Inside My Head

hmm I feel like blogging...thats really odd :P

2005-03-17T15:46:00.000-08:00

To begin, I just want to say good work to all the teams that presented, to quote Michelle Melia Gordon, "Good on ya".

So far Cogniton classes have been going pretty smoothly (aka. stress level at a low ^^). However, exam time is getting pretty close and I'm glad to know that our Cognition class doesn't have an exam ( kickass!), but still I have 4 other exams to worry about.
Okay no more talking about exams! >"<

Well, last week we got our mini-review rough drafts back. Personally, I found that this assignment wasn't that bad. I mean I wanted to do my assignment on autism and music therapy but I couln't find any "academic" material on this subject, thus I changed my topic to play therapy. For the most part, play therapy was an interesting subject, I never knew "playing" was such an essential part of our development and how it can also aid in helping childern express their thoughts and feelings. Really interesting stuff.

This week we got down and dirty doing our final projects. It took us a while to come up with our topic but thankfully Adam had a good idea. From what I've heard, most of the projects sound really interesting, and of course most of them are going to be a challenge.

mini-review (haha...no) on movies:

Constantine <=-- pretty good 8.5/10
Imaginary Heroes <=-- odd but well done 8/10
The Machinist <=-- messed up but great 8/10

looking forward to seeing :Kingdom of Heaven, War of the Worlds, Downfall, and Rory O' Shea Was Here, Nobody Knows, Born into Brothels, Moolaade, Turtles Can Fly, Walk on Water, Clean, Don't Move, and Travellers and Magicians --( gulp)

I should really be in film studies :P

later~

Jamming on January

2005-02-01T17:34:00.000-08:00

hmm so...what really "went down" in Cognition class in January?

Where do I begin...

*Well we had one class where we had to get into teams and come up with a commerical for cognition class. That I thought was really fun. Personally, I felt our group had the best response from the audience, all thanks to Taylor’s crazy ideas.

*Then I think Thursday of that week Team 4 ( I think) had a presentation on categorization. I honestly wasn't feeling to well that morning so I bet it was an awesome presentation but I really wasn't with it. All I remember is Adam ARGUING about how humans should be categorized (its coming back to me now) oh and I put my 2 cents saying " how do we know that dogs don't have emotions?" yeah thats right I'm a freakin genius!

Then the weekend…

*Saturday night went to a party, and figured out that I can take 7.5 beers before I can’t stand. Don’t even ask me how we got home ( the beer buggy took us home^^) – sick party
-
*Sunday morning huge hang over. Slept the entire day

*Then came Tuesday and the last team presented (I forgot what team but I remember the people...sorry) I really enjoyed their presentation, I think it was on Lexicons - our so-called mental dictionary, interesting stuff.
Yeah really good job!^^

*Then Thursday we had a lecture on how to make a proper outline for our mini-review.
I found it to be a little rushed but I was happy Avi posted it on WebCT so I can refer to it.

*Friday our team (the dream team…damn straight) got together and shot the movie for our presentation on implicit learning. Hans Verenhoven -- nincompoop! ( good stuff)

Then weekend again…

*Saturday went to see In Good Company with the house – pretty good

*On Tuesday our team presented our topic on Implicit learning. Implicit learning is still of a mystery to me. I mean its unconscious learning but to learn something I think we have to be conscious about it before it becomes unconscious. Anyway the class did an awesome job of participating – especially Taylor, lets recall -- “I used to play baseball and I used to stick my hands down my pants and play with my cup… ” -- slow clap ( dude your hilarious)

Yeah that’s a really quick summary of January

So Chris what have you learned?

Honestly, I’m becoming more aware of my cognitive abilities. I mean everytime I sit down and study I remember things like elaborative learning and working memory and that stuff. And now when I take the tunnels I always recall our lecture on mental mapping and how certain cues (visual etc) help us during mental mapping. And I'm still amazed that Adam made a map for the tunnels...it wasn't really accurate but he still had a clue how to do it.

