I enjoyed blogging. I was already a somewhat experienced writer before doing this blog project however I had never written a journal or anything close to it until this project. It helped me talk about things I kept inside because I felt like the people around me wouldn't care about. I took the experience seriously as I do with all writing, even writing that I don't enjoy such as anything that has to do with research. I took the experience seriously because as a writer I have an obligation to keep an open mind with new forms of writing, such as texting and blogging etc. One thing I learned about blogging is that there is a strong hate for it among people in society and I absolutely hate it. I hate the negativity toward the practice. It's fine if it's not your thing but give it the respect it deserves and if you believe it deserves none because it's new then you are what is wrong with out society today.
Even though I know people in class probably disagree, I believe as an assignment blogging is valuable for writers to dabble in new forms of writing as time passes. As for being useful it depends on what the reason you write for.
A suggestion I have for future versions of this assignment is based off of common complaints I have heard throughout the class. The suggestion is that please be more clear on what our comments on other blogs should be in terms of content, length, and depth. I personally had no problems with that but this is just based on what I've heard from the class. That is really the only thing I can think of.
I think I will try to continue this blog on my own and use it as a personal journal type of thing. I am happy that ENG101 has introduced me to Blogger.com.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Entry #10: It's all about the theatrics
So lately I've been writing and making some progress in a novel on my own time because of a surge of inspiration. This inspiration came from a picture I found on a website called DeviantArt.com. This is the picture here:
This picture inspired me as I browsed DeviantArt.com because my protagonist happened to be a fiery female who is more on the chaotic side rather than the good and innocent side. This made me think about all of the well received villains and fun heroes, even large names in history and they all had something in common. That would be they had a passion and love for theatrics. Not because of any practical reason but because they loved the thrill of shocking or causing their audiences to faint, poop their pants in fright, or just stare at them in awe. The Joker from Batman: The Dark Knight is a good example. His chaotic tendencies and unpredictability has garnered him a reputation as a fantastic villain, not just in that movie but in the general comic world. Micheal Weston from FX's hit series Burn Notice is an ex-spy who uses his skills to help normal civilians with problems that can't be normally fixed by simply calling the police. He uses personas and disguises throughout his misadventures and makes sure to shock and awe the villains in order to succeed. Some people may think or say that, "this would never happen in real life." This is untrue and when it does happen it is profound to the world. Edward Teach, also popularly known as Captain Blackbeard, was a pirate during the golden age of piracy of the late 17th century. He used long-fused smoke trails and stuck them in his beard, not fearing that the embers would cause his beard to catch fire. He used this to make him look like demon who just walked onto your ship and was ready to make you suffer. This was a real world example of how theatrics caused a ripple across the world. Here is a clip from a video game called Assassin's Creed Black Flag where you play as a pirate and one of your best buds is none other than Edward Teach. In this his fire tendrils are from his hat instead of his beard but stories change over history so who knows the historical accuracy of this. The theatrics are all that matter.
The theatrics are what matter in life, they are what makes people stick out in life. Whether it's for a good reason or a bad one, that is all up to you.
Entry #9: Pink Slime Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wshlnRWnf30&feature=youtu.be
The URL above is a link to a video about pink slime in our food. My thoughts are, yeah pink slime on its own looks gross and I'm sure doesn't taste good on its own. I don't exactly know if it's good for you or not. However at the same time I think that if it was life threatening it wouldn't be in our foods. It's man made and a preservative which means there is a purpose for it. It's not going to affect my diet personally. These are just my thoughts, which are scarce but that's all there is to it for me.
The URL above is a link to a video about pink slime in our food. My thoughts are, yeah pink slime on its own looks gross and I'm sure doesn't taste good on its own. I don't exactly know if it's good for you or not. However at the same time I think that if it was life threatening it wouldn't be in our foods. It's man made and a preservative which means there is a purpose for it. It's not going to affect my diet personally. These are just my thoughts, which are scarce but that's all there is to it for me.
