Author: marvin morales

CT101

CT101 has been a journey. One i surprisingly struggled a lot in. Not because i didn’t understand anything but because of how much more we had to do than i thought. I like many others would’ve thought that this course was easy. I thought the same until i noticed how much commitment we must put in. Sure there wasn’t any exams or daily Homework. But words escape me sometimes or the lack of motivation prevents me from posting. Either that or because i am just a lazy person in general.

I feel like i have learned a lot from this class. Specially when it comes to finding recourses that could help with other assignments. Especially with free software’s that help with photo editing, finding PNGs and Gifs that are readily available. A lot of what i am able to do in this following post is because of what i learned from this class. I however wasn’t able to put these skills to much use throughout the semester. I have been lacking in assignments and not making up posts or commenting on others posts. I feel that it would definitely drop my grade by a huge margin. Due to my lackluster performance, i would think that i would deserve a C+ at most.

Although i did do majority of my posts and have created my website, i feel like i was still lacking by the end of the semester, so that is what i feel is more appropriate.
I did enjoy the creative freedom we were given with a lot of our assignments. Letting our minds go free to implement the appropriate pictures, gifs, memes, or whatever we liked to our posts. These skills could be used for a variety of creative assignments for other classes or to expand out horizons on the internet.
Creating the website as an assignment was both fun and challenging. I felt that i encountered a lot of problems trying to figure out how the software worked half the time. Once i got the hang of it, i was able to make a small website with what information i could give. It goes by Mocha13.net. Its meant to be a simple website where i just talk about random stuff that is on my mind. There isn’t much on it however. I still couldn’t get stuff to work the way i want it but its a start for what its worth. it has up to five posts but my struggle was trying to get them to appear on a singular post page but i did my best. Instead i just had them appear everywhere. I made it a darker theme, not to appear menacing or anything. I just wanted it to feel a bit pleasing to the eyes, dark with a few bits of color.

The following screenshots are just a taste of what i have available. I dont believe ill update it anytime soon. I don’t feel like id have the attention span or the commitment to continue this website, no matter how much work i could put into it. I’m usually not that comfortable talking about myself or my passions online and i don’t think id have anything worth sharing online through a website. So i wont be keeping up with the website, But it was a nice side project that we were able to do.

My CT101 experience

I don’t exactly know how i feel about my time in CT101. Id say I’m really trying. I struggle a lot with the creative side and i am not someone who gets assignments on time. its one of my biggest flaws but i know I’m Definitely trying. during the lectures i try hard to stay awake but i am so tired sometimes its hard for me. I have tried a lot of caffeinated drinks and have not been able to stay fully conscious for many of the lectures but i am really trying.

i have mainly retained skills on incorporating a variety of media into my writing. i think its some helpful practice. for example, i would incorporate as many images and gyfs in order to give my posts and writing life. id also ad as many hyperlinks to my posts in order for people to visit incase they want more information on my subject. One of the works i feel that captured this the most was my post on my addictive passion. This class has helped me find a variety of websites that i can use for any creative projects that i would like to indulge in in the future.

I don’t believe I’m getting a good grade. i don’t really know if that is me being humble or just self doubt talking. i would think a B as my highest grade. i feel like i deserve this grade because my posts may not be as long as they should be. My post possibly don’t have enough images or hyperlinks or my topics and way of explaining things are very weird. i feel like i definitely got better at blogging compared to when i started. i feel like i can type more and elaborate on my ideas better compared to my first post which what about the library of babel.

As I’m writing this post, i have 3 missing assignments. that includes this one. i also need to complete the optional assignment and the creative assignment. i have not been making any comments, not replied to any comments on my posts. I am very anti social and i understand its a really bad excuse. But i just cant into the mindset of telling people their posts are interesting or replying with at least a thank you. i also don’t participate in class because half the time I’m struggling to stay awake. I’m always trying to keep myself preoccupied in order to stay awake because caffeine doesn’t help me. I’m responsible for all of this and i could possibly improve on these bad habits. maybe starting with a comment or two one day.

My visual assignment

    

Two assignments intrigued me in particular when i first saw them. one was a visual assignment while the other is an audio assignment. both were interesting to me because i love scenery of nature or just open spaces in general. second, its because i love music. The Visual assignment i went for required me to be able to show the 4 seasons. in the example that it provided, it seems like i needed to show the seasons changing in a singular spot. So i did my best in order to replicate this. i knew i probably could do this assignment because of the materials that i was taught were available, otherwise i probably wouldn’t’ve know what to do.

