Technotexts, presentation response: part deux.

This study of technotexts just reminds me of learning poetry in high school. We would all sit around and give presentations of a few certain poems, color marking them and analyzing their structure.

I wonder what my high school self would have thought about this concept.

The reason I hate studying poetry is because I truly feel like it is a personal thing, not something that I want to discuss in class with a group of people who do not understand poetry the way I do. If there is one thing I dislike, it is explaining why something means what it does to me--and explaining what I think the poet meant.

I just feel like poetry is a sort of customer service business. A poet writes poems for their own sake, and then shares them to touch, for lack of a better word, another person. Who am I to judge what a poem meant to that poet?

It is the same with technotexts.. Well, maybe not, now that I think of it. The producer of a technotext is obviously using these different methods to even further share the meaning of their words, what they're feeling, through visual and audible (correct word?) aids.

Whatever. I do not know what I think. I am not impressed by these "poems."

Technotext: Presentation, "While Chopping Red Peppers"

I commented on this technotext in my previous post because it bothered me so much, but the question, "How would this technotext be different if it were presented as a codex?" is exactly what I want to answer about this.

I feel like the visual and audio NLGs did not fit what I felt should go along with the actual words, so I think that if the text were presented as a codex, it would have a bit more significance for me.

The words seemed to be very meaningful, while the tone of the person speaking seemed very careless. The images just did not appeal to me visually, as I do not generally like these types of visual images.

Ahh.. no time left. Bye.

Technotexts.

The Dreamlife of Letters is always fun, if just because the name is interesting. I always seem to just imagine the letters taking on lives of their own because of the title. While I was reviewing this the first time I looked at it as an option for an experiential learning project, I decided that I could not come up with something as creatively random as that--so I decided on something else. I think that made me feel like that sort of project was out of my grasp was because I do not generally understand it. I do not think that my brain works to come up with random letters and made up words like the ones used in this because I always end up thinking of "real" words and how these words work with other words, making the project something that is not so random, and therefore, not so creative.

This class makes me think differently of pieces like this. Normally, I would think that the Dreamlife of Letters is just a silly expression of letters, having no meaning or creativity to them what-so-ever, but because of the context of this class, this is a piece of poetry (or creative work) and it is thought of as truly innovative.

I think this goes for the Anipoems, as well. Where I would normally write *some of* these off as poems that a fifth grader put together as part of a class poem on one of those old Mac computers, because they now have this "technotext" label attached to them, they are automatically a credible source of poetry.

The poems themselves are interesting; they do not seem to following a certain pattern, except that of giving letters true importance, whether it is because the letters are drawing out a picture to match the title of the poem, or because the letters spell out words and nearly complete thoughts.

As for the "While Chopping Red Peppers" technotext, I did not care for it at all. I do not feel that the images or the voice conveyed what I thought the text meant. The little "refrigerator" for the word magnets that stood as a time filler before the poem started amused me. I had fun putting together what I thought was a pretty big group of random words. The words ended up meaning something, but not entirely too much to me considering I was not the one who chose the words in the first place.

Andrews mentions in his last paragraph that sometimes these special effects, such as moving and crossing texts, etc., are often meant to be "impressive" rather than "readable." This can be true, and this does often lose my attention. With ideas like Anipoems and "While Chopping Red Peppers," I just can't help but to think that these ideas are being done for the sake of being creative. I do not feel that these poems should be praised as innovative, but rather silly experients. "Fields of Dream" was just like a madlib, I felt. It was not truly creative , either.

Behind on posts..

I know that I'm really behind on posts, but I have been so busy with the newspaper and planning EarthFest..

Now that that's over, I will have more time for school work, so I promise to catch up with posts ASAP!

Thanks,

Janice

Mobile text intro blog

"In their view, the mobile phone is seen by users as an extension of their self. By the same token, the loss of a mobile phone is felt not just on the material level but also on the level of one's sense of physical self," (Katz 173).

Do you agree or disagree? Think about your relationship with your cell phone.


For my birthday, my mom bought me a Blackberry, the World Edition phone. She bought me this because I have been begging for a way to check my e-mail on my phone, and because if I get into my study abroad program, I will be able to use my cell phone in England.

Well, let me tell you--they do not call it a "Crackberry" for nothing. I am constantly on my phone, checking my e-mail messages, text messages and Google chat. It is absolutely ridiculous that one tiny phone could house that many modes of communication, but it does, and I allow it to run my life.

Instead of being completely convenient for me, my phone has now opened my life up to anyone who has to get in touch with me--at any time. It has made everyone else's life more convenient, as I am now available to them whenever they need.

It feels weird, like I do not have complete control over my life.. Even when I think I have a moment to breath, I do not, because I am soon beckoned by a text message from someone who needs something from me.

