THE DALLAS MORNING STAR REPORT: The end is near!

Two and a half weeks left to my freshman year. Hold up what? No way. Way. Well damn. What’s been goin on for 8 months? Where’d they go?

If my right brain could talk to my left brain I imagine that’s largely what it might sound like. I’m disregarding the logic/arts split stuff.

Damn. I’m almost done with Freshman year. Cursing in surprise is about all I’ve got right now. I’m not quite at the end and in turn not quite ready to look back on the year. But I need to.

I got scared last night when JR talked about no more Thursday Challenge, Tuesday Study, Sunday Church. I’ve gotten so used to those things, which represent pretty much everything. I’ve had a much better second semester then 1st semester, but I’m not quite ready for the year to finish (but I can’t wait). I can’t wait to get past the reports, projects, annoying profs, classes that don’t have any relevance to life. At the same time, as soon as park my car in Austin this life will be so far away. I remember first arriving at USC and realizing my old life was so far away. When I get home I’ll think the same thing. No more IML class that I love (no really), no more Christian Challenge, working in the LGBT Resource Center, In N Out, Diddy Reise, The Grove, seeing the Hollywood sign, Parkside (sorta), Tommy Trojan, lazy Friday afternoons at my favorite spot on campus, seeing Bovard auditorium. I had no idea I would become such a part of campus, especially after a rocky first semester. But I have created a life here, like I know I would when I left Austin. I havn’t been home all semester, which is the longest I have been away from Texas in my entire life. I’m ready to get home, to get back to the old streets, the old restaurants, my old friends, all the trappings of a shadowing resemblance of a life I’ll never really know again.

I’ll return home changed, however I might not totally know how much I’ve changed until I’m walking on Texas soil. I know I’m going back with new knowledge. I have some Chinese and a lot of new knowledge on media images (which is how this blog entry ties into IML). As this class draws near a close, I ask myself – did I get out of it what I hoped? Was it effective?

Yes and No.

Ha not an easy answer. Yes I understand my world better now and am more analytical. At the same time, I’ve broken down many of the assumptions I had about the media that kept me comfortable. There have been several classes which lead me to feel defeated once I leave, convinced this world is going to hell and I can’t do anything about it because the media controls everything. I also didn’t really get to know the computer programs I wanted to, however I know that’s something I’ll have to pursue on my own time. I am in control of my destiny after all (I refuse to give in to any idea to the contrary). I’m more critical of the images I see, which is a double-edged sword – I am now a more informed consumer but at the same time I no longer enjoy the comforts of ignorance. Ignorance is truly bliss, but knowledge is bliss with a coating of work. I control my own ignorance (for the most part). I control what I want to learn and how I want to learn it. I control the fact that I haven’t put in enough time in my Chinese class and don’t do the readings for my Geology class.

I still want to go out and change the world, to leave a legacy, to make a lasting impact. As I begin to close my Freshman year I realize that while for many parts of the year I felt as though my journey has stagnated here at USC, I realize that I had been moving all along and had been so transfixed on the road I hadn’t noticed the scenery moving past me. I have begun to make a difference. I’m on my way. I am acquiring the tools and knowledge I need to be successful. With God on my side, I can do it. (cliché I know, but it works…)

So where is this rambling going? I don’t know. I’m doing this more for posterity than anything else. I’ll look at it a year from now and gauge my progress, just as I looked at my Senior year reflection earlier and my Freshman year reflection before that.

Freshman year. I lost an election. Found God. Made friends. Made enemies. Went to parties. Got drunk. Went to church. Worked. Played. Went to West Hollywood. Saw Sandra Bullock. Was in a TV commercial. Began quiet times. Went to Glorietta, New Mexico for Spring Break. Tried to run a Marathon. Tried to get involved with Latino stuff. Went to an acapella competition. Went to LACMA. Saw the beach. Hooked up. Finished my book. Got hired places, didn’t accept. Hosted a student. Went to a retreat. Planned a retreat. Painted a spirit sign. Loved. Lost. Sadness. Happiness. Became homesick. Found a life. Left a life. Added a minor. Drove to California (twice). Survived a road trip with both my parents. Saw snow. Met amazing people. Met lousy people. Went to tailgates. Went to football games. Got parking tickets. Partied with my boss. Gave speeches. Lost speech competitions. Ate at the University Club. Almost worked for Program Board. Spent all night in a Computer lab. Got C’s in classes. Went to Mel’s at 1 in the morning. Went to crazy Mexican family parties. Became a part of crazy Mexican drama. Met an old friend. Ate too much Diddy Reise. Ate at new restaurants. Walked 30 minutes to class. Ran 10 miles. Went clubbing. Networked. Set up a summer job. Got serious about school. Skipped nearly an entire week. Skipped every class at least once. Fell asleep in lecture. Wrote papers. Sucked at writing papers. Played Wii. Got my bike stolen. Fought with my roommate. Missed my parents. Missed my dog. Went to the Grove. Went to the Beverly Center. Remembered how awesome Slurpees are.