The audio assignment i chose required me to get a music piece and change the instrumentation. this could mean taking a guitar piece and changing it into a piano piece. id choose piano because its the instrument i know how to play. Yet, i don’t have the skills to be able to change a music piece into a different instrument. i could try but i wanted to try that on my own. i definitely need more knowledge about music and how music is made. i probably don’t need to know the basics and can do it by ear, but i am sure it would help.

 

I wasn’t sure how id complete the visual assignment. I have never used any form of editing or photo programs or apps so it felt new to me. i wasn’t sure how to start so i began with looking for ideas. i was trying to think of really nice places that would appear really different in different seasons. one that came into mind is central park in Manhattan. specifically, a place called “the mall” in central park. i haven’t heard of it till today. i decided to look online and find 4 pictures of this area of central park in it the 4 differing seasons.

           
           
I then proceeded to cut these images into quarters of the original. this was in order to compile them together in order to form a larger image. i was planning on doing this in order from spring to winter. i was able to cut them down and put them together using the mmm page. below is my final result of the project.
I believe that someone shouldn’t’ve have to do many projects in order to get more storytelling skills and new tool skills. The only thing that someone should consider is doing projects that use a variety of skills. This allows us to use more tools and may even help us in explaining these projects in a variety of ways. These skills are very helpful because the can be incorporated in a lot of other projects or just daily life.

My Passion Is Addictive

                               
I found it difficult to think of something that i felt i was really passionate about. I instead though of this game that would take over my life almost the instant i found out about it. Yu-Gi-Oh! This game can almost be seen as a hobby for me. Now,  Yu-Gi-Oh! is a Japanese series created by manga author – illustrator Kazuki Takahazhi. He would create Yu-Gi-Oh! in 1996 as a regular feature in a Japanese magazine. These magazines would usually feature manga’s of many other well know Japanese series like Naruto, Dragon ball, Bleach, and One Piece. All very well know Animes ( Japanese Animation). The best way i can summarize Yu-Gi-Oh! is a series about a boy named Yugi Motou. After solving the millennium puzzle, it causes him to share his body with a spirit of an ancient pharaoh that only comes to life when playing his favorite card game. that game is Yu-Gi-Oh!
                         
This series would then get a real life card game which was launched in 1999 by Konami. Then an anime would release in 2000. it would soon hit America in 2001 and the card game would come out a year later in 2002. Yu-Gi-Oh! would become increasingly popular throughout the years. Especially the card game, even achieving the top selling trading card game in the world by 2009.
   
Now that i have explained some backstory, i wanted to focus on the card game. i always knew about the anime because i saw it when i was younger. But recently i would find out about the card game through some friends in high school. I didn’t know how to play and i was afraid to try because the skill gap between a beginner and a veteran at the game was crazy huge. I swallowed up my fear and got into the virtual game of Yu-Gi-Oh! called Master duel. It was a simulator of what the actual Yu-Gi-Oh! card game is like. it included all the complicated rules and cards with paragraph of card text and confusing wording. For any new player, it overwhelming. For me, it took a lot of trial and error to even become decent at the game. The game is very competitive but also very inclusive once you start getting the hang of it. I only recommend this game if your both a big fan of Yu-Gi-Oh! and have a lot of patience. The game itself doesn’t teach you very well about how complex the game is, but if you commit, your in for a treat.
                            
I like this game so much that i even starting buying the physical cards. its almost addicting. its sad that Yu-Gi-Oh! cards cost so much, otherwise i probably would have bough a ton just to get my favorite cards to use. I hope i can get more in the future. Overall, Yu-Gi-Oh! is such a fun game. You build a deck out of a variety of cards at your disposal in order to form a strategy to get your opponents life points to hit zero (as shown in the video below). A variety of cards can be really good but yet loose to cards that are considered bad. It all depends on how you use them, what strategies you implement, and how well you can pilot the deck. Its all skill and although its a challenge, it feels rewarding at the end.

