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An Innate Need to Create

As a kid, I used to stand atop the stairs and deliver what I deemed “The Kobe Show” to my family. While “The Kobe Show” may no longer exist, an innate need to create and express myself still exists. For example, in writing this blog post I am continuing to exhibit this trait. In this post, I muse on why this might be, my previous experiences with this trait, and regarding how I can leverage it in the future.


Why I Need To Create

Over time, I have realized that my life mission is to make the lives better of all those around me. In doing so, I try my best to always be ambitious and to always think big. Ultimately, I want to make the world a better place.

While this mission is ambitious, I look at many of the great founders, creatives, and artists in the world who have made the world better, and realize that at one point they all thought the same.

Steve Jobs always emphasized that you can only connect the dots looking backwards. Often citing the example of the calligraphy class he took and Apple’s original beautiful typography.

In creating new things and putting new ideas into the world through various media, I feel that I myself am striving towards my goal and seeking to build a narrative that perhaps will one day make sense.

Building things and enabling others with new ideas is exactly what enables the world to progress. Just look at your current environment. Ultimately, creation with good intent is the best act anyone can partake in to try and make the world better.

That is why I feel a need to create.

Returning to Being a Producer

Most of our days are either spent consuming or producing. Oftentimes, there is a tradeoff between the two.

I must admit, lately a lot of my energy has been spent consuming. To be truthful, I can not help but feel I have been a bit guilty of overconsumption.

However, rest is incredibly important and in the last year or so, I wore myself and my brain down with classes, work, and extracurricular commitments. Rest was something that I needed and now finally I feel I am well rested.

I know this, because I feel the need to create returning. I feel the need to produce. I feel the need to express my ideas and experiment with my various hypotheses about my environment.

Now is the time for me to return to experimenting with putting my ideas out in the world.

Attempting to Explore While Exploiting What I Believe to Know

Oftentimes, it is said that early in life we spend a lot of time early in our lives exploring the world and a lot of the time later in our lives exploiting all that we learned. This explore and exploit framework, is an idea I find incredibly fascinating. Yet, I cannot help but feel that the need to attempt to exploit what you believe you know is a vital process in exploration.

For instance, in school you might learn lots about what it takes to run a successful social media campaign, providing you with the false belief that you can do it. But only by trying to exploit that knowledge can you really explore and learn for yourself the falsities and truths to what you learned from school.

I genuinely do not believe that the two phenomena are mutually exclusive. Moving forward, I want to explore and learn by attempting to exploit what I believe I can.


Leveraging the Need

The act of creation, is in itself something beautiful.

By leveraging this need to create anything, whether it be a video, blog post, instagram post, sketch, or anything at all one can accomplish great things.

In addition to this, I want to pick up some habits such as:

  • Carrying around a pocket journal to record novel ideas
  • Making time to just think
  • Talking to others about their ideas for creations
  • Making friends with others always making new things

Habits are essential, and ultimately if it does not affect your behaviour information is useless. To anyone reading, I highly recommend picking up the habit of making things.

Formula E

Formula E Zone

Experience Design Project

10 Minute Read

THE TEAM

KAI VON DEHN
DOMINIQUE SURAYA
ARITRO MUKHOPADHYAY
SOHEILA BOSCARINO
CELIA GU

Final blog

Saying goodbye is never an easy thing to do. It can be an emotional and difficult experience, whether you’re saying goodbye to a friend, a family member, a place, or a phase of your life. But as much as we might want to avoid it, saying goodbye is an inevitable part of life. In fact, it’s often necessary for us to grow, change, and move forward.

One thing that can make saying goodbye easier is to focus on the positive memories and experiences that you’ve had with the person, place, or thing that you’re saying goodbye to. Remembering the good times can help to ease the pain of the goodbye and leave you with a sense of gratitude for what you’ve had.

Another thing that can help is to take the time to say a proper goodbye. Whether that means having a heartfelt conversation, writing a letter, or simply taking a moment to reflect and say goodbye in your own way, it’s important to acknowledge the significance of what you’re leaving behind.

