I feel like I am really getting the hang of this blogging thing. I’m getting in a good routine and I like the content I’m putting out there. My site is coming together. The contents there, the aesthetic and look of the site is what I want, but there is a lack of readers. Although I didn’t create this blog for millions of viewers, it would be nice to have people read and follow what I put out there.
It has come to my attention that I need to utilize SEO. I have found this challenging because before this last week I had no idea what SEO was. All I was told was that “SEO is the most viable and cost-effective way to both understand and reach customers in key moments that matter” Hollingsworth, 2021, para. 2). When I was reading up on SEO’s and came across the idea which Hollingswoth stated, “SEO will certainly improve a website’s overall searchability and visibility” (2021, para.4) I knew I needed to implement SEO. In class my Pub 101 professor told us a joke that the best place to hide a dead body is on the second page of search, and that’s exactly where my site lies when a direct search is not used. My goal is to get on the main search page, and I now know that I can do that by using SEO.
After learning about SEO I have been changing a few things on my site. First I have started by implementing tags on my posts and I have also been adding links to all the products I have talked about in my product reviews.
I can’t expect my website to bow up in the first few months (there’s a good chance it never will). Right now I am laying the groundwork of what I want my website to be. I am creating credibility and authority which comes with time. I do think SEO could be a great way to grow my site, as it is a good tool to use for small companies with a niche. If I continue with my website after the end of this class I definitely will look into having SEO for my website.
References
Hollingsworth, S. (2021b, August 9). 15 Reasons Why Your Business Absolutely Needs SEO. Search Engine Journal. https://www.searchenginejournal.com/why-seo-is-important-for-business/248101/#close
Online commenting is a ubiquitous feature of the Internet, appearing on social media, news sites, blogs, and other places. I would like to share a story of mine, where I had a live broadcast on Tik Tok some time ago. I didn’t have a lot of people in my live stream, probably because I was a new anchor and lacked some traffic. But I think it was a good start and it was a very good way to communicate, I was able to talk to some strangers on air and had a lot of fun with it. One time in the comments section of a live stream a stranger made a request for me to sing a song. Although I was a bit shy, I was brave enough to sing. When I was halfway through the song, he interrupted me in the comment section, saying that my singing made him feel sick to his stomach. I immediately kicked him out of my live stream, and I subsequently closed it. A very short comment, but one that had a huge impact on making my psyche.
In “The Psychology of Online Comments,” Konnikova notes that online anonymity may be a contributing factor because it allows people to be less responsible for their actions and more likely to make negative or abusive comments. I have a small experience that I can relate to, and the general understanding that people have of comment sections is scary. Because of the anonymity and lack of accountability associated with online comments, or the content of comments that are hostile. The ability to comment on an article or post means that anyone can voice their opinion, regardless of whether they have any expertise or knowledge of the topic. This can lead to a lot of misinformed, low-quality comments.
I think the suggestions made in the article are valid. We should promote a culture of respect and civility, where media platforms can review comments to remove abusive content. People could be more empathetic in their language when commenting and think about the psychological impact on the person receiving your negative comment.
However I would like to apply this to my blog site, where I have always avoided some negative comments and have done so with basic respect for others. I want to create a positive and joyful space. Hopefully we can get better at media literacy and critical thinking skills.
King Charles’s coronation is coming up on May 6, and more and more details are being revealed as we get closer to the big day. But one aspect causing “a bit of an argument” among royal family members is Prince George’s role in the coronation.
The Rundown
According to Marie Claire, all three royal children are set to play important roles in the upcoming coronation. But Prince George, perhaps as the eldest of Prince William and Kate’s three children or because he’s set to become king one day, is reportedly getting an even bigger role in the coronation. But his parents were worried that having this bigger role, especially without the support of his siblings beside him, would be too much to handle.
But a few weeks after the revelation of this argument between royal family members, George’s big role has finally been announced. His parents agreed that he would be a Page of Honour for the ceremony. A Kensington Palace spokesperson reported that “we’re all very excited about George’s role in the Coronation” and added that “it will be an incredibly special moment.”
As the role is usually reserved for boys ages 12-15, George will be the youngest out of all the pages, who have been chosen by Charles and Camilla and typically hold the duty of carrying the train of the King’s robes.
