Charisse Massay

2001-08-07T09:01:00.000-07:00

I also just realized that I have never put a link to my webpage up on this blogger:
charisse's homepage

I am also the president of the MIT Hemp Coalition, MIT's chapter of NORML, check us out:
MITHC

2001-08-07T08:59:00.000-07:00

Hey, so I know that I haven't written anything since april 30th but I assume that there isn't anyone who is reading this. That's ok, I'm going to write b/c I'm going crazy. I hate my job. Well it isn't even a job since they don't pay me, its an internship. I work for this really cool company who is doing really cool things, some of it is stupid, some of it is transcendental. I was really excited to work here because the people were cool, the site was cool and the environment was laid back. Today is the beginning of my last week and I don't think that I could be more excited. I'm just getting sick and tired of the people here. Perhaps its because I'm the only woman who I have interactions with, perahps its because my direct supervisor is a dick and he thinks that he is better than me and I have no right to loathe his guts, perhaps its because I feel like I never have anything to do and I'm just sitting on my ass waiting to get yelled at. Either way, I'm ready to leave this company and this city. I miss Boston.

2001-04-30T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today was slow and somewhat unfortunate. I was hoping to go and see "Freddy Got Fingered" (I had free tickets thanks to Sue) but everytime I went to go, I kept fucking up and I was not able to see the movie. I killed so much time that I am still awake trying to finish a paper for tomorrow. I'm doing ok work wise, I just have to remember that I'm not going to get a thing done this weekend so I've gotta reach a point where I'm guilt-free.

Hmm... just bloggin away. I had to read a series of papers for tomorrows class on psychosurgery. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the subject, lobotomies fall under this category. Its the concept of performing brain surgery to adapt the behavior of the individual. There are obviously many ethical issues with this, but beyond that, the papers were considering moving psychosurgery into the mainstream in prison systems. To decrease violent behavior, it was considered that electrodes should be placed in the brain of chronically violent patients to subdue them. Its all very sketchy.

Also, whenver I am exposed to new technology, I usually think of the worse possible situation that may arise from the given technology. Here, I can see a world where everyone's behavior is controlled by a small remote that they carry around like a cell phone. Everyone would be wandering in a state of undisturbed bliss. It would be equivalent to The Kids in the Hall's movie Brain Candy. Every one would be disgustingly happy and non-confrontational.

Once people become non-confrontational, where does art go?
What happens if someone gets your remote? What can they control externally?
The technology is class oriented such that the rich 1% will now have mental control over the 'inferiors'.

And the list goes on. I just find too many questions with the procedure. Also, the brain's localization has not be perfected. Who knows what else any part of the brain controls? This is not quantitative surgery and the after effects can vary from subject to subject. Its just not right.

good night.

2001-04-30T11:29:00.000-07:00

So I don't have classes on Mondays, its nice, it gives me the time to take care of my errands and finish up the last minute (or all) of the homework before the week begins. Today I went outand got $400 from the institute. There's nothing like getting money back after handing over about $40,000 a year. I also received some pictures yesterday from the AXO LIp Sych which the Lambda Sigma Delta girls performed. Here are some pictures of me:

http://the-tech.mit.edu/~wan/lip.htm

There is also going to be a great spread in The Tech tomorrow if you're on MIT campus. You should check it out. This week is sober study week for me since Steer Roast is this weekend. 3 days of complete debauchery and guilt-free fun! I'll show you pictures later! For the time being, I have a ton of homework to do. I'm writing a series of papers on the media's influence on sexuality, femininity and the ideal female body image. For the last one, we are writing a paper on how the media's image affects young women and men personally. I'm sure as soon as I'm done, I'll post the papers for you to read, it should be interesting!

2001-04-29T20:49:00.000-07:00

Also for those of you tuning in, I am an MIT undergraduate, class of 2002 I took a year off so now I will be graduating in spring of 2003. I am a 21S major, which allows students to have a dual major between a humanities class and science, my chosen courses are 9 and CMS. Of course this means nothing if you are not an MIT student too, coruse 9 is Brain and Cognitive Science and CMS is Comparative Media Studies.

I have to review blogger.com for one of my classes, Popular Culture in a Converging Media (web.mit.edu/cms.920/www). So if you have any comments on the site and how its applications have assited you in publishing online. Thanks! Perhaps I'll keep you all updated later!

2001-04-29T20:43:00.000-07:00

This is my first experience with a web log, I'm not certain of what to write or what to cover. I think that simply putting my life goals up would be good for an introduction to me. Included is the personal statement which I used to replace the cover letter of my resume. I'm trying to get a job in New York City working in television. Just in case, you happen to be from a television company, email me at charisse@mit.edu and I will send you the rest of my resume. That is all.

My Personal Statement (Resume)

I love everything about television and I would like to be involved with what goes on behind the screen. Television as a medium is incredible, those who control it have the ability to reach into millions of homes and affect their watchers. It is a form of virtual reality that has changed drastically with the explosion of the internet. This combined media seems almost infinite, it is capable of leading mankind in many directions.

I watch everything from PBS to MTV. Granted, most shows that come on popular television nowadays are of poor quality but often I am amazed with the perfection to which a network serves it viewers. For example; MTV is no longer Music Televison, it is Miscellaneous Television for teenagers but the network attends to their every need, down to the commercials. Each network has its own character that it perfectly suited to its consumers. Television production is a service, it has always catered to its watchers and given them what they have demanded.

However, in the past few years, the demand has been created by corporations and people who are not in contact with their consumers. I am specifically talking about teenage pop culture. I think that pop culture is an amazing phenomenon and has the potential to be really good but in the late nineties, teens have been bombarded by factory made pop stars and no longer understand the power of their free will. I think that television is the way to pull these children out of this funk. My absolute goal in life is to improve pop culture for all involved (parents and their children) and make teens aware that they are the power behind the machine. In short, I would like to use television to teach a new generation to expand their horizons.

I’ve been a television junkie as far back as I can remember. When I was in elementary school, I couldn’t wake up during the week for the bus but on Saturday mornings, I was up before sunrise to eat cereal and plant myself in front of the TV for the next six hours. Eventually my mother would wake up and make me do something, but my attention was always on the tube. Don’t worry! This unhealthy love for television is characteristic of people my age and it has definitely become one of my hobbies. I am incredibly excited at the prospect of working for a television network and hope that this will be a start to completing my goals. My love of television can only expand by being involved in its production.