Monthly Archives: March 2021

Play with Flowers

When I came into work the other day, I didn’t realize that I would fulfill my weekly creative activity while getting paid to make a wedding gift for my dear friend! My coworker brought in a card and some bouquets of flowers to gift to our other coworker who was getting married on the weekend! I was just coming off of my lunch break, when I was given a task. Make a wrist corsage out of the floral scraps that were provided. Oh, and it has to be done within the hour.

My first thought was – wait, how to people make wrist corsages? I realized that I had to wing it and work with what I had on hand. Thankfully, there is a daycare that runs out of the room that I work in sometimes, so there were arts and craft supplies kicking around! I grabbed a few pipe cleaners and went to work.

Aaaaaand here’s the bride showing off her corsage! (of course its not for the wedding, I would never force someone to include this 20 minute craft in their forever wedding photos!!)

This week, try and find some flowers in your neighbourhood. Arrange them in a way you can wear them, or just arrange them into a bouquet! 🙂

Peer Review #3

For this week’s peer review, I will be reviewing Cinema Gum. Cinema Gum is a site dedicated to discussing movies outside the parameters of traditional review. The site is colourful, well laid out, and contains content that I believe would be quite interesting to marketers. To start, with the site being a site dedicated to movies, people could see the benefit of linking to various streaming services off the site. This can help the site monetize its reviews by allowing individuals to either sign up for sites such as Netflix or Apple tv or reminding individuals that their choice of streaming service is well made. Further, with many of the movies containing a plot which is sure to instill thought, these movies are sure to cause some thought in the reader. Perhaps after reading the reviews, the user may suddenly have a craving for something that was mentioned in the review or movie. I know when I watched Happy Gilmore, I had a strange desire to play golf. It is instances like such that can allow the site to monetize its reviews. Cinema gum could link out to sites that are relevant to its reviews, then this would allow its readers to purchase readily and easily what they already crave. This isn’t limited to items such as golf clubs but also foods such as spaghetti. People often have cravings for certain foods seen in movies when it always looks so good on screen. Further, they site could always have a visual ad for microwave popcorn. Since popcorn is often associated with movies, a movie review site would generally benefit from an ad for a product people will eat while watching the movies reviewed. A company like Orville Redenbacher could see a steady stream of clicks through this site. With each movie, I am also certain that there will still be merchandise offered by each of the producers. For instance, Jaws has a great cult following and there is surely to be tons of Jaws memorabilia. Cinema Gum could monetize this by taking a portion of each merchandise sale made through its website. Lastly, Cinema Gum’s alternative yet aesthetically pleasing appearance could attract a certain type of visitor. As pointed out in the blog title, Cinema Gym is a nontraditional movie review site. The appearance reminds me of a Kitsilano vibe and cinema gum might consider advertising for brands such as Patagonia, or stores like 8th & Main. These brands seem like they would have a good fit with Cinema Gum and a similar target demographic.

Can you copyright clothing designs?

Last week Emma Chamberlain posted to her Instagram. In the photograph, she was wearing a sweater that was gifted to her by Courtney Mawhorr. Courtney revealed this week that she would be releasing a small collection of sweaters similar to the one worn by Emma. Everything seems alright, correct? Wrong. The problem here is that Courtney gave Lindsay Vrckovnik credit for her idea in an Instagram post a few weeks ago. Courtney claimed in her caption that Lindsay’s work inspired her and gave her full credit for the sweater idea. However, after hearing the news about Courtney’s latest capsule collection for the sweaters, Lindsay took to Instagram, proclaiming her disappointment at Courtney profiting from her idea. She expressed displeasure that someone who openly credited her is selling sweaters and gaining credit for the new super cropped sweater trend. This enraged Lindsay’s supporters, who commented on Courtney’s post, saying things like

“This is cute and crediting Lindsay was the right move! Buttttttt starting your own collection of pieces that you admit are based on the unique designs of another person is NOT RIGHT!”


@emilyjdeyo on Instagram

This whole situation coincided well with this week’s lecture-discussion on content and copyright in my publishing class. In the article, You Say Tomaydo, I Say No Copyright Infringement: Recipe Book Not An Original Compilation, the issue raised by the author is copyright in Canada and the States. The article follows a court hearing regarding past business partners who are fighting over copyright infringement concerning recipes. Throughout the case hearing, it is explained that recipes do not have copyright protection. This is analogous to fashion design since garment innovations are not protected by copyright in Canada or the United States. Moreover, courts have concluded that clothing is non-copyrightable because clothing serves a utilitarian purpose. Yes, clothes do look nice, but its primary purpose—at least in the eyes of the law—is that it keeps us warm, keeps our delicate feet from being cut up by rocks, and covers us up enough so that we meet public community decency standards.

