Category: Two Hours Spring 2020

Joey

Nature

I walked around my neighborhood in Falls Church wearing a thick layer of clothing. I don’t think I wore the right shoes for walking but it is only for an hour. I was on a journey to find the black squirrel that is always running around in the morning when I walk to my car. I saw a flock of geese walking around aimlessly but with a purpose. I like the cold more than most people because I love wearing layers. But I hate taking them off because there’s never any good place to put them so after this walk when I walk back home to my car, I’m going to have to take it off so I’m lucky my car is my portable closet. Trees look so naked without leaves and birds on them. It’s been a lot quieter.  As much as I like the cold I am already starting to miss spring. I know it’s slightly selfish to think this way because we barely had a winter. I see a lot of parents walking around with their kids because it’s a teacher work day. Children are so funny. They’re so innocent and tiny. One kid tried to trip his sister but ended up falling himself. I walked for some more and got bored pretty much immediately. I feel like this would be easier if I had music. This experience is making me wish I walked more often. Nature is truly beautiful even without the obvious evidence of its existence such as the signature scents and pretty colors. Even when it looks monochromatic, it still holds the same amount of volume and depth. I didn’t know there was a shortcut to my church from my house. Maybe one day I’ll walk that route. Walking back to my house I think was my favorite part. I have so many from all the reflecting I did.

Mediated environment. 

I watched an episode of my current favorite TV show Schitt’s Creek on Netflix. I think this show is so funny. I watched an episode where one character was trying to get back with his boyfriend. It was a relaxing watch because I haven’t kept up with the show in about a week and watching an episode always puts me in a good mood. After one episode I went to YouTube and watched some recommended videos. I watched a Bjork music video and another one that explains an in-depth analysis on sexism in Hollywood award shows. It made me think about how much worse it is for women who aren’t in the entertainment business. And that Bjork is super cool. I think the weirdest part about the YouTube experience is the amount of ads I came across that were from the brands and companies whose websites I just visited. I think that’s really weird. I started to get really antsy because I hadn’t been on the internet and stayed still like this in a while. Am I having a hard time relaxing? I watched another episode of Schitt’s Creek but couldn’t pay my full attention because I went on my phone for about a third of the show. I replied to some messages and checked Instagram and Twitter.

Conclusion

I think the most important lesson I discovered is the significance of quiet. I think when I walked alone without any music or technology, my brain and mind went haywire. I think it’s because it finally has time to form cohesive thoughts without being interrupted by images and alerts that require immediate reaction and attention. I think technology and social media are so important and has its benefits but I am one to admit that I don’t use it properly. I think I abuse it and completely ignore nature. And I don’t think this is good for my growth because if I am surrounded by entities that cater to my world, I would never learn how to change and challenge myself. Social media should be there to connect me to the world but instead I trap myself in a bubble of my own consciousness. I don’t think I am utilizing the resources around me to optimal use. Hopefully in the future I can be more aware and in control of my actions. Silence will help me recalibrate and move forward. 

I blink and the television in my living room flashes with bright colors and loud sounds flooded the room. I switched the channel to Netflix, everyone’s favorite streaming service, and started to play a show I have been watching recently. The show Explained, a documentary based show where each episode focuses on a unique topic, the first episode was about diamonds. I learned that “diamonds are the world’s most popular gemstone,” and that diamonds come from the mantle, unlike other gemstones which form under much less pressure. According to the show, most of the diamonds we see today were formed between 1.5 and 3.5 billion years ago while others actually predate life on earth. Although the hour passed rather quickly I got up feeling somewhat sluggish and unenergetic. Unsurprisingly, I had also developed a headache by the end of the hour which had begun so quiet that I barely noticed it but once the tv was off, and my eyes were no longer bombarded with bright colors and loud sound, the headache reared its ugly head demanding my attention. I frowned and decided it was time for a change in scenery.

