Katherine Braxton

Internet Neutrality

2009-04-26T18:15:00.000-07:00

Well it sounds to me like "The Man" is wanting to make the consumer pay money for Internets, and that just sounds terrible. To be frank, however, I don't really think I understand the issue completely. The author of the article claims that the net neutrality battle is vague and opaque, but his article was almost as bad. To his credit, I'm not predisposed to either side of the argument. However, I don't think he did a very good job of explaining exactly what the issue is. My position on this issue will have to wait until I know more about it.

Digital Voyage Suggestions

2009-04-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

1) Addressing the Tube Of Plenty phenomenon...the fact that there was homework for an elective class did not bother so much as the homework being rather dull. Tube Of Plenty was not a very fun read. A different approach to homework might be to have students read articles or watch videos online and then respond to them on the blog, similarly to what we are doing with this assignment.

2) Blogger has been one of the most effective tools in the class and a defining characteristic of it. I think continuing the use of it would be very wise.

3) Google docs is only useful outside of class (although this might have more to do with the members of the class than the program itself)

4) It seems that the goal of the class is to get students to create media of their own, but I do think that perhaps students should be more exposed to media created to other people. We had a good protion of that in our class, but there could be more.

5) The field trip to KEYT news was a really good idea. Repeating that field trip or going on others like it would give students a better idea of the professial world of media and whether media is something that should be persued.

6)More class disscussions about current issues. Disscussions about the world today often lead to ideas, and with more people there will probably be more ideas.

Cold War Treatment Rewrite

2009-03-24T14:51:00.000-07:00

Instead of the previous approach of diverging from history at the point of the Bay of Pigs or The Cuban Missile Crisis, our group will take a coloser look at the Soviet-Afghan War. Turns out that this war was, to Soviet Russia, what Vietnam was to the U.S.A. They lost a lot of men and resources. One of the more interesting points of the war is that a Muslim guerrilla force, which stood against the communist government in Afghanistan, included Osama bin Laden, who went on to terroize America. The film our group will create will focus on the possiblity of the elminiation of certain terrorist attacks against America as a result of the lack of the Soviet-Afghan War. Bin Laden will be a point of focus, but there will be other focuses as well.

That's So Arbitrary

2009-03-05T14:51:00.000-08:00

The world is a dangerous place. Water is like gold and is controlled by crime bosses. An entire infrastructure of power and corruption is precariously perched on the assumption that water will never run out.(display wasteful uses of water)

Then all known sources of water run out and all hell breaks loose.

Societies and civilization dissolve overnight leaving the world in utter chaos. Everyman is for himself and the weak are abandoned.
A lone adventurer sets out to save the world by discovering a new source of water. After many trials and tribulations he finds a new source. World leaders broadcast message to the public instructing them on how to conserve water and accenting the importance of conservation.

Cold War Queries

2009-02-24T13:42:00.000-08:00

1) Can I find any information on Russian attitudes towards America during the Cold War era, perhaps translated directly from Russian?
2) Is there an index of the technology and nuclear equipment available to Russia and America during the Cold War?
3) Are there any personal writings from Russian and American leaders during this time?
4)Are there records of American and Russian troop positions and movements on a global scale during the Cuban Missile Crisis and The Bay Of Pigs?
5) Are there any news broadcasts about the Cold War/Bay Of Pigs/Cuban Missile Crisis available?

An Inaccurate Report

2009-02-05T13:46:00.000-08:00

Today at approximately 1:00 there was an accident at the Chapala and Carrillo intersection which involved a Ford Explorer and an MTD Bus. Our reporters were on the scene at 1:20 to question the driver of the Ford Explorer, Reggie Smith. Mr. Smith said he was rushing to get on the 101 freeway from Carrillo so he could drop off his 8 year-old twins, Alice and Leo, at their Goleta residence. When questioned about the circumstances of the accident, Mr. Smith said that he wasn’t able to see the traffic lights because the school bus was blocking his view. He thought the light was green when he drove forward, but he also readily admitted that it may have been red. After the trauma of the accident, his memory of the traffic lights was foggy. Mr. Smith also said that he did not see the bus driver after the collision.
Mr. Smith has a clean driving record, save for one DUI that was issued six years ago. At the time of the DUI, Mr. Smith had just crashed into a fence down the street from his house.
Mr. Smith reported that neither he nor his children were hurt and the he didn’t think anyone else involved in the accident had been injured. The number of people involved and their possible injuries remains uncomfirmed.

