Friday, October 16, 2009

Cyber-Writing-Space-Junkie

I've avoided electronic writing for as long as electronic writing has existed. Maybe it was a fear of exposing too much, or perhaps a fear of seeing too much of others due to their self exposure. Wait-- I think it was actually poemophobia. You know, being forced to read every body's really bad poetry on their MySpace and blogs and wherever else they can post it. There's so much of it that even the good poetry in the mix starts to wear on me. However, thanks to a multi-media course taught by Dr. Sarah Pace, I have overcome my fears and have learned to appreciate all forms of the written arts.

I use the phrase "written arts" because I do consider writing an art form, and I also use the phrase to refer to the digital canvas as well as the paper, parchment, stone, wood, or even skin canvases-- whatever medium the artist chooses. In Dr. Pace’s class, we discussed how the web is not always viewed as true writing. In Jay David Bolter's book, "Writing Space" there is a lot of discussion as to what a writing space actually is. Is the printed word and bound book the only real form of writing, or can writing actually include cyberspace or even solely the human mind? Coming from the view of an artist, I say artists choose their medium. Christo used thousands of yards of fabric, Michelangelo used marble,
(The David: www.boingboing.net), Andy Warhol used screen prints, and many others have used whatever the hell they wanted. The viewers may decide that some particular form of art is not for them, and even consider the form sub-standard. Regardless of opinion, it is still art. Does modern art routinely anger me? Yes. But it is still art.

In addition to contemplating the written arts and overcoming poemophobia, in Dr. Pace’s class I did gain a much greater respect for electronic writing spaces. As mentioned before, I try to approach things from the view of an artist, and I had no idea how much I would enjoy combining two of my life’s great loves: writing and visual art. I honestly had never thought about cyberspace as a writing space. Until this class I never really considered my mind an actual writing space either. It always feels like my mind is a clipboard with random ideas crammed under the clip. But why can’t it be a writing space? And why not cyberspace? Cyberspace doesn’t run out of paper, ink, erasers, and it never gives me a paper cut. It is safe from coffee stains, cat claws, teething puppies, and anything else that can wreck havoc on a delicate sheet of paper. A favorite quote of mine from Kahlil Gibran says a lot to me about the traditional paper writing space: “Trees are poems that earth writes upon the sky; we fell them down and turn them into paper, that we may record our emptiness.” With cyberspace, we can record all the emptiness and bad poetry that we could ever want, and never have the guilt of felling a tree.

In Dr. Pace’s class, we all created our own blogs. This was a little scary for me. However, this wasn’t a class about writing uber-personal thoughts and bad poetry. It was a class on writing and using all forms of writing, especially electronic forms. I was shocked at how much I loved creating blogs and loved reading the other class members’ blogs. We all learned how complex writing for blogs and websites could be. There are many parts to consider, such as background colors, font colors, pictures, videos, hyperlinks, and of course, how to make our subject matter relevant to the class without boring our classmates to tears. Everyone seemed to immediately understand a different style of writing. The blog posts were witty, informative, creative, and absolutely captivating. I felt like I was able to take a peek into the mind of all these writers-- and I actually wanted another peek.

This class changed my entire perspective on writing. I would take this course every single semester if I could. I conquered my fear of electronic writing; reading other people’s electronic writing, and I grew to understand an entirely new way to write.


To me, the written and visual arts are now a perfect balance, yin and yang, a marriage of soul-mates, coffee and creamer, cake and ice cream, new shoes and a little black dress.
(coffee:www.gbahtavern.com)
The two need each other to be complete. My mind is more open as a writer, and I feel that I have finally found the area of writing that I just cannot seem to get enough of. Thanks to Dr. Pace’s incredibly successful course, I’m now a cyber-writing-space-junkie.
(Yin Yang Bugs: www.walyou.com)





Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Life Out of Balance

I have been searching for weeks to find this video (see end of blog) after we watched a clip from Coppola's "Koyaanisqatsi." Several of the class members said that the cars moving on the video with their headlights and taillights looked like blood going through the body. Ever since Dr. Pace told us that the title meant "life out of balance," I've been thinking about it. I've thought about how our urban sprawl on the movie did look like the vascular system of our bodies, and it made me wonder if humans are the newest heart of the Earth, pumping populations, pollution, and technology instead of blood. Being a "tree hugger" as one of my high school teachers affectionately named me, I tend to think pessimistically when I consider how out of balance we are. If we are the heart and veins on the planet, then we're probably a cancerous organ. Maybe we're the enlarged heart which will eventually destroy itself. This makes me think of Edward Abbey's quote: "Growth for the sake of growth is the ideology of the cancer cell."



