we are cooler than they are

Hello. Darling groupmates.

I've just spent a mo' spying on the blogs of our competitors,

and I have but one thing to say....

....We are way cooler than they are.

¡Viva Stedankorbra!

(unofficial post) Course Requirements

Writing Studies Emphasis  27 Credits
Course Requirements:

Complete ALL of the following:  12.0 credits

• ENGL 2040 Introduction to Writing Studies (3.0)
• ENGL 2310 Technical Communication (3.0)
• ENGL 3060 Visual Rhetoric (3.0)
• ENGL 481R Internship (take for at least 3 credits)

Professional Writing Practices 6.0 credits
Complete TWO of the following:

• ENGL 2050 Editing (3.0)
• ENGL 3050 Advanced Editing and Design for Print Media (3.0)
• ENGL 3320 Grant and Proposal Writing (3.0)
• ENGL 3340 Digital Document Design (3.0)
• ENGL 4340 Advanced Document Design (3.0)
• ENGL 436R Topics in Technical Communication (3.0)

Language and Cultural Rhetorics 6.0 credits
Complete TWO of the following:

• ENGL 2030 Writing for Social Change (3.0)
• ENGL 3030 Writing in the Disciplines (3.0)
• ENGL 3070 Public Rhetorics and Popular Media (3.0)
• ENGL 401R Topics in Rhetoric (3.0)

Complete 3 upper-division credits of ENGL coursework beyond those courses taken to fulfill discipline core or emphasis requirements.

Jobs/Grad school opportunities

The Definition for Writing Emphasis (Group Writing)

http://www.wm.edu/as/english/writing/index.php

This definition is only like 4 paragraphs, easy going, I liked it. Check it out.

here is another: http://education-portal.com/program/Southern_New_Hampshire_University_BA_in_Communication_-_Professional_Writing.html#tab2

and another, just the first paragraph: http://www.cmu.edu/hss/english/undergraduate/ba-pw/index.html

*Here's my take on what Kory and I got from Bonnie Kyburz:

Definition: 
The Writing Studies emphasis focuses on the fields of Rhetoric and Composition, particularly within the digital age. It appeals to students who are interested in integrating theory and practice, and communicating with confidence.

Studying within this emphasis challenges the traditional, formulaic values of writing that we tend to gain in high school. The major has an inclination towards conflict, because writing allows you to engage, challenge, and argue. 

Curiosity is a key quality in aspiring majors. The broad range of effects that a text can activate is studied within this emphasis. Good writing effects how people think. Writing Studies students learn the rhetorical skills of critically analyzing texts so as to produce them in ways that have specific and effective results. Our turn to the digital age adds complexity and diversity to this area of study. 

Skills to be gained:
The greatest skill to be gained is a unique disposition, one that is sensitive to textuality. When we are sensitive to language, our choices become more discerning and critical in terms of how we produce and consume. Students will learn how to creatively utilize tools, images, and language to understand how texts are rhetorically functioning and create unique texts of their own.

This major enables creative vision and critical thinking skills. Students will learn digital skills, document design, and advanced skills of communicating and listening. This degree prepares students for a variety of career opportunities: Law, business, teaching, design, filmmaking, editing, etc. The critical and creative disposition gained from the Writing Studies emphasis makes learning new sets of skills easier.

(Ugh. I just read through that. It sounds like shit. Below are a couple more things, but I couldn't think how to add them in the hullabaloo above.)
Metacognitive awareness of what you're doing. Enables feelings of empathy and removes desensitization. 

-dk

pages

Home Page
   Here I will introduce the BBC tv series (turned dvd movie) of Pride and Prejudice. I will write briefly about when and where it was filmed, but I'll get into the production details on a separate page. I think I'll use a lot of stuff from our last blog entry. And of course, I'll introduce Manovich to the best of my ability and highlight how his research and concepts apply to my topic. I think I will use material from Manovich's own introduction to do this. In his Theory of the Present, he talks about how history repeats and how people struggle to recognize the significance of change while it's happening (7). I'd like to analyze this through BBC's P and P by considering the period in which the novel originally emerged, and reflecting it onto its adaptation in 1995-- a little compare/contrast that ties together the relevance of New Media and some of the key concepts Manovich talks about.

