the island 2004

Day 1
This is the account of Scott Stagliano. If you have found this, I am dead. I am, or was, a senior at Wildwood Catholic High School in North Wildwood, New Jersey. My sociology class was on a trip to South America to study Brazilian culture when our plane malfunctioned and crashed into the ocean somewhere. We were the only ones who survived the crash.
The rafts inflated and we floated for three days to what seems to be a deserted island, living only on salted peanuts and kosher dinners. What we have seen of the island so far, luckily, is very fertile and there is a very clean freshwater lake. There seem to be several types of fruit and several species of birds native to this island. Trees are also plentiful. There hasn’t been a sign of civilization yet, but we are still looking. All of our luggage went down with the plane, so all we have is what was on our body at the time of the crash. Two students, Calvin Jordan and Charles Cummings, are the only ones with watches, ergo, are the only ones with a connection to the rest of the world; time. Megan Popper was the only one who still has her cellular phone, but the battery is dead. It probably won’t matter, because many of us believe that we will be found. Our first step toward being found will be to create a signal fire.
We have not yet established a leader because our teacher, Salvatore Zuccarello, was injured in the crash. As it seems now, either Jeff Mitchell, Kevin McGarry, or Cory Saucier will take control. We have been doing our best to nurse Mr. Zuccarello back to health, but it may take a while.
We are beginning to establish individual roles for a temporary “community”. I am writing because I can. I have a few notebooks and pens that I managed to keep dry. Over the next few days, we will be working on the fire.

Day 5
Steve Long has a lighter on him that still works, but we decided against creating a beacon fire until we are certain that the flames won’t engulf the entire island. We also needed to create some form of axe or tool which we could use to chop down trees and build shelters. Frank Weiss managed to create a hatchet from a few rocks and tree branches. Jeff and Kevin both agreed that our first priority should be to cut down trees for firewood and lumber. Cory, on the other hand, disagreed and said that it would be more important to have a social gathering of some kind because many of the girls were getting depressed. After about ten minutes of discussion, Jeff, Kevin, and Cory unanimously agreed that everyone would split up into groups. There would be a scouting team, to survey the island and to create a map, a cutting team, to cut down trees with the tools Frank created and to create a clearing in the woods, and an organization team, to create a list of everyone on the island, collect fruit and berries, and organize a bonfire in the clearing.
The scouting team consisted of myself (because I had paper and pen), Charles Cummings (so we would know what time to meet back at the clearing), Frank Weiss (for protection), Kate Flounders, Maria Dal Santo, Kevin McGarry, Joe Maloy, and Bridget Sykes. It took us about four hours to walk around the island and scale the hill at the center of the island. We met back at the clearing at 7:00 pm. We kept a steady pace the whole day, and managed to create a map of the whole island.
Meanwhile, the cutting team, which included Chris Gillin-Schwartz, Tom Hillegass, Steve Long, and Jeff Mitchell, cut down a good portion of trees by the lake and cleared out a pathway to the clearing from the beach. The trees are being used as firewood and for shelters.
Cory Saucier and many of the remaining women, who were not sick, injured, or depressed, gather food and carry wood to the clearing for the bonfire. There are also many who are sick and injured, and some who are simply depressed. Tara Walsh, Vicki Dever, Julia Grassi, Elizabeth Appleyard, and Mr. Zuccarello were all injured from the crash. Many of the girls, including Kim Cannon, Meghan Protasi, Krista Purcell, Gabrielle Lugas, and Megan Popper are sick with depression. Grace Boswell, Katie Moore, and Rosemarie Miller volunteered to take care of them to the best of their ability. Mr. Zuccarello has shown a lot of progress and many of us hope he can soon take control of the island and start up a stable society.
Tonight, we used Steve’s lighter to spark the bonfire and everyone, despite our seemingly hopeless situation, enjoyed the festivities and marveled at the gigantic fire we had created. Our new civilization has begun.