After watching "The Virus Hunters: It's Alive!" on the National Geographic Channel, I wonder if another species could have taken our place in some ways. The documentary is all about how viruses have altered life and actually sped up the process of evolution. Some findings of theirs were sheep which were not able to carry offspring to term without a certain virus, and rodents that were promiscuous and which happen to be just one virus away from behaving exactly like their monogamous cousins. The researches found that the males in one species of vole would mate until they killed themselves. Animal Plant actually has footage from "Animals Behaving Badly"of the little exhausted critters falling out of the trees and twitching on the ground, then going stiff-legged on their tiny backs. The cousin mated for life. The difference was a virus enabling receptors in the brain to function similar to the human brain in terms of its complex emotions. By giving the virus to the ever-mating vole, he became like the monogamous vole.



So, if another species had developed a different virus, would they in fact have been more emotional, devoted, and moody than humans? Maybe. I just wonder if an evolutionary virus gave us the privilege of being the Earth's heart and veins. Since it may have been a virus that developed us into what we are, then maybe we are indeed also the disease.



My point is that I hope we can find balance, because I do not feel like we have balance in the world. Maybe technology will allow us to find ways to achieve a better harmony with the planet and all its inhabitants. Maybe the next genetically mutating virus will actually make us care that we have life out of balance.

(DNA image from: www.3dscience.com)
(Vole image from: www.bio.davidson.edu)
(Brian scan from: www.nyas.org)
(Virus image from: www.guardian.co.uk)


Check out the viral/genetically altered playboy rats:






Sunday, April 26, 2009

Dixie Talk

This is Dixie. Dixie is my 9 year old Yorkie who hates my talking alarm clock. She seems to especially hate it on weekends-- I guess she agrees with me that sleeping in is a good thing on Saturday and Sunday.


My Mom named her Delta Dixie Jo Marshall, the first three names having to do with the show Designing Women. So, in character with the actress, Dixie Carter, my Dixie is a southern diva. And like all southern divas she needs her rest, lots of tasty treats, plenty of pillows, a full coordinating wardrobe, and some attitude. This attitude I speak of is what makes her hate all other animals, because she is not an animal. How dare those vermin sniff her-- especially there! She chases the neighbor's 60 pound dog, and tends to pick fights with cats, even her own cat, Lucy (we got Lucy to keep the other dog company, but Lucy hates him so we say she's Dixie's kitty). They really have cheerleader style fights, though. There's a lot of fussing, swatting in the air, nasty looks, and grudges held.


Dixie is my "head nurse" as my husband says. She has that great doggie sense when something is wrong. She sleeps next to me, or on me, and makes sure that everything is OK. Whether it's migraine headaches, tummy aches, or post-surgery, she is right there with me and ready to make it all better.


So, this is Dixie, doing one of the adorable things she does, which is telling that obnoxious alarm clock just what she thinks (if I can make the video work).


This is a fun site about Yorkie astrology. Dixie is a Pisces.






Teach Your Baby to Read... Or In My Case, Bribe

I love how Dr. Pace and LeErin wanted to read to be able to have the same power that others around them had, or because there was a competitive spirit involved. My husband said he wanted to learn to read so that he could see and understand all the cool stuff that his parents and others were able to. When he did learn to read, he didn't want to read any of the "kiddie" stories or comics. I asked him why-- especially since that's still some of my favorite stuff. He said that since his parents wanted him to read the kiddie stuff, he knew that there must be some really cool, forbidden writing out there. Why would he want to read some stupid comic book when Hemingway was sitting around the house, and his parents were trying to distract him from it. I think that explains why he doesn't like fantasy, sci-fi, and comic book based movies.
I learned to read when I was about four years old. I liked the idea of reading and wanted to learn, but my mom is an overachiever, and was going to put me on the accelerated path to literacy. Even as a kid I loved art. And to a four year old, stickers were the best art I could buy. My mom knew this, and for every book that I could read out loud from start to finish, I got some really awesome sticker to put in my sticker album. One of my favorites that I got for a book was a fuzzy gorilla and a separate fuzzy banana sticker that went with it.

I guess that's where my love for the visual mixed with text began. The illustrations in the books were nice, but the stickers were better-- sort of like print compared to electronic media. There's a different kind of sensory experience and it is more interactive. I got a sticker about the size of a drivers license that had penguins on it. On top of the penguins was a blue liquid that I could squish around on the picture. The fall was a good season for stickers because there were lots of Halloween glow-in-the-dark stickers.






Then there came the holographic stickers that looked animated. The birds now flapped their wings, the pony bent down and ate the grass, the lion ran, and Spiderman swung on his web. Who wouldn't read for that? To make the sticker frenzy even better, scratch-n-sniff came onto the scene. There were stickers that smelled like different soft drinks. Strawberry Shortcake smelled like strawberry shortcake. Stickers with beautiful chocolate frosted cupcakes with sprinkles smelled like the real thing. There were even stickers where I could make my own scene with them, and put a picture together like the interactive-build your own- e-cards today.