As exemplified through the Courtney and Lindsay drama, although copyright does not directly protect fashion designs, it is still a fashion faux pas to reproduce somebody else’s creation. The power of social media is evident. If the law won’t uphold designers accountable, fashion enthusiasts will.

XO,

Javiera Guevara

Peer Review #3

Week 9: Peer Review #3

Screenshot of Alyssa’s website.

This week I will be reviewing Alyssa’s site, Loafs by Lyss. First, I will look at design and then content. Alyssa’s website is clear and the user immediately knows that this is a blog about making sourdough. I like that she has chosen to display her recent posts on her home page, because it gives the user more information about the website. I also think this is a good way to grab the user’s attention and interest.

I like that she has created customized images for her process posts. However, on her home page I would suggest to make the process posts smaller, but I also understand this could be different among users as some screens are more zoomed in than others. I would also recommend moving the Instagram icon she has on the top left side of her homepage, as it sits alone in the corner and might not be seen by users.

As I continued to scroll down the homepage, I liked that she had attached her Instagram page. Her Instagram page is also about sourdough and this is a great way to market as she links out to other platforms and also uses other platforms to share her baking. I noticed that Alyssa linked out to other sources in her post titled Painting my Sourdough, and this is great way to connect your website to other sources.

In terms of her content, I like how she discusses a variety of topics. She discusses recipes, health benefits, schedules and more. Her content is clear and organized. However, I was wondering if in some posts she could expand a bit more. For example, with Coping with Sourdough Fails, she discusses how making sourdough may not always go as planned, and discusses that she has learned from her experiences and how to improve. I was wondering if she could expand more on the specific things she has learned and list mistakes that she has made to help the user understand what not to do.

Looking back at an earlier reading in this semester titled, A Personal Cyberinfrastructure by Gardner Campbell. The article discusses that it is important for students to learn and create while using digital mediums because it gives them technical skills and allows them to engage in all sorts of works (Gardner Campbell, 2009, para.7). The article discusses that the students should be able to curate and share their own engagement and knowledge in learning environments and online (Gardner Campbell, 2009, para.7). I see this importance through Alyssa’s site and her work because she is able to share a passion of hers, while engaging online in a learning environment. In classes one does not get to share their passions and often assignments are disregarded after they are marked, but Alyssa’s website is a portfolio of both her assignments and passions that she can use for further engagement.

Overall I think her website is great, checkout Alyssa’s site to learn how to make sourdough bread!

Link to Gardner Campbell’s article: https://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/9/a-personal-cyberinfrastructure

Book Review: 11/22/63

This book is much different than the other books I have been reviewing on this site, but this is my favourite book I have ever read. 11/22/63 is by Stephen King, but don’t let that fool you. I can’t handle horror at all, I would instead categorize this book as a historical, science-fiction, thriller love story. I was interested in this book in the first place because I had heard such great things about King’s writing, but I could never handle any of his most popular books like It, The Shining, or Pet Semetary.

The story focuses on Jake Epping, a high school English teacher. One day his friend Al who owns a diner tells him a secret, his storage room is a portal to 1958. Jake goes on a mission to stop the Kennedy assassination. He goes undercover as George Amberson, and jumps right into the late 1950s and early 1960s. While there he meets a librarian named Sadie, who may be the love of his life. What follows is his adventures trying to stop Lee Harvey Oswald from killing JFK, and dealing with the affects of changing anything in the past and what it will do to his future.

This book is not a light summer read by any means, the hardcover copy is almost 850 pages. But don’t let that scare you off. I truly think this is a terrific book, and I recommend it to all of my friends (even though none of them have taken me up on it yet). If you have the time to settle into a longer book, I highly recommend this. The plot of the book is well worth the long page count.

If this hasn’t convinced you, there is also a TV miniseries that was created starring James Franco. I have yet to see it, but it looks great and I will one day watch it.

The post Book Review: 11/22/63 appeared first on Home.

DKT MUSIC

Week 9: Blog Post / Mini Assignment #5

This infographic explains through text and graphics what you will find on the DKT MUSIC site. I created this infographic in Canva, and the reason I did not match this infographic to the color scheme of my website is because I liked this color scheme better, as the blue color scheme in Canva did not look good with this template.  

Through this infographic you learn that this site deals with different aspects of music.            