Repeating History
Growing up, Prince William was put into the spotlight and left to the wolves (or the British media) at a very young age. For example, the decision for Prince William and Harry to walk behind their mother, Princess Diana’s coffin over 20 years ago was widely criticized, as they were only 15 and 12, respectively. They have both spoken out against this decision, as William said in the 2017 BBC documentary “Diana, 7 Days” that it “wasn’t an easy decision.” Harry showed more regret toward the situation, explaining that “I don’t think any children should be asked to do that, under any circumstances. I don’t think it would happen today.”
Prince William and Harry walking behind their mother’s coffin at her funeral in 1997.
So, given the trauma and pressure that Prince William endured while being forced into the spotlight, it makes perfect sense why he would be worried that this increased media attention would be all too much for George. And it also extends the question to us, the spectators too: is George’s role as Page of Honour too much for a nine-year-old boy?
The Verdict: Should He Do It?
The coronation role isn’t the first big role Prince George has taken in highly-publicized events. He was one of four page boys at his aunt, Pippa Middleton’s wedding (without his siblings beside him) and took this same role at Prince Harry and Meghan’s wedding with his sister, Princess Charlotte by his side. He even attended Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral with Charlotte, an appearance that required poise and maturity beyond their years.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022
With George’s track record of showing incredible maturity at these highly-publicized events, he seems well-suited for the role. The only difference is that he’ll be the youngest one there, and he won’t have his sister beside him, who often reminds him what to do at events like these.
But perhaps the most important thing to consider in all this is George’s feelings toward the increase in attention, since he’s been known to be a little shier than his siblings. Despite all the outside opinions from his parents, the media (including us), and the palace, the decision needs to come from him. And based on what’s been told to the Daily Mail, it appears he’s on board.
So, Spilling the Royaltea’s take on George’s role: As long as he’s confident he can do it, so do we. We’ll be cheering him on from the sidelines on the big day!
A rare sight! The jellylift admin in a vulnerable state!
Almost one year ago, I started lifting consistently. April 20th will mark the one year anniversary of the purchase of my very first gym membership <3
I don’t film my lifts at the gym nearly as much as I used to, so I don’t have much footage but I have plenty of progress pictures… but hold your horses! I’m getting there.
I used to be real tiny. For my height and age, I was pretty underweight. At the ripe age of 16, I was 5’7″ and barely 110lbs. See here:
September 2018 progress photo
Good lord I actually never realized how small I was. Look at my legs! Sticks for legs! Twigs for legs! Look at my calves!!! SHAWTY GOT NO CALVES!!??!?!?
Anyways.
I was always super weak, and in high school I absolutely despised PE class because people were always commenting on my wee little arms and legs. Which is, yknow, f**ked up. But high school sucks and that’s something which is universally understood so I’m over it.
But anyways!
september 2018
When the weightlifting unit came around in PE 10 and I couldn’t even bench the bar, I took every opportunity possible to be “sick” or have some reason as to why I couldn’t participate in the unit. I couldn’t do a single pushup and wouldn’t DARE go anywhere near the squat rack. As an ex-gymnast, I expected to be pretty strong due to what being proficient in gymnastics demands from your body. But alas, all I had was core strength, and my arms and legs were sticks ‘n’ noodles. I managed to scrape by in PE 10, and along comes PE 11!
february 2020
Since I took the course during COVID, one of our assignments was to create an at-home workout program. I decided I was tired of being weak and implemented a ton of resistance training into my program, rather than the strictly abs and cardio that I had been doing at home since I quit gymnastics.
I hated it.
I loved the feeling of moving my body, but wasn’t seeing ANY progress. This is largely due to the fact that I had no clue what I was doing.
PE 11 comes to a close and I managed a decent grade, and continued with my weird, senseless routine for the rest of the summer as I really didn’t have anything better. All of Fall 2020, I almost completely fell off of exercising.