I still like reading for the sake of reading and I like the idea of my mind creating the scenes from the book. But I really do like reading on the Internet where I can have the various sensory and interactive experiences along with the words.
(Liquid Disney sticker image from: http://www.scrapbookdiscountconnection.com)
(All other sticker images from http://smilemakers.com)

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Cyborgs, Explants & Hybrids

When we were discussing Hayles today, we spent a bit of the discussion on the last page which is about hybrids, implants, and explants. I remembered a segment from 60 Minutes on April 12, 2009 about prosthetic arms that are so technologically advanced, they move like real arms and even use the nerves in what's left of the arm to "think."
This technology is being developed for the soldiers returning from war who are amputees. If you have the time to watch it, watch all the way till the end. It will completely amaze you to see such a true-- and in this case, wonderful "cyborg" development. This is a great example of not hurdling into a cyborg infested future in which we will all be destroyed or plugged into the "Matrix" (although, if I were plugged into the Matrix I'm not sure I would know the difference). If the future is anything like this report, then I'm thrilled to live in a time where man and machine intertwine. I wonder if Turing ever imagined something like this!
I've cried every time I've watched it. I hope you enjoy it as well.


Watch CBS Videos Online

Thursday, April 16, 2009

My Space Friends

This is a video of Demetri Martin singing about his My Space friends. I thought it might be appropriate for our social networking talks in class.




I understand this song because I can't keep up with the 20 friends I have on Facebook. I am a Facebook failure. How do we know when someone is writing on our wall and not someone else's? The email notifiers about people writing on the wall is sort of a band aid for me. It doesn't fix the problem of me being confused.


How do people have enough time to create My Space pages that play songs, play videos, display awful poetry, and allow the creator to argue with people making comments? How can anyone keep up with the chatter on Facebook? I am not the best time manager, but seriously, anyone who has an answer-- please let me know what I'm doing wrong. I haven't hung up clothes for 2 weeks; I still have fencing not attached to fence posts; I'm running on 5 to 6 hours of sleep when I need 9; I haven't cooked anything since Christmas; I haven't had enough time to get a haircut in about 8 months; and I still have a mini-Christmas tree from early December that I haven't planted. I have no idea how it's surviving in its tiny plastic cup. I am completely amazed at how people are able to use these networking systems to such a great extent.

But really, anyone out there who works, goes to school, has a non-computer based social life, yet still has time to do My Space, Twitter, and Facebook, please let me know your secret. The laundry is piling up and I'm wearing the same 5 outfits all the time; the fence is unstable; I'm constantly irritated from lack of sleep; my hair is heavy; my husband is hungry; and my tree is going to die.

Wednesday, March 4, 2009

Lobotomy Movies

I was thinking about our discussion a couple of weeks ago in class about the appeal of fantasy genre fiction, and how some class members seem to find the extra stuff around the actual story distracting. I have had a similar discussion with my husband regarding movies.
My husband says that I like "lobotomy movies." He says they are: "The movies you can watch without ever having to think about anything." Well, I usually tell him that he likes overly dramatic "art films," designed to make people feel like going to their doctor for a prescription of psychotropics.

He also hates fantasy movies because they are unrealistic, and have a bunch of unnecessary parts and graphics to them. We were watching "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest." He saw Davy Jones and said, "Bill Nighy is such a good actor. I don't understand why they have to put all the graphics on him." I don't really care if the guy has a squid on his face. It's entertaining, colorful, creative, and visually stimulating.

Luckily we don't really ever argue, but the closest we've gotten to an argument in a long time, was whether or not "The Transformers" movie could be art.

He says no.

I say yes.

The dialogue isn't advanced, and there is some juvenile humor in there, but the story is well thought out and the acting is decent. Besides that, visually-- it was art. The scene where the marines are in the desert being attacked by the scorpion Deceptacon had a beautiful use of monochromatic color, balance, and movement. The marines run down a sand dune at an angle that balances the scorpion's twisting of its body and weapons, which mimics the way the sand flies through the air. Yep...art. (photo from IMDb.com)

For me, regarding movies or literature, I like the creativity of the settings and characters in fantasy. I also like being in another world for a while. After a full day of advising and schedule building, arguing with students' parents, and typing on the SIS system-- I can't wait to see some elves romping through a beautiful forest. Today, I fought apathy,irresponsibility, and saved a schedule from disaster in Beaumont. I wish I were fighting the Orcs in Gondor, saving Middle Earth.

I guess my point is, good stories deserve visual icing. I don't see it as not using my imagination. I see it as appreciating someone else's vision. That's why I have enjoyed all of our assignments and the sites we've discovered on the web. Writing and images... I still say yin and yang.


All things Hobbit, Elf, Dwarf, Wizard, etc...
http://www.tolkientown.com/about_us.php