Hw 15-ABCDEF 3- Treasure Hunting

Dear Mi Amor,


After reading your thoughts on the book Feed i found it very interesting. Your tone of your writing was great and i liked the overall meaning you were trying to explain. I think you are a good writer. I liked how you connected Feed back onto the real world and showed how they were very similar to today.

Feed to us is our blue tooth we talk to it and communicate with it just like Titus does and so does the rest of the characters. Its a digital connection with no emotions. Feed connects to the way teenagers act today, they want the latest technology and get sucked into this digital world. The author is awaring us that we are socially dumb and how Titus is a perfect example of this.

This connects to my lifestyle a little bit because the digital world has a big effect on me. I feel so attached to it just as Titus does with his Feed. Its so distracting and its something you cannot let go of. This also reminds me of my cousin who spends so many hours on AIM no matter what is going on in his surroundings its as if the sidekick is glued to his hand. The digital world can corrupt your mind.

Next time you might want to proofread your work and make sure you spell the words correctly.

One question i have is do you actually feel socially dumb or offended by what he author wrote in Feed? In what ways is this actually good? Why or why not?

Thanks, it was great reading your ideas. Hope you enjoyed mines! =-)


Dear Matt,

Wow i really liked this post of yours. I thought it was cool and exciting the way you described how you played the games. It kind of felt like i was there. It created imagery to me. I liked how you said you weren't socially active and felt very lazy after playing i thought it was kind of funny.

After playing Guitar Hero and Call of Duty you realized that it did not really help you, you just got a kick out of playing the game. It did not do anything for you. In addition you actually causing yourself to pay more money and you got overly excited. Playing/Doing digital things you isolated the rest of your house when you could have been doing chores or something to actually productive but instead you were wired to the Xbox.


I can relate to you on this which is one of the reason i liked this post. When I'm at home and i got on my Internet on AIM i get so addicted to it and cannot sign off and i do not know why. Its something that is grabbing you mentally but not physically. Its kind of like the Feed. Just like you feel you do not accomplish anything from it either to I which disappoints myself nobody else. I could be busy doing other things that are worth my time.

Next you might just read your work over for spelling mistakes. Also tell me how does this connect to other things beside yourself but with the outside world.

This makes me think twice about digital media and question should i do it or not. There like a devil on one of my shoulders and an angel on the other. We the people do not realize how digital media is alike a black hole sucking all in it. Will it always be like this?

I enjoyed reading your post. It was funny and interesting. Can't wait to read more! =-)

Hw#14-Second Text

Short Excerpt 1 TV

In the excerpt they made points out such as that movies like horror films(student bodies and Halloween) that they use these flashing arrows to help you know was going on like referring back to the scene and tell you the main idea or help you keep track of whats going on. Also in the text they talked about "reality effect" are designed to create the aura of real life through their sheer meaninglessness which are described throughout the text of how television shows do those types of things. One main argument that the writer talked about that was catchy was how when television starts off in the beginning they may say words or something that is confusing to engage the viewer and make it more enjoyable which i think allows the viewer to think more and later understand the show and actually make them more smarter.

In the excerpt when the writer showed E.R as an example of how they do not talk down to the audience instead they talk fast using words that people do not usually understand and they use the flashing arrows to help understand the text even though it was ambiguity. After reading the script and the author elaborating what it means and breaking it down, it help me have a better understanding of the text and the main point about the how the kid's blood type was rare.

After reading the excerpt about television and how it has these different threads and techniques about how t.v shows and movies use them, i thought it was really interesting even though it was a little confusing i got the overall meaning of it. I never really thought of t.v like that until reading this making have a deeper meaning about how t.v shows and movies actually work and make you brain execrise. I thought it was interesting how in the mid 1900s they made "TV simpler because they assumed that their audience at the time wasn't ready for anything complicated" i was on the fence with this because how did they actually know that were they supposedly stupid?


I think when reading Feed it was talking about all the bad things digitization does to the characters and stuck to that idea the whole time. It did not says anything good about digitization like Steven Johnson did. He other hand said like even though these things are bad there are also good things about them such as the threads and literary devices they use on shows and movies. I think that is the main difference between the two texts. Feed is i think is more bias and stuck to one idea that all digital things are bad for you.

Short Excerpt 2 Video Games

The excerpt i believe had mad some major points on video games and reading. First of all, the author makes it a point that children are better off reading than playing video games but then later says how video games are not so bad after all. In the text, says like why would someone who has worked all day at work to go home and spend hours on a computer in a virtual world that causes you to get frustrated but it is fun and pleasurable. At the same time he talks about how teachers, parents feel about the frenzy of reading such as that books are isolating while games have complex social relationships with their peers, building and exploring new worlds.

I think basically the author is saying how video games are addicting and how people spend somany hours trying to figure out these codes and spending money on cheat codes which in the end is not helping yourself at all. In addition, that reading does not allow you to some complexity but it has concentration,attention, and the ability to make sense of words.

After reading this i think it was really well thought out because i did not think reading can make you do all those things and i do not think as reading as active participation. I disagree when they said that people who do not read are more likely to go to musical performances and attend museums because not all people are like that, i know people who read a lot and do not got to museums at all. I feel like video games are more active than reading since you are in this virtual world it allows you to do things that are not happening in a book that is just full of words. There are video games like the Wii Fit which allows you to be active and execrise, so i do not believe that is true.

I found it interesting how a guy who does handy work for a living and came home became so wrapped up in this virtual world spending so many hours to just to do one simple task which took forever. I do agree that people do play games and get frustrated because they may not find a way to get somewhere or find something but they have fun doing so which i find weird. I wonder the same question of why is this fun and why people so wrapped up in it?

