimate Subculture

2010-03-19T10:24:00.001-04:00

I’m sure most of us are aware of how popular the UFC actually is. The abbreviation, UFC, which stands for Ultimate Fighting Championship, is synonymous with pulverizing your opponent into submission. A single question comes to mind; are people stupid or do they revel in the power granted to them by displaying dominance over their opponent? Obviously the answer is the latter. People do not care about the consequences of their actions or the physical toll it takes on the human body. While I realize that the UFC is not the only culprit in this savagery, it is a fundamental example of international subculture. This trend of masculine domination is also displayed in commercialized wrestling, the National Football League and any other modern day re-hash of 1st century Rome.

The coliseum weighted heavily on roman culture and was widely accepted. Gladiators would vie for respect and freedom through combat. Similarly, those in the UFC as well as any other combative sport garner a certain amount of respect in the form of women, fame and money. This respect is what renders combat incredibly popular. Are people so fixated on brutality that it has become widely accepted? My answer is most certainly, to the point in which we will fatally accept accidents.

Governments have accepted this worldwide phenomenon and as a result realize the potential impact of its commercialism. Subculture in the form of combat displays a high adrenaline influence over mainstream society and corporate North America.

Communication

2010-02-19T08:58:00.002-05:00

Plasma, LCD or even the latest LED Television sets, Ipods, Laptops and cellphones have become ubiquitous in culture. These cultural products seem to have an everlasting effect on humanity. But was there ever a time in which we never needed them. Sure there was, “was” being the key word here. Communication has become so fast paced that without technology life wouldn’t be the same. Blu-ray players even allow access to the internet, an ability that old technology could never live up to. With access to the internet from various medium’s communication has never been easier. In reality the question is not, what would my life be without these products but rather what would life be without communication? A perspective shared by many is that technology is what defines humanity. Therefore if humanity can be defined by technology then technology can define communication and communication can define culture. Culture is indeterminably embedded in communication that it is now be impossible to be separated. While many would argue that technology is not needed for communication thus dispersing with technology, would anyone be willing to give up the luxury of having their cellphone? I think not.

P.S. I don’t own a cellphone, a laptop or a high-end TV.

The Age Of Zombies!

2010-02-19T08:42:00.003-05:00

Reality bites! What a nice way to start off my entry of the day, wouldn’t you agree? There a few conclusions I can draw from that cliché. One, while there may be what appears to be zombies in south Africa due to voodoo magic, zombies are more or less a part of everyone’s imagination. I’m talking real zombies. You know the flesh feeding kind? Now, let’s rewind a few years back and take a look at where the zombie phenomena started. George Romero, in 1969, released a film entitled “The Night of the Living Dead”. This film depicted the living dead, more commonly referred to as zombies, feeding off the living, devouring flesh and other monstrosities. At the time, this sparked a series of zombie film releases. Fast forward to the present and we see MANY things related to zombies and zombie paraphernalia. Let’s take a look at some of society’s zombie addictions. The first thing that comes to mind is the wide variety of zombie movies released and slated for release in the future, second, there are many zombie related video games aimed to please the horde of zombie starved teens. In music we have Rob Zombie, who through various songs depicts death, corruption and disease. There is even literature detailing zombie anatomy and what drives the zombie movement. Finally geared towards the adult scene there is an alcoholic beverage with the name The Zombie. This in fact is what I will call The Age of Zombies! Let’s shift our attention briefly to the establishment of the mall. Yes, I realize this is from left field, but there is a relationship.

A mall is a place where many people of all walks of life go to escape from reality. Though for some a mall displays many things that are out of their reach. Therefore, a mall is to entertain a mass of people, a flock of middle class citizens. As you know malls are frequented on a daily basis during the hours of operation and that there are certain guidelines one must adhere to while in the mall. But these guidelines are not just limited to the mall, these rules are enforced everywhere. In Popular Culture: A User’s Guide there is an article in chapter 9 that analyses the term “public” and “space” denoting that “public space” does not exist(299). As many “public” places are constructed many “public” places are in fact privately owned, such as malls(299). The relationship between public and private has become intertwined to a degree that many freedoms have been restricted. Then why go to a mall? Well, the trip to the mall has become customary.

