Lecture-
The lecture this week was a lot more informational, than opinionated. A lot of names, dates, and facts were given to us. It was very informative, I learned that the concept of the computer was originated a lot earlier that I originally thought, and were much more useless. The origins of the personal computer were much more seedy as well, everyone stealing from everyone else, and making millions. That aside, the rapidity of the growth of computer performance had always astounded me, I was also unaware that there was a predictable rate of advancement in silicon chip capacity. Alan Turing's involvement in the decoding of the german enigma machine, and his contributions to the modern computer was also interesting.
Readings-
The readings for this week focused primarily on the need , and pattern of the evolution, and development of technologies, most notably personal computers. The question of when current technologies and methods become insufficient, and obsolete, is one we must constantly ask ourselve, in order to stimulate the growth, of this developing and highly essential technology.
Tutorial-
We discussed the development of the physical components of the computer at greater lenght, most notably the German enigma machines.
Wiki page : Final Fantasy 7
The information of this game is quite extensive, as it is a very in-depth story driven game. The plot synopsis is right on the money, as is it's unprecedented critical, and commercial success. There are several dozen links cited as sources which one can use to verify, or procure more data on the subject, and the overview of the game in general is as comprehensive as you can get, without calling it a guide. This Wikipedia page is extremely accurate, and informative. Essentially it tells the reader anything they would need to know about this ground-breaking game.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
week 5 - Why I hate Wikipedia
Lecture -
During the lecture prof. Stockwell spent a considerable amount of time on the fake page created about his fictional feud with David Cox. About 20 minutes were spent listening to him read the page to us, pointing out which bits were false. The idea he was trying to convey, although overly detailed on the page was how easily information could be fabricated on wikipedia. Towards the end it became an analogy on all reality and how we can never really trust what we're told without some sort of verification. Although most of his time was spent denouncing Wikipedia I had already had a lot of experience with it, there are several good points about it even though it is not a reliable source of specific information. Uqbar was also mentioned as a comparison of an ancient version of this same misinformation.
Readings-
Uqbar, the name of a seires of stories by Jorge Luis Borges. Through his method of mixing fact with fiction in his stories, the question of whether or not his stories were factual or not has been under dispute since it's inception. It has been suggested that Uqbar is based on the real city of Uqbara in Iraq, or the Uqbar in Algeria. Another story of the clever subversion of the truth , by mixing it with fiction.
Tutorial.
Wikipedia was discussed at greater length, and opinions of the student were introduced, that might have been contrary to prof. Stockwells. If people actually put as much stock into the "facts" written on Wikipedia, as other more official sources then the idea of reality being in question would be more applicable. I think most people are well aware of the flaws of Wikipedia, however it is a great source of general information that is more easily verifiable. If you just want to know the basics about something or someone quickly, Wikipedia is great.
Tutorial task
The idea of keeping art in the hands of a select few to keep art "refined" or above the common man is old and archaic, and one that I believe the world at large does not agree with. The laws of probability dictate that one will get more high quality works of art, if more people are able to practice art. Also having a lot of bad, or unrefined art around will make the exceptional art stand out much more. I would say that a photoshopped image is a form of art as people are adding their own touch of creativity to existing images. Also having art as such a mainstream practice, redefines it's context, as a labor of a professional , to the hobby of someone talented.
During the lecture prof. Stockwell spent a considerable amount of time on the fake page created about his fictional feud with David Cox. About 20 minutes were spent listening to him read the page to us, pointing out which bits were false. The idea he was trying to convey, although overly detailed on the page was how easily information could be fabricated on wikipedia. Towards the end it became an analogy on all reality and how we can never really trust what we're told without some sort of verification. Although most of his time was spent denouncing Wikipedia I had already had a lot of experience with it, there are several good points about it even though it is not a reliable source of specific information. Uqbar was also mentioned as a comparison of an ancient version of this same misinformation.
Readings-
Uqbar, the name of a seires of stories by Jorge Luis Borges. Through his method of mixing fact with fiction in his stories, the question of whether or not his stories were factual or not has been under dispute since it's inception. It has been suggested that Uqbar is based on the real city of Uqbara in Iraq, or the Uqbar in Algeria. Another story of the clever subversion of the truth , by mixing it with fiction.
Tutorial.
Wikipedia was discussed at greater length, and opinions of the student were introduced, that might have been contrary to prof. Stockwells. If people actually put as much stock into the "facts" written on Wikipedia, as other more official sources then the idea of reality being in question would be more applicable. I think most people are well aware of the flaws of Wikipedia, however it is a great source of general information that is more easily verifiable. If you just want to know the basics about something or someone quickly, Wikipedia is great.
