Story of a girl

Images

2005-11-03T13:22:00.000-06:00

That essay was a really tough read. After our class discussion it seemed like there was some discrepencies. In the beginning of the essay Barthes says, "the image is felt to be weak in respect of meaning." Which as discussed in class says that images don't have meaning and we give them meaning using our cultural codes. However, later we talked about all the various meanings that can be found in the Panzani image. So if they hold no meanings then how is it that we found so many?

Another thing seemed a little far fetched for me to believe. And after talking with some of you after class I think that you are with me on this one. The Micheal Jordan poster and the race issue. As someone so eloquently put it "it looks like Nike was just trying to sell some fucking shoes." I think they are right. When creating this poster I think that Nike had some alterior motives, I doubt they were thinking, "this is going to show a black person transceding race." I mean that's a little out there don't you think?

All in all I am looking forward to digging deeper into the Barthes essay to learn more. I think we had a good discussion in class and I am excited to hear more about what you guys think.

check out my links!!

2005-10-20T10:12:00.000-05:00

Horray for IP!

2005-10-18T11:37:00.000-05:00

Copyright laws. This stuff is so complex. We had a great discussion on Monday in class, yet I feel like we barely skimmed the surface of it. Someone posed the question in class about whether or not copyright laws are in effect all over the globe, and I found that very interesting. Does anyone remember the story Bradley told us about that Russian guy who was arrested for copyright violations when he came to the U.S.? I think that is bull-shit. That's like getting arrested in Amsterdam for smoking pot because it's illegal in the U.S. Poor guy probably had no idea he broke any laws, and when he came here, the po-po have the fisticuffs waiting. No wonder the French hate us.

I am also wondering if copyright laws are in effect for speech. I'm sure everyone knows that Kanye West said "George Bush does not care about black people" on a Katrina benefit. People were so upset about it. ( I say fuck it- somebody had to say it) If Mike Meyers were smart he would have said he doesn't care about white people either. Anyways...a few days later there were t-shirts with that saying on it. So in essence, can Kanye sue the people who make the t-shirts because that is his words? Or is speech not covered in copyright laws?

Another question I had was if things that are put on the web automatically coptrighted, then what is the point of creative commons? Its a non-profit organization right? So we can rule out money as the driving force. So what's the point? Maybe I missed it in the reading, so someone please enlighten me.

Abstract

2005-10-10T11:38:00.000-05:00

Keyword: Standards

In my humble opinion this has been the most interesting keyword yet. The reason I find it so interesting is because it not only relates to web issues. Standards are all around us.

Possible questions:

- Who decides standards? Why must we follow them? How important are they? How do they effect how people write?

-Does standardization hinder creativity? Are people censoring themselves because of standards? Is that a good thing/bad thing?

-What is the difference between standards, rules, laws and norms? How can all be applied to the web? To life?

it's blog...blog...it's big, it's heavy, it's wood...

2005-10-07T11:53:00.000-05:00

The accessibility topic has really got my mind working. I have not only been thinking about Web Accessibility but reflecting on my dealings with it.

Accessibility slapped me in the face yesterday when I fell in front of my bowling class. My teacher was trying to tell me something and I couldn't hear so I went in closer and tripped over the edge of a wheelchair ramp. It was pretty embarrassing but no major harm done b/c the teacher caught me before I could fall down.

I was also thinking about when I was in junior high I was part of this group called Odyssey of the Mind (OM). Many of you probably had this group in you school but if not-it is basically a group of students who have a problem and they think of creative ways to solve it, then they put on a skit showing the problem and how to solve it (but you have a budget for props and other things) then you go to different competitions. In summation- a club for nerds who instead of sleeping in and watching cartoons on Sat mornings got up and solved problems (wow that made it sound like we were super heroes!!) Anywho...my group had the problem of making an everyday product accessible for someone with a handicap. Our group made a fictional character that lost both of her arms (actually it was pretty grotesque how she lost them- we made her lose them after she got them caught in a train door- what morbid children!) We made a toothbrush for her. It cracks me up now thinking of the ginormous, archaic invention we built. haha. Not to mention what the girl would have to do in order to brush her teeth. We decided she lost her arms at the elbows and we made this big thing wrap around both of her arms, then to brush she would have to frantically move both her arms at the same time.... not that accessible if you ask me... Our group made it down to the state competition and came in 6 th place out of 7 groups.... but 2 teams tied for first place...so really....