Created a life.
Lived a life.

BOSTON GLOBE REPORTS: 3D IS THE FUTURE!

First, check out this kind of chilling video on youtube about the acceleration of technology:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GIqk4agzKPE



Where is media going?

That is the most intriguing question that we should be asking. As I see it, it’s not going to go anywhere until a new form emerges in which images and graphics can take on new meanings. As it is, traditional 2D graphic design has gone about as far as it can go – we’re to the point where all we have left to go is back to where we’ve been an pull from past publications. Photography was a major revolution because we could capture the world in an instant. Xrays allowed us to look into our bodies and Video allowed us to see our life in segments we can watch over and over again.

However, there is no where left to go with the essential 2-d static ways of sharing images.

Apple introduced recently a new technology that allows us to use multiple fingers to manipulate text and graphics on a screen, taking a step towards a 3-d model similar to what Tom Cruise uses in the movie Minority Report. When we create the technology to be able to look through digital files by just a swipe of our hand a whole new world will open, where people can physically move files around, push them aside, pull them, tweak them, and all of those things. A whole new idea of file storage and manipulation will be created and images will be able to be tweaked again. We will be able to see “into” 2-d worlds, which is a whole new arena for advertisers to play. We will need to recode our understanding of how images work and how we manipulate them in the virtual and physical worlds and our society.

That would be so cool.

DALLAS STAR REPORTS: Ignorance is Bliss; Really

Ignorance is Bliss.

If there is one lesson I have taken away so far from my college experience is that nothing as simple as it may seen. Don't believe anything. As I progress farther and farther in life I have realized this more and more. Life was so simple as a child because we took everything at face value. Everything had a little place and purpose and was straight forward. Our childhoods are modernism. However, as we enter into the college years our lives go postmodern on is. Everything has an agenda. Don't look just at the message look at the messenger but then don't worry too much about the messenger. Everything's old pretending to be new. As postmodernism blurs the lines of everything and we, as a species, realize just how interconnected everything is, I beg to question:

Where is all of this stuff going?

Where is this new media taking us? I feel we're coming to the tipping poing in our image society and I don't know what's on the other side. Where are we going?

Participatory culture is the future. But what's after that? Ads that customize themselves so that as each of us watch it our friends and family are zapped into it with the message "well your friends and family are using our products shouldn't you?"

That'd be creepy. But kinda fun. I'd love to see my college friends in an ad for baby toys.

New York Times Presents: THE WORLD IS NOT GOING TO HELL IN A HANDBASKET

So I like this chapter.

Why?

First critique of media that I've read in a while that doesn't judge the media we live with and come up with a zero sum equation (did I use that right??) I like that it talks about the evolution of TV, and especially how TV has been used in other cultures, such as being more of a group activity in Germany (Except for the Nazi thing - that's just scary) Furthermore, the arguement with more channels means less overall control is tempting, however I felt the book didn't touch on the fact that it seems like many of these channels are being bought by media conglomerates to add to their lineup. Even if there are a ton of channels to choose from, A) who really watches them and B) if a few media giants are controlling them, how democratic is the system?

I'm just glad it didn't blame The Simpsons for the degredatino of society.

FInally.

Austin American Statesman repots: COMPUTER GEEKS' CODES OF 0'S AND 1'S REVEAL SECRET TO HUMAN EXISTENCE

This chapter was my favorite chapter by far. Not sure what that says about me. Not sure why it was many favorite. I think because this chapter more so then the others talked about societial power plays, which the inner sociologist in me loved.

I have two major points about this chapter that stick to my mind. The first is this idea of a "binary" world. I TOTALLY AGREE! As I have progressed through my formal education and my religous/spiritual dialogues, I have come to this same conclusion, however on a much broader scale. Our entire human existence, at least in the Western Christian world, hinges on this seperation of everything into two fundamental groups. Good/Evil. Love/Hate. Us/Them. With us/Against Us. Future/Past. Black/White. Rich/Poor. Night/Day. Sun/Moon. Believers/Non-Believers. The list could go on much longer. However, I love that this chapter puts this notion into the context of images - the one being looked at and the one looking, the spectator and the object, and the power that goes between the two.

