Body shaming is considered a social problem today. With social standards due to images from models and idols, a large part of them have become inferior to their bodies. The story would have nothing to say if recently, at the Oscars, Will Smith slapped Chris Rock for body-shaming Will’s wife. I see that a lot of people support Chris Rock because Chris is a comedian himself, so joking is inevitable. Of course, I do not support the use of violence because everything can be solved in a different way than using violence. But I also don’t feel pleased when people take lightly body shaming someone with alopecia areata. Hair loss syndrome may not be so serious that it is life-threatening, but for a woman, of course, she will not be happy to be compared to everyone because of her hair loss. shaved head. I knew for sure that Chris Rock’s joke was actually a good one because the person Chris Rock compared was G.I. Jane, a brave woman. But no matter what, I still feel that body-shaming is not advisable even though the joke may be harmless.
Monthly Archives: April 2022
Community Guidelines
Top priority community guidelines for the The Household Box Office (or The HHBO):
- Be respectful of others and their opinions
- Respectfully disagree when opinions do not align
- Comments are welcomed and encouraged
- Inappropriate behaviour will be removed and blocked
- No self promotion of any kind
The post Community Guidelines first appeared on The Household Box Office.
Ramadan Reflections
Read Time:2 Minute, 46 Second
Ramadan is the 9th month in the Islamic lunar calendar and is celebrated by over 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. This month, Muslims worldwide fast (abstain from food or water) from dawn to dust for 30 days. However, we don’t only abstain from food or water, and we obtain from gossiping, sex, bad habits, and more. Muslims are encouraged to give charity, volunteer, and give back to the community. Ramadan is a month of purification and inner healing, and it is when we discipline ourselves and let go of our lower desires to strive to be our best selves.
This Ramadan, I wrote a poem about my thoughts on my first day of fasting for the month. I first talk about hunger. When we are hungry, it is natural to feel lethargic and of low energy, but surprisingly enough, it makes me aware of everything, I can focus on my schoolwork, and I am in tune with all my emotions. While fasting can be overwhelming and exhausting sometimes, there’s a hidden peace behind the process of it.
Ramadan Reflections: 04-03-22
There’s a stillness in hunger which I cannot explain.
My body moves slowly,
but I am in touch with everything.
I pick up the pieces of my soul again.
I maneuver with a type of grace I no longer need to pretend.
I can trace my sins and turn back to You,
knowing that one day,
I will come back to You.
there’s a stillness in hunger which I cannot explain,
but what I do know is only You can take away my pain – @nimras.canvas
The last two stanzas discuss my thoughts about God and myself. The first line of “…trace my sins and turn back to You” portrays me thinking of all my bad habits and trying to build new ones so I can turn back to God. The “You” refers to God, and “I will come back to You” refers to my thoughts on death and how I believe that I will go back to God at the end of my lifetime.
The last line in the last stanza of my poem signifies the rawness of Ramadan. As I stated before, Ramadan makes me in tune with all my emotions, including the painful ones. The last line reminds me that only God can take away my pain.
Many Muslims have different experiences in Ramadan because the month is challenging physically, mentally, and spiritually. However, the community is the strongest during Ramadan because many of us are fasting simultaneously and have a shared unity to relate to. Here is a video of a crowd of Muslims praying in NYC before breaking their fast (having iftar/dinner).
Khaled comments, “This video of Muslims praying in NYC is triggering a lot of rage. So… here it is again”. I think the video triggered rage because Islamophobia still exists, and hate crimes against Muslims are still relevant in today’s society. As a visibly Muslim woman and POC, I have experienced some hateful comments and micro-aggressions, and it is hurtful to see people be so cruel. However, it doesn’t stop Muslims from showing up and practicing our peaceful religion, and I hope more people can see its beauty.
References
https://www.statista.com/topics/3796/ramadan-2017/
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The post Ramadan Reflections first appeared on NimrasCanvas.
Essay #2 – My Experience as an Online Publisher
My experience with online publishing through this course has been quite the adventure so far. As the semester wraps up, I am able to reflect on the work I’ve done and see how my online presence has developed. I remember when PUB 101 first started, it was overwhelming in a sense, as we were tasked with building a website from a clean slate. With no real structure and limited guidance, it was a completely different experience than any other course I’ve taken. It seemed impossible at first, it was challenging to even figure out a starting point.