Now with that out of the way

I think that web accessibility is an important issue that is largely overlooked. I don't have an answer as to why most people ignore it but it should stop. Our group today discussed adding accessibility standards to other standards for the web WIU already has. I wonder why that topic was never addressed. It seems to be an important issue elsewhere on campus-classrooms, syllabuses, buildings etc. why not on the web too?

So I've been thinking...

2005-09-28T12:49:00.000-05:00

I got to thinking about the wiki after class and I can't get it out of my mind the question that I posed: How do we know if the wiki or wikipedia is valid? How do we know what we are reading is fact? I am especially concerned with the wikipedia being as that I have used that in the past as a reference. If anyone can go and edit it- who is to say that they are not lying or making stuff up? What's to keep me from going in and inserting "fart" all over a page. I mean I have a wiki account and isn't it my right as a wiki user to write "fart" where ever I deem it necessary? Not that I would really do that but I think you get my point.

In other news:

I was at the paper last night until 11:30 and when I got the paper today I thought it would be a good one because we worked so hard last night. But to my surprise there were stupid little mistakes all over. One of the jumps doesn't go to the right page, One jumps sentance is cut off so they don't make sense. A photo cutline kind of contradicts the story. A photo looks like shit. And that is only after glancing at the paper. I am not pointing the finger at anybody because there I had part in some of those mistakes- its just that I wish I saw them last night. People are so qucik to make fun of the paper when they don't realize the amount of hard work that goes into making it. (Matt I think you can back me up on that one) I mean its my name that is on that paper and its embarrassing when your paper looks like shit. I think its the beginning of the year and we need to get our stuff together I just want it to happen sooner than later.

Antoher thing I was thinking about.

Last night at the paper someone was critisizing the story about the protest in D.C. over the war in Iraq. They were saying how innappropriate the march was because of everything that has happened with Hurricane Katrina. Are we supposed to forget about the senseless war, forget about the soldiers that died, forget about it all just because we have a disaster on our soil? Times are crazy right now but we shouldn't forget about one to focus on another. The fact remains that soldiers are being killed and what for? My heart goes out to both.

Ok this post is wayyy too long. So it's time to retire to the nerdery. Adios!

Sometimes we have birthdays

2005-09-23T09:56:00.000-05:00

Do I look any older today?

NERD ALERT!!

2005-09-21T14:13:00.000-05:00

Ok so I started my del.icio.us account. At first I was skeptical about it. I'm not gonna lie to you-I thought it was gonna be pretty lame. But when I started doing it- I hate to admit it-but it was kind of fun. But I still am not really seeing the point of it all. I mean who is going to want to know what websites I look at besides myself? Besides that I don't look at any significant websites. Just Facebook and stuff like that. So who cares. I mean it is good for me. But not anyone else. Perhaps we can talk more about this in class on Friday.

Weekend Update

2005-09-20T13:19:00.000-05:00

So this weekend was crazy to say the least. I started feeling sick on Thursday night, which continued all weekend. Friday was Ang's brithday. I made her dinner and Val made this delicious strawberry chamapagne, then we all went out to the Pace. It was crazy. I got drunk with my bowling teacher, that was odd. A lot of funny shit happened that night but I can't remember any of it. Woke up on Sat morning, very early and very confused because Mike was laying next to me. Apparently he came over and rang the doorbell and bunch and when I didn't wake up, he climbed through my window. What I wouldn't give to see his lanky ass climbing through the window!! haha! Either way its kind of scary that anyone could break in at any time. Maybe I'll look into fixing that... Then we left super early to go to the Cubs game. Cubs lost. It was still a lot of fun though. We had pretty good seats. Although there are no bad seats at Wrigley. On Sun. we woke up early again and went to Farm Aid. It was awesome! Neil Young was def. my favorite (as I knew he would be) There was one song that he played with Emmylou Harris and Willie Nelson and I wanted to cry it was so good! Neil looks old but he was soooo good. I actually liked most of the bands that played. I really like Wilco a lot and they were really good. I was dissappointed with Dave's set and Kenny Chesney blows ass, but other than that it was a really good show. We didn't get home till about 4 am and I was feeling terrible. I felt crappy all day yesterday I didn't get out of bed all day. I didn't go to class or work or office hours or do anything. I thought I was going to get a bedsore! haha. I feel a little better today but I have to get well by Friday. No one wants to be sick on their birthday!

chelsea v. the world (2005)

