Note: FaceOff Spoilers Alert! If you haven't watched the 8/26/14 episode yet, stumble upon this blog first, and hate spoilers, do not read further until you've actually watched it. Otherwise, read away.
So I'm a bookworm and have read both Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. I have also read both sequels to these novels: Frank Baum's The Marvelous Land of Oz and Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking Glass. Now, I cannot claim to be a foremost expert on Frank Baum's Wizard of Oz series because there are 14 different novels altogether and I have only read two of them. However, I can claim to know and love the original first novel very well. These Oz books were first published throughout two decades from the years 1900 to 1920.
On another note, I have varied television interests, so the creative character-mindful FaceOff show on SyFy is a show I often watch.
Today, they had a challenge to commemorate Wizard of Oz's 75th anniversary where teams of two were to take a randomly chosen character from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and pretend that character fell down the rabbit hole and found himself or herself in the Wonderland of Alice in Wonderland. These were the teams and character assignments for the challenge.
Jason & Sasha: The Cowardly Lion
Damien & Cig: Scarecrow
Drew & George: Wicked Witch of the West
Keaghlan & Rachael: Tin Woodman
Stella & Dina: Winged Monkey
Now, anyone who knows me, knows I'm very opinionated (especially when it comes to characters and settings that are beloved to readers all over the world). Now, I was really crazy about the team who did the Tin Woodman character in Wonderland and I honestly wanted them to win. I felt that they found a way to make the core of the Tin Woodman character's story from Oz maintain itself in Wonderland. The idea that the Wonderland Queen would try to make the Tin Woodman her executioner ("Off With Her Head") and the Tin Woodman realizes that he cannot do it, so he has a heart is brilliant. They won me over.
The Winged Monkey character, in truth, did have a lot of innovation in the makeup itself. Making the monkey ears converge into jester hat tips was rather amazing. The monkey face did look mischievous and the eye color definitely was hypnotizing. Since the show is called FaceOff and not CelebrateLiterature, I understand why the judges chose the winged monkey to win. However, in the original Wizard of Oz tale, the winged monkeys were being held captive against their will causing trouble because the Wicked Witch of the West was making them. Turning the winged monkey character into a jester is very juxtapose to the original storyline. To go from a life of bringing trouble to Dorothy to a life of bringing laughter to the Red Queen can be inspiring. And in some respects, the winged monkey going from being a slave of one villain in Oz to the slave of another villain in Wonderland is quite clever.....Hmmm, the winged monkey is growing on me. The existence of the controversy about the character in itself for the reader means that the character is meaningful.
Speaking of meaningful characters, who is more meaningful than "the villain" in any story. As such, I was really disappointed with the Wicked Witch of the West character created on FaceOff tonight. The Oz effect was really only seen in the emerald green bling-lace layer at the waist of in her dress. There were a couple of ways this character could have been Wonder-fied. I had an idea that since the Wicked Witch of the West had been obsessed with shoes in the Baum novel that she had to change her obsession in Wonderland to another accessory (particularly hats). I figured that she could have either started collecting hats or that she could have become enamored with the Mad Hatter's Hat and started to believe it inherently contained power. A state of delusion would be fitting to have about the Mad Hatter's hat based on the history of making hats as well. The reason that hatters in the past used to go "mad" was that liquid mercury was often used in hat-making as an adhesive. This exposure to mercury all the time during the hatting occupation made the hatters go crazy. Thus, a character like that would have been completely feasible. An alteration to the hat color would have been an homage to shoes too, if the hat had been glitter-fied as silver or ruby red. In the book, Dorothy's magic shoes were silver. In the movie, Dorothy's magic shoes are ruby red. Hence, either color could have acted as an accent to the significance of the anniversary.
The Cowardly Lion character presented on FaceOff was minimally Wonder-fied to subtly resemble the Cheshire Cat through fir-striping and an ugly card-esque outfit. This result was, for lack of a better word, lame. As such, I had ideas regarding creating a character concept on this subject too. First, let's understand that there were multiple cat-like characters in Carroll's novel that could have been used to marry the lion better to Wonderland. The most recognizable character is the Cheshire Cat. The other minor cat-like characters include the Tiger Lily and Dina, Alice's own cat from "the real world" (The "real world" characters were the inspiration for the characters in Wonderland, so Dina still counts, People). In any case, the Cowardly Lion in the first Baum novel thought he was afraid, but showed signs of bravery when he wasn't fixated on that belief.
As such, following with the theme of the lion being brave when it counts, here's one character idea. The Cowardly Lion lands in Wonderland and notices all the acts of animal and card cruelty throughout the land. Hence, the Cowardly Lion becomes an animal/card activist Steve Irwin-style. He gathers the flamingos that would be used for croquet, the croquet hedgehogs, the pig baby, the white rabbit, the playing cards, and anyone else being mistreated and starts an expedition to find a way out of Wonderland to save them. Since the Cheshire Cat ability to disappear at will becomes something to admire when trying to save the inhabitants of Wonderland, the Cowardly Lion desperately tries to glean ideas from him when he shows up and it drives him mad in his haste to catch him for advice. Hence, the Cowardly Lion becomes frantic, much like the White Rabbit, in the pursuit of civil justice.
Another fun idea for a Cowardly Lion character would involve him improvising after his initial fear of the place. The Cowardly Lion lands in Wonderland and fears everything he sees happen. He walks through the garden, the flowers talk to him, and he runs screaming along the garden path to get away. He walks near the palace and the Queen shouts "Off with his head" randomly about someone else. The Lion keeps running, thinking his life is in danger. The Lion runs into the crossroads in the forest. He meets the Cheshire Cat, who seems normal and then disappears part by part. The Lion runs toward a regular-looking house, the White Rabbit's house. When he gets to the clearing of the house, huge Alice arms and legs shoot out of the building's windows. The Lion is startled and then runs away. He runs until he sees a very long table and he knows what he is going to do. When he gets close to the table covered by a tablecloth, he dives underneath it, hides, and cries in utter terror. After awhile, he eventually decides that he can't stay under the table frightened forever. So he makes armor and weapons from the teacups and cutlery on the table he is hiding under (Mad Hatter and Hare's tea party table) and prepares for battle. Voila, we have the Cowardly Lion, the Teacup Soldier.
