Friday, January 15, 2010
Messages for walking
Message #1 "Walk. Or Die. Soon." uses the fear-inducing slogan that provides the threat of early death, an event that people avoid on instinct. But instead of fleeing the scene, the reader is given a list of health complications that could result from neglecting the most basic form of exercise and transportation. Then they are given a list of positive results and benefits that will result from walking regularly, which people will associate with out of their also instinctual desire to avoid pain and suffering.
Message #2
Our Peripheral Route Processing Message uses glitter text and marquee-style scrolling pictures to capture the attention of blog readers with a witty phrase, "walk on the wild side" and watch images scroll by. For those not always apt to choose walking, the idea of walking on the "wild side" makes the action seem exciting; especially since the image looks enticing.
Message #3 By using the example of Jim Fixx, the reader is given an example of somebody who exercised regularly but still died of health complications which he himself believed would be combated completely by a running routine. This acts as a sort of a challenge to the view that walking is essential to good health, and that exercising regularly won't make a significant difference to their livelihood or health.
In fact, Fixx's complications are readily attributed to his persisting smoking habit as well as, more importantly, the history of poor health in the males of his family.
The other side of the message, in support of walking, shows the reader more specifically how walking will bring concrete and distinctly positive changes to your life, such as being outside more, more social behavior and the fact that one can't expect instant results from any kind of exercise, and instead the most benefits are experienced on a long-term scale.
Message #2
Our Peripheral Route Processing Message uses glitter text and marquee-style scrolling pictures to capture the attention of blog readers with a witty phrase, "walk on the wild side" and watch images scroll by. For those not always apt to choose walking, the idea of walking on the "wild side" makes the action seem exciting; especially since the image looks enticing.
Message #3 By using the example of Jim Fixx, the reader is given an example of somebody who exercised regularly but still died of health complications which he himself believed would be combated completely by a running routine. This acts as a sort of a challenge to the view that walking is essential to good health, and that exercising regularly won't make a significant difference to their livelihood or health.
In fact, Fixx's complications are readily attributed to his persisting smoking habit as well as, more importantly, the history of poor health in the males of his family.
The other side of the message, in support of walking, shows the reader more specifically how walking will bring concrete and distinctly positive changes to your life, such as being outside more, more social behavior and the fact that one can't expect instant results from any kind of exercise, and instead the most benefits are experienced on a long-term scale.
"SHOULD I" "Yes. Yes you should."
Exercising Regularly, as in walking distances, will bring positive change to your health and decrease the risk of premature heart attack.
Like the story of Jim Fixx suggests (a running enthusiast and author of a few running books who died from a heart attack after one of his daily runs), most health complications seem to be traceable back to family genetics and, to some, pure fate. Despite his stressing regular exercise in the form of running, Fixx suffered a heart attack due to blockages in his arteries. These blockages were attributed to his family's history of heart issues, as his father too died of a heart attack at 42 and suffered one even at 35. So, how much of an effect will walking have in the end, especially since people die from sudden health complications regularly anyways?
The above question is valid to an extent, as regular exercise can only reduce the risk of health problems, the positive effects of which show themselves over time, not as an instant solution. But it is this gradual benefit as well as the immediate positive change brought into your life just by being outside around nature and people for the walk that will truly enrich your everyday livelihood. Death and health complications are events common to all people, so the goal with a more walkable society is to enrich the body (health), mind (psychological self) and the spirit (social and natural interconnectedness and unity). And because it isn't a strenuous, intense form of exercise (like Fixx's running routine or the life of a power lifter or gym-nut) that happens at any time throughout the day, the body is able to adapt and thrive more comfortably.
Like the story of Jim Fixx suggests (a running enthusiast and author of a few running books who died from a heart attack after one of his daily runs), most health complications seem to be traceable back to family genetics and, to some, pure fate. Despite his stressing regular exercise in the form of running, Fixx suffered a heart attack due to blockages in his arteries. These blockages were attributed to his family's history of heart issues, as his father too died of a heart attack at 42 and suffered one even at 35. So, how much of an effect will walking have in the end, especially since people die from sudden health complications regularly anyways?
