The Assignment. It's sad. I'm sorry.

4. What are the uses/ limitations of the internet in terms of politics and/or democracy? Should we rethink the nature of the political?

Since its conception in the 1990’s, the internet has been a helpful tool for connecting people and more recently, for global governance. The most prominent use of the internet in politics is through the introduction of ‘e-democracy’. E-democracy is a relatively new form of networking which enables a government to function, communicate and operate under the advisement of a larger amount of the population. http://www.publicus.net/articles/edemresources.html

This encourages the ‘democracy’ of the concept and has been praised for its improvement in the area of equality in voicing opinions on government operations, thus reinforcing the values democracy upholds. This form of democratic co-operation on a worldwide basis has the ability to span the globe and create what some may call a utopian ideal; a bridging of physical and political divides worldwide. Despite this, e-democracy needs to incorporate both the ‘e’ (that is, ‘electronic’) part of the concept, by participating in the constantly developing new communications, as well as understanding the ‘democracy’ side of the concept.

Despite the capabilities of the internet, this idyllic concept of a global community connected by the internet, faces similar limitations in a political sense as the politics ‘in real life’ do. For example the ability to have “free speech“is not, a globally recognised right, let alone Australia who has never had this right formally recognised. With this in mind, Australia has had the enforcement of censorship threatened upon the ‘free source” that the internet represents. Without the ability to make a political or personal impact on certain sites (and the question is of course asked, who will control just what is ‘censored’ out when Big Brother is watching) the ‘democratic’ aspect of e-democracy sites are called into question, as well as any information which may aid in understanding an issue better.

Similarly, the French philosopher Albert Camus purports “A free press can, of course, be good or bad, but, most certainly without freedom, the press will be anything but bad.” This is of course a major concern in the plane of e-democracy as, if censored, the government could control any outlet which complained about the way it was run, changing the entire concept into some malformed ‘e-totalitarianism’. Of course some censorship would be welcomed, as, as Stephen Stockwell stated in his lecture, “nobody wants to be forced to have pop ups of pornography with children in it”, but if partial censorship is allowed than surely further misuse of this power is possible. This can be seen prominently in Japan, a country whose input on the internet is already under intense surveillance, are currently considering censorship laws, to be put in place by 2010 (http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/jan/03/censorship.japan).

This decision may lead to the exposure of one the many limitations e-democracy has: its inability to serve everyone. People who do not wish to be confronted by explicit imagery may not wish to use the internet, and if regulated, some people’s opinions could be unnecessarily withheld, thus not giving citizens an equal right to speak. Along with dilemma is the citizen’s ability to participate via their access to the internet. People without any access to a computer or internet source would also be incapable of participating in the political events, only available via the internet. This seems detrimental to the democratic ideal, though political participation has the potential to increase due to the incorporation of the internet into politics, as the youth of today have more of a synergy with the internet. As the internet is also a source of information it is more likely this generation will be more informed, thus generating a higher interest in the political.

E-Democracy also has the benefit of expedient access to information worldwide, such as USA.gov which shows the any new and upcoming regulations and changes in the United States government, and one of Australia’s own, Australian e-Democracy. These sites demonstrate a fast, efficient and informative mode of governance, not capable of reaching so many people, in so little time, by any other means. With this information, citizens could comment further, both on the news and regulations of the government, and on the method with which they are commenting. This promotes change, and with it progress.

The internet has, in a dramatic way, created progress and change in society, and similarly e-democracy has the power to do just this. Despite the evidence that e-democracy, like any form of governance, has its flaws; it has placed politics at the forefront of the rising popularity that the internet has recently portrayed. It has reinforced and found new ways of getting, if not all, then as many people possible, participating in the governing of their country as any other form of government. It has the ability to, if it’s not too megalomaniacal, ‘take over the world’. ‘Take over the world,’ was not, of course, meant in a totalitarian sense, such as that mentioned before, but hopefully as the unified utopia that many people could have imagined during the early stages of the internet. E-Democracy, like any government has with it large amounts of responsibility and opposition, but is undeniably a new and more effective form of politics for a society so deeply immersed in the internet.

Bibliography

The National Forum 2007, ‘Australian e Democracy’, available from http://democracy.nationalforum.com.au/ viewed 23/10/2009

The White House 2009, ‘USA.gov: The U.S. Government’s Official Web Portal’, available from http://www.usa.gov/ viewed 23/10/2009

Fitzpatrick M., 2008, ‘...while Japanese face web censorship’ [online], U.K., Guardian News and Media Limited, available from http://www.guardian.co.uk, viewed 23/10/2009

Clift, S., 2006, ‘E-Democracy Resource Links from Steven Clift-E-Government, E-Politics, E-Voting Links and more’, available from http://www.publicus.net/articles/edemresources.html, viewed 23/10/2009

"Sign PETA's Stop the Cruelty! Petition!