Now, we come to the Scarecrow. The FaceOff character created was Wonder-fied, but it just didn't make sense. The Scarecrow wanted to be smart in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. In truth, he actually knew a lot, but he didn't acknowledge that until the end of the novel. In Alice in Wonderland, there was a character who loved to teach known as the Mock Turtle, which I think would have been the perfect avenue to follow for makeup creation. The Scarecrow lands in Wonderland, seeking a way to become smarter. He meets the Mock Turtle, hears his songs and logic, and decides to become the Mock Turtle's disciple. He makes himself a turtle shell to wear in imitation of his scholarly mentor and gradually starts to look more like the Mock Turtle as he becomes smarter.
Another option for Scarecrow character development would have to do with the trial proceedings that Alice faces in Wonderland. We postulate that Alice is left without a defense lawyer during the trial for some reason. The Scarecrow sees her distress and offers to help. He wears a King card-like wig, a suit, a tie (containing card shapes, or flamingos), white face makeup and rosy red cheek blush (possibly in a heart and/or a diamond symbol shape) and other clothes to make him fit in better with the populace (whether that means a Mad Hatter hat, card in lapel, red and white colors only, or anything else). His oratory skills impress all spectators at the courthouse (probably a house made of playing cards) so much that he saves Alice and realizes that he really is smart.
In any case, these ideas were rolling around in my head and I enjoyed them so much that I wanted to blog about them. Thank you, FaceOff, for being so inspiring as to make me think in a multitude of ways about book mash-ups that I wouldn't normally think about extensively. I love the SyFy channel! Go Creative People, Go!
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
Wednesday, July 23, 2014
Reinforcing a Reinforced Concrete Design Textbook; Temporary Textbook Repair for Minor Splits Along the Sides of the Book Spine with Assorted Tapes and Scissors
I had a clumsy episode earlier this afternoon. I had too many things in my arms. When I set my cup of green tea on the counter next to my purse, I must have set it down wrong because it tipped over. In the confusion, I dropped my reinforced concrete design textbook onto the tile floor in the kitchen. I suppose the textbook landed on the perfect stress point because both sides of the book spine ripped. Since I'm the outright owner of the book and it did not wake up my baby niece visiting from Germany, it wasn't a catastrophe. Here's a picture of the damaged textbook.
Here's the picture of the other side of the textbook.
So I called up FedEx to see if they could rebind it for me/fix it so I wouldn't have to buy binding tape and such other book repair items that would be much more expensive than having FedEx fix it (assuming it was a reasonable price). The guy on the phone said it would cost $5 and that they could do it. I drove over there and went in the store. The guy at the counter examined the book and said they couldn't fix it. I was disappointed because I thought I had been a smart shopper to call and check beforehand and they changed their story when I reached the store, but I figured I would just have to take it home and fix it myself.
My mom found various kinds of tape available around the house (which are shown here).
I started my repair by making scotch tape circles with tape and laying them flat on the cardboard inner spine. This process is shown with the following pictures.
I had to use two pieces because the spine was really long.
Note: You can see my index page casualty above. Don't worry! I tape that page back together next.
Then, I turned the book so the weight was centered on the book spine to help the scotch tape adhere (granted, this might only be a temporary fix given that it is scotch tape).
Next, I tackled the back index page to make that page legible for future use. I appreciate indexes from my textbooks, so I'd rather be able to read those pages. It took a lot of strategic placement of scotch tape to get the page back together.
The last thing I tackled was the actual outside spine of the book. For this fix, I used the clear plastic shipping tape. First, I lined the tears up with the corresponding sides. Then, I cut the tape pieces with scissors at a length of the entire spine to make the fix as strong as possible. After this step, I carefully placed the tape along the book spine. One side of the tape was at the middle of the book spine to the front of the book cover. Pictures of this taping process are provided below.
I cut the piece of tape on the end so only a tiny bit was off the end. Then, I tucked it along the edge.
Voila! I can read my textbook and it's not falling apart. This is what the book looks like when it's open.
It's too bad that FedEx did not want to fix it for me for $5 because I would have bragged about them on Facebook and my blog, providing them with free advertising.
However, fixing a textbook spine on my own was really awesome and I was able to use whatever tape was lying around the house.
A proper fix might have involved binding tape, book glue, and sewing practices. I did work in a library for a bit, so I have seen and used materials to repair older books (the kinds worthy of treasure). Then again, this break of the sides of the spine was minor and the page binding of the spine was mostly intact.
As such, this method of textbook repair might not work for someone with a more severe break on their book. Even so, I thought I would go ahead and share how I fixed mine in case it helps anyone else.
It is ironic that my reinforced concrete design textbook has to have its spine reinforced with tape. Hopefully, my book will last through my summer class and beyond that for when I work as a professional engineer and need to use it as a reference book.
Update: This textbook did survive my summer class with these fixes and I earned an A.
My mom found various kinds of tape available around the house (which are shown here).
Note: You can see my index page casualty above. Don't worry! I tape that page back together next.
Then, I turned the book so the weight was centered on the book spine to help the scotch tape adhere (granted, this might only be a temporary fix given that it is scotch tape).
Voila! I can read my textbook and it's not falling apart. This is what the book looks like when it's open.
However, fixing a textbook spine on my own was really awesome and I was able to use whatever tape was lying around the house.
A proper fix might have involved binding tape, book glue, and sewing practices. I did work in a library for a bit, so I have seen and used materials to repair older books (the kinds worthy of treasure). Then again, this break of the sides of the spine was minor and the page binding of the spine was mostly intact.
As such, this method of textbook repair might not work for someone with a more severe break on their book. Even so, I thought I would go ahead and share how I fixed mine in case it helps anyone else.
It is ironic that my reinforced concrete design textbook has to have its spine reinforced with tape. Hopefully, my book will last through my summer class and beyond that for when I work as a professional engineer and need to use it as a reference book.
