Lessons Learned from the Top Ignite Speeches

Our last lecture for CAT 125 took place on November 28, and the top ignite speeches from each discussion section were presented.  From watching other people perform their ignite speeches, I discovered many ways that will help me in the future when telling a narrative or story.

Source: http://dnd.wizards.com/sites/default/files/media/styles/second_hubpage_banner/public/images/head-banner/NEW-TO-DnD_What-is-DnD_Subsection_Hero_140718.jpg?itok=5pBlzVTc

First off, I would like to say that my favorite speech had to be Trevor's, who talked about his passion for Dungeons and Dragons and made a topic that most people would scoff at, extremely interesting to listen to!  But what made his speech so compelling that it got voted as second best in the class?

When looking at my own speech script, I feel that my thoughts didn't always have the most cohesive structure, or that my slides didn't necessarily transition well into each other all the time.  I also felt that a lot of own personal experiences could have been better implemented.  However, Trevor's speech had me interested from the first slide, a blank white background with one sentence: I want to have a party.  Transitioning into his type of a party, Dungeons and Dragons, which is drastically different from the normal visual of party made the audience interested in what he had to say.  Although his slides did not necessarily include many visuals, Trevor did an amazing job painting an image in our heads by describing the types of scenarios that occur in a typical night of Dungeons and Dragons.

Source: http://www.ukeschool.com/graphics/uke-left-c.png

I voted for Marcus's speech on the ukulele as second best, but his speech ultimately won best in the class.  So what made his speech so successful?  Well, as CAT 125 is a course focused on mediums and visual narratives, Marcus had a very unique medium and visuals.  By using his ukulele in the actual ignite speech, people were intrigued as he didn't just stick to his slides, as every other presenter did.  Marcus's speech ended with him singing an abridged version of "I'm Yours," as well as him utilizing the information from his presentation to play the ukulele.  This was a powerful visual that sold the speech to the class, and got him voted to the top.  So what could I learn from Marcus's speech?  One thing I could've done more in my speech was implement the Rubik's Cube more, although I opted not to as I wasn't confident enough in ability to not "mess up" the moves I would have to make on the cube.

More Background Information on my Ignite Speech

My Ignite speech was centered around the very popular puzzle known as the Rubik's Cube, originating all the way back to 1974.  The entire speech was not necessarily meant to go into the details of how to solve the Rubik's Cube or the history of it, but rather a narrative of the lessons that I learned from solving a Rubik's Cube and the new mindset of tackling difficult challenges that I gained over the years.  However, during my first practice run of the speech,  a lot of my fellow classmates mentioned that they wanted to see more of how the cube was actually solved.

Taking the feedback for the official run of my Ignite Speech, I included two more slides on how the solving of the cube is actually done.  However, even then, 30-45 seconds is nowhere near long enough to explain how this complicated puzzle is solved.  To be honest, even using the entire 5 minutes would not have been enough time to do an entire speech on how to solve the Rubik's Cube.  When I first learned how to solve the cube, it took me at least five hours of trying to figure out the original instruction manual that I found online, and many many more hours to remember the steps.

The above is an excerpt from the original manual that I used to learn how to solve the Rubik's Cube, that you can find here in PDF form: http://lghttp.38568.nexcesscdn.net/8013252/pdf/uploads/general_content/Rubiks_cube_3x3_solution-en.pdf

Even then, this is not the exact method that I use to solve the cube today.  People often refer to the method described in the manual as "Beginner's Method," a form of CFOP, which I talked about in my speech, broken down into more steps for simplicity.  Even then, I use a slightly different variation to solve the cube known as "ZZ," created by Zbigniew Zborowski in 2006.  At this point, the exact methods that I use get extremely technical, so I won't go into them here.

I also talked about the Roux method in my presentation.  This method, although not used by many of the top speedcubers, still has the potential to be really fast - and also looks the coolest in my opinion!  In fact, if I could go back in time, I would have probably decided to learn Roux simply for its aesthetics in turning style.  An example of what I mean can be found in the video below.

As you can see, the Roux method uses a lot of "middle" layer turns, which looks very nice, to me at least.  For more information on all the methods I mentioned, see the links below.

