Final Project!

look at the video below to see my avatar doing a back flip!

Final blog post for the final!

I am going to continue my first idea of comparing and contrasting second life to real life for Wednesday. My first thoughts on Second Life were to stereotype it, and make assumptions about how ridiculous and unnecessary it is. However, as I continue and travel around Second Life, I find that it is actually very appealing and interesting. For example, one of my favorite things to do with my friends is to go to coffee shops, and around school I have not found a coffee shop. Yet on second life, I simply typed into the search-bar "cafe" and up came multiple different coffee shops in which I can "teleport" to. Which made me wonder, is Second Life really a scary thing for the future? Or can it be used for great things in the future?

TED talks uses images

1. Isaac Mizhrahi, "Fashion and Creativity" He uses an on-gong slide show of great pictures, and uses the images as he talks. He also utilizes personal photos of job, and the photos are fun and interesting. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/isaac_mizrahi_on_fashion_and_creativity.html

2. David Griffin, "How photography connects us" He has intense photos, very artistic photos. He also has meaningful photos, such as an Afghan refugee. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/david_griffin_on_how_photography_connects.html

3. Theo Jansen, "Creates new creatures" He takes normal every day items (plastic tubes and lemonade bottles) and creates something great. Shows how a collection of things can make one great thing do something fantastic. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/theo_jansen_creates_new_creatures.html

4. James Burchfield, "Plays (invisible) turntables" He does not say anything, but takes his talent and makes the listener actually listen and be amazed. He also acts as if he is playing with actual turn tables, but everything is an act, all he uses is his mouth. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/james_burchfield_plays_invisible_turntables.html

5. Beau Lotto, "Optical Illusions show how we see" Takes fun optical illusions and almost plays a mind game with the audience - very interactive. http://www.ted.com/talks/lang/eng/beau_lotto_optical_illusions_show_how_we_see.html

Final project idea

As of right now, I am planning on talking about second life, and actually seeing if real life vs. virtual life is better, or if for the future can benefit us. A question I would like to try to answer is - "Are 'second life' and other virtual worlds almost a necessity for our society?" Since we are becoming more technologically advanced, and more people are turning to virtual worlds such as World of Warcraft and Second Life to occupy their time, should we all join it too? Will our world be half real and half virtual? And if it is, is that really a bad thing?

All you need to know about Flickr!

Flickr proves to be very successful in utilizing the sites objects to bring people together. People have connected through photos for many years, starting with the photo album. It is only normal to move the "paper" of photo albums onto the web. Flickr does a wonderful job of making it accessible to anyone and everyone who has 1 photo or over 100 photos. It is also great to have people comment on the photos, so the artist can see people's opinions of their photo-art, or what their friends thought of their weekend. I also enjoyed putting pictures of my dogs and paintings up - it made a personal connection with me as well. Well done, Flicker!



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X5L7IlUK7xw

Social Objects

Social objects bring people together, and Social media helps people unite with their similar interests. It is interesting to be able to go online and either blog or comment on something interests you, or something that you feel very passionate about.

For example, in Engeström's blog, his social object was the controversial Motrin Ad. I watched the ad on YouTube, and personally did not find anything too harsh or personal in it. I viewed it as a way to try to relate their product with mothers and their babies. You can then see an upset mother's YouTube response to the ad, and more people who put up a video of how they feel about the ad. It is very interesting to be able to see everyone's opinions for one 30 second commercial. Before YouTube and other social media outlets, a social object would not be able to be discussed as quickly and as publicly.

Phillies win game 1!

The best play, I think, out of the many that the Phillies had tonight, had to have been Cliff Lee's nonchalant catch! Great job tonight, Phillies!

Social Media

Social Media, as explained in Blossom, is becoming increasingly popular. Anyone, now, can either become instantly famous via youtube, or feel free to post their ideas on their personal blog. Social Media, especially personal blogs like these, are in sense a creative outlet for many people. It gives them time to get away from everyday normal life to let their personal creativity shine. For example, I remember in high school going on myspace and spending time creating a background for my page, as well as choosing different font sizes, colors, posting new pictures and making my page personal to my current interests. it was a great way to release my creative energy, as well as connect with my friends and have them view my page.

The Social Media outlets I use now, as compared to when I was in high school, has decreased, mostly because I do not have as much time to browse and become interested in the same things as I did before, however it is still a big part of everyday life. The most popular Social Media outlets I use are:

Facebook

YouTube

fmylife

textsfromlastnight

pandora

stumbleupon

My personal favorite, especially during the summer, was www.stumbleupon.com because I would visit it during work and it made the hours fly by. It is a website that brings you to many different interesting websites. I highly suggest trying it out, it is a lot of fun!

Interviews!

"What did/do you want to be when you grow up?"