Help Captive Animals

Animals used in circuses as well as acts and exhibitions such as the Las Vegas stage act Siegfried & Roy, are supposed to be protected by the minimal standards of the Animal Welfare Act. Unfortunately, it is rarely enforced.

That's why the animals need you to sign your name to PETA's Stop the Cruelty! Petition below, which PETA will present to U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Ann M. Veneman to urge her use the authority of her office to enforce the Animal Welfare Act-and better ensure both captive animals' and the public's safety.

Thank You for Signing the "Stop the Cruelty!" Petition."

I signed an e-petition to help captive animals today. The circus has never been the same since I saw them throw that dog around at the Gold Coast Show :F The bastards.
Also, I'm meant to figure out what Barack Obama is up to of late? Well, I don't know about today, but yesterday he was hosting reforms with doctors across 50 states, apparently.

Also..the other stuff looks too political for me. I'll be back when I have my thinking cap on. Cheers.

So this is a picture I did a while back. DeviantArt makes uploading fairly easy.....but yeah. I don't know if you classify it as art but that frame took a damned long time. I enjoy drawing in red and black kilometric pen P: fun times....I could put my Richey portrait up but it's damned hard to photograph....you'd need to come to my room, which I would rather you didn't actually do...the rest of the task shall appear later.

Here are six sites that I have visited from the NCT blog. They were all really interesting, they're becoming part of my toolbar on Firefox when I get home....
http://www.archive.org/details/mcguffeyseclecti00mcgu

Haha...odd...I need this book. It must make my library..

http://mashable.com/

I'm glad that this WordPress spell thing has been introduced. No one likes people that 'tYp LyK dIsS' though this doesn't exactly help people's spelling, I'm sure....I mean, then they'll just get the computer to spell for them, right? Eh. I need grammar lessons, so, like I can talk...

My friend has things like these on her personal blog. I always wondered what they were about. She makes her own though. And they have nicer sort of Victorian styles....fashion scares me....

And the site: http://www.polyvore.com/

This one was classic.....I thought I ended up answering the Chinese horoscope question wrong and was far too worried about the altered outcome.... http://www.douchebagnamegenerator.com/
That site was a link from the Generator blog: http://generatorblog.blogspot.com/

Also, thank you to Mashable: The Social Media Guide and their 17 Google Maps Mash-ups to Waste Away Your Day for their link to a map of Nirvana's gig guides throughout their brief life.. http://www.aworldofnirvana.com/

Also from the Mashable Google Maps blog, by gods this would be awesome if they had this for other English shows....Well I'm sure it would be mostly restricted to a few places in England.. Spaced, for instance, would be mostly confined to the one house, but nevertheless...... the Doctor Who Mash-up: http://www.doctorwholocations.org.uk/

These were hilarious for answering those troubling deep philosopicals :] and were found on the turbulence site from the nct blog.
ciao! gunna go waste time with the time wasters elsewhere ...

Using Maps, Sketches and Internet Personas

Apparently this is my persona as defined by the internet.^ Don't worry, I don't understand it either....
And here's me fooling about on google maps:
It's some place I want to go...

And some place I've already been. May a time....(Translation: Don't come here.. Stab City.)
Also.......this extremely bad sketch thing. Enjoy....

Lectures...

Week 1
Today Jack Nicholas rambled about 'Old' and 'New' technologies. He seemed to have a sense of humour. That's always promising :] some of the elderly technologies included:
*Oral communication
*Graphic communication
*Written (letters,newspapers, etc.)
*Radio
*Telephone (landline)
*Television (Advertisement-This was said to be very unlikely to die out in the face of the internet due to the consistant capabilities advertising by this medium.)

Some 'New' technologies were
*computers
*mobile phones(SMS, MMS. Phone's are currently capable of performing all of the same functions as a computer)
*internet-email (this is slowly dying in the face of IM and other forms of communication)
-message boards/discussion lists.
*IM (Apparently this is 'ruining' communication due to the manner in which the participants continually abbreviate, making spelling and grammar a continual battle.)
*Twitter
*Blogging
*Social Networking (Facebook, Myspace, etc.)

'Convergence' was mentioned after this, especially in regard to 'Smart Phones' which have the ability to access the internet and are becoming more popular.

