Jon,
I have to identify with your process. I usually have all of thefollowing, which you mentioned: tea, difficulty turning off music (even when I don't like it), and rampant procrastination. Poetry is difficult without concentration, and concentration is difficult when you have to write poetry =/
Marika,
When I was Writing my poem, i had little difficulty finding an image, but I definitely had trouble putting it to paper. After readig your post, I feel that, even if my poem isn't a masterpiece, the time i spent concentrating on it will definitely help me remember the significance of my image. I just hope I'll be able to get it to the point that everyone who reads it will feel the same way.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Metacongnition: Poetry
The first thing that comes to mind when i think of poetry is, "do i have to change this?"
I got attached to my first draft, and the second, but now, I'm even more so to my latest. Does that mean i'm improving it, or i'm getting more tired of it?
Also, I used a thesaurus a lot. I found i often had a conundrum- What word do i use, or how do I affect it such that it gives the exaxt meaning or meanings I want it to. It's like words are colurful building blocks, and i want to build a tower, but not have holes or protrusions. It's difficult to say what you mean(not have holes) and mean what you say(not have protrusions) at the same time.
I got attached to my first draft, and the second, but now, I'm even more so to my latest. Does that mean i'm improving it, or i'm getting more tired of it?
Also, I used a thesaurus a lot. I found i often had a conundrum- What word do i use, or how do I affect it such that it gives the exaxt meaning or meanings I want it to. It's like words are colurful building blocks, and i want to build a tower, but not have holes or protrusions. It's difficult to say what you mean(not have holes) and mean what you say(not have protrusions) at the same time.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Connection: King Lear to "The path of stuff"
Today I saw a video on Youtube-"The path of stuff"
The video was a spirited, 20 minute proclamation of the insustainability of the American market... and it was riddled with pitfalls, in the form of half truths. Half-truths that present a true fact, in a way that misrepresent the matter at hand. One example: in the last 40 years, X % of the Earth's original forests have been cut down. Obviously, replanted forests are misrepresenting the impact of corporations. Additionally, her claim that "wal-mart hurts its employees by not proving healthcare" is grounded in fact, but, wal-mart gives people jobs, healthcare or not. There's plenty of people who appreciate the job.
King Lear is filled with deception, half-truth, and not-truth. So many disguises, lies, and more... I realised that the politically-focused loaded argument, and other fallacies of misrepresentation.
The video was a spirited, 20 minute proclamation of the insustainability of the American market... and it was riddled with pitfalls, in the form of half truths. Half-truths that present a true fact, in a way that misrepresent the matter at hand. One example: in the last 40 years, X % of the Earth's original forests have been cut down. Obviously, replanted forests are misrepresenting the impact of corporations. Additionally, her claim that "wal-mart hurts its employees by not proving healthcare" is grounded in fact, but, wal-mart gives people jobs, healthcare or not. There's plenty of people who appreciate the job.
King Lear is filled with deception, half-truth, and not-truth. So many disguises, lies, and more... I realised that the politically-focused loaded argument, and other fallacies of misrepresentation.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Thoughts on the TED Project
To TED(v.) 1. To use an idea with much potential benefit and execute it poorly ;2. To participate in an Academy-wide project.
This definition sums up the feelings of most of the Academites, myself included.
The TED project succeeded in a few of its objectives:
-Online collaboration worked, simply. I felt as connected as if I was in a room with my groupmates. I thank our choice of Google sites.
-The research and task assignment process was simple and streamlined. Things were assigned, and they got done. The weight for all the students was such that none neglected their duties.
However, the TED presentation fell short, in my opinion, of having overall value. Mostly, research was presented, ideas shared, etc... but these weren't huge, pressing things- they were mostly fairly isolated and separate from our daily life. In all, most, if not all, of what was important in the presentations was already in the videos.
This definition sums up the feelings of most of the Academites, myself included.
The TED project succeeded in a few of its objectives:
-Online collaboration worked, simply. I felt as connected as if I was in a room with my groupmates. I thank our choice of Google sites.
-The research and task assignment process was simple and streamlined. Things were assigned, and they got done. The weight for all the students was such that none neglected their duties.
However, the TED presentation fell short, in my opinion, of having overall value. Mostly, research was presented, ideas shared, etc... but these weren't huge, pressing things- they were mostly fairly isolated and separate from our daily life. In all, most, if not all, of what was important in the presentations was already in the videos.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
Captured Thought: Music Piracy and American Law
There's a site that offers access to music online for free. Playlist.com, run by Project Playlist, Inc., claims over 37 Million users... That's a lot. None of them pay a cent for hundreds of thousands of songs. The RIAA, of course, sued back in May. Project Playlist is still running.