Event: The Interview

2008-11-17T16:21:00.000-08:00

It is my opinion that the interview went rather well. It was a teensy bit uncomfortable to see my grandfather loose his composure a few times, bit I'm glad he's able to express emotions about the war. I think he may not have had any emotional outlet for most of his life due to his family's military background and his prolonged service in the army. I have never seen him talk so much about his time in the army, so I'm glad we were able to catch his experiences on film. The part of his narrative that I enjoyed the most was his story about the end of the war. Like I said at the shoot, seeing a whole bunch of young privates jump sky high at the sound of the guns sounds like a scene out of a slapstick comedy. I also liked the story about hazing in military school. It speaks of an age where kids could have swords and beating of other kids was rather normal. Those silly old timers.

A story of insteresting proportions

2008-10-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

My angle to telling the story of World War Two is as follows:

I propose that the team tells the story of Harry Lee Watts, retired lieutenant colonel. He first enlisted in the army at age 17 or 18 during World War Two. He was stationed in the Pacific and saw combat. From WW 2 he has stories as well as some memorabilia. He would have had more but....well, he should tell you anyway.

He was very young when he fought so his stories would relate to younger people. He also has, perhaps, a rather unique point of view because of his continued service in the army after the war. By the time he retired, he had served in the Korean and Vietnam wars and had earned his aforementioned rank.

2008-10-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

how typical.

humans have a nice little gig going with the friendly radio that swiftly degenerates into a swarm of advertisments.

Also, isn't it interesting how the market can hold back an advancment in technology because the big boys think it will be bad for their business. Poor Armstrong. Such an awesome name too.

I'm glad that we're able to cook on tv now. The food network is excellent.

Internet Security: Crisis or Just Something You Might Casually Disscus With Friends Over Cookies and Milk

2008-10-23T19:48:00.000-07:00

On September 16th, 2008, vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s Yahoo account was hacked by a person calling themselves Rubico. The event got coverage by all the major news corporations and created a general fuss. Palin used the Yahoo account for government affairs as well as a personal account, causing coverage on the event to call the hacking an invasion of privacy as well as of government affairs. According to Rubico’s post on 4chan, which included some pictures of Palin’s account, his purpose in breaking into the account was to find some bit of information that would derail her campaign. Upon finding no such information, he simply changed the password, and collapsed into panic mode, under the realization of what he had just done.

This story caused a sensation in America. One of the story’s elements that many writers accentuated in their story was the sheer ease with which the hacker was able to gain access to Palin’s account. Rubicon himself said that he was able to find all the information he needed, which included Palin’s zip code and where she met her husband, using public resources that were readily available, such as Wikipedia. The idea of a complete strange having so much seemingly personal information at their fingertips is an alarming concept. The fear that this story evokes is at least part of the reason why this story got so big. The facts of the story don’t seem all that frightening when one considers that the hacker didn’t do anything malicious. He didn’t reveal any of Palin’s personal information, nor did he sabotage it.

While it may be that Rubicon didn’t perform any really harmful acts, the illegality of his actions, and his apparently malicious intents are still a factor to consider. He openly stated that his goal was to find something incriminating. It could be that the only reason nothing serious happened was because he didn’t find what he needed.

Another aspect to consider is the fact that what happened to Sarah Palin probably won’t happen to just anyone. Palin is a prominent figure in society, and, considered a bit of a celebrity (insert Beth’s quote). The average citizen doesn’t have a Wikipedia page that has all sorts of information about their personal life.