Week 2

This week the History of the Internet was discussed which was refreshing as I'd only heard Stephen Fry mention it in passing..
From Babbage, to Turing (didn't he sound lovely? I want to meet him :/ German, massive nerd, gay, what's not to love?), to IBM AND Moore's Law (that is, that the power of a computer improves every 18 months. Wait, really? Because mine enver seem to last that long..Is it like a fine wine?), to XEROX PARC and it's invention of the mouse, to Apple and Steve Wozniac, to Bill Gates and his anti-software share epiphany, to Gary Kimbel (a massive hippie...Sweet...For some reason it makes me crave Ben and Jerry. Not the hippies, more their brilliant creamy inventions..) to the emergence of the Microsoft industry, to IBM and Apple, to Windows and 'The Great Battle of IBM and Apple' (You know their going to make a movie. Non-stop action. Ya-ya's aplenty), to the web and internet, to cyberspace, 'The Internet' has evolved an amazing amount since it's invention from it's humble 'calculator on crack, Difference Engine beginnings.

Week 3

Today was basically like the usual film lesson. It got a bit old hearing all the old stuff again and I could see people shifting uncomfortably so perhaps I wasn't the only one wishing they'd stayed in bed rather than re-learning year 11 film basics. The 180 degree rule was helpful though, the image I usually work from wasn't nearly as clear as the one that was used, so that was helpful. And the Rule of Thirds makes a whole lot more sense too. I mean....I do art and things so I kind of had that engrained in me somewhere somehow but that made it very clear. The Head Room bit made me laugh though P: Good times, good times...

Week 4

Today's lecture was from the Big Screen to the Small Screen. The history of film and the emergence of television was a long and arduous journey but important and educational, one would hope. The birth of cinema was in 1895, followed closely by the first feature length narrative film, an AUSTRALIAN 60-70 minute long Ned Kelly pic. That's pretty impressive. Next Europe and the US caught up in 1911 and started trying to cash in. In 1927 was the first 'Talkie', "The Jazz Singer", followed two years later by the first all colour film, "On with the Show". This was one that hadn't just had the colours sort of dubbed in later, which never looks right, am I right? 1933 spurned the first drive-in theatre and 1937 was the first full length, singing, animated, colour, Blockbuster film, "Snow White". In 1939 TV's were finally introed in New York track fairs. Not many people could buy them and they didn't do much at that point though..1952 saw the first 3D film because no one was watching movies anymore due to the whole 'War' issue. Which is no excuse really. If I was going to die in a war I'd do it sitting in a movie theatre. 1955 was when movies were finally released on TV because it made more money for the moviemakers. A year later the AAPEX VCR-VTR was made but was extremely expensive so not many people got into them. 1959 was the birth (and death? why don't we have this?? It sounds insane, but at the same time, what an awesome freaking idea!) of 'PERCEPTO' Vision, for the movie 'The Tingler' where the audience is given a small electric shock just to freak you out. With it came 'smello-vision' or the 'Aromarama' (which sounds just as good, if not better.) in which 50 scents could be used to make any scent and were released in the cinema at appropriate moments.
In 1963 AAPEX released the consumer version of the VCR for roughly $30,000, and Multiplex theatres were introduced. In 1967-9 the Portapak 'camera' was released by Sony-the first VTR.
In 1970 smaller screens and TV's were finally being accepted and IMAX was making it's debut. 1972 introed pay TV to the masses and 13 years later the first Blockbuster video shop opened. 1986 was the first entirely CGI animated short film, "Junior" by Pixar and 9 years later saw the first feature length Pixar CGI animated film, "Toy Story". In 1997 the first DVD was released to the public after the 'Laser Disc'.

After this short history we watched some short films and parodies. Troops was especially good, a mixture of Star Wars and Cops, which is just...classic. The other one was something like, "The Driver", a series of BMW sponsored short films detailing the exploits of one Clive Owen under the guidance of some of the more well-known directors of this generation...

Damn, damn, double damn and an extra pint of damn for the weekend...

Sorry. This is someone else's example of convergent technology



And the terrors of Glasgow hahaha...I'd still go damn it..



Also, the 'Cine-Speak' section explaining Who, What, Where, When, Why and How is below:
Who:
A close-up helps establish a character as it allows the viewer to see emotion and characteristics in detail
What:
By allowing more room for movement, a mid-shot helps establish what a character is doing
Where:
A long-shot helps the audience understand the setting of the film and also, occasionally, how the character fits into the setting.
When:
The Wide Shot and Close Up can be used to establish the time or passage of time but any shot can be used, depending on the context and chosen method of depicting the passage of time.
Why:
The Extreme Close Up is usually used to express the motivation of a characters action's and further inform the viewer of the eccentricities of a character (this isn't really an ECU but I tried damn it).
How:
A medium close up or series of close ups helps establish how an event is played out.

