Trent's Final Semester of College

2003-12-02T07:22:00.000-08:00

ok, this is officially my last post before my presentation. i must say, i am glad this is over b/c i am sick of typing on here. i tried to figure out the audio blog but it costs money. i would have definitel done that if i could have. well i have to do soem serious studying this week and i will pass all my finals next week. so every one have a great christmas.

2003-12-01T11:27:00.000-08:00

Eric conveys an emotion.

2003-11-30T17:19:00.000-08:00

hey whats up, i havent written in a week because it was thanksgiving and i havent been home much. i went to laffy to see my mom for thanksgiving. we ended up going serve food to the poor. it was ok. i didnt get to eat any food thought. The ended up running out. all the food was donated by Ruth Chris. i watched lsu kick arkansas's ass on friday. well my presentation isdue tomorrow so ithink this is my final entrance. it was real, it was nice, but it wasnt real nice. haha, i am jut glad i am graduating and lokk out real world.

2003-11-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

This is a test written by Dr. Sells (who thinks she rocks). She is reading my homepage and found out that I cut class. I'm so f**ked. i have senioritis so bad.

2003-11-18T14:37:00.000-08:00

well i was out of town all weekend so i didnt get a chance to write. i went to false river for the weekend. it was cool.
we bbq'd steaks sat night and watched LSU kick ass. I didnt go to class last thursday and i didnt miss anything. All they did was talk about the matrix3 and i havent seen it yet. Laura didnt show up for class today and she wont be there on thursday. so we are pretty much done for this semester. i am ready to graduate. i took my dog to the vet yesterday to get her stitches out. she got her ladyhood removed. well i odnt have much class this weekl so i will try to go into work at some point. we will see. cya

2003-11-13T21:01:00.000-08:00

ok i skipped class today and i dont knwo waht we talked about. i didnt go to class b/c they were supposed to talk about the matrix 3 and i havent seen it yet. did i mention i have had a few beers. i got a good buzz. its getting cold tonight. i had to turn my heater on. i have been wondering how ppl open up thenselves on here with the idea that ppl will never find out what they put on here. it behouves me b/c anytime you write down something private or say something secret, someone always finds out. i am amazed everyday how some ppl think the web is a private setting for them and you read all tehir secrets. oh well, i just hope i am not that stupid. cya

todays topic

2003-11-12T12:01:00.000-08:00

well, today was one of the first days where my spanish teacher did not pick on me. we have a play that we are reading in class so that is all that we did. each person is assigned a part and my part was easy. it looks i really need to buckle down and find a job since i dont have one anymore. i will probably have to go back to the health club. i hate getting up early in the mornings. i have to start reading my book and studying for finals. we only have a few weeks left. i am supposed to go train sarah tonight. fun stuff. cya

2003-11-11T14:04:00.000-08:00

today in class we talked about concepts that we were familiar with throughout the semester and then we applied them to a puzlee that included form content and identity. we heard from a lot of people today that usually dont talk in class. which was cool. that meant i didnt have to talk much. i skipped my first class today b/c i havent been sleeping well. i just cant get to sleep at night. hopefully that will work itself out. i dont feel like going to spanish class tomorrow. i missed monday and i know she is going to pick on me tomorrow. oh well, there is only a few weeks left. cya

todays topic

2003-11-09T10:36:00.000-08:00

well its been a pretty boring weekend. i typed a pper on friday night, and amy came over on sat night and we watched tv. i went check out ralph's new house yesterday. it is very nice. i am sure he will have some fun in his jacuzzi. the baby is getting big. the saints and lsu were off this weekend so there wasnt much football to watch. oh well, maybe next weekend will be a little more exciting. cya

2003-11-07T14:28:00.000-08:00

well today has been a very boring day. my spanish teacher always picks on me in class and she is such a bitch. i just cant wait to graduate. i have a presentation due monday morning, so my weekend will be spent doing that. i dont have any plans for a big friday night because i am broke. i might go eat chinese with AMy. i need to get my loan tomorrow. hopefullysomething will happen. i need money. oh well, another boring weekend. cya

2003-11-06T12:14:00.000-08:00

well i just got back from class and it was a very interesting class. we talked about online communities and were they possible to have. we used a different style of debating today and it worked very well. if you wanted to talk, you had to be seated in the middle of the room. i just think people lie too much to have a successful community. it is possible to have a virtual community, but there are too many holes that are left for the other people in the community to fill about you. Thats howthe lies are sarted and any type of truth is thrown out the window. well i just finished copying some pics onto a CD for my friend Ashleigh. She really doesnt know how to work a computer so i hope she can figure out the CD. I am hoping i can plan my trip to vegas for graduation. i would love to go back. i want to go alone or with a friend. no more people than that. we will see. i have to do my spanish homework and i might go to the basketball game tonight.
cya

todays topic

2003-11-05T13:42:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, today has been a very miserable day. being my last semester, you would expect teachers to cut you some slack but it seems that they are making things as difficult as possible. i got a test back today and made a C on it. i have never made a C in this class. this test was very hard. it's not supposed to be this hard. then my spanish teacher is making me do a 10 minute presentation. i cant even speak spanish. that is going to suck. I also have to give a presentation on monday whic means i have to do group work over the weekend. i am not happy about that. oh well, maybe things will get better tonight. the Matrix revolutions came out today. i might go see that. cya

