Entry #10 - Music Industry Holograms

Would you ever go to a concert to see a hologram? Or listen to music made using vocal samples?  If you answered yes to any of these questions you may be interested in listening to Hatsune Miku! Hatsune Miku is a vocal synthesizer made of samples from a voice actor and can be used by anyone! Despite not being a real person people use her to create music, or even to add into their music as a feature. Miku was created in Japan along with a few other vocal banks, the system used to run them is called Vocaloid. 

Miku was made during the late 2000's and was the 7th Vocaloid to be made, but the first of a series of characters to become well known worldwide. Many fans would consider her the best Vocaloid so far, and so far she has become the most popular. There are many popular Miku conventions where she comes and performs for fans live! But how does that work when she is just a robot?

Using a transparent screen, some special lighting, and a projector people can go to watch a Hologram of Miku performing just about all her popular songs over the years. The best part about the whole experience however is that despite her being a hologram there is still a live band performing with her, each member is introduced at the beginning of the show, at the end, or both times. There are often more than just Miku songs to enjoy at these concerts, other popular Vocaloids get to be introduced and perform their own classics. Going to a Vocaloid concert is always going to be a different experience.

Here are some recommendations if you're interested:

• Rolling Girl - Wowoka 
• Viva Happy - Mitchie M. (watch the live version where her mic 'breaks')
• World is Mine - Ryo
• Luka Luka Night Fever - Samfree
• Why Do I - Set It off(ft. Hatsune miku)
• Electric Angel - Yasuo-p

Entry #9 - In the terms of media

I have been using media for my whole life, back in the early stages I frequently watched TV and occasionally read a children's newspaper article, then as social media developed I started learning about that. Now as someone who has used the internet and all kinds of media for years, I still find myself learning new features, strategies, and information about how to use media. 

As a kid I had only consumed content about things I cared about, now as an adult I have realized there is more of an overlap of all kinds of content to consume. Video games have more to do with politics than I realized, TV shows had been teaching me all kinds of emotional and life skills, social media apps taught me how to ignore people who did not matter. Now I have also noticed how the different environments within social media apps create different experiences, logging in on twitter will show me completely different results compared to when I log into Instagram. The spreading of news on social media has most definitely made me more aware of how people are acting on a camera or in a mediated space like this compared to how they are in real life. Trends come and go, Influencers push new products, and everyone is trying to get the newest scoop before it becomes irrelevant. 

When it comes to media I have definitely become more aware of how it influences me personally. I tend to believe more information while also wanting to do more research about a topic before fully committing to any beliefs. When presented with a video or picture of something that has happens I find myself asking, "is this real or AI?" Sometimes I find myself questioning whether or not the situation is real in the first place, "what are their sources?" "Why are they spreading this information?"

As I grow my taste in media also changes, now I find myself looking at articles and news about things that are happening throughout the world. Nothing I would have cared about no more than 3 years ago. I have realized that there is more meaning behind media, its not just a mindless scroll through whats the newest trend but a reflection on what is affecting me without realizing it. 

Entry #8 - RIOT GRRRL!!!

    What is Riot Grrrl? Well it started as a subculture within the punk community that combines the views of being punk, and politics surrounding feminism. The original punk subculture was intended to be a space where people can be more creative and finally be free of any societal restrictions, with their beliefs of anti-status quo, anti-religious, anti-authoritarian being the main appeal. Riot Grrrl was started back in the early 1990's as a space for women to vent, express their thoughts and feelings, but most importantly to address the increasing sexism and racial issues within the punk subculture. 

    Some of the most popular groups in riot grrrl include Bikini Kill, Bratmobile, and Le Tigre. Each song within their discography relates to common issues women have been facing for years, these groups even touch on subjects that were considered taboo or too personal such as rape, eating disorders, and others. 

    Despite the heavy influence of music, that was not the only part of the culture that became widely known. The term "girl power" actually originated from Riot Grrrl Zines. A zine is a piece of self published work that can be produced by one person or a small group of people primarily about spreading personal stories from voices unheard from in most media, although there were people who had just made the for fun and to rant about something they were interested in. I myself have created a couple of zines and scattered them in my local libraries. Riot Grrrl zines were a great way to learn about what was happening with the feminism movement and it helped people learn to talk about their issues, (most involving what it means to be a lesbian, rape, domestic abuse, period problems, etc.).

Once the movement really started to pick up it had shifted from being a fem punk space to a more mainstream one. Pop stars (such as the Spice Girls) had started to incorporate the Riot grrrl views into their music as well, more and more people had heard of the beliefs of Riot grrrl but not of riot grrrl itself. Which was fine in the end. Although there are some people who would argue that once it became more mainstream Riot grrrl was dead, there are still people learning about the subculture. There are still people who make this type of music, who engage in the culture, who create feminist zines and go our on social media talking about their issues. Riot grrrl is still strong and still continues even if it is not directly talked about anymore. These women demanded their voices be heard and we now should continue in what they wanted.

