Out of these three articles my favorite was Baron, mostly because I could understand his ideas better than the other authors. What I truly found extraordinary was the Thoreau Pencil Company that Henry David Thoreau had started and maintained, in order to fund his trips to Walden pond. That followed up by the invention the telegram, which Thoreau showed disdain for, as well as Alexander Graham Bell's invention of the telephone. Both of these rather new inventions did not compare to the pencil's availability at first, but the telephone will overshadow both of these innovative forms of communication. It is interesting to observe the patterns of technological communication breakthroughs and one point I noticed is how the new technology is very expensive and tailored to one specific task. Like the pencil for instance was only used by carpenters until it became remodeled and improved to be applicable for many other jobs, such as those of an artist, scribe, or explorer. The same goes for the personal computer and the telephone. Our computers today are our phones, pencils, and telegrams. They have revolutionized how we communicate, but where do we go from here? Will computers become hologram screens that are in super HD? Or will everything become smaller and smaller and we end up with an Augmented reality where our screens are engraven on our contact lenses? These Nano technologies have come up in alot of movies lately, in one of them I watched recently, G.I. Joe, they were weaponized and became a terrorist weapon. Is hollywood conditioning us to accept the creation of these technologies in the future?
What are all your thoughts on what, when, and how the next technological communication breakthough will occur?
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Comics
I very much enjoyed these readings, although they will be hard to discuss I think. The idea of things being a either in the conceptual realm or sense realm has split the world into a dichotomy. These abstract Icons I am using to formulate linear ideas that may help you visualize or imagine what I am thinking. They are a sort of portal into my mind. I am externalizing my thoughts through an extension of my self, the laptop and internet connection, and you, by reading them, give life and personality to the words.
With the dawn of social media sites, identities, or our conception of our identities, are layed out for all to see. When one pushes the post icon, a transformation from the realm of concept to the realm of sense occurs. Our concepts and ideas take form in words and combined with pictures strive to identify ourselves so that others may be visually aware of what we think our concept of self is. This is a type of non-visual awareness in which many people who post about themselves invest more time and energy maintaining this non-visual awareness rather than seeking out casual conversations with present, real human persons. This shift is occuring and we are all in the thick of it. The ideas of words, pictures, icons(like button), and time is quite interesting in the facebooks and myspaces. Even the icon of the rectangular box is everywhere!!! Hope my ideas made any sense.
Facebook Is a daily Comic book of peoples lives!
Gosh my brain hurts....
We'll I hope ya'll can make some understanding of this or even comment your conceptions...I have to ask what is your favorite icon(s)?
P.s. to answer my own question, My favorite icon(s) are those of Led Zeppelin
With the dawn of social media sites, identities, or our conception of our identities, are layed out for all to see. When one pushes the post icon, a transformation from the realm of concept to the realm of sense occurs. Our concepts and ideas take form in words and combined with pictures strive to identify ourselves so that others may be visually aware of what we think our concept of self is. This is a type of non-visual awareness in which many people who post about themselves invest more time and energy maintaining this non-visual awareness rather than seeking out casual conversations with present, real human persons. This shift is occuring and we are all in the thick of it. The ideas of words, pictures, icons(like button), and time is quite interesting in the facebooks and myspaces. Even the icon of the rectangular box is everywhere!!! Hope my ideas made any sense.
Facebook Is a daily Comic book of peoples lives!
Gosh my brain hurts....
We'll I hope ya'll can make some understanding of this or even comment your conceptions...I have to ask what is your favorite icon(s)?
P.s. to answer my own question, My favorite icon(s) are those of Led Zeppelin
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Kill Your TV
This has to be one of my favorite T-shirts http://www.studiotees.com/kill-your-tv-revolution-funny-statement-attention-t-shirt-p-3139.html. From reading "6 ways watching T.V. rewires your brain" I did not receive much new information, but more of what I already knew, that T.V. brain washes people. I have read else where that when you are watching T.V. your brain waves enter beta formation, which is a state of mind that is more susceptible to the large influx of messages spewed by the box in your living room. I have not had cable T.V. in my house for three years and I frankly do not miss it. It is the ultimate mainstream tube feeder of B.S. Surprisingly I actually fit the bill of an adolescent growing up watching T.V., I became that chubby boy, who was occasionally bullied, terrible at math, and mischievous in the classroom. Today I am still frightened of math and have low confidence in my abilities to learn beyond algebra. Enough about T.V., that article has frightening implications for the future of America.
