I became engaged on March 15, 2009 in Las Vegas, and on July 31, 2009, I will marry the best friend I’ve ever known, in a beach ceremony at Sandals Resort, in Montego Bay, Jamaica… I’VE NEVER BEEN SO EXCITED!!! As a final post for the blog project, I decided to explicate a few of my ideas onto my blog.
Instead of opting for the traditional, full-blown, complicated wedding ceremony that everyone enjoys except for the bride and groom, we opted for a destination wedding. (Don’t misunderstand. I love traditional weddings, and I think they are beautiful, but that path was not for us!) We’ve had to do a little paper work in order to obtain an international wedding license, and to ensure the resort of our identities (by way of sending notarized copies of pretty much everything but our underwear sizes). Other than that, we are finished!
I’ve purchased my dress…absolutely love it! He’s purchased his suit (sand-colored linen). The resort takes care of everything else. How awesome! I attempted to embed a video of the flower collection we’ll be having at the ceremony, but unfortunately, I couldn’t figure it out. Anyway, if you care to take a look, it’s at Sandals, and it’s the Preston Bailey Caribbean Sunset Collection. It’s breathtaking!
One neat feature offered by the resort, and a perfect example of the far-reaching capabilities of technology, is the ability to webstream (another new verb) the actual ceremony for all of those unable to attend. How cool is that? Webstreaming won’t be available on the actual day of the ceremony, but one day after, you can take a look if you’d like.
Regardless of the venue, I’m just happy to be happy, and I hope you all are, too!
Pray for no rain! :)
Mi prometido.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
"Verbage" in the Late Age of Print
Have you ever heard:
"She texted me."
"He myspaced me."
"Will you email me?"
"I twittered this morning."
"Did he really facebook her?"
"Tag me in that pic on myspace!"
"You-tube that video of your parakeet." ?
Well then, you live in the late age of print where verbs have changed, and language is evolving every second that ticks by on your Sharper Image multi-functina clock. I recently started thinking about all the new words that have been added to common discourse because of technology. Everyday I think of a new one, and there's no end in sight. With each new technology that hits the mainstream consumer circuit, a new word has to be added to encompass the device’s capabilities and functions.
In my American Renaissance Literature course, we are discussing Henry David Thoreau, and his ideology promotes the polar opposite of the technologically clad world in which we live. As one critic, whom I’ve accidentally misplaced the name of, states “his celebration of nature and his call to simplify have stirred countless readers who yearn to escape the artificialities of a society that is glutted with gadgetry and ruins nature in the name of progress.” Hmm!!!
Does this apt description not hit the head of our little nail (world in which we live) dead on the head? I think so! Can you imagine the old bards of yesteryear in this modern world with our myspace and our twitter? What would they do? What would they say? I can’t even imagine. I do know that although sometimes I think I’d like to run away to someplace like Walden and live with no luxuries, I must accept the fact that I live in this world inundated with technology. So, it’s either learn how to adapt, or be lost amidst a cybernetic/informatics/posthuman/vitual bodied conversation!
P.S. most of the "new verbs" I used in the opening lines of this post were not recognized by Microsoft Word as words. Get with it Bill!
"She texted me."
"He myspaced me."
"Will you email me?"
"I twittered this morning."
"Did he really facebook her?"
"Tag me in that pic on myspace!"
"You-tube that video of your parakeet." ?
Well then, you live in the late age of print where verbs have changed, and language is evolving every second that ticks by on your Sharper Image multi-functina clock. I recently started thinking about all the new words that have been added to common discourse because of technology. Everyday I think of a new one, and there's no end in sight. With each new technology that hits the mainstream consumer circuit, a new word has to be added to encompass the device’s capabilities and functions.
In my American Renaissance Literature course, we are discussing Henry David Thoreau, and his ideology promotes the polar opposite of the technologically clad world in which we live. As one critic, whom I’ve accidentally misplaced the name of, states “his celebration of nature and his call to simplify have stirred countless readers who yearn to escape the artificialities of a society that is glutted with gadgetry and ruins nature in the name of progress.” Hmm!!!