Here are some groups I would personally recommend:

• Bikini Kill
• Destroy Boys
• The Oozes
• Babes in Toyland

Personal Favourite songs: (Song - band)

• Rebel Girl - Bikini Kill
• I Threw Glass at My Friends Eyes and now I'm on Probation - Destroy Boys
• Fences - Destroy Boys
• Bitchboy - The Oozes
• I am a Poseur - Xray Spex
• My Body - Cat valley

A Riot Grrrl Zine

Book to recommend if you want to learn more: "Girls to the Front: The True Story of the Riot Grrrl Revolution" By Sara Marcus 

Entry #7 - Hashtag slay

Hashtags are the start of an easier searching era. Typically hashtags are used to organize different sub groups within the social media square, a means to create spaces where people can discuss similar thoughts/topics, and even so that people can find specific media easier. I personally use them to find specific topics faster, when I want to connect to fans of a fandom. I use it to find art and even fan theories. Hashtags are by far the most useful way to navigate social media, specifically Twitter and Instagram. Another way I use hashtags would be when I make my own fanart/cosplays and I want people in that community to find it. Typically the order I would be writing each tag is character, series, ship, then any other tags I feel necessary. It helps with people reaching and actually seeing posts relevant to their own interests, rather than random posts about things they don't care about. Relying on just an algorithm for what you want is not easy, tags make is easier. 

Hashtags are more than just a way to create spaces where people interact, but also to spread around information, resources, and general life help/tips. When it comes to politics information on current news is faster to find through a hashtag rather than a newspaper, or a news website. With hashtags the information can be given live, and is updated frequently. Yes this can lead to a faster rate of misinformation but much of the information gets filtered or called out directly before it becomes mainstream. I have also noticed that when it comes to hashtags the majority of information received will be more spread out politically, these are thoughts and information coming from real people in real time rather than a group of news reporters with a biased view, the normal people are swayed easily but when witnessing something(like videos, livestreams, or live reports) that is being reported to much it feels more personal and can be less confusing for people who can't understand politcial terms. 

Overall hashtags can be more convenient than people initially realized. 

Entry #6 - Scum Villain

Scum Villain Self-Saving System - Book 2 Cover

Mo Xiang Tong Xiu(MXTX) is a very well known author within the Danmei community, she has created many books(with adapted TV shows) such as Heaven Official's Blessing, and The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation. Despite the success of her most recent series' many people actively choose to either ignore or belittle her first work, 'Scum Villain Self-Saving System,' (SVSSS for short).

SVSSS is a story about a man named Shen Yuan who has a passionate love/hate relationship with this book he is reading, he started reading due to the plot but then when the plot gets lost, loopholes appear, and logic stops making sense in the story-line he writes an(over the top) angry hate post about the book series. In his rage he chokes on his food and dies, when he wakes up he finds himself stuck in the book he once hated(loved) as the main villain. Chaos ensues. 

Scum villain is a book filled with bad jokes, a lot of hidden angst, and of course the best trope of all: Miscommunication!  This book is almost a completely different vibe from the rest of the MXTX Novels! MXTX fills her novels with all kinds of angst and will really let the reader soak up all the emotions within her novel, but in this book she gives the main character(Shen Yuan) a sarcastic personality and an incredibly hilarious inner monologue. However, despite the amount of humor this book has to offer, this book is more than just funny jokes. When faced with the world building and relationships of each and every character I have come to realize this book is a tragedy in disguise.

Within the original novel(before Shen Yuan was transferred into the villains(Shen Jiu's) body) Shen Jiu becomes the villain by chance, as Hannah Adams(a dedicated fan of the MXTX novels) had put it, Shen Jiu is the perfect example of a tragedy character. she described how he only needed one thing to go right, and only needed one person to care about him and he wouldn't have been such a bitter villain and ended up the way he did in the original novel, (pickled alive by the main character(Luo Binghe)). 

This book although is from the perspective of the wittiest character created(Shen Yuan) it doesn't fail t show between the lines just how sad of a story it could have been if it was from any other characters point of view. The 'main character' of the book world Shen Yuan was transferred to had immense thoughts and feelings that end up getting pushed to the side because we aren't witnessing it from his perspective. One of the biggest moments in the series was when the two main characters are fighting and Shen Yuan had sacrificed his life for Luo Binghe. Luo Binghe had been convinced throughout the entire series up until this point that Shen Yuan had hated him more than dirt on his shoe, then Shen Yuan casually sacrifices himself for him? Binghe's life practically flips over, he realizes he could have done more to find out these feelings before he died in his arms, before this tragedy came to be. 