Update: This textbook did survive my summer class with these fixes and I earned an A.
Friday, July 11, 2014
Walt Disney is Rolling Around in His Grave; Disney's Cryogenically-Frozen Head is Rotating in Circles In Its Container
I really do not watch the Disney channel a whole lot. I used to watch it all the time growing up. I loved the oldschool animation and the cheesy cartoons. I enjoyed the later cartoons: Kim Possible, Doug, House of Mouse, and Phineas and Ferb.
But...the new Mickey Mouse cartoons really upset me. They upset me for quite a few reasons. First, oldschool Mickey Mouse cartoons had more moral storylines. I caught one of the new cartoons and Mickey was squirting ice cream from an ice cream truck into his shorts to get relief from the hot weather outside. Goofy and Donald were also rubbing the ice cream on their bodies to get cooler. This cartoon is called "Stayin' Cool". It's on Youtube. If Walt was around, he would have had the characters pay for the ice cream before using it to cool themselves. Using it illegally is wrong and un-Disney.
In another cartoon short "Goofy's Grandma", Goofy bets Donald Duck money that he can fool Mickey into believing Donald Duck is really Goofy and Goofy is not dressing up as his grandmother. The bet is lost and Goofy gives Donald a stack of money. Gambling does not belong in Disney cartoons. That is not moralistic behavior. It is also certainly not a habit that impressionable children should be learning about. Lying to friends is also not something that should be represented in this manner either. It's disgusting?! What is wrong with the Disney writers?!! That's terrible.
Another problem is the animation quality is really REALLY bad. If I wanted to see body hair and manboobs with a dumb-funny plots, I would watch "Ren and Stimpy". This is the Disney channel. Children should not be watching cartoons that can spurn other adult-related questions like: what are manboobs? what are those red dots on his chest? why does that character have hair on his chest? why don't I have hair on my chest? These cartoons are not up to proper Disney standards.
Lastly, the plots are not as good as they used to be. Certain iconic behaviors are missing. In a cartoon I caught today, Goofy was pretending to be his grandmother and he fell through the wall. When classic Goofy would have somehow been catapulted through the roof and done his iconic yell. I think he even farted. I don't remember any other past Disney cartoons having bad manners in them like farting. It's not right. Good manners were upheld back in the old days within Disney cartoons.
As a result, I'm a firm believer that Walt Disney is rolling around in his coffin and his cryogenically-frozen head is spinning inside a container somewhere. It's really sad that oldschool 2D animation Disney cartoons are crappy now, and Pixar-animated cartoons are of WAY HIGHER quality. It's sad when a company that started out doing 2D animation suddenly sucks at what it was iconic for when it started.
There's something wrong with the world if Disney cartoons become comparable to "Ren and Stimpy".
If the new shorts cannot live up to the oldschool short cartoons, then just show the oldschool Mickey Mouse cartoons. Those are awesome cartoons. Quality over quantity. And if you don't want to show the old cartoons, show the decent tv shows like Jessie, Good Luck Charlie, and Girl Meets World instead of sub-par cartoons. The "Steamboat Willy" lover in me hates the creators of the new Mickey Mouse short cartoons for even making Disney cartoons like that. Shame on them.
But...the new Mickey Mouse cartoons really upset me. They upset me for quite a few reasons. First, oldschool Mickey Mouse cartoons had more moral storylines. I caught one of the new cartoons and Mickey was squirting ice cream from an ice cream truck into his shorts to get relief from the hot weather outside. Goofy and Donald were also rubbing the ice cream on their bodies to get cooler. This cartoon is called "Stayin' Cool". It's on Youtube. If Walt was around, he would have had the characters pay for the ice cream before using it to cool themselves. Using it illegally is wrong and un-Disney.
In another cartoon short "Goofy's Grandma", Goofy bets Donald Duck money that he can fool Mickey into believing Donald Duck is really Goofy and Goofy is not dressing up as his grandmother. The bet is lost and Goofy gives Donald a stack of money. Gambling does not belong in Disney cartoons. That is not moralistic behavior. It is also certainly not a habit that impressionable children should be learning about. Lying to friends is also not something that should be represented in this manner either. It's disgusting?! What is wrong with the Disney writers?!! That's terrible.
Another problem is the animation quality is really REALLY bad. If I wanted to see body hair and manboobs with a dumb-funny plots, I would watch "Ren and Stimpy". This is the Disney channel. Children should not be watching cartoons that can spurn other adult-related questions like: what are manboobs? what are those red dots on his chest? why does that character have hair on his chest? why don't I have hair on my chest? These cartoons are not up to proper Disney standards.
Lastly, the plots are not as good as they used to be. Certain iconic behaviors are missing. In a cartoon I caught today, Goofy was pretending to be his grandmother and he fell through the wall. When classic Goofy would have somehow been catapulted through the roof and done his iconic yell. I think he even farted. I don't remember any other past Disney cartoons having bad manners in them like farting. It's not right. Good manners were upheld back in the old days within Disney cartoons.
As a result, I'm a firm believer that Walt Disney is rolling around in his coffin and his cryogenically-frozen head is spinning inside a container somewhere. It's really sad that oldschool 2D animation Disney cartoons are crappy now, and Pixar-animated cartoons are of WAY HIGHER quality. It's sad when a company that started out doing 2D animation suddenly sucks at what it was iconic for when it started.
There's something wrong with the world if Disney cartoons become comparable to "Ren and Stimpy".
If the new shorts cannot live up to the oldschool short cartoons, then just show the oldschool Mickey Mouse cartoons. Those are awesome cartoons. Quality over quantity. And if you don't want to show the old cartoons, show the decent tv shows like Jessie, Good Luck Charlie, and Girl Meets World instead of sub-par cartoons. The "Steamboat Willy" lover in me hates the creators of the new Mickey Mouse short cartoons for even making Disney cartoons like that. Shame on them.
Wednesday, July 9, 2014
Step Aerobics for Nerds = DDR; DDR Extreme & How to Set It Up So It Is Easier to Workout Using PS2
I bought a used game a month ago, so I could feed my obsession for DDR and try out other DDR games. I already had DDR Extreme 2 and DDR Supernova, which are excellent games. I had the two previous games for so long that I had forgotten how they were set up originally for the optimum game use convenience.
