Tuesday, September 30, 2003
hey there,well my trip was ok. seattle is a beautiful city. when i get there, amber looks great. she tells me she had to get me a hotel room b/c or her ex b/f causing problems. tha was fine ad we wet have drinks. she told me the story about him and he is a dick. she couldnt stay out long b/c she had to go pick up her daughter. i was tired anyway. i was looking forward to our game. the game starts at 1 and i dnt hear from her until 11. she irunning late b/c of her ex.(asshole). we dont get to the game until the second inning and our seats suck. but we have a few beers and wemove seats into the sun wehre the weather is beauiful. it ends up beiinga good day. i go back to the hotel room and ty to find a place to watch the LSU game. we are playing MISS. st. the restaurat next door is showing it and i go over there. amber called and said she would come meet me. when she shows up , she looks incredible. she had her daughter with her too and she is adorable. we have a goodtime and LSU kicks ass. i woke up the next morning and amber and Madi had breakfast with me. i had to leave right after so that was my trip. i wish i could have seen more of her but i will see her again for christmas. i spent the whole flight back doing homework. back to the grind. cya
seattle mariners baseball
seattle mariners baseball
Thursday, September 25, 2003
hey , i am pumped. i leave tomorrow for seattle and i get to go to Safeco Field. i am looking forward to going see a baeball game. i havent been to one in 9yrs. i am looking forward to eeing amber again. she is hot. oh well, i will tell ouabout it when i get back. cya
todays topics
todays topics
Tuesday, September 23, 2003
hey whats up, we talked about Baudrilliard and Marty as usual entered his opinions about the subject. i like when he comes to clas becaue that means i get to talk less. it seems i alswas disagree with what we read. i dot put much faith in the internet as far as a communicating process. i just think there are too many lies that can be told and no repercussions from those lies. it was a great weekend for LSU football. we beat georgia. it was such a close game. we didnt even play well. well spanish is kicking my ass. i just want to pass. CYA 3 days til seattle
todays topic
todays topic
Thursday, September 18, 2003
heywhats up, this is a big weekend for LSU . we play georgia this week. they are ranked very high. gameday will be in town and it should be very exciting. i will probably watch the game on TV . it is impossible to get tix. we were supposed to read about Benjamin for class today. Now i am totally confused. we are talking aobut hyperreal and ecstasy of communication and using words that should be in porn content. it is all very confusing. i just want some football.
dandy don's site
dandy don's site
Tuesday, September 16, 2003
it was good weekend. we beat the hell out of western illinois. we are doing pretty good so far. our lab was due today and our paper. it seemed pretty easy. i was pretty nervous because i didnt know what to expect. i think i did ok. i will put a copyf my paper on here. we just sat around and talked about what we wrote about. i will always beCypher.
Trent Michel
SPCM 3900-The Rhetoric of Cyberculture
Dr. Laura Sells
Fall 2003
The Matrix
I plan on introducing to you an interesting and possibly conservative outlook on a movie that garnished so much attention. The problem with such an outstanding and brilliant movie is that there are no limitations to the imagination and anything is possible. The problem that arises is that not everything is probable. Many people argue that we are very close or are possibly in a world now similar to the matrix. The Internet has given us a pseudo-fantasy world for anyone to play in. Within the world of the Internet, a forty year old, out-of-work man who still lives with his mother can turn himself into a twenty five year old handsome millionaire who lives in the Hamptons. We are advancing by leaps and bounds every day toward a more automated world. However, there are parameters as to how far all this will go and any chance of our world ending up being a matrix is impossible.
The movie takes us through a journey of a world that we used to know into a world of machines that exists now. Neo has been living in this matrix, this computer program, his whole life, and now he has the opportunity to finally realize and to see the real world. My question is why would anyone take the red pill? I consider myself to be an adventurous type of person, but if this would happen to be a real life situation, I would pass.
What this movie does, along with the Internet, is it gives people a false sensation and makes them think they can do things that are not possible. The inception of role-playing games and chat rooms and dating services have given so called normal people outlets to express themselves in ways that they couldn’t before. The problem is that they become someone else in this computer-generated world and want to remain these people when they return to the real world. How coincidental is it that since the boom of the Internet, we have also seen increases in school attacks. In many instances, the attacks are purported by unpopular teens who have no social life and who spend the majority of their time on the Internet. These are the same kids who play shoot em up games and think they can carry it over into the real world. Cyber-violence is readily found today. Commercials for military games, Vice City, and attack games are on every other commercial. These commercials are targeted towards our young teens. It’s only logical to think that these youths will bring their fantasy world into their real world. I didn’t have computers or the Internet when I was young and I spent the majority of my time playing with friends or watching baseball. My fantasy world was wanting to play Major League Baseball and I tried my hardest to act out my fantasy. I am glad I never wanted to shoot up other people. The matrix is guilty, along with the mass media, of luring kids to their products of destruction and the decrease of family and social values that we used to have.
