Well...once again I can find no information on what this blog is supposed to be about...so I figured I'd just make a post related to my topic...since it's better to do the assignment wrong than not at all
I always say you can separate a good movie from a great one by re-watch value. By that I mean every time you watch it after the first viewing you notice something new. The Dark Knight most definitely fits into this category. The film has been around for three years now and it’s almost a guarantee that I see something I didn’t before…even though I watch it quite regularly. I just wanted to catalog two things I noticed most recently.
1. In the prologue (bank robbery) we get a glimpse of just how much Batman is messing with the systems of Gotham. The alarm guy on the roof says very briefly “That’s weird it was dialing out to a private number” while he disabled the silent alarm of the bank. Now at first I didn’t know what to think of this, then when they revealed it was a mob bank I thought it might be a mobster’s number it was trying to reach…but that doesn’t make any sense…but if the number was Batman’s…that makes a lot more sense. So less than 2 years into the job Batman has (probably) wired every bank in Gotham to alert him if it’s being robbed. Kinda cool, it’s the little things
2. While Batman is interrogating Joker, Joker gives him an address for where to find Harvey and Rachel. Now in movies they can’t use real phone numbers, street addresses, ect. because people will go find theses addresses and private businesses’ and residents don’t want fans all around. So they put 555 phone numbers and 1234 fake street addresses into the movies. The address Joker gives Batman is “Two hundred and fifty fifty second street”. Sounds like a fake address…what gets me is Harvey aka Two-Face later holds hostages and puts up a horrible ultimatum that all revolves around his coin…at this address. In the comics Two-Face is notorious for committing these types of crimes at locations related to the number two. “200 50/50 2nd street”
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Blog 14
"As you move on from this class, in what ways do you think you will APPLY the knowledge you gained? (Be honest. How does critical analysis help further your education?)"
I honestly like the little bit of post script that went along with this email. It was funny. Never had a professor say bitch fest before, especially in an email sent out to the entire class...gotta admit I'd laugh quite a bit if that came back and bit you in the ass Jaron.
To be completely honest I don't think I've gained any useful knowledge in this class...except perhaps that hearing someone's name three times cements it into your memory...though I'm not sure how true this is and that I really only remember to call you Jaron simply because you said this fact. Perhaps if when meeting someone for the first time you were presented with their name and an obscure fact forgetting their name would be a lot harder...at the very least I'm sure game show contestants would become much more successful.
The knowledge I received in this class was not helpful because I felt that what I hadn't learned in other writing classes I'd taught myself. Maybe I'm just a great writer who is also amazing and handsome, or maybe the class was just useless...I'll pick the former...and I have no ulterior motive for making that choice.
I honestly like the little bit of post script that went along with this email. It was funny. Never had a professor say bitch fest before, especially in an email sent out to the entire class...gotta admit I'd laugh quite a bit if that came back and bit you in the ass Jaron.
To be completely honest I don't think I've gained any useful knowledge in this class...except perhaps that hearing someone's name three times cements it into your memory...though I'm not sure how true this is and that I really only remember to call you Jaron simply because you said this fact. Perhaps if when meeting someone for the first time you were presented with their name and an obscure fact forgetting their name would be a lot harder...at the very least I'm sure game show contestants would become much more successful.
The knowledge I received in this class was not helpful because I felt that what I hadn't learned in other writing classes I'd taught myself. Maybe I'm just a great writer who is also amazing and handsome, or maybe the class was just useless...I'll pick the former...and I have no ulterior motive for making that choice.
Blog 13
So after reading thorough the entire syllabus I am unable to figure out what the 13th blog pot is supposed to be about....that being said I have decided to write about something random today.
I was reading an article concerning Douglas Adam's famous work "The Hitch Hiker's guide to the Galaxy." The article (and it doesn't matter what the name of the article is or who wrote it since I'm lying) was trying to reason what the hidden meaning is behind the answer to the great question is. What is the meaning of life the universe and everything. In the novel a giant computer was built to answer this question and after millions of years it said that the answer was 42. The author of my pretend article would probably discuss something about it being a joke or talk about root 13 related mathematical equations.
But I will not. I really like the answer 42. Being a philosophy major a lot of people will joke around and ask me what is the meaning of life. I answer them straight faced 42, and then either end the conversation entirely or just move on to something else. The reason I like the answer 42 is because it is a definitive and short answer to a question that I feel is never given much thought. When someone asks what the meaning of life is they often have absolutely no idea what they're asking because they have put little to no thought into the question. What they are often trying to do is just sound complex, mysterious, and "deep". So an answer like 42 is the perfect answer to them. It's not the answer they want, it's not the answer the expect, hell it's not even an answer that makes sense. If you're going to ask me the meaning of life I'm going to tell you 42 because you have no idea what your saying and it's a perfectly good answer to such a question...that or people aren't wearing enough hats.
