Final Act: Reflection

I remember the first day of class so clearly. I was scratching my face, when Ms. Thompson called on me to answer a question. I was so surprised and froze for a couple of seconds. To sum it all up, the rest of the summer session is pretty much like the first day; full of surprises. When I first found out the course was going to be taught through a book of key words, and the essays in blog format, I did not know how to react. I was often frustrated at the keywords that we had to read, and often found it difficult to participate in class. The blogs, I thought they were relatively easy to write, until i found out I was not writing it correctly. So as the third week of the quarter approached, I had to find a way to climb back to a better standing grade wise. This was not easy at all. It was still difficult for me to fully engulf myself in the class discussions, but every once in a while I was able to throw in my understandings and opinions on the topics. To aid my quietness in the classroom, I commented on more blogs than usual. By doing so, I was also able to draw ideas from fellow classmates to help improve my own essays. Blogging seems like a easy task, but it is not the case in this class. I struggled tremendously on almost every blog, sometimes spending 4-5 hours on one assignment. At the end of each week, I would anxiously wait for Ms Thompson's comment on my blog. To see her approval by my improvements week after week, not only was I able to sleep better but it made me feel accomplished.

This class is a unorthodox environment for me, and I am glad I stuck to it. This is the first time where I felt I learned something from an English class and not just have to worry about my grades. In the end, good job Ms T.! You've done a great job!

Rock

Rock (1905-10) derived from the Middle English term "rokk(e)" (1300-50). The original use of rock, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, is a geology term used to describe a stone with a large mass that forms a cliff or any other natural prominence. Today, the use of rock closest to its earlier use is used to describe stones of any shape.

The word rock has come a long way since its earliest history. Its use today is extremely versatile, and appears in countless connotations other than its scientific connotation. It first appeared as a genre of music. Rock music originated in the late 1940's, and laid the road for the terms "rock and roll"and "rock star". Early references cited rock music as a musical rhythm accompanied with a strong beat. "The Cotton Pickers..came on with a steady rock that was really groovy." (OED) The term was later mainstreamed and used to describe popular music of the 1970-80's. "This is politics fashioned for the young: ‘the *rock culture’, it is being called." (OED) As the rock music became more popular, so did the diversity of the term "rock". Musicians from other genres especially the hip-hop community, were often referring themselves as rock stars.

In a world of countless slang words, rock has certainly made its mark. It begins from the exclamation of "that rocks" as a way to express how spectacular something is. The term is used to express the weight of the narcotic drugs cocaine. This is considered to be street lingo, and is commonly used by drug dealers or police officers. The word "rock" commonly replaces precious jewels such as diamonds by jewelers . It is even used to inform bartenders to put ice in one's drink; drink on the rocks and having an organism; you rocked my socks.

The word rock has derived into many parts of the English language. Each use of the term means completely different things. Naturally, from a less objective standpoint, there is no clear relationship between "a rock" to describe cocaine and "a rock" to describe a jewel because they are so different socially and literally. After analyzing the original definition of the term, every connotation derived from its origin can all be connected in some way. For rock music to actually be considered to be rock mucic, musicians would need instruments like guitars and drums to produce a certain level of sound and energy. This energy, figuratively, resembles something larger than life. Mountains, like Mount Everest, is more than qualified to be considered larger than life. When a drug uses the phrase "a rock", a customer asking for a "drink on the rocks", or something telling their spouse you "rock my socks" most people would not think of it to mean the mineral. Although different in literal meaning, rock music, and all forms of slang can certainly be connected back to its roots.

Much of the keyword's current connotations are directly linked to today's media. As discussed in class, much of today's media is desperately holding on as part of the mainstream, though this was not the case prior to technological advancements in the world. Rock music is played on more radio stations than any other forms of music. Lifestyle, through reality, second life or cultural differences all connects with the keyword. The use of slang can associate and discriminate people with different lifestyles. Ultimately, only in a society that is being more tolerable will new innovations of languages bloom.

Lesson 1. Don't Be So Naive.