After watching the movie, I thought to myself, what’s so bad about living in the matrix? Morpheus explained to Neo that the matrix is a computer-generated world and that it isn’t real. Morpheus tells Neo that his eyes hurt because he is seeing for the first time. They live on a dingy spaceship and eat slop for meals. I am confused as to the meaning of the word “real”. If the matrix wasn’t real, why would Cypher want to return back? I somewhat agree with Cypher about taking the red pill. If he had to do it over again, he would have taken the blue one. You know the matrix isn’t real but you would be able to experience all the wonders it has to offer. It seems to me that you would only have to convince yourself that it is real and be happy. The Oracle seemed content living in the matrix and she is supposed to know everything. The alternative is constantly fighting for your life for a city where the last humans exist.
David Jacobsen gives us a definition of presence as the experience of being engaged by the representations of a virtual world. The movie demonstrates presence by the ability of the characters to go back and forth into computer programs while their body stays on the ship. In our real world, this presence allows a person to enter a fantasy world where they can become whomever they want. Virtual Reality is a remarkable invention that lets people act out ideas or situations that normally would never be possible. I myself love the idea of having the ability to transport myself into and fantasy role or any fantasy place that I choose. At the same time, I understand that it is a virtual world and that I must return to whom I am and that I am not a fantasy person.
In the article we read by Tim Johnson, he tells us that new media technologies are shaping our world and word view on an unprecedented scale. He also notes that new media technologies should ultimately enrich rather than depreciate the quality of our personal and collective lives. I strongly agree with Mr. Johnson but I have a hard time seeing the enrichening process that is supposed to be taking place. I stay focused on the youth of today because they are our future. The new media has become so readily available to most households and it is very user friendly. It is also found in most schools and teachers use the Internet for academia purposes. Kids are armed with the knowledge of how to use the Internet and spend all their free time at home honing their skills where there are no parameters as to the sites they can travel. Without parent supervision, kids have the ability to find any information on any subject.
Getting back to the movie, many argue about the possibilities of living in a world like this, there was one scene that I found to be far-fetched. Neo gets about nine bullets shot into him by an agent and supposedly dies. If I remember correctly, once you die in the matrix, you die for good. Morpheus told Neo, “You’re body cant survive without its mind.” So how does a kiss from Trinity bring him back to life? It’s typical scenes like this that give youths false hope. It gives them a sense of indestructibility, makes them think they are immortal.
We can compare the movie to our world as the Internet being our matrix. The only difference is that when we enter our matrix, there are rarely any consequences as to what can happen to us. We will not die if an agent kills us playing a game or we do not get hurt when we crash a car on the net. We also do not get into trouble when we learn how to build bombs or buy guns or learn how to make meth labs. In some ways I wish the real world were closer related to the movie in the fact that there should be repercussions to the actions that we take within the matrix. How many kids would spend less time playing Counter Strike if they knew that if they died in the game, they would die in real life? I am sure I wouldn’t play that game. If our world is heading towards a world similar to the movie, then why aren’t the consequences following?
Rodowick sums up our fears about the new media with Murphy’s Law. If anything can go wrong it will. He just simply applies to the technology world. He explains that the more complex technology gets, the greater chance of failing. Our world that we live in today is lined with war and poverty and distrust. It is easy to blame new media for having a hand in this turmoil because it has become so popular and readily available.