I have also started analyzing my brother’s behaviour [ he’s my little experiment >:) ]

Also after doing our presentation on implicit learning, I've noticed other things I do implicitly but its still with singing in the morning. Yesterday I woke up singing Eric Prydz - Call on me (got to love the video...at least the guys do) and my brother was like "Why do u do that!?!" then I gave him a evil stare and said "IMPLICIT LEARNING!"

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------favourite January music downloads : Junior Jack – stupidisco
The Killers – Smile like you mean it
Daft Punk - Emotion
DL Incognito - Proof
Laurent Konrad – Haunted
K-OS – clap your handz

( okay fine the movie of the month is Hotel Rwanda --really good …oh no here comes Avi!)

anyone interested in talking about movies, music, anything just add me on MSN: CH_bloodmoon@hotmail.com

MUST...TALK...ABOUT...MOVIES >"<

2005-01-26T18:19:00.000-08:00

okay okay I know we aren't supposed to talk about things that have nothing to do with cognition
...well forget that >:)

Okay here's an update of what movies I've seen:

Mary Full of Grace - great movie, very raw and interesting
(9.5/10)

Motorcycle Diaries - very very good movie, actor
Gael García Bernal brilliantly played the character Ernesto
"Che" Guevara
(9.5/10)

The Aviator - Dicapro isn't one of my favourite actors but
I have to give him credit, beautiful art direction, camera
work was great
(8/10)

Ocean's 12 - very cool calm and collected movie
(7.5/10)

Million Dollar Baby - two thumbs way up, Clint Eastwood
really put some time and effort in making this masterpiece
(9.5/10)

House of Flying Daggers - Xing Zi yi (:S) was awesome in this,
come on everyone like martial arts movies ^^
(8.5/10)

Darkness - very scary, if you liked the Ring you'll love this
( 8/10)

In Good Company - Topher Grace was funny as usual
( and I just found out that Topher is actually short for CHRISTOPHER
-- never knew that!)
(7.5/10)

Go see these movies when they come out in theatres or download them like I did ( see them before they cost $11.00>:, use bittorrent, best quality for downloading movies^^)

still need to watch: Ju-On, Mean Creek, Hotel Rwanda, Ong Bak ( lots more)

Movies to watch out for: Batman Begins (so excited), War of the Worlds, Kingdom of Heaven ( same director that did Gladiator which by the way is one of my favourite movies), The Woodsman etc.

* please comment - if u agree or disagree... anything!

And yes Avi this is the last time... PROMISE^^

MY LAST BLOG(at least for the time being)

2004-12-02T09:02:00.000-08:00

All I want to say is that I had a great time in Cognition class...it was awesome getting to know everyone and I look forward to the next semester ~^_^~!
AVI AND KATHY GREAT JOB!!

(so being politically correct...so I don't INSULT or OFFEND anyone!)

****Merry Christmas****
****Happy Hanukkah**** ****Happy Kwanza****
****HAPPY HOLIDAY'S!!****

YOU DIRTY SANTA YOU!
OH don't forget the 2 essentials to a great Christmas:
1)MOVIES:CHRISTMAS VACATION or THE MUPPETS CHRISTMAS CAROL (most definitely)
2)CRANK THE CHRISTMAS MUSIC! (for a good laugh...must download Cartman [from South Park] singing "Oh Holy Night")

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
thought provoking quotes:

"Arrogance is a mixture of impertinence, disobedience, indiscipline, rudeness, harshness, and a self-assertive nature."
--Sivananda--

"Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean."
--Christopher Reeve--

Mental Rotation (woah man I'm dizzy)

2004-11-30T15:36:00.000-08:00

Today's class we had a presentation on Mental Rotation. I found the presentation to be pretty well done, I understood most of the stuff they explained and I found that the class discuss really brought up some really interesting points.

I already had some background knowledge about mental rotation because my cognition article assignment was about mental rotation. However, today's presentation did a much better job of explaining it compared to that lengthy (10 pg) article @_@.

