Author: lukeegan

Gotta get down on Friday

by lukeegan

Yep. I messed up my timetable and now I have classes on Friday. Its unfortunate but I have no else to blame but myself and alcohol which was still lurking in my system at 8am on the scheduled timetable day. Class on a Friday is like any other day except everyone is really just thinking about what they are going to do with their weekend. Oh and half the class is hungover. OK I guess it is like any other day then. Sophie is still struggling with technology, Flash is eating a pumpkin and ricotta ravioli and Elliot needs a coffee after talking for five hours straight.  Typical day at university.The class was probably more concerned whether to buy beer or goon for their weekend adventures albeit there was some academic interaction.

We discussed stories and their nature. I thought back to first semseter where I learnt about Kurt Vonnegut and his thesis on the universal shapes of stories. His basic idea was that a story’s main character has ups and downs that could be graphed on an axis to reveal the story’s shape. At the time his thesis was rejected as it was revealed to be too simple. It works for me though. Every movie I can think of at this moment can fit into one of these story arcs.

Here, have a look for yourself. Vonnegut’s work has been creatively re imagined into these visuals works by graphic designer Maya Eilam.

Shapes of Stories

 

Over and Out,

Luke Egan

When blogging… try not to piss people off!

by lukeegan

Blog and bog

The rise in social media has given the power to anyone or any organisation to be a blogger and share basically anything they want. One could use a blog as a personal diary, to document their learning or to review films and novels. This evolution of technology is a good thing… right? Yes and No. Mostly yes. But when you give that kind reach and power to an ass hole then all hell can break loose. It is easy to offend someone when you are posting your opinions to people all over the world who have different ideals of what is right and wrong. Although offending someone with a insensitive joke or an extensive troll might be the least of your worries as there are various legal issues that can arise when you blog like flog. The main issues you should watch out for are copyright, moral rights, trade marks, defamation  and right of publicity. Not only could your blog get taken down if you don’t follow these laws.. you could actually get in some serious legal trouble. So don’t blog like flog. Follow the laws and be a good bloke.

If you want a closer look at what you can’t do take a look at this site.

Over and Out,

Luke Egan

Creative Commons… What is that again?

by lukeegan

After reading up about Creative Commons I’ve realised how essential it is to my area of study.  Creative Commons licences are

Creative Commons

designed to facilitate and encourage more flexibility in copyright.  I can use creative commons licence to tell the world that my copyrighted materials are available to be shared. Its a great layer to the copyright system as it is clear and easy to understand.  To make things even easier I could use the Creative Commons licence chooser and simply answer some question to pick the appropriate licence.

On the right are the basic types of licences you can pick from.

Over and Out,

Luke Egan 

Blokes that write blogs that aren’t flogs.

by lukeegan

If anyone is actually looking at this blog then I’d recommend to check out some of my classmates/real mates blogs.

My ol’ mate Flash has a snazzy blog where he documents his studies but more importantly he quotes classic legends like Gandalf.

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/luke-vanderzeil/

 “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us” – Gandalf, The Lord Of The Rings: Fellowship of the Ring

 

If you get sick of Gandalf quotes then I recommend visiting ‘The Purple Cynic‘ blog. Kenton has recently made an interesting post about exactly what transport ticket inspectors CAN and CANNOT actually do. Worth a read for sure.

http://www.mediafactory.org.au/kenton-reeder/ Yeah thats right! Walk away!

 

So please give these blogs a read and let your mind be filled with interesting blogs… oh and the blogs about weekly readings..

 

Over and Out

Luke Egan

Back again… and struggling

by lukeegan

Billy Madison (1995)

 

As demonstrated by the wide-eyed Billy Madison going back to school isn’t always easy. After a long break of doing well… nothing.. getting back into the routine of things is proving challenging.  Pathetically I’ve been struggling to not continue my endless bender of sleeping in to the time where hard working people are coming home for the day. I thought that I would be more excited to return the realm of simply doing something with my life. But NO. Already I have missed majority of my classes.. half because I’ve been sick and half because I wasn’t sure if I really cared any more. Night after night I’ve gone to sleep with intention of going to class but morning after morning I’ve turned off my alarm and put my head back on the pillow.

This morning was different. Yes I slept in still.. but I woke up motivated to sort out my work load for tomorrow. With the help of the motivated and organised Luke ‘Flash’  Vanderzeil here I am blogging away. Although I have not exactly completed a mound of work.. I have made an indent. Consequently my motivation has heightened and I feel better for it.

Over and Out

Luke Egan

 

 

Blogs in Media Education

by lukeegan

Miles, Adrian. “Blogs in Media Education: A Beginning.” Australian Screen
Ed.41 (2006): 66-9

After reading about blogs in media education I decided that my first blog would be about… blogs. This web based publication is a helpful tool for me as a media student. Firstly, I may become fluent in blog type literacy. Secondly, just like a journal I will have a record of ideas, reflections and activities that I can look back on.  Thirdly, as my blog is public I am able to contribute to a larger community of bloggers and engage with other academics.  Furthermore by posting online technically I become a publisher and may be useful for career opportunities.

Throughout the year and hopefully beyond I will be regularly documenting my classes, responding to readings and posting relevant findings on this blog. This blog will provide the opportunity for me to participate with my peers while interacting with a rich platform of information and sharing.

Luke Egan