Showing posts with label weeklies. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weeklies. Show all posts

Monday, May 14, 2018

Time to Say Goodbye

me.
Well netnarr, it's been a really fun semester. I've been so excited to relive the Digital Alchemy and Networked Narratives experience with a new group of students, and I cannot believe that May has come so quickly. It's been simultaneously a very long and a very short semester-- although I can look back and remember the first week, it also feels as if January were years ago. We've experienced a lot this semester and played with a variety of digital tools which have allowed us to see the world through a new lens of digital storytelling. Memes, gifs, games, and sounds all contribute to a greater story which expresses the story of life in the 21st century.

If you go to this link, you will see a comprehensive account of all of my blog posts for this semester. It's crazy to look back at all of the different worlds that we have explored. You will see that there are 16 blogs for this semester, although many more date back to my netnarr life in past semesters (and past worlds). Likewise, if you click here, you will see an account of my Daily Digital Alchemy responses. This has always been one of my favorite parts of the course, as it fosters creativity in digital spaces.

Another netnarr tool that I have always appreciated is the TAGS explorer tool, because it offers an incredible way of tracking participation within a network. Every handle that has ever been included in the netnarr conversation is a part of the TAGS explorer trail. Those of us who have been highly involved in the conversation are harder to pinpoint in the thick of the network, but those on the outskirts have also contributed to the conversation. For example, there have been a few instances where I have dragged my fiance @hemingquay into the class, and he appears in the TAGS explorer as well.  I have screenshots of both of our participation below.

^Grayson (@hemingquay)


^Me (@rissacandiloro, now @rissaverona)

In comparing my Twitter presence from the beginning of the semester to the end, the account analysis tool, I noticed that my activity increased greatly. The first screenshot below is my Twitter presence from the beginning of the semester. The second screenshot shows my current Twitter presence. I have highlighted key differences between the two charts:

old


new

I'm surprised to find that I am one of three leaders on the Make Bank leaderboard (shoutout to fellow leaders Hailey and Tiffany)! I really like the Make Bank as a way of submitting projects for this class, and one of my favorite Makes was the progress GIF: mine was about the process of nail art. I was also very interested in the redlining project we did. I studied TMobile reception in Newark NJ, and was pleased to find that TMobile seems to be free of any redlining implications. This was one of the harder Makes this semester, but I enjoyed the process and I enjoyed assisting other students in completing the project. 

I have expressed this before but the largest challenge in my semester was using Audacity to create audio files. I had a rough time with the endeavor last semester, and doubted that this semester would be any different. However, I'm excited to say that I learned a great deal more about Audacity, and I'm quite proud of my projects. They can be found on my Soundcloud account (am I a Soundcloud rapper yet? Are you proud, mom?). I'm particularly proud of Seasons Transition. I look forward to using Audacity in the future and can see incorporating it into a classroom in the future. After all, aren't all the kids on Soundcloud anyway? 

All in all, I have very proud of this class and happy for the experiences I have had this semester. The digital world can raise important questions about life, access, and privilege, and I think that exploring these questions is of the utmost importance. If any other students see this, please know that I am proud of your work and am glad to have met you this semester. You have all done so well, and I hope you feel that you have learned a great deal about the digital world. To any future students who take this course, come in with an open mind and expect to have a lot of fun-- there is so much more to the digital world than just memes although, as we've learned, memes can be very important. 




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Monday, March 5, 2018

GIFs, GIFs, GIFs!

I love digital art. I've been interested in the digital world for as long as I can remember, from fanfiction.net, to deviantart.com, to my discovery of YouTube when it was a relatively new platform. I have always been interested in the different ways that people express their art, and I appreciate that GIFs are finally being given the recognition that they deserve.  

One of my favorite types of digital art are YouTube videos. I've loved YouTube for years and years, and it's my default for entertainment and news. I have a collection of favorite makers, some of whom I have followed for years, and I've learned so much. For example, one of my passions is makeup and, as a young girl, I used to watch Michelle Phan and Julia Graf, and that's how I learned to do makeup! It's also cool to me that, despite the fact that time has passed and much has changed, I could still find the videos I loved so long ago. By growing up in the digital age, digital art became my culture and I am grateful for it. 

GIFs are interesting to me because process GIFs, like the ones we worked on in class, aren't that different from videos. They show steps in a process and, if you're a visual learner, they might be even better for you than YouTube videos, which tend to have a lot of talking and explanation. 

Show your work:


Here are my syndicated blog posts. I seem to have10 from this semester.


Here is the link to my DDA responses, but for some reason nothing will load. Alan, thoughts? I've certainly been participating :) I haven't been as responsive as Kevin (@dogtrax) with his 51 tweets since January 1st, but I'm a top runner with 14 responses. 