Personally I find that mental rotation is a really useful tool in our daily life but I find it to be more of a navigational tool. Still, it has more uses then just navigation. Essentially, I feel that alot of artist use mental rotation to help gain a better perspective on certain things, personally I use mental rotation when drawing 3D objects or trying to create depth in a drawing (such as drawing a room or something)but still if I really want to draw something properly I need to see it in front of me to get all the detail.

thats all folks...NOW BACK TO STUDYING!!

oh if anyone has a good George W. Bush joke or anything thats funny just post it...I'm curious to hear something funny considering how depressing studying can be
[how sad am I]

mmmm....Beer ^^ (No I'm not an alcoholic)

2004-11-25T09:30:00.000-08:00

Okay yes I did have a few beers (I'm positive it was 2 beers...or was it??) anyway my roomate wanted to finish his case so he gave me the rest of the beers. I usually only drink at parties and stuff and I'm still 18 so I can't really got to any bars (except for the ones in Hull which I really hate)

Nevertheless, I'm counting down until my 19th birthday, yup then I'm letting myself go (party!!). My friends are planning to take me to the bars downtown and they're really looking forward to seeing me get completely drunk. Personally, when I drink I don't intend to get drunk but judging from the last party I went to ...lets not go there...@_@. If anything I try not to get drunk but usually after having a cold tall beer I can't help myself so I tend to take more and more (damn...I hope u guys don't think I'm an alcoholic) And I normally drink on special occasions or parties.

meh...C'est la Vie

------------------------On to a different topic--------------------------------------
Todays Cognition class was about study habits and how different factors influence our habits. I tend to study better when I have loud music playing in the background. Preferrably music like rock, or rap, and even techno helps me stimulate my mind so I can concentrate. And I'm not a person who crams before a test, I ususally study on a daily basis but still I don't have a strict schedule to which I follow.

My problem when I study is being easily distracted by the stupidest things. Usually after 20 minutes of studying I begin to day dream and have the urge to do something else like draw or play on my computer or EAT. But I have to say my study habits have improved drastically from high school.

Anyway...good luck to all of you guys on your exams...STUDY HARD!!

MOVIE REVIEW : SEVEN (also known as SE7EN)

2004-11-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

Starring: Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Brad Pitt, and Kevin Spacey

(might be a spoiler for the film...sorry)

QUICK SYNOPSIS:
-->Strange murder sparks investigation. Eventually the murders have a common thread, each murder signifies one of the seven deadly sins outlined in the Bible but also in Thomas Aqcuanis' work(greed, lust etc.)
-->Freeman plays an experienced investigator and Pitt is brought on as a partner for the investigation (in Freeman's eyes he is still a rookie but eventually we find out that Pitt had experience)
-->Throughout each murder new clues and suspects arise.
-->thats all I'm going to say or I'll ruin the movie

REVIEW:
This movie is a must-see...simply WOW!

One of the first things you notice in the first few minutes of the film is that the atmosphere and setting has a raw and eerie feeling. Ultimately, this feeling is felt throughout the film and I think it was crucial to the film to stay consistent with this
mood. The many layers that this film encompassed made it incomparable.

The Music and Sound Effects
The music wasn't as eerie as the atmosphere but still gave a sense of lingering suspense. However, the sound effects they used (like the rain, and simple things like shuffling of paper etc) really delivered the raw semi-gothic tone that echoed throughout the whole film.

Acting
The acting was really well done also. Undoubtedly, Morgan Freeman was perfect for this role. Personally Brad Pitt isn't one of my favourite actors but he did do a good job. It seems that the partnership of Freeman and Pitt in this film was slightly unusual but I felt that the director wanted some contrasts between characters and I think it was apparent that both actors worked together nicely but also had their own individual identity throughout the film. The role that Platrow played seemed to be a role that limited her creativity but then again she didn’t have a huge role, compared to the rest of the actors.
Kevin Spacey's acting was really genuine, and delivered a clandestine aura that drove the film in different directions.

Plot
The plot of the film was so distinctive and unique. When we think of a thriller or more specifically a mystery movie we eventually can piece things together and figure out who the killer is before the movie even ends. However, this film wasn't trying to concentrate on the killer; instead it was more concentrated on how the killer thought and the reason for his actions, ultimately the philosophy of the killer. What I found interesting was the reasoning the killer had to commit these gruesome crimes. His reasons were so human and down-to-earth that it makes you think and surprisingly you feel like he had some kind of right to do these evil things. Totally, the plot had so many twists and turns thus making you think and really focus.

