So, I'm 22...

Since yesterday was my birthday, I thought I'd share a little bit of my lame celebration with you:

So, my mom got me this totally awesome Little Mermaid cake!  You're probably wondering why the heck a woman would buy her 22-year-old son a Disney Princess cake.  Well, I was addicted to this movie when I was a toddler and had an Ariel cake for my 2nd birthday, so Mom thought it would be fitting to get me one for my birthday 20 years later.  I love my mom.

Face it, this cake is awesome!  You wish your birthday cake was this cool!

On the subject of f'awesome, my big brother got me a WWE (WWF, this is vintage) title belt.  This is one of those deluxe replica deals made from the same mold as the original.  This thing is gold-plated steel with a genuine leather belt.  It weighs a ridiculous amount but it look freakin' amazing and it makes me feel special.

And, just for fun, here is a pic of me as Red Death...

Genres of the Interwebs

The internet is an ever changing place.  Yes, I know, I know, "Gracias, Señor Obvioso."  Anyway, these changes are constantly happening to make it a more user-friendly commodity.  One of these most common genres is social networking.  Since they first started popping up around 2003-2004, social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook have quickly grown to online monsters.  Why?  It's quite simple, they met the human need of social interaction.  Facebook allows us to stay social, see what our friends are doing, share information, and pretty much our entire lives without even getting out of bed or getting dressed.

Of course, to keep up, these genres must grow and change to continue meeting needs.  This spawns subgenres.  Just look at Facebook and how far it has come since 2005.  When the site started, it was meant mostly for private individuals connecting to each other.  However, it quickly became common for business and organizations to get onboard to connect with patrons.  This was initially done through groups or profiles that represented the business.  However, Facebook has now made it possible for these organizations to create "pages" that work differently than the normal profile.  They can still share all the information, photos, etc. while doing it in a more business-oriented member.  Also, the info section allows for such information as business hours, etc.

Facebook has also changed the way status work.  Initially you could only post a simple sentence that followed the phrase "Such N. Such is..."  Eventually, it was changed so that users could select their own verbiage.  Now users can post pretty much however they'd like and include photos, videos, links, and more.  They can also tag their friends so that the post will appear on their profiles as well.  This gives users more control over their statuses and allows them to share info with friends better.  Also, privacy settings can be customized on a post-by-post basis, which is great if say you want to plan a surprise party or something.  You can block the person to be surprised - or you can just have a good ol' bitch session about someone.

Digital Meltdown

Do you ever have those times where you feel like you're on the verge of a meltdown?  As the end of the semester approaches, it feels like we are on a mad dash to get everything done.  There are more assignments due than there are days to do them in.  As I look at my agenda, my head just spins out of control.  It's funny because technology does make it easier to do assignments; however, it also make it easy for teachers to overload us (and in no way am I talking about Steph here - I'm talking about those who assign 7-10 online assignments per day).  Sometimes I surprised my computer doesn't just snap under the weight of all the browser windows and applications I've got running.  Anyone else with me?

With all this being said, I got to say that I find the code folder assignment kind of fun!

Is Your Mind Blown Yet?

Ambient Findability by Peter Morville is another one of those books that sparks thought and conversation.  Our class discussion of this book recently turned to the idea of the future.  Where are we going to be in 5 years?  Wow, I can't even begin to grasp what technology might be like.  Look what has popped up in the last 5 years: iPads, (ridiculously) Smart Phones, BluRay, 3D cinema on a wide-scale, so on and so forth.  Every year we are making leaps and bounds in the world of technology.  Phones are going to get smarter, TVs are going to get bigger, picture clearer, just imagine.

If you think 5 years gives room for improvement, think about 10-15 years.  I think about technology when I was 6 and then now, and it is just mind blowing.  Now, jump ahead 15 years and my mind is blown.  I'm beginning to understand how my parents get overwhelmed in technology sometimes.  It advances quicker than we can catch up.

Think about where technology will be when our kids are in college!

Thinking with Type

Some of you may recall my rant on the BSU bookstore earlier this week.  However, I was able to get my hands on a copy of Thinking with Type by Ellen Lupton.  The nerd in me really enjoyed flipping through the pages in this book.  As a kid, I used to play around with the fonts on Word and see all the neat things I could do.  The two pages that really stood out to me were 23 and 31.

Page 23 stood out because I have always really liked "Monster" fonts; however, I will admit that I did not know they had such a title until this book.  So, I guess that's the point of this book - to learn something new.  I find the designs of these fonts intriguing.  They are like works of art - ornate and complex.

For similar reasons, I found page 31 interesting.  This section focuses on type as a narrative; that is the idea that the typefaces were designed to reflect "physical process."  These fonts are artistic as well albeit in a different sense.  They are rough and unpolished, which gives them a certain level of interest all their own.

Y U No Have?!

Several times this semester we have been brought back to the argument of whether technology is a boon or a bane.  Well, as a college students, we get to experience both sides of this argument first hand.  Somedays campus technology works appropriately and it greatly assists us in completing our assignments.  Other days, it simply will not work and puts us in a world of hurt when we realize we can't print our assignment or our mailbox has rejected important e-mails.

My current gripe is with the bookstore.  It has been jerking me around all semester.  There is a great appeal to the online ordering system.  You enter your classes, your books show up, you place your order, pay, pick them up and that's that...well, sometimes.  Before the semester, I ordered my books through the BSU bookstore.  Within 24 hours I received notification that they were ready to pick up.  LIES!  I get there and not a single one has been pulled yet.  A few days letter I get the pick up notification again.  However, when I get there this time, they tell me that about 95% of them are backordered.  Oh, and they won't give me the ones they DO have until the others come in.  Well, needing my books, I turned to TIS and CBX.  Between the two, I still came up several books short.  After about 4 weeks, BSU bookstore finally gets all my books...so I think.  They told me they were all there.  Well, come this week, I find that I do not have my Type book for 213.  Paid for it.  But it's not here.  Now, I have to trek on over to the bookstore and try to figure all this out.  Thanks a lot, BSU bookstore.  From now I'm printing a list and going to the store in person so that I can be sure to leave with everything in hand!

