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Final Post: 20 iconic experiences of Santa Barbara

It's sort of funny really, how after living in Santa Barbara for nearly four years, i had never visited 18 of the 20 sites on our list. I'm truly glad that I had the opportunity to earn credit towards my degree doing the sort of stuff that I enjoy in my free time: Travel, explore, and act silly. I hope that as a result of this project, I'll be able to motivate some of my staffers to check out the list and check a few off. In contrast to writing an 8 page paper as most writing classes would have assigned, filming a video interpretation of a written piece of work had a few serious benefits; Interest in the subject matter and enjoyment in the process of creating the video allowed all of our group easily work hard to make our video the best it could be. Most final projects involve students desperately trying to finish at the last possible minute, while ours allowed us to look forward to and enjoy working on the project leading a better quality of work. This is a major benefit over writing a paper. The next major benefit that we discovered was that by filming the video, we were able to struggle with the concepts discussed in class and receive real life experience that can't be taught in a classroom. There were many situations in which we found that our mind's eye was unable to properly capture the situation and calculate for the unexpected. When our idea was conceived, we realized that taking a kayak paddle everywhere wasn't quite as plausible as we had initially hoped. We realized that it would likely come off in poor taste, and detract from the overall message of our project; That Santa Barbara is an awesome place worth exploring. What we did learn was that there is no substitute for improvisation and quick thinking while you work. Another major benefit of applying the concepts learned in class is that application is proven to be a more successful form of learning than listening or writing. By applying the concepts, we grant our brain substantial experience upon which to cement learning, something that is not always the case in writing papers. Finally, making a film gives us some video editing skills and starts us with our first piece. The manifestation of our understanding of the material is instantly visible in our video; we can see our mistakes and successes better than writing an essay might allow. These skills may be built upon in the future and eventually used in the real world when we as students begin our careers. As for the popularity contest in academia, I am definitely nervous. As the Director of The Excursion Club, I see in many instances the negative effects of staffers trying to compare themselves to each other, a trait I believe to be reinforced by the popularity contest we as young adults are perpetually thrown into. When students and members of society begin to value the perceived popularity based on the number of likes or shares their content receives, they risk devaluing the quality of the content of their post. It seems to me that the excess of social media and electronic devices available to our generation is leading to a privileged, under-productive, and distracted group of individuals often with a misguided sense of right and wrong. Finally, the need to feel accepted through social media leads to a reliance on superficial relationships. Truly strong connections are not forged by liking another person's posts on Facebook, but rather through a mutual conversation of ideas. The idea that these popularity contests may be used in our education system is unsettling to say the least.

Final Project Submission: Publishing this Sunday

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U6PVydhW8ls Currently unlisted, we plan on listing Sunday evening.

Post 11: Review of another video

I am reviewing this video, for reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUmKKn5Xqsk First off, I like the idea of the video, there are definitely a number of words that are seriously over used. I'm interested to see where they found this list of words published, but regardless, a cool idea. The elevator music in the background is very fitting, and just generally flows with the video. The black backgrounded definitions also fit very nicely, allowing for smooth transitions between words. At first I couldn't understand why there was a novel reading in the second scene, but it makes sense when you find out the next phrase is "I could care less" The ultimate scene is quite comical, an excellent choice of joke. In good humor, and harmless. When she "literally" dies, the music cuts out, which puts emphasis on the ridiculous nature of using the word literally incorrectly. Finally, I can legitimately say that I have never heard anyone use the words irregardless, so I don't know where that one comes from! Maybe its used more commonly in other parts of the country or state? Overall, a good video that is edited carefully and planned thoughtfully. It's not the most entertaining or viral topic, but the subject matter doesn't lend itself well to that without risking the loss of the "PC" nature that is necessary for a school video.