Entry #8: Attitude toward Media
In this day and age society has many forms of media and entertainment. We have books, television, movies, video games, music, etc. And yet they all seem to have been given different levels of respect by the public as a whole. The top tier seems to be movies, below that is television, below that are books, below that is music, and then at the bottom are video games as well other not well known forms of entertainment. This is how I personally think society in general views this chain of media. I for one believe this incredibly hypocritical and just downright stupid. Everyone has their preferences of course, some people don't watch television or movies. People hate to read and so they don't read books, and then there are people who love all of these forms of media and just hone in on individual genres, (this is where I am.) I believe that all media and entertainment should be respected and no one has the right to try and tear down one while preserving another. Perfect example is this.
An older gentleman of an older generation views video games to be stupid, causing young-ins to not be able to think and are all about sex and violence. Then he watches a television show that has all of those things. This is what I have seen of multiple people, of multiple generations. Anything new is looked down upon by the older generations and anything old is looked down upon by the new. It's not right either way. For example I myself don't really enjoy watching movies or listen to music that much but I love video games, books, and television shows(of the actual story and plot variety.) and because of my preferences I have been ridiculed by my grandparents who have said that by playing video games I waste my hours(yeah, because everyone has to do something productive and efficient at all times when they're awake, go figure) and my IQ is dropping every time. Or when I read a book on the playground rather than run around during recess I was considered a nerd. It's all hypocrisy and I believe as generations go by they must learn to respect and accommodate the new with the old forms of entertainment. It should be all about open mindedness in life.
An older gentleman of an older generation views video games to be stupid, causing young-ins to not be able to think and are all about sex and violence. Then he watches a television show that has all of those things. This is what I have seen of multiple people, of multiple generations. Anything new is looked down upon by the older generations and anything old is looked down upon by the new. It's not right either way. For example I myself don't really enjoy watching movies or listen to music that much but I love video games, books, and television shows(of the actual story and plot variety.) and because of my preferences I have been ridiculed by my grandparents who have said that by playing video games I waste my hours(yeah, because everyone has to do something productive and efficient at all times when they're awake, go figure) and my IQ is dropping every time. Or when I read a book on the playground rather than run around during recess I was considered a nerd. It's all hypocrisy and I believe as generations go by they must learn to respect and accommodate the new with the old forms of entertainment. It should be all about open mindedness in life.
Entry #7: Food, Inc
In my English class we watched Food, Inc due to the fact that we must have a topic related to food in our papers. I have never liked documentaries and watching this movie has only deepened my dislike of them. I have always tried my hardest and will never stop trying to be neutral on all subjects in life, so things that try incredibly hard to pull you one side or another has always flopped. Now lets talk about the specifics within the movie itself.
The treatment of animals showed in the movie is probably the closest to the truth about animal cruelty. Take that as you will, whether it's a bad thing or a good thing. I personally am not fazed because I do not like animals and I believe animals specifically bred as food should be viewed as just that. Food. The image of Industrialized Food Processes does surprise me a little but in the way of I wasn't aware, nor do I care. I am not angry or delighted about the deception the Federal Government has played in terms of the food market. At the moment I can't even remember how they deceived us. I have never trusted the government though so I am not surprised. I am not bothered by the greed shown by some businesses because that is natural and a positive thing. Companies are made to make money, not be a charity. They must find ways to survive and be profitable and I will never view that as greed or negative. I have not seen any lack of respect toward humans by businesses. Only the following of the laws of our country. The relationship between the gov't and some big businesses does somewhat surprise me. I did not personally know that corn was used in different ways but I believe it is a positive thing. I do like how our food today is engineered because it is efficient and needs to be as such nowadays given the population of our country as well as the planet. The word "engineered" should be along with food as well as anything else in this world. Nothing should be off limits when it comes to science and technology. The effect of food production on the environment does not surprise me, nor does it bother me. As for the bacteria in our food, bacteria is in and on everything in this world, some are harmful and some are benign and we will never be able to tell so what's the point in being all germaphobic about it. It is indeed easier and simpler for Americans to not know about our food, HOWEVER this does not mean I believe they shouldn't have the freedom to find out. They should be allowed to find out whats behind their food if they so want to. It does not affect me but I do disagree with the dis-allowance of knowledge to anyone on any subject. I believe if someone cares about these issues, then let then care. Let them do whatever they want. This goes for consumers of food as well. Let consumers eat whatever they want, don't try to change the system on behalf of them. The only thing that truly matters when it comes to consumption is moderation. I personally do not care about these issues whatsoever.