Does this apt description not hit the head of our little nail (world in which we live) dead on the head? I think so! Can you imagine the old bards of yesteryear in this modern world with our myspace and our twitter? What would they do? What would they say? I can’t even imagine. I do know that although sometimes I think I’d like to run away to someplace like Walden and live with no luxuries, I must accept the fact that I live in this world inundated with technology. So, it’s either learn how to adapt, or be lost amidst a cybernetic/informatics/posthuman/vitual bodied conversation!
P.S. most of the "new verbs" I used in the opening lines of this post were not recognized by Microsoft Word as words. Get with it Bill!
Blogs, in all their glory...
As discussed in class today, there are a lot of choices when making a blog. I have found that with these changes, not only do I want for the blog to appear “pretty,” as well as reader-friendly, but also I want the blog to be a reflection of me in some way. Therefore, I chose colors I like. I honestly feel that if I were born just a few decades earlier, I would have been a hippie. Yes, full-blown flower child, complete with bohemian garb, the long hair, and a peace-encouraging outlook on life. As it were, living in this technologically ever-advancing world, I attempted to make my blogspot page have the appearance of one such identity.
One thing I’ve noticed with this course and specifically in creating a blog, is how although the assigned work is just as labor intensive as a traditional literature course, I feel more at liberty and relaxed in project creation phases. Whereas with traditional essays I am constantly concerned with my authoritative voice, here, I have become conscious of my capacity for authoring liberating written text. As far as the audience goes, I am less concerned with impressing readers with being an authority on the subject at hand, and more concerned with being part of a greater whole and wanting that “Yeah, I feel that way, too” sense of community and belonging.
Also, in blogging, I’ve become more of a computer-based composer of text instead of using the traditional pen and pencil, because I find creating text in a word processing program much more efficient both in saving time, and in correcting grammatical and/or mechanical errors. I've started writing my blogs in Word and then transferring them into the blog-post space to 1)ensure the length of the blogs and 2) for spell-check purposes. Given the five cannons of creating text- invention, arrangement, memory, style, and delivery- and adapting them to a hyper-textual or multi-modalized setting has not “[stricken] a blow against human memory,” as feared by the ancients, rather I have become a writer more conscious of the tools and choices I have at my disposal (Marcus 21).
One thing I’ve noticed with this course and specifically in creating a blog, is how although the assigned work is just as labor intensive as a traditional literature course, I feel more at liberty and relaxed in project creation phases. Whereas with traditional essays I am constantly concerned with my authoritative voice, here, I have become conscious of my capacity for authoring liberating written text. As far as the audience goes, I am less concerned with impressing readers with being an authority on the subject at hand, and more concerned with being part of a greater whole and wanting that “Yeah, I feel that way, too” sense of community and belonging.
Also, in blogging, I’ve become more of a computer-based composer of text instead of using the traditional pen and pencil, because I find creating text in a word processing program much more efficient both in saving time, and in correcting grammatical and/or mechanical errors. I've started writing my blogs in Word and then transferring them into the blog-post space to 1)ensure the length of the blogs and 2) for spell-check purposes. Given the five cannons of creating text- invention, arrangement, memory, style, and delivery- and adapting them to a hyper-textual or multi-modalized setting has not “[stricken] a blow against human memory,” as feared by the ancients, rather I have become a writer more conscious of the tools and choices I have at my disposal (Marcus 21).
Nature V Technology
Every person who comes in to contact with technology on a daily bases, so in essence every single person in America (and increasingly across the globe) has had the frustrating experience of not being able to get their gadget to work properly.
Global Positioning Systems don’t work in the rain. My Ethernet porthole was fried from a thunderstorm. Cell phones lose signal in thickly wooded areas. Is there a pattern developing here? When it comes to nature versus technology, nature always dominates. To put the obvious English-major-spin on the idea: nature is indifferent to human attachment to technology. This idea or the realization of the idea got me to thinking about the capacity of technology to take on human characteristics. (i.e. the computer program that determines the sex of an author of a text, programs used to “grade” the quality of writing of a student, etc.)
