Asignment 1.5

1960 - 1980 -- What an exciting and confusing time period this was for our country and even the world.

The historical events in the U.S. included the Vietnam War, space travel ending with several lunar orbits, President Kennedy being assassinated with a conspiracy developing, and many more similar events.

The music of the time was what was considered Rock-N-Roll which carried Elvis, the Beatles during this period, the music was wild and loud. Today we call it 'Soft Rock."

The internet and video games were just beginning to peak towards the end of this period. Both have changed the way we live today with instant access to anyone, anywhere in the world.

The movies and entertainment world transformed during this period. Films were produced with what we consider today, low quality and quickly developed into high quality, highly technical experiences.

All of these items has taken what we once had as our popular cultures and morphed us into our new world of popular cultures that we live in today.

#6 Weekly Assignment

Week 6 Journal Analysis

The Changing Nature of Ethnic Foods in America

by
David Lanning

The Changing Nature of Ethnic Foods in America

From 1960 to 1990, restaurant menus have change to the point of an ethnicity takeover throughout America. The diverse culture of the population brings with it the fantastic culinary tastes from around the world. During this time period, as the ethnic communities settled in the many regions across the lands, we can now open our minds to the flavors of Japan, China, Thai, Indian, Mexican, and the list goes on.

Being a baby boomer living in Columbus, Ohio growing up, I can remember when there were only a handful of Chinese restaurants. Today, you can find one on almost every corner next to a Mexican restaurant and across the street from a Thai restaurant. I personally enjoy the different flavors that our many cultures have to offer. I could eat out at a Chinese restaurant every day.

The food has been Americanized to make it more palatable for the ordinary, steak and potatoes taste of the Americans. If you were to go to New York City and order Sweet and Sour chicken in Chinatown, you would be amazed at the taste favored by the original culture community.

I now live in the rural Appalachian area of eastern Ohio in the heart of Amish country of Holmes and Coshocton counties. If you have every had the opportunity to eat at an authentic Amish restaurant, you know just how good the food is. In the city of Coshocton where the population is around 11,000, we have three Chinese, one real style Mexican, your regular fast food joints and a few traditional restaurants that serve their own variation of ethnic dishes as well as the traditional entrees. Pizza is probably the number one restaurant type in town with more than 10 but the popular culture of the ethnic foods within our area continues to grow.

Sushi was unheard of in the Midwest until the mid 1990’s. It has captured the eyes and tastes of many people who used to think of sushi as “BAIT.” As the world around us continues to become a more culturally diverse world, we will continue to see an increasing desire and offering of ethnic foods, even in our own backyards.


References

Alba, Richard. Ethnic Identity: The Transformation of White America. New Haven: Yale UP, 1990.

Barbas, Samantha. "I'll Take Chop Suey: Restaurants as Agents of Culinary and Cultural Changes." Journal of Popular Culture 36.4 (2003): 669–86.

Trosrler, L. G. (2008). Fron Spaghetti and Meatballs through Hawaiian Pizza to Sushi: The Changing Nature of Ethnicity in American Restaurants. The Journal of Popular Culture , 950-974.

#5 Weekly Assignment

Weekly Written Assignment 5.1 - Hybrid Cars
Blog URL: http://youtube-dlanning.blogspot.com/

The hybrid vehicles have quickly become a part of our culture. Vehicles powered by electricity and gasoline are the rage for this new technology. As with anything new, until you have it, use it, and fall in love with it, it’s hard to wrap yourself around it.

Hundreds of thousands of Americans are now parking the hybrid vehicles in their driveways. This has happened so fast that misinformation has caused more than just a little confusion about the value of this technology. Industry analysts are predicting the continued growth estimating for 600,000 to 800,000 hybrid units sold in the United States by 2010.


The hybrid is becoming a part of our popular culture and it is being achieved by creating a need to meet the desires of a growing population of young adults with available income flows who are concerned with the environmental affects of technology. The major hybrid manufactures such as Chrysler, GM, Ford, and Toyota have spent millions of dollars in advertising to justify the cost-benefit effect of the hybrid to the masses. They have been successful at building the character of the hybrid vehicle. I am included in the tail end of the baby boomers and even I am becoming more aware of the long-term valve of this technology.


I don’t think that all the kinks are worked out of this technology; the big automakers still have some selling to do to win over the American people when purchasing a new vehicle, but the hybrids are here to stay.

References
Bradley Berman, Editor. (2006, March 23). Top 10 Hybrid Myths. Retrieved August 2, 2009, from HybridCars: http://www.hybridcars.com/decision/top-10-hybrid-myths.html

Brown, R. (2005). Profiles of Popular Cultures: A Reader. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press.

Sorapure, M. P. (2007). Common Culture: Reading and Writing about American Popular Culture. Upper Saddle River: Pearson Prentice Hall.