Podcasts

One day my ambassador friend told me that more and more people were asking about Podcasts when they came for a campus tour. It astounded us both not only that these people had the guts to ask such a nerdy question, but that they are actually being used more and more frequently. Now I've personally never had to use a podcast for a class. And unfortunately, up until now I've never had to make one. But as part of a new technology centered curriculum in the Education Department, I am required not only to create a podcast but also to evaluate one. Apparently, podcasts are even more popularly used in the elementary setting. Since my parents were once from Phoenix and I've also visited there on several occasions, I decided to pick a podcast about Arizona's capitol. I was surprised to hear that the podcast was narrated by a group of second graders. Now apart from the podcast being one of the cutest things I've ever heard, it also has some very admirable qualities as far as podcasts go. The podcast was able to hold my attention remarkably well for a file made specifically for elementary students. They had chapters devoted to Phoenix's weather, tourist attractions, sports teams, wildlife, economy, and "famous friends." Apparently Alice Cooper is a huge fan of fabulous Phoenix. However, if any of these kids honestly know who Alice Cooper is they have been exposed to metal music far too prematurely. Each of the chapters had interesting musical segues (oftentimes featuring the classroom a cappella group) between one another to make for little dead air during the podcast. The students themselves were also pretty fluent and comfortable making the podcast except for a few kids who were obviously petrified. I, personally, can't blame them. It was fairly apparent that the students were given scripts to read from since most of them didn't even attempt to use a regular "speaking voice," but I didn't see this as terribly indecorous. Even though the students stumbled over a few sentences, paused in the middle of words, and often spoke in trembling voices, it was not distracting or even unpleasant. Variety and mustard are after all the spice of life.

Here is the website where the podcast is located if you are interested:

http://learninginhand.com/OurCity/index.html

Dreams of a Bygone Whippersnapper

So I'm in this crazy English class called Adolescence and Literature and we talked about our old high school days. It seemed like almost half the class had a pretty dreary view of high school, but everyone kind of agreed that it was mostly a blur and I would have to agree with that. If I based my high school experience on the few memories I had, it would be a rather dull existence watching Jared Meyer squeeze himself into his locker every day and hijacking Mr. Ingram's computer whenever we could. And yet, every time I remember those times, it still seems funny. And whenever I reminisce about High School in general I can't help but smile. I went to a small high school in Tulsa called Cascia Hall. My graduating class was around 80. I knew everyone in my class and, although I only liked a select few, I loved being in such a small, manageable social cocoon. The one thing that I think that I did miss out on going to a small school is that there was a lot less drama. And let's face it. I thrive on drama. One thing I sort of regret about High School in general is not being in town for the summer. Since my dad lived in Missouri for occupational reasons, I spent my summers with him crafting model airplanes and playing golf. Don't get me wrong, hanging out with my dad is a blast. Honestly, if I'd spent my summers in Tulsa during High School I probably would've ended up palying video games and reading Goosbumps. But the summer after I graduated, I was finally able to stay in T-town and it was something spectacular. I spent most of my time biking around town, camping, eating organic food, and playing frisbee and hackey sack; basically living in a hippy's paradise. Quite the extremes in retrospect. I remember so little of it now, but it seems judging from the few memories that I have that it was one of the happiest times in my life. Anyways, in the same literature class the teacher asked who would ever want to go back to high school if they could. I rose my hand immediately. I think the shy, quiet kid I once was in high school might have missed out on some of the great things about High School like parties, brunches, debutantes...that sort of thing. Plus I'd be able to drop knowledge like crazy. And let's face it. Chicks dig brains. They can't help it.

