For my NYPL oral history projected I looked at a conversation between the interviewer Susan Darcy and Louisiana native Donald Trammel. The purpose of this project is to help us gain experience on how it is like to transcribe an audio recording. Audio recordings are a form of media that is all based on audio, but with the help of transcribing the audio which is to put it into words, it helps us to search a certain part of the dialogue through the words rather than look over the audio recording repeatedly. As I figured out hearing the audio multiple times to transcribe it the painstaking work to put it into words helps. It is also useful to those people who are deaf so they can’t hear the world around them.

I had to find a audio that had little to no amount of work done to it which is why I choose Donald Trammel story. The process itself of transcribing was tedious. The main reason why is mainly due to the functionality of the website.  First of all to play the clip was difficult because it is impossible to pinpoint where exactly where u wanna start in the beginning so it is either you start straignt from the begining at 00:00 or 1:15 nothing in between.  But after that,  you can pick where ever you want to start.

In the section of the site where we type down what we hear I found it difficult becuase I wanted to make sure where exactly the time and the audio synced in. I wanted to make sure everything fits exactly as in the audio. There are sections of the audio that are clear to understand and some that are not as easy. One reason may be due to the recording equipment not being close their mouths or the accents they speak in. Donald clearly has a southern accent and some words to me arn’t audible. One example I can’t point out is what his previous job was. On the site, there is generated transcribtion but some things are not correct. The generater can’t pick up on slang such as reefer I noticed. I am familar with the term so I know what he means, to the generator it may see the word as giberish and fills it in with the closest word.

I would probly do this process again but with better softwear and better headphones to help me hear more clearly.

After I was done reading “Cybernetics and Ghost” I thought about the process of creating a story and presenting it to an audience.  Near the beginning of the semester, everyone in the class had to stand up in front and speak of a story that was never written down. In other words, our chosen story must never be written down but rather spoken orally. Which ties into the article which talks about ways of telling a story. I decide to speak about the story of how I got my jaw locked in place while I was in class back in High school.   picked this personal story because of the shock value it brings to anyone who hears it. The idea of having your jaw locked in place is completely unusual to most people and rarely would anyone go through it. Even when I was in the hospital everyone there who are professionals or professionals in training have never seen or heard of my tempory condition. The story also follows the prompt, I have never written down the story anywhere but I have spread the existence of the story through word of mouth which is one the ways to tell a story.

As I stood up to tell the story I had to put myself in the mindset of a village chief or elder that wants to speak. In the article, the author brings up storytellers in tribes that speak of stories to spread knowledge and stores about hunting creatures in the wild, personal life and family history.

 

http://www.roundhouse.org.uk/about-us/artistic-programme/spoken-word/

After reading “Is Google Making Us Stupid” by Nicholas Carr, I would have to agree with the topic of the article. To an extent yes it does as well as any form of technology. The creation of technology is to make our lives more efficient and putting less effort into everyday tasks. Such as spoon and fork, they may be simple in design and do not require electricity but they are still a form of tech. Google which is an online search engine formed in 1998 which is used to look up information online.

Google is commonly used throughout the day by millions of people to search up terms, people, addresses, songs, and much more info. Google is definitely useful during the modern times even I use it multiple times a day. But the problem is people rely on Google too much which takes the work out of looking up particular info. It is also shortening our attention span and our sense of patience. Because of the ease of access, Google has given its users, we expect info to come in a snap of a finger or however as fast your internet connection is. Technology does provide a ease of access to its user that’s why it was created but at a risk of making us more lazy and possible limiting our cognitive functions.

The article mentioned that because of Google people nowadays are less willing to read long articles or books. I agree with this statement, I do not read books often unless it is for class. Also, I have not read a book from back to front for entertainment since high school. I do feel insecure because it because I am a college student. I also know many students my age that does not read that often for entertainment.

I agree with the article, “I’m A Addict” by various authors, in which they talk about the effect on social media on teenagers and young adults that have used it. I do agree that social media has an effect on it users mental health because I have gone through it myself and witnessed the negatives by others first hand.

I mostly use Facebook, Instagram and Tumblr. However Facebook and Instagram are my main used sites. Facebook is more for catching up personal friends, so I would not add someone I am no to familiar with on the platform. As for Instagram it is more creative and business based. Tumblr is my least used site but I stay anonymous on it and just use it for personal entertainment. I noticed Instagram mostly effects my well being because I am more exposed to more people besides my friends and family. I would see celebrities, artists and entrepreneurs. There has been points when I would get envious at the people I see on my screen and wish it was me. I get trapped in my mind of thoughts about why couldn’t my life be like the people I see. I would compare myself to them by thinking about my living conditions and social-economic status. There are people that are around my age and even younger that I see might be living better off then me based on what I see.

We now live in a generation where people value the amount of likes and followers they have to measure their worth. Some people would go through extreme lengths in order to boost their followings. For example a young girl by the name of Lil Tay; she blew up in popularity when she was 9 years old. She became popular by making videos of her talking in profanity on camera, which adds shock value. Even if you loved it or hated her presence, acted worked and for a couple months she was an “internet celebrity”. Her time in fame slowly declined, its been speculated that she was not fond of the comments online made towards her which Lil Tay herself claimed it was bullying. So in the price of fame a 9 year old girl experienced cyber bullying.

I agree with people who said use social media responsibly and limit your time on it. There are upsides to social media like keeping in touch with your friends and building a brand online. But it will cause depression when you use it. When ever I feel envious or sad at my way of life I just think of one song by rapper J.Cole called “Love Yourz” which is about appreciating what you have in life right now instead of focusing on what others have.

