at long last.
rather than reading one of jen's assigned books, i chose to follow my personal interest in chuck palahniuk, my favorite author [forget that i've only read two of his books so far, i'm working on it!]. the man is a genius. i actually go through and, if the book belongs to me, highlight quotes that i find to be particularly insightful and moving.
i've read "lullaby" before, but more recently, i've finished "haunted", which is a striking psychological tale about a group of writer's cooped up in a building for 3 months. they come there voluntarily, thinking it'll help with their writing, but soon enough they all realize that being there of their own free will doesn't make for a good story. the group of writers start to self-sabotage, and create heroes, villains, and victims, with the book plunging back and forth between the gruesome, bizarre personal backgrounds of the writers, and the main plot of all being locked up together. it seems tame enough by my description, but one section of the book has allegedly made a total of 73 people faint from listening to it at his public readings, this number calculated by palahniuk himself.
not only is "haunted" [and many of his other novels] a commentary on how desperate people can be for money, fame, entertainment, etc., but also shows the lengths that people will go for silly, meaningless things. it's an in-depth study of human nature, and that's probably why i love it so much.
“Reading a Palahniuk novel is like getting zipped inside a boxer’s heavy bag while the author goes to work on you, pounding you until there is nothing left but a big bag of bones and blood and pain.”
—The Miami Herald
“To Palahniuk’s credit, there is something here to appall almost every sensibility. The author has a singular knack for coming up with inventive new ways to shock and degrade.” —New York Post
Sunday, June 1, 2008
BLOG FINAL.
My concept for a technology-oriented, educational class is a video class. It would count as an english credit, and would emphasize presentation and speaking skills. It could probably count as a type of speech or debate class.
The technology used would be PCs or Macs with simple video editing programs, such as Windows Movie Maker for PCs or iMovie for Macs. Students would be taught the basics of how to use the video editing programs, and the course would be assignment/project based. Students may have to create videos of themselves/others in political commentaries, debates, interviews, short documentaries, etc. The class would be extremely versatile and have a lot of potential, as a student could make a video on just about any topic, really.
Helpful online texts would be these Guidelines For Producing A Short Documentary, or perhaps these notes on the Five Elements of Documentary. Since the class would probably place a lot of responsibility and independence on the students and emphasize their technological prowess, the students would probably be expected to come up with learning materials themselves, much like how we would have to find articles and write OC topics in this blogging class.
If there was a set text, the students probably would be expected to read it, and then either take a short quiz on the topics covered, or make a short video demonstrating the knowledge presented in the texts.
I would want my students to take a lot of different things out of this class. Hopefully, they would have a basic understanding of simple movie/video editing software, as well as elements that make up a successful documentary. They should also learn how to script their videos, and know what appeals/bores an audience, as well as learning how to present a project and speak in front of a camera. In addition, the steps/process in creating a good video should be covered as well.
The technology used would be PCs or Macs with simple video editing programs, such as Windows Movie Maker for PCs or iMovie for Macs. Students would be taught the basics of how to use the video editing programs, and the course would be assignment/project based. Students may have to create videos of themselves/others in political commentaries, debates, interviews, short documentaries, etc. The class would be extremely versatile and have a lot of potential, as a student could make a video on just about any topic, really.
Helpful online texts would be these Guidelines For Producing A Short Documentary, or perhaps these notes on the Five Elements of Documentary. Since the class would probably place a lot of responsibility and independence on the students and emphasize their technological prowess, the students would probably be expected to come up with learning materials themselves, much like how we would have to find articles and write OC topics in this blogging class.
If there was a set text, the students probably would be expected to read it, and then either take a short quiz on the topics covered, or make a short video demonstrating the knowledge presented in the texts.
I would want my students to take a lot of different things out of this class. Hopefully, they would have a basic understanding of simple movie/video editing software, as well as elements that make up a successful documentary. They should also learn how to script their videos, and know what appeals/bores an audience, as well as learning how to present a project and speak in front of a camera. In addition, the steps/process in creating a good video should be covered as well.
Friday, May 30, 2008
OC: sex education
my main suggestion for this class, if it continues next year, is that a different blogging site be used. i hate blogger, it only works on school computers half the time, it's a pain in the butt to find and view other people's blogs. i suggest a xanga or livejournal. both have friend's list features where you can add many accounts onto a list, that you can view anytime and browse posts your friend's have made. much easier than going to jen's page, then clicking on random classmate's names to go to their individual blog.
--
here's an OC post for you. i'll probably redo my chuck palahniuk post later today.:
i don't know why most people are so closed about sex, and i don't know why you're automatically a slut if you just like to have sex. i always thought that was silly. there's nothing wrong at all with having/liking sex, unless it's in a "cheating" situation of course. i was just thinking today that i have a few friends who are extremely sexual/considered "promiscuous", but they're safe about it, and i don't see the problem. i respect them even more just for being open about themselves and comfortable with knowing what they want and going after it. they're good people, and i don't know why a bad reputation should go hand in hand with just being sexually comfortable/open. it's a human instinct and reaction. we were created FOR that purpose, and BY that purpose. there's really nothing wrong with two people who enjoy it deciding to...enjoy it.
the only real issues would be the social issues as a result, such as pregnancy, STDs, and such, generally caused by lack of sex education or just plain irresponsibility or ignorance. if you're smart/responsibility enough to have those bases covered and stay safe, so to speak, then i see nothing wrong with it.
this has been on my mind a little bit since will and some other kids at school went to the rally/lobby/whatever they called it at the statehouse to promote sex education. kids are going to have sex regardless of how they are educated about it, so why not make sure they're at less smart enough to make basic decisions about their personal lives?
--
here's an OC post for you. i'll probably redo my chuck palahniuk post later today.:
i don't know why most people are so closed about sex, and i don't know why you're automatically a slut if you just like to have sex. i always thought that was silly. there's nothing wrong at all with having/liking sex, unless it's in a "cheating" situation of course. i was just thinking today that i have a few friends who are extremely sexual/considered "promiscuous", but they're safe about it, and i don't see the problem. i respect them even more just for being open about themselves and comfortable with knowing what they want and going after it. they're good people, and i don't know why a bad reputation should go hand in hand with just being sexually comfortable/open. it's a human instinct and reaction. we were created FOR that purpose, and BY that purpose. there's really nothing wrong with two people who enjoy it deciding to...enjoy it.
the only real issues would be the social issues as a result, such as pregnancy, STDs, and such, generally caused by lack of sex education or just plain irresponsibility or ignorance. if you're smart/responsibility enough to have those bases covered and stay safe, so to speak, then i see nothing wrong with it.
this has been on my mind a little bit since will and some other kids at school went to the rally/lobby/whatever they called it at the statehouse to promote sex education. kids are going to have sex regardless of how they are educated about it, so why not make sure they're at less smart enough to make basic decisions about their personal lives?
Thursday, May 15, 2008
i wrote a huge post today about how chuck palahniuk is my favorite writer and how good "haunted" is for our post about books.
when i hit "publish", it logged me out of blogger. i hit "back" and the page was blank. =/ hadn't autosaved, since the powder room computers are ancient and don't do that.
then NONE of the computers would load blogger so i couldn't retype it.
yeah, i'm really mad. =/
when i hit "publish", it logged me out of blogger. i hit "back" and the page was blank. =/ hadn't autosaved, since the powder room computers are ancient and don't do that.
then NONE of the computers would load blogger so i couldn't retype it.
yeah, i'm really mad. =/
Monday, April 21, 2008
internet usage at school
i'm regularly on myspace or various forums i'm a part of while at school. i see absolutely no harm in it, especially since i get good grades and tend to prioritize my schoolwork before internet fun. i do my homework first, but there's so much free time, that it's often the only thing i can think of to do to take up my time. there's no harm in it unless it prevents a student from getting their work, but most linworth students are responsible enough to not let internet usage hurt their grades.
i could certainly understand why a staff member could take issue with this or even feel offended or insulted--they may feel that schoolwork is being neglected or academics are not taken seriously enough. they may feel that myspace is more important than stuff for class, and that could offend some teachers. but honestly, almost all the kids on myspace at school are on there BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO, meaning all their work is already done. i personally live in the powder room, it's my place to hang out at school, and pretty much everybody gets onto myspace at some point. and the ones i see in there the most are the ones who are quick to get their work done and have consistently good grades, if that's believable.