I walked outside into the woods by my house, across from Mercer Lake, and just started to walk. Immediately my head felt clearer. It was much quieter outside, however, it was also so cold that soon after my walk began my ears turned a bright red numb. I looked around and saw brown scattered along the ground and the path as far as the eye could see. I looked up and I saw the bare branches of trees swaying in the wind a gust hit me as well and I shivered. I also saw squirrels jumping from tree to tree above me. I closed my eyes listening to the world around me. It was eerily silent except for the occasional rustle of leaves or the sing-song chirp of a bird hiding out of sight. The cold helped wake me up and added a pep to my step. I felt much better than I had watching tv, my mind felt clear and my body felt more energetic. My headache had even started to clear. After an hour out in the cold, I walked back to my house.

Thinking back on both these experiences, my hour inside and my hour outside taught me more than I thought it would. I learned all about diamonds during my hour indoors and I learned about the value of peaceful silence during my hour outside. I enjoy tv as much as the next person but this experiment taught me that I actually felt more and was able to think more freely. While watching television I realized that it is all listening and you absorb half of the information because of how fast it is presented. Outside I had the time and space to let my mind wander and really absorb all that I was experiencing. I learned that I like spending time outside, more than I thought I would, and that it can actually make you feel physically better than sitting around inside.

Nihal Dennis

During my hour of outdoor activity I took advantage of a brief period of nicer weather to trim the trees in my community garden to ensure that my contract is renewed next season. It has been about three months since I has been in my garden plot last. The neat rows of amaranth are now host to a carpet cold hardy weeds; looking around I’m taking in how much work will have to be done to get the plot ready for the next season. Admittedly it will not be as much as when I first inherited the wildly overgrown garden, but enough to make me worry about getting my homework done in time.

In the comforts of my bedroom I am watching the Democratic managers lay their case out for the impeachment of the President on CNN. Unlike the natural sounds that enveloped me in my garden, I am now met with the tone of my furnace and the washing machine. The smell of my partners baking bread replaces the earthen nitrogenous rich smells of my garden. As I go in the kitchen for a glass of water my cat jumps off the bed and follows me in the kitchen in an attempt to win some treats from me. While I love the outdoors, the warmth and comfort of my house are appreciated this hour.

In all, this experience was very rewarding, for one it provided the motivation to work in my garden while being exceptionally mindful of my surroundings. The indoor and outdoor worlds are very different, we have designed our dwellings in such a manor that the two worlds are indistinguishable. This domestic condition has created a duality within that I was not aware of, an almost dislike of being away from my home comforts in exchange for outdoor work. Finally I have come to the conclusion that my view is based upon the season and the general cold weather that we are experiencing. Being outdoors during this time of year is reminiscent of hard tasking. Which makes the experience very different than being indoors for an hour. The information that I received while outdoors spoke to my inner nature or my “primal instincts”; bird calls, smells, wind directions. While indoors the information that I received was more intellectual; news/tv, internet, thermostat readings.

Jack Graulich

1 Hour of Media

            My hour of media was spent playing City Skylines. I had recently gotten this game to give me something to occupy myself for short bursts of time, conveniently around an hour at a time. I suppose there is something therapeutic about running a virtual city and trying to keep it from collapsing while also allowing to grow possibly indefinitely until it reaches a point of unsustainability. Although that grim reality is a bit far off, I suppose I can hone back in making my tiny current town of just a few thousand residents. Kidding aside, I enjoyed being in this media environment as I truly found the activity relaxing, City Skylines is no simulator for the real world, however there are many complex things with in it that allows a mentally stimulating experience.

1 Hour without Media

            For my one hour without media I had taken the metro down the National mall. I was happy to be away from the school and out and about to enjoy the area. I was also very thankful that even though the weather was quite dreary the temperature was quite mild therefore it wasn’t painful to be outside. A friend from Nebraska was in town and me and my friend was excited to meet up with him. Tracking him down however proved to be a wild goose chase however which allowed me to view my surroundings on the mall. As it was a cloudy day with slight drizzles there were not many people on the mall which created an increased feeling of freedom I suppose.

