You will no doubt dislike it at times, such as during the analyses. You will also enjoy it at times, such as desgining and creating a magazine and creating a story or ASF of your own. Ezine is a helpful class that will teach you to use some programs effectively. Even if you won’t enjoy the class, you will take a valuable skill from it (designing/writing). In this class you write more than you will in your English class which is really funny odd.

1. Choose a theme you’re interested in
2. Try to compromise in your group
3. Don’t waste so much time in photo editing or creating (Photoshop/Illustrator)
4. Do corrections early
5. Do your feature on someone you can easily contact
6. Do your opinion on something you believe in strongly and can backup easily
7. Have fun

A typeface can help convey messages of how serious you are, or what kind of event or thing you are trying to describe with your typeface. It’s like in the documentary when they were talking about how Helvetica represented a new age, a shift into ‘Modernism’ out of the crappy old, inconsistent typefaces in the past. It’s whether you choose to use a typeface that is created out of certain shapes (icicles=snow, Christmas, ice….) or a grunge typeface or the one with the stupid [] that no one can read. Each one of these different typefaces could convey something different, even when it is the same words.

Two parts of the documentary really cracked me up. The one where they interviewed the guy who was WORSHIPPING Helvetica. It’s like you have been in the desert forever and someone hands a nice, fresh, crisp glass of water that will wash all that sand away. Brilliant. I also enjoyed the other part where the man who designed typefaces had all these different words in the same typeface, yet pointed out ‘sunshine’ didn’t show sunshine at all, just because it was in this boring, overused typeface. He had a really good point there though.

If there were actually many different typefaces that were used it would be interesting to see what would happen. Say each company had its own typeface (ex. Marlboro and its typeface ‘that could be seen one or two miles away’), people might be able to distinguish different companies and be able to recognize them easier. It could contribute to more sales or people would remember the company easier. I don’t know. I didn’t even notice that companies used same typefaces (as I said before), until I saw the part with the different companies’ ads shown one after another. I was like “woah I never saw that before.” So, possibly, unique typefaces for a company could contribute, or it could create another decade where typefaces are just crazy without any limits.

Typefaces can make something seem a lot more silly than it actually should. Such as the retirement papers. “Important Papers Enclosed” was in Comic Sans, which really just killed “Important.”

If a font could actually unite people for such a (somewhat useless) cause, then maybe it could be used for something. Ban Comic Sans is actually starting to work up, and the Combses have spread their stickers around the world. If a simple font could get people to start spending their time to unite others for a cause, why not use it for a much more helpful cause?

It’s all good?

Before I knew the story behind  this picture, I was thinking…. Who could do something so horrible to a little kid? His side is gashed open and bloody. It’s just disgusting. He’s obviously frightened, and I can feel frightened for him. This picture is very graphic, which gives it power.

The photo is of a six year old boy suffering from 10 day old burns from an aerial strike on Baghdad. The boy’s face is in pain, and is screaming. His mother has his head in her lap and seems to be looking around for help. After US soldiers found the boy he was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The photo is capturing how much damage the Iraq War is doing on civilians. Many die, or are seriously injured. It is unfortunate, but it is what has happened due to this war.

Walsh points out many people say “an historic…” which I have never actually noticed, but I have probably heard and just ignored and went on. This leads me to remember when someone said “an a hundred.” I did not point out the incorrect grammar from this, but someone else did and it made me realize how silly that was. It makes me wonder how this actually got integrated into our conversation; as in using incorrect grammer as correct.

1. Walsh argues that you can’t “go to Disney,” because Disney was a man, is a company, and not a place. I on the other hand disagree with this. Here’s how it goes: You make a time machine. You bring Disney back. You walk towards him. You talk to Disney. You can do other stuff. Voila. You have gone to Disney. I still think going to Disneyworld and Disneyland is still cooler anyway. Disney is spelled weird. I just noticed that after typing it so many times. Have you ever had that happen? Words seem to be spelled weird only once you started typing them? It just happened to me. Pretty. Odd.

A very good hypothesis(that could back up this quote) is as goes:

If we reverted back to the origins of human, or at least when they were starting to settle in one spot instead of being nomadic, and were presented with a fourth of what was originally there it would be much more tougher on the people there. Oil. If we started with a fourth of what we found before, gas mileage would probably already have been much higher because scientists would not want to waste it and would have to push themselves to make what they have much more efficient. Land. Building up? Water. Ways to make it renewable?  Of course they are all what if’s but I’m sure that this idea could apply to many other things.

I guess this could influence our magainze in maybe designing them to have as much information as possible (to read) while still maintaining a good look, with pictures there and a pull quote there and a good sized design, insteading picture spamming.

Now that there has been development, comes the development of the development. Quite unforunate for later generations I must say though. 100 years ago, students would not have to have so much to think about as we do today. It seems as if every year the next bunch of students are just a bit smarter than the past. Expectations are higher, work is harder, and it is just difficult.

Since each year the next incoming group of students gets smarter, what will that eventually lead to? Perharps an infinite continuation of knowledge (LOL)? Or maybe we finally stop learning? And what about a few handful that just can’t keep up with the rest?

I guess that’s what happens. Natural Selection of Brains? Maybe you could disagree. I don’t even believe this really. But it’s a nice brain jogger and plus I need something for the blog.

Man that would not survive in today's world; unable to pass 'smartness' onto children

Capturing How I Feel About The Upcoming Feature Story

I am not very nervous of my interview that is going to be tomorrow (the 8th), but I am nervous that my feature story is just going to be horrible.  I don’t know if I’ll be able to write so much and craft this awesome, amazing, and touching piece of work. Plus that stupid feature analyses project is an annoying addition >.<. Oh well… I’ll see how it goes.

Picture Citation: http://www.flickr.com/photos/hellomokona/944553080/sizes/m/in/set-72157601084806310/

My idea is to interview one of my uncles, aunts, or my parents, about their experience in Vietnam as a child, and comparing it to American children. Another possible idea could be to interview them about their experience as a refugee from the Communists and trying to escape, and reaching America and how different it was and how they adjusted.

I am not sure how I am going to plan this out, but it would be in chronological order I guess, or put it in the most interesting way possible. I will mostly formulate my feature after I do the interview and I’m actually certain of what I’m going to write about.

Working on the computer for a whole 1.5 hours can be tiring, especially if you are only doing work (and not doing something fun), but what must be done, must be done. I don’t think I will get distracted very much on the computer anyway, but I am concerned about my group member, Xavier, photoshopping alot (^.^). Keeping myself busy is the only way I will keep myself from getting distracted, and to keep myself busy I have to be motivated, and to be motivated, our group will have to work together and I must be interested what I’m working on.

I want to get good grades in this class, as any other typical Asian, but I also want to have our group at good relations at the end of this semester and it wasn’t a “I have to work just because I’m getting a grade” mindset. Hopefully I’ll also be able to competently use Photoshop by the end of the semester. My goal that I really want to achieve is make a magazine that I’m proud of, and at least I hope I can do that.

I really don’t think an audience is important for me because this is just something I’m writing about myself and I’m not really vying for comments and views. It would still be nice if I had a lot though wouldn’t it?