So if humans are known to be fallible wholly-imperfect beings known for errors, how can these computer programs ever fully establish 100% efficiency? The answer, according to Hayles, although technologies can “enhance human well-being and the fullness and richness of human-being-in-the-world” we, as humans, can never fully reduce our experiences, our innate judgments, perceptions, ideas, and subjectivity “merely to information processing or information machines” (Hayles 8). So, where I commend the valiant efforts of computer programmers, who, I might add, continue to WOW me with the ever-evolving programs constantly in rotation, I think the ability for computers complete subjective tasks such as grade papers, or determine the gender of a writer, among other capabilities, with guaranteed efficiency and success, is unrealistic. Where I’m not sure I buy in to the idea that we are all half human and half machine, I don’t disagree with Hayles’ idea that in contemporary society “natural and the artificial are increasingly entwined (8).
Global Positioning Systems don’t work in the rain. My Ethernet porthole was fried from a thunderstorm. Cell phones lose signal in thickly wooded areas. Is there a pattern developing here? When it comes to nature versus technology, nature always dominates. To put the obvious English-major-spin on the idea: nature is indifferent to human attachment to technology. This idea or the realization of the idea got me to thinking about the capacity of technology to take on human characteristics. (i.e. the computer program that determines the sex of an author of a text, programs used to “grade” the quality of writing of a student, etc.)
So if humans are known to be fallible wholly-imperfect beings known for errors, how can these computer programs ever fully establish 100% efficiency? The answer, according to Hayles, although technologies can “enhance human well-being and the fullness and richness of human-being-in-the-world” we, as humans, can never fully reduce our experiences, our innate judgments, perceptions, ideas, and subjectivity “merely to information processing or information machines” (Hayles 8). So, where I commend the valiant efforts of computer programmers, who, I might add, continue to WOW me with the ever-evolving programs constantly in rotation, I think the ability for computers complete subjective tasks such as grade papers, or determine the gender of a writer, among other capabilities, with guaranteed efficiency and success, is unrealistic. Where I’m not sure I buy in to the idea that we are all half human and half machine, I don’t disagree with Hayles’ idea that in contemporary society “natural and the artificial are increasingly entwined (8).
Monday, April 27, 2009
An addendum to our classroom discussion concerning English majors...
I have to say that although our classroom discussion about the widely perceived career limitations of English majors was frustratingly truthful, it allowed me to feel some sort of camaraderie with my fellow classmates. I can't tell you how many times I've been at a social gathering surrounded by career driven people and that same personal question is fired followed by the same artificial conversation:
Random person: "So what do you do?" (As my fiance is much older than me and people naturally assume that I, too, am involved in the commercial world, this is usually a topic of interest among any person in a given social setting.)
Me (annoyed): "I'm actually just finishing up my Bacherlor's at Lamar.
Random person: "Oh, I see. What are you studying?"
Me: "English with a concentration in writing."
Random person: "So you're going to teach?" (This response NEVER fails from leaving their mouths.)
Me (further annoyed): "NOOOOOO!" (I want to scream. Really loud.)
Fellow English majors, I know you must feel my pain. Since when did a person's preferred discipline become limiting in what he/she can do for a career choice? This repartee is exhausting and increasingly frustrating.
It's funny to me that in the world where almost anything goes, people still have this antiquated mindset on the limitations of having a liberal arts degree. Why? Also interesting is my pondering over whether or not they know how ignorant they sound in my mind, and how infuriating their assumptions are.
Instead of firing back at them with a completely sarcastic and shocking response like "No actually I'm going to be an exotic dancer for a while," which would definitely raise some eyebrows, but at least leave them with a lasting impression, I would like to explain that just because I am studying a liberal subject does not mean that I am automatically going to become a teacher. While I still am not quite sure of my career path, I do know that it's not limited just because of my discipline.
My next subject: how blogs can be used as a "venting space..." :)
Random person: "So what do you do?" (As my fiance is much older than me and people naturally assume that I, too, am involved in the commercial world, this is usually a topic of interest among any person in a given social setting.)
