Dancing Paper

This was my first attempt at stop motion, so please don't judge too harshly. I don't think I'll be making another stop motion video anytime soon. I hope. 

Smoke and Mirrors

It is no secret that I am a fan of Star Wars. I’m not a fanatic or anything like that. I would never go to a convention or name my children after a character from the series. I cannot tell you the name of the ship Luke used to get to whatever planet he was on when he met Yoda for the first time. But I can tell you that I’ve seen all six movies numerous times and that my favorite one in the series is The Empire Strikes Back because it has all the best lines.

My love of the Star Wars began with my parents. I basically grew up watching the saga. When I was a child, I was blown away by the special effects in the movies. But as I grew older, I became less and less impressed by them. As a teenager I found them laughable. By then the industry of special effects was just beginning to hit its stride. Images that were once impossible to produce are now right there in front of us on the screen. Effects that were reserved only for the movies with the biggest budgets are now seen every day on cable TV.

I shared this view point with my mother. I asked her how she could have ever thought that the effects in A New Hope were anything but ridiculous. She told me I just didn’t understand. It was 1977 and they had never seen anything like it before. In the opening scene when the star destroyer flies overhead, it left them all in awe. She said she felt bad that I would never get to experience that rush of excitement at the movies because I have become almost indifferent to special effects. I just expect them to be there and to be amazing. My parents watched the slow evolution of special effects over the past decades, seeing them become more refined and impressive.  

Should I feel as if I have been spoiled? I do get to experience all the amazing advances in movie technology without first having to deal with its primitive beginnings. Or should I be jealous that my parents got watch the evolution special effects first hand? 

Devices of Wonder

My inventory of gadgets and such:

At home I have a small TV and a small DVD player. I have no idea what brand they are or how old they are either. But they both still work, so that’s good enough for me.

I still have an old stereo that works. It’s so old that it still has the ability to play cassette tapes. I love it because it’s neon blue.

I have an old iPod that barely still functions. I got it second hand from a friend when she upgraded.  I named it Monty.

I have a tiny little mp3 player that my mom got for me using her Coke Points.

I have a habit of losing my cell phones so right now I’m using the first one I ever owned. It’s old. It doesn’t even have a camera on it. But I’m ok with that.

I do have a FUJIFILM FinePix S2000HD I bought two years ago. I love that thing so much. I named it Carmine.

Then there is the temperamental Fujitsu tablet I’m typing on right now. 

But that’s about it. 

Notes and Margin Doodles

I have no idea how I ever survived high school. I'm not talking about the social aspects of it. That is an entirely different story. I'm talking about the work. (not that surviving peer pressure isn't hard work) I'm talking about the day to day. I'm talking about sitting in a classroom, listening to the teacher talk, taking notes, all without a computer sitting in front of me. I don't know how it was for everyone else, but at my high school we had block scheduling. Thus, each class was an hour and half long. Everyday. At the time, I loved it. I only had four classes a day each semester. But how did I pass the time? I remember I doodled quite a bit in my notes. I remember staring out of a lot of windows. But now that I've grown so used to having the Internet at my finger tips at all times, I do not think I could do it again.
I was watching a movie from the early 2000's the other day. In it some high schoolers got caught passing notes to each other in class. I remember the days when that was our only means of communication during a particularly doldrum day of learning. How much money did my parents spend on notebooks and pencils only to have them used in such a fashion? In high school, texting erased the need to pass paper notes. Though it was perhaps easier to get caught texting than it was in passing a piece of paper. Now we access Skype, IM, Facebook and a host of other means of instant communication twenty-four hours a day. Who needs paper?
If for some reason I had to go back, I am quite sure I would go crazy.

Student Made

This is a video my friend made for a school project last year. I loved it then and I love it even more so now. Student made videos have been on my mind. I felt I needed to share this one with the world.

A Study in Jamie

Hello cyber world, my name is Jamie and this is my blog.
This first entry is to introduce myself, but where to begin? I am currently a sophomore at Dakota State University and I am an English for New Media major. What I am going to do with a degree in that, I have no idea. I have high hopes for something amazing to come out of it though.
I am from a small town in eastern South Dakota, so I obviously travel a great distance to be here at DSU. Though I once in lived in Nevada for three years. 
I love to travel. This past summer I saw the Atlantic Ocean for the first time when I went on a road trip with some friends to Charleston, SC. My goal in life is to travel the world.
I love to act. I was in DSU's fall production of "The Diviners." It was an amazing experience. I am also going to be in the spring production of "Anything Goes" though mine is a small part because I am not known for my singing talents. Just recently I traveled with several other theater folk to Ames, Iowa for the American College Theater Festival. It was a wonderful adventure. There were acting and tech workshops to go to and amazing plays to see. My favorite was a production of the Odyssey.  
I also love music. In high school I played the saxophone and clarinet in band and was first chair for both instruments. I also know how to play the flute and piano and I am learning the guitar and trumpet. Since DSU does not have an official band program, I make due with the pep band. Though I must admit it is great fun all the same.
I am an avid reader. I do have a favorite genre. I love historical fiction books that are also murder mysteries. Yes, it is a very specific genre to love, but one would be surprised how many books fit into that category. But I love all sorts of other books as well. I have quite the collection of books at my home. My room is dominated by the presence of literature. Almost every surface is overflowing with books.
Well, that's all I can think of for now. More to come in the future.