Do you really need to buy that?

November 28th, 2008 is Buy Nothing Day in North America
November 29th, 2008 is Buy Nothing Day Internationally

Buy Nothing Day is all about not participating. People around the world are encouraged not to buy anything for one whole day to raise awareness about our consumerist culture.

These events occur as a response to the opening of the Holiday Shopping Season in North America, as they immediately follow the American Thanksgiving. Funny thing is, for Canadians, the Holiday Shipping Season starts as soon as Halloween is over. Places that stay open 24 hours likeWal Mart start to re-stock their shelves with Christmas decorations and gifts before midnight on the 31st of October. On November 1st, I found myself at the Eaton Center in Toronto, ON. for a Greyhound layover. The mall was already half outfitted in holiday garb and some of the stores had their staff already wearing Santa Clause Hats and Reindeer Antlers. This all starts to happen more than a month before Christmas and I know some people who have all of their shopping done before the season opens. It's so important to beat the crowds you know, get to the shops before they sell out of the newest video game console or the newest Hannah Montanna paraphernalia.

All of that flash takes away the meaning of Christmas. What's that you ask? There's another meaning to Christmas than gifts and egg nog? The answer is a very big yes! That's the day Jesus was born to save the Easter Bunny from the love-sick leprechauns in the North Pole.

Wait, that doesn't sound right, does it?

Of course, not everyone celebrates that Catholic/Christian Holiday, which is another good point to bring up:

Not everyone celebrates Christmas.

Holiday shopping is very exclusive of non-Catholic/Christian cultures. I wouldn't really know how children of the Jewish-Canadians, Islamic-Canadians or Hindu-Canadians feel when the calendar reaches November, but I doubt they feel welcome. I mean, when was the last time you saw Sears selling revolving menorahs or Chapters selling Qur'an box sets?

This same over enthusiasm happens with all 'special' occasions. The chances of a man forgetting Valentines Day are pretty slim now that as soon as New Years passes, stores bombard their shoppers with chocolates, flowers, pink and red all over the place. As soon as Valentines day is over, you better believe that stores move right along with selling everything Easter.

The fact that North America and the rest of the world have different Buy Nothing Day's says something about how Canada and the United States are cultures much more consumption driven than the rest of the planet. It's hard for us Westerners not to buy everything we want because, through media, we are made to want so much. I know people who go out and buy extra stuff the day before Buy Nothing Day so that they don't have to go without. I would wager that in order to match the rest of the world, North Americans would have to have a Buy Nothing Week.

And it would have to be enforced.

Adbusters Campaign

Additionally, I read this and though she made some really excellent points.

Freedom of Medium

The World Wide Web is a vastly large place onto which any person and their cat can share information with other persons and cats. Right now, anyone can post their ideas on the web. How do I know? If that statement was anything but true, this blog wouldn't exist and you would not be siting in front of a computer reading it. Canada's Internet is an equal playing field.
For now at least.
Some people (perhaps the kind who sit in wing back chairs feverishly petting an innocent feline on their lap) want to slice up that Web into unequal pieces and offer each of them at a hefty price. If this happens, the internet will resemble any major highway: slow lane, faster lane and inevitably, the toll lane. While cars of corporate interests lie back on cruise control, those who can't afford to pay the tolls will end up in traffic jams, preventing them from arriving at their goal destination in any decent amount of time.
If you havn't caught on yet, this internet privatization is not a good thing... unless you're an internet provider. Cause if you are, you get to call the shots. But if you're not, you're the one getting shot. Swindled, scammed, stolen from... savvy?

Net Neutrality is the [not so crazy] idea that a consumer's access to the World Wide Web shouldn't be controlled by money but that consumers should be in control over what content, services and applications they choose to use on the public internet.

How does the internet become non-neutral? Speedy internet download is the responsibility of bandwidth. The more you have, the faster it goes. In a situation where the net is not-neutral, your internet service provider (ISP) will be allowed to block certain sites from you, which will appear as a website that takes too long to load. You'll move on to other websites or you'll be forced to pay money to gain access to more bandwidth. The bottom line is, ISP's will be in control and one way or another, you will pay. For example, your choices might look something like this.

From: Boing Boing

So, you're probably wondering, what the heck can we do about it? Little people can't possibly win against powerful giants in this world!

Well, to that I say: hasn't The Lord of the Rings taught you anything?

