Reading/Writing Reflection #2

Reading Response:

Metro 2033 is progressing pretty well. Artyom’s out of the metro system now and up on the surface, which creates countless opportunities for world building. We get a completely virgin perspective on the outside world, and despite the damage and destruction, Artyom is still able to see the beauty of a natural world. This is also the most polarized section of the book; monster attacks take the place of sanity loss, anticipation takes the place of fear, and wonder takes the place of despair. It really is a whole new world for Artyom, and he’s got a whole lot to learn. Glukhovsky does an incredible job describing the horrors of the above-world through his famously detailed set-ups. There are entire paragraphs set aside to detailing the mutated spiders that populate the barren remnants of trees and bushes, pages spent on the burnt out architecture. It’s a lot to take in, but it detail really builds the scene.

My favourite quote of this section occurs when Artyom is asking about the lack of rats on the surface, where is guide, Hunter, responds “Where are you going to find rats up here? They ate them all a long time ago.” This line really put the fear of god into me. Glukhovsky had just spent two pages describing the tiny, harmless creatures that inhabit the library in an incredibly gruesome way, what could possibly be worse than them? Man. The build-up really pays off by the end of the chapter when the ‘Librarians’ are finally introduced.

Writing Response:

I’m really enjoying the six-word memoirs. They’re short enough that I don’t feel committed to anything I write, so I’m not afraid to scrap the bad ones or edit the good ones. The whole format opens itself up to legitimately funny, creative ideas summed up in bite-sized chunks. Six-word memoirs remind me a lot of twitter, but taken to an intense and personal degree. You can be as serious or funny as you want with them, it doesn’t matter, whatever describes you in 6 words. It’s almost a new form of poetry, I feel.

Here’s a good one: “Blog’s all done, good job, Colton!”

Reading/Writing Reflection #1

Reading Reflection:

I’ve been plugging away at Metro 2033, by Dmitry Glukhovsky for a couple weeks before I started taking notes, so I don’t have any initial questions or predictions, but in this book the questions come constantly. After escaping from 24-hour latrine cleaning service, Artyom, our main character, escapes to the closest station and hides out metro equivalent of a ditch. He smells like nasty, doesn’t look much better, but he’s approached by a stranger offering help. This kind of thing doesn’t happen in the Metro, at least not often. It’s a world where everyone is out for themselves and doesn’t have the time to aid strangers, so immediately I’m a little sketched out by this fellow. My initial thoughts were that he’s either a religious zealot or a cannibal. He was a zealot; go figure! He took Artyom into ‘The Brotherhood’, a group of survivors with their own fully-furnished rail car and running water. Running water! I knew these people were too good to be true. They turned out to not be a sinister group, just a gathering of pushy Jehovah’s Witnesses, so Artyom made it out better than I expected.

This book really keeps me on my toes, and there are more noted in my head than I have time to take down if I’m trying to read effectively. It’s difficult note-taking with my Kobo because I have to write them separately on a sheet of paper, but this method’s been no less effective. The notes have definitely helped me organize my usually muddled thoughts, and it’s probably something I’ll keep on with for books I’m re-reading or trying to analyze.

Writing Reflection:

Doodling, much to my chagrin, is a surprisingly effective way of organizing thoughts and ideas, and giving me an excuse to draw dumb things. I kind of wish we did the Digital Footprint Doodle before the actual write-up, as I was able to better organize what exactly my footprint looks like when I drew it all out. On a more constructive note, I need to work on my WRN way more than I am right now. I really enjoy putting in my personal additions when I do, but actually pulling out the duo tang and throwing something in there, well, it’s a big hump to get over, an annoying, and lazy mental block. Whatever, I’ll fight through that and throw some cool things in there. Promise!

5 Things I'm Glad I Did

This was a fun one.



1. Woke Up: Waking up is always a good idea, and very rarely do I regret it.

2. My Ex! (-hibit tour in Calgary): I saw some cool art in calgary and I figured this was a good time for a raunchy joke.

3. Summer Job: I got to chase kids in the water all summer, and get paid for it!

4. Spend Money: Only the finest steaks for me, sir.

5. Finish this Li

More Digital Footprint Business

Digital Footprint Doodle:




So this is a little doodle I did about my digital footprint, it's pretty self-explanatory. I like things on Facebook, I take more than I give and every day I'm googlin'. I did the piece in broken lines because I wanted it to look as much like 'ascii text' as possible, as ascii is the highest form of art on the internet. Wasn't a fan of my pirate drawing, but everything else looks pretty cool.

Good job, Colton!

A Google Self-Reflection

This isn't the first time I've googled myself, not by a long shot. Crank the clock back to 2002, I was presented with my first google search bar. I had to type my name. At the time my digital footprint was as big as that first google search was, it was nothing, but now when I google myself I actually come up! My Twitter does at least. My podcasts come up too, both 'Minor Issues' and 'F***ing Whatever with Colton David'. I'm more proud of my podcasts than I am my twitter, much more work goes into them than my 140 character complaints. Honestly, I'm pretty proud that my podcasts have enough weight to surface. Knowing that makes me feel like I've contributed something to this great big mess of 1's and 0's, however insignificant it might seem.

Good job, Colton. Good job.

First!

The most difficult part about creating a blog is choosing a title that really represents who you are and what you represent. I think I did a pretty good job.

Noodling is a term for catfish fishing using your bare arms, easily the most manly way to fish. I'm the epitome of modern manliness, so noodling totally represents me and my views.

The 'dummies' comes in because I want my blog to be informative, and what's more informative than a 'For Dummies' book? Nothing.

C. Dav Out.