Video with Writing Assignment Description

Haley, Jenna, Daniel and I are planning on writing and filming a story about 4 young individuals who visit Santa Barbara, checking out a variety of local attractions detailed on SantaBarbara.com's Top 20 free must do experiences. We are planning on approaching with a humorous scenario in which the four of us paddle into Santa Barbara on Kayak and or Paddleboard and then adventure through the various locations holding our paddles. The title of our project may end up being something to the degree of paddling through Santa Barbara. We believe that it is imperative that we lace a large portion of humor throughout the video in order to keep audiences engaged and interested. In addition we plan on using the asthetic beauty of many of the local locations in order to capture the imagination and emotions of our viewers. The overall goal of our video is not to be funny, but rather to showcase a selection of the activities and experiences that make Santa Barbara truly unique. We had initially planned to involve a good deal of acting in our video, pretending to be happy or sad, bored or excited throughout the story, but have come to realize that even before we consider the issue of audio in our video, we are all terrible actors. Instead we may take a different route and be overly excited and beyond zealous about all the activities that we choose to enjoy. We believe that if we were to engage our original plot idea, without considerable acting skill the video would turn out boring and corny. We believe that if we are truly enjoying the things we are doing, and the process of filming it, the emotion will show through our film better. As for my own ability to work as a team to complete this project, I believe that I will be useful in planning our journey through Santa Barbara. In addition, I believe that I can have a good personality on camera and will also be able to film adequately. I have done some video editing of action sports with various programs, so I expect that I will be able to handle a good portion of the video editing work. Finally, I have access to Kayaks and Paddles and other pieces of outdoor equipment through the excursion club. These props may come in handy.

In Class Post: Feb 18

1) Describe one of your favorite reading experiences (which book, poem, story) and explain why it is your favorite.

One of my favorite reading experiences was reading the hunger games trilogy because I identified strongly with the characters and enjoyed the simplicity of their plight and willpower. In the complex American society that we live in, it is hard to imagine a world in which basic survival is the only concern on one's mind, and human instinct is so important. I really enjoyed the strong and independent female character, sometimes a rarity in male dominated American society. Finally, the similarities between the world we live in and the districts made me think critically about the way that first world countries exploit third world countries; We live in a world in which some families think only of surviving day to day, yet many American families enjoy luxuries like chocolate cake and fine wine.

2) Describe one of your favorite learning experiences (what class, lesson, skill, etc.) and explain why it is your favorite.

One of my favorite learning experiences has been learning how to spin 360’s and 540’s on my skis because of the satisfaction derived from completing a spin and skiing away clean. Not every spin is clean and not every trick is landed, but when it’s good, it’s great. Learning these spins required starting with the basics: When I was first learning, I’d do 360’s regularly without skis on in every day life to get used to the feeling of spinning and spotting the landing. Every small staircase became a training ground. Having mastered these spins, I continue to learn about air awareness and edge control when spinning off larger kickers with larger gaps and larger consequences for error.

3) Describe one of your favorite viewing experiences (film, TV series, etc.) and explain why it is your favorite.

One of my favorite viewing experiences is Randy Pausch’s last lecture. It is my favorite because I identify so strongly with the messages that are addressed: The importance of honesty, hard work, perseverance after rejection, seeing the best in people in contrast to the insignificance of material things. My own personal connection to this video likely stems from the time period of my life in which I watched it; I was going through a breakup in conjunction with the loss of a good friend and I was realizing the importance of all of those morals first hand.

4) Describe one your favorite YouTube videos and explain why it is your favorite.

One of my favorite youtube videos is a short piece narrated by Alan Watts entitled “What do you desire?”. When I’m feeling down or confused, it reminds me about the beauty and mystery of the world and the realisation that cookie cutter careers aren’t the only option available. I hope that i’m able to find my passions and make a career out of them.