Then comes along Darryl Williams <3
january 2021
At the beginning of 2021, my friends introduced me to Bullyjuice’s (Daryl Williams) 30-Day At-Home Workout challenge, and that was a F**KING GAME CHANGER. We did it as a group of about 5 of us, which was a great way to stay committed and to hold each other accountable. Over the course of those 30 days I was actually starting to see progress, and felt my upper body growing stronger, and the consistent expenditure of energy was forcing me to eat more. I totally fell in love with the feeling of being able to hold up my own weight in a pushup, and reaching a point where I could do 5 standard push-ups felt like a million bucks. In fact, here’s a little anecdote from the day I was officially able to do a standard push-up:
January 16th, 2021:
Screenshot of workout challenge group chat
After the 30 days were up, I continued doing some random workouts off of Bullyjuice’s Youtube 2-3 days a week.
summer 2021
The summer rolled around, and my routine wasn’t nearly as steady as when I was in school, so I struggled to fit in consistent workouts. A friend of mine introduced me to Sydney Cummings, who had great functional training workouts and full-body movements, compared to Bullyjuice’s more isolated training. That taught me to move my body in a completely different way, and left me sore in places I didn’t know could be sore.
Between Spring of 2020 and Summer of 2021 I had probably put on a good 10-15 pounds. With eating more and my wacky workout schedule, there was a little bit of progress scattered throughout.
fall 2021
Then I started university. My first year was ATROCIOUS. All of my classes were still online, and I was stuck in the house 5 days a week by myself, just wasting away at my desk in my bedroom. I’d never been at a lower low and what better way to fix it all than hiding those feelings in your muscles? I decided I needed to get back into exercising, and figured I should start working out again. I was way too scared to join the gym on campus, solely because I didn’t think I was strong enough to be in a real gym. I remembered the wonders of Bullyjuice’s 30-Day challenge and decided to redo it, and BOY what an incredible choice that was. I powered through it and remembered how much I loved resistance training, and once again felt myself slowly getting stronger. I realized how f**king hot and sexy it was to have muscles and I WANTED MORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRE!!!
I started implementing light weights into my workouts, and then asked for a weight set for Christmas, and it has only been uphill from there. This is from November 2021 when I was doing strictly at-home workouts with light weights:
November 2021 progress photo
And this is January 2022 when I started working out with heavier weights:
January 2021 progress photo
Nothing crazy, but there was a little bit more definition around my shoulders and I trimmed a little bit around my waist as well. Which I realized wasn’t what I wanted. I WANTED to be BIG. I had been small and dainty and frail my whole life. I was sick of it.
february 2022
I started going to the gym with my dad. After I had done so much research over the past few months, I discovered how my dad actually had no clue what he was doing in the gym. Despite being weaker physically, my lifting knowledge was far vaster than his. I knew it couldn’t go on like this. So I developed my own split, which did me wonders.
Day 1: Chest and Shoulders
Day 2: Legs
Day 3: Back and Arms
Basically a Push x Pull x Legs split, with minor adjustments.
My first week in the gym, I was just ITCHING to try out the bench press (flashback to Grade 10 when I couldn’t lift the bar). I knew I was stronger now than I was then, and when I laid down to bench for the first time in 3 years, the bar moved like butter and I don’t think I had ever felt anything better.
I began lifting at 3 days a week, up to 4, up to 5, up to a consistent 6 days a week. Which, admittedly, 8 months later left me feeling VERY burnt out, and I decided to drop it back down to 5. I wouldn’t recommend 6 days a week to ANY beginner.
april 2022
I bought my first membership <3 I had been going consistently for 2 months and figured it was time. There have since been ups and downs, but I rarely fell off.
summer 2022
I did 75HARD. TO HE** WITH 75HARD. Here were my outlines:
For 75 days:
Follow any nutrition plan designed for your goals, with no alcohol and no cheat meals –> eat clean: no fast food e.g mcdonald’s, a$w, burger king etc. eat slow, fresh foods/home cooked meals, 135g protein daily, no alcohol, little to no eating out, no candy in the house, no junk food, no food after dinner (6:30/7:00)
Complete at least one >45 minute workouts 5-6 days a week, rest days are a 15 minute walk outside
Drink 3L of water every day.
Read 10 pages of an educational or self-improvement book every day.
Take a progress picture every week.
It was tough for sure, and I would say I stuck to it 87% of the time. The idea is you do it for 75 days, and if you fall off, you have to restart the 75 days, and in turn it all becomes habit rather than a challenge.
