EC BLOG KINGS

Bryson McCartney

DTC 475 EC Blog

In regards to a rhetoric memory, I have managed various instances in my life where I tried so hard to block out thoughts, I can no longer retain them. Some would say job well done, but now that I am past those difficult times, it would be nice to reflect upon them. There was a period of time in Middle School and High School when I was quite a bit heavier in weight than I am now, say 100 pounds heavier. The period of time in my life where I was most ridiculed for being as big as I was, during the fragile teen years was difficult. I went through a variety of hardships I never wanted to re-live again. I managed my memory so I would forget those thoughts and rough times, trying to recall them as little as possible. Now that I have lost over 100 pounds and have matured, I attempt to remember these times and seem to vaguely remember any experiences I went through. Of course I remember the big moments during that span, but little things my friends and family bring up in conversion never seem to have existed to me. It’s an incredible phenomenon how one can literally forget unwanted memories if they truly want to. Unfortunately I am living proof of this and would like to learn how I could remember all thoughts, even if they were difficult, I can still build upon.

Expiration dates for information is a good and bad idea. I feel as though with set expiration dates set after a period of time like months, years, etc would be a helpful way to rid possible problems like mentioned in the articles. I know taking LSD and having drunk pictures of oneself on the internet are not the best place for “private” information, but most would realize during this techno savvy generation, people can in fact find almost anything about you. Privacy over the internet is essentially non-existent, almost anyone can search someone’s name and find out too much information about someone. If someone wanted to put information that could be found on the internet, sure a deletion period would be nice so the data doesn’t come back and bite you (or hold you up at the Canadian border). Fact of the matter is, don’t put anything on the internet that may come back in your life negatively. 

Unfortunately, I can’t think of a specific article or document that could potentially cause problems for me. That being said I’m sure pictures of some sort could appear that would have a negative portrayal of me. Some of those situations and or pictures are out of my control when I put myself in those settings. The potential teacher was burned from her dreams because of a Halloween picture that was labeled, “drunken pirate”. Pictures themselves can be taken a variety of ways by assumption, but when they are captioned as such things, one can only rely on that image. Hopefully in my future I will not have a situation like these listed in the article. After reading the stories in delete 1 and 2, I want to search for and revamp the information I have on myself. Even what I have stated in this Blog could be reviewed and taken note that I ‘may have something out there on the web I’m trying to hide’. It’s Ridiculous how open the web is. Access is unlimited, passwords are made for personal information, not what can be viewed in the public eye. 

RACELESSNESSSSSSS

Villanueva is a writer that seems to love portraying the usage of slander and Mexican terminology. He incorporates the onset language used by either Mexican cultures manipulated into the American times. Many of the terms used by Villanueva are neither necessarily “new” nor inventive. I have heard many of these slang terms having working in various jobs throughout the Tri-Cities region. Having the slang words, comments, gestures and signs derived directly from the Mexican heritage make for interesting connections to how that race involves its own unique tendencies into the English language. I however love some of the terms derived from the Hispanic culture. When I was working younger, a group of us were coined terms as nick names. The oldest of our group of our works was coined, “Palamo” which from my understanding in their terminology as the “old pigeon”. The middle ages were tagged, “Palamos” = brown pigeon. I was lucky enough to have palomitas which was a group or many pigeons (since I was a bigger guy). After a few months I was led to believe that term also meant popcorn.. Lucky me.. J

        Villanueva had an interesting phrase, “English is even the language of the cosmos; Vulcan One’s message, representing the people of Earth, approved by the 147 members of the United Nations, is recorded in English (McCrum et al. 19)”. This message makes sense, it’s interesting how when you think of the entire world as a whole and the many diverse languages spoken, English being the most used. I can see how this is a norm for video games, and media rich cultures, being useful for the upcoming assignments to relate these facts. Racelessness is also a unique term Villanueva coined.

Multiple Choice:

Menu-Driven Identities –

Race and/or gender need not be known to others when they engage in web chat, post texts to websites or new groups, or send e-mail, some believe that users’ identities can be “________” from race when on the web?

A.   Exempt

B.   Stolen

C.  Freed

D.  Abused

True or False:

Biculturalism does not mean to be an equal ease with two cultures.

True

Cited:

Villanueva, Victor. "Spic in English!" Bootstraps: from an American Academic of Color.Urbana, IL: National Council of Teachers of English, 1993. 34-50. Print.

Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes:Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York: Routledge, 2002. Print.

