Refection (postReflection)

I just got done writing my rough draft for my final reflection yesterday and it got me to thinking about life. I decided to write about some general themes from the class and their implications on our lives. I came to the conclusion that technology is going to be the single greatest thing to happen to our generation and that it will be our generation's responsibility to mold that technology into the most beneficial medium the world has ever known.
I still felt this way as I parted the comforts of my sleeping quarters this morning to venture to the bus stop and eventually my place of employment. I watched my bus go flying by as I approached the stop and realized that I would have to wait a half an hour for the next of its kind--what luck. At that moment a rather attractive young lady, who just happened to be my type, approached the bus stop as well. I truly wanted to strike up a conversation with this girl and, indeed, would have had it not been for one small little detail. Both she and I were both listening to head phones. So we sat side by side for what seemed like an eternity waiting for the same bus. Technology had let me down.
She seemed content to listen to her ipod at the same time i was unwilling to disturb the situation with a simple, "Hello, where you headed?" or "Hi, it's not so cold if you can just stay out of the wind." Technology has officially killed the casual bus stop conversation. Is that the kind of world we really want?

Ode to the Compilation

Candidate for project of the year?

I don't know if I enjoyed this project just because of my love for music or if I...yeah that was pretty much it. It was kind of like assigning an avid sports fan a Sunday afternoon television watching assignment. I am not saying that my project is going to be better than those of my classmates, I am just saying that I likely enjoyed the process more than they did. Maybe because I spent the majority of my Thanksgiving break compiling the anthology.
The most difficult task to achieve was coming up with a theme--not that it was alien to me but that I had so many ideas to chose from. I did not want to simply chose a playlist from my itunes, that would be cheating. Instead, I decided to compile a grouping of songs from what I am into right now. I titled it "Toasting Bagels In My Underwear" because I like to play such songs during my morning routine, one that commonly includes the aforementioned task. I wanted to do a themed mix that focused a collection of songs on a single word or idea but doing so would have excluded many songs that I wanted to share. It would have also lacked proper transitions and flow. Mixing like writing is difficult because, no matter how much time you put into it, it can always be improved upon. I am going to regret, after I turn it in, that I did not include certain tracks or transition something a certain way. An essay or research paper is just a string of "tracks" that need to be tweeked on the ends to flow into the next idea or song.
This project was truly an enjoyable one and I look forward to seeing what my fellow mixers bring to the table.

My Cutup

Taken from the Onion "Thanksgiving Won't Be the Same This Year Without a House"

I still do not know if I understand the idea of write-ups after several attempts at learning both the process and the meaning behind it. I especially do not know how someone could make a living off of it. I feel that it was just a scrambled up mess that was a lot less creative than the original work. I know one thing, I am not a very good cut-up artist.

I suppose I could take the time to materialize a cleaver way to tie stealing a man's heart to stealing a man' s artwork. Instead I think I will just give you this video Enjoy.

Medical Miracle: Man Lives Thanks To Heart Stolen From Dead Man

Spooky's Audiology

I really enjoyed my initial reading of Dj Spooky's Rhythm Science. However difficult it may have been to follow his flow of ideas, it was refreshing to read something that definitely went against the grain. I felt like I could relate with his writing style, although I could never get away with it at this stage of my career. Nonetheless, I enjoyed turning the pages of Rhythm Science both because it was an enjoyable read and because I usually got to turn two at a time. It felt like I was getting twice as much work done as usual. Hopefully the remained of the book generates as much excitement as the first five tracks.
I also found a few things on the Dj during my initial online research of the book. His most recent work is on a new project called The Rebirth of a Nation. Some may be familiar with D. W. Griffith's controversial 1915 work The Birth of a Nation. Paul Miller is attacking the racial tendencies Griffith made in this monumental film. Here is a clip I liked.

Here is the remix I created during class today. I don't remember exactly where the images came from but with the exception of the Tetragrammaton, they are all from students of 201. I don't want to toot my own horn, but I think it is kind of funny.