-----9.5/10-----

Good Job Group 5!

2004-11-23T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ava Ridge, Percy Eption ,Annie Mal ,and Pre Dixon awesome job!
I really enjoyed the presentation on Long-term memory. The little skit in the beginning of class really got everyones attention and it made the morning more bearable. Oh and Pre dixion you rock ( you reminded me of one of the character from Team America : "I sense that you are confused" If you haven't seen this movie you wouldn't understand)

So I had a dream last night where I failed all my exams...how scary is that!
I woke up around 5:00am in a cold sweat and couldn't sleep the rest of the night.
You know when your stressed when even your dreams are haunted with school.
Well I just hope this is not an OMEN @_@. Anyway, for now I'll just take it as a warning and use it as fuel to study hard ~>.<~

Hey I have a joke...

The Test

Three men who were lost in the forest were captured by
cannibals. The cannibal king told the prisoners that they could
live if they pass a trial. The first step of the trial was to go
to the forest and get ten pieces of the same kind of fruit. So
all three men went separate ways to gather fruits.

The first one came back and said to the king, "I brought ten
apples." The king then explained the trial to him. "You have to
shove the fruits up your butt without any expression on your
face or you'll be eaten."

The first apple went in... but on the second one he winced out
in pain, so he was killed.

The second one arrived and showed the king ten berries. When the
king explained the trial to him he thought to himself that this
should be easy. 1...2...3...4...5...6...7...8... and on the
ninth berry he burst out in laughter and was killed.

The first guy and the second guy met in heaven. The first one
asked, "Why did you laugh, you almost got away with it?" The
second one replied, "I couldn't help it, I saw the third guy
coming with pineapples."

>.< CRASH & BURN!!!

2004-11-18T17:58:00.000-08:00

Yeah...okay so what if my memory sucks >"
To begin...of course I had to be the first one to go...I was the only GUY out of 4 girls...I swear once we left the classroom they all had a plan( like the Amazons in Greek mythology)...first they ganged up on me...then they strategically circled me and blocked all the exits so I couldn't escape... they then threatened to put makeup on me ( 3 girls holding me down while one girl whips out the lipstick and mascara)...no chance...thus I was royally screwed and I had no choice but to go first or its makeover time (hell no!)

heh...I kid...the ladies were just smarter than me... ~^_^~

Ultimately, I blame my poor performance today on the other long-term memory exercises Avi tried on us...like multiplying numbers in our head and trying to recall words when he told us to count backwards before we wrote them down...come on! my mind was fried when I had to remember that screwy story.

Also during that experiment, I had to stand in front of the class while 26 pairs of eyes were on me! Thus I was worried about rememebering the story and nervous because everyone in class was STARRING at me and were expecting me to remember that messed up story(stressful x_x).

meh...all I can say is I tried (dust off my shoulder)

ExAms SuCk! ( rather stick a fork in my eye >"<)

2004-11-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

tToday we had a lecture on exam preparation. Even though, half the stuff that was taught, I already knew, I still found it to be a good lecture just because I think it got everyone thinking on getting started studying (more like stressed us out)

I think it time to take some drastic measures and become a hermit. I'm stocking up on food and liquids and plan to lock myself in my room and study until my exams start(hmm... and maybe grow a very long beard while I'm at it?) anyway thats the plan for now unless anyone has a better idea.

(even though exams are still a few weeks away) I just want to say good luck to everyone in studying and hopefully it will pay off in your exams.

GREAT NEW MOVIES!!

2004-11-14T15:33:00.000-08:00

okay since I love movies and I love talking about movies, I thought it would be interesting to give you guys a heads up on great new movies that already have been released or are coming out.

(to start)

Maria Full of Grace ( already Released July 14, 2004) - takes a deep and emotional look at the ruthless world of international drug traffiking. The advertisment poster they used basically sums up the theme of the movie ( she looks like she's preparing to receive a piece of bread but it is instead a tablet used in drug traffiking)

Alexander(November 24, 2004)- This movie looks really good. It stars Colin Farrel, Angelina Jolie, Val Kilmer, and Anthony Hopkins. I hope its not like Troy, which I believe was a complete waste of my time and money. Chiefly, the story is about Alexander the Great. The reason why he is called Alexander the "Great" is because he conquered almost 90% of the known world and by the time of his death he forged a kingdom unlike the world has ever now.
My favourite period piece was Gladiator, and I hope this movie can deliever an equal performance.

