Thursday, May 3, 2007
DreamWeaver Class
Nothing like waiting until the last minute...but I finally took a STS class. I wish I could have skipped DW 1 and just gone onto the second installment because I was bored out of my mind! After working with this program all semester, I felt like I could have taught the class. However, had I taken it in a more timely fashion (instead of dropping out of it twice because of Badger Sports events) it most likely would have been a life saver. But I don't feel too bad, because I wasn't the only one who waited this long...you all know who you are!
Monday, April 30, 2007
I'm a slacker
Last week was pretty hectic and I completely forgot to do reading notes. My bad. Unfortunately for you all, this week wasn't much better by a long shot. Therefore you are being subjected to the most boring blog on Earth. Please enjoy.
So, we watched Lost in Translation about 10 days ago. I've never seen it and since I didn't see the first 2/3 of it, I was pretty lost myself. After listening to the class discussion about how Tokyo wasn't a place but became a place to the characters, even moreso than their own actual homes, I really became pretty enthralled and plan to see this movie in its entirety the first chance I get.
On to Emergence: I can't lie. I was really distracted in class when we were talking about this. But I read the intro and first few chapters when I had a little time this weekend...I feel like Johnson's whole idea is really under-publicized. Why haven't I heard about this before? It's so simple and so complex at the same time; I feel like an 8th grader could begin to get a grasp on it. The whole ant colony thing made me think about my surroundings and how they came to be. Then the follow up readings as well as Jonathan's blog made me think about where my mom grew up.
My mom grew up in Iron River, MI. Known to no one other than for its AMAZING pizza. It's about a 5 hour drive from my home in Racine to this place; and with my older brother present, this journey seemed more like 5 days. Anyways, after you pass a place known as Wabeno, it's like a time warp. All of a sudden you are back in the 60s. I'm serious here. Iron River just got a new restaurant- its called McDonald's. So how has this place not evolved? How is it the same town it was when my mom was a kid? It seems everywhere else is becoming industrialized, expanded and modernized at the speed of light. Then you get into the upper peninsula of Michigan, and you might as well be rockin' your bell bottoms and afros (I actually saw one while I was there...no lie.)
Then I read Bobby's blog to get another view point on the stuff we read (and maybe discussed in class?- Like I said, I was preoccupied). The whole cell phone thing and tracking people...maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist, but I think they already do that. But in a related field, as I told the class, Disney World takes your finger prints now. My brother and uncle were convinced that ol' Walt is selling our prints to the FBI. There were many a people angrily ranting at the gates about the ludicrousness of sacrificing your fingerprints to ride a few rides. But I think this is the direction we're headed. There's already systems to put in your cars so you can track your kids; you can get a type of cell phone you can purchase for your child (designed for ages 10 and under..absolutely ridiculous) so you can track who your child is calling, how long he is talking, and how often. So while this "safety" feature is letting you sleep better at night, what are you giving up to have it?
So, we watched Lost in Translation about 10 days ago. I've never seen it and since I didn't see the first 2/3 of it, I was pretty lost myself. After listening to the class discussion about how Tokyo wasn't a place but became a place to the characters, even moreso than their own actual homes, I really became pretty enthralled and plan to see this movie in its entirety the first chance I get.
On to Emergence: I can't lie. I was really distracted in class when we were talking about this. But I read the intro and first few chapters when I had a little time this weekend...I feel like Johnson's whole idea is really under-publicized. Why haven't I heard about this before? It's so simple and so complex at the same time; I feel like an 8th grader could begin to get a grasp on it. The whole ant colony thing made me think about my surroundings and how they came to be. Then the follow up readings as well as Jonathan's blog made me think about where my mom grew up.
My mom grew up in Iron River, MI. Known to no one other than for its AMAZING pizza. It's about a 5 hour drive from my home in Racine to this place; and with my older brother present, this journey seemed more like 5 days. Anyways, after you pass a place known as Wabeno, it's like a time warp. All of a sudden you are back in the 60s. I'm serious here. Iron River just got a new restaurant- its called McDonald's. So how has this place not evolved? How is it the same town it was when my mom was a kid? It seems everywhere else is becoming industrialized, expanded and modernized at the speed of light. Then you get into the upper peninsula of Michigan, and you might as well be rockin' your bell bottoms and afros (I actually saw one while I was there...no lie.)
Then I read Bobby's blog to get another view point on the stuff we read (and maybe discussed in class?- Like I said, I was preoccupied). The whole cell phone thing and tracking people...maybe I'm a conspiracy theorist, but I think they already do that. But in a related field, as I told the class, Disney World takes your finger prints now. My brother and uncle were convinced that ol' Walt is selling our prints to the FBI. There were many a people angrily ranting at the gates about the ludicrousness of sacrificing your fingerprints to ride a few rides. But I think this is the direction we're headed. There's already systems to put in your cars so you can track your kids; you can get a type of cell phone you can purchase for your child (designed for ages 10 and under..absolutely ridiculous) so you can track who your child is calling, how long he is talking, and how often. So while this "safety" feature is letting you sleep better at night, what are you giving up to have it?
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Some premature reading notes
Due to my mom's stressful job and the fact that I have little cousins (roughly age 5 and 10) I'm going on a late family vacation to Disney World until Monday (thank God for no MWF classes). Since I'll probably forget to do my reading notes when I come back, I'm doing them now.
I thought Tuesday's discussion about non-places was really intriguing. Not going to lie... I had not read for the class because last week was pretty much the busiest week "work-wise" of my life (I'm a waitress right now, so homework wasn't an option after all the long hours). But after the discussion, it really inspired me to do the reading anyway. The article sounded like it would be interesting and something that I could actually grasp, since I feel lost most of the time when I read for this class.
I think it's really mind bending to think about how a place can be a non-place to one person while to another it's vice versa. For example, at my job (Cheeseburger in Paradise in Middleton, but please don't come ask for me because I HATE serving people I know- Hi! My name is Randi and I'll be your islander today) people usually come in to eat or drink. They don't interact with those around them, sometimes not even the staff, monotonously eat their meal and drink their drink and then leave. For those people, CIP is a non-place. These people have no relationships at this place, they don't come to this place for a real life-oriented purpose, and it's usually a stop in transit for the rest of the evening. However, for me, this is obviously a place. After countless shifts at this location, I've made a lot of really good friends and have a lot of my personal life invested in it. I spend more time there than I do in my house most weeks.
This brings me to something that I really liked in class: our "homes" in Madison as non-places. The places we rent are all in transition to a permanent arrangement when we get out of school. I could make the argument that if you've lived in the same apartment for 3 years, it's probably more of a place to you. However, if you're anything like me and my roommates, you just move furniture in, sleep in a different room than you were last year, pack up and move out. Rarely do people invest time and money into these temporary dwellings because often we'll get fined if we make any major changes or create major holes. Sure, we hang pictures and have relationships between each other, but it's too hard to really make that place our own.