Late Night Double Feature Picture Show

Once again using my blog to blatantly advertise my crap!

Halloween Night at Midnight

Pruis Hall

Scroll down to see photos of our amazing cast!

 

What: THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW

Where: Pruis Hall

When: MIDNIGHT on HALLOWEEN 

Cost: FREE to BSU Students (Guests $1.00)

Concessions available!

Cast will be available for photos after the show! Don't forget your camera!

Growing and Expanding

I'm one of those people who are all about growth and expansion. If something is worth doing, it's worth improving upon. Therefore, I've been looking ahead to what I might want to do with my blog when this course is over. I have been toying around with the idea of keeping my blog going as part of my teacher education - maybe even keep it going as I begin teaching. I took this into account this week when Steph gave our class the assignment of finding a blog and borrowing aspects that we liked.

While browsing for ideas that I liked, I turned to the Huff English Blog.  One of the things I liked about this blog is that besides the actual blog there is information organized into individual pages.  Each page can be accessed using a navigation bar at the top.  So, I decided to integrate this into my blog.  I added an about me page and a contact page so that visitors could easily find that information rather than dig through the blog and try to find my Blogger profile, etc.  I also added my educational philosophy to tie the blog into my English education.

I also wanted to add a few features that I picked up off of several blogs that I frequent.  The first is an RSS subscription widget.  The other two features I added were to ease visitors in finding what they need.  These are a search function and a most popular post listing.  The first is self-explanatory; however, I added the second to prevent popular posts from being lost in the mix of everything I post.

The Countries of Oz

Colors can be quite useful in web design. They can help you organize, add a little flair, or make connections between the text and the colors used. Today I want to use colors to assist me in teaching you all a little something.

The Land of Oz is devided into four regions or countries. Each, while still a part of the Kingdom of Oz and under the rule of Her Royal Majesty Princess Ozma, is controlled by a different ruler and has a somewhat different culture. In the exact center of Oz lies the capital, The Emerald City.

The Emerald City is the metropolitan that lies at the heart of the Land of Oz. There is some question as to its history as many historical accounts claim that the Wizard of Oz himself commissioned the city whereas it is a known fact that King Pastoria ruled here years prior to the Wizard's arrival. The nearest we can figure is that the city was a capital much like any other and that the Wizard simply commissioned its recoloring and rechristening.

The Gilikin Country is the northernmost territory in Oz. It is a land filled with adventure and quite a bit of uncharted territory. It is ruled by Locasta the Good Witch of the North.	The Quadling Country is the land that lies south of the Emerald City. It is made up of several smaller provinces such as the China Country, the Forest of the Fighting Trees, the Hill of the Hammerheads, and others. This kingdom is ruled by Glinda the Good.
To the west lies the Country of the Winkies. Once ruled by the Wicked Witch of the West, this land remained mostly uncharted and avoided for quite sometime. However, under the rule of the Tin Woodman, it has become desirable place to live. Besides its picturesque landscape of mountains and woodland, it was discovered to have fertile farmland as well.	The eastern region of Oz is the Munchkin Country, better known to most as Munchkinland. This community is made up predominatly of farmers, artisans, and merchants, albiet of a smaller stature than citizens of the other dominions of Oz. The country is governed by an elected mayor. However, for several years, his power was superceded by the dictatorship of the Wicked Witch of the East.

Ramblings on Social Commentary

South Park is probably one of the most crass, offensive, and, in some cases, disgusting shows currently running on television.  However, the fact of the matter is that a good portion of its material is real and that's what makes it so wrongly hilarious.  In my personal opinion, its creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone are two of the greatest social commentators of our time.  Many of the series' best episodes pertain to real life issues and current events albeit exaggerated.  I find it funny when people point figures at Parker and Stone and pass judgement on their character.  The "disgusting" aspects of South Park are not purely of their own mind but firmly based in human nature.

Interestingly enough, I just watched an episode that ties back to social media and privacy issues, which we have been discussing in 213.  The episode, while hilarious, had a deeper meaning than just comedy and laughs.  In this particular episode, the students of South Park Elementary get caught up on a gossip website that is harvesting private information and posting it for the whole school to see.  This causes relationship issues, panic, and, in some cases, suicide.  Again, some people would find this distasteful, but the problem is it's true.  Similar events are really happening.  People are posting information and gossip about others with no real regard for the outcome.

South Park is one of those shows that takes our own culture and forces us to watch it through a different lens.  So instead of being disgusted with the creators of the show, I think more people need to be disgusted with our society.  I think this episode is actually meant to be somewhat cautionary.  Watch what you say - You never know who is listening.  Think twice before laughing at someone's personal problems - You never know how it will affect them.

Midterms

So, I believe I survived midterms and one crazy week! I am simply exhausted. On top of midterms and all that I had a lot going on in my life...but, hey, I'm becoming an adult. I'd better get used to balancing all these things. It's hard to believe that break is already half over...but, again, I guess I should just go with it. After all, once I go on to my career, I won't have these little breaks that we are privileged with in school. Time to power down and sleep for two days. See you folks on Wednesday!

Let's try this linky stuff!  See the links below to visit some of my other online spaces:

Find me on Facebook!

Check out my personal blog.

If you're into all that teachy stuff, check out my educational portfolio.

A Creative Journey in Photos

A little creativity and tons of patience create beautiful things.