A discussion on Nothing

I realize that a week ago I may have missed a post as a result of the Friday morning off. I do not remember what the topic of discussion was at the time so I will just ramble about the class in general.
What is to follow will be quite interesting to some and not worth reading to others (most).
I wanted to start by saying that on a campus of some forty thousand undergrads who utilize a hundred some odd buildings, we could not ask for a better classroom. Granted, the seating is usually quite cramped and the chairs are straight out of a 70's sitcom. Still, one cannot overlook the magnificent view we have of both Lake Mendota and the capitol during those early morning sessions. Helen C. is, indeed, quite a lovely lady.
I realize that few people other than Scot himself will have read this post to this point. I will, therefore, talk about him to him and anyone else who may be here. I don't know who has taken the time to read some of his blog posts but I thought a few of them are quite entertaining. One, for example, was from this summer when he explained that he had no idea where he was going to go with his upcoming class on authorship and copyright material. Scot also has a tendency to quote Roland Barthe with regularity. It is for that reason that I love to bring the man up during class discussion. Any subject that can get tied back to the work of Barthe will likely lead Scot on some ten minute rant. Sometimes it is just fun how much of a stretch I can take to get Barthe back into the discussion.
Peace

Sampling the life of the Sampler

Would you rather go to a large supermarket that offers free samples of its products or one that does not? Nearly everyone remembers an experience from their childhood of sampling at the grocery store--at least I do. Much like the supermarket, this project was much more enjoyable when the opportunity to sample was available. The sampled project also fully expressed the view I sought.
Creating a similar project from unsampled material was very difficult. I realized this when I was precariously balancing my MacBook (and its accompanying camera) on my knee while trying to pose with the props for the photo. Despite the internet's infinite size, nothing out there was both free to take and possessing the necessary properties to capture the meaning I wished to convey.
I really think that the current copyright laws need to be weakened. Getting my true meanings conveyed was much easier when using "copyrighted material"--despite the fact that I felt like I was not infringing on anyone's rights. I believe creative expression will gradually come to a halt if copyright laws continue to build walls between the creator and existing ideas.

Lessig's Lessons

The discussion in class today was thoroughly entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the piece on the four variables affecting the holder of the right. I finally felt that Lessig knew what he was talking about. Prior to this chapter I felt that he was just some moderately informed guy who threw this book together. His insights about the internet's affect on these governing variables was helpful and, in my opinion, truthful. It will be interesting to see where this issue goes in the coming years of technological growth.

Check this sweet vid I found, that is if you like boy bands, and rocking out.

Discussing Others' Works of Others

I thought the class discussion on our plagiarism papers was one of the most interesting we have had. I was intrigued by the variety of ways people went about plagiarizing--especially when Jenny said she wrote a legitimate paper and then turned it into plagiarism. That is not common. I figured most people would do it the way I chose to do it. It turns out that my way of copying the whole document and then altering it in certain places of obvious suspicion was quite unique. It will be interesting to see the results from our collective investigations.

Copywrong

I will be utterly amazed if anyone will be able to discover my source for the plagiarism project. I, knowing full well where I received the information, was nearly unable to relocate the original manuscript to get the URL for future reference.
Putting my sly genius aside, I was surprised at how difficult it was to plagiarize a paper without it being traceable. In many ways, it would have been easier to create an original story than to go through the hassle of recreating that of someone else. I think if the ideas would flow more easily plagiarism would be a lot less common as it is the ideas that are the most difficult part of the writing to originate.
During my writing process (or copying process) I felt quite guilty for my actions. The word-for-word copying allowed me to read the original document quite thoroughly. I was able, then, to see the talent possessed by the author; and it allowed me to get a taste of the sacrifice that must be exerted in order to produce a quality work.
I do not think I possess the character to allow myself to plagiarize in such a way without deeply altering my conscience.

And if you are reading this in a drastic attempt to extract clues as to my paper's sources I have a piece of advice for you. Put the paper away, you will not find the original source.