One final thing I'd like to say regarding non-places...The more I thought about observing a non-place for the blog, the more I came up with a realization. Many non-places have a social standard for how long it is acceptable to be there. If you think about a gas station, convenience store, bus stop, etc., if you linger too long people will begin to ask questions. Loitering rules are in effect in a lot of places. In that -30 degree week, my older brother was visiting and partook a little too much. He got VERY lost going back to his friend's house and ended up being outside for 2 hours. He went into a convenience store to gain feeling in his legs, but the store clerk told him that he had to buy something or leave immediately. It's assumed that if you want to spend extended time in non-places, you are there because 1) you have no where else to go, 2) you have nothing to do, or 3) you are there for a conniving purpose.
I thought Tuesday's discussion about non-places was really intriguing. Not going to lie... I had not read for the class because last week was pretty much the busiest week "work-wise" of my life (I'm a waitress right now, so homework wasn't an option after all the long hours). But after the discussion, it really inspired me to do the reading anyway. The article sounded like it would be interesting and something that I could actually grasp, since I feel lost most of the time when I read for this class.
I think it's really mind bending to think about how a place can be a non-place to one person while to another it's vice versa. For example, at my job (Cheeseburger in Paradise in Middleton, but please don't come ask for me because I HATE serving people I know- Hi! My name is Randi and I'll be your islander today) people usually come in to eat or drink. They don't interact with those around them, sometimes not even the staff, monotonously eat their meal and drink their drink and then leave. For those people, CIP is a non-place. These people have no relationships at this place, they don't come to this place for a real life-oriented purpose, and it's usually a stop in transit for the rest of the evening. However, for me, this is obviously a place. After countless shifts at this location, I've made a lot of really good friends and have a lot of my personal life invested in it. I spend more time there than I do in my house most weeks.
This brings me to something that I really liked in class: our "homes" in Madison as non-places. The places we rent are all in transition to a permanent arrangement when we get out of school. I could make the argument that if you've lived in the same apartment for 3 years, it's probably more of a place to you. However, if you're anything like me and my roommates, you just move furniture in, sleep in a different room than you were last year, pack up and move out. Rarely do people invest time and money into these temporary dwellings because often we'll get fined if we make any major changes or create major holes. Sure, we hang pictures and have relationships between each other, but it's too hard to really make that place our own.
One final thing I'd like to say regarding non-places...The more I thought about observing a non-place for the blog, the more I came up with a realization. Many non-places have a social standard for how long it is acceptable to be there. If you think about a gas station, convenience store, bus stop, etc., if you linger too long people will begin to ask questions. Loitering rules are in effect in a lot of places. In that -30 degree week, my older brother was visiting and partook a little too much. He got VERY lost going back to his friend's house and ended up being outside for 2 hours. He went into a convenience store to gain feeling in his legs, but the store clerk told him that he had to buy something or leave immediately. It's assumed that if you want to spend extended time in non-places, you are there because 1) you have no where else to go, 2) you have nothing to do, or 3) you are there for a conniving purpose.
I just worked out!
We've all rode the 80 from the Union to the top of Bascom Hill. Don't lie. You've done it. You've heard that girl talk on her phone to her friend about how she just totally ran 3 miles...but then proceeds to exit the bus after a single stop.
For my non-place, I did just this- but further than the top of the Hill. People simply enter and exit this bus, rarely making eye contact with anyone around them or saying anything. If you sit next to someone when there are empty seats elsewhere, you must be new. Even in the front of the bus where there are three seats, people almost always have an empty seat between them (and lets be serious, that empty seat looks like no one, even Nicole Richie in her anorexic stages, could fit there!)
So, we ride along and people enter and exit the bus. Rarely are courtesies extended to people who were at the bus stop first (No CUTTING!) or elderly people, or even people on crutches. It's a first come first serve basis favoring those that can be stealth and move in between the rushing hoards and sneak in the back door without the bus driver knowing (they WILL kick you off for that if it's not been a good day).
Finally, as people exit the bus, there are a few bus drivers that will wish their passengers a good day. Do you answer? Most people don't; whether they have an Ipod blasting directly into the ear canal, or they are just plain rude, people often don't acknowledge this address. But don't lose faith yet. There are a few polite souls who still thank the bus driver when de-boarding.
For my non-place, I did just this- but further than the top of the Hill. People simply enter and exit this bus, rarely making eye contact with anyone around them or saying anything. If you sit next to someone when there are empty seats elsewhere, you must be new. Even in the front of the bus where there are three seats, people almost always have an empty seat between them (and lets be serious, that empty seat looks like no one, even Nicole Richie in her anorexic stages, could fit there!)
So, we ride along and people enter and exit the bus. Rarely are courtesies extended to people who were at the bus stop first (No CUTTING!) or elderly people, or even people on crutches. It's a first come first serve basis favoring those that can be stealth and move in between the rushing hoards and sneak in the back door without the bus driver knowing (they WILL kick you off for that if it's not been a good day).
Finally, as people exit the bus, there are a few bus drivers that will wish their passengers a good day. Do you answer? Most people don't; whether they have an Ipod blasting directly into the ear canal, or they are just plain rude, people often don't acknowledge this address. But don't lose faith yet. There are a few polite souls who still thank the bus driver when de-boarding.
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Drained
I'm sure everyone reading this can sympathize: the days aren't long enough, there is too much to do and deadlines come too fast.
This is how I feel everyday lately. So I'm resorting to you, my classmates, to help. I am taking HDFS 425: Research methods. This class is similar to Psych 225. I need to design and conduct a simple experiment. What do you guys think I should do? I'm drawing a complete blank on ideas of experiments to conduct. So if you have taken either of these classes, or have a burning question that I could answer using a simple study, please let me know soon.
If you're going on spring break, have fun be safe and I'm jealous. But due to my horrible experiences with SB, I'll be staying here, working, and writing numerous papers/projects/etc.
This is how I feel everyday lately. So I'm resorting to you, my classmates, to help. I am taking HDFS 425: Research methods. This class is similar to Psych 225. I need to design and conduct a simple experiment. What do you guys think I should do? I'm drawing a complete blank on ideas of experiments to conduct. So if you have taken either of these classes, or have a burning question that I could answer using a simple study, please let me know soon.
If you're going on spring break, have fun be safe and I'm jealous. But due to my horrible experiences with SB, I'll be staying here, working, and writing numerous papers/projects/etc.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Who am I?
I've often talked about Facebook and MySpace when addressing the topic of identity and technology. As I was watching a stellar LifeTime movie tonight ("The Party Never Stops" starring Nancy Travis and Sara Paxton) my roommates and I started cheering for the girl to die. It sounds horrible, but if you watch LifeTime movies, you totally understand. Anyway, the end of the movie states, "Even though classes were over, 100 people attended Shanna's candlelight vigil." I connected to this by saying that when I die, I should hope that more than 100 people would come together to remember me. I have 7 roommates, that's almost a tenth of my 100 person minimum. So, to get this show on the road, I said that if I were to die, I want one of my roommates to break into Facebook, reactivate my account and send everyone an invitation from me inviting them all to my funeral. This was followed by a lot of inappropriate laughter, evolution of ideas and more inappropriate comments and laughter.