I was reading an article concerning Douglas Adam's famous work "The Hitch Hiker's guide to the Galaxy." The article (and it doesn't matter what the name of the article is or who wrote it since I'm lying) was trying to reason what the hidden meaning is behind the answer to the great question is. What is the meaning of life the universe and everything. In the novel a giant computer was built to answer this question and after millions of years it said that the answer was 42. The author of my pretend article would probably discuss something about it being a joke or talk about root 13 related mathematical equations.
But I will not. I really like the answer 42. Being a philosophy major a lot of people will joke around and ask me what is the meaning of life. I answer them straight faced 42, and then either end the conversation entirely or just move on to something else. The reason I like the answer 42 is because it is a definitive and short answer to a question that I feel is never given much thought. When someone asks what the meaning of life is they often have absolutely no idea what they're asking because they have put little to no thought into the question. What they are often trying to do is just sound complex, mysterious, and "deep". So an answer like 42 is the perfect answer to them. It's not the answer they want, it's not the answer the expect, hell it's not even an answer that makes sense. If you're going to ask me the meaning of life I'm going to tell you 42 because you have no idea what your saying and it's a perfectly good answer to such a question...that or people aren't wearing enough hats.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Process update 3?
I don't know what else to say at this point. I'm working on it still in the middle process and just need to take a weekend to sit down and write. These process updates remind me of middle school when the teachers would walk around the room or computer labs and ask me what exactly I was working on...
response to readings 2
The readings were on metacommentary...which can be a useful tool...But I feel that it's over used and just ends up filling otherwise blank pages. I'm not going to do the required two hundred and fifty words in this blog, as a way of making a point.
"It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche
"It is my ambition to say in ten sentences what others say in a whole book.”
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Process Update
My process update for this project is that I am in the middle stage. All I have physically written down is the outline of my arguments and diagnosis for each character, and a few notes on different points to make on each character…I also have one or two paragraphs written down as to things I’d like to say. I just really need to add all the…meat for lack of a better word to it. I need to consider what rhetorical words to use. I want to try and establish some kind of sympathy for all the characters since none of them have a very happy go lucky background and I don’t want the paper to be dry.
The problem with this is creating sympathy for a character like the Joker, considering that he views people as objects and would be considered by few to be a person. The same goes for Two Face…half the time…http://instantrimshot.com/ See what I did there? I think I’ll try to build sympathy more on their origins than who they currently are as a character. Another problem I’m having is citing sources for why I believe a certain diagnosis or a philosophy fits a character. With comic books, especially with characters as old as Batman and his rouges, there are so many instances where a character will do one thing in one issue and then something completely contradictory in another. I think I’ll try to limit what exactly I’m talking about to what are considered the stories for the characters.
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Whatever I want!
When I'm bored I like to try and make the world a more interesting place. I regularly go to the "Missed connections" section of craigslist in random cities and post vague but extremely strange messages about personal encounters. I attempt to be extremely vague about what sex I am while writing and I always give very specific directions to the reader...I honestly believe I have left many people wearing Dr. Suess Cat in the Hat hat standing in the middle of corn fields with chili dogs. I hope to one day get two people to meet per instructions I leave that have never before seen each other in their lives. What happens from there is hilarious no matter what. Maybe they fight, maybe they walk away, maybe they fall madly in love and get married in a hot air balloon. Who knows?
Another fun one is to leave strange notes around the city. Notes like
"I am time traveling and if all goes according to plan at 9:17 Tuesday afternoon I should rematerialize right in front of this note. I am leaving this only as a precaution so that no one is standing here at that exact time. If it's about that time and you are standing here reading this please move now. Failure to do so could lead to your atoms and my atoms being fused together in space and time. And I don't want your atoms in my atoms...no offense, it's just a personal thing I have. But seriously if our atoms are fused we'll have to go see my uncle Dave to get them separated and he lives all the way across town, and it's a real pain to get there because there's a bunch of lights and some construction right in front of his neighborhood so you have to go in through the back and I always get lost when I do that. Do you know how to navigate his neighborhood? Cause I swear you have to make like 12 lefts and 32 rights to get to his house..."
-Syd
I have yet to try this idea but I think it's genius. I need a desk and an elevator. I want to put the desk into the elevator, then whenever someone opens the door I'd be sitting behind the desk and say "Do you have an appointment?"