I chose to develop my publication on the topic of cars. As you’ll learn when you read through my blog posts, I hold the topic of cars very close to my heart. Cars are more than just cars to me, they’re engineering marvels with individual characters. My goal with this blog was to try and express my take on why cars are more than just tools to transport you from point-a to point-b. I approached this in a style which aimed at being welcoming and interesting. I imagined my public to be those who don’t see cars the same way I do. If there’s one thing I learned throughout my years of being obsessed with cars, it’s that not everybody feels the same way. In fact, most people don’t understand the obsession at all. I understand this and see it as a fun challenge. I enjoy teaching people about cars and trying to convince them where I’m coming from.
I aim to provide entertainment through my blog, in hopes of creating a personal connection with the reader. One of my deeper goals when making this blog was to make the reader feel less alone. Cars are more than just machines, they can be methods of therapy. Throughout my life, cars have been there for me in my darkest times, and I hope that my stories open the eyes of my readers to the idea of this reality. The cover photo of my website, the picture of my car in Porteau Cove actually has a far deeper meaning than just the face value of the photo. That photo was taken at probably 7 or 8 in the morning of Tuesday, January 25th (the day of our first in-person PUB 101 class). Why was I in Porteau Cove? I was having an awful night and needed to get away for a little bit. I set out of my home in New Westminster at about 11 pm the night before. I ended up in Porteau Cove after driving around at about 3 am. I sat there in my car and watched the sunrise, before heading back to the mainland to attend class. My car was there for me and provided me with the automotive freedom to decompress and relieve some of the stress that I was undergoing. Without that escape, it would’ve been a far more challenging night.
What am I trying to get at here? My blog is more than just a face-value story-telling platform about cars. My underlying goal is to help my readers understand that there’s therapy in automotive freedom. When things aren’t going great, it’s therapeutic to get in your car and go for a drive. Cars make for excellent distractions through tough times.
In terms of what I’ve learned about my audience through analytics, I haven’t had a whole lot of web traffic to track, but my average reader tends to stay on my website for a decent amount of time. This is refreshing to see, as it appears that my audience is connecting with my automotive adventures. I haven’t received any direct website comments, but the comments about my website through the peer-reviews have been insightful.
Looking back, my thinking of publication has changed quite significantly. At first, I thought publishing had a solid structure, which would make it hard to set foot into the world of publication. I quickly learned that this is not the case, and there is lots of freedom in publishing. It’s been a fun process building my “online presence” and “cyber infrastructure.” I will admit that it was challenging to stay motivated at times. I related to what Gardner Campbell wrote in the 2009 paper entitled “A Personal Cyber Infrastructure.” There’s part of this work that states “sometimes progress is linear[,] sometimes progress is exponential.” I found this to be true within an online publishing context. Progress is challenging at times. However, when progress is made, I find the concept of “digital gardens” presented by Tanya Basu to be particularly applicable. With the development of my website, I’ve found that I’ve created my own “digital garden.”
References:
https://er.educause.edu/articles/2009/9/a-personal-cyberinfrastructure
Deaing With Emotional Vulnerability
I am probably one of the most emotional girls you will ever encounter. However, there is a side to me that hates showing emotion and keeps a lot in. I remember in high school, I was probably crying in public once or twice a week. I just could not manage to have any control over my emotions. From high school until basically last year, I would experience extreme mood swings, breakdowns for no reason, and always had so much rage in me. At the same time, I would do my best to keep all that I was feeling inside and guilted myself every time I was emotionally vulnerable to someone in public.
I grew up raised by an ‘Asian tiger mom’, but my mom really exceeded the expectations for this title. I never saw her cry or express any kind of raw emotion. She has always been very cold and rejected anything that came her way that had to do with the ‘feels’. I’ve always been a highly sensitive person as I really do feel everything at such a deep level. A lot of my childhood memories with my mom have been focused on the idea of showing emotion as a sign of weakness.
I didn’t have many friends when I was younger and I always felt out of place being a chubby kid. Whenever I’d come home crying from school, instead of having my emotions being validated, my mom would actually yell at me for feeling sad. She’d always say, “You need to be tough like me, you can’t show them you’re so weak by feeling sad.”