As such, I found the consistent "Game Over" messages and having to watch the game use instructions and DDR ads over and over again after playing 3 songs rather tedious. Thus, I fiddled with the settings and figured out how to set it up so it was MUCH MORE CONVENIENT to workout, pick the songs I wanted, and do cardiovascular aerobic exercise consistently instead of having to deal with the aforementioned breaks.
Step One: Change the game settings for maximum number of songs: 5
Here's the game main menu:
You want to go to the Options Menu. This menu is below the Records Menu and above the Credits Menu.
Change the Max Stage from the default setting of 3 to 5 on the second row (the row under the Game Level row).
Step 2: Change the Game Over setting to End of Music setting.
Since I want to use this game mostly for aerobic exercise, I want to be able to play entire songs even if I misstep. The original setting is for the game to grade your performance and fail you if you are playing really bad. Since my Dance Controller pad is old and sometimes I misstep out of faulty equipment, the original game setting hinders my game experience. Thus, the best thing to do in my case is to change the Game Over setting.
Since I want to exercise for about 15 songs in a row, the best way to achieve that is to set the Event Mode to ON. This can be changed using the row below the Game Over row and using the side-to-side arrows. This will mean that after 5 songs in each game, the game goes back to the song wheel. This measure allows me to pick whatever songs I want to play in whatever order I want and not have to wait through tedious ads and for the game to restart. This is great for a fickle individual who doesn't want to go through the trouble of setting up courses for workouts instead as well (aka: me).
Step 4: Default Difficulty Setting changes (optional)
Now, I like playing most DDR games on Basic or Light modes. Hence, I didn't change the Default Difficulty setting from Light to any other setting. However, if you are new at DDR and want to start off on Beginner setting and not have to change it all the time, you could change the Default Difficulty setting to Beginner in this menu to avoid the hassle. On the flipside, if you are an amazing DDR player and want to play the Standard setting or any other setting more difficult than that, you can also toggle up to and change this Default Difficulty setting to one of the harder settings to eliminate the hassle of changing it all the time while playing.
Step 5: Turn Workout Mode ON in the workout menu
Since I want to monitor how many calories I burn while I workout, setting this mode to ON means that the number of kilocalories I burn shows up in the bottom left corner of any song results screen I see while playing in Game Mode. Hence, I set Workout Mode to ON as shown in the image below.
Make sure you save all these changes on your memory card in your PS2, so playing the game for workout purposes can be more convenient.
Review: I really like this game: DDR Extreme. It works great. There are some awesome 80's songs in it as well, which is the era of music I like best for dancing. Plus, now that I have figured out how to set it up for workout mode, it makes it almost as convenient to use as the other DDR games that I own.
I hope other DDR enthusiasts find this blog helpful so they can enjoy other DDR games!!
I was bummed out that the other used DDR game that I bought a month ago couldn't be read by my PS2. As such, I cannot review it for you. It is called Dance Dance Revolution X.
Disclaimer: The screenshot images were taken by me using my digital camera, but the menus displayed on the television in the images are the property of Konami, Bemani, PS2, and the whole DDR franchise. I do not own the menus.
As such, I found the consistent "Game Over" messages and having to watch the game use instructions and DDR ads over and over again after playing 3 songs rather tedious. Thus, I fiddled with the settings and figured out how to set it up so it was MUCH MORE CONVENIENT to workout, pick the songs I wanted, and do cardiovascular aerobic exercise consistently instead of having to deal with the aforementioned breaks.
Step One: Change the game settings for maximum number of songs: 5
Here's the game main menu:
You want to go to the Options Menu. This menu is below the Records Menu and above the Credits Menu.
Change the Max Stage from the default setting of 3 to 5 on the second row (the row under the Game Level row).
Step 2: Change the Game Over setting to End of Music setting.
Since I want to use this game mostly for aerobic exercise, I want to be able to play entire songs even if I misstep. The original setting is for the game to grade your performance and fail you if you are playing really bad. Since my Dance Controller pad is old and sometimes I misstep out of faulty equipment, the original game setting hinders my game experience. Thus, the best thing to do in my case is to change the Game Over setting.
Thus, change the Game Over setting on the 3rd row (the row below the Max Stage) to "End of Music". This allows the user to play the entire length of songs (even if their dance controller pad is faulty or they lack flawless coordination).
Step 3: Change Event Mode to ON, so the game will go back to the song wheel after 5 songs.
Since I want to exercise for about 15 songs in a row, the best way to achieve that is to set the Event Mode to ON. This can be changed using the row below the Game Over row and using the side-to-side arrows. This will mean that after 5 songs in each game, the game goes back to the song wheel. This measure allows me to pick whatever songs I want to play in whatever order I want and not have to wait through tedious ads and for the game to restart. This is great for a fickle individual who doesn't want to go through the trouble of setting up courses for workouts instead as well (aka: me).
Step 4: Default Difficulty Setting changes (optional)
Now, I like playing most DDR games on Basic or Light modes. Hence, I didn't change the Default Difficulty setting from Light to any other setting. However, if you are new at DDR and want to start off on Beginner setting and not have to change it all the time, you could change the Default Difficulty setting to Beginner in this menu to avoid the hassle. On the flipside, if you are an amazing DDR player and want to play the Standard setting or any other setting more difficult than that, you can also toggle up to and change this Default Difficulty setting to one of the harder settings to eliminate the hassle of changing it all the time while playing.
Step 5: Turn Workout Mode ON in the workout menu
Since I want to monitor how many calories I burn while I workout, setting this mode to ON means that the number of kilocalories I burn shows up in the bottom left corner of any song results screen I see while playing in Game Mode. Hence, I set Workout Mode to ON as shown in the image below.
Make sure you save all these changes on your memory card in your PS2, so playing the game for workout purposes can be more convenient.