The treatment of animals showed in the movie is probably the closest to the truth about animal cruelty. Take that as you will, whether it's a bad thing or a good thing. I personally am not fazed because I do not like animals and I believe animals specifically bred as food should be viewed as just that. Food. The image of Industrialized Food Processes does surprise me a little but in the way of I wasn't aware, nor do I care. I am not angry or delighted about the deception the Federal Government has played in terms of the food market. At the moment I can't even remember how they deceived us. I have never trusted the government though so I am not surprised. I am not bothered by the greed shown by some businesses because that is natural and a positive thing. Companies are made to make money, not be a charity. They must find ways to survive and be profitable and I will never view that as greed or negative. I have not seen any lack of respect toward humans by businesses. Only the following of the laws of our country. The relationship between the gov't and some big businesses does somewhat surprise me. I did not personally know that corn was used in different ways but I believe it is a positive thing. I do like how our food today is engineered because it is efficient and needs to be as such nowadays given the population of our country as well as the planet. The word "engineered" should be along with food as well as anything else in this world. Nothing should be off limits when it comes to science and technology. The effect of food production on the environment does not surprise me, nor does it bother me. As for the bacteria in our food, bacteria is in and on everything in this world, some are harmful and some are benign and we will never be able to tell so what's the point in being all germaphobic about it. It is indeed easier and simpler for Americans to not know about our food, HOWEVER this does not mean I believe they shouldn't have the freedom to find out. They should be allowed to find out whats behind their food if they so want to. It does not affect me but I do disagree with the dis-allowance of knowledge to anyone on any subject. I believe if someone cares about these issues, then let then care. Let them do whatever they want. This goes for consumers of food as well. Let consumers eat whatever they want, don't try to change the system on behalf of them. The only thing that truly matters when it comes to consumption is moderation. I personally do not care about these issues whatsoever.
Sunday, March 23, 2014
Entry #6: Pride or Ego?
I have always been proud of my skill of writing, even though I know I am not that best. I have always known that I love the feeling of creating something out of nothing, and have always romanticized it. The thought of "I am pretty much a god." always enters my mind. Then I catch myself and I realize that, that thought could be very poisonous to my personality, creating a very ugly ego. I don't hold the thought of myself being an imaginary god strictly to myself, I pertain that philosophy toward all writers, painters, video game creators, and musicians. I check myself whenever the thought of being a god and remain humble because I know I am not the best, and I believe that every creator should have the same thought process.
Saturday, March 22, 2014
Entry #5: Coexisting with Technology
WALL-E was was very good film in my opinion and this is an example of why. The clip illustrated what would happen if our advancing society let technology do literally everything for us. In the video it shows that we would no longer talk face to face with each other and use technology to do it for us even if they were right next to us. We would no longer walk but use technology to transport us everywhere, etc. Now even though these are negative aspects of future with heavy usage of technology, I don't believe we should cut back on developing and advancing our technology, however we should just try and keep it from overtaking us completely. Technology, in my opinion, is great and it should be treated as such and with respect. We should not just throw it away or disregard it and resist the inevitable change that the future brings, in this case in the form of technology. We must learn to coexist with technology instead of letting it overtake us or just disregarding it entirely. We must use technology as tools rather than using as our lives.
