media as the message

Cosmix

I went to friday's afternoon section and I found it to be pretty interesting. Hearing about the history of the planetarium was cool. To think that it was originally more about the projector than the projection blew my mind, and yet, it makes sense. There are a lot of things made just for show. Its more like show over substance. I enjoyed seeing the picture of the projector over the years as it got smaller and smaller and the focus changed to less about what it looked like to more about what it could do. Learning about Interactive media in general was very cool to me. There's nothing I like more than to be able to interact with things. Its a human necessity in my opinion. Hearing David? (the professor who teaches dangerous ideas) talk about that interaction and connection through immersive media was what caught my attention the most. The psychology was cool and i think that he's right. The easier it is for an audience to see and connect with a piece, physically and or emotionally the bigger a success it will be. I wasn't lucky enough to be able to attend the weekend shows, but i enjoyed Friday's presentation a lot.

Final Fantasy: Gaming as a Narrative

So this assignment was right up my alley. Who doesn't wanna play video games for homework? Anyways, I picked up Final Fantasy XIII for this assignment. I didn't finish it, but finishing a three disc xbox 360 game in a week, with lots of hw, is something only gamer gods can do, haha. But yeah,I've been playing final fantasy games for years and I absolutely love the narrative aspect of them. As much as I like to read, theres something about actually being able to explore and interact with pieces of stories that just...blows my mind. There's nothing I'm drawn to more than interactive media, so the final fantasy games are gold minds for me and people like me. While some of their stories have been a little shallow, the majority of them leave you wanting more. It's not hard to getting addicted to them. As you play and adventure in the elaborate worlds, you become emotionally invested in it. I know I do all the time. Just being able to see the characters emotions and to be able to control and experience these things with them regardless the medium, makes it...I'm not sure how to describe it really. Games like the ones in the FF series just take literature to that next level. You're no longer just imagining being in this area as you go along, you are there. You're not just reading about a dinosaur jumping out chasing you through a training facility, your walking...and getting the shit scared outta you when it leaps from the brushes and roars at you. You physically see it, hear it and react to it.

Asterios Polyp

Reading Asterios Polyp was nothing short of interesting. Due to my busy work schedule, I wasn't able to finish all of it, but its definitely on my summer reading list. I loved how diverse the novel was in the sense that it didn't follow the usual structure of a comic. The page layouts werent all just traditional panels. David Mazzucchelli wasn't confined to a strict formula and stepped out of the box with his designs and I enjoyed it a lot. As for the story elements, that was interesting as well. I would have never even considered narrating a story from a still born twin brother's point of view. At times, it was hard to understand what was going on, seeing as it hopped around so much between his past and current life as well as in his subconscious and conscious mind. I'm pretty sure once I can actually sit down and focus on it this summer I will be able to better comprehend it. Even though it was confusing at some points, I really loved how it was able to move like that around the main character. In almost every comic, graphic novel, or simply a story, everything centers around a main character and we see whats shaped them and where they're going. Its not often that we get to take a look at him while he's looking at himself. It was really cool to see exactly how he sees himself, as well as how everyone else perceives him and on top of that, how we feel about him based on both of those views. But yeah, as I said, I really wanna pick it back up and get the full effect of it once i get some time.

Emerging Culture

To go along with my cool hunting, I thought I'd include something about an emerging pattern cultures, mainly american culture. I'm sure that the desire to become famous has been around for ages and that there have been people since the dawn of time that will do anything to get there. Some people risk their lives just for a chance of stardom, whether its through acts of seemingly sincere bravery or demeaning acts of stupidity. Every day, there are new videos being posted throughout the interwebs of people doing stupid and even dangerous things. And why? Just for a chance to be seen, to be acknowledge in a culture that's quickly going downhill. I'm not trying to sound pretentious, because I've fallen victim to this many a time and probably will again, but its kinda sad to see what people will do just for a few views on youtube. Everyone's looking to be the next jackass or viral video. And whats even sadder are those who aren't trying to seem stupid or completely ridiculous. Take Rebecca Black for instance. She's a girl around fourteen who simply wanted to make a music video/single. I'm not sure of whether she was legitly was trying to get famous or whether she just wanted the experience of being a singer in a music video. Either way, the response to the video has been nothing short of insane. The video was awful and her voice/lyrics were just as bad, but she is a fourteen yr old with now musical training or education. What should we expect? I'll admit, I laughed and made fun of it as well, but there are people who went over the top. Posting that it was awful and that she should kill herself? really? People that pull that kinda stunt are beyond my comprehension. I guess my point of this is, people risk so much for 2 mins of fame on the net, its ridiculous.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/entertainment/post/2011/03/who-is-rebecca-black-and-why-do-we-care-about-her-/1

Cool Hunting

I think the next new 'Cool' thing (if it isn't already cool) will be the Frog 4.0. It's a full workstation, complete with built in speakers and a control that adjusts the distance of the table from you as well as several other things. People are having a hard time leaving their desks and work stations already, so this workstation is just a step in that direction. I admittedly don't move from my seat with my computer for hour at a time every now and then and that's in uncomfortable chairs. I can't imagine what it'd be like if it were actually comfortable. I might never leave.

Service Learning Project: In Action

On April 5th, I showed up to the Broach school groggy but anxious. My partner and I hadn't talked since the last class, not to mention I had only slept maybe an hour the not before. Despite working with kids on a weekly basis, I was nervous about not being prepared and generally not knowing what to expect.



Upon heading into the building, I was greeted by a smiling face and waited until my partner arrived. I was relieved from the first smile and began to relax. Sliding into my element wasn't hard after that and once my partner arrived we headed back into one of the several classrooms.



Starting the project was pretty simple. My partner and I passed out the puzzle pieces along with the other supplies and let them get started. We tried not to steer them in any particular direction. We thought it'd be more interesting to see where each of them took it on their own and then after what it looked like as a whole.



Working on collage with kids was very fun. I've done other sorts of art projects with youth, but I had never done anything with collage. It was really interesting to see and hear their thought pattern, especially when it came to cut out the pieces they liked. Some were very careful and precise and others were fast and loose. I think it really echoed their personalities. Some were more talkative than others, but that's pretty normal. I even talked to one about her own personal collages and what she was interested in being when she got older.



Slowly but surely they worked and I chatted as well as helped a few with their 'vision'. I enjoyed it and after a while my partner and I sat down and made our own.



I think the project was a success. The students had fun and so did we. it felt great to be able to share a piece of my world with kids who otherwise might not get a chance to experience anything like it.