Maureen's Blog

‘Pixelanthropy’ takes hold on Second Life

mes00763 — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 16:48:36 +0000

I thought this article was interesting, it took me a minute to realize that the article was taking about Serene Jewell in Second Life not real life. I think it ‘s cool that this person organized a charity and nonprofit organizations in Second Life. I do not really see myself keeping up with Second Life after this class is over however I would like to know how someone can make $1 million in real money and have my avatar be on the cover of “BuisnessWeek.”

The Yak-Shak charity is also very cool that people can buy customize their own yak and the money is used to help poor families. This article makes me want to get involved in some SL charity. I just think it is amazing that you can raise money for cancer or poor families or even plant trees in SL and have then be planted in the real word.

I think the best and most interesting topic of this article is that a virtual Relay for Life was organized and raised thousands of dollars. I thik that is amazing especially since I have been actively involved in Relay for Life every year I have been at Fisher. The fact that they can raise all that money virtually is awsome.

I Never Clicked this Much with Anyone in my Whole Life

mes00763 — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 02:06:45 +0000

I think this article is interesting because it reveals the reasons why people are so quick to trust strangers they may meet through cyber space. After all of the stories our society hears about why you shouldn’t trust people in cyberspace I personally do not trust anyone that I do not know online. The article reveals that cyber space puts up this wall that makes people more comfortable opening up more than they would want to in the real world. I think that maybe people do not feel as comfortable talking to people in the real world as much as they would feel comfortable talking to people in cyber space. Once people start talking in cyber space it is easy to share details of your life that should not really be shared with strangers. People may feel that the others they are talking too feel the same way they do. However it is scary that people can be so fake and you could find out all about a person’s life while they know about a pseudo-identity.

mes00763 — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 22:16:07 +0000

My tour on Second Life was not very eventful. I went to all of the locations and tried to find free things to do. I did almost drown in the pool, I had to fly myself out of there! I hit a little road bumb when I was in the maternity ward and the owner asked if she could help me and I didnt answer her. She kicked me out of the ward and I could not teleport back in. I do not have a picture of the maternity ward.The museums were pretty interesting, I had trouble finding my way around at first. My place of choice a the end of the tour was a horse barn. The coffee shop I ended in was called The Happy Bean.

Interactive Flash hml

mes00763 — Tue, 24 Mar 2009 00:52:34 +0000

http://keep3.sjfc.edu/students/mes00763/flash/classwork/interactivemap.html

A Rape in Cyberspace

mes00763 — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 00:41:07 +0000

I spent this entire article trying to figure out if this was real. I can not really comprehend why anyone in cyberspace would virtually rape someone, or multiple people as the case may be. I understand why those real life people would be upset about being virtually raped, but I don’t understand how this Mr. Bungle can be so vulgar and nonchalant about his actions. This is the strangest article I have ever read. The people in this virtual space all decided that Mr. Bungle’s punishment should be to turn his character into a toad. I think the most unfortunate part of these events is that there is not rule against rape, or anything. There probably is not a rule against that type of stuff because who would ever think that someone would rape people in cyberspace. I guess there really can not be a punishment, because even when this man was “dead” he came back as another character, Mr. Jest.

Avatars, Second Life and New Media Art

mes00763 — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 22:44:30 +0000

This article demonstrated that the term “new media art” is used for a new type of digital art that includes second life and avatars. This new technology and new media art provides artists with new ways of expression and involve people in ever facet of life. Unlike more traditional forms of art, the article states that new media art can not be separated into content and medium. This type of art needs to be approached as a cultural interface. New Media Art is interpreted as technology’s impact on humans, culture and society. I think that this article is accurate in saying that Second life not only creates its own culture but it also reflects the culture in which it originates. I also agree with the artists of the “13 Most beautiful Avatars” exhibit, that ‘residents in Second Life chose to create their avatars according to the Western canon of beauty.’ I find this completely true, I have only been on second life a couple of times however I have not seen any avatars that may be considered ugly by western standards. All of the avatars that I have seen have been thin as well as avatars with long hair or attractive clothes.

Flash project

mes00763 — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 02:33:52 +0000

http://keep3.sjfc.edu/students/mes00763/flash/classwork/valentinesflash.html

Valentine’s Day Card

My podcast URL

mes00763 — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 01:34:46 +0000

http://maureenes.podbean.com/

Digital Media Art-Our Perfect Body

mes00763 — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 19:39:33 +0000

The example of new media art that I choose to describe is “Our Perfect Body.” This work starts off with “Lola-The Perfect Body?” which is a woman, who is made up of different body parts that are considered “perfect.” This mix matched person has beautiful hair, great legs and stomach and the ‘perfect’ boobs. However all together, Lola is one unattractive woman. The rest of the project scrolled down the page to include different women describing their favorite feature or their least favorite feature. All together these favorite features from different women were used to compose Lola.

