January 6th, 2010: I just realized that I think I did this misunderstanding the question. I thought we had to write about what we are doing in life as a whole that is important, but I read Jacara's post and some other people's posts and there's are different from mine..
Part A: Interviewing people. A while ago, I was telling my friend Alice about this assignment. I'll try and get some actual quotes soon, but some of the things that she told me is that she feels important because she is an actress. She is happy with the things that she does.
I cannot get in touch with my mom at the moment, but I think she feels important because she is the founder of a non-profit organization, Just Tell. She helps kids who are sexually abused in how to recover, or if it is still happening to them, she tries to help them to get help. In her words.. "I think my mission in life is to help kids. I relate well with kids and they trust me so I feel my nonprofit was my way to come up with a way that kids can get behind to help other kids :) Oh.. and being an awesome friend and mommy! ;) And to be a light in people's darkness... a positive force for good... and spread smiles! lol"
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Part B: My strategies of feeling important?
When we were asked in class to write about what we did to feel important in life, I looked around and saw that no one around me had a pen to their paper. We were all fidgeting, staring into space, or asleep. Even the kids who may have felt important outside of class felt unimportant inside class. That's what this "Cool unit" can do to you. I feel important, but when I was in class that day, thinking about my importance, I felt unimportant as well. I could not think of something to write down that seemed important at the time.
But outside of the class now, I am thinking about what makes me important? I am an artist, and I do many things that I am passionate about. I am a a poet, twice published already. I have taught myself how to sew when I was little, so I can fix things. I'm a painter (evidence in Andy's class among many other places). I can paint presents for family members and friends, as well as for school projects. I'm a sister, and a daughter, a niece, a grand daughter. I'm a friend, a best friend. I'm a good reader, a decent student, I'm part of a non-profit (Just Tell, which my mom is the founder of). I can knit (yeah, laugh, so what?) I'm making people scarfs for presents. Even these are reasons for being important, even though I guess in the end, these things may not actually matter.
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Monday, December 21, 2009
Homework #30, The source of emptiness
All of these websites discuss feeling meaningless, and how people feel like whatever they do, they are still unimportant. The first quotes say that we look for meaning in materialistic things, and that the materialistic things are to blame in the first place for us feeling unimportant. It's the reason people shop to try and fill the never-ending hole in themselves.Though this may be a little inappropiate and the connection may not seem too clear, it reminds me of something Fat Bastard said in Austin Powers. He said in one movie: "I eat because I'm unhappy, and I'm unhappy because I eat. It's a vicious cycle. Now if you'll excuse me, there's someone I need to get in touch with and forgive: meself" (To read all about the lovely Fat Bastard in Austin Powers, go here. Basically, my connection is that people shop because they are unhappy, and that they are unhappy because they eat, and like the quote says, it's a terrible cycle.
Another name for the feeling meaningless is the theory of nihilism, that no matter what a person does, they still don't mean anything. That the world does not stop for one small individual, and that whatever we dod, the world doesn't care. A man once said to me, "The world could just do like this *he shook around a bit* and we'd be gone." In life, people are always striving to be noticed, and important. They -including myself- want to find a way to be come immortal, and to live forever. If we know we cannot die, it might help people feel important. To feel untouchable, invincible.
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Dan Bruiger, "Emptiness of Modernity", http://www.leftfieldpress.com/essays/emptiness-of-modernity.htm This is a small essay talking about the emptiness in modern times, and in materialistic things. Some quotes from the essay are:
"The emptiness infects the very objects that are supposed in the materialistic society to be the source of all satisfaction. We seek in luxuries and conveniences compensation for the loss of nature and vitality, and for the essential poverty of the Ideal manifest in urban landscapes."
"What characterizes the emerging global culture is just this loss of local initiative: consumer society has emasculated itself by trading self-reliance for convenience and imagined security."
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Pradip Mukherji,"Life - LIFE IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS" http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/philosophy/life/meaningless-life.asp A quote from this website is "Moving up the five levels of consciousness in the waking state we realize that nothing ever happened. This world is just a projection of the Universal Mind. But in the emptiness and meaninglessness of life we experience fulfillment and wholeness"
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James Park, "Our Existential Predicament: Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety & Death" (just like Andy's charts)http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XP69.html This is a whole book -I only glanced at it- , which discusses in detail the reason for feeling meaningless. It says that we cannot measure the meaning in our life, and that "short-term purposes and relative goals no longer satisfy us. " It also says how we want to feel important, and that we feel like the little things that we do build up and don't matter. This website poses a lot of questions and things to think about, and not a lot of answers.
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Also by James Park, "Looking for the Meaning of Life", http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-MEAN.html "My early sense of meaninglessness was directly related to death: If we all must die, can life have any ultimate meaning? " and "But when we say that life is meaningless,
we question the assumed standards of meaning themselves. We know that we can spend our lives working toward relative goals. But is that meaningful?"
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Another name for the feeling meaningless is the theory of nihilism, that no matter what a person does, they still don't mean anything. That the world does not stop for one small individual, and that whatever we dod, the world doesn't care. A man once said to me, "The world could just do like this *he shook around a bit* and we'd be gone." In life, people are always striving to be noticed, and important. They -including myself- want to find a way to be come immortal, and to live forever. If we know we cannot die, it might help people feel important. To feel untouchable, invincible.
__________________________________________
Dan Bruiger, "Emptiness of Modernity", http://www.leftfieldpress.com/essays/emptiness-of-modernity.htm This is a small essay talking about the emptiness in modern times, and in materialistic things. Some quotes from the essay are:
"The emptiness infects the very objects that are supposed in the materialistic society to be the source of all satisfaction. We seek in luxuries and conveniences compensation for the loss of nature and vitality, and for the essential poverty of the Ideal manifest in urban landscapes."
"What characterizes the emerging global culture is just this loss of local initiative: consumer society has emasculated itself by trading self-reliance for convenience and imagined security."
__________________________________________
Pradip Mukherji,"Life - LIFE IS EMPTY AND MEANINGLESS" http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/philosophy/life/meaningless-life.asp A quote from this website is "Moving up the five levels of consciousness in the waking state we realize that nothing ever happened. This world is just a projection of the Universal Mind. But in the emptiness and meaninglessness of life we experience fulfillment and wholeness"
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James Park, "Our Existential Predicament: Loneliness, Depression, Anxiety & Death" (just like Andy's charts)http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/XP69.html This is a whole book -I only glanced at it- , which discusses in detail the reason for feeling meaningless. It says that we cannot measure the meaning in our life, and that "short-term purposes and relative goals no longer satisfy us. " It also says how we want to feel important, and that we feel like the little things that we do build up and don't matter. This website poses a lot of questions and things to think about, and not a lot of answers.
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Also by James Park, "Looking for the Meaning of Life", http://www.tc.umn.edu/~parkx032/CY-MEAN.html "My early sense of meaninglessness was directly related to death: If we all must die, can life have any ultimate meaning? " and "But when we say that life is meaningless,
we question the assumed standards of meaning themselves. We know that we can spend our lives working toward relative goals. But is that meaningful?"
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Saturday, December 12, 2009
Homework #29, Making Money Off Of People Trying To Be Cool
I have noticed a way of marketing involved with Twilight recently. Twilight, and everything based around Twilight is a huge money making thing. When I was at summer camp a couple years ago my dad bought me the second Twilight book (New Moon), because he didn't know they were in a series. I didn't intend to read it, and I didn't think I would like the Twilight series.. One day I bought the first book, Twilight (by Stephenie Meyer). As soon as I started reading the book I got sucked into the whole series. I really don't count myself as the obsessive fan girl type, I try to keep it more under wraps. But I've always liked the idea of being able to live forever, and every girl wants their Edward, or for the Jacob fans.. They want their Jacobs. Which leads to my realization on marketing. Already, I have the two books.. Then the whole series of Twilight books.. For christmas my best friend bought me two Twilight posters, I wasn't going to buy them because I didn't want to seem obsessed, but she just had to buy them for me! They're down now, but after I watched Twilight again I want to put them up. Then for my birthday my mom just had to buy me a pink Waiting For My Edward shirt. I've only worn it a couple times, but I guess I'm waiting for my Edward, or the realistic one that will never come. Oh well. Then I saw the Twilight movie, and after that I bought Twilight on DVD. I didn't watch it or even open it for a really really long time. I just had to have it to have it. So me, as a teenage girl.. I have all of the Twilight books, a shirt, the DVD, the soundtrack for my ipod, and posters. I'll probably even get the second DVD (New Moon), and the soundtrack once I see the movie. I don't think of myself as lame, or like all the other girls. When Edward Cullen walks into the picture for the first time.. and all the teenagers behind me scream! I didn't.
In the movie Twilight there are a couple of other marketing techniques as well. My brother and I just watched Twilight, and we realized that all of the kids in the movie are eating Twizzlers throughout the whole movie. They're throwing them around, and laughing, and eating Twizzlers. After the movie, my mom was going to the store and I asked her if she could buy me the same kind of Twizzlers that they were eating in the movie. They never showed the wrapper or anything, but you can recognize a Twizzler if you see one. Seeing the kids eating Twizzlers put it in my head, and made me think that I wanted Twizzlers. My mom ended up buying two small packs of them. There's also another part in the movie where Edward says blah blah blah.. "You can Google it. I was telling my mom about this, as well as the whole Twizzlers thing and she said "I bet they payed them to do that." Everyone involved with Twilight made money off of the teenage fans, and the teachers who read it (I've seen a couple female teachers reading Twilight), and the people on the train reading the Twilight series. Hersheys also makes money off of having Twizzlers in the movie, and Google probably made money off of Edward saying "Google it."
There are so many different kinds of merchandize based around the whole Twilight movie. I liked a line from the first book, so I went online to try and find it. They make pillows, and t-shirts, and christmas ornaments, and bags, and gym bags, and gym shorts, and jewelry.. they make tons and tons of things with Twilight quotes written on them. They also have things to go with the movies, like books with pictures from the movies, and they change the covers of the Twilight series to go with the movies. There are also shirts that say "Team Edward", and "Team Jacob", or "Leech Lover", there's even a shirt for dogs that says "I am not a mini Jacob!" with a wolf on it. There's a shirt that says "I've got obsessive Edward disorder and I don't want a cure", which I told my mom about and she said "Now there's marketing/ merchandising at work!" My point on the Twilight rant is that no matter what we do, people are making money off of it. There are subliminal messages in theater to make us go out and buy candy, or fan items.. or whatever. If you aren't Team Edward, then you get the Team Jacob shirt! Or a shirt that I think is amusing "My Werewolf Can Kick Your Vampires A$$!" . Even me talking about Twilight might be merchandizing in some way!
I don't really think it's possible for us to ban every single form of advertisement! There will always be some kind of add swarming around us, if not in the subways, or in the movie theater, or in the mall... It will be somewhere, Everyone is trying to make their money somehow, and some people just happen to make money gipping off teenagers. I guess I do think it is unfair that the teenager boys in the "Merchants of Cool" episode seem to think they really are cool, when we know they aren't.. And they thought they were getting their own say, and that they were on tv, etc. But really they were still losers, and some of them didn't seem very nice. Everyone seemed to be ripping off everyone else. The people who studied kids were praying on the kids, which made the adults seem creepy. As well as the people that were perching around the little thirteen year olds, looking for "young blood". Those girls wanted to be like Britney Spears, and they wanted to be known, and look pretty.. I do think it's sad that all those young girls were putting on makeup, and modeling, and trying to act like adults. I'm not saying I wasn't a Britney Spears fan in third grade! But I wasn't stepping into the midriff role.
There's a lot of pressure on those young girls that are trying to be "cool"! And you know what happens to a lot of those girls? They become anorexic, or bulimic, they become cutters, suicidal, depressed, on pills.. Or eventually they become used and cast out, like Britney Spears was. I liked Britney Spears when I was younger. Like myself, a lot of kids grow out of her when they're older. I noticed how she shaved her head, got pulled over for DUI and how she was acting up, the whole problem with her kids etc. It's really difficult not to notice all of the celeb's lives going to a wreck when it's all over the news and magazines. Yes, they did use Britney Spears, and cast her out when they didn't need her anymore. When she was out, they made more money off of showing that she was out. They also did the same thing with all of the other stars, like Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie.. whatever. Yes, I think it's wrong. But it's also Hollywood! Hollywood can be a vicious place that I do not want to ever experience.
In media, sex does rear its ugly head a lot. One of the snotty women from the "Merchants of Cool" episode said "Media is just a mirror after all" (this was about sex in the media). I really do disagree with her. I can say for myself, and as a teenager that I don't spend my every day and night thinking about sex. A lot of teenagers are perverted, and there are things reminding teenagers of sex a lot.. but still. Media is not just a mirror. Sex does sell, and where it's legal (or not) there are prostitutes and male prostitutes. Lots of stores sell things that have to do with sex, or remind people of sex.. Like sexy underwear at Victoria Secret, or condoms in Duane Reade.. But these days there is almost always a sex scene in the media. All of the advertisements for men's underwear, or clothing, or scenes in movies, are a lot sexier these days. Just looking at google images for pictures of advertisments can show how sex sells. Just take a look at this add for Calvin Klien , or an add for Abercrombie & Fitch, or Hollister (Titled "Couple Passion Love), and there are so many other commercials that use sex to sell. Whenever you watch tv there are really sexual adds trying to sell clothing, and a lot of super sexual adds these days are for perfume. Again, I'm ranting. Yes, they try and make sex sell stuff. No, if you buy that new perfume it will not make you look sexy if you aren't already. Sorry. You might just smell good, but the stars in the ads don't always wear what they sell, in fact, they probably don't. Sucks right?
