Monday, December 19, 2011
Monday, December 12, 2011
Friday, December 9, 2011
Thursday, December 8, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Monday, November 28, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Monday, November 14, 2011
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Coachella
With Coachella pretty much exploding in the main stream media the past couple years you'd think that it might lose some of its artistic integrity or even go a bit commercial on you, but they honestly didn't. Not for a moment. I'm one of those kind of guys that is really into music but never really thought about going to a bunch of concerts or shows or anything. I mean, I have been to my share of shows, as any teenager has, but I wouldn't consider myself a concert kinda guy. Let's just say I am now. This years festival was absolutely unreal. I have never been to anything like this in my entire life, to the point where it is almost tough to explain. But let me try anyway - you know that feeling when you're on youtube and you stumble upon a song that somehow just clicks in your head and you're then hooked on the song or band or whatever? Well imagine that but in the desert, drunk, with thousands of people around you feeling the exact same kind of elation. Yea that's pretty awesome, but somehow that elation lasts for 3 days straight.
I am a total noob when it came to the whole Coachella scene (and lets be honest its totally a trendy scene) and walked in with a healthy anticipation for adventure. There are things that you are just oblivious to on that first day and I had no idea what to expect at all. Friday started off a bit slow but kicked up a little later we really got going with Bloc Party's Kele Okereke with his new band Kele, Skrillix, and then got absolutely shell shocked in the Sahara techno tent by A-trak and Afrojack who had a surprise guest appearance of Paul McCartney and Usher. We walked over to the much anticipated set of The Black Keys and to be honest they were probably the biggest bust of the entire weekend. We walked in thinking that they were going to be one of the big hits of the festival but with very average dull light show and not enough volume to get the crowd into the music, we had left 3 songs into the set because there was no energy whatsoever. Looking for a bit more excitement we fell back into the techno tent only to be blown away by not only one of the sickest experiences I have ever had, but I have never seen a light show that blew people's minds like set that Magnetic Man had put on. It completely took me over and showed me a new way to experience music.
Saturday and Sunday were just as good if not better. The shock value wore off but I became in awe of what I was experiencing with my good friends. Bands like Foster The People, City and Colour, Two Door Cinema Club, Bright Eyes, Mumford and Sons, and Paul Van Dyk showed up huge and gave performances that will have people talking about them for a while. There were a few major busts though that I have to admit I was pretty disappointed with. Bands like Duck Sauce, Sleigh Bells, The Morning Benders, and again The Black Keys. Bands that I maybe just had too high of expectations for but they were just rather bland and unenergetic to me. I feel that energy is half of the battle. The bands that interacted and fed off of the crowd made a connection with the fans and that helped their performance. Mumford and Sons seemed to be something out of a story book. You simply wanted to like them and sing along because of their charisma, appreciation, and overall happiness of performing. You knew that performing in front of 70,000 strong was something they had not really expected and you could tell in their faces. It was a special moment for both fans and I'm sure the band.
Overall, it was an insanely successful festival and an absolute brilliant weekend and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Every time I got disappointed by one band another would surprise me or draw me to their performance as I was passing by. Every step was something new. You never know what tent you're going to end up in. There were elements of the festival that aren't advertised that really made it for me. It wasn't the music, it wasn't the art, or the girls in little clothing, or any of that junk. It was the atmosphere. It was the idea that you could walk into a tent and fight your way through the crowd and dance your ass off and know that no one is judging you because they are in the exact same spot as you. Everyone is there to have a good time. Everyone wants the festival to be amazing. Its the people that make the festival what it really is and I think that says a lot about what Coachella has put together.
I am a total noob when it came to the whole Coachella scene (and lets be honest its totally a trendy scene) and walked in with a healthy anticipation for adventure. There are things that you are just oblivious to on that first day and I had no idea what to expect at all. Friday started off a bit slow but kicked up a little later we really got going with Bloc Party's Kele Okereke with his new band Kele, Skrillix, and then got absolutely shell shocked in the Sahara techno tent by A-trak and Afrojack who had a surprise guest appearance of Paul McCartney and Usher. We walked over to the much anticipated set of The Black Keys and to be honest they were probably the biggest bust of the entire weekend. We walked in thinking that they were going to be one of the big hits of the festival but with very average dull light show and not enough volume to get the crowd into the music, we had left 3 songs into the set because there was no energy whatsoever. Looking for a bit more excitement we fell back into the techno tent only to be blown away by not only one of the sickest experiences I have ever had, but I have never seen a light show that blew people's minds like set that Magnetic Man had put on. It completely took me over and showed me a new way to experience music.
