Technology Replaces Dogs as Man’s New Best Friend (Part1) July 20, 2011

Hello Bloggers! I know ive gone MIA for 5 days but i have a really interesting topic today…

When you walk outside you rarely ever see people outside playing baseball or walking their dogs. A couple of years ago, I used to watch my neighbors walk up and down the street with their “best friends” a.k.a their dogs. Now, if i ever  see my neigbors walk up and down the street, i never  see them with a dog but instead i see a cellphone or an iPod attached to their hip. I can’t help but ask myself, “Is technology really man’s “new best friend?”
People used to walk their dogs on a leash but now i wonder if technology has people on leash. Have we given technology so much power that it can now control us? Now thats pretty scary to think about. But that is a question that needs to be answered as soon as possible.

Technology is literally everywhere. Technology seems inescapable. It seems to keep exponentially  growing without an end.Household appliances, cars, cellphones, computers, machinery were born from advancement in technology. Even books were created with the newest technology in 1440 when Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press. Don’t get me wrong, Technology has definitely been a blessing to man; but i think that it is extremely important that we, as a  human race ,should be aware of the negative aspects and the dangers that technology presents before us.

We should ask ourselves these questions:

• Is our generation too dependent on technology?
• Will technology help humans advance or will it destroy humans?
• How is technology affecting our brains? How is it changing the way we think?
• What dangers does technology present? Are we oblivious to these dangers?
• How does our interaction with technology change our interaction with other people?

This blog will be continued with a part 2, if you think you have answers to these questions, comment below

-Jess4lyfe

Kinect Analysis Project July 15, 2011

Kinect Analysis Project

house of Leaves: Capable of Anything July 12, 2011

In the broad world of books, there are only a select few that keep me interested… and House of Leaves is definitely apart of that select few. I absolutely believe that Mark Z. Danielewski is a sheer genius. He created a way to engage readers in his visceral novel House of Leaves by creating a reading experience that is unique among novels. In a normal novel, your reading experience is purely based off of the content of the novel. However,  in House of Leaves, Danielewski creates a novel with an interactive reading experience that allows you to read the book forward, backward, upside down, or however you feel, (this works well with ADD people like me) while still providing amazing content that engages your thoughts and feelings.

In reading through the first 356 pages of the novel, I’ll admit that at first I was a bit confused and I wanted to give up reading the book. But as the book progressed, I could not set the book down. With each page the novel gets better and better. From the story itself to the footnotes to the  appendix, each word, each line, and each paragraph has a profound meaning that will, more than likely, all come together in the conclusion of the novel.

Unlike most novels, the House of Leaves has two intertwined plots. The first plot is the narrative of a tatoo artist named Johnny Truant who finds notes of a documentary written by a deceased man named Zampano. Truant takes on the tasks of being editor of this disorderly pile of notes. As time goes on and Truant continues to edit these notes, he becomes noticeably distracted and paranoid. He could possibly be haunted by the very thing that killed Zampano, the former owner of the documentary notes. Johnny Truant’s story is found in the footnotes of the novel. The second plot, which is personally my favorite part of the novel, is where the novel begins to become weirdly interesting. The Navidson Record, which is the storyline of the second plot, are the writings of Zampano, edited by Johnny Truant. The Navidson Record is about Will Navidson and his family who recently moved into a house that is literally growing. Navidson discovers that his new house is 1/4” larger on the inside than on the outside. Is it mathematically possible to have a house with dimensions that are slightly bigger on the inside than on the outside? In addition to these weird dimensions, Navidson discovers hallways, doors, and a mysterious growling noise  that randomly appear throughout his house. However, these dimensions,hallways, and sounds do not just affect the physical house but they have  quite an emotional affect on Navidson’s wife and two children; this eventually causes a split in the family. In order to figure out what is going on in the house, Navidson conducts an experiment with his brother and a few scholars, to scope out the hallways; however, this only leads to disaster.