Review: I really like this game: DDR Extreme. It works great. There are some awesome 80's songs in it as well, which is the era of music I like best for dancing. Plus, now that I have figured out how to set it up for workout mode, it makes it almost as convenient to use as the other DDR games that I own.
I hope other DDR enthusiasts find this blog helpful so they can enjoy other DDR games!!
I was bummed out that the other used DDR game that I bought a month ago couldn't be read by my PS2. As such, I cannot review it for you. It is called Dance Dance Revolution X.
Disclaimer: The screenshot images were taken by me using my digital camera, but the menus displayed on the television in the images are the property of Konami, Bemani, PS2, and the whole DDR franchise. I do not own the menus.
Thursday, June 26, 2014
Technology: The Double-Edged Social Networking Mouse
Sometimes I wonder if I really should write on a blog. It seems like so much of society is glued to technology devices in order to keep up with social networking statuses and the like.
I was thinking about how when I was younger, I made it a point to memorize my first cousins' birthdays. It kind of made me the person to ask when my other relatives didn't remember the date of someone's birthday. I thought it was cool to have birthdays memorized.
Nowadays, with Facebook, we do not have to take the time to remember birthdays anymore. We also do not have to spend time with any of our friends or family anymore because we can stay up to date on most people's lives by going on Facebook and reading statuses. In other words, social networking is allowing the human race to care less about their fellow human friends and we end up having so many acquaintances that we have to rely on Facebook to tell us when so many people celebrate their birthdays. This concept is sad to me.
Facebook has taken the place of instant messaging too. As such, I imagine AIM Instant Messaging, Yahoo Instant Messaging, and any other well-known instant messaging software has lost demand. Free google mail accounts and social networking sites with emailing capabilities also removed the need to pay for email services in order to keep in touch with each other.
It also reduced the amount of mail being sent through the US Postal Service. Writing letters by hand has become a dying art, so letters and cards matter more when they are received in a physical mailbox, which nowadays is dominated by assorted bills, coupons, sale ads, and marketing materials.
As I think about how the Internet is cheaper to use in some ways, I also have noticed that phone and cable companies still manage to charge Internet use bills. Bundle systems can be quite pricey. Hence, perhaps having individual access to the Internet in our homes still means technology use is expensive. One of the things we can rely on as humans is: we can always rely on humankind to come up with a way to extort money out of people for services (even if some of those services become free, life is still WAY WAY expensive).
I suppose the expensive aspects of life are strongly associated with the standard of living desired. If we want convenience of home wireless networks, individual cars to drive anywhere we want at any time we want, and assorted television channels to watch at any given moment at home, life can be expensively convenient.
The obsession with social networking keeps us away from spending time with people the old-fashioned way: by calling them up and setting up a quality time date. Even with all the technology in the world, the quality time I have spent with my family away from obsessive technology are the memories I cherish most.
Even though technology can have its drawbacks, there are still aspects of it that contribute to magical memories. I always liked listening to my Walkman while I went on road trips or sat fishing at various bodies of water on family vacations. As I grew older, devices for listening to music have changed from Walkman to portable CD player to Ipod/Zune. As a result, musical enrichment has always been an aspect of technology development to respect and appreciate.
Another aspect of technology development that has a great power to affect us is audio-visual devices. Family movies can remind us of times we may have forgotten or touched us. Photographs can commemorate memories, friends, and family that matter to us (either dead or alive). Having pictures of life over time can help us reminisce and reflect on what kind of lives we have led. Photographs can be treasures because they are not only images, but captured moments in this fleeting life.
Overall, technology is both hindering the quality of the human social experience through the advent of social networking obsessions and enhancing it via better means to listen to music, to video-record and to photograph events with video and digital cameras.
The question we must ponder is: Does technology benefit us more than it harms us? Where do we draw the line between constructive and destructive technology?
I was thinking about how when I was younger, I made it a point to memorize my first cousins' birthdays. It kind of made me the person to ask when my other relatives didn't remember the date of someone's birthday. I thought it was cool to have birthdays memorized.
Nowadays, with Facebook, we do not have to take the time to remember birthdays anymore. We also do not have to spend time with any of our friends or family anymore because we can stay up to date on most people's lives by going on Facebook and reading statuses. In other words, social networking is allowing the human race to care less about their fellow human friends and we end up having so many acquaintances that we have to rely on Facebook to tell us when so many people celebrate their birthdays. This concept is sad to me.
Facebook has taken the place of instant messaging too. As such, I imagine AIM Instant Messaging, Yahoo Instant Messaging, and any other well-known instant messaging software has lost demand. Free google mail accounts and social networking sites with emailing capabilities also removed the need to pay for email services in order to keep in touch with each other.
It also reduced the amount of mail being sent through the US Postal Service. Writing letters by hand has become a dying art, so letters and cards matter more when they are received in a physical mailbox, which nowadays is dominated by assorted bills, coupons, sale ads, and marketing materials.
As I think about how the Internet is cheaper to use in some ways, I also have noticed that phone and cable companies still manage to charge Internet use bills. Bundle systems can be quite pricey. Hence, perhaps having individual access to the Internet in our homes still means technology use is expensive. One of the things we can rely on as humans is: we can always rely on humankind to come up with a way to extort money out of people for services (even if some of those services become free, life is still WAY WAY expensive).
I suppose the expensive aspects of life are strongly associated with the standard of living desired. If we want convenience of home wireless networks, individual cars to drive anywhere we want at any time we want, and assorted television channels to watch at any given moment at home, life can be expensively convenient.
The obsession with social networking keeps us away from spending time with people the old-fashioned way: by calling them up and setting up a quality time date. Even with all the technology in the world, the quality time I have spent with my family away from obsessive technology are the memories I cherish most.
Even though technology can have its drawbacks, there are still aspects of it that contribute to magical memories. I always liked listening to my Walkman while I went on road trips or sat fishing at various bodies of water on family vacations. As I grew older, devices for listening to music have changed from Walkman to portable CD player to Ipod/Zune. As a result, musical enrichment has always been an aspect of technology development to respect and appreciate.