While I was looking at adds for some name brands I came across some one named Karl Goin. He talked about how he has a pocket knife that his grandfather bought him, which has Abercrombie & Fitch carved into it. I might do some research when I have time, but the knife that Karl has is from before A&F evolved in to what it is today.
I also came across another person's blog talking about how people use sexy visuals for perfume adds, which I was already researching but I found a blog post by T. Baranski & J. Batt as well. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's interesting.
In the movie Twilight there are a couple of other marketing techniques as well. My brother and I just watched Twilight, and we realized that all of the kids in the movie are eating Twizzlers throughout the whole movie. They're throwing them around, and laughing, and eating Twizzlers. After the movie, my mom was going to the store and I asked her if she could buy me the same kind of Twizzlers that they were eating in the movie. They never showed the wrapper or anything, but you can recognize a Twizzler if you see one. Seeing the kids eating Twizzlers put it in my head, and made me think that I wanted Twizzlers. My mom ended up buying two small packs of them. There's also another part in the movie where Edward says blah blah blah.. "You can Google it. I was telling my mom about this, as well as the whole Twizzlers thing and she said "I bet they payed them to do that." Everyone involved with Twilight made money off of the teenage fans, and the teachers who read it (I've seen a couple female teachers reading Twilight), and the people on the train reading the Twilight series. Hersheys also makes money off of having Twizzlers in the movie, and Google probably made money off of Edward saying "Google it."
There are so many different kinds of merchandize based around the whole Twilight movie. I liked a line from the first book, so I went online to try and find it. They make pillows, and t-shirts, and christmas ornaments, and bags, and gym bags, and gym shorts, and jewelry.. they make tons and tons of things with Twilight quotes written on them. They also have things to go with the movies, like books with pictures from the movies, and they change the covers of the Twilight series to go with the movies. There are also shirts that say "Team Edward", and "Team Jacob", or "Leech Lover", there's even a shirt for dogs that says "I am not a mini Jacob!" with a wolf on it. There's a shirt that says "I've got obsessive Edward disorder and I don't want a cure", which I told my mom about and she said "Now there's marketing/ merchandising at work!" My point on the Twilight rant is that no matter what we do, people are making money off of it. There are subliminal messages in theater to make us go out and buy candy, or fan items.. or whatever. If you aren't Team Edward, then you get the Team Jacob shirt! Or a shirt that I think is amusing "My Werewolf Can Kick Your Vampires A$$!" . Even me talking about Twilight might be merchandizing in some way!
I don't really think it's possible for us to ban every single form of advertisement! There will always be some kind of add swarming around us, if not in the subways, or in the movie theater, or in the mall... It will be somewhere, Everyone is trying to make their money somehow, and some people just happen to make money gipping off teenagers. I guess I do think it is unfair that the teenager boys in the "Merchants of Cool" episode seem to think they really are cool, when we know they aren't.. And they thought they were getting their own say, and that they were on tv, etc. But really they were still losers, and some of them didn't seem very nice. Everyone seemed to be ripping off everyone else. The people who studied kids were praying on the kids, which made the adults seem creepy. As well as the people that were perching around the little thirteen year olds, looking for "young blood". Those girls wanted to be like Britney Spears, and they wanted to be known, and look pretty.. I do think it's sad that all those young girls were putting on makeup, and modeling, and trying to act like adults. I'm not saying I wasn't a Britney Spears fan in third grade! But I wasn't stepping into the midriff role.
There's a lot of pressure on those young girls that are trying to be "cool"! And you know what happens to a lot of those girls? They become anorexic, or bulimic, they become cutters, suicidal, depressed, on pills.. Or eventually they become used and cast out, like Britney Spears was. I liked Britney Spears when I was younger. Like myself, a lot of kids grow out of her when they're older. I noticed how she shaved her head, got pulled over for DUI and how she was acting up, the whole problem with her kids etc. It's really difficult not to notice all of the celeb's lives going to a wreck when it's all over the news and magazines. Yes, they did use Britney Spears, and cast her out when they didn't need her anymore. When she was out, they made more money off of showing that she was out. They also did the same thing with all of the other stars, like Lindsey Lohan, Nicole Richie.. whatever. Yes, I think it's wrong. But it's also Hollywood! Hollywood can be a vicious place that I do not want to ever experience.
In media, sex does rear its ugly head a lot. One of the snotty women from the "Merchants of Cool" episode said "Media is just a mirror after all" (this was about sex in the media). I really do disagree with her. I can say for myself, and as a teenager that I don't spend my every day and night thinking about sex. A lot of teenagers are perverted, and there are things reminding teenagers of sex a lot.. but still. Media is not just a mirror. Sex does sell, and where it's legal (or not) there are prostitutes and male prostitutes. Lots of stores sell things that have to do with sex, or remind people of sex.. Like sexy underwear at Victoria Secret, or condoms in Duane Reade.. But these days there is almost always a sex scene in the media. All of the advertisements for men's underwear, or clothing, or scenes in movies, are a lot sexier these days. Just looking at google images for pictures of advertisments can show how sex sells. Just take a look at this add for Calvin Klien , or an add for Abercrombie & Fitch, or Hollister (Titled "Couple Passion Love), and there are so many other commercials that use sex to sell. Whenever you watch tv there are really sexual adds trying to sell clothing, and a lot of super sexual adds these days are for perfume. Again, I'm ranting. Yes, they try and make sex sell stuff. No, if you buy that new perfume it will not make you look sexy if you aren't already. Sorry. You might just smell good, but the stars in the ads don't always wear what they sell, in fact, they probably don't. Sucks right?
While I was looking at adds for some name brands I came across some one named Karl Goin. He talked about how he has a pocket knife that his grandfather bought him, which has Abercrombie & Fitch carved into it. I might do some research when I have time, but the knife that Karl has is from before A&F evolved in to what it is today.
I also came across another person's blog talking about how people use sexy visuals for perfume adds, which I was already researching but I found a blog post by T. Baranski & J. Batt as well. I haven't read all of it yet, but it's interesting.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Homework #28, Informal Research- Internet, Magazines, and Tv Shows
Even before the research, a quote from an anonymous, cool guy who's a friend of mine: "Lol nah I'm too cool to be ashamed of myself."
There's also a shirt that says "I'm right 97% of the time, and who cares about the other 4% of the time?" Get it?
Another quote I think is cool because it's really down to earth: "But I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery." The First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes. Link to lyrics here
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Dec. 8th, 2009: This morning, I happened to turn on the radio and I was listening to z100. I used to listen to this radio all the time, until the "popular" music started being played too much. Yet in the mornings, the radio hosts only talk on the station. So this morning they were discussing how come hot people don't read, and I felt like it was very realevent to our "cool" unit. Some quotes that I wrote down from people calling into the radio station are:
"Because when hot people read, I don't think they're hot anymore" (She said something like that..)
"Hot people remain hot until they read".
"Hot people are more into visual stuff, and reading is kind of plain. If they were reading a magazine it would be me interesting."
"You can be hot and read. You just might not be picture hot."
"They go home, change their clothes, take out their contacts and put on their glasses. They slip into their nerd skins."(I wish I could make sure I had these quotes more exact, but they're pretty close and I couldn't find the conversation online.)
Sometimes they discuss really stupid things on the radio in the morning. I usually turn the radio off after a couple minutes because they don't play music and they talk about things that I don't care about. Yet when I was getting ready for school this morning I found myself paying attention to the radio, and taking some notes on what people were saying. I found this morning's conversation to be very interesting though. Most of the people calling in said that it was weird and uncommon for 'hot people' to read. I really loved the person that said that hot people "slip into their nerd skins." I think this is really funny, because I can relate to it. I go home, put on pajamas, and take out my contact lenses. Then I read, hang out with my family, text my friends, and eventually do homework. I don't care if people don't think of me as "cool", or if they do think of me as "cool". Society's definition of cool can be pretty twisted most of the time anyway. Society seems to think that the popular people are really cool: the person who gets high all the time, has sex with too many people to count, shoplifts.. Is really mean to people. While in reality they can be very shallow, are unaware of themselves, can be sort of unintelligent.. All of these are negative things. Do people really want to look up to people who are ruining their lives?
Also, another young female called in and said that she was hot and that she read. They asked her if she could send in a picture of herself. They asked how hot she was on a scale of 1-10, -ten being the hottest- and she gave herself a nine. A woman on z100 said "If you think of yourself as hot, then why didn't you give yourself a ten?" I thought that they were tearing apart people for no reason. Cool people can read! In my mind at least. I'd prefer a real, smart, fun person than a "perfect" person with a fucked up life. I thought that the woman calling in was cool, because she was standing up for herself. I was going to call in and send in a picture of myself as well, but I was about to be late to school.
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“How do you turn from geek to cool?”
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=from+geek+to+cool&page=1&qsrc=0&dm=all&ab=6&title=WikiAnswers+-+How+do+you+turn+from+geek+to+cool&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.answers.com%2FQ%2FHow_do_you_turn_from_geek_to_cool&sg=JfrGZArsupxOZN3E09xYnWowlJZ2OTSTq1ixD3aQy90%3D&tsp=1260212380794
This is a very short post that can be edited by anyone if they have a username and password to the site. Yet it sounds like one author wrote it. While I was doing searches on being “cool”, I looked for an answer to this question: “How do you turn from geek to cool?” The author discuses how she is popular, dresses up, goes on dates, as well as liking anime and going to anime conventions. The idea of being both a geek and being popular don’t always fit in the typical “cool” role. In the post it says: “Just because I'm a geek doesn't mean I'm not cool. It's the same with you, sweetheart. Don't give up yourself.” This tip may be familiar, along the lines of “be yourself” or as she says “don’t give up on yourself”.
Instead of a how-to on transforming from a geek to a cool person, this post shows a life of being a popular geek. This is worth reading for anyone who feels like being a geek is a bad thing. This is especially appropriate for all the people in the cool unit who have felt bashed about lately for being different.
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Sandy Fertman Ryan, “The perfect girl.” http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_1_11/ai_n6151475/ Girls’ Life, August-Sept, 2004.
This article, written by Sandy Ryan discuses a perfect girl (Kathryn) with a not so perfect life. Kathryn’s parents both have fairly important jobs, her dad is a successful international lawyer, and her mom is a systems analyst. Ever since she was very young, she was brought up to be the best. She was considered to be “the perfect girl”, with good grades, striving to be number one. She grew up thinking, “to be beautiful, you have to be thin”. This article tells a story of Kathryn’s life, and how bulimia almost took it away from her.
This is not an example of how to be cool, or popular, but it shows the problems one may face if put under too much pressure. She was considered the perfect girl, yet she was under so much stress that she started being bulimic, and almost killed herself. This story is very tragic, yet I thought it was important to post it as an example of someone falling apart under trying to be societies’ definition of cool. There is a quote that sort of fits with being “cool”: control. Kathryn said she “purged to feel like [she] had control over something in [her] life, since everything else seemed to be totally out of control.” She had felt like she had little control in her own life, so she started making herself throw up to try and make herself thin.
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Robert. “The Trouble Makers Guide To School” http://www.freewebs.com/thepractical_joker/
This is a guide to being a trouble-maker in school. The first thing he wrote under the title is “don’t worry, if you get in trouble, blame it on me.” Soon after that he says: “here is where you can find cool pranks, from ME, Robert the Great!” A couple sentences into the post and he’s already showing signs of being really confident with himself. He gives fourteen tips on how to cheat on tests, some of which include writing the answers on your arms, pretending to yawn and look at someone’s paper, as well as writing the answers on a piece of paper and keeping it in your shoe.
One of his tips is: “try to make friends to all the smart people you know, but don’t hang out with them a lot.” (Tip #7) Of course, because if you’re seen with the smart people then it takes away from being cool, yada yada. Another of his tips is: “ask your friends the question, so if your not next to a smart kid, sit next to your friend. (Actually I’d rather you sit next to your friend)!!” (tip 13) This whole blog is a tip on how to cheat on tests, as well as cool tricks to prank people in school. If you’re a trickster who’s run out of cool tricks, you should check out this guide.
How to be Cool in High School, http://www.ask.com/bar?q=how+to+be+cool+in+high+school&page=1&qsrc=178&dm=all&ab=0&title=How+to+be+Cool+in+High+School+%7C+Quazen&u=http%3A%2F%2Fquazen.com%2Fkids-and-teens%2Fschool-time%2Fhow-to-be-cool-in-high-school%2F&sg=gh0lmFIi9CW1jrU0zkhJ1JO5zFYzvPjTDf92zOSJdJM%3D&tsp=1260212226313 March 25, 2008.
This person says how the “Goddess at my High School is not the prettiest girl,” and that even though she wasn’t the prettiest girl in high school, and the prettiest girl wasn’t noticed. The reason the “Goddess” was noticed is “Simple. Projection”. This person also says how the popular boy did not look like the typical hunk, but that he was still popular because of his ‘presentation’. It also says things like “Being cool means you run things, things don’t run you.” And: “So that’s your mission, if you decide to accept it. Great posture, easy gait, no rushing or dawdling; thinking; It’s All About Me.”
This website doesn’t look short, but it is very simple to read. The main trends are to be confident, even if you don’t look cool, project, and present yourself well. It tells you how to observe the cool kids in school, and how to be the cool kid. It can be very helpful if you can actually take it seriously.
_______________________________
And last but not least:
Kris, “Smooth Operator/ Ten Steps to being Cool” http://www.smthop.com/article.aspx?newsnum=147 June 30th, 2003.