Moving on to Thompson's article about tweets and texts, I must say I have to agree with him. Not every tweet or text necessarily leads to an in depth analysis of events, but most of them at least bring them into public light. From there onwards it is up to the tech savvy and blog masters to spin the news in an analytical light to the hungry masses who now consume news through the internet. You can always tweet what you just read about and where, or text a link to a friend who may then investigate for himself, nurturing critical thinking that mainstream media so often denies. I myself have used facebook to go into depth with certain arguments, with long thought out ideas that take special time and care to get my point across, or have sent a text message to a friend about a certain article they must read. Anyone, businessmen, scholars, me, can have their voice heard on a blog, tweets and texts only necessitates more online reading, writing, and thinking about the social implications of breaking news that is a far cry from having only one medium, the mainstream avenue whose owner who may have special interests he must comply with and spread propaganda instead of news.
The rooney reading stirred up thoughts about the anonymity of internet postings, and how when one is not tied to their rhetoric, it becomes quit abusive and inappropriate for public social settings. How does one tackle this issue? One way to stem the tide of grotesque comments would be a mandatory, verifiable name next to the post, not some pseudonym that hides the truth of identity. Is this the right way to go about it, does one have a right to anonymity? They do not when it comes to a newspaper, magazine, online article, so why not for posting a comment on a blog or other social media sites. This seems like an issue that has arisen with technology and the widespread use of the internet by anyone. I am libertarian at heart, but there needs to be some form of accountability online, how it ought to be implemented, I am unsure. Thoughts or ideas?
I Guess I am ok with eliminating longhand from schools, I personally never used it much besides elementary school, where I also learned how to type. Since then most all of my writings, besides essays in class, have been typed up on the keyboard using microsoft word. I am actually MORE comfortable typing and am much faster clicking away then stroking the paper. Also neatness of computerized text far outweighs the messy, slightly ascending or descending route my sentences form on paper. I must say though, that I am sometimes jealous of my mothers very neat long hand, or anyone else for that matter. Long hand is a beautiful way of expression and everyones loops and swoops are different, but we are moving into an age where the utility of pen and paper is diminished by the tapping of buttons and the many technologies that now utilize this medium of communication. I am convinced that longhand will become an archaic lost art.
Comments anyone?! I am no longer on tumblr.
Jordan
Moving on to Thompson's article about tweets and texts, I must say I have to agree with him. Not every tweet or text necessarily leads to an in depth analysis of events, but most of them at least bring them into public light. From there onwards it is up to the tech savvy and blog masters to spin the news in an analytical light to the hungry masses who now consume news through the internet. You can always tweet what you just read about and where, or text a link to a friend who may then investigate for himself, nurturing critical thinking that mainstream media so often denies. I myself have used facebook to go into depth with certain arguments, with long thought out ideas that take special time and care to get my point across, or have sent a text message to a friend about a certain article they must read. Anyone, businessmen, scholars, me, can have their voice heard on a blog, tweets and texts only necessitates more online reading, writing, and thinking about the social implications of breaking news that is a far cry from having only one medium, the mainstream avenue whose owner who may have special interests he must comply with and spread propaganda instead of news.
The rooney reading stirred up thoughts about the anonymity of internet postings, and how when one is not tied to their rhetoric, it becomes quit abusive and inappropriate for public social settings. How does one tackle this issue? One way to stem the tide of grotesque comments would be a mandatory, verifiable name next to the post, not some pseudonym that hides the truth of identity. Is this the right way to go about it, does one have a right to anonymity? They do not when it comes to a newspaper, magazine, online article, so why not for posting a comment on a blog or other social media sites. This seems like an issue that has arisen with technology and the widespread use of the internet by anyone. I am libertarian at heart, but there needs to be some form of accountability online, how it ought to be implemented, I am unsure. Thoughts or ideas?
I Guess I am ok with eliminating longhand from schools, I personally never used it much besides elementary school, where I also learned how to type. Since then most all of my writings, besides essays in class, have been typed up on the keyboard using microsoft word. I am actually MORE comfortable typing and am much faster clicking away then stroking the paper. Also neatness of computerized text far outweighs the messy, slightly ascending or descending route my sentences form on paper. I must say though, that I am sometimes jealous of my mothers very neat long hand, or anyone else for that matter. Long hand is a beautiful way of expression and everyones loops and swoops are different, but we are moving into an age where the utility of pen and paper is diminished by the tapping of buttons and the many technologies that now utilize this medium of communication. I am convinced that longhand will become an archaic lost art.