The Machinist( released October, 22, 2004[Limited]) - Okay I was really disppointed that this movie had limited release. It had rave reviews at the Toronto Film festival and I'm definitely going to rent this movie when it comes out.
Its basically a psychological thriller. It stars a very VERY thin Christian Bale ( he droped from 190 to 130 pounds!!@_@) who is suffering from insomina and he hasn't slept in a year. Ultimately, from this lack of sleep, his phyiscal and mental health have deteriorated and every waking moment he struggles with confusion and hallusinations. The story has a dark and mysterious atmosphere. I really shouldn't reveal alot.

Elektra January 14, 2005)- Personally I'm very picky when it comes to movies about comic book hero's(hated Spiderman), however I watched the Elektra trailer and it looks like a good movie. Jennifer Garner, I think, is perfect for this part and it looks like its not one of those cheesy typical comic book stories where everything is predictable. Also (this might sound weird) but I like the weapons that she uses ( the sais) it different and judging from the trailer it looks like she trained really hard to wield those weapons.

Hide and Seek (January 28, 2005) - this movie looks really good. Its supposed to be a scary movie and after watching the trailer I was a bit spooked. Basically, this story surrounds the story about Emily, played by Dakota Fanning. Her father, played by Robert DeNiro, decides it would be best to move away from the city to start a new beginning because of the tragic death of Emily's mother. Eventually, Emily finds it hard to make friends and she starts to make up an imaginary friend. As the movie continues her father, Robert DeNiro, becomes worried that his daughter is actually believing that she has an imaginary friend. (Now here's where it gets interesting) slowly weird unexplainable things start to happen around the house and each supernatural event becomes more and more apparent. Finally Emily's father starts to realize that the imaginary friend might have something to do with these strange events. I look forward to watching this movie, it looks so different.

The Ring Two(spring 2005) - OMG I was so happy when I found out that they were coming out with Ring Two. All I can say is I loved the first one ( I needed a change of pants after watching it) and I honestly can't wait for the second one. ( if you haven't seen the Ring I suggest that you do, but watch it with another friend, and have a fresh pair of pants beside you ^^(just in case)

(umm...I can keep going but that would be weird)

don't be afraid to post your comments, I LOVE TALKING ABOUT MOVIES!!

Short-Term Memory...umm what?..oh yeah! I remember

2004-11-09T20:26:00.000-08:00

Today's class was on the puzzling subject of short-term memory.

Basically, Avi tested us on our memory by reading off words (like hot, girl, mu**...um I think you get the idea ^^)and then we had to write them out after he read them off. It was fun and I discovered that my short-term memory is definitely short. Everytime Avi read the list of words I would pay extra attention to him but when it came to writing the words I always encountered a memory block and it made me so frustrated >"<.

My biggest problem is forgetting things. And its usually the most important things like my keys or an assignment for class. However, I tend to remember the most pointless things like if we ran out of chips or cookies or the days when new movies come out.

S.O.S. NEED TO GET OUT!! :(

2004-11-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

yeah okay I'm just about ready to explode!!

All this work, its driving me nuts. Seriously next weekend I definitely doing something with my friends. But it kind of sucks when I'm only 18 and you can't go to the bars(even though half my friends are 20)and no I'm not going to Hull I've been there its got bums everywhere and I swear 50 guys came up to me to sell me some pot.(I wonder why?? -- must be the hair)

Anyway, I so want to see the Grudge, I heard it was pretty scary but I already saw the asian version so I probably know whats going to happen, still I want to go see it. Personally I enjoy indy films and foreign flicks. And its the odd time I actually go see a big budget film in theatres. Ontheotherhand, I find that the theatres in South Keys have small screens, which really piss me off, and yes I know there are other theatres in Ottawa but I don't know where so I'm stuck going to the one in South Keys. Back home, in Kingston, the theatres are the best... big seats, big screens, and yes a big drink and popcorn to make the movie experience complete...Aaah movies the great escape...