For our audio story project, my group and I have decided to ask the dramatic question of "What do you want to be when you grow up?" for ages 5 to about middle-aged, and then ask people of older ages, "What did you want to be when you were younger? What are you now? How did you come to the certain career you chose?" We thought this would be very interesting to ask, especially to see the differences in answers from little children, to students, to middle-aged men and women and finally to elderly people.

The most interesting answers I think will be the ones from the young children and the elderly men and women, because little kids just want to do what makes them happy, but as they grow up, minds and priorities seem to change, and people tend to do what will make them the most money.

So far I have come up with who to ask over the weekend, and then on Monday I am going to Gompers to ask the little kids what they want to be. And then throughout the week my group and I are going to work with each of our interviews and set up the 5 minute featured film!

The Conversations

The book The Conversations is a very interesting one so far. I really enjoy in the first chapter the conversation between Ondaatje and Murch discussing how Murch went from films to sound, and then goes on to talk about his history in learning about film still and goes on to talk about his influences still in the interview format. The interview makes the first chapter feel more personable to the reader. I also thought that it was interesting how he does not watch other movies when he is in the editing or creative process of films. For me personally, I would want to get ideas from other revered editors and put my own spin on it.

I really liked in Chapter 2 how Murch thought of "blinking" as a visible sign of a period or comma. As an English Major, these are obviously vital in writing, and to have a sense of it in a movie was very interesting to think about.

In chapter 3 I really liked how he re-mastered his movie "The Conversations" to DVD, but did not change anything. I always worry that when a priceless movie from decades ago is being touched up that the plot or something else in the movie will change. All he did was improve the sound and made it look more contemporary.


I really enjoyed the first three chapters, especially since they felt more personal with the interviews, and for the plain fact that they are interesting! It is not like reading The Odyssey or any other book for another class. It actually makes you think about something modern and something that is a big part of life (entertainment). I never really thought of the editors or the people who control the music for each scene or how different ideas for movies arose. It

My roommate showed me this remarkable video on YouTube that Dove created. It starts off with a model, without any make up on or her hair done, and she looks like an average person. Then, after the make up is added, and her hair is done, her pictures are then almost distorted on a computer progam, and she looks like a completely different person. The point of the video is show us that we have such a warped view of beauty because of all the "beautiful" models we see everyday on billboards and in magazines, when in reality, they aren't even "real."

The Fake Beauty Steps - Dove

My Blog

My blog, as of right now, is not very interesting, mostly because I had to switch sites and I now have to learn HTML. However, I do plan on adding pictures, movies, and some more interesting items. I also want to switch around the fonts and background colors - which I will obviously do for Friday! Give me your ideas as to how I can change this arond, or HTML codes or websites that you found helpful!

Webby Awards

I have not heard of the Webby Awards before this class, but they are really interesting! As I was looking through the different categories that interest me, I found a few fun websites and a couple of interesting ones. My top favorites are:

1. http://www.razorfish.com/#/home/

Razorfish is a company that creates interesting and creative brands for other companies. Their website in itself is a fun site to browse through. This site also follows Steve Krug's instructions for a good website because there is not too much background noise, the fonts in each section are organized, and it is not difficult to find the information you are looking for.

2. http://www.red-issue.com/

This particular website is about women's fashion, and for every woman interested in fashion I highly recommend viewing this site! It is a fun site to go on, because there are no arrows to view the next outfit, you have to literally draw an arrow with your mouse and it goes to the next picture! Also, if you want to zoom on a particular part of an outfit, you draw a circle around the shirt or the belt, and it brings zooms right in! The clothes are awesome as well.

3. http://www.veryshortlist.com/

This website is like a "hear about it first" kind of site. It introduces you to new things before the media blows it up. It is really cool to hear new music, or learn about up and coming books.

4. http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/visit-us

I love art; anything having to do with art interests me. From pictures to paintings to sculptures to my five year old cousin's finger paintings - I can not get enough. This art museum is located in New York, Venice, Bilbao, Berlin and Abu Dhabi, and is one of the most interesting looking buidings (fun fact: it is one of the 20th century's most important architectural landmarks) and houses some of the most beautiful art pieces. However, the fun part is, is that there are not any historic paintings - each piece of art is from the 20th century and beyond!

