Podcast Review

Reflection on my Writing Process

The thought process that occurred when writing this podcast was a bit different when compared to other forms of writing I have previously done. Instead of arguing a certain topic or comparing two sides of an argument, I had to speak about something personal in life in our current technological setting. For that reason I felt as if writing and recording myself say the podcast was a bit unusual and very weird. Nonetheless as I got more invested and emotional into my podcast, I felt more comfortable and it felt a bit easier the deeper I went.

The subject of my podcast was the usage of Skype to create a deep relationship with my grandparents. The way I came up with the idea to use Skype was ironically by asking my grandparents when we used Skype earlier last month. Although at first I felt as if talking about something personal such as my grandparents was a bit weird. When I heard about some of the ideas of my peers I realized that we all share some sort of deep connection because of technology, and this allowed me to write about my grandparents .I began my podcast by speaking about the thought process that I go through when I am about to Skype with my grandparents, and how our relationship changed after we began using Skype. While I did use a lot of examples of how my grandparents and I interacted, such as the name confusion, I left out a lot of background details such as the first time we used Skype. The reason it wasn’t brought into the podcast though was because I felt as if the event would not have had much details and could have stretched out the podcast with little emotions. Being able to talk about Skype I was able to realize how technology is all around us and it helps cut down distances, create connections, and give a sense of unity even with those farthest away from us. Also by being able to tell this podcast in my own voice and detail made me feel as if I could actually create a connection between myself and those listening to my podcast.

Overall while it was a bit hard at first to do the podcast it was, in the end, it was pretty fun to do. The ability to actually express my ideas and emotions into a piece of writing felt relaxing and felt as if they were helping in improving my English writing skills. When writing about something enjoyable the assignments seem fun. What I found a bit hard though was recording the podcast with my full emotion. While in my group of friends I am known to speak loudly and with a lot of emotions, while reading in English I tend to speak in a monotone voice. While it was difficult to do I do feel as if I added the necessary level of emotion into my podcast. Because of this new feeling of self expression, I believe I will be able to add a tremendous amount of details and imagination into my writing. Another thing to add is the fact that the use of things such as peer reviews and the reflection parts of our assignments really help out in discovering new ways to write and help out in fixing the little mistakes we all make in our writing.

Who I am as a Writer Now

Today as a writer I feel almost the same. I still do small grammatical errors, I ramble on in some sentences, and sometimes I still have subject-verb agreement problems. My writing nonetheless has changed. It has become more focused on themes and ideas instead of sporadically switching between subjects. Also my writing has become more open and expressive. I no longer have a strong robotic tone. Instead my tone has become more personal and has a bit of my own ideas and feelings. Also I feel that as a writer I am no longer limited to simply creating essays in order to express my argument, instead I now have different multi-media methods to express my arguments. Lastly I see myself being able to critically analyze different types of media such as paintings, pictures, videos, podcast  and etc. Just with these simple changes I believe my writing has changed for the better. There are still much to work on nonetheless  like the previously mentioned problems, but they will slowly get solved and my writing will get better.

Multimedia Reflection

Making this multimedia project was very unique and fun. Although no formal essay was written, the idea that a picture tells a thousand words really was emphasized on this project. By allowing me to have a lot of flexibility in this project the process in creating this project was both fun and a bit tiring. The fun parts were the simple things. Acquiring the images, picking out the music, and placing them in a certain order, but there were some parts that were not only tiring but really frustrating. While Prezi is a great program it has many kings and flaws that sometimes made the experience unpleasurable. Another part that was a bit hard was being able to put my point across (thesis) by using little to no words.  Although I did try to use the least amount of words, I ultimately decided to write in some few lines in order to completely be able to express my position in my argument. This project was comparatively similar to writing an argumentative essay in which I still had to contribute an argument and a thesis either accepting or going against the argument presented. What was different though was the way the argument and thesis was presented. I had to use pictures and videos with music as a way to add a certain tone. The drafting and editing that really helped me was being able to write out an outline of what I wanted to point out. From this outline I choose photos that depicted these ideas clearly and added a few lines of information on them. By using this process I was able to write out an essay with pictures and videos instead of words. The feedback provided was really helpful. It suggested me to introduce my topic in a different format and for me to emphasize certain qualities. With these suggestions I shifted from a normal video with commentary to a detailed Prezi with emphasizing music and vivid pictures. Also rather than peer views I used reviews provided by friends. This helped me choose some of the videos and pictures that were used in my Prezi. By doing this presentation I learned ways to provide my argument on a subject with things other than words. It showed me how to use pictures, videos, music and etc. in presentation format.