I never had the opportunity to learn about how to deal with my emotions as it was always something that was looked down upon in my upbringing. No one ever told or showed me that it’s okay to feel in general, which is why I still struggle with my emotions. I’m either all over the place, or I’m nowhere at all. I’m really grateful now that I have grown to understand where these feelings of guilt and suppression come from and recognize that a lot of it has just been programmed into me by the way my mom raised me. If you grew up with an Asian tiger mom, or struggle to be in tune with your emotions, I think the best thing that helped me was to understand where this stemmed from.
Oftentimes when I find myself still suppressing any sadness, guilt, or anger I ask myself, “What are you afraid of? What is the worst that can come with letting go?” It is okay to feel all of the emotions we have been gifted as humans, it is normal to experience moments of sadness even when you don’t know the reason for it. Sometimes crying alone in the shower can be the most therapeutic thing in your week! There is no reason to feel guilty for having feelings-it is the very core of our human nature! I ask you, next time you experience a strong wave of emotion to really sit in it. Reflect on why you’re feeling this way, cry, scream, sing, journal, and just release.
Process Post #12 – Future Plans for my Blog
As the PUB 101 course wraps up, the mandatory process posts are coming to an end.
When writing these, I always think about what the future of my blog will look like.
I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d like to carry on expanding my online presence through this blog, even after the course ends.
PUB 101 has shown me that publishing can be fun. Before starting this class, I had a warped perception of what being a publisher entailed. After experiencing this class, I learned that publishing is fun, and I’d like to carry on making posts in the future.
If all goes according to plan, I’ll be taking PUB 201 in the Fall, which means this blog will be revived and improved then.
Process Post #11 – Developing Community Guidelines
If I were to have community guidelines for my website, I would have some reasonable rules in place.
Here’s a short list of what I’d imagine my community guidelines to include:
- Freedom of speech is encouraged, however, no hate speech or harassment would be tolerated.
- Differing opinions are welcome, as long as they’re presented respectfully.
- Use the “Golden Rule” – Treat others the way you’d want to be treated.
- Respect others, and their viewpoitnts.
Aside from those basic rules, I don’t think there’s much I’d implement. As long as people use common courtesy when on my website, I don’t think any issues would arise.
Process Post #10 – Integrating Transmedia
The concept of transmedia integration means expanding one’s online presence across multiple platforms.
In the future, I could expand into other media platforms. Creating social media channels such as a YouTube account, Instagram account, or other types of social media accounts would allow for the expansion of my online presence.
I believe that expanding my blog to other platforms would be a success. Having multiple ways for people to view my content would be beneficial, as it would allow for the expansion of my audience.
Week 12. Essay 2
As an international student, I introduced the information that I have experienced and was really useful, and the publishing minor that would be unfamiliar to public if they were not a major in that department. It can be comforting for an international student like me, it can be important information for those who dream of becoming an international student, it can be helpful for a newbie who just entered the SFU, or it can be a space to help parents of international students understand. So my target audience will be 18 to 50, that is, students to parents. I provide as concise and core content as possible, so I write in multiple paragraphs with a large representative image of the information. Although YouTube and TikTok and other visual media and short form contents are popular these days, I thought people who are more familiar with writing than videos if they are a group that visits blogs and reads this article in my blog. Therefore, in order to improve readability, I did not use multiple fonts, but only mark as a bold for necessary parts. What I found from the statistics was that Vancouver, Burnaby, and Coquitlam accounted for the largest portion of my subscribers, nevertheless the percentage of viewers in Korea was still high. This means I still less posting and lacking than other Canadian contents, but I dare to guess that I searched by more in Korea because it was more efficient than the information they could find in Korean blog.
At the beginning of the semester, I thought this class was just an easy one. A lot of people referred to this class as GPA Booster, and I came in this class for 50% of I wanted to get good credit, and 50% of practice as a digital marketer. But this class that I went through myself was the opposite. At first, I didn’t think seriously about this class because I thought that grades would follow if I just recorded the field of interest. However, as I continued to learn about various topics such as copyright, design, and journalistic ethics, I realized that this was not just writing a few words in somewhere. From the moment the article is written on the Internet and I press the publish button, my article is essentially recorded on the Internet and becomes something that can never be erased. People often think that this new media content is less responsible and easier to delete than books, but in fact, you can burn the books all down, but you have to be more responsible because the content on the Internet is spreading so fast that it’s written somewhere in the log.