Entry #4: Respecting Others
I have not always been a firm believer in respecting others opinions. That had changed midway in my high school life. When I was younger I just thought, "I don't care, I'll say what I want." I felt like it was cool to have hatred toward things and to express that hate very vocally, because I felt like that was how to fit in with the people around me. I saw, and continue to see, society as people not caring what others think and just hate on anything and everything to the harshest extent. Some believe the internet has helped this tenfold. I definitely changed my ways though in high school because clarity entered me and I began to think of the "whys" of things. I began to ask why do people express hatred to the harshest extent? Especially on opinions of others in terms of entertainment. When someone asks another person "hey do you like rap music?" and that person does not enjoy rap music, instead of just saying "it's not my type of music." or "it's just not my thing." they say "because rap music is degrading, stupid, and should just die off." Now I understand that, that may be their opinion, there is still a level of overly harshness to it that is unnecessary. Or whenever someone expresses a fondness for something, there is ALWAYS someone who has to put in their two-cents.
There was speaker I saw at an event for video games, he was on a panel taking general questions, the details are a bit foggy for me to remember but there was one statement that stuck with me. Someone asked him what he wanted most in the video game industry and community and he answered with something along the lines of, "I wish that people were more accepting of other's tastes which is why I don't believe their is such a thing a bad game." That philosophy stuck with me and I put it in perspective of all forms of media and entertainment instead of just video games. I will never say a certain music genre or T.V. show or movie sucks and will always just view it as, "it's just not for me." rather than viewing it as "this is the worst movie/T.V. show/song ever made and I want it off the air." There is no reason for harshness when it comes to differing tastes and preferences in life. All there is needed is respect.
There was speaker I saw at an event for video games, he was on a panel taking general questions, the details are a bit foggy for me to remember but there was one statement that stuck with me. Someone asked him what he wanted most in the video game industry and community and he answered with something along the lines of, "I wish that people were more accepting of other's tastes which is why I don't believe their is such a thing a bad game." That philosophy stuck with me and I put it in perspective of all forms of media and entertainment instead of just video games. I will never say a certain music genre or T.V. show or movie sucks and will always just view it as, "it's just not for me." rather than viewing it as "this is the worst movie/T.V. show/song ever made and I want it off the air." There is no reason for harshness when it comes to differing tastes and preferences in life. All there is needed is respect.
Entry #3: Tangible Tech
This is a video of experimental tech well into its infancy at the moment but nonetheless it opened up some thoughts in my head. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvtfD_rJ2hE
Tangible Media. I take from those words that media such as music, possibly videos, video games, etc. take physical, interactive form. Now obviously these are just entertainment uses and I cannot currently think of any other uses for this, but nonetheless it is interesting. To be able to touch rhythm and flow of music, or let's imagine a more futuristic, advanced form of this such as holographic projection for videos. This is the doorstep to all of that science fiction technology we have always seen in the movies and T.V. shows. Not too long ago people scoffed at the idea of mobile computers and video calling, and yet here we are now with tablets and Skype.
This can also lead to advanced robotics, technology moving things for you at your command and so on. That in itself could prove very controversial, but nonetheless could evolve in the near future. This video just shows the doorway to all of these possibilities. This blog was supposed to be about technology being used in society at the moment and while it does not exactly speak that, it's just showing that these examples may possibly be the future technology that will be used in society.
Tangible Media. I take from those words that media such as music, possibly videos, video games, etc. take physical, interactive form. Now obviously these are just entertainment uses and I cannot currently think of any other uses for this, but nonetheless it is interesting. To be able to touch rhythm and flow of music, or let's imagine a more futuristic, advanced form of this such as holographic projection for videos. This is the doorstep to all of that science fiction technology we have always seen in the movies and T.V. shows. Not too long ago people scoffed at the idea of mobile computers and video calling, and yet here we are now with tablets and Skype.
This can also lead to advanced robotics, technology moving things for you at your command and so on. That in itself could prove very controversial, but nonetheless could evolve in the near future. This video just shows the doorway to all of these possibilities. This blog was supposed to be about technology being used in society at the moment and while it does not exactly speak that, it's just showing that these examples may possibly be the future technology that will be used in society.
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Entry #2: Writing Elements and My Qualms.