The above question is valid to an extent, as regular exercise can only reduce the risk of health problems, the positive effects of which show themselves over time, not as an instant solution. But it is this gradual benefit as well as the immediate positive change brought into your life just by being outside around nature and people for the walk that will truly enrich your everyday livelihood. Death and health complications are events common to all people, so the goal with a more walkable society is to enrich the body (health), mind (psychological self) and the spirit (social and natural interconnectedness and unity). And because it isn't a strenuous, intense form of exercise (like Fixx's running routine or the life of a power lifter or gym-nut) that happens at any time throughout the day, the body is able to adapt and thrive more comfortably.
Walk. Or Die. Soon.
Not incorporating or avoiding walking in your everyday life will result in a higher likelihood of cancer, heart disease and attack, harmful weight-gain, higher bad cholesterol, and earlier death.
Exercising regularly, however light a walk may seem, is an essential weapon to be used in the fight against these illnesses, as it WILL help lower insulin (avoiding the risk of diabetes), improve circulation and respiration, encourage digestion, fortify your immune system and so on.
Many essential aspects of our everyday lives in this contemporary era assist in our avoiding our using walking as our primary mode of transportation. One of the main culprits is the advent of the automobile, which especially in America, has become the chief influencing factor in how we design, plan and build our towns and cities. Suburban lifestyle is now focused on the car and leaves much distance between our homes, workplaces, sources of food, recreation, society and each other in general. If we only would reevaluate this mode of transportation as an alternative as opposed to the more desirable (now nearly required) way to get from A to B.
Protesting, speaking with and getting involved with our Government and political leaders to make this change in our culture and society, showing the health, economic and environmental benefits to designing our cities and towns around the foot would be the most lasting, effective and comprehensive way to solve the problem of our not walking.
Simply prioritizing walking instead of the car is the most essential and personal way to help change your own life and vitality.
Exercising regularly, however light a walk may seem, is an essential weapon to be used in the fight against these illnesses, as it WILL help lower insulin (avoiding the risk of diabetes), improve circulation and respiration, encourage digestion, fortify your immune system and so on.
Many essential aspects of our everyday lives in this contemporary era assist in our avoiding our using walking as our primary mode of transportation. One of the main culprits is the advent of the automobile, which especially in America, has become the chief influencing factor in how we design, plan and build our towns and cities. Suburban lifestyle is now focused on the car and leaves much distance between our homes, workplaces, sources of food, recreation, society and each other in general. If we only would reevaluate this mode of transportation as an alternative as opposed to the more desirable (now nearly required) way to get from A to B.
Protesting, speaking with and getting involved with our Government and political leaders to make this change in our culture and society, showing the health, economic and environmental benefits to designing our cities and towns around the foot would be the most lasting, effective and comprehensive way to solve the problem of our not walking.
Simply prioritizing walking instead of the car is the most essential and personal way to help change your own life and vitality.
Messages
1) BE A WALKER AND GET WALKEN'!!
Chuck Norris walks all over people! You can walk all over too!! Just get "Walken"!!
2) "A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step!"--Confucius
Confucius knew that in order to get anywhere, you had to start SOMEWHERE. Take a step outside and see the world around you! Go on an adventure.
3)
ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET
Make things happen!! Walk all over those who walk all over you!! WALK your way to the top!! GET WHERE YOU WANT TO GO BY
4) THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING...
AND THAT'S JUST WHAT THEY'LL DO...
FINALLY, ONE OF THESE DAYS, THESE BOOTS WILL WALK ALL OVER YOU!!
A long way from Nancy Sinatra! Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke in THE DUKES OF HAZZARD knows what she wants and she won't stop walking until she gets it!!