I really have a point, I swear. So, last week during our class discussion, I admit to getting a bit heated. To make a decision that there is a point at which is considered handicapping to use technology is a little absurd. I've tried to see the other side, and I can see that now. But I still think that some people really need the help to be more social and to meet people and recover from traumatic experiences. When you make an online persona, does that really make you a cyborg? Or is it just testing the waters in being someone you don't know if that's who you are? I made the statement that online chatting is a lot like adolescence: A person tries on a lot of different personalities to find the one that is most comfortable and what you want to be.
I think a better point that was made was by someone who said that saying a person shouldn't use online personas as a method of coping is comprable to saying that a person shouldn't have a pacemaker. Emotional dependence and physical dependence are one in the same. Neither can be overcome without help.
So maybe I missed the point to the reading notes post this week, but I had to make a point that does coincide with the comment regarding the overuse of technology: What if someone died and you were invited to the funeral via Facebook? I think that would be excessive use of technology. But on that same note, maybe it's a coping mechanism. When my a few of my friends' parents passed, they couldn't vocalize it; he/she had to email the close circle of friends. In my conclusion, I have to say that an outrageous example like the Facebook funeral would be excessive, but if someone needs to be a pretend person in an online chatroom, should they really be penalized for that?
I really have a point, I swear. So, last week during our class discussion, I admit to getting a bit heated. To make a decision that there is a point at which is considered handicapping to use technology is a little absurd. I've tried to see the other side, and I can see that now. But I still think that some people really need the help to be more social and to meet people and recover from traumatic experiences. When you make an online persona, does that really make you a cyborg? Or is it just testing the waters in being someone you don't know if that's who you are? I made the statement that online chatting is a lot like adolescence: A person tries on a lot of different personalities to find the one that is most comfortable and what you want to be.
I think a better point that was made was by someone who said that saying a person shouldn't use online personas as a method of coping is comprable to saying that a person shouldn't have a pacemaker. Emotional dependence and physical dependence are one in the same. Neither can be overcome without help.
So maybe I missed the point to the reading notes post this week, but I had to make a point that does coincide with the comment regarding the overuse of technology: What if someone died and you were invited to the funeral via Facebook? I think that would be excessive use of technology. But on that same note, maybe it's a coping mechanism. When my a few of my friends' parents passed, they couldn't vocalize it; he/she had to email the close circle of friends. In my conclusion, I have to say that an outrageous example like the Facebook funeral would be excessive, but if someone needs to be a pretend person in an online chatroom, should they really be penalized for that?
Monday, March 19, 2007
"Alright stop, collaborate and listen..."
We all remember Vanilla Ice. Who could forget him? His hit, "Ice, Ice Baby" is epic. It's lyrical genius. I would venture to say that no one is unfamiliar with this song. That hair, those dance moves, those pants, that hook...wait. That wasn't his?
We've all been in a bar, at a party, or in the car and heard that familiar hook that signals you to get ready to bust your best running man moves. And then- the unfamiliar voice singing, instead of rapping. David Bowie, is that you? It is. Rob Van Winkle (aka the Ice man) allegedly copied Bowie's "Under Pressure" for "Ice, Ice Baby". Van Winkle was sued, and the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Oddly enough, I found this information on a site called Low_Life.fsnet. The author of the site goes on to say that most cases of music fraud aren't even called into question until the artist who sampled another's begins to gain fame and make money; then the original creator of the sampled lyric, hook, etc. wants a piece of the pie.
This is the general idea of what we discussed in class last week. Jeff Rice discussed the use of previously existing works of art to cultivate new work. This sampling is often criticized as being plagarism. He cited the songs of Will Smith and Public Enemy in his chapter on music. We began to discuss if there was a difference between plagarism and sampling. The general consensus is that if an artist takes an already existing piece of media, and changes in a way that makes it his own, then it is sampling and not plagarism. Also, it is not plagarism if the original creator is given credit where it is due. Ok, fine. I get that. But if that's the case, Vanilla Ice is innocent! He says that his beat is distinct from Bowie's. That one note that was added on the end apparently was not enough to convince the lawyers otherwise. So now, this man who is solely known for his contribution to pop culture (and now his anger management issues- but wouldn't you be mad if you were caught in photos with that hair style and in that outfit?) which has been branded as stolen goods.
I would go out on a limb and say we are all guilty of plagarism at some point. As I'm typing this, I'm looking up things on YouTube.com. Somehow I doubt that these people got permission from New Kids on the Block to post thier cartoons, music videos, and concert footage. But I could be wrong (on an interesting side note to this, Captain Planet stole the NKOTB Cartoon theme as its opening theme song). A situation that might be a bit more familiar to you would be that talent show in second grade. You wanted to sing your little heart out and showcase your awesome ability to sing the popular songs of the time. We all know moms are wonderful and amazing, but I highly doubt she wrote Paula Abdul and said "Hey Paula, Little Janie is going to perform "Straight Up" at the talent show next week. Hope that's cool."
Finally, with the ridiculous frivolty of lawsuits that is familiar to today's culture, we are all in danger of being hauled into court. People like Paris Hilton and Donald Trump are copyrighting catch phrases that people repeat all the time. So the next time you burn your hand on the stove and utter, "That's hot" beware of Hilton's lawyer ready to slap you with a lawsuit.
We've all been in a bar, at a party, or in the car and heard that familiar hook that signals you to get ready to bust your best running man moves. And then- the unfamiliar voice singing, instead of rapping. David Bowie, is that you? It is. Rob Van Winkle (aka the Ice man) allegedly copied Bowie's "Under Pressure" for "Ice, Ice Baby". Van Winkle was sued, and the case was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. Oddly enough, I found this information on a site called Low_Life.fsnet. The author of the site goes on to say that most cases of music fraud aren't even called into question until the artist who sampled another's begins to gain fame and make money; then the original creator of the sampled lyric, hook, etc. wants a piece of the pie.
This is the general idea of what we discussed in class last week. Jeff Rice discussed the use of previously existing works of art to cultivate new work. This sampling is often criticized as being plagarism. He cited the songs of Will Smith and Public Enemy in his chapter on music. We began to discuss if there was a difference between plagarism and sampling. The general consensus is that if an artist takes an already existing piece of media, and changes in a way that makes it his own, then it is sampling and not plagarism. Also, it is not plagarism if the original creator is given credit where it is due. Ok, fine. I get that. But if that's the case, Vanilla Ice is innocent! He says that his beat is distinct from Bowie's. That one note that was added on the end apparently was not enough to convince the lawyers otherwise. So now, this man who is solely known for his contribution to pop culture (and now his anger management issues- but wouldn't you be mad if you were caught in photos with that hair style and in that outfit?) which has been branded as stolen goods.