Saturday and Sunday were just as good if not better. The shock value wore off but I became in awe of what I was experiencing with my good friends. Bands like Foster The People, City and Colour, Two Door Cinema Club, Bright Eyes, Mumford and Sons, and Paul Van Dyk showed up huge and gave performances that will have people talking about them for a while. There were a few major busts though that I have to admit I was pretty disappointed with. Bands like Duck Sauce, Sleigh Bells, The Morning Benders, and again The Black Keys. Bands that I maybe just had too high of expectations for but they were just rather bland and unenergetic to me. I feel that energy is half of the battle. The bands that interacted and fed off of the crowd made a connection with the fans and that helped their performance. Mumford and Sons seemed to be something out of a story book. You simply wanted to like them and sing along because of their charisma, appreciation, and overall happiness of performing. You knew that performing in front of 70,000 strong was something they had not really expected and you could tell in their faces. It was a special moment for both fans and I'm sure the band.
Overall, it was an insanely successful festival and an absolute brilliant weekend and I wouldn't have changed a thing. Every time I got disappointed by one band another would surprise me or draw me to their performance as I was passing by. Every step was something new. You never know what tent you're going to end up in. There were elements of the festival that aren't advertised that really made it for me. It wasn't the music, it wasn't the art, or the girls in little clothing, or any of that junk. It was the atmosphere. It was the idea that you could walk into a tent and fight your way through the crowd and dance your ass off and know that no one is judging you because they are in the exact same spot as you. Everyone is there to have a good time. Everyone wants the festival to be amazing. Its the people that make the festival what it really is and I think that says a lot about what Coachella has put together.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Monday, March 14, 2011
Virtual Reality
The new interest in virtual reality using the program of 2nd Life doesn't totally sit well with me. It makes me look at how we are giving up what is most precious to the human race; human interaction itself. And trust me, I understand that virtual reality is a form of interaction even though it happens to be through a computer screen where you can meet people from all different parts of the world. To me, you still haven't met them. I believe that you might be able to get to know someone through an alternative reality through an exchange of information from one another but I still don't believe that you have really met them. Interacting with human beings is apart of who we are and what makes us separate from the animals. I would never want to give that up because for some computer screen. I think that is an easy way out.
Now Dr. Gilbert addresses the psychological benefits of creating a fully functioning avatar for those who are severely impaired or have significant physical disabilities. I understand that this virtual world will allow people with unique circumstances to feel a great deal of happiness through the acceptance and appreciation that they might get through medium of social life. I believe it is important for people to face their issues and do not let themselves get sucked into a life that can be fabricated or deviate from the truth. It is important to face the hard challenges in life and learn to be the person that you were born as. I do understand that it is much easier said than done. But everyone has fears that they face every single day. Overcoming your fears and insecurities is an element of life that forces you to grow into a better person.
Dr. Gilbert believes that one can experience the same kind of experiences in 2nd Life as a person can in real life with little difference between the two. I do believe that there is a major difference between being on the beach in the summer feeling the ocean breeze on your face while digging your toes into the sand and sitting in front of a computer screen watching a cartoon version of yourself that you created, live the life that you aren't.
There are a lot of people in our country and our history who have fought for the freedoms for us to be able to go down to the park and have a barbecue with our family or go sledding in the snow. By simply choosing not to participate in those freedoms that people died to give you I feel like thats a bit of a slap in the face to them.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Monday, February 21, 2011
The Long Tail
You know its interesting with the boom of the internet age and how early it is in its evolution and yet there is an exponential amount of information that continues to be uploaded every single day. With websites like Netflix or Amazon, there is a countless number of materials from specific mediums that they have in stock that seems to get lost in the pop culture spotlight. As times and trends change over time these popular materials (movies, songs, books, video games) get lost in the dust and as the new generations develop their own trends, there is still a small population that digs up the past and looks for those lost iconic materials. This interest in the past continues to keep this notion of The Long Tail, developed by Chris Anderson editor of Wired Magazine, running and making a ton of money. I really believe that all The Long Tail idea is, is about the resurgence of trends and how those trends carry over into future generations. It is all about the random purchases of the 1994 mediocre Nintendo game that no one really cared about. Those are the purchases by a bunch of people that create a large amount of income that sustains itself over a long period of time.