Watch me go on TAGSExplorer at the above link! It's amazing to watch the course interactions mapped out. Netnarr really is a complex organism. Do you see me right in the center of it all? Let's play "Where's Waldo."


As for my place on the leaderboard of Makes, Hailey I'm coming for your title!


GIF a Process Make:

Showing off one of my favorite processes! I'm re-doing my nails tonight, so I will try to remember to take pictures in order to re-do this make. I'd like it to reflect the process a bit more, rather than just showing the components.


GIF if all Together: Digital Art / Digital Life Make


I had so much fun with remixing this GIF! I love reaction GIFs and the reactions I included are some that made me laugh quite a bit!





DDAs: 2/27 through 3/5

In a recent development, I am no longer able to embed my tweets here because I have made my Twitter account private-- at least for the time being. I am applying to teaching jobs and I don't want potential employers looking through my social media. Obviously there's nothing bad, but I can be silly with my friends and I need to attempt a professional persona ;) I'll make it public for the sake of Twitter chats and class events and, from now on, I will post screenshots of tweets. 



I love to share these photographs because I was quite proud of them. I've never seen such a beautiful rainbow!


This was so much fun! I made a QR code that links to my Twitter. I didn't know it was so easy to make one, and I'll keep this in mind for future projects. Of course I had to include glitter, it's my favorite!



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Monday, February 26, 2018

GIF it up!

Last week was a nice break, although I'm glad we had time to talk about GIFs which, next to memes, are my favorite subject. I love using GIFs in conversations with friends, and often joke that lately, these two are personal favorites:



Honestly, when isn't there a use for hell Elmo? As for the drinking bleach meme, maybe you have to know my friends, but they send some crazy stuff to our group chats. 

It's cool to me that GIFs are also an art form. Artists have never been bound, and I love that people have taken this silly form of communication and made it into a format that can be shared in art galleries. I am referring to this, which I also shared in the Referencium: 10 Emerging GIF Artists Who Prove Motion Photography Has No Limits

I hope you enjoy the makes I submitted for this week! I had a lot of fun with them!

Captioned GIF for Many GIFs From One [Western] Video Make:

Uncaptioned GIF:
(but if this were to be captioned anything, it would say #BYE)

Interesting GIFs

Here are the links to the Tweets I posted about interesting GIFs. Honestly, the egg underwater still has me reeling! My favorite is definitely the tennis one though, it's seamless!

This GIF was amazing to me, because it explains how keys work, which is something I have struggle to understand since two weeks ago when my key broke in my office door. https://t.co/qJBrujchDm pic.twitter.com/AgSaV6z8bR


Daily Digital Alchemies 2/20-26/18

DDAs weren't a requirement this week, but I saw this prompt and I really needed a puppy today. Shouldn't every day have a puppy?

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Monday, February 19, 2018

On Selfies

Selfies are an interesting topic to me because, as I expressed in class, I don't take many! Usually when it's time to pick a profile picture, I have to scroll through many, many pictures on my phone before reaching one that I would like to represent me. That's not to say I never take selfies, I just feel rather vain sharing them. 
To preface this, I don't like attention. I don't like putting myself out there for others to pick apart, and that's not an insecurity, I'm just a private person. I don't talk to a lot of people about the deepest matters of my heart, and I think that selfies can reveal a lot about a person-- stuff that I don't love to put out to the general public. I prefer candid shots, nature shots, shots that show something real about the world. My instagram is full of flowers, nature scene, and pictures of my friends and family. One of my favorite posts on my account, currently, is a series of photos my friend captured of my and my fiance. He wanted to a couple photo and I felt awkward, so it came out to be a series of pictures of me trying to run from the camera. It was candid, it says something that I'm okay with revealing, and that's why I like it. 
I cannot express enough-- I don't have an issue with people taking selfies, it's just not really my thing. Even when I don't look great in a group picture, I would much rather be posing with friends than standing on my own in a photo. Maybe I'm too critical of myself, but I find that sometimes, after I post a selfie, I look back at it and find issue with it. Usually my issue is, "I don't look like that!" I find that selfies, while they help us to look attractive, cater to our best angles and, in my case, that's not realistic. I like dealing in reality and when I know how much time and effort went into taking and choosing the perfect selfie, it ruins the image for me. 
Like I said, it's complicated. 


Emilio Vavarella Studio Visit

It was so interesting to hear from Emilio! He is so young to be as accomplished as he is, and it's impressive to hear the things he has taken away from his experience as a young artist. I thought it fascinating to hear that his inspiration is drawn from fields of theoretical research and philosophy-- in addition to traditional artistic inspiration. I have chosen to share the clip below because I was struck when he mentioned that his original inspiration in high school was drawn from surrealism and Dadaism. We spoke about this topic briefly last week in class, when we briefly discussed Dadaism in relation to nihilistic memes. I shared an article in my last post which talked about the fact that nothing is new, and the nihilism of millennial's humor and memes is reflective of Dadaism. It's fascinating that Emilio originally took inspiration from similar sources!


