http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia English 101W (Fall 2007) Thu, 17 Jul 2008 16:32:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en In another one of my English classes, I have just completed Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Blithedale Romance. The story involves three main characters, who all decide to break away from traditional society, in order to start their own utopian community called Blithedale. The community in the book is loosely based ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=59             One piece of literature that I think is absolutely fascinating is Memoirs of a Geisha, by Arthur Golden. The novel is based on the story of a young girl, Chiyo, who is forced into the life of a geisha by her father after her mother falling ill. The book ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=58 I was very excited to explore Second Life since we had discussed it so much in class, and I was not disappointed. Although I did encounter a few technical errors, overall it was a fun and interesting experience. However, I did not expect to run into these technical problems in ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=56 Although I have spent three and a half years at UCI, today was my first visit to the Beall Center for Art and Technology. I am very glad that we saw the Grand Text Auto exhibit as a class because I probably would not have gone on my own, even ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=55 Upon hearing of the combination of interesting and annoying inherent in operating on the plane of existence known as Second Life, I was tempted into trying it, despite my aversion towards 3D games that operate online (yes, WoW, I'm looking right at you). My inkling had little to do, of ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=53 Game Analysis Assignment             A work of literature that I find really rewarding is Paolo Coehlo’s The Alchemist, which charts the journey of a young sheep herder in his quest for hidden treasure. The young boy is faced with the quest of fulfilling his dream, one that involves traveling for years, ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=54 Before I begin talking about my experiences, I would first like to note two distinct technical problems that I had while playing Second Life on a macbook laptop. First, my framerates were pretty abysmal. Second, after about 30 minutes of play on the macbook, the game would freeze up and ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=52 I got a chance to take my furry avatar, Manila Harbour, to Laguna Beach, among other places after my orientation on Avatar Island. First of all, let me state that Avatar Island was a nice space to get used to walking on my new virtual feet, as well as growing ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=51 When I entered the world of Second Life, I really did not know what to expect as this was my first experience dealing with virtual worlds. I found it easy, however, to move around, navigate camera angles, and alter my avatar’s appearance and gestures. In the first land, where we ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=50 I heard a lot about Second Life before I actually experienced it, and now that I’ve gotten a little taste of it, I’m not sure what’s so great about it. As other people said, choosing the avatar really does take up a whole chunk of time. I didn’t even really care ... http://www.humanities.uci.edu/socialmedia/?p=49