History of the Novel
   I want to analyze further the period in which P and P was written, and what cultural influences effected Jane Austen as she wrote it. Some history of Austen, audience reception at the time and over time, and its place in popular culture today. I'll include Manovich's parallels between cinema history and the history of new media, as well as "the relations between the language of multimedia and nineteenth century pro-cinematic cultural forms" (9).

Adaptations
   Here I want to focus mostly on BBC's adaptation. I'd like to write in more detail about this particular production- when it was filmed, when the idea came into being, the characters who played the main roles, and any interesting background knowledge. I'll also include the many many other adaptations that have been made, offering a special appearance to the Kiera Knightly version (keep your enemies close). Just so you know- I have nothing against Kiera Knightly- I like her a lot as an actress (Love Actually, anyone?). I just see that particular adaptation as the McDonalds version of what P and P is all about. Give the deluded masses exactly what they want, people, right?! Make it cheap, tweak it here and there so the simple-minded, soap-opera loving McDonalds eaters will inhale it and feel artificially satisfied... okay, this page might be a little bit of an opinion piece. Relevant Manovich stuff: "...individual layers can retain their separate identities rather than being merged into a single space; different worlds can clash semantically rather than form a single universe" (xix).

Fans and New Media
   There isn't a super ton of memes or fan videos- but they do exist. This page will showcase the most interesting and hilarious images and videos I can find. I've got stuff from previous posts that will do for some of this content. Such as, how new media has played a major role in P and P's many adaptations being possible. These unique perspectives and representations offer further conceptualizations/interpretations. "The printed word that initially dominated the language of cultural interfaces is becoming less important, while the part played by cinematic elements is becoming progressively stronger. This is consistent with a general trend in modern society toward presenting more and more information in the form of time-based audiovisual moving image sequences, rather than as text" (78). <--- That's a big one to me. When P and P was originally published, that's all an audience had was the text, their ability to read, and their imagination. Now, things are so much easier (or are they?). I'd also like to include Manovich's ideas on The Icons of Memesis (starting on 195). I admit I had to look that word up- Plato and Aristotle defined it as the representation and imitation of nature and human behavior. Manovich talks about a text's or media's realism- and how in certain forms, they may or may not seem more "real". Consider the black and white text of the original novel compared to the 5 hour BBC version which follows the book extremely closely, but nevertheless is more "real" in the fact that we are shown what the characters and settings look like, and we can hear the voices and sound effects instead of having to imagine them.

I realize I only have 4 pages- but I feel like I've got a lot to work with. I'm going to think about it and perhaps divide one of them into two. Maybe this last page can be divided into Fan/Meme stuff and Manovich Applications and personal analysis. Sound boring? You bet.... but what do you think?

Ma Pages

Front Page:
I want it to be an introductory to what the site is about--that being a place where the curious Rubik's person can get some answers on what the cube is about, but I also want it to be a place for Cubers to possibly use. I'm not sure how hard a possible forum would be to create (like copying the code for a simple message board) or just have it be place where all the cubing stuff is located with links and things like that.

Numerical Rep takes the lead here because I want to use the site to make the world of cubing, real-life and socially, on this site

Solving:
I'm thinking about doing a view How To videos and uploading them to Vimeo and putting them on this page. Or using the videos with written step-by-step instructions. Maybe some pics of what the cube should like in different phases too. I could use Flikr and link them that way, but I want this page to be dedicated to solving the cube and want this to be one of the more heavily visited pages. And I think I will link a view other sites with various solving methods. This page could be good place to dump the various solving algorithms too.

Automation, is the obvious duh for doing the How To part of the site. This is the pre-solved section if you will, with the process of beating the cube a few clicks away.

Story of the Cube:
I don't think this page will be super interactive but I want it to timeline who Rubik was, how the cube came to be, how long it took him solve, how he almost the patent on the idea, and where the cube is today. Maybe make a cool info graphic. Also, I could find a How It's Made... that'd be cool.

Variability seems to be the catch-all for all things history. Because this is the chronological part--and someone may try and contact me and say, "Hey, idiot, this is really how x,y, and z happened." I can go back and add or delete idiotic things I thought are/were cool.