6) SAVE GAS! WALK TO YOUR $5 FOOTLONG
Jared Fogle lost over 200 lbs WALKING to his local Subway restaurant everyday to enjoy a delicious sandwich. It was much easier for him to enjoy his food after the extra calories he burned walking.
7) Walk off the weight-- BECOME A BIG LOSER TOO!!
Jillian Michaels, fitness coach on the BIGGEST LOSER knows the importance of proper exercise and diet. With simple changes to your lifestyle, weight-loss can go a long way. Walking is just the FIRST STEP to looking and feeling better about yourself.
8) MESSAGE SIGNIFICANCES:
1) "Be a Walker and Get Walken'!"-- Chuck Norris, famously known for his WALKER Texas Ranger role has developed the image of being invincible. He knows how to get what he wants. Christopher Walken is a famous actor with a decipherable name. Both men have created credible images for themselves with names that work excellent as a play-on words.
2) People love quotes. Confucius' quote about a journey starting with a single step signifies that while walking often instills arduous work ideas into peoples' minds, they realize they have to start somewhere if they ever want to GET anywhere. The quote is inspirational and incorporates the ideas of steps and walking directly.
3) The light-up shoe incorporates the image of a city. It looks flashy and new-age and definitely catches the eye. The visual itself sends the message without text even being necessary that we can make things happen. With walking, we can go anywhere and DO anything!
Chuck Norris walks all over people! You can walk all over too!! Just get "Walken"!!
2) "A journey of a thousand miles, begins with a single step!"--Confucius
Confucius knew that in order to get anywhere, you had to start SOMEWHERE. Take a step outside and see the world around you! Go on an adventure.
3)
ON YOUR OWN TWO FEET
Make things happen!! Walk all over those who walk all over you!! WALK your way to the top!! GET WHERE YOU WANT TO GO BY
4) THESE BOOTS ARE MADE FOR WALKING...
AND THAT'S JUST WHAT THEY'LL DO...
FINALLY, ONE OF THESE DAYS, THESE BOOTS WILL WALK ALL OVER YOU!!
A long way from Nancy Sinatra! Jessica Simpson as Daisy Duke in THE DUKES OF HAZZARD knows what she wants and she won't stop walking until she gets it!!
6) SAVE GAS! WALK TO YOUR $5 FOOTLONG
Jared Fogle lost over 200 lbs WALKING to his local Subway restaurant everyday to enjoy a delicious sandwich. It was much easier for him to enjoy his food after the extra calories he burned walking.
7) Walk off the weight-- BECOME A BIG LOSER TOO!!
Jillian Michaels, fitness coach on the BIGGEST LOSER knows the importance of proper exercise and diet. With simple changes to your lifestyle, weight-loss can go a long way. Walking is just the FIRST STEP to looking and feeling better about yourself.
8) MESSAGE SIGNIFICANCES:
1) "Be a Walker and Get Walken'!"-- Chuck Norris, famously known for his WALKER Texas Ranger role has developed the image of being invincible. He knows how to get what he wants. Christopher Walken is a famous actor with a decipherable name. Both men have created credible images for themselves with names that work excellent as a play-on words.
2) People love quotes. Confucius' quote about a journey starting with a single step signifies that while walking often instills arduous work ideas into peoples' minds, they realize they have to start somewhere if they ever want to GET anywhere. The quote is inspirational and incorporates the ideas of steps and walking directly.
3) The light-up shoe incorporates the image of a city. It looks flashy and new-age and definitely catches the eye. The visual itself sends the message without text even being necessary that we can make things happen. With walking, we can go anywhere and DO anything!
4) Jessica Simpson made a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made For Walking" With her sex appeal and the words right on the image, it is hard to ignore. Especially three times in a row.
5) Once you hear the words "these boots are made for walking...", the song is not hard to imagine in your head. To incorporate subliminal advertising, I would instill the image with the message 'GO WALK' throughout the entire music video of the song sung by Jessica Simpson.
