Art?

Is there still a human hand in art anymore? Even photographs generated by computers looks as if they were just taken by a camera. This past semester in college I did a computer graphics class and the art created by programs such as Arudino and Processing 1.0 look like as if they could have been done by hand. In the end, they were just a series of formulas plugged into a computer program. The line between art done by human hand and computers is diminishing. Although some do not categorize computer-generated images as art, the word art itself is very vague. People can categorize art as just the fine arts category, but others claim it to be what you make it to be. San Base used computers to do his art, does that mean his works aren’t art? He created a whole realm of dynamic painting, taking computer formulas and manipulating them into masterpieces. Photographers use programs such as Photoshop to enhance their photos does that mean that by using a computer program, that it isn’t art?

NOBODY is going to rain on my parade!

I have ambitions in life, but lately I have been thinking of the reality of them 99.9% coming true. With this recession I don’t ever see myself being able to go and be a star on Broadway. Those that knows me has an understanding that that is my #1 goal in life. I am even willing to settle by being able to sing / perform at the Tony Awards for the whole world to see. I want to be a star, or at least try to be one. I have sang and danced my whole life, but it seems I can’t catch a break. I have won awards for many areas when I was younger, and still the proudest moment I have of myself was when I won 2^nd place Grand Champion in New York for singing a song from the Sound of Music. But now being the age that I am it seems that the dream I had growing up is moving further and further away. I haven’t had a voice lesson in over 2 years, and I just do a hiphop class here at college, but it is so hard with college work, etc. It isn’t fair, I understand life isn’t fair, but shouldn’t there be a glimmer of hope for the future? As of right now I see myself as either being a working mom with kids, or being a business woman, which I would be with either, but that would not make me happy. Happiness I have found in my life ever since I learned all the music and lyrics of Les Miserables was Broadway! I remember in elementary school while everyone else was busy with weekend plans I would be at Dance/ signing competitions doing the activities I loved! Nevertheless Broadway is a dying form of entertainment it seems with this recession and this increasing amount of movies based upon BDWY shows. Examples are: The Producers, Mamma Mia, Hairspray, Fame, Rent, and rumors have it that Wicked may come out within the next few years, which is ridiculous. I love all of these shows, but the movie business is ruining Broadway!!! All of these movies caused these shows to close within a year after the movie premiere. Sorry for that little rant, but it has been bugging me and it seems like the only people considered about it are those, like me, that want to be on Broadway in the future. However, if there is no Broadway in the future, that poses an extreme problem.

I want to be a star, and even in college it seems way too hard. But nobody is ever going to rain on my parade of being a star someday!

“Don't tell me not to live, just sit and putter
Life's candy and the sun's a ball of butter
Don't bring around a cloud to rain on my parade
Don't tell me not to fly, I simply got to
If someone takes a spill, it's me and not you
Who told you you're allowed to rain on my parade
I'll march my band out, I'll beat my drum” – Hello Dolly

Somewhere out there

If any of you have watched NCIS/ CSI/ Law & Order it can really change your views on life. Prior to this year I never really was interested in these series, but trust me when you watch it with a good group of friends they are fun. However, if you view these programs they can really alter your views or look upon certain situations. I never used to leave my apartment and been afraid before, but now I cannot even walk the ½ mile from my dorm without thinking I could be kidnapped/ shot/ murdered etc. I don’t know about any of you, but my neighborhood in CT is very quiet and conservative so these scenarios are not as prevalent as they are in bigger cities like New York/ Baltimore/ LA etc. Overall I consider myself lucky and unlucky at the same time from living a sheltered childhood and not being conscious of very real situations that happen daily in the US.

These television shows like Law & Order especially their SVU (Special Victims Unit) series make us aware of daily issues. Although some people oppose to the violence or crudity shown in the episodes, they are an asset of society. If people have a problem with them, then they should watch the news at 11pm there is more talk of shooting and drug crimes especially in Baltimore in an one hour episode then I have ever wanted to hear in my life! I know this maybe repetitive, nothing truly new, but these things are real and its scary. I'm not a coward about leaving my dorm building, but people need to be knowledgeable about all the tribulations out there.

Other Stats:

- 800,000 children go missing each year

- like a child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S., over 2,100 per day

- 90% are juveniles

- 50% are 4 to 11 years old

- Strangers commit 53% of child abductions that end tragically

Everyone likes to put in their two cents

Literally, everyone of my friends now has a blog to put their thoughts onto the internet to be heard. Then how do we separate the fact from the opinion? Especially when everyone is putting their opinion out there, and they believe that their opinion is the only one that matters! Our society has become so self-centered in that people get such a high from putting every thought on the internet. Networking sites such as Twitter are a mockery of our society, and some people are so blinded by their ego to see it! Every minute, every hour, every thought needs to be posted? Personally I do not care when my friends leave their computers to go into the kitchen and make a sandwich! It is absurd for people to believe that everyone in the world sits by the computers waiting for a particular person to post their next idea or opinion.