CFOP: https://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/CFOP

ZZ:  https://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/ZZ

Roux:  https://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Roux

Petrus:  https://www.speedsolving.com/wiki/index.php/Petrus

The Entire History of You and my Ignite Speech

One of my favorite works that we have looked at in this course has been Armstrong and Welsh's "The Entire History of You," part of the Black Mirror series.  As I am a big fan of Black Mirror and have watched all three seasons, I was pleasantly surprised when we watched that episode in lecture, and was even happy to include the work in my Semiotic Analysis for Frida Kahlo's works.

Black Mirror: "The Entire History of You"

The idea of the this episode is very interesting.  It explores an alternate reality in which everyone has access to their own grain, and can access any of their memories to rewatch them whenever they want.  Obviously, while this idea has a lot of positives, it also has a lot of negative disadvantages to it.  The episode in particular shows the main character Liam, using the grain to discover the sad truth that his wife Ffion has been cheating on him.  Personally, I think it would be very beneficial to have a grain - though I do think that restrictions would have to be applied.  The closest we have to a grain right now would be... a GoPro?  However wearing a GoPro basically tells the entire world that you're recording them - and people don't like that.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oLAu2T9xLj8

In the case of my Ignite speech, which heavily focuses on the Rubik's Cube as an example of what hard work can accomplish, having a grain or equivalent would have been very helpful for providing visuals.  As the Rubik's Cube is literally a visual representation of what my years of practicing have done, it would helped to have more videos of me solving it.  Because I don't have a grain, however, the best I could do was salvage old photos and videos from my phone and look online for other examples.

I believe that for everyone, making an Ignite speech would be much easier with a grain.  As many of our speeches draw from our past experiences, the ability to show others what we have gone through - much like in "The Entire History of You," can greatly improve the point that we try to convey we our speeches.  Visuals are powerful, and the phrase "Seeing is believing" is a quote that I kept in mine when making my speech.

CAT 125: I/Eyegasm in relation to TDAC 1: Introduction to Acting

In addition to this course, I am also taking TDAC 1 at our school, also known as Introduction to Acting.  As this quarter is coming to a close, I am starting to make many connections between these two courses.

CAT 125, as Professor Nericcio has structured it, is very much a course about learning how to explore ourselves and learning how to tell our very own narratives.  The first readings of the course, for example Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Massage" and John Berger's "Ways of Seeing" explores ways and methods to tell our story.  The last few readings of this course, such as Ghost World, Joy of the Desolate, or even Hari Alluri's works are all examples of narratives about the self.  So how does CAT 125 relate to my acting course?

I first made this connection while I was memorizing lines for my final scene that I will have to do.  Of course, I also had to memorize "lines" for my final ignite speech.  The difference between the two is that in essence, my ignite speech was a representation of myself and the story of who I am as a person.  When I am doing my final scene portraying the character CB from the play "Dog Sees God," I am telling the story of someone else.

Source: http://eastchapelhillobserver.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/DSG-artwork.jpg

The methods that I learn in CAT 125 for telling a narrative, especially those that I used during my Ignite speech can be using in my acting, as well as the reverse: TDAC 1 skills can be used to better tell the story of myself in CAT 125.  For example, one of the skills that we learn in TDAC 1 is being able to identify one's objective, circumstances, and tactics.  Performing this analysis on myself is a good way to dig deeper in my personality, and become better at telling my narrative to others.

From One Second To The Next | November 16 Lecture

Today in lecture, we watched a documentary called "From One Second To The Next," a narrative about the dangers of texting while driving.  The documentary featured several stories of those who have been affected by texting and driving, from both the victims' point of views as well as the texters' point of views.  You can view the documentary down below.

The documentary was a lot more emotional than I had expected from a CAT 125 lecture.  But why was it so emotional?  Because the director, Werner Herzog, had done an excellent job captivating the audience and keeping the audience interested and wanting to learn more.  For example, by describing each victim's background and current circumstances, the audience will want to know the details of the accident they went through.  Herzog was also able to portray the dangers of texting while driving by making the consequences very clear to understand through the stories given by those he had interviewed.  By giving clear, concise examples of other people's experiences, the audience is more willing to believe the message that the documentary is trying to send.

