Technology and the Media

5 years from now... I don't believe too much at all will change in the next 5 years.  I think social networking will continue to grow in new and slightly different forms i.e. new websites and portable apps for accessing them.

15 years from now... I have a very strong feeling based on how things are progressing today, that 3D; more specifically forms of holograms will emerge and take over as the new form of how media is displayed.  Movies, television, and video games may very well end up as interactive 3D holograms perhaps even with texture.  I'm also very positive that all 3D images will be able to be experienced with out the need of glasses or eye wear of any sort; the first device to do, the Nintendo 3DS twill launch in the Spring of 2011 so I think its safe to say that this will be normal in 15 years.

50 years from now... This time frame will definitely consist of mostly science fiction and things I personally would like to see happen.  I feel that in 50 years humans should have made gigantic leaps in achieving star travel.  The ability to at the very least send manned space crews to a other planets with in our solar system.  I'm not going too bold and demanding the answer to light speed, but I would hope we can do much more than orbit out planet and send a few people to the moon and back.

Snowcrash

This was a really awesome cyberpunk story with great characters and most importantly a fantastic writing style.  The story is set in a futuristic dystopian society.  The way the society was set up was in a sense not too different from how things are today but taken to the extreme.  I found the types of technology described to be fascinating.  The idea of creating any kind of avatar that pleases you for use in a digital world is interesting considering the types of avatars people are able to create today.  The virtual library was also amazing especially the way characters were able to communicate with the Librarian.  This was undoubtedly one of the best assignments of the class.

Blood Child

Bloodchild is a short story by Octavia Butler.  It's a sort of grim and disturbing sci-fi story that  takes place on a distant planet where humans are essentially slaves to the race of bug like creatures that inhabit the planet.  The thing that disturbed me the most would be the compromise that was established between the two races.  The humans would allow themselves to be hosts for their parasitic reproduction. Even more odd, human males were the best hosts for the job.

I didn't dislike the story but I also didn't particularly enjoy it either.  It brought some interesting ideas to the genre, but being the type of person that is cursed with producing mental images involuntarily made enjoying this story slightly difficult.

The Stars My Destination

This novel, probably one of the best, or my personal favorite novel of the semester.  The story follows a man named Gully Foyle who is the last survivor of a merchant ship that was attacked in the war of the outer satellites. After seeing another ship the Vorga, off in the distance he signals for aid but the ship passes by him by. Gully then finds a way to crudely repair the ships engine then sets off on an epic quest for sweet revenge.  There are two main reasons why I loved this. One, the main character doesn't take crap from anyone, a vindictive character is a great character in my opinion.  The other being the setting.  The feeling of the age of exploration reborn in the stars has always fascinated me.  The dangerous unknown combined with a sense of lawlessness in an adventure never gets old.  This story as well as others similar to this tend to make me consider the future of the human race, and what our lives are destined to become.

Anansi Boys

This is a novel written by Neil Gaiman.  The story is about a young timid man who  is preparing to get married.  While preparing for the wedding he is interrupted by news of his father's death in Florida.  While in Florida for the funeral he is told that his father was actually Anansi, a west African spider god.  I really enjoyed this story mainly for introducing African mythology which I previously knew nothing about.  Gaiman also does a great job of describing situations and just overall has an enticing writing style.  Although I have yet to complete the novel I definitely plan to as soon as possible.  The use of mythologies that I am not familiar with gave me a refreshing new look at the fantasy genre and reinvigorated my interest in it.

The Golden Compass

The Golden Compass is about a young girl named Lyra.  The story is set in a world where people's souls exist outside the body and are referred to as daemons.  The story revolves around a rumor about the Gobblers. These Gobblers are believed to be kidnapping children.  These Gobblers end up taking her best friend Roger and ends up going on a quest.  It was a pretty interesting story that reminds me a little bit of the Narnia books.

The Hobbit

Written by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit is a classic heroes journey epic fantasy adventure.  The story follows a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins who has no desires to go exploring or have any crazy adventures.  This all changes once he gets bombarded with visits from several dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf.  The mood of the story is an overall light-hearted adventure consisting of several challenges that they magically escape from.  I really enjoyed the sense of exploration and discovery of the unknown.  This is by far one of my favorite books and the only one of Tolkien's that I can actually bare to read.

Interview with a Vampire

Taking place in New Orleans, Interview with a Vampire is about a vampire named Louis who divulges the story of his life over the course of 200 years.  This story is probably one of the first vampire stories to introduce the vampire that feeds off of animals rather than people, as the character Louis does.  On the other hand his friend Lestat feeds off the local plantation slaves.  The boy (the interviewer) and Louis travel throughout Europe to seek out more vampires, they come across a breed that behave more like Zombies than actually vampires, though once they arrive at Paris they find more of their kind.  The boy eventually wants to become a vampire and begs Louis to grant his wish.  Louis attacks him and vanishes.  Louis becomes furious, he was trying to teach the boy that immortality is more of a curse than a blessing involving nothing more than eternal pain and suffering.

Why are Zombies so popular?

As someone who is a gaming enthusiast; the mindless brutality  of these creatures makes it nearly impossible for the player to feel any remorse for them.  One of the most popular and successful games today is Left4Dead.  In an industry that is completely dominated by the first person shooter genre; I feel, and I'm sure I can vouch for others, that there is something immensely satisfying about mowing down endless waves of zombies.  Planting explosives in the midst of a flesh hungry mob leaves many gamers giddy with joy.
     The more recent movies that have been released haven't been horror movies but instead, they are mostly action packed comedies.  To me the zombie, while frightening is also ridiculous and hilarious.  I think it's that strange mix of feelings that makes them so fascinating for me.

Monster Island

Monster Island is a novel about Zombies.  I am very familiar with zombies and the lore that surronds them, mainly from other popular forms of media such as movies and videogames.  This novel brought forth some interesting additions and provided and unique take on what zombies are and what they are capable of.

One of the characters whom I found fascinating would be Gary.  Many that I know would be strictly against a zombie who could think and act on his own, as it goes against one the lore that zombies are bound by.  I on the other hand thought it was facinating new take on zombies.