As you read the House of Leaves, you actually feel like you are a character in the novel witnessing this monster-like hallway come to life. When reading about the exploration of the hallway, my heart beat raced faster with every word. While reading the novel, i actually became terrified and looked around my dorm room to make sure there were no appearing hallways or stalking entities. The House of Leaves truly has the ability to evoke terror and horror in readers. As Johnny Truant discovered the writings of Zampano, he said “I felt certain its resolute blackness was capable of anything, maybe even of slashing out, tearing up the floor, murdering Zampano, murdering us, maybe even murdering we” (xvii). After reading that statement, I wonder if the House of Leaves has the capability of making its readers lash out in such a way as this. It is very possible, that this  book could be so emotionally terrifying to some that it haunts them, causing them to act out in rash ways. The novel, House of Leaves, could act as the very hallway or entity that is described in the novel. Like the hallway, this novel seems to grow and never end; it also entraps  those who dare to discover whats inside. It could suck readers in and trap them  in its complete darkness. I have never read a book that has the capacity to ensnare readers, but House of Leaves is so twisted that it is probably “capable of anything”. Now, that’s something to think about.

Interested in House of Leaves? Wanna read more? Check out these blogs: interactiveinterfaces, empyrean411, i am a writing machine

“Type is Everywhere” July 7, 2011

When you look down at a paper what is the first thing you notice? Sub-conciously you notice the type, size, shape or color of the font on that page. The font gives you a first impression of what the content is on the page. For instance, when you look at a newspaper, you usually see a small formal font, either Helvetica or Times New Roman,  printed in black ink. That very particular font reveals to readers that the newspaper they are about to read is going to have a serious and formal tone. However, when you look at  a magazine, you see numerous types of fonts, in various sizes and shapes, and usually printed in bright eye-catching colors. Unlike a newspaper, magazines usually are not formal, but because of the initial impression from the font, you immediately realize that a magazine is casual and random. Thanks to the creativity of typographers, the font in a magazine doesn’t have to be bland and formal or the font in a newspaper doesn’t have to be brightly colored and distracting.

In the world of typography,  the process of printing with type, typographers creatively design different fonts for different things such as, advertisements, album covers, tax forms, and labels. Typography does not just begin and end with the traditional type that you see in a novel or in a newspaper; but typography branches out into different aspects such as graffiti and kinetic typography  (as seen on TV or in movies). Even billboards and the type on your shirt are all apart of typography. Literally every font and type that you see when you read is the work of a typographer.

Who would have ever thought that the size, shape, or color of a font really matters. But can you imagine a world in which every printed word was written in the same font, color, and size. The world would seem so bland. To an extent, typography gives meaning and expression to different words. For instance, when you see the word “distorted” typed in a way that actually  looks “dIsTorTEd”, then it is easier to associate the word with its meaning. Because we as humans are very visual beings, that makes it easier for us to create and connect with styles of typography. Without typography, words would be just words. But with typography, words become art and an expression. Typography gives people the opportunity to express themselves through the type and font of words, which in a way can be louder than spoken word.

Check out these links:

http://dpxmag.com/30-beautiful-typography-pictures.html

 

Think about this:

What would our world be like without typography ?
Does typography have an  emotional affect on us without us noticing?

Why does typography even matter?

 

Kinect Think Aloud Protocol July 5, 2011

The Genius World of Comics June 30, 2011

Are comics really just a bunch of lines and shapes put together to form an animate object on a paper? Have you ever thought about comics as more than mere pictures in a page? To be honest, I have never had a slight  interest in comics, reading comic books, etc. But, as i read through Scott McClouds “Understanding Comics”, I entered into a comic world that I didn’t even know existed. Within the world of comics there is a level of understanding and intelligence that most readers don’t realize.