if a kid's grades are terrible and a staff member sees them on myspace, then i see reason to take disciplinary action or get upset. but if a kid is just harmlessly checking comments and messages on a networking site and they have all their homework done and an A in your class, are you really going to have the nerve to bitch at them about it? i've been at linworth for 2 1/2 semesters now, and as a powder-room kid, i can honestly say that i have never seen a kid on myspace refuse to get off if someone has legitimate work to do on that computer. if it's during a high-traffic time, and someone walks in saying that they need to do work, there are usually 2-3 people who immediately offer "oh hey, i'm not doing anything important, you can use this", and it's totally fine. students at linworth DO understand that schoolwork comes first and myspace and facebook are fun things to do to take up their time when they have everything done.
i could certainly understand why a staff member could take issue with this or even feel offended or insulted--they may feel that schoolwork is being neglected or academics are not taken seriously enough. they may feel that myspace is more important than stuff for class, and that could offend some teachers. but honestly, almost all the kids on myspace at school are on there BECAUSE THEY HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO DO, meaning all their work is already done. i personally live in the powder room, it's my place to hang out at school, and pretty much everybody gets onto myspace at some point. and the ones i see in there the most are the ones who are quick to get their work done and have consistently good grades, if that's believable.
if a kid's grades are terrible and a staff member sees them on myspace, then i see reason to take disciplinary action or get upset. but if a kid is just harmlessly checking comments and messages on a networking site and they have all their homework done and an A in your class, are you really going to have the nerve to bitch at them about it? i've been at linworth for 2 1/2 semesters now, and as a powder-room kid, i can honestly say that i have never seen a kid on myspace refuse to get off if someone has legitimate work to do on that computer. if it's during a high-traffic time, and someone walks in saying that they need to do work, there are usually 2-3 people who immediately offer "oh hey, i'm not doing anything important, you can use this", and it's totally fine. students at linworth DO understand that schoolwork comes first and myspace and facebook are fun things to do to take up their time when they have everything done.
Monday, March 17, 2008
OC:: scientology
after this past weekend, i knew that scientology was a subject that i needed to bring up in one of my blog posts.
on saturday, there was a protest outside of the church of scientology on high street that i attended with my boyfriend and two friends. here's a dispatch article about it that was in the sunday paper. i've never been to a protest before, but i always thought of scientology to be a cult. justin and i bought dust masks at kroger and headed to high street.
the CoS [church of scientology] itself has a nice sign and an extremely expensive-looking big screen TV in the front window. we were across the street. about 80 of us showed up, many people carrying signs or handing out fliers, all of us covering our faces. the reason why?
scientologist lawyers have enough money to track you down. they are notorious for photographing or videotaping protests in an attempt to find a face or name to sue. it seems ridiculous, but once my mother got back from her weekend vacation and found out i had gone, even she was genuinely concerned that i had covered my face and head. the CoS will attempt to harm or bring lawsuits against anyone they can pinpoint criticism to. a prime example of this is "operation freakout", which tells of paulette cooper and her harassment from the CoS after she wrote a book criticizing the cult. they will do anything to keep their name clean. there was a rumoured camera in the bottom of the window of the CoS we were picketing across the street from. this has been reporting at many of the other worldwide protests as well.
the first protest was on february 10th earlier this year, which is my birthday, and coincidentally, also the birthday of another big scientology secret: lisa mcpherson.
i have not been much of an activist before now, but i've spent the entire day researching it. i already knew about many of their illegitimate activities before i went to the protest, but now i've really read up, and what i've found shocks me. its worse than i intially thought. here's a good link that sums up the majority of the crimes the CoS has committed.
now, in closing, i'd like to make it very clear that both myself and anonymous as a whole has NOTHING against freedom of religion or speech. people can and should believe what they want. the attacks are not on the beliefs of scientology, but are in fact against the practices, human rights violations, and immorality of the church itself.
here are some great links for you to check out::
xenu.net
whyaretheydead.net
xenutv.com
lermanet.com
lisamcpherson.org
perkinstragedy.org
those links honestly cover everything i don't feel like i could in one post, and those are really just a few.
on saturday, there was a protest outside of the church of scientology on high street that i attended with my boyfriend and two friends. here's a dispatch article about it that was in the sunday paper. i've never been to a protest before, but i always thought of scientology to be a cult. justin and i bought dust masks at kroger and headed to high street.
the CoS [church of scientology] itself has a nice sign and an extremely expensive-looking big screen TV in the front window. we were across the street. about 80 of us showed up, many people carrying signs or handing out fliers, all of us covering our faces. the reason why?
scientologist lawyers have enough money to track you down. they are notorious for photographing or videotaping protests in an attempt to find a face or name to sue. it seems ridiculous, but once my mother got back from her weekend vacation and found out i had gone, even she was genuinely concerned that i had covered my face and head. the CoS will attempt to harm or bring lawsuits against anyone they can pinpoint criticism to. a prime example of this is "operation freakout", which tells of paulette cooper and her harassment from the CoS after she wrote a book criticizing the cult. they will do anything to keep their name clean. there was a rumoured camera in the bottom of the window of the CoS we were picketing across the street from. this has been reporting at many of the other worldwide protests as well.
the first protest was on february 10th earlier this year, which is my birthday, and coincidentally, also the birthday of another big scientology secret: lisa mcpherson.
i have not been much of an activist before now, but i've spent the entire day researching it. i already knew about many of their illegitimate activities before i went to the protest, but now i've really read up, and what i've found shocks me. its worse than i intially thought. here's a good link that sums up the majority of the crimes the CoS has committed.
now, in closing, i'd like to make it very clear that both myself and anonymous as a whole has NOTHING against freedom of religion or speech. people can and should believe what they want. the attacks are not on the beliefs of scientology, but are in fact against the practices, human rights violations, and immorality of the church itself.
here are some great links for you to check out::
xenu.net
whyaretheydead.net
xenutv.com
lermanet.com
lisamcpherson.org
perkinstragedy.org
those links honestly cover everything i don't feel like i could in one post, and those are really just a few.
OC:: internet bullying
i guess this is the first topic that came to my mind to write about this week, due to my recent encounters with negative/hateful/offensive comments being left on my personal blog. the comments were anonymous and not linked to any username, so i assumed it was a random "troll" and disregarded what was said. in the beginning, i just deleted and ignored the comments, but when more personal attacks came, i found it amusing to counter and respond.
my first instinct was that the person was spamming me because someone who didn't like me posted links to my page on a site and told people to send me hate mail/comments. this made sense because the person seemed not to know me very well, although they were armed with some personal info/rumours about me. their IP address also linked them to illinois. i don't think i know anyone there.
after a full day of genuinely having fun chatting with my pseudo-stalker and egging them on [note: i know it would have been best to delete/ignore it, but it was actually interesting to try and sleuth the identity of the person and to test how much they really knew of me], they revealed their identity to be someone i personally knew in real life. someone who had never before given me any indication of their distaste for me, and someone i had never personally wronged, nor had i hurt anyone close to them. he continually insisted that he knew that he was getting to me when in reality, like i said, i found the situation to be amusing. here's a quote to help me pose some questions for you to ponder:
"Keep crying about me, telling yourself your feelings aren't hurt...you know that it just fuels my fire."
"I know that I'm under your skin and I know that I'm in your head, and I know that I'm hurting you."
pretty ridiculous.
i guess i just want to ask everyone's opinion on internet bullying. why do you think people do it to begin with? out of personal insecurity?
why do people think it's an acceptable way of communicating a negative opinion of someone?
my first instinct was that the person was spamming me because someone who didn't like me posted links to my page on a site and told people to send me hate mail/comments. this made sense because the person seemed not to know me very well, although they were armed with some personal info/rumours about me. their IP address also linked them to illinois. i don't think i know anyone there.
after a full day of genuinely having fun chatting with my pseudo-stalker and egging them on [note: i know it would have been best to delete/ignore it, but it was actually interesting to try and sleuth the identity of the person and to test how much they really knew of me], they revealed their identity to be someone i personally knew in real life. someone who had never before given me any indication of their distaste for me, and someone i had never personally wronged, nor had i hurt anyone close to them. he continually insisted that he knew that he was getting to me when in reality, like i said, i found the situation to be amusing. here's a quote to help me pose some questions for you to ponder:
"Keep crying about me, telling yourself your feelings aren't hurt...you know that it just fuels my fire."