This is definitely adding to the stress level of our culture. While we expect information at our fingertips, sometimes this demand can go a bit far, and I definitely think that a Blackberry is an example of that.

Edit: My Blackberry decided not to work for two days, so even though I could get phone call (only half of the time), I could not receive text messages and everyone flipped. They complained that I was too hard to get a hold of.. Uh, e-mail?

Now I just like to make a habit of leaving my phone places so that I do not have to deal with people 24/7.

This whole Blackberry thing is making me grumpy.

Uncreative writing

My personal definition of uncreative writing did not truly change. I have always thought of uncreative writing as ultimately creative, as I view the authors as those trying to present words in ways that have not been used before. When I was creating my own piece, it only reinforced how I view the process of creating uncreative writing. I sat for awhile and just thought about the most outlandish way to come up with and present text. I found myself thinking about how I could most creatively present information that would not normally be worthy of publishing. Of course I am not sure if this is how every "uncreative" author thinks before working on a piece, but this is how I view uncreative writing...

I felt like I did when I created flarf.

Uncreative writing presentation blog.

What makes a work uncreative?

Uncreative writing.

Behind on blogs, once again.. I'll get to this soon :D

Matt & Lindsey's presentation blog

How effective do you think the codex is as an art medium?
How does it compare to other media, such as canvas or paper?
OR write about your experience making your own artist's book, zine or treated text.

Brainstorm

metaphors, terms, concepts used in creating the computer interface (desktop, office, scrolling, etc.).

Publisher
Illustrator
Photoshop
post
compose
create
document
trash/recycle bin
wallpaper
putting your computer to sleep
memory
surfing... the web
chatting
e-mail
mouse
comment
virus
draft
control, alt, delete
home
insert

Social sites blog

While Alissa and Matt were describing the two writing prompts, I was thinking about some of the things I would put should I create a Facebook II profile.. and I could not think of anything that isn't already in my profile.

My musical interests? I have everything that I like, from Vampire Weekend and Kanye West to Van Morrison and Otis Redding.. and then there's Spice Girls and Hanson.

Books that I like to read? Well, there's some Hemingway and Tolstoy, but I made sure not to forget about my teen series that I am addicted to--Gossip Girl.

Oh, and I was sure to not forget about that in my "TV" section. Actually, it's right up front. In all caps.

GOSSIP GIRL. I am obsessed. And I am not ashamed to write it. Sure, I have tons of work and everyone knows that I get an average of two hours of sleep a night, but I sure do take an hour out of my week to watch Gossip Girl every time it is on TV.

Basically, I'm not really afraid ...

I'm finishing this after class.

Carnival & shaped poetry.

I have already blogged about this project because I enjoyed it so much. It was not an actual poem that I used, but rather a quote that has always guided me.

If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.
--Henry David Thoreau.

I decided to take this quote and replicate it multiple times across the screen. Because the quote is very personal to me, I used a color scheme that represents what I like. The shapes that I chose for the project are shapes that I tend to be drawn to.

This piece of shaped poetry was an attempt of mine to create “Carnival” using computer technology as opposed to a typewriter. It obviously did not turn out too great, but it was my first shot, and now I would love to create something similar to “Carnival” using a typewriter. To me, McCaffery’s work looks like a map of sorts, and I would love to take that idea to create another piece of shaped poetry.

My understanding of shaped poetry changed because while creating “Foundations,” I realized that in every piece of work, every step taken to create the final product is meaningful. Deciding to move the piece of paper or a certain set of words means something to the creator. Every piece of the art symbolizes the relationship that the artist has to the words, and that in itself is an important idea to realize.

Merry Happy

Watching me like you never watch no one
He lets you figure out what the change is

I'll be posting articles regularly on the Sun site
Then figure out how you can apply its findings

change the emphasis on your to do list
you think God gives

I don't think God gives very good financial advice
this frustrating paradox

How long do you think that baby would last?
the Spirit of truth

Repeat it after me, BIOTCH!
I come in the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit!

How is this guy not the new Bubb Rubb?
If you're paying $4000 per hour

I'm sure a lot of you here have already seen the famous
You may not post new threads

Flarf & Spoetry

Honestly, I dismissed the ideas of “flarf” and “spoetry” before I even knew what they were just because they are called “flarf” and “spoetry.” Now, I realize that this is not fair, but I have always been the type to judge a book by its cover. I mean, I always give most things a chance, but I do make the initial judgement. Upon reading up on these two ideas, I have decided that they are actually really fun and amazing. Trying to make sense of any of these poems is pretty ridiculous, but when two key phrases are used just right, it is so easy to have a clever match.