Another aspect of technology development that has a great power to affect us is audio-visual devices. Family movies can remind us of times we may have forgotten or touched us. Photographs can commemorate memories, friends, and family that matter to us (either dead or alive). Having pictures of life over time can help us reminisce and reflect on what kind of lives we have led. Photographs can be treasures because they are not only images, but captured moments in this fleeting life.
Overall, technology is both hindering the quality of the human social experience through the advent of social networking obsessions and enhancing it via better means to listen to music, to video-record and to photograph events with video and digital cameras.
The question we must ponder is: Does technology benefit us more than it harms us? Where do we draw the line between constructive and destructive technology?
Tuesday, June 24, 2014
Enlightenment, Yoga, and Pondering the Significance of Only One Life to Live
This post is more of an update about the last post. Ultimately, I decided to try to incorporate attitude-enhancing activities into my life like exercise, yoga, and meditation in order to cultivate a more positive attitude.
Sometimes life feels like it is spiraling out of control and we are helplessly caught in this whirlpool of destruction. However, seeking out guidance from others in times of need can be very beneficial to the trend direction of our life. I am very thankful to have a great immediate family and wonderful friends who have been extremely morally supportive.
My mom had told my little brother this past weekend that I would benefit from watching the recent Joel Osteen sermon on ABC Family. Mr. Osteen has such great perspectives on life that make me laugh and help me to see things differently and in a more affirmative light. I'm not a highly religious person, but I enjoy listening to Joel Osteen very much and I believe how we process our lives can have a significant impact on how we choose to live them.
Joel Osteen's message last weekend was Nothing is Wasted (Osteen 2014). His perspective on life is that sometimes things happen in life that stink, but stinky stuff is not always bad stuff (Osteen 2014). Osteen brings up the case example of how fertilizer is a key element to promote the growth of plants (Osteen 2014). As such, if people embraced the stinky stuff as the means to significant growth, people would have a better attitude about tough times in life and a better attitude can improve all facets of our lives (Osteen 2014). If bad stuff happens, it means we have the potential to grow from the experiences (Osteen 2014).
I also watched a yoga interview on a yoga DVD Getting Started With Yoga about relaxation. The yoga instructor Barbara talks about how people do not give themselves enough slack throughout their lives. People often try to take on more than they can handle and expect too much of themselves in a limited time span. Often it is best to slow down and set fewer attainable goals, so that we do not feel discouraged when we cannot achieve the unachievable. Learning how to slow down, set achievable goals, and spend time on relaxation every once in awhile allows us to treat our mind and body like our friend, as it should be.
In truth, we are only given one body in which to live a single life inside. As such, we must take care to nurture our body and appreciate life in a beneficial way. (**This is only true, if you do not believe in reincarnation.) (**And if you believe in the conservation of energy, perhaps this premise would not work either. If someone dies, the energy within their soul would find a new body. In My Soul to Take, this idea takes a very sinister turn.)
In any case, we are all human (unless aliens read my blog too) and life is full of surprises, both good ones and bad ones. Hence, learning how to take these surprises in stride can make us happier and more productive people.
I hope that I can continue to grow. I'm always amazed when I find myself growing more as a person because I always regain the belief that I've reached maturity and then have something happen to make me see that growth is still possible (even in the wisest of us).
Works Cited
Getting Started With Yoga. Dir. Michael Wohl. Perf. Barbara Benagh. BodyWisdom Media, Inc., 2008. DVD.
My Soul to Take. Dir. Wes Craven. Perf. Max Thieriot, John Magaro, and Denzel Whitaker. Rogue, 2010. DVD.
Osteen, Joel. Nothing Is Wasted. ABC Family. 22 June 2014. LightSource.com. Web. 25 June 2014.
Sometimes life feels like it is spiraling out of control and we are helplessly caught in this whirlpool of destruction. However, seeking out guidance from others in times of need can be very beneficial to the trend direction of our life. I am very thankful to have a great immediate family and wonderful friends who have been extremely morally supportive.
My mom had told my little brother this past weekend that I would benefit from watching the recent Joel Osteen sermon on ABC Family. Mr. Osteen has such great perspectives on life that make me laugh and help me to see things differently and in a more affirmative light. I'm not a highly religious person, but I enjoy listening to Joel Osteen very much and I believe how we process our lives can have a significant impact on how we choose to live them.
Joel Osteen's message last weekend was Nothing is Wasted (Osteen 2014). His perspective on life is that sometimes things happen in life that stink, but stinky stuff is not always bad stuff (Osteen 2014). Osteen brings up the case example of how fertilizer is a key element to promote the growth of plants (Osteen 2014). As such, if people embraced the stinky stuff as the means to significant growth, people would have a better attitude about tough times in life and a better attitude can improve all facets of our lives (Osteen 2014). If bad stuff happens, it means we have the potential to grow from the experiences (Osteen 2014).
I also watched a yoga interview on a yoga DVD Getting Started With Yoga about relaxation. The yoga instructor Barbara talks about how people do not give themselves enough slack throughout their lives. People often try to take on more than they can handle and expect too much of themselves in a limited time span. Often it is best to slow down and set fewer attainable goals, so that we do not feel discouraged when we cannot achieve the unachievable. Learning how to slow down, set achievable goals, and spend time on relaxation every once in awhile allows us to treat our mind and body like our friend, as it should be.
In truth, we are only given one body in which to live a single life inside. As such, we must take care to nurture our body and appreciate life in a beneficial way. (**This is only true, if you do not believe in reincarnation.) (**And if you believe in the conservation of energy, perhaps this premise would not work either. If someone dies, the energy within their soul would find a new body. In My Soul to Take, this idea takes a very sinister turn.)
In any case, we are all human (unless aliens read my blog too) and life is full of surprises, both good ones and bad ones. Hence, learning how to take these surprises in stride can make us happier and more productive people.
I hope that I can continue to grow. I'm always amazed when I find myself growing more as a person because I always regain the belief that I've reached maturity and then have something happen to make me see that growth is still possible (even in the wisest of us).
Works Cited
Getting Started With Yoga. Dir. Michael Wohl. Perf. Barbara Benagh. BodyWisdom Media, Inc., 2008. DVD.