As I'm sure you all know, I love to write. Creatively, that is. I am trying to get the hang of this whole blogging thing but that's for you to decide if I am doing just that. However there are certain things that bug me quite a bit about people these days, people who are really into a certain show, book, or movie, etc. A common thing I see from the people around me, society if you want to go that far. And that is that many people like to believe they have a harsh, cold heart made of rock and that if a situation happened to them that maybe included a difficult choice for them or something of the sort, that they would make that choice no problem and if anyone has personal and mental repercussions, then they're either a baby, whiner, wuss, etc.
Let's say a character's parents die in some show you're watching and that character is shown to be suffering from depression or sadness instead of killing zombies or the enemy and saving his/her friends from the bad guy, and then the person watching with you says, "quit whining, I wanna see some zombie killing!" or "If you had done this, then none of all of that would've happened!", etc. What I immediately think of is, you wouldn't feel the same? You wouldn't feel a deep spike of ice plowing through your heart, causing you to be unable to do what you need to do? You would immediately know, without question, that what you are doing is the right thing and just do it?
What this is, is a literary element in the writing of the show/movie/book/etc. that is supposed to invoke emotion from it's audience, however nowadays given how much negativity that we are subjected to in our everyday lives, it has given us all foolish, icy hearts and lack of perception, which in turn tears down good writing, good stories! There are indeed some factors that matter that aren't the writing's fault, such as the actor's believability, or the author's way of writing and ultimately it falls upon every different person on how they react, however for the most part of what I have seen around me, it is clear to me that we as a society have come to easily hate emotion and lack the attention span to care. I admit that I may be over generalizing and that everyone is truly different, these are just observations that made me think about these subjects and has caused me frustration.
Let's say a character's parents die in some show you're watching and that character is shown to be suffering from depression or sadness instead of killing zombies or the enemy and saving his/her friends from the bad guy, and then the person watching with you says, "quit whining, I wanna see some zombie killing!" or "If you had done this, then none of all of that would've happened!", etc. What I immediately think of is, you wouldn't feel the same? You wouldn't feel a deep spike of ice plowing through your heart, causing you to be unable to do what you need to do? You would immediately know, without question, that what you are doing is the right thing and just do it?
What this is, is a literary element in the writing of the show/movie/book/etc. that is supposed to invoke emotion from it's audience, however nowadays given how much negativity that we are subjected to in our everyday lives, it has given us all foolish, icy hearts and lack of perception, which in turn tears down good writing, good stories! There are indeed some factors that matter that aren't the writing's fault, such as the actor's believability, or the author's way of writing and ultimately it falls upon every different person on how they react, however for the most part of what I have seen around me, it is clear to me that we as a society have come to easily hate emotion and lack the attention span to care. I admit that I may be over generalizing and that everyone is truly different, these are just observations that made me think about these subjects and has caused me frustration.
Entry #1: My Opinion on Blogs.
When I was a senior in High School, I had an English teacher who once said that blogging is not a valid form of writing. I have also seen and heard from many sources across media platforms that blogging is not a real written form or should not be respected or recognized. I never really gave it much thought due to the fact that I did my own creative writing and kept it to myself. However I always doubt negative opinions about anything and always find the positive in everything.
I clicked through multiple blogs such as http://www.20-nothings.com/, a blog about a woman's life being in her twenties and all the drama and hardships of it, which I enjoyed because of its seriousness. Clicking on this blog proved to me something that I had always thought about of most blogs and that is that blogs are basically a journal for the world to see. It is whatever the author wants it to be, just like an author who writes a novel, or a painter who has a canvas in front of them. It is a form of writing, even if it's electronically based and delivered. Because the idea and practice of blogging is relatively new and nontraditional, people immediately disrespect it, which I now think is absolute bullshit(pardon my language). The old ways of writing are great, but there should always be room for new ways through advanced means, such as blogging.
The next blog post that caught my eye was one called http://dronestagram.tumblr.com/, which I did not personally enjoy. I do not enjoy reading about current events or struggles throughout the world and decide to avoid such news. It may sound very self-centered or selfish I know, but I only pay attention to news that might affect me, and even then I usually don't care. However that does not mean I don't think such matters as these are important, I just choose to ignore these things. This blog focuses on drone strikes through a compilation of Tumblr posts and Instagram photos, current events that I choose not to wrap my head around. They are not for me but for others who care more about this topic and decide to discuss such things.