YOU GET:

Mini assignment #4 south park go

For this remix I combined two games with Pokemon go and South Park phone destroyer.

KingPNG. (n.d.). Pokemon Pikachu Png Photo [No background]. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.kindpng.com/imgv/JbTTb_pokemon-pikachu-png-photo-pokemon-pikachu-png-transparent/

PNGITEM. (n.d.). Pokemon Mewtwo, HD png download [No background]. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.pngitem.com/middle/hTibbb_pokemon-mewtwo-hd-png-download/

TEDtalks (Director). (2012, August 10). Creativity is a remix [Video file]. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zd-dqUuvLk4

AzuTakeo (Director). (2018, June 03). South Park Phone Destroyer: Legendary RANK PvP #4-12 (World’s TOP 40!) [Video file]. Retrieved March 19, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yDGNbhuwkI&feature=youtu.be

Process post wk 9

The first time I watched a video about Amazon Go, I was speechless.

It’s very cool because I didn’t realize Amazon would invent high technology to improve their guidance. What’s really cool about this video is that it uses the amazon app to key in items and has a censor to access in.    

The video was not that scary, it was basically a simple task of what shopping really looks like without any line ups and cash registers.  

Is that the phone can be useful to do work with everything such as a list making, or having an account. What’s interesting is your thinking would be like the three steps to make.

I think how they got the idea is they want to improve their way of making their technology advance so it doesn’t get confusing. Another idea is why not plan a simple way where there are self checkouts.  

I think some of the benefits are possibly that can be useful such as using robots as store clerks to help find items to guide where they are to search.  

The disadvantages are that there might be stealing items without paying, or getting caught of security. It would be the troubling part where people like to take things without paying.

I wish to go to amazon go store because I would like to compare what are the differences between other stores that don’t have that kind of technology. I think that’s why I really want to know why there’s a difference with other supermarkets that don’t have technology.

After watching this video it reminds me of whole foods. In whole foods, products are organic, fresh and they bring items from all countries. 

A Vow So Bold and Deadly – Brigid Kemmerer

Release Date: January 26, 2021

Rating: 3 out of 5.

I wish I could undo so many things.

Brigid Kemmerer, A Vow So Bold and Deadly

Finally getting around to doing a review of Brigid Kemmerer’s 2021 conclusion to the Cursebreakers trilogy, A Vow So Bold and Deadly. I said my reviews were going to be honest, and I’m keeping my word on that, so I have to say this was quite a let-down, and honestly just not worth the read at all.

Plot

When I think final book in a series, I think of A Conjuring of Light, or The Deathly Hallows, which is to say I think action-packed. This was the complete opposite of that, as there was a constant build-up as to a huge event that was anticipated since the second book, and SPOILER ALERT, it never happened. This book was a whole lot of nothing, with a side of relationship development with the couples of the story. However, as it progressed, I was really only fond of one couple, and I was really waiting for something dangerous to happen within the plot instead.

Characters

Morally grey characters are the absolute best. Think Kaz Brekker (though there are so many in YA books). Though he does a lot of violent and “evil” things, many readers love him, and they do get to see that he has a heart. In A Vow So Bold and Deadly, Grey (the name fits too) is a morally grey character in my opinion, even a bit on the softer side, and I do really love him. However, Rhen is also a supposedly morally grey character, but I think there’s a certain point where I just came to view him as a villain. I loved him in the first book, since he couldn’t control his behaviour, but SPOILER ALERT when he tortures Grey and Tycho (who is only fifteen), I just genuinely could not like him anymore. Slowly following this, I started to dislike Harper as well, and it was pretty much downhill with the characters from there.

Quick little side note: Lets’ talk about the quote at the beginning of this post: “I wish I could undo so many things.” That was said by Rhen, and while I understand that he feels remorse, I don’t feel bad in any way, unlike my thoughts in book one. He made these decisions on his own and felt seemingly no remorse when they were taking place. This definitely stems from my problem with the characters who truly act as though their kingdom comes before all else.

Spoilers Ahead!

Happily Ever After

Although I do love when characters get to have their happy endings, I don’t necessarily like the perfect happily ever after ending, where nothing dramatic or sad happens. In this case, the end was truly just cheesy. I was expecting a full-on battle with action and fighting and sadness and betrayal, but in the end it was just two brothers reconciling and drinking together, which may have been fine if the beginning or middle of the book had any substance, but again, it didn’t.

Final Thoughts

I don’t have much to say about this book solely because I can’t even recall anything interesting that happened, aside from the relationship development which, depending on the couple in focus, I didn’t mind. This book was unnecessary in my opinion, though I think it had so much potential to be a killer final book in a series. I really don’t think this book is worth the read, and it might even be better if you just stop after the first book.