I want to conclude my paper by saying that I did not write this paper to ultimately put an end to new media. I have embraced new media and would not know where I would be without it. I can’t get through a day without checking my e-mail or talking to friends online. I have panic attacks when I leave my cell phone at home because I think I am missing very important calls. I can appreciate the value and worth new media have to offer. I just want to see this new technology used for good instead of evil doings. My worry is that we will ultimately force ourselves into a world of machines where we have no control. I worry about our communication skills with other people. It is rare now to have meetings or even classes where you speak face-to-face with someone. We live in a world of teleconferencing and instant messaging and videophones. I admit it is very convenient but it is also diminishing our social interaction. I just hope one day I can enter the matrix and return back to a time where there were no computers and my fantasies of being a Major League Baseball Player would come true.
i hope you enjoyed it. CYA
Trent Michel
SPCM 3900-The Rhetoric of Cyberculture
Dr. Laura Sells
Fall 2003
The Matrix
I plan on introducing to you an interesting and possibly conservative outlook on a movie that garnished so much attention. The problem with such an outstanding and brilliant movie is that there are no limitations to the imagination and anything is possible. The problem that arises is that not everything is probable. Many people argue that we are very close or are possibly in a world now similar to the matrix. The Internet has given us a pseudo-fantasy world for anyone to play in. Within the world of the Internet, a forty year old, out-of-work man who still lives with his mother can turn himself into a twenty five year old handsome millionaire who lives in the Hamptons. We are advancing by leaps and bounds every day toward a more automated world. However, there are parameters as to how far all this will go and any chance of our world ending up being a matrix is impossible.
The movie takes us through a journey of a world that we used to know into a world of machines that exists now. Neo has been living in this matrix, this computer program, his whole life, and now he has the opportunity to finally realize and to see the real world. My question is why would anyone take the red pill? I consider myself to be an adventurous type of person, but if this would happen to be a real life situation, I would pass.
What this movie does, along with the Internet, is it gives people a false sensation and makes them think they can do things that are not possible. The inception of role-playing games and chat rooms and dating services have given so called normal people outlets to express themselves in ways that they couldn’t before. The problem is that they become someone else in this computer-generated world and want to remain these people when they return to the real world. How coincidental is it that since the boom of the Internet, we have also seen increases in school attacks. In many instances, the attacks are purported by unpopular teens who have no social life and who spend the majority of their time on the Internet. These are the same kids who play shoot em up games and think they can carry it over into the real world. Cyber-violence is readily found today. Commercials for military games, Vice City, and attack games are on every other commercial. These commercials are targeted towards our young teens. It’s only logical to think that these youths will bring their fantasy world into their real world. I didn’t have computers or the Internet when I was young and I spent the majority of my time playing with friends or watching baseball. My fantasy world was wanting to play Major League Baseball and I tried my hardest to act out my fantasy. I am glad I never wanted to shoot up other people. The matrix is guilty, along with the mass media, of luring kids to their products of destruction and the decrease of family and social values that we used to have.
After watching the movie, I thought to myself, what’s so bad about living in the matrix? Morpheus explained to Neo that the matrix is a computer-generated world and that it isn’t real. Morpheus tells Neo that his eyes hurt because he is seeing for the first time. They live on a dingy spaceship and eat slop for meals. I am confused as to the meaning of the word “real”. If the matrix wasn’t real, why would Cypher want to return back? I somewhat agree with Cypher about taking the red pill. If he had to do it over again, he would have taken the blue one. You know the matrix isn’t real but you would be able to experience all the wonders it has to offer. It seems to me that you would only have to convince yourself that it is real and be happy. The Oracle seemed content living in the matrix and she is supposed to know everything. The alternative is constantly fighting for your life for a city where the last humans exist.
David Jacobsen gives us a definition of presence as the experience of being engaged by the representations of a virtual world. The movie demonstrates presence by the ability of the characters to go back and forth into computer programs while their body stays on the ship. In our real world, this presence allows a person to enter a fantasy world where they can become whomever they want. Virtual Reality is a remarkable invention that lets people act out ideas or situations that normally would never be possible. I myself love the idea of having the ability to transport myself into and fantasy role or any fantasy place that I choose. At the same time, I understand that it is a virtual world and that I must return to whom I am and that I am not a fantasy person.
In the article we read by Tim Johnson, he tells us that new media technologies are shaping our world and word view on an unprecedented scale. He also notes that new media technologies should ultimately enrich rather than depreciate the quality of our personal and collective lives. I strongly agree with Mr. Johnson but I have a hard time seeing the enrichening process that is supposed to be taking place. I stay focused on the youth of today because they are our future. The new media has become so readily available to most households and it is very user friendly. It is also found in most schools and teachers use the Internet for academia purposes. Kids are armed with the knowledge of how to use the Internet and spend all their free time at home honing their skills where there are no parameters as to the sites they can travel. Without parent supervision, kids have the ability to find any information on any subject.