Meme could be art

                                 
 
From what i have found about memes, it is notably very mixed on whether memes should be considered art. Although many articles provide good points on why memes could be art, i can only agree to an extent. i also feel that the articles i did find are dedicated more to an audience that doesn’t know what memes are.
 
 
 
Memes are definitely not leaving for a long time. no matter how many people would want to even get rid of memes, they are staying. i wouldn’t say they are directly impacting art in any way . i understand that there’s disputes for including memes in art galleries but it isn’t directly impacting any definition of art or how art in general is perceived. what i do think is that memes are an amazing form of communication. this is because sometimes your too lazy to type a whole sentence to explain your thoughts when instead you can send a funny meme. this can be seen as insensitive but i feel that it can only be done if both people have similar senses of humor and its appropriate to the time. i feel like that’s the extent of memes. some memes could definitely have deeper meaning behind them but i feel that most memes are made for laughs. but a lot of memes have history behind them based on the images they use and the eras they were created.
 
                                   
 
Memes can definitely be used in story telling. I believe most memes can be put next to each other and make a coherent storyline. Even if the images i am about to show aren’t your cut and paste memes with the top and bottom text. these memes portray a storyline of love and betrayal. with text or not, it becomes apparent on what is being told. ( i recommend reading it left to right)
Credit: ShutterstockCredit: ShutterstockCredit: ShutterstockCredit: Shutterstock
Credit: ShutterstockCredit: Shutterstock
Credit: Shutterstock
 
Memes are imbedded in my life almost indefinitely. this is because alot of my speech or lingo comes from memes. so does alot of my humor. With memes, finding an image that express the emotion i want to convey and being able to put flavor text of what i believe people could relate to is a good way to incorporate storytelling with memes in my life.
 
                 
 
Some memes i created 🙂
 

A GYPHY experience

A GYPHY EXPERIENCE

I Definitely had trouble getting into this class. As a first year, i didn’t know what classes i want. In some ways i still don’t know. As i messed around with my schedule to see the best ways to optimize my time to learn a variety of things, i happened to stubble into this class. I immediately contacted the professor. i was very interested with the course. the website for the course intrigued me even more. Enrolling into the course was a nightmare because of a lot of technical issues but I’m glad all the paper work went through.

On my first day, i was so lost. i didn’t know where anything was and was afraid to ask anyone where the room for the course was. so i roamed around everywhere till i found where i had to be.

The creative aspect of the course excited me. in some ways its easy, yet challenging. some days I’m filled with ideas on what to post and some days my head is empty. but i feel like it lets us express ourselves however we want.

 

Ct101, to me, seems less stressing then a lot of my other classes. although there isn’t an exact deadline for the assignments, i know i should try and do them as early as possible to not procrastinate. but the freedom is nice to have.

 

I feel that through this course i can definitely be able to learn to express my thoughts more. it could help me with any future ideas for promoting certain ideas. i also see this as a nice experience to make stuff i enjoy.

 

As someone who struggles with technology, learning more skills that use internet tools is a big plus. specially because I’m learning to incorporate a lot of media in my writings. But otherwise, id probably freak out trying to learn this on my own.

Long story short- I’m glad i enrolled

what has made me happy on the internet

I dabble in the internet as much as the next person, but i don’t interact with many people on there. i did however find something that both made me happy and was very interesting to me. I don’t usually look up stuff on the internet, but instead find a lot of stuff i like off of Youtube where i find reviews for a lot of things that i already like or may be interested to search for in the future.

 

One of the most interesting websites i have learned about from Youtube has to be the Library of Babel. This is also know as a a novel written by Jorge Luis Borges. The novel explains how the universe is like an almost infinite library, made of hexagonal rooms, galleries’ and staircases. it contains almost an infinite amount of books with every possible combination of letters, commas, periods, and spaces enveloped in books of 410 pages each. it is supposed that the library has been around since ab aeterno. It was created in order for scholars to study and learn as they please, with books that are undecipherable, millions of identical copies of books, and dead ends. It is said to contain everything that has ever been written and everything that could be written. The website succeeds and replicating that story. Even going as far as including every image possible from a color pallet of 4096 colors on a grid of 416×640. it is supposedly able to make every image possible that has ever been taken and can be taken with those colors. They even called it the Babel Image Archive. This is such an interesting concept and could not stop smiling over the fact of how cool it is and how fascinating the story is. Might just be my weird mind but i find it very cool.