My Soul to Take. Dir. Wes Craven. Perf. Max Thieriot, John Magaro, and Denzel Whitaker. Rogue, 2010. DVD.
Osteen, Joel. Nothing Is Wasted. ABC Family. 22 June 2014. LightSource.com. Web. 25 June 2014.
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Hunting for Work, Critical Relatives, Judgment vs. Love, A Better Kinder World, and Life's Trenches
I have come to the realization that disappointing my extended family terrifies me. June has just started and right before it became June, I found myself sending out a ton of resumes and applying to jobs. The sad part about it is that this sudden need to desperately find a job was initiated by the terror of knowing that my extended family would rip me a new one if I attend an upcoming family bridal shower without one.
I'm currently trying to work out a final requirement for graduation and the lack of knowing what tasks or commitments will be expected from me this summer has created a lot of uncertainty. I am limited for job seeking due to the lack of availability awareness. I'm also limited in what I can say on my resume because I should have graduated in May, but without meeting this final requirement, I might have to extend the graduation date I report on my resume and on future job applications. As such, a job hunt that would have been easier with known certifications has become more complicated.
I don't think family should be judgmental towards one another. Being judgmental is not conducive with love. To truly love someone else, we must accept them and love them for who they are. Judging others is not even what mere mortals should do. The only person who knows all the wise and unwise things we have done is each individual and possibly the universal consciousness. Whether these things were good or bad, right or wrong, and what the overall tally is is usually complicated. Logic sometimes is not one absolute versus another absolute. Often, it is hard to decide what is the best option and sometimes the benefits do not equal the consequences. Sometimes we do not know all of the parameters making up a paradigm.
All I know for sure is that it is wrong that I feel like being around my extended family is the same as being blindfolded in front of a firing squad. I understand that I haven't figured out my life yet. I understand that I should be working and paying my own way. I understand that lenders harassing my 83-year old grandmother and father most of the year for my past loans is wrong. I understand that my not having a job yet after what should have been my graduation is not ideal. I understand that not having a job in a family of workaholics means I'm scum to them. I realize that they may think I'm a waste of oxygen if I'm not being productive. I understand all of this. I have a brutal inner critic that is twice the bully that anyone else can be, but it hurts me even more when my inner bully has friends to root her on for my own mental collapse.
Why can't our loved ones be supportive?! I believe that if people were nicer to one another, we would be much more successful as a species. Furthermore, we all know who the supportive people are in our lives and these people are valued much higher than any of the others. Everybody wants to be accepted and treated as if they are worth something (even while they are going through a rough patch, even while they are in a mediocre job or are unemployed, even while they are losing their minds, even when they are different from most people, even when they have reached the absolute bottom of life's well of despair). We want to be heard, respected, valued, and treated like everyone deserves to be treated (courteously and as equals as fellow human beings).
I keep hoping the world will change and become a better place. However, it seems like the world stays mostly the same regardless of what initiatives are started in aims of exterminating bad practices by people towards other people. Sometimes, there are glimmers of hope and signs that all human beings are not morally bankrupt. We all cheer inside when someone out there does the right thing in a tough situation. I wish it happened more often.
I will keep dreaming about a better kinder world, while I avoid the haters in the trenches and only leave them covered with armor made of sarcasm for short journeys to different trenches. That's what life is: moving from one trench to another, hoping to survive long enough to find a trench worth fortifying and a treasure worth protecting. A treasure can be values, people, real estate, intellect, and anything else that matters to an individual enough to merit protecting from corruption.
I'm currently trying to work out a final requirement for graduation and the lack of knowing what tasks or commitments will be expected from me this summer has created a lot of uncertainty. I am limited for job seeking due to the lack of availability awareness. I'm also limited in what I can say on my resume because I should have graduated in May, but without meeting this final requirement, I might have to extend the graduation date I report on my resume and on future job applications. As such, a job hunt that would have been easier with known certifications has become more complicated.
I don't think family should be judgmental towards one another. Being judgmental is not conducive with love. To truly love someone else, we must accept them and love them for who they are. Judging others is not even what mere mortals should do. The only person who knows all the wise and unwise things we have done is each individual and possibly the universal consciousness. Whether these things were good or bad, right or wrong, and what the overall tally is is usually complicated. Logic sometimes is not one absolute versus another absolute. Often, it is hard to decide what is the best option and sometimes the benefits do not equal the consequences. Sometimes we do not know all of the parameters making up a paradigm.
All I know for sure is that it is wrong that I feel like being around my extended family is the same as being blindfolded in front of a firing squad. I understand that I haven't figured out my life yet. I understand that I should be working and paying my own way. I understand that lenders harassing my 83-year old grandmother and father most of the year for my past loans is wrong. I understand that my not having a job yet after what should have been my graduation is not ideal. I understand that not having a job in a family of workaholics means I'm scum to them. I realize that they may think I'm a waste of oxygen if I'm not being productive. I understand all of this. I have a brutal inner critic that is twice the bully that anyone else can be, but it hurts me even more when my inner bully has friends to root her on for my own mental collapse.
Why can't our loved ones be supportive?! I believe that if people were nicer to one another, we would be much more successful as a species. Furthermore, we all know who the supportive people are in our lives and these people are valued much higher than any of the others. Everybody wants to be accepted and treated as if they are worth something (even while they are going through a rough patch, even while they are in a mediocre job or are unemployed, even while they are losing their minds, even when they are different from most people, even when they have reached the absolute bottom of life's well of despair). We want to be heard, respected, valued, and treated like everyone deserves to be treated (courteously and as equals as fellow human beings).
I keep hoping the world will change and become a better place. However, it seems like the world stays mostly the same regardless of what initiatives are started in aims of exterminating bad practices by people towards other people. Sometimes, there are glimmers of hope and signs that all human beings are not morally bankrupt. We all cheer inside when someone out there does the right thing in a tough situation. I wish it happened more often.
