My TED Talk was a spotlight on America’s #1 cable provider: Comcast. Some specific examples of how Comcast uses its power to control aspects of communication (Internet Viewing & TV Programs) as well as the ways Comcast has put its power to good use (Sustainable Skyscrapers) are highlighted in this slide show!

All of the TED Talks were fantastic and very engaging! Topics included: Rage Against The Machine, Hospice, Technology & Humanity, & Advertising. All speakers brought something new and interesting to the table. One of the most engaging presentations was an in-class interview with the founder of Loveland

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Afterthoughts

I’m so glad I took this class because it has opened my eyes to all of the wonderful resources I can use to make an impact, either on a local or Watch Out! a global scale, starting with this very blog. One of my favorite aspects of the class was our discussions because we all have different experiences that should be shared so that we can learn to make the world a better/more humane place while fighting those evil flattening effect of technology.

For the Future

I think students should be allowed to design their own projects to raise awareness or even $money$ for an ethical cause. I’m thinking something along the lines of what this girl did to raise money send kids to school in India…

<— Salute & Click for more info about The Uniform Project

Fireworks light up the sky during the Closing Ceremony on August 24 in Beijing.

Imagine a world where virtually everything was “Made in China”, including the weather. Marisa Petro, sun-worshiper & budding communication-ista, explores the latest technology in weather control at her 2nd TED talk this April. Be there as she presents some surprising stats about the quality of China’s air and demonstrates a cloud seeding technique the Chinese government has been using to assure that they have perfect weather conditions for special events.  Ethical? You decide.

the only thing that could make this man look better is me on his arm <3

a) any chance to watch Leo DiCaprio for 2.5 hrs wins hands down (You might recall a little novel to film adaptation called Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet)

b) sometimes actors/actresses don’t portray characters how you imagined them

c) they change endings of novels when they make them into a film

It’s hard to predict whether or not a movie will do a novel justice, blow it out of the water, or completely ruin your interest in a story altogether. Sometimes you just have to tough it out and spend the $10.50 to find out.

Fortunately, we did not have to pay to watch The Surrogates in class. Thank God because it was awful–I’d say the best/funniest part was when the female surrogate was clinging to a speeding car and leaping from buses to buildings without getting a scratch on her. I can see why they would cast Bruce Willis in this movie, the unrealistic aspects were very Die Hard.

For this novel to film adaptation several parts of the story were changed. First, Brucie and his wife Margaret lost a son in the movie and this was not mentioned in the graphic novel. This loss changes the dynamic of their relationship and you can see in the movie how depressed she is when she removes her surrogate head piece and begins to cry. Margaret hates that Bruce doesn’t use his surrogate, she is obsessed with being beautiful. It was cool too see how her surrogate operates at her job. She works at a salon where people bring their surrogates for touch-ups and make-overs.

Okay, I’m going to ruin the end of the movie so cover your eyes if you don’t want to know what happens. The movie ends differently than the novel because Margaret doesn’t commit suicide. Not to sound insensitive, but I think it makes more sense for her to die because it represents the trauma that most people will experience when they realize they cannot live vicariously through their surrogates any longer. The ending of the movie will make you believe that Willis and his wife will reconcile their differences and become closer now that all the surrogates have been eliminated.

Difficult, but not impossible to imagine.

While that didn’t end up being true, I’m glad I got to experience this new kind of literature. I’m a very visual person so I appreciate that howbizarre art of Surrogates added to it’s Bourne Supremacy style plot.

Surrogates manifested itself in a movie last year starring Bruce Willis which I’m excited to watch in class.

The novel prompted some interesting class discussions. We found ourselves wondering what it would be like to live in a world where people communicated via surrogates. Is it ethical to allow children to use surrogates? How would this effect crime in cities? This novel, as well as some of the TED Talks we have watched, suggest that in the future we will be able to experience life & senses (eating, sex, fear, satisfaction) through new technology. I personally would not want to live like this. I think it would be a detrimental disadvantage to not be able to experience life because then we would not be able to attain real personal growth. However, I can understand how some people might gravitate towards the idea of surrogates…

Right now, college has given us the opportunity to start fresh and become our own person. Here we discover our interests, dislikes, what we want to look like etc. But imagine if we could do this at any point in our life by going to the store and picking out a super model-esque surrogate to represent ourselves. Would all our surrogates be tall, blonde, blue-eyed beauties? What would your surrogate look like??

One question I still have is what happens to surrogates when their users die?

If the goal is to attain eternal life with new technology what parts of us will live on once our physical selves have passed? I can’t imagine that once I die all that will be left to remember me by will be a collection of data.

Yes, I want my work (school & professional) to matter. But I also want the effects of my existence as a human being (kindness, generosity, creativity) to matter just as much, if not more, once I’m gone.

It seems that the hot topic in many class discussions this past year as been Facebook.

 Popular FB related subjects:

• FB Chat
• how FB affects relationships
• my mom on FB
• stalking
• internet etiquette
• procrastination
• privacy*

Bruce Schneier’s article The Tech Lab discusses this last bullet: privacy.

Schneier basicaly says that NOTHING is private anymore, that we’re constantly being watched and tracked via the technology we use. He says that our conversations (eh hem, FB chats!) are stored and accessable.

What would someone think if they could read all of your FB chats?? Is what we’re saying important? irrelevant? perverted? profane?

The most disturbing part of this article is Schneier’s belief that we will all eventually be hooked up to “life recorders” that will record everything we se and hear and be used as security devices to deter anyone from attacking us. This seems a little absurd to me but at this point I think anything is possible considering how many people are already invested in the idea of surrogates and SecondLife.

