creative pollination
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Farewell, maddening semester!
I remember in the first weeks of Fall Semester 2010 thinking to myself- *I'm going to cry or be institutionalized before this is over*.
Dear Santa,
To a large extent, I might need to sleep for a week and cried for the first time just this morning when I woke up twenty minutes after my Global Politics final started (almost made it, I know:\).
Well, not to be entirely sporadic but to prove my point, my present situation:
Beloved Comedy Central is on as typical background
commercial on with people singing
"snow days ..." (paying no attention to TV)
[[suddenly I remember a music video a friend sent me, but never watched!]]
DISTRACTION!
--First advertisement on YouTube?
SAME SONG, SAME COMMERCIAL
"snoooow daaaays..."... WTF!
What I've learned this semester is that being apart of the digital revolution has its counterpoints and blowbacks. A lot of what we experience as consumers has been strategically manipulated through unique data sets. Most of the information used to attack target markets are from studied stereotypes.
I knew this was always true.
I understand we are all conditioned to absorb media without questioning its effects.
So now, I find myself falling into categories and being generalized. The whole transition was very much like synchronicity-- it wasn't until I was aware of the the media/social web that it began to be relevant in my life.
In five years, I will probably still be maddened by generalized marketing. For the most part, The internet poses a unique conundrum; it gives everyone an unreserved, self-published voice. That voice, however, is construed into market value digits and is getter more and more accurate in its assumptions. Hopefully some leisurely winter break reading will allow my mind to regenerate. If next semester is half as ballsy and thought provoking as this one, I'm going to need a hefty dose of holiday brainlessness.
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
She was of little gamer fame
My attention span is crap. I can hardly brew a pot of coffee without googling how much electricity it takes to do so.
I believe this leads me to my present disposition on gaming--
BO-RING!
Let me back up, I'm not saying gaming hasn't had a significant impact on my life. I remember waiting tirelessly for my brother to go skateboarding so I could break into him room to play Sonic The Hedgehog. I would even play with no sound to ensure I heard him walk in the door.
I don't deal well with violence. I consider myself a verbal tyrant when it comes to expressing my anger. Most of the games I played were Disney friendly with adversaries casting magic spells or kidnapping bunnies for experimentation. Though I did enjoy playing video games that were soft enough for my virgin mind, I never saw finishing them as important. Nowadays, I enjoy games like SpongeBob's Diner dash which puts the player in a multitasking environment of a restaurant. You have to complete tasks in time to ensure their happiness and your tip. This is pretty nauseating considering I've worked in restaurants since I was 15. Oy. I'll also get down in some Rock Band and anticipate good things from DJ Hero.
When I think "gamer" a few specific people come to mind: My brother, my friend Harry, and the general male population of SPSU. The problem with these associations is these three figures are all startlingly different in disposition, habits, and interests. One enjoys professional football, one makes music videos, and one programs computer software. My brother is humble and passive in conversation while Harry speaks no language other than the Atlanta techno music scene. The underlying denominator in all three is that they are all avid gamers. I've always thought it to be interesting that "gamers" aren't a are predictable group of people. Gaming has moved across social borders and has become a universal past time and way of life.
I think the way we engage in games is comparable to other forms of media, especially movies. Games allow us to make light of the human condition. We all have urges and thoughts that are socially unacceptable. Sometimes we battle life and each other to the point of stress, madness, personal sacrifice and discouragement. Games, much like movies, give us something relatable and likable, sometimes in the form of a fantasy world that gives us an element of control.
In a contemporary American culture, I think we can equate gaming to social evolution. I think the theory that gaming damages children's ability to exercise and communicate may be relevant. Contrarily, I feel that gaming allows previously closeted, poorly socialized people to gain a sense of companionship without being a jock or cheerleader.
Since writing my paper, the connections between all new media are making me feel slightly insane. I can't delve too much into any topic without it intersecting a different artform. To close, I leave you with this t-shirt design that I'm pining over-- one illustrator's art noveau interpretation of the classic Princess Peach.
F&*!book
ARRRRGGGH.
That's how Facebook makes me feel in the midst of finals, papers and projects.
I guess I would like my presence of Facebook to be endearing and relieving. I would never want to bring my burdens upon any other person, especially on the internet. I've never fully understood why people bemoan life and love and school work. I'll never understand why girls get married and turn into glorified Susie home-makers, ranting about husbands and life together. Profile pictures sporting wedding gowns 2 years after the nuptials.
That's how Facebook makes me feel in the midst of finals, papers and projects.
I am completely subconsciously addicted. Sometimes (all the time) I wonder how many hours of my life I could do-over sans the unholy FB.
When I was fully into the artistic nature and social composition of MySpace, I hesitantly ventured into collegiate Facebook land and created my profile. At first it was easy to pinpoint my internet identity. It was mostly a process of transferring pictures and info-blurbs directly from MySpace. The pictures were the same, the persona was the same. The most significant question was whether or not to reconnect with the people I was suggested to. Of course curiosity got the best of me. The random associations I would readily avoid in a public encounter were suddenly barking up my tree, and my response? Superficial "omg how have you been's, you look great's and married with kids?!'s". Loaded bullets. Might as well put a billboard over my job that reads "Please come in and catch Christine off guard for a positively awkward encounter!".
