My SL is better than your RL!

Described by the creator as being a “3-D virtual world” where one can build their dream home or live out their fantasy and make some money while they are at it, my initial response to the game is: It is boring, but that was initially. Our group tried to talk to as many people as we can, most of who are unhelpful and some outright weird. However, there are some normal people, I suppose, who are using the medium for connection with a fan-based group or to just play a game.

Second Life reminds me of the Sims, except it takes it a step further and allow you to become your own identity within the game. I found it interesting that they will not allow you to create a last name for avatar. The only reason that I can think of as to why they will not allow last name is because they encourage the idea of recreating one self, or reinventing your life all over because this is Second Life, not first life. From what we observed as a group, there are few limitations within this medium. One can fly, run around naked, dance, do gestures, and with a little bit of money even have sex. Like how the real world is, there are different levels of life on second life, and many different lifestyles. Although we only have been observing these “life” I hope soon we will be able to actually take part in something to actually “live” in this Second Life of ours.

Another thing that interests me about SL is the Logo for the game. They really want to push on the idea of “Identity” and what better way of representing that then with a hand. Cave paintings dating thousands of years back shows hands are symbols of identity. The earliest form of graphical communication was the footprint (I learned from a Art History class). So to take some that is so primitive to be the representative of a medium that is so modern in the sense is interesting because the creators really want people to take it seriously, and most people do. The eye within the hand, I think, represents to power to take charge, the all-seeing-eye. By combining the hand with the eye in a simple graphical design, they have created a logo that represents identity and power. I guess someone who does not have a real identity or power within the real world will find SL very satisfying.

So what is this medium? It’s real to some, but not really. Can a computer screen really mimic the stimulation of daily life even better then life it self? I have yet to see anything on the Internet that has lasted very long because it is such as fast moving, ever shifting medium. So in my opinion, people will be bored with second life sooner or later and move on to the next thing, kind of like how I moved on from MySpace.

The Raftman's Razor

The discussion we had in class about the airline cartoons reminded me of a short film I saw a while back called, “The Raftman’s Razor”. (Please watch it below before reading on)

So many things were unique and intriguing within the six and a half minutes of film, every frame, the narration, the cartoon and style, something about this film that attracted me so much. I consider myself pretty harsh critic when it comes to films because I have seen so many to the point where I can predict the plot and ending of most movies that I watch. But in this case, the Raftmen has got a hold me like he did with the two characters in the film.

My initial reaction after watching this short film was one of confusion and wonder. For some odd reason I enjoyed the so seemingly pointless and boring film. However, as short as it is, it sparked many thoughts upon me then many critically acclaimed movies. The one question I had in mind was:

“What did the creator intended for us (the audience) to get from this?”

I sat in silence with the feeling of numbness in my body in concentration trying to think of the meaning of this movie. It was never questioned how the Raftman got in the situation he was in or even if he had any significance in the comic. This film had a different feeling to it, one that isn’t as satisfying or flashy as The Dark Knight, where the hero wins and the villain loses. Here instead, it takes us through another medium of storytelling, one that is philosophical yet dark, but has a beautiful song along with it.

Being the audience, I find myself intrigue with the two boys who are so into the Raftman’s comic. The film depicts them doing odd and comical things like most young kids do, but here, they are obsessed with this depressing comic that doesn’t make sense to the people around them, yet to them, it has an enigmatic tone which made them hooked. The comic itself is very plain but every detail in it is unique. I feel this film allows the audience to use their imagination to fill in the what-ifs. I believe that the director made this film so short because he knew that the audience would have to come back and watch it numerous of time, which was what I had done.

I couldn’t help it but to wonder and ask questions. First, why is this man in this raft in the middle of the ocean with a razor? Why would he shave at all in the moment like this? Why is he an Asian man? (Or so to seem to be) What is the whole message here?

The quotes used within the thoughts were all very interesting as well:

“Chaos is the soil in which truth grows.”

“God only smiles only on the inanimate.”

“Life is a series of meaningless poses.”

Such depressing quotes yet in a way it’s so true.

I finally came to a realization that maybe the film was meant for me, the audience, and that the director wanted to give us a whole new version of a super hero; yes, I will argue that the Raftman is a hero.

From what the visuals depicted, I can see that he is some sort of business man, or was dressed for the occasion because of his suit. I don’t know if airlines have rafts so I’m assuming he was on a boat that sank. Now why would he shave every time he wakes up? I believe that the shaving purpose is to show that he is not crazy; I know it sounds crazy, but maybe shaving is the only thing that is keeping him from giving up hope and killing himself. I find the Raftman to be more of a hero then more super hero because he is just a simple but in a situation with no excuses. What is mean by that is that if it was Superman or Batman, they would either fly away, or have some sort of gizmo to bring them back to civilization. However, here is a simple man in a suit in the middle of the ocean with a razor yet he still is able to keep his humanity under this circumstance, and I find very heroic.

So back to the question of what did the director intended for us to get out of this film? Is it about obsession? Is it supposed to be a self reflection? I guess I don’t have a solid answer even though I have re-watch the film over about 10 times now. Maybe the whole purpose was to make the viewer re watch it over and over, like how the comic is the same every time.

This is the documentary I talked about in class today:
The parts relating to games like Second Life is somewhere towards the end.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8qYhH2H_TM&feature=related

What is more mighty than God, the rich man need that the poor man have?