I think the appeal of these two forms of poetry (for me personally) come from the fact that they are so easy to create. Whether or not they are clever does not concern me because this is a type of poetry that I can actually create. Me, Janice Leary, the girl who always hated the poetry section of high school English because 1) I cannot write poetry to save my life, and 2) I think poetry is meant to be read and analyzed personally, not in front of an entire class amidst multiple arguments, can finally create poetry and not feel pressured to have a deeper meaning behind the words. AND—I can actually have fun with it. It’s like a no pressure kind of poetry, like writing in a diary. I have not actually tried to create spoetry, as I do not receive too many spam e-mails now with all of these spam blockers, but it looks like it would be pretty hilarious to create.

The creation of flarf and spoetry reminds me of the story-creating activities of elementary and middle school, where we would write down one line, fold the paper up so the next person could not read what we wrote, and then pass the paper down so that every student would contribute a line to the story. I am not exactly sure if that is the way that it was done, but it has something to do with everyone making up a line of the story. I know that there are a few icebreaker activities like this, as well. They always end up with hilarious stories like, “Stephanie wore her dinosaur boxers to the moon during piano lessons,” or something silly like that.. which actually reminds me of mad libs.

I find Gary Sullivan’s story entertaining. The fact that Poetry.com would feature anything and then go on to contact him about a coffee table book of poetry from the website is absolutely hilarious. It reminds me of this photo that I submitted to something like Photography.com. I just entered a photo in for a $1,000 scholarship, and now I receive e-mails constantly about how I have won “Best Photographer of the Year” for this stupid website. If Sullivan started this movement just by creating a phony submission to Poetry.com, I wonder what will be created in the future.

Visual text project.

Well, of course I had a problem with this project because there is no way I would ever be able to create something as amazing as "Carnival." I truly enjoyed looking at the panels and I only wish I could create something like that.

Going into this project, I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I thought I'd open up Illustrator and create something even though I had never really done it before. I literally spent three hours teaching myself how to do different techniques, most of which did not actually end up on the final project because I just did not have enough time to complete anything that I started.. but I do know that now I want CS3 so that I can gradually work on creating something like what Steve McCaffery made.

I really have no way of describing what I created. I took my favorite quote (Thoreau) and replicated it a million times. I downloaded a brush that I really liked and decorated the page a bit. I decreased the opacity to most of the text so that it wouldn't look entirely too busy.. it still looks busy, but I feel that the less bold the color is, the more it works together.

I put some elements in a bolder opacity so that they would stick out. The quote was in one part very bold so that the viewer would know exactly what was being replicated. I took the word "foundation" and made that bigger and a different font in a few places because I felt that it was a strong word (and a really big part of the quote).

The shapes really do not have a meaning. I suppose this was my favorite quote, I wanted to choose some shapes that I like.. the Victorian-esque shapes and I have decorated my room with are my favorite & go along perfectly with my favorite quote.. and the colors are one of my favorite color combinations, as well, so I guess you could say that I just created something that I would like, using "Carnival" as my inspiration.

(The colors were also influenced by "Carnival.")

To me, "Carnival" looks like a map to me, with all the different textures signifying different types of land, like moutains, water, etc. I really enjoyed it :D

"Foundations": My visual text.

News assignment

Like many of his fellow Americans, James Downey was a bit surprised to see Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton on “Saturday Night Live” over the weekend, satirically protesting the treatment she has received from the news media.

Down the hall and around the corner, Michelle Gay teaches 26 fourth-grade girls. The boys like being on their own, they say, because girls don’t appreciate their jokes and think boys are too messy, and are also scared of snakes.

The experience with Cerezyme and other biological drugs defies conventional wisdom on drug marketing, which holds that blockbuster drugs — generating revenues of a billion dollars a year or more — are generally those that can be sold to vast numbers of people.

“It tells you that you might have articulated something that was vaguely out there, but had yet to be stated in a comedy form,” he said in a telephone interview. “Some things make you laugh because they’re funny, and other things, the effect is: ‘Hey, that’s right. That makes sense.’ ”

“To say: ‘Why don’t you use more colors? Why don’t you put someone in the vehicle?’ is as discouraging as if you say to Emily, ‘Well, this is nice, but why don’t you have one of them kick the other one — give us some action.’ ”

This is hard to take, given that the federal government did much of the scientific work that led to development of the drug and provided contract money that got the company started.



References:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/03/arts/television/03down.html?_r=1&oref=slogin

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/magazine/02sex3-t.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/02/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/02teenfilmwe.html

Blogworthy

In this time period, I feel that truth is not something that comes easily. This has created what seems like a cloud of skepticism that seems to fall over everyone, and I see it most while working with the newspaper. Yes, there are a few reporters who have ruined things for the journalists who do make truth their only purpose for writing, but people have seemed to forget that it is because of journalists that our country knows as much about our government as it does.