Fan Art, Memes, etc.:
This is where I want to showcase how the Rubiks Cube functions outside the puzzle. There are some cool art galleries that use only Rubik's Cubes and some pretty good memes. I think I even saw a clip on MTV's Guy Code about the Rubik's Cube, and I could show its presence in pop culture. Also, I want to show the various different cubes there are here, and the puzzle spinoffs that the cube has spurned.

Modularity, showing exactly the different ways the cube transforms from being a puzzle to many other and different things, and how all of that relates to one another.

Where to Cube:
This would be a good place to find out where the cubing community is in your local community. Magic: The Gathering has their "Friday Night Magic" nights, and you can go on their site and find a local card shop where this thing is happening. I haven't done a ton a research on it, but I bet you there things like this for cubing conventions that may not be in every city--but I'm hoping at least regionally there are some things, and this would be a great place to build something which helps people find such things.

Transcoding, because this is the train station (hopefully) for all things cubing. People will be able to come here, get info, and then link to real life events.

How it all will go

HOME
On this page I will have the introduction that I wrote in one of the blog posts, as Pepper has said, I will have to talk about Manovich also. The way that I will introduce Manovich's principles is through short summaries and examples. I think that examples will help put his, sometimes boring, principles into an interesting, consumable form.

Modularity will apply to my homepage, because the homepage is the portal to all of the other pages. All of the other pages combined together make the site, and without them the homepage is nothing. I am combining many other elements to make one homepage (combining links to other pages of site), without the other components of the site the homepage serves no purpose.

HISTORY
On this page I will give a history as to why there is a rivalry between PC and Mac. The history needs to be know to understand the jokes, memes, hate sites, fan sites, etc. I will also include a bit of history of how the computer got started, between both platforms.

Variability will be applied to this page. The history page is the best place to showcase that because it is where it all got started, it can be added to also because the future that today was, will be history tomorrow. It is always changing.

FAN SITES, HATE SITES, MEMES, VIDEOS
This page will be devoted to the fanatic haters and lovers of MAC and PC. I will have links to other sites with short summaries of each site, memes that have been created both hate/love ones, and embedded YouTube videos of hate/love. This page will be exclusively for media that has been created by regular people (amateurs), not professionals such as companies, marketers etc.

Automation will be applied here because it is devoted to media created by regular people. I feel that this principle applies well because most of the stuff that will be showcased here will have existed digitally before these regular people (amateurs) got their hands on it. They just plug them into templates, algorithms, etc, to make their end product that doesn't require a lot of creativity to do so.

ADVERTISEMENTS/VIDEO REVIEWS
This page will be devoted to advertisements and video reviews made by professionals that pertain to each platform. I was thinking of specific commercials made by Apple (Hi I'm a PC and I'm a MAC ads), Apple bashing ads made by Samsung (iPhone 5 line queue where they are swayed to the samsung galaxy), older Dell commercials (Dell dude Ben Curtis). Reviews by CNet, PC Mag, Engadget of new products and older products.

Numerical Representation will be applied here because they will be taking old media forms (stuff made by humans) such as video, reviews that would have been in magazines and newspapers, and commercials for TV and print and encoding it into another form to be consumed by the masses in an online form (new media). They might also apply some effects in advertisements that were created solely by computer not by human authors. Numerical Representation is related to Automation (almost hand in hand), so I thought an amateur and professional theme would go nicely with these two principles.

COOL PRODUCTS
I though here that I would showcase some top of the line products that each platform has created to consume digital media, such as the iPad, iMac, Microsoft Surface, and Dell monitors. I would also talk about their impact on how people consume media.

Transcoding will be applied here because Transcoding is the computerization of culture. It is a blend of human and computer meanings. Since digital media must be consumed on computers, what better way to show Transcoding than through the top of the line devices on the market today!

Website Layout

I'm thinking my five tabs will include: Home, History, Memes, Parodies, Other Websites.

Home:

      This page will include the basic introduction that we included in the previous post. I will talk about Channing Tatum's reputation and what parodies and comical representations that has brought about in New Media. I will maybe include a couple of of brief image glimpses of the four things I'm going to be talking in the other tabs.
      In this page I might talk a little bit about Numerical Representation and how that is the process that makes new media possible. Through Numerical Representation and coding a more inclusive and involved form of communication is made possible.

