Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Experience with blog and photoshop

I thought the blog was a great medium for this project. The format is very simple and accessible. Despite this you can personalize your page as much as you wish. It is also easy to incorporate image and video. For beginners to the Popcycle this is perfect. Creating a website might offer more advanced options though.

I dislike Photoshop because it is so confusing and seemingly inaccessible for those who aren't tech savvy. I used it minimally because of the requirement. Simple photo editors work better for me. Usually all I need to do is remove red eye, crop, and play with color. I can do all those things in Picasa.

Insights

I discovered a definite binary between love of security and comfort and my desire for independance and new experience. I love my family and my home but I feel it is necassary to leave and see new places. College was the perfect oppurtunity to discover a different part of the country. Also I want to join the peace corps when I graduate. However I saw that home is very much a part of my heart, even more than I knew before.

Useful Instructions From the Readings

One of the most important peices of advice I got from Ulmer was to suspend skeptism and have have faith in the process. I'm not sure exactly how he worded it. But just from letting narrative idea's pop into my head I did discover meaningful connections. I definitely didn't discover my ideal career path but I did learn a little more about myself and the patterns that repeat themselves in my life.

Emblem 8

My first attempt at creating an emblem was far too busy so I knew I needed to choose one unifying theme. I chose water because it appeared in many of my narratives. For me it is a symbol of escape and freedom. But I didn't want to ignore another major pattern I found which was hominess and family. I used my epigram to link those two ideas. I also linked them by making my biggest picture one of me and my two best friends from home. All the pictures had a water setting. I also incorporated a little 40's aesthetic with how the pictures are framed.

Wide Image

Morality

I'm not sure how morality plays into my Mystory. My Titanic narrative mentions fibbing which is morally wrong. The major ones are that love and support of friends and family is the most important thing in the world. Also that it is necasarry to leave your zone of comfort and support to find indepandence and discover yourself.

Worldview

It is difficult to nail down one worldview from my narratives. Overall though it is hopeful and optimistic about the world mixed with a desire for Independence and new experiences. There are some negative feelings but nothing overwhelming. There is also the view that authority should be challenged from time to time.