How sad is this...I'm stuck writing in my blog...if my friends back home saw me doing this they would flip. Lets just say before university started I had a social life.

Ouch!!! MY BROTHER JUST SNIPPED ME IN THE HEAD WITH AN OH HENRY BAR!!! >:(

okay okay if he wants a war, he'll get one!! ( hmm I have a paper weight right beside me??? should I or should I not??)

anyway bye for now (time to get revenge)

From East... to West... Team 2 is the BEST!!

2004-11-04T16:11:00.000-08:00

I just want to say good work team 2!

Even though we encountered some difficulties (aka. NO ONE BROUGHT A FLASHLIGHT!)
we pulled through and I personally think we did great.
I'm so happy that I have a team that works hard and I look forward to the next project.

The Dream Team all the way!

Gorilla?? what Gorilla??

2004-11-04T15:02:00.000-08:00

( this lecture reminded me of the Robbin Williams Live in Broadway show where he makes fun of Bush and his short attention span[LOL!! so funny] )

Well today we had our lecture on Attention and actually I found it to be very interesting. I always wondered what attention really was and what functions and limitations it had. All those theories like the stroop effect and the bottleneck theory were hard to understand just by reading them in the text book, but I was glad that Avi showed us some fun examples to better explain these theories.

By far my favourite example was the one with the coloured words ( ex. the word "blue" but the font colour was in red) When it asked what colour the word was, I automatically focus my attention on the word and not the colour, thus I answer wrong. Another example I enjoyed was the one with the Gorillaman. my attention was totally on the players and when Avi showed the clip again I was so surprised that I completely missed the man in the Gorilla costume (lol! ^_^)

Time Management - TIC TOC TIC TOC @_@!!

2004-10-31T22:17:00.000-08:00

Man am I glad we had a lecture on time management. Personally my time managment skills aren't really good. And ever since high school I've found myself to be a big BIG procrastinator. I blame MSN ( that dirty beast) and day dreaming, oh like this one time I had a day dream about a magic hot dog, a bird ,and a turtle...oh umm ...anyway back to the topic.(ask me in class if your curious about my day dream)

Time management is a skill that I think needs to develop over time, its nothing that you can acquire over night. Being a first year unversity student is somewhat of a challenge. We don't have the same structure like we did in high school and thus we have to rely on ourselves to finish our work. Ultimately, the key to becoming a successful university student is a developing a good routine in which you manage your time according to the priorities you have. Thus by doing this, you become more organized and hopefully succeed in your studies because of your organization.

Ain't nothing going to break my stride...
ain't nothing going to hold me down...
oh no...oh no...
I've got to keep on moving...

Lets Experiment

2004-10-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

Today's lecture gravitated around the subject of how to do a proper experiment by using the scientific method(yawn).

I found todays lecture to be very boring, it was mainly because my psych class already discussed experiments and the scientific method and also I find this stuff to be EXCRUCIATINGLY boring. I really don't like the detail involved when doing experiments, its so tedious and to me a waste of time.

well thats my two cents...so tired -_- YAWN ZzzZzz

Top 30 of my Favourite Movies !

2004-10-22T20:27:00.000-07:00

(This has nothing to do with Cognition but..meh)

1) Passion of The Christ - story is intensively raw, simply one of a kind
2) Whale Rider - true drama and artistically inspiring
3) Gladiator - is the defintion of a true "Hero" film
4) Collateral - characters do an excellent job driving the unique story
5) The Last Samurai - simply and well-rounded film
6) Man on Fire - strong story that is raw
7) The Lord of the Ring Trilogy - one of the best stories ever told
8) The Ring - truly a psychological thriller
9) Finding Nemo - superior animation with such a well-developed story
10) Kill Bill vol.1 - slick, cool, and love the action sequences
11) Girl Next Door - not just a typical teen movie.
12) Paparazzi - well delivered unique idea.
13) Monster - very disturbing but the actors did a very good job
14) Fahrenheit 9/11 - very thought provoking
15) A Time To Kill - not as good as the book but it did justice
16) Taking Lives - twisted story with great acting
17) Hero - each character is vital to the story, beautifully delivered
18) Escaflowne - Anime that has truly original and a great story
19) Vampire D: Blood lust : Anime that is completely unique
20) Animatrix - I think the whole matrix series should have been Anime
21) Lost in Translation - Cathartically unique
22) Osama - puts things into perspective on the world
23) Equilibrium - so much better than the Matrix
24) Elephant - disturbingly scary
25) Jin-Roh:The Wolf Brigade - realistic animation
26) Spirited Away - one word "imagination"
27) Cowboy Bebop:The Movie - great series but even better movie
28) Gundam Wing:Endless Waltz - superior anime
29) The Bourne Identity - very interesting storyline
30) Cold Mountain - story was depressing