History:

      I would talk a little bit about Channing Tatum's biography and history in getting to where he is today. In doing so, I'd discuss his childhood and career history. This would almost be some kind of timeline. This would of course also include some pictures of childhood and earlier job positions
      Variability seems like a good topic to tie in with this sub-category. With new-media, the order of the timeline can be manipulated, if new information comes about. It is so adaptable that nothing you write is is something that needs to be set in stone.

Memes:
      Here, I'll introduce the types of memes about Channing Tatum. I'll explain a little bit about what Memes are and what effect they have on society. I'll talk about the themes that memes about Tatum seems to have. I'll include quite a variety of visuals here.
      Here, I'll use Manovich's concept of Automation. Most memes are created through the use of a pre made template. Such templates are an example of Automation--or shortcuts to the codes that create New Media.

Parodies:
      Parodies about Channing Tatum include videos, jokes, fan art, and highlights by comedians and talk show hosts. I'll talk about how these parodies strip Channing Tatum's reputation and display the real Channing Tatum and how the general audience perceives him.
      Modularity might be a good fit for this topic. New Media is the idea of building blocks. I thought this would be a good fit because in a way, his reputation is already developed and the type of parody about him has become a consistent style. Because of this, new parodies start to become new building blocks that are stacked on top of each other.

Other Websites:
      Here, I'll introduce all kinds of new links about Channing Tatum and talk about the idea of what's out there about him and his career and reputation. This will also show the audience that is connected to Channing Tatum.
      Transcoding is the perfect here. Links in New Media allow for connectivity. This is what I hope to do with this page.

Rubik's Intro

Confounding individuals across the planet for over 30 years, the Rubik’s Cube, named after it’s Hungarian sculptor Ernest Rubik, is one of the most hated and loved puzzles that has ever existed. With over 400 million Rubik’s Cubes sold since its inception and manufacturing, the Rubik’s Cube is considered the best selling toy of all-time.

Today, there are literally hundreds of variations of the cube, ranging from many different shapes, sizes, and solving possibilities. The Rubik’s Cube has even spawned it’s own culture of people that participate in the world of “cubing”—most notably: speed cubing.

Events are held all over the world, which test the mind-twisting prowess of cube solvers. Thousands of websites, YouTube videos and books have been created to discuss and give step-by-step solving techniques in solving the cube. There are many methods for solving the six-sided monster and it has been discovered that the cube can be solved in as little as 20 moves. Given it’s 43 quintillion possible permutations (for your standard 3x3x3 cube). 43,252,003,247,489,856,000 permutations to be exact. Some people have opinion that there are as many expletives uttered when solving the cube, as there are combinations.

And anyone can solve by learning a small handful of simple algorithms. It is amazing the mind power dumped in to the simple cube for the past three decades.

Ernest Rubik first built his cube, it is interesting to note, it took him an entire month before he was able to solve it. That is the most interesting fact about the Rubik’s Cube; that it was not fully understood in it’s creation—like all monsters. :)

When he was finally able to solve the cube, Rubik recounts,  “I remember it was very emotional, but I don't remember what time it was exactly. I don't make notes on that, and I have no diary about it, but I remember it was a very emotional feeling. But then it's not something like a jigsaw puzzle where you start to work on it, spend some time on it, and in the end it's solved, it's finished. If you find a solution with the cube, it doesn't mean you find everything. It's only a starting point. You can work on and find something else, you can improve your solution, you can make it shorter, you can go deeper and deeper and collect knowledge and many other things.”

Attempting to solve the Rubik’s Cube is a right of passage for life. I strongly encourage you to take the bull by the horns, and give it a go yourself.

Introduction: Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum was born in 1980 to a pretty basic lifestyle.As a child he was pretty average, and...as the pictures show, darling! He took part in the average school plays, but acting or modeling were never a big interest 

In high school he continued on a pretty standard lifestyle. I mean, of course he was a pretty sexy and recognized jock (can I do that...can I call a teenager sexy?? haha). He does claim that "girls were always [his] biggest distractions in school. 

Although he started college with a football scholarship, Tatum dropped out to become a male stripper. He hoped to someday make a movie about his experiences as a stripper, but was discovered as a model instead. After a little while of modeling, he landed a dancing role in Ricky Martin's music video, "She Bangs"...from there, his career took off....forming his reputation as the sexy, take-your-shirt-off kind of man.

