Archive | August 2013

RIP books?

Aug28

Is the book dead? This question seems to be a hard one to answer for me. And after reading through one of this weeks readings The End Of Books – Or Books Without End?: Reading Interactive Narratives, and listening to all the ideas raised in the symposium, it made me think a bit. I grew up reading books, and I grew up loving books. I still like to read, but to be honest, it is not as frequent as I used to. Technology has definitely played a major role in changing the way I, and many other people around the world, make use of books.

In my personal experience, the fact is that my iPhone is just a bit more interesting and fun to use/read/play, than a book. I was about 16 when I first got my iPhone, and since that day I have probably read about 1/4 of the amount of books I would have if this new distraction hadn’t been introduced into my everyday activities. To me, this suggests that the book is definitely slightly more irrelevant in todays society.

Why would we choose to read a giant and heavy book about film studies, when we can read the same version of that book online, as a PDF file, that has no weight and is easily accessible? The convenience of eBooks, online material, and devices like iPhones and iPads, has made it easy for the world to move on from books, and even begin their downfall.

However, in saying this, there are still many people out there in the world who still read books, go to libraries, and enjoy the feel of a physical book in their hands while they imerse themselves in a story world, or drown themselves in facts and histories.

So is the book really dead? Is it on its way to being extinct? These questions are difficult to answer, but the use of new technology has for sure  increased the likelihood of this happening in the future, and has increased the demand for electronic reading, rather than reading physical books. Which is exciting in the innovative world we live in, but also kind of sad.

Symposium 0.2 notes.

Aug28

Here’s some notes I wrote down during todays Symposium.

(warning: they may be jumbled and not make much sense to you, but they do to me haha)

Hypertext and storytelling

  • Film can’t use hypertext
  • In film, story might be broken to non linear, but we have to watch it from start to finish – no choice to how we structure films
  • Corsacow – you choose what you want to view next.

‘Hypertext is dated but present here’ (Adrian)

  • small parts and how they are connected.
  • multiple relationships
  • when editing film it’s exactly the same – multiple points of connection.
  • Not just about the reader – the computer can also be programmed to work with the reader.

Validation of our work posted online:

  • Write in a personal journal – help us remember things, think through things, express our ideas and think out loud.
  • writing for an audience, posting online – other people reading it doesn’t make it any more valid

With this, I think I slightly disagree….. I feel that if my work is read/seen by other people, it holds more validation as a blog post ….. HOWEVER ….. I do very much agree that just because no one may read/see a blog post, that is not a reason to not write and post.

Linking from my stuff to someone elses – economic transaction – building the structure of the web! We do this, all of us, everyday.

……. and then I kinda stopped writing notes and just listened …….

‘Brother’ – Acoustic Cover

Aug24

Here is an acoustic cover my best mate and I did of an unreleased Madden Brothers song. This is one of the first covers we ever posted online, and the feedback has been pretty good so far. Hope you enjoy!

This entry was posted on August 24, 2013, in personal.

Social Media and My life as A Fan Girl.

Aug23

In todays day ‘n’ age, social media plays a large role in many peoples lives. There is mixed debate over whether it is a positive thing or not, but there is no debating that it is something that most people in the Western World take part in on a daily basis. Including myself. Social media is something that I use for hours, each day – I am an avid user of Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These sites help me to stay connected with the people in my life, and they help me share my experiences with the world.

Still to this day, one of the best decisions of my life so far has been making my twitter…. and I’m about to tell you why!

To be honest, I started a twitter account back in 2010 called @Team_JoelMadden. I was 15 at the time, and Good Charlotte were (and still very much are) my favourite band in the world. I was (and still am. not ashamed!) in love with their music and their story as good, hard working people.

In terms of Joel Madden, since I was 10 years old (I’m now 19, so kinda a long time…) I have looked up to and held a huge amount of respect for him as a musician and as a person. He was, and still is, my idol. So anyways, I made a twitter back in 2010 dedicated to my love for Joel Madden. And hey, haters will laugh about it, but It’s all good. making that twitter has given me some of the best memories of my life so far.

