FTV244 Interactive Screen

Article Response- Motivation to Play

2009-11-07T22:54:00.002+08:00

Well, people play games for different reasons. Some to kill boredom, some to kill time, some search for the sense of excitement, some search for the thrill of wining. Personally, i don't play games, neither computer games nor video games nor handphone games. No games in my life.

However, right now i think that game is actually a reflection of life. People get motivated to play when there is something ahead to be achieved, to get to another level perhaps, or to the end of that story...

It's the same in life. We will be motivated to do something when we have something to achieve. When there is no clear goals, we get out of focus immediately, it's the same with games. When the games is not interesting enough, or there is no attractive rewards in the games, people will not continue to play.

In life, or more specifically in studies, i do my assignments only because i need them to help me to finish my degree. As simple as that. I must admit that i'm really a lazy bum. I won't study for no reasons, or maybe sometimes i'll, to kill time kill boredom or just get something to do.

Motivations happen throughout different stages in life as time goes by we'll have different things to achieve and different goals in life. It all depends on how the goals are set and achieved.

Perhaps this is something that i should really focus on when i did my final assignment last week. Oh well, too late for it.

That's fine. End of semester, i hope everyone has a great holidays ahead!

Software and Online Distribution

2009-11-06T23:44:00.002+08:00

This is for the week 7 topic, however i'm not really focusing on the software side, i would like to discuss more about online distribution and privacy/security.

Like what i've commented in the forum earlier, i think online is no longer safe. There are plenties of softwares or spywares or whatever it is called that actually traces your daily activities on the internet, mostly for marketing purposes.

For instance, the spyware will trace which kind of websites you usually visit, if there are more fashion websites, the next time you log into the internet there might be a small pop-out window with some sort of advertisement for an online fashion boutique.

Besides, what you do on the internet is permanent! What i've been blogging here can still be seen many years later even if i've deleted this blog entry. I don't know how things really work here but for some reasons, deleted items can be seemed from archives or something..

Therefore i urge the people out there to always be really careful on what to be done and posted on the internet or you might really regret in future. Like how Kim Kardashians and Paris Hilton got their sex tapes on the internet, these things will never be erased and might seriously impact your future, even if you are no longer that person many years after.

Speaking about online distribution, i think being in Australia is really a blessing for having the "freedom on the internet". Basically i think Australia is free for doing most of the things online, and the online distribution for any softwares, games or other materials are equally free (the free as in freedom, not free in terms of money).

Compared to other places like China, or even worse, North Korea, whereby the governments control the website distribution that the people do not have the freedom to get exposed to things online, internet is almost useless, in my opinion. This is because here, when we online we get to see things from all around the world, whereas in North Korea, most websites are banned and only 4% of the households get connection to the internet, i think it is really sad!

Well, not too much talking, some listening as well. If you happen to come across this entry, let me know what you think as well, for online distribution and "who controls the net"...

Thanks for your time! XD

Interactive TV

2009-11-06T23:31:00.002+08:00

Interactive TV can actually be divided into three categories, low interactivity, medium interactivity and high interactivity.

Low interactivity refers to actions like switching channels, volume up or down and etc. Moderate or medium interactivity is like simple movies on demand without player control. High interactivity refers to high involvement from the audiences from where their decisions or participation can alter the whole storyline or the outcome.

Commonly, interactive tv refers to a show or a program whereby people can participate by actively voting for a certain contest to reach the kind of result they want. A return path to the program provider is not necessary to have an interactive program experience.

Matthew Timms, head of programming at Two Way TV in London describes this digital revolution you have heard so much about:

"..somehow they feel they're sitting there, it's just them and the television - even though the reality is it's got a wire leading straight back to somebody's computer. So it actually gets sort of interesting information back."

David Burke in his article reviewed that interactive tv, from the surface, might seem to be a new way of interacting with the audiences, to get that "return path" or response from the audiences, there might be another hidden motive or issue at the back.

For some interactive tv programme, it's about pressing some buttons on the remote control to move on to the next step or choosing the path you want. Every press that you have done will be stored. According to Burke, interactive tv might be promoting another form of invasion of privacy.