The idea of Net Neutrality has been debated upon politically for some time and it's about time laws are made to ensure that the net remains neutral. You can help get the ball rolling by showing the government that you Net Neutrality in Canada by signing a petition. Get informed about what's happening on the front lines by joining a mailing list.

Do some research and find out where Canada stands, what's being done in Parliment, and how you can Use the Internet to Save the Internet.

War, Huh, Yeah, What is it Good For?

Perhaps talking about War on this, the day of Remembrance, is kind of a cliché.... so sue me.

Are we at War?

I don't know, are we? If so, what with? Who against? What side are we on? Who's we? Where do I stand? I don't see any tanks.... but tanks never really did show up in North America, did they?

What is War? According to Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, War is any of the following:

1. a) a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations
b) a period of such armed conflict
2. a) a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism
b) a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end
3. a) to be in active or vigorous conflict
b) to engage in warfare

And there are many kinds of Wars:

• World Wars
• Civil Wars
• Cold Wars
• Hot Wars
• Holy Wars
• Star Wars

There are Canadian and American troops, of course, involved in the current Middle-Easters conflicts but I think that idea of War is very narrow. At home, we're involved in a lot of miniature Wars that we've caused for ourselves. For example, we're in conflict with the planet. We've treated our planet so poorly that it's starting to revolt. There are conflicts between mega corporations and consumers, too. Money swindled, people manipulated. There are a number of conflicts between people. Whether based on race, gender, religion/beliefs, sexual preference, and politics, people are fighting people.

A lot of forces in our modern world are unsettled and I think that on a day like today, on Remembrance Day, it all seems trivial. The veterans we honour on this day were made to believe that there was no other answer but war. Are we so unimaginative that we have to continue to use those old fashioned tactics today?Arn't there laws against assault? Then why is combat in a war setting allowed? There are penalties for murder too, so why arn't killers in wars imprisoned? Especially mass murderers.
I don't care what anyone says, bombing a city isn't self defense.

I once heard that War is an acronym for "We Are Right." Both sides of any conflict may believe themselves to be 'right' but there are other ways to resolve issues than in armed conflict.

A Kindergarten Teacher would say:

- Take a deep breath, count to ten.

- Write out your feelings in a journal.

- Use your words instead of crying and yelling.

- Hug and say you're sorry.

Think Critically, Act Ethically

National Media Eduation Week
November 3-7th, 2008

The purpose of this week is to raise awareness about media literacy. The Language of Media can be a difficult concept to grasp, so let's break it down:

Media is any means of mass communication;
pictures, videos, words, music -
individually or combined in any fashion.

The use of media in education is inevitable because it's tools are often up-to-date and easily engage a student's senses. On the other hand, media can also be very influential in the process of selling products, as well as relaying information from source to receiver as it can present information in a certain way to evoke specific responses. That is why it is very important to be able to analyze and deconstruct media messages and therefore, necessary to educate students about media in this day and age. The ability to think critically and question each piece of information they are presented with is the best way to avoid being manipulated.

Throughout the week, there have been many media related events planned for students across the country, specific information about which can be found here and here.

The theme for this year's Media Education Week is "Think Critically, Act Ethically." An important issue faced by most students is cyber-bullying. Cyber-bullying is the use of digital information communication technology for the purposes of bullying. For example, using Facebook, MSN Messenger, e-mail, YouTube videos, etc. to harm or intimidate others.

Check out this Public Service Announcement from the N.M.E.W.

Just when I thought bullies were on their way out, they found out how to use the internet. It is said that every person in an elementary or middle school is either a bully or the victim of one. If it's not your clothes, it's your hair. If not you hair, your shoes or the way you walk, talk. You can be too fat, too skinny, too smart, not smart enough. Regardless of what another person thinks of you, bullying has very little to do with the victim and more so to do with the bully. The only way they can deal with their own insecurities is by bringing everyone else down to their level. I personally was bullied throughout the majority of elementary school. Clothes, weight, you name it. By the end of it, I'd had enough and I was able to confront my bullies. I got over it, went to high school and thrives while I watched my bullies make poor decisions with their lives. That is when I knew it had nothing to do with me.

The issue is that a lot of kids don't get over it. Not every victim can overcome their bullies and that's why special attention has to be paid to monitoring the devices kids can use to bully. Bullying is one of the worst crimes, in my opinion, and something has to be done about it.

Efforts have also been made to understand how well Media Education has translated from Secondary to Post-Secondary, which you can take a survey about here.