The most interesting academic thing during the lecture was that the idea or method did not fall under copyright. I thought the idea would naturally be protected by copyright. “Ideas, methods, and systems are not covered by copyright protection. According to the US Copyright Office, Circular 2, this covers quite a few things including making, or building things; scientific or technical methods or discoveries; business operations or procedures; mathematical principles; formulas, algorithms; or any other concept, process, or method of operation”. (U.S. Copyright Office, 2022)
Beside the academic stuff, two of the most important lessons I learned during the semester were, first, to develop a sense of responsibility as an online publisher. The responsibilities of online publishers are very much debated. There is a rampant trend of posting controversial articles or photos on the Internet at random and deleting them as if nothing happened. Some argue that stronger legal sanctions are needed than at present in order for social networking services (social media), blogs, Internet community, and news comments with many users to be “purified.”( Reyman, & Sparby, 2020)
The second lesson is able to develop a habit of recording. If I had asked to run this blog while studying and part-time for a semester, I would never have done it. However, thanks to the pressure under the title of assignment, I was able to post every week, which I think helped me develop my writing skills. Also, as a reader, as a writer, I think three peer reviews were an opportunity to become a mature content creator and content consumer in that I evaluate other people’s blogs from various perspectives and also my blog is evaluated. It is really meaningful to have such an experience in the era of online content flooding, and I am confident that it will be a big manure for the digital contents work I will do in the future.
References
Friend, & Singer, J. B. (2007). Online journalism ethics : traditions and transitions / Cecilia Friend and Jane B. Singer. M.E. Sharpe.
Karlsson, Clerwall, C., & Nord, L. (2017). Do Not Stand Corrected. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 94(1), 148–167. https://doi.org/10.1177/1077699016654680
Reyman, & Sparby, E. M. (2020). Digital Ethics (2nd ed.). Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780429266140
What does copyright protect? What Does Copyright Protect? (FAQ) | U.S. Copyright Office. (n.d.). Retrieved April 4, 2022, from https://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-protect.html
Hollow Knight
Hollow Knight is an indie-game developed by Team Cherry. It is a two-dimensional metroidvania style game (meaning that it features a large interconnected world map the player can explore) that is set in the small world of bugs. While I say that it is set in the world of bugs, that doesn’t truly encapsulate the nature of the game. Hollow Knight follows the journey of the main character, the ‘Knight’ as he explores the vast world of Hallownest – a world full of insects and arachnids with a strong injection of fantasy elements.
I have to be honest, when I first heard about Hollow Knight I was immediately turned off by the bug element of the game. While I respect them and what they do, I have no interest in getting further acquainted with bugs of any kind. That being said, I am so glad that I buckled during lockdown and gave this game a try. The bugs in Hollow Knight are weird and make some disgusting noises at times, but they take nothing away from the game. I would even go so far as to say that the characters within this game are somewhere between creepy and adorable. If I’m being 100% honest, I would say that the game design as a whole falls closer to the creepy end of the scale, but it is worth noting that some of the characters are not disgusting. The Knight – the protagonist of the story – is definitely one of the frontrunners for the adorable part of the game. Its design below for reference.
As I stare at this picture longer, I find it more and more creepy, so I may have to partially retract my statement that it is a frontrunner for the cutest. I promise there are others!
The design of the characters aside, the theme and atmosphere is definitely on the darker side. Hollow Knight does an incredible job of creating a dark, foreboding atmosphere that somehow makes you want to keep playing. After long sessions of the game, I would even find myself researching lore out of pure curiosity.
While Hollow Knight looks like a cartoony game that would have a low difficulty level, I would definitely characterize it as a hard game. If you want to play Hollow Knight casually, be prepared to put substantial time into attempting to beat the various bosses that can be found and battled throughout the game. Patience will be required – although not to the extent that is necessary for Elden Ring as I discussed in a previous post. I myself spent close to 6 hours on a single boss within the game. That might sound exhausting, but I had a great time during that 6 hours as I learned the patterns and movements that the boss had.
One major thing that I haven’t been bringing up in previous posts is music. Music has an enormous impact on how a game feels to play, and Hollow Knight‘s soundtrack compliments the game incredibly well. I still find myself listening to the soundtrack from time to time months after playing the game.