From that point on, all of Channing's roles in movies revolved around the idea of a bad-ass gone gentleman. In Step Up he goes from a delinquent foster child, to a recognized and structured dancer. In She's the Man he goes from a too-cool-for-school kid, to a gentle and romantic guy. In Dear John he goes from a violent guy to a sweet and loving soldier. These examples go on through several movies and this is the parody of yummmm...Channing Tatum!!!!

rebellious guy

 vs....

sweet/romantic guys

P and P intro

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813. From the beginning, it was received favorably by British society. Since then, it has continued to receive wide acclaim across the globe, and is considered to be one of the most popular novels in English literature.

Proof of its continued popularity in modern society is evident by its many adaptations, such as plays, musicals, t.v. shows, movies, as well as numerous works of fiction which continue the story where Austen left off, or else deviate somewhat in telling a unique story in which Pride and Prejudice plays a powerful influence. One such example is Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which uses actual text from the novel meshed with scenes of zombies, violence, ninjas and more.

While the previously mentioned example is a fascinating and innovative spin on the classic novel, no adaptation comes close to the majesty of BBC's 1995 production <!--previously I had been calling it the A&E version. While the A&E Network did provide additional funding, and aired the tv series in 1996, it is more correctly the BBC version-->. Starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, the six episodes follow the original novel almost completely. The financial positions of the characters, representations of personalities and appearances, and the progression of events revealed in BBC's rendition are but a few factors which make this series the most faithful adaptation to date.

Some concepts from Manovich that I believe will be helpful for analysis and application are:

• ". . . individual layers can retain their separate identities rather than being merged into a single space; different worlds can clash semantically rather than form a single universe" (xix). While BBC's P and P follows the original novel, they nevertheless occupy separate realms. Austen could probably not have predicted that her story would later become t.v. shows and movies. Instead of reading and imagining to gain meaning and understanding, we now have the option to watch and listen. Same story- but different.
• "What also arrives by 1995 [the year of BBC's P and P debut] is the Internet-- the most material and visible sign of globalization" (6).
• Audience reception patterns
• Visual culture or "information culture" (13).
• Representation and culture
• ". . . elements are assembled into larger-scale objects but continue to maintain their separate identities" (30). Analyzing things like characters, cultural identities, reference to a historical state and its application to modern times.
• How new media and the many adaptations that have been created because of new media (in part), P and P becomes more accessible. Not only is the original novel being made so, but its adaptations and unique perspectives/representations offer further conceptualizations/interpretations.
• "The printed word tradition that initially dominated the language of cultural interfaces is becoming less important, while the part played by cinematic elements is becoming progressively stronger. This is consistent with a general trend in modern society toward presenting more and more information in the form of time-based audiovisual moving image sequences, rather than as text" (78).

Intro for Mac vs PC

The Mac and PC war started in the 1980s. In 1984 Apple introduced the Macintosh, which was the first computer to use a graphical user interface (GUI). In the following year Microsoft introduced their version of the graphical user interface popularly known as Microsoft Windows. Microsoft quickly grew to be the leader in market share because Windows was built to be used on multiple platforms, whereas Mac was solely used by Apple.

There are certain personality types that tend to gravitate to each platform. For Mac, it finds popularity among those who see themselves as "verbal", "conceptual", and "risk-takers." For PC, it finds popularity among those who see themselves as "numbers oriented", "factual", and "steady, hard workers." Source: http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/mac-vs-pc-myth-busting-consumer-guide/

We can see from these personality types that they are distinct and opposite in many ways; which may be reason why enthusiasts of each platform tend to favor the qualities of each platform in a rather "cult-like" way. Each computer platform caters to personality type's needs, satisfying them in ways that each specifically designed to do. Not only is this a debate between personality types, it is a debate between market share, usability, quality, price, and innovation.