SCIENCE FOR DUMMIES

2004-10-21T18:38:00.000-07:00

I got to say today’s class was one of the most confusing @_@. It started out okay but as we got more in-depth with the concept of science I became more and more confused on my understanding of it. Personally, my definition of science is vast knowledge collected by organized and effective methods such that it explains different phenomenon’s that are present in our world. However, it seemed like in today's class everyone had a different opinion on what it means. Nevertheless, I found today’s class to be very thought provoking and intense.

One of the most interesting opinions brought up in class today was the contrasts between religion and science. I personally disagree with this idea and find that both science and religion are very closely related. To me the best example of this is how the world is so precisely constructed that science alone cannot explain.

For example if we take a look on how the Earth is distanced from the sun we see that it is precisely distanced from the sun such that we are not too far or too close. This perfection cannot be explained under science alone.

Another Example deals with the composition of the Earth itself. Under scientific explanation we understand that the Earth was created through an event called the Big Bang. From this event, basic elements (such as nitrogen, oxygen, sulfur, carbon, and iron etc) began to come together under nuclear and electromagnetic forces and construct our Earth. However, the spontaneous and randomness of such forces, to me, cannot create such an entity that is so precise for which life can survive on. Something more mystic and abstruse is at work here.

Religion to me is a vital aspect to our understanding of the world. Without religion humanity has no purpose.

Career Services

2004-10-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

For today's cognition class we went to Career Services for a lecture on what Career Services is and what it provides for students.

Basically, what Career Services provides, is lots of information and services to assist students figure out what career they can pursue in relation to their majors and interests. They also can help students with resumes and interviews. In addition, one of the most useful service they provide is holding job fairs and workshops to help students get involved and find careers that best fit their interests. And through these job workshops students can make connections with employers and maybe get hired.

Right now I finding my courses to be very interesting and seems to leading me the area I want to pursue in terms of a career. Personally I would like to work with young offenders preferrably within the judical system. But also I seem to be enjoying psychology thus I might switch my major over to psychology, however I still wish to work with young offenders if not in the judical system then maybe in a psychological aspect.

Team 2 Rocks !!

2004-10-12T14:46:00.000-07:00

Today in Cognition class we formed our groups for our future CogLab assignments. But to helps us get to know each other better Kathy decided to played a game.
Throughout the game it seemed that are team was getting along really good. We worked hard as team, came up with some creative ideas, and took some risks. Thus our teamwork paid off in the end since we tied for first place.

Our group seems to be very easy-going but at the same time hardworking.I look forward to our CogLab assignments because I know we will work efficiently and effectively as a team to do the necessary work.

Equity Service Lecture

2004-10-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Today's class we had a guest lecturer from the Equity Service. Basically the Equity Service is a place on campus which promotes diversity and human rights. Its a place where students can go if they feel like they are being discriminated against and have no other place to voice their problems.

Even though we live in a country that embraces diversity, there are still a number of people who do not accept the idea of a multicultural country. The stereotypes that people believe ultimately drives hatred and ingnorance towards people that come from different countries, have different religions etc. Consequencetly, the victims of discrimination feel excluded and isolated from the world around them. But I believe the Equity Service at Carleton is a safe and helpful place for those people who feel isolated because of discrimination.

um..its a COW!!