 

 

Earlier this semester I talked about my story of when I had my jaw stuck when I yawned in class which sent me to the hospital. For the aftermath of the situation, I have got my jaw stuck for a few seconds but goes back in place fortunately. My condition is difficult to deal with due to fact that it can happen anytime in the most unexpected of places. It has happened to me in bed, classrooms and even on the train. Depending on where it can happen it could make the situation worse. For example if I was in the train and was stuck underground what would I do. I can’t talk and my phone is not connected to the internet. So pretty much when ever I yawn, I see it as a life or death situation.

When I did further research into I might get a condition called TMJ. This is a feeling of discomfort or pain that lies in the jaw joint. TMJ also causes jaw locking and difficulty chewing.

https://media1.giphy.com/media/9rjKLsynBodhiIovdD/giphy.gif?cid=3640f6095be9dd134d5a424f51f7d00b

When i put my story down into words on a computer I am able to put more detail into my story then if I was to speak it orally. Also when i type it into a computer I am able to to bring it to life with pictures, GIFs and videos. Computers bring a wide range use of multimedia to our hands. Unlike books and television regular people are able to make content and broadcast it to wide audience from their home. This story right now can be a form of media and honestly I made this while I as at work when there was nothing to do. Now that I took time out my day to create this, it is now available for everyone to see.

Museums to me are wonderful place to be and spend some time in.I give myself an excuse to go whether it is for class or even I just got some free time on my hands. Museums are buildings that contain information within various subject. They are literally libraries of history and information lined up against the walls. They could contain information in topics such as history of a lost civilization or even to less important stuff like pizza. The Metropolitan museum in New York is one of the most famous sites in world. It contains physical history from different parts of the world and time periods as well as art. Museums hold paintings, statues as usual ways to show history. But they can even go the creative route with Visualizations. In “What is Visualization?’ by Lev Manovich hr speaks of the definition of a visualization. According to him it is hard to pinpoint an exact definition but it is along the lines of using computers to create a visual of information which can either be static(still) or dynamic (moving).

One of my favorite examples of visuals in a museum is in the Whitney. There was an exhibit that used lights and live movies in different rooms to create fantasy like environments. Some rooms just contain lights to create physical patterns you can reach and touch other rooms are just movies you can watch with surround sound systems in the room to make it feel like your in a different environment.

As technology evolves over the course of years we are able to communicate through different ways besides the primitive use of our mouths. We have been using our mouths since the dawn of time, then we developed writing many centuries ago which allowed us to put our thoughts on paper. This was a game changer because we can keep a history of what we speak on a physical form which can not be changed and be held around for years. Books and written documents allowed us to keep records and show proof. Unlike a game of telephone where the premise is whatever you said to one person may be changed as infomation spreads. This causes misinformation and false facts.

We then later devolped a form of spreading infomation to other parts of the world which is letters and the postal system. Before the invention of phones to help us talk long distances in the 20th century we had letters which were in written forms. It started off by having people travel on foot or vehicles in long distances to reach the destination. This may take days or even weeks for a full transaction.

In recent times we have created an virtual form of mail, which is e-mail. It is the quickets way to post messeges from deiffent parts of the world. The great benefit of it is that its almost instant. As long as both parties have a internet connection they can both recieve e-mails. Unlike regualer mail which takes much longer.

While I was reading “The Coming of the Microcomputer”, I thought of the change computers have gone through over the years. Back in the 1950’s computer were gigantic. They took up tons of space that could fill an entire room. All these computers can do is simple math equations similar to what our calculators do nowadays. Information must also be transferred manually unlike modern technology.

Today the technology evolved to something more smaller and more compact. Which are our smartphones, a product of modern technology which to the eyes of those living decades ago seems like a dream. I currently own the iPhone 6s Plus which came out a few years ago so it has less power than the latest iPhone, but it is significantly more powerful than the room-sized computers of the 1950’s. In terms of tech, we have developed so much in half a century.

Our phones now are not just pocket computers but also cameras, mobile phones, and provides different ways to communicate.

I have read a article titled “Race In/For Cyberspace: Identity Tourism and Racial Passing on the Internet” by Lisa Nakamura. While I was reading the article I thought about numerous topics that were brought up. One big one was the meme of a dog that pretends to be a human while browsing the internet. It speaks on the idea that anyone that you may get in contact with online could be dog as ridiculous as it sounds. The notion is the internet can hid your physical self from the rest of the world and you can be what ever person you want to be. The internet is one of the greatest forms of self impression due to you being able to portray any character you want.  In Online MMO games you can pick your online physical form and change your gender, nationality, or even species.

The articles also made me think about the idea of us humans being about to change our physical appearance in real life. Not just body modifications like adding silicon or wearing a wig. But maybe changing your genes to make yourself taller or give your self a different eye color. We gave that to an extent nowadays with the possibility to change DNA for babies. The process is called designer babies. As cool as it may sound it brings up ethical and moral concerns. Critics of the project say it messes up how nature intends for humans to naturally be and how it may effect children later on in life.

This week I want to speak about Homi Bhabha’s “Signs of Wonder”. From reading the first paragraph it caught my interest by the mention by mentioning an English book and what effect it had in the Carribean. I had an interest with Carribean culture growing up and the effects of colonialism. From what I read, when colonist came to the US they invaded the islands and mainland, while they did that they forced the locals to conform, forcing them to speak English and practice religions like Christianity. It’s not just a change of language that occurred, colonization also brought in technology that has not been done in certain parts of the world like the book.

According to the article, “origin, memorable for its balance between epiphany and enunciation. The discovery of the book is, at once, a moment of originality and authority, as well as a process of displacement that, paradoxically, makes the presence of the book wondrous to the extent to which it is repeated, translated, misread, displaced”.

The quote states that the idea of the book brings a way to document the world. Books are written down ideas or history which can be used by many people and the information contained inside can be passed down, told, and translated.