Convergence

Living in a digital age the topic of convergence is starting to appear more often. Technological convergence is basically combining multiple forms of media into one and improving on old devices of the past. Another important aspect of convergence is when new and old forms of media interact with one another. They literally converge on one another to form a greater mean.There are so many forms of media on consoles and devices, eventually we will have one device that is great at having all forms of media. Phones are headed that way currently with being able to talk, text, play games, apps, read books, and so on, but they are not completely efficient in all of these areas. So many people today have an absurd amount of media devices. Take myself for example I have a laptop, smart phone, Xbox 360, and an iPod. Yes, each of these devices are great at their main objective and sufficient in other areas, but it is a pain to haul these things around. Slowly, but surely we are moving toward a time when one device can have and manipulate all forms of media in an efficient manner. 
In addition, there are multiple types of convergence which include Economic Convergence, Organic Convergence, Cultural Convergence, Global Convergence, and Technological Convergence. Each one plays in important role in society and offer different advantages to society. It just goes to show that convergence is everywhere and not just limited to media. Global Convergence is the biggest one of all and helps bring together people of all walks of life. 

 
This brings me to my next point about the black box fallacy. People believe that this is unheard of and will never happen, but I could not disagree more. Look no farther than our current smart phones. We realistically are so close to this black box idea and we are constantly creating awesome new technology. I personally think this hypothetical black box will be like a phone and not a cable box which a few critics envisioned. 

Reaction to Stelarc

Honestly, I have no clue where to start when discussing Stelarc. This was something completely strange to me, but I have to admit it is one of a kind. The passion and dedication required to make something like this is incredible. Overall, Stelarc to me is a few different ideas and aspects. First, one can control an avatar due to motion sensors and controls connected to the persons limb. The avatar mimics your movements in the digital or non tangible world. Also, Stelarc involves manipulating ones body in real life through different aspects. For example, on the website there are multiple pictures of people being hung by strings as if they are idle. In the one presentation when the spider machine was on stage it reminded me of Sid's creepy toy from Toy Story.By pulling on these strings it moves their limbs. In addition, Stelarc focuses on combining different body parts in some sort of strange mash-up. This is apparent in both real life and the digital world. In real life when he inserted the ear into his arm it adds another dimension and can transmit signals. No, the ear does not have a mind of its own, but it is an extension of the man. In the digital world it is crazy with the avatars faces and different limbs being completely detached or attached in strange positions. A face will literally be spinning when an arm or leg pops out of its mouth.

Stelarc and Existenz have a lot of the same concepts and ideas. They both focus on manipulation of ones body on another platform, but the real life body is needed to control the avatar or movatar. This avatar is an extension of ones real body, but it is realistic by the mimicking it does. Both of these platforms immerses the user in a different world and medium. One unique similarity is that in order for one to be immersed they literally have to be plugged into the virtual world. The user or player has to have something attached or inserted into their body. This can easily blur the line between reality and the game. Each of the two properties focus on the process of manipulation of the body and how ones reacts in both real/virtual time. I feel like both the real world and virtual world immerse the user so much that reality gets blurred because we trick our own mind. Lastly, I found it to be some kind of weird coincidence of the ear with Stelarc and the little pink thing  in Existenze from the arcade to be insanely similar. This shows that they have their own way of engaging the user, but many of the same concepts or themes. In summary, both Existenze and Stelarc are something strange, but expand the boundaries of the human body in the real and virtual world through various actions.  

Ender's Game

After reading Ender's Game I want to see the movie because the novel was captivating. The plot had some twists and turns, as well as some mature content which I enjoy. The fact that the main character was a young kid was something different. If the character was an adult I probably would not have sympathized with him as much due to the fact Ender was a kid. This was an important part of the plot on a couple different issues. It helped relate the reader to the character better because he was a young kid who was bullied and taken right from his home. We sympathized with Ender and it caused us to root for him no mater what stood in his way. Also, even though Ender was exceptionally bright, I felt he did not grasp the consequences of his actions. He still had innocence in him even though he killed two different people. If that had been an adult I would have viewed him as an anti-hero and not as attached to the character. 

Another aspect of the book I enjoyed was the relationship between Peter and Valentine. Even though these characters took a back seat to their brother they both had vital roles. I really enjoyed how when they adopted those screen names they essentially took on the opposite persona. After a while their personalities changed and they actually believed what they were typing. Valentine slowly started to act more like Peter and vice versa. For how tough and durable Ender was one can argue that the only thing he feared was Peter. Even after Ender grew older and Peter seemed to be less cynical it was the one person that could instill fear in Ender. I enjoy characters in different forms of literature or media that have such a strong dynamic to themselves like Peter. I did not necessarily root for Peter in the book, but I acknowledge how important he was to the main plot even when he was not present. 

The one issue I had with the book was that I wish Peter and Ender would have ended up clashing or facing off after battle school. I know their relationship was important, but played second fiddle to the buggers. I thought it would be awesome once Peter got in power if they had an altercation. Just imagine both of them leading an army against one another. This is just one minor complaint because overall I enjoyed the novel and look forward to viewing the film adaptation.