            While I forgot which project belonged to whom, I did remember the argument presented in some of the projects. In one project I was introduced to the idea of empowering oneself by actually doing something for one’s community and/or world. The professionalism and effective YouTube video made this project very appealing. While this projected really did not have a similar area to my project it does give the idea of empowering oneself in order to keep control. A second project that I observed was the projected Grahm created. Its argument involved the benefits of technology and its influence in our world.  Her project was appealing because it contained a lot of humor, music that emphasized what she was talking about, and she presented an argument that many can relate to. This projected related to my own as it was almost a mirror image of my argument. While she praised technology for all its good and influence, I suggested for us to strictly control/regulate it in order to prevent the evil technology from controlling us.

 

Portfolio Reflection

Over this whole semester I believe I have learned a lot. My writing no longer feels like it is pushed into a standardized box that high school sometimes pushes students in. I feel like I can write more clear not in the sense of grammar, but in the sense of my emotions and expressions in writing. What I see myself doing well is writing in different formats of media, not only in text, but music, pictures, videos, and etc. I also feel like I can be able to interpret the information in different media formats. Things that still need work though are my sentence structure which always is a bit shaky. The skills learned in this class that will transfer over to other classes or places are the ability to interpret things like music and art. It will give me a different point of view in life and the ways I perceive things.

Pieces that will most likely review in my portfolio are both my research paper and my podcasts. I want to correct these pieces of writing because I believe I can make them better and clearly express myself. I also feel as if looking back at my writing will help me reflect on things I often make mistakes in. 

Visual Essay Trends

There were a couple of trends that I found in the peer review sheets. In general though there were two major trends. One was that the video quality was not good, and second that the argument might have been a bit unclear or jumpy. The resolution for the first trending problem is simple since I did not think my draft needed to be high quality I simply made it 240p instead of high definition in 1080p. The second trend is somewhat more important. I need to get my point across much more clearly and effectively. I think I can change this by either adding more to my video since only 40 percent is really done or rearrange the position in which the videos are presented for a much more clear method to organize my argument.While there are some bad trends presented in my peer review, it was still overwhelmed with positive reviews. These really help as well since they encourage me t continue on with my work and motivate me. What I am doing now is changing my video quality and changing my tone in voice in the video since I feel a bit skeptical about it.

As a reader, I was very impressed. It became clear that everyone put a lot of hardwork in their works and have really creative minds. What was really appealing to me was both the project dealing with obesity and the one dealing with the expansion of technology. The obesity project is interesting because of its unique strategies. It uses humor and impressive comical music to emphasize its argument.The second project  was about the expansion of technology, it was impressive because it talked about the argument similar to mine, yet contained a crisp and direct message full of videos relating to the project. Some things I might do is cut my video that I originally had in parts and convert it into a Prezi. I believe it will make my video clearer. Actually I am even considering removing my voice in the video and simply adding clear and direct words. It might be a big change, but I think it will be for the best in the end.

Extra Credit #2

Behind every picture is a story, and behind this picture there is a very long one. Pictures hold the image of what we were during that period of our life. It can make you smile, cry, angry, or even feel regretful. We all have moments in life we wish to forget or wish we could go back to. When pictures are taken out of storage it almost certainly brings nostalgia. Through Facebook these pictures demonstrate an idea of what we want people to see, which is usually an image of a good day, or with someone who is special to you. This image is no exception.

From the perspective of a stranger this image is of a formal gathering and two people are taking a picture together either because they are dating or just good friends. The background makes it seem that everyone are friends (or even family) and they are all having fun.  There are few decoration (streamers and balloons) that may even suggest that this can be a sort of party. Another important thing to notice is the age group that these people seem to fit. They seem to be either seniors in high school or even freshman in college. From this it may be deduced that the people in the image are probably in their graduation party or a formal event. The guy on the right side of the photo seems to just be casually standing there with no care. He seems to have casual clothe and might even be a simple stranger that happened to be captured in the photo. Now to focus on the main people. The guy standing tall to the left seems to be very happy and optimistic. His color scheme makes him seem very friendly and open to socialize. The girl in the right seems to be the same. She is standing tall with her legs slightly crossed and arm in her hip. She seems happy since she is giving a big smile and seems to feel comfortable around the gentleman even as he has his hand around her waist. Her dress and her dress color make her seem professional and formal. The flower on her head also gives her a distinct characteristic that makes her standout from everyone around her. She also seems to be of Chinese or Asian descent because of her facial structure .Overall the tone of the picture is one of a comfortable formal meeting with friends, and with the couple right in the middle it gives the photo a sense of optimism and happiness.