My ultimate recommendation for this game is going to be similar to that of Elden Ring, in that if you have the time and patience, you will love Hollow Knight. However, if you tend to get frustrated after losing over and over again, this game may become a point of stress in your life. Lastly, don’t be concerned with the bugs in the game! As someone who avoids eye contact with every insect I see, I had no issues with Hollow Knight and loved the game.
Five Lessons I Wish I Learned Earlier In Life
1. You are the most important, ever-changing and worthy investment in your life.
I hope that makes sense! Your well-being, health and all that makes up who you are are the most important things that should be prioritized. If we cannot show up for ourselves, we cannot expect to show up for the people we love, our passions and our environment fully. You are ever-changing, and what I mean by that is where you are or who you are right now do not determine who you are as a whole. There are always ways to further take care of ourselves and opportunities for growth and that is so exciting!
2. Do not take education for granted.
Whether that be from school, your job, the current political climate, or education about yourself and your family – being able to educate ourselves on anything really is so powerful and beautiful. Learning is something that I overlook so much, but it helps us be in touch more with our best selves that we can use in the ways we express ourselves through conversation, actions or just the way we choose to output energy into the world.
3. Set boundaries.
Not everything and everyone in your life deserves 100% of your energy and your being. Your time and physical/emotional presence are precious and you do not have to share them in ways that do not make you feel good. Have conversations with the people in your life on what you expect out of them and vice versa and if something doesn’t sit right with you, address it. Set boundaries with the way you work or study – remember you deserve rest too.
4. Love yourself in the ways you seek love from others.
Something that I’m trying to grow out of and that I continue to struggle with is validating myself and love through other people. I think I have a habit of seeking things I wish for myself through other people which can be extremely toxic and draining when I have the capability of finding all of those things within myself. There is nothing wrong with being ‘alone’ as lonely and being alone do not have to mean the same thing in our lives. We owe it to ourselves to nurture and love ourselves the same way we want our friends, family and our partners to love us. For example, I appreciate words of affirmation in my relationships. Therefore, I make sure to be mindful and loving in the way I talk to myself and about myself as much as I can.
5. You attract what you put out in the world.
I could have easily let this year destroy me and at times I felt as if it did. Something that I value about myself is my ability to create a positive outlook through almost every challenge that I am graced and I think that stems from my overall excitement for life. If you are outputting negativity and hatred into your community, your relationships or yourself, you are only creating a karmic cycle that will in return input that same energy back into your life. You have the power to create and build a life for yourself that is fulfilling and full of light, and this is a continuous process that all begins with the right mindset and finding peace within yourself and the hardships you encounter.
Final Thoughts
Transmedia Integration
Contemplating the Reformation of pleasantpawws.com
A Distaste for Google Analytics
I Bid Thee Farewell -Luka
Alas, the time has come for new ventures to take flight…while it has been an enriching experience to intermingle the private and public spheres it feels right to temporarily halt pawwchapters. Creating this blog has been a healthy way to exert my internal turmoil throughout this semester, especially getting to share the most precious part of my life to my imagined audience; Luka. It feels bittersweet that time has moved so fast, and this entails a preliminary end to my accounts of mental and Luka’s healing presence. If I continue to blog, I aim to change up the content of my cyberspace in hopes of sharing more than just my strife as a student. It has been a pleasure to capture so many moments with Luka, as there was an idle period prior to my enrolment in PUB101 where I stopped recording his life. If anything, this course has propelled me to continue documenting the mischief of my furry friend. Thank you to those who have tuned in so far, and I hope the next time we touch base I will have a new and improved version of pleasantpawws.com of which entails multifaceted content.
Reflecting on my Time Spent as an Online Publisher
PUB101 has been an enriching experience to say the least, upon initial enrolment I was unsure as to what this particular field of study would ensue. After attending just one class, it was clear that the skills developed in this program would prove quite relevant to the demands of the current information and knowledge society. The article “Content Creation and Flipped Learning: a necessary pairing for education in the new millennium” offers insightful critique as to how flipped learning has revolutionized education practices for newer generations. Publishing 101 has played a crucial role in relation to flip learning through the curriculum requirement of having students create their own cyberinfrastructure. It has been during this experience that I as a student have become more digitally competent through the influence of this innovative methodology of teaching.