Me (annoyed): "I'm actually just finishing up my Bacherlor's at Lamar.
Random person: "Oh, I see. What are you studying?"
Me: "English with a concentration in writing."
Random person: "So you're going to teach?" (This response NEVER fails from leaving their mouths.)
Me (further annoyed): "NOOOOOO!" (I want to scream. Really loud.)
Fellow English majors, I know you must feel my pain. Since when did a person's preferred discipline become limiting in what he/she can do for a career choice? This repartee is exhausting and increasingly frustrating.
It's funny to me that in the world where almost anything goes, people still have this antiquated mindset on the limitations of having a liberal arts degree. Why? Also interesting is my pondering over whether or not they know how ignorant they sound in my mind, and how infuriating their assumptions are.
Instead of firing back at them with a completely sarcastic and shocking response like "No actually I'm going to be an exotic dancer for a while," which would definitely raise some eyebrows, but at least leave them with a lasting impression, I would like to explain that just because I am studying a liberal subject does not mean that I am automatically going to become a teacher. While I still am not quite sure of my career path, I do know that it's not limited just because of my discipline.
My next subject: how blogs can be used as a "venting space..." :)
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Vulnerability: Not Just a Human Quality
I've been thinking for a while now about the various concepts we've discussed in class and which I'd like to discuss in my blog posts. Starting with our Techno-Literacy Memiors, the idea of the vulnerability of technology has become dominant in my thoughts concerning "Multi Media Media." At a very early age, (and as I've previously mentioned in my TLM) I was forced to face the reality of technological vulnerability when my brother proceeded to jump in the middle of my MagnaDoodle, ruining the erasing capabilities, thereby destroying the device. Although this memory seems humorous and innocent now, it got my brain wheels spinning on this topic of technology's susceptibilty to destruction.
Although it would be hard for most of us to imagine a world without cell phones, the countless playlists on our ipods, chatting with friends on instant messager or even the delights of twitter, (sarcasm intended) the possibility of losing these things remains just that: a possibility. Afterall, cell phones get dropped into toilet bowls, ipod screens crack, computers crash, and after a bit of time, people might not care about random and monotonous updates in others' lives.What if it all disappeared?
Case and point- after four years of college, complete with innumerable research papers, many tedious and wholly-time-consuming projects, lots of short stories and other creative pieces, I've managed to keep up with one USB mass storage device, which contains all the aforementioned creations. Imagine my horror, when, a few days ago, in the library, I reached up to disconnect the device for, I don't know, probably the millionth time, and it falls apart in my hands. Ahhh! Despite my inner yearning to stand up on the table top and scream, I held both my emotions and the two pieces of plastic together and hoped for the best. "Four years of work down the tubes?!?" I thought over and over again. I was sure that the device was ruined along with any credible work I'd ever authored. However, after a lot a praying and some strength of jamming the pieces together, I managed to fix the device, and thereby restore my sanity for the moment. Although I still have to take extreme caution when using the USB, it still works! I have developed a habit to go back and change any mistakes professors may point out on my research papers and other works on the electronic copies stored on the device, but from now on, I vow to print out the corrected versions of the works, and file them away for safe(r) keeping, so as to avoid this hair-whitening experience.
Anyone who's ever made a mistake on the computer and deleted an important file, or misplaced something in the net's version of File Thirteen, you may appreciate and adopt this future practice. Everyday, my awestruck idea of the advanced technology available at fingertip's length increases. Now, however, I am aware of the sensitivity and vulnerability of these technologies.
Although it would be hard for most of us to imagine a world without cell phones, the countless playlists on our ipods, chatting with friends on instant messager or even the delights of twitter, (sarcasm intended) the possibility of losing these things remains just that: a possibility. Afterall, cell phones get dropped into toilet bowls, ipod screens crack, computers crash, and after a bit of time, people might not care about random and monotonous updates in others' lives.What if it all disappeared?