6) Jared Fogle has made quite a name for himself as the Subway spokesperson showing his real-life story about how he walked to Subway everyday to eat his sandwiches he claims helped him lost weight. His face is so well-known it is practically a message itself.
7) Jillian Michaels is a fitness coach on the hit TV Show THE BIGGEST LOSER. With her own trim figure and sex-appeal, she not only has gained trustworthiness from loyal viewers and show participants but also is a good FACE for the walking movement.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Technological and Social Fixes
OMG, SHOES!!!!
(Technological Fix)
With two functioning legs walking is a relatively easy concept. With the invention of shoes, the feet have a protective layer to keep harmful and painful elements away. Walking becomes increasingly easier with the right pair of shoes. Those with walking problems usually get special shoes or orthotic-inserts to correct the problem and make walking easier and more convenient.
Shoes is just the beginning step...so to speak. With the invention of suburban neighborhoods, the idea of shopping districts, entertainment districts, and various other destinations people choose to travel to, have become farther and farther away from home. With miles separating us all from our living room couches to the places we could better be spending our time, less people decide to leave their homes and walk around. If they do decide to leave, they choose driving or other man-made types of transportation over our own two feet (i.e. motorcycles, motorized scooters, trains, planes, etc.).
However, on a nice day, many decide that walking isn't necessarily a terrible option. With the invention of sidewalks and cross-walks, pedestrians can feel safe and out of harms way from automobiles on the roads. With pedestrian-friendly and pedestrian-only areas in large shopping areas and tourist spots, people are not only encouraged to walk, since it is their only option, but enjoy it as well.
For those with missing limbs from the waist down, walking almost isn't an option. However, with prosthetic legs and feet, people can quickly re-learn how to walk and gain their mobility and independence back.
With an increase in walking, metabolism speeds up and people find themselves with more energy and less calories turning into fat. With obesity becoming a large problem in America, people can no longer afford to be lazy and require a great amount of exercise. For those who do not enjoy strenuous exercise, walking is a simple solution that not only helps you get from place-to-place but also keeps your body in constant motion to keep it active and healthy.
VERB!! IT'S WHAT YA' DO!!
(Sociological Fix)
With kids sitting home watching more television and playing an increased number of video games, the media hoped to partner up with health specialists and worried parents. A television news campaign entitled "VERB! IT'S WHAT YOU DO!" encouraged kids to go outside and play real games and spark their imaginations and athletic abilities. Real-life kids would be seen on these ads playing soccer, skateboarding, running, jumping, playing, etc to show kids what is available outside the comfort of their living rooms and bedrooms. The TV campaign not only taught kids to get up and get out, but also gave them an English lesson too!
With kids sitting home watching more television and playing an increased number of video games, the media hoped to partner up with health specialists and worried parents. A television news campaign entitled "VERB! IT'S WHAT YOU DO!" encouraged kids to go outside and play real games and spark their imaginations and athletic abilities. Real-life kids would be seen on these ads playing soccer, skateboarding, running, jumping, playing, etc to show kids what is available outside the comfort of their living rooms and bedrooms. The TV campaign not only taught kids to get up and get out, but also gave them an English lesson too!
History and Story of the Walking issue
To better understand how the Westernized, global culture ended up in a situation of needing a car to have access to basic resources, society, we may start with a quick review of the history of
transportation technologies which changed how humans viewed walking as well as human interactions and culture itself.
In 3500 BC the first wheeled-carts were believed to be introduced, resulting in advancements in local agriculture (plows, animal-driven carts), military (the chariot) and the travel of large amounts of goods for trade, the first step towards the complex, interconnected global economy we see today.
At the same time river boats with oars brought the same advancements around the world, as water passages, oceans and other bodies of water could be easily navigated, allowing some cultures to dominate as well as granting others the ability to claim new territories, like remote island tribes.