I would go out on a limb and say we are all guilty of plagarism at some point. As I'm typing this, I'm looking up things on YouTube.com. Somehow I doubt that these people got permission from New Kids on the Block to post thier cartoons, music videos, and concert footage. But I could be wrong (on an interesting side note to this, Captain Planet stole the NKOTB Cartoon theme as its opening theme song). A situation that might be a bit more familiar to you would be that talent show in second grade. You wanted to sing your little heart out and showcase your awesome ability to sing the popular songs of the time. We all know moms are wonderful and amazing, but I highly doubt she wrote Paula Abdul and said "Hey Paula, Little Janie is going to perform "Straight Up" at the talent show next week. Hope that's cool."
Finally, with the ridiculous frivolty of lawsuits that is familiar to today's culture, we are all in danger of being hauled into court. People like Paris Hilton and Donald Trump are copyrighting catch phrases that people repeat all the time. So the next time you burn your hand on the stove and utter, "That's hot" beware of Hilton's lawyer ready to slap you with a lawsuit.
Sunday, March 11, 2007
Yet another thought on the reading
I've hit rock bottom in creativity today (which is obvious by the title of this blog). So here it is. Bear with me.
This past week, we looked at pieces by Watts, Gladwell and Barabasi. These readings were ones that I could relate to a bit more than those previous. I don't know about you, but I'm not very technologically savvy, and therefore all the talk about grid architecture and such was really lost on me. The pieces this week just seemed to make more sense. They also weren't that bad to read.
I knew but I didn't know (if that makes any sense) that SOMEONE was out there deciding what was going to be cool or not. Who knew it was tweens in Brooklyn?
I think it's so weird to think about: something (like the Hush Puppies men's shoe) can be in existence for many years, decades even, and not come into its period of cool until it is nearly extinct. I guess for the shoe, it fits into the "vintage" classification, which is pretty hot right now.
I don't know about everyone else, but I found it hard to transition from "cool" referring to a type of media to "cool" in the sense that we are all familiar with. All this back and forth makes me wonder what is coming next. It's hard to take one concept and apply to many different ideas/objects/etc.
This past week, we looked at pieces by Watts, Gladwell and Barabasi. These readings were ones that I could relate to a bit more than those previous. I don't know about you, but I'm not very technologically savvy, and therefore all the talk about grid architecture and such was really lost on me. The pieces this week just seemed to make more sense. They also weren't that bad to read.
I knew but I didn't know (if that makes any sense) that SOMEONE was out there deciding what was going to be cool or not. Who knew it was tweens in Brooklyn?
I think it's so weird to think about: something (like the Hush Puppies men's shoe) can be in existence for many years, decades even, and not come into its period of cool until it is nearly extinct. I guess for the shoe, it fits into the "vintage" classification, which is pretty hot right now.
I don't know about everyone else, but I found it hard to transition from "cool" referring to a type of media to "cool" in the sense that we are all familiar with. All this back and forth makes me wonder what is coming next. It's hard to take one concept and apply to many different ideas/objects/etc.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
I am not cool.
I remember when Wendy's became cool. I was a sophomore in high school. And all of a sudden there was a buzz about Wendy's and its late night and dollar menu. Who had even had Wendy's in the last 10 years? Not this kid. But then a good friend of mine started going there, and one by one, his friends did too. Before you knew it (junior year) Wendy's was the place to be. It's where everyone started the night, and in most cases, ended it too (Racine was a lame place to be under 21).
Now, do I sound like I would be the number one choice for conducting a coolhunt? Obviously not. But I tried. Seeing as how my life is due next Thursday (i.e. every single class has something big due) I have been few places other than my desk. So the only public place I had time to be is the library. As I read my packet to get a better feel for what I was supposed to be doing, I considered things that caught on slowly and then blew up.
Example one: everybody's favorite fashion statement- the Lycra pant with the Ugg boots. The butt (literally and figuratively) of every coastie joke known to man. I'm no fashion guru. In fact, I often beg people to sign me up for What Not To Wear. And I KNOW I don't look much better in my baggy sweatpants, Wisco sweatshirt and dirty sneakers. But come on. I digress- back to my point. This fashion statement is very popular among the women on this campus. This is a look that I saw on a few people my freshmen year. As the years have gone on, it has caught on like wildfire and among some groups, it is the cats pajamas. So maybe there is a woman somewhere in, let's say New York, who thought this was a comfortable style. She's the innovator. Her friends who agreed and put on their Lycra pants to come to Wisconsin are the hub and from there, Wisconsinites bought Lycra pants of their very own.
Example two: Here's to the gentlemen in this class. I garuntee that every girl you know loathes
you on a Friday night. You all take a shower, brush your teeth and throw a sport coat over your ratty t-shirt and you're hot. Lucky. But there is your other fashion item that caught on slowly and worked it way through to Wisconsin. Some male decided to flip it from a suit and sneakers (my prom date was incredibly trendy) to jeans and a suit coat. Who knows, guys. Maybe that brave male soul who decided to sport a pair of Ugg boots of his very own is an innovator and by this time next year, you will all be out looking for your very own.As I sit in the library looking for trend setters (again this is Wisconsin, there aren't any), I heard someone say "Have you heard? The Union is the new College Library." We'll see how that pans out. Maybe Memorial Union IS in fact cooler than the other side of the pillow.
Disclaimer: I have no problem with people who wear Ugg boots. So don't be offended if you do.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
I KNOW KEVIN BACON!
Can you find a connection between you and someone famous? Rumor has it that you can connect yourself to anyone by six degrees of separation if you really think about it. How valid is this? Well, according to Duncan Watts, its more of a coincidence than reality. Common people have common circles and therefore you can tie yourself to someone else by some vague connection and shared friend.
I thought the chapter The Connected Age from Duncan Watts' book Six Degrees was really interesting. I was surprised to find out that studies have been done on the Kevin Bacon game (well not the ACTUAL game but the idea the game is based on). I didn't know someone could test an idea like that. The test to tie yourself to the stockbroker in Boston from Omaha seemed ridiculous, but intriguing nonetheless.
The advent of the Internet has taken this idea to a whole new level. In a day when we can connect ourselves to strangers from across the country just by sitting down in a chat room throws a wrench into the whole six degrees of separation idea. But that will take us back to discussion from a few weeks ago: How reliable are these connections? There is no way to determine the answer. Just think about the websites we have all made. They can be blatantly fictitious, like Erin's, or they can seem true until the author tells you otherwise, like Andy's.
~~~~~
On a completely "unconnected-to-the-reading" note, Gregg Doyel (mentioned in my previous post) has apologized to the state of Wisconsin. This is a miracle of God from the cocky sports writer. We Wisconsinites are a defensive bunch; Doyel was invited by numerous people (including yours truly) to visit UW for a complementary elbow dislocation, followed by a chuckle. While my personal comment wasn't posted by Mr. Doyel, many forms of it from others were. We are feisty. On Wisconsin!
