From Pencils to Pixels

 According to Dennis Baron's article, "Pencils to Pixels," the gateway to literacy is the computer. In a sense I agree with this. The landscape of literacy is rapidly changing, and computers already are a huge part of literacy. Soon, they'll take up an even larger part, and may totally dominate the field. Writing is a technology in its own right because it is a way for us to organize data and information. The pencil is a form of technology, because it is a tool we as people use to produce. Plato argued that writing was bad for humans, because it could inhibit one's memory due to that person just being able to write something down to pull it back out later when needed. A pro of the written word is that it is a good way of keeping records on things, and it can "travel through time." However, written word inhibits physical interaction between people, and it can also be faked. Henry David Thoreau connected to the pencil because his family owned a pencil producing factory. He also spent many years of his life working on improving the pencil technology. The telephone, much like other communications technologies before it, was looked at as impractical at first. However, as its use began to become more widespread, people began to like it. Phones changed the way people talked, along with how often they could talk to each other. With these new digital technologies, it is much easier for a person to commit fraud. That being said, they have also improved our abilities to detect fraud. Nevertheless, these days people are much more skeptical of others and less trustworthy. In his conclusion, Baron is trying to get the point across that just because you are skeptical about something, doesn't mea you should swear it off;if that happened, we may have never seen improvements such as the telephone or the computer. Baron's definition of literacy is very much the ability to adapt. To be literate today, you must be able to transcend from one mean of communication to another.

21st Century Writing

Three challenges of writing in the 21st century that Yancey also describes as opportunities are developing new models of writing, designing a new curriculum supporting said models, and creating models for teaching that curriculum. Yancey explains that writing has faced many challenges in the past, but it has prolonged "in spite of" societies that devalued writing, prohibitions against colored or female writers, and objections to young writers. Yancey's main argument is that we as people need to write more freely and write more than we do now, as well as come up with ways to teach others to do the same. Yancey says that writing doesn't receive the type of cultural respect that reading does because of societies inability or lack of "want to" to change things; reading can control what people think, while writing allows people to break free and think creatively, outside of the box. Reading makes a person feel warm and intimate, while writing creates a feeling of hard work. I can remember recently I was reading a book about a favorite musician of mine, I would get lost in the book and feel like I was actually in his life. Writing, however, doesn't provide that same feeling of affinity, as it feels more like work. Many people, as well as myself, associate writing with work or test taking, as well as other aspects of academia. Process writing is the process in which an author or a student writes their paper. Factors of process writing are invention, drafting, review, reflection, revising and rewriting and publishing. Self-sponsored writing is a type of writing that belongs to the author, not an institution, and is free and composed for the use of anyone. The 21st century can be considered the Age of Composition because more people than ever are writing their own stuff, if only for the sake of participation. Everyone that writes is in some way, shape, or form is a composer and is contributing to the world's pool of compositions. The point Yancey is trying to make in this article is that literacy isn't just starting to change, but it already has changed, and is still changing everyday. Literacy is not just one thing, but it covers all types of writing. Literacy is defined by Yancey is the ability to read and write, but being able to write and contribute just as well, if not better, than you can read and take in.

A Brave, New World

In Clive Thompson's "A Brave New World of Digital Intimacy," he claims that our lives are becoming more and more public due to social media, and therefore we are making more connections and broadcasting our lives further. In an interview with Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg, Zuckerburg tells Thompson that he introduced the News Feed so users wouldn't have to spend their whole day navigating profiles to see what their friends were up to; it would just appear in front of them. This just goes to show how short are attention spans are rapidly becoming, and that we don't want to take on more than just small bits of information at a time. The article defines ambient awareness as incessant contact with people; with Facebook, you can stay in almost constant, although probably not very detailed, contact with people you are connected with. The paradox of this type of awareness is that we "get to know" people without actually getting to know them in the traditional sense. Although we may be friends with them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter, we've never actually seen or spoke to them in real life. This can be both good and bad; it can help you connect with people you may have otherwise never known of, but then again it can restrict or take away from the relationships you have with people you meet on a day to day basis. An ambient update is a tiny, otherwise irrelevant update, such as "making a sandwich," or "I'm not feeling very well." When Thompson talks about social media being skimmable, he means it in a sense that we may read some of them, and we may skip some of them; we just skim over them as a whole, never really taking any of them into deep thought. This relates to the conversations we've had in class about literacy being able to read something as well as take it in and analyze it. Our "weak ties," as Thompson calls them, are people we're not really acquainted with, just connected via social media. Like I said above, this can help and hurt us; we've made these connections with people we otherwise never would have had contact with, which can be good, but these weak ties can take away from our strong ties, or our actual real life acquaintances. As Thompson says in his article, 20-something's feel pressured to stay on Facebook not so they can keep others updated and see what others are doing, but so they can monitor their online identity. This article defines literacy in the 21st century as being able to read in a traditional sense (a book) and in a modern sense (social media), but also being able to take in and interpret as well as analyze what you have read, not just skimming.