When I made my twitter I just made it so I could tweet about Good Charlotte and Joel Madden all the time, it was before Team Joel was a The Voice Australia thing, and it was back when Joel wasn’t a household name in Australia.

Within a few months of having my twitter, things that I never imagined happening, started happening. The Joel Madden, the guy I look up to so much, started replying to my tweets. Just imagine a 16 year old me, getting my first ever tweet from my hero, and then jumping around the house and crying to my mum because I was so happy. yep. That is actually what happened. And then as the months went on, I started getting more tweets from Joel. I mean, come on, who would ever imagine actually being able to talk to their idol, who lives on the other side of the world? It was crazy. To this day, If I counted correctly, I can say that Joel Madden has tweeted me a total of 18 times. Which is still crazy to me!!

But that’s not all, this twitter has seriously impacted my life so much.

When The Voice Australia was announced a Channel 9 show, and Joel Madden was announced a coach, everyone on twitter just assumed my account was affiliated with the show. So, when The Voice season 1 began on TV, I went from 2,000 followers, to about 6 and a half thousand. I was amazed. The Voice Australia’s twitter also started talking to me a lot, and then because of that I made friends with the great guy that is Channel 9’s head of Social Media. Because of this, for my 18th birthday present (back in 2012), The Voice Australia and Joel Madden filmed a short video for me, where Joel basically said Hi to me, and thanked me for all the support I give to him. CRAZY RIGHT?!

and that’s still not even all…

Because of how well known my twitter became, when I met Joel for the first time ever in February 2012, he KNEW who I was. My idol actually knew who I was because of a social network! And to this day, whenever I am in the presence of Joel Madden, he ALWAYS comes over to me and makes sure he says hi, gives me a hug, and asks me how I am. Because of my twitter account, I have friends all over the world, I even met some of my best friends on it, and I am more than just a faceless fan to my idol. Joel follows me on twitter, and so many important people in my life know who I am because of it. The power of social media actually amazes me. Still to this day!

However, one of the most craziest things to happen because of my twitter account, was when Vodafone Australia invited me via twitter to Joel Madden’s Housewarming party, where they flew a friend and I up to Sydney, put us up in a hotel, and took us to Joel’s party. The competition was only for Vodafone users, AND I’M WITH TELSTRA! It was literally the shock of my life when they tweeted me the invitation, and the trip to Sydney, and Joel’s party, was one of the best weekends of my life. They invited me because of my twitter (and my friends keep saying Joel told them to invite me, which I’m neither going to confirm or deny, because I didn’t ask haha).

So, basically I’m trying to say that, social media has had a giant impact on the way we live our lives, the way we interact with our friends, and the way we interact with famous people that we may or may not look up to. I still use my twitter account daily, and Joel still follows me on it. In my life, social media has been a blessing, and I am always thankful for it. It’s definitely part of my every day life, and I actually cannot imagine my life without it.

And there you have it, that’s my story. Twitter is rad. And Social Media has definitely changed the way people in the Western world interact and operate.

Here’s some pictures –

 

Bloggers

Aug22

I found the Landow reading interesting this week. His discussion of hypertext and individual path ways of knowledge brought up some good ideas. I especially found his discussion of blogging kind of intriguing, as he spoke of a majority of bloggers being highly skilled computer users,

‘majority of bloggers (and also the most intense ones) are highly skilled computer uses whose professional activities demand technical information’

This statement stood out as I like blogging and do it frequently via my tumblr, however I wouldn’t consider myself to be a ‘highly skilled computer user.’ Landow also stated that having comments allowed on blogs enable the reader of an online diary to participate actively, which also leads into his discussion of the fine line between ‘private’ and ‘public’, ‘real life’, and a ‘virtual reality’. This all stood out to me as I think it is true, once you start posting about your private life online, in a blog, it becomes somewhat public, for the world to see. The line between private and public definitely becomes blurred.

Also the idea that when blogging it is each to their own, individual thoughts, feelings, and base of knowledge. This is what makes blogs so great – the difference from one person to the next. The flow of ideas may be somewhat the same at times, however the online persona and narrative voice throughout the writing can always be different. Blogs are fun to have, and keeping them updated with your own thoughts can be really helpful, as going back to look over things you wrote a year ago can be amusing and insightful.