A rushed attempt at assessment. You know you love it when I tell the truth. It's sexy. *shudder* nothing is sexy. Except sex occasionally, I presume.

So no one told me we had to do these things. But I *WAS* away for a day when I was busy getting diagnosed with Glandular Fever (it's not Swine Flu, damn it! Calm yourself!) so....That doesnt really explain this, but, yes...It's confusing this whole 'being-socially-amiable/doing-this-for-the-marks(damn!)' kind of thought battling for position (my palaver suggests anti-sobriety ( P:) surely? No? Good. Nevermind.) (I've just listened to 'Raindrops' by Basement Jaxx thrice :S. Bring back Summertime Clothes, that was fun.) Anyway. Back to the task. (I mentioned technological ineptititude at some point, surely? Check the NCT blog you say? BLASPHEMY. I have no idea what convergent techonology is. Apparently I missed that? Nevermind. The embedding of two youtube videos. An attempt shall follow :O :O
(Prays for it to work. By god please work :F)
Also. Old school British comedy. Not Steptoe and Son old but older than you (sorry, 'me'. The assumptions I make...*shakes head derisively*) Rik Mayall and Ade Edmundson...and of course Nigel....ummmm (Was in that Discworld movie..and that Stephen Fry movie.....Dammit, Jess...) Planer! (closes IMDb surreptitiously)


Is there more?? By gods. I guess I'll post again soon...

"All i do is sit at the typewriter and start hitting the keys, Getting them in the right order - Thats the trick. "

So I was about....three quarters of the way through the scavenger hunt after a two hour period at uni today when I had a sudden hypoglyceamic thingy (that Diabetics get. Take note damn it :] ) that caused me to cancel out of the whole ordeal. Looking back I have NO idea what I did or how I did it. So here I am, trying yet again to fulfill the weekly task. At least I have learnt how to sign in this time. And I have a large amount of wine. This makes every ordeal far more entertaining (take it from the alcoholic.This will appear hilarious to me now.In retrospect I shall be kicking myself..Hence why they created the 'Edit blog' selection, I presume. :] )
Anyhoo, to the hunt. This involves no use of Google or the WICKED wikipedia :O :O :O (c'mon it's a useful yet unreliable resource. I'm not foolish enough to reference it, yet the lecturers will proceed with their damning of the site.)

1. What is the weight of the world's biggest pumpkin? How long did it take to grow?

Apparently the lucky guy is one Joe Jutras from North Scituate, Rhode Island who grew a pumpkin weighing 1689 pounds. Steroids much? Ah well, the steroid pumping folk of Rhode Island seem amiable enough.

Look at the amiable fellow :] he looks like he should be on The Castle :] Also, no mention of how long it took. It looks like he hand-crafted it out of paper-mache, don't expect too much P:

2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Lilly Allen?

Most reliable way of contacting 'Lilly' Allen? I thought this was some kind of terrible trick but then I realised that she is actually better known as 'Lilly' Allen on many sites. If we're talking the singer, this might suffice, if you were to contact her agent and/or manager...Another way could be just....taking the easy way out...

3. What is the length of a giraffe's tongue? According to San Diego Zoo's Animal Bytes, a giraffe's tongue varies from 46 to 50 centimetres long. Holy hell. They could do Gene Simmons justice..

4. How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean ? What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?

How would *I* define the word glycomics? 'The name of a building on campus?'....'something to do with blood sugars?' ....Griffith has informed me that it is something like how sugar functions in the body. So blood sugars was a good guess, yeah? I win P:

A 'seagull manager? One of those bossy administrators who flies about cawing, pecking passers-by and stealing their chips? The definition made by one Gareth Branwyn in Wired 4.09's Jargon Watch column is: 'A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, poops all over everything, then leaves"....well that seemed self-explanatory but it is fun to imagine...

5. What was David Cronenberg's first feature film? Which of his films Had 'Blondie' in it?

Gosh. Ok. I'm gunna go out on a limb (I love IMDb :] ) and say Transfer in 1966 was his first film, his first feature being Stereo in 1969. Yee... And Blondie wasn't that big til like late 70's early 80's was she? ..... I don't know I wasn't alive then dammit.... Ah. Deborah Harry, you wench, you. Answer: Videodrome.

6. When was the original 'Hacker's Manifesto' written?

According to this site, it was January 8, 1986

7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?