Somehow i think it is true. Just like what we've done in the internet can actually be traced as well. Things are no longer simple. From Burke's point of view, it could be another marketing tool as he says:

"This is called your TV set’s “click stream”, and it can be analyzed to create a surprisingly sophisticated picture of who you are and what motivates you (sometimes called “telegraphics”). Such profiles of households or individuals can then be used to target consumers with direct marketing techniques, through their television, in the mail or over the phone."

I personally think it is an insightful article and worth a reading. After reading it, suddenly i feel like interactivity with the media might not be a good thing after all. Oh well, depends on how you look at it actually. The article can be found through this link below:

http://www.whitedot.org/issue/iss_story.asp?slug=shortSpyTV

And there is another website that i found, which is basically an online interactive tv channel. Have a look as well:

http://www.itvt.com/

Till then. Cheers!

Ergodic

2009-11-06T22:39:00.002+08:00

Aarseth, 1997, in his work "Cybertext: Perspectives on Ergodic Literature" mentioned that the term "Ergodic" is borrowed from physics to describe open, dynamic texts with which the reader must perform specific actions to generate a literary sequence.

Judging from this definition for Ergodic, i would say most of the games are Ergodic. Like Eliza, it requires the audiences to key in a sentence, more of like talking to the character, to make it generate another sentence back. It is like a two-way interaction that connects the audiences with the media.

Something to be discussed here, is videogames ergodic, or not? At first i thought it should be, because the players will need joystick to input their actions that lead to the next step in the game. However, i found an article that says otherwise.

"While they may contain interactive or ergodic elements, it is a mistake to consider that they present only one type of experience and foster only one type of engagement." (Newman, 2002).

Newman suggested that players dont spend all the time on non-trivial action while playing videogames. Videogames are said to be not present in a singularly ergodic experience that they are highly structured and compire episodes of intense ergodic engagement.

"However, these sequences are punctuated and usually framed by periods of far more limited ergodicity and very often, apparently none at all." (Newman, 2002).

For further reading of this insightful article, please kindly visit:
http://gamestudies.org/0102/newman/

Interactive Story Telling

2009-11-06T22:07:00.002+08:00

"Interactive Storytelling, as a long-term endeavour, is largely present in popular culture as being the future of entertainment, for instance through the Sci-Fi vision of the Holodeck™. Although the development of new media is always difficult to anticipate, the re-introduction of narrative and high-level interaction in gaming has a significant potential to develop next-generation entertainment technologies. This could even extend the population of gamers across gender and age barriers."

I got the above statements from a website mainly concerns about interactive storytelling.

The author claimed that interactive storytelling is probably the best illustration of an AI concept that would open the way for new games genre. AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the early days referred to all behavioural aspects, rather than to the techniques it is known to the academic world.

Interactive storytelling for me is a new way to reconcile narrativiy with interaction. To let audiences have high level of involvement with the story, there must be a little bit of interactivity in between.

Interactive storytelling sort of letting the spectators to have influence on the action. However, we must remember that not all spectators or audiences have the ability to organize their progression according to the narractive elements.

Generating the story in real-time will technically solve this problem to propagate the consequences of user interaction at the same time retaining the overall logic of a baseline plot.

In the website also it mentions that as a story can be described as a series of actions, Planning is much needed to support interative storytelling system.

More of the article can be found from this website:

http://www.ercim.org/publication/Ercim_News/enw57/cavazza.html

Have a read and i believe you all will have a basic concept for interactive story telling.

characters in films and games

2009-11-06T06:49:00.003+08:00

This post is to discuss the differences between characters in films and games.

I can hardly find any relevant topics from the Internet, i mean i cant find any actually, perhaps my searching skills need plenty of improvement, so i'll just briefly discuss about the topic based on my own understanding.

I think the major difference between these is the interactivity. As when we are watching films, all the characters are pre-set and they goes along the storyline without us interrupting any of the processes. Meaning, us as the audiences follow the flow, watch the stories as how scriptwriters and directors want them to be. We do not have the chance or the right to change the storyline or the character like how we want them to be.

However, in the games, we can choose our own character, which character we want to be (if there is a list to choose from), or even customize our own characters. We can choose a character that best represent us, choose how it looks and mostly how it works in the game. The flow of the game depends on how we play it. So in a game, characters are customizable and controllable. Mostly we are the ones to decide the next step to take, or the next place to go.