-End
Another fun one is to leave strange notes around the city. Notes like
"I am time traveling and if all goes according to plan at 9:17 Tuesday afternoon I should rematerialize right in front of this note. I am leaving this only as a precaution so that no one is standing here at that exact time. If it's about that time and you are standing here reading this please move now. Failure to do so could lead to your atoms and my atoms being fused together in space and time. And I don't want your atoms in my atoms...no offense, it's just a personal thing I have. But seriously if our atoms are fused we'll have to go see my uncle Dave to get them separated and he lives all the way across town, and it's a real pain to get there because there's a bunch of lights and some construction right in front of his neighborhood so you have to go in through the back and I always get lost when I do that. Do you know how to navigate his neighborhood? Cause I swear you have to make like 12 lefts and 32 rights to get to his house..."
-Syd
I have yet to try this idea but I think it's genius. I need a desk and an elevator. I want to put the desk into the elevator, then whenever someone opens the door I'd be sitting behind the desk and say "Do you have an appointment?"
-End
Responding to readings
I honestly have next to nothing to say about these readings...at least nothing nice. I have pretty much focused my problems with these reading (and the book as a whole) to a very simple statement. It's a high school writing book with better vocabulary. Reading the "I say" sections of this book became mind numbing. It's uninteresting (despite their attempts to lighten the mood with "funny" comics) and the use of their own templates to argue a point just pound home how boring the book is. I think I'm done here and to finish this blog I think I'll just give my own thought on how to present one's own views on a subject.
To avoid how boring and pointless the templates in the book get I'll pick one subject, assume that the method I use can be extrapolated and adapted to any other argument or issue and stick to it. The issue I'm choosing is cultural vampirism.
First start out by giving a very clear example of what your discussing. In conjuncture with my chosen topic I'm going to use Lady Gaga. I start by explaining my example. There is a group of people who we will call artists and who act in a manor that most members of society find at the very least odd, if not offensive. The artist do strange and provocative things like dyeing their hair bubble gum pink. Not to impress anyone but to do it because they enjoy it. Then there are cultural vampires who seem to have almost no personality of their own and suck the blood and meaning out of actions of artists for their own personal gain and social standing. Lady Gaga claims to be an artist and do the borderline insane things she does because it's her way of expressing herself but in fact she is a cultural vampire. She leeches on the growing number and sudden popularity of artists in the world and uses these resources for her own self gain. Lady Gaga wears a bikini made out of raw meat not to express a point about animal activism but for the publicity and added joy of seeing herself talked about. This is not unique. One girl at school sees someone out in the world with a Mohawk, decides she likes it so sports one too, then a cultural vampire sees all the gossip and interest caused by said girls new hair style and (the vampire) decides to sport a Mohawk too. Thus causing much more interest in themselves by others and slowly killing the significance of the original Mohawk girl's action. The following is an image of exactly what happens when cultural vampires (in mass) grab hold of a movement:
http://www.eatliver.com/img/2007/2408.jpg
The use of several examples and definitions, coupled by images help to express a better understanding of the topic at hand. Instead of citing a brief paragraph of a much larger piece from the work of other it is much better to create one's own examples and go from there. Continuing by adding premises subtly to an argument works much better than a template that blandly sets up a point you wish to make. Use of off beat terms and ideas, or forms of expressing such also makes an argument much more interesting and easier to follow. I think I'm done now...
To avoid how boring and pointless the templates in the book get I'll pick one subject, assume that the method I use can be extrapolated and adapted to any other argument or issue and stick to it. The issue I'm choosing is cultural vampirism.
First start out by giving a very clear example of what your discussing. In conjuncture with my chosen topic I'm going to use Lady Gaga. I start by explaining my example. There is a group of people who we will call artists and who act in a manor that most members of society find at the very least odd, if not offensive. The artist do strange and provocative things like dyeing their hair bubble gum pink. Not to impress anyone but to do it because they enjoy it. Then there are cultural vampires who seem to have almost no personality of their own and suck the blood and meaning out of actions of artists for their own personal gain and social standing. Lady Gaga claims to be an artist and do the borderline insane things she does because it's her way of expressing herself but in fact she is a cultural vampire. She leeches on the growing number and sudden popularity of artists in the world and uses these resources for her own self gain. Lady Gaga wears a bikini made out of raw meat not to express a point about animal activism but for the publicity and added joy of seeing herself talked about. This is not unique. One girl at school sees someone out in the world with a Mohawk, decides she likes it so sports one too, then a cultural vampire sees all the gossip and interest caused by said girls new hair style and (the vampire) decides to sport a Mohawk too. Thus causing much more interest in themselves by others and slowly killing the significance of the original Mohawk girl's action. The following is an image of exactly what happens when cultural vampires (in mass) grab hold of a movement:
http://www.eatliver.com/img/2007/2408.jpg
The use of several examples and definitions, coupled by images help to express a better understanding of the topic at hand. Instead of citing a brief paragraph of a much larger piece from the work of other it is much better to create one's own examples and go from there. Continuing by adding premises subtly to an argument works much better than a template that blandly sets up a point you wish to make. Use of off beat terms and ideas, or forms of expressing such also makes an argument much more interesting and easier to follow. I think I'm done now...