On the other hand, the experts of the internet community seem to agree that using a personal question to secure an e-mail account is not the best method. According to them, a question is flimsy protection, and can be answered easily by someone who has access to the right information. There also seems to be a consensus that the average internet user does not know how to create a secure password (insert Bill’s quote)

While the Palin incident is not a sign of impending doom for the internet community, it should not be shrugged off either. The event is not a threat to the security of America, but it may be an insight into what could be a potential threat for the daily internet user.

The Plentifulness of the Tube

2008-10-15T17:52:00.000-07:00

My comments on the latest reading amount to how much the constant feuding between all the different, infantile companies reminds me of medieval war lords.

How much more territorial can they get?

I wonder how all the industries of the world would have turned out if those originally involved hadn't been so driven to conquer the market for themselves.

I don't suppose the game Monopoly would exist, and that might not be an entirely bad thing.

I never get the piece I want.

Investigation!

2008-10-08T19:18:00.000-07:00

So here's the research I've garnered by prowling the internet in search of wild articles.

Sarah Palin's Yahoo email account was hacked late on Tuesday the 16th of September by a hacker who called him/herself Rubicon. According to Rubicon, the motive in hacking into the account was to try and find some information that would derail Palin's campaign, but no such information was found. The method was frighteningly simple, to say the least. Rubicon was able to gather the e-mail address, information needed to access the account, and the answer to Palin's security question (where did you meet your husband) on the internet.

Of course this is an exceptional case of internet security breaching, on account of the fact the Palin is a VP canidate, but articles by computer specialists commenting on this event seem to agree that a personal question as a security measure, while good for services, is "terrible for security".

Different opinions on this occurance range from outraged hissy fits over the invasion of personal privacy, to bemused wonderment over how something like this even happened, to vinidctive finger pointing at how stupid Palin is. I'll bet you can all guess who had what opinion.

Here are my sources (I liked Wired the best):

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/09/palin-e-mail-ha.html

http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1842097,00.html

ttp://www.schneier.com/blog/archives/2008/09/sarah_palins_e-.html

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080918/ap_on_el_pr/palin_hacked

Story Pitch

2008-10-07T07:35:00.000-07:00

-Introduce subject of internet security: trends, information, etc.
-Interview with specialist
-Sarah Palin's e-mail breach as example
-Overview of internet security habits of students
-Student interview
-Compare to adults
-Interview teacher/parent?
-Wrap it up

Musings at dusk

2008-10-05T17:53:00.000-07:00

When I woke up this morning, I felt inexplicably hopeful. Nevermind the fact that it's sunday and it's back to school tomorrow, or the fact that I still need to finish my college essays, or even that I am making a dismally small amount of progress on my reading and watching lists. This morning just had such a sublimely exquisite feeling to it. And now, after having read, watched movies, and drawn all day, I believe this was a day well spent.

Doodlebug

2008-09-30T22:02:00.001-07:00

[W]hen the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl. ~James Matthew Barrie, Peter Pan

art: the new addiction

2008-09-28T10:20:00.000-07:00

I love my drawing tablet because it loves me and treats me right.

In the meantime, I'm in the mood for Halloween

In Addition....

2008-09-23T21:48:00.000-07:00

Well, from what I've read on the internet (aka wikipedia) and our previosu history text book, the depiction of Jow McCarthy in the movie seems to be fairly accurate. He used brutal, accusatory, reckless tactics to "expose" the many alleged communists in the US, stamping on the Constitution while he was at it. An interesting fact, he was elected a curcuit judge in 1935, the youngest elected in Wisconsin state history.

However, there is still that whole thing about making outrageous accusations and then not being able to prove them....

The Canyon Of Grandness

2008-09-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here are just a fraction of the pictures I took on the trip.

Goodnight and Good Luck: The Second Installment

2008-09-23T20:47:00.000-07:00

Movies: Beautiful, inspiring, idealistic.

