Relationships (Part 1)

What do you think relationships in the U.S. mostly emphasize?

I think relationships in the U.S. are highly focused on social status as well as sex. In a lot of cases these relationships aren't viewed as something to last and that is partially why we see such a high rate in divorces.

What things do you see are important to a relationship in U.S. culture today? Is this a good or a bad thing? Why?

I believe, for one, that the U.S. culture is caught up with sex and a physical attraction to one another. We also see relationships based on convenience for taxes and such. I view this as an unfortunate side of our culture because as stated before it leads to divorces and unhappy relationships.

How does culture affect your own relationships?

I can definitely see sub cultures affecting my relationships, with my interests in gaming and memes, alot of my relationships with friends are based around this sub culture.

How does the media affect what people look for in friendships and romantic relationships?

I think the media harms the fabric of our relationships because we see celebrity relationships which have a 'strange' habit of lasting a short time and since we idolize these figure I think we get the idea that its alright if our relationships last a short time as well.

Support, Style, Organization, and Presentation

Define the following terms in your own words. Do not use textbook definitions, but imagine how you would describe these terms to other students.

1. Thesis: A thesis is the main point you are trying to get across.

2. Narratives: Narratives are like little stories included in a speech that can help break up a structured approach and can help make the audience more interested

3. Analogies: Analogies are comparisons you can use to make a point more clear

4. Testimony: A testimony is the opinion of someone on the subject at hand.

5. Presentation aids: Presentation aids is an immune deficiency one acquires through unprotected joint presentations. (actually it is extra materials used to make a presentation more involved like visual aids like a fossil if you are giving a presentation on fossilization)

6. Models: Models are replicas used to show a something complex a great example is DNA and the double-helix.

7. Motivated Sequence:  A motivated sequence is a pattern where you  motivate the audience to sympathize with your cause.

8. Orientation: This is directing the audience to the purpose of the speech or what it is going to cover.

9. Closure: Closure is the wrapping up of the speech. Lets the audience know that you have completed your speech
Name 3 examples of presentation aids.

1. Graphs
2. Charts
3. Videos

Name 6 patterns that are involved with Public Speaking.
1. Temporal
2. Spatial
3. Topical
4. Problem-Solution
5. Cause-Effect/Effect-Cause
6. Motivated

What is the difference between a conclusion and closure?

The conclusion summarizes what you have your speech, mentioning your thesis, its importance and the main points of the speech where as the closure is the finishing off of the speech creating a clear and definitive end.

Find an article in a magazine or newspaper and summarize it in 4 sentences below.
1. Article Title: No Free “Freebird”: All your excuses for pirating music have been nuked – by record companies
2. Summary: This article talks about the issue of buying digital music and the pirating of said music. It talks about the problems of Apple’s iTunes store in its beginnings and the compatibility issues it had between devices. It makes an analogy of pirating music as compared to stealing vinyl records. It also breaks down the way royalties are split up and how they are going to be changed to better support the artist, eliminating the reason to pirate as a means of protesting record labels.


Based on your own performance, and your observations of others in class, please describe five ways in which you will make a conscious improvement during your final.

• ·         From reading this chapter and watching you in class I definitely think that narratives would make our presentations a lot better.

• ·         Visual aids are definitely a plus and I can see how doing this with the blogs is helping us with this aspect.

• ·         Working on a good closure could help us to avoid the “and that’s about it” issue you have told us to avoid.

• ·         We could also work on our conclusion with summarizes the thesis, main points, and the importance.

• ·         Working on engaging the audience and making them sympathize with you and your topic

Introduction, Conclusion, Repeat 2 (Million Dollar Ideas)

Gaming has come a long way since its beginnings, but lately it seems like it has hit a bump and the road. Most big game studios are releasing sequels and generic First Person Shooters instead of innovating. The indie scene however continues the innovation in this field creating ingenuity in their games and progressing the field in areas besides graphics. Unfortunately,  independent games don’t always have the funding  to fully realize their dreams, but with a fund for these indie developers we could see innovation in the marketplace, increase in jobs for independent developers, and a less stressful production period without publishers.

With this indie fund, we can expect to see innovation in the field as well as a more positive working environment without the pressures of publishers and the restrictions they make. It is possible that this fund will also influence mainstream games allowing for more creativity and a step away from the usual. This will allow for a beneficial progression in gaming that will hopefully continue on into the future.

