My Last (required) Blog Post !

At the beginning of the semester, I wasn’t too find of blogging.  Primarily, I had never done it before.  Maybe I was nervous or perhaps I hated the thought of being required to post a response each week on a public site?  Today, I became used to blogging and I learned to love it.  I mean, don’t expect to see a second “Sara Hecht’s Blog” on the web after the semester.  However, I will admit that blogging came to be interesting and enjoyable.  I found that this is much better than handing in a homework assignment on paper each week.

In the article, “Why I Blog”, Andrew Sullivan makes a comparison between a diary and a blog.  I agree that the historic form closest to blogs is the diary.  Although diaries are typically personal accounts that are not read by other people, blog posts can be personal as well.  For example, I have an intimate relationship with my computer and sometimes, a personal tone is reflected in my posts.  It’s as if I forget that my posts are exposed to the public and most specifically, to my English class. Generally, people have the ability to personalize their blogs, similar to handwritten diaries.  Inevitably, people have the choice to do what ever they please with their blogs.  Blogs may be academic, personal, spontaneous and gossipy.

On a different note, writing using videos and images has not changed my ideas about writing and new media.  Since day one, I have been determined that the presentation of videos and images along with writing will solely enhance the piece and help draw a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.  The incorporation of videos and images help further the argument and make the writing more credible.  Typically, they provide evidence of the writing’s objective.  In blogs, videos and images make it more interesting and eye- catching for audiences.  Readers are engaged by moving images, pleasant sounds and intriguing pictures.

Just A Few Images I Stumbled Upon…

Last night, around 1:00am, I happened to stumble upon seven new media- related images on StumbleUpon.com.  The illustrations remind me of our discussions in class about society’s dependence on modern technology.  Now a day, people never leave their doorsteps without their cellphones, nor do they live a day without logging on to their computers.  It has become human nature to immediately check Facebook, interact with others on Skype and i/m friends on AIM.  Adolescents are growing-up in an entirely different era.  Compared to young generations, old generations, including our parents and grandparents, were cooped up behind barbed wire fences.  The restrictions for adolescents to explore have vanished due to the accessibility of the Internet.  Thirteen year-olds are now creating PayPal accounts in order to purchase items online.  My ten year-old camper just sent me a friend request on Facebook the other day.  In the near future, toddlers will be creating Facebook accounts so they can meet fellow toddlers before their first days of Nursury School!

Walt Disney: A Sentimental Modernist

During the early twentieth century, people across the globe witnessed the birth of an extravagant, American corporation: Disney.  In his lecture, David T. Doris conveyed that Disney is a monument of American culture and of global importance.  Doris explained that Walt Elias Disney was a sentimental modernist, an innovator and a “man of the people”.  His creation of the Disney Corporation is a fantasy transformed in to reality.  Its evolution is founded upon several advertising tactics and clever marketing techniques.

Walt Disney immersed people with entertainment through various pools of media, including movies, merchandise, television episodes, radio shows and amusement parks.  He was a sentimental modernist because he used the most advanced tools and techniques with every chance he got.  Primarily, Disney produced short, animated movies with Mickey and Minnie Mouse as protagonists.  Importantly, Mickey Mouse was portrayed as an emblem of a working-class hero.  However, children saw the famous mouse as an entertaining epitome. Disney’s movies continue to capture the eyes of adolescents around the world.

Walt accentuated numerous marketing techniques in order to promote his corporation.  For several weeks before Disneyland’s opening, he broadcasted a television show once week where he explained the wonders of the new park.  The show turned out to be a great success because one million people visited the park within the first six months of its opening.  Also, Disney merchandise is available around every corner.  For example, the first Mickey Mouse watches were sold to hundreds of people at the World’s Fair in 1933.

Today, Disney seems to be taking over the world.  Did you know that abc, Miramax, Pixar, ESPN and Touchstone Films are owned by Disney?  I was astonished when I discovered this.  In addition, the Disney television and radio channels are popular sources of entertainment for adolescents.  Disney animated movies are still alive and thriving.  Also, Disney’s cruise-lines offer fantastic get-a-ways for families.  Too bad Walt isn’t around anymore because in today’s day and age, he’d be “all up on” the Internet, being that hes a sentimental modernist and all.

GarageBand

It’s fascinating that everyday people are able to develop various sounds and learn how to play famous songs by using GarageBand.  People can utilize this program to record sounds, create Mash-ups and Podcasts, write music, and so much more.  According to iLife, “What is GarageBand?”, Garageband transforms the Mac in to a full-featured recording studio.  Less than one decade ago, this program had never been heard of.  Today, just about everyone knows about GarageBand.  Will this application cause adolescents to lose the desire to learn an instrument?  Or will this program enhance adolescents’ musical education due to its accessibility and comprehensibility?

