The Meaning of Meaning

I thought this chapter was fairly interesting. It seemed more philosophical than media-y.
It was interesting to read about the two domains of meaning--the world and the languages people use. This is like the diagram below given in the book:

Representational World -> Object
Conceptual World -> Concept.

In other words, a dog can be represented as a cute, cuddley creature, or as a violent wolf. But the word "faith"...well, you can't hold that. It becomes a concept in one's mind.
Something I really took away from the chapter was actually what Humpty Dumpty said in Through the Look Glass (the first part of the two part book actually called Alice's Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carrol, one of my favorite books; perhaps this is why the quote resonated with me): "Words mean exactly what we want them to mean, no more and no less."

While I love that quote, I think it is vital to bring up this website I came across purely out of coincidence:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/s/#6A8l63/www.ijourney.org/?tid=654/topic:Spirituality

The end of that is to read between the lines, discover the meaning behind the words. Thought provoking--like a signifier linked to a signified in its own way.

Think about it. Hear between the words.

Ideology Understanding

My understanding of ideology?
I think it's a set of beliefs, ideas, and muses that make us strive towards a better life. It also keeps us grounded on what we believe to be morally correct.
Of course, ideologies are different for every person, and over time, they can change too--whether they change because of someone else's ideological perspective having influence on our own, or just because we feel it's time for a change.
No matter what the basis for ideology is, I don't think that just one person can define it.

Media Blurring Lines

Yesterday my roommate and I were listening to Sirius Radio. At one point, the DJ decided to go on about Leona Lewis, the singer, and her family's private life. He even made it a point to say that while we (the audience) didn't really need to know, he was going to tell us anyway.
At this point, I turned to my roommate and said, "If it's a matter of privacy, why does the media feel the need to butt it? Why do we need to know?"
I feel like this kind of information, private information that got leaked from Lewis' family, is not news-worthy.
I realize that some media is made from this kind of cultural news. I understand that to study the media, we can't separate it from this news. But shouldn't this type of media remain as a singular medium in the area of its origin? Why do random people across the U.S. (Lewis is from England) need to know this type of news about a bad seed in her family?

First Blog

Sooo...I'm basically just checking to see if this works. Never really felt the need to blog before.