Why can't we all just get along?

I'm getting frustrated with being a pc owner in what seems to have become an increasingly mac-friendly world. Especially because I am a pc owner who would describe herself as the opposite of tech savvy.

I have long been a fan of the pc and throughout my 26 years have never owned, or even thought about owning, a mac. But since being back in school, I've started wondering if maybe life would be easier if I just broke down and made the switch.

For instance, the choreographer for a show I did about a month back gave me the dvd of our performance last night. Upon putting it into my computer to watch, however, I discover the dvd won't play. Why is this? I think because the dvd was burned on a mac. The reason I think this is because I've had this problem before. The last time I was finally able to get the dvd to play on my computer after MUCH coaxing and prodding... this alone was enough to make me reconsider my pc loyalties.

The good side of having a pc is that it lasts. I've had this desktop for years; it's made it through one cross-country move and a summer in storage and is still alive and well. My Sony laptop from 2002 is also still in pretty good condition, although I don't use it anymore because if I tried to carry it anywhere the weight of it would surely give me back problems.

However I hear time and time again how much easier life can be with a mac. And as I progress in my career I realize that I can't hide from technology forever.

Basically what it comes down to is that I just wish we could all use the same system, mac or pc, I don't really care. I guess what would make my life easiest would be to pop a dvd into my computer and it playing immediately no matter what operating system it was made on... I'm thinking this probably means I should abandon my loyalties and start saving.

Gaining empowerment through technological literacy

Looking back on everything we've learned in this class so far-- building a webpage, editing music, creating animations, and finally creating a movie-- it's nice to feel like I've gained some really practical knowledge during the course, knowledge that I can use in the future to help better my own work as an artist.

The area in which I've learned the most is creating a personal webpage. Web design is something that until now I knew practically nothing about, and I assumed that if I ever needed to create a webpage in the future I would have no choice but to enlist outside help. Thanks to this class I now feel that I've learned enough so I could at least begin to figure out how to make a web page on my own in the future.

This class has also sparked my interest to continue learning webpage design. I'm considering taking another class with a similar focus next semester if I have room in my schedule.

Dancing "Across the Ether"

This past Sunday I participated in a collaboration of four schools (NYU, Bergen CC, Stony Brook, and UCSC) who together using computer technology were able to perform and collaborate 'together' on stage, pushing the boundaries of a typical concert experience, and as is stated in the concert title, "dissolving borders of time and space."

In the Frederick Loewe Theatre at NYU the setting was quite a site to see. Along with the usual set up one might expect from a music concert, there were screens with images of the other three universities' performances being broad casted live throughout the concert. Along with this, all four colleges were able to communicate with each other between performance pieces. In one piece, "Medea Monologue", Bergen CC performed a spoken monologue while NYU acted as the Greek Chorus, performing 'together' on stage even though in reality the universities are miles apart.

My part in the performance was as a dancer, performing guided improvisations during four of NYU's music pieces. It was a great challenge to rise to, never having heard the music before hand, and only being told minutes before going on stage what the "theme" or "direction" of the improvisation was to be.

Performing usually gives me anxiety, but I actually wasn't nervous before this event. I enjoy improvisation; it gives me comfort to know that in improv there really isn't a "right" or "wrong" answer. I also take comfort in knowing that unlike performing a set piece of choreography, I don't have to embody someone else's interpretation of the music. Instead I get to react to it in virtually any way I wish, which is both empowering and exhilarating.

To be involved with such a fresh and innovative concert experience was inspiring for me, and I think to all involved. Sometimes technology can get a bad rep as being one of the culprits responsible for diminishing the need for community in our culture. This concert, however, proved that technology can be used to help build community in a way that serves our increasingly trans-global lives.