Eccentrick Art Show 2009

Eccentrick yo!

The Eccentrick Art Show was an interesting art show, being the second one I saw here at Mary Ward. I spent a lot of time there, too much time and that was bad for my units, but so worth it. I spent most of my time in the room where the videos we made were being "aired". It was where everyone would go and it would get really hot and awkward in there. I would see my friends, grade nines and even seniors in there looking at our work. I didn't go there to get any hours because I already had quest units, I went because this year's art show was awesome. Next year, I'm taking Video, so expect a whole lot of videos in next year's art show by me and my friends!

Everything's Amazing and Nobody's Happy

We got an iMac. We got this far. Why are we still complaining?

We have all of this technology at our disposal: we have appliances that wash dishes for you, we have technology that allows us to digitalize our work and make it look cooler and neater, we have technology that allows us to talk to each other from far away! All of this technology and yet we still aren't happy! Come on! What more can you ask for?

Cell phones allow you to talk to other people miles away and they can do many things like tell us where we are, allow us to access the Internet on the go and even do some math for us. We still complain about our cell phones, because "we can't get a signal" or "the battery sucks".

We have computers that let us type our work out and also corrects our spelling and grammar errors, it allows us to go on the Internet and let us communicate and reach millions of other people around the world and the computer provides us with entertainment such as computer games and movies. We still complain about our computers because "its too slow" or "the graphics suck".

Okay, most of the technology we have, we always say that it's never good enough. This is the 21st century! We should be appreciating all of this technology we have! Think about how life would be if none of these things were invented: people would still be talking through tin cans instead of cell phones, people wouldn't be able to communicate with each other on a global scale. We should appreciate the technology because they make life easier and more convenient for us. We should take the time to stop complaining and actually thank ourselves for getting this far with technology.

Cell Phone Manners Matter

Ah the cell phone. You'll always see everyone carrying a cell phone, talking or text messaging their friends. It's become a part of life, using cell phones to know where the party is, to call a friend for help or to tell someone how to get to a friend's house. Cell phone ethics, however, don't seem to be in order with many of the people who use them.

" My battery died! What now?"

You will see people texting while they are walking, oblivious to their surroundings. That person could step in a load of bird goop and that person wouldn't really care; that person would bump into other people in his way and that person wouldn't really care; that person wouldn't care unless he finished texting. I have seen this a lot and it is really disrespectful. Pay attention to your surroundings!

People will talk EXCESSIVELY LOUD volumes on their cell phones most of the time.

"YOU DID WHAT?!?!"

I am sitting on the bus on my way to school and the seat across from me, a person is talking at a loud volume about "his crazy dope party" and how he "banged all those hos and got high on them drugs." Seriously, I really don't want to know what... or who... you did last night and I doubt that the people next to you would want to know either. Keep your voices down when on your cell phone, you're in a public place, nobody needs to hear what you did last night. Trust me, it will save you some humiliation.

Whenever people are in conversations, people still USE THEIR CELL PHONES, in the middle of a conversation! That's not cool, you should always give full attention to the person your talking to, otherwise you're disrespecting the person you're supposed to be talking to.

Using your cell phone and driving is a bad idea. Multi tasking while driving will get you end up in a hospital bed.

"Cell phone users beware"

You don't want to get into an embarrasing or serious accident because you were on your cell phone while driving. Pay attention to the road and you shouldn't have any nasty accidents.

Finally, when you're in a movie, don't use your cell phone. I was watching a movie with a friend and then she started a conversation on her cell phone. She was sitting in the corner seat at the back row so she snuggled into the seat and had a conversation for ONE WHOLE HOUR. Ridiculous. She complained to me about how she missed all the good parts. Her problem not mine O_O.

So, to sum things up, cell phone manners matter in public!

1. Pay attention to your surroundings when using your cell phone.
2. Keep cell phone conversations discreet and at a low volume.
3. Give full attention to the person you are having a conversation with, don't use your cell phone.
4. Don't use the cell and drive! It's just as bad as drinking and driving; the results are the same.
5. Don't use your cell phone in public! You paid to watch a movie. If you miss half of it, hey, its your money you wasted and thats your problem.

Colossal U Ad Campaign

My first impression of Colossal U - what the heck are these guys doing?

"... Seriously?"

The posters for Colossal U said that all students who attend will end up the same and that new ideas and new thinking is not accepted. I seriously doubted that there would be a school that would, let's say, pump out zombie like graduates, stuck to the old ways and the same just as everyone else.

I checked out the website for Colossal U and I was actually surprised at what I saw. The Colossal U website turned out to be a website for another university, Algoma U. I found it interesting the way they adverstised their university, using another fake university as bait for people to come into the website and see if what the posters say is really true. They'll be in for a surprise.

People have different ways of learning; some may like to learn while listening to music, or watching TV (hey, who says TV doesn't teach you anything?). People are different from each other; they are unique, they have unique ways of doing things and especially have a different way of approaching new things.

In Algoma U's campaign, it shows that the school will treat the students there not just as part of a whole but as an individual and the school will adapt to help him meet the needs of the individual while he settles in and learns in his own way. Algoma U is a good place to further develop a student's individuality and a good place to get an education.

I found their advertising campaign actually grabs a lot of attention because of Colossal U's ridiculous statements and I think that they will see a lot of enrollments in the coming year because of this unique campaign.

Gaming Gone Wild!

Games are awesome!

"Sir its a tank!"

"Oh crap."

Video games are an escape from the real world where one can burn some rubber against a competing racer for money or unleash 500kg worth of heated lead onto enemies to capture the flag. There are many different varieties of video games to choose from, from the fantasy-style adventure RPG series Final Fantasy, the gangster themed racing game of Grand Theft Auto, the cartoony adventure racing game Mario Kart to games like the intense futuristic shooting game Halo 3, adrenaline filled, heart stopping zombie massacres that take place in Left 4 Dead and the excitement of cutting up enemies with a Lancer rifle in Gears of War 2.

Games like these are extremely popular in the gaming world of today and they are a good escape from the real world, whether to have some fun with friends and blow up a few enemies advancing to your base or to blow off steam and unload some 5.56mm rounds into a few OpFor targets running from your squad. Beware though that these games are extremely addicting and fun and continuous exposure will make one lose track of time; I was playing SOCOM 3 online for the first time when I got my PS2. It was sunny and bright outside and the next thing I knew, it was 3 in the morning, not realizing after winning all those matches and getting high scores that I lost track of time.

Video games shouldn't be played as much during school days, especially if one goes to a school like Mary Ward, where things can get hectic pretty quickly. Don't play those video games when you should be doing your Science project! If you keep playing video games during school time, you'll end up cramming most of your courses in the final 3 months of the school year, kind of what I'm doing right now =S. Games are fun but don't get carried away!

Do those units!