There is no question that adolescents will feel less inclined to learn an instrument because GarageBand is at the tip of their fingers.  To most adolescents, GarageBand is more enjoyable because it accentuates the principles of New Media applications.  Today, Americans are drawn to advanced technological devices, rather than traditional tools.  One would agree that it is easier for adolescents in the United States to learn GarageBand instead of an instrument because they are already familiar with computers.  GarageBand is exciting and can be easily comprehended by young Americans.

On a similar note, this application will broaden the education of adolescents.  School districts across the nation are continuing to cut Art and Music programs.  Now, students do not have to miss out on a music education because they can take basic lessons on how to play keyboard and guitar from GarageBand.  In today’s day and age, anything is possible.  A flimsy computer and its abundance of applications can turn someone in to the next rock star.

What To Do With “Black Friday”

One would not want to be caught in a store on the Friday after Thanks Giving.  “Black Friday” has become an American phenomenon.  Crowds of people fill stores across the country in order to participate in extraordinary deals and unbeatable sales.  This single day out of the year has been known to be both spectacular because stores exhibit unique clothing and draw in diverse people who have a desire to shop.  On the other hand, “Black Friday” is incredibly chaotic and ridiculous because people are sucked in to stores, in order to shop, whether they can afford it or not.  Also, Friday’s rush causes people to transform in to vultures who have the potential to harm other people.  Today, the only solution is to change the practice of “Black Friday” by means of shopping on the Internet.

Don’t get me wrong, Black Friday is an American tradition that should not be ceased.  However, it needs to be changed because people are getting physically harmed.  Last year on Long Island, a Wal-Mart employee was killed after being trampled by a flock of people entering the store.   In California, two people were killed in a Black Friday shooting at Toys “R” Us.  These tragedies have caused Americans to think twice about their shopping mania.  Have stores gone too far in trying to convince shoppers to arrive in throngs in early morning hours the day after Thanksgiving?  Instead, people should be waking up early on Black Friday to visit stores’ websites to shop online.  Its only flaw would be that the Internet may run a bit slow due to the amount of people logging on to the same sites.  On the other hand, this is a mere convenience compared to getting hurt while entering a store.

I Travel The World On The Internet

The state of New York upholds many wonders, one of which being Coney Island. The island’s rich history affiliates the area with spectacle and diverse culture. Interestingly, the region was a major resort and site of amusement parks that reached its peak in the early 20th century. I’ve always wanted to visit Coney Island and ride its world-famous Cyclone roller coaster and Wonder Wheel. It’s comical that I live on Long Island, but I’ve never been to Coney Island. I’ve visited the vicinity: other parts of Brooklyn and all of the five boroughs of New York City. I will definitely plan a visit during next summer.

On the other hand, I never felt so inclined to visit Coney Island until my professor conveyed its history and its wonders at my lecture on Monday afternoon. I have always felt that I’ve been visiting places, without actually physically being there because the Internet allows me to engage myself in an area. I can easily browse through pictures, watch videos and read about magnificent places. People can save their money and just travel the world on their computers. Younger generations are not inclined to visit extraordinary places because they can virtually visit the place online. Someone once asked me if I’ve been to Australia and I replied, “Yes”. Next, when I was asked about my experience on the plane, I quickly remembered that I’d only visited through the Internet. Perhaps I would have remembered such a horribly long plane ride.

Welcome to Tequila Nation

The segment from Plan B, titled “It’s another Tequila Sunrise”, is very intriguing. The podcast is geared toward a mature audience; however, the product, Jose Cuervo Tequila, is best served for a more rowdy bunch.  Host Ira Glass narrates almost the entire piece, while he conducts a so-called interview with Ryan McDonough: the Cuervo Man.  This podcast caught my ear because of its humor and use of transition between music, bar- noise and diction.  It’s comical and entertaining to hear that a man who had graduated from Princeton is a known “party catalyst” and a human advertisement for Jose Cuervo.  It is even more comical to learn that McDonough uses rubber chickens, plungers and spedos as props at the bars he visits.  Evidently, these are tools to intrigue drunk minds and provoke playfulness.  After all, drunk people think almost anything is amusing.

Transitions between different aspects of the podcast play a significant role in its outcome.  Music breaks between separate ideas in podcasts, similar to “fade- ins” and “fade- outs” between images that pertain to separate concepts in films. For example, music is spliced in between Glass’s narration and McDonough’s response in the interview.  Music is also spliced in between Glass’s narration and real bar- noises where the Cuervo Man is present.  This upbeat music relates to the theme of the portrayed act of partying.  Essentially, it grasps the listener in to this realm that consists of Cuervo shots and pleasure.

As Glass explains, Ryan McDonough’s antics will continue to name him as a “God of drunken rebelry”.  He is the most interactive and amusing advertisement I have seen yet.

