The iPad hit shelves and it has been selling fast. Apple had estimated around 300,000 iPads to be sold on April 3rd. Will this momentum keep on going or is it slowly going to die down? I really don't know but I am interested in what people think of their new iPads.
I am wondering if the sales are because it is the next new shiny product to own or if there is some functionality that the buyer did not find else where. There is the book store app which is new for the iPad and it has been estimated that over 250,000 e-books have been sold through the app already. The keyboard is another function that I can see being a unique selling point, yes you can use your laptop but this is a more compact way of allowing for fluid typing that is similar to using a computer.
I have not used one yet so I can only speculate, the question I am asking is what is driving these sales? Is it the phenomenal advertising tactics by apple or does the product speak for itself? I am sure it could be a mix of the two but I wonder what is the dominant factor in generating sales. Anyone have a clue? I don't.
info taken from http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2010/04/apple-tops-300000-ipad-sales-in-one-day.ars
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Thursday, April 1, 2010
The phenomena called Troll 2
Troll 2 is known for being one of the strangest and most awesomely terrible movies of all time. If you haven't seen it you should atleast check out scenes of it from youtube. Me and my friends have been renting terrible movies for a very long time now and this among one of the most ridiculous.
What is so interesting about this one in particular is the pop cultural phenomena that this movie has sparked. It has grown increasingly in popularity by word of mouth of how hilarious this film is. In it's day now it is by far more popular than it ever has been. The popularity has merited a new documentary coming out about the growing popularity of this movie and what the people that were involved with making it are up to now. I find it amazing how this film was such a huge flop only to increasingly grow in popularity over the years. People just love laughing at this movie which I completely understand as watching movies like this has been such a huge tradition with my friends for a long time.
It is amazing to see one of the starring actors and what he is doing now, he is now a dentist and his experience with the movie had seemed to have been forgotten. Now 20 years later he has become a huge cult icon all of a sudden because of peoples love for this movie.
Here is the trailer for the new documentary...
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/44444
I also highly recommend checking out clips of Troll 2 on youtube if you aren't familiar with the movie.
What is so interesting about this one in particular is the pop cultural phenomena that this movie has sparked. It has grown increasingly in popularity by word of mouth of how hilarious this film is. In it's day now it is by far more popular than it ever has been. The popularity has merited a new documentary coming out about the growing popularity of this movie and what the people that were involved with making it are up to now. I find it amazing how this film was such a huge flop only to increasingly grow in popularity over the years. People just love laughing at this movie which I completely understand as watching movies like this has been such a huge tradition with my friends for a long time.
It is amazing to see one of the starring actors and what he is doing now, he is now a dentist and his experience with the movie had seemed to have been forgotten. Now 20 years later he has become a huge cult icon all of a sudden because of peoples love for this movie.
Here is the trailer for the new documentary...
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/44444
I also highly recommend checking out clips of Troll 2 on youtube if you aren't familiar with the movie.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Production
I thought I would go deeper into what our class is discussing this week with my experience in this area. I love being part of this process, I really enjoy it though it can be incredibly challenging for me. While attending Bridgewater State College my passion for film editing has grown and I really want to grow and develop my skills within this area of post production. I am still new to it but the more I work with it, the more enthralling it has become.
I want to learn all facet of this creative process, developing an idea in pre production and then trying to take what I have in my head and put it on film is incredibly challenging at times but also very rewarding and satisfying when it works out. A big constraint for me has always been finding people that would like to help along with the projects. I am always happy to accept help when it comes my way. Not that I never find help, When I have I greatly appreciate what they have given to helping put together these short films along with me. It really is amazing the amount of constraints that can come your way but I have found that the constraints have helped me to grow and think more critically of how I can obtain what I pictured in my head when those initial ideas for the film popped into my head.
The process is still new for me and I am need of as much practice as I can possibly get, it is challenging but very rewarding. I just hope to grow and be able to contribute to the process of film making.
I want to learn all facet of this creative process, developing an idea in pre production and then trying to take what I have in my head and put it on film is incredibly challenging at times but also very rewarding and satisfying when it works out. A big constraint for me has always been finding people that would like to help along with the projects. I am always happy to accept help when it comes my way. Not that I never find help, When I have I greatly appreciate what they have given to helping put together these short films along with me. It really is amazing the amount of constraints that can come your way but I have found that the constraints have helped me to grow and think more critically of how I can obtain what I pictured in my head when those initial ideas for the film popped into my head.
The process is still new for me and I am need of as much practice as I can possibly get, it is challenging but very rewarding. I just hope to grow and be able to contribute to the process of film making.
Monday, March 29, 2010
American Movie
American Movie is a documentary that follows the life of Mark Borchardt, who is desperately trying to create a feature length film. I had heard about this film from a friend and was excited when I saw this was one of the assigned films for my media and studies class.
I found the film inspiring, it is a story that is heart wrenching in it's desperation. Mark Borchardt is truly driven to complete his dream despite the seemingly hopeless odds against him. His family and close friends all seem to have some role to play in helping bring Marks dream to life.
It is inspiring to see how determined a person can be when trying to complete their creative vision. The hunger can be immense when driven to fulfill their dream. I feel I can relate to that hunger to an extent, I am sure some of my close friends can as well. The drive to create I have felt along with my close friends through music and film. Mark Borchardt is an extreme case, but I feel we can relate and grow inspired by the determination this man has to follow through with his vision no matter how many obstacles come his way.
I highly recommend checking out this documentary, I found it inspiring, heart wrenching and hilarious all at the same time.
I found the film inspiring, it is a story that is heart wrenching in it's desperation. Mark Borchardt is truly driven to complete his dream despite the seemingly hopeless odds against him. His family and close friends all seem to have some role to play in helping bring Marks dream to life.
