Filling the Head

Filling the Head
Originally uploaded by Blogdelirium.

By now you should have downloaded, printed, and read Judy Bachrach's article that I went over in class...

I know the Dery and Wallace books may/may not be in yet, but we can begin anyway. Here are two questions I want you to discuss online. Remember, click on the area that says "comments" to post your view.

Wallace says in the first couple of chapters that online persona is playing a huge role in first impressions we have of people nowadays. Because we spend so much time online and not as much time face-to-face, we jump to conclusions about others faster than ever before.

Dery makes the point that we're entering a cultural phase he calls "escape velocity" the "speed at which a body overcomes the gravitational pull of another body" and that information moves so rapidly, instantaneously, and continuously we find ourselves overwhelmed. Our bodies are so overcome with the pull of speedy and infinite information that we're moving toward escape velocity as a culture.

Two questions are

1.) If Wallace is correct about online persona, then what should we think about the two British boys -- were the two jumping to conclusions about the other's personality or were they in a type of escape velocity that only murder could end?

2.) If Dery is correct that our culture is moving quickly toward escape velocity, should we expect more of these dangerous or violent situations to occur in cyberspace?

Try to tackle both. Remember, these are thinking questions. There is no right or wrong answer. We'll discuss your ideas in class Monday night.

The Books Are/Aren't In....

Don't panic. We can still move forward. If you did get the Dery and Wallace books, great. If you didn't, we can work around that. But keep trying the bookstore. Things are delivered almost every day, sometimes twice a day.

In the meantime, get a copy of the Vanity Fair article I went over during class. Judy Bachrach's "U Want Me to Kill Him?" Either Google "Judy Bachrach" or go to vanityfair.com and look it up under the "commentary" section. If you subscribe to or purchase Vanity Fair, it's the current issue.

If you do have Dery and Wallace's books, then the questions I post will make sense. If you don't have the books, you can still respond -- it's that you might not be as clear on what Dery or Wallace is talking about (and I will post selected quotes to help you).

See you on Saturday!

Clearing the Way

Clearing the Way
Originally uploaded by Blogdelirium.

Well, I guess we all thought there would be a day off from class tonight, right? I know I did....What a cheap "blizzard."

I suppose everyone should have shaken off his or her hangover from the Eagles' win by now. After all, class starts at 6:30 PM, and if you aren't finished with that head pounding, then it's not our fault.

Welcome to all the new registrants to the class. This is the largest class I've taught in about 5 years, so we'll see how everything goes. I'll be contacting the bookstore to make sure more copies are ordered once I check the roster to be sure everyone's in the right spot. I only ordered 25 copies. Didn't expect the influx of students. Really.

IF YOU'RE TRYING TO ADD COMMENTS.... all you have to do is click on where it says "0 comments" or however many comments there may be. If you find you want to email me personally, then click on the envelope. I might have gone too quickly through this in class.

So what if all this cyberstuff really is post 1960s anarchy?

Magic Bus...
Originally uploaded by Blogdelirium.

Mark Dery argues that much of cyberculture is just one mass post-1960s movement...it's as if the 1970s anarcho-punks got with technology and set the world in motion. Of course, our other author, Wallace, sees the psychology of the Internet a bit differently. She finds it to be a bit more complex than someone forgetting to close the doors of the VW Bus so the smoke won't escape. (Get the joke...VW Bus graphic on the page?)

Your first question to think about as you read Dery and Wallace: What should we make of this Internet-driven society?

Think about where Dery and Wallace coincide and where they diverge in their views. We know now that the Internet can be used for good and not so good things...We also realize the Internet isn't just "a toy" to play with unwisely.

Think too about how the Internet has affected you and the way you think and write. The first big breakthroughs for mass use of the Internet came in the mid-1990s, when most of you were either little kids or maybe in high school (ok, some of you were grown ups then, too). How has this technology changed your life and the way you do things?

Feel free to post as much as you want. There is no right or wrong answer. The idea is to get you talking & writing about and thinking through technology.

Time to get your heads off the table and back to the books!

Drunk Slacker
Originally uploaded by Blogdelirium.

Ok folks,

Classes are almost back in session. Time to dry out a bit and get the redness out of the eyes (I recommend Real Tears over Visine).

If you need to do an add/drop to handle the class change from Wednesday to Monday nights, please do so immediately.

Books will be at the bookstore soon. Until then, we'll work through the blog here.

City of Electronics

City of Electronics
Originally uploaded by Blogdelirium.

Mark Dery's book Escape Velocity always makes me think of this photo. I wonder what American culture will be like in 5, 10, 15, or 20 years from now. Perhaps something like this...or maybe the "return of the Luddites" will happen.