After watching Glass on storytelling on Youtube, I found that he upholds to his advice.  Not only do I have a better understanding of how to tell a good story, but I am determined that Ira Glass is not a hypocritical prick who doesn’t uphold to his own teachings. What Glass conveys is exactly how he tells his stories in all four Acts of the “Plan B” podcast.  Importantly, Glass expresses that a narrator should accentuate a sequence of actions, rather than follow the “high school” lesson of shoving in facts beneath topic sentences.  The use of anecdote provokes momentum and grasps the listener. I agree that this method is more effective because listening to someone state facts can be incredibly boring.  Glass’s stories are vibrant and enjoyable.

New Media and Cinema

It is interesting to see how cinema has evolved.  In both my ADP lecture and digital studio class at the School of Art & Design, I have learned about several aspects of film.  Similar to the evolution of new media, the development of modern cinema has derived from a basic concept.  The foundation of new media incorporates technological advancements with an attempt to better the lives of human beings; meanwhile, the basic concept of film has been to entertain people.  New media has also facilitated the growth of films that play in theaters today.

The chronology of cinematic inventions helped pave the way for modern, high- tech films.  Primarily, Emile Reynaud is responsible for the first animated films with his creation of the Praxinoscope, an animation device used during the late 1800s.  Next, Thomas Edison invented the Kinetoscope. This introduced the basic practice that would become the standard for all cinematic projection.  This particular device created the illusion of movement by conveying a strip of film bearing sequential images over a light source.  Lastly, the Lumiere brothers reproduced animated photographs.

New media has fostered the production of outstanding, modern films only since the end of the 20th century.  The programs of new media borrow the same concept of the old; however, they are in an advanced form.  It is incredibly easy to decipher modern movies from movies that were produced before the 1990s.  Today, people laugh at the special effects in movies from decades ago because they’re uncomparable to the special effects that are present in modern films.  Recent technological devices and computer programs have allowed movie- makers to create successful and real- looking films.  A perfect example of a new media program is Final Cut Pro.  I have been using this program for my digital class.  Perhaps, if new media hadn’t been invented, old animation from the late 1800s and other special effects from the 1970s and 80s would still be considered impressive.

 

Podcasts Shmodcasts. What’s the big deal?

I wasn’t sure what a podcast was until I performed research about an hour ago.  I never downloaded a podcast on Itunes until ten minutes ago.  One would agree that podcasts are merely modern accessories to everyday lives, instead of necessary sources of information.  The only time podcasts are useful is when listeners desire to deviate from advertisements and commercials.

I downloaded one free episode of “Today In The Past”.  I found that I could have easily read this exact piece of information in a newspaper or on a website.  Or, I could have listened to this on the radio.  It was incredibly short and unnecessary to download on to my computer.  I know I seem a bit harsh; however, I’ve been keeping up with the standards of society just fine without entering this realm of podcasts.

Primarily, podcasts are not live and do not produce “breaking” stories.  Podcasts are pre-recorded.  Therefore, they have the equivalent nature of a song. Essentially, what is the big deal of a podcast when radios have been present for decades?  People turn to radios to hear current events and out breaking stories.  According to  “Heard On The Street”, podcasts liberate listeners from advertising, and thus put an end to the tedious and dangerous toggling between the car radio’s pre-set buttons.  Importantly, there is no other benefit to podcasts.  Perhaps the introduction of podcasts will decrease the amount of car accidents due to drivers’ inability to pay attention to the road while they play with their car radios.

In today’s day and age, people are yearning for new, technological devices, whether they are necessary or not.  The thought of an advanced piece of technology, that was not present any time before, intrigues people across the globe.  It is human nature to be interested with the introduction of podcasts; yet, one of these days, people will realize how absurd and unnecessary podcasts truly are.  People should continue to utilize the radio: a device that incorporates so much history.

 

 

Will There Ever Be Another World’s Fair?

According to Danielle Abrams, professor at the School of Art & Design, the World’s Fair in the United States was known as a “school for the nation” and as “American Mecca”.  Cross-cultural dialogue and the exchange of solutions became defining elements of the fair.  It also became future oriented and “utopian”.  The World’s Fairs allowed a wide variety of people to be immersed in different cultures and to observe recent technological advancements.  Interestingly, I used to drive past the remains of the New York World’s Fair on my way to the city, being that I am from Long Island, New York.  I’ve been intrigued by the tall, circular buildings ever since I was a young child.

Evidently, there are no more World’s Fairs.  Perhaps the Internet and online stores have become today’s new “World’s Fair”.  The Internet has become incredibly accessible for people across the globe.  People no longer need to leave their desks in order to shop and browse through interesting and innovative things.  I always longed to attend a World’s Fair, similar to the ones during the 20th century.  However, if one were to be planned, it would turn out to be a complete failure.  People would be too lazy to leave their desktops, away from their computers.