lava & silver

Q. What is Michael Welch arguing about the nature of reading, writing, and thinking in the web 2.0, digital world? Is the machine using us? Is this a bad thing?

     - Michael Welch illustrates in his video "The Machine is Us/ing US" the substantial effects the web has on human cognition. It emphasizes the speed in which an individual can search, find, read, and process information which giving the machine information it needs to get a general consensus as to what the population want. People become so consumed with the efficiency, relevancy, and speed of the web that it becomes an irreversible part of them; simultaneously becoming the web's personal puppet. Thus, people would use the internet constantly, giving the web and the people behind it constant information; therefore, transforming the web into a more efficient and addictive tool. Many individuals believe that this is pure exploitation; however, the web is an indispensable entity of the modern human race's life. It improved the standard of living and, cultural and intellectual  education of many individuals from around the world.

     

Jar of Hearts

How much does the reader own the text she/he is reading?  How does a reader participate in a text?  Does the reader belong in the text?  Why or why not?

   

-  A reader and/or audience have an important role in the writing process of a writer. Some writers write for personal expression, some write to inspire, some write to persuade, some write merely to entertain, and some write to do all of the above and more. Aside from personal ideas, writers have a major role in influencing the direction a writer takes in his/her writing because once the writer have chosen what he/she will write about, and have chosen who he/ she will target, the writer must do its very best to receive the intended reaction from the audience (reader); which is not an easy task to accomplish. That being said, the final piece produced by a writer is in my opinion, partially the audiences because it is the reader who motivate the writer to write. Readers dictate the tone, mood, diction, rhetoric, and so on of an entire piece; thus, it is their to immerse themselves into the writer's work and the writer feedback so he/she can know whether his/her's intended purpose was fulfilled; this will ultimately affect the writer's future work.

Materialities of Writing pt.2

  
 3. Imagine a culture with only crayons as writing implements. How would that culture differ from ours? What would that culture be most proud of, or would consider to be signs of intellectual prowess?

         -  A culture that used only crayons as a writing implement in my opinion would be far more innovative, creative, and expressive. Crayons is a very expressive tool that allows people to express their emotions through color, intensity of the color used which can translating in to having improved communication between peers. It can spark creativity because there are so many colors to choose from and so much to create. If society were more creative that would then make it more innovative and technically advanced because there would be many unusual ideas circulating. However, I believe that it would be difficult for professors to receive thorough, complete, well written papers from their students because students would find it physically exhausting and tedious; thus, resulting in a condense paper. Overall, A culture that only used crayon as a writing implement would be most proud of their creativity and technology because that creativity and innovation reflects true thought while also showcasing the personality.


4. What general observation about writing implements and bodies do you want to venture,, based on your experience of this crayon excercise? what general observation about writing implements and thinking do you want to venture?

      - A general observation about writing implements and bodies I would like to venture based on the crayon exercise how different writing implements and overall environment affect the writers thinking process, moon, and the content written.

Materialities of Writing

1. Write "first thoughts" response : What felt different as you prepared you assignment while writing in crayon? Did you find yourself thinking differently? Did you come up with ideas you might not have had otherwise, or did you drop ideas because the physical writing was tedious and uncomfortable?

-  Reading the Emily Dickinson poem "Tell all the Truth" and then writing my analysis with a crayon on construction paper was moderately difficult. Although I enjoyed the reading assignment because it was so relevant at this particular point in my life. However, I felt the writing portion of the assignment was tedious and annoying. Whenever I am asked to write something I always write a mini first draft on loose-leaf paper; and, then edit it as i transfer it onto my computer, or in this case construction paper. I became frustrated when I transferred my "final" work onto the construction paper (yellow) in crayon because the words were unkempt. I also felt like I had to condense what I have written, which in my opinion would make my analysis feel incomplete. Last, I made a lot of errors of grammatical errors. This resulted in me writing on a new sheet of construction paper (white), and also led to me writing in pencil. The switch to pencil made my assignment much better than it was before because I stopped focusing on the overall appearance and added emphasis to the content which resulted in a thorough analysis. However, this is assignment also meant to showcase creativity. So I added a "catchy" title, borders, and colorful designs to add color and creativity to the assignment that I have taken away when I decided to write in pencil. Overall, the assignment was enjoyable and informative because I didn't realize how much writing is effected by the tools used to do so.

2. What qualities of the pages suggest the adjectives you attribute to them? Why do you respond to these pages in these ways?

-  The qualities of my peer's assignment that influenced/ suggests the adjectives attributed to them is appearance and content. In terms of appearance, I was attracted to brightly colored construction paper; especially those that had a defined contrast between the color of the paper and the crayon used to write it the analysis. I was also gravitating towards those who used a larger sized font because i figured they were easier to read the words that were written in crayon. I was drawn to those who filled the entire page with their analysis, title, and pictures. Last, I gravitated to those who stepped out of the box for instance #6 was "enticing" because he added emphasis to what he was important words by writing them in a white. In terms of the content, I was looking for those who fully and completely explained their opinion; and, those who approached the poem in a fun, different, out of the box way. For instance, #20 was "boring" because the content of the page lacked luster and depth. Thus, I responded to these pages and provided them with adjectives whether I enjoyed looking and reading the content.

"You Can Shine"

         The extremely ironic, Asian Pantene commercial features a deaf  girl who overcomes deeply rooted personal issues. After, being bullied continuously because she was different; the unnamed dead girl decides to befriend and confide in what seems to be a passionate homeless violinist and street player who  eventually helps her accept herself and 'teaches' her to channel her negative energy and feelings into playing a violin. This inspiring commercial ends with the deaf protagonist entering and what I believe to be winning the competition (beating her primary bully) because she shined. This can be seen in her shiny, long, healthy, beautiful hair and the fact that she may and/or may not have passionately played Johann Pachelbel's "Cannon in the D" with a broken violin.
           Thus, the most compelling observation from Pantene's inspiring commercial is the quote displayed at the end ("You can shine") because it was the overall theme and moral of the story. When I think about shine, I think about standing out, center of attention, beauty, and pureness which is what the deaf girl portrayed throughout the commercial. She stood out because she was physically disabled; and, becaus, she was passionate about playing the piano unlike her competitor and bully. She was the obvious center of attention; thus, resulting in her being subjected to bullying from envious, insecure peers. Finally,she was pure and beautiful because she has amazingly healthy hair; and. because rather then letting her bad experiences turn her into a nasty, angry and resentful person, she channels that energy into producing beautiful music with her violin.