Gotta Catch Them All

This post is dedicated to my friend, Jeff, who is a Pokémon master.

I remember in like 1998, when Pokémon was the cool thing to play, collect, and talk about on the playground. I recall when kids during recess would battle hardcore with their cards and trade them with other students. These were the great times as a child.

But what if Pokémon was a realistic universe somewhere else, in which when you were born you were given the task of becoming a Pokémon master in traveling the world and collecting every kind of Pokémon. How cool would that be in which we could battle one another with the Pokémon we collect. Although this may seem like animal cruelty, what if it was like Yu-gi-oh and the animals were graphics or cards. This idea yet very unrealistic, could be a possibility in the future. I mean in which we can collect cards and through the cards battle with the monsters we collect, through a virtual reality.

Pokémon although not as common now a days compared to other games, is still an expanding phenomenon. Last year in spring 2009 the makers of Pokémon released the new Platinum version in which there was an upgrade in graphics, and sold nearly a million copies in two days! Therefore it is still a popular idea and game that expands a players ability in puzzle solving and reasoning.

So my question I leave you is, could you be a Pokémon master and spend your whole life traveling around the world, catching them all?

Surrogate robots?

So I just saw the new movie, “Surrogates” and all I have to say is that I hope we do not live our lives like that in the future. For those of you that have not seen it, basically the plot is that we live our idealistic lives through surrogates (basically robots). Our minds control their actions and we can take on an identity that we see as our supreme way of being. It is just mind blowing to see that this could be a possibility someday, especially with all the technological advances made as of now.
Personally, I feel that it is a wrong concept that through robots we are able to take on different identities. Were we not made to be unique on our own ways? Like I know there are things about me that I would love to change, but that doesn’t mean if I could that I would. I like feeling real things, like sand between my feet, and experiencing feelings of joy. Not all the time I enjoy feeling certain emotions, but that is what we as humans are supposed to be like. I'm not saying that human as a species have a protocol on how each and every person should live their lives. But don’t you agree?
So my thoughts are, what are the pros and cons if we did live through robots? Depending on the person there are probably mixed reviews. Here I think there are more cons than pros so I made a list:
1) What if we used robots in wars, would wars ever end?
2) If people take on other identities are they rejecting a gift the creator gave to them ?
3) How could we know the difference between if someone is truly who their robot shows? (An example in the movie was that a 40 year old man had a robot to represent himself as a 20 year old female)
4) Would we be able to reproduce? If we live through our robots, how will we continue humanity?
5) How will our future generation learn true emotions or events? How will they attain real memories, and not the actions they felt their robot take part of. For them it will be like looking through a telescope and seeing something that you can never feel.

I have to say, go see this movie and it truly will have an impact on you. If you liked the movie wall-e, this is something you will also enjoy, because it truly makes one think, what if we lived our lives through surrogates?

Agent Claus

What if Santa is a CIA agent for the 364 days he isn’t in a red suit, ever think of that? Like today I was talking with my friend about how we used to think what awesome things Santa is capable of . This man can fit through tiny chimneys and like stop time to go around the world in an entire night. He would be a perfect secret agent! People may see him as a charming old man, but that’s his facade, so he can protect us from bad guys and use his powers! He is like a superhero, so he must definitely be qualified for the CIA right? I mean what tests do you have to pass in order to be an agent, know many languages (hello he is an international icon, of course he knows like every language!), move quietly without anyone noticing ( he does that at over a billion houses on Christmas!), and handle a gun or some sort of weapon (I think Santa knows how to do this, I mean he lives at the North Pole right? Don’t they have wild rabid polar bears or seals; he has to use one to protect the remarkable Mrs.).

Hey

Well since I am a communications major, I think this will be a good way to start communicating my ideas. If you know me, I have a wild thought process and while some people think of one thing A and how it leads to another thing B, I always think of the most random C, D, and E suggestions. Although some people just tell to shut up and tell me I’m crazy, I think I am a creative individual. I always think of the “what ifs” . While some individuals may see me as simple minded at first, I am not. I always change my mind but when I am focused on something, I go for it 110%. This is something I am focused on, and I hope to share my creative thinking with you all and when I mean you all, I hopefully anticipate that people will read this.