Megan's Weblog

Comic Book Movies

So it is often customary for Hollywood writers/directors to take a comic book and create a movie. It seems to be a general trend that once the comic transforms to movie state, it is either really well liked or completely terrible. In the cases of Batmen, X-Men, 300, Spiderman, and Men in Black, the theatrical rendition was generally well recieved. However, in many cases, such as Catwoman, Supergirl, The Punisher (the original, I don't know how good the new punisher is), Judge Dredd, Captain America, and many others the theatrical version was rejected and was far inferior to its comic book counterpart.

With odds against Hollywood that the comic book movie will be well receieved, why is Hollywood continuing to put out more and more comic book movies? Why can we not accept the comic book for the beautiful hand drawn simplicity that it is? Why  must we add special effects and squeeze every nickel and dime out of a cartoon? Our society has grown to the stage where we want to take everything to the next level. Our technology has made it capable for us to capatilze everything. Artists' original motives for drawing comic books could start simply as artistic and creative expression. However, because we have the technology to turn a short story into a feature length film with tons of special effects, we chose to do so because of the reapable profit.

Posted at 05:59PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[0]

Bigger is better...???

So, it has typically been a custom that "bigger is better." We appraise bigger cars, houses, etc. as more superior. However, technology is quickly evolving to the point where bigger is less advanced. Apple's iPhone is the epiphany of more compact and smaller is better. The technology of the iPhone includes the functions of the typical iPod and a cell phone. The iPhone holds pictures, songs, has internet access, and the capabilities of a cell phone. Apple even has programs that you can download onto your iPhone to allow more functions. Apple is trying to squeeze as many capabilities as possible into a single piece of technology.

How is society reacting to the iPhone though? Is society adjusting to the smaller is better philosophy that Apple is promoting? Or is Apple promoting the smaller is better philosophy because that is what society demands? I believe that society is demanding better products that will do more. I think consumers want to be reassured that they are getting the full potential from the product they are purchasing. Similar to the iPhone is the Blackberry. I have seen tons of commercials lately promoting the new Blackberry. The Blackberry has similar capabilities to the iPhone. It is a cell phone that stores music, holds pictures, and e-mail capability. Blackberry is either competing with the iPhone, or they were both developed to satisfy consumer demands. I believe that consumers are demanding a product that has large capabilities and companies are competing to create a better model.

Posted at 04:31PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[0]

Magic vs. Technology

As I sat in my dorm room watching Harry Potter, I started to wonder if magic and technology got in a fight who would win. Which would be more capable of producing innovations or breakthroughs? Which would have a greater impact on society? So for all purposes, my magic "facts" will be predominately based on magic that is utilized in Harry Potter. Technology and magic both impact society through their uses in the medical world. In Harry Potter, it seems like magic can be used to cure everything except for death. Magic can be used to heal broken bones, treat illnesses, fix open wounds, etc. In the magical treating of ailments, patients are subjected to plenty of bedrest afterwards. Technology is capable of allowing broken bones to heal on their own, treat illnesses, and fixing open wounds. However, I believe in the arguement of magic vs. technology, magic does a more thorough job in the medical world.

Magic and technology also impact society by altering our state of living. They both have the capability of making life easier. I believe that there is a possibility to create any technology that will make someone's life easier. I'm not a magical expert, but I don't know if magicians have the option of creating new spells. I think in that technology has more potential for expanding than magic. Technology is always evolving, and scientists and engineers are constantly coming up with new and improved ideas. In general, magic is relatively stagnant. There are capabilities in the magical world that we will never be able to reach in the technological world, such as invisibility or apparition. However, technology has room to grow; whereas magic doesn't. Allthough Harry Potter magic is currently more advanced that our current technology, technology has the potential to surpass the abilities of Harry Potter magic.  

Posted at 03:42PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[0]

Latin American Technology

As a Benjamin Franklin Scholar, my two intended majors are chemical engineering and spanish. So, I am currently enrolled in a Spanish class at NC State. The final chapter of our Spanish book was technology. Most of the spanish words were identical to english vocabulary words. As I was studying la cámara digital as digital camera, I came to the realization that few technological advancements occur in Latin America. If there were more technological advancements in Latin America, I would think they would have their own words for the technology instead of english cognates.