Another main difference between characters in films and games is the level of involvement by the audiences. I would say generally the level of involvement for games characters will be higher than that of film characters. This is simply because in a game, you are the character itself and you'll need to give more attention to bring the character to the next step whereas in a film, the most that you can do is to "feel" the character. There is no much interactivity therefore only low involvement for the film characters.
So these are the differences that i can identify so far. Might add more when i discover more about this topic.

Happy reading!

web 2.0 and characters

2009-11-04T22:15:00.002+08:00

Creating avatars is definitely not something new to all the internet users. Most of the time avatars represents characters on the internet and serve as a image of oneself.

Creating avatars on the internet can be really interactive. People can choose the name to be used, the image that represent themselves. All information can be customized. Avatars basically show how people want to be represented.

However, we as internet users must always be careful while playing around with avatars. Although avatar only serves as a virtual character, sometimes it can go beyond control.

For instance, what you do on the internet with the avatar, its accomplishments, the wanderings around in the cyberspace might determine how people perceive or look at you. Eventhough sometimes avatar is just a representative and does not fully live up to the person's real character, the avatar will still serve as a personal archive.

I roughly searched about avatar in the web 2.0 and i found something that is quite insightful. The author made statements like this:

"The relationship between a person and their virtual character can end up being very productive: hybridism is an inexhaustible source of creativity and discovery, making the Internet a fascinating place for exploration. However, this creative relationship has its own perils: the trails we leave behind as we go about our exploratory processes become actual material that anyone can manipulate. We keep our virtual character “alive,” but we are not always free to choose what happens to it… and therefore what happens to us. " (Mackrous 2009)

I'll provide a link to that website as well if any of you intend to do some further reading.

http://dpi.studioxx.org/demo/?q=en/no/15/virtual-characters-creations-personal-archives-by-paule-mackrous

Therefore, i think everyone needs to be extra careful with things they do on the internet, even just with avatar as anything will stay permanently and might reflect you in the wrong way.

Well, i've found a website that allows some practising to create your own avatar. Just have a look and relax for a while. There is the link:

http://web2educationuk.wetpaint.com/page/Avatars

Till then, cheers!

Week 14 Writing Exercise

2009-10-29T11:25:00.002+08:00

Time flies. It is already the 14th week of the semester, and it's gonna mark the end of the semester soon.

It is already my third year final sem in this uni, yet i feel like i'm still very far behind of what i should have been done.

I'm slacking, behind schedule, not achieving things that i should have already achieved at this age.

I still have couples of final assignments going on, most of them are due this week, or early next week.

I'm still very much struggling through the process of completing them. Stressful mind, tired body. What can i do?

I'm taking up FTV courses as my major in the degree, but throughout the three years i have not developed even a little bit interest in this course. Worse still, i begin to hate it so much and feel so sick of it.

Perhaps i'm just not a creative person. Film and television has so much to do with creativity and for me, it is a burden to my mind. I have to come out with scripts and proposals so often, watch series and series of movies that sometimes would even make me fall asleep. I have to carry those heavy damn boxes, weaponed with cameras, lighting equipments, tripod and so on to go for a few days of shooting that will finally end up will a mere 5 minute video.

For me that is just too much work. Imagine doing shooting for hours continuously in a few days, carrying the heavy equipments. Trying hard to please the tutors and most of all the clients. Reshoot, retake and re-edit. In the end, the result might or might not be pleasant. Sometimes clients may like it, sometimes they may not. The most ironic part of all is, few days of shooting results in a 5-minute long video. That is hopeless and not being productive.

I have yet to hand in 3 scripts for another FTV course. Not knowing the subject itself is definitely not helping me to get any ideas to get the work done. The group leader who is supposed to communicate with the client to get the other groupmates the information is not doing her job properly. She does not know what to ask and what to get from the client, for instance, even the most important yet simple thing like the target audiences and purpose of the videos, she did not get it right. Worse still, the client himself does not know what he wants either, and certainly did not provide us with enough information and insight to get the job done.

The scripts are due tomorrow, Friday the 30th. I have yet to start writing as i really have no clear directions of what to write and how to make it interesting. Oh well, forget about it.