2003-10-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

well LSU kicked some ass. I had a very boring birthday. I was kinda sick and didnt do a damn thing. Amy and i went eat CHinese and that was it. I was supposed to take a History test today buti wasnt prepared because i was too sick too study. that means my final will be worth double. Damn. i am really getting tired of this blog stuff. i dotn like the fact of putting info about myself on the net. i dont disclose any improtant info,but there are people who put there life stories on here. i just get sick of typing. if i have anything important to say, i will just tell my freind. oh well cya

2003-10-23T18:56:00.000-07:00

hey, our labs were due today. As usual, we got into a circle and talked about our papers. The lab was fun and i was glad to do this paper.
Trent Michel
CMST 3900
Dr. Laura Sells
October 28,2003

In this paper, I want to concentrate on a few key elements of my experience while also giving you an overall summary of how the day and evening went. It turned out to be an enjoyable event that I am glad I had a part in. I do want to focus on three important elements that I encountered throughout the day. First I want to talk about my experience at the Aquarium and how I related the experience to the class. Second, I want to talk about the commercialism that is present in the Aquarium. Finally, I want to focus on the experience of the day from an outsider’s point of view. My friend Brady joined us on the trip and it was interesting to see things from a person who had never experienced this type of atmosphere before.
Our day began with the class meeting outside of Coates Hall at 2:30 pm. You could feel the vibe that it was going to be an interesting day. I was excited to go because I love interacting with classmates outside of class. You get to see a different side of each person. Our trip started off slow because Lorrie was 20 minutes late but it did not seem to damper the spirits of the group. When Lorrie arrived, we piled into the vehicles and proceeded on our way to New Orleans. It was a little nerve racking once we got into the city because our teacher was unsure of where she was going and everyone was following her. New Orleans is not an easy city to drive in and she made it a little more difficult. In actuality, if you just head towards the river, you will find what you are looking for.
Once we arrived at the Aquarium, there was concern over whether we had time to view the Aquarium since we were running late. The process of getting our tickets was a type of chaos to begin with. The regular line for tickets was moving quite swiftly, but we were in a special line for groups. The collection of money and figuring out who the extra people in our group were took extra time and the feeling was that we really wouldn’t be able to see anything. After about twenty minutes of standing around, one person decided to walk in and everyone else followed.
Once inside the Aquarium, my worries melted away and I was immediately drawn to the attractions and spectacles that were in front of me. This was my first time in the Aquarium, so I had no idea what to expect. We were not expected to remain as a group, so people broke up into small factions and started on their journey. I found myself staring at the huge “ENTER” sign and proceeded in that direction with three other people. It’s typical with most viewing museums that the pace is a slow walk and you try to view everything in the area without slowing other people down. The walkways are sometimes narrow and if you stop to read all the signs, you will slow up people behind you. This was the case with one person in our group. As I had mentioned in the beginning, this is our first interaction outside the classroom with our mates. I found out very quickly that one person in our group had to read every sign about every animal, which became a tedious process. I am usually a patient person but in this instance I had to continue on and left my group behind. I felt bad about being part of a group that was holding people up so I tried to disassociate myself with the group.
Throughout the tour, the walkways were well designed and movement through each section was easy. There were plenty of signs moving towards each exhibit. There were a few options at the beginning of the tour as to which direction you could choose, but the huge enter sign attracted most people in that direction. The general population moved accordingly without much trouble. The Aquarium offers many different types of animals and exhibits and is a very interesting place to see. I did notice that the overall temperature in the building was slightly warm. I found it made me moving a little quicker than I normally would. There were a few exhibits that required warm temperatures and that could have possibly had an effect on the overall temperature. I get very uncomfortable when I start sweating. It definitely pushed me through the exhibits.
Another interesting observation that I made during my tour was the fact that there was an area for souvenirs after each exhibit you passed through. The Aquarium attempts to get you to spend your money at every turn. For example, after the otter display, there was a little shop selling everything imaginable with an otter on it. They had otter pens, otter mugs, and otter book sacks. This was the same for every exhibit. When you finished the tour, they had a larger gift shop selling a wide range of Aquarium paraphernalia. I was very tempted to fall down and worship the trinket god but I succumbed and just bought some batteries for my camera. The consumerism was not just restricted to the Aquarium and the animals. There are major oil and gas companies that spend lots of money to fund the Aquarium and their names are plastered all over the building. They want us to think of their companies as earth conscious and when we go to fill up our cars, they want us to use their products. It can be a very powerful way to gain business. Consumers translate seeing their sign at the Aquarium with having a good experience and buy their product because they saw their sign at a place that made them happy. It all comes down to making money. The oil and gas companies join the Audubon Institute in promoting conservationism, but their hidden agenda is to make as much money as possible.
There was an instance of hyper reality that occurred during the tour. There was a display that included two otters. It was a large water tank with rocks in the back for them to climb on and another side room with more area for them to play. The two otters were laying head to head against the glass sleeping. It was a very cute moment. What was odd about this display was that there was a TV monitor right next to the display showing the two otters. It was a real time camera showing the otter tank so people could watch the otters on the screen. I found this amazing because some people would rather watch the otters on the screen instead of looking slightly to the left and seeing them in person. You are watching the exact same thing as the camera. I assume people think the camera will catch everything while you could possibly miss something.
The overall experience of the Aquarium was very entertaining and somewhat educational. It is a very good attraction to the city of New Orleans and can bring a lot of revenue for the state. I wonder how much conservationism is really taking place.
I want to talk now a little bit about my friend Brady. Brady is from San Diego and has only been in Louisiana for a few months. This was Brady’s first time in New Orleans. Brady had also just turned twenty-one and was able to drink legally. Brady was not all that impressed with the Aquarium because he frequently visited the San Diego Zoo, which is considered one of the best in the country. He did however love the IMAX. He was amazed at how they sold alcohol at a movie theater. I was pretty amazed at that myself. After the IMAX, we introduced Brady to the Quarter and needless to say, he had a great time. He saw many things that you would never see on the streets in San Diego. I will refrain from going into any detail. He was impressed with whole experience and would do it again in a heartbeat.
To conclude my paper, I kept coming back to the same idea that wouldn’t get out of my head. All semester long, we talk about cyber culture and how the Internet and computers and so forth play a role in our lives. Well I must admit, the thing that I learned most from this trip had nothing to do with the Internet or cyber culture. I learned that no matter how automated we may become; we will still have to communicate with each other on a face-to-face, personal level. I learned more about the people I have class with than anything. I learned how each person communicates outside the classroom and how that compares and contrasts from inside the classroom. I may have missed the whole point of this trip and how it relates to our class but I definitely learned more about my classmates than I ever would have in class and I am grateful because it has given me a greater appreciation for everyone I see every Tuesday and Thursday.