I think that it was a little ambitious considering I was only a few months into my fitness journey, but it was a great challenge nonetheless.
from then to now
It has been a hell of a journey, with tons of ups and downs and twist arounds. I get myself down pretty often, since day to day I’m not seeing a ton of changes. Sometimes I feel like I look the same as I did when I started, or that I haven’t really built that much muscle and it’s more just storage fat, or that I’m not as strong or as big as I should be after having been lifting for a year. But then I slow down, look at how far I actually have come, and I’ve got something wicked like this to show for it:
If you don’t have a perfume that you absolutely love then you need to go get Flowerbomb perfume by Victor & Rolf. I fell in love with the scent when I was in sephora one day, and I’ve been wearing it everyday since. I’ve received so many compliments from people about the scent. It’s nothing crazy, and I think that’s what makes it so intoxicating. It’s a subtle flowery scent, but it’s still strong enough to know that you’re wearing something. It also lasts a whole day, which a lot of my previous perfumes would never last that long. This sophisticated scent is a must have for all women!
This cute little guy was spotted outside of the YVR airport during the day. He was so tiny; maybe only ten inches tall. When I looked up owls in the area, I found out that this little fella was a young Short-eared Owl.
According to allaboutbirds.org, you’ll want to look for Short-eared Owls during winter. Look for open fields, grasslands, or airports and visit near dawn or dusk for your best chance of finding them. They may be sitting directly on the ground or flying low and erratically as they hunt.
After twelve weeks of non-stop posting, PUB 101 has come to an end. But that doesn’t mean that Spilling the Royaltea has run out of potential, so here’s the plan for what’s to come.
To the Future
Over the course of these twelve weeks, I’ve really developed a love for blogging. I get to write about things that interest me without having to worry whether it would work well for an essay or whether it would be enough to get me a good grade. And having the opportunity to do things that I’d never get to do in other academic contexts, like using slang, or contractions, or starting my sentences with “so” and “and” has been so refreshing. I get the space to publish my own thoughts without thinking about what my prof will think with every word I write. So for all the above reasons and many more, I will be continuing with Spilling the Royaltea after the end of PUB 101.
In continuing my writing process, I’ll definitely keep writing posts for my hot takes, ranked, and news categories. In particular, the news category will have tons to talk about in the coming weeks, with King Charles’s coronation coming up in May. All in all, I’ll keep challenging my audience to think differently about issues and not always take for granted what they read or hear in the mainstream. And if they want light and fluffy, they’ll still have that too in the form of the “ranked” category and “Fashion, FAST!” segment.
I also want to bring back my “the chronicles of Harry and Meghan” category. Since I won’t be taking any courses in the summer, I’ll have plenty of time to watch the documentary and read the memoir, and I’m sure I’ll have lots to say about both.
And I might even create a few new categories too, like a “hot topics” category. I’ve noticed that when writing my hot takes, there are some things that I haven’t really made a final decision on, like whether the monarchy should be abolished and whether we should be worried that Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis will end up like Prince Harry. So maybe in this section, I could discuss both sides of the argument and invite readers to weigh in too.
Even More Web Design Improvements
Of course, I still want to work on my website design skills. I might even take off the training wheels and redesign Spilling the Royaltea without a template, like Gertz suggests. Now that I know the basics of WordPress, I think it’s time to branch off and try to do things my own way instead. There are still a bunch of elements I’d like to change, but my template is preventing me from actually making these changes.
For example, when readers click on one of the categories on the menu bar, I want them to see little previews of several different posts instead of the big featured image being the first thing they see. I also never got around to making a logo, which I think is one of the most important parts of website branding. So I will definitely get to that too.
Example from “melatonin-gone-missing.com” of the post previews I would like to include on my website
Overall, these changes will culminate in realizing the ultimate potential of my personal cyberinfrastructure, which will represent me and me only. And, since the site will no longer feature PUB 101 content, I can focus solely on royal family content. I might even consider archiving the PUB 101 section and making my site a fully-functioning royal family gossip site with no affiliations to SFU.
Community Guidelines
I also hope that in my future content, people start interacting more with my content, so with this comes the responsibility of creating community guidelines to ensure that Spilling the Royaltea remains a safe and uplifting community for royal family followers.