In the beginning i picked up FTV just because i have to make a choice between FTV and journalism. At the first glance, journalism sounds really boring to me and i definitely would not like to spend the rest of my life sitting in front of the computer, writing my ass off. So, i chose FTV.

The first 2 years of this course was done in Malaysia. The university obviously does not provide us with really good learning platform. I would say the lecturers are of so-so quality. The equipments for shooting are also very limited. And the part that i hate the most is, it seems really hard to score good marks/grades in FTV!!!

Everytime the result is released, i'll compare what i've got with my friends'. It is really a bad thing to discover that almost EVERYONE in the class is only able to get a passing grade, or a credit. Only a few of them, like maybe 1% of the class is able to get a slightly better grade. So tell me, what is so difficult? Are we really that bad? or is the standard too high? or simply, we do not know what the lecturers want? This is also one of the reasons why i hate FTV so much, it pulls down my overall grade every semester. While other subjects i manage to get a distinction, ftv is always at the passing border or just a credit. That is ridiculous, especially when that is my MAJOR module in this degree.

Hatred. Why is studying so tiring? I thought it is supposed to be fun and interesting being a university student. Or maybe it is, when things do not link with studies.

As mentioned, this would be my final days in the university, after this i'll be graduating and heading home soon. 3-4 more months left before i leave this place, i know i'm definitely going to miss Curtin, and Perth!

Although studies sometimes don't turn out that well, it's fine, maybe. Life is always full with ups and downs. If you cant ccontrol or change the situation, then you have to go with the flow.

Actually, i really wish and hope that i can find a permanent job here and just stick my ass in Perth. It is a lovely place. I like the weather and the people. Also, earning money here is definitely much easier than earning money in Malaysia.

I've tried sending out as many resumes as possible for job applications. But that doesnt seem to help. At this moment, perhaps i should just stick to my part time job and do what i can at the moment. The job is not too bad afterall, just that it has no contribution towards my resume as it does not help me to gain experience in my course of studies.

I really hope to do something that is relevant to my course, maybe an internship will do. But i'm still awaiting replies from those that i've applied. Please God, bless me!

Oh well, so much about the naggings, you must be thinking that i have so much to complain about my life. Maybe i do, but that is not always the case.

I'm happy with what i have now, just trying to voice out all my disatisfaction in one go, since i never really have the chance to do it. *wink* I'm lucky enough to have the chance to go to university and complete my degree, i'm lucky enough to get a part time job while many of my friends are still being unemployed after so many months. I'm lucky enough to even have to chance to study overseas! Many of my friends back home can't even afford to study degree.

Shouldn't i be thankful of all these that i've got in my life? I'm really blessed.
Perhaps, life is not beautiful enough just because i have not put in enough effort to make it more beautiful. I know i'm being lazy sometimes, or maybe most of the time. I guess it's time to wake up and start moving on.

My degree has come to an end and i'm about to graduate soon. I think it marks the sign of me being fully an adult now and should take responsibilities in my life. I should live my life the way it should be and the way i want it. If i want to get something, i should and i must get it, or at least give a try.

Sitting here and keep grumbling bout life definitely does not help. What are you still waiting? Get up! Do something for yourself and live life to the fullest.

May God bless you! cheers! And wishing you all the best!

Week 12 Writing Exercise

2009-10-15T10:53:00.002+08:00

People experience different kinds of sad moments in lives, from the death of the closest ones, to the lose of education, being kicked out from school, not having enough to eat, etc.

Well for me, the most important thing is to know how to fall, and get up again. Not giving up your life is an important lesson to learn, yet, it always appears to be really difficult at times.

I guess one of my saddest moments was the few months after high-school. I have a gang of really close high school friends. I only get to know them when i moved to Kuala Lumpur from another state in Malaysia, that was when i was 16.

The time we spent together in high school was merely two years. It is definitely not a short period, but not too long either.

I remember vividly when we have all finished our final exam, and done with high school. During that period, due to some reasons, we seldom meet up again. Most of us were busy doing part-time jobs to fill up the three-month holidays before our result is released.

We were all too busy to keep in touch. And one night, i was sitting in my room alone, reading through the autograph book that i have, with writings and words from my fellow friends before we graduated from high school.

