eek

Eek so last week I obviously had a tough time (or impossible, whichever word you choose) updating my blog. I don't even know what I had to do, I just know i was busy doing it, then freaking reinjured my back again and had to be taken to the hosp. in an ambulance and they didnt even give me xrays for... absolutely no reason. But anyway.
I've been working a lot on my final paper for evolution of writing, that's sort of overtaken my time and any spare time is either spend thinking about it, or i end up talking about it.
As i said before, I'm writing it on the reprecussions and dangers of documenting your life online. But the interesting part is the setup of the paper, which is online. I have to learn how to make links and images into links, hidden links, figure out a setup of my general layout, what I want the essay to be like, if i want the linkaging organizedly or vaguely and scattered and mazelike.... these are sort of things i feel like i would have liked to learn in a course like this. It's honestly incredibly difficult to learn how to do things involving the internet when you have no idea what you're doing.
In that sense this class is good and I almost wish there was another class after it, writing in cyberspace II.... theres so much I'd like at least exposure to, to learn how to do ]things for real.
I've also been speculating on the class, and I believe that is what not only my podcast, but also possibly my neovox paper is going to be on. How this class impacted my life. There's a lot to say on that, so I think I'll write a separate post on that later.
But before I end this post, I just wanted to say that I got more out of the discussions on the course blog about the book than I did from the actual book "play money"... it didn't do much for me, but i mean.. not as bad as smart mobs, but maybe certain chapters from both, instead of all of each. kind of overwhleming and after awhile just mind-numbing. I think it might be because both are about worlds i'm not really a part of at all, and barely an observer/outsider because i'm not even aware of those worlds. It's hard to rreally get into something I don't have much history or associate with at all.
but it was well written so that was something that kept me interested.
more to come, most likely just indepth reflections on the class.

alternate worlds inside the computer

As time passes and this class continues on, and life continues on, it coems eto my attention that all the activities and actions we do on the computer are merely attempts to an al;ternate world,. one that we aer fully on our way tocreating.
Since we're reading play money, and it focuses strongly (well, entirely) on video games, and the world of gaming, i figured now would be a good time to think about the people i know that "game."
I know i've said ot before, commenting on people's posts and whatever online, in this class, and probablyeven posted about it in my personal blog, but I'd liek to go over the motives behind people and gaming.
-you want to find out the storyline of the game
-the graphics
-"It's like living a book"
-character immersion
-ineractive reading/watching, isntead of plain old television
- just hobbyf0
-can pay good money if you get good enough (at acertain game)
-like a sport, can have "interaction" with other gamers (this is a newer reason)

So, based on those reasons why people game (people I am friendly with/know personally), it sounds quite appealing. But one has to truly wonder at the inner motives for why these people get so involved in gaming, forreal. I honestly believe it is escapism. Our society sufferse from it, in manyforms, and the immersion of one's life within a game is probably the most obvious place in our moern, technologically advanced world. Involvement with a screen, even if there is a plot, as toryline, a challenge, involvemnt (now even physical involvement: Wii), it is still merely just a new and imporved form of escapism. People used to read or do drugs or drink to escape, or get involved in a group. Now we play xbox and 360 and Wii or gameson our computer- whic hi don't even have a conception of, as i have absolutely no exposure to that, besides my friends talking about them. I know of only one online game that ivolves other real people, and that (i dont even know if it still exists) was a battle-like game of violence.
The world of 'gamers" is extending into the world of "real" people, and it is very interesting to see who is getting drawn into this world, and how it is impacting the rest of society

