trains, buses, and a foot fetish

I must say that Rome is like no other city in the world. First of all it is OLD and second of all it is so full of tourist that you can walk around with a map in hand walking down the street and crossing streets and you won't get yelled at or hit by a car. Melanie and I arrived in Rome after taking the 12:30am train and I can tell you that there are only certain people that take the 12:30 train. They are scary people. I hardly slept thinking that I would be robbed or molested in my sleep. I spoke with a Nigerian man who was very nice-he asked me how Obama was doing (I said fine and that I would tell him hello when I arrived back). We arrived at 6:30am in Rome and took a Metro to our flat than a quick change of clothes and off to see the sights.

Yesterday we went to the Trevi fountain and the Spanish steps. Later we went to see the Panthenon and the piazza Novena. It was incredible seeing all these old buildings and monuments that date back to 1BC.

We also spent a good portion of the evening looking for a foot. A marble foot that is all that remains of a statue from a couple hundred years ago. We followed the map and asked people where it was and finally we found it! It was behind a wooden barricade because it needed some work done on it. Can't believe I spent that much time looking for a foot and never found it.

We also bought some wine last night but have yet to drink it. I guess we bought a fizzy red wine that taste best when it is chilled but our flat has no fridge and ice is a foreign concept here. I like any type of wine especially when it is open and going down my throat--so now we have a bottle of wine sitting in the room waiting to be drank tonight-ice or no ice! Last night I was really just too tired.

On the way home last night it started raining and caused a lot of confusion. The train line ends at 9pm for some crazy reason and than we had to take a bus back home. The bus was crowded and sweaty, it smelled and there was chaos caused by the rain. I thought it would take forever to get back because of the traffic and the stop lights but it wasn't really bad at all.

Today I went to the Colleseum and the Roman Forum. Melanie did not want to go inside but I felt I had to. So she went to some church and I walked around it following tour guides and listening to tidbits when I could. It was the coolest thing ever--people were brutally killed in there and I felt this overwhelming sense of everything that happened there. I went to the Forum afterwards but I must say that nothing is labeled and it is hard to know what you are looking at. I know that they don't know what everything is for sure but it was very confusing.

Right now I am hanging out at Steve's flat (provided by ACLE) while he is cooking ME dinner. Sharing a bottle of wine right now and than heading back to drink the bottle of wine at my flat (hopefully Melanie hasn't broken into it yet). Tomorrow the Vatican and than leaving on Friday for FLorence.

Film in Remediation

The notion of how film continues to change is intriguing especially since more and more movies are integrating graphics into their movies. What Disney has been doing is interesting because they are remediating classic stories. Using animation, Disney can do more with this medium in terms of camera techniques and a movable shifting perspective than with actual film. Certainly, animation with Pixar had gone even further than Bolter and Grusin explain here. As these films continue to flourish in the industry, it is possible that actors careers might be in jeopardy because these characters are becoming more life-like. The new phenomena in recent films such as Avatar and Alice in Wonderland aim at a more in depth ideal of immediacy. What will the future hold in terms of what will be remediated? We can only wait and see.

Digital Art in Remediation

An interesting aspect in the chapter on Digital Art is the idea of digital products. Newer art constructed by graphics artists consist of pixelated images rather than actual oil based paint or watercolors. This form of art has now become an art in itself distanced from traditional pieces and even though digital art has its roots, it doesn't always try to emulate an actual photo or painting. The idea of digitizing images is particularly interesting considering a recent controversy over President Barack Obama's picture during his campaign for presidency. A graphic artist took the picture from the associated press and manipulated it; eventually it became the ubiquitous unofficial Obama logo. Just as Bolter and Grusin explain, “Such algorithmic transformations raise the question of agency in digital art: whether the digital artist is to be regarded as the agent of the image in the same way a traditional painter or whether her role is more like that of a photographer.” The concern now is, who owns this image? It can be argued that Obama owns it, the associated press owns it, or the graphic artists owns it. I myself cannot answer this question so I will leave it for the lawyers to argue this one.

Computer Games in Remediation

The chapter, Computer Games, in Remediation talks about a variety of ideas but I like the ideas of the status quo and how these ideologies stem from film and television. Interestingly, the ideological aspects of the status quo are reestablished by asking the player to defend the action of violence. Examples the authors give are: Space Invaders, Doom and Quake. Furthermore, it is argued that video game violence stems from films through the form of 3D graphics, and narrative functions. Although these examples are outdated, one can most likely look for the same status quo ideas in more modern video games and movies. Indeed, video games are a reflection of movies and television.

Disembodied Performance on facebook

Facebook has the power of expressing an image of oneself that isn't actually self. In other words, it's a great way for a person to have an individual PR campaign. The type of comments someone makes about themselves, others, and the type of pictures that a person publishes will project an image (disembodied self) of themselves as they see fit in the world. I have witnessed people post wonderful pictures of themselves and their family when I know them personally and I know their lives are miserable. It is a facade. I personally don't try to live on Facebook because I don't think it's a valid community as it doesn't build deep relationships. Ask me to be your friend on facebook and most likely I won't think twice. Ask me for my phone number and I will definitely think twice. In this respect, facebook allows social interaction that is at a superficial level. The upside to this argument is that if a person portrays themselves in a more than favorable manner, and it is not reality, chances are people will believe what they see and consequently it can become reality. Once again, it is a PR campaign.

How to use Remediation in a first year composition course

Based on Bolter and Grusin's argument in Remediation, the implications for a first year composition course resides in making students aware of remediation. Since technology has become an inherent part of today's youth, their culture is embedded with remediation. Many of these students might think that some of the technology is new but in fact is a remediation of the past technology. An interesting assignment for the students would be for them to first, make them aware of remediation. Secondly, have the students choose some form of technology that has a critical, functional, and rhetorical function. And Lastly, have students trace back the particular form of technology to other forms of technology. This type of exercise can allow students to understand that knowledge has always been the same and always will be. However, the medium of how we communicate has changed and learning and understanding these media and their histories will help students understand culture.

Thoughts on xtranormal

The xtranormal project was particularly interesting. I was intrigued on how a user can create different scenarios using different characters and different voices. I could spend all day making movies and pushing the envelope. Although I probably wouldn't spend my free time using this program, I would imagine that a lot of high schoolers would love it. It could potentially be a great tool in the classroom as it could teach students textual analysis and turn-taking sequences ( as Tom demonstrated). The program doesn't work exactly the way I would want it to, as some features took too much time to load and the voices didn't always have the proper intonation but, in the future, I think it'll be better.