With the increase of new technology that is gradually diminishing any sense of privacy that still exists, I believe that the typewriter does symbolize a simpler time where words were used to inform rather than to incriminate. Typewriters do evoke a sense of nostalgia, and therefore a sense of trust.

Personally, I remember viewing a movie about Watergate in middle school. The journalists then used typewriters, and even though Nixon’s people often referred to those at The Washington Post as ‘shoddy journalists,’ we know now that they were the opposite of shoddy. They used typewriters to uncover the truth about the President of our country, and I believe that typewriters are often used to depict these situations, causing our minds think of typewriters as symbols of truth.

Linking investigation.

She finally realized that she has potential--something that she hasn't felt since high school started. With all the outside pressures and alternative motives coming from the people she knew she did not trust but wanted to, she felt trapped. She knows it was silly, but she told herself not to waste her time caring, to instead use that time for what made her passionate. She did just that and made time for those who cared. And even though she was still not good enough for the others, she was good enough for the only ones who mattered.

This was all until Mason came and it was time to trade her life in and pick up a new one. With this life came a whole set of problems similar to the ones before. She picked out a similar life with similar situations. The similarities were uncanny. But she was happy.

Now she looks to the future. She knows what to go by. She had a plan, but she's not letting anything limit her. She is seeking that potential.

Moving Beyond the Book.

I really enjoyed George Landow's essay, "Twenty Minutes into the Future, or How Are We Moving Beyond the Book?" (214). I just felt that this piece spoke to me because of something that the world of print journalism is going through at the moment.

After spending all winter break working with a new George Mason Student Media effort to have a new daily news site with me being the editor in chief of a weekly paper that is truly obsolete in a sense, I have been a bit disheartened regarding the future of journalism. With the Washington Post and the LA Times both laying off 150+ workers because they just do not have the money to pay for them due to lack of ad sales revenue, I can actually see the world of print journalism dying step by step.

I do see a similar idea being expressed by Landow in the first few pages of his essay because printed books are just not a popular medium of literature. And while print journalism and books have a such a long tradition in every culture, this is just the mark of the future. It goes along with the trend of "going green" and creating a sustainable environment, which reminds me of a tip that I got in my newspaper office.

A few students from Student Government went down to Richmond with a few administrators from the school and they heard about plans to build an $80 library on campus (maybe it was just $80 million worth of renovations). These students wondered why we are spending that much money on a new library because 1) we have so many books and articles online now that it seems like a waste of money, especially when the school is in debt (according to the students), and 2) with our school advertising this desire to be the center for education on climate control and sustainability, should we not be innovative in creating a complete eLibrary that would not require us to spend that much money on the use of more resources?

While this eLibrary is a very innovative idea, I do not believe that this will ever happen, just as I do not believe that print newspapers will ever completely die out--at least not in my time. There is just too much tradition and too many people who enjoy the hard copy of a newspaper or book in their hands.

Landow also writes about the design of next textbooks that are available to college students. He writes that current college textbooks have such a different design than the books that he used while attending school. This was interesting to me because it went along with the message of Writing Machines. The design of a book is what keeps print editions exciting, which is why the position of designer is such a highly desired job.

------------------------------

I know that this breaking off into a random statement, but the use of electronic means to publish anything--books, news stories, blogs--makes words more permanent in a sense. The words that I use and the things that I do while online are constantly being monitored in ways that I do not know. There has recently been talks about how students would delete their Facebook page only to be able to request to open it again without having to re-create their page at all because Facebook kept them all in a file. I believe that now there is the option to delete a Facebook page forever, but it is still a bit unnerving that whatever I do can be traced back to me. Sorry that was a bit random, it's just something I thought of while reading Landow's explanation of new technologies...

Writing machines.

I will never underestimate the power that fonts and layout have on the message of a book after reading Writing Machines. I truly found it challenging to read, what with all the font and size changes. I was distracted by the writing so much that I realized just how much the presentation of a book means to the reader. I am the type of person who does literally judge a book by its cover. There are books that I tend to enjoy reading more because of the cover. I like soft cover books with soft pages, like the Scribner copies of all of my Hemingway novels.

Speaking of Hemingway, I wonder what his work would be like placed in this sort of setting. His simple and concise way of writing would surely be fun to change around a bit, whereas I would be completely opposed to changing the text of the "Blankness as a signifier" article because it was already hard enough to read without an text changes.

The ideas that I had from reading this book were summed up completely in this sentence: "Tracing her white-gloved fingers over the rich papers, Kaye thought about the interplay between materiality and mind these beautifully crafted objects initiated" (74).