This ten step guide is a little out of date on how to be cool, but it shows what this guy tried to say was cool. Before I looked at the date, I thought this kid was joking the whole time, then I realized that it was six, nearly seven years old. He says -in a summery- to talk cool, dress cool, watch the right tv shows, pose cool, listen to the right music, have cool friends, be in a band, and to do something cool. It also has oh so helpful pictures along with the ten steps.
This guide is worth reading to see how the kid jokes at being cool. He doesn’t seem to mind making a fool out of himself on the web. He’s confident, and trying to be ‘helpful.’
There's also a shirt that says "I'm right 97% of the time, and who cares about the other 4% of the time?" Get it?
Another quote I think is cool because it's really down to earth: "But I'd rather be working for a paycheck than waiting to win the lottery." The First Day of My Life, by Bright Eyes. Link to lyrics here
______________________________
Dec. 8th, 2009: This morning, I happened to turn on the radio and I was listening to z100. I used to listen to this radio all the time, until the "popular" music started being played too much. Yet in the mornings, the radio hosts only talk on the station. So this morning they were discussing how come hot people don't read, and I felt like it was very realevent to our "cool" unit. Some quotes that I wrote down from people calling into the radio station are:
"Because when hot people read, I don't think they're hot anymore" (She said something like that..)
"Hot people remain hot until they read".
"Hot people are more into visual stuff, and reading is kind of plain. If they were reading a magazine it would be me interesting."
"You can be hot and read. You just might not be picture hot."
"They go home, change their clothes, take out their contacts and put on their glasses. They slip into their nerd skins."(I wish I could make sure I had these quotes more exact, but they're pretty close and I couldn't find the conversation online.)
Sometimes they discuss really stupid things on the radio in the morning. I usually turn the radio off after a couple minutes because they don't play music and they talk about things that I don't care about. Yet when I was getting ready for school this morning I found myself paying attention to the radio, and taking some notes on what people were saying. I found this morning's conversation to be very interesting though. Most of the people calling in said that it was weird and uncommon for 'hot people' to read. I really loved the person that said that hot people "slip into their nerd skins." I think this is really funny, because I can relate to it. I go home, put on pajamas, and take out my contact lenses. Then I read, hang out with my family, text my friends, and eventually do homework. I don't care if people don't think of me as "cool", or if they do think of me as "cool". Society's definition of cool can be pretty twisted most of the time anyway. Society seems to think that the popular people are really cool: the person who gets high all the time, has sex with too many people to count, shoplifts.. Is really mean to people. While in reality they can be very shallow, are unaware of themselves, can be sort of unintelligent.. All of these are negative things. Do people really want to look up to people who are ruining their lives?
Also, another young female called in and said that she was hot and that she read. They asked her if she could send in a picture of herself. They asked how hot she was on a scale of 1-10, -ten being the hottest- and she gave herself a nine. A woman on z100 said "If you think of yourself as hot, then why didn't you give yourself a ten?" I thought that they were tearing apart people for no reason. Cool people can read! In my mind at least. I'd prefer a real, smart, fun person than a "perfect" person with a fucked up life. I thought that the woman calling in was cool, because she was standing up for herself. I was going to call in and send in a picture of myself as well, but I was about to be late to school.
________________________________
“How do you turn from geek to cool?”
http://www.ask.com/bar?q=from+geek+to+cool&page=1&qsrc=0&dm=all&ab=6&title=WikiAnswers+-+How+do+you+turn+from+geek+to+cool&u=http%3A%2F%2Fwiki.answers.com%2FQ%2FHow_do_you_turn_from_geek_to_cool&sg=JfrGZArsupxOZN3E09xYnWowlJZ2OTSTq1ixD3aQy90%3D&tsp=1260212380794
This is a very short post that can be edited by anyone if they have a username and password to the site. Yet it sounds like one author wrote it. While I was doing searches on being “cool”, I looked for an answer to this question: “How do you turn from geek to cool?” The author discuses how she is popular, dresses up, goes on dates, as well as liking anime and going to anime conventions. The idea of being both a geek and being popular don’t always fit in the typical “cool” role. In the post it says: “Just because I'm a geek doesn't mean I'm not cool. It's the same with you, sweetheart. Don't give up yourself.” This tip may be familiar, along the lines of “be yourself” or as she says “don’t give up on yourself”.
Instead of a how-to on transforming from a geek to a cool person, this post shows a life of being a popular geek. This is worth reading for anyone who feels like being a geek is a bad thing. This is especially appropriate for all the people in the cool unit who have felt bashed about lately for being different.
________________________________
Sandy Fertman Ryan, “The perfect girl.” http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0IBX/is_1_11/ai_n6151475/ Girls’ Life, August-Sept, 2004.
This article, written by Sandy Ryan discuses a perfect girl (Kathryn) with a not so perfect life. Kathryn’s parents both have fairly important jobs, her dad is a successful international lawyer, and her mom is a systems analyst. Ever since she was very young, she was brought up to be the best. She was considered to be “the perfect girl”, with good grades, striving to be number one. She grew up thinking, “to be beautiful, you have to be thin”. This article tells a story of Kathryn’s life, and how bulimia almost took it away from her.
This is not an example of how to be cool, or popular, but it shows the problems one may face if put under too much pressure. She was considered the perfect girl, yet she was under so much stress that she started being bulimic, and almost killed herself. This story is very tragic, yet I thought it was important to post it as an example of someone falling apart under trying to be societies’ definition of cool. There is a quote that sort of fits with being “cool”: control. Kathryn said she “purged to feel like [she] had control over something in [her] life, since everything else seemed to be totally out of control.” She had felt like she had little control in her own life, so she started making herself throw up to try and make herself thin.
_______________________________
Robert. “The Trouble Makers Guide To School” http://www.freewebs.com/thepractical_joker/
This is a guide to being a trouble-maker in school. The first thing he wrote under the title is “don’t worry, if you get in trouble, blame it on me.” Soon after that he says: “here is where you can find cool pranks, from ME, Robert the Great!” A couple sentences into the post and he’s already showing signs of being really confident with himself. He gives fourteen tips on how to cheat on tests, some of which include writing the answers on your arms, pretending to yawn and look at someone’s paper, as well as writing the answers on a piece of paper and keeping it in your shoe.
One of his tips is: “try to make friends to all the smart people you know, but don’t hang out with them a lot.” (Tip #7) Of course, because if you’re seen with the smart people then it takes away from being cool, yada yada. Another of his tips is: “ask your friends the question, so if your not next to a smart kid, sit next to your friend. (Actually I’d rather you sit next to your friend)!!” (tip 13) This whole blog is a tip on how to cheat on tests, as well as cool tricks to prank people in school. If you’re a trickster who’s run out of cool tricks, you should check out this guide.
How to be Cool in High School, http://www.ask.com/bar?q=how+to+be+cool+in+high+school&page=1&qsrc=178&dm=all&ab=0&title=How+to+be+Cool+in+High+School+%7C+Quazen&u=http%3A%2F%2Fquazen.com%2Fkids-and-teens%2Fschool-time%2Fhow-to-be-cool-in-high-school%2F&sg=gh0lmFIi9CW1jrU0zkhJ1JO5zFYzvPjTDf92zOSJdJM%3D&tsp=1260212226313 March 25, 2008.
This person says how the “Goddess at my High School is not the prettiest girl,” and that even though she wasn’t the prettiest girl in high school, and the prettiest girl wasn’t noticed. The reason the “Goddess” was noticed is “Simple. Projection”. This person also says how the popular boy did not look like the typical hunk, but that he was still popular because of his ‘presentation’. It also says things like “Being cool means you run things, things don’t run you.” And: “So that’s your mission, if you decide to accept it. Great posture, easy gait, no rushing or dawdling; thinking; It’s All About Me.”
This website doesn’t look short, but it is very simple to read. The main trends are to be confident, even if you don’t look cool, project, and present yourself well. It tells you how to observe the cool kids in school, and how to be the cool kid. It can be very helpful if you can actually take it seriously.
_______________________________
And last but not least:
Kris, “Smooth Operator/ Ten Steps to being Cool” http://www.smthop.com/article.aspx?newsnum=147 June 30th, 2003.
This ten step guide is a little out of date on how to be cool, but it shows what this guy tried to say was cool. Before I looked at the date, I thought this kid was joking the whole time, then I realized that it was six, nearly seven years old. He says -in a summery- to talk cool, dress cool, watch the right tv shows, pose cool, listen to the right music, have cool friends, be in a band, and to do something cool. It also has oh so helpful pictures along with the ten steps.
This guide is worth reading to see how the kid jokes at being cool. He doesn’t seem to mind making a fool out of himself on the web. He’s confident, and trying to be ‘helpful.’
Thursday, December 3, 2009
Homework #27, Interviewing Friends And Family
Most of these pictures are off of their facebooks
Interviewing friends:
Interviewing one of my best friends, Alice:
Alice Without The Mustache:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater.. "I think its cool to do the things you like doing with other people who like them and to not feel judged for it".
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool? "By my definition sure. I will tell people my favorite music genre is musical theatre because it is, and I shouldn't be ashamed of the things I love."
Do your friends think you are cool? "Oh. I really couldn't say. I guess they hang out with me because they like something about me.."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Yes, they are cool. Because they are people who are confident in their life choices."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why? "The pres because he's okay with gays."
Okay. Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or ploy, or a celeb, or on tv? "Marla singer from Fight Club and Miss Rain from Precious."
Why?"Marla because she can take care of herself and stand up to men. And Miss Rain because she helps people through the thing she loves and is proud of her sexuality."
________________________________________
Interviewing my friend Harry, over the phone:
Harry:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, music..
"Music is cool, art is cool. Activism is cool."
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Uh..probally.. What’s-his-name.. I guess I’ll go with René Magritte. The really famous painter (The this is not a pipe guy.) Because he has a really interesting perspective on reality. He’s a good painter.
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
*Harry didn’t want to be pretentious and bragging, or seem too into himself. He's a really real guy.* "I’m cool because I’m honest. And because I read, and reading’s cool. I don’t know. I’m cool because I like to express myself in many different ways."
Like through art, and music, and poetry. "Yeah exactally."
Is there anything unique, or cool about yourself that only you do?
"Um.. I don’t know. I don’t think there are a lot of people named Harry Russell. Does that count? Umm I don’t know. Things that are unique here might not be that unique there. Hmm are there anything cool or unique about me? I don’t know.. No!"
Do your friends think you are cool? "I mean I hope so, they’re my friends."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Um.. some of them."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“Uh. Definitely the president. Just because the pope is like weird. The president right now hasn’t done too many bad things, and the pope has done a lot of bad things. But the president is a lot newer so I guess we have to see.”
__________________________________________________
Interviewing James, An Honorary Family Member:
James:
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“The president, because he’s more of a democratically elected person, and he’s more elected by the people, which would make him cooler I think.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
“I would say talents are cooler than materialistic things. There’s more to it, and it’s more of a personal like accomplishment, more than something you buy.”
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
“I think Angela Lansbury is cool. Because she’s had an amazing career and she’s a very down to earth person I’ve met her. So talent and success did not make her crazy.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
“Umm, sure, I think I’m cool. I think that what makes someone cool is they can’t care if other people think they are cool. They have to be self sufficiently cool.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
“Umm… I dunno. “
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
“Yes.”
Do you think your friends are cool?
“Umm.. Yes. I think they’re cool because they are passionate about what they want to do and they just do their thing.”
____________________________________________________
Interviewing my Brother Kyle, and my Mom, Vivian. They were being really sarcastic, and talking all at once.
Kyle, my Brother:
My Mom, Vivian (this picture is on her facebook, and I couldn't find another picture at the moment. She's doing the warrior yoga pose.):
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
Kyle: “I’m sorry who? Who are they? Paris or Brittney who?”
Vivian: “The president. The pope pushes a belief system that I don’t agree with. And I’m talking about pushes. I don’t think it’s right to tell people what’s right or wrong. I think everyone should get to figure it out by themselves. The president on the other hand, was elected by the majority because they agree with his beliefs.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
Kyle: “Weave, fake eyelashes, hair dye, Mac make-up, sequins, and spikes.”
Mom: Natural things -just to counter Kyle- like seashells, crystals, and gems. Rock n Roll, and naturally curly hair.
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Kyle: “Umm, I know three really great people: me, myself, and I. Adam Lambert, Jeffery Starr, and Paris Hilton. Oh wait and Lindsey’s kinda cool.”
Mom: “Adam Lambert, I think the funniest thing is Kyle and I are coming from different places and we both think Adam Lambert is cool. Mahatma Gandhi, James Dean’s a good one. Umm.. Benazir Bhutto she might be the first elected female leader of an Asian country, I think you could say that carefully.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
Kyle: “Yes I think I’m very awesome.
Mom: Self -esteem isn’t one of Kyle’s problems. He has a lot of them but self- esteem isn’t one of them.
Kyle: “My personality, my clothes, my hair (well some of my fake hair.)”
Mom: “Do I think I’m cool? Yep. Why do I think I’m cool? Because people trust me, and talk to me about stuff that’s bothering them. And I help people. Also like 42 kids call me mom. And.. I‘m still Rock n Roll.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
Mom: “Some of them. Why do I think my friends are cool? I have all different kinds of friends that understand different sides of me. So some of them are nerdy like my nerdy side, and some of them are cool like my cool side.”
Kyle: “Yes because they befriended me.”
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
Mom: “Yeah, my friends respect the way I live my life: the non-profit I run, the house I keep, and the way I raise my kids. That’s it.”
Kyle: “Yes I do. Because they are the friends that I chose personally.”