Moreover, the publication I have created is in the form of a personalized blog that acts as a self served journal to address my experiences with mental health struggles as both a student and part time labourer; in addition to how I cope with moments of mental distress through bonding moments with my pet cat. Initially, I contemplated playing it safe and building a lifestyle blog that showcases my passions for music, fashion, and healthy living. Upon further reflection, I did not want to conform to the safety of stability. Erving Goffman conceptualized how individuals perform in order to project a desirable image (Bullingham & Vasconcelos, 2013). This is indeed the case with various social media accounts of mine. While there are facets of embellishment portrayed on my socials, I do believe these accounts are an accurate representation of who I am for the most part. That being said, there is the subconscious part which wishes to post only the thriving moments in order to project a given identity (Bullingham & Vasconcelos, 2013). With that in mind, I decided to go a different route. Inspired by female artist Doja Cat who fully projects both her glamorized and authentic self all over social media; I found comfort in the decision to document the more intimate and unraveled parts of my life.
Considering I had been bestowed the power to maintain control over my own cyberinfrastructure it felt safe to shatter that distance between the performer and audience (Bullingham & Vasconcelos, 2013) as it no longer felt necessary to conceal the offline-self. With the use of Google Analytics and WordPress stats it does not seem that my site has taken off, which is what I anticipated for such an entry level project. That being said, the imagined public are fellow students struggling with the same stress inducers as myself, in hopes to offer a space of unity and safety. Students are often pressured by many dimensions of responsibility as they approach young adult life, especially those who live extremely independent lives in all aspects. The persona employed is meant to purely be human. Oftentimes, social structures require people to never falter and continue pushing forward. As much as I encourage proactivity, it is also important to embrace moments of weakness in order to find a balance. Which is where pleasantpawws.com has allowed me to embrace my moments of weakness while finding healthy ways of coping. The design and structure of this web space is meant to be simple yet inviting with the use of neutral tones and wholesome imagery. The content itself follows a pattern of addressing a weekly challenge I faced as a student, and how various moments were spent with my cat Luka, who induced peace of mind and kept me moving forward. An overall theme I liked to reinforce is taking a step back when life becomes overwhelming by finding sanity in simplicity.
Ultimately, the most compelling part of creating one’s own web space has been its role as a space for independents (Noorda, 2019). The independent ability to facilitate, design, and construe content offered a real sense of liberation. Especially considering how monitored, framed, and socially structured public cyberinfrastructures’ are. Ironic how the public space is so heavily manipulated by the ruling class, whoever that may be, as it is constantly subject to change in this day and age. Prior to the educational experience of PUB 101 my knowledge of publication practices was limited. Having gained the knowledge and experience I have now, I feel more equipped to live amidst this highly digitized era. While I do still stand by my newly found goals of representing a more authentic online-self, it seems that a reform in content is necessary. I would like to continue blogging but as a personal hobby to elaborate all my interests. Coming up with weekly content for such a personal blog has been tiresome, as it was often hard to determine what was appropriate and inappropriate to share in such an open space. Even with the goal of authenticity, one must not stretch too far as unfortunate as it is, what is posted publicly can cause more harm than good if taken out of context. Which is why if I continue to pursue blogging, I would reevaluate the theme and content of what I post.
A special thank you to my TA and Professor for an illuminating semester.
References
Bullingham, L., Vasconcelos, A. (2013). ‘The presentation of self in the … – journals.sagepub.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0165551512470051?casa_token=G_ZxwRBoHT0AAAAA%3AcCfotdn2Uy_smbZpmnaXKB9ULp9SMILPjo5z-k4MjjB6c59dMZnDjs9ecXsI1TirtOE38VqBAQ
Lopez, B., et al. (2019). Web.s.ebscohost.com. (n.d.). Retrieved April 6, 2022, from https://web.s.ebscohost.com/abstract?direct=true&profile=ehost&scope=site&authtype=crawler&jrnl=09760245&AN=139734438&h=PTuiHG%2fv3MBssxcR%2biflYa%2fR%2f9YYrWyDRZN1iqyEmM4ePUhc8i2cnyGvNG4F8lAh0F1t0v%2fuHKP6hzNuSDKjVw%3d%3d&crl=c&resultNs=AdminWebAuth&resultLocal=ErrCrlNotAuth&crlhashurl=login.aspx%3fdirect%3dtrue%26profile%3dehost%26scope%3dsite%26authtype%3dcrawler%26jrnl%3d09760245%26AN%3d139734438
Noorda, R. (2019, June 18). The discourse and value of being an independent publisher – mémoires du livre / studies in book culture. Érudit. Retrieved April 5, 2022, from https://www.erudit.org/en/journals/memoires/2019-v10-n2-memoires04677/1060971ar/
How I Edit My Writing
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As a writer, editing is essential. It may be difficult for your audience to understand your message without editing. However, the editing depends on the context, and the ways we edit are based on our personal preferences.