The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent tracker based in sweden, serves over 100,000 daily users, providing access to an enormous amount of free, illegal content. The RIAA, MPAA, and EA games sued. The site still operates.
Both sites defend themselves from the law with one argument: "We don't GIVE them the music." This is true, to an extent. Both sites operate by linking the people with the music to the people who want it, and none of their servers contain illegal content.
Is this piracy on the websites' part? Not techically. Is it illegal? Yes- here's why: Conspiracy. It's the same reason getaway drivers go to jail, even if they didn't steal anything. These sites are instrumental in streamlining mass piracy on an unprecedented scale. (For example, AC/DC's new album, Black Ice, suffers about 10,000 downloads per hour)
So the remaining question is this: How do they get away with it? The answer was suddenly obvious: the numbers game. With the sites' legal protection currently locked in debate, there are just too many people involved. many of them are out of US (and by extension, the RIAA and MPAA) reach. And, to top it off, many have no idea that what they're doing is illegal. Playlist.com is similar in style to iTunes, which is considered legal. Nobody told them they were breaking the law. They just got free music. Facebook and MySpace support the site, and if anything makes a site legit, it's having facebook's endorsement.
So, while the lawyers keep billions of hypothetecal dollars in lockup, the music goes on.
The Pirate Bay, a BitTorrent tracker based in sweden, serves over 100,000 daily users, providing access to an enormous amount of free, illegal content. The RIAA, MPAA, and EA games sued. The site still operates.
Both sites defend themselves from the law with one argument: "We don't GIVE them the music." This is true, to an extent. Both sites operate by linking the people with the music to the people who want it, and none of their servers contain illegal content.
Is this piracy on the websites' part? Not techically. Is it illegal? Yes- here's why: Conspiracy. It's the same reason getaway drivers go to jail, even if they didn't steal anything. These sites are instrumental in streamlining mass piracy on an unprecedented scale. (For example, AC/DC's new album, Black Ice, suffers about 10,000 downloads per hour)
So the remaining question is this: How do they get away with it? The answer was suddenly obvious: the numbers game. With the sites' legal protection currently locked in debate, there are just too many people involved. many of them are out of US (and by extension, the RIAA and MPAA) reach. And, to top it off, many have no idea that what they're doing is illegal. Playlist.com is similar in style to iTunes, which is considered legal. Nobody told them they were breaking the law. They just got free music. Facebook and MySpace support the site, and if anything makes a site legit, it's having facebook's endorsement.
So, while the lawyers keep billions of hypothetecal dollars in lockup, the music goes on.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
iMedia: 100 Years
Today I listened to “100 years”
For some reason, I was especially moved when I heard it... A song not of death, but a song of Life.
Live your life, enjoy it, you’ll only live it once.
| When your time comes... |
That doesn’t mean go crazy/ do anything; it begs you to understand that someday, tomorrow won’t be guaranteed. Someday, you’ll have to look back, facing the end of your life, and hold yourself accountable for what you made of it. That day, when you’re holding on, fighting for just another moment, clinging to/wishing for just another chance to live, to keep living, to make things right, to make the most of the time you squandered away. Learn now, that one day, you’ll have to defend to your harshest critic your life and what you made of it. Make sure you’re not making decisions today you’ll regret when it all comes together, when you look back….
“Fifteen, there’s still time for you. Time to live and time to choose…”
There’s time to make up, to live a life you’ll be proud of living when your time comes.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Leanne's blog looked at using words until the meaning fades out of them.
Leanne-
I felt like commenting on your thoughts on swear words.
A while ago, I read 1984, and I thought, "Isn't swearing similar to Newspeak? After all, I would be limiting my expression of a broad range of feelings to what... a dozen four-letter words? I don't think I like the idea.
That's not to say I don't swear at all, but only when the word really IS the right one- that is, I swear about as much as I would use a word like 'magenta,' which is quite specific in meaning.
If I didn't make a point of using the most specific word, these words WOULD lose meaning... So I do.
Hi Melanie!
I think part of the reason chocolate has a special place in society is a simple fact: Cocoa is a DRUG. A stimulant. Cocaine is made from it. Cocaine is highly concentrated and has other additives, but the same stuff that makes chocolate... chocolatey makes illegal drugs. Perhaps more than eating chocolates on valentines', people like getting high.
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