Reading through those words has caused so much pain as i feel like things were not the same anymore. I missed the moments we studied together, been to dancing classes, going to night market, wandering around at the basketball court, fooling with teachers and plenty of other memories. I feel that things have changed.

Then daddy walked into my room, seeing me crying. He asked why, and i told him what i felt. He said: "silly girl, people walk in and out. some might stay, some might not. You'll have to learn to let go." He hugged me in the arms, and gave me comfort.

What daddy said is true, but i'm glad that after the result is released, we've all stopped working and gone back to normal. We called each other out and have gatherings so often. Things have gone back to the beginning. We are close once again.

And it has been 4 years since we graduated from the high school. Eventhough i'm in Perth now, we still keep closely in touch. The day i left malaysia, i have all my closest ones at the airport to send me off. Once again it hurted me so much to have to leave my family and friends, but i know it's a process of growing up. Our friendship will always stay strong and that is my faith.

I'm really glad to have this group of friends, who give me comfort and shelter when i need them the most, to share my life's ups and downs throughout these 6 years. I am fully blessed and i hope we will all appreciate our friendship, and not giving up on each other under any circumstances.

Speaking about closeness, I'm really feeling it when i went back home for two weeks couples of months ago during the semester break. I always thought being outside, studying and living alone, is the best thing that could ever happen for me. I thought being independent is good, yet i ignore the fact of how much my family is needig me.

Going back this time i realise my importance. Dad and Mom have been missing me so much. And i got the return air-tickets as my birthday present for my 21st birthday. I guess they want to see me very much. This time, i spent lots of times with them. I drive my little bro to and back from school. I cooked for my family, watched television programmes with them, talked to them, etc. I might be a grown up now, but deep inside, i'm always still a little child to them. I love it when i get really close with my family, i feel like i'm the gem and always being well taken care of. Again, i know i'm deeply blessed for having such a lovely family. A father who is not strict at all and willing to share thoughts with me, a mother who is lovely with young and modern thinking, and most of all a brother who is ALREADY A GROWN UP but still lives like a baby.

I am a happy little girl, blessed with great family and friends. Some people might complain about their lives a lot. They are sad of the things that they don't have in life. For me, being happy is more than easy. "Appreciate" is all the it takes.

Learn to appreciate, and things will appear to be more beautiful. =) Try it.

Week 11 Writing Exercise

2009-10-08T10:54:00.003+08:00

Insecurity

Insecurity is faced almost everyday by every single human beings. It is a kind of natural feelings deep inside that only the person himself or herself can deeply feel and experience.

The kind of insecurity that you feel and the kind of insecurity that I feel are not always the same. I believe insecurity has different kinds of forms and depths and widths. It all depends on the situation and the person who experience it.

I feel insecurity and fear the most when im being in a long distance relationship. My boyfriend is now working in Malaysia, and i'm now in Perth. The distance between us both sometimes make me feel the sense of losing him anytime soon. When he is away to work, or has gone clubbing with his friends, i always wonder, if he is gonna miss me, if any other girls are gonna flirt with him. I also fear that he might speed when he is driving, not being careful at work, not knowing how to take good care of himself, etc. There is simply just too much to talk about. I understand that being in a long distance relationship is not easy, it all depends on trust, faith and most of all love. When i feel insecure, or fear, i don't think i don't have the elements of trust, faith and love in my relationship, i think, it is because of the distance.
Knowing the fact that I'm not physically there for him, and we are so far apart, i know there are many times that i am not "in control" of many things that might happen. Not being in control has often caused me fear.

Another moment that i feel insecure is during presentation. The sense of insecurity often comes when i feel that i've lacked of preparation, or the classmates do not really give me response, hardly answer my question, etc. I feel deep inside that maybe i have not done a good job, maybe my speech is boring, or do they even understand or agree with what i've spoken about?! Most of the time insecurity happens to me when i'm unfamiliar with the subject. And i guess this is SO GONNA HAPPEN TO ME NEXT WEEK as i'm gonna present for my idea for a game. Gaming is SO NOT MY CUP OF TEA, but still i'm gonna give it a go as i believe i need more exploring around this area. Sometimes later i might be able to understand why there are so many people who are into games.