Labels, Race, and Profiling, Oh My! # 9

               Race was not originally divided by physical attributes, but more so with physical features. Discussed in our group presentation, Nakamura relates the idea of cybertyping to that of stereotyping, in the old and new senses of the term. In printing, a stereotype is a mold or form that images are printed off of. Identities are "typed" like images in a printing press, even in the virtual realm they are still "mired in oppressive roles even if the body has been left behind." (Nakamura, 4) 

                Nakamura explains, the way the internet and other new media adopts the same racial stereotypes as older more traditional media. In comparison to the relationship between Nakamura’s ideologies of historic resemblance on race, she goes on to explain how the internet is regarded as a post racial democracy where everyone is equal, the text suggests that this is not true.  In the Power of illusion website, it seems as though they are beating around the proverbial racial bush by explaining how our historic backgrounds based on government caused the sub groups of racism. “As the race concept evolved, it justified extermination of Native Americans, exclusion of Asian Immigrants, and taking of Mexican lands. Racial practices were institutionalized within government, laws, and society.”(Is race real: fact 5) In the 1970’s when people were able to label themselves into a sorted race, this began the government census of labeling people separated by race. We can blame the government like this website seems to portray, but we all know that racial discrimination and labeling has gone on for MANY years. This website is very informative in the sense that they have historic documents to show this phenomenon.

Works Cited -->

Adelman, Larry. "RACE-The Power of an Illusion."PBS.ORG. PBS (California Newsreel), 2003. Web. 27 Oct 2010. <http://www.pbs.org/race/000_General/000_00-Home.htm>.

Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York Routledge, 2002. Print.

CR 18 - Nakamura, Lisa. "Race In/For Cyberspace." Ed. David Bell and Barbara M. Kennedy. The Cybercultures Reader. London: Routledge, 2007. 297-304. Print.

Cyber Types and Racial Sluuuuurs Blog # 8

Cybertyping is an interesting method for labeling figures based on a web or media cultures. Our group had the presentation on this format and I found our discoveries to be quite alarming, but realistic. The second half of Cybertypes deals with the way the internet and other new media adopts the same racial stereotypes as older more traditional media. It goes on to explain how the internet is regarded as a post racial democracy where everyone is equal, the text suggests that this is not true. 

We complied that, the text “Race In / For Cyberspace: identity tourism and racial passing on the Internet” by Lisa Nakamura is a study on the way race is presented and viewed in the online video game, LambdaMoo. In this game users are able to adopt an online persona and customize it, by choosing a specific gender and race. In the text Nakamura describes the habits of players and suggests that their habits are representative of the general population online. Most often the choices made create online characters that are different from their real life counterparts, who are typically white males, and promote harmful racial stereotypes.

In street fighter 2, the examples of Nakamura’s explanations are represented. Each character available to choose from is based of a culture and country. Ryu and Ken are shown being from America, Chun Li rooted from china or Japan. These Characters are designed to look like they are directly from the country. Clothing, skin color, and attributes are all part of these dynamic parts.  Sagat is a representation of the Middle East. These characters are ridiculous in the sense of how they relate to their countries. Even when the battles start they sometimes have a flag or a visual description stemming from the country they are derived from. I personally loved street fighter growing up, I still do, especially now that they have remade the game with modern technology and more characters, all still having the same Identified tourist theme.

Nakamura, Lisa. Cybertypes: Race, Ethnicity, and Identity on the Internet. New York Routledge, 2002. Print.


CR 18 - Nakamura, Lisa. "Race In/For Cyberspace." Ed. David Bell and Barbara M. Kennedy. The Cybercultures Reader. London: Routledge, 2007. 297-304. Print.

SUPPPPAAA MARRRRRRRIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOO

Blog #7

Starting out with Mario, his body type is a short, fatter character with fewer hops than say Luigi. Luigi is taller and slender, which allows him to jump higher and float longer in the air compared to Mario. Both these brothers have altering body types and it’s apparent based on their physical attributes that they are different skills. After playing the three different men in the game, Toad has a faster pace style. If gender were to come into play it seems as though Mario and Luigi are the “male” versions, hence having the male Italian names and body build to support that. (minus the suspenders..haha) Toad is presumably a male, although his vest and shroom head could be a resemblance of a young male or homosexual. Since Princess is the only “female” in the game, she has a very generous style game play with smoother motions and light weight (when you jump). Her dress is a little excessive, considering it’s a pink dress with a puffy bottom to it. “Monstrous off-spring of science: an idealized, eternally young female automaton, a malleable, well-trained techno-puppet created by and for the male gaze” (MIT  12). This is an example in the readings where obvious display of a female, by clothes, hair, etc. must be apparent to display attributes of a woman.

Differences are obviously less than desirable, but im sure it would be quite difficult back then to make a custom character, or change appearances. Showing the difference in times, since this game was originated in 1988, I’m sure many more men played video games rather than women, so that would explain the gender placement. Understandably, the apparel of the characters is going to be hard to give detail to, since technology was so limited in 1988. This game will always be a hit to the gaming world because it shaped our culture to love Italian bro’s and delve into a new world, Super Mario World.