I thought the chapter The Connected Age from Duncan Watts' book Six Degrees was really interesting. I was surprised to find out that studies have been done on the Kevin Bacon game (well not the ACTUAL game but the idea the game is based on). I didn't know someone could test an idea like that. The test to tie yourself to the stockbroker in Boston from Omaha seemed ridiculous, but intriguing nonetheless.
The advent of the Internet has taken this idea to a whole new level. In a day when we can connect ourselves to strangers from across the country just by sitting down in a chat room throws a wrench into the whole six degrees of separation idea. But that will take us back to discussion from a few weeks ago: How reliable are these connections? There is no way to determine the answer. Just think about the websites we have all made. They can be blatantly fictitious, like Erin's, or they can seem true until the author tells you otherwise, like Andy's.
~~~~~
On a completely "unconnected-to-the-reading" note, Gregg Doyel (mentioned in my previous post) has apologized to the state of Wisconsin. This is a miracle of God from the cocky sports writer. We Wisconsinites are a defensive bunch; Doyel was invited by numerous people (including yours truly) to visit UW for a complementary elbow dislocation, followed by a chuckle. While my personal comment wasn't posted by Mr. Doyel, many forms of it from others were. We are feisty. On Wisconsin!
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
How I Love to Hate You
I love Brats. I'm a firm believer that the $7 I spent on a t-shirt in July is the best investment I have made to date. It has saved me hundreds of dollars on Wednesday nights with half price drinks. What a great idea. Well done Brats! But nights like last night, I hate Brats. So much. Last night, for those that live in a hole in the wall, was Flip Night at Brats. The night started out calm and what I like to call "Dad's night" because the bar was initially filled with men who could play golf with my father. Fast forward two hours later, and it seemed that every person I've ever hated was in that bar- but I didn't know any of them. All these people, with absolutely no concept of personal space. I got spilled on, bumped into, elbow jabbed. I later announced that I hated everyone in the bar (ok, I got "diva"...whatever.). I seriously wanted to punch someone. But like most people, I'm all talk and very little action. So, Flip Night is officially a night I love to hate at Brats.
Rewind to Sunday. Another one of the things I love to hate is not a night, nor a bar, but a whole state. A whole group of people: Ohio State. I don't know if anyone else felt like this, but I almost cried when that final buzzer sounded in the Badger Game. The emotional roller coaster that I rode for two and half hours, watching our boys fight and claw their way back in the game, giving one of the best performances of the season (personally speaking), was ridiculous. This was an experience I shared at Brats, with other Badger fans who wanted the win so badly. Yes people were bumping into me, yes they were spilling on me, but they were also high fiving when Alando Tucker sailed across the lane to slam a basket in that ogre Greg Oden's face (sorry if anyone who is reading this is a family member of Oden- but I want proof of age. That guy has a Volvo and a family somewhere, I swear it!). And then, even though the refs were obviously in the pockets of OSU, the fans had the nerve to rush the court. We get it, you're number one. It wasn't an upset. You were expected to win by five and a half points (which reminder you didn't- you won by one point with 9 seconds left). Ever since I was a freshmen and we beat OSU at that football game, I've hated anything to do with them. Any time we play them, any time their name comes up- I want to hit that stupid mascot in the face. Seriously. After the game was over, there was hardly a word to be heard in the bar...people simply picked up their coats and filed out. It was actually one of the most depressing times in my life, no exaggeration there.
I don't really know how to wrap this post up, so suffice it to say I hate Flip Night and Ohio State..and I love to hate them.
Oh and lastly- Here's an article by Gregg Doyel. He's a classless idiot who referred to Brian Butch's injury as "Cryin' Brian Butch". I encourage everyone to email this man and tell him what a worthless piece of garbage his writing is, and that he has absolutely no soul.
Rewind to Sunday. Another one of the things I love to hate is not a night, nor a bar, but a whole state. A whole group of people: Ohio State. I don't know if anyone else felt like this, but I almost cried when that final buzzer sounded in the Badger Game. The emotional roller coaster that I rode for two and half hours, watching our boys fight and claw their way back in the game, giving one of the best performances of the season (personally speaking), was ridiculous. This was an experience I shared at Brats, with other Badger fans who wanted the win so badly. Yes people were bumping into me, yes they were spilling on me, but they were also high fiving when Alando Tucker sailed across the lane to slam a basket in that ogre Greg Oden's face (sorry if anyone who is reading this is a family member of Oden- but I want proof of age. That guy has a Volvo and a family somewhere, I swear it!). And then, even though the refs were obviously in the pockets of OSU, the fans had the nerve to rush the court. We get it, you're number one. It wasn't an upset. You were expected to win by five and a half points (which reminder you didn't- you won by one point with 9 seconds left). Ever since I was a freshmen and we beat OSU at that football game, I've hated anything to do with them. Any time we play them, any time their name comes up- I want to hit that stupid mascot in the face. Seriously. After the game was over, there was hardly a word to be heard in the bar...people simply picked up their coats and filed out. It was actually one of the most depressing times in my life, no exaggeration there.
I don't really know how to wrap this post up, so suffice it to say I hate Flip Night and Ohio State..and I love to hate them.
Oh and lastly- Here's an article by Gregg Doyel. He's a classless idiot who referred to Brian Butch's injury as "Cryin' Brian Butch". I encourage everyone to email this man and tell him what a worthless piece of garbage his writing is, and that he has absolutely no soul.
Monday, February 26, 2007
What?
Last week, I was struck with ebola. Not really, but I was really sick and therefore missed out on all my classes all week. As a result of this misfortune, I was left to figure out last week's reading assignments on my own. Needless to say, I am less understanding of what is going on in these readings.
First, there are the chapters from N. Katherine Hayles' book Writing Machines. Her chapters made less than no sense to me. It seemed that she was trying to convey the computer as a human and how the changing focus of our society is directly effecting the changing development of the computer. Basically, for me, if the medium is the message, this message sucked. I had no idea what she was actually trying to get me to understand. I swear she was making up words. Her second chapter continues to become increasingly confusing to me when she began to describe Lexia to Perplexia and its outline. She states, "Communification arises when the circuit is completed, that is when humans and intelligent machines are interconnected in a network whose reach is reinforced by naming the few exceptions "detached" machines" (p. 56). Ok, what does this mean? Communification distracted me, in and of itself, because I just kept thinking about Homer Simpson mumbling "Saxamaphoooonnne" in an effort to play the saxophone. But I understand as far as humans and machines working together to form an exclusive network. We all do that, and that part wasn't as hard to decode for me.
Following the chapters by Hayles, there was a piece by Mark Taylor. This piece started out clear enough, fooling me into thinking that I would understand what I was about to read. My mind started to make connections involving statements such as "Taylor is far superior to Hayles because he says X in a way that she says ?". Needless to say, these statements didn't pan out. Because I wasn't in class, I missed how this tied into our discussion on the network and technology. The only connection I could make is simply that the way the Internet and other technological networks have been built is comprable to how great pieces of architecture have been built. I would be so clueless to believe that this whole piece was about architecture if it wasn't for the mention of chaos theory.