 During the 1990s and early 2000s, Microsoft enjoy a 91+ percent market share. In recent years, their innovation and ability to keep up with market pace has waned. In Q3 of 2011, Apple's market share jumped to 12.9 percent of computers up from 5 percent, and nearly 70 percent of the Tablet market. Microsoft has barely launched their first venture into the Tablet market with Windows 8 in Q4 of 2012, nearly three years after the launch of the iPad. Source: http://www.macrumors.com/2011/10/12/apples-share-of-u-s-pc-market-leaps-to-12-9-in-3q-2011/ and http://news.cnet.com/8301-13579_3-57492731-37/apple-dominates-tablet-market-in-q2-with-70-percent-share/

The debate between usability, quality, price, and innovation can only be decided in the eye of the beholder. Evidence may be found abundantly in support of each platform. Regardless of what consumers of each platform may say, each platform has found its own niche and excels at them respectively.

HAHAHAHAHA! OH MY GOSH!

K.... this has absolutely NOTHING to do with our group blog, but I found this as a linked video when I was searching for a slow clap YouTube video to post on Dani's P&P fan video.

Why did I never see this?!?!?! 25 MILLION CANNOT BE WRONG! I'm crying!

All I can say is God bless America.

Wizard Kid

This guy from Australia holds all of the world records for Rubik's Cube speed solves. Does anyone remember the movie The Wizard (Fred Savage y'all). They need to do a remake of it, but with this kid solving cubes.

I think what we have learned is that solving cubes is super geeky... wait... "It has always been that way, you say?"

Oh....

Channing Tatum Videos

I found that once you got passed all of the interviews, trailers, movie review, etc, there were a lot of parodies on our lovely Channing Tatum. They tended to be funny and sometimes offensive, but, still, they all seemed to draw attention to his looks.

What was funny about this research, was what I found in thinking about what effect these videos have had on the culture of the topic. Though the videos were offensive, and funny, and mocking, they did not seem to twist the image that Channing portrays. They maintained his sexy expected sexy image and promoted further obsession. I was entertained to find all that these videos had to offer. It’s almost like his fans know that his image is kind of an idealistic joke, and that’s WHY they love him. 

pride, prejudice, and barbie

i found and watched four videos after searching "pride and prejudice" on youtube. obviously, most of them were of clips or video from some version of the movie. the most popular thing produced by fans were recreations of the p and p movie trailer (the kiera knightley version <fart noise>). my favorites were a harry potter version and a lion version. both used the audio from the trailer as the noise-background and recreated the general narrative (elizabeth and mr. darcy don't like each other, intrigue, drama, elizabeth and mr. darcy REALLY don't like each other, resolution, oh wait- elizabeth and mr. darcy like each other). in the hp version, hermione and ron were cast as lizzy and mr. d, and in the lion version (like, seriously, lions roaming around the serengeti)- well, there was a girl and guy lion- you get it. in the case of these trailer remakes- it's all about the epic energy. you want to feel some emotional rush- and harry potter characters match the level (if you're that kind of nerd, and i am). lions, yes. a scene in which a male and female lion apparently run towards each other in slow motion through tall grass with the attributed character-nesses of miss elizabeth bennet and mr. darcy FINALLY in love with each other?! come on. awesome. and hilarious (if you're that kind of nerd).

there were also lots of videos made for school projects, such as a rap (awful), and a recreation using barbies. i also watched a video on how to do a pride and prejudice inspired up-do! overall, i'd say that p and p is generally respected in our culture today. even though there are lots of things out there making fun of it, or that are meant to be humorous, and even though there are probably three or four lost souls out there who would say it's stupid and boring- i still think those three or four people would at least concede that p and p is culturally relevant and a big deal to some people. it's classic, brilliant, and popular. imitatable, beloved, and even sometimes hated. but you know its name and it is eternal, bitches.

Videos made by amateurs, sometimes funny and informative, sometimes dumb and useless

After watching several videos on YouTube about Mac vs PC, this by far was my favorite video. It is about two laptops, a Mac and a PC, that turn into transformers and battle each other to the death. I am always amazed at the creativity of the human mind when it is utilized. There were many videos on YouTube that were just parodies of the Apple ad campaign about three years ago that pitted the PC and the Mac against each other. You may know them as "Hi I'm a Mac, and I'm a PC," ads. Many videos were just regular people reviewing Mac and PC computers against each other and seeing how each one stacked up against the competition in the marketplace. Many were extremely humorous and many were just plain dumb and had no purpose.