Interviewing friends:
Interviewing one of my best friends, Alice:
Alice Without The Mustache:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater.. "I think its cool to do the things you like doing with other people who like them and to not feel judged for it".
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool? "By my definition sure. I will tell people my favorite music genre is musical theatre because it is, and I shouldn't be ashamed of the things I love."
Do your friends think you are cool? "Oh. I really couldn't say. I guess they hang out with me because they like something about me.."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Yes, they are cool. Because they are people who are confident in their life choices."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why? "The pres because he's okay with gays."
Okay. Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or ploy, or a celeb, or on tv? "Marla singer from Fight Club and Miss Rain from Precious."
Why?"Marla because she can take care of herself and stand up to men. And Miss Rain because she helps people through the thing she loves and is proud of her sexuality."
________________________________________
Interviewing my friend Harry, over the phone:
Harry:
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, music..
"Music is cool, art is cool. Activism is cool."
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Uh..probally.. What’s-his-name.. I guess I’ll go with René Magritte. The really famous painter (The this is not a pipe guy.) Because he has a really interesting perspective on reality. He’s a good painter.
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
*Harry didn’t want to be pretentious and bragging, or seem too into himself. He's a really real guy.* "I’m cool because I’m honest. And because I read, and reading’s cool. I don’t know. I’m cool because I like to express myself in many different ways."
Like through art, and music, and poetry. "Yeah exactally."
Is there anything unique, or cool about yourself that only you do?
"Um.. I don’t know. I don’t think there are a lot of people named Harry Russell. Does that count? Umm I don’t know. Things that are unique here might not be that unique there. Hmm are there anything cool or unique about me? I don’t know.. No!"
Do your friends think you are cool? "I mean I hope so, they’re my friends."
Do you think your friends are cool? "Um.. some of them."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“Uh. Definitely the president. Just because the pope is like weird. The president right now hasn’t done too many bad things, and the pope has done a lot of bad things. But the president is a lot newer so I guess we have to see.”
__________________________________________________
Interviewing James, An Honorary Family Member:
James:
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
“The president, because he’s more of a democratically elected person, and he’s more elected by the people, which would make him cooler I think.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
“I would say talents are cooler than materialistic things. There’s more to it, and it’s more of a personal like accomplishment, more than something you buy.”
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
“I think Angela Lansbury is cool. Because she’s had an amazing career and she’s a very down to earth person I’ve met her. So talent and success did not make her crazy.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
“Umm, sure, I think I’m cool. I think that what makes someone cool is they can’t care if other people think they are cool. They have to be self sufficiently cool.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
“Umm… I dunno. “
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
“Yes.”
Do you think your friends are cool?
“Umm.. Yes. I think they’re cool because they are passionate about what they want to do and they just do their thing.”
____________________________________________________
Interviewing my Brother Kyle, and my Mom, Vivian. They were being really sarcastic, and talking all at once.
Kyle, my Brother:
My Mom, Vivian (this picture is on her facebook, and I couldn't find another picture at the moment. She's doing the warrior yoga pose.):
Who's cooler, the pope or the president, and why?
Kyle: “I’m sorry who? Who are they? Paris or Brittney who?”
Vivian: “The president. The pope pushes a belief system that I don’t agree with. And I’m talking about pushes. I don’t think it’s right to tell people what’s right or wrong. I think everyone should get to figure it out by themselves. The president on the other hand, was elected by the majority because they agree with his beliefs.”
What do you think is cool? Like clothing, celebs, parties, theater..
Kyle: “Weave, fake eyelashes, hair dye, Mac make-up, sequins, and spikes.”
Mom: Natural things -just to counter Kyle- like seashells, crystals, and gems. Rock n Roll, and naturally curly hair.
Who do you think is cool? Like a character in a book, or play, or a celeb, or on tv?
Kyle: “Umm, I know three really great people: me, myself, and I. Adam Lambert, Jeffery Starr, and Paris Hilton. Oh wait and Lindsey’s kinda cool.”
Mom: “Adam Lambert, I think the funniest thing is Kyle and I are coming from different places and we both think Adam Lambert is cool. Mahatma Gandhi, James Dean’s a good one. Umm.. Benazir Bhutto she might be the first elected female leader of an Asian country, I think you could say that carefully.”
Do you think of yourself as cool? If so, what are some things about yourself that you think are cool?
Kyle: “Yes I think I’m very awesome.
Mom: Self -esteem isn’t one of Kyle’s problems. He has a lot of them but self- esteem isn’t one of them.
Kyle: “My personality, my clothes, my hair (well some of my fake hair.)”
Mom: “Do I think I’m cool? Yep. Why do I think I’m cool? Because people trust me, and talk to me about stuff that’s bothering them. And I help people. Also like 42 kids call me mom. And.. I‘m still Rock n Roll.”
Do your friends think you are cool?
Mom: “Some of them. Why do I think my friends are cool? I have all different kinds of friends that understand different sides of me. So some of them are nerdy like my nerdy side, and some of them are cool like my cool side.”
Kyle: “Yes because they befriended me.”
Do you think your friends think you’re cool?
Mom: “Yeah, my friends respect the way I live my life: the non-profit I run, the house I keep, and the way I raise my kids. That’s it.”
Kyle: “Yes I do. Because they are the friends that I chose personally.”
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Homework #26, Interviewing Strangers, Once Again
Taking it to the street:
Stranger 1: Casey *creeper*
What do you think is cool? "I think spirituality is cool."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president? "Obama. He's not pretentious, he's real, he's honest, and he doesn't make empty promises."
What do you think is cool about yourself? "I'm 58 years old, and I can still play ball. I am a Surrogate Father. I lived with seven sisters, and my mom, and I was the only boy. Also, I have lived through two occasions where I was supposed to be dead. I got stabbed in September, 1973, when I was seventeen. And I survived a gun shot. I was saved because of the luck of a priest."
Stranger 2: A women working at AA (American Apparel): Arista. *I tried to take a picture of her but some mean lady told me we were not allowed to take pictures in the store.*
What do you think of as cool? Like clothes, cell phones, style, materialistic things? "Clothes are pretty cool I guess."
What do you think is cool about yourself, if you think of yourself as cool? "I'm all over the place, and crazy. I like myself. I'm weird cool."
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about popularity, and coolness? "I have a whole bunch of magazines I'm always looking at to see what's in."
Who, -on television or celebrators- do you think of as cool? "I watch a lot of Nickelodeon things. I think Sam from I-Carly is cool. She has her own style, she's girly but she's not really girly. She's different."
Do you spend more time now trying to be cool, or did you spend more time trying to be cool in high school? "In high school I didn't really care what was cool. I guess I spend more time trying to be cool now."
Stranger 3: Nia *She was handing out cards for a restaurant, and we made a deal: we'd take a bunch of the cards if she'd let us interview her.*
Who do you think is cool? "I think anyone who is original, with their own sense of style is cool. "
Who is cooler, the pope or the president? "The pope is cooler." Really? Why? "The pope is cooler because he just chills and gets money. He could be at a strip club right now, and no one would know it."
Do people consider you to be cool? Do your friends consider you cool? "I think my friends think I'm cool."
Do you think your friends are cool? "No, not really. Not a lot of them."
What about your friends do you think is cool? "We have our own inside jokes, and we understand each other."
Stranger 1: Casey *creeper*
What do you think is cool? "I think spirituality is cool."
Who's cooler, the pope or the president? "Obama. He's not pretentious, he's real, he's honest, and he doesn't make empty promises."
What do you think is cool about yourself? "I'm 58 years old, and I can still play ball. I am a Surrogate Father. I lived with seven sisters, and my mom, and I was the only boy. Also, I have lived through two occasions where I was supposed to be dead. I got stabbed in September, 1973, when I was seventeen. And I survived a gun shot. I was saved because of the luck of a priest."
Stranger 2: A women working at AA (American Apparel): Arista. *I tried to take a picture of her but some mean lady told me we were not allowed to take pictures in the store.*
What do you think of as cool? Like clothes, cell phones, style, materialistic things? "Clothes are pretty cool I guess."
What do you think is cool about yourself, if you think of yourself as cool? "I'm all over the place, and crazy. I like myself. I'm weird cool."
Do you spend a lot of time thinking about popularity, and coolness? "I have a whole bunch of magazines I'm always looking at to see what's in."
Who, -on television or celebrators- do you think of as cool? "I watch a lot of Nickelodeon things. I think Sam from I-Carly is cool. She has her own style, she's girly but she's not really girly. She's different."
Do you spend more time now trying to be cool, or did you spend more time trying to be cool in high school? "In high school I didn't really care what was cool. I guess I spend more time trying to be cool now."
Stranger 3: Nia *She was handing out cards for a restaurant, and we made a deal: we'd take a bunch of the cards if she'd let us interview her.*
Who do you think is cool? "I think anyone who is original, with their own sense of style is cool. "
Who is cooler, the pope or the president? "The pope is cooler." Really? Why? "The pope is cooler because he just chills and gets money. He could be at a strip club right now, and no one would know it."
Do people consider you to be cool? Do your friends consider you cool? "I think my friends think I'm cool."
Do you think your friends are cool? "No, not really. Not a lot of them."
What about your friends do you think is cool? "We have our own inside jokes, and we understand each other."
Monday, November 23, 2009
Homework #25, Reading People's Stories, and Analysis
Part One:
To Maxiel, I like you're story, and I think it's funny. In the beginning of the story I saw myself because when I got my cartaliage pierced I kept showing my friends it, just because I liked the piercing. I don't really think the main character is cool, but I think she would think she's cool until everyone laughs at her. I don't like when people are being loud and making a big deal out of a small issue. I've gotten my phone taken and given to Mr. Marks once, a couple years ago but I didn't cause a big thing with the teacher.
I like your story, keep it up!
-Hannah
Hey Chris R. I really liked reading your story. You showed the typical cool, as the boyfriend with the motorcycle, and you showed the hard working dad who's dedicated to his kids. I like how you started the story by talking about the dad like someone was watching him. I don't know who you specifically were thinking about as cool, but I like that you spent most of the story writing about the dad.
Keep up the good work!
-Hannah
Hi Victor. I like how you started with a really typical couple of fake lines to your story, then you started your real story. I liked your story because it was different from a lot of the other stories I've read so far. He seems like a complete jerk, but he seems like the popular guy that has to be a jerk. Before I had only read up to right before the glass smashing part, and I could already see him as being cool. You're story made me feel sad though, because he caused the teacher pain to seem cool. I still like your story overall though.
-Hannah
Hi Dylan. I liked your story, because it was short with a lot of action in it. The main character was witty, and carefree. He even has a cool name: Johnny. I like how you end the story by saying "tell him I said brake a leg." and how he was already running up the stairs before the security guard had stopped him.
-Hannah
To Matt B: Hey hun. Course you got so many comments already for your story, since it was read in class =P I like your story though. You got to curse all the way through it and you didn't get in trouble because of freedom of expression. I like that you had the real cool, which I thought was the therapist, and the fake cool which was the girl. You did very well with creating both of the characters of course. I also liked how long you wrote the story.
-Hannah
___________________________________________________
Part Two:
Something that I noticed in a lot of the stories that I read, is that there is an artificial "cool" character, and a more down to earth, real "cool" character. The artificial cool is like the jokester, the popular person, the trickster, the person that is noticed more often. While the more real cool doesn't have to be noticed, or usually isn't as noticed like the geek, the quiet person, or the loner. In Chris R's story, there is the materialistic, "cool" guy, who the kids admire because he has a motorcycle, and can do some trick with a balloon, and the big house. This seems to be a recurring theme, the person with the cool thing that everyone else looks up tot hem for. Then there is the more real character, which for Chris's I see the dad as. He spends his hard work seeing his kids, his ex's kids, and he works hard to do his job as well. The kids don't really appreciate their dad for his hard work, so when the kids told their dad that they thought the guy with the motorcycle was cool, the dad felt angry because he had never been called cool before. I saw the dad as the cool guy, instead of the person that is automatically seen in society as "cool".
There is also the typical, popular cool in Maxiel's story, where there is the popular girl bragging about her piercings, and causing a scene when the teacher asks for her cell phone. Then in Matt's story there is the therapist, who is the older, wiser man, the "real" cool person, who is trying to help the young, foolish, artificial cool girl. There is also the cool careless, popular, sort of not very nice person in Victor's and Dylan's blogs. In Victor's story there is the guy who throws the ball, and hurts the teacher, and lets the normal kid take the fall. But his friends think he's cool. In Dylan's story there is the kid who comes in late, doesn't care, charms the security guard and runs away. The artificial cool in both stories.
To Maxiel, I like you're story, and I think it's funny. In the beginning of the story I saw myself because when I got my cartaliage pierced I kept showing my friends it, just because I liked the piercing. I don't really think the main character is cool, but I think she would think she's cool until everyone laughs at her. I don't like when people are being loud and making a big deal out of a small issue. I've gotten my phone taken and given to Mr. Marks once, a couple years ago but I didn't cause a big thing with the teacher.
I like your story, keep it up!
-Hannah
Hey Chris R. I really liked reading your story. You showed the typical cool, as the boyfriend with the motorcycle, and you showed the hard working dad who's dedicated to his kids. I like how you started the story by talking about the dad like someone was watching him. I don't know who you specifically were thinking about as cool, but I like that you spent most of the story writing about the dad.
Keep up the good work!
-Hannah
Hi Victor. I like how you started with a really typical couple of fake lines to your story, then you started your real story. I liked your story because it was different from a lot of the other stories I've read so far. He seems like a complete jerk, but he seems like the popular guy that has to be a jerk. Before I had only read up to right before the glass smashing part, and I could already see him as being cool. You're story made me feel sad though, because he caused the teacher pain to seem cool. I still like your story overall though.
