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.
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