Google Arts and Culture

I had so much fun with the Google Arts and Culture app. I'm embedding my tweets below, but it made me laugh! Some of the results did bear some resemblance to me, although the two I am sharing first were apparently the closest matches. The first one reminds me of pop art, the second one reminds me of a drawing I could have done in fifth grade. I'll leave it to you to decide which one is a more attractive semblance.


As for the side profile....oh man! I don't know about that! Is that really how I look, Google?

Google Arts and Culture is a fun app, but I can certainly see how people might have issues with the results-- particularly, people who are not of European descent. I don't know which library the app draws from, but there certainly does seem to be far more art representative of European culture. The one thing I can say for sure is that it's a fun app, and not to be taken seriously at all. After leaving class, I got dinner with a friend and she and I had a good bit of fun messing around with the app's capabilities.

Daily Digital Alchemies 2/13 through 2/19/18
Oh, Charlie. Charlie, my dude. His dumb, adorable face lends itself to memes.

A picture of my favorite area of my bedroom. My favorite candle, and my favorite not-so-little-anymore plant. I'm quite proud of him for surviving this long, but I definitely need to re-pot the poor thing.

Honestly I didn't plan on doing this one but I saw Hailey's idea for matching tattoos and I was inspired. Hailey, when we goin'? I'm committing to memes for life.
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Monday, February 12, 2018

Memes and Selfies

I love that this class recognizes the importance of something as seemingly-silly as memes in the overall narrative that is digital culture in the 21st century. Memes are very important because, as I mentioned in class, they're a form of communication that we tend to take for granted. For example, I mentioned The Meme Bible, a gift I bought for my friends (10/10 recc, by the way, buy it immediately #notspon). When I looked through the activity book, I realized that the strangest thing about my absurd purchase, was that my parents would look at it and have no earthly idea what the book was about. The language is English, but it might as well be ancient Greek for the communication barrier. There are many levels to understanding memes, some far below the surface, and that fact is amazing to me.

In another meme-related note, I bought a game for my fiance for Christmas called What Do You Meme?, which is like Cards Against Humanity but with memes. To play, the dealer pulls a meme card which displays a photo, for example:


The players then throw down cards that have phrases on them, to correspond with the photo. The best photo/phrase combination wins. Perhaps this could be played by people with no understanding of memes, but I think that a huge element of the game would be missing. Memes have meta narrative and are best enjoyed when they are understood. 

Make Bank: Memes!

I live for memes, have I mentioned that enough times yet? I love them. I'm fascinated by them. I think they are a fascinating view into the mind of the current world, for better or for worse. My fiance sent me an article this morning from salon.com, regarding the bleak nature of millennial memes-- e.g. eating Tide Pods. The author compares the nihilism and absurdity of millennial humor to Dadaism, a movement that has been around for a century. It's an interesting look into how history repeats itself.

As for my memes:

Submission: 
The Most Fascinating Subject

Submission:
Nosedive (Black Mirror Meme)

Submission:
Nosedive (Black Mirror Meme)


Submission: 
Memes That Meme Themselves

Selfies:

In regard to selfies, selfies are a complicated topic for me. I don't think they're hugely empowering to people, nor do I believe that they suggest a desperate cry for help. I think they're pictures, as we have been taking for years.

Everyone wants to look good in pictures, and selfies allow individuals to choose how they portray themselves to the world. There is no inherent issue in wanting to post a cute, happy, sexy selfie. However, selfies tend to be correlated with vanity, which is another topic altogether. Vanity is a real thing that I believe should be avoided, primarily because it serves no one. To that end, I will include one of my favorite drawings by Charles Allan Gilbert, "All Is Vanity."

A picture speaks a thousand words
Selfies are not the problem. Vanity is the problem. Desiring beauty is not the problem. Being consumed by beauty is the problem. Being confident is not the problem. The desperate need for verification is the problem.

Personally, I don't take many selfies because I think the world is more interesting than my particular face, but I certainly don't think selfies are inherently bad. You do you, friend. The problem was never selfies, the problem is, as it always has been, the meaning beneath the selfie. If taking a selfie makes you feel better about yourself, absolutely do it, but also understand that your worth lies far deeper than what a camera can capture. 


DDAs, 2/6 through 2/12/18

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Sunday, February 4, 2018

Welcome, February!

I am so glad that January is over.

100% me.

Some things that happened in January were cool though, like last week's Twitter chat! I'm so encouraged by the widespread class participation, and by the input of the open network participants. It's always so great to be reminded that our class is bigger than the four walls at Kean.

Something that I especially appreciate about digital art is that it opens up new possibilities. For example, photo editing is so accessible. I don't have to be a master photographer to know how to alter levels in a picture in order to enhance certain elements of the photograph.

