The end of the summer semester is almost here. Well technically I guess it is here because all that's left is finals. I learned a great deal this semester, mostly that I will never again take four courses over the summer semester. Also, I learned that having a different day off every week is a really stupid idea and that whoever came up with it should be flogged accordingly.
I had hoped to get more accomplished this semester but unfortunately I overloaded myself with work. I tried to pack in way too much for the semester and as a result I think that some of my grades may have suffered. Looking back though, I did get a lot done. I only wish I had been able to have been a part of the Daily Lives Project crew like I had originally envisioned being. Hopefully I can still partake in the editing next semester.
I was hoping as well to really improve my Japanese this semester as well but that didn't really happen. Sure, I improved a bit but not nearly as much as I had hoped. I guess next semester will work out better. I feel like the next xourse will be much more challenging and that it will force me to improve.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
International Project
For my international project I was supposed to photograph and write about people communicating on two forms of transportation. I know what you're thinking, "In Japan?". Yeah, that's what I thought. Never mind I only travel using the train, I hardly ever see people communicating with eachother. So, I decided to just go with it. I would just describe the lack thereof communication and I would sacrifice some cash on a taxi for my second mode of transportation. I hate buses and I couldn't bring myself to use on, don't ask, that's another story entirely.
I spent a night out on the town in Ikebukuro with some friends. I documented my traveling by plotting my course via a GPS device I was lent by the school. I took the Mita Line from my station at Shimurasanchome to Sugamo station. Then I proceeded to Ikebukuro via the Yamanote. When I got to Ikebukuro I figured it would be worthwhile to keep GPSing my location as I went about my night; once on my way to a bar, at a bar, on my way to karaoke, at karaoke, and then waiting for a cab. I plotted a few spots in the cab on my way home and tooke some pictures of the empty streets. Yeah, I stayed out all night. I got dropped off at the McDonalds by my house, plotted that place, then took a bunch of pictures of a pigeon that will probably not make it into the project. He was just getting so close to me and I was drunk and excited.
So now I just have to finish putting this thing together. I've been working on it for a while now but I have yet to complete it. I figue it will be done this weekend. Maybe even Friday. So yeah, It should be up on here sometime soon I hope. I'll probably just make a seperate blog for it. Be on the look out ya'all!
I spent a night out on the town in Ikebukuro with some friends. I documented my traveling by plotting my course via a GPS device I was lent by the school. I took the Mita Line from my station at Shimurasanchome to Sugamo station. Then I proceeded to Ikebukuro via the Yamanote. When I got to Ikebukuro I figured it would be worthwhile to keep GPSing my location as I went about my night; once on my way to a bar, at a bar, on my way to karaoke, at karaoke, and then waiting for a cab. I plotted a few spots in the cab on my way home and tooke some pictures of the empty streets. Yeah, I stayed out all night. I got dropped off at the McDonalds by my house, plotted that place, then took a bunch of pictures of a pigeon that will probably not make it into the project. He was just getting so close to me and I was drunk and excited.
So now I just have to finish putting this thing together. I've been working on it for a while now but I have yet to complete it. I figue it will be done this weekend. Maybe even Friday. So yeah, It should be up on here sometime soon I hope. I'll probably just make a seperate blog for it. Be on the look out ya'all!
Bathes. Roland. (?)
So I'm not really sure who wrote this last handout we recieved ( I asume his name has something to do with this blog's title) but I think most of it is a pretty dry text. It is beyond me how someone can make Japan boring, but hey, this person suceeded in doing so. But anyways, It got me thinking about some things.
Zen. The author barely mentions Zen asthetics and how they can be seen in a multitude of areas in Japan. In his piece on the presentation of food and it's rawness, he never mentions that both these factors contribute to the Zen asthetics of food in Japan. He never mentions it in his piece about packaging. Nor when he describes the simplicity of the home. Instead he justs goes on about I don't even know what.
Okay, I'm kind of getting off track here.
I do like how he describes coomunication in Japan. I think there is definitely a misconception that it is near impossible to communicate without knowing a language. People forget that there are a multitude of ways to communicate besides verbally expressing oneself. Of course it helps, and of course it gets frustrating, but the degree of ones language ability does not hamper ones experience of a foriegn country. Japan seems easier than most countries to describe what you need using body language, art, or whatever means are available. I think this has something to do with it being a high context society as apposed to most Western countries being low in context.
Zen. The author barely mentions Zen asthetics and how they can be seen in a multitude of areas in Japan. In his piece on the presentation of food and it's rawness, he never mentions that both these factors contribute to the Zen asthetics of food in Japan. He never mentions it in his piece about packaging. Nor when he describes the simplicity of the home. Instead he justs goes on about I don't even know what.
Okay, I'm kind of getting off track here.
I do like how he describes coomunication in Japan. I think there is definitely a misconception that it is near impossible to communicate without knowing a language. People forget that there are a multitude of ways to communicate besides verbally expressing oneself. Of course it helps, and of course it gets frustrating, but the degree of ones language ability does not hamper ones experience of a foriegn country. Japan seems easier than most countries to describe what you need using body language, art, or whatever means are available. I think this has something to do with it being a high context society as apposed to most Western countries being low in context.
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Project done
So the final projects went up the other day. They are on display at an art house in Harajuku. I can't even begin to describe how many problems I had with mine at the last minute!
Originally I had intended to make a project that isolated all the train station songs along the Yamanote. From there I wanted to put the sounds on a Google map along with the course that the Yamanote went along. You'd be able to simply click on a station, find out what it is, and then hear the song. Well, recording the songs became quite troublesome when I found that many times they are drowned out by the noise or simply not being played. So instead I opted to make the project display what a typical stop at each station sounded like it. If the song was there, great. If not, it still had a unique enough ambiance. Then I started working with iDVD in another class. I found that the program would work well with my own project so I scrapped the Google map in favor of creating a DVD that was interactive. I compiled all the sounds and the best photos I took of each stop and created said DVD. I finally finished up last Thusday night, but when I went to burn the disc, error. Apparently I screwed up somewhere. I spent awhile trying to figure it out but I didn't really get anywhere so instead I just put it on a flash memory card. That worked out well in the end.
My only dissapointment was that I failed to make an artist statement for the class DVD and my project was the only one left off of the DVD. Instead mine is on a seperate computer with headphones. Everybody else's plays in a loop that is projected on a wall. I like that mine is unique but I also wish that I could have had something that fit along with the rest of the classes projects because all their's look great together.
Originally I had intended to make a project that isolated all the train station songs along the Yamanote. From there I wanted to put the sounds on a Google map along with the course that the Yamanote went along. You'd be able to simply click on a station, find out what it is, and then hear the song. Well, recording the songs became quite troublesome when I found that many times they are drowned out by the noise or simply not being played. So instead I opted to make the project display what a typical stop at each station sounded like it. If the song was there, great. If not, it still had a unique enough ambiance. Then I started working with iDVD in another class. I found that the program would work well with my own project so I scrapped the Google map in favor of creating a DVD that was interactive. I compiled all the sounds and the best photos I took of each stop and created said DVD. I finally finished up last Thusday night, but when I went to burn the disc, error. Apparently I screwed up somewhere. I spent awhile trying to figure it out but I didn't really get anywhere so instead I just put it on a flash memory card. That worked out well in the end.
My only dissapointment was that I failed to make an artist statement for the class DVD and my project was the only one left off of the DVD. Instead mine is on a seperate computer with headphones. Everybody else's plays in a loop that is projected on a wall. I like that mine is unique but I also wish that I could have had something that fit along with the rest of the classes projects because all their's look great together.
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