When i am fully prepared and know my subject well, mostly i will not feel nervous or insecure. I know i'm gonna do a good job and score above average marks, then i feel confident. However, the first few minutes is crucial. I will always try to arrive early to set up the equipment like test my thumbdrive to see if my work is still there, try the speakers, etc. I believe this is an action from the sense of insecurity as well. We just want to make sure that nothing turns out wrong. It's the fear of having to make mistakes or ruin the whole presentation.

Before i forget i better mention that i am afraid of HEIGHT! I feel so insecure when i look down from a high rise building or something. To share my experience, i once joined a wilderness camp in Langkawi (an island in Malaysia). One of the tasks is to walk across a tiny metal string. Of course they do have some safety things going on like wrapping me around with some sort of security thingy that i have no ideas what that is called. The rule is, i have to open up my hands, not holding on anything and just walk across. Mind u, the height is about THREE STOREYS TALL! i totally freaked out when it's my turn to walk over. I keep holding on the string that ties on to me for safety purposes, not willing to let go. When the instructors told me to open up my arms, i still kept holding on and as a result, the instructors pulled the line and I WAS HANGED THERE, ON AIR! Seriously, i felt like CURSING at that moment! I am seriously afraid of height and having the need to hang in the air for so long is totally torturing for me. I don't know how to get up, don't know how to continue walking on and i just hang there and cried for almost half an hour i guess. How stupid, i know! But please, walking on a string, about the height of three storey is totally not easy for me. I fear that i might just trip and die. What if i really fall and no one is down there to help me, what if i just accidentally break my arms or legs. There is lots of "what if" going through my mind as i am forced to step out from my "comfort zone". I believe it is always not nice for anyone to just step out from the "comfort zone". Again, it means things are not in my control and i feel the fear, or the insecurity.

Week 9 Writing Excercise

2009-09-24T11:02:00.001+08:00

Aaron sits alone in his room, facing his computer, located beside the window. It rains, so heavily outside, and Aaron has nowhere to go, but to stay at home.
Parents are away to work, and this is the kind of lifestyle he has been so used to since young. Without the parents by his side, nor does he has any siblings, this is the kind of lifestyle that he has had.
Aaron’s facial expression changes from time to time, as he online and has a chat with that usual online friend. Aaron, in fact, is rather a plump and bulky guy. However, when online, he pictures himself to be tall, slim, and handsome looking fellow. The picture that he uploads in his Facebook is obtained from somewhere else, not of his real picture.
And Aaron continues to impress the online friend. Without having many friends in real, Aaron’s only engagement in friendship is with Emily, his online close friend.
They spend almost every day and night chatting with each other in the internet. Emily looks like a really shy girl and has the girl-next-door look.
Having known each other from the internet for more than half a year now, Emily thinks that it is time to come out and meet up.
There, Aaron gets a little anxious, for he has been cheating with his picture all these while. After going offline, Aaron stands in front of the big mirror of his room, gazing himself for quite some time. The feeling of guilt flows through his mind. “I have got another two weeks before we meet up,” he thought. “I’ll have to do something.”
And Aaron thinks maybe it’s time for him to shake off some weight, get some grooming, and change into someone that at least look more similar to the Aaron in the internet.
The rain has not stopped, but Aaron grabbed his jacket quickly and runs out from the house. Across the streets and lanes, he runs to a barber shop nearby. The shop is operated by his old neighbour, Mr. Jimmy. Aaron asks Mr.Jimmy to do him a favour, to groom his hair. Aaron has been keeping that messy, wavy and really thick long hair for some time. The thick hair that grows to slightly over the shoulders often makes him feels bad especially in summer.
Mr. Jimmy is shocked and stunned for a while, as Aaron never agrees to cut his hair, nor do any treatment. However, he thought it might really be the time for Aaron to change his image. Then, Mr. Jimmy helps him to do a total makeover, and style his hair into a younger and more energetic guy.
After the whole hair cutting process, Aaron looks again into the mirror, and sees himself looking so different than before. He is not sure if he should like the look that he has now, because he feels a little uncomfortable and gets so unfamiliar with himself.
Stepping out from the barber shop, the rain has started to stop. Aaron walks slowly on his way back home. The street is filled with people again and Aaron has to walk with his head facing down. Aaron has had that low-self esteem since young. He flashes back the moments of him, being bullied in the school, in the playground, by his fellow classmates who never bother to have him as a friend. He is always alone.
As he walks, the anger suddenly burns up again, and Aaron feels really angry at himself for never standing up for his own. Aaron lifts up his head a little, looks at the people around. And he feels as if like the people around are laughing and pointing at him. Aaron faces the ground again and he walks more quickly back home.
Back into his room, with only the dawn light in the evening, the room looks rather eerie and dark. The parents are not back yet. Aaron once again stands in front of the mirror, looking at himself without much facial expression.
He takes off his t-shirt, and looks at himself again. The stomach is bulky, the arms are flabby. With the height of 180cm, Aaron weighs almost 100kg, which is quite really a huge guy.
Two weeks has passed, and Aaron slims down a little. As he frequents himself to look at himself in the mirror, and reminds himself that he is going to meet up with his only friend in this world, Emily.
Without having much knowledge in fashion, Aaron pulls out all the clothes he has from the closet, keeps choosing what is the most appropriate to wear during his first meet up session with Emily.
And he finally decides one, a simple t-shirt that he always wears with the pair of vintage jeans.
At the café, Aaron can’t stop but being nervous. He has that coffee on the table for half an hour now and he has not even had a sip of it.
Then a young girl takes her steps into the café, looking gorgeous and fresh. She turns the head around and it is that familiar face that he has always seen from the net, she is Emily.
Aaron feels a little scared again, and has his face facing downward..
Emily walks to his table, and says: “Hi, Aaron.”
Aaron is shocked, for Emily knows that he is Aaron. Emily sits down and continues saying, “you must be surprised that I recognize you.”
Still, Aaron does not say anything.
“Actually, I’ve known you for quite some time. We stay not too far from each other, and I know some of your classmates.”
“I’ve been told that you do not have many friends, and always stick to only yourself, I think your friends must be really mean for treating you like that.”
Finally Aaron dares to lift up his face a little and faces Emily.