If I learned anything during my ghostwriting experience it is that I would have to be getting paid a very large sum or money if I was to make it my profession.
Writing as another human being, someone with different interests, different ideas and even a different level of ability was very difficult. Unfortunately for me, I chose an author with a writing style that was slightly more complex than my own. Several times during my writing I was forced to stop myself and delete entire paragraphs saying, "this is me writing, not Sam."
Putting all that aside, the experience was quite, enjoyable. I was happy to broaden my boarders and sample a perspective different than my own. Writing for an audience wide enough to not know me by name (my own or not) was kind of exciting. Writing a newspaper article brings with it a lot of power--especially when you are responsible for reviewing a new CD. Whether my review is positive or negative could drastically alter the number of albums sold on campus. Such power is not easily attained.
Although I am happy to have the assignment behind me, I would not close the door on the idea of attempting such an activity again. Certainly the experience is one that I will not soon forget.

Copy"write"

I was quite sickened by the idea of ghostwriting. I simply do not understand how our society has gotten to a point in time when our culture is so money driven that we are willing to lie to our neighbors to make money. Any publishing company who willingly participates in this shameful practice should be shutdown.
I think the copy"write" laws need to be altered in such a manner that the true authors receive the credit they truly deserve--whether they want it or not. Because if you give them the option of receiving credit only the writers who choose not to take the credit will find work.
I know that I will be more cautious the next time that I go to the bookstore or the library. I just wish that the eyes of the rest of society would be opened in a similar way. Unfortunately not everyone can take this class. Maybe then changes would happen.

"Together, we can create a reality that we can all agree on--the reality we just agreed on."

Stephan Colbert was dead on with his "Word of the Day". I remember when this episode originally aired and it is still as true now as it was then. Despite the editors' best efforts, wikipedia will never be a scholarly source as long as it allows its readers to post articles. Don't get me wrong, removing the unique authorship of wikipedia is not what I seek. If I want to read a regular encyclopedia I will surf elsewhere. I am drawn to wikipedia by its likelihood to be wrong. I am allowed to question what I read, therefore, enabling a more involved and interacting experience in education. Something you simply can not achieve with a traditional encyclopedia.
Wikipedia is a great source for any report--especially at the collegiate level. But not as a primary source. I recently was instructed to write a report on structural proteins. I could have googled the term, but instead decided to wikipedia it (what is the wiki verb equivalent to "googled). I found more than enough information that allowed me to branch away from wikipedia into more scholarly articles on specific structural proteins. I was able to find articles with the key words I found on wiki. Certainly I would never cite wikipedia in an essay, But would you ever cite EncyclopediaBritanica?
BTW
I checked the "Elephant" entry on wikipedia and found no mention of Colbert's attempt to add the factoid mentioned on the Report.

Authorship Essay

For my upcoming essay on authorship I have decided to write on either The Shining or The Secret Window. I think it would be easier to write on Johnny Depp's character as he is a struggling writer with obvious mental deficiencies. I presented this subject to the class however and would like to write on a topic not openly discussed. Which leads me to The Shining. Jack Nicholson delivered, what I believe was his finest performances in this Stanley Kubrick classic. He never really wrote anything throughout the course of the film. (With the exception of "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" for pages and pages.) Which, if you think about it, was quite impressive due to the typewriters lack of a copy-paste function.
Luckily I have enough time to decide between the two--or possibly chose an alternative. The documents 3-5 page limit will require little time to produce a quality piece of work. At least I hope.

Experimental Photo Posting.

Introduction to Weekly Production

As a student in English 201, a weekly blog post is required from me. I have been wanting to become involved in blogging for some time and this class is the perfect catalyst. With any luck, my posts will exceed the weekly requirement and continue long after my final grade has been posted. I look forward to the following weeks of revelation and subsequent feedback--both from my peers as well as anyone else who should stumble across my warehouse of spilled knowledge.