Day 54
We truly have come a long way. Mr. Zuccarello has taken leadership and has been running what is becoming a respectable society. We have created very stable shelters, thanks to the tools created by Frank. To ensure a good food supply, we have created farms with impressive irrigation systems, and our weapons technology is advancing all the time. We have even managed to create some projectile weapons like spears, slingshots, and bows. We have designated farmers and hunters. Many of the men are hunters and the women take care of the garden work. I’m a pretty good show with the bow, if I do say so myself. I manage to nab a couple more birds than most of the other guys every day. We even have organized town meetings periodically.
We have other roles in the community too. Some people cook, some clean the bunks, some make reports to Mr. Zuccarello about the status and work ethic of everyone on the island. We don’t work for money. We work to better the community, and every few days, if we complete our work well, we have a bonfire. With an exception of a few individuals, people are beginning to adjust to life on the island. Most of our clothes have worn out, so many of us wear the “bare minimum”, which wouldn’t be so bad if it weren’t for all the hair.
There are a few things I’ve noticed which are beginning to concern me. First of all, Jeff seems to be thinking separate from the others and is beginning to talk about what things would be like if he were in charge. I may just be paranoid, but I am beginning to worry about him. Secondly, one of the lifeboats from the airplane has disappeared from the shelter where we keep them. This isn’t really a huge problem because they are deflated, but I’m afraid that maybe someone is repairing them and may try to escape. Well, if they do, I wish them Godspeed. The final problem is that Gabrielle has been acting very strange lately. She never has truly adjusted to the new society and she misses her boyfriend very much. I fear the worst.

Day 63
There was a huge storm three days ago. Many of the homes were destroyed and much of the food supply as well. This presents a huge problem because we are going to have to play a lot of catch-up in order to rebuild, which means twice the work for about half the food. I think Jeff has been waiting for this chance for a long time to speak out against Mr. Zuccarello, and at the meeting tonight he found a lot of followers in this desperate time. He claimed that if he were in charge, the food would be more protected than anything else, people would be free to do the jobs they wanted to do, rather than what they were assigned, and that he would recognize that everyone would be entitled to a voice. Since most of us have not eaten in days, many others rose up with Jeff in protest. Jeff and Mr. Zuccarello were in heated debate for a long time before finally, Jeff declared in his anger that he was leaving the society to start a tribe of his own, where the members were free to do what they pleased. I was astonished to see so many people agree with him. Things cooled down a little bit and Jeff apologized to Mr. Zuccarello but insisted that he would still be starting his own tribe. He simply requested that the two tribes could share or barter resources and if Jeff’s society could have one of the “timekeepers” as they were called (Calvin and Charlie). However Mr. Zuccarello insisted that the “firebringer” (Steve) belonged to him. Jeff agreed. I’m still not sure how good of an idea this is. Jeff’s tribe consists of Jeff, Calvin (the timekeeper), Erica Hickman, Chris Gillin-Schwartz, Kevin McGarry, Ashley Sullivan, Tara Walsh, Megan Popper, Cory Saucier, Frank Weiss, and Tom Hillegass. Even worse than the tribe splitting up, several members have gone missing; Jessie Paul, Nicole Mason, Stephanie Laird, Katie Moore, and Rosemarie Miller have all disappeared.

Day 72
We had a wave of death since my last entry. Gabrielle Lugas was found, hanging from a rope in her cottage, and she left a note that said she missed her boyfriend too much to go on living without him. On top of that, Jessie, Nicole, Stephanie, Katie, and Rosemarie washed up on the shore yesterday with the missing life raft.
As far as intertribal relations go, things have been going very smoothly, but I have a feeling that Jeff may be up to no good. I sometimes get the feeling that he and frank have been mass producing weapons and collecting boulders. Mr. Zuccarello refuses to believe that Jeff would make an attack on him, but many of the people believe that it could be possible. We have been on this island a long time, and it has altered our consciousness. I think this experience has definitely taken its toll on Jeff’s mind, but somehow, he is still in charge. Mr. Zuccarello still seems to think that the society can work out, but it seems another person joins “Jeff-Topia” every other day.

