Advisory: This Ain't Disney! Part 2

When I think of animation I think happy thoughts and stories that appeal to young children. As we see today, there are more and more cartoons shown on television that are meant specifically for an adult audience. These cartoons deal with more grown up situations such as sex and murder while normal animations tend to deal with smaller everyday child things.

The Blood Tea and Red String trailer was depicting a tale of horror. Usually a horror film would leave me feeling sort of scared or uneasy but for some reason this lacked that type of effect. I think it's because its animation. I don't think I can relate to it as strongly as if it was real people. It was definitely different from any other animation I have seen before because I have never seen an animation film in the horror genre. That's what kind of makes it unique even though I don't really like it and it's not something i would want to take time out of my day to go see. As far as animation this film looks spectacular but in terms of being scary...it more came across as being weird to me.

I won't be so quick to judge a scary horror movie and I would be prepared to give it another shot but I don't think it can really work well in a stop motion kind of way. Yes it does have that artistic look to it but if you really want to get your point across I would say that computer animating a horror film is the way to go. I guess you could say that Blood Tea and Red String just wasn't my cup of tea.

Technology+Art=?

I think that using biotechnology as art is kind of cool and definitely different but also unethical at the same time. It could be cool because maybe people can bring back animals that are extinct or on the verge of extinction back to life with technology along the same lines. These people create real pieces of meat by removing cells from living animals and then growing them in a lab. Sure with this way of doing things we wouldn't have to unjustly kill animals for the purpose of food and clothing but this is a form of cloning. By doing this I think that we as humans are trying to play the role of God. Not only that but the reason for cloning these animals is not to better mankind but for simply art. Sure these animals were put on this earth for a reason and if that reason was to be killed in order to feed humans to keep us alive then we should only be killing them for that sole purpose and not for art. If this is the case why not use this biotechnology to feed starving people in Africa and other third world countries? Why not do something meaningful with this kind of technology then to just please your eyes with some art?

These kind of things also make me scared because who is to say that this art form is going to stop at just reproducing animals... If an animal cell can be taken and reproduced then why not a human? With time and effort I am sure that this can one day be a reality. That would have to be the most unethical thing of unethical things in my books. That right there is truly trying to play God once you start trying to reproduce humans other than the way God wanted us to which is through sex.

I only believe that this kind of art is unethical when it is applied to humans and animals. If they were to use this kind of biotechnology on plants then I would not be as offended. I would love to have a million more plants produced through this process because that's not only allowing you to create the art that you want to create but also somewhat contributing to the planet.

Media Mashup

Hybridity is a part of my everyday life now. Everywhere you turn now there's is something being offered in a "2 in 1" package. Do you remember the days when a cellular phone was actually made just for that purpose...to make calls? Now not only are they phones that you can receive and make calls from but they are mp3 players, video cameras, still cameras, and the list goes on. Instead of carrying all of these different things at once you can now have them all wrapped up into one device. The only thing is that because you have access to all of these fine things in one hand held device, they tend to be quite pricey. Not only do knapsacks carry books but they also can double as stereos as well. Built in speakers and a remote control give a whole new edge to walking home from school.

Hybridity also gives a whole new aspect on saving the planet. Some major automobile factoring companies began to design and offer lines of hybrid vehicles that run half on gasoline and half on electricity. This would help to cut the greenhouse gas emissions that we omit to the ozone layer during our everyday commutes to work, school, and leisure. The Toronto Transit Commission now put a slew of hybrid buses on the streets in an attempt to also contribute to the goal of lowering greenhouse gas emissions to stop global warming. This applies to my everyday life because I take the bus to school most days and I care about the well being of our planet so anything little thing that helps I support. Unfortunately hybrid vehicles are offered at a higher price then normal vehicles but if they weren't then I would definitely by one of those too.

Hybridity is all around us and we will continue to see it because people in the world are obsessed with making things more convenient therefore there will be plenty of "mash-ups" of things we use daily.

Advisory: This Ain't Disney!

Some people like the old school hand animation while others more take to the newer computer animation. I like both of them for various different reasons. The old school Disney movies such as Bambi, Aladdin, and Snow White & The 7 Dwarfs are examples of hand animation. These movies are classics to me and have that old hand animation look which I've known and loved for many years. That is the kind of animation that I grew up on so that kind of look is appealing to me. Hand animation is a long process which makes it that much more appealing and worth watching knowing the amount of effort it took to get this point.

In time not only do people grow but technology evolves as well. From traditional hand animation evolved computer animation. Movies such as Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, and Shrek are all prime examples of computer animation. In contrast to traditional hand animation these films look more real and 3D. They almost seem to pop off the screen. This next generation of kids is being born into this type of animation and its all they know. When they grow up and get introduced to the old Disney classics that were done by hand animation they will probably think that its animation at its most basic and probably wont even be interested.

You can see a clear difference in between the two when you watch a film done by hand animation and a film done by computer animation. As for me...I was born into an era where hand animation was the only way but now I live in an era where computer animation is a possibility and I can appreciate the both. I would have to say I enjoy watching the films done by computer animation a little bit more then the ones done by hand. I guess people grow with the times.

Are Wii the Children of the Revolution?

If you look at the carry home game consoles in the past couple of years you would see that you have limited graphics, interactivity, and even the distance you could go without your controller being pulled out of the game. Evolution is a beautiful thing. From ape to man, cartridge to cd, wired to wireless...it's just a part of life. Newer is better but it also does create new problems. With the Nintendo Wii you get reasonable graphics, reasonable size, and wireless controllers with motion sensors. Now if that doesn't sound appealing then I don't know what does. This creates a huge market because they can say yea sure it's a video game but on all the other gaming consoles you're sitting down exercising your fingers more then anything while deteriurating your eyes for a quick fix of entertainment. With us, men, women, and children of all ages can and will want to get involved in this gaming experience. Why sit down when you can jump up and get into the game litterally? There's is a lot of hype surrounding the Nintendo Wii but for the video gaming industry it was pretty revolutionary. Making different colours of the console available doesnt hurt either. If you are looking to have a good time with the whole family and have a little workout while doing it, then Nintendo Wii is the way to go!

Eternal Sunset

Eternal Sunset is a website where you can "enjoy the sunset live from any location at anytime". On Eternal Sunset different web cams across the world tune in continuously so no matter where the sun is setting in the world you can watch it live. This is being made possible through 250 west-facing web cams across 46 countries. That's pretty amazing to organize something so intricate. There is even a countdown to each next available sunrise. Eternal Sunset has to use the web beacuse it's the main source of it's functioning. The whole operation is based on using web cams to convey the sun setting in different parts of the world. The world wide web & internet are necessities to this project. Elements that are unique to this art is the fact that it is interactive and uses new technology to display it. I really liked this art form because it was really different from anything that I really ever seen before. To have 250 web cams across 46 countries all under control is truely amazing in itself. Who ever came up with this idea, I salute them becuase they are a modern day genius. This could even be used for say prisoners whodont get to see the light of day because they're on 24 hour lockdown or something. This was very unique and I liked it alot.

http://www.eternalsunset.net

Scheduled Day 1...

So everybody in the gr.11/12 TGJ & ASM class for period 4 is here right now and we are setting up our blogs so I am testing this out.