This reading is confusing...I think I need an entire class on aesthetics and computers before I can fully grasp it. This guy is throwing out terms and concepts every which way without very tangible examples. What it sounded like it was describing, in very academic/theoretical terms was something like artificial intellegence and/or a video game. (visual communication + speculative technology). Maybe something like educational software?
However, I could be completely wrong so I think I'll wait until this is explained before writing a comprehensive blog post. Anyway, I watched the CNN YouTube Republican debate. Some people come up with interesting, tricky questions. Others come up with rather pointless ones like "How many guns do you own and what kind are they?" Still, a more entertaining format than the usual.
Thursday, November 29, 2007
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Monday, November 26, 2007
politics as usual
With the '08 election, I'm sure political blogs are chomping at the bit. Usually I don't read them. Maybe I haven't found the right one but they seem to get way more partisan than other forms of media. From what I saw in tomorrow's reading, it just seems very slanted...and not in a good way. This is why Democrats can't win, say the Republicans. This is why the Republicans can't win, say the Democrats. To an independent like me, it just translates into meaningless sniping. Usually it just seems like they take content from CNN or something then add their own little commentary. Combined with CNN's own blogs and endless analysis on the 24 network, the political discourse in this country just seems like an echo chamber.
That sounds overly cynical but...YouTube is good for watching debates and such. Maybe it's made politics more available because, let's face it, if someone misses a debate they aren't going to set their VCR to record it (maybe if you have a DVR). One thing is for certain, the internet does have some effect on the political process now that information can be dispersed instantly and constantly. One slip-up caught on someone's cell phone camera can be online the same night and immediately ruin that person's career.
broadcasting!
I'm not sure internet broadcasting could take over the status quo without a change in technology. Internet television is great for cheapskates who don't want to pay for cable but you pay for it in loss of quality. Finally, when it's easier to connect your internet to television screens, I think cable companies will find a way to exploit this (since generally cable companies and internet companies are one and the same and cable companies certainly don't want you skirting around ads or skipping out on expensive cable packages), probably through pricing or download control. This is somewhat similar to what the RCIAA (I believe) did with royalties for internet radio.
Internet radio is a little different. Unlike old-fashioned radio, generally I have found I can avoid the 30 minutes of commercials which is great. Then, unlike an iPod playlist, you can be exposed to new or obscure music, expanding your tastes and discovering new artists. This is generally beneficial for both artist and listener. And radio programs can afford to be highly specialized since they are not targeting the masses, unlike traditional radio. Programs like Pandora and LastFM are very "web 2.0"...that is, interactive and customizable. Personally I find internet radio to be of more use than internet television.
Internet radio is a little different. Unlike old-fashioned radio, generally I have found I can avoid the 30 minutes of commercials which is great. Then, unlike an iPod playlist, you can be exposed to new or obscure music, expanding your tastes and discovering new artists. This is generally beneficial for both artist and listener. And radio programs can afford to be highly specialized since they are not targeting the masses, unlike traditional radio. Programs like Pandora and LastFM are very "web 2.0"...that is, interactive and customizable. Personally I find internet radio to be of more use than internet television.
this is not very representative, since I don't listen to music on my computer much and haven't used this for awhile but it should give an idea of the services available.
Thursday, November 15, 2007
ceci n'est pas une blog
http://www.elsewhere.org/pomo/
Here's a somewhat relevant toy that's fun for English majors :D
When I was a kid, I would cheat at the choose-your-own adventure books because I was impatient. I'd just read pages out of order or purposefully look ahead. I don't know what that would symbolize in terms of literary analysis but I feel like it adds a third layer. Choose-your-own-adventure has some sort of structure. My version of it was anarchy.
Today's reading also reminded me a lot of this X-Files game I used to have which was very similar to a choose-your-own-adventure but it incorporated video and computer elements. It actually had little to do with the main X-Files character - you were just a random person caught up in some complicated conspiracy. There was a main "correct" path you had to take but you could create variations along the path. Also, there was a great deal of interaction going on...I appreciated that a lot of the interaction had nothing to do with the main "point" of the game. For example, you could read "your" (you play a male FBI agent) diary, harass your ex-wife or even commit suicide (hahah, wasn't exactly age-appropriate!). Along with your actions, you chose how you interacted with people - you could hit on people or be an absolute asshole which would do anything from change the dialogue to get you shot.
In this way, it had variable discourse and variable plot but a limited point of view.
also this: "The ludic pleasure of deciphering the logic of the system – what game designers call reverse engineering- cannot be separated from the narrative pleasure of watching the story unfold" reminded me of an article by Chuck Klosterman when he talks about his younger niece explaining how to play the Sims: "'You just live here,' she said. 'That's just the way it is.' But where did I get all this money? 'You just have money.' But where did I come from? 'Nobody knows. You're just here.' Am I one of the 55 million Americans living without health insurance? 'Be quiet! You won't get sick.' ... The rules become fixed. Fabricating a Sim-human's college experience would be no different than randomly deciding that 90210's Brenda Walsh got a C+ in tenth-grade biology. Those facts aren't available to anyone. Clearly, video technology cages imagination; it offers interesting information to use, but it implies all peripheral information is irrelevant and off-limits."
Here's a somewhat relevant toy that's fun for English majors :D
When I was a kid, I would cheat at the choose-your-own adventure books because I was impatient. I'd just read pages out of order or purposefully look ahead. I don't know what that would symbolize in terms of literary analysis but I feel like it adds a third layer. Choose-your-own-adventure has some sort of structure. My version of it was anarchy.