Day 80
It is true what many of us believed. Jeff ordered and attack on our society and a battle raged for an hour. Mr. Zuccerello, Joe Maloy, and our timekeeper, Calvin were all killed and the rest of our tribe has been enslaved by Jeff. Cory made an attempt to rise up against him, but he was quickly killed by Tom. Jeff treats us terribly and the only ones truly loyal to him are Kevin, Chris, and Tom. The rest of us have been formulating a plan to rise up against them and do our best to create a peaceful community with the few people that would be left.

Day ?
We fought bravely, and succeeded in our mission to dethrone Jeff, but at the expense of everyone except Steve Long, Meghan Protasi, Maria DalSanto, and myself. Charlie was killed, and his watch destroyed, so none of us know what time or day it is. During the last battle, Jeff torched the entire island. Our food supply is just about gone, and since all the trees burned down, it looks like this is just about the end. None of us have the will to live, and pretty soon, we will probably be complete savages, eating raw fish and birds, and maybe even each other. We will, in our animalistic state, eventually start mating, and bring new life into this desolate world we have created for ourselves. Hopefully a storm will come soon and just finish us off. It seems Utopia is impossible after all…

spring 2007

today was the beginning of the first full week of the spring 2007 semester. since i apparently didn't take a w1 class, and being a transfer student, could only choose from the leftovers, i was enrolled in only one new media class. not a problem, but some of the posts that follow may concern the bible as literature or writings on other random short literature.

Continuing Source of Inspiration

Freewriting 6

My interactive installation piece Saturday Night Face was inspired by the disco dance floors of the seventies, and like Camille Utterback's Visual Resolve, it can also be used as a tool for artistic exploration. The piece consists of a room large enough to house a 196'x196' floor, made up of forty-nine 2'x2' pressure sensitive squares, a large display screen or projector on the wall, a digital camera station outside the room, and a group of networked computers. Each participant, before entering the room would have a picture of his or face taken at the digital camera station.

This picture would be broken up into 49 separate files, each placed in one of the 49 photo folders. Each one of these folders would hold the same square of each of the participant's faces. So in other words, you wouldn't find someone's eye in the same folder that you'd find someone's lip or chin. What you would find would be a picture of each participant's eye, or a part of the face close to the eye.

Each square on the disco floor is programmed to display a different file from its corresponding photo folder each time the square is stepped on. Once inside the room, participants are free to walk or dance around the disco floor, each step displaying a different part of a different persoon's face, depending on which square was stepped on. The result: the display screen would show a combination of different 49ths of different people's faces depending on the activity on the floor. If no one walks or dances, nothing changes.

This is only one of the endless possibilities for an environment such as this. If music was added, it would become an interactive dance floor that could be used in clubs. If different images or objects or groups of text are placed in the photo folders, countless other situations could be arranged. It could be used as an exciting interactive learning tool for children, an interactive board game or video game (remember Nintendo's Power Pad?), a giant game of Minesweeper, a musical instrument, plus endless others that I'm not creative enough to think of.

Freewriting 5

Terms from Williams' "The Technology and the Society"

In this article, the first chapter of Raymond Williams' Television: Technology and Cultural Form, first published in 1972, Williams examines the cultural effects of the new technology of televison on society, discusses the social history of television, and evaluates the history of uses of television in society.

technological determinism: an account of technology's role in society which argues that when new technology is introduced into society (steam engine, automobile, etc.), its effect on humankind determines new social alterations that change the life and condition of the modern man. In short, "social change is a by-product of technology." Technological determinism views technology as a self-acting force which creates new ways of life.

symptomatic technology: a less determinist view of technological effects on society, the symptomatic view argues that a new technology is the material manifestation of a social change that is either beginning or has already begun. "It then considers particular technologies, or a complex of technologies, as symptoms of change of some other kind. Any particular technology is then as it were a by-product of a social process that is otherwise determined." The symptomatic view of technology is that of a self-acting force which provides materials for new ways of life.

