Last week was pretty standard for the first week of classes. Along with my in-class introduction – “Hi, I’m Nina and I’m a first-semester senior in Gallatin, originally from NJ…” – I also developed the usual anxiety over adapting to a new schedule while frantically searching amazon.com for used/cheaper textbooks. Of course, what was not usual (um, unusual) about last week was the Presidential Inauguration of Barack Obama. I watched the oath/Inaugural Speech in the student center on a huge screen and later listened to the parade via CNN/Facebook’s livestream (imagine hearing crowds cheering in the background as you’re working).
Despite the busy week and the fact that I should be reviewing Supreme Court cases, I’ll attempt to list the news I’m currently excited about. If this bullet format seems like a trend of mine, you can attribute it to my love for Twitter – which happens to fit my scattered thoughts perfectly. As I’ve said before, Twitter is always the best place to see what I’m doing/thinking (also known as virtually lurking me – it’s okay, that’s kind of the point).
- President Obama gets to keep his beloved Blackberry, though he’s upgrading to a more exclusive, high-security version. Barackberry v.2? I completely understand this personal victory, as I’m becoming more attached to my own new Blackberry. This change in the executive branch’s connectedness should be welcome because Obama IS the first U.S. President of the digital age (the White House, on the other hand, needs some adapting).
- In addition to CNN/Facebook’s livestream and feed of Facebook updates, Microsoft Photosynth was taking people’s 2D photos of the event and overlapping each picture’s unique perspective to create a 3D experience. Last spring, a speaker came to my Anthropology of Media course and actually demonstrated this technology – he showed us how thousands of individual tourists’ photos of Notre Dame could be “stitched together” in a way that allows people to explore popular destinations from their computer. From what I remember, you can click on any single layer (representing an individual photo) and the program will show you the exact position from which the picture was taken (i.e. where the photographer was standing).
- The Undercurrent Social Island(TM) is in full effect, as Julia put it the other day. We’re avid socializers and self-proclaimed digital ninjas (hii-yah!):
Also in this pic: Ana and Sean, Julia took the photo. I'm hunched over, writing something down.
Sorry for the rushed post. Until next week.