Materiality is something that I have always paid attention to before in reading books, but I never grasped the idea enough to give it a name, or even to think about it as Kaye did. While Writing Machines was written by N. Katherine Hayles, under her name is the name of the book's designer, Anne Burdick. Since when do books have designers? I mean, sure, children's books and some other novels have illustrators who design the cover, but to have an actual designer for an entire book places such importance on the materiality of the book. It says that books are more than just words and text--books are an art form.

With the increase in audio books, with them being sold online through the popular iTunes and with their extreme convenience for those who are on the go, I suppose that the hard copy books take pride in their ability to use materiality. Just like with hard copy newspapers as opposed to daily news websites, designers are stepping it up so that newspapers are appealing to the reader.

To me, works like "A Humument" are more of an art form than an actual piece of text. I am not sure that I have the patience to sit down and read something like that, but I would like maybe a portion of it framed to hang on my wall. While freedom with design is important, and as I mentioned before, a way to take advantage of materiality, I feel like the reader is who you are serving and function should definitely be thought of when creating the form. I do not feel that the pages of "A Humument" are very reader-friendly. While I do understand that this particular piece is an example of abstract art, this sort of form would not work with a serious piece of text that needs to be completely taken in.

I think that form needs to take into account the reader and the message that the text is trying to convey. Just like when a word is set as bold to denote importance, the form of the text should just be conveying the message of the text in a visual way to complement the power of the words.

Reading Hypertext.

First, I always think of links as being denoted by a royal blue color, the text of the link underlined. I think of links as having the little hand on Mac computers pointing to the link. Also, with the coming of new journalism and media websites, links are denoted with little pictures of the page that the link leads to.

In the "Weepers" website, I chose the block in the middle row of the first column. I chose this link because I figured that all the little pictures would be links and I thought that most people might choose the center image, so I wanted to avoid that.

After clicking that box, I was led to another box of moving text. I clicked on it right away, so I did not have a chance to see any of the words that popped up. After clicking that box, I was led to a completely black, blank page. I am not sure if it was blank because it just had not loaded, so I just moved the mouse and clicked on a random area where the little arrow turned into a hand. This took me to a screen of flashing photos, where again I assumed that these were links.

I clicked on a random photo and was brought to a page with what looks like a poem and three pictures of shoes that resemble Dorothy's. I moved my mouse over the three images because I again assumed that they were links, but before deciding which picture to click on, I decided that I should read the poem. I read the poem, moving my arrow over each word that I read. Because the pictures are links, I did not even think that the text of the poem would be a link, despite the underlining. The underlined text were links, and I expected the italicized text to be a link, as well, but it was not.

I clicked on the third image of the shoes because the pictures of the shoes intrigue me more than just some underlined text. I was brought to a screen with an image of a pretty codex with the words "Capriccio." Again, since this is the only thing on the page, I assumed it was a link. Then, I searched the page for what could possibly be any hidden links, but I did not find any.

Clicking "Capriccio" brought me to an open book with a few lines of text. An arrow at the bottom of the page is what I assumed to be the link, but again I searched for any other links that may have blended in with the page. The text was not a link, either. But after clicking to the next page, I saw that the text was a link. This distracted me and I nearly clicked it before reading the text. The picture on the page is also a link, and because the picture is so interesting, I clicked on it.

This led me to another page with a single graphic on it, with a few sentences of text underneath. The links are underlined in the text and the photo is a link as I guessed. I clicked the picture and found a page of just white text. There were two underlined portions of the text, and because we are about to be done with the activity, I did not bother to read the text and decided to click the longest block of text that makes a link. This led me to about three more pages of similar text, eventually leading to a page where I only noticed the name "ernest hemingway."

---

After meeting with my classmate, I learned that this was supposed to be a story. I did not have many pages with text, so I discussed with him that to me, I just thought it was a random arrangement of slides. Coming back to the last page, I see that the list of names it entitled "Famous shock-therapy patients" which seems very interesting. I am upset that I did not get to read more of the story.. the story that I did not even know was there :)

Formatting Ashbery text..

1. What was your theory in transforming the poem? Explain how the readings from the class connect to your decisions. How have you transformed the poem? How is it changed from the original?

I chose the poem "It Must Be Sophisticated" solely based on the title. It reminded me of Audrey Hepburn, so I decided that I would have to transform this poem.

After opening the link to this poem, I saw what was a normal-looking poem (if there is such a thing). There was simply too much text to write, and I'm not sure that writing it out by hand would be the most sophisticated look. I decided that sophisticated would be my goal for transforming the poem. This led me to changing the poem into a simple story.

I made each line of text fill the whole row, just like a story. I broke up the text where I thought it should be broken up, not necessarily by stanza (I'm not sure if stanza is the proper term). I ended up making what I thought was a complete thought into one paragraph as if it were a story. After reading what I had transformed, the words truly did seem like a story, as well. This helped in my modifying of the paragraphs.

