The Rule of 150 can most easily be described as a social network. Different social networks all tend to run into each other via one of two people, and therefore, trends can spread pretty quickly.
I know that there are a lot of different groups (networks, if you will) at Linworth...Here's an example. I regularly hang out with four or five other people. Sure, I know lots of other people at Linworth, but these are the people I actively seek out all the time. One of these people has a boyfriend at Kilbourne. Through her, I'm fairly well acquainted with him, thus forming one link between his social network and mine. I'm sure he has friends who have introduced him to their friends, linking his network to theirs, et cetera.
Another example is Linworth itself. Maybe not all the litte cliques are connected directly, but everyone at Linworth knows Wayne and Larry and Jenn and all the other teachers, so by default, Linworth is a pretty big group of socially connected people. I'm sure that if you put one student at Linworth into a really tough situation where they needed someone else's help badly, there is no one in the school who would refuse them that help or ignore them, even if they weren't previously acquainted. The same can't be said for the main schools. There are so many teachers and students there, that it's almost impossible for one teacher to know a kid from every little group, or for every kid to know all the teachers. If you put someone there into a hard situation, I know that there are people at the main schools who would simply ignore them, or even point and laugh.
So there's definitely a lot of value to be placed on a smaller school, especially one like Linworth, where pretty much everyone somehow knows each other.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Fark
For my second OC post, I would like to acquaint you with Fark.com.
http://www.fark.com/
This site was founded by a guy named Drew Curtis, and is dedicated to how mass media tries to pass off crap as news. The premise of the site is simple: people find dumb/weird news stories, post links to them, and other people comment. It really is lots of fun, and definitely good for a giggle if you're bored during free block or something. The stories can be pretty unbelievable sometimes, and reading the comments can be really amusing as well.
Some of the better recent headlines on Fark:
"Man stopped for driving while on cell phone; actually gets away in court with "I was only using it to warm my ear" excuse."
"Apparently, answering the door naked and punching an 11-year old in the head is not the proper response when the kid rings the doorbell soliciting donations for a fundraiser. Who knew?"
"Behold the Holy Laser Cannon of Galilee."
Someof the articles really are relevant news, too. It's a good way to stay on top of current events, but it's an even better way to waste time.
http://www.fark.com/
This site was founded by a guy named Drew Curtis, and is dedicated to how mass media tries to pass off crap as news. The premise of the site is simple: people find dumb/weird news stories, post links to them, and other people comment. It really is lots of fun, and definitely good for a giggle if you're bored during free block or something. The stories can be pretty unbelievable sometimes, and reading the comments can be really amusing as well.
Some of the better recent headlines on Fark:
"Man stopped for driving while on cell phone; actually gets away in court with "I was only using it to warm my ear" excuse."
"Apparently, answering the door naked and punching an 11-year old in the head is not the proper response when the kid rings the doorbell soliciting donations for a fundraiser. Who knew?"
"Behold the Holy Laser Cannon of Galilee."
Someof the articles really are relevant news, too. It's a good way to stay on top of current events, but it's an even better way to waste time.
Other blogs
http://classickk.blogspot.com/
I was looking over Kathryn's blog, and the first entry on there caught my eye...She's talking about "Schwarzfahrer", a short German documentary. "Schwarzfahrer" means "black driver" in German. Kathryn mentions that the documentary is about racism, but she didn't really tell much more about it. She explained the concept of racism itself and how it isn't always voluntary pretty well, but I was looking for a little more substance on the actual movie. She did make up for that, I suppose, by posting the film as well. All in all, it's a pretty good post, and I was glad that the documentary was provided to watch.
I was looking over Kathryn's blog, and the first entry on there caught my eye...She's talking about "Schwarzfahrer", a short German documentary. "Schwarzfahrer" means "black driver" in German. Kathryn mentions that the documentary is about racism, but she didn't really tell much more about it. She explained the concept of racism itself and how it isn't always voluntary pretty well, but I was looking for a little more substance on the actual movie. She did make up for that, I suppose, by posting the film as well. All in all, it's a pretty good post, and I was glad that the documentary was provided to watch.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Why?
http://supersonicxhitt.deviantart.com/art/36-Precious-Treasure-ribbons-79990924
Can you tell what this is? Anyone?
No?
I can't explain it either. I got the impression from the artist's description (Rendered siezure-inducingly hard to read by awful misspellings and obnoxious anime smilies) that it's supposed to be a Sonic fan character or something equally cracked-out.
The reason I post this is that I discovered it on the front page in the "popular art" section of DeviantArt.
I cannot fathom why this would be in the popular section. Is it because it's sparklydesukawaii? Is it because it's a Sonic fan character? Or did people just favorite it because they can't tell what it is but it looks good in those ruffly panty-things?
I'm well aware that DeviantArt is turning into a vacuous pit of suck, but even this is substandard for the "popular" category. The lineart on the picture is shaky at best. The coloring isn't very appealing, and the composition is absolutely appalling. The content of the picture itself isn't great, either. It looks like one of those engravings that renaissance artists of did of rhinos after merely reading a description of the animal, except this artist has never actually seen a human being and is drawing from the description given to her by her online friend who claims to live in Japan, but who probably lives in the vents of an office building. There isn't room in the character's head for eyes that big, and it doesn't seem to have a nose, but the poor mutant will soon die, fotunately, since its mouth isn't big enough for it to actually ingest food. I can see why it's lying down, since the weight of its gigantic head would snap it in two if it tried to stand. It doesn't appear to have bones either, since if it did, it would actually have shoulders, and that might interfere with its obvious appeal.
You know, in case you find the mutant bastard offspring of a hedgehog, a bad anime character, and a pot of spagetti really appealing.
I should mention that I respect this artist's right to post what she has drawn. But I also support my right to critique her work. Admittedly, I haven't done a polite job of doing that, but things stick better if you make it memorable.
Can you tell what this is? Anyone?
No?
I can't explain it either. I got the impression from the artist's description (Rendered siezure-inducingly hard to read by awful misspellings and obnoxious anime smilies) that it's supposed to be a Sonic fan character or something equally cracked-out.
The reason I post this is that I discovered it on the front page in the "popular art" section of DeviantArt.
I cannot fathom why this would be in the popular section. Is it because it's sparklydesukawaii? Is it because it's a Sonic fan character? Or did people just favorite it because they can't tell what it is but it looks good in those ruffly panty-things?
I'm well aware that DeviantArt is turning into a vacuous pit of suck, but even this is substandard for the "popular" category. The lineart on the picture is shaky at best. The coloring isn't very appealing, and the composition is absolutely appalling. The content of the picture itself isn't great, either. It looks like one of those engravings that renaissance artists of did of rhinos after merely reading a description of the animal, except this artist has never actually seen a human being and is drawing from the description given to her by her online friend who claims to live in Japan, but who probably lives in the vents of an office building. There isn't room in the character's head for eyes that big, and it doesn't seem to have a nose, but the poor mutant will soon die, fotunately, since its mouth isn't big enough for it to actually ingest food. I can see why it's lying down, since the weight of its gigantic head would snap it in two if it tried to stand. It doesn't appear to have bones either, since if it did, it would actually have shoulders, and that might interfere with its obvious appeal.
You know, in case you find the mutant bastard offspring of a hedgehog, a bad anime character, and a pot of spagetti really appealing.
I should mention that I respect this artist's right to post what she has drawn. But I also support my right to critique her work. Admittedly, I haven't done a polite job of doing that, but things stick better if you make it memorable.
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