Early middle late
Well I'm late doing this blog, but still in the early process overall. I'm still gathering all my sources, but not to far away from having everything I need...I wonder if the library has a copy of the DSM-IV...I think I might drop the sociological aspect from the paper. It's beginning to appear I'd need a large number of different sources to do a large scale look at society in relation to my topic. I probably have the majority of my sources already though and have a pretty good idea of what I'm going to write about so maybe I'm in the middle or early middle...late early? Who knows....
I guess overall I'm at a pretty good place considering just how early it is in the semester. I'm still waiting for one book to get in and I'm really hoping that Grant Morrison doesn't mess up my evaluation in the coming months with his current run. That would kind of suck to write a great synopsis of who Batman is from a philosophical and psychological viewpoint and then have Morrison reveal his entire life has been just a wild fantasy just moments before a pathetic death, or something stupid like that. I love the guys work but damn he is just really unpredictable sometimes.
I'm not really sure what else to say here...I'm just in the process of writing this paper and that's all I can think to say. I'm not sure what an early middle or late process is...Early to me means you just have a vague idea, or literally just started the paper, middle is like saying your actually writing the paper right now, and late would be (like I am right now) just finishing up the paper that you are writing.
I guess overall I'm at a pretty good place considering just how early it is in the semester. I'm still waiting for one book to get in and I'm really hoping that Grant Morrison doesn't mess up my evaluation in the coming months with his current run. That would kind of suck to write a great synopsis of who Batman is from a philosophical and psychological viewpoint and then have Morrison reveal his entire life has been just a wild fantasy just moments before a pathetic death, or something stupid like that. I love the guys work but damn he is just really unpredictable sometimes.
I'm not really sure what else to say here...I'm just in the process of writing this paper and that's all I can think to say. I'm not sure what an early middle or late process is...Early to me means you just have a vague idea, or literally just started the paper, middle is like saying your actually writing the paper right now, and late would be (like I am right now) just finishing up the paper that you are writing.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Decision
So after little deliberation and glorious news that I can use non academic experts as a valid source, I have decided to make the subject of my semester long paper...Batman! Oh oh how fun that shall be! I must admit I am slightly disappointed I didn't have to make a case to demonstrate how I could make Batman sound academic. I had the perfect line ready to go too.
"Well I plan to examine the psychological and philosophical aspects of the characters themselves and the sociological aspect of why these characters have been so interesting to us over the last seventy one years." I got to say something like this but the delivery was all wrong...so sad. I think that I will try and narrow down the characters I plan to investigate...Bruce Wayne is obviously one...I think I'll add Dick Grayson and Alfred too... that group would make the "good" point of my paper. Then perhaps Jason Todd and Selina Kyle to serve as a second point of characters who are on the line between good and evil. And then Harvey Dent, Victor Fries and "The Joker" as the evil point of it all. Offering a brief psychological profile for each character and then an in-depth look at each of their personal philosophies. I could also make some interesting and inverse connections between the characters on both fronts. I think I will look at the sociological aspects of why people are so interested in something their parents saw when they were kids...Honestly I'll need a little more on the sociology but I'm not sure exactly what to look at just yet...Should be fun
"Well I plan to examine the psychological and philosophical aspects of the characters themselves and the sociological aspect of why these characters have been so interesting to us over the last seventy one years." I got to say something like this but the delivery was all wrong...so sad. I think that I will try and narrow down the characters I plan to investigate...Bruce Wayne is obviously one...I think I'll add Dick Grayson and Alfred too... that group would make the "good" point of my paper. Then perhaps Jason Todd and Selina Kyle to serve as a second point of characters who are on the line between good and evil. And then Harvey Dent, Victor Fries and "The Joker" as the evil point of it all. Offering a brief psychological profile for each character and then an in-depth look at each of their personal philosophies. I could also make some interesting and inverse connections between the characters on both fronts. I think I will look at the sociological aspects of why people are so interested in something their parents saw when they were kids...Honestly I'll need a little more on the sociology but I'm not sure exactly what to look at just yet...Should be fun
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Video
So I have to respond to this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
about the problems and situations students face today. I have decided to list any solutions and or thoughts I can think of to the problems that are given by the students.