-Hannah
Hi Dylan. I liked your story, because it was short with a lot of action in it. The main character was witty, and carefree. He even has a cool name: Johnny. I like how you end the story by saying "tell him I said brake a leg." and how he was already running up the stairs before the security guard had stopped him.
-Hannah
To Matt B: Hey hun. Course you got so many comments already for your story, since it was read in class =P I like your story though. You got to curse all the way through it and you didn't get in trouble because of freedom of expression. I like that you had the real cool, which I thought was the therapist, and the fake cool which was the girl. You did very well with creating both of the characters of course. I also liked how long you wrote the story.
-Hannah
___________________________________________________
Part Two:
Something that I noticed in a lot of the stories that I read, is that there is an artificial "cool" character, and a more down to earth, real "cool" character. The artificial cool is like the jokester, the popular person, the trickster, the person that is noticed more often. While the more real cool doesn't have to be noticed, or usually isn't as noticed like the geek, the quiet person, or the loner. In Chris R's story, there is the materialistic, "cool" guy, who the kids admire because he has a motorcycle, and can do some trick with a balloon, and the big house. This seems to be a recurring theme, the person with the cool thing that everyone else looks up tot hem for. Then there is the more real character, which for Chris's I see the dad as. He spends his hard work seeing his kids, his ex's kids, and he works hard to do his job as well. The kids don't really appreciate their dad for his hard work, so when the kids told their dad that they thought the guy with the motorcycle was cool, the dad felt angry because he had never been called cool before. I saw the dad as the cool guy, instead of the person that is automatically seen in society as "cool".
There is also the typical, popular cool in Maxiel's story, where there is the popular girl bragging about her piercings, and causing a scene when the teacher asks for her cell phone. Then in Matt's story there is the therapist, who is the older, wiser man, the "real" cool person, who is trying to help the young, foolish, artificial cool girl. There is also the cool careless, popular, sort of not very nice person in Victor's and Dylan's blogs. In Victor's story there is the guy who throws the ball, and hurts the teacher, and lets the normal kid take the fall. But his friends think he's cool. In Dylan's story there is the kid who comes in late, doesn't care, charms the security guard and runs away. The artificial cool in both stories.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Homework #24, Short Story 1- Cool People.
Cassie was a beautiful seventeen year old, with long, dirty blonde hair and big, lavender colored eyes. She had a style of her own, and a sense of coolness about her that was often effortless. She was happy it was girl's night in with her friends, and they were sitting around in the living room talking.
"So, how did you meet Chaz?" Roxy asked, pulling Cassie out of her thoughts.
Cassie blinked, looked up at her friends and said, "Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah!" "Sure!" A chorus of cheers went round the room.
Cassie smiled, and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear that was been falling in her eyes. "Well, one day I was walking down the street with some of my classmates, and I noticed this really cute boy had been tailing me. So I was trying to act cool -a little bit more than I already am, of course- and Trina decided it'd be funny to try and trip me. All of a sudden I was falling, and seconds before I was about to hit the pavement, I realized I wasn't falling anymore. Then I felt the strong arms wrapped around my waist, and smelled the rich scent of his leather jacket. I turned around, and smiling, looked up into the warm green eyes of my hero. 'You saved me!' I said. With a cool, relaxed smile on his face, he said: 'Anytime babe.'"
"Awww!" "Then what happened?!" Suddenly all the girls were asking questions at once.
Cassie gave a wicked grin, and continued "Offering his hand, he said, 'My name's Chaz, what's yours beautiful?' and that, ladies, is how I met my sweetie.'"
"He sounds like a really cool guy." Mavis said with a wink.
"Yeah, yeah he is." Cassie replied.
The End
To give credit where it's due, I wrote this story while thinking about a scene from the movie Grease.
"So, how did you meet Chaz?" Roxy asked, pulling Cassie out of her thoughts.
Cassie blinked, looked up at her friends and said, "Do you really want to know?"
"Yeah!" "Sure!" A chorus of cheers went round the room.
Cassie smiled, and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear that was been falling in her eyes. "Well, one day I was walking down the street with some of my classmates, and I noticed this really cute boy had been tailing me. So I was trying to act cool -a little bit more than I already am, of course- and Trina decided it'd be funny to try and trip me. All of a sudden I was falling, and seconds before I was about to hit the pavement, I realized I wasn't falling anymore. Then I felt the strong arms wrapped around my waist, and smelled the rich scent of his leather jacket. I turned around, and smiling, looked up into the warm green eyes of my hero. 'You saved me!' I said. With a cool, relaxed smile on his face, he said: 'Anytime babe.'"
"Awww!" "Then what happened?!" Suddenly all the girls were asking questions at once.
Cassie gave a wicked grin, and continued "Offering his hand, he said, 'My name's Chaz, what's yours beautiful?' and that, ladies, is how I met my sweetie.'"
"He sounds like a really cool guy." Mavis said with a wink.
"Yeah, yeah he is." Cassie replied.
The End
To give credit where it's due, I wrote this story while thinking about a scene from the movie Grease.
Monday, November 16, 2009
Homework #23, Exploring what is "Cool"
I think the definition of cool depends on the person who's using it. I may think that a person or thing is cool, when someone else may think that same person or thing is uncool. There are a lot of different things I said on my web brainstorming about cool. I said a lot of things that I thought other people would say, and I said a lot of things that I think are cool. I think it's cool not to try too hard to be cool. I also usually go against typical definitions or people that are "cool". Cool is seen as the clique of popular people that stick to themselves. In my notebook I had written "The cool people in movies are always the clique that has everyone who looks exactly the same, and no one else can get in. They don't talk to anyone outside their clique". For example, in Twilight all of the vampires are in one group, and everyone else wants to be in the "cool" group. All of the girls have a crush on Edward, while he seems to not care for the girls.
In my web I wrote "Nice, helpful, typical, different, unique, original, talented, trying too hard, good looking, smart, Brits, Popular, Skinny jeans, Leather Jackets, Be More Chill, Saint Marks, alternative, piercings, tattoos, punks, 'parties', dyed hair.." (I just read that we're not supposed to write all of these down. Oops.) As I was typing these words from my web I can see the words and things that I think are cool, and the things that everyone else may think is cool. When Jace was reading my web he was making fun of me for writing down leather jackets, skinny jeans, piercings, Saint Marks.. which is a good example of differences in opinions. I don't think the cool clique is cool, I think the guy with the punk hair cut and skinny jeans is cool. But that's just because that's what appeals to me. I don't usually agree with the things people think are cool. I also think it's uncool, liking things just because other people do. "Omg that (super cute person) likes Sublime?! I'm like, so going to buy their new cd now. And love it!" We cannot all not like the same band, or color, or percings, or tatoos, because there aren't enough of them out there for everyone to be completely unique. I may like a song that I hear in Andy's class, and I may go home and buy it on itunes (which I did, by the way) but this is because I liked the sound of the song, not because it was the most popular on itunes.
I feel like burying oneself is not cool. If you act like a jerk but you're cool, you're life is still going to suck. I keep using this example, but if a guy is acting really cool to impress a girl, but he is not being himself, and if the girl falls in love with the guy's not self then she isn't falling in love with who he really is, she's falling in love with who he wants to be seen as. There's this scene in Grease where Sandy and Danny haven't seen each other since the summer, and all of a sudden Sandy finds out Danny goes to the same school as her. So she excitedly screams "Danny!" and Danny in his leather jacket, white teacher, blue jeans and with his gelled hair gets really excited too. "Sandy I thought you were going back to Australia! I'm so glad.. (looks at guy friends.) I mean that's cool. That's cool.. What's a matter with me babe, what's a matter with you?" After Danny realizes his buddies are watching him expectantly, he goes into asshole mode. To please his friends. Which is really, really cool (not).
There's also a quote I love from About A Boy by Nick Hornby, that talks about being cool. "He was, according to the questionnaire, sub-zero! He was dry ice! He was Frosty the Snowman! He would die of hypothermia!... being men's-magazine cool was as close as he had ever come to an achievement, and moments like this were to be treasured. Sub-zero!" (page 7). I just found this scene to be really funny and pathetic. One of the characters in this book is named Will, and he's the sub-zero cool guy. Will cares about fashion, and being trendy. He cares about being mens-magazine cool. Yet when I read about Will, he lives all alone, but he has great clothes as well as great records. But does being cool help if you aren't other good things? Nope, not really. If you have an ugly personality, but look cool, that's not going to save you. If you're a pretty blonde model with blue eyes but you like making people miserable, you're still ugly on the inside. I don't care if that gorgeous model is "cool" because if they're ugly on the inside, they're ugly on the outside as well.
In West Side Story there's a song called "Cool", and all of the lines are talking about playing it cool, and not getting in trouble. One of my favorite lines from that song is "Got a rocket in your pocket, keep coolly cool, boy!" This scene was performed right after the death of one of the Jet's leaders got killed, and all of the guys want to get even. Then one of the guys starts singing this song trying to calm everyone down. Rockets are contained, but if you light a rocket it goes everywhere. So this is a metaphor of the anger bubbling around inside them, and how they have to stay cool, as in staying calm.
Icy. Iced. Frigid. Frosty. "Aw man that jacket is iced!" "Ooh that's icy. The iciest." "That car is frigid man!" "Oh yeah? Frr-osty" I'm kind of fond of these words. In the In Death series by Nora Roberts, there are a lot of characters that speak like this. Whenever something is awesome, or cool, they usually say one of the four words I mentioned. The In Death series takes place in the future, in the year 2059 and the years after that. I really like the characters in Nora Roberts' books, and the way they speak. A lot of people in that series are very stylish, they have pink, green, orange, magenta, blue.. hair. There are two characters that always have their hair dyed multiple colors at a time and they are very fashionable. Their names are Mavis and Trina. There is also this guy named Ian McNab who is a detective, but he always wears bright clashing colors and says things like "iced". I think those words are good substitutes for the word cool, and that people should use them.
Another example is the book Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini, which is all about acting the way society expects you to be cool, to get what you want. There's this boy named Jeremy, who is really awkward and geeky, and he has a crush on this really popular, beautiful girl named Christine. All Jeremy has ever wanted is to be with Christine. But she doesn't know he exists, or if she does, she thinks he's weird. One day someone tells Jeremy about this thing called a "Squip", with is a pill-sized computer that you can swallow. This computer talks inside your head, and helps you to be cool, or "chill". You can program the voice to be really manly, or feminine, and you can pick how you want the computer to sound. No one else knows it's in your head, except for the few people that also have one in their heads. A rule about the Squip, is that you don't talk to it out loud. In the beginning this takes some adjusting for Jeremy. The Squip tells Jeremy in order to get with the girl he wants, he needs to build up a reputation that he's the man. It basically tells him to get with all the other girls so Christine will know about he's great reputation. It makes him go to parties, dress stylish, and to turn himself from a scrawny boy to a ripped boy. I really enjoyed reading this book, because I usually wouldn't have picked something like it to read. I just read it to see how the characters in the book think being cool is.
I also decided to look up the definition of "cool" on urbandictionary.com, and the first definition is "The best way to say something is neat-o, awesome, or swell. The phrase 'cool' is very relaxed, never goes out of style, and people will never laugh at you for using it, very convenient for people like me who don't care about what's 'in.'" Anyone and everyone can say "that's cool." Or use the word cool to describe something. Cool is also a very versatile word, which is cool. Isn't it? XP
In my web I wrote "Nice, helpful, typical, different, unique, original, talented, trying too hard, good looking, smart, Brits, Popular, Skinny jeans, Leather Jackets, Be More Chill, Saint Marks, alternative, piercings, tattoos, punks, 'parties', dyed hair.." (I just read that we're not supposed to write all of these down. Oops.) As I was typing these words from my web I can see the words and things that I think are cool, and the things that everyone else may think is cool. When Jace was reading my web he was making fun of me for writing down leather jackets, skinny jeans, piercings, Saint Marks.. which is a good example of differences in opinions. I don't think the cool clique is cool, I think the guy with the punk hair cut and skinny jeans is cool. But that's just because that's what appeals to me. I don't usually agree with the things people think are cool. I also think it's uncool, liking things just because other people do. "Omg that (super cute person) likes Sublime?! I'm like, so going to buy their new cd now. And love it!" We cannot all not like the same band, or color, or percings, or tatoos, because there aren't enough of them out there for everyone to be completely unique. I may like a song that I hear in Andy's class, and I may go home and buy it on itunes (which I did, by the way) but this is because I liked the sound of the song, not because it was the most popular on itunes.
I feel like burying oneself is not cool. If you act like a jerk but you're cool, you're life is still going to suck. I keep using this example, but if a guy is acting really cool to impress a girl, but he is not being himself, and if the girl falls in love with the guy's not self then she isn't falling in love with who he really is, she's falling in love with who he wants to be seen as. There's this scene in Grease where Sandy and Danny haven't seen each other since the summer, and all of a sudden Sandy finds out Danny goes to the same school as her. So she excitedly screams "Danny!" and Danny in his leather jacket, white teacher, blue jeans and with his gelled hair gets really excited too. "Sandy I thought you were going back to Australia! I'm so glad.. (looks at guy friends.) I mean that's cool. That's cool.. What's a matter with me babe, what's a matter with you?" After Danny realizes his buddies are watching him expectantly, he goes into asshole mode. To please his friends. Which is really, really cool (not).
