ICW-7/28/08

One issue that is affecting me is the lack of food services on campus. The only convenience market is Publix, which is does not necessarily have suitable prices. I have yet to hear word of a cafeteria on campus, and am very concerned with the mandatory meal plan for this fall. It is a struggle to obtain a quick lunch or snack between hectic schedules if I have to commute back to my dorm in order to get a bite to eat. I think that Student Affairs is responsible for this inconvenience. I believe that if a student is required to be on a budget for the semester, why not have low prices, convenient foods available at a short reach. Not only would this help us students but a cafeteria can be a great way for clubs and organizations to advertise and communicate to us as the student body. Food and extracurricular involvement; why not?

Reading the New York Times article gave me a better understanding how video games do have a history to them. You can date back to the first video game fashioned. Its can be seen as an artifact just as any other relic. It poses as a timeline exhibiting how digital media has progressed Henry Lowood purposed this idea and has created a list, along with members of his committee, known as the Lowood List. This list contains the top 10 most important digital games. Henry also states that it will get harder as time goes by to preserve the older models because technology is progressing so fast, certain games can only be played on programs called “emulators.”

The second article from Project Muse really seemed to connect to the first article read by drawing attention to the habits among “American youth” concerning society. Two behaviors noticed where: engaging in electronic devices more than needed, and unhealthy behaviors, such as obesity, smoking, violence. These factors are a concern because it poses a threat to our society. According to Project Muse, one-third of the day (and increasing) is spent on using electronic devices or “media,” which based on studies, maybe the cause of the risky health behaviors posing a threat to American youngsters today.

After reading both articles I can conclude that since Henry Lowood did state that technology is rapidly making progress, I can infer that more and more technology and advertising towards young Americans is going to demand more usage each day, therefore increasing the “need” to spend more part of the day using some sort of electronic device. In return, these occurrences will lead to more unhealthy behaviors for people in the near future.

I would like to know how are these kind of studies conducted? Also how did Henry Lowood come about using gaming media as a way to show the history it has always presented?

Viewing the graphic novel on Hurricane Katrina really made a huge impact on me. It really gave me a visual how the people reacted previous to the hurricane, how it happened, etc. I began to understand how people had experienced many “fake outs,” where the hurricane seemed to be on their track, but turned in a different direction, therefore many thought that this was the case, and many of them stayed or went to higher ground. As I was reading the dialogue, I liked how the author created a way to relate to younger adults, as myself, with the particular lingo chosen. In the novel, it displayed the way the hurricane damaged many structures in the city, and how the people of the city reacted to this event. The author created another major visual for me as the store owners were very calm throughout the storm, but once the levees had broken, they panicked. This illustration and dialogue really created a dramatic but real understanding how the citizens of New Orleans didn’t really expected such a catastrophe. I really would like to know was how did the author display such good details? Was he part of the Hurricane Katrina victims? Did he interview many of them to create this visual? Or did he research the numerous documents and articles written based on Hurricane Katrina? Overall I really enjoyed reading this particular graphic novels, and I am beginning to like them a lot. I might even use a graphic novel in order to create my visual for my memoir presentation.

Hilary Chute describes a “new” way to autobio writing. She refers to it as a “graphic novel.” I enjoyed her point of view concerning women and how she exemplified her article on “Persepolis.” This graphic novel tells a story about a young girl, Marjane Satrapi's, growing up in Iran during the Islamic Revolution in the 1980’s. She describes the way schools were teaching incorrect information to the young school children. It seemed almost as a way of brainwashing them. She talks about how she and many other women were forced to wear veils, and did not have many rights that as women in the USA would say we are entitled to. Hilary Chute talks about in her article that she is concerned why is it that many male novelists are named but why not the female novelists? Being a feminist, Hilary Chute declaims this in an attempt to open many eyes as where is the world today.