The Cognitive Surplus

In Shirky's article, he explains how the cognitive surplus is the "free time" we as a society have. What we do with that free time, however, is our choice. Shirky argues that when we are first presented this free time, that we are not very productive with it. However, after this period of not being productive, we seem to regain focus and adjust what we are doing with this surplus of time. Literacy in this article is defined as being able to actively participate instead of being passive and sitting back and watching. This definition differs from the other two articles we have read; Wolf and Carr mainly focus on being able to interpret the information in front of you, while Shirky emphasizes actually being part of producing or sharing the information. This article is significant because it calls for society to quit wasting its time doing non-productive things and start to once again invent and produce information.

What The Internet Is Doing To Our Brains

In the article, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" the author warns the readers to be somewhat skeptical of the current wave of technology and the Internet. Though it can be a good, even great thing, we need not allow it take over our lives and make our lives more autonomous. The author backs this up by describing how a constant use of the internet has affected his thinking process; the internet provides instant access to almost infinite information, so it has caused him to become lazy, and he can't seem to stay focused on long passages of reading anymore. In this article, literacy is defined as not just being able to read and write, but to be able to take in and meaningfully interpret whatever you are reading. That definition is very similar to the definition of literacy described by "Socrates' Nightmare." The Internet has changed the thought process and mental habits of society by making them want everything automatically. If it cannot be found almost autonomously, or at least in a short amount of time, then it is on to the next source. The author provides personal conversations with his fellow bloggers, articles from professionals (e.g., Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf), and a study by scholars from University College London to back up his claims. Most of this evidence is effective, as it proves the Internet is somewhat handicapping us by scientific fact or at least by survey. In the end, the author is cautioning us to be skeptical of the Internet and its ever growing reach, but not to totally swear it off just yet, as new technology, although with its downsides, has proved very beneficial in the past.

Identity and Social Media

Aziz Ansari has quite the Twitter fan base at just over 3 million followers. You'd be hard pressed to find someone who hasn't at least heard of Aziz, due to his many stand up specials and role on the television show "Parks and Recreation." Looking over Aziz's timeline, the majority of the tweets you'll see are just witty remarks and jokes. Many of them had some sort of relevance when they were posted, such as his live tweeting of TV shows, while others are just completely random. Occasionally, he'll tweet something to do with self-promotion, like when he has a new special, TV show, etc. out. He's not like many other comedians on Twitter in that he keeps his feed, for the most part, clean. He's extremely funny and entertaining on Twitter, which can only help build upon his already impressive fan base.

Social Media

 If someone was to take a look at my social media profiles, they'd see a guy who liked to goof off and have fun and loved his friends and family. I don't post much on Facebook, but I update my Twitter and Instagram pretty regularly. Most of what I put on social media is either pictures or updates about me and friends hanging out, about sports, or just trying to be funny. This is a pretty accurate representation of me, and I don't think my social media accounts hold anything that could incriminate me or hurt me in the future. I feel like I have an image to uphold, and I don't want to do anything to possibly hurt that. I do my best to not post anything on my accounts that could come back to haunt me in the future. On rule I have is that if I didn't want my mother to read it, then I shouldn't post it. Following that helps me keep a clean profile, and hopefully keeps my social networks from endangering a possible future job or relationship.