Case and point- after four years of college, complete with innumerable research papers, many tedious and wholly-time-consuming projects, lots of short stories and other creative pieces, I've managed to keep up with one USB mass storage device, which contains all the aforementioned creations. Imagine my horror, when, a few days ago, in the library, I reached up to disconnect the device for, I don't know, probably the millionth time, and it falls apart in my hands. Ahhh! Despite my inner yearning to stand up on the table top and scream, I held both my emotions and the two pieces of plastic together and hoped for the best. "Four years of work down the tubes?!?" I thought over and over again. I was sure that the device was ruined along with any credible work I'd ever authored. However, after a lot a praying and some strength of jamming the pieces together, I managed to fix the device, and thereby restore my sanity for the moment. Although I still have to take extreme caution when using the USB, it still works! I have developed a habit to go back and change any mistakes professors may point out on my research papers and other works on the electronic copies stored on the device, but from now on, I vow to print out the corrected versions of the works, and file them away for safe(r) keeping, so as to avoid this hair-whitening experience.
Anyone who's ever made a mistake on the computer and deleted an important file, or misplaced something in the net's version of File Thirteen, you may appreciate and adopt this future practice. Everyday, my awestruck idea of the advanced technology available at fingertip's length increases. Now, however, I am aware of the sensitivity and vulnerability of these technologies.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Technology even affects dating! Is this a sign of posthumanism?
Last night I went to see "He's Just Not That Into You." Aside from being a hilarious and realistic portrayal of our 21st century dating debacle, one scene in particular caused me to think of the impact that technology has even on the dating aspect of our lives. The embedding text for this youtube video was "disabled upon request," probably because the film was just recently released, but if you have time, please visit the below URL for a good laugh with some bonus insight...
Drew Barrymore's take on technology in the modern dating world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VITe9mQeI4
Happy Thursday!! :)
So after reading Katherine Hayles' essay "How We Became Posthuman," and re-reading my old blog post, I began to think about just how much impact technology has on our day-to-day lives. Although this video from Youtube.com is humorous, its implications are far-reaching and almost sad. Because we all have some type of identity attachment to our electronic devices, and because real human interaction seems to have gone by the wayside in many ways, technology in the realm of a "bad date environment" is a negative thing. Instead of a personal and thoughtful face-to-face interaction with a possible love interest in which those dreaded words of rejection arise, people are given cold electronic rejections, which apparently, are all the more hurtful because of their impersonal nature.
So, is this a sign of merging into posthumanism? Our emotions are evidently effected by electronic words of rejection, perhaps even more than the real, spoken ones. When it comes to technology, are we putting too much of our own person into our devices? Since we attach our emotions to our electronic and technological interactions and, as Hayles notes, when "[we] gaze at the flighering signifiers scrolling down the computer screens... [we] have already become posthuman," is technology in the dating world further enabling our transformation into posthuman ideology (Hayles 4)?
FYI: discussion topics in this class have really got my brain wheels spinning in directions I never foresaw!
Drew Barrymore's take on technology in the modern dating world:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4VITe9mQeI4
Happy Thursday!! :)
So after reading Katherine Hayles' essay "How We Became Posthuman," and re-reading my old blog post, I began to think about just how much impact technology has on our day-to-day lives. Although this video from Youtube.com is humorous, its implications are far-reaching and almost sad. Because we all have some type of identity attachment to our electronic devices, and because real human interaction seems to have gone by the wayside in many ways, technology in the realm of a "bad date environment" is a negative thing. Instead of a personal and thoughtful face-to-face interaction with a possible love interest in which those dreaded words of rejection arise, people are given cold electronic rejections, which apparently, are all the more hurtful because of their impersonal nature.
So, is this a sign of merging into posthumanism? Our emotions are evidently effected by electronic words of rejection, perhaps even more than the real, spoken ones. When it comes to technology, are we putting too much of our own person into our devices? Since we attach our emotions to our electronic and technological interactions and, as Hayles notes, when "[we] gaze at the flighering signifiers scrolling down the computer screens... [we] have already become posthuman," is technology in the dating world further enabling our transformation into posthuman ideology (Hayles 4)?
FYI: discussion topics in this class have really got my brain wheels spinning in directions I never foresaw!
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