There's also a quote I love from About A Boy by Nick Hornby, that talks about being cool. "He was, according to the questionnaire, sub-zero! He was dry ice! He was Frosty the Snowman! He would die of hypothermia!... being men's-magazine cool was as close as he had ever come to an achievement, and moments like this were to be treasured. Sub-zero!" (page 7). I just found this scene to be really funny and pathetic. One of the characters in this book is named Will, and he's the sub-zero cool guy. Will cares about fashion, and being trendy. He cares about being mens-magazine cool. Yet when I read about Will, he lives all alone, but he has great clothes as well as great records. But does being cool help if you aren't other good things? Nope, not really. If you have an ugly personality, but look cool, that's not going to save you. If you're a pretty blonde model with blue eyes but you like making people miserable, you're still ugly on the inside. I don't care if that gorgeous model is "cool" because if they're ugly on the inside, they're ugly on the outside as well.
In West Side Story there's a song called "Cool", and all of the lines are talking about playing it cool, and not getting in trouble. One of my favorite lines from that song is "Got a rocket in your pocket, keep coolly cool, boy!" This scene was performed right after the death of one of the Jet's leaders got killed, and all of the guys want to get even. Then one of the guys starts singing this song trying to calm everyone down. Rockets are contained, but if you light a rocket it goes everywhere. So this is a metaphor of the anger bubbling around inside them, and how they have to stay cool, as in staying calm.
Icy. Iced. Frigid. Frosty. "Aw man that jacket is iced!" "Ooh that's icy. The iciest." "That car is frigid man!" "Oh yeah? Frr-osty" I'm kind of fond of these words. In the In Death series by Nora Roberts, there are a lot of characters that speak like this. Whenever something is awesome, or cool, they usually say one of the four words I mentioned. The In Death series takes place in the future, in the year 2059 and the years after that. I really like the characters in Nora Roberts' books, and the way they speak. A lot of people in that series are very stylish, they have pink, green, orange, magenta, blue.. hair. There are two characters that always have their hair dyed multiple colors at a time and they are very fashionable. Their names are Mavis and Trina. There is also this guy named Ian McNab who is a detective, but he always wears bright clashing colors and says things like "iced". I think those words are good substitutes for the word cool, and that people should use them.
Another example is the book Be More Chill by Ned Vizzini, which is all about acting the way society expects you to be cool, to get what you want. There's this boy named Jeremy, who is really awkward and geeky, and he has a crush on this really popular, beautiful girl named Christine. All Jeremy has ever wanted is to be with Christine. But she doesn't know he exists, or if she does, she thinks he's weird. One day someone tells Jeremy about this thing called a "Squip", with is a pill-sized computer that you can swallow. This computer talks inside your head, and helps you to be cool, or "chill". You can program the voice to be really manly, or feminine, and you can pick how you want the computer to sound. No one else knows it's in your head, except for the few people that also have one in their heads. A rule about the Squip, is that you don't talk to it out loud. In the beginning this takes some adjusting for Jeremy. The Squip tells Jeremy in order to get with the girl he wants, he needs to build up a reputation that he's the man. It basically tells him to get with all the other girls so Christine will know about he's great reputation. It makes him go to parties, dress stylish, and to turn himself from a scrawny boy to a ripped boy. I really enjoyed reading this book, because I usually wouldn't have picked something like it to read. I just read it to see how the characters in the book think being cool is.
I also decided to look up the definition of "cool" on urbandictionary.com, and the first definition is "The best way to say something is neat-o, awesome, or swell. The phrase 'cool' is very relaxed, never goes out of style, and people will never laugh at you for using it, very convenient for people like me who don't care about what's 'in.'" Anyone and everyone can say "that's cool." Or use the word cool to describe something. Cool is also a very versatile word, which is cool. Isn't it? XP
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Homework #21, Art Project
In the Cell Phone Screen: "Ctrn Baby Ttyl Ilysm<3" in english "Can't Talk Right Now Baby Talk To You Later I Love You So Much". Text Around The Phone: "The Absence Of Warmth In Digital Technology".
I wanted my painting to be a mirror of how people of all ages -but mainly focusing on teenagers- write text messages. I did the screen purposely silver (aluminum foil) as a mirror; so if you are in person and looking at the painting you would see a blurry image of yourself in it. I don't think my painting is a hammer, because hammers pound things to be in another shape. I feel like my artwork is a reflection of people in relationships who actually do write text messages this way. I wasn't going against the people that actually do text like in my painting, but I was trying to point out how there is an absence of warmth in texting.
It's always an interesting process thinking about what to do for an art project. René Magritte's painting "Ceci n'est pas une pipe" ("This is not a pipe") inspired me to do my art project. In case some people may not of seen Magritte's painting, it is a painting of a pipe, and it says under it in french "This is not a pipe". When one looks at the painting, it looks like a pipe. Yet in reality it is a painting of a pipe that is supposed to represent the pipe. Jace thinks that I copied his idea from his paper, yet I had only thought about the paper when I had already finished the painting.
To be continued
Qs: 1. Is your art a hammer or a mirror? Why?
2. Does your art make you fink and theel? What are some of your own reactions to your art?
3. What was the most interesting aspect of your making of the art?
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Homework #22, Final Draft
Introduction:
Without even walking out the door, you can have the world at your fingertips. Can you imagine how convenient that would be? Oh wait, we already live in a world that is like that. There are many reasons that people like digital technology. It might be the fact we can always control it, or that it is always at our disposal, or that it delivers such a realistic sense of reality. In actuality, I think technology is a bridge that is faulty. Technology is so time-consuming, and it takes away from doing the things in life that we can actually get joy out of. Instead of spending so much time texting, or on the computer, we should spend more time outdoors, on walks, and in nature. People should worry more about real issues instead of how late someone is to text them back. Although technology can be helpful in many ways, it is very important to be able to put it aside and get in touch with creative and more personal pursuits.
Argument I a, It Is Dependable:
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it [the beeper] was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time."(A New Role for Beepers: Keep Families in Touch) Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business. Back then beepers really helped as a link between people, because wherever you are you could call someone’s beeper and they would know that they had to find a phone and call the person who had called their beeper.
Argument I b:
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.”(Please leave a message). This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.
Argument II Interview, Technology Is Good:
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel. Even though the computer may be useful, it is good to use forms of technology in moderation, and to try and do something useful instead of wasting so much time on the computer.
Argument III: Control:
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.
Argument IV: It suits us:
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they may be: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals.”(Andy Snyder, in class). Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality. They fill the gap, from being all alone to being able to get what we feel like is a sense of connection with another person. There are some machines like computers where when they speak out loud to you, you can program them to talk how you want them to sound. You can give them a female voice, a male voice, or a really robot sounding voice. Even looking at the blogger homepage you can see that it says “Flexible. Unlimited flexibility to personalize your blog with themes, gadgets, and more.”(Blogger) For text messaging as well as things on the computer you can personalize them. You can pick what kind of color and font you want to send in a text message. You can do the same thing in computer documents, and for example you can decorate your background and font of blogger. As well as personalizing the screens of phones and computers, you can also personalize the outside of these devices. There are some kinds of stickers specially made to decorate your phone; like little gems. There are also many stickers for the back of laptops that you can use, and plenty of accessories that you can buy for you phone and/ or computer. There are lots of different ipod cases, phone cases, and computer cases that you can purchase. Everything is meant to seem so personal-to show how the owner wants to be portrayed- yet in reality a lot of us have the same backgrounds on blogger, and the same fonts and layouts.
Argument I, Counter Argument(s): The Black out:
There are some cases of emergency, such as the black out on August 14, 2003, where you cannot depend on your cell phone: “Think of it as five thousand people trying to get through your front door at once. It's going to be slow," (Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless). During the black out, everyone was in a state of panic, trying to call each other. So many calls were going through that the cell phone networks were really slow. As the quote implies, having five thousand people trying to get through your front door at once would be impossible. The phone networks were overwhelmed with the numbers of calls bouncing about, and wireless phones were not very reliable during the blackout. I know from my own experiences as well how the black out must of made people feel. Electricity had gone out (obviously since it’s called the black out), I remember the night of the black out my family all slept in the living room because my little brother and I were too scared to go up to our rooms, and we had to have lots of candles burning for light. Stores were panicking because all of their frozen foods were thawing; I remember getting free ice cream from the store across from my house because they couldn’t keep them frozen anymore and they didn’t want to waste the ice cream. The people in the apartment building across the street from my house were panicking, because the elevator wasn’t working, so a lot of people came by my house to make conversation with my family. In a way we all stuck together as humans and everyone did everything they could to help each other. I know during the black out my mom gave some people candles and matches so that they could see in the building across the street. I remember someone across the street from me panicking because their dogs were on a very high floor in the building, and the elevator was down. There was a lot of panic because people in subways had to evacuate when the black out happened. I remember someone I knew had to walk in the train tunnels to get out, which I was very worried about. Although having a cell phone and other electronic devices can be very helpful, the black out is a good example of how there may be times where electronic devices cannot help us.
Argument II The Benefits of Gardening:
Gardening can actually be good for you: “The theory is that the bacteria works by activating brain cells to release more serotonin. Guess where this bacteria can be found in great abundance? The answer is in dirt. Soil. That black stuff right under your feet! This may be the scientific answer to why gardening lifts your spirits and promotes a sense of calm and peacefulness. When you dig with your hands in the dirt, you are coming into contact with this non-harmful bacteria, among many others. Of course, it's also good exercise, you feel good about producing something worthwhile, and you're out in the fresh air and sunshine, so there may be a combination of factors at work.” (The Healing Garden). There was a time where gardeners knew that gardening made you “feel better, happier and more content”, yet until recently there hadn’t been any scientific reasoning why gardening made you feel better. Scientists found out that when you are digging in the dirt though, there is a kind of bacteria that you come in contact with which makes you feel better. People who suffer from depression have low serotonin levels, so gardening is recommended as being therapeutic. Laughing is also recommended, because it releases endorphins and serotonin. Which is another way of saying that “happy feel good medicine” is released into your body, which actually helps you heal. My mom and I try to garden every year, and I know that when we do, it makes us feel better. When I garden I feel peaceful, and happy, as well as grateful that I can garden. Instead of being angry and yelling at video games all day, I recommend trying to be out in nature, or to garden.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argument III: Interviews:
-With my friend Alice
Before, when we interviewed strangers and friends I asked my friend Alice if she preferred hanging out with real people, or text messaging. And she said:
“REAL PEOPLE. I don’t even like talking on the phone that much.” I really wanted to do a follow-up interview on her for this paper but she was too busy when I asked her if I could interview her.
-With Francesca L:
Me, Hannah: “Do you prefer texting or hanging out with real people flesh and blood people?”
Francesca: “I prefer hanging out.”
Hannah: “Can you give me some reasons why hanging out with real people is better than texting please?”
Francesca: “I prefer hanging out with real people because being in the company of actual people gives you a real sense of companionship. You’ve got another human being who is willing to spend time with you- it makes you feel like people actually care about you. Texting is nice, but there’s no emotion in it. I don’t think you can get to know people through texting.”
-With my brother Kyle:
Hannah: “You hang out with a lot of people, and you also really like technology. Can you give me some reasons why being with real people is better than text messaging?”
Kyle: “Umm. Because you can punch them if you get mad? I don’t know. Because you can see how they react to things you say. You can see if they actually get mad. If they were going to cry, and they texted you like ‘oh I’m okay’ then you wouldn’t know.”
-With my Dad, Stuart interviewing him in the car:
Hannah: “Do you prefer hanging with people in person, or text messaging?”
Dad: “It depends what my need is. If I need a quick answer I send a text. But if I want more detail, if I want more opinions then I’ll either phone call them or if I need more involvement or emotional then I would prefer to see them rather than text them. It depends who the person is. If it is a romantic issue then I prefer to see them. You can’t kiss a phone.”
Hannah: “Okay so, you have a country house upstate. Can you give me a few reasons why getting out of the city is good?”
Dad: “Yeah. I put my own needs before any of my client’s needs in the country. I put my own needs first. Rather than in the city it’s all business. Just sky, it’s good to see the sky, and the day and the night and the bugs.”
Hannah: “Dad, you garden. Can you tell me some good things about gardening?”
Dad: “You get to design, you get some exercise, and you often get something to eat that you’ve grown for yourself. And you have a totally different involvement from business work. There are all kinds of things I guess. You get to really see where food comes from. And you get to slow down-you can just choose to alter your pace. Put some choice back into your life.”
Hannah: “Is there anything you would like to add about how being with a person is better than text messaging?”
Dad: “Well, you see many more things hanging out with people. You can see their eyes, and their expressions. You can feel that they’re alive; you can hear the sounds of their voice. You can see what shoes they’re wearing. You can eat with them.”
Hannah: “You can have a better relationship with them right?”
Dad: “A much deeper connection that’s for sure. If you’re arguing with them it might not be better. But it’s defiantly deeper. Texting is all together less personal, which I think it what it’s supposed to be.”
Stranger Jace and I interviewed:
We asked one of the strangers we interviewed if he thought technology was making us smarter or ‘dumber’, and he said: “There are both sides to it. You feel disconnected. Like now you can do things like interviews online, and you never know who you're talking to. Don't have any sense at all. It's making us more disconnected, yet making society faster. Facebook is useful for keeping in touch with people. Social intelligence is dropping. Everything in moderation is okay.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For this argument, I conducted it the way you would conduct a science experiment, with lots of different trials. I wanted to use a set number of people –in this case five- to see how answers would vary. I interviewed two of my friends, my little brother, my dad, and I used the interview from when Jace and I had interviewed strangers. Alice and Francesca both said that they prefer hanging out with real people. My dad, for when he was thinking about people that he cares about, said that he also prefers hanging out with real people. Every interview above says how technology makes us disconnected, and that it does not give a real sense of how people are. Francesca had a really good point, that people want to hang out with you, and that you can build a strong connection that way. My brother Kyle and my dad discussed how you can see people’s emotions when you are with them, you can have eye contact with them, you can see what they’re wearing, and how they’re feeling. While if you are on the computer or text messaging, the person could be lying about how they feel, or you might not know if the person really feels like texting or IMing you back. While technology can be very useful in some ways, it can be a disadvantage in others. In order to develop a healthy connection with someone though, human contact must be made; it cannot just be through some form of machine.