Of course, saying goodbye can also be an opportunity for growth and new beginnings. Sometimes, saying goodbye to one thing means saying hello to something else that’s even better. By embracing change and the unknown, you can open yourself up to new experiences, new relationships, and new opportunities.

In the end, saying goodbye is a natural part of life. It’s a reminder that nothing is permanent and that everything is always changing. But while saying goodbye may be difficult, it’s also a chance to reflect, to grow, and to move forward. So embrace it, appreciate it, and say goodbye with grace and gratitude.

Me? obsessed with polymer clay because it feels like I am being productive instead of just procrastinating… Nooo

I should have posted this about a month ago when I was totally in the midst of an anxiety induced coma/paralysis and all I could do was art. Now I have a small business (insert comical manic laughter).

It all started because I could not get myself to study and so I turned to dear old Amazon and ordered one of those starter kits for polymer clay. I thought it would be a fun activity to do while I was trying to get my life back on track for the X (I lost count) time. And it made me feel amazing creating something with my hands that could also be worn. I started making these cute octopus monster earrings and I could not stop. I went into a full month of hyperfixiation on polymer clay. I made batch after batch after batch. And I bought so much clay and tools that my wallet was definitely suffering big time. My mom kept asking me what the hell was going on with Uni work and I keep lying and saying everything was fine when it wasn’t. 262 pairs of earrings later, I realized that… I love making polymer clay earrings and that I still didn’t have my life together. At least I now have another source of income because I need to sell those suckers.

It has been almost 2 months since I started making the earrings and I have not stopped. I have a lot of them and I keep getting better and better. But now it is a little more balanced. I have time for art and time for studying, which is good considering the state of my grades and pending uni work.

In the end my mom did not understand where the hyperfixiation came from because she does not understand my anxiety but I feel really proud because I did not let the parental disapproval contaminate the joy that making earrings gives me. And sure, it all started because I needed to forget about the world but now it’s just something more that I love, something that is just mine and I will not let the judgement of my parents deter me from making these beautiful earrings that I love so much.

My first market is happening April 22 at Slice of Life in Vancouver and I am absolutely elated. My friends are coming and I have no idea if the earrings will actually sell or if I will manage to make back all the money I spent but the joy I get from this craft is worth it all.

This is not to say that I have my shit together now. I have so so so so so much to do now because of that month I spent hyperfixiating on making earrings, I have essays and final papers and exams and oh am I dying. Half the time I just want the world to shut up and leave me alone but I am running out of time and international tuition fees are a pain so I can’t fail any more classes. If you are wondering how the hell I am going to manage to finish all the stuff I have to do… I have no idea. I guess I just need to take it one day at the time and try not to die in the process. At least I have profs that are very understanding, roommates that are supporting me at home, friends that love me and a family that supports me even though they don’t always understand.

Copyright Statement

This will be a shorter post but I wanted to say:

Because I will be posting a lot of my own art in this site, I want to request people not to copy and pass it as their own. You can repost and tag me or share my content but I work hard on my pieces and I am happy to share them but please don’t copy them without my consent.

Thank you

-Sara A

Content post #8

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WaV2GMIZ3l4

In season two following the failed attempt to invade Chicken Island by Stan, members of the Killer League, including Thirteen’s master, begin targeting Seven and other skilled martial artists on the island. Their ultimate goal is to conquer the island. Additionally, Thirteen’s master has a personal vendetta against Seven and seeks to eliminate him. We start to learn about Seven’s part and realise that he is not just and ordinary guy. As a strory progress we learn that he used to be on e of the most skilled assasins in League and that something horrible happend to him that caused a memory loss.

Be Right Back 2 (A SilverCited excusive film)

In this sequel, that nobody asked for it takes place right after the events of Be Right Back the original. And yes this is another film made in the GTA 5 Rockstar Editor. This time it is going to be excusive film for awhile on this website, maybe in a little bit it will go onto YouTube; but as of now it stays on this website. And Here I present to you Be Right Back 2!
Also I realize this has to be uploaded to YouTube since the file size is too big, so my bad!