Throughout the Twitter chat, I continually thought about DeviantArt and Fan Fiction.net. These two websites are prime examples of how digital art has shaped entire communities. Fan Fiction allows authors to create stories and poems about their favorite characters from T.V. shows, anime, books, or movies.  Deviant Art fosters communities of people who want to share their art, fan based or other, with the world. These two sites enable people to share their creative brilliance with the world, and are major hubs for artists who might not be recognized without the power of the digital world.

Regarding the Re-New-Media-Art project, I find it fascinating to discover fossils from the early days of the internet. Patrice and I discovered Olia Lialina's early e-lit piece, "My Boyfriend Came Back From the War," which shockingly holds up reasonably well today. After reading her biography, it seems she was far beyond her time, especially considering that it was created and posted in 1996. How crazy is that to think about?




Oh, Five Card Flickr. This is a great assignment, but a dreaded one for someone like me, who doesn't enjoy creative writing. That being said, I tried.


Here's the link to my finished work:

http://5card.cogdogblog.com//show.php?id=41448



Tweets (1/29 through 2/5/18)




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Sunday, January 28, 2018

Digital Footprint? Menza menz.

Let me preface all of this with a definition of the Italian (American) slang word, menza menz.


So, this guy defines menza menz as meaning something like "maybe, maybe not." I've always understood it to mean a somewhat non-committal, "what are we gonna do?/there's nothing we can do." Which, either way, is how I feel about the topic of my digital footprint.

Sure, it makes me nervous. Sure, I worry that we will become 1984 and every step will be tracked by the government, and every movement watched. But honestly, what can we do? I like action, I like definitive answers, and right now we don't have one. That means that we have two options: 1) Live off the grid, or 2) accept it. Right now, as far as we know, the things that track us are only doing to to have a profile of the things we buy for advertising purposes. I have nothing to hide, I have no reason to be afraid, so until I have a real reason to be concerned, menza menz. 

That being said, as I mentioned last week, Brett Gaylor's Do Not Track documentary is fascinating to me. Even though I don't feel moved to do anything about the things tracking my life, I like to know that they're there. I like to believe that Google has some supreme purpose for me. And, if not, I hope they enjoy my online purchase history of makeup, books, and clothing. 

--

I chose to annotate the article "How-- and Why-- Apple, Google, and Facebook Follow You Around in Real Life" by DJ Pangburn. Much like Do Not Track documentary, the article talks about all of the different apps that collect location data, and speculates the use for such information. Truly, it is nerve-wracking, knowing that all of our information is laid out there for the makers of apps to use as they please but, again, what can we do? The most interesting discussion is the discussion of the police needing a warrant to access cell phone data which, as I annotated in Hypothesis, is an issue for which I can argue either side. On the one hand, cell phone data can reveal a lot. If you have no reason to feel worried, why would you care if the cops had access? An equally compelling point, on the other hand, is that they should require a warrant, because of privacy rights. 

In regard to the information about Apple, Google, and Facebook tracking your location, I like that the article discusses some ways around this but ultimately, they're unsustainable. You can keep your location off until you need to use your GPS, and then what? Even if you use a GPS that isn't connected to your phone, some company, somewhere, has access to that information. 

All things considered, the content of this article was interesting but we live in a networked world. One way or the other, you can be tracked down. I suppose you can make it easier for people to find you, or more difficult but, as of now, I don't see a way around Big Brother. 

--
Tweet Frequency:
My fiance tweets a lot more than me:





Daily Digital Alchemies-- 1/23/18 through 1/29/18:




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Sunday, January 21, 2018

Back in the saddle!

The time has come to dust off this blog and dive back into NetNarr. It's good to be back in our world, and I'm excited to see what this new semester has to offer. As I mentioned in class, this will be my third time around the block in ENG5085, "New Media Studies," then "Digital Storytelling," and now "Digital Alchemy/Networked Narratives," and each time I have learned something new and exciting about the digital world. I'm especially excited this semester about accompanying new students on their journey.

A word of advice to new students-- this may seem like a lot at first, and it may seem completely weird, but rest assured, you'll fall into the swing of things quickly. A great deal of this class involves making it what you want it to be, which is really cool! If you feel so inclined, check out older posts on this blog to see some of what I put together last year at this time. You'll see that there is nothing to be afraid of.

One of the craziest things I've learned from taking many trips down the Internet rabbit hole is that the internet knows a whole lot about me. It knows my interests, my friends, the products I like, and is able to suggest things that I will, in all likelihood, be interested in pursuing. I'm sure everyone can relate to the feeling of your skin crawling when the product you were just talking about is the first search suggestion on your phone. Or, when you Googled a product you were interested in buying, only to have it show up as an ad on every website for the rest of eternity (or, as an added bonus-- when you look up a gift idea on a shared computer and the ads ruin the surprise....gotta love the World Wide Web).