I will keep dreaming about a better kinder world, while I avoid the haters in the trenches and only leave them covered with armor made of sarcasm for short journeys to different trenches. That's what life is: moving from one trench to another, hoping to survive long enough to find a trench worth fortifying and a treasure worth protecting. A treasure can be values, people, real estate, intellect, and anything else that matters to an individual enough to merit protecting from corruption.
Tuesday, May 20, 2014
Meryl & Maks, Dance Show-Lover's Mind, and the Upcoming Hot Tamale Train on May 28th!!
I always have to have an obsession. This past semester was my last semester towards my B.S. in Civil Engineering with emphasis in Water/Environmental Studies (with a minor in Technology Commercialization). Since graduation was this past Saturday, I have been avidly watching for the posting of grades this week. It's too disappointing to keep checking and have nothing be there, so I moved on to something else (to keep my sanity (assuming I had any)).
As such, last night I watched Dancing with the Stars. I only caught an episode here and there throughout the season (because senior engineering projects tend to keep me busy). From what I had watched, I had become mesmerized by Meryl & Maks. They are a phenomenal dancing pair with loads of chemistry.
I am hoping for several things to occur on tomorrow's finale of Dancing with the Stars. I hope the following things will occur:
As much as James was a far better dancer and was glorious eye candy, he had more stage performance in his background and 12-pack abs. As much as he was and still is a beautiful performer, Candice had been improving. The audience for Dancing with the Stars is also most likely older than James' current Big Time Rush fans. Hence, Cameron probably had more of the "Full House" fans on her side voting than James did.
As I was saying, Candice has been improving. Her "Nasty" Janet Jackson Jazz routine was very precise and creative later in the season. Her characters have been quirky and modest throughout the season. She knows who she is and wasn't afraid to incorporate her past experience with "Full House" into her performances. By paying an homage to Full House in her tribute dance and going with Elvis, she was able to incorporate fun into her dance. I also still think it was hilarious that her last dance last night wearing the gold bodysuit had "DJ Tanner" flashing in the screens behind her. It was clever allusion humor, which I appreciate very much.
As such, I understand why America picked her to be in the finale and I like that a dancer representing the struggle of improvement in an unknown art is represented. Although I will still love James and imagine him as the next Christian Bale when he's older (Thank you, Universe, for making such fine eye candy). The other finalists were also contenders to win.
Throughout the season, Amy has been an inspiration to watch. There were a couple episodes that made me cry. I especially loved her tribute dance to her father. Someone who deals with something as devastating as having limbs amputated and manages to live life to the fullest is amazing. In some ways, she has won as a representative for adversity. As much as I love her and what she represents, I still hope Meryl and Maks win though.
Meryl has overcome an adversity of shyness and has opened up in ways America has never seen her do before. And Maks has never won on Dancing with the Stars over the course of 13 seasons. Meryl has brought beautiful choreography out of Maks and has a beautiful friendship with him. I realize that she is an Olympian (as is Amy), but her growth as a person has been wonderful to watch as well through dance.
Thus, I hope tomorrow's finale dances are as amazing as I hope they will be. I also hope that Meryl and Maks will take home the trophy. But regardless of who actually wins, I understand why they won because of what they represent in a "dance show-lover's" mind.
When Dancing with the Stars ends, my next show obsession will be another awesome dance show: So You Think You Can Dance, which starts on Fox on a new season on May 28th. I love my name-twin judge Mary Murphy and her Hot Tamale Train!! Woohoo!!
As such, last night I watched Dancing with the Stars. I only caught an episode here and there throughout the season (because senior engineering projects tend to keep me busy). From what I had watched, I had become mesmerized by Meryl & Maks. They are a phenomenal dancing pair with loads of chemistry.
I am hoping for several things to occur on tomorrow's finale of Dancing with the Stars. I hope the following things will occur:
- Meryl and Maks will kiss at the end of a dance.
- Meryl and Maks will win this season of Dancing with the Stars.
- Meryl and Maks will discuss what their relationship will be in the future.
As much as James was a far better dancer and was glorious eye candy, he had more stage performance in his background and 12-pack abs. As much as he was and still is a beautiful performer, Candice had been improving. The audience for Dancing with the Stars is also most likely older than James' current Big Time Rush fans. Hence, Cameron probably had more of the "Full House" fans on her side voting than James did.
As I was saying, Candice has been improving. Her "Nasty" Janet Jackson Jazz routine was very precise and creative later in the season. Her characters have been quirky and modest throughout the season. She knows who she is and wasn't afraid to incorporate her past experience with "Full House" into her performances. By paying an homage to Full House in her tribute dance and going with Elvis, she was able to incorporate fun into her dance. I also still think it was hilarious that her last dance last night wearing the gold bodysuit had "DJ Tanner" flashing in the screens behind her. It was clever allusion humor, which I appreciate very much.
As such, I understand why America picked her to be in the finale and I like that a dancer representing the struggle of improvement in an unknown art is represented. Although I will still love James and imagine him as the next Christian Bale when he's older (Thank you, Universe, for making such fine eye candy). The other finalists were also contenders to win.
Throughout the season, Amy has been an inspiration to watch. There were a couple episodes that made me cry. I especially loved her tribute dance to her father. Someone who deals with something as devastating as having limbs amputated and manages to live life to the fullest is amazing. In some ways, she has won as a representative for adversity. As much as I love her and what she represents, I still hope Meryl and Maks win though.
Meryl has overcome an adversity of shyness and has opened up in ways America has never seen her do before. And Maks has never won on Dancing with the Stars over the course of 13 seasons. Meryl has brought beautiful choreography out of Maks and has a beautiful friendship with him. I realize that she is an Olympian (as is Amy), but her growth as a person has been wonderful to watch as well through dance.
Thus, I hope tomorrow's finale dances are as amazing as I hope they will be. I also hope that Meryl and Maks will take home the trophy. But regardless of who actually wins, I understand why they won because of what they represent in a "dance show-lover's" mind.
When Dancing with the Stars ends, my next show obsession will be another awesome dance show: So You Think You Can Dance, which starts on Fox on a new season on May 28th. I love my name-twin judge Mary Murphy and her Hot Tamale Train!! Woohoo!!
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