My average class size is 115
If that's a problem then why not go to a smaller school? I know that things like average class size, or teacher to student ratio tends to be listed on a school's website...seems like her own fault if it's a problem...
18% of my teachers know my name
Ok, wear a shirt with your name on it...or be more interesting so that your name is remembered...
I complete 49% of the readings assigned to me. Only 26% are relevant to my life.
Ok...I am almost certain that's been the issue for schools forever. Like even before the current system was in place. I can't think of any solution to this other than that it's just something to get over.
I buy hundred dollar textbooks I never open
If comic books can be scanned why not textbooks? Seems like it would help a lot...but since colleges get upset about torrents as it is I guess that is to much to hope for...
My neighbor paid for class but never comes
I'm not sure why this is her problem, but if it concerns her so why doesn't she do something about it. Like take notes for them, or encourage them to come more?
I will read 8 books this year, 2300 web pages, and 1281 face book profiles
I really don't get this one...stop going to facebook?
I will write 42 pages for class this semester. And over 500 pages of email
Considering that this is collective I don't think that this is a problem.
I get 7 hours of sleep each night
That sucks...go to bed earlier?
I watch 1 1/2 hours of TV each night
Ok...that really isn't that much...
I spend 3 1/2 hours a day online.
Drop the forum and social network sites? Actually associate with real people?
I listen to music 2.5 hours a day
I'm assuming that he's doing something else while listening to music. Driving, playing on the computer, talking on the phone, doing home work. Very few people just listen to music anymore...
I spend 2 hours on my cell phone
Well...get the FU*K off of it and do something for christs sake! Call someone, talk about what you need to then get off the phone!
Spend 3 hours in class
That's not to bad...
2 hours emailing
This is hard to believe...I mean who spends more than 15 emailing...unless your looking at those stupid forwards, in which case DON'T!
I work 2 hours every day
Why is he complaining about that? That's nothing!
3 hours studying
That is actually a really good amount, she could probably get away fine for much less...
That's a total of 26.5 hours per day
So many of those overlap and have to take place at the same time that this has to be an exaggeration. That and I don't think many people time how long they listen to music or answer emails or any of that. Most of these are at best guesses to me, if not just made up or taken from statistical studies that of course do not apply to each individual...
I'm a multitasker. (I have to be)
Everyone multitasks. If someone is only listening to music for two and a half hours every day, and they're only answering emails for three hours everyday then they're procrastinating constantly and an idiot if they complain about not having enough time in a day.
I will be 20,000 in debt after graduation
Ok...I have to comment on how this is written...she seems happy about it. Look at the bubble letters. Get a better job? Get another job? Apply for more scholarships?
I'm one of the lucky ones.
Why is that?
Over 1 billion people make less than $1 a day
Don't feel bad for the Chinese wage slaves, pretty soon China will own the entire country and we'll all make less than a dollar a day!
This laptop costs more than some people make in a year.
Sell it, move to some poor country and live like a king?
When I graduate I will probably have a job that doesn't exist today
Dead zombie body disposer? Or did I miss the point here? Does this mean jobs are being created? Well why is that a problem?
*holds up a scantron sheet with a lot of writing and red ink on it* Filling this out won't help me get there.
Sure it will. If the only way to get the nonexistent job is to have a college degree and the only way to get a college degree is to pass tests and the only way to pass tests is to fill out a scantron sheet then filling it out does help you get a nonexistent job.
Or deal with *arrows pointing to signs that have real problems written on them like war and poverty*
Oh so the problems in school aren't the problems in the real world? I get it! Oh wait, I've been saying that since 6th grade! Why is this news?
I did not create the problems. But they are my problems
It's only your problem if you decide to make it your problem. There is always a choice, and ignoring these problems is one. Only problem with that is you can't complain about them later. So choose.
Some have suggested that technology alone can save us...
Who? Just saying "some" is pretty vague...
I face book through most of my classes
And I hope you fail them. Idiot
I bring my laptop to class but I'm not working on class stuff
This seems pretty redundant considering the last statement...my response remains the same.
The point of this video is to say that the current system or method of teaching is out dated and doesn't work...I respond with a quote from Whitehead:
"In the schools of antiquity philosophers inspired to impart wisdom, in modern college our humbler aim is to teach subjects." Alfred North Whitehead 1923.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
about the problems and situations students face today. I have decided to list any solutions and or thoughts I can think of to the problems that are given by the students.
My average class size is 115
If that's a problem then why not go to a smaller school? I know that things like average class size, or teacher to student ratio tends to be listed on a school's website...seems like her own fault if it's a problem...
18% of my teachers know my name
Ok, wear a shirt with your name on it...or be more interesting so that your name is remembered...
I complete 49% of the readings assigned to me. Only 26% are relevant to my life.
