Moving Several Posts to New Blog

Over the next week or so, I will be moving all blogs that have nothing to do with my digital imaging class to my second blog. Link here: http://blakesotherblogandstuff.blogspot.com/

Recreational Blogging

It has been some time since I posted anything for recreation. Or rather, something on the topic of my personal interests; aside from my digital imaging class. That being said, I shall attempt to assemble such a post today.

I've been reading quite a bit lately. A few authors that have caught my attention are Fitzgerald, Thoreau, Bryant and Salinger. Let's start with the former, Fitzgerald.

I find Fitzgerald to be in direct concurrence to modernism in "The Great Gatsby", but in opposition to modernism being catalyzed by the economy of the time. That is to say, more freedoms for the individual in a superficial way - through blind consumption - destroy the ideology associated with modernism. Now on to the second author that has interested me, Thoreau.

Thoreau's 'Nature' inspired me semantically; he seems to be the first formal author living in the United States to take full advantage of the first person. Besides that, I didn't much care for Thoreau. Everything I read besides 'Nature' prompted evidence of my original assumption; he is a poor man's Hawthorne with, in my opinion, more interesting politics.

(William Cullen) Bryant's poetry amazes me. Lines 25-29 in the third stanza of 'Thanatopsis' has offered me a better understanding of Deist theology than anything else I have ever read. Other than that, I didn't delve as deeply into Bryant's work as any of the other authors I have mentioned. Not out of a lack of interest, rather the physical limitation of time stood in my way.

The only work of Salinger's I have been able to read is "Catcher in the Rye." I would be very interested in seeing Salinger's writing style in his other works, for I can see his potential for writing advanced literature. However, the point of view in "Catcher in the Rye" does not allow this potential to flourish, due to the age of the narrator. I do not see this as conveying laziness in his writing, though. I loved reading the story, and realize if it were written any other way, it would have been artistically inferior.

Drawing in Flash

Today marks my second day working with Flash's drawing template individually. The process is a bit tedious if one chooses to attempt to be as precise as possible, but this is not really a problem considering our class has an entire year to complete this project.

Graphic Designer

Today, our groups assigned individual roles. I chose the role of "Graphic (Visual) Designer," for that is the field in which I feel I could shine due to my older brother's experience in the same field. Having a personal consult from which advice will be distributed could be an extremely useful tool. Also, I would have access to his plethora of design tablets, which he does not use; this will greatly improve the quality of the artwork I will eventually create.

Paper Prototypes with Video

Yesterday, our class completed a paper prototype for our game idea. I believe it was a great way to organize each member's individual ideas frame by frame, and it was one of the better ways to colaberate our ideas in a tame manner. (There might have been more animosity within other groups, I don't know, Klangfarbenmelodie is full of some pretty indecisive people. "Tame" doesn't really seem fitting for our group's experience, but it's the only word that pops up in my gray-matter lexicon; maybe a common indifference toward less significant details, which led to many concurrences in development, would be more appropriate.)
Klangfarbenmelodie - Paper Prototype

Klangfarbenmelodie

A few days ago, the teams of our class were developed. After one joined his or her respective team, he or she had to decide upon a core idea for the game he or she going to create over the course of this class with his or her group. My team, for example, decided upon the topic of music and musical education. How it is taking a back seat to other, seemingly more pertinent subjects in education; despite studies that conclude partaking in the creation or recreation, as the case will usually be, of music can lead to applicable results in one's intellectual development.

(Our team is named "Klangfarbenmelodie," thus explaining the title.)