session 9.

Beyond Two Souls

This time I'm going to write about a videogame that just come out recently, the 8 of october in this year to be more specific. Developed by a  french videogame company named Quantic Dream.

This game has the particularity to use a lot of cinematics, so it`s more like a graphic adventure than a game with difficult gameplay, you can see how diferent genders begin to mix (in this case, cinema and videogames), even if it's not the first game to do it, it shows that this type of game it's still relevant to put on the table the discussion if videogames can be considerate like pieces of art.

The story it's about a girl-woman, named Jodie (in the game, you can see her at different periods of her life, when she was a kid, when she has to face adolescence, and then when she starts working being in a young adulthood), that has a mysterious power, this power seems to consist in a soul of someone named Aiden that it's trap in her body, linked to her, and has free will. This essence can see, move and hit things far from where Jodie is, so it looks like she has telekinesic powers or something like that. The interesting thing about Aiden is that the person who plays turns into Aiden, because you actually are the only one who can control him, and this creates the ilusion of actually being important part of the resolution and ending of the game (it has different endings depending on the decisions you take through the game), in this way it brakes the "fourth wall" 'cause when Jodie talks to Aiden, she talks to you.  

The game has recieved a lot of critics, because It's not actually a fun game to play, it's more to watch it than interacting with it (in the sense of using the joystick/controller, in most of the game you can't separate from it, in this game you use it between the cinematics), but the fact that it's not fun in the way of "laughing" doesn't make it bad, actually it's really interesting in the plot itself, you can see a lot of controversial topics, like bulling or if it's ethic from the part of the C.I.A. to use her has a tool, even though it's the only place were she could find friends...

I think that this game it's great, at least the things I've seen so far are really interesting. Besides, they really took care in details like the modeling of characters, they use real actors to make the faces and bodies. Jodie it's based in the actrees Ellen Page.

If you have time, you should check it.  

session 8.

Greens.

Right now, I think that everyone had been aware about the global warming, the bad handling of natural resources, and the accumulation of garbage; or at least has a vague idea about it. We can read about it on newspapers, or watch it on T.V., although the information that this media gives it seems not to be enough, but if you search in the internet for eco-friendly groups or watch documentaries, you can learn much more about it.

 In my case, I love to accumulate things and to work with them, so, what it’s commonly see has garbage; I use it like a fundamental material for handicrafts. Besides that, in my family always throw de organic elements to the garden, so they can “feed” the plants we have; and always tried to not abuse de electrical energy (for example, using the lights only in the night, or put the boiled water in a thermos bottle). Besides from that we’re still lacking a lot of habits, like separate the different kinds of garbage.

I often prefer to walk instead taking the bus, but sometimes it’s impossible not to do it because of the distance and the fact that it would take a lot of time if a walk a really long distance, anyway, I guess I been out of focus, because instead of thinking in how eco-friendly was walking, I was just thinking in saving money.

I haven’t joined any eco-organization, because I still don’t have the habits of a good recycle, so, it’s kind of annoying if I try to convince you to be more green if myself is not green enough, besides, I think if you joined an organization, you must be really committed to it, and I have not even organized my life.

In conclusion, I think the big problem it’s related to people laziness and selfishness, it seems like people doesn’t care about the future anymore, we won’t live the consequences of our acts, so   just few people care. This problem it’s so deep, that it will take a lot of time to educate the humanity to take response of their garbage. 

session 6.

Summary, the tower of power.

This time I’m talking about this new:
http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2013/oct/04/new-museum-york-security-gold-display

In a few words, this new it’s about the controversial retrospective work of Chris Burden held by The New Museum, in New York.

Chris Burden is well known because of his polemic works of art. He started getting famous in the seventy’s with his performances, He did things like crucified himself on a Volkswagen, but the most emblematic work is “Shoot”, where he got shot by an assistant from a distance of five meters. When the press asks him the meaning of that action, he answered: “getting shot is as American as apple pie”.

The current work installed in The New museum it’s less aggressive, but still preserves the critic against the consumer society, although this critic is made by exposing and showing the problem with beauty and irony, in his works we can see how much the human being today admires money and technology, but at the same time spending a lot of money to make this different installations, therefore he makes fun of the spectator ‘cause he is admiring money just like the work of art is showing.

This is the case of “The Tower of Power” the most protected work of this series in the museum. It consist in a pyramid of 100 kilograms of gold, with little figures around it made of needles that worship this pyramid, because of the gold, visitors are only allowed to see it one at a time and must deposit their coats and bags in a locker beforehand. 

session 7, free post.
Drawing.