I left it with a simple title to flush left of the page because it looked just how I envisioned it: sophisticated. It didn't need colors or bold text in random places because to me, sophisticated means classy, simple and polished.

I simply polished up the poem so that it lived up to its name. I feel that my decision to make the poem look this way came from the books and articles that we have read about how text is an important part of the representation of words. The placement and the look of the words made this poem feel sophisticated. If I were to put the text in the "Curlz" font and center the text on the page, I do not feel that the reader would come away with the same feeling, which is a definite example of how important font is in the representation of text.

Blankness.

The argument over the meaning of blankness seems trifling, but it truly is an important concept. I know that I relate everything back to my studies in journalism, but this is how the subject of text relates to me, and it seems that everything we read in this class relates to something that I have learned relating to newspapers.

We call blankness, or the lack of text or graphics in a space, white space. White space used to be frowned upon when talking about newspaper design. There are rules against having too much of it on a page, especially if it traps any of the page elements. Newspaper designers used to avoid any white space at all, as white space meant that there was information being left out. Also, it was just not entirely common to see one single story take up a large portion of the page as it is now.

Now, white space is a designers' friend, especially when talking about in perfect moderation. With the coming of so many daily news sites, the future of traditional print newspapers is a dire situation, and the design of the paper is becoming more and more important because of the desire to create more appealing print layouts. Designers are using white space to add a feel of importance to a story, as well as using large photos and interesting display heads. I suppose I just see a blank Quark or InDesign file as a blank page and it is the designers' job to fill that space with something eye-catching for the reader. Each decision that the designer makes is crucial to the overall success of the page.

This concept made me laugh at Gilbert-Rolfe's comment about how Europeans, especially the British, still "resist the blank wall" and turn to wallpaper for decoration. This is the same with the Victorians. I feel that perhaps the wallpaper was a way to avoid the blankness with a pattern that would ensure the presence of something on the entire wall. I find this interesting because I tend to be drawn toward Victorian patterns. I find this weird about myself because normally I like things that are really simple, but maybe I like Victorian patterns because while they may be a bit gaudy at times, they are repetitive and, in a sense, simple just by the way they repeat.

Now, the mention of Greta Garbo and how Rouben Mamoulian told her to be a tabula rasa. Gilbert-Rolfe writes that this is seemingly eloquent as opposed to vapid with the absence of a message. I find this interesting, especially while thinking about fashion shows. Models are tabula rasas at fashion shows, always being told to hide their emotions and just walk with a straight face. While this look may be vapid to others, to most in the fashion world, it is a look of sophistication and eloquence. I suppose one could argue that the blank look is a way for the clothes to speak and not the model, which could be contradictory to my previous statement and perhaps the models are supposed to look vapid.

Either way, I find it interesting how all of these ideas can be roped together under the topic of blankness with such ease.

Writing created history.

I was reading the second half of Orality and Literacy, and after yelling about how this is the hardest reading assignment I've ever had in my life simply because Ong is unreasonably hard to understand at times, I ended up having a two hour-long conversation with my two friends about the Bible. 

Now, I have talked to them about religion before and I know that they are both fairly religious people, and they both know that I am not. When I first approached them, I told them about how there are still cultures today that do not use writing as a form of communication. I then talked about how religion and the stories of the Bible might be different than how we know them today because they are, after all, just stories. Stories that have gone without proof and yet have been followed by so many people. They were passed down by God to other people and eventually they made their way to the Apostles who put them all in one book. Nowadays, with the availability (and just plain ability) to write so easily, I just wonder if the stories would have been the same. If you haven't guessed, I don't really have much faith in these stories. They are completely interesting, and it's not that I am trying to be difficult or purposefully cynical, I just do not see how people can believe so strongly in something that has not been proven, only taught to them (most of the time) since childhood. Aside from most religions being completely hypocritical, I just do not feel that it is truly that much different than the stories that we learn about Greek mythology in middle school. If these stories stuck and were taught as truth, would we have people believing in multiple gods and goddesses? 

As far as historiography goes, what else in the world would change if we had written accounts of everything that has happened? What would it change about what we currently know? Would the accounts of anything that happened in the past be more intricate and detailed than we know of? Because like with fairytales and folk tales that have been passed down, the more stories are told, the more the original details are lost and the more other details are made up--like gossip. 

With the new technology of writing, I am sure that when all of these stories (the Bible, historical events, fairytales and folk tales alike) were somehow changed, as it is the act of writing that allows for words and thoughts to be permanently in your head even though Ong argues that in primary oral cultures, "narrative serves to bond thought more massively and permanently than other genres" (138). I guess I am just not used to this idea, so this is hard for me to believe, since there are so many versions told of different stories that have been passed down. 