Schleiner, Anne-Marie. "Does Lara Croft Wear Fake Polygons? Gender and Gender-Role Subversion in Computer Adventure Games." MIT Press. 34.3 (2001): 221-226. Print.

Blog #6

The way Avatar dichotomizes gender is obvious, and apparent throughout the movie. The head scientist in charge of the “Avatar” experiment is a woman named Dr. Grace Augustine. In the storyline, Grace is a very powerful figure. Grace is strong, persuasive, intense, and intelligent. In the movie, the male population, from the beginning to end, is shown as a “jarhead” stereotype. In my opinion, the main general of the marines is a “meathead” with weapons and machinery. This portrayal is shown throughout the movie with force, mainly coming from destruction with the use of killing and brute force instead of a diplomatic, patient attempt. Grace uses a calm approach to reasoning with the Na’vi race. She is persistent to reason with the race with persuasion and technique (a sensible method) like how she’s creates human avatars to go within the world of Pandora. In other words, the women in the film are more sensible, calm, reasonable, caring, and powerful, rather than the male population claiming all of these characteristics along the lines of the typical male stereotypes.

“James Cameron’s movie sensation, AVATAR, is about race, obviously. In a classic venue of white man versus nature, the white man is made the traditional enemy of the environment and its more natural, morally superior habitants–persons of color. This is such a basic, anti-white fantasy, one has to wonder at the implications of the movie’s success. Are there that many non-whites in America, or, Are there that many guilt-mongering whites in America? Perhaps it is a combination of both audiences. Combine that ‘liberal’ moral appeal with the compulsive lure of computerized, extravagant “photo-shop” creativity.” (Yeagley)

Jake Sully begins the movie as a jarhead, ex marine, called upon to take the place of his brother (PhD) who died in action prior to the storyline. Jake has the easy go lucky “whatever” approach to the whole idea behind the Avatar world. Once Jake begins his journey through Pandora he finally realizes there is more to life than the shitty world outside of Pandora. In Pandora Jake is something, and is loved by one of the Na’vi, Neytiri. As soon as he realizes what he was put forth to do wasn’t the right way, he literally switches sides and supports the Na’vi, battling back at his own kind, the human race. I’m sure the Avatars like the way they are portrayed switching from race to race. Each charater is stretched quite a bit. The only real resemblance shown is in their faces. Grace is shown as a tall, slim, “attractive” Avatar. Jake is transformed into a mucular macho Na’vi with a certain swagger, he lacks to have in reality. Throughout the film, Jake has very limited personability other than jarhead turned to lover, literally. Not much to broaden in that sense.

 Yeagley, David. "The Blue People: AVATAR Race Fantasy." Bad Eagle Journal (2009): n. pag. Web. 4 Oct 2010. <http://www.badeagle.com/2010/01/19/the-blue-people-avatar-race-fantasy/>.

USER RELATIONS?! OH MY!

A computer is one of the most advanced pieces of technology due to its continuous improvements and constant improvements on capabilities. When Lupton compares a computer to having a comparable personality to a human it sparks debate, but ultimately has a good point. I found a website that allows people to type anything they want and have a voice recognizer repeat this entered phrase at ease.

http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal

I am bringing up voice recognition software due to our in class discussion on the Mac computer having various tones and possible sexism associated with it. In this video I thought of adding for this particular topic, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkEw1rsBUak. The commercial isn’t necessarily for a computer, although the attractive woman mentioning the available features for the car that has interactive hard drives and software “turns her on”. This is an example of how computer user relations can flourish to even more than a desktop.

Lupton has a very concrete form of justification for his arguments. The way computers are being made, deploy the “user friendly” terminology. This term is made up to have a personalized computer to relate with and show your unique persons attributes. Most of the processes in a computer can be altered in some way by changing the appearance, system, storage, performance, appeal, etc. These additions continue to build and shape our arguments along with Lupton that these relationships will only continue to grow stronger. The whole I’m a Mac, or “I’m a PC” is a concrete example of the foundation of this bond.

Every day in class we discuss and argue whether or not the makeup of a term of phrase can relate to the entire realm of Digital technology. The Iphone and Blackberry debacle or the sexist, stereotypical processes that make up the technological advances are examples of our in class relations. I look at every connective device in a whole new way because of the in depth research we continue to relate to. I will probably use the voice recognition software I found in RL. http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal. Relating the in depth meanings of vocab in our course work will help me understand and explain more thoroughly if need be in RL. 

"Text to Speech." SitePal. SitePal, n.d. Web. 23 Sep 2010. <http://www.oddcast.com/home/demos/tts/tts_example.php?sitepal>.