The Excursion Club Timeline and Map

The most intuitive first step to creating my timeline and map was explore each website, and understand how data could be represented. It was important that I figure out in what form I was able to import data for each website. It was especially vital that the first step be to create a data spreadsheet style that would allow me to easily export to both online programs without having format incompatibility issues, because I wanted to utilize a 3rd program, Google Forms to collect data. Unlike most other projects, much of my data collection utilized primary sources - the leaders of each trip would write a small description of their adventure, including some media and facts. My job, was then to compile this data efficiently, and supplement descriptions of each locale with secondary source material. As the director of the Excursion Club, I had a few trips of my own that I added to the timeline and map. Doing so allowed me to better understand what would be important when writing about my trip. Very early on in my exploration, I realized that a photo was absolutely necessary for each post. Without it, the timeline segments and map points seemed bland and uninviting. It is said that a photo is worth a thousand words, and while I agree, it is clearly more than just a description of the event. The photo not only provides a background of information upon which words may elaborate, but it most importantly creates an aesthetically pleasing hook that keeps viewers clicking from point to point on the map, and slide to slide on the timeline. One technical Issue that I experienced during the process of creating my project was adding images to all of the posts; When making bulk additions to both programs, one must link each photo with a URL to the photo’s location on the net. What I found was that many photo URLs did not work: For instance, Facebook, Google Doc, and Drop Box image URLs did not work. Instead I had to use other photo hosting sites like photobucket or simple google image results. Beyond the scope of this class, the Timeline and Zeemap that I am creating will serve as an awesome representation of the adventures that The Excursion Club facilitates. It has been especially important that all the inputs “sell” the club as best as possible. I have spent quite a bit of time tweaking and rewriting trip descriptions not to edit their content, but rather to manipulate the manner in which they express it so that readers and viewers are interested to continue their navigation of the timeline or map. For some of the locations I have added factual information from various websites and publications; For instance, I cited the National Park Service in my description of Joshua Tree, and the US Forest Service for the section on one our local treasures, Big Caliente Hotsprings.

Review of either the timeline or the map will showcase even more great places we have visited. For instance, I took a trip to Sierra at Tahoe last year, staying in South Lake Tahoe, California. Accoridng to the Official Lake Tahoe Visitor’s Bureau, Lake Tahoe is not only the number one ski destination on Orbitz, but it is also the number one travel destination overall on TripAdvisor. Despite this, it has a small town feel while still offering world renowned skiing and las vegas style entertainment.

A small realization that I have made during the course of this project is that our club’s larger trips are heavily centralized on the West. This, I think, is not only motivated by the fact that travel towards the center of the country becomes cost prohibitive, but that Santa Barbara just happens to be located among some of the most amazing outdoor recreation areas in the country. TIMELINE: ZEEMAP: Sources Used: Official Lake Tahoe Visitor’s Bureau: http://www.visitinglaketahoe.com/ Blue Lake Tahoe: http://web.archive.org/web/20100104022810/http://bluelaketahoe.com/page.php?p=amaz&l=1

Wikipedia on Platform Holly http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellwood_Oil_Field

Big Caliente Hotsprings: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/lpnf/recreation/recarea/?recid=11075&actid=29

J-Tree and the National Park Service

http://www.nps.gov/jotr/index.htm

The Grand Canyon:

http://explorethecanyon.com/explore-learn/grand-canyon-facts/

Post 7

1. Digital media is changing the way we spend our time and the way we do things. We can see that people are concerned by responses to such behavior in media itself, seen in the video we watched in class about going a day without a cell phone, and how disconnected it can make someone feel when all their friends are using their devices. I can see why people might be concerned, as constant access to entertainment and social media through phones leaves people unable to be by themselves without such media. The action of checking one's phone in-between social interactions fills gaps that should otherwise be opportunities to genuinely connect with each other. I genuinely agree and am often dismayed by how often my friends pull out there phones, as if to say they wished they were elsewhere.

2. People are concerned that phone and online communication are reducing our ability to communicate and relate to each other in realtime face to face, and I believe there is genuine truth to this. Even as I type this response, I pause every few words to decide how I would like to construct my sentence, in order to relate an idea in a specific way. In real time when speaking to another human, it's not possible to pause mid sentence and think. There is clearly a difference in the way we communicate when we are on our devices versus when we are face to face.

3. There is no doubt that digital media change the way we relate to people, and I find it concerning at times. Just the other day I was on a run with a friend of mine, and the conversation moved in a direction that reminded me of a video i'd seen on youtube. I had to restrain myself from bringing it up, because I realized that if she had not seen it, the reference would have been entirely lost; the risk wasn't worth the awkwardness of a lost reference, explaining youtube videos never suffices.

4. People may be concerned that digital media is changing the way we think because young people are heavily influenced by the people and ideas they see on television and on social medias. As we all know, there are many terrible ideas and even worse influences on the internet. For instance, millions of young girls fantasize about and look up to Justin Bieber as an idol, and as we have recently seen, he does not always make the best decisions.

5. There is certainly consideration and concern regarding the way by which we manage our social identities, and it makes sense because future employers often check social media sites in order to make generalizations and judgements about the character of a prospective employee. In addition, insurance agencies and other companies regularly use social media background checks in their investigations. I personally attempt to make as much social media as private as possible, to reduce the chance of others making unfair judgements about me.