speculation of documentation and that general area

Eek so its been awhile since I've written last, and my last post was sort of just a rant at the class. I feel I made a few valid points, as I've talked to a few people in class about what I said and they agree on a lot of aspects- then again, I'm the only one who was w illing to say them outright, and post it, so that does say something about the way things are done here.
I posted one hte course blog earlier today, on the topic of the reprecussions of documenting our lives online. It's actually a topic i plan on writing my evolution of writing paper on, because it's soemthing i really feel needs attention and discussion. I mean... the idea that someone could potentially videotape pretty much every second of their lives (without porn or murdering anyone, of course), and post it on youtube.com, and people will pontially watch it. I mean, you can subscribe to a person's videos, which means you automatically get them added to "your videos", whenever that person adds a new video to their others. That means I could watch your whole life. Kind of brings to mind the "Truman Show", with Jim Carrey (a movie/idea that has always, and always will, struck me as genius and petrifying at the same time). It takes the idea of a "reality" show to a whole new level. And actually, until now, I didn't even take into consideration the mass interest in "reality tv" into relation with the dawning of youtube and that form of "reality. very interesting connection, to me at least. I need to start learning more about the different ways we "document" our lives- i know of the general ones, but I'm curious about others, what they are, where they are, who uses them....all that jazz. more to come soon, i'm sure.

hm

All right so this I guess is a response to the course blog posting about our grades and stuff.
First off, the amount of work here is... difficult to complain about, as there is a lot, but its also necessary. But then again, i don't feel ALL of it is entirely needed.
Why do we need more than 2 podcasts? I honestly.. am torn on the idea of podcasts. I like the idea of talking and having it be recorded, but.. i just dont like podcasts. Maybe it's the name, but something about them irks me. Also, as my last podcast got entirely distorted (and we still have no idea why, but over a minute of our actually decent discussion and topic go cut out...not happy about that), and I didn't do the first one (which honestly, if it lowers my grade, it's better than hearing my opinion on the book smart mobs... it's much more appropriate to read how i feel about it, instead of my stumbling and struggling to remain civil and not entirely dead on the topic)... I also never listen to anyone elses, besides when they first come out. I still don't "do" iTunes, so podcasts... yea useless to me.

Then there's the wikipedia. Now that, i personally think is stupid. There are only so many times you can edit the entries, on the same topic or book. Plus, sometimes people will say the same things, and I just entirely do not see the point in repeating what someone else has already said in perfectly correct and accurate terms. I find that difficult to rephrase in a different way when someone has the same ideas on the topic, and pointless.

Then the Neovox articles. I don't have a copy nor h ave i really ever read neo-vox, so I don't exactly know what is expected of us. We were told to write for a college magazine for college students, but when I wrote the way i felt a college student would appreciate, the one revision i got on my piece basically took everything about my essay that I thought made it interestng and attention-holding, and said "no, this isn't right". I'm sorry, but i didn't realize we were going for propriety and boring essays. Especially when I use the voice that I tend to use (the same one I'm currently using, just slightly subdued), i think its ridiculous to take out the phrases that make you listen. I do enjoy the writing the articles, and think that they're a lot more beneficial in seeing what people have learned and opinions, and just seeing all the topics are nice, although I would like to have a topic assigned once in awhile- giving guidelines can add to the challenge and make it more interesting, as you can more easily see the comparisons between different people and their opinions.
Then the course blog- I guess I don;'t h ave all the requirements, but that is generally easily remedied--- i guess. It's not that easy to write on topics straight off, and it seems that when i do, not many people respond. Maybe its just me, but I find it much easier to comment on other people's topics, plus a lot of the time i'm never sure if i'm at the same place as other people in the reading, plus i'm not able to take a stance or form an opinion on the reading since i'm not finished with it yet.
I don't remember what else was on the list of requirements for this class so I don't have much else to say.
And also, still really into "A whole new mind".. i'll post again later, but it's very interesting to compare it to what we're learning in my evolution of writing class... very similiar.

ideas?