So here's my question to the class: Can you fill me in? What did I miss and did everyone else understand it also?
First, there are the chapters from N. Katherine Hayles' book Writing Machines. Her chapters made less than no sense to me. It seemed that she was trying to convey the computer as a human and how the changing focus of our society is directly effecting the changing development of the computer. Basically, for me, if the medium is the message, this message sucked. I had no idea what she was actually trying to get me to understand. I swear she was making up words. Her second chapter continues to become increasingly confusing to me when she began to describe Lexia to Perplexia and its outline. She states, "Communification arises when the circuit is completed, that is when humans and intelligent machines are interconnected in a network whose reach is reinforced by naming the few exceptions "detached" machines" (p. 56). Ok, what does this mean? Communification distracted me, in and of itself, because I just kept thinking about Homer Simpson mumbling "Saxamaphoooonnne" in an effort to play the saxophone. But I understand as far as humans and machines working together to form an exclusive network. We all do that, and that part wasn't as hard to decode for me.
Following the chapters by Hayles, there was a piece by Mark Taylor. This piece started out clear enough, fooling me into thinking that I would understand what I was about to read. My mind started to make connections involving statements such as "Taylor is far superior to Hayles because he says X in a way that she says ?". Needless to say, these statements didn't pan out. Because I wasn't in class, I missed how this tied into our discussion on the network and technology. The only connection I could make is simply that the way the Internet and other technological networks have been built is comprable to how great pieces of architecture have been built. I would be so clueless to believe that this whole piece was about architecture if it wasn't for the mention of chaos theory.
So here's my question to the class: Can you fill me in? What did I miss and did everyone else understand it also?
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
When I read “Writing about Cool” by Jeff Rice, I couldn’t get myself to focus on his alternative meaning of the word “cool”. I kept thinking about how people say “That’s cool” meaning “awesome”, “sweet”, or “fetch” (who doesn’t love Mean Girls). So it was a struggle. Then Rice begins to describe how colleges use “cool” to describe their school, therefore tricking their prospective students into thinking that they are enrolling in an institution, majoring in fiesta. Little do they know, that word “cool” means that they are enrolling in a very technologically focused college.
McLuhan, on the other hand, is no more clear than Rice. I found McLuhan’s articles (The Medium: Hot and Cold and The Medium is the Message) incredibly confusing. When we talked about McLuhan in my Comm Arts class, my professor made it seem very clear and concise. It all made sense. Bring on McLuhan’s ACTUAL article. Now, I find it all confusing. I agree that the way something is said (i.e. via in electronic lights, an email or on paper) can effect the message it brings. For example, if an environmental club advertises to save the trees by printing up thousands of flyers, its not going to be an effective message sent. Now, how effective is McLuhan’s message when using the word “cool”, if his definition (a media of low definition, McLuhan p. 36) is nowhere to be found other than in his book? This is hardly an accessible definition. Therefore, I think that this would be a definite issue with his personal statement “The medium is in the message”. It seems that his own message is jumbled due to miscommunication and inaccessibility.
On a final unrelated note: The Badgers are Number One…
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
It's all relative
Everyone loves Disney World, right? Picture this: a five year child, mesmerized by this magical place. Colorful surroundings, giant cartoon characters, hundreds of rides, and lots of candy. This child, so entranced by all of the bright attractions, loses sight of her parents. Finally, she spots the back of her dad's head, and runs to catch up. And then, a searing pain. That child was me, and that searing pain was a burn from my dad's cigarette (before he quit that dirty habit...no judgment). To this day, I will take a wide route around any walker who is smoking. We all know one of those aggressive walkers who swings his/her arms very violently while walking. I'm scared the backswing of the arm will cause ME to be burned with a cigarette.
This little anecdote is an example of how one life experience can effect the way a child acts for the rest of his/her life. This is what I'm studying this semester. 4 out of my 5 classes deal with children, their development, and their families. Much of my studies revolve around networks, whether they be social or technological. One experience can set of a series of reactions that will change the course of a child's life, either mildly or to the extreme.
This little anecdote is an example of how one life experience can effect the way a child acts for the rest of his/her life. This is what I'm studying this semester. 4 out of my 5 classes deal with children, their development, and their families. Much of my studies revolve around networks, whether they be social or technological. One experience can set of a series of reactions that will change the course of a child's life, either mildly or to the extreme.
Monday, February 12, 2007
My Space and Stalker-book
Do you have MySpace? How about Facebook? If you are anything like millions of college students around the country (the original audience for Facebook), then you more than likely own a profile on one or both of these mediums. You periodically (or obsessively) check your profile to see if a new friend is awaiting you, or a dire message from the love of your life has found its way into your mailbox. And, more so with MySpace than Facebook, you write about your day and how your jerk of a professor added another three sections of reading to the fifty-five you already haven't made it through.
Now imagine that when you log into your account, you have immediate access to all the entertainment news and gossip you can imagine...wait, you do! This is what Dawn Shepherd and Carolyn R. Miller call "mediated voyeurism" in their article "Blogging as a Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog". Mediated voyeurism is described as the desire to learn about others' (usually famous) lives from the outside, as a spectator.
This topic brought forth a pretty interesting discussion in class. Do we expect honesty from all these profiles we link ourselves to? In most cases, yes, we do. In the instance of "Kaycee", a hoax blog about a girl who died of leukemia, there was great uproar about the dishonest postings of the woman posing as the mother of a dead teenage daughter. On Facebook, we assume that those we connect to are who they say they are...even Brett Favre. But, what about all those Dateline specials about catching predators and teaching your tween children not to be idiots about the information they provide to their "friends"? Obviously, we are a skeptical society. Is everyone out to hurt our children? Most likely not, but you can't be too sure.
Now, we can connect blogging to things that are common to us, such as Facebook or MySpace, but where did it all come from? According to Shepherd and Miller, blogs are a result of a genre of pamphlets. Excuse me? Pamphlets do not equal MySpace, or These Aren't My Pants. Or do they? Pamphlets get people to pay attention to a cause. Well, there you go. You can see the transition. Someone like Justin Timberlake (as I mentioned in class) has a MySpace profile. Yes, he as almost 600,o00 friends, but they are all there to see when he is going to drop his next single, what city he will be in, where people can buy merchandise. It's genius. Without spending more than a few minutes of his time, he just advertised his profession to 600,000 people! Amazing. All the perks of the pamphlet without wasting loads of paper and ink. But, again, back to mediated voyeurism; is that really him? Are you being presented with a truthful front? Or is it a sweaty, forty year old man posing as a sexy pop idol?
Now imagine that when you log into your account, you have immediate access to all the entertainment news and gossip you can imagine...wait, you do! This is what Dawn Shepherd and Carolyn R. Miller call "mediated voyeurism" in their article "Blogging as a Social Action: A Genre Analysis of the Weblog". Mediated voyeurism is described as the desire to learn about others' (usually famous) lives from the outside, as a spectator.