By 2000 BC the horse had gradually been domesticated and were being introduced around the world. However, not until 770 CE were the animals outfitted with iron horseshoes, facilitating even longer-distance journeys, and more intense military campaigns.
Around 1492 CE Leonardo da Vinci famously began imagining flying machines and contraptions later to be adapted to modern vehicles like the helicopter, para sail and even the airplane.
1662 saw the development of Blaise Pascal's the first -however primitive- public bus transportation system, complete with a fare system, regular routes and trails and a schedule, using animal-drawn carts.
In 1769 Nicolas Joseph Cugnot developed the first functionally self-propelled road vehicle, which was steam powered.
Between 1783 and 1807 the steamboat saw great advancement, used famously on the Mississippi River and eventually becoming a public passenger mode of transportation.
In 1814 the first practical steam-powered locomotive was produced by George Stephenson, facilitating the mass transportation of people across countries and continents with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
By 1862 the automobile engine powered by gasoline finally found a successful design by Jean Lenoir. The conception of the modern automobile has finally commenced.
In 1867 the first motorcycle was introduced.
In 1871 the first cable car was produced.
1885 saw the first Internal Combustion Engine designed by Franz Benz.
In 1889 the first successful dirigible was launched, the "Zeppelin", perfected by Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
By 1903 the Wright Brothers in Kittyhawk, North Carolina perfected their design for the airplane.
In 1908 Henry Ford modified and augmented the factory manufacturing of the automobile, contributing greatly to its almost viral spread around the world.
In 1947 the first supersonic jet was completed, allowing the transportation of large groups of people in airplanes unprecedented distances and in ever-shortening amounts of time.
How did we get here? For more info, check this History of Transportation outline.
transportation technologies which changed how humans viewed walking as well as human interactions and culture itself.
In 3500 BC the first wheeled-carts were believed to be introduced, resulting in advancements in local agriculture (plows, animal-driven carts), military (the chariot) and the travel of large amounts of goods for trade, the first step towards the complex, interconnected global economy we see today.
At the same time river boats with oars brought the same advancements around the world, as water passages, oceans and other bodies of water could be easily navigated, allowing some cultures to dominate as well as granting others the ability to claim new territories, like remote island tribes.
By 2000 BC the horse had gradually been domesticated and were being introduced around the world. However, not until 770 CE were the animals outfitted with iron horseshoes, facilitating even longer-distance journeys, and more intense military campaigns.
Around 1492 CE Leonardo da Vinci famously began imagining flying machines and contraptions later to be adapted to modern vehicles like the helicopter, para sail and even the airplane.
1662 saw the development of Blaise Pascal's the first -however primitive- public bus transportation system, complete with a fare system, regular routes and trails and a schedule, using animal-drawn carts.
In 1769 Nicolas Joseph Cugnot developed the first functionally self-propelled road vehicle, which was steam powered.
Between 1783 and 1807 the steamboat saw great advancement, used famously on the Mississippi River and eventually becoming a public passenger mode of transportation.
In 1814 the first practical steam-powered locomotive was produced by George Stephenson, facilitating the mass transportation of people across countries and continents with unprecedented speed and efficiency.
By 1862 the automobile engine powered by gasoline finally found a successful design by Jean Lenoir. The conception of the modern automobile has finally commenced.
In 1867 the first motorcycle was introduced.
In 1871 the first cable car was produced.
1885 saw the first Internal Combustion Engine designed by Franz Benz.
In 1889 the first successful dirigible was launched, the "Zeppelin", perfected by Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
By 1903 the Wright Brothers in Kittyhawk, North Carolina perfected their design for the airplane.
In 1908 Henry Ford modified and augmented the factory manufacturing of the automobile, contributing greatly to its almost viral spread around the world.
In 1947 the first supersonic jet was completed, allowing the transportation of large groups of people in airplanes unprecedented distances and in ever-shortening amounts of time.
How did we get here? For more info, check this History of Transportation outline.
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