I don't really know what the media will look like in 5 years but if I were to take an extremist approach, I think some terrible shit would be happening. I think London is the first city to really monitor everyone's behaviors with cameras placed throughout the city. I think most large metropolitan cities will soon adopt this, especially with the rise of terrorism in America I think American cities will be the first to do so. But it's also just a matter of time before news outlets tap into these streams and start publicizing average citizens everyday lives and missteps with in society. I think with the growing social network communities, the amount of information about people will be so large that we will be able to hack into peoples lives and criminals will be able to steal identities much easier.

I think 15 years from now the media outlets will be taking everything to extremes. The news will be like the gossip news on crack. I think there will be a small group that will want to try to contain society and turn them back to their ways before the internet and television took over our lives. I think advances in medicine and technology will happen but will be upstaged by the next great social media website. Countries will lose control as citizens start to elect officials that are know for things like being on an mtv show where they were shot out of a cannon while wearing an elephant costume. I think people will stop reading and will expect movies to be their only from of education.

50 years from now, well, I think the world will be going to shit. I think of the movie Idiocracy, where 500 years from now the world has degenerated into a society where individual responsibility and consequences do not exist and advertising and commercialism rule the world.

As for me, I will be an angry old woman hitting children with my cane, because old people are allowed to do that.

bloodchild

This story was strange. I was confused and then the details started to become clearer. They story reminds me of the show monsters inside me on discovery health, people have some gross crap in them that they don't know what it is and then they go to the doctor, and doctors don't know what it is but they rip it out as if they know what their doing. I was confused as to what the creatre was, was it a slug or a blob or some kind of other alien? My best guess, it was blob/slug, or a blug. The blugs put their eggs inside the humans and then the eggs would grow in the humans. I don't know why these humans were stupid enough to stick around for that. I would peace out from that planet or country before some nasty thing put its eggs inside me. but it also made me wonder what happens when the eggs are ready to be 'born' or if they are born? the blugs put their eggs in the men sooo, how does that work? do the developed eggs just push themselves out of the body of the host human? I really have no idea but the visuals that Im making for myself are distgusting.

Aye & Gomorrah

This short story was confusing. I thought I understood it, but then I realized I didn't. I think I filled in blank spaces or ideas with my own idea of what was trying to be portrayed. I don't know if the writer meant to do that, but it was a confusing experience.

From what I understand, spacers have no gender and are paid for sex by some weirdos called frelks. Frelks are like teenage boys, they are horny and want new and interesting things to fornicate with. I think frelks quickly become disappointed by the spacers, they're initially in it for the thrill of being with something different but the lack of emotion from spaces makes them lose interest. And in that way, they remind me of drug addicts, addicted to something but quickly lose interest and want something better. This story was weird, but so are my comparisons, so who am I to judge?

what are the conventions of sci fi?

in class notes
future or an alternative time line

setting in outer space or another world, usually involving aliens

technology or scientific principles that contradict the known laws or nature

discovery of new technology

androids

extraterrestrial life

Kiki's delivery service

I have never been a fan of anime but last year when I decided to watch Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away I was pleasently surprised by how much I enjoyed it. I think I've had this idea that all anime was just like pokemon or digimon, both of which annoyed the crap out of me as a child. I still think it's a kind of pointless art for people to do when there's an entire country that has mastered it. I think a lot of people enjoy Miyazaki's movies because they're lighthearted, fun, and whimsical. In my own work, I like to play with sense of place and worlds that might not exist and I find Miyazaki does the same. He creates these worlds that you really want to be in but can't, so you live vicariously through the main character.After class, I went home and watched Ponyo. I really enjoyed the movie. I think the movie is a different take on a fairy tale. I think American fairy tales have a standard format of female in trouble and waiting for price charming to save her from the situation. It gives young girls an idealized image of men. Miyazaki creates stories that children can fantasize about but still won't rely on them to create the expectations of the world that they have yet to experience. Miyazaki embraces traditional animation which is an art that seems to be disappearing from American animations. American children want the most realistic animations that they can see. But I think American children enjoy Miyazakis movies because it's something different than what they normally experience, they become captivated by the story rather than the realism of the animations.

Anasi Boys

Although I didn't finish the book, I read a summary online just so I could find out what happens through out the book because I really enjoyed reading what I got through and I knew I wouldn't have time right now to finish it. I don't think I've ever read a book like this. I really sympathized with Charlie, he had to deal a flamboyant and somewhat obnoxious family member like I have to deal with a similar personality in my own brother. I really loved the way the writer interpreted gods and how he portrayed them. I don't think I've ever read or seen gods portrayed in a manner like this. I think the book flowed well and kept me interested. I found myself trying to read in class and wherever I was but couldn't because my phone would die too quickly( I have the kindle app on my iphone and I've been using that to read everything). I look forward to reading the rest of the book, espically since I paid 10 dollars for it, but I think it's going to have to wait until winter break along with a lot of other things.

The Golden Compass

I really don't like fantasy novels like this one. I can't put my finger on why I didn't enjoy the book. It's odd because I really love the Chronicles of Narnia movies but I just think the fantasy genre of book doesn't work well for me. I like to read something that is a little more believable and less unicorns, dragons, and elves and that kind of stuff(or crap in my opinion)...it just wasn't my cup of tea I guess.

