Fun Science Fiction Blogging

2004-01-27T12:37:00.000-08:00

Class 13:
I was not able to come to class on friday, so I would like to write this blog about our class today. I enjoyed looking at everyones websites and I actually felt I learned a little bit about each person's topic. I was upset that we didn't have enough time to go through each site and really explain. I also enjoyed reading our short stories. Everyone took different angles which I thought was neat. I really enjoyed the story about Jack's asteroid because I thought it could have really been a real life situation. I enjoyed this class and felt like I learned a lot about science fiction and myself.

2004-01-22T12:48:00.000-08:00

Class 12:
Today we watched the movie Trekkies. I personally thought that this movie was just making fun of Star Trek fans because it made them seem like they were crazy. For example when they showed the people that formed groups and thought that they were the captains of the groups ship. That is not realistic. Also I thought that it was a little much that a dentist turned his office into a Star Trek office and he forced his employees to wear the outfits from Star Trek. I think that this hobby/fascination has gotten out of hand.
I do think that the show has good qualities because it is a good learning tool, it makes people feel better about themselves, and show that different races and genders can get along.

2004-01-21T12:49:00.000-08:00

Class 11:
Today in class we discussed the end of the novel Neuromancer. Most of the class concluded that they did not like the novel and they found it confusing. I liked discussing the comparissons between Neuromancer and the movie The Matrix that we watched yesterday.
I found it interesting how The Matrix had so much significance and could be interpreted in many different ways. I talked about how reality is interpreted through the dream world and the "real" world. I really enjoyed watching this movie for the second time because I understood it a lot better because I was analyzing it.

2004-01-20T13:15:00.000-08:00

Class 10:
I did not enjoy reading the novel Neuromancer by William Gibson. I thought that it was very confusing. I often had to go back and re-read paragraphs because I didn't understand the idea or point of it. For the most part I understood the basic plot summary. I don't think that this cyberpunk novel is for me or at least it is not something that I enjoy reading currently.
On the other hand I did like the Matrix. I have seen this movie before and the first time that I saw it I didn't understand it but now after analyzing it I understand the idea and point of the movie.

2004-01-16T12:43:00.000-08:00

Class 9:
Today we started getting into our short story groups. Just out of dumb luck we stubbled upon the the idea of using Michael Jackson as our focal point. The themes that are going to run through our story are identity and race. We have thought of lots of ideas and have begun to write. Our group is very excited about our story topic.
The story that we read last night, Bear's Discovering Fire, seemed like it didn't had a point but after discussing it in class. I feel like the story had to do with the mother being the peace maker between nature and humans. She also seemed to represent life. This story was not too bad but it was not one of my favorites.

2004-01-15T21:27:00.000-08:00

Class 8:
Well today we watched the movie Men in Black which is a movie I have never seen. Since we had talked in class about race and how the theme of race does run through this movie, I was watching the movie trying to pick out instances in which I thought the issue of race could be addressed. I really enjoyed watching this movie because it held my interest unllike the stories that we had to read for homework. The Identifying the Object story got me so confused because all the things that we talked about in class I didn't even pick up on them when I was reading it. It seemed like many others did not enjoy this story or understand it which makes me feel better.

2004-01-14T13:32:00.000-08:00

Class 7:
Today we discussed the short story "Boobs" which I thoroughly enjoyed because it was something that I could relate to much more than the other stories we have been reading. I also thought that it was interesting that females are the leading science fiction readers, since I know that I am not really a big fan.
I have made a final decision that I am going to do my reasearch project on Artificial Intelligence. I still have a lot of work to do regarding the research but the other parts of the project have been completed.

2004-01-13T13:21:00.000-08:00

Class 6:
Before todays class I had never seen a Star Trek movie. After watching it I actually thought that it was an ok movie. This movie was called "The First Contact" because of the contact made between the vulcans and the humans. The borg in this movie could be seen as a dictatorship with the woman as the head of the borgs. I think when I write my response on the movie I will focus on the borg and how they relate to a dictatorship.
The readings that were assigned last night confused me somewhat because of the plot. Now that we have disscussed these stories I understand why The Old Hyannis Blues is considered a SF story.

2004-01-12T13:24:00.000-08:00

Class 5:
After our class discussions, I now have a better understanding of the short story "Ender's Game". I had been confused about the games and about whether they were real. This story was not my favorite but that could have been due to the fact that I had gotten confused while I read. I really enjoyed reading "Blood Music" because I like the concept of the story.
Today I was able to gather all of my pages together and put them in order because of the template that we made. I really enjoy doing this web page because I think that it is fun. I completed my movie/book page and plan to work on finding my reasearch topic. I am also have some trouble finding a good picture that I like so next time I will do more research.

2004-01-09T13:25:00.000-08:00

Class 4:
After watching the movie "Blade Runner" I realized that there was a lot more symbolizism than I had originally thought. During the movie I sort of disregarded the origami figures but now I realize that they are really important because they allow for the idea that Deckard is a replicant. The whole time I was watching the thought didn't even enter my mind but after our brief discussion I am leaning more towards the idea that he is a replicant.
For my response to the movie I think I am going to focus more on the symbolism and idea of deckard being a replicant. This way I can give my opinion and try to back it up with the support of the film. I am still unsure if I liked the movie but after writing my response I might come to a final conclusion about this movie.

2004-01-08T13:20:00.000-08:00

Class Three:
Today I looked at a couple web sites for science fiction movies. A good site that I found was one that actually tells of science fiction movies that will be on television this month. I thought that was cool and I might actually watch some of the movies. The website is (www.tv-now.com/stars/scifi.htm).
I am still looking for games that are related to science fiction but since I don't play video games I am having some difficulty on selecting the most appropriate games.
I have made a alot of progress on my project. For next class I would like to select what topic I am going to use in my project. I would also like to complete the page that includes movies, books, and games that are related to science fiction.
After discussing the short stories that we read for homework, I now better understand the story by Bradbury called " There will come Soft Rains". I now know what tragedy occured.

2004-01-07T13:10:00.000-08:00

Class 2:
Today we discussed the two criticisms by Lester Del Rey and Isaac Asimov. I enjoyed reading the crticism by Del Rey because it helped me undestand what 4 elements creates science fiction. These elements are guidelines that science fiction must follow in order to be categorized as a science fiction piece. The other criticism that I read was not as helpful because it only told you how science fiction came to be and not what it is.

The two short stories that I read were not very interesting to me but that could be because I didn't really understand them well. I do not like Edgar Allen Poe's work because of the language and imagery he uses.

I enjoyed using dreamweaver because I have not used this program before. I think creating this web page will be fun. I am still unsure what topic I am going to do but I am leaning towards artificial intelligence.

2004-01-06T11:36:00.000-08:00

Since I don't know much about science fiction, I hope to understand why science fiction was created. I am glad we are going to be watching science fiction movies because I have watched a few but have not understood them. So hopefully through class disscussions I can hear other peoples opinions and get a new perspective of these movies. I think that this class sounds interesting and I will learn a lot about the topic of science fiction.