My grandparents were actually born and raised in Cuba. I believe technology is not a primary focus of the country. Where communist dictators ration everything, the primary focus is making ends meet. However, it is interesting that the literacy rate in Cuba is higher than that of America. You would think that with an increase in the amount of educated citizens, the country would be more capable of producing large technological innovations.

Posted at 03:11PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[0]

Starbucks Gas Station

I just read an article about a possible alternative use to Starbucks coffee grounds. Chemical engineers at the University of Nevada, developed a bio-diesel fuel made from Starbucks coffee grounds. Coffee grounds in their original state are made of 15% oil. The researchers estimated that using their method of creating bio-diesel, the chemical engineers could produce 340 million gallons of bio-diesel. Researchers realized that their process isn't life changing or world saving; however coffee beans are usually trash, so their product is just a new way of recycling.

In our situation of ecological crisis, it is important that we recylce as many natural products as possible to solve the ever increasing energy crisis. Many politicians boast research for alternative transportation methods, such as plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, fuel cell vehicles, etc. ; however, until that form of technology is easily accessible to the public, I believe we need a buffer technology, such as coffee ground gas, bio-diesel, or even nuclear power. The energy crisis is affecting our society, and we will not be able to solve it until there is a paradigm shift of transportation technology.

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/ecogeek/845/fill-your-car-with-starbucks-diesel.html

Posted at 02:56PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[1]

Movies vs. Reality

I am currently watching one of the movies in the home alone series, and the house in this movie is more technologically advanced than any house I have ever seen in my life. So, as I was watching it, I was wondering how acurate this technological portrayel really was. In this movie, everything in the house is controlled by a voice activated remote. The remote can turn the alarms off or on, turn fireplaces off and on, open and close doors, and many other things. It is a really neat concept, but how safe is this house? So of course, in all the home alone movies there is a kid trapped in the house by himself and burglers break in with the intention of stealing something. With this house, if the burgler were to gain access to one of the remotes, which they do, then they have access to anything in the house. This makes the house very unsafe. If it were limited to whose voice could control the remote, then the house would be more secure.

Is this what is in store for our technological future? In some aspects, this technological mansion is very unrealistic. Hollywood often portrays technological evolution in a slightly far-fetched manner. At the end of the movie, when everything turns out okay, the little boy uses the remote control to make it snow outside. I don't think we will, or should, ever get to a point where technology can completely control weather. I think in certain cases technology evolving detrimentally affects our society. If we are at a stage in our life where we are too lazy to open the door without a voice activated remote control, then we are succeptable to numerous occurances that are not beneficial to our lifestyle.

Posted at 01:36PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[1]

Online Shopping

So, most people are aware of the exponential increase of the amount of shopping done in between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Some may even be aware of one of the busiest shopping days of the entire Christmas season, black Friday. It is a tradition that every year after Thanksgiving, businesses have massive sales to kick off the beginning of the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday was first used in 1966 to equate the heavy traffic and crowded streets to the chaotic, stressful nature of Black Tuesday- the day the stock market crashed. In my family, it has been a tradition that every year we wake up at 4 in the morning and participate in the chaotic shopping. We enjoy going just for the deals and to watch the madness unfold.

However, technological evolution is greatly impacting the tradition that my mother and I have upheld for numerous years. This year, there was an increase in the amount of online sales that were conducted. My mother and I skipped out on the intense Black Friday shopping because she could get the same deals on the internet. She recently discovered the wonders of Amazon.com. However, as I laid in bed on Black Friday and thought about the online shopping, I wondered if technology was positively or negatively affecting my life. Black Friday is a family tradition and a bonding experience between my mother and me. Is making the same deals online really beneficial to families? Sure it decreases the amount of congestion and chaos on Black Friday, but is it worth comprimising the experience? Every year, I look forward to watching people go insane over crazy sales. It's not possible to do that online. I guess online shopping is more convenient, but I believe the holiday season is all about experiences, memories, and relationships- not great bargains.

Posted at 01:00PM Dec 06, 2008 by Megan Szakasits in General  |  Comments[0]