Alright, so how exactly does this the mall and the zombie relate? Well, the mall is the principle location of congregation. Nobody realizes the restrictions placed upon them, people move about the mall as if in a trance, captivated by the window displays, the intoxicating aroma of the food court and synergistic effect of socialization! In places such as IKEA, people may browse for hours and only when the place closes do they realize “Whoa! What times is it!” This in effect puts meaning to the Age of Zombies, that every living soul has been subjected to consuming popular culture without ever knowing.

The image at the top is from the video game deadrising, I use it to further emphasize my point that by consuming too much popular culture you'll look no different than these guys!

The Urban Dictionary

2010-02-19T08:39:00.001-05:00

Recently I came across an interesting website, www.urbandictionary.com. My initial perception of another dictionary website was of distaste. However, upon closer inspection I soon began to realize that this was not the same as www.dictionary.com, the Cambridge online dictionary or even Google’s dictionary. This was a dictionary where people could literally define their own words. Let’s take for example the word "blog". I’m sure we are all familiar with this word as this is what we are creating. Blog is easily defined as an online diary, correct? One interesting entry that attempts to define the word blog found on the urban dictionary stated, “A recent and disturbing trend on the internet. A blog lets people easily post comments onto a webpage…These people have such massive egos and are so narcissistic that they believe that other people would be interested in reading their pointless ramblings” (Whodey). Two things come to mind while reading this comment. One, the Urban Dictionary has become popular culture and two blogging is following in the same footsteps. Whether it’s an attempt to define a word or make an opinion both are utilizing the internet to spread to the many desktops and laptops around the world. Another interesting thing to note is that Whodey attempts to define the word blog while stating his opinion. I believe that the Urban Dictionary is just another blog medium, albeit a truncated one. The fact that this is possible allows anyone to deliver their definition of a word in the form of an opinion. Furthermore, the fact that anyone can define a word and have it globally accepted allows this dictionary a part of culture. I might as well attempt my own definition on popular culture, but why when I need only look at the Urban Dictionary and others have already attempted?

IBM vs Mac (old news but relevant)... The struggle for dominance!

2010-01-27T17:40:00.002-05:00

Because this class has a primary focus on popular culture I can only assume that owning a computer is popular culture. It may have become ubiquitous in modern society to actually own one. This was not always the case. In the late 1970’s and early 80’s there was a huge technological war and computers were not available, at least to my knowledge, in abundance like they are today (same thing can be said about cell phones). By war I mean economical and financial war, nothing like the violence I have explained about in the last two or three blog things I’ve written. Pirates of the Silicon Valley was a movie directed by Martyn Burke displayed this re-enactment of the war on the big screen in 1999. This film touched on the experimentation and race to be the first company between IBM (now Microsoft) and Apple Macintosh (now Mac) to have the first computer on the market. What is most amazing about this whole “war” was the fact that both company founders Steve Jobs and Bill Gates, knew that this in fact would be the future of society. This in fact would present to the public the ideal popular culture. In as I sit here and type on this computer I realize that my life is so much easier than that of my parents. The war that I speak about was not fully realized by society until 1984 when Steve Jobs created the commercial based off of George Orwell’s novel “1984”. There is a link to the youtube version below. What makes this commercial so significant and put Apple Macintosh on the market and a healthy competitor was the fact that it explained to the public that the IBM was geared towards a more conservative generation, a safe way of putting it. Whereas the Apple Macintosh was the down to earth, more savvy, easy to use at home operating system. If you wanted a system this was it. The point I’m trying to make here is that anything can become main stream so long as the society of which it is introduced accepts it and lets it flourish. Popular culture is simply not black and white, yes or no, it is a constantly evolving way of life.

“1984” commercial for Apple Macintosh: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYecfV3ubP8

Inglourious Basterds... reality??? I think not!