"I know that I'm under your skin and I know that I'm in your head, and I know that I'm hurting you."
pretty ridiculous.
i guess i just want to ask everyone's opinion on internet bullying. why do you think people do it to begin with? out of personal insecurity?
why do people think it's an acceptable way of communicating a negative opinion of someone?
Sunday, March 9, 2008
OC #1 for this week
honestly, interim is driving me fucking nuts already.
i got into linworth a little over a year ago, halfway through my sophomore year, so i kind of had to hop to it. i knew that because my main passion in life is art, and because art is a very independent trade, i'd want to do an independent study, and so i did. i chose to plan and begin to make a comic. that went okay.
this year, i need to have a mentor. and i have no idea what to do. i'd like for chris to be my interim advisor once again, seeing as how he is the teacher i'm most comfortable around at linworth, and the one i feel that knows me the best. the fatal flaw in this plan is that he will not take on any student in his interim group until they know exactly what they're doing.
well, shit.
at this point, i have two possible routes.
i have an acquaintance of mine by the name of nick meyers, who is 25 years old, and has a deep passion for electronic music or "techno". his work is not what you would consider generic "techno", "club", or "trance" music, it's definitely a little more on the eclectic, minimalist side, although still quite danceable. electronic music has always been an interest of mine, i listen to anything from rave to grime to new wave to trance, etc. and i've always had an underlying interest in creating it. i attempted to do so a summer or two ago, when i had the free time to devote to learning various programs and such, but i failed miserably. because nick has lots of experience doing this, as well as an array of professional equipment and programs, he'd be the guy to teach me if i wanted to dedicate a week to trying my hand at this.
my other option is that i've always kind of wanted to create a short film documentary about the dance game culture. i have no experience with video editing programs at all, but i've been itching to make a documentary about this underground scene, which is why my whole story about the community basically got word-barfed out into a blog post a few weeks back. i like to talk about it, and i like to tell people about it, it's not something that a lot of people know that i'm involved with, and it's not something most people know anything about whatsoever. i want to tell our story, if that's not too cheesy to say, haha. the community goes waaay past just hanging out at the arcade on weekends. i think this is a project i could genuinely be passionate about -- i just need to find someone who could mentor me with using video editing software.
yeah, i haven't really complained about my interim issues yet, so i figured i'd go ahead and get on that, since we can write about whatever, haha.
i got into linworth a little over a year ago, halfway through my sophomore year, so i kind of had to hop to it. i knew that because my main passion in life is art, and because art is a very independent trade, i'd want to do an independent study, and so i did. i chose to plan and begin to make a comic. that went okay.
this year, i need to have a mentor. and i have no idea what to do. i'd like for chris to be my interim advisor once again, seeing as how he is the teacher i'm most comfortable around at linworth, and the one i feel that knows me the best. the fatal flaw in this plan is that he will not take on any student in his interim group until they know exactly what they're doing.
well, shit.
at this point, i have two possible routes.
i have an acquaintance of mine by the name of nick meyers, who is 25 years old, and has a deep passion for electronic music or "techno". his work is not what you would consider generic "techno", "club", or "trance" music, it's definitely a little more on the eclectic, minimalist side, although still quite danceable. electronic music has always been an interest of mine, i listen to anything from rave to grime to new wave to trance, etc. and i've always had an underlying interest in creating it. i attempted to do so a summer or two ago, when i had the free time to devote to learning various programs and such, but i failed miserably. because nick has lots of experience doing this, as well as an array of professional equipment and programs, he'd be the guy to teach me if i wanted to dedicate a week to trying my hand at this.
my other option is that i've always kind of wanted to create a short film documentary about the dance game culture. i have no experience with video editing programs at all, but i've been itching to make a documentary about this underground scene, which is why my whole story about the community basically got word-barfed out into a blog post a few weeks back. i like to talk about it, and i like to tell people about it, it's not something that a lot of people know that i'm involved with, and it's not something most people know anything about whatsoever. i want to tell our story, if that's not too cheesy to say, haha. the community goes waaay past just hanging out at the arcade on weekends. i think this is a project i could genuinely be passionate about -- i just need to find someone who could mentor me with using video editing software.
yeah, i haven't really complained about my interim issues yet, so i figured i'd go ahead and get on that, since we can write about whatever, haha.
Sunday, February 24, 2008
OC #2:: regarding school shootings
i think most school shootings are just a representation of how messed up our society is. i know that sounds like i'm totally taking the dumb "YEAH ANARCHY DOWN WITH THE SYSTEM" punk rock way out of this, but i honestly think the sort of kids that pull this shit aren't bad people. "what?", you say. "they murdered and injured many of their classmates! how could they be a good person? how could they not know better?"
look, i'm not saying i want to bring a gun to school and shoot anyone or anything, but everyone feels like killing someone or something at some point in their lives. it's called control. these kids just snap and decide that it's time to shake things up a bit...in the worst way possible. maybe it's bad of me to feel sympathy, but maybe if they were happy for once, or had friends or something, then the situation could've been avoided. they must've just not been able to handle things anymore. of course someone who commits an act like this has to be coming from a background of severe psychological issues, known or unknown.
these sorts of occurences definitely detract from a school's reputation and concept of "safety". we've been continually taught that schools are safe places to be, and now i think that everyone is questioning that. i'm not sure how trying to investigate the backgrounds and attributes of recent shooters could really prevent further crimes of this sort, without using discrimination and possibly targeting many innocent people who just happen to coincidentally have similar traits.
i'm ignorant as to what the current gun control laws concern, but i think people should be able to purchase potentially dangerous weapons only after an extensive background check or screening, that could easily be devised by psychologists, to test for violent or abusive personality tendencies.
after reading the article profiling kazmierczak's history of mental illness, i really dislike how the author chose to use his tattoos as some sort of catalyst for his violence. the subject matter of the tattoo may be questionable, considered "inappropriate", or even possibly an outward sign of his disturbing side, but i think a perfectly normal/sane/peaceful person could also display such artwork and just find it very symbolic. i'm probably only mentioning this because i find tattoos to be very expressive, and as an aspiring tattoo artist myself, i found this article to be very forcefully prejudiced against people with tattoos.
i think it's especially interesting how it's never the typically "disturbed" or "loner" kids who commit these random acts of violence. it's always the normal nice guys.
look, i'm not saying i want to bring a gun to school and shoot anyone or anything, but everyone feels like killing someone or something at some point in their lives. it's called control. these kids just snap and decide that it's time to shake things up a bit...in the worst way possible. maybe it's bad of me to feel sympathy, but maybe if they were happy for once, or had friends or something, then the situation could've been avoided. they must've just not been able to handle things anymore. of course someone who commits an act like this has to be coming from a background of severe psychological issues, known or unknown.
these sorts of occurences definitely detract from a school's reputation and concept of "safety". we've been continually taught that schools are safe places to be, and now i think that everyone is questioning that. i'm not sure how trying to investigate the backgrounds and attributes of recent shooters could really prevent further crimes of this sort, without using discrimination and possibly targeting many innocent people who just happen to coincidentally have similar traits.
i'm ignorant as to what the current gun control laws concern, but i think people should be able to purchase potentially dangerous weapons only after an extensive background check or screening, that could easily be devised by psychologists, to test for violent or abusive personality tendencies.
after reading the article profiling kazmierczak's history of mental illness, i really dislike how the author chose to use his tattoos as some sort of catalyst for his violence. the subject matter of the tattoo may be questionable, considered "inappropriate", or even possibly an outward sign of his disturbing side, but i think a perfectly normal/sane/peaceful person could also display such artwork and just find it very symbolic. i'm probably only mentioning this because i find tattoos to be very expressive, and as an aspiring tattoo artist myself, i found this article to be very forcefully prejudiced against people with tattoos.
i think it's especially interesting how it's never the typically "disturbed" or "loner" kids who commit these random acts of violence. it's always the normal nice guys.