What was Learned

            For my hour with media I’d say that one thing that I learned is that even in a virtual world making functioning cities can be hard although can be therapeutic in nature, up until everything seems to collapse. During this time, I would say that the I didn’t gather a lot of external information, as I was enthralled in the game. As for the hour without media, there was a lot more awareness towards my surroundings and what was going on around me. I felt that even though I was kind of just wandering around viewing the environment around me, I was being more productive then stuck inside and doing work.

Chang How Soh

For this experience, I spent my 1 hour watching YouTube videos following the “recommended videos” algorithm that tracks your data and gives you videos to watch. I first clicked on a video of my favorite FPS video game heroes and generals. Some of the information I collected consisted of a guide on how to get good with the Panzerkampfwagen VI Tiger I. The guide depicted an eastern front battle against soviet mid to late war tanks, such as T-34/76s and 85s, IS-2 mod. 1944s, and SU-100’s. The main informational takeaways consisted of utilizing the angling mechanics to bounce enemy shots and using range to snipe enemy tanks before they can react. Based my viewing, the next video recommended to me was a showcase of all the guns in rainbow 6 siege. I was able to receive information such as the individual gun’s rate of fire, reload animations (which are judged highly by the player community), aim-down-sight animations, and the sounds of the guns when fired. Besides the war-related topics, there was a fair amount of fishing videos from the BBC documentary River Monsters. One of them depicted the main star, Jeremy Wade, reeling in a Giant Mekong Catfish in a lake in Thailand. The other information I received included some facts about the fish. The Mekong Giant catfish can grow up to 600 lbs., has a carp-like appearance unlike other catfish species, and is an opportunistic feeder, given that it was caught on a piece of maize according to Wade. Along the same video topic, I was recommended a video about Jeremy wade catching a ferocious Taimen in white water rapids in the remote Mongolian wilderness. I learned how Taimen have a pair of serrated, backward facing teeth that can snare prey, and that they possess a very territorial nature. It was those kinds of teeth that slashed the hand of a fishermen that tried to land one of these fishes on a handline. The Taimen are also significant in the animistic religion of Mongolia, where killing or harming them is considered unlucky. From here, I was taken by the algorithm to a video starring British celebrity chef and Internet meme star Ainsley Harriott. The video depicted him teaching the audience how to cook a butterflied leg of lamb on the barbecue in a traditional South African method. I received information that included the way of sticking a small stick through a piece of garlic and rosemary as a means of studding the lamb thoroughly to flavor it. Then an extravagant amount of sherry is dressed onto the lamb alongside some salt and pepper. Afterwards, the process is repeated on the otherwise of the lamb leg, with Harriott specifying to rub the lamb to allow the different flavors to infuse together and make the lamb taste worth dying for. I learned how the lamb should be cooked on medium to hot coals for 35-40 minutes, and the result is bit of rare, medium, and well-done. By reflecting upon my journey through the YouTube algorithm, it is easy to see how we are immersed everyday in the age of information and big data, where companies target our interests by collecting our information and in return give us information that they believe is relevant to our interests.