Making an Interpretive Leap

     When I was choosing a song, it wasn't that difficult for me. I love Ed Sheeran, and "The A Team" is arguably his most popular, if not best, song. The video starts out with a woman crying over a frozen body. It seems as if the woman was very close with the one lying in front of her, who appears to be dead. Then, the camera immediately cuts to the very same girl who appeared to be dead waking up on a park bench. This is a flashback, and eludes to the girl being homeless. Then the music starts: "White lips/ Pale face/ Breathing in the snow flakes." It sounds like Sheeran is setting his song in winter. But in the video, that is not the case; it looks to be in the late summer or fall. So what could he mean? The next part sheds some light on this. "Struggling to pay rent/ Long nights/ Strange men." The girl is hurting for money, obviously, and it sounds like she is resorting to prostitution in order to pay the bills. Sheeran further documents the girl's struggle and downward spiral in the chorus. "But lately/ Her face seems/ Slowly sinking, wasting/ Crumbling like pastries." A few lines later, we hear, "We're just under the upper hand/ Go mad for a couple grams/ And she don't wanna go outside/ Tonight/ And' in a pipe, she flies to the motherland/ And sells love to another man." Now we finally know what is happening with this poor girl; she is hurting for money, so she starts to sell sex in order to make a quick buck. This sends her into a dark place in her life, and she turns to drugs. She has to get high ("Fly to the motherland") just to have sex now. Maybe this is what Sheeran was referring to when he sang "Breathing in the snowflakes." The girl was most likely inhaling some type of drug. A life like this would surely cause someone depression and unending harm, something someone would surely want to get out of. However, in the video, the girl is still roaming the streets, looking for money to be made. It's her way of life now. Not only is it her source of income for rent, but its the only way she can get her drug fix. The next verse starts off by showing us her living conditions; "Ripped gloves/ Rain coat/ Try to swim to stay afloat/ Dry house/ Wet clothes." It sounds like the money she has been making hasn't been enough for both her rent and drugs. This seems to be the case in the video, as she is found sitting out on the street. The drugs have her hooked now; getting high is a priority.
    The song comes to its climax here. "But Angel will die/ Covered in white/ Closed eyes/ Hoping for a better life/ This time/ We'll fade out tonight/ Straight down the line." He is actually referring to the girl as Angel here. She's "hoping for a better life" this time, and she inhales her next line. But it's also her last, as Sheeran sings "This time/ We'll fade out tonight/ Straight down the line." In the video, here it shows her getting in a car with another man. When they get to his place, they sleep together and she takes his money. Almost immediately we see that money go out of her hands and into another in exchange for drugs. She returns home, lights up, and falls back. When the song ends, instead of saying "Angels to fly" like he has previously, he says "Angels to die," alluding to us that Angel has died. Which is just what we see in the video, which takes us back to the first scene; Angel's friend crying over her dead body.

From Flappers to Rappers

  Why did the producers of "The Great Gatsby" choose to infuse current hip-hop into their movie about the Roaring 20's? They wanted to modernize the story, in a way; they wanted it to appeal to today's audience. The Roaring 20's were a time of scandal, a period of edginess and distinction. So why not infuse music that's about the same things in the movie? I personally thought it was a very good idea, and really enjoyed the soundtrack. The music in the movie seemingly takes us back to those days of craziness, but also provides us with a sense of familiarity by providing us with current artists that most of today's population have either heard of or listen to. This created a freshness that, for me, seemed to make a different story than the original, but one that was enjoyable nevertheless. It somewhat updated the story of "The Great Gatsby," but still kept true to the original. A song that I think really does a good job at modernizing the movie is Lana Del Rey's "Young and Beautiful." The song itself sounds like it belongs in a movie about the Roaring 20's, but her distinct familiar voice and the music accompanying her gives the song a sense of reinvention, which is just what the producers were trying to do with this soundtrack.
  Another thing the new music does is it adds a sense of excitement to the movie that original jazz music just couldn't do today. Yes, that was the music of that time period, but it has been almost 100 years since then. Twenties jazz music just could not get the sort of reaction and involvement that the music of today can get. For example, "The Great Gatsby" soundtrack features a song will.i.am, "Bang, Bang." When it starts out, it doesn't really seem exciting, it doesn't really seem like a song that belongs at a party today (however, that's exactly the type of music they had in the 20's). But after the first 30 seconds of the song, the tempo takes a dramatic turn, and your brought right back into the present, which is what the goal of this soundtrack was in the first place.