As you will learn about me this semester, I am fascinated by all things dystopian, and this idea ties in directly with the concept of an all-seeing, all-knowing government using me as a cog in the wheel of consumerism. In fact, Do Not Track reminds me greatly of my favorite books, Feed by M.T. Anderson. In this story of a futuristic Earth, all people have social network data feeds installed into their minds, and live life through the lens of constant communication and advertisements. M.T. Anderson masterfully translates the eerie feeling Google knowing your search query into an entire society, which ends up being terrifying to all involved. After watching Do Not Track, it's horrifying to see how close Feed comes to being reality.

I am so excited that we are going to talk with Brett Gaylor. Do Not Track is fascinating, and terrifying, and I look forward to hearing what he has to impart to us.


Daily Digital Alchemies-- 1/16/18 through 1/22/18:







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Tuesday, April 4, 2017

A #weeklie, maybe?

This past week, some of the members of our class were able to visit American University in Cairo, an experience I wish I had been able to share! It's amazing to me that, with the aid of technology, we are able to be anywhere around the world, talking with all kinds of people. 

What struck me as interesting in this stop on our bus tour was how students around the world can relate to similar stories. During the game of two truths and a lie, despite the need for some clarification, it was cool to see that students can come together through mutual experiences. Funny enough, parking seems to be an issue worldwide-- we can't win! Another commonality-- none of us like paying tuition!

I like these bus tours because they've been a great way of experiencing to different places around the world, places such as Egypt where I might never get to go in real life (although I hope to). Conversely, it's they're a great way to go back to places where I have traveled, such as Puerto Rico, and seeing them through a different lens.  

---

Here are my daily digital alchemies from the past week!


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Tuesday, March 28, 2017

This is Not a Blog Post... (jk)

....it's a representation of my thoughts and feelings shown on a screen, composed of pixels and magic (probably).

I'm sure this is what Magritte meant to say.
---

Creativity is difficult for me. As much as I love research and scholarly writing, I'm not a creative writer, and I'm sure I've said that before, and I didn't feel comfortable sharing my writing in the last class.

I've been trying to figure out why I'm not a creative writer, because I used to be. In high school I attended the Union County Teen Arts Festival, I submitted poems and they were accepted into the Festival's collection of student works, and I was so proud of that. Then, I went to college and stopped writing, like I hit a road block. I think it may have something to do with experiencing the great writers of history and thinking that my emo poetry couldn't stand up in such competition-- and it couldn't, but I guess that's not the point. My poetry won't compare to Eliot and Keats, and it won't, and it shouldn't-- because their writing is not my writing. Poetry and creative writing are about courage and self-expression and, between the things I saw on the Young Writer's Project and in class last week, I saw the courage that people can have. I'm not sure where that leaves me, but I'm proud of those who are strong enough to put their hearts on the line and express their deepest thoughts and feelings. At the end of this post, I'll include a poem I've written-- the first in a long time. It's rough and unfinished, but at least I don't have to read it in front of anyone ;)

---

Although we didn't get to take the bus to Australia, it was cool to participate in the activity along with the UOW students. It's interesting to see how people can form perceptions of a place just from the website, and it's even more interesting to see how the perceptions stand up to the voice of experience. One of the biggest things I noticed on the UOW site was the noticeable lack of a "Student Activities" page. In the U.S., one of the main things that students look for in a college is the college experience, shown by the clubs and Greek life options that are advertised on the site. In some ways, the experience is as important as the learning (for better or for worse). However, from the students responses to "What UOW is Really Like," it seems like a pretty normal campus! 

It's hard for me to speak on Kean, because I commute to campus. I've spent a very limited time anywhere except the classrooms and the Writing Studies office. However, I do spent time around other students and I know some of the intricacies that have jaded people against the school-- as well as some of the benefits students enjoy. For that reason, it's funny to look at our website while being a student-- it's impossible to be unbiased. 

You might be able to get a feeling for a campus's vibe, but it's impossible to average out the "general" experience of all students. Everyone is different and everyone values different things. For me, this school works because it's affordable, close, and will get me where I want to go. Yes, there are roadblocks and red tape, but it works for me. This is not going to be everyone's story. Even Princeton could be one student's heaven on earth, and another's hell. 

---

As for "world building," wow, that's a hot topic if I've ever heard one. 

When we build a world (and yes, I'm thinking about Minecraft), we build it around the things we need to survive. When I start a new game in Minecraft, the first thing I do is build a hut to protect me from the monsters at night. Then, when day comes, I venture out and see where the resources are. When I find water, I build a new house. When I find trees, I store up wood. Then, I go from there. 

We all need basics to get through the day. We all need food, water, and oxygen to sustain our basic needs. From that point, we're all different individuals with different experiences in this mad world. In our individual searches for truth we find different answers, many of which set us against one another due to conflicting answers to the same questions. 