speed writing exercise week 7

2009-09-10T10:45:00.002+08:00

Beethoven Op.110 for piano:

Edwin showed us a video of robots at a warehouse earlier, and suggested that we can give it a go to write about robots. As usual, this kind of topic is not something that is familiar to me, but i thought it should be a good try, so here goes my story or "what is in my mind" when i listened to that piece of music.

This is a new robot design, again, by the Japanese scientists. This robot is meant to be the robotic nanny for the new generation of kids whose parents are just too busy at work and do not have time to take care of them.

Being designed with the accuracy to be quick at work and gentle at the same time, the robot shares the same similarities with human beings, from the physical side of view, they have heads, limbs and bodies just like any of us, except they are robots.

The robots can do many things like the way human beings do it. Presets are needed to be done once the robots are brought home. They can be set to bring the kids to shower, adjust the water temperature to the desired temperature you want, prepare simple meals for the kids, make them sleep, cover blankets for the kids, etc.

The robots can also clean the house like any other older versions of robots designed in the past. those house chores definitely includes sweeping the floor, mopping, cleaning the tables, wiping dusts everywhere, etc.

The kids will soon be familiar enough with their robotic nannies and get used to them well. In future, there might be more functions added to these robots, which includes bedtime story telling, ability to play games with the kids, could be millionaire games, scrabbles, or any other beneficial games, and also, another proposed feature would be to have the robots being able to teach some homework or correct the kids' school work, just like how a tuition teacher could do it.

The parents in Japan will soon to have less worries with the kids being at home as when the robots get more common, the price will be lowered at the same time. With such great inventions, it is definitely a relief for the Japanese parents to get easy at their works.

In the future, you can certainly imagine a family of four or five, one of the members being the robot nanny as the great invention will definitely become a hot buy among the Japanese.

It would be even greater when such inventions get more matured and well-known that eventually become a world-class product.

You can imagine the kids sitting down at the dining table with the feminine looking robot nanny, having their lunch when the parents are away from home. or even see the robot nanny cleaning up the dishes when the kids have finished their meals.

This kind of invention is definitely not a dream as the technology is becoming more and more advanced day by day, interactive world between humans and robots will become so common in time to come.