In reality this “optimistic” looking image is a very sad one, yet nostalgic. It was taken about a week or two before our senior graduation. It was our senior dinner and it was one of the few last moments I had with my senior class. I am wearing my baby blue long sleeve formal shirt simply because it is my favorite and I really wanted people to remember me for being a friendly guy. The girl right next to me is one of my best friends and her name is Vivianna Alvarez. Although a stranger might think she is of asian descent she is actually of mixed heritage Chinese/Mexican. This might demonstrate how something might seem a certain way, but in reality it is actually something different .She has been a good friend going through high school and can honestly be described as irreplaceable. She has always been part of “the crew” I hang out with, but unlike my other friends can help me see things through the female perspective. Her smile also seems to hide a bit of sadness in the photo. The friendship between us can seem very clear as we are both comfortable taking the picture and even close as I have my hand around her waist. I can honestly say that I believe that we seem to have a brother and sister relationship. This image might seem like just two friends taking a picture, but it is actually a good picture which shows the state of mind me and a friend had before graduating .This picture demonstrates how we are going through a very big change together in life, and the smiles just make it seem as if we recognize the struggles yet we know everything will be alright .Although no one really demonstrated a sign of sadness at the event, we all felt it. Through all the smiles and laughter we knew our four year ride was about to be over. As seen in the picture we are all grouped up together and act almost as if we were family, and that is simply because we were family. As a class of 60 kids we all knew each other well and respected one another. The event we had seemed to be like a goodbye party for a brother or sister going off to college.

Extra Credit #1

 

                First of all this is the album cover for one of Kid Cudi’s album ” Man on The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager”. He is one of my favorite artists and makes some of the most influential songs I have ever heard.

There are many things one can analyze from viewing this album cover. One can say that album covers really represent what the music will be about and how the artist was feeling when he/she wrote and sung the lyrics. The dark border gives the album cover a deep feeling that gives a depressing feeling. It makes it seems that everyone is alone and the lonely man (Kid Cudi) sitting in his chair reinforces this idea. Another worthy thing to notice is Kid Cudi himself sitting on a chair. He seems like a very formal and composed young man. He is in formal attire, but demonstrates a depressing mood. In his hand he has a glass with something that looks like hard liquor. He himself seems to be having a hard and depressing moment in life and most likely represent what is going through his mind. Behind him is a frame or maybe a window of what appears to be space with many stars and galaxies glowing in the background. In all honesty this background of space seems to represent two things. Either it can represent the deep and vast things the mind can learn, or it can represent the loneliness that goes through every human beings. Its double meaning can be combined or just represent how some people take different paths in understanding the world. An important part of the album is also its name. ” Man on The Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager” implies two things. One that this album is not his first album and therefore there is a previous album that might explain this fall into a depressive tone, and secondly from the title it can be concluded that Kid Cudi feels like the man on the moon. He feels lonely, lost, and alone. He feels destined to view all of earth in its growth from a far away distance all alone. Lastly the creases and folds that appear in the edges of the album cover give a high depth to the album cover. It shows the simple idea that the mind, just like the album cover, can fold and deteriorate like any other that lives in this world. What many fail to notice though is that this album represents an idea that comes from the human mind. An idea can never be truly forgotten or destroyed, just changed. In short what this whole album cover represents is the darkness and depth that this man, Kid Cudi, holds and the image of himself in the cover must represent his inner ego or the idea of what he portrays himself to be.

Being able to analyze the album cover cannot really be complete without looking at the lyrics and songs the album contains.  While explaining all the songs will be a long and tedious process, I can give a summary of them. They are mellow and slightly depressing, but give a complete description of the feelings both Kid Cudi feels and that every human being feels, the feeling of loneliness. What he does in this album is go through stages of what the mind goes through during times of depression or loneliness. This is especially true in the song ‘Mr. Rager’ as he sings of him fighting off dark ideas and feelings in a attempt to reach a better life. While the album seems to give the impression that we should always be depressed and think of dark ideas, it might truly signify something else to true fans who understand the lyrics. Through his lyrics he tells the listeners that he is going through a depressing stage in his life, but he doesn’t stay stuck on it. Instead he attempts to escape it. He does all he can to get out of it. Making the songs themselves seems to be a way to escape this depression as his songs seem to get a bit more clear, concise and uplifting in the end. In my opinion this album is true art. 10 out of 10. It does exactly what music is supposed to do, it makes you feel emotions. It does’nt create fake love or depressing emotions. It just exemplifies what we all feel sometimes and what we have to overcome everytime we feel that way. It shows us what we feel in musical form and that is something that I appreciate. Sometimes talking about emotions are not enough, but expressing them in lyrical form can be. This is how I feel about this album cover and my interpretation of what Kid Cudi tried to create with his music and album as a whole.