OC#1:: regarding this class
i guess my main "beef" with this class is that, because we don't meet, i often don't think about posting much, and i probably don't take it as seriously as some of my other classes. it's easy to put off assignments when you don't have a specific time every day, or even every-other day, to complete them.
i understand that reading, critiquing and analyzing internet articles in order to strengthen critical thinking skills is really important to the class, but at the same time, many classes offered at linworth often involve internet research to begin with.
frankly, i like having a lot of freedom when it comes to post topics. i like being able to rant about whatever, but i do agree that at least a few posts each week need to be themed or about a certain subject, just because that gives us a little guidance and gives us the chance to express opinions in addition to just talking about whatever.
although i initially thought this would be a great class to take, particularly with my penchant for casual writing and my history/experience in blogging, i've found that it's almost harder to keep up with a required school blog that in my own personal one. i feel a little bit boxed in, but at the same time, i understand the pros of the restrictions we do have.
i understand that reading, critiquing and analyzing internet articles in order to strengthen critical thinking skills is really important to the class, but at the same time, many classes offered at linworth often involve internet research to begin with.
frankly, i like having a lot of freedom when it comes to post topics. i like being able to rant about whatever, but i do agree that at least a few posts each week need to be themed or about a certain subject, just because that gives us a little guidance and gives us the chance to express opinions in addition to just talking about whatever.
although i initially thought this would be a great class to take, particularly with my penchant for casual writing and my history/experience in blogging, i've found that it's almost harder to keep up with a required school blog that in my own personal one. i feel a little bit boxed in, but at the same time, i understand the pros of the restrictions we do have.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
OC:: the community and culture behind dance games
okay, so yesterday i made an announcement during linworth's town meeting regarding a video game tournament i have plans to attend on sunday at the fort rapids indoor waterpark about a 30 min. drive from here. the announcement was mostly made as a joke among me and my friends who play--i really didn't think anyone would be interested at all. but it did generate a response from my classmates.
mark actually stopped my chemistry class for 5-10 minutes today, right in the middle of discussing a problem on a worksheet. completely out of the blue, he looked at me and said "so you're a competitive DDR player..." and starts asking me questions like how much money is involved [a good friend of mine [also notable tessa's ex-boyfriend] won the nationals 2 years ago and scored $3000], how far most players are willing to travel [i've never left the state, but a ton of kids from michigan, indiana, pennsylvania, and kentucky will be at this upcoming one], etc. and even before class, ethan had asked me some questions about it, like if there was some underground culture based around it that no one knows about [YES], if we used different types of slang to talk about different aspects of the game [YES], etc.
so when i discovered that the OC post assignments for this week were totally up to us, i figured this might be something different to talk about. and at this point, the game is so deeply intertwined and involved with my life, it seems almost unnatural to sit down and explain it or talk about it.
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PART I:: THE BACKSTORY
i used to be one of those "anime kids" when i was 12-13. i went [and still occasionally go] to anime conventions. i had seen the game before, but didn't really know anything about it, until i saw this really awesome guy playing it at a convention i was at here in town in january 2004 [the game was initially released in america in 1998, so i'm not real old-school]. i was mesmerized by how good this guy was, and decided right then that i wanted to do that.
a month later was my 13th birthday. my good friend had bought the home version of DDR for the PS2 console and brought it over with some shitty plastic mats. that was my first real time playing, and i went for 6 hours straight, determined to get off the beginner mode by the end of the night. it was fun and so addicting! none of us had to worry about being embarassed --we had all just started so we ALL sucked, and it's not like we were playing out in public with people watching. i went to bed and when i woke up, i played for another 4 hours straight. i got hooked.
that april, 2 months later, my little sister had her birthday party at magic mountain polaris. there was a DDR 5th mix machine there! [there are over 10 different versions of DDR, called "mixes", featuring different songs, steps, and options--same game, with a twist!] i spent lots of time away from my sister's party, excited to play for the first time in public, on an actual machine! the 5th mix machine was in japanese, so it took me a few shots to figure out which buttons to hit to set up the game mode. i was still on a very basic beginner mode, doing 3 footers at best [every stepchart for every song in DDR has a difficulty rating, from 1-10, 1 being the easiest songs in the game, 10 being the most challenging], so i played one song over and over again, playing the same steps every time--i was afraid to pick anything else because i didn't know what i could do, and i was afraid to fail!
PART II:: THE OBSESSION
2 months after that, summer began. i had gained some weight around puberty and my parents were looking for ways to keep me active over the summer. my parents NEVER spent this much money on me, but we went out and got 3 different home versions, a PS2 [note that DDR is the only reason my family even owns a gaming console], a small TV, and two cheap plastic dance mats [no home dance pad under $40 is any good]. we spent $400 overall, just to keep me off my ass during summer. i was ecstatic, i was addicted and really wanted to get better at the game, and try and move up to the standard level [generally 5-7 foot rating songs]. tessa began to play with me too, although she never took the game quite as far as i did [although she is still involved in the community].
that summer/fall of 2004, i started googling "DDR" and "dance dance revolution" to look for some cool sites to fuel my new interest. i found DDRFreak, run largely by a NY player named "phrekwenci" [bastardization of "frequency"] and saw that it had a lot of good resources for players. i knew i wasn't really knowledgeable enough about the game yet, but i did want to meet fellow players in the area to meet up with at the arcade. on the forums, i met tom arnold [ally hays' boyfriend of several years--i introduced them, and we originally met through DDR!] and we played the 5th mix machine at magic mountain polaris [commonly abbreviated as "MMP"] together. i also met kyle, my first boyfriend as well as my first kiss, on the forum. how nerdy is THAT.
PART III:: THE COMMUNITY
also, around this time, i found another great site. little did i know, this site would seriously alter the rest of my teenage years. although the websites has had many makeovers, i originally joined when it was know as ohioddr.com. it was like DDRfreak, just with a better community, and more specialized towards ohio players. i joined and posted like the anime kid i was...and got "flamed" for it. some members tried to be nice, but others were pretty hateful. i soon learned that drama was the ohioDDR way [and still is!]. i got fed up with the haters, so i left for a period time. but not until i met some people from the site in real life.
tessa and i went to MMP often in these days, [here are some pictures from way back then!] the machine was in excellent condition, and with a bench right next to it, it was a great hangout spot. even though our beloved 5th mix was gone [the machine's software had been taken out and replaced with a game called "in the groove" or abbreviated as "ITG", an american-made ripoff of DDR--same game concept, with more options, different music, different steps, and a different look], there were still awesome times to be had there. one day, a few really impressive players showed up--being regulars, we knew they weren't from around these parts. when they enter their tags [handles/nicknames] in for their high scores, i recognized their names from the ohioDDR website! i felt creepy not saying anything, but knowing exactly who they were:: dan aka "hotjava", nick aka "muffin", and chris aka "special midget". these were my first friends i made straight from the ohioDDR community.
soon after, a tournament was being held at the other magic mountain location, on the east side, off of brice rd. [magic mountain east = MME]. i'd never been to this place before, but they had two machines--an older mix called 4th+, with less options, and the most common mix called extreme. tessa and i walked in and immediately noticed the crowds of players on the upper floor/balcony of the location. i instantly recognized most of the people from the forums, from the picture post section. again, i felt creepy knowing who everyone was, without them knowing me, and without ever speaking to them. i knew the tournament runner to be steve charron aka "ranatalus" [remember tessa's ex/guy who won the 2006 nationals i mentioned earlier? yeah, that's him], and i recognized sean iverson aka "finch" [who actually graduated from thomas worthington last year, i believe] to be the person who had "flamed"/ridiculed me the most on the site. we played a few pathetic-in-comparison rounds and left, without introducing ourselves or getting to know anyone.
PART IV:: BECOMING A PART OF TEAM C-BUS
soon, i realized that MME was the place to be. in the groove/ITG ["in the butt"/"in the gay" as some DDR purists call it] wasn't as good, and i had never played on any mix besides 5th before. also, it's where all of the good columbus players involved in the community congregated on weekends to improve their skills/scores. [you get a grade after every song--AAA is the highest grade you can achieve, having "perfect" accuracy on every step in the song [getting all perfects], AA is the second highest, meaning you have mostly perfects, but a certain allowed number of greats, termed the "cutoff" for that song [any more greats past the cutoff and it's an A instead of an AA] the DDR community has come up with their own term for a score between an AAA and an AA --called an SDG, or single-digit great. it means you have AA'd the song, but came close to a AAA--all perfects, but under 10 [hence the 'single-digit'] greats.] here are some older pictures from going to MME with a bunch of kids over a year ago.
i quickly became good friends with a lot of the premier players in central ohio like steve/ranatalus, and his friend jamis. i never really know how big this underground community was until i had joined the ohioDDR site and started hanging out with the big players.
