Hello Everyone!

Time to say goodbye!  This is my last real post of the semester. 

As you’ve probably figured out from previous blog entries, I’m a Tim Burton fanatic.  So it seems fitting that this final post would be about the latest Tim Burton movie, which also happens to be an adaptation of a musical.  Sweeney Todd:  The Demon Barber of Fleet Street came out on DVD on April 1st.  I’m usually not a huge fan of musicals, but trust me — if you like dark humor and/or Tim Burton, and you don’t mind a lot of gore, you’ll like it.  I love it, but it makes me cry.  The songs are wonderful and clever, so even if you don’t like musicals, they shoudn’t bother you.  My favorites are “A Little Priest” and “Worst Pies in London.”  I don’t want to post any spoilers, so unfortunately I won’t be posting any songs.  Here’s the trailer though — enjoy!

And on that note, goodbye.  It’s been nice blogging with you all!
 

As an upcoming Teacher, I will teach in the inner-city school system. My students will learn that regardless of what society labels the city they come from and how society expects them to be just another statistic of “the hood”, they are someone and they will be someone successful if they so choose. I will give them support, care, and a chance to see themselves as people and NOT just another statistic or number among the uneducated. I will share with them my willingness to help them achieve despite of the surroundings and experiences – if they were negative.

Along with the other pleasures of writing blogs (balance between challenge, skill, no fear of failure, etc), writing a blog can be like keeping an electronic journal. A journal is where one can document his or her private and at-the-moment feelings, feelings that you choose not to share verbally, express feelings without being judged, and express feelings with all honesty. If for some reason the writer chooses to make the blogs public and want to read what others think about their feelings, blogging is the best way to achieve that. No worries!! The writer can be anonymous, be familiar, be anyone they choose to be, and still receive honest feed back…good, bad, or indifferent. Sometimes, blogging can help a person relieve stress and stressful feelings.

No, blogging is not just for personal use. It can also be used for educational purposes. I feel it is important for educational leaders in today’s era of technology to expose his or her students to blogging because it is a very important writing space. I also feel it it is important for parents to learn about blogging because it is and will be a part of their children’s lives.

The first time I blogged was in my MSN writing space I blogged a poem that I wrote. I really enjoyed putting my thoughts down in an electronic writing space. I knew it was a possibility for others to read it and comment on it, but honestly I wasn’t really expecting it. However, the first time I received a comment I was completely blow away. It was a positive comment about how much they enjoyed my poem and how they could relate. After that, almost every blog I have written I received many many positive comments and very few negative comments. All that feedback – positive and negative – encouraged me to write more.

Before I could comment on this reading, “Writing As Technology”, I wanted to understand the definition of technology. Most of the definitions I found used confusing scientific terms that was too difficult to understand. However, Wikipedia provided a definition that used regular words, terms, and references that I could understand.

The definition: Technology is a broad concept that deals with a species‘ usage and knowledge of tools and crafts, and how it affects a species’ ability to control and adapt to its environment.

So, with that, I can feel I can give a proper response. Writing is, according to this definition, a technology. Writing has been and continues to be an essential piece and contribution to mankind. Writing has undergone uncountable and drastic changes. Writing has allowed the world to have access to important facts of history. Writing is one of the best arts in the world. “What”, “When”, “Where”, and “How” we write is important to us and can be important to others.

“What” we write about can tell somethings about our personality and our thoughts. Poetry, blogs, and emails are usually us reacting to something said/done or something that we think or feel.

“When” we write has an impact on what we write about. If we are writing on our personal time we may write poetry, but at school or work would be on a more academic or professional level.

“Where” we write can create the mood that we write in: happy. sad, emotional, psychotic.

“How” we write is what I feel makes writing a technology. My personal favorites are my laptop or a pen and paper.  The different tools allow us to express our feelings and thoughts in a writing space, edit the original version, save it as a different version, or modify it to fit our mood.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to watch The Cell starring Jennifer Lopez, then do so!! It is a really good movie that shows the tech times we are living in now. She is a tech psychologist who enters into her patients minds by virtual reality. They plug each one of them in to a computer (her and her patient) and they interact in the virtual world. What happens in the virtual world happens in real life. She becomes trapped inside the mind of a psycho. This is almost what people are allowing to happen in the world of technology. People are becoming too caught up. Yes, technology is very good for the world, but is should not be something to completely rely on. It helps, it enhances, it is wonderful. However, as with everything else being addicted can be harmful. Too much technology we can overdose on techno-madness. Some people get bored and create viruses, hack computers, or just be malicious in other ways. I’m not real familiar with the tech world beyond internet surfing and software of MSWord, therefore I don’t all the malicious ways people can use technology. I do know that technology is like Lays Potato Chips…you can’t eat just one!!

