...and now a brief intermission of your blog reading.
and back to your regularly scheduled blog...
(image courtesy of http://www.apr.org)
Facebook is creepy. We are constantly finding out too much information about people via facebook. I don't want to know about potty training your kids, or the fact that you puked 6 times today. Yes, if I'm looking for you, really looking for you I'm happy that your status has told me you'll be at the doctors at 11:00 am, and that then you have to pick up your brother at 1 pm.
Yes, arguably, Facebook is convenient for keeping up with those far away from you, or finding out a homework assignment you've forgotten to write down. Seriously though, there is sometimes just way too much information given via facebook. I understand the shift of going from private to personal, which is sort of the idea of facebook, but just how personal do we want to get?
This link is a plethora of the ridiculous that litters facebook.
There has always been, for as long as we can remember, death. This being such a huge part of real life it has in someway had to be translated to media in someway. It had to be translated to books, and movies; to newspapers, and music. It represented differently in all forms of media.
(Video courtesy of www.youtube.com - Taken from the the movie The Royal Tenenbaums.)
In the above scene we see how suicide is dealt with in movie format. At first we see the character cutting off all of his hair, and shaving off his beard. I feel this is representative of the feeling of lightness. The pacing in this video is easy and simple to watch, again triggering the lightness. Until the end when he is found it seems in, some odd sense, calm, until the character is found-- then there seems to be nothing but panic (in the lighting, and the pacing, not just the mood and feeling) for everyone but him.
In the song Yesterday by Atmosphere it presents the idea of losing a loved one (the speakers dad) and how you can't get that person back. It is a calm realization and recognition of becoming who you are becoming and this person never getting to see that. The music is calming, non-upsetting or overwhelming for our limbic brain.
The quote presented at the beginning of this blog, "so it goes," is from the novel Slaughterhouse five. It is said after any named character in the book dies. It is the idea that death is such a part of life,
1. After studying 21st century media for 8 weeks in this class, what have you learned?
I've learned about different parts of the brain (limbic, neocortex, reptillian, ) and how how they function and apply to the world of media and advertising around us. I've started to learn about different aspects of media and what goes into each one. I've learned a little bit about the history behind them. (tv, newspapers, music...) I've learned about basic blogging tools. I'm starting to notice things, or think about things I've never focused on before when watching movies and tv. (Thought about things relating to the powertools)
2.what is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a critical reader, a writer, and thinker in this class so far? Reader- If I want to "get" something out of the text in the book I have to really focus or read over it more than once, I can't be distracted or paying attention to other things.
Writer- I learned that it's hard to articulate complete thoughts or coherent thoughts in blog form. I do however enjoy the challenge of twitter. (I never used it for this class, but I have used it before.)
Thinker- As I said previously I'm starting to to pay attention to and actually think about the media around me. I am actively thinking about the purpose of the things I am watching, and I am starting to analyze the reasons behind certain commercials. I am starting to ask "why?" to the world around me.
3.What's one thing you would do differently the first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?
I would have studied the power tools more often on my own time. I started to do so at the beginning of the semester, but felt like I wasn't understanding or absorbing them, so I gave up.
I also wish I wouldn't have waited until last minute to do the course blog.
4.What's one thing you would like me to do differently this first half of the semester is you were to take this course again?
I wish you had introduced the personal blogs earlier in September, so we had more time to do them/ more time to process ideas for what to write about.
5.Please comment on the usefulness of the power tools, our course blog, your personal blog, our in class quizzes, our films, and out book(s) as learning tools.
I feel that all these things (power tools, the course blog, and the personal blog, the films, and the book) are useful and translatable to the "real world." Things learned from them are applicable to life outside of this class. Even translatable to things learned in other classes.
Power Tools- It feels like every time I open a magazine or turn on the tv I'm always thinking about some part of the power tools, and analyzing the media around me. I see them being put to use everywhere.
Course Blog/ Book- I can't say that this is my favorite thing to do, but the chapters in the book create a better understanding of the media around us. The chapter on TV helps generate the understanding of where tv came from and the effects it had on surrounding media, such as radio. The chapters pertain to interesting pieces of media history. I think combining the reading of the book with blogging is good in demonstrating convergence.
Something else reminding me of convergence. A story rives tells using emoticons.
Personal Blog- I liked blogging, and the basic understanding of how to blog I've gained form it. It's nice to have at least limited ability to do so.
Quizzes- I feel these are helpful in memorizing the power tools, and memorizing the 6 grid chart.
Liza: Audeamus is our motto here at Champlain - it means "let use dare." Yes, let us, the awesome that is you and I, dare to immerse ourselves in the awesome that is Champlain College. You might just love it here. If you're here at Champlain you're either awesome or really awesome. If you don't want to take my word for it though, trust a Champlain Student yourself. Listen to what he has to say.
Andrew: How has your time here at Champlain been so far?
Kevin: Awesome.
Andrew: And why is that?
Kevin: Due to the fact that Champlain is the best school ever! Everyone who is cool comes here.
Andrew: What was your favorite memory here at Champlain?
Kevin: I studied abroad in Dublin, with amazing people and had an amazing time.
Sophia/Andrew: Here at Champlain we'll make all of your dreams come true. Here at Champlain it's awesome. Awesome stands for Amazing Wonderful Ecstatic Students Often Make Eggs. And by Eggs we mean Exceptionally Great Gifted Students.