To me personally, I believe that this will always relatively sustain itself over time especially since the internet is only getting larger and more information is being downloaded onto it every single day. We, as a culture, have a short attention span and new trends run in and out of our lives every single day. We don't always notice what we are going to hold onto and what we are going to forget about. I know that I always look back at things from when I was a kid that was poplar and try to find it again. My girlfriend got me a Super Nintendo for my birthday last year. This is an example of The Long Tail and how it will slowly sustain itself over a long period of time and will be able to create a ton of money. But what keeps it alive is the accessibility of these materials through the websites that have been developed. Without the internet it would be much more difficult to maintain this interest and accessibility.
To me personally, I believe that this will always relatively sustain itself over time especially since the internet is only getting larger and more information is being downloaded onto it every single day. We, as a culture, have a short attention span and new trends run in and out of our lives every single day. We don't always notice what we are going to hold onto and what we are going to forget about. I know that I always look back at things from when I was a kid that was poplar and try to find it again. My girlfriend got me a Super Nintendo for my birthday last year. This is an example of The Long Tail and how it will slowly sustain itself over a long period of time and will be able to create a ton of money. But what keeps it alive is the accessibility of these materials through the websites that have been developed. Without the internet it would be much more difficult to maintain this interest and accessibility.
Friday, February 18, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Convergence Culture
I don't know about you, but for me the Super Bowl was probably the biggest event going on for me this month. I'm sure for a lot of America's men watched the game yesterday and the thrilling performance that the Green Bay Packers displayed over the much more experienced Steelers. I sat in a room sitting on a couch staring at an HD television with probably 15 other people around me doing the exact same thing, the only difference was me and a few others were watching the game for the sake of the game. If you would have asked my best friend's high school sister what she thought about the game, she probably would have responded to the extent of, "I don't really know who's playing, I just watch the Super Bowl for the commercials". If you're a die hard football fan that might piss you off, but to anyone else, that might be a very practical reasonable thing to say. Why? Because our country has become a media monster where things like football give piggyback rides to advertisers and they make a fortune off of it. I'm not blaming them, I'm just suggesting that as big as the Super Bowl is, the commercials might be a bigger deal in the grand scheme of things. The answer to why is because of the increase in convergence culture that Henry Jenkins describes is taking over one step at a time.
When you go to the front page of Yahoo.com, you'll see a few articles on the chaos in Egypt, the outcome of the Super Bowl, and the best and worst Super Bowl commercials. The Super Bowl commercials have taken a life of its own and have become a sort of American tradition to watch all the amazing commercials. Due to the extent and rate of this convergence culture, these commercials stood up and walked right into my iphone, my computer, and my ipad. Every single medium of information, these ads will continue to perpetuate themselves and I see more about the commercials then I do about the game. The brand advertised grows exponentially as these commercials cross mediums and into our brains. Its almost as if you can't run away from them; their following you. But don't be afraid just yet because it hasn't completely taken over our agendas. But at the rate that technology is going, its going to be hard to keep these advertisements at the reach of my entertainment and not thrown in my face any more than it is now.
Advertisers are looking at the technology fronteir with wide eyes because its a phenomenon that no one can predict. Billions of dollars are waiting to be made but no one can directly tell you how that is all going to go down. For the longest time it was simply newspapers and we had the choice to read what we want when we wanted. I think that those times are drifting away from us at a much more rampit pace than ever before. Will advertising across every media medium in the future still give us the opportunity to turn off the tv or put down the paper? I doubt it. The convergence is too fast and we are not prepared for it. Sooner or later the remote will no longer be in your hands.
When you go to the front page of Yahoo.com, you'll see a few articles on the chaos in Egypt, the outcome of the Super Bowl, and the best and worst Super Bowl commercials. The Super Bowl commercials have taken a life of its own and have become a sort of American tradition to watch all the amazing commercials. Due to the extent and rate of this convergence culture, these commercials stood up and walked right into my iphone, my computer, and my ipad. Every single medium of information, these ads will continue to perpetuate themselves and I see more about the commercials then I do about the game. The brand advertised grows exponentially as these commercials cross mediums and into our brains. Its almost as if you can't run away from them; their following you. But don't be afraid just yet because it hasn't completely taken over our agendas. But at the rate that technology is going, its going to be hard to keep these advertisements at the reach of my entertainment and not thrown in my face any more than it is now.