Because they're fake? Because that's their number code thing? Oh right, this is a RESEARCH task not a 'foolishly state what you think the answer might be' task..Ok, according to 'Ask Yahoo!' the reason it was used was because it was reserved especially for movies so that fans that foolishly believes the phone number they were hearing would bring them into contact with the fantastical beings on screen, wouldn't interrupt everyday businessmen with their sycophantical palaver. Or something like that.

8. What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Sydney?

Walking? Wouldn't want to use that exiguous resource, oxygen, now would we? Actually, join some kind of charity thing, you'll probably gain money.....

9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1965?

"Help/ I'm Down", The Beatles.. Don't ask how I know. Please don't ask.

10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?

BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. *sigh* good. Thank you for that. Good stuff, good stuff, he's had quite a life...The famous Stockwell and the Black Assassins...

So the weeks task is 'finding an explanation' of the abbreviations: 'ECU', 'WS' AND 'MS'. Seemed simple enough, I figured this would definitely have something to do with computers, yeah, so, having Googled ECU, I find 'Electrical Control Unit' and think....Yes, I'm on the right track. Then I recall the heavily hinted film references from earlier and realise I'm probably far from where I'm meant to be. I then Googled 'abbreviation ECU WS MS' and was ashamed to realise that these are, of course, references to camera shots. Having done film for the last two years of highschool.....I admit for the fifth time today that I am an ignoramus. It has to be said. So the Electrical Control Unit I was so pleased about is actually an Extreme Close Up (http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/extreme-closeup.html,12/06/09), and the WS and MS (which I was sure had something to do with computers. They do, I'm sure, also have correlating abbreviations in computers. I am currently doubting yet again if this is the right tangent on which to go on. It is after all a computing course (or at least it uses computers a heck of a lot). I've already been wrong a definite....four times today(watch as I inexplicably subtract a mistake. Denial is the only word for it) ...anyway, back to the shot sizing) are in fact Wide Shot (http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/wide-shot.html,12/06/09) and Medium Shot (or Mid Shot) (http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/mid-shot.html,12/06/09).

Referencing this new-found information is terribly hard though as I've no idea how to do that. I would need to reference. How I hate needing to reference, given that it was long forgotten information that I already kind of knew. Okay, I just hate the bother. Do I need to reference the reference site? (That be a badly designed joke. Badly designed in it's lack of humour. Moving on.) Oh well, it appears I was faster at picking it up than many but thankfully, in relation to my technological ineptitude, I'm lagging behind the rest of the group at my usual rate.... A 'History of Computing and Timeline business is also required.... :/ What's this? My Neverendingly-Helpful-Computer-Person-On-The-Right-With-Much-Information has pointed out the courses website with it's own Historical Timeline. Here it is, for your own viewing pleasure: http://nct09-gc.blogspot.com

Also, images of an Extreme Close Up:

a Wide Shot:













and a Medium Shot:

















of Withnail and I. Because, why the heck not :]

Oh, and, um....there was a necessity for a completely unnecessary video blog :/ Watch as I attempt to not be seen in double incognito. Fun times, fun times...


Christ, I'm repulsive. I exude awkwardness and self-loathing, heh. Apologies. It looked as though the girl behind me was taping me at some point. Why couldn't I have thought of that? Next time, Girl Behind Me, next time *shakes fist*....READ THAT BOOK. Should be a movie soon :]

I.T. Department. Does. Not. Compute.

Yeah, so I've never written a blog before. And I'm not very good at using computers. So this could be fun....I'm going to miss out on seeing Dylan Moran tonight, it's screening at cinema's at 7.30 and I DO NOT HAVE A TICKET. But I've seen him live already, so...*sigh* I guess I'll wait until the DVD comes out to obsess more over the drunken Irishman....but yes. Blogs and such. This is good, I could probably use this in future if I ever finally decide to go professional and start doing illustrations, or a comic book, or whatever the heck it is I'm doing. What's this?? We're doing video blogs?? Oh, no. I fail at life. I hope that this course doesn't mark paragraph structure because I have a tendency to write walls of words that give readers the feeling I am writing on speed or just never stop to think. Which is...true. Not the speed thing, but I do drink a lot of caffeine. The drink Nazi's made me leave my caffeine at the door though :/ I'm sure their actually lovely people. I don't know. I'm thirsty. Okay. Have I written enough? Surely this is enough? If I were reading this I would have skewered my eyes out with salad tongs long ago so......I hope I do well in this course and improve upon my technological ineptitude. Salutations! xx