Blue Man Group - Audio

Seth wrote: 2. All people with hearing generally relate to these background music and sounds the same. Do you think people who are deaf could some how react the same? I tend to notice the suspenseful music during films. Do you think that people with hearing loss do not key into these moments with out certain sounds?

Missing a spooky audio cue is a problem, partially addressed by <> in the subtitles. This isn't the only cue for a suspenseful moment though - in a typical horror movie the lights are dimmed, the characters are tensed up, and the general atmosphere is darker when something is about to happen. Unless the music is the only indication that a suspenseful moment is happening, people with hearing loss don't necessarily miss out.

The idea is a previously held belief, and then an important discovery that changed it. Going in project (but non-chronological order), we have:

Four elements comprising matter - Discovery of the atom
Geocentric model - Copernicus' theory
Heliocentric model - Galileo's Telescope
Discworld model - Columbus's Santa maria
Moon is made of cheese - Neil Armstrong and the Moon Landing
Little green men from mars - Mars Landing
Abiogenesis/Spontaneous Generation - Louis Pasteur
Lightning cannot be harnessed - Benjamin Franklin's kite experiment
Phlogiston theory - Discovery of oxygen
Tomatoes are poisonous - Modern salad

This project was originally going to just be a slide show of major discoveries and how that changed the perception of the world. That was suggested to be a bit boring, and changed to showing people's reactions and responses to the discovery. That was found to be extremely difficult to convey with an image or two alone. The before and after pairs worked well enough for my initial premise (the earth is flat), so I went with that. It shows "what they were up against" in a way, the assumptions each explorer needed to change. Even something as harmless as eating a tomato was thought to be deadly, so no one did.

The hardest part of this project was finding appropriate images. Have you ever tried finding a picture of the discovery of oxygen? And who knows what Louis Pasteur looks like anymore. I erred on the side of diagrams for the geocentric, heliocentric, and four elements slides for clarity. Some of these are good if you get it already, like mice spontaneously arising from grain, but make no sense out of context. And some of the images just did not work at all, and I had to end up using a Magic card for before lightning was discovered to be electricity.

Week Five Question

Jen writes: "Since mail is no longer as greatly used as it once was, do you think the postage stamp has lost its sense of cultural value?"

The postal stamp still conveys its unique message, but not as well as other icons that are still used and recognizable. For example, e-mail clients might use a small image of a letter or mailbox to represent themselves. These still mean "mail" or at least "messages", but stamps not being as commonplace probably take away some of its meaning.

comics response

Eric wrote:
Where else besides comic books have you seen the idea of amplification through simplification? Where could you/have you applied this to your daily life?

Advertising is a great example of this. What came to mind was a beer commercial. It shows people having fun, the can/bottle it comes in, the drink itself, and not much else. By focusing tunnel vision on the aspects it wants to convey, the commercial simplifies its message - this is a good beer.

Vocabulary of Comics

some food for thought

Scott says cartoons focus on specific details to draw attention to them. What are some obvious characteristics of a known cartoon? For example, Marge from the Simpsons' tall blue hair.

What are some of the objects you internalize on a day to day basis? Like when you drive a car and think of it as an extension of yourself.

What is a particular comic character you have identified with, and why?

I created a stencil for the Wolfman Watch, a community association. With the ever growing danger of wolfmen on our college towns and campuses, it is important for neighborhoods to be vigilant to suspicious activity. The stenciled mark also acts as a deterrent to possible crime/biting just by advertising that this is a Wolfman Watch zone – any would be troublemakers know there’s an eye on them.

However, this icon doesn’t only act as a marker. Members of the WW can chalk the well known symbol onto their house to show that they are hosting a neighborhood meeting. These friendly events are a great place to unwind after work, grab some tea and cookies, and order the latest silver bullets and other peacekeeping gear.

Above: The local park is safe during the full moon

"Chancellor's" email

Recently this email was sent to everyone with a uiuc email account from chancellor@illinois.edu

Dear Students,

Many of you may be aware of an event known as Rush. It is my objective to warn you of the potential downsides of Greek organizations. I advise you to not succumb to the aggressive recruitment tactics used by these organizations. It has been my concern over the years, that the Greek culture of alcoholism and lack of respect for the community degrades campus life. These organizations present themselves as prestigious, yet are discriminatory, serve to perpetuate social inequality, especially with respect to the opposite gender, and promote a lack of diversity. Many students have expressed concerns with regards to safety on campus, particularly due to Greek culture and behavior. It is my hope that a student's experience on campus strengthens one's individuality, but the Greek system emphasizes the group above all, without cause or reason. This is detrimental to the purpose of universities.

I hope that you will consider wisely.

GDI Chancellor Richard Herman

followed shortly by this email from publicaffairs@illinois.edu

Dear members of the campus community:

You may have received an email titled: Regarding Greek life on campus. This message was a hoax and was NOT sent by Chancellor Richard Herman and was NOT authorized by the campus administration.

Robin Kaler
Associate Chancellor for Public Affairs

This mailing approved by:
The Office of the Chancellor

so it was not an official message so much as a clever hoax. It's interesting how the perceived source of the email changed its importance - When people thought it was actually from the Chancellor it was a serious declaiming of fraternities/sororities. However, when we realize it's from someone playing a hoax the email loses its importance.

Response to Eric

The idea of computers basically becoming a 3-d interface where you can move in, out, and through your pc. Would you buy this product?

If the interface was intuitive enough, sure. This question reminded me of a scene in the movie - (huh wait I can't actually remember what the movie was called). Well anyway, their computer system was a bunch of floating semi-transparent windows that they manipulated directly. It seemed very quick and direct to do whatever they wanted without needing to know exact syntax for commands and such. Basically a product like this would make the whole computer immediately accessible without needing something like a keyboard or mouse.

Now what was that movie called? It was about the government using psychics to stop murders before they happened, and of course the main character was framed.

Edit: oh we talked about it in class, Minority Report

First Discussion Questions

1. What is a way in which digital hypermedia is compared to modern art?
2. Why does Jameson say "visual media are challenging the dominance of older linguistic media"?
3. How can immediacy make using a machine feel natural, and what is the significance of an "interfaceless interface"?