Baghdad Image

With a sandstorm blowing behind him, Defense Secretary Robert Gates greets a reporter on his way to a television interview at Camp Victory in Baghdad.

This image (from Time.com) was particularly interesting to me moreso than the other "Images of the Week" because of the irony of the picture. The Defense Secretary, there to restore order and calm, is speaking with a reporter while a wild sand storm is raging behind him. In a way the sand storm could be an odd metaphor for the general turmoil in Iraq. The two seem to be unaffected by the sand storm which is strange because it seems as though they are right in the middle of it. Perhaps the same could be said about the fighting in Iraq in general with these two men.

What media has affected me the most?

I know it's easiest to just answer this question with the internet- of course it is, I use it dozens of times a day for everything from school to passing time playing stupid games to ease the boredom of living at home in a small town with a group of friends who are always broke. I was going to try to be different and say a cell phone but I hate my cell phone. Texting is a pain in my ass, if you're going to send me a 4 page text just call me, so sometimes I view my phone as an inconvenience just like it is a convenience. Anyway, hands down the internet has affected me the most by leaps and bounds like it probably has with most people in class.

The internet can be used for so many things today, both constructive and destructive. I personally use mine for mostly school work, checking bank account, writing e-mails, and of course personal entertainment. I never watch the news on TV anymore, there's too many boring stories filled in between the stories I care about. When I check the news online, I get to exactly the news I care about and not any filler stories that television chooses to insert into their newscast. Not only can I get the news, but I can also read reactions from thousands of people on a single news story, which sometimes opens my eyes to alternative views on a story that I maybe would have never thought about. The internet has made school work much easier too. Now instead of me driving 45 minutes to school to use the library for research, I can just do it from the comfort of my desk. Article databases are readily available and are updated constantly so there's never a shortage of information on a given topic. The print book is almost a thing of the past for students now when it comes to research. It's all digital. The internet didn't only affect the way I do school work, it affects the way I use my spare time too; fantasy football and baseball online, Facebook, MySpace, an occasional online game on XBox 360 Live, etc. The internet has shaped my views on every topic in life and will continue to do so for my foreseeable future.