Be right back (A gamers attempt at a film)

No need for much of a explanation, well maybe actually. This is a film I choose to do in Grand Theft Auto Five. There is this program within the game where one can record gameplay, and it has some cool features where you can change the camera angle. And I choose to do this about a year ago with one of my childhood friends. Grand Theft Auto V is an open-world action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. The game was released in 2013 and has since become one of the best-selling video games of all time. It is set in the fictional city of Los Santos, which is based on Los Angeles, and the surrounding countryside. One of the features of the game is the ability to record gameplay footage, which can be edited and shared with others. The program that enables this is called the Rockstar Editor. And I used this to create a short film called “Be Right Back”. Below is the film as an embed YouTube Video. Hope you enjoy this and please give feedback in the comments!

The Last of Us – Episode 10

WOW WHAT A SEASON FINALE

I am in shock…

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:

The post The Last of Us – Episode 10 appeared first on Watch With Zeh.

Process Post #13

One of the most important classes I ever took was “Introduction to Publication,” as it has been quite helpful to me thus far in my early academic career. I’m happy to say that this course was a success for me and that I learned a lot from it.

I can without a doubt say that the course has helped me grasp the numerous facets of academic publication better. I’ve learned a lot that will help you publish your research in the future, from understanding peer review to knowing about the various forms of publishing. Doing peer reviews for other people’s publication websites is, in my opinion, a fantastic method to encourage cooperation, education, and development within a community of authors and editors. Peer evaluations provide people the chance to get helpful criticism on their work, which can help them get better at writing and hone their concepts. Peer reviews can also encourage an environment where writers and editors can share thoughts and viewpoints in order to produce the greatest publication possible. Peer reviews can ultimately result in content that is of a higher caliber and foster a greater feeling of community among those participating in the publication process.

The training has given me practical skills that are necessary for effective academic publishing, which is one of its biggest advantages. For instance, I’ve learnt how to craft convincing posts for my submission, which might be crucial when I’m attempting to motivate those around me. Additionally, I’ve learnt how to properly convey my research findings, which is essential for producing influential articles that other people read and quote. I believe that publishing has taught me a tremendously valuable skill that I can apply to a variety of my passions: how to write effectively and perform great research. By developing these abilities, I may produce articles that interest readers, instruct them, and persuade them to act or change their viewpoints. Persuasive writing and thorough research are crucial skills that help me effectively convey my views and accomplish my goals, whether I’m fighting for social justice causes or creating captivating stories. Finally, because of how adaptable and transferable they are, these abilities are a great advantage for anyone aiming to make a difference in their personal or professional endeavors.

The fact that the course has given me access to a professional network in your industry is another crucial component of it. By interacting with my peers and teachers, I have gathered useful information about the publishing process and discovered fresh possibilities for disseminating your findings. For students who are just beginning their research careers, this can be quite helpful because it can lead to new opportunities and collaborations. I think that the “Introduction to Publication” course is crucial for me as a university student overall. Other students may find it helpful to use the knowledge and abilities I acquired in the course to assist them negotiate the complicated world of academic publishing and improve their chances of publishing significant research that is read and cited by others.

Process Post #12

I believe that community guidelines are essential for any website, but they’re even more crucial for one that sells trading cards. These guidelines are meant to encourage civil and beneficial discourse while also creating a welcoming and safe space for users. In this implementation plan, I’ll mention a few community guidelines that I believe are appropriate for a website devoted to trading cards and explain why I’ve chosen them.