Conclusion:
There are definitely many wonderful things that technology can give us. Cell phones make us feel safer because we always have a connection with people through the devices. There is some kind of satisfaction to having something like the computer that you can control whenever you want to, without having to worry about the computer’s needs since it isn’t a person. Even better than that, we can personalize the devices, like websites to show our unique individuality. In reality though, there are times where we think we are all so different, but we may really all fit it. Instead of being on the computer and on video games, people should spend times in nature more often. Instead of text messaging people, think about how nice it is to spend the day with another individual, who cares about you and wants to see you. While digital technology can be very useful, try to get some fresh air, and do something that does not involve the many electronic devices that surround us.
References:
- A New Role for Beepers: Keep Families in Touch: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/07/news/a-new-role-for-beepers-keep-families-in-touch.html
-Quote about phones being like umbilical cords, From Gotham Gazette, Please leave a message: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
- I Love My Computer by Bad Religion, lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/badreligion/ilovemycomputer.html
-Homepage of Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start
- Wireless gets blacked out too: http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/15/technology/landlines/index.htm
-The Healing Garden Natural Cure Revealed for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, Low Serotonin: http://vegetablegardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_healing_garden#ixzz0WJqKI7YU
-Interviews
Without even walking out the door, you can have the world at your fingertips. Can you imagine how convenient that would be? Oh wait, we already live in a world that is like that. There are many reasons that people like digital technology. It might be the fact we can always control it, or that it is always at our disposal, or that it delivers such a realistic sense of reality. In actuality, I think technology is a bridge that is faulty. Technology is so time-consuming, and it takes away from doing the things in life that we can actually get joy out of. Instead of spending so much time texting, or on the computer, we should spend more time outdoors, on walks, and in nature. People should worry more about real issues instead of how late someone is to text them back. Although technology can be helpful in many ways, it is very important to be able to put it aside and get in touch with creative and more personal pursuits.
Argument I a, It Is Dependable:
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it [the beeper] was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time."(A New Role for Beepers: Keep Families in Touch) Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business. Back then beepers really helped as a link between people, because wherever you are you could call someone’s beeper and they would know that they had to find a phone and call the person who had called their beeper.
Argument I b:
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.”(Please leave a message). This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.
Argument II Interview, Technology Is Good:
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel. Even though the computer may be useful, it is good to use forms of technology in moderation, and to try and do something useful instead of wasting so much time on the computer.
Argument III: Control:
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.
Argument IV: It suits us:
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they may be: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals.”(Andy Snyder, in class). Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality. They fill the gap, from being all alone to being able to get what we feel like is a sense of connection with another person. There are some machines like computers where when they speak out loud to you, you can program them to talk how you want them to sound. You can give them a female voice, a male voice, or a really robot sounding voice. Even looking at the blogger homepage you can see that it says “Flexible. Unlimited flexibility to personalize your blog with themes, gadgets, and more.”(Blogger) For text messaging as well as things on the computer you can personalize them. You can pick what kind of color and font you want to send in a text message. You can do the same thing in computer documents, and for example you can decorate your background and font of blogger. As well as personalizing the screens of phones and computers, you can also personalize the outside of these devices. There are some kinds of stickers specially made to decorate your phone; like little gems. There are also many stickers for the back of laptops that you can use, and plenty of accessories that you can buy for you phone and/ or computer. There are lots of different ipod cases, phone cases, and computer cases that you can purchase. Everything is meant to seem so personal-to show how the owner wants to be portrayed- yet in reality a lot of us have the same backgrounds on blogger, and the same fonts and layouts.
Argument I, Counter Argument(s): The Black out:
There are some cases of emergency, such as the black out on August 14, 2003, where you cannot depend on your cell phone: “Think of it as five thousand people trying to get through your front door at once. It's going to be slow," (Mark Siegel, a spokesman for AT&T Wireless). During the black out, everyone was in a state of panic, trying to call each other. So many calls were going through that the cell phone networks were really slow. As the quote implies, having five thousand people trying to get through your front door at once would be impossible. The phone networks were overwhelmed with the numbers of calls bouncing about, and wireless phones were not very reliable during the blackout. I know from my own experiences as well how the black out must of made people feel. Electricity had gone out (obviously since it’s called the black out), I remember the night of the black out my family all slept in the living room because my little brother and I were too scared to go up to our rooms, and we had to have lots of candles burning for light. Stores were panicking because all of their frozen foods were thawing; I remember getting free ice cream from the store across from my house because they couldn’t keep them frozen anymore and they didn’t want to waste the ice cream. The people in the apartment building across the street from my house were panicking, because the elevator wasn’t working, so a lot of people came by my house to make conversation with my family. In a way we all stuck together as humans and everyone did everything they could to help each other. I know during the black out my mom gave some people candles and matches so that they could see in the building across the street. I remember someone across the street from me panicking because their dogs were on a very high floor in the building, and the elevator was down. There was a lot of panic because people in subways had to evacuate when the black out happened. I remember someone I knew had to walk in the train tunnels to get out, which I was very worried about. Although having a cell phone and other electronic devices can be very helpful, the black out is a good example of how there may be times where electronic devices cannot help us.
Argument II The Benefits of Gardening:
Gardening can actually be good for you: “The theory is that the bacteria works by activating brain cells to release more serotonin. Guess where this bacteria can be found in great abundance? The answer is in dirt. Soil. That black stuff right under your feet! This may be the scientific answer to why gardening lifts your spirits and promotes a sense of calm and peacefulness. When you dig with your hands in the dirt, you are coming into contact with this non-harmful bacteria, among many others. Of course, it's also good exercise, you feel good about producing something worthwhile, and you're out in the fresh air and sunshine, so there may be a combination of factors at work.” (The Healing Garden). There was a time where gardeners knew that gardening made you “feel better, happier and more content”, yet until recently there hadn’t been any scientific reasoning why gardening made you feel better. Scientists found out that when you are digging in the dirt though, there is a kind of bacteria that you come in contact with which makes you feel better. People who suffer from depression have low serotonin levels, so gardening is recommended as being therapeutic. Laughing is also recommended, because it releases endorphins and serotonin. Which is another way of saying that “happy feel good medicine” is released into your body, which actually helps you heal. My mom and I try to garden every year, and I know that when we do, it makes us feel better. When I garden I feel peaceful, and happy, as well as grateful that I can garden. Instead of being angry and yelling at video games all day, I recommend trying to be out in nature, or to garden.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Argument III: Interviews:
-With my friend Alice
Before, when we interviewed strangers and friends I asked my friend Alice if she preferred hanging out with real people, or text messaging. And she said:
“REAL PEOPLE. I don’t even like talking on the phone that much.” I really wanted to do a follow-up interview on her for this paper but she was too busy when I asked her if I could interview her.
-With Francesca L:
Me, Hannah: “Do you prefer texting or hanging out with real people flesh and blood people?”
Francesca: “I prefer hanging out.”
Hannah: “Can you give me some reasons why hanging out with real people is better than texting please?”
Francesca: “I prefer hanging out with real people because being in the company of actual people gives you a real sense of companionship. You’ve got another human being who is willing to spend time with you- it makes you feel like people actually care about you. Texting is nice, but there’s no emotion in it. I don’t think you can get to know people through texting.”
-With my brother Kyle:
Hannah: “You hang out with a lot of people, and you also really like technology. Can you give me some reasons why being with real people is better than text messaging?”
Kyle: “Umm. Because you can punch them if you get mad? I don’t know. Because you can see how they react to things you say. You can see if they actually get mad. If they were going to cry, and they texted you like ‘oh I’m okay’ then you wouldn’t know.”
-With my Dad, Stuart interviewing him in the car:
Hannah: “Do you prefer hanging with people in person, or text messaging?”
Dad: “It depends what my need is. If I need a quick answer I send a text. But if I want more detail, if I want more opinions then I’ll either phone call them or if I need more involvement or emotional then I would prefer to see them rather than text them. It depends who the person is. If it is a romantic issue then I prefer to see them. You can’t kiss a phone.”
Hannah: “Okay so, you have a country house upstate. Can you give me a few reasons why getting out of the city is good?”
Dad: “Yeah. I put my own needs before any of my client’s needs in the country. I put my own needs first. Rather than in the city it’s all business. Just sky, it’s good to see the sky, and the day and the night and the bugs.”
Hannah: “Dad, you garden. Can you tell me some good things about gardening?”
Dad: “You get to design, you get some exercise, and you often get something to eat that you’ve grown for yourself. And you have a totally different involvement from business work. There are all kinds of things I guess. You get to really see where food comes from. And you get to slow down-you can just choose to alter your pace. Put some choice back into your life.”
Hannah: “Is there anything you would like to add about how being with a person is better than text messaging?”
Dad: “Well, you see many more things hanging out with people. You can see their eyes, and their expressions. You can feel that they’re alive; you can hear the sounds of their voice. You can see what shoes they’re wearing. You can eat with them.”
Hannah: “You can have a better relationship with them right?”
Dad: “A much deeper connection that’s for sure. If you’re arguing with them it might not be better. But it’s defiantly deeper. Texting is all together less personal, which I think it what it’s supposed to be.”
Stranger Jace and I interviewed:
We asked one of the strangers we interviewed if he thought technology was making us smarter or ‘dumber’, and he said: “There are both sides to it. You feel disconnected. Like now you can do things like interviews online, and you never know who you're talking to. Don't have any sense at all. It's making us more disconnected, yet making society faster. Facebook is useful for keeping in touch with people. Social intelligence is dropping. Everything in moderation is okay.”
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
For this argument, I conducted it the way you would conduct a science experiment, with lots of different trials. I wanted to use a set number of people –in this case five- to see how answers would vary. I interviewed two of my friends, my little brother, my dad, and I used the interview from when Jace and I had interviewed strangers. Alice and Francesca both said that they prefer hanging out with real people. My dad, for when he was thinking about people that he cares about, said that he also prefers hanging out with real people. Every interview above says how technology makes us disconnected, and that it does not give a real sense of how people are. Francesca had a really good point, that people want to hang out with you, and that you can build a strong connection that way. My brother Kyle and my dad discussed how you can see people’s emotions when you are with them, you can have eye contact with them, you can see what they’re wearing, and how they’re feeling. While if you are on the computer or text messaging, the person could be lying about how they feel, or you might not know if the person really feels like texting or IMing you back. While technology can be very useful in some ways, it can be a disadvantage in others. In order to develop a healthy connection with someone though, human contact must be made; it cannot just be through some form of machine.
Conclusion:
There are definitely many wonderful things that technology can give us. Cell phones make us feel safer because we always have a connection with people through the devices. There is some kind of satisfaction to having something like the computer that you can control whenever you want to, without having to worry about the computer’s needs since it isn’t a person. Even better than that, we can personalize the devices, like websites to show our unique individuality. In reality though, there are times where we think we are all so different, but we may really all fit it. Instead of being on the computer and on video games, people should spend times in nature more often. Instead of text messaging people, think about how nice it is to spend the day with another individual, who cares about you and wants to see you. While digital technology can be very useful, try to get some fresh air, and do something that does not involve the many electronic devices that surround us.
References:
- A New Role for Beepers: Keep Families in Touch: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/07/news/a-new-role-for-beepers-keep-families-in-touch.html
-Quote about phones being like umbilical cords, From Gotham Gazette, Please leave a message: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
- I Love My Computer by Bad Religion, lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/badreligion/ilovemycomputer.html
-Homepage of Blogger: https://www.blogger.com/start
- Wireless gets blacked out too: http://money.cnn.com/2003/08/15/technology/landlines/index.htm
-The Healing Garden Natural Cure Revealed for Depression, Anxiety, OCD, Low Serotonin: http://vegetablegardens.suite101.com/article.cfm/the_healing_garden#ixzz0WJqKI7YU
-Interviews
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Homework #20, Big Paper Revised Draft
Introduction:
Without even walking out the door, you can have the world at your fingertips. Can you imagine how convenient that would be? Oh wait, we already live in a world that is like that. There are many reasons that people like digital technology. It might be the fact we can always control it, or that it is always at our disposal, or that it delivers such a realistic sense of reality. In actuality, I think technology is a bridge that is faulty. Technology is so time-consuming, and it takes away from doing the things in life that we can actually get joy out of. Instead of spending so much time texting, or on the computer, we should spend more time outdoors, on walks, and in nature. People should worry more about real issues instead of how late someone was to text them back. Although technology can be helpful in many ways, it is very important to be able to put it aside and get in touch with creative and more personal pursuits.
Argument I a:
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time." Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business.
Argument I b:
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.” This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.
Argument II on why digital technology is good, Interview:
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel.
Argument III: Control:
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.
Argument IIII: It suits us:
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they really are: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume” smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals. Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality.
Argument I, Counter Argument:
Instead of spending so much time with electronic devices, people should get more in touch with romanticism. “Reconnect the past. Natural cycles like trees, nature… Not with the artificial stuff like living in castles.” Life in the city vs. life in the country. How a lot of city kids do not get out into the country, and when they do they complain about bugs and other things in nature.
Argument II:
Something in the earth that is released when you are gardening and makes you happy.