Kid Cudi.  Man on the Moon II: The Legend of Mr. Rager. GOOD Music. 2010.

A Proverb

http://prezi.com/wus4i61srowo/untitled-prezi/?kw=view-wus4i61srowo&rc=ref-5025131

Revised Proposal

For my project I wanted to speak about social media and it similar characteristics to bacteria/ viruses. I wanted to demonstrate how some people can use social media and create a mutualistic relationship with it and achieve great things, but at the same time I want to demonstrate how large dosages of social media makes it seem as if we are being controlled and it slowly harms us. The argument presented in this presentation will be simply to show how certain amounts of social media can affect people to either be an advantage or a disadvantage..When referring to social medias I mean any way to communicate to others such as Facebook, twitter, Reddit, texting, using cell phones, and video games.

The format that I imagine this presentation occurring will be by starting a video comparing mutualistic and antagonistic relationships that occur in nature ( Animals and cellular ) and then transition it to social media affecting people. I will most likely do something that includes short video clips and images that contain text ( which explain the subject). These images will most likely be maybe news articles or events that relate to my subject such as how Facebook has helped create networks, help people, and etc. but at the same time demonstrate how some addiction to social media can lead to harm such as video games affecting health, texting while driving causing a car crash, or even instances in which people lose themselves into the aforementioned pieces of social media. Basically my presentation will bring awareness of the effects social media bring and demonstrate the method in which we should use these advances of technology to advance oneself, rather than be consumed by it.

Also as a side note I was thinking about referencing famous movies in which people have been overwhelmed and attacked by technology because of our addiction to technology. Some of these movies would be The Matrix, I Robot, The Terminator, and etc.

Brainstorming for Multi-Media Project

Honestly, I am unusually excited for this assignment. It doesn’t require writing, but it requires me to think and use my wild imagination to provide an argument to my peers. Topics that I am considering for this assignment include a continuation on my previous topic ( messages behind humor), the struggling music industry ( Its rise, fall, and recent revival ), and lastly my favorite topic being the infectious disease that is social media ( or its addictive effects). The format that will seem appropriate for this would be either a compilation of clips that revolve my central idea or maybe a Youtube video that includes both commentary and videos. I could also do a Prezi. The reasons why these seem appropriate is because it seems to be the format in which most people might find easiest to communicate and seems the best to do.

Research Reflection Paper

Reflection Paper on Research Process

                The writing process that I had to go through for this paper was a very different process in comparison to research I’ve previously done. First off it seemed a bit weird to make a research paper with a topic I chose by myself completely. I think maybe the freedom just simply made me feel a bit overwhelmed, but I certainly did love the freedom and felt very comfortable talking about something I wanted to talk about. Secondly being a science major who is used to making science related research  papers in different citation or writing styles made the writing process feel a bit weird, I got used to it nonetheless. The process that I enjoyed the most was most definitely being able to read Freud’s interpretation of humor and then being able to point out some hidden messages hidden in some of my favorite shows. After being able to understand Freud’s concept of humor the majority of the assignment became easy as I could easily translate humor into a definite idea that relates too many. The most challenging nonetheless was being able to integrate the sources I had within my paper, not because it was difficult to understand them, but because they mainly also based their ideas on Freud and I really did not want to repeat the information given. If I could do all this again I would most definitely attempt to simply change small things like the way I grouped my essay or maybe researching some extra sources in the depths of the library. 

                Overtime my ideas on my writing process and a bit of my topic also changed. While I simply wanted to talk about humor not always being a bad thing in television. It soon became a research paper on finding the messages in humor and creating a sort of social interaction through the created humor after reading some of my original sources thoroughly, such as Freud. The most helpful technique I used was the feedback that I received from both Professor McCoul and my peers. The feedback from my professor made me notice structural flaws that could have made by argument weak. My peers helped as well by reviewing my essay and providing arguments against my thesis. While this might seem disappointing it actually helped me come up with ideas for my counter arguments and ability to satisfy the questions many would have had.

                What I learned from this project is primarily to enjoy your writing and it will feel a lot easier and to always ask others to review your work in order to identify some errors. Through this research process I learned a lot about humor and I discovered some secrets and understanding on what happens when we laugh. I learned that humor is more than a subject that brings laughter, but also brings power and freedom as well. From this process I learned a bit about myself as well. I learned how much more productive I feel when I work with an idea or topic that I like, and I learned that I can honestly do my papers without the stress of it being late when I actually do my work in parts and pieces way before the due date. Overall though the process was good and I enjoyed myself. If another of these were proposed for class I would not hesitate to accept speaking on a topic I love.