It is inspiring to see how determined a person can be when trying to complete their creative vision. The hunger can be immense when driven to fulfill their dream. I feel I can relate to that hunger to an extent, I am sure some of my close friends can as well. The drive to create I have felt along with my close friends through music and film. Mark Borchardt is an extreme case, but I feel we can relate and grow inspired by the determination this man has to follow through with his vision no matter how many obstacles come his way.
I highly recommend checking out this documentary, I found it inspiring, heart wrenching and hilarious all at the same time.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Messages from Water
I read about some research being done from a website called messages from water
here is the link for anyone who is interested http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_emoto.htm
I found it fascinating, basically it is an experiment done by a man named Masaru Emoto that shows through the vibrational frequencies of our words and thoughts, the molecular structure of water changes. The website shows pictures to how the different words affected the look of the molecules. This was also done by playing music which also changed the molecules. The website goes further into details.
Now what is interesting to think about is that we have about 70% water inside of a person. According to the experiment, this shows how the interaction we have with others and the feelings we hold within ourselves could be creating a physical change in the molecular structure of the water that is inside of us. I find it really interesting in giving new perspective to how much communication can effect us in such a major way to shaping molecules running through our bodies.
I am very interested in hearing your opinion on this research, whether you can believe it or not. I think this research gives us a deeper understanding and awareness of how much we affect ourselves and others through communication.
here is the link for anyone who is interested http://www.life-enthusiast.com/twilight/research_emoto.htm
I found it fascinating, basically it is an experiment done by a man named Masaru Emoto that shows through the vibrational frequencies of our words and thoughts, the molecular structure of water changes. The website shows pictures to how the different words affected the look of the molecules. This was also done by playing music which also changed the molecules. The website goes further into details.
Now what is interesting to think about is that we have about 70% water inside of a person. According to the experiment, this shows how the interaction we have with others and the feelings we hold within ourselves could be creating a physical change in the molecular structure of the water that is inside of us. I find it really interesting in giving new perspective to how much communication can effect us in such a major way to shaping molecules running through our bodies.
I am very interested in hearing your opinion on this research, whether you can believe it or not. I think this research gives us a deeper understanding and awareness of how much we affect ourselves and others through communication.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Sci-fi and Fantasy popularity
I recently heard a statistic that the science fiction genre is more popular in the Western world, while the fantasy genre is more popular in the Eastern world. I think it is interesting to think about this, though I am just speculating to the reason. So what is the reason for this?
I feel that the reason for the popularity of the two can be linked to varying cultural mind sets. In our part of the world, the United States in particular, our culture is more rooted in scientific proof to explain our world, while the Eastern culture by tradition is more accepting of the supernatural and the spiritual realm. These traditionally focused mind sets could be linked to the popularity to these genres. Science fiction gives us a look into worlds that are based in technological and scientific advances based from our world in the present. Giving us a glimpse at possible futures and alternate realities. Fantasy on the other hand accentuates the mystic properties of our world to let the mind run wild.
I am a fan of both genres, a little hard for me to pick a favorite side. I am curious if anyone has any theories as to why these varying popularities may be I am very interested in hearing them. This again is just my speculation of why one genre may be more popular than the other.
I feel that the reason for the popularity of the two can be linked to varying cultural mind sets. In our part of the world, the United States in particular, our culture is more rooted in scientific proof to explain our world, while the Eastern culture by tradition is more accepting of the supernatural and the spiritual realm. These traditionally focused mind sets could be linked to the popularity to these genres. Science fiction gives us a look into worlds that are based in technological and scientific advances based from our world in the present. Giving us a glimpse at possible futures and alternate realities. Fantasy on the other hand accentuates the mystic properties of our world to let the mind run wild.
I am a fan of both genres, a little hard for me to pick a favorite side. I am curious if anyone has any theories as to why these varying popularities may be I am very interested in hearing them. This again is just my speculation of why one genre may be more popular than the other.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Kwedit
I don't know if anyone else has heard about this website kwedit.com, I heard about it from a segment that Stephen Colbert did recently. This site is incredibly strange. Basically it is credit for kids so they can play online games. Play now, pay later is the slogan. This is really disturbing when you find out what the games are. Foo Pets is a virtual pet game where you have to pay real money for food and other virtual products for your virtual pet. If you don't pay to keep your virtual pet happy they will take it away. I can not even completely express how messed up I think this is. To get kids to borrow money that they have to later pay back in order to keep their online virtual pet.
I personally don't think that kids at such young ages in which this site targets, should be dealing with credit especially in such a manner. This kind of media technology is supposed to teach kids about credit, but what is it really doing? The kid is going to get in debt buying virtual products and the parents are going to have to pay their debt for them. They even explain this as "passing the duck", this means that if you don't have the money you can ask someone else to pay for you taking the responsibility off of the kid. This kind of media technology seems sketchy to me for a young child to be responsible for. I think the idea of this being an educational experience seems odd to me as well. I feel there is other ways to teach a kid about credit without having them buy virtual pet food.
I personally don't think that kids at such young ages in which this site targets, should be dealing with credit especially in such a manner. This kind of media technology is supposed to teach kids about credit, but what is it really doing? The kid is going to get in debt buying virtual products and the parents are going to have to pay their debt for them. They even explain this as "passing the duck", this means that if you don't have the money you can ask someone else to pay for you taking the responsibility off of the kid. This kind of media technology seems sketchy to me for a young child to be responsible for. I think the idea of this being an educational experience seems odd to me as well. I feel there is other ways to teach a kid about credit without having them buy virtual pet food.
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