In short, I don't think we can pull out the story threads to find the "master narrative," because not everyone believes in the same master narrative (or one at all, for that matter). I can tell you that Christianity is the master narrative I accept, and you may or may not accept it based on your mind and experience. But, that's what my story is based on-- that's my master narrative and all of the answers I'm going to find will be based on that narrative. 

Wherever you find your truth, you find your narrative. So, netnarr, what is truth? 

---

As promised:
Compartments.

When I think of the heart, I see compartments 
Little rooms where memories hide
Memories of people, of places, of joy
Of pain. 

Some compartments warm the heart with love.
When opened, they flood the darkness with light
fluttering out and up and through,
like the dove released from the hat,
soaring to freedom.

Some compartments are dark.
Filled wih anger and hate,
And slowly coat the soul with inky sludge
which slugs in and covers everything with 
heavy,
sticky,
oily,
black.

And then, 
there are the most painful compartments
full of memories yet still sensitive.
Some tender from new birth, others hidden away,
untouchable throughout time.
Those are the memories that ache.
Those are the memories that, 
when the compartment door is ever so slightly touched,
flood the soul with pain
like a scrape across the skin;
light enough to sting the nerves
yet heavy enough to draw spots of blood,
punctuated like a dotted line.
Those are the compartments from which I hide.
Those are the doors tightest closed.
For, if the lightest touch draws blood,
to open the compartment would drown the soul
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Tuesday, March 21, 2017

Noise, Noise, Noise!



Well, NetNarr friends, I tried. I tried so hard to accomplish the #soundwork challenge, but audio editing doesn't seem to be my forte! I attempted the "Have A Conversation With Yourself" challenge, and decided to read a excerpt from The Little Prince-- I thought it would be cool to put different voices to difference characters, as well as the narrator. My sound clip was less than 40 seconds, it seemed simple enough! Sadly....it was not, but I tried, and I think I could work around Audacity if I needed to, which is the point, r-right?

Disappointment at my meager results aside, I have to say, audio work is the most challenging thing that I've encountered in quite a long time! I've never before had the experience of working with an audio editing program, and I'm quite happy to learn about Audacity and mess around with it for this week's class. Without further ado, I present to you, my.....attempt:




Note: I'm not entirely sure why the image behind my excerpt is a giant version of my profile pic but, well, hello!

I worked on this for longer than I'd care to admit, and the main thing I learned is that the natural voice fluctuates quite a bit. I played around with pitch, and came to realize that it's not enough to adjust the end result pitch, in order for segments throughout the clip to blend well, the starting pitch needs to be consistent. This got quite confusing after a while and, even when I thought I had a smooth transition, it wasn't necessarily so. 

I chose this particular exercise because I thought it would be the simplest to grasp, considering how new I am to audio editing. Turns out, there's quite a learning curve, even for the exercise I thought would be simplest. However, this is what I enjoy about this class, it's always some new challenge. Now, I can come away saying I've played around with audio editing software.

--

You can click here be linked to my #3soundstory, which is the story of a pretty normal morning in my life. It was interesting to click through the sound sets posted in the portal and listen to other people's morning sounds.

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I also want to comment on our bus tour to the Young Writers Project. As I browsed through the site, I was stunned by the talent and courage shown by the the participants, especially considering their ages. It takes a great deal of strength and confidence to submit your work to the public for anyone to see and review. Not a lot of people have this courage, and I am impressed that these kids have taken the leap.

Kids are crucially important to society, and I have always believed that we should listen to their voices. The events that shape a person in their formative years have a huge impact on who they grow up to become. Writing may be the best thing kids can do to work through the intense emotions and thoughts that accompany growing up-- the first heartbreak, family trouble, loneliness, questioning-- these things are all important. During my adventure through the site I saw stories, both fiction and nonfiction, that spoke to me because they indicated an incredible degree of depth and knowledge. I realize I'm waxing a bit Wordsworthian (à la "the child is father of the man") but I think there's a relatable degree of truth to be found in the comparison. 

If I could leave the writers of the Young Writers Project with one thought, it would be this- keep writing. Do not stop. Do not lose interest in your writing, and do not fall into the lie that it's not good enough, or can't compare to the greats. In expressing yourself, you are doing the world a service, and you will help at least one other person out there who thought they were all along. To drop another name, in the words of C.S. Lewis, "Friendship...is born at the moment when one man says to another "What! You too? I thought that no one but myself..."

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As for the weekly roundup of DDAs, I present to you:


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See everyone in class!
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Tuesday, February 21, 2017

Did you hear that?