Today's reading also reminded me a lot of this X-Files game I used to have which was very similar to a choose-your-own-adventure but it incorporated video and computer elements. It actually had little to do with the main X-Files character - you were just a random person caught up in some complicated conspiracy. There was a main "correct" path you had to take but you could create variations along the path. Also, there was a great deal of interaction going on...I appreciated that a lot of the interaction had nothing to do with the main "point" of the game. For example, you could read "your" (you play a male FBI agent) diary, harass your ex-wife or even commit suicide (hahah, wasn't exactly age-appropriate!). Along with your actions, you chose how you interacted with people - you could hit on people or be an absolute asshole which would do anything from change the dialogue to get you shot.
In this way, it had variable discourse and variable plot but a limited point of view.
also this: "The ludic pleasure of deciphering the logic of the system – what game designers call reverse engineering- cannot be separated from the narrative pleasure of watching the story unfold" reminded me of an article by Chuck Klosterman when he talks about his younger niece explaining how to play the Sims: "'You just live here,' she said. 'That's just the way it is.' But where did I get all this money? 'You just have money.' But where did I come from? 'Nobody knows. You're just here.' Am I one of the 55 million Americans living without health insurance? 'Be quiet! You won't get sick.' ... The rules become fixed. Fabricating a Sim-human's college experience would be no different than randomly deciding that 90210's Brenda Walsh got a C+ in tenth-grade biology. Those facts aren't available to anyone. Clearly, video technology cages imagination; it offers interesting information to use, but it implies all peripheral information is irrelevant and off-limits."
Monday, November 12, 2007
the pros and cons of digital video
+ I can legally watch a whole lot of movies (yay Netflix!). I can also illegally watch almost anything that ever existed in video form. Favorites include old propaganda relating to drugs or war (seriously, Disney and Warner Bros. made some interesting pieces).
+/- Thanks to tiny digital video cameras and cell phone cameras, anything you do or say can be recorded by anyone. It's a lesson celebrities have learned the hard way.
+/- On one hand, it's cool that we get sharper images. On the other, there are drawbacks to using digital video rather than film in terms of contrast and lighting. According to wikipedia, "Film handles highlighting differently." Electronics vendors constantly market "high-high-superhigh" definition type equipment. There seems to be something of a battle in the film world. I'm not expert, but on a whole I find movies shot with digital equipment to be usually ugly, with the exception of Sin City and Grindhouse both of which were very stylized. I'm not expert, though. Hm. For example, in the new Star Wars I think it tended to excentuate the "video game" look of the movie. The older Star Wars did not seem hyperaware about its special effects and looks so much better to me. Maybe the entertainment industry has some sort of evil plan to get Americans to buy expensive entertainment systems to better view the new film techniques.
- This is incredibly off-topic but YouTube has the stupidest commenters on the internet. Examples: "I think that the snake does'nt got any thees and poisen. BUT STILL WHAT A STUPID PEAPLE!" "your the reason dianasors went exstixnt"
+/- Thanks to tiny digital video cameras and cell phone cameras, anything you do or say can be recorded by anyone. It's a lesson celebrities have learned the hard way.
+/- On one hand, it's cool that we get sharper images. On the other, there are drawbacks to using digital video rather than film in terms of contrast and lighting. According to wikipedia, "Film handles highlighting differently." Electronics vendors constantly market "high-high-superhigh" definition type equipment. There seems to be something of a battle in the film world. I'm not expert, but on a whole I find movies shot with digital equipment to be usually ugly, with the exception of Sin City and Grindhouse both of which were very stylized. I'm not expert, though. Hm. For example, in the new Star Wars I think it tended to excentuate the "video game" look of the movie. The older Star Wars did not seem hyperaware about its special effects and looks so much better to me. Maybe the entertainment industry has some sort of evil plan to get Americans to buy expensive entertainment systems to better view the new film techniques.
- This is incredibly off-topic but YouTube has the stupidest commenters on the internet. Examples: "I think that the snake does'nt got any thees and poisen. BUT STILL WHAT A STUPID PEAPLE!" "your the reason dianasors went exstixnt"
digital media
It's interesting to think about film studies in terms of the digital revolution. This semester I'm taking Russian Cinema and I plan to take more film classes in the future. It's hard just to remember how cumbersome VHS was. I think that was the quickest technological overthrow I've yet seen. On the other hand, it's odd to think of a giant film database that would analyze trends because we don't yet have one for written texts! Why not feed all important literature into a database and mark-up different uses of language? Films databases would encounter the same problems. That is, I can see thousands of academics arguing over how exacty to carve up movies as well as books.
Film analysis also runs into the same problem as the other visual arts. How do you analyze a performance? A dance? A particular theater production? A painting? The latter is a bit easier because you can include a still but it's not the same as "the real thing." All of these suffer things getting "lost in translation." Furthermore, I don't think there's a standardized citation system. When I wrote my film analysis, I didn't have to include which particular version or cut I was watching or where exactly this scene could be found within the film. In standard literature, I absolutely must include page numbers and book versions. Odd, isn't it?
Film analysis also runs into the same problem as the other visual arts. How do you analyze a performance? A dance? A particular theater production? A painting? The latter is a bit easier because you can include a still but it's not the same as "the real thing." All of these suffer things getting "lost in translation." Furthermore, I don't think there's a standardized citation system. When I wrote my film analysis, I didn't have to include which particular version or cut I was watching or where exactly this scene could be found within the film. In standard literature, I absolutely must include page numbers and book versions. Odd, isn't it?
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