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3rd and Loma- Just West of Downtown Los Angeles
Full Review on Good Goings
Summary
Taco Grade: C-
Salsa Grade: (Verde) Hot
Horchata: N/A : (
Price: $1.15
Positives: Good amount of meat in tacos. Full Selection of Tacos (theoretically). Provides beets, pickled onions and peppers, and avocado salsa free of charge.
Negatives: Dirty cart. Overall bad tacos. Ran out of Pastor and Carnitas. Terrible Buche and Lingua. No Horchata, and bottom of Soda cans covered in filth.
1. An area of interest you’ve identified:
Journey of the Self, Heroes, Los Angeles Traffic, Forgotten Los Angeles
2. A couple of questions (stated in the form of a question) and opportunities suggested by your area of interest – what do you (or a potential viewer) want or need to know about this area?
A) What is a hero? How is a hero defined in interactive media, today? Is it different from that of literature and film? Can game heroes be inspiring the same way literary, cinematic and television heroes can be? Can they be as heroic as today’s heroes: mothers, fathers, politicians, artists, musicians etc?
B) Is Los Angeles traffic a solveable problem? What will happen when Los Angeles Traffic will become unsustainable? Will we ever get a metro? How will the city handle this? Who is working on the solution right now?
C) With the expansion of Los Angeles eastward and northward, what will happen to the city center as we know it? Where is the Los Angeles city center today? Will areas of Los Angeles continue to be buried and forgotten like Bunker Hill, Angeleno Heights, Temple-Beaudry?
3. Identify a method or process that can be used to explore your question.
A) Examination of all relevant heroes from interactive media. Research the Hero’s Journey- relate it to game heroes and game design. After coming to a conclusion, design a game with a hero worth looking up to.
B) Examination of all policy being done about Los Angeles Traffic. Research on the history of the Freeway system. Examination of Population growth and car selling done in LA county.
C) Examination of all gentrification going on in Los Angeles- examination of major migration of Los Angelenos towards Valencia, Victorville and Apple Valley.
4. One to three actual topics or subjects that address your interests/questions.
A) Literature- The Hero’s Journey
Biographies- Real Heroes: Churchill, Lincoln, FDR, Pope John Paul II, Moses
Games: Identify Relevant Heroes, create some gauge
B) Newspapers, Public Policy Meetings, LADOT (Los Angeles Department of Traffic), SigAlert
C) Newspapers, Real Estate Guides, Library Research on old Los Angeles
5. Pair your topics with a genre and an audience: Not just “a game” but the type of game and the type of player you envision.
A) This project could easily be a research paper, an exhibit, or a game that strives to have a "hero" worth looking up to.
B) I imagine this project being a software appliaction that uses real time traffic information. Possible methods of interaction would be altering the flow of traffic, and re-tooling routes of emergencies on the freeways.
C) This project could be an exhibit coupling video, pictures, and constructed kit of Los Angeles. I'd like the user to be able to physically interact with the project as well- utilizing digging tools, magnyfying glasses, gnobs and a variety of doo-hickeys to explore the subject. The more hands-on the better.
6. Commit to a term (participant, viewer, player, reader, user, audience) that you will use throughout the project.
User
Peggy Weil
CTIN548 3 Items Assignment
January 26, 2005
Item 1: Childhood Item: Naruto Toys
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In no way are these toys any more special than the various I have collected since childhood. However, the story from which they are based on- resonate quite deeply with me.
The manga/anime Naruto is the story of a young and outcasted ninja-in-training. His dream in life is to become the village Hokage (village leader/strongest ninja). At the start of the story he is clumsy, unintelligent, annoying and bothersome. But as the story continues, he grows in courage, strength, and trust for others all because he never gives up.
Every challenge that he faces- he arises to- regardless of the circumstance. This is a common theme in “Shonen” style manga- growth. And, though I’ve read this story in countless incarnations- I never tire of a tale of a person changing for the better through overcoming obstacles. It inspires me to work harder on my own goals.
Themes of Naruto (and most Shonen Manga):
-Never giving up
-Character Development
-Friendship
-Protecting those you love
Item 2: Source of Inspiration: Dostoevsky and the Brothers Karamazov
This is truly one of my favorite novels of all time. It has everything: mystery, drama, romance, and existentialism, falling from grace, loss of innocence, the meaning of life, and the meaning of salvation, tumultuous familial relations and an incredibly memorable cast of characters. Also, Dostoevsky is a man who struggled deeply with salvation and being a general good human being with the vices of the flesh. To me, his novels were his way of reconciling his own soul and his struggle is what makes his characters so rich and compelling.
Item 3: Work from the Past: Literary Arts Journal
Performance poetry played a large role in my undergraduate years. I performed weekly at the local town and collegiate Poetry slam. I enjoyed crafting long monologues and wry observations about life in general. This led me to taking a Poetry writing and Organization class called: Poetry for the People. Its goal was to inspire students to value their own worth and write poetry, get their work published and to spread the message to others. Part of the class involved outreach work- and I joined a group of students in teaching poetry to students at Berkeley High. After a semester of doing this, I decided to take this back to Southern California.
