Narrative Image: Technology vs. Nature

Inspired by the narrative photographer seen in the video example, I also chose not to focus on the short term occurrences before and after the moment this picture was taken. As seen in this picture are two of my friends (Art Davidson and Ryan Civale). Though they are both friends, besides the physical fact that they are sitting next to each other, they do not appear to acknowledge or even appreciate each others presence. They are separated and unable to break the barriers created by modern day technology. Interestingly enough, the dim and almost disapproving lighting in this picture comes from my natural aquarium.

Dynamite Diagram: Conceptual and Media Assets

      One of Marshall McLuhan's concerns that resonated most with me regards the observation that we tend

 to focus on the obvious. By doing, it can be historicly seen that we largely miss the structural changes in our

 affairs that are introduced over long periods of time. Whenever a new innovation or idea is created, many of

 its properties are fairly obvious to us in the sense that we generally know what it will nominally do, or at 

least what it is intended to do, and what it might replace. We often know what its advantages and 

disadvantages might be. But it is also often the case that, after a long period of time and experience with the

 new innovation, we look backward and realize that there were some effects of which we were entirely

 unaware at the outset.

      For example, Alfred Nobel thought dynamite, which he invented and was relatively stable, would make 

mining and other rock-blasting operations much safer than it had been with nitroglycerin. He didn't think it 

would be used for military purposes.

The Medium is the Massage Ramble

"Until writing was invented, man lived in an acoustic space: boundless, directionless, horizon-less, in the dark of mind, in the world of emotion, by primordial intuition, by terror.

This quote, regarding ones perception on life prior to writing technologies, really resonated with me. Although I believe that this thought by McLuhan is perhaps exaggerated, I found the idea of life being "boundless, directionless and horizon-less" to be interesting. The space lived in prior to the invention of writing is physically the same as now, however on a personal/ intellectual level the world is now seen and percieved completely differently

Peters Haiku Generator

Summer startles men.

The broken fortresses set.

The turning mouths clash.

Medium is the Massage: Quotes/ Themes

1. As soon as information is acquired, it is very rapidly replaced by still newer information.

2.The worldpool of information fathered by electric media—movies, Telstar, flight-

far surpasses any possible influence mom and dad can now bring to bear.

3. The professional tends to classify and to specialize, to accept uncritically the ground-rules of the environment. The ground-rules provided by the mass response of his colleagues serve as a pervasive environment of which he is contentedly and unaware.

4. At the high speeds of electronic communication, purely visual means of
apprehending the world are no longer possible; they are just too slow to
be relevant or effective.

5. Until writing was invented, man lived in an acoustic space: boundless, directionless, horizonless, in the dark of mind, in the world of emotion, by primordial intuition, by terror.

Five Random Quotes

"Already almost lifeless, cold at heart, I descended the spiral staircase to the music room but there I found I had not been abandoned." -The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter

"I asked you who brought you here?"-Beloved by Toni Morrison

"She slept with the radio blasting and the lights on." The Color of Water by James McBride

"I'm saying, yeah, its harder to get dates because there aren't any black girls around here." Dreams from My Father by Barack Obama

"We hit the used paper bag stalls stocked with greasy pulp novels and pinup magazines." Just Kids by Patti Smith

"Already almost lifeless, cold at heart, I descended the spiral staircase to the music room but there I found I had not been abandoned. I asked you who brought you here She slept with the radio blasting and the lights on. I'm saying, yeah, its harder to get dates because there aren't any black girls around here. We hit the used paper bag stalls stocked with greasy pulp novels and pinup magazines.

Rant

HOT Chocolate Rant


I love hot chocolate but sometimes it makes me very angry because I will be excited to drink it and then I will burn my mouth and tongue really badly and then I don't want to drink it anymore or eat any other foods even when I am hungry because it would hurt to eat food and I wouldn't be able to taste the food to its full potential except for ice cream because ice cream is cold and it makes my mouth feel better.

The Decomposition of "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha

Fire and Water

The Decomposition of "The Book of Awesome" by Neil Pasricha