First, I would create a rule mandating that users treat one another with respect and kindness. This would entail refraining from any kind of bullying, harassment, or hate speech. We wish to foster a welcoming environment where everyone feels valued and at home on our trading card website. We can encourage users to participate in meaningful conversations and share their views and experiences without worrying about being mocked or judged by others by encouraging respectful dialogue. Any publication website must include rules requiring users to treat others with respect and kindness. Online interactions can occasionally result in negativity and even harassment, which can turn away readers and harm the website’s reputation. You can make sure that visitors to your website feel secure and welcome by establishing clear rules that encourage a pleasant and inclusive environment. In addition to fostering a sense of community and inspiring reader interaction, this can increase reader engagement and grow a devoted following. It can also help to create the tone for the publication as a whole by defining rules that demand users to treat others with respect and kindness, ensuring that the content is presented in a courteous and professional manner.

Second, while being open to learning from others, I would advise people to share their knowledge and experience about trading cards. To do this, a policy that encourages people to share their own knowledge and experiences as well as to ask questions and seek help from others would need to be developed. Our mission as a trading card website is to build a community of knowledgeable, enthusiastic collectors who can share their love of trading cards and learn from one another. We can build a friendly and cooperative society by encouraging a culture of learning and sharing. A publication website can benefit much from encouraging users to share their knowledge and experience regarding trading cards while also being open to learning from others. The topic of trading cards can be intricate and deep, and readers frequently have a wealth of knowledge and experience to share. You may create a feeling of community and promote participation on the website by inviting readers to offer their knowledge and experience. Furthermore, by being open to learning from others, you can make sure that the information on the website is correct and instructive, which can support the development of credibility and reader confidence. Additionally, providing a forum for readers to contribute their knowledge and gain from that of others can draw in new users who are searching for a place to discuss topics with subject matter experts and pick their brains.

Thirdly, I would create a rule that prohibits users from contributing spam or unrelated material. This might include advertisements or links that have nothing to do with playing cards. We can make sure that the website remains pertinent to and helpful to visitors by maintaining the focus on trading cards. Additionally, it aids in streamlining and organising the user experience, making it simpler for users to locate the information they require. I would make a community page on the website outlining the standards and rules for users in order to put these rules into practice. Users would have easy access to this website, which would be clearly posted and frequently updated to reflect any modifications or additions to the rules. In addition, I would employ moderators to keep an eye on user conduct and guarantee that the rules are being adhered to. This would entail keeping an eye on user posts and comments on a regular basis and interacting with those who might be breaking the rules.

In conclusion, community rules are an important component of any trading card website since they aid in fostering a welcoming and inclusive community for users. We can build a community that is informed, encouraging, and enthusiastic about trading cards by setting rules that encourage respect, learning, and relevancy. We can make sure that the website continues to be a helpful resource for collectors and hobbyists by putting these rules into practice and keeping an eye on user behavior’s.

Process Post #11

More transmedia integration, in my opinion, may significantly improve the user experience and increase engagement in an online magazine for trading cards. To do this, I would concentrate on a multi-channel strategy that makes the most of the advantages of each platform to give users a smooth and engaging experience.

An online publication for trading cards can dramatically improve the user experience and increase engagement by integrating additional transmedia elements. A single story or narrative is told through a variety of media channels, such as video, social media, and interactive experiences, in a process known as transmedia storytelling. You may give readers a more immersive and interesting experience that keeps them coming back for more by employing a variety of mediums to tell a story. When it comes to trading cards, adding transmedia components like films, interactive games, or social media posts might assist readers get a better grasp of the trading card industry. Transmedia aspects can also aid in creating a sense of community for the magazine by allowing readers to communicate with one another across various media. In general, I think that adding more transmedia integration to an online trading card magazine can significantly improve the user experience and boost engagement, helping to establish a devoted audience and expand the publication.

To start, I’d concentrate on using social media sites like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to advertise the book and display the trading cards. Social networking is a great way to spread the word about new releases, engage with potential readers and collectors, and share graphic content. Instagram and other social media sites, in my opinion, can be quite efficient in promoting a website that publishes trading cards. Social media is the perfect instrument for advertising the publications on your website since it offers a strong platform for sharing content and interacting with a wide audience. You may stimulate the curiosity of potential readers and increase traffic to your website by posting excerpts and teasers of your material on Instagram. Additionally, social media gives you the chance to interact with your audience and get feedback, both of which may be helpful for enhancing your publication’s quality and content. In general, I think that Instagram and social media can be really helpful in spreading awareness of and promoting a website for trading card publications, allowing you to expand your following.