When I began teaching High School Biology, I made it a point to take over the school’s literary arts journal. This wasn’t a problem, as no teacher wanted to run it. So, I gathered a small group of students and we began having weekly writing workshops. We weren’t a dead poet’s society or anything lofty like that- but the students shared their work and got feed back on how to express themselves. At the end of the semester we had a performance and published a book of poetry and art.
Organizing a team of students to work on the book for a period of two months was a harrowing experience. High School students are even flakier than college students and reigning them in to do work- outside their class work and extracurricular activities was a challenge. But we prevailed, mostly through powering through the project with what little man/woman power we had. The end results were a published book that was mailed to every Literary Arts Journal member and the faculty.
Analysis
My items all seem to revolve around the journey of the self in all regards- growth, challenge, change, failure and rebounding success. All three items contain elements of working and hoping for the best through action. For Naruto, this is his undying will to become a strong and respected Ninja. For Aloysha in the Brothers Karamazov, this is undying faith in trying to salvage his family regardless of how hopeless its destruction causes it to be. For my students and I, it was pushing through deadlines and a conservative administration to publish the piece of art we wished to publish.
I admire those who dream and work uncompromisingly towards that dream’s fulfillment- they are those who I champion the most. Because the only thing I believe stopping me from fulfilling my goals- are myself.
Lately, I’ve been doing a great deal of thinking about protagonists in video games- mainly how they fall into two categories: cartoons and/or macho. Can I look up to these heroes the same way I look up to my heroes in literature, manga, television and movies? In most cases I can’t- I don’t mind playing a game through as Mario, Sonic, Master Chief or Lara Craft but there is nothing inherently about them that inspires me to become a better person.
The values of Mario and other iconic video game characters are akin to Mickey Mouse. They represent goodness, innocence, and wholesome values- which are all worthwhile traits, but people aren’t necessarily riled up when thinking and talking about Mario. What gets people excited about Mario are his abilities to defy gravity through these games- and people enjoy the feeling of breaking the laws of reality through him. That is what a video game provides.
Master Chief is similar to any other action hero- he knows what to do in any conceivable situation. However these situations only belong in a war time environment? Would Master Chief be a commander as great as Churchill was outside the military arena? It’s hard to say. Which on a primal level allows me admire the Chief, but beyond that there’s not much more thought I can give him.
NEXT WEEK’S ASSIGNMENT:
1. An area of interest you’ve identified:
Journey of the Self, Heroes
2. A couple of questions (stated in the form of a question) and opportunities suggested by your area of interest – what do you (or a potential viewer) want or need to know about this area?
What is a hero? How is a hero defined in interactive media, today? Is it different from that of literature and film? Can game heroes be inspiring the same way literary, cinematic and television heroes can be? Can they be as heroic as today’s heroes: mothers, fathers, politicians, artists, musicians etc?
3. Identify a method or process that can be used to explore your question.
Examination of all relevant heroes from interactive media. Research the Hero’s Journey- relate it to game heroes and game design. After coming to a conclusion, design a game with a hero worth looking up to.
4. One to three actual topics or subjects that address your interests/questions.
Literature- The Hero’s Journey
Biographies- Real Heroes: Churchill, Lincoln, FDR, Pope John Paul II, Moses
Games: Identify Relevant Heroes, create some gauge
5. Pair your topics with a genre and an audience: Not just “a game” but the type of game and the type of player you envision.
6. Commit to a term (participant, viewer, player, reader, user, audience) that you will use throughout the project.
Player, User
Taco Zone
Latest Review at http://www.goodgoings.com
Rating: A-
Horchata Grade: B
Salsa Roja: Hot.
Positives: Serve full variety of tacos (Carnitas to Buche) and have mulitas, burritos, and quesadillas too. Excellent pastor and carnitas. Solid asada. Vegetarian tacos (beans) for your hippie vegetarian friends. Full salsa control offering red, verde and guacamole flavored salsas.
Negatives: Can be a little slow. Sometimes might not be there.
Price Per Taco: $1.15
Location: Montana and Alvarado in Echo Park (next to Vons).
Hours: 8PM -2 AM Sun-Fri, 8PM-3 AM Sat
Drinks on the Dance Floor
Allright Los Angelenos, I'm warning you.
Don't place your drinks on the stage above the dance floor. Don't place your drinks on the speakers by the dance floor. Don't place your drinks anywhere near the dance floor.
They will get knocked over.
Come on now- this is common sense. Gulp em down, or keep them in your hand.
Or they will fall.
And I'm not sorry.
El Taurino Summary:
Summary:
Overall Rating: A-
Horchata Grade: A
Salsa Roja: HOT.
Price: 1.15 per taco
Positives: Delicious. Great decor. Al Pastor- amazing. Asada is fresh. Carnitas are succulent.
Negatives: Long waits. Unintelligible number calling. Very little interface with how taco is equipped- handled by a chef.
2306 11 Street, Los Angeles CA 90006