Advertisers are looking at the technology fronteir with wide eyes because its a phenomenon that no one can predict. Billions of dollars are waiting to be made but no one can directly tell you how that is all going to go down. For the longest time it was simply newspapers and we had the choice to read what we want when we wanted. I think that those times are drifting away from us at a much more rampit pace than ever before. Will advertising across every media medium in the future still give us the opportunity to turn off the tv or put down the paper? I doubt it. The convergence is too fast and we are not prepared for it. Sooner or later the remote will no longer be in your hands.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Playing the Nation
How many times in your life have you looked at the national government and thought, "Man, I could be doing a better job than they are" or "I cannot believe they would do that. Do they really think that is going to work?". It seems rather funny when we do not believe in some of the strategic moves of some of the brightest minds in the world. I wonder how we would really compare in very basic strategy games against some of those brilliant minds that run the most powerful government in the world. What if we could really test that. Well the truth is, with the modern day technology, I believe we can.
Probably one of the most popular technology games in the world are very basic pressured strategy games like Tetrus or Bubble Blast; games that force you to make a decision in a quick amount of time. The rules are very basic and nearly everyone of all ages can play this game and be successful. Now wouldn't it be an interesting story to see how your scores would match up with the president's or the Secretary of Defense's? I think that it would. I mean after all we are asking these men to make some of the most important decisions in our life time, I hope that they wouldn't buckle under the pressure.
My intention would be to run a news story that compares the scores of basic strategy games between some of our leaders and simply some of the normal people. Now granted just because you might be good at an Iphone game doesn't make you necessariy qualified to run the country but I think it would say something about your decision making skills. It would say something about how you handle yourself when the pressure is one and everyone is watching. When you are backed into a corner, how are you going to make the right move to find your way to the next level.
I believe that this use of the new media literacy in "play" would be a way to really register the decision making of some of our leaders and our brightest minds. I believe that it would give us an opportunity to compare the strategy and decision making skills of people in a new way of using technology. This would truly be a useful tactic for all of us to test ourselves in the future.
Probably one of the most popular technology games in the world are very basic pressured strategy games like Tetrus or Bubble Blast; games that force you to make a decision in a quick amount of time. The rules are very basic and nearly everyone of all ages can play this game and be successful. Now wouldn't it be an interesting story to see how your scores would match up with the president's or the Secretary of Defense's? I think that it would. I mean after all we are asking these men to make some of the most important decisions in our life time, I hope that they wouldn't buckle under the pressure.
My intention would be to run a news story that compares the scores of basic strategy games between some of our leaders and simply some of the normal people. Now granted just because you might be good at an Iphone game doesn't make you necessariy qualified to run the country but I think it would say something about your decision making skills. It would say something about how you handle yourself when the pressure is one and everyone is watching. When you are backed into a corner, how are you going to make the right move to find your way to the next level.
I believe that this use of the new media literacy in "play" would be a way to really register the decision making of some of our leaders and our brightest minds. I believe that it would give us an opportunity to compare the strategy and decision making skills of people in a new way of using technology. This would truly be a useful tactic for all of us to test ourselves in the future.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Lauren Cowles - More Than Your Average Sorority Girl
Lauren Cowles is not just your average sorority girl here at LMU, actually it just so happens that her sorority, Pi Beta Phi, might not be the top priority in her life right now. This junior communications major who currently attends LMU is quite bright and has big dreams for the future. After talking with Lauren for a bit I got a brief understanding of who she is and where she is planning on going for the post grad life. Lauren is working towards her journalism certificate and has big dreams to become a journalist that travels the world. Journalism, and writing in general, has become a major part of her life and has influenced her to pursue a career in writing. Through her whole life she has incorporated writing into who she is. After trying to write fiction for a while she felt as though her strengths were more in the world of facts and has developed into a serious talent that she is passionate about. She also wants to utilize the lifestyle of a successful journalist so that she is able to see the world. Lauren wants to see the whole world and write about the true stories that come out of the most unique places. She wants to meet people and develop relationships that will push her writing to new bounds. For Lauren, writing is not just a way to earn a living, but it is a way of life. It is an expression of human emotion and she wants to be able to bring those emotions to people all over the world. There are so many stories out there in the world and she feels as though she is the right person to dig them up and bring them to life. No matter what happens with her career Lauren plans to continue to write whether it brings her fame or not. She appreciates the individual and will continue to seek out the ultimate adventure.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Tuesday, January 4, 2011
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