representational me

Bless me father, its been a couple of weeks since my last confession...I'm starting to see a trends developing in these posts, which I have observed of other blogs I have worked on, which may have something to do with the Fibonacci series or the Golden ratio...My first few posts will be in quick, enthusiastic succession, but as time passes in its linear form, the longer it takes me to update this with relevant details...in fact, I'm starting to wonder what is relevant to this anymore!

I can't quite remember where I left the last post, butI don't think I covered Kathrine's second seminar, which proved to be just as interesting and a little more insightful then her first. I definitely took away a different form of perspective on certain subjects. Looking at myself and my views on new media, I think its pretty safe to say that I might be a little old fashioned in my attitude...lets say a little more Jeremy Gould than Adam!! I still have a little of the belief that some forms of media are in fact halving spaces, and contributing to the demise of a considerable amount of 'places', and the texts I read from Katherine's prescribed list seemed to re-enforce my ideas. However I did highlight the case of a housemate of mine to the group. It is quite pretentious of me to judge, but I think/thought his lifestyle was suffering massively due to online gaming. His diet, social life and physical health all seem to take a back seat in comparison to his gaming habits. After a few over enthusiastic chats about his favourite games and a few conventions he had been too, I realised that I felt a little bit sorry for the guy...saying it does make me feel slightly 'up myself' so to speak. 

But I started to realise that he was playing the majority of time with his father...The game they were playing is an online game where you have to very careful with your trust, if you trust another player than they could rob your spaceship and all of your money, so they only trusted each other. I slowly began to realise that this was probably the only way of communicating with his dad who lives in a different country. I still can't help myself feel a little sorry for the guy, but if this is the only form of contact that they have then so be it. Maybe without this new media space in which he spends hours with his father, he wouldn't have regular contact with him at all, and it was only when Kathrine mentioned this did the reality of it hit me.

I still feel like his physical health is suffering due to his affiliation without the game, but I'm starting to see that possibly these new media spaces have a lot more benefits then I first liked to believe. Moderation is a word that I believe we don't hear enough, everything in moderation. Gaming in moderation, alcohol in moderation, exercise in moderation, food in moderation...too much of one thing and its effects are detrimental. This new media is an extremely positive thing, but in moderation. 

“Sometimes, I go without lunch so I could use my allowance to buy a pre-paid call card for my cell phone,” says Tammy Reyes, a 17-year old college student. “If I don’t receive a text when I wake up or I receive only a few messages during the day, I feel as though nobody loves me enough to remember me during the day.” (Rheingold, Smart Mobs, Cambridge, MA: Basic Books, 2002, p. 21).

This for me is exemplary of the modern day youth in many societies, if they don't receive a certain amount of texts, or a text at a certain time of day, then they don't feel loved, because to receive a text is to know that someone is thinking about you. It doesn't matter if the text says 'Hi', 'I'm bored' or '...', its the thought of someone else thinking of you that counts. I hope that the current trend of attachment to these messages doesn't persist in their emotional meaning for users, or we could be approaching a series of detrimental outcomes for not receiving the vibrating or beeping that highlights the fact that someone loves us.

Last week we had Doreen talk to us about Representation, and this was the first seminar which honestly had little to do with my interests. It was an interesting talk, and Doreen obviously is an expert in her field, but it only proved to reenforce my depressive attitude toward the current industry of architecture and its attachment to images. I don't think I can sit at the same desk, every day for a year, while my fingers grow every-more comfortable without the quick-keys of AutoCAD. The career I end up in is still in the misty horizon, and I change my mind every fortnight...Doctorate, Architectural journalist, humanitarian architect, drug smuggler......who knows...

Unfortunately, and I really do mean that, I missed both Dans's lecture which was sure to be the most interesting for me and Doreen second seminar....I am NOT happy with myself over that, but man flu and a few other ailments I don't care to share restricted me from attending, I'm still a little worse for wear, but I've found a haven in the silent study area on the second floor of the library..

In a moment, I'm hoping to make a start on my project proposal...should be fun, seen as I have no idea what my project is going to be, or even if I plan on finishing it in this academic year...I thick it's about time to get decisive.....maybe....