Ok...I am almost certain that's been the issue for schools forever. Like even before the current system was in place. I can't think of any solution to this other than that it's just something to get over.
I buy hundred dollar textbooks I never open
If comic books can be scanned why not textbooks? Seems like it would help a lot...but since colleges get upset about torrents as it is I guess that is to much to hope for...
My neighbor paid for class but never comes
I'm not sure why this is her problem, but if it concerns her so why doesn't she do something about it. Like take notes for them, or encourage them to come more?
I will read 8 books this year, 2300 web pages, and 1281 face book profiles
I really don't get this one...stop going to facebook?
I will write 42 pages for class this semester. And over 500 pages of email
Considering that this is collective I don't think that this is a problem.
I get 7 hours of sleep each night
That sucks...go to bed earlier?
I watch 1 1/2 hours of TV each night
Ok...that really isn't that much...
I spend 3 1/2 hours a day online.
Drop the forum and social network sites? Actually associate with real people?
I listen to music 2.5 hours a day
I'm assuming that he's doing something else while listening to music. Driving, playing on the computer, talking on the phone, doing home work. Very few people just listen to music anymore...
I spend 2 hours on my cell phone
Well...get the FU*K off of it and do something for christs sake! Call someone, talk about what you need to then get off the phone!
Spend 3 hours in class
That's not to bad...
2 hours emailing
This is hard to believe...I mean who spends more than 15 emailing...unless your looking at those stupid forwards, in which case DON'T!
I work 2 hours every day
Why is he complaining about that? That's nothing!
3 hours studying
That is actually a really good amount, she could probably get away fine for much less...
That's a total of 26.5 hours per day
So many of those overlap and have to take place at the same time that this has to be an exaggeration. That and I don't think many people time how long they listen to music or answer emails or any of that. Most of these are at best guesses to me, if not just made up or taken from statistical studies that of course do not apply to each individual...
I'm a multitasker. (I have to be)
Everyone multitasks. If someone is only listening to music for two and a half hours every day, and they're only answering emails for three hours everyday then they're procrastinating constantly and an idiot if they complain about not having enough time in a day.
I will be 20,000 in debt after graduation
Ok...I have to comment on how this is written...she seems happy about it. Look at the bubble letters. Get a better job? Get another job? Apply for more scholarships?
I'm one of the lucky ones.
Why is that?
Over 1 billion people make less than $1 a day
Don't feel bad for the Chinese wage slaves, pretty soon China will own the entire country and we'll all make less than a dollar a day!
This laptop costs more than some people make in a year.
Sell it, move to some poor country and live like a king?
When I graduate I will probably have a job that doesn't exist today
Dead zombie body disposer? Or did I miss the point here? Does this mean jobs are being created? Well why is that a problem?
*holds up a scantron sheet with a lot of writing and red ink on it* Filling this out won't help me get there.
Sure it will. If the only way to get the nonexistent job is to have a college degree and the only way to get a college degree is to pass tests and the only way to pass tests is to fill out a scantron sheet then filling it out does help you get a nonexistent job.
Or deal with *arrows pointing to signs that have real problems written on them like war and poverty*
Oh so the problems in school aren't the problems in the real world? I get it! Oh wait, I've been saying that since 6th grade! Why is this news?
I did not create the problems. But they are my problems
It's only your problem if you decide to make it your problem. There is always a choice, and ignoring these problems is one. Only problem with that is you can't complain about them later. So choose.
Some have suggested that technology alone can save us...
Who? Just saying "some" is pretty vague...
I face book through most of my classes
And I hope you fail them. Idiot
I bring my laptop to class but I'm not working on class stuff
This seems pretty redundant considering the last statement...my response remains the same.
The point of this video is to say that the current system or method of teaching is out dated and doesn't work...I respond with a quote from Whitehead:
"In the schools of antiquity philosophers inspired to impart wisdom, in modern college our humbler aim is to teach subjects." Alfred North Whitehead 1923.
Thursday, September 2, 2010
Pictures
Ok...so I took some pictures of a road. I don't really know why, I guess I always liked streets and chutes, avenues...highways especially. I spent a lot of my time growing up on roads and am always able to let my mind open up and just think when I see them. I often think that there is some kind of connection streets and roads have, kind of like the whole six degrees of separation thing. Anyway my "process" of taking these pictures was more or less random. I walked out of my house, around my neighborhood for fifteen minutes until I found a street i thought I could do something with. My first shot was taken from the bottom of a hill
This one was taken with my tripod extended to full height. I like the way I mess with the angle and it makes the slope of the hill almost invisible, at least until the very end. But even so one can't tell that it's a hill I'm shooting, the road does almost appear to curve instead.
