Post-graduate plans are something that I’ve been thinking about rather frequently since the beginning of the new year. To really see where I’m coming from, I guess I should tell you how I got to where I am now…
Continue reading “Post-grad ideas (and the story of my college career)”
Check it out, kids: ExpressiveConnections.com has finally been announced.
Expressive Connections is a network for creative professionals – aimed at aspiring and accomplished writers and artists who are looking to begin or advance in a career utilizing their talent.
The site is in a sort of alpha-mode right now. We think it’s got a pretty solid start, though – which is why we’re inviting you to take a look around, create an account and let us know what you think – if you’d use it, or what features you’d like to see added, etc. It’s still got some kinks and we’re still working things out here and there. But we’ve got big plans.
The site started out as a class project for my Interactive Media class. If you’ve read my blog at all, then you have probably heard me speak of it vaguely – referring to it as my first real RoR, HTML, and CSS application. You may have also noticed that I keep referring to “us” and “we,” by that I mean myself and AJ Gorczyca – we are the “team.” Well, once again we find ourselves in the same course – this time it’s TC448 – Scripting Web 2.0. And if you read my very last post, then you would know that this class entails Ruby on Rails, MySQL, and Apache, and other things of the “Web 2.0” nature. Pretty f-ing awesome, basically. Well just like the last course we took together, this one has a group project – that is to develop a web site utilizing the ideas and languages learned in class. Since Expressive Connections already fit into these project requirements, we decided to ask the professor, Kurt Demaagd, if we could continue building onto the project rather than start again from scratch. He agreed and so you can expect to see a lot of new features and changes. Here’s what we’re aiming for:
It would just be wrong if a network for creative professionals left out musicians, producers, actors, directors, and everyone in between. So, we’re not going to leave you out.
This is where we stand and these are our plans for the next semester. I think you’ll see some exciting changes along the way. And, hopefully you’ll help us, too – by checking it out, creating a profile, or spreading the word around to others who may be interested.
It’s a work in progress and we want you all to help us in building the most exciting site we can, so any feedback you give would be greatly appreciated.
Jewls
Well, it’s been an entire month since my last post. It’s not that I haven’t had anything to write about – I’ve just been really, really busy. We’re three weeks into the spring semester now and classes are going pretty well. I’m taking:
Two of my classes are relatively related to my field, Scripting Web 2.0 goes over Ruby on Rails, MySQL, and Apache, and is taught by Kurt Demaagd, co-founder of Slashdot and board member on the Perl Foundation. So, needless to say – I’m pretty excited about that one.
The other class potentially beneficial to my future is Interactive Advertising. The class is centered around a group project in which we have to develop a predominantly online advertising plan for a local business. My group is working with John Kodeski of Relish Culinary Boutique. Now, if you visited that link – you’ll see that the site could use some work and this is where our group comes in with a plan (and also where I come in with my web skills – if he likes our plan, maybe I’d be the one to redesign the site, eh?).
The “Is God Dead?” class, is one of my more enjoyable courses. We’re currently discussing the viewpoints of the Dutch philosopher, Spinoza (Pantheism), and the German philosopher, Jacobi, who argued against Spinoza’s views. It’s pretty interesting stuff, if you’re into deep philosophical thoughts of God and the freedom of man, that is.
Next, there’s Personality from a Psychoanalytic Perspective with Bertram Karon. Pretty smart guy, pretty interesting stuff – however, I had him before in Abnormal Psychology and already I’m hearing the same stories . Still, interesting stuff.
And finally, Job Search Strategies. I’ve gotta do what I’ve gotta do.
Additionally, I’m taking introductory yoga classes at Center for Yoga in East Lansing. Those are pretty nice. Good stress relief.
Between all of these classes, I have been working on the site – which will probably be in some sort of alpha mode within in the next few weeks. Once finalized, I’ll of course post it here. I’ve also been working on a portfolio site for myself, once that is up – I’ll post it here, too. And on the weekends, I spend time with Adam. And that’s pretty much life.
Some other random thoughts over the last month:
I’ll stop now.
Take care now, bye-bye then.