Post #7: A Day Off The Grid:

Finding something to do that did not involve social media or electronics was actually quite easy for me. It so happened, that I was going out with a group of 20 students into the local Santa Ynez mountains to conquer Cathedral and Arlington Peaks. While not the longest hike, it does involve over 2000 vertical feet of uphill, and some class 3 and 4 scrambling. Of course, I did bring my phone, but left it with my good friend to screen calls for emergency situations. The first problem I ran into without being able to use my phone was ensuring that all 4 cars could make it to the meeting spot without getting lost or losing each other. I gave each driver careful instructions, and eventually everyone met at the trailhead. Step 1 complete. I'm quite used to staying off of facebook and other social media while out in the front and back country, so that was not an issue. I did have the occasional urge to take photos, something that I use my smart phone for, and at one point did want to pull out my phone to show the group a short video that was brought up in conversation. It got me thinking about how strange it is that we have instant access to all things media at all times, and how important that has become in our ability to interact and relate to our friends. I explained to the group the challenge that I was doing, and we had a good conversation about how annoying it is when others text while you are having a conversation with them. Finally, the challenge came to an end after descending the mountain only to find that 1 of our 20 was not at the bottom. Given that night had fallen, it became absolutely necessary to break the challenge and figure out a plan of action: Without any survival equipment, a night on the mountain could be a serious problem. After numerous attempts, I finally reached the individual on phone and found that he had wandered from the group without telling anyone in order to try for another nearby peak, leading us to believe he was ahead of the group on the way down. He had taken a wrong turn and was with another 2 random hiker who had made the same mistake and had already called for help. Luckily as they were on the phone with the 911 operator, and he was on the phone with myself, an off duty SAR member came across them and offered to help them down. This incident goes to show how vitally important cell phones have become. Had I not been able to reach him, my plan was to return to the house and gather a group of 10 staffers to search 3 pools, 7 falls, and cathedral peak at night. That, while epic, would have been very tiresome and may have eventually involved more serious methods. Overall, it was an interesting experience, one I will likely repeat!

Post 6: My Floral Telegraph

The first step towards creating my very own first floral telegram was of course to search through the pages of the scans in order to find a phrase that resonated well with myself. Given that the novel was designed to poke fun at the romance novels of that time period, most statements available revolved around love, lust, or heartbreak, and I was becoming slightly discouraged. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe in all of those things, but I also suppose there is a time and a place for everything, and it’s not my floral telegram. That’s when I stumbled upon the phrase “come to our party this evening”. At first glance this phrase may seem a bit vapid, a simple invitation for recreation devoid of any deeper meaning, but it instantly triggered my memory of my experience at EDC and all of the event staff’s work and effort that had gone into creating and designing the most welcoming environment possible. It just so happened as well that the electric daisy carnival utilizes an electric daisy as part of their logo, one of the flowers available for my floral statement (I suppose the author may not have intended for it to be electric, but he likely also didn’t expect the use of photoshop to be involved, so I think we are good). I wanted to choose flowers that stood out from the rest by being brightly colored and aesthetically pleasing; A central theme in rave culture and the electric daisy carnival is the showy and vibrant nature of costumes, a metaphor for the desire to embrace and love everyone despite the different hues of their personalities. To represent the number 1, I chose the flower Buttercup for its bright yellow vibrance and it’s soft edges. For the number 3, I chose the flower Forget Me Not because I thought the numerous purple flowers reminded me of colorful ravers in a sea of movement and expression. Finally, the number 9 calls for the electric daisy that is already a part of the EDC logo - the reason I decided to set this logo as the background for my floral telegram. I decided to weave the added flowers in behind the letters of Electric Daisy Carnival, but in front of the original Electric Daisy in order to fit them in as seamlessly as possible so that hopefully an outside observer would assume that they were there to begin with. I did this to ensure that the message would be delivered as secretly as possible, so only those who could “read” the floral telegram would know that the invitation had a deeper meaning than a simple event flyer for a rave in las vegas. In summary, I think that the statement “come to our party this evening” fits perfectly with overall sentiment and goal of EDC: To provide a welcoming yet mysterious and adventurous playground of opportunity for expression and discovery.