People are allowing technology to take over. Soon, it will be like the movie Demolition Man (Wesley Snipes, Sylvester Stallone, Sandra Bullock) where we will get cited with fines for using bad language because we are constantly being monitored (like we are now), where a voice comes across the entire city and dictates what we are to do for that day (happening in Mecca), voice controlled cars to take us to our destination (do they exist already…I mean, on the street?), and every citizen conforming to the age of technology when we won’t need keys, remotes, buttons, or keyboards. We will only need our assigned numbers (no names to identify us) and our eye sequence, finger prints, or hand patterns to identify us. The only useful purpose our names would hold will be for our families or friends to get our attention. Oh, and let us not forget “the chip”. By that time there won’t be a need for other identifiers, just a quick scan of the wrist (maybe another body part) or a drop of blood to run all of our data…Gattica!! If you haven’t seen it, do!!

I enjoyed the article “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud. It was entertaining, funny, a little complicated, but true. I agree that “we” do program ourselves to believe that a representational symbol is the actual object or person. Take a look at how street signs have an affect on us. If the word Yield was in the red octagon with white letters, we would STOP instead of Yield. Why? Because we would associate the symbol and not read the sign. Think about it!! We are so used to seeing the red octagon as STOP that we don’t read the signs, we just see them. It would be the same as taking a minute to comprehend what we are actually seeing versus what the word says when we have to read the words red, blue, green, yellow out loud. It will be difficult. If we took more time to examine, read, and process information then our lives would be much smoother to live.

Okay, let me start by saying that my laptop was one of the best purchases that I have ever made in my life. I absolutely love my laptop! My boyfriend says that it gets more attention or just as much attention as he does. That’s not true, I don’t cook for my laptop…LOL!! Anyway, I take it with me almost everywhere, I keep it on – in sleep mode – when I’m not using it, it stays in my bed when it’s not out with me, and I share a lot of my thoughts with it…well, I guess my boyfriend does have an argument (smile!). So, you should not have a problem guessing what kind of toll it took on me when I accidentally formatted my computer. Yes, formatted my laptop!! YIKES! YIKES! YIKES!! I was sick…literally!! I was queasy, had a migraine, could not function, and had to call out from work. I then took it to Best Buy and was relieved when the Geek Squad said they could get all of my documents back. But before that, he asked me did I “back-up”. Back-up??? Huh?? What is that?? So I asked him. When he explained I understood, but was still clueless about how to do it….after that experience, I learned!!! Anyway, he told me that he could get my documents back and started to give me a price. I cut him off and told him that I didn’t care how much it would be, just get it back!

I realized then that I am a slave to my laptop. I am so bonded to it that I didn’t even want to submit for two or three weeks to have my speaker fixed. I figure I can do with out sound from a cd, I just need to download it onto my computer. Sad isn’t it??

Like everyone else, I enjoy utilizing the technology for personal use. It never really mattered how much the technology had to offer, I would just use it for the basic designed purpose. For instance, my first cell phone was an upright, bulky, pre-paid, Erickson (guess that’s how you spell it) while everybody else was getting into the monthly contract flip phones. My friends would tease me and tell me to upgrade my phone. It didn’t matter, as long as I could make and receive calls, it didn’t what the other features offered. I didn’t even have a computer at home. When my children needed a computer for school that is when I branched out and brought a computer and made internet available. BOOM!! Now I’m an electronic technology junkie who talks on the cell, texts on the cell, chat with my children, surf the net for personal and education use, and complete homework all at the same time. I never would have figured I would become one of them, but here I am all strung out on technology. Yet the funny part is, there are more people who are more strung out than I am to the point where they do all of the above, but text on the new (is it called the) QWERTY cell phone designed for textting (is this the way it’s spelled?) quickly. I did, however, have my moment of withdrawal (see blog entitled Laptop Slave).

Anyway, technology is a wonderful thing, but I don’t think we should rely on it solely.  Like everything else, it is destructible. We would – for the most part – be lost if technology fails. A prime example of this occurred when the millennium was approaching and everybody started becoming insane and obsessed with “the crash!” We should have enough sense not to place that much faith in something that can malfunction at any given moment.

When I was in high school, my big sister, Rachel, was my role model. I loved everything she did and thought she was the epitome of cool. So, when she came home from college listening to a band called Guster, I was hooked. They had a nice mellow sound, some goofy songs, some serious songs and a laid back attitude. I felt like an adult when I listened to their music. That summer, I went to see a Guster concert with Rachel at Penn’s Landing and became a die-hard fan. I cruised their hilarious site (complete with a regularly updates road journal which is worth reading even if you aren’t a fan of their music) and listened to all their songs. Although it was hard to choose just one song, my favorite, Parachute, is below. Sorry about the live version.

To see the Guster website and read their great road journal, click here.