Since its beginnings in 2003, Child’s Play has been dedicated to improving the lives of children in hospitals throughout the world. Through fundraisers and day-to-day donations Child’s Play uses the money it earns to supply hospitals with books, games, gaming consoles, toys, and many other things to help make kids’ stays less difficult. In the past year, Child’s play has raised just short of $2 million and with the good work they do and the willingness of the general public to support Child’s Play’s cause I think it a good charity to support.

Through events like dinner auctions and gaming marathons, Child’s Play manages to find many venues and means for receiving donations. Even with the large sum of money passing through Child’s Play, the organization only takes what it needs to continue giving, an amount the has yet to exceed 5%. With this caring attitude and the general joy this charity brings to kids in hospital, Child’s Play is a charity worthy of our support.

We see them in science fiction movies and TV shows, robots with the ability to think on their own accord, but as of today, we have yet to reach the technology to truly create artificial intelligence. Everyday we make breakthroughs in the field of robotics with machines capable of learning, but there is still a big step before we can reach the technology to make machines self aware. Although we have yet to figure this out, we get closer everyday to creating a robotic entity capable of thought that by itself could help to further scientific discovery.

 

As with Project Milo and certain conversation programs like cleverbot we see a glimpse of what is to come. Although it might seem strange or straight out of science fiction this breakthrough could lead to further breakthroughs and does not mean bipedal human replicas walking around, but rather this AI could be confined to a computer tower or the likes. In this way we can take huge steps into the future and set new boundaries in the field of science and technology.

Abstract, Citation, Repeat

Tetris

The Tetris Saga. 25 Jan 2005. Atari Gaming Headquarters.  18 Dec 2011. <http://www.atarihq.com/tsr/special/tetrishist.html>.

“Tetris is one of the few games that achieves ultimate popularity. It is remarkably simple, yet remarkably difficult. It's been ported to every computer and game console known to man, and has sold millions of cartridges, tapes, and disks across the land.”

This quote kind of hits home because it shows just how popular this game is and touches upon why it is this way. It shows how widespread this game is with it being on every console possible and the fact that it being so simple yet so hard shows how this game caters to both to casual gamers as well as ‘hardcore’ gamers. Overall this source is nice because it covers the entire history of Tetris with all of its difficulties and triumphs throughout its past.

 

Pokemon

History of Pokemon.  15 Dec 2011. Bulbapedia. 18 Dec 2011. <http://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/History_of_Pok%C3%A9mon>

“North America received Red and Blue Versions, as well as the anime, in September 1998 (the anime on the 7th and the games on the 30th), and soon everywhere else began to play the games on the Game Boy under the slogan Gotta Catch 'em All!. The Trading Card Game was also introduced to North America on January 9th, 1999 by Wizards of the Coast. The Electric Tale of Pikachu became the first Pokémon manga to be translated to English when VIZ Media started publishing it on September 28th, 1999.”

This quote introduces Pokemon’s entrance into the U.S. and shows the variety of mediums it came in from the games and cards to the manga (graphic novels).  This source itself is wonderful because it goes through the entire history of Pokemon including how it became popular in Japan and the rest of the world. It also gives small and interesting facts like how when localizing the game for the U.S. they considered redoing the designs of the Pokemon because they were worried the cuteness of their designs would not appeal to westerners.

Id Software

Id Software: A History in Games. 15 Aug 2011. GamesRadar. 18 Dec 2011. <http://www.gamesradar.com/id-software-a-history-in-games>

“With the likes of Doom and Quake to its name, the studio is considered the father of the modern day first-person-shooter and creator of the multiplayer formula that has made the FPS genre the most popular on the planet.”

This quote gives a couple examples of the many breakthroughs this company made in the computer game field. It mentions how it was the creator of the FPS genre and also the first to make a multiplayer for this. Though this quote doesn’t mention it, the rest of the article goes on to tell us about the seamless side-scrolling code they developed as well as their delving into the 3D dimension in gaming.

Thesis, Conclusion, Repeat

Tetris

First released in 1984, the game Tetris was a mile stone in video gaming. The brain child of Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris has gone on to break into the public’s eye and remain popular even to this day. But what is it about this seemingly simple game that makes it so appealing and such a pop hit. The key to Tetris’ success is in its simplicity, it is easy to pick up, is very addicting, and has a sense of nostalgia after all these years.

The low entrance level in terms of difficulty, its addictive gameplay, and its overall familiarity have kept Tetris popular over the years. The many spin-offs and replicas have also helped to keep the game fresh giving updated adaptations for a newer generation. With all of this Tetris has truly weathered the ages and has fortified itself as a timeless masterpiece.