Poetry
In poetry, there is wiggle room to edit without using correct grammar. For example, I can write as I talk and make the rhyme, rhythm, and imagery work with one another. My process of writing poetry is similar to journaling. I spill out all my thoughts while trying to make sense of it through analogies, rhyming, etc. This is my ‘word vomit’ approach, so it doesn’t look pretty, but this approach results in more raw and personal poetry.
Another approach when writing poetry is one I learned in my Gr 10 English class. This approach is more ‘bottom-up’ because I first think about the topic I wish to write about, then write down all the keywords I can think of. I also pick a primary setting or analogy. After thinking of all the components, I edit and see how I can incorporate all those ideas into a poem.
I use both the ‘word vomit’ and ‘bottom up’ approaches when writing poetry, but I also use both strategies when writing my academic papers or blog posts.
All My Other Writing
I’ve always been drawn to my ‘word vomit’ method for all my writing. I always tell my friends that I write in “baby English” and then edit and organize my words to make my writing make sense. For essays, I ensure that the structure of my work matches my thesis or main argument. In my blog posts, I also try to ask myself if what I am writing is relevant to the topic I wish to discuss. For these types of writing, spend more time looking at more grammar errors than poetry because there is an expectation of making sure the work looks professional.
In my blog NimrasCanvas, I try to look for grammatical errors. I also use Grammarly to double-check my work. However, I also wish to keep my blog casual and straightforward, so I don’t change words or my tone as much as I do for academic essays and research papers.
What We Require While Editing
Editing requires focus, but it also requires feedback. For example, in our peer reviews for this class, we provided feedback to our peers on their websites. This feedback is important because sometimes we get so caught up in our work that we overlook errors and other ideas we could add. From my feedback, I realized I could add more pictures to my blog and change my font, so it helped me develop my blog better.
While having others help us with editing is productive, we also need to balance our editing time. Sometimes I get frustrated in a school setting because I don’t have enough time to edit my work. I will sometimes keep receiving feedback without having enough time to implement it. I believe setting aside extra time for editing makes for excellent writing.
Another helpful idea is to limit your distractions. As a procrastinator, this is hard for me to do. I think all students can relate to this. We sometimes want to do our thing and not be bombarded with essays and assignments. While we technically can write an essay in one day, to receive good marks, we need a few days to edit it before submitting it. I am a hypocrite as I type this because I always leave essays to the last minute. However, I hope to manage my time to have enough energy to focus and edit my work entirely.
Everyone’s editing process is unique to them and how they learn. Some people may type with correct grammar instantly, while others need a few tries to get it right. Editing errors can make you look unprofessional and lazy on a blog or business platform. However, I also believe that they make us human. We should care for our writing and avoid errors when we see them, but we shouldn’t edit ourselves out in the editing process.
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The post How I Edit My Writing first appeared on NimrasCanvas.
Process Post: What Now?
As this course is coming to an end I wonder what I should do with my website, I have put so much time and effort into it and it feels wrong to just ditch it.
Throughout this semester the task of creating my own digital space has taught me so much, I have learned about cyber infrastructures, digital gardens, and how to build an audience. Going into this course I thought I would be using my knowledge of fashion for this website, however looking back I now know that I have learned alongside my audience, by having to think of ideas for articles I have forced myself to educate myself further in order to be a reputable source.
While I won’t be continuing my website at the end of this course I have realized that it has served its purpose and beyond, not only has it taught me about publication, but it has also taught me about my interests, I believe I am both a better publisher and a better fashion enthusiast because of it.
Top Watch Picks for Easter: Movies & TV Specials
[Image credits: IMDB]
Grab those Easter baskets, fill them with delicious, chocolatey (or candy) goodness, and sit back on the couch in front of your screens! Easter is just two weeks away, and even if you do not celebrate the holiday, you can still check out these movies and TV specials featuring lots of adorable and hilarious bunnies.