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Did you hear that? Yeah, that. That noise, did you hear it? No, not the person walking by, the other noise. That humming, what is it? Oh, you didn't hear it before? Hah, good luck, now it's all you're going to hear. It's beneath all the other noises, but ever-present, underscoring everything else that goes on. Steady, constant crackling. And what about that other noise, that humming? Where's that coming from? Is it a machine running, running, running, nonstop? Doesn't it get tired? Isn't it tiring to think about?

It's interesting to stop and consider that we're never in complete silence, even when we think we are. Something is always going on around us, be it human or machine. It's almost frightening to consider what utter silence would consist of, because that would suggest a complete and utter loneliness that most of us have never faced. I once watched a documentary about prisons, and in the course of the show some  of the prisoners spoke about the ultimate punishment for acting up in prison; getting sent to solitary confinement. Of all possible punishments, this doesn't sound very threatening but, in reality, it is the most terrifying threat a person can face. People sent to solitary fight to maintain their own sanity, sometimes unsuccessfully. Most would do anything to avoid it. Interesting, isn't it? Obedience, in response to the threat of silence.

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I tried out the #justlistening activity by watching the above clip from Fight Club. It's interesting what you hear when you listen with purpose.

In the clip, sound is used precisely to set the tone. Without watching, I hear the echoes people shifting uneasily in a large room. The sound is tinny, as if the walls don't absorb any of it-- perhaps a room made of cement. I hear coughing, echoes of affirmation from men, the cracking of joints, lighters being flicked on, cheering, and jeering. This is all outside of the main sound, which is Brad Pitt's monologue. Next, I hear grunts, fists making contact with skin, crashes, whoops, and then eerie, echoing music. Finally, footsteps and an upbeat track accompanying Pitt and Norton as they walk and discuss their dream fights. These sounds are all things that aren't meant to be heard but, if they didn't exist, the film would be empty.

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The Truth podcast is fascinating, and I'm so glad it was recommended for this week's assignment. I was particularly intrigued by the episode titled "Dark Matter," and I'm glad I chose that one in particular because the use of sound is powerful throughout the episode. In many instances, I felt as if I were watching a TV show, but all of the images were in my head. Underscoring much of the dialogue was an eerie track, which heightened the mystery of the subject matter. In moments of dialogue, the characters didn't constantly speak directly into the microphone, some sounded closer, others further. When one person was speaking under his or her breath, you could tell. When two characters were speaking but a TV was on in the background, the illusion of dimension was powerful. The sound wasn't always crystal clear, sometimes characters sounded distant, other times there was an echo, building the illusion of someone speaking in an large room. It's amazing to consider this was done in a sound studio! What's more, I felt dragged into this story, as if I was fully immersed, as if it was much, much more than just audio. It was a dynamic and when it ended I found myself clinging to the last word. In short, I'm hooked!

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You can find my blackout poetry exercise here. Check it out and let me know what you think, I had a lot of fun with the assignment.

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I'm still loving the daily digital alchemies, in fact, below are the ones I have completed for this past week:


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I was excited, beyond excited, to watch this week's studio visit with Howard and Mamie Rhinegold. We used one of Howard's books, Net Smart, a few semesters ago in New Media Studies, and it was an eye-opening experience to see how much the internet has expanded since its creation. We had the opportunity to Skype with Howard in New Media Studies as well, and it was such a honor to listen and talk with such an incredible mind and pioneer in the digital world. I am continually impressed by the amount he has accomplished in his career, and how much progress he has seen.

It was also very cool to listen to Mamie as well, as she spoke about how she was surrounded by her father's influence her entire life and at first reacted against it, until she got older and was able to understand how important his work was. As children, we don't often realize how much we are shaped by our parents, or how lucky we may be to be surrounded by the opportunities that we take for granted. I used to tease my father every week as he went off to supervise a high school robotics club. He has since been credited as an influence by kids who have gone to MIT and graduated as engineers. I myself am now fascinated by coding and I wish I had listened more back then!

Getting back to the studio visit, our reach, due to the Internet, can be far more powerful than we expect. Our "virtual communities" can be comprised of people that we have never met, and may never meet face-to-face, but these communities have radically changed our definition of the term "public sphere." One post on the internet can go around the world in the matter of a few hours. Once upon a time, "public" had much smaller implications. Now "public" can be global. Especially in this time of political dissent, public spheres and public opinion can be heavily swayed by virtual communities.
"Whether twenty people or twenty thousand people pay attention to you, the important thing is agency and participation. You are not just one of the millions of people who are fed what a few people create for you, you are, in some way, a creator of culture."             -Howard Rhinegold
We have been given such a huge opportunity with the technology that we have access to, and it's becoming more and more important to use it responsively and constructively. Now, everyone with access to the internet has a way to express themselves. This can either be used to help, or to harm. Why not use it to do great things?

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Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Stories, Arcs, and Fanfiction!

Time for the weekly roundup!

Netprov

Confession time: When it comes to netprov, I ride to strugglebus straight to the end of the line, and then into the nearest body of water where I sink with the failboat.