-end-

Well, this is sort of like what went through my mind when the piece of music is being played. I think the music is very soft and gentle, almost like being taken care of, so i thought of the robot nanny, which could be something that is so in need presently and even more in future. Cheers.

in class writing practice

2009-09-03T11:07:00.002+08:00

Today's music piece is "zyklop" by Thomas Korner.

The 12-minute long exercise is really hard, especially when the rule is to keep writing, without anything thinking allowed.

And this is what i've written in class:

I can hear the sound of enemies approaching my doorway. The footsteps of the evils are getting nearer second by second. The thought is filled with anger, hatred, and most of all, loneliness. I'm scared.

I see blood everywhere. Dad and mom have lied down and never wake up again. The neighbours are all gone, being shot down right in front of me. The war that started not long ago has caused the whole village of people to suffer and die.

Peace is no longer the trademark of our once small yet lovely village. I hear people screaming all the time, crying and begging to stay alive. I've been sobbing and hiding under this broken table for one whole day now, afraid to be discovered.

I'm sick of all the laughter and cheering of the evil ones. I can almost hear them saying, "there's no one left". The rain falls and washes all the blood away. Johnathon, the baby boy from the next door, has been killed too, with the head nowhere to be found. Lily, another girl next door, had the limbs cut down and thrown all over the place. I turn and look at dad's and mom's dead bodies, lying as if so peacefully on the bed, with their hands holding each other's, tightly.

"Why didn't they take me along?", i ask myself. I saw the moment they shed tears and whispered to each other. I saw the moment they swallow that bottle of pills that is never reachable to me.

Now that i hear the sound of the devils leaving, the village is becoming more and more quiet. As if, the village is now back to peace. But the fact is, everyone has died. The rain continues to fall, and the army seems to decide to leave. "No one else there," says one of them. "Let's go and meet up with the others," the other one says. And then, the evil ones left.

All I can hear now is the tears from the heaven, crying for what has happened to our once lovely and peaceful village. I crawl slowly to the doorway, and peeked through the little hole right beside it.

Dead bodies are lying everywhere....

And this is the what i've written basically. Sounds scary? Weird?
But the first thought that came in my mind when the piece of music is played, is the ancient war scenario. so i guess that's why..

More practices to come. I need improvement. =)

Mind practising exercise

2009-08-20T11:04:00.003+08:00

On the 19th of August, Edwin let us tried on an interesting exercise in class. He played a music for approximately 5 minutes and we were required to write/type whatever storyline that came through our mind, no thinking is allowed. Thoughts were to flow naturally from the inside while listening to the music.

And here goes my story:

Aaron wakes up early in the morning, hearing the sound of the railway nearby his house. As usual, he gets ready to work, feeling empty inside. He thought of committing suicide every single day. On his way to the office, he turns his head upward to look at the sky. The sky appears to be dark, maybe due to his mood swings or it could be the weather is really bad on that day itself.
He reaches the bus stop to wait for the bus, only to realise the bus has gone 2 minutes ago. The next bus will only be reaching in another 25 minutes which means he will definitely be late to work. The surrounding is full with sounds of people laughing, people walking and talking among themselves. But what Aaron hears is just the critics from people around him. He feels like his head is going to explode. He feels so suffering that he screams out his lung in the centre of the town. People turn their heads to look at this insane guy but he does not seem to bother and just walks away.
When he is about to cross the road, he totally ignores the car around and almost gets knocked down by cars that are passing by in the busy town centre. His ignorance has caused the messy traffic jam yet again, he does not bother.
Aaron tries to walk to the nearby taxi stand to try his luck to get a taxi, which might possibly costs him 30aud to get to his work place, which is so much more expensive compare to taking a bus, which will only cost 1aud. Anger fills his mind.

The music appeared to be really depressed for me, filled with sad moods and I almost felt like the sky is not longer blue and the flowers will never grow. And therefore, my story revolves around the male character, Aaron whose life is filled with hatred.

Writing a story is never easy, especially for me cause i always thought i have limited ideas and not that creative. I think this exercise is great because it allows the ideas to flow without much thinking. Everything comes naturally from the relaxing piece of mind.

Good practice for me. Looking forward to more practices in weeks to come.