This piece of digital art is not very interactive the viewer needs to scroll down the screen to look at the different body parts and read the captions associated with them. A computer and internet is needed to view the art. However if one has a mobile phone with internet, this artwork will be easy to view using this. I think one thing that would make this piece of artwork more interesting would be some type of music or audio. Otherwise, the art is silent.

This artwork stimulates interest due to the fact that it is fascinating to see what other women feel about their bodies. As one is looking at ‘Our Perfect Bodies” the body parts vary from, ‘I hate my thick thighs,’ to ‘I love my neck it hides my double chin.’ The colors that the artist uses are bright, which in this case is aesthetically pleasing. I think the other reason that this piece of art peeks some interest is because, as a woman especially, I know that all of us have some sort of insecurity about our physical appearances, it is fascinating to know what other women find unsatisfactory about their bodies.

This art was very interesting in the fact that in today’s world with all of the media propaganda about celebrity’s bodies, many women are extremely insecure. We live in a society where millions of men and women suffer from eating disorders and where plastics surgery is not longer taboo. Unfortunately this view in society is based solely on the media’s perception about what is pretty and what is skinny. It is awful that in one week someone can be reading about how fat Jessica Simpson is getting and the next week be reading about how skinny Mary-Kate Olsen is. There is no happy medium with the media in terms of a person’s looks. Culturally, we have body image issues and this work of digital art addresses these issues.

I think more than anything that this piece of artwork has more significance culturally rather than politically. However it is very significant creatively due to the fact that creates an important message through the creativity. I think that the bright colors that were used and the different typed fonts for each of the pictures make it pleasing to the eye. I think that this eye catching style allows the viewer to, at first glance, see the aesthetic value of the painting before realizing the message that it brings about.

I believe this piece of digital art may be viewed the same in different cultures, such as more modern cultures in Europe. I think that no matter what country or culture a person lives, there is always the view that one appearance is more appealing than another. In modern countries where there is television and where the media is always trying to catch the biggest celebrities, I think there are the same body image issues that we in the United States have. Even in England women feel that their legs are too fat, or their eyes are not the right color. However, in other cultures, such as Africa, it is considered beautiful to have a long neck. Women place metal rings around their neck to elongate them. If for any reason the metal rings must be taken off, the muscles on their necks are so stretched out and weak that they cannot support their heads. I think this can be compared to an eating disorder such as bulimia in the United States. Long necks are considered beautiful; however it is a dangerous process. In the United States, unfortunately women believe that being thin is beautiful, but some of the consequences of trying to be thin are very dangerous, such as starving oneself or working out to a dangerous level.

Overall, the reason why I picked this piece of art is because I think all women can relate to it. It sends the message that someone could have the most perfect features but still be unattractive. Even people who live in different cultures can appreciate the message. Aesthetically, it is pleasing to the eye and it is creative. I think this is a great piece of digital art work, and beneficial in the fact that it sends a positive message in a world that is filled with media opinions and peer pressure to be beautiful and ‘perfect.’

Will the iPod Kill the Radio Star? Profiling Podcasting as Radio

mes00763 — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 18:02:11 +0000

In this article written by Richard Berry, the issue that the ipod will eventually lead to the end of traditional radio shows. The ipod and other MP3 provides opportunity for listeners to download anytype of music, movies or shows they want, commerical free for a small fee. In this article, the author uses the term ‘podcast’ to describe any ‘media content delivered automatically to a subscriber via the internet.’ The author describes a problem with the term podcast. Podcast suggests exclusivity to the Apple iPod and away from generic MP3 players. I find this to be true. In my family, four out of five people own ipods, no one owns a generic MP3 player. I think it makes it convenient to download Apple itunes with an Apple ipod. To address the issue of the decline of radio listeners. I feel that MP3 players have lead to the decrease in radio listeners. MP3 players allow people to listen to whatever songs they like in whatever order, without listening to commercials or radio DJ’s talking. MP3 players are portable and can be listened to anywhere. There are also devices that allow them to be hooked up to the radio in one’s car. I personally do not like listening to the radio especially in the morning. There is 15 minutes of talking to every 1 song that is played. I would rather just listen to music the whole time. The article describes some strengths of radio, such as it is reliable, news and weather for the day can be obtained during your ride home from work. However studies show that radio listening amoung 15-24 year olds has fallen in recent years in the UK and the US.