Nick Bostrom says that sometimes we don’t see a problem if it’s too big. Has internet infringement on privacy become too big of an issue that we overlook the consequenses of our digital decisions? Either way I have to agree with Bostrom that…

1. We don’t want an absense of creativity
2. We want unlimited opportunity for personal growth

How does the technology you use allow you to be creative?

My experience

As a WordPress blogger I show my creativity in my page design and in my posts. At the same time I know that everything I share on this site will be recorded in cyber space so I have to be careful about what I put out there. The same goes for anyone who choses to represent themselves on the internet so be careful what you blog for!

more commonly known to the SJU community as

Kimmy Wu.

Sweetheart and meatball sub extraordinaire,

Kimmy plans to expand her business by including homemade pasta and chicken dishes in her $5.00 special. Despite the economic recession she hopes that her plan will bring in more people, she’s less concerned with making money and more concerned that students are eating healthy. For the past year she’s been in a court battle against the community. Unlike Kimmy, other local businesses think that college students have money to spend on expensive food a few times a week.

Please support Kim and Bill and show your appreciation for their hard work by stopping into Bill’s Market on 63rd street in Philadelphia.

We’ve worked on this project for several weeks now. To show that Kim makes such a big impact on the community we collected more footage of her talking about her cheap specials and plans for the future. We also took some more photos of the market, added more transitions between slides, and rearranged the slides to keep the story smooth. I’m happy with the way we ended the film, Kim’s positive outlook gives us hope that those promised pasta dishes will soon be added to the menu. If we were working on less of a time crunch I think some more editing could make this project even better.

My good friend Devyn is an incredible interior designer at Philadelphia University and constantly teaching me how to see beauty in the details of architecture. Wherever we go she points out how even the smallest imperfection can magnify the character of a building or room. Her Blackberry wallpaper is currently a picture of the word THINGS, which is very fitting because she has a knack for taking something ordinary and making it a work of art. The wallpaper is actually a freeze frame from the Absolut Anthem.

Can you pick it out??

These artists literally crafted their motto out of recyclable resources (empty Absolut bottles, wheat!, tubing). The easiest way to start on a project is to do what you can with what you have. These images have stuck with me and I hope that they will be a good start to inspire you to go forth and be creative!

Want to brainstorm ways to get started?!   TRY THIS:

If you could create your own Absolut Ad what would it look like?

(^ my favorite)

Goals for Revision

• attain more footage of Kim speaking (coherently) about her role in the SJU community
• take some still pictures to incorporate an emotional slide-show in the film
• edit transitions

I’m so grateful that most of my teachers allow us to revise our assignments before handing them in for a grade because every time I go back over a project or paper I learn something new. I can’t wait to see the final projects!

Kim Wu, it’s a name that sticks. Even for those who’ve only encountered Kimmy’s kindness at intoxicated times. But it’s one name to remember nonetheless. The amazing thing is that Wu manages to remember all of her customers’ names, even if she doesn’t always employ them correctly. Bill’s Market is the closest thing to a cafeteria substitute for students who live on the west end of campus and don’t want to shuttle back and forth to Campion.

Wu is the subject for our documentary which we will submit to YouTube Project Report. Our challenge is to reveal through videography, interviewing, and film editing skills, Wu’s impact on her surrounding community. In the process we hope to plug her thriving business as much as possible  via new social media outlets.

Don’t ask what Kim Wu can do for you…ask what can you do for Kim Wu!?!

[[Bill's Market is conveniently located on 63rd Street, right next to Overbrook Pizza. If you ever run out of TP, need milk, are in the mood for a pint of B&J or a meatball sub, Bill & Kim have got you covered.]]

[Culture is all around us if we open our eyes to it.] You may not even realize how your roommate’s culture differs from your own. For example, my roommate and I grew up only a couple miles from one another in New Jersey but she is a devout Phillies/Eagles fan whereas I love the Yankees/Giants. Every night when I’m done “taking a shower” she tells me “I’m going to get a shower now”. She calls sprinkles “Jimmies” and says chocolate and family weird but we love each other nonetheless.

In order to be productive human beings we accept one another and respect the differences that make each of our cultures unique. If we didn’t do this then cultures would die. As Dane Cook’s mom once said “You embrace that which defines you”. Follow this advice and your golden. But don’t forget to embrace what defines those around you as well. Don’t judge the people standing on Cardinal and City Ave. in the freezing cold…maybe they work two jobs and had to sell their car to support their family. You may not be able to contribute much to your boyfriend’s Superbowl play by play but you can appreciate his enthusiasm. Consider taking different electives before you graduate…you may not have ever considered yourself an artist but digital photography could be your calling. We must immerse ourselves in different cultures, even if only for a brief moment, to keep them alive.

So what defines you???

Some cultures I’ve encountered in the past week or so include:

The Overbrook Court Apartments employees, other girls who use the La Farge gym, the Psychology panel at last night’s meeting in Campion

So what defines me???

Although the MTV version of Seaside Heights, New Jersey is pretty accurate, my experience as part of the Jersey shore culture is quite different and it’s one thing that defines me to my core becauseeee…

YOU KNOW YOU’RE FROM THE JERSEY SHORE WHEN

you wear flip-flops til it snows…and sometimes still even then

you know what a BENNY is and you hate them all with a passion

you know that point is not something you do with your finger…its a place you spend 80% of your time

you know the two greatest inventions are Fins and Surf Taco

you have absolutely no interest in the gotti boys trying to grind on you at abyss

you have had at least one instance of partial nudity at the beach…whether intentional or unintentional

you know you’re from the best place on earth when you’re sitting in the snow…looking at the ocean

it’s super corny but so true