It is a hot summer day and I am impatiently circling the outdoor parking structure of Sacramento's Arden Mall. The raging hot sun beaming down on my car does not make the situation any better. Finally, after what seemed like hours of mindless driving and waiting, I find a parking space cramped between two huge Ford F150 trucks. As I make my way inside the mall, I notice 4 parking spaces right in front of the mall totally unoccupied by anyone. My first thought is to run back to my car and grab one of these spaces before anyone else does. That is until i noticed the following sign:Disability is a great deal in the United States since it makes up a relatively large portion of our population. Over 40 million Americans are disabled according to AMNews.com. My decision to write about the national disability symbol is because of its discrimination by "bunching" individuals and its failure to produce peace.

Although the construction of this pictogram is fairly simplistic, it represents and serves a much greater meaning than just what meets the eye. To further analyze this, the components used to create this sign must be observed first. The picture is a disabled person sitting in a wheel chair with a dark blue background. The complexity of the picture is not complex at all, and lacks realistic human facial features, gender identification, and clothing. Instead, a stick figure is used to create the picture, thus making it rather difficult to distinguish the person's gender since the complexity and diversity of humans is replaced by a stick figure.

The picture, previously stated, is a disabled person sitting in a wheel chair. This alone is discrimination. Of the millions of Americans who are disabled, everyone have different levels of disability. Some cases of disability may be severe, while others not so much. However, the handicap symbols creates the idea that all handicapped people are equally disabled when that simply is not the case. Although there are those with minor disabilities (ie: sprained wrist) who would gladly jump at the opportunity of not having to pay for parking meters or take the time to find a parking space, there are many people (my father) who does not register for a handicap permit because the discrimination is harder to accept than the the perks provided by the government. This is mostly due to how much we, as people, perceive through pictures, and the handicap symbol is a perfect example of that. The symbol's purpose is for everyone to be more aware of those with a disability. People in wheel chairs are very severely disabled since they do not have the ability to walk. The intention of using this disability as the the national symbol for handicapped individuals shows a sense of urgency and sympathy. However, the positives does not quite exceed the negatives. Not only are many handicapped individuals offended because they are not as severely disabled as how others percieve them, but it also leads to discrimminations towards disabled individuals from those who are not. Instead of creating peace and tolerance, the handicap symbol creates instead discrimmination and disruptions.

In Japan, there are levels of disability. Through a numerical series of 1 through 7, doctors percribe the level of disability for each patient through a disability card. Discounts for public transportation, remodeling etc. are given to everyone with a disability card, but the rates are different for each level. This method is seen as very effective because of the equality and respect behind the practice. It not only protects the government from giving too much to those who does not need as much, but also allows others to give help to those who needs it. The United States' method of "bunching" everyone in one class is certainly inferior to that of Japan.

Although the handicap symbol is intended to help disabled individuals and hold public awareness to others, it produces a deeper unintentional meaning. Underneath the surface of the emotionless and simplistic stick figure is a world erupting of discrimmination.

1, 2, 3 Flickr

Recent advancements in technology has allowed more people to communicate, discuss their ideas, and stay connected with the rest of the world. Through social network websites like Facebook and Myspace, its members can stay in touch through comment boxes on individual profiles, or by tagging friends in pictures. Youtube users can record video blogs, while Xanga still offers the traditional form of blogging through words. Flickr offers a completely different approach to communicate with others. It took me awhile, but when I realized what the "Flickr experience" is about, it is actually quite refreshing.

When my group members initially alerted me that our project was going to be about Flickr, I had my doubts. Its intentions was not quite as obvious to me as the previously named websites. I had never heard of this website, and what its objective is. It never occurred to me that a website dedicated specifically to people uploading primarily photographs has any correlation to the concept of "staying connected.". Only after an hour of surfing through Flickr did I begin to understand the concept behind it. Flickr's slogan is "Share your photos. Watch the world." It also has 4 main options new users can choose from, two of them very similar to that of the website's slogan: "Share & stay in touch" and "Explore...". These phrases gave me a much clearer understanding of this kind of networking.

Instead of leaving a one sentence comment on Facebook, or taking a picture with a "myspace pose", Flickr users can truly be who they are. Some people takes pictures of themselves, friends and complete strangers that interests them, while others take artistic pictures of objects. Sharing photos and forming groups is how Flickr users communicate. The website revolves around the pictured uploaded, and only those picture. While there is a comment box on the bottom of each picture for people to comment, what makes this website unique is that it allows people to choose a specific section of a photograph by cropping it and commenting on just that section. With Flickr, people can once again become individuals. In the world we live in today, many people choose to criticize others based on who they are and not by their personalities. Many users has nicknames to stay anonomous and disguise their identity so they can truly express themselves without the fear of others recognizing who they are. This way people can critique each others work (photographs) rather than criticizing the person behind it.

Recognizing the intended audience for this particular style of media has multiple parts to it. Very straight forward, they are people that share similar interests in photographs; whether it is the use of lighting in one photo, or the complete randomness in another. However, as I further explore this website and read some of the comments of certain people. The intended audience is for anyone who uses Flickr. Initially, I prematurely assumed that the only people using Flickr are those who truly felt they have something to express, but I noticed that some people just want anyone to see their photographs. I would like to refer these types of people as attention seeking individuals since they do not belong to a specific group but rather seeks attention from everyone. Lastly, there are the unintended audience. These individuals bombards photographs with useless and distracting comments like "you're so hot, I just want to marry you" and takes away the focus of the author is trying to express in her photograph.

The medium for Flickr is definitely different than other forms of media. It creates a virtual world that allows people to be whoever they wish to be without the fear of being noticed by others. Its users all have different identities, and with each different identity, there is a specific intended audience for the most part. Still there are the unintended audiences who disrupts the focus of the intended audience.

Google Smoogle

So this week in class, we continued the topic of technology. The article for this week was about google. The article talks about how the convenience of the internet is why we are so heavily dependent on the internet, and especially google. This is perhaps the most attractive aspect of google. With a company filled with researchers, developers, and engineers, google is making it easier and easier for its users to find informations just by typing in a few words on the search tool bar. As great as that is, google is more than just an online search engine. Its website, though simplistic in its layout with just a search bar, offers many other countless applications. Gmail, news broadcasting, live satellite, google sports, etc are all found on google. So now, instead of just relying on google as a search engine, other aspects of our lives are also taken over by google. This is both good and bad. Instead of paying for newspapers, we have free news on google, but do we really want to sit in front of the computer every waking moment of our lives? For myself, google has been a huge aspect of my life for the past couple of years. I admit, there are times when instead of going to the library and researching for articles and books, I would just type in a search word on google and get the information that way. Gmail, google's version of email, is another google application that attracts me to google. I had multiple email addresses in the past, but email was never really a huge part of my life until i found gmail. Yahoo and hotmail both carry decent email applications, but their emails are always bombarded with thousands of junk mail that it came to the point that it became too overwhelming to figure out which emails are actually from people that I know. I probably spent more time deleting junk mail than actually reading the ones that matter. With gmail, there is a filter that automatically blocks all junk mail. For the junk mail that does reach my gmail address, gmail provides a separate folder titled "bulk mail" to hold all the junk mail until I delete it all with just one simple click of my mouse. However, the biggest thanks I have for gmail is that instead of receiving phone calls from my parents every waking moment about something as small as remember to go to sleep early, they can just email me instead.

Google recently added another addition to their countless features, Youtube. Youtube is very interesting, not because of the the videos people post on there. Youtube ranks the populartiy of users based on the number of people that subscribes to a particular user. KevJumba, the 6th highest rank on youtube is going to be an incoming freshmen to UC Davis this fall. In one of his videos he brought up the subject of girls. He describes that even though he is so popular in this virtual world with a huge fan base and lots of girls who find him attractive on the internet, in real life he is having a hard time with the ladies. With that said, google is not making us more stupid, but is changing our lives dramatically.

I first came across Mypace during my junior year in high school. In the beginning I was reluctant to participate with this so so called "social networking" website because my initial reaction was that Myspace is just another fad that will surely lose its popularity after a few months. As senior year approached, the majority of my friends had a Myspace account. So not to be left out, I finally created a Myspace account of my own. According to the New York Times article, the majority of Myspace users are over 18 years old. Myspace's Jamie Kantrowitz was quoted saying '"I think there's a huge potential market for luxury advertisers,"' This is interesting because the duration that I was an active participant of the Myspace community, I hardly focused on the advertisements. My biggest concerns were the amount of comments I received everyday, what pictures to display, and who was worthy enough to deem a spot on my top 8 friends list.

Cartier's decision to be one of the first few luxury brands to advertise on Myspace is a bold, but smart move. First, creating a web page on Myspace is virtually free, a dream come true for any business. Second, since most Myspace users are lower to middle class, these are exactly the kind of people Cartier should advertise to. I know it may sound strange, but let me explain. I recently attended a senminar about the difference between class levels. In this senminar I learned that the majority of Americans are lower or middle class. These are the type of people that would most likely spend their money on "stuff" instead of investing them. Sure, there are families who does save a substantial amount, but does not become rich because investing their money is too much of a risk for them. Instead, all the money goes to materialistic items. Cartier is smart to realize and capitalize this notion from a business point of view.

Here is a quote from my friend, "The next big item I'm saving up for is a Cartier watch."

Technology is one of the topics heavily discussed in class this week. Blackberry mobile phones was the example used. I, myself, have been a fan of technological advancement for quite a while. While some may believe that technology is a corruption that is responsible for pollution, and our general laziness among other factors, I would have to disagree. Technology is truly a blessing that enriched the lives we lead today. During these recent years, more and more motor companies are developing hybrid vehicles. This not only lessen pollution, but at the same time, does not disrupt our daily lives of getting from point A to point B. Some may disagree and suggest taking public transportation or simply walking is the way to go. That is an option, but if this is the case, we would have to be more flexible with our lives and there are people who just can afford to be that flexible.
One topic about technology that I find interesting is that most people tend to think that technology is taking over our lives. Many tasks that we used to do ourselves are instead replaced by technology. For me, this is a something positive rather than negative. I admit that I bring my cellphone with me everywhere, so whenever I need to call someone all the phone numbers are stored in my cellphone. This is a much better method than memorizing all 100+ phone numbers i have stored, or even carrying a bulking phone book with me. The point of technology is accessibility and most people tend to lose track of this. Mp3 players are also another great example of technology. I used to have a Sony CD player, and a expensive one at that. I loved it because it was a gift from my parents, but more so because now I can take my songs on the go. The only problem is that I have to choose 20 tracks out of the 10,000 songs on my computer. When Apple introduced the ipod for the first time, I brought one asap and ever since that day, I never missed a beat. Technology has made my life much easier and happier, and I for one does not have anything negative to say about it.

blog 1

Blogging is not something new to me. I had multiple blog accounts throughout middle school and the beginning of high school. However, I was never able to commit to blogging. At most I would post some blogs for the first couple of days my account was set up, but after a couple of weeks I would never log back in. Recently I created yet another blog account just to write down some thoughts. Though each entry was not relatively long, it did help me organize my thoughts and clear my mind. Blogging for me is much like a public diary for anyone to read. It is not personal whatsoever unless you want to make your entries private. Then it becomes more of a diary rather than a journal. Whenever i remembered to post a new blog, I never held back on my feelings and expressed everything that I needed to get out of me. Ultimately, blogging for me is a great resource to write down ideas and express emotions


Writing is not my strong suit. I struggled in my English classes throughout middle school. In the past, many of teachers criticized me on my sentence structure. However, I did learn to become a better writer in the past couple of years, and did quite well in my English classes within the last couple of years. Sometime when I have an English assignment due, I would look back on my previous assignments for inspiration.