2005-09-12T11:12:00.000-05:00

In class today I got the feeling that most people think usability is a crock of shit. I, on the other hand, will write the dissenting opinion.
In today's world we are all in a hurry to get things done. Not many people take the time to look at a pretty sunset, let alone sit in front of a computer for hours trying to find what they are looking for. If I want to know the song lyrics to my favorite song I want to know that, and not have to read through the band history, tour dates and discography to find it. I just want to get what I need and be on my merry way. Whatever the case may be, most people just want things fast and easy. Like the encyclopedias of yesteryear, the internet search engine has helped people find what they are looking for, but has made it easier to find. Rather than having one book, you have a plethora of choices. That is something that people in today's society value- our choices and right to choose. With the internet you have millions of topics to choose from, and I of course don't want to look at every single hit- so I choose a few that are right for me and get my information qucikly. So what is wrong with making things easy? Is it because we are, in a sense being lazy? Fact of the matter is that many people don't have a lot of time to mess around. That has become more evident with the invention of some things such as the 8 minute work out or other wasteoid, infomercial devices that perform tasks for us so that we don't have to lift a finger. It has become clear to me that people in this fast-paced world just don't have time to waste. (Either that or the price of laziness can be bought for three easy payments of $19.99)

In other news...

Mike comes back from California tomorrow. I wish I was reliving the road trip we took this summer, but without me in the car he will have more room for a butt load of Fat Tire. Yum! (if you don't know what Fat Tire is...I'm sorry)

Farm Aid this weekend!! I mostly excited to see Neil Young(my favorite!!), Willie Nelson, Dave, John Mellencamp, Wilco, and so many others! EEEEEE!!

yadda, yadda, yadda...

2005-09-09T11:20:00.000-05:00

So my first production night as assistant news editor has come and gone and all I have to say is that I hope it gets easier. We work on Macs, which I have some (but very little) experience with. We use Indesign which is similar to Photoshop and Pagemaker, both of which I barley skimmed the surface. So last night was frustrating, as I feel the next few weeks will be. On the other hand the people all seem fun and nice so I think this will be an enjoyable experience. I just hope I can handle it with school and my other job. I have no intention of quitting University Relations because I like it so much and I'm thinking about doing PR in the future. Speaking of which, I have to go interview a grad student this afternoon who was in the Peace Corps working in a remote area of Russia. Her story sounds interesting so I'm pretty excited about it... other than that I'm looking forward to the weekend. Parties and no work...yay! My tattoo is completly healed so perhaps I will swim at Melanie's this weekend and get some sun. Or maybe canoeing is in the stars for me...on that note I must be going...Have a good weekend all!!

The Perks of Being a Pack Rat

2005-09-07T15:49:00.000-05:00

I keep mostly everything. I am your A-typical Pack Rat. A habit I picked up from my father, and to the frustration of my mother or anyone else who has ever lived with me. Most people have a single junk drawer where they throw micellaneous things when they get sick of seeing them laying on the kitchen counter. I, on the other hand, have two junk drawers, a junk box, a junk closet, a junk bin- junk everywhere! I take this junk with me everywhere I go. It started off hidden under my childhood bed, to littering the floor of my dorm room, and to its current resting place- anywhere I can find room in my apartment. It takes up so much space it's like having a thrid roommate. I should start charging it rent.

What may look like junk to the untrained eye, is far from junk in my eyes. Most of it holds important meaning to me- pictures, love letters never sent, key chains from all over the globe (most places I've never visited), old clothes (that I wil never wear again) knick knacks, old ice skates, a collection of unmatched socks (in case I find their counterparts), my signed Dick Beondi picture (if you are from the Windy and remember Oldies 104.3- You remeber Dick), trophies, old report cards- you name it.

At times I like to look through my "junk". I have absolutely no intention of throwing anything away, but rather, this experience is trip in my own personal time machine. I get a chuckle looking at my old pictures and see how much I've grown, or how my friends and family have grown. I laugh at a letter from my 7th grade boyfriend professing his undying love. I get teary eyed upon finding an old friendship bracelet because the bracelt no longer holds the same meaning. I laugh at the grammatical errors and poor language in the story I wrote in kindergarten that actually garnered me an award for it! The tape that I thought would help me make it big- me singing along to Beatles songs on my parents Karaoke machine.

Most of these things go unnoticed or forgotten in my daily life. But that is part of the reason why I keep it all. For the times when I can go back in time and remember them. These are the things that make up my life, my memories and my exsistance and I wouldn't get rid of this "junk" for anything in the world.

First blog ever!

2005-08-29T11:50:00.000-05:00

This ends my blogger virginity. Although I am not skilled in the world of blogging, but I am a blogger none the less. Cheers!