The Snapshot Saturday, Mar 28 2009 

Assignment and Photography , shanadhillon 9:21 PM

Santarem, Para Brasil

Santarem, Para, Brasil

This is a photo that every time I look at, I become sad. It was taken during my January Term class in Northeastern Brazil. We went there to work with a small community; we taught the children in the village and helped to renovate a boathouse that the community uses for many different uses. This photo is an image of the street that we rode our bikes down every day to work. The car in the image has a large speaker on top of it and drives down the streets of Santarem advertising beer, music and local events.

The people in Santarem can’t escape advertising because these cars drive right past their houses at all hours of the day. It reminds me of advertising in the United States because advertisers take advantage of every opportunity they can to send a message to people. One can’t even go to a public restroom without staring at an advertisement. This attitude has traveled its way to all corners of the world, and even in a small village in Brazil had accustomed themselves to this sort of advertising; it’s a clear example of globalization.

60kitchen4

This image, which is a combination of three different images that I found on the internet, is meant to represent the changing of the times, and in a way is supposed to be a foreshadowing of the coming future. This 1960s housewife is clearly ahead of her time with her robot as a helper in the kitchen.

 

Ubiquity, connectivity. Monday, Mar 16 2009 

Assignment shanadhillon 9:48 PM

Yellow Arrow-Providence, Rhode Island, USA.

Dr. Scott Ruston’s visit to our class was quite informative and enlightening. He introduced to our class projects that surround the phenomenon of Mobile Narrative Experiences which essentially brings a whole new level to the way we can understand the world around us. One particular project that stood out to be during his presentation was that of the Yellow Arrow (http://www.yellowarrow.net). This project brings a new sensibility to space as it takes advantage of a new degree of connectivity, where people can connect with one another based on shared lived experiences, without ever having to meet the other person. Already, this occurs with books, movies and other media devices, where different people are moved in different ways, but these various responses stem from one common thing, but in this instance, the Yellow Arrow allows for people to engage in nature and scenery, while also adding a technological  and a communicative dimension to the experience.

I really enjoyed hearing about the different projects that he informed us of because they fascinate me. One project that comes to mind when I think about the notion of uqibiquitous connectivity is the project Where’s George (http://www.wheresgeorge.com), where one can enter the serial number of any U.S. Dollar bill, and if it has been previously entered into the system, you can find out where else in the world that dollar bill has traveled. Although you won’t know who necessarily was in possession of the dollar bill, or what it was used to purchase, being reminded of the fact that money travels all over the world brings about a new sense of realization about the space around us.

 

My Blog Roll Thursday, Mar 5 2009 

Assignment shanadhillon 12:32 PM

boy-using-laptop-in-bed

In this generation, we are seemingly able to function solely from behind our computer screen. One can manage their finances, their stocks, their social life, the happenings from around the world, and even do groceries. This is why I chose the websites I did for my blog roll because these are the sites that I use in order to manage my life. I don’t even have to make a trip to the bank to find out how much money I have available to me to shop, and soon after, I can venture over to my favorite clothing website to purchase what I will be wearing to the clubs this weekend. This technological world we have become so accustomed to has made life very convenient and easy to organize and manage. I can not only keep up with the news from around the world, but at the same time, watch my favorite sitcom that I missed when I actually had to venture away from behind my computer, in order to attend a class (which I might not have had to do if I had chosen to take online classes). My main point is that the world we live in has been transferred over to the internet, and nearly every aspect of our lives can be managed from the comfort of our beds, as long as our internet connection is working.