The Hobbit

The story of The Hobbit is about a home loving hobbit named Bilbo who is given a quest to win a share of treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Bilbo's journey takes him from light-hearted, rural surroundings into darker, deeper territory. The story is told in the form of an episodic quest, and most chapters introduce a specific creature, or type of creature, of Tolkien's Wilderland. By accepting the disreputable, romantic and adventurous side of his nature and applying his wits and common sense, Bilbo develops a new level of maturity, competence and wisdom. The story reaches its climax in the Battle of Five Armies, where many of the characters and creatures from earlier chapters re-emerge to engage in conflict.

I enjoyed reading the book because it wasn't what I expected, although I found myself filling in imagery and scenes from lord of the rings movies. The book was easy to read which surprised me at first but then I remembered it was a children's book...The book was written with a lot of detail which helped me stop imaging the movies and created scenes in my own mind.

Vampires

I find it interesting that these stories that we're reading are about experiencing new life. I think Vampires are typically portrayed as sensitives people who are misunderstood. I think in Interview with a Vampire the characters are constantly looking to find their meaning for life. They don't really know where they can from or why they are the way they are. They want to be human but they will never truly be humans even though they try to act and feel the way true humans do. I think they are portrayed as selfish beings in that they are constantly looking to kill in order to survive. They seem to regret having to kill in order to survive but I think the fact that they live forever is something that they should regret more. Experiencing so much in life while never changing while the rest of the world passes you by is something that I would regret a lot. I don't know how I feel about the book. I have mixed emotions, but it was interesting to read.

Kwaidan

I found it interesting that I could honestly be spooked by a simple story. The traditional Japanese Horror story , in my opinion, starts of very boring but the will pick up at the climax and then immediately ends. It was a weird layout for me but a quick and easy read. Part way through the stories I found myself asking where this was going and what was the point. I think that's an important part of Japanese horror stories, you never really know what is going to happen or when it's going to happen. The stories are different from traditional American horror stories because they are there for the shock value. Kwaidan is about putting you in an environment and making you feel as though you are truly there. The suspense slowly builds and then scares the crap out of you. The amount of detail in such short stories really amazed me. I think knowing background information about characters deffiently helps put you in the mood for the fear. I really enjoyed the stories and I'm goign to try to find more to read. I think this really opened my mind to the J-Horror genre.

Monster Island

I really enjoyed reading Monster Island. The book drew me in really well and had a lot of intensity and suspense that helped keep my interest. I think it's interesting how the book took a different look at the zombie novel. It turned Africa into a safe haven while the rest of the world was falling apart, where in the real world Africa is in dire need of help while more countries prosper. I found myself becoming attached to the zombie Gary. He was struggling to survive but had a lot of inner turmoil that changed him. I think the book played out like a zombie movie and it keep the changing of subjects not very obvious or distracting. I've only finished the first part of the book so far, but I really look forward to finishing the rest of the book.

Why are zombie moives so popular?

I think zombies are so popular because it's something that we will probably honestly never experience in our lifetimes. Like in Frankenstein, people want to know is it possible to bring a body back to life and zombies give us that hope, a terrifying hope but it still means that dead bodies could come back to life. I also think everyone knows how ridiculous that idea is. There is an immense amount of humor in books like The Zombie Survival Guide which explains how to survive a zombie apocalypse.In Shaun of the Dead they took a serious movie and gave it a dark humor and made a zombie attack very funny. The terror also involved is interesting, we don't want to believe hat it could happen but then there's still a chance that we never know about. Personally, I think it's hilarious. Zombies roaming the earth while a few people try to survive in a mall is just funny to me. I think if there ever were a real problem it would be taken care of immediately and there probably wouldn't be a huge problem since we have field guides on how to deal with the mess.

Frankenstein

I was excited to read this story as I never really knew the story of Frankenstein. I was never the type of person to be reading these types of stories as a child. My first surprise was that I never realized that Frankenstein was the Doctor's name, not the monsters name. I had pictured Frankenstein as a green monster that had bolts in his neck, wore a purple, torn up shirt and walked around moaning and doing heavy lifting for people that took advantage of him. But apparently that is not the case, as Frankenstein was really just the doctor.
I never envisioned the monster as a man that was put together with pieces of dead bodies. I didn't really think of the monster as a human. He didn't have human emotions to me, more of like a drone. I like reading about his observations of the world. It makes me wonder if there's chances for feral children to learn to associate and become more comfortable with society. His ability to learn so quickly and easily puzzled me though. The feelings of revenge didn't quite make sense because I feel we learn the more dangerous feelings and actions from direct experience with other people.
I felt like Victor was very selfish when creating the monster. He wanted to create life but when the task was done, he was mortified and a new life was left on his own to roam and figure out his own life while trying to cope with being denied by society. This is almost like a coming of age story, as a new teenager will struggle with who they are and where they belong in life. This could reflect on Mary Shelley's own life, as her mother was very well known and she could have been struggling to live up to her mothers reputation.
I enjoyed the story over all, it was a different literary experience for my as I usually read biographies. It was a hard story to get into but once I started to read about the monster and his experiences I found it more interesting and that's what ultimately drew me in.