A Cosmic Phenomenon

Cereal. Truly a cosmic phenomenon. Not only is cereal a staple of my diet, it represents a pure, timeless joy that I can experience every day with no serious bodily or financial repercussions. In fact, one could argue, and I have on several occasions, that eating cereal is a very spiritual experience. It combines two of my most favorite things: food and milk. Now, I categorize cereal under four broad, fluid categories that I have developed over a long period of exhaustive, delicious research. These categories are Sugar-based, Chocolate-based, Crunch-based, and Health-based. With Sugar cereals you've got your whole frosted family and your cinnamon family. I usually lump the honey cereals in with the sugars as well except for "Honey Smacks" or "Golden Crisp" which are obviously Crunch based and pretty much the exact same cereal. I've heard some rumors of placing these in a new "Seashell" category because of their faint resemblance, but most experts will tell you the movement is simply a red herring. The Chocolates are fairly self-explanatory and I generally stay away from them because of bad experiences with them in the past (Count Chocula almost killed me). And then comes my personal favorite: the Crunch cereals. The primary appeal of these cereals lies in their texture, shape, and in rare cases sound (Rice Krispies). Some Sugar or Chocolate enthusiasts will try to tell you that Crunch cereals are more susceptible to sogginess than the other varieties, but this is simply bunk. If those Flakes and Chockheads, as we in the biz like to call them, were as enthusiastic about Crunch cereals as we were they wouldn't get the opportunity to get soggy if you know what I mean. Some marquee Crunch cereals are Crispix, Pops, Apple Jacks, and, the mother of all crunch cereals, Captain Crunch. Now Health cereals I generally avoid actually because of health reasons. Mental health reasons. The very idea of cereal having fruit instead of chocolate or sugar is simply mind-boggling, but if you put a gun to my head and said I had to eat a healthy cereal I'd probably go with Chex or Honey Bunches of Oats. Now some cereals may fall under two categories like Honey Cheerios or Frosted Mini-Wheats that are sugary, yet somehow healthy. Their very titles are paradoxical. And other cereals will fail to be categorized entirely like the new Eggo cereals coming out. Nobody knows what's goin' on with those things. Perhaps these anomalies could be placed in their own category, but this would be quite a slap in the face to most cereal gurus out there. Well, there's my feeble attempt to create order from chaos; to define something that is essentially ineffable. Laugh if you wish, but the cosmos may have other plans in mind.

Website Evaluation

I was recently assigned to write an article based on my personal evaluation of a website's design and navigation. This is similar to a blog I was required to do earlier in the semester that was meant for me to examine a website's credibility or lack of credibility based on its appearance, credentials, design, etc., etc. I decided that since the assignment was mandatory, I'd pick a website that I had a particular interest in. Since I had just beaten Super Mario World on Super Nintendo - and, yes, it was quite super - I thought it would be interesting to evaluate a website about videogames. One website in particular that my roommates and I frequent fairly regularly when we've found we've hit a dead end is called GameFAQS. This website has been a veritable treasure trove of ideas, hints, and interesting facts since my freshman year in college. Now I'd hate to have to bite the hand that feeds me, but in order to remain impartial I will not hesitate to slam the website if it turns out its design isn't up to snuff.
The main page of the website is very appealing and lively overall. It has prominent, functional links to all of the site's major components. The site's graphics are sound. The one criticism I have of the main page is that it has many non-functional icons, which can be confusing. I tried testing the site's ability to run searches and the site took me directly to the information I needed. One interesting tool the authors of the site have created is the "platform jumper" which allows the viewer to research a specific video game console like Super Nintendo or Playstation. The website does have copyright information and the designing company's information at the bottom of the page. Also, there is a featured daily article involving videogames on the main page that gives the date and time of the update. All in all, the website succeeds in offering gamers a valuable search engine, a reliable source of topic-specific information, and a forum for fans to express their own videogame theories and opinions.


http://www.gamefaqs.com/

Prohibition P.I. Turns Party Animal

My senior year at college has seen quite a few changes. And it seems that in the next few weeks I will be attending events that celebrate these changes. First off, ever since my freshman year I've always subconsciously looked down upon alchohol - no, not just because liquor stores were made for short people (It's funny. Laugh. Now.) Heck, I was a regular Elliot Ness freshman year. Turning down drinks, shootin' down smugglers, blowin' up speak-easies. Sure I was responsible for Sean Connery getting riddled with tommy-gun fire, but I think we all knew in our hearts it was a necessary sacrifice. But those times have changed. And I guess some wing of my moral edifice fell under disrepair since then. I personally like to think that it's been been lightly refurbished by some European Interior Decorator with a penchant for postmodern upheaval. But more than likely it's been demolished to make more room for recreational activities. Either way it's a bad analogy. Basically I've come to realize that there is nothing inherently wrong with alcohol. But before I came to this conclusion I was among the opinion that I would never touch the stuff. This opinion was also nourished by a circle of friends who kept me company my first three years of college and who shared my opinions on alcohol and debauchery in general. If you're wondering what our stance was on debauchery, let me tell you that we were all for it except of course when drinking was involved. Despite our similar beliefs, we have begun to see less and less of each other this year and the circle itself has become fragmented. Not to say that we had a falling out, but let's just say that our paths diverged from changing circumstances and residences. It's kind of amazing how big a difference a couple hundred yards between people can make. At any rate, in a few weeks we're throwing a party with all of these old friends to see how they are doing. And now that we are all of age and seem to be less ensconced in our stances we decided to make the occasion even more memorable by allowing alcohol. We'll probably end up doing the same things we always did: board games, movies, sock wrestling. You get the picture. Yet for some reason it seems like it will all be so much more...interesting.