Much as I love Whose Line Is It Anyway, I'm not an improv kind of girl. Whenever I see actors doing improv well, I admire them because I just don't think quickly enough. I'm much more the sort to think of a great comeback 5 hours later in the shower. Being behind a computer screen changes things slightly, in that you have more time to think through a story but, as we experienced last week during our Twitter netprov, it goes just as quickly. As the questions and guesses fired back and forth, we all had to be on the top of our Twitter games, ready to type and reply at a moment's notice. 

I think netprov is great for those who think quickly and enjoy creative writing and RPGs. If you have the ability to get into a character's head, than this is a fantastic exercise. 

Shape of Stories

I loved the inclusion of Kurt Vonnegut's Shape of Stories, in the NetNarr blog post. I laughed throughout much of it, but also saw that the man knew what he was talking about! Sometimes it takes someone to point out the obvious on a blackboard, but we all know the general shape of stories with their highs and lows. No matter the plotline, every writer and author knows the formulaic, predictable trend that readers want to see. In regard to the inevitable S curve, Vonnegut says, "People love that story, they never get sick of it!"

I don't think this predictability makes the story bad, however. While it's true that we can often have a general feeling for how a story is going to end, that fact doesn't discredit the story itself. Even in a story where the ending seems like a low point, in some way we know that there will be higher arcs, whether they're written about or not, because that's how life works, and life is the basis for our stories. We can find traces of reality in even the most fantastical works. Even so, it's interesting to see how the shape of a story forms and moves us, as we proceed through a work.

Recently, I went to the movies to see Fifty Shades Darker, and in this next section I'm going to outline the plot arcs the the sequel to E.L. James' thrilling bestseller.

Heh. ;)

In all seriousness however, I went to see La La Land, and that movie was interesting for a discussion of arcs. Fair warning-- spoilers ahead. 

As the movie begins both characters, an actress and a musician who are struggling to make it big in Hollywood, are in a pretty low place. Neither can catch a break and both are struggling to make it. However, things slowly climb for the positive as they meet each other and fall in love. In spite of difficulty, life is happy. Things go downhill once again however, when Ryan Gosling's character becomes successful and his subsequent absence takes a toll on their relationship. It climbs back up toward the end when, after a huge fight, Gosling shows up at Emma Stone's character's home and tells her that she received a highly sought-after call back. The movie is then at it's highest point, when time flashes forward 5 years, and we see that both characters have achieved their dreams...but are no longer together. Both are happy but, when they make eye contact across a crowded room, the feeling is bittersweet. 

I like this as a model of arcs because although the film is full of ups and downs, the ending is a decently shocking midpoint. I wonder how Vonnegut would draw it on a chalkboard?

Twitter arc

Moving along to a different kind of arc, I took a look at the shape of our @netnarr account, and my presence in it. This is what I discovered:


This is such a cool application! I think it's so interesting that the shape is ever-changing, as the interaction on our account thrives. It reminded me of a cell under a microscope, and I can confidently liken it to the image of a living being. In a way, it is-- it's comprised of all of us! 

Studio Visit: Fanfiction

Oh boy, fanfiction. I've read my fair share, and I think it's so cool to see it coming into its own as a field of literature. Fanfiction has an interesting presence on the Internet, because for a long time the perception toward it was that you either loved it, or you were severely weirded out by it's existence. Luckily, I think people are now moving toward a third option, fascination at it's existence and studying how it influences young writers. The studio visit this week with Flourish Klink and Elizabeth Minkel was a fascination look into why many are fascinated with writing stories based on stories. 

Flourish and Elizabeth were so fun to listen to! It's so fun to see people talk about the thing they love, especially when the thing they love is an up-and-coming field. Not many people have explored the field from a professional stance, and there's so much to talk about. People's mind work in fascinating ways, and it's interesting to see how a writer twists another writer's writing in order to put the characters in non-canonical situations.


Pastiche vs Fanfiction-- there's so much more to this than I realized!

I think that the once-geeky-now-cool trend of the 2010s extends to the fanfiction realm in a big way. At one point in the studio visit, the discussion turns to the topic of fanfiction's past, and how it was once a thing that only the nerdy kids did. It was once considered nerdy to like shows like the X-Files, Star Wars, Star Trek, Doctor Who, etc., and so individuals who loved these things hid away in their fandom communities and wrote stories for each other. Now, with the advent of geeky-now-cool, such people are find more support once they come out of the woodwork. I'm not so sure fanfiction is ever going to be in the mainstream, but I like that it's getting attention. I also don't think that it's necessarily the worst thing for fanfiction to be on the sides of main stream society. After all, the main stream is boring! ;)

At risk of this blog qualifying to be a novella, I'm going to stop here. As usual, there is loads more to be unpacked, and I look forward to class discussion and hypothes.is threads!











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