Chapter 42/43, SVSSS Book 2

Long story short Scum Villain is an underrated series that people need to become more invested into, it has layers get through filled with tears, laughter, and heartache. Although I did mention some plot spoilers overall there is more to this book series than the snippets I added so hopefully the spoilers weren't too tragic if you decide to read the book.

(The images themselves came from the book but anytime I try to link it there are only links to buy the book, sorry)

Entry #5 - Future of Education in Arizona

 Realistically almost everyone can benefit from a higher education, the range of options open up once a degree gets brought into the picture. Arizona specifically can benefit much more from having more and more college graduates. As a college student myself I understand the struggle of making sure you can even achieve this privilege. Because after everything is said and done, being able to go to college is a massive privilege.

Looking at Doug Ducey's Acheive60Az plan to increase the amount of people achieving a higher education there are mostly just positive effects. Higher wages, more jobs, more opportunities! Its practically a steal. This can also lead to higher wages for jobs that already pay less, like teachers wages(since there will be more students they can get paid fairly), having more educated people applying for jobs can bring a major shift in the community. Within the 50 US states Arizona has been placed consistently low on the education level, within the bottom 5 states if I remember correctly. Yet our teachers work twice as hard and work themselves to the bone to try and help the average student achieve more, that heart is more than enough to cause motivation and even higher self-esteem, and we can join too. 

I have been lucky to have teachers who truly care for their students, pushing me farther and helping me when I struggled most. I remember specifically this teacher(who I will call Mrs. K) who had always been nice and kind, she gave struggling students extra time to work on assignments and never even yelled at any of them. She was a senior high school English teacher, she had definitely met her fair share of stubborn and questionable personalities but she never treated any student differently. During my senior year I had given up on writing altogether, I hated reading and hated working on my assignments since it was the year post-COVID. I remember getting introduced to her class halfway through the year as I had transferred teachers, she joked with each student and even understood current lingo and jokes. With her constant happy attitude I had relearned to love school, to enjoy hanging out in classes and not stress over assignments like I was drowning in them.

I want kids, teens, adults to experience the pure joy that a good teacher can bring, the pure love and passion they have for their work can hit close to the heart and bring upon new happy memories. 

Link to photo

Entry #4 - Creating meaning in art

 If you have read through most of these blog posts you may have realized I love the idea of artistic interpretations in all forms.  My favorite form of art is dance, however, I have dabbled around with all kinds of mediums! Sculpting, writing, acrylics, and even more! 

Creating meaning within art is hard for me though. When creating a new piece often times I will stop within the sketching process, not quite finishing but not quite incomplete either. Scraggly lines will fill the whole paper or even just small corners of the page are filed with people. Once I had(probably still have) an obsession with drawing and memorizing facial features, more specifically the nose.  Although there are plenty of examples of completed artworks of mine that do have a deeper meaning most of them were completed out of obligation for a grade, and maybe also because the supplies used for them were free. 

 

"Moving Forward"        (acrylic on canvas)         "Paramour"

Both images of paintings and paintings made by me

These are my last completed pieces, created back when I was still a senior in high school. The girl is part of a two-set piece, that canvas specifically is called "Paramour" (the other half of the set was named "Paramount"). The swirls in the background connected together in the corners, each color in the background represented the other set, this represents the feeling of longing and how two people despite being of different backgrounds(literally) can be connected through each other(their colors). The art with the male is called "Moving forward," it represents the feeling of hopelessness when loosing a loved one(whether it be rejection, death, or separation) and knowing that despite all that has happened we all have to move on eventually.  

Art with meaning has always been something I loved to learn about because I myself am not good at finding meaning underneath the obvious signs an artist has left. Under this paragraph is a painting by the name of 'Nighthawks' by Edward Hopper. When first looking at the painting people often just look at what is on the surface level there, three people sitting at an empty bar as the worker is busy. What could possibly be the hidden meaning? This painting is known for being (part of) the start of human existentialism, (which is essentially the beginning of questioning ones meaningless life). The streets are empty, not because its nighttime but because the people in the bar are supposed to be disconnected from the rest of the world. If i had never taken any art classes I would simply move on from a painting like this, one that at first glance doesn't have any hidden meaning or character.

"Nighthawks"

1942, Oil-on-canvas

By Edward Hopper

The average person only looks at art for about 10 seconds before moving onto the next piece, my biggest fear is looking at an art piece and not giving it any thought or the time of day. To practically ignore someones hard work simply because it wasn't engaging enough at first glance doesn't do art any justice, art is made to be looked at and to be observed. Might as well analyze it properly.