The four pillars I’ve developed for Spilling the Royaltea include respect, tolerance, openness, and togetherness. These four aspects relate most strongly to the comment section, which can end up pretty nasty if not carefully regulated. Konnikova even writes that the magazine, Popular Science decided to ban comments because of the “culture of aggression and mockery” it can cause. So that’s why I want readers to be respectful of each other when commenting, tolerant of others’ opinions and ideas, open to listening to and learning from different perspectives, and feel a sense of togetherness and community for learning and sharing.
And to protect both myself from seeing any hate comments (which, thankfully, I haven’t received yet), I’ll be regulating my comment section from those “anonymous” users who think it’s so easy to hide behind a screen and comment mean things just because it’s harder to identify them, like Konnikova describes. I’ll approve of comments as they come, and hopefully, this will keep things safe, inclusive, and welcoming on Spilling the Royaltea, which is all I could ask for as a website owner.
Here’s to the last process post and to a new chapter of Spilling the Royaltea. Olivia, signing out.
People read online in a variety of ways, depending on the content we consume, our goals, and our personal preferences. However, there are some general trends that have emerged in recent years that can help us understand how people read online. Online reading tends to be faster and more efficient, allowing users to navigate content better. For example, I make use of visual aids when doing online reading. Rely on images, videos and other visual aids to help me understand and remember information.
After reading “POKEMON AS TRANSMEDIA STORYTELLING,” I discovered that Pokemon has expanded to a range of media, including anime series, movies, consoles, and more. Each of these media platforms adds depth and nuance to the Pokemon story, and they help to engage different audiences. This is enough to illustrate how Pokemon uses transmedia storytelling to create a rich, immersive story world that engages audiences across multiple platforms.
“Transmedia storytelling is the ideal aesthetic form for an era of collective intelligence.”(Kevinbrittenylauren. wordpress.com, 2013). Yes, most people now prefer the online format. The online format is more common and easy to use.
I think this can be fully exploited in my blog. I think I can use this by leveraging different social media platforms that can be used to reinforce and amplify my message. It is important to tailor our content to each channel and audience. For example, a post on Instagram may need to be shorter and more concise than a blog post on my website. This helps a lot with my current blog and the content I want to expand.
References
Kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com. (2013, November 21). Pokemon as Transmedia Storytelling. https://kevinbrittenylauren.wordpress.com/2013/11/21/pokemon-as-transmedia-storytelling/
For this week’s process post, I will be discussing Transmedia, and how I can incorporate it more in my online presence/publications. With so many different modes of communication online, the need for a source to have multiple platforms is crucial in order to maximize your potential audience and overall engagement. Firstly, you may be thinking, “What is Transmedia?”. In short, Transmedia is essentially the technique of storytelling or sharing across multiple different media platforms. Whether that is through social media, apps, products, or games, these are only a few examples of Transmedia outlets that a creator can use to expand their brand image.This is something I have yet to incorporate into my website. Since I have designed this website for a class, I think that I have created a solid primary platform for The Fashion Daily, and I am shocked with how many viewers have visited my site from around the world and let alone been able to come across it with such little promotion. As I am not necessarily looking to establish The Fashion Daily as a serious brand for myself yet, I am happy with the level of engagement I have seen without the integration of Transmedia. If and when I would like to take up this page outside of class and have it become a more serious and established platform, Transmedia outlets will be a crucial aspect in the growth of my website and The Fashion Daily name altogether.
In Bryce J Renninger’s, “”Where I can be myself…where I can speak my mind”: Networked Counterpublics in a polymedia environment”, it describes how Transmedia not only enables audiences growth, but it allows for viewers/audiences to connect and share the media as well. In a reference within the article from IIana Gershon, they state that, “people figure out together how to use different media and often agree on the appropriate social uses of technology by asking advice and sharing stories with each other” (2014). This is especially true with social media. As my website caters to more of a late teen – young adult audience, having a social media presence would greatly help grow the audience of The Fashion Daily, and it would allow for a new creative outlet. My friends and I are constantly sharing media with each other on a daily basis and it is often how we find out about new trends, interests, products, etc. Social media is often where I discover brands and products that I then share with my friends. If The Fashion Daily were to have a social media presence, I think it would really increase engagement due to this widespread use of social media sharing. As I mentioned above, my website and content cater towards a younger audience, which like myself, most likely relies on social media to share and consume content. If The Fashion Daily were to have an Instagram account for example, this media outlet would make the website more accessible and known amongst my target audience as they would be more likely to search for fashion trends and information on that platform, rather than a website URL itself.