Comments anyone?! I am no longer on tumblr.
Jordan
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Another weekend gone by
The weekends come and go
Ahhh the sweeetening effects of the weekend has worn off as, once again, it was quite busy with shows and driving. First of all my brother was driving here to bozeman in order to stay for a while and then head to Eugene, Oregon for graduate school, and on the way his car malfunctioned in Columbus and had to get it towed and fixed. It ended up being a transmission problem so I had to hop in the car with Nakai and head down to pick him on up! This was, mind you, after only getting 4 hours of sleep… The night before we played at the Cat’s Paw and did not get to sleep late, Jesse (brother) had to miss our first evening but he caught our second one there on Saturday night! Twas a blast : )
The Cat’s paw is an interesting place, during our reading about visual literacy, it really struck me how many televisions were in that place! I mean on the stage alone behind us there were 18 big screen televisions all side to side and stacked upon one another. From what I’ve heard, the cat’s paw used to have bands play six nights a week! Now it seems like televisions matter more, along with the rows and rows of electronic gambling machines. IT was pretty cool watching football, soccer and tennis all in the same 5 foot radius. But none the less human interaction and attention spans take a hit when there are that many tv’s. It is hard to come by a bar nowadays without a single television inside. Heck it is hard to go anywhere without getting bombarded by music, television, or some sort of advertisement attempting to coax you into “needing” their product.
My motto usually is if you see it on T.V. it is highly processed and generally not good for you. These include the corporations with the most money to throw their commercials at you and I, attempting to brainwash consumers: mcdonalds, coca cola, walmart (chinese slave labor), burger king, etc. I do my best to stay away from these places (walmart is the most difficult for me). I definitely enjoy whole foods from local places, supporting the community rather than some world wide corporation who is feeding you crap basically. Do any of you have a problem going to walmart? I mean the CEO took in 27 billion last year, while their line employees make maybe 10 dollars an hour if they are lucky. Costco gives their employees 16 dollars and hour and pays for 92% of their employees health care. In our society where virtually all of our products are imported, Tvs, cell phones, computers, anything with a screen, from china, india, indonesia, or where-ever else, do you ever stop to think of who helped assemble your product and maybe what kind of living conditions they have? I think wage-slavery is a terrible thing, yet very difficult to raise awareness about b/c most people frankly don’t care and would rather get their products as cheap as possible w/o knowing where they came from.
I wish people could comment on my blog, I am starting to feel like I am on an island… maybe I will switch to blogger this week…
Repost #2- Spruce moose
Weekend of the Spruce Moose Festival
Whew, What a weekend! I definitely did not get as much homework done as I was hoping…I imagine that is how the first weekend in school for most students. Time to buckle down! The weekend started with a Young American’s for Liberty (YAL) BBQ where a handful of us students get together and talk Libertarian philosophy, analyze it and even critique it. Bacon wrapped tube steaks and pitting polemic vs. polemic lead to quite an interesting evening.
Saturday came and I went to mass at five, there was quite a challenging gospel reading…
S U N D A Y was a blast up in Big Sky! Tate Chamberlain strikes again with the Spruce Moose festival which was an awesome experience, having the privilege to open for Pinky and the Floyd and the John Butler Trio was such a treat and is totally going on my musical resume. We, Cure for the Common, opened the night at 5:45 and played all originals during our set and hopefully impressed the crowd. I got to play on a suped up amp bumping out of a HUGE sound system. If only every stage we played on was that big… The next band, Pinky and the Floyd, is the best cover band in town with a great number of Bozeman’s most talented musicians playing classics Pink Floyd songs we all know and love. They blew the crowd away with their eleven piece group of close knit individuals. The real peak of the night was getting to see John Butler in his trio of musicians getting the party raging. He started on the lap steel and switched guitars every other song, playing greats like Better Man, and I used to get High for a living (do not know the actual title). If you have not heard John Butler play the Ocean, please do yourself a favor and click here >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VAkOhXIsI0
The true highlight of the evening was when John Butler gave a shout out to the opening bands and his lips opened and he said the magic words “Cure for the Common” that made my spine tingle!
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