Photo and Slideshow Critique

Two of the websites that I have posted I look at often. The third on was more or less me goofing around because I couldn't find a slideshow with sound on any of the regular websites I visit.

Wesite #1 http://www.bettycrocker.com/

I do enjoy cooking. I like to make new fun recipes and so I frequent the Betty Crocker website. At the top of the website there is the slideshow. There is no audio in this one, but they do show a variety of pictures and have a little blurb on the left side explaining what it is. One picture had fresh dill and the explaintion said "Herbs 101". Kind of fun and interesting if you like this sort of thing. I liked that the slideshow made it easy to navigate to the page that I wanted to see, I didn't have to search through the list of recipes. I also like how not all the pictures in the slideshow were recipes, but some were just informational about food. There is not much that I do not like about this page. Easy way for me to find new recipes. Betty Crocker really isn't around to tell a story, but is more of an information website about cooking. The slideshow does not tell a story, but instead give you some ideas you may have not ever thought about.

Website #2 www.vermontfineartgallery.com/collections/2501

 I was very interested in art before I moved to Vermont and was pleasantly surprised when I found that there were so many local artists. I am not very artistic which is why I like to look at what other people can do. Vermont has an art website. It contains many local artists and their portfolios. There is not music and no slideshows, instead you just click on what picture you want it will enlarge and you can take a closer look at it. I liked that they chose not to add a slideshow or music to it. I don't like to feel rushed when I look at pictures and I want to have my own music playing when I am relaxing and looking at it. I do blieve that these pictures tell a story, maybe not a chronological on, but a story none-the-less. The gallery that I chose was from a Russian artist that lives here in Vermont now and he draws in pen and ink. I thought that was pretty neat, mostly because I could never draw using those two....too many mistakes.

Website #3 www.bored.com/getrelaxed/003.htm

 And finally, the slideshow with the sound. I came across this website by chance because I do not frequent a website that had slideshows and sound. I was at this point bored with my search, so that is what I typed into Google and is this is what popped up. It is a soothing sounds website. Reminds me of the aisle in Wal-mart when the soothing sounds CD that everyone walks by and touches. Made me laugh. So, you pick what soothing sound you want and it will start, but also includes a slideshow of what you are listening to. I chose a fire, so not only do I get to listen to the crackling of the fire, but I also get to watch different fires. Yep, totally cheezy. There is no story and really no point to this website.....I think it was made to help me with this assignment. It is by far my favorite one though. It really did a good job with the sounds and the slideshows. They took that extra step and added pictures, when it could have just been those relaxing sounds you listen to.

 Not really any of the sites I found told stories of any sort, but it was fun to get to see the differences in the slideshows and the sound. All are very functional and I think were made in good taste based on the user.

Valentine's Day Podcast

Valentine’s Day Podcast

           

            Valentine’s Day is a holiday that can divide our opinions as much as any other major holiday we celebrate. Some people really love the holiday and give more love on February 14 than any other day. Other people might think that this holiday is good but that they should show love every day of the year. And then you have those people who think that this holiday is the worst thing ever and a complete waste of time. Here at Lyndon State College, we see those same divisions as there are wide arrays of opinions even in this small community.

            Our group ventured out into the world of Lyndon to see these very opinions. Upon walking the halls and computer labs of campus, as well as some off-campus apartments, we noticed that Valentine’s Day was greeted with hate and love. First, we find one student in the Hornet’s Nest thinks that a night in with a bottle of wine and a movie would be the best way to spend the day and night. She valued the holiday as a way to treat herself and have a nice night in.

            We then interviewed faculty and staff who are both married and they saw the holiday as a way to spend time with the ones they love. They were both going to spend time together and have a nice dinner together. They saw the love of one another every day so this was a nice change of pace for them.

            After we interviewed a few people that were married, we then interviewed some students who all had different ideas on the holiday and who were mostly spending it the same way. They saw the holiday as an unnecessary day because that if you are with someone that you love, that every day should be like Valentine’s Day. One student even said that Valentine’s Day was a, “crock of shit.” But either way they look at it, they are all single and they didn’t see a reason to celebrate more than they would any other Tuesday. They all believed that if they were in a relationship with someone, they would probably see the benefit of having a Valentine’s Day so they could, “spend more money that I could be saving.” I thought it was pretty funny.