God help me in the treacherous depths of Facebook and it's inherent tendency to find its way to my browser without me even thinking about. What I mean by subconscious addiction is the way my fingers are trained with various shortcut keystrokes that open a new tab, typing a simple F followed by brings me right to my newsfeed. It seriously happens in a millisecond and I'm afraid it might be seriously hindering my study skills.
Aggrivations aside, my Facebook "face" isn't very serious. Most of my status updates are comical, provocative or political. Oddly enough, now that I type that, those are the exact personality traits I want to be seen for. (Oh crap. I've done it again. Realized something about myself in this class. Crap.)
The stream of my profile pictures are mostly candid shots, funny situations I've encountered on late nights, or internet made pop pictures. Two of my favorites:
I've actually deterred from talking about my love life altogether on the almighty FB. I like to be regarded as an individual, not attached or dependent on my significant other.
My Facebook face is exactly what I want people to get out of my presence: a good laugh, a little head scratching, and maybe some likes.
Tales of an Observer
Though I can absolutely agree with the inherent participatory nature of the internet, I'm not sure whether my part of the web culture is playing a vey active role.
There are a handful of websites I frequent regularly such as The Daily Beast, Reddit, and the obligatory Facebook. My observation of events is just that--I like to remain unseen in most anonymous forums. Reddit is particularly inventive and engaging to the technology generation. Short attention spans and information uptake rates are catered to wholly, and for those Redditors with the time to do so, commenting is highly encouraged. In fact, the amount you comment relates to a numerical score called your "comment karma". I've been on Reddit for some time, and my comment karma remains at a bleak 2 points. I'm not sure why I question my intellectual input in such a broad ranging forum. Heck, half the posts on Reddit are of cats in batman outfits or by guys with a less-than-dismal love life. Why do I clam up when it comes to posting my digital two cents?
For the same reason I debate any and everything I publish to the internet with harsh personal criticism, I believe I am letting down my end of the participatory aspect of new media. The one area I relate to most would be music, yet I've never written an album review or opinion that could benefit anyone else. Maybe the insecurities I've had since high school echo in my tech-chamber. Admitting to my unusual stance on web authoring does brighten another area of how I participate--the repost.
When I stumble across a story or website that really moves my thinking, I typically share the site via Facebook for my "friend" circle to observe. This tactic, however, doesn't mean I'm actually publishing anything to a newsfeed; I am simply regurgitating someone else's blurbs that I pined over for 10 minutes, contemplating whether or not I wanted that particular site to be a badge of my personal taste. Half the time the site makes the cut, the other half I rule out as offensive or unworthy or open for too much critique.
Part of me is starting to take more technological risks. Just last week I made my very first post to Reddit and got 70% approval ratings with 62 upvotes and 21 downvotes, woohoo!
I might assign fresh meaning to my online language as of now. Maybe I should stop hesitating. I don't know why I take my input so seriously in a community of proverbial web junkies who sit around all day dreaming up things to post. I think it's my ego.
Maybe this is why I'm getting an education :)
White boys and white noise
For obvious reasons, I think the holidays are the appropriate time for me to understand how and why I watch TV. It used to be a thing of ritual and necessity. It would begin in the mornings of my childhood with familiar noises coming from the family set. The weekdays were news and weather, which now I'm certain was a ploy my mother used to keep our attention on catching the bus. Weekends were typically cartoons, Wheel of Fortune, or some other neutral, enjoyable broadcast. Television always felt like part of a regimen. What's interesting is most of us can't go without seeing one lit TV set in a given day. The amount of control we have over visual media has grown to be a bit overwhelming.
Growing up with TV's in every room seems more strange now than it did back then. Though my set was the old box set (literally housed in a wooden box) from the living room and had no remote, I managed to fall asleep to it every night like a pathetic and restless baby who needed audio-visual stimulation to relax enough for sleeping. It's really bizarre that these same empty habits still affect me every day.
When I stumble upon a likable show, my behavior seems to flair at the thought of an upcoming episode. There's always a level of sociability with watching TV now. Because of similar tastes, I'm constantly waiting of friends to be available to watch our usual programs. When LOST ended, I didn't see my friend Gwynneth for 2 months. No kidding.
Because my schedule is hectic to say the least, I try not to get suckered into the fanatic category too easily. There are certain programs I love to commentate on, namely South Park and other adult cartoons. They seem to be the prominent TV shows resonating through my peer circles.
Outside of the sporadic True Blood episode or NatGeo special, I typically keep my TV on Comedy Central. I like the availability of a good laugh even if I'm not really paying attention. In between cycles of blow drying portions of snarled hair, I will revert to the TV set for a 20 second mind-melt, and if I'm lucky, a mindless, fluffy chuckle.
buizzness:
thebuzzings@gmail.com