Actually, I'm not really sure how to expose this topic, but I would like to increase the importance of this activity.
These days it's common that when a child starts to draw, a lot of people think it's just for playing, the same happens when you are in school and instead of taking atention during the class, you draw. This, I think, it's because there is a cultural convention that relate drawing to activities more related to the arts, and unfortunately, the world of arts has been taking has something uselees, because the contemplative characteristic of this and the fact that a lot of artist are bohemians to. Besides, right now the most important thing for the society is to consume, so you need to earn a lot of money, and if you don't do that, you are a failure. What common people don't realised is the fact that a lot of other careers need to draw, it's a tool that permits the understanding of diferent projects, it's the way, a step to make something for real, like a building or a robotic piece. I'm not trying to say that drawing will make you a millionare, I just want to appeal the importance of this, to tell a lady that it's not bad for his son to draw or to motivate teachers to make the students draw (but NOT to force them to do it). 
I like to draw, and I love the fact that it's a way to make things for real, but a lot of people think that drawings are just dreams or imaginary worlds and can't see the possibility of construction. Maybe I'm just resentful because in school they told me drawing was useless, something fun that brings you joy and fun it's not useless...

session 5, free post.

Steampunk.

I known this concept a couple years ago, when a friend told me about one of her classmates. She showed me the way he dressed and the things he made and brought to the class, those things were really cool, then she explained that when she ask him what was that, he said: Steampunk. 
After that I started searching for information and images to learn more about it. In a few words, It's a literary movement that grown into a cultural movement, it takes the aesthetic of the 19 century, specifically in the boom of steam powered machinery (like trains for example) and the industry revolution, this movement it's against consumer society (this is the "punk" part of the concept), the idea it's to bring the past in the present and correct the things when they started to take a wrong way, it's a retro-futurism.
The people that identifies with this movement love the historicity of things, so it increase the value of crafted things, the way the human uses the tools and machinery to create something together (and I say together because the "machine" it's treated with the respect of a human). Rescue the way of this century's production, the fact that things were meant to last forever (not like today, that the production just want more consumption, so the things broke immediately and we just accumulate garbage).
In Chile there is a community of steampunk, I'm part of it and it's really fun to share opinions and to learn new ways to craft things. Has a fun fact, right now I'm dating the boy that my friend used to talk to me about (the one that teach her the concept of steampunk), and we always try to take care of things, or think of a useful way to manipulate garbage, like make decorations for example.
I would like to invite you to get more information about this, and, if you are not interested in the nineteen century, at least think of taking cafe of your garbage.

session 4 free post.

Portal. 

This time I’m going to write about Portal, this is a video game developed by Valve Corporation, you can play it in different platforms like a computer, an x box or a play station. It’s a single player game (most of it, recently they release Portal 2, that have a co-op option for two players). The objective of the game is to solve puzzles and platforms with teleportation, you use a “portal gun”, this fire two different “doors” (blue and orange portals) and this are connected, so, you can shoot the wall on the left with orange, and the wall on the right with blue, and if you go inside the portal on the left, you’ll come out from the portal of the right, and vice versa. This gameplay brings you a lot of different options, like reach high places or use the gravitational force to make long jumps.

This game it’s really famous not just because of the gameplay, but the story and it’s looks. The esthetic of the game it’s really clinical and clean, with a lot of white and then it looks really apocalypse-like; the story it’s about you getting tested in some kind of scientific program by a robot named GLaDOS (Genetic Lifeform and Disk Operating System), at first you are not really sure if it’s testing your intelligence or your ability to manipulate the portal gun, besides, she has a really dark and sarcastic humor, she promises you a prize (the cake) if you complete all the test chambers, but in the way to that, you realized that actually they are killing and manipulating people, in fact you can see the sentence “the cake is a lie” in a secret room. When you complete the final test GLaDOS tries to kill you, in the end you have to defeat GLaDOS, and when the credits are rolling, she sings of how cruel you are, and the last picture is the cake with burning candles.

session 3

A country I would like to visit.

It’s SO hard to choose just one! I want to visit a lot of countries especially the ones in Asia and Europe. If I put myself in a perfect world where I actually can travel around the world, the country I will probably choose first will be Greek, because the simple fact that this country it’s practically the birthplace of the government of occidental culture.
The things I know of Greek are more related to the Ancient Greek, things like myths, philosophers, dramatists and olympics. What I know from now is the financial crisis they suffer recently and it’s still recovering.
If I go there, I’ll probably visit a lot of ancient places like Mount Olympus or the Parthenon, and after I learn from all that places I would like to go to the beach, contemplate and enjoy the landscape, take sun and a bath.
Because of the recent situation I probably wouldn’t like to live in there, It would be really hard, but if I have the enormous luck to get a scholarship and study a semester there (something like a specialization in greek tragedy) It would be a dream.