Overall, if I were to integrate Transmedia into my website, I think that creating an Instagram account would be the next best platform to share my content on. On Instagram, fashion is always trending and creating a good aesthetic is what will allow for you to gain a following. With The Fashion Daily being a fashion blog, an aesthetic would be easier to develop and express, and therefore I think that Instagram would be the perfect place to expand the creativity of the website I have designed so far. While I will not likely get this up and running before the end of the semester, keep an eye out for The Fashion Daily on your explore page in the future!
So this one is a little different. I haven’t done posts on individual episodes. Nor am I going to do separate posts for each season of this anime. The reason for this is pretty simple. I ended up binging two seasons in the span of a week.
And that definitely says something. I first found out about Tokyo Revengers from a friend of mine. We were talking about the different anime we were watching and he highly recommended this one. So I gave it a shot, and oh boy do I not regret that one bit.
I’d say the storyline is rather simple, but it’s not. It follows Takemichi Hanagaki, a self proclaimed loser who is one day watching the news and sees that his ex girlfriend from middle school and her brother have been killed in a gang related attack. That same day, Takemichi is pushed onto the train tracks in an attempt on his life, however he saved. The incident sparks in him a power of time travel, and he goes back twelve years to when he was in middle school, and part of the gang that kills his girlfriend in the future.
Takemichi Hanagaki
The two seasons are essentially Takemichi going forward and back in time with the goal of saving those who die in the gang violence as a result of this once pure gaggle of motorcycle riding middle schoolers turn bad for unknown reasons in the future. I’m skipping over a lot of detail here but to go into all of it would be to almost write a book in and of itself.
What I really loved about this anime is that the main character, Takemichi is the hero. But he’s kind of useless. Essentially every fight he gets in results with him getting absolutely pummelled. He’s not meant to be physically strong, or even a cool guy character. What makes him the hero is his spirit. Takemichi doesn’t really win any fights, but he never loses them either. He simply doesn’t let himself loose. No matter how big the opponent, and how beaten up he already his, Takemichi always gets back up and keeps fighting. That’s what makes him a hero.
I really like that idea. I found myself cheering Takemichi on despite knowing he’d never be the one to win the fight. Instead by putting on display his unbreakable character, he inspires the other characters around him to be better. So, you don’t need to be big, strong, or cool to be the hero. Takemichi shows anyone can be the hero if we have an unbreakable spirit.
Romanticizing your life essentially means appreciating the little and mundane things about your life. Your life doesn’t have to be particularly exciting or “like a movie” to romanticize it. Your life can be romanticized by simply paying attention to small things that make your life beautiful. This blog post will share ideas of how to romanticize your life and feel like the “main character.”
1. Make Little Things Feel Exciting
One way to romanticize your life is by making mundane tasks something that you look forward to. For example, while doing chores, blast your favourite songs and sing along to the lyrics. This will make the chores feel like a fun experience rather than something you are dreading.
2. Accessorize and Decorate
Another way to romanticize your life is through aesthetics. Making things look aesthetically pleasing will make you feel more put together and will make a situation more exciting. For instance, if you’re making dinner for your family, make the dinner table look cute by including a centrepiece, setting the table in a “fancy way” (set the cutlery and fold napkins in a way that looks like it’s from a fancy dinner party). Or if you’re going out to run errands, take an extra minute to put on some jewelry and you will feel more put together throughout the day.
3. Value Your "Me Time"
Take some extra time to unwind and clear your head. Occasionally take a bath instead of a shower, paint your nails, and journal to release your thoughts. Setting aside time for yourself will help you feel better mentally and physically. “Me time” will give you the opportunity to clear your head, organize your thoughts, and make you feel ready for a new day.
