Das Vent

What was the most confusing part about trying to paraphrase "The Corleone Chronicles"?
Probably trying to find a area in which could relate to my Journal 3. Luckily I was able to spot a paragraph quickly. The article was easy to read, so no trouble came into the mix.


 How did your understanding of this article compare with your understanding of Sarah Vowell's podcast onThe Godfather? 
Frankly I didn't understand much about how watching The Godfather could have help as it was mainly just whining and annoying voice for 15 minutes.


Why is the focus on academic writing in college as opposed to more popular writing like Sarah Vowell's podcast? Do you agree with the academic focus?
Not 100% sure on this one, but maybe since people aren't used to podcast or other forms of literature as they are with writing. I suppose I agree with it. I'd rather write then listen to podcast all day.


 Do you think that learning this new way of arguing and debating will help you to understand other parts of your world?
Yes, I always felt that arguing and debating sides helps understand others thoughts and views on subjects.


How did you choose the passage from “The Corleone Chronicles” to add to your journal?
It was the one I found most suiting for my topic, originality. Other paragraphs that I read didn't seem to compare characters or styles like the one I chose. So this made it easy for me to summarize with my topic.


Did you think that it was a big jump to link the two different views of originality and genre? Were they unrelated in your opinion? If so, how hard was it to find a place to relate it back to your journal, and did you feel like you were just plugging it somewhere?
I didn't think it was that big of a deal to link two views as I always try and keep an open mindset of things being their own for both groups.Yes and No, yes as genre and originality can't collide easily. Seeing most movies try and fit an already famous genre they can't relate. BUT, if a movie were to go beyond just the specific genre or add something knew to said genre then they (Originality and Genre) could both be two peas in a pod.


 Had you considered The Godfather in your original journal before today? 
No, as I had never seen The Godfather and I didn't really have plans on seeing it. So I doubt it would have fit into any journal if it weren't for the class.


What examples had you previously included to support your view of originality?
I included that to be original you need to "Be yourself" or just not follow in others footsteps, set your own fossils and lead the way.


 Finally, how helpful was the article in helping you to rethink the views that you had previously explored in your first journal?
It was rather helpful, I went back and thought more about my first journal, debated against myself on past and present opinions on the matter.

If you had to do the process again (and you will!), what would you do differently to make the process go smoothly?
Well I found that it went smooth anyways, so I suppose I can improve on detail of my Journal next time to better suit other sections of "The Corleone Chronicles".

Independent Research

      Over the past week I have found interest in learning more about C++ programming for video games. I had already had some practice in C++ from my Introduction to Computer Science (C++). But what I was researching were things we had yet to go over. What sparked this interest was that I had been talking with friends who I play some games with about creating a custom game. We were all throwing out ideas and the game began to develop a story. We were creating the fun, lore, "addictiveness", and the longevity of the game.


      With all this brainstorming we came to the next step. How to create it. A few of us already knew C++, JAVA, SQL, and LUA, which are the main game coding language we were going to use. My problem, as stated earlier, I only knew the basics on how to code in C++. So I took it upon myself to start learning more advanced C++ so that I could help out with the programming, instead of just being an idea/someone who spawns things in-game.


      Since starting this research of C++ I'm now able to create my own "bosses" that move and do things. I can create custom scripts that other games have yet to implement and I can now further help the group. Overall, this has been a fantastic learning experience, and something that I will use down the road if I get a career in game development or some other job that involves C++. This will also help me in further C++ classes that I will be taking as I will have some knowledge of what we will already be learning.