This topic brought forth a pretty interesting discussion in class. Do we expect honesty from all these profiles we link ourselves to? In most cases, yes, we do. In the instance of "Kaycee", a hoax blog about a girl who died of leukemia, there was great uproar about the dishonest postings of the woman posing as the mother of a dead teenage daughter. On Facebook, we assume that those we connect to are who they say they are...even Brett Favre. But, what about all those Dateline specials about catching predators and teaching your tween children not to be idiots about the information they provide to their "friends"? Obviously, we are a skeptical society. Is everyone out to hurt our children? Most likely not, but you can't be too sure.
Now, we can connect blogging to things that are common to us, such as Facebook or MySpace, but where did it all come from? According to Shepherd and Miller, blogs are a result of a genre of pamphlets. Excuse me? Pamphlets do not equal MySpace, or These Aren't My Pants. Or do they? Pamphlets get people to pay attention to a cause. Well, there you go. You can see the transition. Someone like Justin Timberlake (as I mentioned in class) has a MySpace profile. Yes, he as almost 600,o00 friends, but they are all there to see when he is going to drop his next single, what city he will be in, where people can buy merchandise. It's genius. Without spending more than a few minutes of his time, he just advertised his profession to 600,000 people! Amazing. All the perks of the pamphlet without wasting loads of paper and ink. But, again, back to mediated voyeurism; is that really him? Are you being presented with a truthful front? Or is it a sweaty, forty year old man posing as a sexy pop idol?
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Viva la New Media!
For as long as I can remember, going to school meant projects, tests, quizzes and of course: papers. I often dreaded this aspect of coursework, mostly because I am a huge procrastinator and have little to no drive to get anything done ahead of time.
Upon coming to UW, I took a class dedicated completely to writing papers and the correct form to be used. The five paragraph essay was the end of my existence. Academic writing was completely defined by research, citation, and a specific form. Things are beginning to change significantly. This class is a perfect example; it's an english class dedicated to new media and the use of it as an academic process.
Unfortunately, this is the only class that this holds true for. The rest of my coursework is dedicated to the five paragraph essay. Paper, after paper, after paper, await me throughout the semester. I often feel suffocated in the midst of writing a research paper. Where does my personality show through? Nowhere...it is fact after fact after fact, all attached to someone else's name. But there are definite advantages to academic writing.
If new media were to take over all classwork in a university setting, a very important skill would be diminished. As much as we all hate it, paper writing is the very foundation of many careers. All students benefit from the practice of writing. The one english class I took as a freshmen prepared me for the rest of my classes of my college career (with some limitations, but that's a different entry completely). If students didn't learn how to do the research aspect of a paper, and correctly form a thesis, how would new research come to be? It is thought that much of new research is spurred by review of old. Also, on a more personal note, I'm not very good at new media. Perhaps as a result of years of objective writing, where I'm not supposed to let it be known that the person who wrote the paper has personal opinions, I am horrible at forming, much less expressing personal ideas about pieces. For example, I feel like I do not know how to "react" to readings/discussions/etc, and when asked to do so, I freak out.
On the flip side of this issue, being able to navigate new media is definitely a necessity in the business world today. The use of new media is an up-and-coming skill that may not get you ahead, but get you in the running. It's becoming a skill that is a prerequisite for many careers. When was the last time you were asked to write a research paper on a job interview?
Upon coming to UW, I took a class dedicated completely to writing papers and the correct form to be used. The five paragraph essay was the end of my existence. Academic writing was completely defined by research, citation, and a specific form. Things are beginning to change significantly. This class is a perfect example; it's an english class dedicated to new media and the use of it as an academic process.
Unfortunately, this is the only class that this holds true for. The rest of my coursework is dedicated to the five paragraph essay. Paper, after paper, after paper, await me throughout the semester. I often feel suffocated in the midst of writing a research paper. Where does my personality show through? Nowhere...it is fact after fact after fact, all attached to someone else's name. But there are definite advantages to academic writing.
If new media were to take over all classwork in a university setting, a very important skill would be diminished. As much as we all hate it, paper writing is the very foundation of many careers. All students benefit from the practice of writing. The one english class I took as a freshmen prepared me for the rest of my classes of my college career (with some limitations, but that's a different entry completely). If students didn't learn how to do the research aspect of a paper, and correctly form a thesis, how would new research come to be? It is thought that much of new research is spurred by review of old. Also, on a more personal note, I'm not very good at new media. Perhaps as a result of years of objective writing, where I'm not supposed to let it be known that the person who wrote the paper has personal opinions, I am horrible at forming, much less expressing personal ideas about pieces. For example, I feel like I do not know how to "react" to readings/discussions/etc, and when asked to do so, I freak out.
On the flip side of this issue, being able to navigate new media is definitely a necessity in the business world today. The use of new media is an up-and-coming skill that may not get you ahead, but get you in the running. It's becoming a skill that is a prerequisite for many careers. When was the last time you were asked to write a research paper on a job interview?
Monday, February 5, 2007
Life in the fast lane
Some reading notes on “Rhetorics Fast and Slow”
p.3 (of text): Usage of garbage playing time as a metaphor for the 2000 Presidential Election
- Really liked this; I hadn’t considered the way elections are run, but this made sense
p.4: Definitions of fast and slow rhetoric
p. 4: The take over of fast rhetoric and its dominance in every day life
p. 5: The Internet as the answer to all of our world’s problems
- This seems to be a little too optimistic. I couldn’t believe that people saw the Internet as the solution to racism, poverty, and every other man made problem out there.
p.6 Too much information is too easily accessible, making things more confusing to people
- I definitely am guilty of almost all 8 signs that I’m living a life of fast rhetoric; I also agree that the fashion of fast rhetoric has taken over slow.
p. 7: “Speed brings risks”
- The use of Internet and fast rhetoric has already introduced new risks into culture that once weren’t imaginable. I realize this is a ridiculous example, but look at “Girls Gone Wild”. Women in the 1970s and 80s on spring break weren’t exactly paranoid that their image would be broadcast for all the world to see
p.8 Slow rhetoric as a part of curriculum: outdated or overlooked?
- It is true that fast rhetoric is being widely used in classes, but I still write a lot of papers that are based on book research and work.
The class discussion about the article by Faigley and Yancey seemed to be at a standstill. Many people agreed with Faigley, and many agreed with Yancey. It was somewhat comforting to know that I was not the only person who grew up in schools that did not have readily accessible computers and Internet access. I think it is important to keep in mind, when considering both articles, that not everyone has the ability to access the media needed to keep up with changing rhetoric. If children do not have access to Internet and computer applications, then how can we expect them to be able to manipulate these programs in a class setting? While I agree with Yancey that Internet needs to be incorporated into everyday classroom work, I’m not sure it’s as easy as she makes it seem. Faigley, on the other hand, is much more skeptical and emphasizes the need to slow down. However, slowing down would yield detrimental results as well; children who aren’t exposed to the new mediums of communication will undoubtedly be further behind when they reach a high school or college level class.