Getting back to the movie, many argue about the possibilities of living in a world like this, there was one scene that I found to be far-fetched. Neo gets about nine bullets shot into him by an agent and supposedly dies. If I remember correctly, once you die in the matrix, you die for good. Morpheus told Neo, “You’re body cant survive without its mind.” So how does a kiss from Trinity bring him back to life? It’s typical scenes like this that give youths false hope. It gives them a sense of indestructibility, makes them think they are immortal.
We can compare the movie to our world as the Internet being our matrix. The only difference is that when we enter our matrix, there are rarely any consequences as to what can happen to us. We will not die if an agent kills us playing a game or we do not get hurt when we crash a car on the net. We also do not get into trouble when we learn how to build bombs or buy guns or learn how to make meth labs. In some ways I wish the real world were closer related to the movie in the fact that there should be repercussions to the actions that we take within the matrix. How many kids would spend less time playing Counter Strike if they knew that if they died in the game, they would die in real life? I am sure I wouldn’t play that game. If our world is heading towards a world similar to the movie, then why aren’t the consequences following?
Rodowick sums up our fears about the new media with Murphy’s Law. If anything can go wrong it will. He just simply applies to the technology world. He explains that the more complex technology gets, the greater chance of failing. Our world that we live in today is lined with war and poverty and distrust. It is easy to blame new media for having a hand in this turmoil because it has become so popular and readily available.
I want to conclude my paper by saying that I did not write this paper to ultimately put an end to new media. I have embraced new media and would not know where I would be without it. I can’t get through a day without checking my e-mail or talking to friends online. I have panic attacks when I leave my cell phone at home because I think I am missing very important calls. I can appreciate the value and worth new media have to offer. I just want to see this new technology used for good instead of evil doings. My worry is that we will ultimately force ourselves into a world of machines where we have no control. I worry about our communication skills with other people. It is rare now to have meetings or even classes where you speak face-to-face with someone. We live in a world of teleconferencing and instant messaging and videophones. I admit it is very convenient but it is also diminishing our social interaction. I just hope one day I can enter the matrix and return back to a time where there were no computers and my fantasies of being a Major League Baseball Player would come true.
i hope you enjoyed it. CYA
Thursday, September 11, 2003
our article talked about Marx today. i dont really care too much for the rhetoric. not my favorite subject. i think i made my first sale at work. i hope it goes through. the money will be good. brady shoewed me a cool web site. i bought one of the shirts. hilarious tshirts. have a good weekend. CYA
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
hey, i just got out of class. the article we were supposed to read was about the beginning of the internet and how everything got started. it talks abaout how the internet will become the futture of communication. i think we will always need face to face communication and we will never get rid of it. this stuff still confuses me and when i read it , it gets blurry after awhile. we play western illinois this week in football. we will beat them bad. i think i will go with my freind amber. she invited me. it should be a fun weekend. i am also planning a trip to seattle t see my freind other friend amber. she was in town and she looks reall good. i am loking forward to it. oh well, CYA
todays topic
todays topic
Sunday, September 07, 2003
hey, i havent written in a few days b/c i have been in LasVegas. my trip wasnt all that great. first of all, we missed our connecting flight in houston b/c of bad weather. the ticket girl in baton roge was a bitch. i hate Continental. i had to pay for a hotel room in houtn and in egas for thursday night. iwas pisssed. ell,i didnt get to vegas until noon on friday and i met my brother and jeff. i went to my room and unpacked my bags and went straight to the poker table. i ended up playing for 4 hours and breaking even. i got pretty drunk too. i went meet my brother and i won 50 bucks playing BJ. wellwe went site seeing on sat and rode the roller coaster at NY NY . that was fun. we ate at PF Chang's in Aladdin one night. there food rocks. we watched the LSU game on sat night at Mandalay Bay. they beat the shit out of Arizona. there were a lot of LSU fans there. we left early this morning and i am just getting back. i dontwant to go back to class. oh well, gotta graduate. CYA
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
hey, only 2 more days til i leave for vegas. i am pumped. i watched the matrix this weekend again. i see new things each time i see it. we talked about presence in class today. this stuff is so far over my head i cant see straight. they talk about stuff like whats real and wahts not real, this shit confuses me. oh well, i just dont try to think abot it too much. i dont know how these people dont go crazy. its ok. i am going play poker. haha. lsu won their first game this past saturday. they beat the piss out fo Northeast la. we are going to watch the arizona game this weekend in vegas. woohoo
CYA las vegas hotels
todays topic
CYA las vegas hotels
todays topic