Tutorial task
The idea of keeping art in the hands of a select few to keep art "refined" or above the common man is old and archaic, and one that I believe the world at large does not agree with. The laws of probability dictate that one will get more high quality works of art, if more people are able to practice art. Also having a lot of bad, or unrefined art around will make the exceptional art stand out much more. I would say that a photoshopped image is a form of art as people are adding their own touch of creativity to existing images. Also having art as such a mainstream practice, redefines it's context, as a labor of a professional , to the hobby of someone talented.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Topic 4 - Old Communication Technologies
Lecture:
The lecture was a sort of chronicling of old communication technologies, starting with rock art, and progressing through Phoenician alphabet tablets, telegraphs, etc. Also Walter Benjamin was discussed at great length probably to give us some background on the author for our readings. The majority of the lecture seemed to focus on Walter Benjamin and other related authors than old communications tech. I suppose one I start the reading I will be grateful for it. I did find his life to be an interesting story, and also his death, in my opinion was very heroic.
Readings:
Walter Benjamin's reading, although a bit tough to digest was very insightful. It would seem he had a rather vast knowledge of the film, and photography industries. His constant comparison to Marxist philosophies made it a bit difficult to follow him at times, but once the message was delivered it was rather profound. The idea that mechanical reproduction can lower or numb people's appreciation of fine works of art because they are so commonplace , and readily available is one worth considering. Would all forms of beauty and art then also be enhanced by making them available to only a select few? One can only wonder. I personally would argue that it would enhance the practice of art, making artists strive to stand out in an ocean of mediocrity.
Tutorial:
The topics of the lecture were discussed in finer details, in particular other forms of old communication technologies. Also the authors mentioned in the lecture were briefly discussed. The idea I suppose was to make the students think about what their lives would be like if these old forms of communication were all that was available to us, as opposed to the plethora we have at our disposal today. It may or may not make one appreciate these innovations.
The lecture was a sort of chronicling of old communication technologies, starting with rock art, and progressing through Phoenician alphabet tablets, telegraphs, etc. Also Walter Benjamin was discussed at great length probably to give us some background on the author for our readings. The majority of the lecture seemed to focus on Walter Benjamin and other related authors than old communications tech. I suppose one I start the reading I will be grateful for it. I did find his life to be an interesting story, and also his death, in my opinion was very heroic.
Readings:
Walter Benjamin's reading, although a bit tough to digest was very insightful. It would seem he had a rather vast knowledge of the film, and photography industries. His constant comparison to Marxist philosophies made it a bit difficult to follow him at times, but once the message was delivered it was rather profound. The idea that mechanical reproduction can lower or numb people's appreciation of fine works of art because they are so commonplace , and readily available is one worth considering. Would all forms of beauty and art then also be enhanced by making them available to only a select few? One can only wonder. I personally would argue that it would enhance the practice of art, making artists strive to stand out in an ocean of mediocrity.
Tutorial:
The topics of the lecture were discussed in finer details, in particular other forms of old communication technologies. Also the authors mentioned in the lecture were briefly discussed. The idea I suppose was to make the students think about what their lives would be like if these old forms of communication were all that was available to us, as opposed to the plethora we have at our disposal today. It may or may not make one appreciate these innovations.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Topic 3 - Alphaville
Lecture-
For our lecture we watched The film Alphaville , by director Jean-Luc Goddard. Prof. Stockwell had a short introduction to the film, to help us get our heads around some of the obvious contradictions to story and film, i.e the futuristic galactic civilization looking like 1965 Paris. I gave the film a long time to make its gist apparent, but that never came. So I resigned myself to watch the film, remember as much as possible, and try to see the subtleties later. This film was by no means entertaining, and I suppose if I had put myself in the mindset of people at the time it would have blown me away, however computers these days are so commonplace, the dreaded prophecy seems to have come true.
Tutorial-
We spent most of our tutorial exchanging blog url's with each other. During the time before class we spoke about the film and it's lack of entertainment value, or the parts that seemed to have little or no relevance to the story. I understood while watching this film that it was not intended to entertain, however some things need to be made clearer, such as your antagonists purpose, and the protagonist's purpose for that matter. Also a sentence or two explaining the odd behavior of the citizens of this dystopia would have helped keep people from getting frustrated, with confusion. We also listed some similar movies which entertained and explained everything so the audience could understand (e.g. Equilibrium) . I obtained a slightly better understanding of why the movie was as odd as it was.
I know several people online who I have never met. This is an interesting sort of relationship, because although you can know just about everything about a particular person it doesn't count for much if you have never spoken to them in person. That true closeness can only reslly com with personal contact. So having an online relationship will always keep both parties at a distance, both literally and figuratively.
I have been using the Internet as a communications tool since early adolescence, back when AOL chatrooms were in full swing. Then, like most people I realized they were an utter waste of time. Luckily newer means of communications developed as people grew tired of the old.
The fact that all my "IRL" (in real life) friends were already using them made me feel as if I should catch up and join with this new phenomena.
Privacy is an issue online, but as always people will always only know as much as you make available. As long as individuals are careful with their information it won't be picked up by undesirables.