4. Step Out of Your Comfort Zone
Stepping outside of your comfort zone will allow you to experience things that you otherwise would have never experienced. This can be as simple as saying “yes” to new things. Exposing yourself to new opportunities will help you grow as a person and will help you appreciate all that life has to offer.
5. Write Down Your Gratitudes
You can do this on a daily basis, weekly basis, or a monthly basis. Writing down things that you are grateful for allows you to stay grounded and helps you appreciate the little things that make life beautiful. Writing down your gratitudes may help you recognize and appreciate things in life that you otherwise would have overlooked. If you are interested in purchasing a journal with pre-written prompts in it, The Five Minute Journal is a great product to get (or you can just copy down their prompts in a blank journal to save money!)
For the final week of content and process posts, and more than that, the final week of classes, I decided to write about everyone’s (least) favourite musical TV program, Glee. The general love-hate relationship theatre fans have with Glee can be distilled into an equal amount of hate for the way the show progressed, from one foot in reality and one foot in the absurd to both feet in their own grave, and an equal amount of love for bringing musicals and diegetic singing to television. More than that, though, it also inspired the rise of high school show choir, and introduced countless young people to the performing arts, something I will always fight for and be grateful for when done in mainstream media.
In terms of course content, this week focused on the interaction of the online and everyday self, and furthermore how to reconcile the difference. I am particularly interested in the little blurb for the week on the POSIEL site. I know it’s not technically a reading, but it asks a lot of crucial questions about living in a technological age. Specifically Are the facets of human experience threatened? By now, my opinion on AI and a growing pertinence placed on the development of convenient tech that can be integrated into everyday life is all over my blog, but I really do think that it is so important to acknowledge how a technologically determined future will have ramifications on the facets of the human experience. The most recent publication of the Literary Magazine for the faculty I am minoring in deals with this subject directly, placing an emphasis on how the human experience cannot be commodified or technologized because the human experience cannot be synthesised. There is simply too much human experience in the world to distill into something digestible and authentic.
Further, the final question the prompt begs: Does privacy matter anymore? It harkens back to the week 3 reading on the disinhibition effect and how anonymity emboldens controversy. I think privacy will always matter (especially in my position on AI), and that despite the new movement of putting your real name and real experiences and real personal information online, that is, to be genuine in your online persona, will begin to see consequences in the years to come. I think people will begin to become unmoored by the lack of separation of the online and offline self, such to the extent that in a couple years, there will be think pieces published about the benefits of online anonymity – something I look forward to digesting.
On Saturday, April 8th, news broke that Taylor Swift and Joe Alwyn have broken up after six years together, and relations between America and the UK have never been worse. According to an exclusive from Entertainment Tonight, the pair decided to amicably separate, much to the surprise of millions of fans who have spent the last six years idolizing the love that has inspired five of Swift’s albums. I mean, if the relationship that gave us “Call It What You Want” is no more, love is surely dead. Since people online got wind of the news, it’s been a debate whether it is true or not. Nevertheless, people (me) are heartbroken, and they’ve got things to say about it.
Here are my favourite tweets about the world’s most devastating break up.
king of my heart, call it what you want, new years day, lover, cornelia street, london boy, daylight, invisible string, gold rush, long story short, willow, sweet nothing, paris, lavender haze,pic.twitter.com/pgardAEmar
At the point of me writing this, the finale happened a minute ago so I’m not really spoiling anything. Plus who is even reading these besides my TA (Hi Micky).
Anyways, so they finally get Ellie to the fireflies, the resistance group, in order for to make a cure for the cordyceps infection because Ellie is immune. However, since the virus grows in the brain, they need to extract some stuff from there on Ellie. Which means she wouldn’t survive the process. The fireflies don’t tell Ellie that however and just say they’re gonna run some tests. Kind of shady, but I mean at the same time a little humane? I mean it would be so brutal to be like “oh thanks for surviving this long on the journey to find us, we’ll kill you now”. So that was out of the question.
However, they do tell Joel. this is where it got nuts. Joel was told what was gonna happen, and then went “Naw” (not a direct quote) and then kinda just killed them all.