From there I went to the top of the hill for this image:
This one was shot from a low angle to hide the hill yet again, though not as successfully. I do like the triangle the trees create just off center on this one.
I was preparing to get a shot of the hill from a high angle on the tripod to reveal just how steep it is but then a car came turning onto it. I figured it would be a good idea to listen to Ballenger and attempt to run with the unexpected. So I took several shots at different zooms trying to follow the car until it was out of sight. The following is an edited group of all the pictures taken while it drove down the hill.
As you can see another car joined the first on its trip downhill. With the higher angle on the tripod you can see a much steeper hill than before. I also like how the angle of the shot makes just two trees appear to be a canopy all the way down the hill and rest of the road.
The next two images are taken from an angle off of the road and higher up from the addition sign. I was trying to catch another traveling car as it was right in the cross of two trees...I didn't quite get it right the first time and the second time didn't work out either...
From there I went to the top of the hill for this image:
I was preparing to get a shot of the hill from a high angle on the tripod to reveal just how steep it is but then a car came turning onto it. I figured it would be a good idea to listen to Ballenger and attempt to run with the unexpected. So I took several shots at different zooms trying to follow the car until it was out of sight. The following is an edited group of all the pictures taken while it drove down the hill.
The next two images are taken from an angle off of the road and higher up from the addition sign. I was trying to catch another traveling car as it was right in the cross of two trees...I didn't quite get it right the first time and the second time didn't work out either...
So after that I felt I kind of ran out of ideas of what to shoot for this road...and tried a low angle of the street that bordered it.
I like this one because of how low it is and the constant painting and repainting of the yellow line in the center paired with the angle makes it look somewhat distorted. Looking at it now I feel like an animal that has just been blinded by the headlights and is trying to cross the road still.
I also tried to get a picture of this road from the border of someone people's back yards...It doesn't work out to well though.
You can't see the road from such a low angle so this was a bad shot and seems unrelated. But I do like the way the ditch slowly takes form before your eyes.
As luck would have it as I decided to start down the hill back home or in search of another photo opportunity a friend (Matt) happened to drive by, see me and stop. I talked to him for a minute before he offered me a ride home. Rather than do that inspiration...or insanity (which is which?) struck and I straddled the closed door/open window of his car and told Matt to drive down the hill! I took the last few images while hanging the majority of my body outside of Matt's car while we sped down hill.
I think what I learned form this assignment is forget having a plan, just do stuff and let how awesome and random my life is lead to hilarious events with epic results. Or something about the importance of improv...I like my way of putting it better though...
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Topics
Ok, need five topics to possibly spend a semester on...hmm...well I think that if they're supposed to apply to my major then I could either do a 30 plus page paper on nihilism or on my argument about everything...let's see what I get searching "Nihilism" on google...
Ok, about four million seven hundred ninety thousand results...cool. The first one is wikipedia and that's not going to be permitted...otherwise they look pretty promising on just the first page alone...the question is is it a good idea to spend a semester researching something that depresses so many people? I'm not really worried about my own personal well being so much as how the topic might effect others in this class. Assuming there will come times when we have to discuss our topic, but who knows, my cheery manor might take the sting off of the revelation of pointless existence...yeah that was actually kind of fun to write...
There's also this argument I've had in my head for awhile that I have written out before but not in as great detail as I think I should. It basically boils down to me believing that everything we do and live by exists but isn't real...not to sure how I'd go about the google search this time, guess I'll just look up the people who's arguments I'll be referencing and countering and add them all up...So searching for David Hume, Anselm, Descartes, and Plato I get a total of 152980000 results. The first few are wikipedia links for all of them, but a lot seem to be arguments for or against things they had to say, the last few on the page of them have actual writings by them available online...my confidence of these sources is pretty high since I know what it is that the authors have actually said I feel comfortable trusting these sources since I'll be able to tell if something is off with the citing or arguments they make. My problem with this idea is though I know it is very in depth, very expansive, and very well researched I'm not sure I could make it go beyond 12 to 15 pages. Even if I start to play devils advocate and attempt to defeat all possible counter arguments I'm just not sure if I can make it past 20 pages.
A third possibility that comes to mind and this is literally just off the top of my head would be to write about the subject of horror in fiction, with 26,200,000 results on a Google search it certainly seems possible but I'm just not sure if I'm interested in writing what other people think horror is. I'm sure I could write what I think horror is in relation to fiction, but then again I'm not sure I could make that last for 30 pages. It can remain a possibility for now but seems unlikely...