Readings -
The readings indicate a lot about Goddard's style, and how it came to be. In his own words Goddard would look for things that have never been done in film before, then do them. This would certainly account for his unorthodoxy in film making. When this film was originally released, it's concept and style were both completely unheard of, yet very compelling which would explain the film's longevity, even in today's society there are extreme contrasts with it's style, and that of any contemporary medium. To put it simply, It tells an interesting story, in an extremely odd way.
For our lecture we watched The film Alphaville , by director Jean-Luc Goddard. Prof. Stockwell had a short introduction to the film, to help us get our heads around some of the obvious contradictions to story and film, i.e the futuristic galactic civilization looking like 1965 Paris. I gave the film a long time to make its gist apparent, but that never came. So I resigned myself to watch the film, remember as much as possible, and try to see the subtleties later. This film was by no means entertaining, and I suppose if I had put myself in the mindset of people at the time it would have blown me away, however computers these days are so commonplace, the dreaded prophecy seems to have come true.
Tutorial-
We spent most of our tutorial exchanging blog url's with each other. During the time before class we spoke about the film and it's lack of entertainment value, or the parts that seemed to have little or no relevance to the story. I understood while watching this film that it was not intended to entertain, however some things need to be made clearer, such as your antagonists purpose, and the protagonist's purpose for that matter. Also a sentence or two explaining the odd behavior of the citizens of this dystopia would have helped keep people from getting frustrated, with confusion. We also listed some similar movies which entertained and explained everything so the audience could understand (e.g. Equilibrium) . I obtained a slightly better understanding of why the movie was as odd as it was.
I know several people online who I have never met. This is an interesting sort of relationship, because although you can know just about everything about a particular person it doesn't count for much if you have never spoken to them in person. That true closeness can only reslly com with personal contact. So having an online relationship will always keep both parties at a distance, both literally and figuratively.
I have been using the Internet as a communications tool since early adolescence, back when AOL chatrooms were in full swing. Then, like most people I realized they were an utter waste of time. Luckily newer means of communications developed as people grew tired of the old.
The fact that all my "IRL" (in real life) friends were already using them made me feel as if I should catch up and join with this new phenomena.
Privacy is an issue online, but as always people will always only know as much as you make available. As long as individuals are careful with their information it won't be picked up by undesirables.
Readings -
The readings indicate a lot about Goddard's style, and how it came to be. In his own words Goddard would look for things that have never been done in film before, then do them. This would certainly account for his unorthodoxy in film making. When this film was originally released, it's concept and style were both completely unheard of, yet very compelling which would explain the film's longevity, even in today's society there are extreme contrasts with it's style, and that of any contemporary medium. To put it simply, It tells an interesting story, in an extremely odd way.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Topic 2 , Is email dead?
Lecture-
We discussed spam email at great length, most notably the Nigerian scam emails that were rampant several years ago. The motivations behind these are obviously money driven. Blogging was also discussed briefly, as a form of journalism, or for recreation. We also saw a short Daily show clip about how bloggers have been exposing reporters for misrepresentation. It was fairly informative, but felt like random subjects at some points.
Readings-
We discussed spam email at great length, most notably the Nigerian scam emails that were rampant several years ago. The motivations behind these are obviously money driven. Blogging was also discussed briefly, as a form of journalism, or for recreation. We also saw a short Daily show clip about how bloggers have been exposing reporters for misrepresentation. It was fairly informative, but felt like random subjects at some points.
Readings-
Blogs (or weblogs) are an extremely flexible form of information broadcast. They have been most commonly associated with news blogs done by journalists, or just anyone. However limiting blogs to this function alone would severely limit their potential as a creative medium. Blogs can be a free form of expression conveyed through online diaries, poems, stories, and general opinion pieces. As variable a communicative technique as it is, blogging as journalism is the most controversial of these platforms, as there are neither restrictions, or inhibitions to keep journalists from fabricating stories, other than their own personal standards and practices. Once a blogging journalist gains noteriety in the community for being fair and accurate however a news blog can be one of the most objective reports one can read; assuming the journalist sticks to a strict personal code of conduct and remains truthful and fair. Also nations with governmental control over the news and media in their respective countries can be subverted with the use of these blogs, as they have no real way of regulating what is said. Overall Blogs are an extremely useful form of communication that is just beginning to find a niche in our online world.
Tutorial-
The format and expectations for our blogs were laid out with the utmost clarity. I had arrived at class with 200 words about the readings which you see above, already printed out. So clearly I needed the clarifications that were provided. I was also taught to look for the meanings behind all the talking in the lectures. Although it may seem the lecture is tedious or long-winded there is an underlying purpose to his statements we must discern for ourselves. I imagine I'll have to pay better attention next time. I enjoy this class and look forward to both the lectures and tutorials; I plan to learn a lot from this course.
Intro
Greetings, I am Clinton Thomas. I'm a 1st year student at Griffith. I am a southern california native, currently living in Australia. I did some college in Cali, with no real focus. After working to support myself for a couple years I decided to get back into school to get something accomplished. Currently pursuing a bachelors of communications. I like movies, music, and video games.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