I must admit that I am caught up in the Olympic with all of these world records being broken and the medal race between countries, I can not help it but to feel a little national pride every time Michael Phelps destroys the world's fastest swimmers, and the men 4x200 relay was crazy! I tried to find a video of the relay online but cannot because of strict copyright by the Olympic committee they are not allowing any site to record or show any events. I am quite angry by this, are they serious? What harm can come of showing Olympic videos online?

What is different for me when watching this Olympic as to ones in the past, is the political tension between it. I can see it in the media, hear it news casting and commentators, and just feel it from all that I am surround with. I've heard things as far as comparing this Olympic with the 1936 Olympic hosted by the Nazis, to how the Chinese government is mistreating their people just to put on a good front for the world, and even death camp for cats. I also watched a documentary relating on the freedom of international free press and how there are still some shady business going on due to the fact that the Chinese government promise to allow total freedom of press in times of the games however as in the documentary shows, their actions are different then what they stated.

What I concluded from this is pretty much; nothing. To be honest, I am not surprise or shock of these reports because in the back of my mind I already know instinctively. We all know that China does not have the best of records when it comes to political and humanitarian issues but it seems like it is the popular thing to talk about these days. China at the moment has the most gold medals, every time a Chinese athlete wins gold the U.S commentator seems to follow up on a story that reminds the viewer of how the Chinese are bad and we should not trust them, and I'm getting tired of it. I am not saying that we should just forget all the suffering that is going on in this world, but to bring issues into the Olympic is not right in my opinion. To me, the Olympic is the one symbol that the world has left that is pure in it's intentions; to come together and compete. But now I feel as if the games are tainted by controversies and political propagandas.

To conclude back to my title question: What is more mighty than God, rich man need that the poor man have? The answer is : nothing. Analyzing that quote, i find that my definition of the riddle to be that nothing can be everything, and everything is nothing because there is no such thing as nothingness and same goes for everything. So how does that relate to my post? I guess the one thing I want to say is that I wish the world would focus on what matters more, not whats in, or trendy. We are trying to achieve everything and it seems like in the end we get nothing done. Maybe if we focus on the good side of the Olympic and not sneak in propaganda we might achieve something, whatever it is that we are striving for.

Virtual Crap

Someone mentioned the idea that Myspace will soon faze out and people will migrate to the next "thing", sparked many thoughts in my mind. I totally agree with that because I have moved on from Myspace for reasons discussed in class today. It started out with simple advertisement every time I have log in. Then it morphed into a page full of advertisement which then bled onto my profile page. Soon somehow people were hacking my friend's page so that they can spam my page about pills that would enlarge my penis...which reminds me of this:




It's a skit from the Chappelle Show on Comedy Central on his view of the internet.


Looking pass the humor and sexual connotation,I do see the point in Dave Chappelle's skit; that the internet is like the wild west where anything goes. This idea lead me to think that the internet is shifting and changing all the time, like an organism which adapts to the human behavior. People get bored and move on to what's new, or in my case, I found Myspace to not be my space but rather their space to bombard me with virtual crap.

Virtual crap should be an internet term if it isn't one already. I say "crap" for the lack of a better word, because we all know that the internet can be a very dirty place. I like the show "To Catch a Predator",with Chris Hansen, because it shows a how the internet gave pedophiles a new hunting ground, they no long have to drive around in utility vans with signs that read "Free Candy" on the side.

Needless to say, I am not, by far, a hater of the internet. I love it! It provides me with constant entertainment and instant gratification when it comes to learning about a subject. It makes homework (this blogg) feels not like homework.

I am still in shock that this is homework, my mind has registered it just yet. By making us Blogg instead of writing actual papers, I find myself constantly pondering and wonder about every I see now. So in actuality, I am actually doing more work then I would have ever done if this was a generic English course. I started this Blogg last night, but since I didn't want to write just to write, I stopped, and continuing an hour before the assignment is due. I need to find a better way to organize my ideas because I have too many thoughts going at once and I lose most of it when it comes time to write it down and it seems like I don't write down much. I think ill end it here since I'm starting to babble.

It is what it is.

I was cursed from the start. Fourth grade is where I fell off grammar wagon due to my not so friendly teacher. Also ironic, her name was Mrs. Friend and she branded me with hatred for the language of which I still bare the scars today.

So what did she do to me? It was more of what she didn't do, she didn't teach it correctly as most teachers would, she enforced it upon the class and I as a form of punishment. If we were behaving badly, read and do an assignment from the grammar book. If we talked during silent reading time, another assignment. If we did not stand in line correctly, hit the books. I felt like I was at a daycare more so then a school during those time.

Blogging however opened up a new way for my mind to speak. It started in middle school when my father decided it was time for my family to be connected with the world through the world wide web. Xanga was my first and only blog site. I can't remember why I did it, maybe because all my friends started doing it and I at that age wanted to be tech-savvy also.

At first I blogged about what I did today, a daily journal. Then it grew to what I'm thinking about the universe. As my HTML skills advances, pictures, and colors, and random stuff I found on the internet. That was pretty much it, I never really did open up to my true-self because I know my friends are reading this and somethings one just want to keep to themselves. Then one day I just stop totally and never looked back.

To sum things up. I am horrible with language in general. I advanced in every other subject in school except for English. To be honest, it scares me for some reason because I don't find joy in writing was much as I know I should. Maybe after this class I will find peace and feel pleasure instead of punishment.