So I was trying to figure out a way to actuall;y do this video, and my first idea was that I would really like to interview just everwhere... people on campus, in the streets, wherever- seeing how often they (use/though) they used their cell phones, and mainly for why, but then I got a better idea:
Record people doing things the "old way": payphones, landlines (with the cord still attached, perhaps?), handwritten letters, painting a the scene in front of them (instead of using a camera, or maybe using an old camera as opposed to digital), then record them doing things the new way, and perhaps show the progression from handwritten letters, to type writers, to printers to email, to texting; the progression of even the telegraph to the telephone, to the cell phone.... to the computer (ie podcasts, this video).
I don't know, but i think it could be pretty basic to do, but a really interesting way to do it, and I know something I could enjoy/appreciate/relate to/learn from when watching. Or maybe I'm getting ahead of myself but the basic idea, hah. We'll see, i guess.

insane in the membrane...?

well i don't have much time to post, but i'd like to get in a little bit while i can, as the beach is calling and the sun is shining...oh lovely florida.
so as i've chilling on the beach, i picked up my notebook and "a whole new mind", and started reading, and taking some notes. This book is really really cool. At first i couldn't tell if it was actually first person, with the wires and MRI experience, but as the book went on, it was just so interesting. I really enjoy reading about the reality of our minds, and our bodies in relation to everyday life and how we interpret the world and our brains. I haven't gotten very far but there was a few things that stood out to me- that humanity still considers the left side of the brain- the analytical, caculated side- the side that makes us human.
So, as things proceed as they always do, I happened to overhear someone on the beach talking about some tribes or people in another culture. The only part I really remember was them saying "But they're just existing, they arent using their human potential at all" and that really struck me because... who's to say that "just existing" is not using human potential. I understood what the person was saying, but... i'm curious as to exploring what they mean more deeply.
The idea of "human potential" as a part of the brain and body that is supposed to be used....makes it sound like we have a tool that we just aren't using- is that what we consider the brain? Does our knowledge and ability to think make us human, or is it more human just "merely existing"? I haven't gotten very far on the reading, as I've actually been caught up in trying to write down notes and some key/interesting terms and phrases and ideas I have on the topics dis ussed, but I'm really excited to see where the book goes. It seems like a perfect blend between smart mobs (boo) and snow crash-- one is interesting and fictional, and the other is boring and factual. (okay maybe not boring to some but BLAND). this seems interesting and factual, and I can't wait to learn more about our brains and where the future is taking us in terms of learning more.

hm all right

Well, i've not had much to say the past few days, but i've got a few good thoughts i'm planning on expanding on sooner than later, hopefully. I got to see my parents and sister this weekend. The 4 of us havent been together at the same time for longer than a few hours in a pretty long time, and in that time we (me and my sister, me and my mother, my mother and my sister) primarily communicate through AIM. and my father talks to me and my sister through emails primarily, and can use AIM but prefers not to. (i haven't yet had time to ask why this is, but don't worry, I will sooner than later).
So this is the first time i see them face to face after weeks of talking via computer (well phone too, but not as often or as lengthily). It was interesting to me on a few levels. The first thing i noticed (and always have noticed, but due to my keen attention, was declared officially) is that we all act the same- we get mad at the same things online- unlike many people i know, we say the same things on the computer as we do in real life. That's always been something i couldnt understand- why do people talk differently? Anyway, so then i also noticed that since we had kept in touch, we were all entirely updated on each other's lives and doings. Maybe a bit less intimately, as we weren't physically present.-- I realize i've said this before, but i also said that i knew it was going to be repeated, as it is a fact that always strikes me strongly--. This just continually draws my attention back to the fact that we now have another completely viable way of keeping part in someone else's life, in a "distant" manner.
The other thing that was interesting to me was I got to talk to my parents, particularly my father, whom i discuss this class with a lot. So i told him of the goings on in class, and how it's changing how i see things: like how i notice all the differences in the way our entirely lives change, everywhere. You don't even realize it, but the vast amount of things that change, particularly expectations, but since the computer has become the incredible tool that it is, it infiltrates every part of our lives. Honestly, the dependency scares me- but thats another whole posting or even essay. When i spoke to my father, he called me out on something. He asked me what i meant when i said "virtual". What made something virtual? He said he was under the belief that if he is sending an email, he is not virtually communicating with me- it is directly what he is saying. I found it difficult to explain. What is virtual? What defines- or who- defines what is grasped as virtual. I plan on doing a class posting asking that question, and i also plan on continuing telling my observations of how much the world has changed with the developing technology without jus even realizing it.... but later.