PART V:: THE TOURNAMENT SCENE
in may 2005, i participated in my first tournament. this was the first time i really put myself out there and tried to meet as many people as possible from the community. it was a great time and an awesome first experience. the tournament was called GOM2, held in huber heights, ohio [near dayton], at a place called 180 skatepark. the long hallway leading back to the skatepark is basically a music and rhythm-based arcade. multiple DDR machines of different mixes, a hacked ITG machine, and lots of other music games like guitar freaks [which is what GUITAR HERO RIPPED OFF OF, but that's another rant], drummania [drum simulator game], and beatmania, which simulates a disc jockey experience. it's probably one of the biggest bemani [konami's brand of dance/music games] arcades in the midwest, thus making it the premier location for dayton players, as well as a total tournament hotspot. on top of this, the arcade is owned by the barcas, the parents of a long-time community member aaron aka "laika". this meant that the local DDR players had some standing in what went on at the arcade, and the machine's pads had constant maintenance done so they stayed in perfect shape. it's easier to negotiate with management when they have a son involved with the game.
this tournament was where i really made a name for myself in the community. i was still a "new-school" player at the time, in comparison to the other members, but now that'd i'd made friends with a lot of people, i began to build a solid reputation as a member of ohioDDR. here are some pictures from that awesome day.
PART VI:: THE CULTURE
it all went uphill from there. i've been going to tournaments ever since, and i couldn't even begin to count the friends and acquaintances i've made from the game. even though i've been playing seriously/competitively for about 3 1/2 years, i still have a long ways to go as far as skill [i can only pass 3 10-foot difficulty songs]. i have over 80 heavy-level AAs, and over 25 heavy SDGs, and only one AAA to date, which i actually just got a few weeks ago [note that many of my friends who are top level players have over 200 AAAs....X__X]. i'm awesome at dance games in comparison to an average people off the streets, but in the community, i'm still in the bottom half, although i recently placed 4th in a lower-heavy division tournament in akron called amazone2 [pics HERE]. i'm proud to be one of the few female competitive players out there, and i'm also proud to be one of the younger ones. [most players in the community are guys between the ages of 19-23...to put it this way, i'm managing the guestlist for this upcoming tournament's pre-party...there are going to be maybe 5 girls and 25 guys.] girls who get good enough to play in the upper level competition are ESPECIALLY rare, but i hope to be top-tier someday.
honestly, it's certainly not my life, but it's such a big part of it. i love meeting all these new people who show up every tournament, and i love the fact that i have good friends all over ohio and some from other states as well. i'm not good enough to be "professional" about it or travel around and make money, and not many people are. i came for the game, i stayed for the people. although the website is still as drama-filled and chaotic as ever, every time the bulk of the community gets together at a tournament or gathering, everyone has a blast. it's like a big family reunion, except you actually LIKE who you're hanging out with, and some of your relatives are hot. [lol] this is ridiculously nerdy, but i've only ever dated one guy who didn't play DDR--i don't know if i could date a "normal" guy, i'm just not sure he would really understand the extent of how this culture runs through my freakin' blood. it's a hardcore thing for some players...it IS some people's lives, but to prove that it's MUCH more about just having fun and being around a great bunch of people, i'll leave you with this video from the amazone2 tournament:
and yes, i was TOTALLY in the jungle gym when that video was shot, haha.
expect a post about FTRAPIDS1 when i get back on monday! =]
oh, and if you're REALLY curious, search youtube for "fgt ddr" ["fgt" is my handle/tag =]] and you'll probably find some tournament matches of mine, haha.
mark actually stopped my chemistry class for 5-10 minutes today, right in the middle of discussing a problem on a worksheet. completely out of the blue, he looked at me and said "so you're a competitive DDR player..." and starts asking me questions like how much money is involved [a good friend of mine [also notable tessa's ex-boyfriend] won the nationals 2 years ago and scored $3000], how far most players are willing to travel [i've never left the state, but a ton of kids from michigan, indiana, pennsylvania, and kentucky will be at this upcoming one], etc. and even before class, ethan had asked me some questions about it, like if there was some underground culture based around it that no one knows about [YES], if we used different types of slang to talk about different aspects of the game [YES], etc.
so when i discovered that the OC post assignments for this week were totally up to us, i figured this might be something different to talk about. and at this point, the game is so deeply intertwined and involved with my life, it seems almost unnatural to sit down and explain it or talk about it.
--------
PART I:: THE BACKSTORY
i used to be one of those "anime kids" when i was 12-13. i went [and still occasionally go] to anime conventions. i had seen the game before, but didn't really know anything about it, until i saw this really awesome guy playing it at a convention i was at here in town in january 2004 [the game was initially released in america in 1998, so i'm not real old-school]. i was mesmerized by how good this guy was, and decided right then that i wanted to do that.
a month later was my 13th birthday. my good friend had bought the home version of DDR for the PS2 console and brought it over with some shitty plastic mats. that was my first real time playing, and i went for 6 hours straight, determined to get off the beginner mode by the end of the night. it was fun and so addicting! none of us had to worry about being embarassed --we had all just started so we ALL sucked, and it's not like we were playing out in public with people watching. i went to bed and when i woke up, i played for another 4 hours straight. i got hooked.
that april, 2 months later, my little sister had her birthday party at magic mountain polaris. there was a DDR 5th mix machine there! [there are over 10 different versions of DDR, called "mixes", featuring different songs, steps, and options--same game, with a twist!] i spent lots of time away from my sister's party, excited to play for the first time in public, on an actual machine! the 5th mix machine was in japanese, so it took me a few shots to figure out which buttons to hit to set up the game mode. i was still on a very basic beginner mode, doing 3 footers at best [every stepchart for every song in DDR has a difficulty rating, from 1-10, 1 being the easiest songs in the game, 10 being the most challenging], so i played one song over and over again, playing the same steps every time--i was afraid to pick anything else because i didn't know what i could do, and i was afraid to fail!
PART II:: THE OBSESSION
2 months after that, summer began. i had gained some weight around puberty and my parents were looking for ways to keep me active over the summer. my parents NEVER spent this much money on me, but we went out and got 3 different home versions, a PS2 [note that DDR is the only reason my family even owns a gaming console], a small TV, and two cheap plastic dance mats [no home dance pad under $40 is any good]. we spent $400 overall, just to keep me off my ass during summer. i was ecstatic, i was addicted and really wanted to get better at the game, and try and move up to the standard level [generally 5-7 foot rating songs]. tessa began to play with me too, although she never took the game quite as far as i did [although she is still involved in the community].
that summer/fall of 2004, i started googling "DDR" and "dance dance revolution" to look for some cool sites to fuel my new interest. i found DDRFreak, run largely by a NY player named "phrekwenci" [bastardization of "frequency"] and saw that it had a lot of good resources for players. i knew i wasn't really knowledgeable enough about the game yet, but i did want to meet fellow players in the area to meet up with at the arcade. on the forums, i met tom arnold [ally hays' boyfriend of several years--i introduced them, and we originally met through DDR!] and we played the 5th mix machine at magic mountain polaris [commonly abbreviated as "MMP"] together. i also met kyle, my first boyfriend as well as my first kiss, on the forum. how nerdy is THAT.
PART III:: THE COMMUNITY
also, around this time, i found another great site. little did i know, this site would seriously alter the rest of my teenage years. although the websites has had many makeovers, i originally joined when it was know as ohioddr.com. it was like DDRfreak, just with a better community, and more specialized towards ohio players. i joined and posted like the anime kid i was...and got "flamed" for it. some members tried to be nice, but others were pretty hateful. i soon learned that drama was the ohioDDR way [and still is!]. i got fed up with the haters, so i left for a period time. but not until i met some people from the site in real life.
tessa and i went to MMP often in these days, [here are some pictures from way back then!] the machine was in excellent condition, and with a bench right next to it, it was a great hangout spot. even though our beloved 5th mix was gone [the machine's software had been taken out and replaced with a game called "in the groove" or abbreviated as "ITG", an american-made ripoff of DDR--same game concept, with more options, different music, different steps, and a different look], there were still awesome times to be had there. one day, a few really impressive players showed up--being regulars, we knew they weren't from around these parts. when they enter their tags [handles/nicknames] in for their high scores, i recognized their names from the ohioDDR website! i felt creepy not saying anything, but knowing exactly who they were:: dan aka "hotjava", nick aka "muffin", and chris aka "special midget". these were my first friends i made straight from the ohioDDR community.
soon after, a tournament was being held at the other magic mountain location, on the east side, off of brice rd. [magic mountain east = MME]. i'd never been to this place before, but they had two machines--an older mix called 4th+, with less options, and the most common mix called extreme. tessa and i walked in and immediately noticed the crowds of players on the upper floor/balcony of the location. i instantly recognized most of the people from the forums, from the picture post section. again, i felt creepy knowing who everyone was, without them knowing me, and without ever speaking to them. i knew the tournament runner to be steve charron aka "ranatalus" [remember tessa's ex/guy who won the 2006 nationals i mentioned earlier? yeah, that's him], and i recognized sean iverson aka "finch" [who actually graduated from thomas worthington last year, i believe] to be the person who had "flamed"/ridiculed me the most on the site. we played a few pathetic-in-comparison rounds and left, without introducing ourselves or getting to know anyone.