2010-01-27T17:39:00.002-05:00

Upon examining the subject of popular culture and violence focus your attention towards the modern film industry. Movies are inaccurate reflections of history in some senses. An example of this would be recreations of history such as the movie, Pearl Harbor, The Patriot, Braveheart, Saving Private Ryan and Inglourious Basterds. Each of these movies share certain aspects of truth in terms of a historical sense but pretty much depict a fantasy world. These movies are also apart of popular culture. I can’t remember if I’ve defined popular culture. If I didn’t well I am attempting at my definition and that is culture that encompasses everything that is main stream. With that out of the way returning back to the focus on movies, each of the movies I listed all have one thing in common. Violence. Pearl Harbor, though a romantic fight against the odds type of story depicted a pretty graphic re-telling of the men and women who died in the destruction of the ships posted in the harbour. The Patriot with its graphic Mel Gibson duel tomahawk wielding battle also depicting his sons murdering, oops I mean in war is call engaging hostile enemies, red coats. How about the savagery of the full-scale wars in Braveheart or the mighty re-telling and graphic yet visually appeasing of the landing on Normandy Beach on D-day. Finally, the complete bone-chilling, fantasy, extremely violent re-creation of a group of men hell bent on visciously murdering Nazi’s behind enemy lines in Inglourious Basterds. Looking at each of these movies and then comparing it to video games or songs which are more violent? Obviously again this is all based on popular culture being the cause of violence but the medium again has shifted. As people begin to become decensitized to these violent main stream productions so too will the violence from our youth.

Popular Culture leads to Violence in youth!

2010-01-27T17:39:00.001-05:00

In my last entry I was talking about how video games are not the leading cause of teenage violence. So what then would be considered the cause to this violence? Crime rates among youth in Victoria B.C. according to the text “A User’s Guide to Popular Culture” are extremely high. Granted that in the present, 2010, they are not as high as they were in 2000. The reason for this is that there are more programs available after school, within school, before school to help those youth who are finding it difficult to concentrate in school. When youth cannot concentrate they get frustrated, when they get frustrated they get angry, and finally when their angry not always but the majority of the time this leads to violence. This all ties in with popular culture. If video games are considered popular culture and if people are blaming video games for the violence in youth today, then is it not possible that it is in fact Popular Culture that could be the cause of this frustration? Take for instance music. There are many forms of music available now and they are drastically different from conventional folk music. Music such as “Bodies...” by Disturbed or Emotional music, more commonly referred to as “emo” music that more often than not depicts women as the heart breaker which in turn sends men into madness. Sometimes this popular music can really affect someone mentally. If we’re talking about popular music then popular culture encompasses popular music, then it’s safe to say that video games are not the cause of teenage violence, but Popular Culture.

Video games lead to teenage violence? Since when!?

2010-01-27T17:38:00.001-05:00

Lately I’ve come across many articles on the internet that suggests that video games are the leading cause of teenage violence in the modern world. I believe that these claims are unsubstantiated. Well, first before I explain my point of view on teenage violence I suppose we could look at why critics and parents of victims from teenage violence would tend to believe that video games are the cause. The first and most notable example and the one that has spread the most fear was the sensationalized shooting massacre of columbine. Sensationalized in such a way that once the media took hold of it they tried to say that due to the fact that the shooter’s, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold who were both claimed to have enjoyed the bloody bath of the game Doom, that they enacted their video game fantasy on their peers. Of course there were other theories about why they did it, but that was the easiest explanation and the one that sold the fastest. That year sales in video game merchandise and other products related to video game products saw a decline. The issue here was the fact that people were afraid of other events like this would happen again. People began to believe the media. I mean come on people! The media tends to take events and mould them so that the story is worth selling. Everyone is so keen on putting blame somewhere else that they fail to blame themselves. I believe that video games are not the cause of teenage violence! Why? Well it’s simple really and I’m sure you’ll all agree that youth are either given too much freedom (to do as they please) or not given enough freedom (pregnancies, crime rates rampant when given the freedom). This all of course ties into the care and love the parents give to their children. More often than not, and I’ve seen it first hand, those children that are neglected or smothered are, I believe anyway, at higher risk of performing immoral acts or crime.

News

2010-01-27T17:36:00.004-05:00

Hi family/friends and whoever else reads this!

My blog will see an increase in posts over the next 13 or so weeks due to an online class I'm enrolled in that is requiring me to post a blog about things I'm learning in class or opinions I've developed on certain things. Feel free to be enlightened or just ignore my blabbering, if you'd like to comment on things go right ahead no one is right or wrong! I'll enjoy the criticism laugh, cry, hurl, whatever hahah! Without further ado, here are my posts!