First slide of my Ignite speech

Although I have already done my Ignite speech, there is a lot that I could learn about narrative and story-telling through the work of Herzog.  Using other people's personal experiences, for example, is a very powerful visual that can speak to others.  Telling stories, whether about yourself (Ignite speech), or about others (the documentary), is an important skill to have no matter where you go and no matter what point you're at in your life.  Narrative telling is a way to connect with other people and express our own unique styles of sharing stories, just like we have seen through the Ignite speeches.  Consequently, it is important that these skills are developed in this course.

Miss Lonelyhearts is All of Us

When Professor Nericcio first introduced Miss Lonelyhearts in lecture, he said something that stuck with me, "Miss Lonelyhearts is all of us."  The story of Miss Lonelyhearts, at its core, is essentially one about a man stuck in a job that he no longer likes, who falls in a spiral of dark depression.

The characters in this story often have to resort to heavy drinking, partying, and sex to forget about all of their problems.  Miss Lonelyhearts in particular has an affair with Shrike's wife, and even one of his readers: Mrs. Doyle.  Personally, I find it surprising how even 70 years later, not much has changed in our world.  Back in the 1930's, I would assume that depression was not that well known and probably was not recognized as a mental condition.  However, in my generation and especially in college students, depression and anxiety disorders seem to be found in a lot of people.  Although correlation does not necessary imply causation, college students also resort to heavy drinking, parting, sex, and in our age - a lot of drugs.  Hence, "Miss Lonelyhearts is all of us."

So, what is the solution to coming out of this mental depression?  As I am not a psychologist, I wouldn't be able to give the right answer.  However, according to Nathaniel West's interpretation of Miss Lonelyhearts, there really is no way out as the end of the story leads to Lonelyhearts rolling down a set of stairs with Doyle after exploding a gun.  I would hope this is not the case.

My best guess to getting rid of the Lonelyhearts inside of us is to seek something new.  In fact, this is the message that I am trying to send in my Ignite speech, in which seeking new challenges can bring new meaning into your life.  By challenging yourself and seeing what you can accomplish, you just might be able to bring a little more happiness in your life and bring yourself out of a spiral of depression, if you're in one.

Reflection on Susan Sontag | Photography in Today's Age

Back in Week 6 of lecture, Professor Nericcio showed up an excerpt from Susan Sontag's "On Photography," a collection of essays written in 1977.  You can find it here: http://writing.upenn.edu/library/Sontag-Susan-Photography.pdf

Excerpt shown in lecture

When I found out that this was written in 1977, I was shocked.  If anything, this quote is more true today than ever before with the invention of the smartphone and the introduction of easy to take pictures.  Our generation is filled with blooming "photographers," with many people documenting even the most mundane part of the human experience.  Whether a picture of the lunch they just had, a picture of someone sleeping, or a selfie of themselves taken at the end of the work day, the ease of taking a photo makes it easy for anyone to practice photography.

With the rise of social media and platforms such as Instagram, it is interesting to see that Susan Sontag called photography a social rite many years ago.  In today's generation, photography is easily a defense against anxiety, as people often alter their photos using filters or photoshop to portray a better image of themselves.  Unaltered pictures are a source of anxiety for many people, as we do not like to see our imperfections.  Photography can be used a tool of power, as described by Sontag, as the number of likes that someone receives on social media is an artificial measure of how popular they are.

The above is another quote from the text.  I find that this quote relates to another popular social media platform: Snapchat.  With the introduction of Snapchat in many people's smartphones, people always will always take a photograph, or a "snap," or what they are currently doing.  In the case of Snapchat, it has basically become a way for people to prove that they are doing something in their lives.

Of course, even I myself partake in social media platforms.  In a way, photography has become a part of everyone's life, and in many ways is a great way to document our history.  The photographs we take are ultimately a part of who we are, and it is important to embrace the medium.

Sigmund Freud and Halloween

"What are you going to be for Halloween?" is a common question that we hear in the month of October.  As the holiday of trick and treating passed by this week, I was reminded of the contents of this course - and specifically the ideas of Sigmund Freud.