This entry was posted on August 22, 2013, in Readings.

Research

Aug21

For my first Niki page, my group have been given the man that is Vannevar Bush to discuss. As I was just doing some research into him and his achievements and inventions, I came across this in the comments of an article about him. I thought it was really interesting, so I’m posting it on here…

 what if Vannevar Bush’s advice on research for cancer had been followed? below copied from Boston globe book review (The Emperor of all Maladies):

In the decade following World War II, zealots like Lasker sought to create a “Manhattan Project’’ for cancer that would tackle the disease with centralized planning and a relentless wave of resources. In contrast, Vannevar Bush, an electrical engineer who rose to become President Truman’s chief science adviser, favored a system of diffuse basic research over “programmatic’’ science dedicated solely toward precise, practical ends. DNA pioneer James Watson, among the best known of the anti-Laskerites, argued that the success of the Manhattan Project, and later the moon landing, rested upon a previous generation’s collected body of theoretical insights and empirical research of the sort not yet available to cancer’s foes. These two competing visions of the anticancer struggle finally joined in battle over the content of the National Cancer Act of 1971, ultimately a Pyrrhic victory for the Laskerites that ensured Richard Nixon’s “war’’ on cancer would be little more than a muted salvo.

This entry was posted on August 21, 2013, in Niki, Readings.

Dear Jane

Aug19

Introducing to you, my band, Dear Jane!

We are a Melbourne based pop/punk band, who formed in early 2013. We all came together with a passion for playing music, listening to music, and creating music.

 

Dear Jane is:

Shannen – Vocals

Andrea – Guitar & back up vocals

Maddie – Guitar

Hannah – Drums

 

We are a band that is hugely influenced by some of our favourite bands, including Good Charlotte, All Time Low and Simple Plan. We are currently in the process of writing original songs and are close to recoding a few of them. As a member of Dear Jane, it’s really awesome to see how far we have come form our first ever band practice, and I can say that from that first song we ever played together, we clicked really well. We all hail from around Victoria, with our members coming from Frankston, Doncaster, Glenroy, and West Preston. This band is a really big part of our lives, and I love that it allows us to play music that we love, with some of our best friends in the world. It’s pretty awesome when you find other people that share the same passion for something as you do, and share the same dream. The dream is to create the best music we can, and share it with people all over the world. To tour the world and play live concerts for people worldwide. To work with some of our idols in the music industry, and to just have fun doing the thing that we love.

Dear Jane is working hard to write songs that people will be down with, and to find our sound. We hope to some day soon be able to share our original songs with everyone, and to start playing shows around Melbourne. We hope to keep getting better and working hard at what we do, and to inspire people with our music and work ethic.

So, look out for us and our music in the future, operation Dear Jane take over the world has already begun. 🙂 haha not really, but we do really hope you like our music when we eventually get it out there!

Life

Aug18

I’m sitting here, tired and a little bored. I’m confused about a lot of things, and stressed about others. And sitting here, I feel like I should post something on this blog tonight, but  I just don’t know what exactly…

so for now, here’s a picture of me and some of my best friends front and centre at a Good Charlotte concert last year. This picture makes me happy and brings back a flood of amazing memories from this weekend spent on the Gold Coast to see my favourite band!  

Progress

Aug15

Reading Vannevar Bush’s article excerpt from his renowned essay “As We May Think” (1945) has given me insight into another way of thinking about the world of technology and science today. So many of the gadgets and such things that people use in todays day ‘n’ age are products of progressive thinking from people who lived years ago. This is something I definitely take for granted. The fact that I can be sitting here on this train, typing this blog up on my computer, is something I’ve never really second guessed before. I literally cannot imagine not being able to do this – and it’s because of innovative thinkers like Mr Bush, that this is even possible. Sitting here now and having a good think about it, it is really, truly incredible how far technological advancement has, and continues to, come! Mr Bush was an innovative man, who envisioned new and useful concepts and tools, all before the time in which it was actually possible to create them, and form them into things that would be used on a daily basis by people like me.  So to all the past, present, and future innovators out there, props to you!