One thing that I find interesting is that the technology to make these videos was not available to the average consumer just a few years ago. Especially the technology that was utilized to create the video that I have embedded. I kind of relate this to the invention of the printing press. When that was invented it opened the door to many more people having the privilege of learning how to read and learn. It was no longer in the hands of the elite or clergymen. With the advancement of technology and the affordability of powerful computers, many more people can create quality media creations that were only able to be produced by the professionals in tech firms. This embedded video could probably have been made on newer Mac or PC, either platform in someone's home.

The fact that Mac and PC battle each other could be seen as who can solidify their standing as the premiere platform to be the next printing press. Who will continue to give the average Joe command over his desire to create quality, consumable media? Culture will have to decide that.

One Cube to Rule Them Aaaaalllllllllllll

My book would have to be a riddle. Ideally, it would have to be scrambled up and seemingly impossible to decipher on the outside looking in. Or maybe it could have one of those puzzle scramblers where you are trying to get the blue block out of the square by moving the other rectangles around just to open the book. Like a maddening effed up lock. (What is the name of that game anyways?)

If the book had to be a novel that wasn't some big stupid mystery that people throw against the wall (yet I digress that a lot of novels aaarrreee this way) than the novel would have to be a fiction about an evil scientist would creates this cosmic, confounding cube. <evil-laugh> Bwahahahaha </evil-laugh>

In the story our hero--Rubik--would be born in to a small impoverished post-apocalyptic village which is under the rule of a tyrannous government/entity. At the head of it all would be the evil master-coding genius... (wait for it)...

Dr. Pepper!

DUN
      DUN
            DUN!!!

(You're hooked already, I can tell somehow).

Rubik would struggle with his identity and unknown longing to be something greater than just a slave to his sad village and lifestyle. Eventually, he would cross paths with this mysterious drifter named Stedankorbra, and learn of his higher calling of being the leader to overthrow the dictatorship.

In the center of the main city, there would be this cube created by Dr. Pepper, that can be attempted by anyone--and if solved the person is automatically elected as the president-world-leader postion, which is  held by Dr. Pepper. Obviously, no can solve it and it is why Dr. Pepper remains in power. Any of those that attempt it and cannot solve it, are executed; adding to the evilness of the story.

Rubik, would obviously have to have some night-terrors/visions/dreams of him solving the cube, but failing and then his family is killed in front of him--and then he wakes up in a cold sweat breathing heavily.

The story would then continue on as you would expect with Rubik eventually solving the cube, inciting a revolution of the people and they over run the capitol.

Rubik and Dr. Pepper would ultimately have to battle in a tower, where they have to solve some 5x5x5 cube that locks on their body somehow and they have 2 minutes to solve it. Rubik solves the cube with seconds to spare, while the evil Dr. Pepper shakes the unsolved cube and screams as time expires and he explodes.

Rubik, having saved the world, smirks, and walks off in to the sunset to go bang some hot chick.

Channing Tatum: The Book

"Channing Tatum: The Google Search" is an engaging and strange tale of a hunky, hunky man.

"Chapter One: A Glimpse of His Success,"
Channing Tatum, a very sexy man, is considered one of Hollywood's most beloved stars. As we can see in all of his latest successes, he almost always stars in a role that requires him to take his shirt off to advertise his mouthwatering abs. In this chapter, we can track down Channing's whole line of success from the very start. Oh yes ladies and gentlemen, this most certainly qualifies him as some kind of Hollywood legend!!!

"Chapter Two: Personalizing Tatum"
This chapter serves as a way of hooking us to Channing, not only as an actor, but also as a person (this line requires a giggle...hehehehe). We are introduced to Channing's childhood environment, his date of birth, his family names, and his introduction to acting. I mean, how can we not love Channing when we learn of his life long ambitions to become a dancer and actor who is sold for his body and unusually sexy grin? ;)

"Chapter Three: Ahhh..Channing Now!!"
Yes....chapter three is literally there to help us get into Channing's mind today. We are provided with many of his current thoughts and activities. Knowing about the publication of this chapter, he does his best to advertise his image as one consistent to his movie characters. Channing is hot, he is chill, he is shy, and very easy going. I know...Prince Charming does exist!

"Chapter Four: Worship"
Want to see Channing's greatest glamour shots? Want to know about the romantic details of his love life? Want to get together with other girls who worship the ground he walks on? Then yes, this chapter provides all of the tools to do so. Now that we have learned about his successes, his childhood and journey, and his current updates, we can also learn how to be one of his sticky fans!