PART IV:: BECOMING A PART OF TEAM C-BUS
soon, i realized that MME was the place to be. in the groove/ITG ["in the butt"/"in the gay" as some DDR purists call it] wasn't as good, and i had never played on any mix besides 5th before. also, it's where all of the good columbus players involved in the community congregated on weekends to improve their skills/scores. [you get a grade after every song--AAA is the highest grade you can achieve, having "perfect" accuracy on every step in the song [getting all perfects], AA is the second highest, meaning you have mostly perfects, but a certain allowed number of greats, termed the "cutoff" for that song [any more greats past the cutoff and it's an A instead of an AA] the DDR community has come up with their own term for a score between an AAA and an AA --called an SDG, or single-digit great. it means you have AA'd the song, but came close to a AAA--all perfects, but under 10 [hence the 'single-digit'] greats.] here are some older pictures from going to MME with a bunch of kids over a year ago.
i quickly became good friends with a lot of the premier players in central ohio like steve/ranatalus, and his friend jamis. i never really know how big this underground community was until i had joined the ohioDDR site and started hanging out with the big players.
PART V:: THE TOURNAMENT SCENE
in may 2005, i participated in my first tournament. this was the first time i really put myself out there and tried to meet as many people as possible from the community. it was a great time and an awesome first experience. the tournament was called GOM2, held in huber heights, ohio [near dayton], at a place called 180 skatepark. the long hallway leading back to the skatepark is basically a music and rhythm-based arcade. multiple DDR machines of different mixes, a hacked ITG machine, and lots of other music games like guitar freaks [which is what GUITAR HERO RIPPED OFF OF, but that's another rant], drummania [drum simulator game], and beatmania, which simulates a disc jockey experience. it's probably one of the biggest bemani [konami's brand of dance/music games] arcades in the midwest, thus making it the premier location for dayton players, as well as a total tournament hotspot. on top of this, the arcade is owned by the barcas, the parents of a long-time community member aaron aka "laika". this meant that the local DDR players had some standing in what went on at the arcade, and the machine's pads had constant maintenance done so they stayed in perfect shape. it's easier to negotiate with management when they have a son involved with the game.
this tournament was where i really made a name for myself in the community. i was still a "new-school" player at the time, in comparison to the other members, but now that'd i'd made friends with a lot of people, i began to build a solid reputation as a member of ohioDDR. here are some pictures from that awesome day.
PART VI:: THE CULTURE
it all went uphill from there. i've been going to tournaments ever since, and i couldn't even begin to count the friends and acquaintances i've made from the game. even though i've been playing seriously/competitively for about 3 1/2 years, i still have a long ways to go as far as skill [i can only pass 3 10-foot difficulty songs]. i have over 80 heavy-level AAs, and over 25 heavy SDGs, and only one AAA to date, which i actually just got a few weeks ago [note that many of my friends who are top level players have over 200 AAAs....X__X]. i'm awesome at dance games in comparison to an average people off the streets, but in the community, i'm still in the bottom half, although i recently placed 4th in a lower-heavy division tournament in akron called amazone2 [pics HERE]. i'm proud to be one of the few female competitive players out there, and i'm also proud to be one of the younger ones. [most players in the community are guys between the ages of 19-23...to put it this way, i'm managing the guestlist for this upcoming tournament's pre-party...there are going to be maybe 5 girls and 25 guys.] girls who get good enough to play in the upper level competition are ESPECIALLY rare, but i hope to be top-tier someday.
honestly, it's certainly not my life, but it's such a big part of it. i love meeting all these new people who show up every tournament, and i love the fact that i have good friends all over ohio and some from other states as well. i'm not good enough to be "professional" about it or travel around and make money, and not many people are. i came for the game, i stayed for the people. although the website is still as drama-filled and chaotic as ever, every time the bulk of the community gets together at a tournament or gathering, everyone has a blast. it's like a big family reunion, except you actually LIKE who you're hanging out with, and some of your relatives are hot. [lol] this is ridiculously nerdy, but i've only ever dated one guy who didn't play DDR--i don't know if i could date a "normal" guy, i'm just not sure he would really understand the extent of how this culture runs through my freakin' blood. it's a hardcore thing for some players...it IS some people's lives, but to prove that it's MUCH more about just having fun and being around a great bunch of people, i'll leave you with this video from the amazone2 tournament:
and yes, i was TOTALLY in the jungle gym when that video was shot, haha.
expect a post about FTRAPIDS1 when i get back on monday! =]
oh, and if you're REALLY curious, search youtube for "fgt ddr" ["fgt" is my handle/tag =]] and you'll probably find some tournament matches of mine, haha.
Sunday, February 10, 2008
OC #2
this is so dumb and cliche, and i know that years from now, when we're broken up, i'll look back on this and think about how silly i was to post this, but MY BOYFRIEND makes me happy, haha.
i guess this is an opportunity i'm creating for myself to talk about my personal life, which to be honest, i do not feel like i do often. his name is justin boone, he's 19 years old, and he lives in goshen, ohio, this little nowhere-town near cincinnati. he goes to school at UC, and so i can really only see him on the weekends. he drives 2 hours here, then stays with various friends of ours for the weekend and we spend as much time together as we can manage. the entire week beforehand is spent planning out the weekend ahead, each part of the day filled with something different, and we never manage to get through all our plans. this past weekend, on friday, he made my family [they love him!] a lasagna dinner. on saturday, we had a movie night and gathered up some classics from the library, such as "shaun of the dead", and got pizza.
y'know, normally, i wouldn't get sappy like this--normally, i'd say art or music or writing or sunshine or kittens make me happy, but this was honestly the first thing that came to mind. he's probably the best boyfriend i've ever had [unfortunately, that's not saying much, i've had some bad relationships], he surprises me with little gifts like candy [which i LOVE] a lot, and really takes care of me. he helps me out with anything i aspire to do, like my own business, which he helps me manage. that's how i know he really digs me.
i don't mean to totally gush here, but he's ridiculously smart [see also: dorky] too. he's an aspiring pharmacist, so he knows tons of stuff about medicine, prescription drugs, as well as physics and chemistry. he is a huge dork and i love it. him and tessa bonded over DIABETES MEDICATION, WTF.
anyways, he's a big sweetheart, and although it's only really been about two months, things have been going pretty well. we're very beneficial to each other and seem to kind of quench one another's bad sides, haha.
i know we definitely look like opposites--he's a studious dweeb and i'm some sort of beacon of rebellion. we do in fact have opposite personality types, making up for where the other one lacks in just about everything [i make up for his social shortcomings, and he makes up mfor my academic, haha]. one of us picks up where the other leaves off, and part of me thinks that that's a good part of why we work so well. we actually have a lot of interests/hobbies/likes/dislikes in common, he's just more of an anxious, uptight introvert, and i am more of a socially comfortable laid-back individual. regardless of personality types, we work the same way mentally when it comes to most things. we complement each other ridiculously well, despite the clash in appearance. i like how we're so mismatched and i think it's kind of cute. =]
leaving you with the best one::
OC #1
regarding the target article assigned:
i personally found it to be kind of dumb. it seemed to put a lot of words in the company's mouth. target certainly did not say bloggers' opinions and the entire media form of blogging is "irrelevant", they simply stated that they didn't address that kind of media. just like the spokesperson or whoever it was said, "we don't work with bloggers currently." that's it and that's all. i felt like this article totally blew that outlook out of proportion, and yeah, there's a point in the fact that target needs to get hip, and with the times, but blogging hasn't gotten big until the past few years. maybe their company policy is a little dated, but it doesn't mean they look down on blogging or don't want to interact with that media. it doesn't mean they're totally disregarding it. i don't think that this is as big as issue as the author of the article tried to make it be.
i personally found it to be kind of dumb. it seemed to put a lot of words in the company's mouth. target certainly did not say bloggers' opinions and the entire media form of blogging is "irrelevant", they simply stated that they didn't address that kind of media. just like the spokesperson or whoever it was said, "we don't work with bloggers currently." that's it and that's all. i felt like this article totally blew that outlook out of proportion, and yeah, there's a point in the fact that target needs to get hip, and with the times, but blogging hasn't gotten big until the past few years. maybe their company policy is a little dated, but it doesn't mean they look down on blogging or don't want to interact with that media. it doesn't mean they're totally disregarding it. i don't think that this is as big as issue as the author of the article tried to make it be.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
observation & commentary.
heath ledger is just a glorified everyday guy with a sought-after career.
death is tragic, and it happens all the time. i don't understand why i should give a shit that heath ledger died, when he wouldn't blink as eye hearing that 'laura snyder' is dead. he wouldn't even know who i am [or if he somehow did, that'd be cool as hell!].
why are celebrities [and their deaths] newsworthy? BEATS ME. in my mind, they're not. i don't care. i would like to read about new animals that have been discovered, music reviews, and cool RELEVANT stuff like that.
i didn't personally know heath ledger. it doesn't affect me whatsoever. i can understand a fan being sad, but it's not like most of his fans ever actually even met him or really knew him anyway. he's in the news due to his career as an actor and a good-looking guy. GUESS WHAT. scientists who have contributed hugely in one way or another to our society and technology today die too. we don't make such a fuss about that. probably because they're not as hot.
we obsess over people whose lives we assume to be fun and easy. we obsess over what we want, what we lost, what we wish we had. people live vicariously through popular figures, so it's a big deal whenever anything happens to them.
and when it's something bad? -- it makes that celebrity, that hero/beauty/genius we've placed on the pedestal, so much less perfect and so much more real. more like one of us.
it's news because we've realized that heath ledger is not immortal.
death is tragic, and it happens all the time. i don't understand why i should give a shit that heath ledger died, when he wouldn't blink as eye hearing that 'laura snyder' is dead. he wouldn't even know who i am [or if he somehow did, that'd be cool as hell!].
why are celebrities [and their deaths] newsworthy? BEATS ME. in my mind, they're not. i don't care. i would like to read about new animals that have been discovered, music reviews, and cool RELEVANT stuff like that.
i didn't personally know heath ledger. it doesn't affect me whatsoever. i can understand a fan being sad, but it's not like most of his fans ever actually even met him or really knew him anyway. he's in the news due to his career as an actor and a good-looking guy. GUESS WHAT. scientists who have contributed hugely in one way or another to our society and technology today die too. we don't make such a fuss about that. probably because they're not as hot.
we obsess over people whose lives we assume to be fun and easy. we obsess over what we want, what we lost, what we wish we had. people live vicariously through popular figures, so it's a big deal whenever anything happens to them.
and when it's something bad? -- it makes that celebrity, that hero/beauty/genius we've placed on the pedestal, so much less perfect and so much more real. more like one of us.
it's news because we've realized that heath ledger is not immortal.
observation & commentary.
i think that, as a doctor or nurse trying to save lives, hand-washing can be a pretty trivial thing to have on your mind. the writer of the article seems not to understand how stressful a job like that could be, having a million people's well-beings floating around on your mind. it's understandable to forget to deal with basic hygiene when you have a lot going on around you. i know that i've forgotten to brush my teeth before when i wake up late or have a lot to worry about--it happens. however, i'm not saying it's okay, or trying to make excuses for it. i'm sure a lot of it is simply due to laziness as well.
honestly, questioning whether or not a medical professional has gone through all the proper sanitary procedures before doing something could be either mildly insulting or embarassing. what would be easier for them to do? 1. admit that they didn't and immediately go back and spend the time correcting themselves, or 2. reassure the patient that they know what they're doing, and that everything is clean and proper. probably the latter.
'national guidelines' say washing for at least 15 seconds is the 'right' way to do it, but i actually would have liked to see some research behind that presented in the article. maybe some statistics or something? i guess i just feel like i can thoroughly wash my hands in less time than that. how long does it take for active ingredients in antibacterial soap to kick in?
the quote from Morales successfully expresses how most people feel about it -- “That’s something you just expect a doctor or a nurse to do." but i do feel like i personally would be extremely embarassed if i was a healthcare worker who had my operating procedures questioned. i imagine it could be awkward, asking a doctor if they're being hygienic.
the quote from Sue Barnes doesn't surprise me either -- “There was some sense of reluctance on the part of physicians at having patients tell them what to do." Generally, physicians know more about health and safety, especially anything germ-related, than the average joe does.
"At the St. Louis Children’s hospital, 2,500 employees wear buttons that say “Ask me!” and participate in activities like a monthly “Hand Hygiene Hoopla” that includes games and treats, said Susan Hibbits, the hospital’s director." --this just seems overzealous and just plain dumb. i hate people who devote their lives to one tiny strange little cause and become ridiculously enthusiastic about it. IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. sure, encourage it, maybe have a little satff meeting or something addressing the situation, but 'hand hygiene hoopla'?? yeah, that sounds like buckets of good clean fun [haha]. i'm sure their 59-96% compliance improvement statistics were a little stretched/biased as well.
however, i really REALLY don't believe hygiene practices in schools to be comparable to this situation at all. in a hospital or doctor's office of some sort, you have ALREADY deathly sick people, possibly with open sores or wounds or sensitive areas that need to be kept totally clean. in schools, no one is extremely sick, kids seem to have mild cold or flu bugs at worst, and nobody's walking around with open anythings [i hope D:]. it's a completely different scale. hand-washing in school is definitely not nearly as important as medical places, but i must admit it contributes greatly to various illness, viruses, "bugs", etc. that travel around. in a public place with lots of kids sharing materials, classrooms, the same building, computers...it's easy to see how washing your hands is pretty important. although i personally don't pay enough attention to what others do in the bathroom to reasonably ask them to wash, i'd kind of be surprised if someone told me to do that.
washing my hands after i use the restroom is just out of habit, and i think it should be that way for everyone, especially medical professionals. and for them, it shouldn't just be when they use the restroom, but it should just be a habit before coming into contact with any patient.
honestly, questioning whether or not a medical professional has gone through all the proper sanitary procedures before doing something could be either mildly insulting or embarassing. what would be easier for them to do? 1. admit that they didn't and immediately go back and spend the time correcting themselves, or 2. reassure the patient that they know what they're doing, and that everything is clean and proper. probably the latter.
'national guidelines' say washing for at least 15 seconds is the 'right' way to do it, but i actually would have liked to see some research behind that presented in the article. maybe some statistics or something? i guess i just feel like i can thoroughly wash my hands in less time than that. how long does it take for active ingredients in antibacterial soap to kick in?
the quote from Morales successfully expresses how most people feel about it -- “That’s something you just expect a doctor or a nurse to do." but i do feel like i personally would be extremely embarassed if i was a healthcare worker who had my operating procedures questioned. i imagine it could be awkward, asking a doctor if they're being hygienic.
the quote from Sue Barnes doesn't surprise me either -- “There was some sense of reluctance on the part of physicians at having patients tell them what to do." Generally, physicians know more about health and safety, especially anything germ-related, than the average joe does.