Down the Rabbit Hole We Go
- Hop (2011)
- Peter Rabbit (2018)
- Rise of the Guardians (2012)
- Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005)
The Classics
- Here Comes Peter Cottontail (1971)
- It’s the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown (1974) *TV Episode Special
Bonus Watch Suggestions
- The Easter Parade (1971)
- The Ten Commandments (1956)
- Looney Toons: Bugs Bunny’s Easter Special (1977) *TV Episode Special
Watch options: available to watch on Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime, Disney+, DVD or Blu-ray, on-demand, or rent.
The post Top Watch Picks for Easter: Movies & TV Specials first appeared on The Household Box Office.
Week 12. Community guidelines
This space is filled with the challenge of international students. Correct the wrongs but refrain from reckless criticism.
-Welcome to everyone’s comments. But sexy or unethical comments can be erased at any time.
-Illegal ad comments can be deleted at any time.
-Do not repost the contents of the blog without consent.
by Lauren Seo, 2022.04.04
Essay #2
We have learned how to create an online presence throughout this semester, and I believe that through “ChainStitch,” I have accomplished this. I have published new articles about every possible subject about fashion through my blog, and through this, I have learned how to find, relate to, and engage with my audience. An initial task to learn how to express my thoughts and interests professionally and engagingly has evolved into so many things for me, from learning about fashion through my research of my articles to job opportunities in the world of fashion.
When I began to create my publication, I was faced with choosing what subject my content focused on and how I would be presenting myself to my audience. Deciding how to “frame, curate, share, and direct (an) engagement stream” (Campbell) would be the first step in building my cyberinfrastructure. When choosing the topic on my blog, I chose one where I could speak on the topic with both passion and knowledge while still allowing myself to learn about the topic speaking on it. I also thought about how I would frame my digital garden; I knew I had a space where I could talk about my opinions about my interest rather than stating facts. I wanted my audience to understand that I am not above them, but instead we are equals, learning about this topic together(Suler 2004).
When I first began, I imagined my audience as those who were interested in fashion but had not been able to learn due to the elitism that the fashion community has. I decided to begin my first set of writings to be very basic, not using any jargon as not to alienate those who have not yet been introduced to the world of fashion. I would then begin using more niche terms and writing about more complex topics that would require past knowledge or reading my previous articles. I then realized that my audience was far more vast than previously thought. I saw those who didn’t even care about fashion, people who have worked in the industry for years, or people who knew far more than me. I saw how my blog was not for those who wanted to learn about fashion but rather for people who wish “to see and be seen, to socialize, and t feel as if they have the freedoms to explore a world beyond”(Boyd 2014)
If my blog were to be about fashion, I thought it important for my website to be very visually appealing. I used earth tones which recently have been extremely popular in manner, I added a playlist that ties into my blog. I also added a list of interesting pieces which I update regularly. Taking what I learned from Lecture Six (Designing yourself), I focused on my blog being simplistic with a consistent and unified design while still easy to use. Using what was established in class, I understood that most readers would only view one to two pages. Using this I used pictures and bold heading to help grab my audience’s attention, allowing for more engagement.
To address my audience directly, I thought it would be essential to have a casual conversational tone in most of my pieces. This helps establish a solid relationship with my audience as they know who they are listening to rather than some faceless, nameless entity. By using everyday language, I feel that it creates a mismatch with the serious tone that high fashion has. This helps break the stigma of my topic while fostering a community of respect between the creator and audience. I also added my personal social media to the site to put a face and personality to my blog, so my audience could better relate to me.
My thinking about publication has significantly changed since taking this course. At first, I had a straightforward and minimal understanding of how to relate to an audience. I was nervous and wary of putting my fashion knowledge to the test by showing it to an audience. Still, after receiving feedback from my peers and my audience, my confidence in the online presence I have created and in myself has grown dramatically. While I won’t be continuing with this blog in the future, I believe I have gotten so much out of this, the most important being an actual career in fashion. Through my blog, I was connected with an individual who works in fashion design. They saw my blog and offered me an apprenticeship in design. I believe this shows how a robust online presence can reach thousands of individuals you would have never met in real life.