If you think about it, comics or cartoons are found on almost everything. Most TV advertisements or  labels for various products, such as cereal, often have a cartoon/comic character on it. Why is this? According to McCloud, people are so intrigued by cartoons because they can see themselves in the faces of various cartoons. We, as people, are able to connect and place our identity in  lines and shapes that simply resemble a human. It is our imagination that runs wild and can actually bring these characters to life.When you are reading a comic book, you are being pulled into the comic world until you actually become the comic character. It is such a mind boggling concept, but yet it is so true.

Like this Check Out the blog entry “Com-ic Get it”, for even more on this topic.

Print: Dead or Alive? June 29, 2011

After reading the blogs on the subject of  print versus media, I couldn’t help but wonder how print media will survive in the vast, growing world of technology. As technological advances come to life, I fear that print media may possibly die a slow death. In order for print media to remain a main preference for people, print media will have to evolve. The question “How will print media evolve in the future” needs to be answered quickly or else book lovers, like me, will have to attend the  funeral of print media.
I personally value print media more than technology. Though I am quite in love with my iPhone and Macbook, I would prefer reading a physical book much more than reading a book on a Kindle. Reading a book on a kindle is great for on the go, but to really enjoy a novel I have to be able to turn a physical page and write notes in my novel. The interaction of writing in a novel makes the experience of reading a book more personalized. Just as Craig Mod mentioned in his blog “Books in the Age of the iPad”, having a physical book in your hands is a comfort zone for most readers. The fact that a book will never crash and lose information or run out of “battery life” makes book lovers confident. There are many times when I am frustrated with my technology. I want to throw my iPhone across the room because it’s not working properly or it loads to slowly. However, with print media there is no need to fret and worry because the page wont load.

When I think of technology, i often think about business and working. My laptop is 85% of the time used for school and working. Also, my iPhone is often used for checking important emails and making important phone calls. Therefore, print media provides a means of escape that technology can’t often provide. There is nothing like sitting outside with a book, away from the ruckus of technology.

Will print media ever die? I sure hope not. I do think that with the continuation of technology growth, people will turn to print media for escape and comfort. In the eyes of many, print will soon be DEAD but to many others print is the source to becoming free and  ALIVE.

Check out the ideas from this entry in the interactive interfaces blog.

Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves June 28, 2011

In a world where the technology of an e-book is preferred over a physcical novel, the House of Leaves defies normal standards by combining technology with documentation.  The House of Leaves exemplifies how a tangible novel is more appealing to technological minds because of its interactive features.

When I first held the book in my hand, I thought that the House of Leaves was just another boring textbook that I will have to read in order to pass my English class. Physically, the House of Leaves appears to have the form of a textbook. The weight and shape of the book leads onlookers, like me, to believe that this is an ordinary textbook. However, when examined closely I realized that the House of Leaves is actually a novel. Therefore, I perceived the novel as being very deceptive. The black cover of the novel added to my thoughts of this novel being increasingly deceptive. Usually, the archetypal color black often symbolizes deception and secrecy. If just examining this material object led me to find a possible theme of deception, then i was excited and intrigued to see what was beyond the black cover.

Normally, when I see a large novel with nearly eight hundred pages I automatically assume that it is far from interesting. So as I looked at The House of Leaves, I wanted to believe that it was another boring novel as well; but from looking at the content of the book, I was quite intrigued. Not only is this novel deceptive in that it appears to have the form of a text book but it is also deceptive in that its content is unlike the content a normal novel. By simply observing the novel, I knew my view and experience would be out of the ordinary. As I glanced inside the novel, i noticed that there was no particular structure throughout the novel. It looked like an explosion of thoughts, in other words, stream of consciousness, in text on paper. A lot of the content looked as if it was lost data in cyberspace.

This novel is definitely an haptic interface because it engages readers by using different body parts such as your eyes and hands. Just as any iPad, Kinect,or E-book acts as an haptic interface by engaging people through the use of different body parts, this novel too is able to act as an haptic interface and engage readers by simply holding the novel.