"At the St. Louis Children’s hospital, 2,500 employees wear buttons that say “Ask me!” and participate in activities like a monthly “Hand Hygiene Hoopla” that includes games and treats, said Susan Hibbits, the hospital’s director." --this just seems overzealous and just plain dumb. i hate people who devote their lives to one tiny strange little cause and become ridiculously enthusiastic about it. IT'S NOT THAT BIG OF A DEAL. sure, encourage it, maybe have a little satff meeting or something addressing the situation, but 'hand hygiene hoopla'?? yeah, that sounds like buckets of good clean fun [haha]. i'm sure their 59-96% compliance improvement statistics were a little stretched/biased as well.
however, i really REALLY don't believe hygiene practices in schools to be comparable to this situation at all. in a hospital or doctor's office of some sort, you have ALREADY deathly sick people, possibly with open sores or wounds or sensitive areas that need to be kept totally clean. in schools, no one is extremely sick, kids seem to have mild cold or flu bugs at worst, and nobody's walking around with open anythings [i hope D:]. it's a completely different scale. hand-washing in school is definitely not nearly as important as medical places, but i must admit it contributes greatly to various illness, viruses, "bugs", etc. that travel around. in a public place with lots of kids sharing materials, classrooms, the same building, computers...it's easy to see how washing your hands is pretty important. although i personally don't pay enough attention to what others do in the bathroom to reasonably ask them to wash, i'd kind of be surprised if someone told me to do that.
washing my hands after i use the restroom is just out of habit, and i think it should be that way for everyone, especially medical professionals. and for them, it shouldn't just be when they use the restroom, but it should just be a habit before coming into contact with any patient.
Monday, January 28, 2008
research and linking.
--->ray harmon's personal blog
ray harmon is a friend of mine who i met about a year ago at a vintage film convention my dad helps run in town every year. he's a 33 year old divorced mixed media artist who lives in chicago. although he doesn't post often, i find his blog to be an extremely insightful commentary on human nature and how our world functions, occasionally sprinkled with notes on his personal life.
he is definitely a thinker, and it's fascinating to read what comes out of his head. due to the nature of his work as a film and sound artist, as well as his own nomadic tendencies, he often travels abroad. his life is so different than mine, and that's probably what draws my interest. ray brings a unique perspective to any situation and i'm glad to be acquainted with him. he understands a lot of things about the world that i think everyone overlooks. the way he describes and analyzes his own life is really something remarkable.
ray's blog posts challenge me to think and respond critically. i imagine the only other people who read it would be other good friends of his, which i think is understandable, due to the personal nature. ray wouldn't do well having a big, public blog, i don't think, although his social commentary is probably one aspect of his blog that everyone could benefit from.
hopefully, his page isn't friends-only, so you can view it. D:
----
--->brian latimer's music critique blog
brian latimer is a 20 year old indie kid from wurtsboro, new york with whom tessa sheffer and myself have been corresponding with regularly for the past few years. i actually met him through one of the many blog websites i've been a part of over the years [i did a little digging around the other day, and i've come to the conclusion that i've been blogging for 4 1/2 years on 4 different sites on 6 different accounts!]
he has several different blogs, one which he tends to post a lot of links to various contemporary artists' sites and galleries, as well as some book and occasionally even MORE album reviews. he stays away from the personal stuff and seems to use blogging as a media to discuss....well....media. another blog of his is simply as outlet for his creative talents in the area of writing. brian is currently making plans to try and publish a collection of his writings, often sending pieces to tessa to proofread and receive feedback, haha.
as a talented, intelligent young man, his opinions are backed up fairly well, and make for an interesting read. if you're ever in the mood for some new music, he is definitely the guy to go to. both him and ray provide interesting artistic insight on just about everything they touch.
ray harmon is a friend of mine who i met about a year ago at a vintage film convention my dad helps run in town every year. he's a 33 year old divorced mixed media artist who lives in chicago. although he doesn't post often, i find his blog to be an extremely insightful commentary on human nature and how our world functions, occasionally sprinkled with notes on his personal life.
he is definitely a thinker, and it's fascinating to read what comes out of his head. due to the nature of his work as a film and sound artist, as well as his own nomadic tendencies, he often travels abroad. his life is so different than mine, and that's probably what draws my interest. ray brings a unique perspective to any situation and i'm glad to be acquainted with him. he understands a lot of things about the world that i think everyone overlooks. the way he describes and analyzes his own life is really something remarkable.
ray's blog posts challenge me to think and respond critically. i imagine the only other people who read it would be other good friends of his, which i think is understandable, due to the personal nature. ray wouldn't do well having a big, public blog, i don't think, although his social commentary is probably one aspect of his blog that everyone could benefit from.
hopefully, his page isn't friends-only, so you can view it. D:
----
--->brian latimer's music critique blog
brian latimer is a 20 year old indie kid from wurtsboro, new york with whom tessa sheffer and myself have been corresponding with regularly for the past few years. i actually met him through one of the many blog websites i've been a part of over the years [i did a little digging around the other day, and i've come to the conclusion that i've been blogging for 4 1/2 years on 4 different sites on 6 different accounts!]
he has several different blogs, one which he tends to post a lot of links to various contemporary artists' sites and galleries, as well as some book and occasionally even MORE album reviews. he stays away from the personal stuff and seems to use blogging as a media to discuss....well....media. another blog of his is simply as outlet for his creative talents in the area of writing. brian is currently making plans to try and publish a collection of his writings, often sending pieces to tessa to proofread and receive feedback, haha.
as a talented, intelligent young man, his opinions are backed up fairly well, and make for an interesting read. if you're ever in the mood for some new music, he is definitely the guy to go to. both him and ray provide interesting artistic insight on just about everything they touch.
a post on love.
i'm in chris' existential literature class, and we have a writing assignment, just to summarize our opinions on a few topics. i thought this would make an interesting first post in my blog, so i'm putting it here. feel free to respond.
There are several types or degrees of love I think exist in the world. I believe that the ‘true/romantic’ variation of love is a combination of many, many aspects of a relationship: a mutual deep understanding, a mutual appreciation, emotional attachment to an extent, intimacy /closeness/affection, and inspiration. I’m not sure how much I believe in that kind of love. I wrote once that "it's disgusting that people are capable of being truly, deeply, allegedly 'forever', madly in love with someone, would do anything for them. And a few short months later, they wouldn't lift so much as a finger for that person, couldn't give the slightest shit about what they're doing, wouldn't give the slightest shit if something happened to them. That’s ridiculous." Is it hard to understand that part of the beauty of love is the rarity of it? Love is beautiful because it hardly ever happens, this world is freezing cold. Love can't happen all the time, or it's just not love. If you fall in love supposedly with different people all the time, then how much does your love really mean? How genuine can that be? Every girl wants love and dreams of romance. Every girl gets depressed over boys at some point. I like to pretend that I'm not like that, like I don't need anyone. If you want to remember yourself, if you want to stay sane, don't ever fall in love. I think if you truly love someone, that feels never fully leaves, no matter what happens. You can't completely ever give up on that person. Even if you would not get back with them, even if you know it wouldn't work out, part of you still hopes that you'll get back together, and be happy again, like things used to be. Almost like you're silently waiting underneath everything. The pure, ignorant bliss of two people in love is probably unlike anything else. Happy alone and happy with someone else are two very different things. True/romantic love is the feeling of being complete, and having everything you could ever want right there with you.
I'll probably add more to this later.
There are several types or degrees of love I think exist in the world. I believe that the ‘true/romantic’ variation of love is a combination of many, many aspects of a relationship: a mutual deep understanding, a mutual appreciation, emotional attachment to an extent, intimacy /closeness/affection, and inspiration. I’m not sure how much I believe in that kind of love. I wrote once that "it's disgusting that people are capable of being truly, deeply, allegedly 'forever', madly in love with someone, would do anything for them. And a few short months later, they wouldn't lift so much as a finger for that person, couldn't give the slightest shit about what they're doing, wouldn't give the slightest shit if something happened to them. That’s ridiculous." Is it hard to understand that part of the beauty of love is the rarity of it? Love is beautiful because it hardly ever happens, this world is freezing cold. Love can't happen all the time, or it's just not love. If you fall in love supposedly with different people all the time, then how much does your love really mean? How genuine can that be? Every girl wants love and dreams of romance. Every girl gets depressed over boys at some point. I like to pretend that I'm not like that, like I don't need anyone. If you want to remember yourself, if you want to stay sane, don't ever fall in love. I think if you truly love someone, that feels never fully leaves, no matter what happens. You can't completely ever give up on that person. Even if you would not get back with them, even if you know it wouldn't work out, part of you still hopes that you'll get back together, and be happy again, like things used to be. Almost like you're silently waiting underneath everything. The pure, ignorant bliss of two people in love is probably unlike anything else. Happy alone and happy with someone else are two very different things. True/romantic love is the feeling of being complete, and having everything you could ever want right there with you.
I'll probably add more to this later.
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