Another topic off the top of my head would be strange stories/myths/unconformable "facts" from the World War Two era...stuff like "there was a secret mission carried out to spray Hitler's personal garden with a drug that would turn him into a woman." Actually heard that on a History channel documentary, there is no possible way to confirm whether or not something like that is true at this point in time, but the whole concept of events like that is always an entertaining thought. Searching world war 2 weird facts on Google yielded 18,200,000 results, but the problem is that quite a few are not going to be academic and many more are going to be just plain false, which is partly the point, to write say a paragraph or so on every fact I find giving specifics and say a percentage on the possibility of it's reality/validity, but I don't like the idea of spending hours researching stuff someone made up.
The final topic I came up with is...well Batman. Why would I want to spend a semester on Batman? http://www.merrickmonroe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/goddamn-batman.jpg That's why! Batman rocks lol. I could definitely find enough info on him just on the internet alone when a Google search turns up 339,000,000 results. If I was able to use the source material to cover different aspects about the characters, the themes at play, the psychology and sociology in the fictitious world and the real one, I'm sure I could spend a semester writing about the character(s). A problem I see however is I know for a fact I can find hundreds of experts on the character(s) in relation to all different kinds of fields, some of them I can even talk to one on one, the problem is that I don't think they would qualify as academic experts...If that one hurdle can be overcome I'm sure I could turn this into quite the paper...
Ok, so those are my five topics...I think I'll write I-Search papers about Nihilism, my argument, and Batman...since I feel I know quite a lot about them already, but am still able to discover much much more.
Ok, about four million seven hundred ninety thousand results...cool. The first one is wikipedia and that's not going to be permitted...otherwise they look pretty promising on just the first page alone...the question is is it a good idea to spend a semester researching something that depresses so many people? I'm not really worried about my own personal well being so much as how the topic might effect others in this class. Assuming there will come times when we have to discuss our topic, but who knows, my cheery manor might take the sting off of the revelation of pointless existence...yeah that was actually kind of fun to write...
There's also this argument I've had in my head for awhile that I have written out before but not in as great detail as I think I should. It basically boils down to me believing that everything we do and live by exists but isn't real...not to sure how I'd go about the google search this time, guess I'll just look up the people who's arguments I'll be referencing and countering and add them all up...So searching for David Hume, Anselm, Descartes, and Plato I get a total of 152980000 results. The first few are wikipedia links for all of them, but a lot seem to be arguments for or against things they had to say, the last few on the page of them have actual writings by them available online...my confidence of these sources is pretty high since I know what it is that the authors have actually said I feel comfortable trusting these sources since I'll be able to tell if something is off with the citing or arguments they make. My problem with this idea is though I know it is very in depth, very expansive, and very well researched I'm not sure I could make it go beyond 12 to 15 pages. Even if I start to play devils advocate and attempt to defeat all possible counter arguments I'm just not sure if I can make it past 20 pages.
A third possibility that comes to mind and this is literally just off the top of my head would be to write about the subject of horror in fiction, with 26,200,000 results on a Google search it certainly seems possible but I'm just not sure if I'm interested in writing what other people think horror is. I'm sure I could write what I think horror is in relation to fiction, but then again I'm not sure I could make that last for 30 pages. It can remain a possibility for now but seems unlikely...
Another topic off the top of my head would be strange stories/myths/unconformable "facts" from the World War Two era...stuff like "there was a secret mission carried out to spray Hitler's personal garden with a drug that would turn him into a woman." Actually heard that on a History channel documentary, there is no possible way to confirm whether or not something like that is true at this point in time, but the whole concept of events like that is always an entertaining thought. Searching world war 2 weird facts on Google yielded 18,200,000 results, but the problem is that quite a few are not going to be academic and many more are going to be just plain false, which is partly the point, to write say a paragraph or so on every fact I find giving specifics and say a percentage on the possibility of it's reality/validity, but I don't like the idea of spending hours researching stuff someone made up.
The final topic I came up with is...well Batman. Why would I want to spend a semester on Batman? http://www.merrickmonroe.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/goddamn-batman.jpg That's why! Batman rocks lol. I could definitely find enough info on him just on the internet alone when a Google search turns up 339,000,000 results. If I was able to use the source material to cover different aspects about the characters, the themes at play, the psychology and sociology in the fictitious world and the real one, I'm sure I could spend a semester writing about the character(s). A problem I see however is I know for a fact I can find hundreds of experts on the character(s) in relation to all different kinds of fields, some of them I can even talk to one on one, the problem is that I don't think they would qualify as academic experts...If that one hurdle can be overcome I'm sure I could turn this into quite the paper...
Ok, so those are my five topics...I think I'll write I-Search papers about Nihilism, my argument, and Batman...since I feel I know quite a lot about them already, but am still able to discover much much more.
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