Admit it....you want the book!

the delicate being

       Once upon a time, and yet still in the present, there is a beautiful and delicate being, called A&E's production of Pride and Prejudice. She is such an honored miniseries that the family of IMDB proudly lists her as one of their friends. Popular stores sell representations of her to eager buyers, and heralded sites that are so near being scholarly offer astounding wealths of information about her.
      Images of her beauty are easy to find, amidst further attempts to describe her loveliness by those who would claim some small association to her. If one is eager to discover quality replicas of her essence, or even unique and obscure items in her likeness, one needn't search far. Critics offer their opinions of her (though only the positive ones mean shit), and videos of favorite scenes are treasured throughout the land.
      If one seeks diligently, and is able to overlook some minor disappointments (such as stupid sites claiming to have all of the episodes available when they don't- thank God I have them on blu-ray), then they may happily stumble across some delightful thoughts from devoted fans.
      Beyond the happy realm of Firstseveralpages, there are only stupid questions, chat sites, and things that grow steadily unrelated. But the spirit of the delicate being that IS A&E's production of Pride and Prejudice lives on, and will continue to live on in the hearts of the virtuous, forever. Amen.

War and Peace: The Battle Between Mac and PC

If my topic were made into a novel, it would be about opinions, history, and comparisons. It would be a book that would not try to prove which one is better or worse, but it would pull all of the facts together, present them in a way easy for the reader to understand, and then it would invite the reader to make a decision based on the facts. It would highlight the strong points of each platform, along with the cons. The research that would need to be done for this book would be hard to do though, each article or comparison does have somewhat of a bias to it, even if it is not meant to be there. The chapters would go together maybe somewhat like this:

Chapter 1: The History of the Big Debate
Chapter 2: Popular Mechanics: The Ultimate Lab Test
Chapter 3: Apple: Why You'll Love a Mac
Chapter 4: Dell, HP, Acer: Why You'll Love a PC
Chapter 5: CNN, FOX, YouTube: The Straight Scoop
Chapter 6: The Personality Stereotypes May be True

I actually think that this might make a good book, an idea has been born.

I do agree with Manovich, we have an innate desire/need to form narratives and organize information. That may be why search engines have "top ten" results, we went from having a lack of information in history to the now of having so much information we have no idea what to do with it. Organization, databases, and narratives have never been more important and relevant than they are today. However, he does say that databases and narratives are natural enemies. Narratives organize things by "cause and effect trajectory of unordered items and databases make lists "and it refuses to order the lists." Each are still relevant, but depending upon where each application is used, one may be more successful than the other. In business, customer orders may do well on a database, but product RMAs may do better in a narrative.

I can't help, but to compare narratives and databases to Mac and PC. Each are relevant and do well in their own realm of tasks, yet natural enemies :D Oh yeah.

Channing Memes and Fan Art

MEMES

This was too much fun. A lot of the memes about Channing Tatum are the expected "I'm too sexy for my pants" jokes. One thing I noticed, which I thought was great, is that memes are inserted so far into our culture that the necessary background knowledge to understand them is already considered common knowledge. The main topic for Channing right now seems to be on his latest movie "Magic Mike". Here are some of what I found. 

FAN ART

Fan art on Channing Tatum was a little bit more limited, I noticed. Also, its focus seemed to be more on montage and templates--simply inserting text into a photograph. The level of technological skill needed for this doesn't seem to very high, which may be be an indicator of the fan audience here...haha. The purpose of these seem to be pure entertainment but I don't think that devalues them. It demonstrates this sliver of our culture today, which sadly is an indicator of a large portion of society today. 

Rubik's Cube Memes and Fan Art

Soooo, this used to me when I tried solving das cube, and feel like it represents anyone who has ever touched this six-sided demon.

I spent an entire weekend trying to learn how to solve the cube, and I had a couple of moments like this one.

This one was just a nice use of meme comic faces

I literally LOL'd when I first saw this one. It epitomized the struggle teenage boys have been trying to overcome since reaching their pubescence. So funny.

Finally, this was supposed to be a jab at blonde jokes--cube style--but I think it falls in to the teenage boy demographic yet again...

FAN ART: