Blog #5

I think if I had to live in the woods and write a very substantial piece that would be read for ages and ages to come, I could probably do it. Okay...maybe not, but I don't think it would be that horrible after awhile. It seems like with everything we've been reading in class everybody just wants to talk about our reliance on technology, but I think it's very important to realize that relying on what we call "new-age technology" isn't that much different than what people used to do in the 30s, or 1800s, or anything really. I'm pretty sure as soon as the first man/men created fire, they weren't going to talk about how awesome it was to die in their caves...just like how when the radio came about, EVERYONE had a radio, they listened to the radio all the time, at night they would sit next to their radios for hours listening to the news or what was happening. The president would broadcast speeches where the entire American public would tune in to listen to what was going on. That is millions of people sitting next to a radio. I think now that the population has increased, a long with technology, I don't see anything wrong with sitting infront of a computer/always on your phone/etc. etc. These people are simply embracing the 21st century to its fullest. I commend people that don't use technology, but at the same time...why not? Everyone uses some type of technology. The Amish use carriages to ride around in with lights on the back. There are countless types of technology in that (wheel, electronics, harness for horse etc.) so I don't think there is a single person that doesn't use technology at all.

I think technology needs to be a lot more broadly defined, because I don't think many people share my definition for it. I really just think technology is something that helps a person accomplish a task. Any task, for any reason, is technology to me. I don't think we should go back to using bad technology because people think we are too "addicted" to ours. We simply use what is available to us, and I don't really see the difference between what countless other generations have done across the globe. Without many things the Greeks invented, society would have gone in circles. Without many war-tactics the Mongols created, including their own bows, war would never have kept evolving. The point is I think everyone has created a type of technology that they are reluctant to let go of once they have it, and I don't think adults/teenagers/children in the 21st century are any different.

Blog #4

I sort of agree that we are the dumbest generation. In some regards, I don't think so. I mean, a lot of kids I know, especially in this class are very smart guys and gals, and I'm honored to have discussions such as these with other intelligent people. While it seems like our class may not be the majority of the US, I think it is a good representation of a good portion of todays youth. I think in todays' society everyone wants to succeed. They use anything they can to succeed, including all the technology we have at our disposal compared to everyone else.

Technology has definitely done some negative things to our generation though. From the advent of the television, to cell-phones, to the crazy new properties of the internet, we rely on our technology more and more. For instance, I have a Kindle with 3G, so I can essentially go on the internet from anywhere, at any time. This is useful because I can mapquest (mapquest.com is a site for directions) to anywhere I need to go, and since I just got back from Harrisburg by the light of my Kindle and mapquest, it definitely is relevant to me! If someone would have handed me a map when I was in Harrisburg and told me "Find your way home!" I would have shook my head and called AAA.

So, in those ways, I can definitely see what everyone is talking about. It's not easy for some adults to adjust, and I have a lot of respect for people that don't need to look up answers to things I ask them on their smartphones, which is what the world is coming too I think. Just like math scores dropped all around the US when the calculator was introduced, I believe IQ scores will begin dropping as smartphones become more and more popular.

Calculator study : http://scimath.unl.edu/MIM/files/research/SheetsC.pdf

Blog #3

Second Skin was a very intriguing documentary because it really shows the lives of some people that take gaming to an extreme, particularly MMORPGs. I think the difference between those and "online gaming" is because you have a "life" in those games, while in let's say, Call of Duty, you're a nameless person that dies X times and "kills" X people. You never really change as that nameless person, and you have a username but that isn't your entire life.

While on the other hand, in an MMORPG, you start with X character at level 1, and go from (let's take WoW on current day basis which I believe the max level is 85?) 1-85, and you have a sort of attachment with this avatar of yours, and during this time you build up this character to reflect your inner whatever, to show everyone else in this virtual world what you are "really" like. In real life you might be 30 living in your parents basement, eating a bag of cheetos (the classic gamer stereotype), which isn't exactly what most people would view as successful, but when you log onto WoW, you are this level 85 god-figure that leads a "guild" and does amazing "raids" and is able to completely dominate and subjugate anything and everything.

So in that way, I can see the appeal with these types of games. I think unless you're in the position those people are in, it's very hard to understand why they are addicted to those things. Everyone has their own addictions. If those people were all multi-millionaires, perhaps they would like life a lot more and not even have the time for WoW. Most of those people have what they consider to be boring jobs, boring lives, and they don't like being just "fine" in life. They want to be more than that, but they can't in real life, so they turn to their virtual spaces to become something they can't in real life. Perhaps I cannot understand why they would do this now, but if I broke my back and lost all usage of limbs below my waist, I'm sure becoming level 85 in WoW and having a ton of friends that don't judge me because I can't walk would make me a pretty happy person, and would give me a reason to wake up everyday.

Blog #2

I think the readings in class so far were very interesting, but I didn't understand some of "It's gotta be the cheese". Culture Jam was/is very interesting so far and I can see where the Author is coming from. I don't understand why you would pick cheese, of all things, to compare something too. Not only that, but I really don't understand where these lines come in...

"who killed Emmit Till - it's gotta be the cheese
who trained and armed Latin American torture squads - it's gotta be the cheese 
who shot J.F.K., J.R, Ewing, J.C.Penny - it's gotta be the cheese"

I have no idea what those 3 lines have to do with the poem at all. America isn't the greatest country at all, but most of this is just theory. Well, particularly J.F.K. That bothers me because he doesn't classify at all what he's talking about. Is he a "Grassy Knoll" guy? Or a 3 shooters theorist? Or perhaps he watched the Zapruder film and decided the driver turns around and shoots J.F.K? I have no idea, so I have no idea why he even decided to mention it. It seems pointless and takes away from the main point of the poem - America.

Introduction

Hi, My name is Zachary Stansbury...I'm a sophomore, I'm hopefully switching to English this year and I recently turned 19. I enjoy reading and writing and video games. I have traveled to England and France, I have tattoos, and I think I'm fairly good at poker. I think it would be great to play full-time poker, but that is something very hard to accomplish and something that takes a certain amount of skill. I am an editor for the literary magazine on campus and I write for The Slate. Ask me if you want to know more.