Mini Movies

The first speach, "School Kills Creativity" was one of the best speaches I have heard in a while. Sir Ken makes many valid and interesting points pertaining to creativity being "killed" in school systems. Schools have definitely started to break down creativity, as I have witnessed, especially the first few times a child hears, "No, your point is wrong" in an English class, or when they are in Art class in second grade and the teacher is telling them they are not drawing correctly. This, obviously, affects them, and they start to form a mindset that Sir Ken mentioned as being scared to take chances or to be wrong - as if making a mistake in school is one of the worst things to happen. Then, as we get older, we need to use our creativity for school projects, and then at work, but we are terrified of being "wrong"; we hold ourselves back from our creative potential. I know that I have written and re-written multiple essays, where the teacher wanted the class to write our opinions about a book. Instead, I noticed I was writing what I thought she wanted me to write about, not what I truly thought. Another great point he made during his speach was when he talked about the girl in the 1930's who could not sit still in class, and if I remember correctly he said, "Now-a-days doctors would say she has ADHD, but that disease was not available at that time. Now, kids are being put on medication and told to calm down." The fact that he said the disease was not available back then is a bit risky to say, but he makes a great point. If that had happened now, she would have been put on medication and not working to her full potential to become a great dancer. I also loved when he said literacy in schools should coincide with creativity. I think that could greatly change people's outlooks on education, for the better.

Last year I was a business major, and this year I recently changed to English. I started with Business because, as Elizabeth Gilbert said, "ceative careers makes people nervous, but 'normal' jobs are understandable." I also noticed a difference in the way people reacted when I tell them I am an English major, as opposed to when I was Business. Last year, especially at family events, I would say that I go to Saint Joseph's University and I am currently a Business major. I would receive a proud look and then get "advice" on what I can do with a great Business major. Now, when I tell the same people that I changed my major to English, I was expecting the same look, but with a question as to why I changed. Instead, 99% of the time, people will say, "English? What can you do with that? Become a writer? Can you write interesting stories?" I understand where people are coming from, and with my English degree I want to become a lawyer, but just the fact that the major is a form of art, people are more skeptical to believe great things can come out of it.

Other Blogs

I have never actually blogged before, and I do not regularly follow blogs, but in my quest to find something that interests me I remembered my favorite HBO show - True Blood, and found a pretty interesting website that discusses the show. If you're as much of a fan as me, the blog URL is: http://thetruebloodblog.com/tag/2009-true-blood/

What I found interesting from this site are the spoilers for the episodes. Usually people want to watch the show and be surprised when things happen, but for me, I can not wait a week to see what happens! I have to know what happens right away! So in reality, I should probably wait for the seasons to come out on DVD so I can sit in awe for a few hours a day, but that also consists of time and waiting, so this site works perfectly.

After thinking about my interest in True Blood, I thought about other things that interest me. At the end of this year, I am planning on buying a motorcycle, preferably the Kawasaki Ninja ZX-14

and I found a pretty interesting motorcycle blog as well: http://www.helmethairblog.com/

I did not realize that basically whatever anyone is interested in, they can easily talk about with others who are interested in the same things. To refer back to the movies in the case where everyone's interests are known and therefore ads or other websites following their interests pop-up, is a bit questionable, but possibly through blogs that is how these creators will follow you - through what you write about and show you are interested in. Blogging could possibly grow within the next few years, just as myspace and facebook grew and are still growing.

Technology

It is crazy how technology has expanded within the last few decades. It is also a bit terrifying how quickly it is growing, and nevermind the fact that it is also practically free! The internet, to a certain extent, is all free. It is easy to access the news for free because people no longer need to pay to have it delivered to their house, as well as producing pictures, watching tv shows and movies... and they are all available at anyone's fingertips. A consumer can purchase anything on the internet and they do not have to leave the comfort of their homes - and that is where the probem stems from. Having the choice to either go outside, out of your way, to buy that new t-shirt, or stay at home and go to the store's website and order it there. It is definitely an advantage, because shopping and other tasks that could take up time can now be done within minutes! However, as the movies suggest, what happens when that is all that people will do - stay at home in front of a screen, having the choice to either experience life, or experience life via the internet. A decision I would hope I do not have to make any time soon.

The internet is a wonderful tool, however, do people realize how it impacts their lives, and how intensely it can influence their lives within a matter of years? For example, the favored website facebook. It is a great site to get in touch with people, talk to people, find the old high school friend, however, all of your information is out there for anyone to see. Pretty soon privacy will not be an issue, because finding out people's moods or locations, is just a button away. Therefore, is the internet actually helping us, or slowly but surely bringing us down? Are we going to end up like the characters in Wall-E - not knowing reality, but instead too into their computer screen? Either way, the subject of technology should not be a scary subject, it should be an interesting one, yet it is terrifying to think about how in depth we could get with this new found knowledge for futuristic items.

This is my first blog... ever, and I can not decide what to write about. So I'll start off with something easy - myself.

My name is Kimberly Starr, and I live in Connecticut, and my favorite season, Fall, is right around the corner, and in my opinion there is no place like Connecticut in the Fall! The air smells like a pumpkin candle, and every family's lawn is covered in multiple leaf piles - it's a beautiful scenery.

After I graduate Saint Joes, I would love to travel to Thailand and teach children how to speak English for a few years. After I have completed that mission in life, I am planning on becoming a lawyer.