The last blog that caught my attention was a more humorous blog called http://thebloggess.com/, which for a number of reasons, was my favorite and more of what I personally like. First off, something that stands out to me more than probably most people is that this blog is its own site. It's not riding off the back of Tumblr, Blogger, etc. It is it's own site, it is it's own space in the internet world. This is something I admire from individuals, not that I have anything against those sites, I just believe it is better to have your own space on the internet for whatever you want, rather than using a service to do something you can probably handle yourself. The other things I admired was the humor, which I believe is rare in writing, traditional or not. My all time favorite book series is called the Psychic Eye Series and (even though the book covers are a bit girly) they are the funniest, most enjoyable books I have ever read so far in my life, and the reason for that is because it is so rare to find humor in books, articles, and writing in general. And that is what this blog has.
I am happy that I am getting experience in the field of blogging because I believe it is a form of writing that is worthwhile and just needs time to grow to become more standard and become what is deemed traditional.
I clicked through multiple blogs such as http://www.20-nothings.com/, a blog about a woman's life being in her twenties and all the drama and hardships of it, which I enjoyed because of its seriousness. Clicking on this blog proved to me something that I had always thought about of most blogs and that is that blogs are basically a journal for the world to see. It is whatever the author wants it to be, just like an author who writes a novel, or a painter who has a canvas in front of them. It is a form of writing, even if it's electronically based and delivered. Because the idea and practice of blogging is relatively new and nontraditional, people immediately disrespect it, which I now think is absolute bullshit(pardon my language). The old ways of writing are great, but there should always be room for new ways through advanced means, such as blogging.
The next blog post that caught my eye was one called http://dronestagram.tumblr.com/, which I did not personally enjoy. I do not enjoy reading about current events or struggles throughout the world and decide to avoid such news. It may sound very self-centered or selfish I know, but I only pay attention to news that might affect me, and even then I usually don't care. However that does not mean I don't think such matters as these are important, I just choose to ignore these things. This blog focuses on drone strikes through a compilation of Tumblr posts and Instagram photos, current events that I choose not to wrap my head around. They are not for me but for others who care more about this topic and decide to discuss such things.
The last blog that caught my attention was a more humorous blog called http://thebloggess.com/, which for a number of reasons, was my favorite and more of what I personally like. First off, something that stands out to me more than probably most people is that this blog is its own site. It's not riding off the back of Tumblr, Blogger, etc. It is it's own site, it is it's own space in the internet world. This is something I admire from individuals, not that I have anything against those sites, I just believe it is better to have your own space on the internet for whatever you want, rather than using a service to do something you can probably handle yourself. The other things I admired was the humor, which I believe is rare in writing, traditional or not. My all time favorite book series is called the Psychic Eye Series and (even though the book covers are a bit girly) they are the funniest, most enjoyable books I have ever read so far in my life, and the reason for that is because it is so rare to find humor in books, articles, and writing in general. And that is what this blog has.
I am happy that I am getting experience in the field of blogging because I believe it is a form of writing that is worthwhile and just needs time to grow to become more standard and become what is deemed traditional.
Sunday, January 26, 2014
Practice Blog #1
My name is Tyler McDonald and I love having the ability to create things. Using pencils, papers, or my computer, I love to create my own worlds, people, stories, etc. The ability to do whatever you want. That is why I love to creatively write. I am an unpublished author but that will soon be changed with the modern power of self-publishing. I have written a full book and in the middle of many other writing projects, mostly novels.
I love technology as well. Especially when used to create stories, visually or otherwise. I love video games because of the unique way of story telling that is interactive, visual, and artistic. I love animation, both 3D and 2D and am attending Glendale Community College for my associates degree in Digital Media Arts. I am not used to this whole blogging experience so my first few blogs will be rough but hopefully over time they will get better and more visually appealing and interactive.
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