Post 5: Floral Telegraph

My floral telegraph project is inspired by the logo for EDC, shown below. When I found out about the project, I realized that the electric daisy carnival logo could totally be turned into an awesome floral telegraph. Only those who know the language would realize that the flowers signify more than pretty images on an advertisement. The secret message that I have decided to write is coded by flowers 139: Come to our party this evening. I plan on using the following flowers: Buttercup, Forget Me Not, and of course, a Daisy. I think that using flowers to verbally communicate the message 'come to our party' is interesting because even without the hidden textual message, the flowers and electric cords are used to attract the eye and imagination of viewers, effectively asking them to come to the party anyways. In a way, the flowers already convey that message, so it's neat that they literally may as well. Here is the original EDC logo: http://www.getfesty.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/EDC-logo-pic.jpg

Tip / Guideline / Things to keep in mind:

1: Don't use too many hashtags, it's annoying.

2: Very simplistic is bad: Ocean, food, etc are too simple, too many things pop up.

3: Many of your friends don't use / appreciate hashtags as much as you do.

4: Humorous hashtags shouldn't be overused.

5: Hashtags shouldn't be too long or it is too difficult to read them.

brookeeadair-blog

For the meme that I created, I chose to do Paranoid Parrot because it seems to really relate to many of the people I know. Living in a college town, it is easy for word to spread quickly about local news and for paranoia to build amongst groups of friends. This was evident with the cases of...

alienshinubie

Hypochondria in general is responsible for a large portion of why our healthcare system is crashed. People regularly go to the doctor for NOTHING, because they started coughing or sneezing. This waste causes an increase in the cost of legitimate care.

T-Shirts http://charliebitme.firebrandstore.com/ iPhone http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/charlie-bit-me!!!/id494858348?mt=8 Android https://play.google.com/sto...

I think that this video went viral because people naturally enjoy videos involving children. This particular video appeals to the emotion of any potential child rearing humans through a basic, natural, darwinian sense.

Boycotting Showers, Wait Till You See Why Thousands Stopped Showering.

It's been over a week and residents of West Virginia still haven't turned on the showers. It may come as a surprise, but the reason they've all stopped... READ MORE

Media Literacy

Henry Jenkins makes an interesting argument revolving around the importance of having access to internet, technology, and computers in shaping today's youth. He argues that those without access to this media are at a severe disadvantage to those who do have access by relating it to a well proven argument: Children with greater access to books and art excel beyond children with less access due to socioeconomic inequalities. I would, however, argue that because critical reading and thinkings skills are more important than coding skills, those without access to the latest technology are not at such a disadvantage as Jenkins suggests. Let's begin by understanding that while socioeconomic inequality does prevent low class families from owning and operating the latest and most powerful computing devices, the rate at which new technology develops greatly reduces the price of technology that is only a year old. So while families with less buying power certainly won't be purchasing the newest iPhone, or Macbook, they will have access to heavily discounted products, that while inferior in many aesthetic ways, have about the same capability of their more expensive counterparts. Furthermore, I find in my own life that in many instances, immediate access to technology tends to hinder my fellow friends and students ability to focus and be productive. I have countless friends that complain about spending hours in the library working on papers or studying for midterms, yet a review of their facebook page, or other social media show that while they were supposed to be studying, they were actually on reddit or stumbleupon. I myself have found on numerous occasions that I was missing out on valuable social interactions around myself because I had become too absorbed in the material on my phone. Just recently I had dinner with my family, and both my mother and brother spent the majority of the waiting time on their phones completely disengaged form their real life environment. So strange to see my mother and 30 year old brother more involved in their devices than myself. Another value in losing out on immediate easy access to the internet is that without google at ones finger tips, problem solving becomes a necessary skill. Instead of googling the answer, members of society are forced to attack problems head on, and solve them without help. This develops critical thinking and solving strategies. I have found in my experience that many college students don't know how to fix a squeaking cabinet or clogged vacuum or toilet, yet they possess the knowledge to solve complex integration and other math problems. I believe this comes from a sense of helplessness when faced with problems they have never seen before. If they had at some point learned to face these problems, they'd realize how easy their solutions are to figure out. So yes, while access to technology is convenient, I don't believe that socioeconomic inequality is actually putting members of society at a disadvantage because of their poor access to the latest technology. In fact, I believe that for a number of reasons, it prepares them to face the world better.

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