            After the YouTube binge, it was time to escape from the Internet and immerse myself in nature. I decided to jump on the nostalgia train and head to Eleanor C. Lawrence Park in Chantilly, Virginia. I have not had the time to do this often, but I try to when I get the chance. The park was barren and devoid of green and colorful flora, reflective of the wintry season. There was lots of traffic sounds: cars zooming by, distant construction machinery working on ab bridge to better integrate road travel, and airplanes flying at low altitude proximity; an airport must be nearby. I arrived at the iconic pond area of the park around 10:30 am, the weather was a 50 degrees chill with overcasting clouds. On the dock that extends into the pond there was a sign that showed pictures of the types of fish and wildlife that could be found in/around the pond. Another sign educated the public about the symbiotic relationship of Buttonbush and hummingbirds, one pollinates the other and gets nutrition as a result. Some of the trees had mesh-wiring surrounding their bases to deter beavers from chewing them down; beavers are a rare, but burdening organism to the Fairfax county park service.  The lake had lots of brown water plants in and around it; a good reflection of the January chill. To try to escape from the noises of suburbia, I ventured into the forest trail. Lots of signs of human modification were around me: human graffiti carved into the bark of old birch trees, the occasional dog walker and jogger, and yellow tape designating an ongoing stream restoration project. The stream banks beside the trail showed lots of erosion evidence, likely the result of man altering events to nature. Some of the natural information I was able to observe was limited to the distinct calls of an owl and a juvenile bird of some kind (made harder by the loud noises of cars, airplanes, and bridge construction), bramble-thorn plants scattered along the trail sides, and furry brown ivy strangling some trees. The underbrush was also quite lacking, which I hypothesized was either the result of the weather, or the overpopulated deer that previously plagued the Fairfax county park service. As I kept walking, I came across a sign that explained how that site of the trail was once underwater back in the 20^th century (1900-1999) and was the site of the Machen family’s ice box.  The pond was used by the Machen family, the original inhabitants of E.C Lawrence park, to harvest ice for refrigeration or making cold food items. As I kept walking, I eventually reached the visitor center. A place full of animals such as copperheads, snapping turtles, gray tree frogs, yellow bullhead catfish, and eastern black rat snakes, among others, all kept in a zoo-like state. There was also lots of stuffed and preserved animals on display, such as foxes and raccoons, as well as preserved skins, hides, bones, and other animal parts for the purpose of education. The history of the park was on display in museum-style information boards framed on the walls. From the visitor center, I learned of how invasive species, such as koi, red-eared turtles, and garlic mustard weed, have all been seen throughout the park. This only serves as a further sign of humans altering the natural environment for whatever reasons. In summary, the visitor center of the park was about the most “nature” based setting where natural information could be received, as the forest trails showed too many signs of human encroachment, evident by the stream erosion, human graffiti in tree trunks, and the sounds of cars, airplanes, and construction being all round me.  

Both modern and natural experiences showed me the progress of human evolution. We humans started off in nature and ultimately ended up in a modern, urbanized setting filled to the brim with electronic mediums such as TVs, VCRs, computers, loud sounds of cars and construction, etc. This type of setting has become so mainstream that society does not seem to be bothered by it anymore, to the point where nature itself is seen by some as an escape from the busy, faced-paced world of development. Previously, the Internet provided an endless frontier of escape from the mainstreams provided by the real world and nature.

Finally got back from class of course the first thing I do is open the ol laptop of mine. There I see the youtube app so I had to click it. Maybe my recommended list has something interesting today. As I scroll through my feed I see youtube reviews of one of the most well-known rappers to date, Eminem. He had just put out a new album so of course everyone feels the need to voice their opinion about it. I wasn’t in the mood for that at the time so I kept scrolling and found and MSNBC news clip about Andrew Yang presidential campaign. That didn’t interest me at the time either so I decided to switch to Instagram of of the biggest social media apps of all time. As I scrolled through instagram I saw my pictures of my high school friends enjoying the various colleges they go to. The next best thing you’ll find on instragram is the memes. The memes I scrolled through entailed all different kind of information from the jokes about relationships to sports memes. One cool thing I discovered on instagram is a motivation workout shirt that says “ You can go home now, “ but only shows up when the shirt is covered in sweat, proving that you worked hard in the gym. I’d never seen anything like this before and was genuinely intrigued. After done with instagram I decided to spend the remainder of my time watching the notorious Game of Thrones. I only watched around  thirty minutes of the episode and found out important information about why one of the characters named Hodur can no longer speak, and only says those words. The hour ended much faster than I had anticipated.

Hour of Nature 

My hour of nature was spent on a bench right outside my dorm, Madison. Now this hour felt more like three as it was a quiet, cold hour out of my day. The breeze did not help with the cold, but allowed a nice view of the trees bristle in the air. In all honestly it was pretty boring without the use of technology, especially without the use of music. As I sit on the bench, I continuously look around, I see the treeline, the sidewalk where a few people would walk by every few minutes, and the open field of grass. There weren’t any animals with the exception of a few birds flying around. After a while instead of becoming a calm experience, it instead turned to a really boring hour and eventually a certain kind of anxiety began to settle in. As the hour began to come to an end sun began to dissipate and the darkness began to settle in, I knew it was time to leave. I get up and take one last look at the treeline and the empty branches before I head back inside into the nice heating.  