I think that I just value the idea of official documents too much.. and if we did not have official documents, recorded interviews, etc., would we be more trusting of the actual spoken word? Would we be able to make verbal contracts and abide by those? It is a bit sad that in this world, it takes a legal document drafted on watermarked paper to be official, but then again, I am more in favor of cultures that making writing a primary source of communication.

Bound to sound forever.

First, Ong must think that "writing is artificial" because his writing is completely horrid to read. While I may not be a great writer, especially while blogging and just typing away, I still have a tendency to edit everything that I read as a practice that I have been accustomed to ever since editing the school newspaper. There are copy and grammar errors everywhere, and this just makes it that much harder to read his work. In this case, I would have much prefered that he read his work aloud as opposed to reading his words on paper.

As for his assertion that "all verbal expression is bound to sound forever," I agree with many of the points that he makes. While reading words and seeing body expressions are truly important aspects of the world of communication, being able to hear someone speak is on an entirely different level. Listening to the emotion and the tone of what someone is saying gives a statement life, as opposed to one's imagination making up the tone that they think the writer is taking.

Ong post.

During this phase that I am going through where I feel like I either have the flu or pneumonia, I sure wish we did not have to talk as a form of communication. It hurts to talk, laugh and cough, and reading about these cultures that are primary oral cultures makes their way of living sound horrible. 

Like Ong writes, it is hard to understand a culture that bases their means of dialogue and socialization on only one form of conversing. To be honest, I had never even thought about cultures like these until this class. It is not that I think it is a weird custom, it is just that growing up in a culture where writing takes such precedence in the matter of socializing, it truly never crossed my mind that even existed a place that has not yet formed a method of putting their speech on paper. I say yet because I do believe that with the advancement of a culture/society/country comes an advancement of technology, as well, which is where the whole act of writing started. I feel that other cultures will eventually progress toward the writing trend just as our culture did way back when.

Thinking of cultures that do not put words to paper reminds me of when I was in sixth grade and I was deciding which language I wanted to take the following year. We learned about French, Spanish, Japanese and Latin. The subject of Latin was very interesting to learn about, as I did not see the purpose of a "dead" language existing. I could not comprehend the idea that a language that plays such a big role in so many other languages could exist without being spoken. The point of taking a foreign language, after all, was to sound really cool and intelligent. Why would I take a language that I could not even show off? 

Of course, just like Ong writes, only fully literate persons can imagine what a primary oral culture is like (and yet still with great difficulty), so I suppose I was not a fully literate person at the time, as I could just not fully grasp the idea of a language left unspoken. 

Today I regret not taking Latin, as it definitely is a great key to learning and understanding languages such as English, French and Spanish--all languages that I study. 

I do wonder how Latin became a primarily written language, as it was used by scholars and philosophers until the 17th century. I would think that as more technologies arose, Latin would go along with them, as it is the language of scholarship, but it also makes sense that with the increase of literate people and new cultures, new languages and means of communication would also develop. 

Thinking about primary oral culture makes me think that life in these cultures must be much simpler. Honesty must be expected by more, as there are no written contracts or calendars to write dates in. Thoughts must be shared to others around, as there are no written memories, only stories that have been passed through generations.

While I do think that being a part of a primary oral culture would be an extraordinary opportunity, it would be a complete paradigm shift and I am not quite sure I would be able to survive. As someone who started reading early in life and has always relied on writing things down in order to put them to memory, this kind of change is so deep rooted--it would be to change your founding ideals completely.

Freewrite.

While completing the reading assignments for today, Peter Elbow's essay is what I remember most. What he wrote about how children are always praised for everything they say, whether it makes sense or not, is a really interesting way of thinking about speech. I suppose this sticks out to me because it relates to me. I feel like I do have a really hard time explaining myself and arguing verbally, and I have always felt that this is the result of being criticized. In the International Baccalaureate program in high school, I was always surrounded by students who were trained to give oral presentations on the spot--this was their specialty. I was only in the program because I am a hard worker, not necessarily because of natural talents or intelligence. I felt as though I was always criticized and always asked to do better, which could be why I have a hard time speaking in front of people. I never had a hard time with this in elementary school or middle school when I was complimented on my abilities instead of criticized. And now, it's completely different when I'm in front of my newspaper staff. Then, I feel as though I have worked to get to my position and I am not being judged by anyone because they do not question my ability. I'm not sure where this is going, because it just seems like a rant.. but I just feel that if students were encouraged to speak out loud at an earlier age, it would be a much easier thing for them to accomplish during high school and college. I know that teachers are there to make sure that kids learn, but maybe they should allow children more time to talk in front of the class.