            Although Valentine’s Day was originally a day to show love to your significant other, by hand-writing out cards and giving flowers, it has transformed into something much bigger than that. This holiday has grown from something small into the chaotic day that is February 14, Valentine’s Day remains popular and seems to keep growing every year.

           

           

Outline for Podcast

Outline – Valentine’s Day Podcast


Our podcast will end up being about Valentine’s Day on campus and with the Lyndon community as a whole. We are interviewing students, faculty, and staff about their opinions on Valentine’s Day while incorporating a brief history of the holiday and any other relevant information we can find on the topic. We hope to get people who love and hate this holiday, and hopefully we get some interesting responses to our questions because this holiday is all over social media and the news and it seems to create a lot of interesting debates on relationships and love for everyone involved.

Ideas for Group 4 Podcast

Group 4 has come up with a few ideas that we are bouncing around.  One of our group members was missing last week, probably sick like everyone else, so we really haven't decided which idea we are going to run with.  It is important to us that everyone is satified with the topic we will choose. 

Idea 1:
      Noises in the workout room.  Yes, we know that everyone makes them and they are kind of interesting.  It ranges from grunts to heavy breathing.  Why does this happen?  Well, that is what we wanted to find out.  We would talk to people working out, trainers and also some athletes that play here at Lyndon. 

Idea 2:
      Valentines Day.  Oh we know, so obvious.  With the "holiday" coming up, we were kind of intereted in everyone's plans.  Do they have a significant other?  If so do they have somthing planned?  Is it just the guys job to plan and get the gift?  Why are some women so obsessed with this holiday?  The questions are endless.  There is also a wide age range here at Lyndon, so we would be able to talk to huge variety of people.

Idea 3:
     The last idea that was brought up was, interviewing a band that one of our teammates is aquainted with.  They are trying to make an album so we can talk about their stuggles and triumphs. 

All these ideas a fun and intereting, but we haven't fully made a decision yet.  Today will be the day that we mull it over with all of the member and move forward.     

3 Podcasts

The first podcast I listened to was called Stuff Mom Never Told You at How Stuff Works.com.  These two women are so funny.  This podcast isn't suppose to be that funny, but the two women have a lot of fun together.  If men don't know what women talk about when they get together, listen to this and all their questions will be answered.
The two women talk about all sorts of things that women have questions about or common issues that women face.  I listened to bra sizes, circumcisions and hair washing.  They give general information about their topics and some history about each topic.
I really enjoyed listening to them, it reminded me of talking with my girlfriends.  They make these topics seem so comfortable and use language that everyone will understand.
There wasn't much I didn't like, it just seemed so laid back and fun.

My second podcast was called Books on the Nightstand.  This is so different from my first podcast, so I had a hard time switching from the fun and laid back atmosphere to the serious and all business atmosphere that this podcast has.  These two people are little more organized in their podcast, they have their episodes numbered and start by saying what episode it is and what they will talk about.  I did really like that about this podcast; I could tell if I wanted to continue listening to that episode or not based on the intro.
I wasn't a big fan of how serious these two were.  They didn't have fun with the books, it was more opinionated. 
They mostly talk about books, but they also talked about McDonald's giving books out in their happy meals and they get reader input in a couple episodes.  But for the most part they picked books apart and compared them to other books they have read by similar authors.  If I pull up this podcast again, I would probably only look for a cast that talked about authors I have read.  I wouldn't just listen because I really enjoyed what they were talking about.

My third podcast is about critical thinking, it was called The Critical Thinker Academy.  The intro really tries to be hip with the music, but then the guy starts to talk.  He is pretty serious.  He does explain what his podcast is about and lets everyone know that he has a video podcast on i-Tunes as well.
This podcast really reminded me of a school lecture.  I spent a year at a relatively large University and this podcast reminded me of that.  He outlines his cast and then goes into detail about his general topics.  I really am not 100% sure as what he was saying in his podcasts though.  I tuned out pretty early, because he was so matter of fact and wasn't really giving any room for other thought.  It was his way or it was wrong.  I probably wouldn't listen to this podcast again.