So in the span of 15 minutes, Joel pretty much did what the military couldn’t do, and did it singlehandedly. Okay cool. Joel is kind of a machine when it comes to violence. Now, I’m really conflicted with this one. I can understand Joel’s reasoning. Ellie is pretty much his daughter now and he doesn’t want her to die. However, in the process of making sure that doesn’t happen, Joel effectively kills people who were trying to do good by creating a cure and opposing a brutal military regime. Not only that, but he also kills the doctor and surgeon who maybe could have created the cure.
So, I get why Joel did it. But in doing so he set humanity back a good few steps. Not to mention after the fact he lies to Ellie about what was going to happen. It really brings up some serious moral questions I think. It also brings back the family theme again. Joel has lost so much in his life, I don’t think he could stand to lose again. Yet I don’t really think he was justified in what he did. To put it simply, murder no good.
Anyways, here are some of my favourite frames from this season finale:
“Ishmael” by Daniel Quinn is a novel that addresses many issues related to humanity’s relationship with the natural world, including the issue of climate change. The book presents a unique perspective on the environmental crisis, arguing that it is rooted in a fundamental flaw in the human mindset.
One way in which the novel relates to our contemporary period and the issue of climate change is through its exploration of the concept of human exceptionalism. According to the book, humans have long believed that they are separate and superior to the natural world, and that the planet exists solely for their benefit. This belief has led to the exploitation of natural resources and the destruction of ecosystems, contributing to the current climate crisis.
The novel also explores the concept of culture and the role it plays in shaping our behavior towards the environment. Ishmael argues that the cultural narrative that humans have constructed – one that places humans at the center of the universe – is a myth that needs to be dismantled in order to promote sustainability and environmental stewardship. This is particularly relevant in the context of climate change, as many of our cultural beliefs and practices have contributed to the current crisis.
the novel suggests that a shift in cultural narrative is necessary to address climate change. Ishmael encourages the protagonist to explore a new myth that recognizes the interconnectedness of all life on the planet and places humans within the larger ecosystem. This new myth would promote a more sustainable approach to our interactions with the environment and could help mitigate the effects of climate change.
Personally, I found “Ishmael” to be a captivating and thought-provoking read. The novel offers a unique perspective on humanity’s relationship with the natural world, challenging readers to rethink their assumptions about the planet and our place within it.
One of the things that struck me about the book was its exploration of the concept of human exceptionalism. As someone who has grown up in a culture that places humans at the center of the universe, it was eye-opening to read a narrative that challenged this belief and encouraged me to think more critically about the impact of human behavior on the environment.
Episode Eight of The Last of Us is different. There was a very clear tone change made apparent from the start of the episode. A show that has always been rather dark, got darker.
This episode takes weird twists and turns. Warped religion, torture, sexual assault, and cannibalism. It almost felt out of left field. Yet, it belonged. The world has fallen, and there are no rules anymore. At least, that’s what is going on in the show. This really emphasized that. This isn’t one of those apocalypse tropes where there’s no government but everyone still somehow upholds a sense of morality. No, this is not that. What we get instead is depravity, and it fits. Mostly, because if the world were to fall I think it would be the truth of it. We already teeter the line, sans apocalypse.
In this episode, we also see the resilience of Ellie. She takes care of Joel, who is barely conscious with an infected wound. Not only that, but she successfully hunts a deer for them to eat, though they never do actually get to eat it. But when she gets captured by another group, Ellie shows some true grit and keeps her fighting spirit up, taking out a couple of the captors before escaping back to Joel.
I have to say, I do like the fact that Joel’s character has taken a bit of a back seat since the sixth episode. Ellie definitely deserves to be the star of the show for at least two episodes. It really does wonders for character development. I think this might be because in this storyline Joel appears to be the typical strong stoic man, protecting Ellie from everyone on their journey. But what we have been shown instead is that even Joel is fallible. And more than that, what we are shown is that Ellie can take care of herself and Joel also. It really brings up this idea of Joel acting as an adopted father to Ellie. After all, family takes care of each other, it’s never really one way. We see this theme really being harped on again at the end of the episode when Ellie and Joel reunite. It’s a really touching sentiment I think. That even though the world has fallen to depravity, what endures is family.
Kind of sappy, kind of sweet.
Anyways, no stills from this episode, it was kind of gross to look at.
kansas city!! (@teIIthemmyname) 
(@edacIawthorne) 
(@AstoundingSwift) 