As for writing, what Elbow said about writing always being a punishment is very interesting. It seems that this is true, but I still find that many people enjoy writing and use it as a way to escape having to talk. I just wonder if there is some sort of correlation between those who did not get in trouble for talking and those who did in relation to whether or not they like to write.. of course it is a bit cliche that students who do not like to talk like to write instead, but I do suspect that is has a bit to do with elementary school learning...

"From Pencils to Pixels," response

First, I just want to apologize that I did not post this blog earlier. Instead of ordering my books through Mason for $700, I saved $250 and ordered them all separately through Barnes & Noble. While I did save money, it is extremely inconvenient since each book is being mailed separately and I have only received about four of my books. I decided that I would wait until Monday morning to see if the book would come in the mail, but it did not, so I am posting now after finding the article on the Internet.. so, I'm really sorry!

If I’m ever on Jeopardy, I definitely hope the final question is about pencils because then I am sure I will be rich after reading that article.

It is interesting to think that at one time, people were having discussions like our class discussion about pencils and how they affected society. It is just not something that I have ever thought about, as if pencils have been here since the creation of man or something.. haha. Like Baron says, pencils do seem a bit old fashioned, so it’s hard to see them as a technology that people thought would tarnish the act of speaking and thinking.

Thinking that teachers did not used to like calculators and spell check because they thought that students would forget how to add simple numbers and spell is an interesting thought that I think definitely has merit. With information so readily available, it’s as if nothing truly needs to be memorized. With the press of a few letters, I can look up where the Persian Gulf is or what Shakespeare meant by asking “To be, or not to be?” It’s too easy to rely on the help of the Internet, and even easier to neglect actual learning. What truly bugs me is the use of free translation websites for language courses. This is just an example of how using resources that are readily available to you is hindering the action of actual learning.

Not only is technology making actual knowledge less valuable, it is also making truth less of a norm. This trend is outrageous, as students are warned daily about being wary of using certain sources in research. Websites can now be edited by users who may or may not have knowledge regarding the subject of the site.. and it’s just so easy to create a website that who knows what to truly believe.

In a way, things that are in a hard copy version seem to be more believable, especially more reliable when it comes to using a book as a source. Perhaps that is why the journalists that I encounter value being printed in the print edition of the newspaper so much. Being printed online has become commonplace, as anyone can truly be published online.

The other day, a member of the student government came into the newspaper office and told us about how George Mason University is about to spend $80 million to revamp Fenwick Library. This student was highly upset to hear about this because aside from building up more debt for the university, nothing about a new library filled with more and more books is eco-friendly or innovative. This student demands that the school build up a library online, with e-books instead of hard copy books.

While this all sounds great, and I fully support all efforts to reduce the use of natural materials where efforts can be made to recycle and use other means of producing things such as books and buildings, I just cannot wrap my mind around the thought of getting rid of libraries and books. Thinking that one day I could be reading all of my course material in this little MacBook of mine scares me, if only because I tend to like tradition in some aspects.

I suppose you can say I’m a bit like those teachers concerned that their students will forget how to spell. If we lose the use of hard copy texts, will people lose their ability to research, motivation to get off their butts to do work, and appreciation of the presentation of texts?

Writing beliefs continued.

I just wanted to finish up my thoughts and say that I feel the belief of many people is that when writing on paper, or something that you can physically hold, the words are more your own.

Beliefs about writing.

What superstitions or strong beliefs do you have about writing and writing technologies?

This is new to me, typing up a journal entry for a class on the computer.

The last time I had a journal for a class, it was in fifth grade and we wrote on a little steno notepad. We were required to fill one page, front and back, but I always went over because my handwriting is big and I never know when to stop. Normally when writing on paper, you sit and think about what you are going to write to prevent having to erase your words so often, and while everyone started typing up this blog immediately, I still found myself thinking about what I was going to write. I guess it is a bit unnecessary now, seeing as how the backspace bar takes care of mistakes far more quickly than an eraser (and it's much cleaner, from the perspective of someone who dislikes pencil marks messing up a perfect sheet of white paper).

When you asked us about how we would feel if teachers started teaching children to write through the computer instead of on paper, I immediately though of my newspaper, Broadside. We are a weekly print paper, just recently having merged our website with a great Student Media website. Our website used to be the place where we would send all of our articles so that readers could access them online and make comments about the stories. Nowadays, the newspaper business is quickly heading to the online world, leaving the print side of journalism in the dust--but not necessarily for college students. When we have student journalists visit our offices looking to publish their work, they are looking to have their work printed on hard copy; the thought of publishing the stories online and not in print is very upsetting to them. I wonder if this is because the print newspaper is such a great tradition, and such a big part of history.

I prefer the print edition, too.

New blog!

This is exciting, as I have never had to blog for a class before!