What!? He's a Voice Actor too?? What's a Machinima...?

2009-10-24T10:01:00.010-04:00

Hey guys/gals,

Below you'll find a list of links to youtube mainly that display videos I've voice acted in. It's not a big issue mainly just a hobby to me. I'm thinking about expanding outside of video game voice acting and trying something a little more versatile, but right now video games are always looking for voices. This is called Machinima my friends. That means, through a video any video game engine or software such as iClone, Moviestorm etc you can create movies or a series. Most people create comedies using the Halo 3 engine but I think most of them are lame not all since I do voice in some of the more tasteful ones. Below you will find my voice featured in class act machinima. I've also listed projects I created and are currently involved in! Have fun with this weeks blog, I will keep this content updated in archives or wherever it goes when I add a new post weekly.

When I find a better place to host my Voice Acting/Project creation resume I'll move it. Until then refer to here if interested.

List of Projects I've voiced in:

Cry Havoc Teaser By James Murgatroyd - Adam 109

Hook Episode 1 created by Flaw - Fitzpatrick

Crono Trigger Fandub Award Ceremony - Melchior

Dear Sister a Machinima by Lewis Hudson - White spartan

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time fandub by Vanity - Deku Scrub 2

Ghosts Trailer by Maxime "Max of S2D" Lebled

Horizon Episode 1 by Namaskard - Scott Baker

DC Chronicles Episode 5 by Drakortha - Caravan Guard

Ghosts by HGFlaw - All 4 parts - Lt. Gold

Ghosts trailer by HGFlaw - Voice

FFVI Fandub Episode 1 by Joe Laase - Guards

FFVI Fandub Episode 2 by Joe Laase - Narrator

Suikoden Fandub Part 1 by Joe Laase - Pahn, Teo, Tir, Minister (1st roles)

Suikoden Fandub Part 2 by Joe Laase - Pahn, Teo, Tir, Minister (1st roles)

Sanctimonia A Final Fantasy RadioPlay by xxrelena3 - Yazoo

Jak and Daxter: The Precursor Fandub by Khenpoe - Vin (character Introduction)

List of Projects I've completed:

FFVI Fandub Episode 1

FFVI Fandub Episode 2

FFVI Halloween Special

FFVI Fandub Episode 3

Crono Trigger Fandub - Award Ceremony

Suikoden Fandub Part 1

Suikoden Fandub Part 2

Doomsday Vigil Trailer

Intro piece yeehaww, boooorriinngg

2009-10-18T21:20:00.003-04:00

Well well,

I'll write a better more formal blog when I have two arms that are available for hire haha. I recently broke my collar bone if you don't catch my drift. Anyway, the alias is Joe Laase, I prefer to keep my real name outside of internet business until I can be sure that my current stalkers have stopped following me.

I've pretty much dabbled in everything. I've spent the majority of my late teens, 18-19, and early 20's, 20-23, in university studying the sciences, music and graphic design. The latter was just an interest course haha. At 24, I got into the world of machinima hoping to crack the nutshell open a bit with my sense of creativity. After that I went back to school and am now enrolled in Biotechnology hoping to work in the field of bioethics one day. I'm now 25, and still dabble in everything. In terms of music I play flute, acoustic and electric guitar, cello and oboe but only own a flute. I've only made a few websites both of which are not hosted anymore. I'd say science is my forte, but I do enjoy the creativity of writing. Lately however I've managed to be quite successful in mixing pre-rendered video with sfx created by myself or found across the net.

I would have to say that creating sfx would be considered a hobby but I do hope to own a studio one day to help local filmmakers with their audio woes. I do not compose music however nor do I create remixes. Just not interested in that kind of thing. I have also realized that the only way to make it in the VA world is to just get as much experience as you can, this also includes learning how to sing which I have taken lessons for in the past and might do so in the future.

As a final note I may use this area to review video games, obviously people may not like to hear what I have to say, but here I can anything so :P lol. This will be the only boring blog you read from me. Enjoy!