LA Times Reports: USER DIES FROM PHOTOSHOP FRUSTRATIONS

In this amazing photo by Robert Frank, I find that the cowboy in the city idea doesn’t quite synch – maybe it’s my Texas background, but something doesn’t work. In this visual representation of his work I have reworked the photo so that the world in which the cowboy is in is glowing with a surreal magic while he himself is grainy, distorted, as if he is but a visitor to the world around him. Another intended meaning is the idea of the outdated cowboy – he is grainy, like films of yesteryear, while the world around him is glowing with energy and signs of progress, like the trucks in the background. This juxtaposition was something that I couldn’t look past in the picture, and I have a love for juxtaposed items in different forms of the creative arts, which is perhaps why I was drawn to this picture. I had issues with trying to create a picture that wasn’t too blatantly changed but at the same time was noticeably different. I was going for a tip-of-the-tongue effect originally – the viewer wouldn’t be able to identify the changes right away. However, I found that this method, while obvious to me, was not obvious to the viewer, which led me to accent the differences more.





In this leaflet my target audience was the future political movement for Texas to succeed from the Union. The message was to be simple and remind Texans of the flags that have flown over the state before and that they were overthrown at one time. The signs used are meant to conjure a sense of Texas pride by highlighting our unique shape and symbols of Texas greatness. The color scheme was to reflect the Texas flag and the use of the Lone Star State was to highlight our ability to be on our own.

Index – Pictures of the Alamo, Austin, and a Texas sign all are symbol of Texas that are associated with no other place in the world.

Icon – The picture of the shape of Texas on the back of the leaflet is an icon of the actual shape of the state.

Symbol – the word TEXAS and the font that was used (font infers a country & western idea)

CNN Reports: HOLLYWOOD PACKS UP AND GOES HOME, SPEILBURG CLAIMS HUMANITY'S "OUT OF IDEAS"

The Devil Wears Prada was a masterpiece. Superb.
Smart.
Witty.
Funny.
Engaging.
Fun.

I could go on for a while about how awesome that movie is and how much I love it. However, you probably won't hear me describe it using words such as groudbreaking, orignal, etc. etc. Why? While I do love this movie, I realized while watching how recycled not only the basic story line of outsider-turned-insider-becomes-disatisfied-and-rejects-insider-status-to-go-back-to-outsider-status.

This conclusion was not seemingly random (as this post isn't either) because all through life I had lived at the juxtaposed intersection where the indidivual and creativity is celebreate but where originality, the genuine kind, is nearly non-existent. In trying to be original we in fact pull from our own beliefs, experiences, and things we've seen. In the the "Sunscreen Song," a song that is actually a graduation speech put to music, one line reads:

Be careful who advice you buy, but be patient with those who supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than its worth.

Mirando Piestly also explains this concept in what is arguabley the best line in the entire movie:

Miranda Priestly: [Miranda and some assistants are deciding between two similar belts for an outfit. Andy sniggers because she thinks they look exactly the same] Something funny?
Andy Sachs: No, no, nothing. Y'know, it's just that both those belts look exactly the same to me. Y'know, I'm still learning about all this stuff.
Miranda Priestly: This... 'stuff'? Oh... ok. I see, you think this has nothing to do with you. You go to your closet and you select out, oh I don't know, that lumpy blue sweater, for instance, because you're trying to tell the world that you take yourself too seriously to care about what you put on your back. But what you don't know is that that sweater is not just blue, it's not turquoise, it's not lapis, it's actually cerulean. You're also blindly unaware of the fact that in 2002, Oscar De La Renta did a collection of cerulean gowns. And then I think it was Yves St Laurent, wasn't it, who showed cerulean military jackets? And then cerulean quickly showed up in the collections of 8 different designers. Then it filtered down through the department stores and then trickled on down into some tragic casual corner where you, no doubt, fished it out of some clearance bin. However, that blue represents millions of dollars and countless jobs and so it's sort of comical how you think that you've made a choice that exempts you from the fashion industry when, in fact, you're wearing the sweater that was selected for you by the people in this room. From a pile of stuff.

Hardly anything in life is original anymore. Most ideas are simply reconstructions of ideas that have been handed down to the masses through the massive print and entertainment business. I'm not the first to write about this, I'm sure of it, however admititedly I havn't looked. S&C's lastest chapter seems to imply that everything just reaches back and uses other people's ideas for their own - the youth subculture take the fasions presented to them, dissects them, reassembles them, and then those new fasions are picked up mainstream, which causes the whole cycle to start over. I argue that while there may be tons of creativity left in the world, I'm not sure how much originality is left. Probably not much. Zip. Nata. That then leads to bigger questions - if we ran out of original ideas, when did it happen? Does this mean the end of progress for humanity?

Absolutely not.

I mean look how far reality Tv has progressed over the years as it continues it's highly creative form of entertainment...

That being said, this class that is an excercise in originality and creativity should be interesting...

shmily