7/15/08

In class this past week since Fourth of July Break, we have discussed numerous things, like sexuality, and what makes a person male or female. It was an interesting class as we were asked questions to define what sexuality really is. It was an interesting take, and the point was to show that with advancements in technology, nature is being modified by man.

This is relevant to the reading we are doing in class--Brave New World, which was the topic of the most recent class. Also discussed since break was Professor Monaghan's analysis of our behavior on Web X, or whatever the online classroom was called. She called it spot on, and it kind of felt violating to hear her analysis of some of the childish behavior going on by my peers (not me of course).

That's about it for now, I am going to diligently work on the presentation and finish the paper due Thursday. Godspeed (to myself).

P.S.- Sidenote: never understood what "godspeed" meant, but whatever it is, it just sounds right.

Week 6

So about my experience on second life. I signed up for it not knowing what to expect, and although it is a very creative and innovative program, it's also mildly depressing and scary to use.

As I walked around I was talkative with strangers as I am in real life. However in this second life, everyone was reluctant to talk to me. I figured it would be the opposite since most people are shy in real life and have no draw-backs on the internet. As I walked around in this magical fairy land, I was amused at how silly and ridiculous this world is. It had a castle and dragons, yet there were grown men that were having parties at various locations. One of which I was invited to (I have no idea how or why).

When I got there, I could hear the real voices of the people talking, in their separate cliques. One of them sounded like an Australian male, who I would guess to be over 40, talking to another man about troubles with his online second life girlfriend, and how they hadn't IM'd since their last fight. I eavesdropped because it was the internet, and I was a virtual figure, and had a few chuckles. As I approached another person, I joked about him being lost. In real life a person would be able to distinguish my tone as non-serious, however this person called me rude and walked away. Jokes on him.

Altogether, I didn't really like this thing, and I don't think I would use it again. Although, I can see how entertaining it would be for people who really dig it, and know the program well. I'll take my chances in real life. Also sidenote: my character looked like a little sissy boy and I could not figure out how to change his appearance. Perhaps this is a reason no one would talk to me. Food for thought.

Week 5

In class this past week we went over our midterm this Tuesday, and recieved our quizzes back. I'm confident seeing as how I pulled off a 90 on the quiz, that I will do well on the midterm. It's interesting reviewing all of the information we have gone over anyway, so I don't see it as work.

Also, I did not make it to class on Thursday since I was down with a case of sore throat. It was terrible. I wish my mom was here to take care of me while I was sick, or that I had a nice girlfriend to make me chicken noodle soup. I had to do it myself unfortunately. Also terrible. But I digress. I was notified that for my presentation my partner is Meghan. I think we will have the best presentation. I may or may not wear a suit for it. You know what they say, dress to impress grr.

Regarding the book we are reading, Brave New World... I know they say not to judge a book by its cover, but so far I'm not a real fan of the book. (Note: the cover of my book is boring also.... does this mean something? Not sure). I liked Frankenstein better. However, I'll give it a few more chapters until I really give up on this baby.

On a side note on robots, does anyone remember that Superbowl commercial from 2003 with the robot created by Toyota?

http://www.toyota.co.jp/en/special/robot/

Gotta get a hand on one of these suckers sometime soon.

That is all.

Week 4

Last Thursday our class visited the MFA. I thought it was going to be a drag of a time but it was quite entertaining. I enjoyed everything, from the sculptures, to the paintings, to the story behind the works of art. My favorite part of the whole place was probably the Renaissance paintings.

Since I took a fingerprinting class when I was around 7 I understood how hard it is to paint things. The way those guys painted such detail was just amazing to me. My favorite painting was the last one we saw, in the basement, with the girls from the 17/1800's. They looked real it was like a gigantic Kodak picture. I still don't understand how that painter made it look so realistic. Kudos to him.

So far I've enjoyed both field trips we went to, I'd have to say I liked the MFA a tad bit more than the last art/technology museum we visited a couple weeks previous. I wonder where else we'll visit this semester.

NOTE: As a continuation of my last post, I came across another humorous Frankenstein picture. That is all.

Week 3

In class this week, we discussed a lot of preliminary themes, and descriptions of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. I actually enjoyed learning about the author's history, and how it effected the creation of her story. Also, discussing similarities and discrepancies between Walton, and Dr. Frankenstein (characters in the novel) was interesting, as I had not thought about that yet.

Thursdays class featured a quiz, which was quite easy, and then we graded the quizzes and listened to various music. The music was a unique multi-cultural hybrid of sounds. I thought it was interesting hearing the music, but I didn't enjoy the music itself. Not sure why, maybe this means I'm close minded. I hope not.

P.S. - Here are funny pictures of what Frankenstein the monster may or may not look like:

Week 2

There was only 1 actual class this week, as the other one was a field trip to an Art Museum. During the first class, we talked about things such as The Scarlet letter, and The Birthmark. When we broke up into groups to discuss The Birthmark, I thought it was a good way of analyzing the characters in the book, because it gave many other people's opinions.

The topic of robots reminded me of my one of my all-time favorite movies, Short Circuit 2. The premise of the movie is, a group of robots are electrocuted, and one of them becomes intelligent, and escapes. For anyone that is interested in robots and hasn't seen it yet, I really advise you to watch it.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_Circuit
http://www.popculturebuzz.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/7251.jpg

Well, anyway, reverting my tangent now to class Thursday. I liked the art museum that we went to Thursday. There were some showings that I didn't care too much for, like that weird squirrel in the stump contraption. There was one little robot in the corner, that would be able to move via source of light above it's solar panels. It was probably my favorite piece at the museum. Also, I thought that piece that was on the floor, with the mirror behind it, was interesting, yet annoying because of the noises that generated from it. I could not tell what they were supposed to be, I figured it sounded like a squirrel-robot hybrid of some sort, but what do I know. Well, that's it for now.

Week 1

Class -- Week of May 12th

I found class to be quite interesting, based on the first two experiences I had last week. Many topics were introduced, and discussed, ranging from the Terminator, to Carl Jung, to William Burroughs.

I felt the discussion on the performance artist Orlan to be the most interesting. Probably because of the extreme nature of her art, physically changing her appearance through plastic surgery.

I thought that the scenes we watched in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf were hard to pay attention too, partly because of how obnoxious their constant bickering was. But in the same light, that was what made it realistic.