Argument III: Interviews:
-With Alice
-Interview with Francesca L
-With Kyle
-With Dad
Conclusion:
People are constantly on a form of digital technology. They are basically addicted to it. They like having cell phones, computers, and video games… at their disposal constantly. A lot of people do not spend time in nature, or without technology.
To be continued
References:
- Beepers: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/07/news/a-new-role-for-beepers-keep-families-in-touch.html
-Quote about phones being like umbilical cords, From Gotham Gazette, Please leave a message: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
- I Love My Computer by Bad Religion, lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/badreligion/ilovemycomputer.html
Without even walking out the door, you can have the world at your fingertips. Can you imagine how convenient that would be? Oh wait, we already live in a world that is like that. There are many reasons that people like digital technology. It might be the fact we can always control it, or that it is always at our disposal, or that it delivers such a realistic sense of reality. In actuality, I think technology is a bridge that is faulty. Technology is so time-consuming, and it takes away from doing the things in life that we can actually get joy out of. Instead of spending so much time texting, or on the computer, we should spend more time outdoors, on walks, and in nature. People should worry more about real issues instead of how late someone was to text them back. Although technology can be helpful in many ways, it is very important to be able to put it aside and get in touch with creative and more personal pursuits.
Argument I a:
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time." Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business.
Argument I b:
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.” This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.
Argument II on why digital technology is good, Interview:
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel.
Argument III: Control:
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.
Argument IIII: It suits us:
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they really are: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume” smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals. Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality.
Argument I, Counter Argument:
Instead of spending so much time with electronic devices, people should get more in touch with romanticism. “Reconnect the past. Natural cycles like trees, nature… Not with the artificial stuff like living in castles.” Life in the city vs. life in the country. How a lot of city kids do not get out into the country, and when they do they complain about bugs and other things in nature.
Argument II:
Something in the earth that is released when you are gardening and makes you happy.
Argument III: Interviews:
-With Alice
-Interview with Francesca L
-With Kyle
-With Dad
Conclusion:
People are constantly on a form of digital technology. They are basically addicted to it. They like having cell phones, computers, and video games… at their disposal constantly. A lot of people do not spend time in nature, or without technology.
To be continued
References:
- Beepers: http://www.nytimes.com/1991/09/07/news/a-new-role-for-beepers-keep-families-in-touch.html
-Quote about phones being like umbilical cords, From Gotham Gazette, Please leave a message: http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
- I Love My Computer by Bad Religion, lyrics:
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/badreligion/ilovemycomputer.html
Homework #19,Big Paper Suggestions
Jace, I see what you're getting at, but how are you going to continue writing your paper? I see the introduction and conclusion really go together, with talking about how a person's phone is like a really intimate relationship. It was smart of you to interview some people, including myself to argue a point. Yet how are you going to continue writing your paper? I suggest doing some research, as well as reading over my "treasure hunting" comment. Maybe you can find some arguments that you would like to write about as well, or something else to back up your point.
Also, you should check out Andy's post titled "NYT Column on cell-phones and dating". I haven't read it, but maybe it will help you out.
So far, I have no complaints with what you've written other then the type-o in your thesis where you wrote "their" instead of "they're" but I think you know that already.
Good luck Jace! If you need any help, ask.
-Hannah
p.s, sorry this is late.
__________________________________________________
Amon, I like how you talked about the spear as a tool that has helped us, and you connected it to digital technology today. I like the way you talk about us as defenseless people who do not know how to protect ourselves, and that if we stopped using technology we'd be confused and feel unsafe. I recommend that you bold your many parts of your thesis. I admire the wording of it, but the thesis is a little confusing. I think I understand what you're getting at, but I'm not sure if everyone would.
I don't have any complaints about the first two body paragraphs, other than the first quote mark is turned the wrong way in the second body paragraph. The first sentence of the paragraph after the short little paragraph is really confusing where you said " The feeling while absorbed in the digital world is easily disregarded since the person feeling it does not realize it. " I know you're saying people aren't really feeling, but it's still worded funny.
I understand what you are getting at throughout your whole paper, yet it seems a little shaky to me. I feel like maybe you need a little bit more evidence in parts of your paper. The mechanical arm that can feed us depending on what we are thinking is pretty crazy though. I feel like maybe you should try talking about Wall-E. Everyone is fat in that movie, and they live on and by machines, basically.
Overall, your paper is pretty good and well constructed. I look forward to reading your final draft.
-Hannah
Also, you should check out Andy's post titled "NYT Column on cell-phones and dating". I haven't read it, but maybe it will help you out.
So far, I have no complaints with what you've written other then the type-o in your thesis where you wrote "their" instead of "they're" but I think you know that already.
Good luck Jace! If you need any help, ask.
-Hannah
p.s, sorry this is late.
__________________________________________________
Amon, I like how you talked about the spear as a tool that has helped us, and you connected it to digital technology today. I like the way you talk about us as defenseless people who do not know how to protect ourselves, and that if we stopped using technology we'd be confused and feel unsafe. I recommend that you bold your many parts of your thesis. I admire the wording of it, but the thesis is a little confusing. I think I understand what you're getting at, but I'm not sure if everyone would.
I don't have any complaints about the first two body paragraphs, other than the first quote mark is turned the wrong way in the second body paragraph. The first sentence of the paragraph after the short little paragraph is really confusing where you said " The feeling while absorbed in the digital world is easily disregarded since the person feeling it does not realize it. " I know you're saying people aren't really feeling, but it's still worded funny.
I understand what you are getting at throughout your whole paper, yet it seems a little shaky to me. I feel like maybe you need a little bit more evidence in parts of your paper. The mechanical arm that can feed us depending on what we are thinking is pretty crazy though. I feel like maybe you should try talking about Wall-E. Everyone is fat in that movie, and they live on and by machines, basically.
Overall, your paper is pretty good and well constructed. I look forward to reading your final draft.
-Hannah
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Homework #18, Big Paper Rough Draft
Without even walking out the door, you can have the world at your fingertips. Can you imagine how convenient that would be? Oh wait, we already live in a world that is like that. There are many reasons that people like digital technology. It might be the fact we can always control it, or that it is always at our disposal, or that it delivers such a realistic sense of reality. In actuality, I think technology is a bridge that is faulty. Technology is so time-consuming, and it takes away from doing the things in life that we can actually get joy out of. Instead of spending so much time texting, or on the computer, we should spend more time outdoors, on walks, and in nature. People should worry more about real issues instead of how late someone was to text them back. Although technology can be helpful in many ways, it is very important to be able to put it aside and get in touch with creative and more personal pursuits.
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time." Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business.
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.” This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel.
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they really are: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume” smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals. Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality.
Instead of spending so much time with electronic devices, people should get more in touch with romanticism. “Reconnect the past. Natural cycles like trees, nature… Not with the artificial stuff like living in castles.” Life in the city vs. life in the country. How a lot of city kids do not get out into the country, and when they do they complain about bugs and other things in nature.
Conclusion: People are constantly on a form of digital technology. They are basically addicted to it. They like having cell phones, computers, and video games… at their disposal constantly. A lot of people do not spend time in nature, or without technology.
References:
http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
Technology is a useful tool for helping people stay in touch with each other. Even before cell phones, technology has been useful in times of urgency: “The best moment of having it was when Ra (my baby sitter) paged me after the first bomb in the world trade center. You were one and you guys were there right before it went off so I was so glad to hear from her!” My mom was discussing how useful beepers were on February 26th, 1993, after the World Trade Center Bombing happened because she was really worried about my babysitter and I. Since my babysitter had paged her, my mom knew that we were all right. I read an article speaking about when the first beeper had came out, and it discussed how newly weds, elderly people, and school kids now had beepers as well as plumbers and doctors. There was a couple that said how they bought beepers because the woman was pregnant and she said, "Our game plan is that I would call the beeper number wherever I am and he would know it's the time." Without the beeper, this woman would not have been able to contact her husband while he was away working on a trip for business.
More so today, people depend on their cell phones in case of an emergency, as well as to check if everyone is okay. My mom worries about my little brother and I if we have not texted her after school to tell her where we are going to be. I can admit that I feel weird every time I do not have my cell phone in my pocket, and that I almost always have my cell phone on my person. During the cell phone ban in 2006, there were a lot of worried and angry parents freaking out at the idea of their children traveling without cell phones. “Cell phones are the urban parent’s umbilical cord, the lifeline connecting them to children on buses, emerging from subways, crisscrossing boroughs and traipsing through unknown neighborhood, the Times reports.” This shows the dependence parents and children have on cell phones. It says how cell phones are compared to something natural that we need in order to live basically. A baby cannot get information and nutrients from its mother, if there was no such thing as an umbilical cord. Today cell phones are like a lifeline, and a great tool for parents to know where their children are.
Jace and I interviewed a group of kids who said that they are on forms of digital technology ten hours daily. Out of the ten hours, they said that only two hour are productively spent. "We're more dependent on them," one of the kids admitted. There was a very earnest little girl that said that they "need the computer [for things like] Google. [They] use Facebook, in their spare time. FB is a good thing, for keeping in touch with family” the same little girl talked about keeping in touch with her aunts and cousins etc on facebook. A lot of kids are constantly on the computer, using facebook, and playing video games. This little girl honestly felt like facebook is a good thing, because you can keep in touch with your family, which I agree with yet I think that they are on forms of technology too many hours of the day. These kids were explaining to Jace and I how they can keep in touch with people, they use google to look things up for homework, that they watch television: both trashy and the discovery channel.
One of the things that is so enjoyable about technology is that we can control it completely: “All I have to do is click on you and we’ll be joined in the most soul-less way and we’ll never ever ruin each other’s day cuz when I’m through I just click and you just go away.” (I Love My Computer by Bad Religion) People like things that they can have complete control over. You can send texts on your phone when you want to, and you can close websites on your computer whenever you feel like it. This person is not thinking about another individual’s needs, he was saying how useful it is that when he does not want to put up with the computer anymore he just clicks on a button and it disappears. The singer says that they will be connected in a “soul-less way” showing how artificial the relationship between the computer and its operator is. In this song he also says, “I love my computer, you never ask for more, you can be a princess or you can be my whore.” This is showing how computers can be whatever you want them to be; they can be clean and polite, or they can be used to do your dirty work. It is useful to have a machine like the computer to do homework on, or to look at whatever crazy things people feel like looking at on the computer.
The synthetic things in life suit us so comfortably that we sometimes forget how fake they really are: “Pants fit our body, digital representation is like pants for the mind. Almost like perfume” smells like something, but is not really what it smells like. It is made out of chemicals. Machines that we use today are all made to seem like reality.
Instead of spending so much time with electronic devices, people should get more in touch with romanticism. “Reconnect the past. Natural cycles like trees, nature… Not with the artificial stuff like living in castles.” Life in the city vs. life in the country. How a lot of city kids do not get out into the country, and when they do they complain about bugs and other things in nature.
Conclusion: People are constantly on a form of digital technology. They are basically addicted to it. They like having cell phones, computers, and video games… at their disposal constantly. A lot of people do not spend time in nature, or without technology.
References:
http://www.gothamgazette.com/blogs/wonkster/2006/04/27/please-leave-a-message/
Homework #17, Triangle Partner Outline Suggestions
To Jace:
Jace, first of all: get your mind out of the gutter! =P Are you going to write your whole paper talking about people and children sleeping with each other? I do agree in a way though, with your arguments. Phones help us to keep in touch with people, and they fit as a digital representation of reality. I will give you credit though for using sleeping with a phone as a topic, while I wouldn't of thought anyone else would write their paper around this.
What is your EQ? Maybe you should use the one Andy said, which I'm trying to use. "Finally, what is it about these representations or simulations of reality (variously defined) that is so fascinating for us? Is it partly because our consciousness is itself a kind of representation of reality?" One spelling error that's annoying me is in your thesis, you wrote "their" instead of "they're".
Keep up the good work Jace! I look forward to reading your paper.
-Hannah
________________________________________________
Amon, I really like your outline. It is well thought out, and put together nicely. While I am still having a hard time coming up with a thesis, your thesis is amazing. All of your writing is worded very sophisticated, and even in your outline I understand what you are getting at. I appreciate that you discussed Wall-E, which I was thinking about but hadn't gotten to doing so.
I don't have any suggestions or corrections that need to be made. I just think you should continue expressing your ideas and that you have solid pieces of evidence. Good luck with your paper, and I look forward to reading it.
-Hannah
Jace, first of all: get your mind out of the gutter! =P Are you going to write your whole paper talking about people and children sleeping with each other? I do agree in a way though, with your arguments. Phones help us to keep in touch with people, and they fit as a digital representation of reality. I will give you credit though for using sleeping with a phone as a topic, while I wouldn't of thought anyone else would write their paper around this.
What is your EQ? Maybe you should use the one Andy said, which I'm trying to use. "Finally, what is it about these representations or simulations of reality (variously defined) that is so fascinating for us? Is it partly because our consciousness is itself a kind of representation of reality?" One spelling error that's annoying me is in your thesis, you wrote "their" instead of "they're".
Keep up the good work Jace! I look forward to reading your paper.
-Hannah
________________________________________________
Amon, I really like your outline. It is well thought out, and put together nicely. While I am still having a hard time coming up with a thesis, your thesis is amazing. All of your writing is worded very sophisticated, and even in your outline I understand what you are getting at. I appreciate that you discussed Wall-E, which I was thinking about but hadn't gotten to doing so.
I don't have any suggestions or corrections that need to be made. I just think you should continue expressing your ideas and that you have solid pieces of evidence. Good luck with your paper, and I look forward to reading it.
-Hannah
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