camera obscura: the camera obscura was an optical device which was a key item preceding the development of photography. In the early to mid 1800s it was used as a drawing tool and it is where the modern photographic devices got their name (camera). It was made up of a box (which could be the size of an entire room) with a small hole on one side, through which light would be projected on the opposite wall. The image was projected onto paper and used by the artist to copy with the desired perspective.

broadcasting: the idea of transmitting information via electric wire has existed since the mid 1700s during the birth of the telegraph. By the 1870s a general system of electric telegraphy had been established, and not long after, the telephone became popular. The early development of radio, between 1885 and 1911, was at first created and percieved as an advanced form of telegraphy. The need for these new communication systems were a result of an expanded, mobile, complex society. Each of the preceding, however was only designed for person-to-person communication. The second phase of communication was broadcasting, the foundation for modern radio and television, through which signals could be sent to groups of specific people.

"mass communication": Broadcasting was ideal for the transmission the constantly changing news and background. It was a new and powerful form of social integration available to anyone who owned a radio. Thousands of people in multiple cities could all be the audience to the same broadcast event at the same time. "Masses" has been the new term in the 1800s for "the mob." Many of broadcasting's main uses can be seen as socially, commercially, and at times, politically manipulative. Broadcasting was defined as "mass communication": an abstraction to the characteristic that it was sent out to many people (the "masses"), but to each individual radio or television set. The only developed "mass" use of radio was in Nazi Germany, where the Party organized compulsory public listening groups and the recievers were in the streets.

mobile privitization: The definition of public technology had changed from transportation and public lighting systems to privatized home technology, most notably of course, communications technology. Many households had telephones, radios, some had telegraphs, and with the television soon to follow, a kind of technology which served am at once mobile and home-centered way of living; a form of mobile privitization.

Freewriting 4

Recently my cousin, who is a senior in high school, borrowed The Great Gatsby from me night for his english class while I was watching Frank Miller's Sin City. I remembered reading it in high school, for the same teacher, and thoroughly enjoying the recount of jazz-age culture and the American dream, but have never seen the movie. I was then struck with an intriguing idea. I have always been a fan of comic books, especially Marvel's Spider-Man and X-Men, both of which also were made into Saturday morning cartoon shows when i was a kid and are major blockbuster movies today. These comic book stories have emulated just about every form of media, including several video games. I would imagine there are several book versions of these sagas, as well. What if the same could occur with an older form of media? Would The Great Gatsby work as a graphic novel like Frank Miller's Sin City?





Sin City, Frank Miller´s original collection of gothic graphic novels, has become widely known in pop culture since the major movie bearing the same name was released. Miller directed the movie, and has been in the comic book industry since 1978, getting hist first work publishing The Twilight Zone for Gold Key Comics. He is best known for his work on Daredevil and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns (which influenced Tim Burton´s Batman) in the 80s, and of course, Sin City in the 90s.



Some notable characteristics of Sin City are its gothic coloring style, it's violence, and its depiction of evil and corruption. The only colors used in Sin City are black and white, and sometimes red for emphasis on blood or a woman's dress. Since it's always dark in Sin City, there's usually much more black on the page than white.
My comic book version of The Great Gatsby would be very different in its coloring style and amount of physical violence, but would be equally powerful in its communication of the corruption of the American dream. Since much of Gatsby takes place in suburban, high-society scenes, the scenery would be much brighter. I, like Miller, would only use black and white to illustrate the book, with the occasional blue or red for emphasis. There would really only be two violent scenes in the book in which I would use red: on Gatsby's car following Myrtle's death and the murder of Gatsby.

The First-Person Shooter

In my case study, i will explore the history of video games from the perspective of the evolution of the first-person shooter (FPS) genre of gaming tracing back to its birth in the late 1970s. This is a genre which is constantly teeming with potential, as there are frequent advances in progamming and the processing power of video-game consoles. There are many notable titles which introduced new concepts in gaming which have been emulated (literally and figuratively) by programmers around the world.