Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now really captures the senses of the audience. It makes them a  part of the setting through the images, sounds, and emotions evoked. In an appreciative sense, it immerses the audience in the situation being presented as it makes you think and question the event and personalities of the characters. The first person narration gives the audience a deeper connection to the thought of the character. This establishes an emotional connection.  The narration gives us insight and evokes sympathy for a clearly tortured man.

Critique of My Blog thus far...

I think that I have been doing a good job with this blog. It is all very new to me, but I feel like I am catching on through practice and some readings I've been doing. I try to link to all pertinent sites that I talk about, but I have been struggling with getting images and videos up. I try to keep my blogs concise and to the point. A big part of web reading, its scan-ability. I try to break my posts up so it is reader friendly and never appears to be too intimidatingly long. 

(insert break here)

I think the design of my site really suites me and speaks about who I am. I think the template I chose is very readable and attractive. I think the background and text colors compliment each other well. I think I could eliminate a few needless words and I feel like that will come over time. I think I am really developing my voice. I need to come up with a more creative blog name and tagline. I think it's a bit too generic. 

I think my About Me section really speaks of who I am. I think I should add more to it as I am becoming more comfortable with the concept of blogging. I think my blog will continue to develop and grow. Hopefully, it will become a professional looking site and can be  a place that I am proud to call my home on the web.

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Communications Minor at SJU

I just started classes towards a Communications minor. It's new at Saint Joe's and I found a group on Facebook. The site has a lot of job opportunities and interesting information. Check it out!

NikeID website

I am a runner. Therefore, I have an unhealthy obsession with shoes. I am currently looking for new racing spikes. I went to the NikeID site so I could customize my spikes in our team colors etc. However, there were no running spikes (there were football and soccer though!).  Despite my let down, I can appreciate the creativity and uniqueness of the site. The site allows you to really make the shoe your own. You can choose every detail to truly make it a one of a kind. The site is pretty quick and has good user interface. It actually won a Webby award for best visual design. You can really see and know what your shoe will look like before it is even made. There are various angles you can view the shoe from. You can also zoom in for a more detailed view. The site is very user friendly and makes the experience of shoe shopping a unique, fun, and memorable one. Since there were no spikes, I created Nike Frees. 

Check out the
NikeFree 5.0 iD Running Shoe
I designed at NIKEiD.com

It's a cool site, you should all go check it out!

The Importance of Creativity

I believe that creativity is extremely important and essential in whatever career path you may choose. However, in our society, creativity is not encouraged. In fact, it is even viewed as somewhat of a disability. We are told to worry about "the creative ones" as we praise the mathematically inclined. The hierarchy of our educational system is clearly swayed. In order for our society to advance, we must encourage and foster creativity. Children start out creative, but as they are further educated they become less and less so. Parents encourage their children to steer clear of creative future careers and emphasize the stability of the maths and sciences. As a whole, we must ask ourselves how can we advance our society if we continue to settle for the safe choices and never push the envelope.

Thoughts on The Future of Communication

Hey! I just watched a really cool video on the future of communication as we know it. Here's the the link.

I think that the internet is something that we all take for granted right now, but it actually has sparked a revolution in how we communicate with each other. It amazes me how one innovation almost completely replaced all forms of print media. The internet allows us a forum to report our own news (such as this blog!). This figure is the prosumer who both produces and consumes news. This is a very powerful figure and gives everyone the ability to report the news. Old forms of media have tried to fight back with taxes and copyright laws but I think the force of the internet and new technologies is undeniable. We cannot slow this growth, but rather we must embrace it. I am really excited to see where the future of communications and technology may go. I only hope it can bring more positive things into our world because this is a time when we really need it.