The next time i will be on here , i willbe 30yrs old. i hope i have a good weekend. CYA

2003-10-21T18:52:00.000-07:00

well this is a big week for me. i have only five days left in my 20's. On sunday, i turn 30. i dont feel or look 30. i wish could just be 25 again. our lab is due on thursday so i have to type that up. LSU plays Auburn this weekend. I t is gonna be a huge game. We should kill them. I dont have anything planned for the weekend. I have a lot of schoolwork to do. oh well, CYA

2003-10-19T15:42:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone, we went to new orleans yesterday and saw the matrix reloaded at IMAX. it was pretty cool. i had a good buzz so it was hard to floow at times. we had a lot of fun on bourbon street. my friend Brady enjoyed his first time in the Quarter. he got to see lots of boobs. we also visited the Aquarium which was interesting. i didnt get too much out of it. i did get to see many classmates inthe real world setting which was interesting.

pics to see

2003-10-16T18:15:00.000-07:00

hey whats up, we talked about docile bodies today and institutions and ho we are manipulated by certain things. i think these people really have too much time on their hands and join the real world. iguess you dont have to being in a college environment. IMax rocks (i hope), we will see on sat. i am mad that i will have to miss the LSU game but they should beat USC pretty bad. have a good weekend.

2003-10-14T18:11:00.000-07:00

well i skipped class today. i think i am still pissed about LSU losing. they played like crap. i want to go back to vegas again. i hope i can go for graduation. they are showing poker on tv almost every night. i am looking forward to this weekend. we are going to the aquarium and the IMAX. could be fun CYA

2003-10-09T20:04:00.000-07:00

well its time for another exciting football weekend. we have florida coming into town and it should be a great game. we didnt do much in class today. we sat around in a circle and talked about or labs. i eally enjoyed going to barnes and noble and reading the books. i will use the books as a christmas present. i really did hate having to read an ebook. that was miserable. i wouldnt wish that on my worst enemy. oh well , have a good weekend CYA

2003-10-07T17:54:00.000-07:00

well its been a week because we did not have class last thursday because of fall break. LSU was off also so it was a boring weekend. I didnt do much as usual. Or next lab is due on thursday and i am very busy because it is midterms. i think i will skip this paper b/c we can skip one and i am busy. i jut hope i do good on my history. its not my favorite subject. our writings were about gaming and how they affect our lives. many people really get into computer games but i havent really played games since ATari. so i am kinda out of the loop. It amazes me how people can play games the majority oft heir time. SOcial interaction is becoming a lost art. good people skills will be highly sought after in the future. luck me, cya

todays topic

2003-09-30T17:45:00.000-07:00

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

2003-09-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

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

2003-09-23T19:20:00.000-07:00

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

2003-09-18T15:37:00.000-07:00

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

2003-09-16T15:31:00.000-07:00

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