Process and Product

 When I normally write papers, I usually write from beginning to end. Other than a little correcting grammar and tweaking the body, my rough draft usually strongly resembles my final copy. But that wasn't the case with this paper. I knew ahead of time I needed two different rough drafts, along with my final copy, so I decided before I started that I would most definitely not write the way I normally do. And honestly, it helped. Knowing my first rough draft wouldn't be graded on quality, I kind of just put my thoughts about my commercial down on paper as soon as they crossed my mind. This made it easier to comb through my ideas, instead of just sorting through them in my head. After I organized my thoughts on paper, I was actually surprised at how legible my rough draft sounded. I really liked having to have my rough draft turned in a week before my final copy. This way, I really couldn't procrastinate until the last minute, and it gave me much more time to edit my paper. I also really enjoyed the workshops. I was a little apprehensive about them beforehand, but they really helped me see some things I do't think I could have without someone else's opinion. I can say I am more satisfied with this paper than I have been with any I've wrote in a very long time.

Crossfire Analysis

Going on into Crossfire, I was expecting to get emotional, educated arguments between two parties about politics; I was wrong. Instead, what I got was an “I’m right, you’re wrong,” type of argument that made very little impact on me. It made so little of an impact that I cannot even remember one of the men’s names, and I refer to the other one as “Bow Tie Guy.” One aspect of the show that did interest me, however, was Jon Stewart. Not only was Mr. Stewart the only one of the bunch that seemed to be open minded, he also brought a little bit of humor to the table, which made an otherwise unwatchable show somewhat enjoyable. Stewart claimed that Crossfire was “hurting America.” If every episode was like this one, I can see where he is coming from. The basis of this episode was Stewart making points on how the show was failing its responsibility to the public, and being completely biased. Instead of making reasonable logical statements and arguing with Jon Stewart and his position on the show, Bow Tie Guy just resorted to personal attacks, making him look very immature and unprofessional. Jon Stewart did make his own personal attacks, but not as arguments; he was just trying to interject humor into their debate (he is a comedian, after all). Stewart keeps asking, “Why are we fighting?” because it I clear he does not want to argue like this. However, Bow Tie guy is set on trying to make Stewart look dumb, oblivious to how dumb he is making himself look. The two go on for what seems like forever, with very little interaction from the other guy. Stewart remains mostly calm and collected throughout the whole thing, while Bow Tie Guy keeps getting worked up and angry, making himself look like more of a fool in the process.

Trouble with Writing

  I always dreaded writing assignments in high school. Do I hate writing papers? No, not in the least. Am I a bad writer? Not really. As a matter of fact, I’ve always received very satisfactory grades on writing assignments. The problem with writing, for me, is starting a paper. Procrastinating is never an option for me when it comes to writing, because I know it will most definitely take some time for me to finish. Choosing the topic and main ideas of my paper was always a strenuous task for me. There seem to be so many different things to say and ways to start, that I feel overwhelmed. Even when the subject is predetermined, I still have a hard time writing. In high school, I would brainstorm with other students in my class, and it always seemed as if they could come up with an introduction much easier than I could. Not me, however. I would almost have one, but as I began to critique it myself, I would always think, “That’s not good enough,” or “I can do better than that.” It seemed like it would take forever just for me to come up good introduction to my paper. After the introduction is written, and my topic is finally “set in stone,” my ideas start to flow much easier than before. It is at this point that I am comfortable with my writing. I find it very easy after I have a map of my main ideas and bullet points drawn out to expand on those to add body to my paper. As long as my topic interests me, and I can get through constructing an introduction, then I have very little trouble writing a paper that makes sense and effectively gets my point across to the reader.