Fake

After watching the second half of Goodnight and Goodluck, the movies version of new seems much more appealing than what I saw on my television today. I watched the local SB news and a bit of CNN for some variety. The SB news lacked "zing". The stories weren't presented in a manner that made me think they were important and I'm not sure they would have been even if they were presented in a more appealing manner. CNN certainly had attention grabbing news, but while it was interesting, it certainly wasn't as edgy as it could have been. It seems that we need better news casters and a population with a longer attention span.

Also, that little message board at the bottom is just annoying.

Who came up with that idea?

If I were a computer....

2008-09-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

I'd imagine if i were a computer, I would have to be restarted at some point. When a computer is powered off, the machine sleeps, almost like a coma, or even death. Imagine being a computer: when your owner gave the command for you to restart yourself or turn yourself off, it would be like killing yourself, trusting that you would come back from that deep sleep.

I feel guilty for turning my computer off.

Thoughts upon Joshua Figueroa

2008-09-12T20:09:00.000-07:00

The essence and spirit of Joshua is captured in the simple form of the bouncy ball.

Thoughts upon a Viewing of Goodnight and Good Luck

2008-09-11T17:34:00.000-07:00

While the memory is still fresh in my mind, I will reflect upon what I saw and partially slept through this afternoon (the direct post-food-consumption period is not the most advantageous movie-viewing time).

From what I saw of Goodnight and Good Luck today, I am sure I will like it. The cinematography is beautiful, the acting is superb, and the story is mesmerizing. How strange it is to think, that not but fifty years ago, an individual could be put out of work or even incarcerated for practicing free speech or the freedom to pursue happiness in this "land of liberty". For it is indeed a pursuit of happiness to be a part of a political party that best fits your ideals and morality. Frankly, it's frightening to imagine such a blatant besmirching of the ideals our country was built upon (speaking of which, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington is a pretty good movie, go watch it).
This prompts another thought: There is no question that there was a violation of American rights during the Red Scare, but one has to wonder why such atrocities were preformed in the first place. Surely the men who were authorizing them could see how far they were straying from the American ideal. Was it fear alone that motivated them to take action, even if such actions would violate the rights of the nation? Perhaps prejudice as well?
It occurs to me that the movie may not be able to answer my musings, but I can still hope.

Another thing: Closets really are magical places. I keep finding strange objects in mine that i had no previous knowledge of.

Also: My writing sounds nothing like my usual speaking habits. How very sad.

Pope Smoke Colors!

2008-09-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

*ahem*

The Truth of the Pope's colored smoke is this: Cardinals use ballots to elect the new pope. After every vote, one the ballots are counted, they are taken to a stove in the Sistine Chapel and are burned. The smoke from the stove is visible from St. Peter's square. If the vote did not garner a new pope, the ballots are burned with a chemical that turns the smoke black. It used to be that wet straw was used, but it was not reliable enough. If the vote has been successful and there is a new pope, the ballots are burned alone, which produces white smoke.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pope#Election.2C_death_and_abdication
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04192a.htm

Survey Questions

2008-09-09T14:49:00.000-07:00

How many keyboard short cuts do you know?
a) none
b)a few
c) a sizable amount
d) way too many

How many movies do you own?
a) "
b)"
c)"
d)"

How many books do you own?
a)"
b)"
c)"
d)"

Do you own an ipod?

Before bed, are you usually watching tv, surfing the net, doing home work, or other?

Information

2008-09-09T14:11:00.000-07:00

Did you know that a group of ravens is called an unkindness?

That many partridges make a covey?

That multiple pheasants make a bouquet?

That a gathering of ponies forms a string?

No?

Shame on you

2008-09-09T13:53:00.000-07:00

This is my first post.

It's forced, so I really don't have much to say.

Let's see....

I'll probably be using this blog mostly for art postings or book reviews. Maybe a movie now and then.

If I'm feeling particularly informative, I might like to give a little history lesson.

I think I'll watch Fight Club when I get home today.