I’m not going to lie and pretend that I’m the greatest reader in the world. In all honesty, I usually don’t comprehend much of what I read until other people start talking about it, and then the neurons in my brain slowly start to make the connections necessary to grasp the material my eyeballs took in days, hours, or even moments ago. In going over the article presented in class about Wikipedia, I realized that there are a lot of things out there that I’m not at all familiar with. I’ve never used Wikipedia. I always thought that it was a joke website, similar to getting your information off Facebook. Obviously, it’s more scholarly than I originally thought; more than one person discussed how articles are reviewed by professionals and corrected as soon as possible. But, is it really a common practice to use a site like Wikipedia to write papers? Only since I changed my major has paper writing become a large part of my academics. So I was curious if this was a widely used research source that a lot of people use for their papers? Like I said, I likened Wikipedia to Facebook, and therefore, the thought of using it to write a college paper didn’t even cross my mind. The article given to us in class seemed like absolute lunacy (as my group mates heard from me) because it wasn’t an option I was even aware of.Tuesday, January 30, 2007
Superbowl Shuffle
This is my first open blog. The subject I’m choosing seems to be very controversial here in Wisconsin (by the way, I was born and raised in Wisconsin), but it’s something that I need to get off my chest. DA BEARS! There. I said it. Say what you will. But it had to be said. I can’t help being excited. The last time the Bears were in the Superbowl, I was in a birth canal (not to the day exactly, but close enough).
All my life, I have been harassed for being raised a Bears fan. I went to Catholic school 1-12 grades. In grade school, we would get the opportunity to wear jeans instead of the uniform on theme days: Packer/Bear day. I would be ONE of roughly five children in Bears clothing. Let me tell you, I was decked out: Zubaz, sweatshirts, jackets, hats, socks, everything (see page left..my little brother and his friend in some of my old 'fits). I would get pushed on the play ground, or made fun of. Two other girls in my class would be my allies on these days, and I love them for it (the mother of one of these girls recently lost her hair due to cancer treatments and is planning on painting a huge, orange “C” on her new canvas in honor of the momentous occasion on Sunday). Then, I became aware that Catholicism apparently requires you to support the Packers. The school changed Bear/Packer day to just Packer day. If you weren’t a Packers fan, you got to wear your uniform for the 126th day in a row. Being the die hard Bears fan that my father is, no daughter of his was wearing Packers clothing…and off my oldest brother went to school in his Packers gear (he once cried when forced to wear a Bears sweatshirt for a family Christmas photo). Bring on more harassment.
Fast forward to 2007. After 22 years of embarrassment, harassment, our house being egged (my father proudly flies a Chicago Bears flag in the front yard), we come out on top. Suddenly I’m seeing a lot more Chicago apparel on campus. However, the absolute disdain for the Bears is bleeding from the veins of Wisconsin. Local radio stations are offering anti-Superbowl parties that offer to pay for people to go see a movie rather than watch the Bears in the Superbowl. That’s just garbage people. I will proudly sit on a couch and watch a pro-football game, despite my dislike for the NFL, simply because the Bears are in it. And, even if they (gasp) lose, I’ll still love them next year.Monday, January 29, 2007
Last semester, through the magic of “required courses to be completed”, I ended up in a communication arts class. The focus of this class: rhetoric and human behavior. Prior to this experience, I didn’t really think about rhetoric or what it meant at all. The only time I ever heard it used was as “That is a rhetorical question”, or “If a tree falls in a forest…” etc.
In taking the class, I came to be more aware of the nuances and functions of rhetoric. For example, the way it impacts everyday life and how we often exercise our rhetorical skills without even knowing it. Before I read today’s selection by James Herrick, I would define rhetoric as a piece of work, spoken or written, that is used to bring awareness to a group of people about a given topic and viewpoint. The topics can be trivial (such as what we should watch on Wednesday nights: Real World or Top Chef), or significantly more important (i.e. Should gay marriage be banned in the state of Wisconsin).
After reading the piece by Herrick, I would stand by my definition, but perhaps elaborate a bit more to include his functions of rhetoric. I suppose I never really considered how rhetoric could be used to build a community, or form what we know to be “knowledge” (Herrick, p. 22). While I was aware that rhetoric is often used without realizing it, I was not aware how the simplest situations could be considered to be taking a rhetorical form. According to the reading for today, it seems that every decision made among a group takes the form of rhetoric; each group member puts forth an idea to be considered and why his/her idea would be the best for the group, and then the group decides which idea would be best, most likely based on the best argument presented.
While I thought I had a pretty firm grasp on the concept of rhetoric and its functions, today’s readings made me realize that its definition is ever changing and modifiable, making it applicable to many aspects of everyday life.Thursday, January 25, 2007
This is me
Hi. My name is Randi and I'm a first year senior at UW-Madison; I say first year because my senior year is going to be a two part installment, concluding with a victory lap. This blog is set up for a class I'm taking this semester, so most posts will probably be related to that.
Now, the name of my blog: These Aren't My Pants. I want to try to explain this in the shortest way possible. Ok, I don't know if you know this, but UW has a slight drinking oriented environment. Awhile back, I partook in said environment. I maybe partook a little too hard. Anyways, I woke up the next morning, still incoherent. But I had class (and a very hard one) at 850. So off to class I go...to take a nap. Then lab comes. So I sit down, obviously stressed out, and my partner says to me "what's wrong?". I ponder this, survey myself and reply, "I'm still drunk, I have to take a quiz and...THESE AREN'T MY PANTS!" Yea, I was wearing a miscellaneous pair of pants that didn't belong to me. Woops. This adventure continues when I remember that I had strategically made my roommate pack me a sleeve of soda crackers. So as I'm taking my quiz, I "shhhh" the package as I carefully remove a cracker. Needless to say, this was not a high point in my life.
But anyway, I named my blog this because it's the first thing that came to mind because we (the roommates and I) were reminiscing last night, and I was asked immediately before coming to class if I was, in fact, wearing my own pants.
Now, the name of my blog: These Aren't My Pants. I want to try to explain this in the shortest way possible. Ok, I don't know if you know this, but UW has a slight drinking oriented environment. Awhile back, I partook in said environment. I maybe partook a little too hard. Anyways, I woke up the next morning, still incoherent. But I had class (and a very hard one) at 850. So off to class I go...to take a nap. Then lab comes. So I sit down, obviously stressed out, and my partner says to me "what's wrong?". I ponder this, survey myself and reply, "I'm still drunk, I have to take a quiz and...THESE AREN'T MY PANTS!" Yea, I was wearing a miscellaneous pair of pants that didn't belong to me. Woops. This adventure continues when I remember that I had strategically made my roommate pack me a sleeve of soda crackers. So as I'm taking my quiz, I "shhhh" the package as I carefully remove a cracker. Needless to say, this was not a high point in my life.
But anyway, I named my blog this because it's the first thing that came to mind because we (the roommates and I) were reminiscing last night, and I was asked immediately before coming to class if I was, in fact, wearing my own pants.
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