Second, I might think about producing interactive content in the future, like games or puzzles that readers can access via a mobile app or the publication’s website. This would provide a new level of user interaction and provide a reason for users to visit the website and engage with the business. A trading card publication website can be effectively promoted and used to interest readers by adding interactive elements like games and riddles. You may give readers something special and worthwhile by providing an interactive experience, which increases the likelihood that they will visit your website again. By combining trading card themes and aspects into the interactive experience, games and puzzles may also be a powerful tool for promoting your content and business. Additionally, as readers are likely to tell others about the experience, interactive experiences can promote social sharing and word-of-mouth advertising. Overall, I think that adding interactive elements to a website for a trading card magazine can be a good approach to boost traffic and advertise the site while also giving readers a good time.

Overall, a multi-channel strategy that makes use of social media, interactive content, virtual and augmented reality, and collaborations can assist to develop a distinctive and engaging transmedia experience for consumers and ultimately spur growth and engagement for the online trading card publication.

Process Post #8

Copyright vs Creative Commons - what's the difference and why does it  matter?

In this weeks process post, I have the opportunity to explore more about the importance of copyright, Creative Commons, and free music or content for creators and consumers alike. In this essay, I will explain in detail why these concepts are vital for the protection and promotion of creativity and innovation.

Copyright is an essential legal concept that protects the original works of authors, artists, and creators. It ensures that they have exclusive rights to their creations and that others cannot use or reproduce them without permission. This protection encourages innovation and creativity by providing a financial incentive for creators to invest time, effort, and resources into their work. Copyright also ensures that creators receive recognition and compensation for their work, which is crucial for sustaining their livelihoods and careers.

However, copyright can also be restrictive, limiting the availability and accessibility of creative works to the public. This is where Creative Commons comes in. Creative Commons is a licensing system that allows creators to share their work with others while retaining some rights. By using Creative Commons licenses, creators can specify how their work can be used, such as allowing others to use, modify, and share their work, or only allowing non-commercial use. This system encourages collaboration and sharing, fostering a culture of creativity and innovation that benefits everyone.

Moreover, free music or content provides a valuable resource for creators, educators, and consumers. Free music or content is often released under Creative Commons licenses or made available in the public domain. This means that anyone can use, modify, and share the work without restriction, promoting collaboration and creativity. Free music or content also provides an accessible and affordable resource for education and research, allowing people to learn and discover without financial barriers.

In addition, free music or content is an important tool for social justice and equity. It allows creators from marginalized communities to share their work and stories with a wider audience, giving them a voice and a platform. Free music or content also enables communities to preserve and share their cultural heritage, preventing it from being lost or appropriated by others.

In conclusion, copyright, Creative Commons, and free music or content are essential for promoting creativity, innovation, and equity. Copyright protects the rights of creators and encourages them to invest time and resources into their work. Creative Commons allows creators to share their work while retaining some rights, fostering collaboration and innovation. Free music or content provides an accessible and affordable resource for education and research, promotes social justice and equity, and allows communities to preserve and share their cultural heritage. Together, these concepts create a thriving ecosystem of creativity and innovation that benefits everyone.