Source: https://halloweenlove.com/images/posts/hhh_trick_r_treat.jpg

According to Appignanesi & Zarate's work, "Freud for Beginners," one of famous psychologist Sigmund Freud's revolutions was the discovery of the psychology of the unconscious.  In essence, all of our behaviors are motivated by ideas that we ultimately are not in control of.  Another important idea from Freud comes from his work in dream analysis, in which he says that the meaning of dreams is that the represent the fulfillment of wishes.  Now, you may be asking yourself, what does all of this have to do with Halloween?

One could argue that Halloween itself is a very dreamlike holiday.  People all around us are dressed in costumes that we would not normally see, whether as monsters, doctors, cooking utensils, or even as abstract ideas.  In my opinion, what we choose to dress up for during Halloween is a representation of our inner desires, as described by Freud in his section on dream analysis.  For example, let's say that someone decided to dress up as Captain America for Halloween.

Source: https://topsuperherocostumes.files.wordpress.com/2012/10/captain-america-halloween-costume.jpg

This decision to dress up as Captain America says a lot about the person.  They are likely a very kind-hearted person who wants to help the world in some way, and they may even dream of being a super hero themselves.  Ultimately, this all relates back to the theme of our course, "What is the self and what goes into its manufacture?"  Our desires located in our unconscious show up in many ways, including what we decide to dress up as for Halloween.

Source: pg. 129 of "Freud for Beginners"

The Medium is the Massage | Porter Robinson & Madeon's Shelter

A few days ago, I was watching the music video for Porter Robinson and Madeon's Shelter, their trending electronic single.  I was very surprised that Robinson had chosen to create an anime film to feature their hit song.  You can watch the video down below.

The story of the music video is straightforward, and is described in the description of the YouTube video:

"Shelter tells the story of Rin, a 17-year-old girl who lives her life inside of a futuristic simulation completely by herself in infinite, beautiful loneliness. Each day, Rin awakens in virtual reality and uses a tablet which controls the simulation to create a new, different, beautiful world for herself. Until one day, everything changes, and Rin comes to learn the true origins behind her life inside a simulation."

After watching this music video, I instantly thought of McLuhan's work.  As we have learned from Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Massage," often times the medium can have a larger effect on the message than the actual content itself.  Robinson could have chosen to make his music video like any other (live action), but instead, he decided to choose anime as his medium.  What is the message that we can take from this?

By choosing anime as the medium, Robinson was able to portray his ideas in a fantastical theme as often seen in many other anime films, as well as connect to a completely different audience as opposed to one he might have seen with a less original music video.  Additionally, Robinson was able to demonstrate the huge influence that Japanese culture and animation has had on his work.  Choosing the medium for this music video was not a small decision, and Robinson's collaboration with Madeon in Shelter shows us how the theory of McLuhan can be used in a real world example.

First the sentence, and then the evidence!

First of all, welcome to the first post on my blog/portfolio for Cat 125: I/Eyegasm.  For my first post, I will be talking about two pages (pg. 42 and 43) that caught my attention in Marshall McLuhan's "The Medium is the Massage."

After doing some research on this image, I discovered its origin lies from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, where the King and Queen of Hearts are with a jury and conducting trial on a Knave.  In the image above, the King is waiting for evidence before coming up with a verdict for the prisoner.  however, the queen is suggesting to issue the sentence first, before looking at the evidence.

To be honest, the first things that came to my mind after seeing these two pages was the age old question of what came first, the chicken or the egg?

Source: http://media1.iterated-reality.com/2015/03/ChickenOrEgg.jpg

However, the difference between these two is that the first scenario is a much more serious topic, and involves the life of someone who may be innocent.  In my opinion, the author of the story was trying to satire the eagerness of people to make uneducated decisions without thinking things through.  In our modern society, we have the system "innocent until proven guilty" for a good reason, as we would rather have criminals running around than innocent people having to pay for crimes they did not commit.

So how does this excerpt from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland relate to McLuhan's "The Medium is the Massage," and more importantly - how does it relate to this course?  In the pages immediately after these two, McLuhan talks about how rationality and visuality have been around as long as life.  Without rationality, an audience cannot understand the message being portrayed - regardless of the medium.  This connects to the excerpt from Wonderland because the Queen's thinking is flawed - you can't declare a sentence on someone without having the evidence to back it up.  Furthermore, this relates to the overall theme of our course "the self," as we need to make sure that we ourselves are rational beings.