In Conclusion, with this assignment you truly come to the realization of what how much information you obtain in a period of time and the juxtaposition between the information you receive from the media with the information you gather in nature. You realize how much faster you receive information from the media compared the sitting out in nature just observing and interpreting the scenery at a much slower pace. In a world where we thrive on instant gratification, the hour in nature was much less satisfying and interesting than the hour spent tuning into different media outlets. Even though this is the case for me I do believe that a balance of the two is an important aspect in live and I will strive to achieve this balance in the future. 

1/28/2020

I sat down in front of my computer, opened YouTube and ended up watching a documentary of a game called DOOM. Videos about how amazing and revolutionary the game design was and how it did influence the gaming genre of today. It talked about how it became the first game to place and emphasis on the player and not the character, the silent protagonist trope. How revolutionary the level design and how graphicly intense the game was when it first released. The video then moved on to music design and how the “E1M1” theme became the iconic DOOM theme. Eventually the video moved on to how it influenced the gaming genre of today. How DOOM became the father of deathmatch, a type of game mode that allowed multiple players to fight each other in a free or all environment. It talked about how the fast pace gameplay influenced other genres to also follow a fast pace gameplay. This was my experience of 1 hour of media.

            My 1 hour of nature experience was essentially a walk around my neighborhood’s park and pathways. I looked around the pathway thinking, “it looks nice but dang its cold”. I guessed that it was around 35*F but I never bothered to check if it really was 35 or around it. As I continued down that path, I meet some strangers walking their dogs and just observing what kind of dog it was. The person that was walking the dog said a simple “hello”, and I replied with “how’s it going”, to which he responded, “well”. Eventually I came across the stream crossing with a couple of stone steps placed in between 2 pathways that allowed someone to walk across. Before I walked across, I placed my hand in the water thinking that it was probably cold to which it was, of course. I walked across and simply reminisced about how my middle school days were spent biking across this small stream and between different neighborhoods. Eventually on the way back home I walked into a wooded area observing different kinds of tree although they looked the same briefly due to it being winter.

Stone Crossing Park, Centreville VA

What I learned was that media today is fast paced. If you looked that the difference in technology today and the technology in the 1970’s it’s incredibly different. Back then graphic were made of 16 bits, like classic Mario, but look at graphics and game today, its almost hyper realistic. This all happened in 40-50 years, the advancement is huge. However, in nature everything moves like slow clock. Things are happening, like trees shedding their leaf. It certainly happening just slowly, like most things in nature, the world and environment slowly adapts to fit the surroundings. In my opinion, us humans are moving too fast, so fast that we tunnel vision on the goals we have. We end up blocking the surroundings, ignoring it. If there is anything these 2 hours of information has taught me its that we should slow down, appreciate the surroundings because it’s simply beautiful.

Mary Bryan

Media Hour

            Over the course of an hour, I studied Spanish through these youtube lessons. I learned conjugations of various verbs, some of which were irregular. I learned how to tell where the irregularity lays within those verbs, (first syllable if the verb itself is two syllables, and in the middle syllable if the verb itself is three) and that irregularity doesn’t apply to the ‘Nosotros’ (we) conjugation. I learned how to hold my tongue in my mouth while pronouncing certain letters to make my accent sound more authentic. I learned numbers 1-100,000, food, family, and descriptive vocabulary. The instructor also taught about food culture and what dishes certain countries were famous for. (Ex. Paella in Spain, Api in Bolivia, and Llapingachos in Ecuador.

Nature Hour

Van Dyke Park in Fairfax, Va.