Reading this short excerpt rather than the first i feel it relates more to Feed because it talks more about the downside of video games. When it talks about people spending money and buying all these cheats sheets to find their way to same place or some where its just like when the Feed were telling the kids to buy all these clothes because they are so cool. I would also like to add that its like virtual world is a feed for the people in the real world they listen to the step by step manual to help get through things just like the in the book the Feed tells them what to buy and how to live.

Feed B

When Bert Brecht said that, "Art is not a Mirror with which to reflect the World. It is a Hammer with which to shape it", i agree with it in a way because the mirror can be a hammer we always seems to shape our world in certain way of how we want it to be. Just like in the book Feed they shape the world revolving around it. The Feed i believe is like this device in the people's head who tells them what to do and how to live, etc. In the real world i think the Feed is what we listen to on television and the digital media we use these days but not all the time the way it is portrayed in the book.

When it comes to me being the mirror or the hammer, i do not want to be. If i were the mirror would not want someone to shape into any way of form and then if i were the hammer i would want shape someone else. So i do believe its not art because either way you are not expressing yourself freely but how people want to precieve you or make you.

Feed A

The book Feed is similar to my current lifestyle as digital media today because the story is sort of based on us. Just as the teens are listening to their "feeds" and always trying to buy the newest technology so are kids today. Its kind of like we have a feed ourselves except it in television, cellphones, and other digital devices. On the other hand we think for ourselves and make our own decisions but in the novel the feed seems to make all the decisions for them and seem to know the best choice of everything from what to do to what to buy and how to live.

I think that Feed is supposed to be a parable of modern teenage life. I think that they saying we do not really think for ourselves and we are socially lazy with everything we do. I think we are Titus and the author is Violet and he is trying to tell us what is wrong with us. Its like we are dumb and we allow digital media to speak for us just like the Feed does for everyone in the book. In one part of book when Violet comes to dinner with Titus family and Violet and Titus father start arguing, it seems like she challenge him which i find relevant to how you can see the difference of a person who has a feed their whole life and one who adjusted it and wants to fight it.

I think that Titus is scared of living the feed or giving it up a little since he has been so used to it his whole life. Unlike Titus, Violet was not as fortune as he was and understood how to be "normal or not using the feed" which i think she prefers to think for herself and likes to write things down etc. If Violet was richer i think that maybe she would not think about the Feed as much as she does and would enjoy it more since she did recieved it at the age of 7. I think the author is right about what he is saying and i did not really think of it as much and it kind of made me feel like im dumbing down with the future technology.

Hw#11-Self Experiment 1

Description- My self experiment was digital fasting. I wanted to try and see if i could not go on the Internet for a least a few hours.

Analysis-My digital fasting worked out 5o 5o because when i got home i was on my laptop typing up my paper for my English homework and i was tempted to go on AIM, Facebook,etc. While i was using my laptop the Internet was calling me. So i ended up going on AIM and Facebook just to check my mail and talk to people but it only lasted like an hour. I think i did pretty well because i was not on chatting or on the Internet for a long period of time. I did feel an accomplishment but at the same time i felt like it was hard for me to not go on it. I feel if i did not go on the Internet that i would feel empty when i went to sleep and felt like i missed something.

Addiction?

http://www.theparentreport.com/resources/ages/preteen/kids_culture/130.html

In the article what i found interesting was how some studies show that excitement of video games causes the brain to release a chemical is addictive. A doctor by the name of Charles said that video games are "compelling with increasing complexity so the child becomes more facil, yet wants to know more about and apply new skills. Another thing i found interesting was that a professor of Computer Science thinks video games give children the chance for puzzle solving, strategic and critical thinking. I enjoyed reading this article.

After reading this i agree with the Professor from Computer Science because not all video games are killing people and just doing stupid things, some video games can help you problem solve and actually make you smarter. I never knew that excitement of video games can cause a chemical to be addictive. I think that if a child has a equal balance of everything such as reading, hanging out, being active, video games would not be so addicted to them.

http://www.drugrehabtreatment.com/teen-cell-phone-addiction.html

In the article they said that teens are becoming overly obsessed with cellphones. More than 225 million people carrying cellphones in the U.S in 2007,up from 34 million in 2005, and nearly two-thirds of teens owning their own cellphones. Many teens spend an average of an hour a day of cellphones not including emailing, Ming, face book,etc. In Spain, 2 kids ages (12-13) were sent to a mental hospital for cellphone addiction. They also said in China that they found a study that almost one-third of H.S students had signs of addictions.

When i read this i was like WOW i did not think cellphones were really that addicting that you have to go to a mental hospital. I never realize how severe this can get. I also notice that they only mentioned teens who were addicted not any adults. Overall i thought it was an interesting article to read. I do not think i would get overly addicted or at least try not to be.

http://www.moseshand.com/media/kick.htm

Even though it article sounds bias. I liked how they said television has a curious quality. While you are watching television you are bored yet attentive. Also even though what you are watching is not interesting you continue to watch it no matter what. The writer said that t.v has a hypnotic-addictive quality,the attention is held thorough explotation and perevsion a surival instinct.

Out of all the articles i read i liked this one the best, it really caught my interest. I like how it showed different example on why television can be addicting. I think when they say that sometimes the t.v shows can be boring but we still watch it is so true because it happens to me all the time. My eyes are just focusing on the television and listening to every word. I feel like my ideas were just like te writer because he/she focuses on the t.v and not is aware of everything else that is going on which is true.