2004-10-05T09:02:00.000-07:00

Today we had a class on Perception and Pattern Recognition. Avi split us into 3 groups and each group had a specfic task to perform. We were the "Perception Demons" and our job was to split the letters ( that Avi gave us) into simple elements so that the other group had to piece these elements together and construct the letter. Then they would pass it on to the next group which had to form the word.

It was interesting to see how many elements our group split up the letters. In some instances it was easy splitting the letters into its elements but with more difficult letters like "C" it was confusing because that letter did not have any really distinctive element.

Afer we discussed the activity, Avi showed us some distorted images in which we had to preceive what image they really were. I was surprised to see how many images I made out. My strategy is to stare at the image for a few minutes and blink rapidly then instantly I see the rightful image. If you really think about it, how we preceive things is a mysterious but amazing process that we have and I'm excited to learn more.

Useful Lecture ( continued)

2004-09-28T18:21:00.000-07:00

Today we had another guest speaker, this time it was for note taking skills.
I find that my note taking skill to be quiet good but I do think it needs some improvement. Firstly I find that my hand-writing skills need to be more neater, (when u can't read your own writing that means there is a problem). Second, I need to start to abbreviate the words in my note, it takes too long to write full words especially when you don't have the time during a lecture.

What I got out of these lecture today wasn't really anything new to me, I heard this stuff years ago in high school. But I do believe it should be emphasized since we are in a more mature school setting.

Again, the only thing I really need to work on is my study skills thus by utilizing better note taking skills I can hopefully improve my study skills.

Furthermore, during class we had an activity called "Minute Paper". We all didn't have a clue on what to do, but we soon found out. I personally found it to be kind of interesting to see what I could remember from what the professor lectured. Unfortunetly, my minute paper was a disaster, I can only blame it on the lack of attention I gave to the explanation and the over emphasis on writing down the note. These activity showed us that we should be listening to the lectures instead of worrying to copy down the note.

Helpful Lecture

2004-09-23T10:14:00.000-07:00

Today's class began with a guest lecture. It was mainly based on critical thinking, efficient study habits, and efficient methods of reading. Personally, I found the lecture to be very informative and useful, escpecially the parts on study habits since I was completely oblivious to the right methods. However, most of the other things like efficient reading methods and critical thinking was a bit repetative (already heard those lectures in my psychology class)

One of my main priorities this year is to develop an efficient and proper way of doing my work that will give me the results I desire with as little diffuculty as possible. Thus I believe the knowledge attained from this lecture was ultimately useful for the long run of my university career.

Meaningful Words

2004-09-22T20:03:00.000-07:00

My wish is to live without disliking anyone,
To love without being jealous of anyone,
To rise without being elevated over anyone, and
To advance without stepping on anyone or becoming envious of those above me

(translated from Arabic)
by Ameen Rihani( Lebanese Poet)

Cognition + Campus Scavenger Hunt = ?

2004-09-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

At first I thought it was weird and totally unrelated to have a scavenger hunt in a course dedicated to cognition. Personally, I thought that cognition was going to have more emphasis on learning by book work and stuff like that.

However, after we finished the activity and analyzed the situation, we all came to the conclusion that it had alot to do with cognition. We discovered that all of us use different methods and understandings on how to navigate around the campus, (some use maps, some use landmarks, and some us episodic methods like smell or sight) . Thus this exercise (no pun intended) was trying to emphasize how we think and the different methods we took in trying to solve the problem of finding where we were going and to make it more obvious to us that we use cognition alot in our daily life.

( p.s TEAM FOUR ROCKED !!)

Flashback (post orginally for Thursday September 16, 2004)

2004-09-18T15:49:00.000-07:00

Today we all met up in library for tour. The tour I felt was useful, at least now we know where to go to find the books we are looking for. Furthermore, I found it fascinating to know that the library has 3 million books, articles etc, It makes me feel more comfortable knowing that their are more resources available to us and not only the internet. However the library can be intimidating, just by the huge size of the library is overwhelming and of course the number of stuff they have is all good but its their for a purpose.

So far I find Cognition to be a pretty interesting course. In the long run I feel this class might be useful unlike my other classes I have.

See everyone and class ~ bye

Hey Everyone

2004-09-16T19:54:00.000-07:00

Well I finally got my blog up

I recently drew this on my computer for a friend back home