Jewls
My apologies for the downtime. Over a long weekend of unsuccessfully attempting to launch my Rails app on Dreamhost, I managed to also break my JewloftheLotus site. Well now that my final (..my one and only final) is over, I had a chance to sit down and fix the problem. So, I’m back!
Coming VERY soon – My First Rails App :)
This is a satirical article posted on BBSpot that had WAY too many of us fooled…
To sum it up:
The MPAA defines a home theater as any home with a television larger than 29” with stereo sound and at least two comfortable chairs, couch, or futon. Anyone with a home theater would need to pay a $50 registration fee with the MPAA or face fines up to $500,000 per movie shown…
The bill would require that any hardware manufactured in the future contain technology that tells the MPAA directly of what is being shown and specific details on the audience. The data would be gathered using various motion sensors and biometric technology…
‘Just because you buy a DVD to watch at home doesn’t give you the right to invite friends over to watch it too. That’s a violation of copyright and denies us the revenue that would be generated from DVD sales to your friends,’ said Glickman.
mcatrage’s digg comment explains why we were so easily fooled:
Sad part is would you really put it past the MPAA to actually try and do this?
…man, I was REALLY pissed off for a second there.
Remember a few days ago, when we saw LAPD officers repeatedly punching an arrested man in the face before cuffing him? Well, that video prompted an FBI investigation.
Here’s a new video, taken by a student’s camera phone, displaying similar police brutality, again, in Los Angelas. The student was asked to leave the library when he could not produce an ID. As the student was headed towards the doors, an officer grabbed his arm (I would assume to “escort” him out) at which point the student began yelling “Get off me!” A second officer approached and it was at this point when the student was tased for the first time… Let’s hope that this video can generate enough attention to prompt another FBI investigation in LA.
In an article on Yahoo! about the first instance, it is said that:
Legal observers said the public has become somewhat desensitized to questionable police tactics caught on tape because such videos have become more prevalent since the King beating. In many cases, officers have been exonerated.
“The first reaction by people is one of outrage,” said Eugene O’Donnell, a professor of police studies at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. “But the more you see police officers using force on tape, the more you get used to it.”
I sincerely hope that people don’t just “get used” to seeing this sort of thing. It should make you sick to your stomach, and if it doesn’t – I would wonder if you’re really human.
Well, we’ve made it to Week 12/16 of the Fall semester here at MSU. And that means, that the fifth and final IDM is due in my Interactive Media I course.
This weeks featured site is Blogs For Learning, an instructional blog for students and teachers that provides, “information and resources about the technical and pedagogical aspects of blogging in the classroom.”
Blogs For Learning is the brainchild of two of my MSU professors: first, Dr. Ethan Watrall, my Interactive Media I instructor, and second, Dr. Nicole Ellison, the instructor of my “Social, Cultural and Psychological Implications of Computer-Mediated Communication,” course.
Just as we thought we’d actually have to tune in live to Comedy Central to see our favorite shows (ie. The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, and Southpark), Comedy Central and YouTube are now in talks to keep the copyrighted videos on the site. A lot of CC clips have been reposted so go celebrate with a healthy dose of political satire.
Cheers,
Jewls
Here’s a few things that I think are worth mentioning but don’t necessarily need their own posts.
First, you know ads are going to reach the News Feed of Facebook users any-day now, when you see flyers all over your campus asking students to join the Crest WhiteStrips Facebook group.
Here’s a link to a picture of the ad: Smile State
I read an interesting article on Web accessibility today. I’ve been running into the topic fairly often recently (as to be expected for web designers of any skill level), and I haven’t really been confident in what the concept really entails. This article helped point me in the right direction, though. One commenter said it best: “Make something accessible and you’re making it easier for everyone, not just ‘disabled’ people.”
The website for Interactive Media I is coming along nicely. Rails is still pretty frustrating for me, but I think I’m picking it up little by little. No designs have been implemented yet, though – it’s becoming critical that we work on that. Adam and I were playing around with the CSS layout yesterday and applied a three column fluid layout with both 100% height and width. It works and it looks good – however it won’t support faux columns and therefore, more than likely, will not work with the type of design that we’re aiming at. So we may have to look at some alternate options.
Well that’s all I’ve got for ya.
Jewls
@jewlofthelotus