Pokemon

At the end of the 1990’s a craze known as Pokemon swept the United States, but where did it come from and how did it manage to make its way into the houses of America’s youth? Beginning as a game for the new and cool gaming system the Gameboy, Pokemon thrived on the inner need for perfection and collecting. With the addition of a card game and a TV series, Pokemon was able to grow in popularity from its expanse throughout mediums.

From the seed planted by its game in 1998 and up through and 770+ (and counting) episode TV series Pokemon has managed to remain in pop culture. With its compulsion to “collect ‘em all” and the gratification of raising a strong and well-balanced team in the game, Pokemon managed to capture the imaginations of kids across the school playground. Through this, Pokémon was able to sweep across this country and become an unprecedented success.

Id software

In the early 90’s John Carmack, John Romero, Tom Hall, and Adrian Carmack came together to form id Software, a gaming company that would forever change the landscape of gaming. Until this point, computer games had always been second behind games for consoles like Nintendo, but through hard work and creativity id software began to pave the way for computer gaming. With the development of game engines and 3D graphics id software was able to change the state of computer gaming forever.

With these implementations of game engines and a shift to the 3^rd dimension in graphics id was able to change the way computer games were done. With these changes we began to see other companies begin to follow in id’s footsteps creating similarly impressing games. In this way id was able to set a new standard in gaming which even to this day they continue to push.

 

If your interested here's a cool documentary of sorts on id Software I thought you might find interesting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YreEwtV7D0 there are multiple parts, so it ends up being fairly long, but since you have expressed an interest in the technologies used in video gaming I thought you might enjoy some of the history of these technologies. 

Never enough time for sentimentality...

Here is a letter I sent to my Grandma recently

The Perfect Day

A Perfect Day In Paris

The perfect day, from the very start too many things rush to my mind on what I would want I don't think it would all fit in a day, but I'm sure when I look back on this I will come up with things I forgot so I'll try to make it all fit and if not oh well. First off I would wake up early, probably 6 o'clock or so to get an early start on the day, but unlike usual I will feel well rested. I would probably have been dreaming of some fantastic adventure or something like I usually do which is already part of my regular routine.

Fun and Action Packed Dreams

Breakfast would of course be ready and would consist of waffles, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, some sugary cereal perhaps Reese's Puffs, and of course milk to drink. After eating I would not feel stuffed or like I ate to much as is usually the case, but rather feel energetic and ready for the day ahead. It is probably 6:45 now and the sun is beginning to rise, painting the sky all sorts of beautiful colors. Me and my girlfriend are sitting on a bench watching it and marveling at the scene and the silhouette of the Eiffel Tower (Did I forget to mention we're in Paris? I guess we are so yea). It is at this point that I get down on my knee and pull out a ring and ask my girlfriend to marry me. She says yes! what a great start to the day and it's only 7:15.

A Sunrise Like This Only Prettier

We spend a good portion of the morning strolling around the streets of Paris, trying baguettes and admiring the architecture and seeing some of the sights like the Arc de Triomphe. After our stroll through Paris my girlfriend goes off to do some shopping while I head back to the house (Guess we are renting a place in Paris for our stay rather than staying at a hotel) where I spend some time gaming on my computer, reading, and drawing. Around 12 my girlfriend returns from her shopping with some new clothes and shoes. We then make our way to a corner cafe for a lovely lunch.

What a Lovely Place to Eat

After lunch we will make our way to a movie which will conveniently be in English (or have subtitles) for people like me who do not actually speak French. Following the movie we will again roam around the streets of Paris with my girlfriend acting as my tour guide having been here before. We will see Notre Dame, as well as look out from the top of the Eiffel Tower. Perhaps we will throw a paper airplane from the the top to see how far it goes (Naturally it would land in a recycling bin so we wouldn't be littering). My girlfriend would continue showing me around taking me to places she went when she was last here and telling me all about it. Eventually we'd make our way back as the clouds gather for a pleasant afternoon rain. Me and my girlfriend will cuddle on the porch of the house, looking out as the raindrops fall and listening to the sounds they make hitting the roof. As the rain subsides we meet up with both our families (My parents and sister, and her parents, brother, and extended family who are always around) and go out for a big family dinner. The dinner would be more Italian than French with some nice pasta dishes and some good wine. As the sun sets and the lights go on, we say goodbye to our families as we head out again to wander the streets of Paris, only this time, at night.

Notre Dame and the River Seine

Though it has stopped raining the air will be misty and refreshing. We will make our way through the streets transformed from their daytime counterparts with the lights and the atmosphere. We eventually would make our way along the river Seine admiring the view and again seeing Notre Dame. And as the day comes to a close the two of us will be walking, me with my arm around her, through the lit streets of Paris at night.