            As I walked around the trail, I saw a cat. “A stray?”, I wondered. It was small but didn’t appear to be a kitten. It was white with gray spots, and didn’t have a collar. It was very friendly though and came right up to me. I pet it’s soft little head for a while, and it went off to a drainage pipe and got inside. I was worried but it eventually left. I think it was just exploring, probably goes to the park to get more head pets. A cat that friendly couldn’t be a stray. I saw plenty of people walking with their dogs, strollers, or both. Some people were having a little gathering under one of the shelters that has picnic tables underneath. There were kids playing on the playground with their parents. Squirrels and birds rusting leaves as I walked past. I heard Blue Jays calling. I also heard the sirens of ambulances and firetrucks in the distance, but not that distant. This park was very small, and to be honest, pretty disappointing. From anyway you look, you can see through the trees at buildings beyond them. At the end of the trail, you see a park, but just beyond that is a pretty busy road and parking lots.

What I learned:          

From my hour of media I learned a lot of Spanish. I learned words, dialect, and culture of various Spanish-speaking countries. This hour will definitely help me be able to understand and speak with my professor, and do better on written assignments. Over my hour in the park, I learned that there’s possibly a stray cat living in a drainage pipe. I learned that one lady goes to the park to let her dog run loose on the tennis court. I learned that there are kids around me that like volleyball, and at least one that likes to swing. The hour in the park made me miss Roanoke, where I could very easily drive up to the parkway (seriously, it took about 10 minutes to get up there.) and feel immersed in the forest, wildlife, and fresh air– with little to no noise pollution. Just the rustling of leaves in the wind and such.

Instagram: what a great social media, that compiles pictures, live video, video channels, stories, chatting space, likes and numbers of views, followers, and comments on posts with their own likes, and even a space to register posts and classify them. It encompasses Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Tiktok, WhatsApp, Snapchat, and TV. Everything on this network is made to capture your attention either by following your friend’s life, celebrities’ life, everyone’s life…but above all focus your attention on yourself!

            You can even create a professional account as well as an account for your dog!

Professional accounts are mostly artists, photographs, magazines, fashion designers, Fitness coaching,…

            Now you also have a new profession created thanks to the social media named: Influencers. These are brand ambassadors with discount codes, or comedians, or tutorial animators, or bloggers, viners,…

            And for the “Icing on the cake,” we even have adds everywhere on social media for any type of goods like on TV. Mostly lower-end fashion/ retailer websites add for holidays planning companies, and recently sponsoring for personal accounts; which means that like tinder, your account can be sponsored and present to selected potential followers with a nice picture of you randomly selected!

            This short presentation of Instagram its what came first to me when I spend 1hour on the social network.

            Going on the details, although Instagram has an entertaining function with the memes and funny accounts and posts, it also has an informative function with political or social and environmental justice accounts providing some pieces of information.                          Besides that, this a tool used to make the buzz when a scandal hits; as an example, 2020 and its bright beginning: a potential WWIII, forest fires in Australia and Kobe Bryant’s death.

            However, the source of the information on Instagram coming from everywhere can drive/ spread contradicted or even fakes news, that’s why it’s not trustworthy at some point.

            For the second place, I went to Van Dyck Park here in Fairfax nearby my house.

This is a relatively small park, with small jogging tracks, 2 tennis courts, 4 volleyball courts whose 2 with sands, a playpen, and even a picnic area.

The park is also constructed on a hill, so it as different levels separating the different areas.

            Moreover, there is a primary school nearby, so during the hour, I spend at the park I could hear the joyful children.

Besides that only the noise of the tennis ball hitting the racket and one of the cars passing by the nearest road disrupt birdsongs.

            Overall, the atmosphere was calm and quiet, but nature is not pure and transformed or degraded by man. There is no pure area in the park and this is a sign that humans prevail on nature!

            In conclusion, both experiences were different but I felt the same: inner peace!

I felt peace being on Instagram cause I have an addiction to the social network, and I spend at least 2h a day on it. On the other side, I felt peace at the park because it was outdoor and there were not a lot of people, so I could meditate a little.

            Nevertheless, in both cases, there was no room for pure nature or total calm, as it is in surroundings free from humans!