Peer Review 2

Self-illustration of Kelly on the “About” page

Hi, everyone. Today I would like to discuss my peer Kelly’s blog, “Kelly in Saturn.” Looking at the home page, I could feel a very calming vibe. The description of the blog is placed in a block on the sidebar. It states clearly that her blog focuses on her daily self-care routine.

Description of the blog

The content

After browsing the website, I got some main points about “Kelly in Saturn”.

Her blog was created last month, which was at the beginning of this semester, so there are only a few posts. However, she is doing really well in building her online self. It seems that her content is not just about self-care; it is also about personal opinions on social issues, mental health issues, and updates on daily activities.

Storytelling is crucial to a brand’s image. Sometimes, stories can make a brand venerable. Hence, if it is interpreted in the right way, it reflects the background story of the brand, represents the brand and inspires the audience. By engaging the audience with her own stories, using universal language and a neutral tone, the brand’s backstory is subconsciously shaped in the minds of the readers. At the same time, it encourages the readers to take care of their lifestyle by showing empathy through Kelly’s daily life stories. In one of her posts, I like how she uses the lunar new year as a bridge to discuss Asian hate crime in New York, which has been aching on social media a lot recently.

An illustration from Kelly’s post about Asian hate crimes

The five main pages are organized on the menu bar: About, Blog, Resources, Personal Projects, and Pub 201. On the “About” page, Kelly explains the reason behind her brand name and briefly introduces the blog to establish a standard foundation relationship with the audience. The “Resources” section really impressed me with how she managed to make connections for her brand in the early days. To me, as a reader, it’s interesting to be able to quickly find her other works in the “Personal Project” section.

The design and layout

The main colours of the website, which are marigold, midnight blue, and off yellow, harmonize well together. With her art as most of the illustrations, it does mark the brand’s existence, making it stand out and unique. The layout of the website is not too dense but also not too loose, leaving enough blank space to ease the eyes of readers.

Conclusion

Overall, I think Kelly has built her brand really well, especially in terms of storytelling. Although the website is new, it has a lot of potential. I would like to thank Kelly for creating such a fascinating website to spread positive energy to everyone. It is exciting to see how the brand will grow in the future.

Good luck, Kelly!

Reference

Suzanne Norman. “Week Six-PUB 201 Brand Storytelling” PowerPoint slides.

Data Discussion

Week 9: Process Post

Photo by Myriam Jessier on Unsplash

This week’s prompt discusses how data helps inform and educate but it also asks at what cost. The prompt also asks what my personal feelings are towards data trails, along with how do I minimize my footprint?

I agree that data collection can be informing and educating to the receiver. Data collection like, how many users have visited a site and when, is helpful to the receiver as it helps them grow and expand their website. I think this information being collected is fair. However, more personal information does not need to be collected, but if it is mandatory then that data collected should stay within that website and should not follow the user to other sites. This is seen through advertisements.

In terms of my personal feelings and if I minimize my data footprint, I would have to say that I do not think of it. I would like my digital footprint to be minimized but I find it difficult to do so and I have accepted this reality. I think it’s hard to minimize my digital footprint when I use the internet for everything; I got off all social media platforms accept one but may have to return to them as they are needed in the fields I want to work in. I think over the years it has become harder to minimize one’s digital footprint.

After writing this prompt I started to look into why I should consider to minimize my footprint. This article by INSIDER titled, What is a digital footprint? How to protect yourself online, and keep your data from being used against you, was insightful and this article, along with others mentioned that with a bigger digital footprint you are more prone to identity theft, advertisements, and that employers may be watching what you are doing as well. These are great points in why I should limit my digital footprint, but I think whenever I am using the internet I already take this into consideration. Even though I take these points into consideration, my digital footprint is not minimized because I still use the internet as these points do not greatly impact my activity online.  

This week I had also received feedback in tutorials for my website, I will be making these changes throughout the weeks and providing updates in the next process posts.

Press Release: Slayer Willow is now on libib.com!

Slayer Willow is now on libib.com! Libib is a site similar to Goodreads where you can catalogue books, but also music, movies, and video games. Libib is more all encompassing of different media, providing more opportunity for cataloguing across interests—this can be especially useful when tracking book-related media, such as movie adaptations. Libib is also an alternative for book tracking and cataloguing for those who do not want to support Amazon-owned Goodreads. You can find us on Libib here!