I honestly didn’t know much about the Middle Eastern culture, and I honestly try not become prejudice towards people of that region, but the way the media describes them it almost seems that the media is brainwashing us. After reading these articles I learned that the women were forced to wear the veils as earlier mentioned in the blog, and how serious was this Islamic Revolution, and how execution occurred like running water here in America. Lolz. Your family or anybody you knew killed for what they believed was right. Sound familiar? I wondered throughout the article what people from the Middle Eastern were told about us. How did they react to the war right now? Why is it that on the news all we hear is all the negative, what about all the positive things the people do to move on and try to live their lives as best as they can? It’s crazy how things are.

After reading some of the selected memoirs, I began to have a better understanding on how to write one. I started to interpret them not just as stories but more of a memory. I loved how many of them were very open and seemed to have written their memoirs just to connect with the reader. Generally, enjoyed reading the memoirs such as “Knocked up,” and “Sing with me somehow,” and the memoir written by Frank Mathias.

“Knocked Up” reveals the emotions of a teenage sibling that is anticipating her first niece. Not only is this a new experience for her, she is incapable of considering more of the big picture, therefore, enclosing herself into her own entity where only her views are accepted, and begins to question herself if she is being selfish.. Once her niece is born I suppose that’s when she begins to appreciate her sister’s pregnancy and accept the newborn. The writer seemed to incorporate humor and relevant content in her memoir, which allowed for me to enjoy it very much.

Reading “Sing With Me Somehow,” gave me a sense of comfort, as the writer describes being cuddled by her sister, Rachel, in the introduction. This memoir seemed to be role model oriented as “Rosie” describes her childhood observing her older sisters and her life around her. She provides details explaining the observations she has made growing up: Rachel’s style of clothing and who she was at that time, and Anna who became a drug addict at the age of seventeen, when one of her friends (Mitch) died in a car accident. She created this connection that seemed to be irresistible by the style of her writing but I happened to disagreed with the way the writer transitioned into each part of the memoir, but overall I think the piece was great.

Frank Mathias defines the difference between the veterans during the Civil War and of World War II. He explains how during after the Civil War period, many veterans were eager to write their memoirs and valued their experience as they saw their profession more than just a job. Frank Mathias clarifies how many memoirs weren’t published during WWII, and how his may have been the only one published. As he transitioned into his memoir, I began to gain an understanding how it may have felt to find your personal letters, and recordings from such long ago, and begin to read them as if they were another’s. With interest and realization Frank Mathias strings many of the pieces together of his life that were almost lost in his memory.

After reading these memoirs, I would like to know if Rosie followed her sisters foot steps as each set an entirely different example, or did she pave a different path. Did her sister, Anna, ever recover from her addiction? From the memoir written by Frank Mathias, what were the reasons why the soldiers’ mentalities evolved or may have tainted over time?

Jerry Wexler studied the various perspectives of the mind, such as behavioral and cognitive thought. Rather than seeking insight into his future and what he may become, he looked within himself for what he was. For over 15 years, he kept a journal and attended therapy sessions. Wexler finally began to gain an understanding of his own mind.
According to Dan Goleman, who wrote “Emotional Intelligence,” claims that we can improve our feelings by describing them,” and believes that we can transform our emotions just by thinking differently.
Memoir writing is considered to be therapeutic and is supported by the findings in today’s research, such as how images of a brain’s activity displays how it reacts to the person’s emotion and the words used to express himself. Therefore it is presumed that writing and emotions may be associated with each other.
After listening to the interview hosted by Antoinette Franklin and her niece really provided me with some insight on how expressing our emotions can help relieve the stress or pain that trails along side us. In the recording Antoinette and her niece talked about their experience before hurricane Katrina, during the tragedy, and how it affected their family’s lives.
Even though I do agree with many of the theories and perspectives written in the blog, I would like to know how was Jerry Waxler motivated to continue his studies and begin research on the mind? How did he decide that he wanted to explore the mind and that no other great interests were among his concentration in psychology? I also would like to know did Antoinette keep herself from not “breaking down” doing the happenings of Katrina, and during the restoration of her family’s life?