References:

Younging, Gregory. (2015). “Traditional Knowledge Exists; Intellectual Property is Invented or Created

Younging, Gregory. 2018. “The Elements of Indigenous Style” pp 1-7

WEEK 8

I haven’t changed much about my website since last week, which could be a good thing in that I’ve finally found a style that I like. I just figured out how many assignments we need to have done by the end of the semester and realized I am very behind so I’m going to have to do some catching up. I think I’m going to try some different forms of content posts for the future because I’ve only really done writing up until now and it’s getting a little boring. The reading this week is all about AI which is something I’m incredibly interested in. The first reading talks about DALL-E and explains how to use it. I think that I’m going to try and do a content post using DALL-E, potentially create a story using it similar to the mini assignment #3 or just post a series of really unique and cool images it creates and include the prompts I put. I think that DALL-E has some really cool use cases for artists who could take an image generated by it and create something out of that or just simply use it as inspiration to create something from scratch. The other really popular form of AI used by the public is ChatGPT which I’ve been using a lot recently. I don’t use it to write things for assignments or anything but I do use it to reword sentences if they seem off to me and also to summarize websites to see if it’s what I was looking for. I wasn’t able to access “The elements of indigenous style” or “Traditional Knowledge Exists; Intellectual Property is Invented or Created” readings for some reason so I can’t really speak on those.

ReferencesAntonelli, W. (2022, July 14). How to use dall·e mini, the viral AI tool that can turn any prompt into a series of pictures. Business Insider. Retrieved March 17, 2023, from https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/tech/dall-e-mini

Online Comments – Process post #12

Since the beginning of the Internet way back in the late 1990s and very early 2000s, making online comments on blogs and chatrooms have been around within the Internet. Websites like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were just starting to get popular, and more and more people started to buy devices that can connect to the internet. People started to realize that anyone can create an account and post what they would want to because they can put false information on their account. These are known as fake accounts, and whoever uses these accounts can get away from the consequences from the general public.

Since there is a sense of anonymity for these fake accounts when they post comments, the comments they post can get pretty cruel and concerning. An article called “The Psychology of Online Comments” by Maria Konnikova states that, “forty [percent] of people in the eighteen-to-twenty-nine-year-old demographic have posted anonymously.” (Konnikova, 2013). Hate comments can stem from many reasons, from a user not liking the other, to rumors’ being spread that make the public generate hate towards the user. Although it may not be nice to receive these comments, it is always a good idea to ignore them since it is just the internet; and if it gets out of control seeking support may be needed.

References:

Konnikova, M. (2013, October 23). The psychology of online comments. The New Yorker. Retrieved April 4, 2023, from https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/the-psychology-of-online-comments

Publics and counter-publics – process post #11

n the article called “Where I can be myself … where I can speak my mind”: Networked counter-publics in a polymedia environment” by Bryce J Renninger. It goes on about how the public can be formed by social media. Publics are a group of people who are interested in a specific topic or idea, and on social networking sites (SNSs) publics and counter-publics could be formed very easily. The article goes on about how the public has been forming on SNSs, and one example of a public is the Asexual community. The Asexual community has been online for a while, and “…it was not until then that an asexual identity, named as such, came to be defined and codified.” (Renninger, 2014). The internet is a great place to grow, expand, and jumpstart ideas and communities since it can be accessed from most devices in the modern world.
Since the internet, there have been many social sites and chatting sites, one site that has grown greatly is a site called “Discord”. “Discord is a voice, video, and text chat app that’s used by tens of millions of people ages 13+ to talk and hang out with their communities and friends.” (Citron, 2015). Discord is a chatting platform, much like WhatsApp and telegram. Though notice how it is marketed towards a younger audience, which means the trends and topics which will be more popular will be different from other popular platforms. In the “discover” tab where people can join public open server chatrooms, Gaming servers such as Minecraft, and Roblox is one of the most joined. Offline vs online communities have very different properties, online is more accessible and anonymous, while in-person can be more engaging. Though everyone has their own opinion of which is a more effective one for engagement or accessibility

References:

Renninger, B. J. (2014). “where I can be myself … where I can speak my mind” : Networked counterpublics in a polymedia environment. New Media & Society, 17(9), 1513–1529. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444814530095

Citron, J. (2015). What is discord: A guide for parents and educators. What is Discord | A Guide for Parents and Educators. Retrieved March 29, 2023, from https://discord.com/safety/360044149331-what-is-discord