Blog #9

i think the world wouldnt be any different without books, at least in the short term. most of the information contained in books can easily be found online. in the long run however, its impossible to say how the world would "look like" without books. what if something happens to the internet?(like the govt shutting it down), what if the internet doesnt even exist in the future?...would there be any other way of looking up information?, again its impossible to know any of these answers. personally, i think books are good to have just as a reference type of thing. its not like i read to relax but at the same time how else would we learn, how else would we know if the information we're learning isnt made up by some party or by the govt (1984) if theres nothing in writing to back up anything we say. as far as burning books goes, if we keep on using the internet to look stuff up, eventually people will no longer bother to publish books.

Blog #8

I thought Hunger Games was an interesting read. While I don’t believe we’ll reach a point where we’re watching people essentially fight to the death, I think the ridiculousness of the hunger games kinda resembles some of the traditions we have today. I was pretty intrigued by Katniss' decision to form an alliance with Rue, I feel that if I were in the games and one of my enemies resembled a family member, or even friend, I would have a difficult time contemplating whether or not to kill them. Throughout the book I also wondered, if placed in that circumstance, if I could be in a relationship similar to that of Katniss' and Peeta's, a relationship built on a series of lies that must be kept up in order to ensure my survival.  The plot itself actually reminded me of the movie The Condemned, which is also about a last man standing fight to the death type of thing, with millions paying to watch it through the internet. As a whole, all of the books we’ve read so far portrait societies in which its people do what their told, they do things that their society consider norms, and they all do it without ever questioning what the significance or what the true purpose of it all is.

Blog #6

I have never heard our society be described as Orwellian. I guess what those people are referring to is the amount of control the government seems to have over us and our privacy. Maybe its the governments ability to tap into our phone calls, see what books we've checked out, and even find out all the things we've googled that makes these people uneasy. I dont have too much to hide so if the government wants to dig up dirt on me or listen to my phone calls then so be it. I think the way our country is set up today is fine and needs few, if any, changes as far as privacy goes. If you want to check out some bomb cook-books or say certain things on the phone that draws attention to you no one is stopping you, though there are probably some consequences that come with that. I think that by passing legislation like the PATRIOT thing the gov't is able to sift through the people that are serious national threats from those who arent..making the overall process of maintaining national security more efficient. The way they use the information today doesnt bother me so long as its use for security purposes only.

No Technology: Day 5

Five days into this challenge I'm beginning to adjust to not using technology. In the first days I would do some school work, then with the time I would normally use going on the internet or play video games, I'd be moping around looking for something to do or I'd be fighting off the temptation of playing some FIFA which almost made me something something. I am more organized now as I've begun using a planner, since I'm not using D2L to check what assignments I have due, and I've even cleaned up most of my apartment (minus dishes). To kill time, I'm reading ahead in several classes and I've also begun taking longer to do several daily activities such as eating and showering; however, I have yet to find anything to replace all the hours I previously spent on the internet. For the most part this has been a manageable change in lifestyle though there are a few inconveniences. For one, I feel that I am out of the loop when it comes to family, friends, and the news, though I could probably find a newspaper somewhere. I also find it annoying that I cant reference stuff on wikipedia or even listen to a song that pops into my head. In our society, technology has become such an intricate part of our lives that purposefully choosing to be without it for a week, not to mention an entire year, would be difficult for anyone.

By the way:

I used my phone on thursday to call campus police and walmart because I thought I lost my wallet in their parking lot or somewhere on campus..found it in sweat pants I was going to wear that day but changed right before going to class, yea i know....

Blog #4

Emerson said imitation is suicide, meaning that by imitating others we lose our sense of individuality. I think this saying is broad to the extent that everyone can be considered an imitator. From the clothes we wear, to the things we say, to even some of the things we think of can all be considered imitation. There are so many people in this world that surely theres someone out there you havent met that has thought the same idea or even has the same opinion as you,  now is that considered some form of accidental imitation? Though people may share these same ideas, opinions, likes, or even dislikes, there aren't, at least I dont think, any two people that are entirely the same. Emerson chooses to believe that imitation is suicide, I actually think its not as bad as he makes it out to be; in fact, I think its wonderful that when we take all the little things we've "imitated" from what we've seen, heard, and experienced and we piece them all together, you get a completely unique person..you get you! Rather than concerning ourselves with where we got this style or taste from we should just let certain things be because in the end we r who we r  right?!!!hahahah

Blog #3

Being called the dumbest generation absolutely infuri8s me (>_<)  jkjkjk truth is it doesn’t bother me, every generation has its share of both critics and supporters, our generation being no different. What does grind my gears though is that some people insist on indoctrinating others with their ideas, ideas that are purposefully created to draw attention to issues that are minuscule compared to other problems in this world. These people write books that criticize generations for using the internet too much rather than shinning light on those people who don’t have it or for that matter people that don’t have running electricity and looking at it more in tune, people that cant even meet the basic needs. Yes everyone is entitled to have and express their own opinion regarding any issue but I believe that before we go out and publicize them, we should first think of the more important issues that need to be addressed.

Blog #2

When reading Culture Jam one thing that caught my attention is Kalle Lasn’s use of fear mongering. While he tries to convey the message that corporations are evil and that advertisers manipulate us from an early age, Lasn himself uses these same tactics on us. He compares our sense of security regarding the brands we wear to “The way prostitutes derive a sense of security from their pimps”(76). While I don’t have any knowledge of a prostitute’s relationship with their pimp, I do know that the use fear is becoming a main way of getting someone's attention. Everyday the news starts of with the same stories: murders, robberies, and recently violent protests. Even in watching Second Skin, I feel that the typical viewer sees these gamers and thinks “I play video games but I don’t want to play for 12-18 hours daily because that would make me a loser”. No I’m not a gamer, but whose to say that their video game playing is out of the ordinary, all their doing is taking an activity that is widely popular and "consuming" it in massive quantities. In our society the use of fear, for some reason, is becoming the primary way of getting a person to actually listen to what we have to say.