Remix Assignment

Week 8: Blog Post / Mini Assignment #4

Bruno Mars 24K Magic album cover (Original)

Photo Credit: Atlantic Records

Bruno Mars 24K Magic album cover (Remix)

I decided to remix this album cover since Bruno Mars has recently blessed us with new music. Go listen to his new track with Anderson .Paak and Silk Sonic called Leave the Door Open, it is a sexy slow jam that everyone needs to listen to!

Here is a little bit more about Bruno Mars.

Bruno Mars was meant to be a performer, he can keep audiences on their feet. Literally I never sat down when I attended his concert, I also believe he did not take any long breaks but kept performing.

Bruno Mars is an artist that does a bit of everything in terms of genres. He has given us pop, R&B, soul and funk hits. With his dynamic voice and sound, Bruno can create songs that are mood boosters, like Perm, but he can also make listeners emotional with tracks like It Will Rain. Side note: It Will Rain is not on the 24K Magic album but Perm is.

His songs vary in tempos but his upbeat and lively songs are usually considered to be a allegro tempo, and this fast tempo accompanied by lyrics like “Throw some perm on your attitude” ,and “Matter of fact, band, show her how to lay it back!”(from his track Perm on the 24K Magic album), make listeners want to get up and move.

Remix the Look: 19th Century London

If you are like me and binge-watched Bridgerton in two days, this post is for you. This week in my Pub 101 class, we were given the task to remix something relevant to our blog. I thought long and hard about this and came up with the idea of remixing 19th-century London fashion (as seen in Bridgerton) and making it more 2021 friendly.

If you have not watched Bridgerton yet, here is a quick synopsis. The show centres around Daphne (Phoebe Dynevor), the eldest daughter of the respected Bridgerton family and her adventure entering the marriage market. Joining Daphne are the daughters of her neighbour, Portia Featherington (Polly Walker) and her estranged niece. Failing to attract suitors, attracting the wrong suitors, and a gossip column all add to this drama-filled show.

Besides the incredible plot and dynamic characters, the styling is what truly captivated the audience. From the embellishing on the gowns to the feathered wigs, each character outdid themselves from one episode to another. Although the fashion is immaculate, I cannot imagine myself strolling to the grocery store in a vintage ballgown. Here are some ways to incorporate 19th-century trends into your everyday life

Corsets

In the 19th-century corsets, were made stiff with heavy boning. They would mould women’s upper body into a V-shape, flattening the stomach and pushing up the breasts. Overall, corsets were uncomfortable and meant to be foundation garments that ensured straight spines and pleasing body shapes later in life. Luckily in the 21st-century, we have strayed from these restrictive and uncomfortable fashion habits, gearing more towards clothing as a form of self-expression. Corsets are a fun way to spice up your outfit. I have always been obsessed with the Vivienne Westwood corsets that have renaissance graphics on them. I enjoyed how Bella Hadid styled it with brown cargo pants, patent leather booties, and a slick back ponytail.

  • Image from Vogue.com
  • Image from Vogue.com

Bustier Tops

I would argue that the bustier top is the modern-day version of a corset. Both items can be layered over top of shirts, styled alone, and both accentuate the breasts. I am a big fan of bustier tops and love styling them with baggy jeans and platform Doc Martens. A store that I have been loving recently is Shop Flesh and Bones. It is a Depop shop that sells vintage corsets, bustier tops, and slip dresses.

  • Image from @fleshandbones
  • Image from @fleshandbones

Night Gowns

Image from Netflix.com

In the 19th-century, or at least in Bridgerton, there was a clear distinction between your day clothes and nightly garments. Sleepwear in the 19th-century was simple, white garments and the ultimate in prudence for Victorian ladies. In recent years we have seen a trend towards wearing vintage nightgowns during the day. I am obsessed with the store Eveliina Vintage on Instagram. It is a vintage store based out of Miami and New York City specializing in vintage gowns, slip dress, and sweaters. I would style a vintage nightgown with a chunky knit sweater, white leather sneakers, and a pearl necklace.

  • Image from @emiliamuss
  • Image from @eveliinvintage

Slip Dresses

I would argue that slip dresses are the modern-day version of a nightgown. Both nightgowns and slip dresses are made from lightweight materials such as silk, lace, or satin. This summer, I will be investing in a silk slip dress from Aritizia that I have had my eye on since last year. I would pair this dress with my black cowboy boots, cropped linen jacket, a pair of Raybans, and a claw clip updo.

  • Image from Artizia.com
  • Image from @oliviachatfield

xo,

Javiera Guevara