So Ryerson is telling me that I have to pay additional fees for this class I have to take called Digital Journalism. Normally, I wouldn't be so angry, but the fee showed up two weeks into the semester, the class is mandatory so I can't drop out, and the person who sent us an email about the fee increase hasn't replied to the three emails I've sent her.
I've paid (almost) $7000 in tuition this year already, last semester I had Introduction to Feature Writing (124), Creative Writing, Critical Issues (400) and Introduction to Broadcast Television (125). This semester, I have Macro Economics, Theory of Mass Communication (402), Ethics and Law in Journalism (123) and Introduction to Digital Reporting (112). Let me break down for you what the classes cost.
Creative Writing and Macro Economics cost $575 each. That means for the remaining six classes, I've paid around $5,850. Because the school doesn't post how much a billing unit is, I have to figure it out on my own.
Roughly, this is the breakdown:
Class - Class number - billing units (cost)
Feature Writing - 124 - 3 ($1462.50)
Critical Issues - 400 - 1 ($487.50)
Theory of Mass Comm. - 402 - 1 ($487.50)
Intro to Broadcast - 125 - 4 ($1950.00)
Ethics and Law - 123 - 1 ($487.50)
Digital Journalism - 112 - 2 ($975.00)
Digital Journalism, the class they want to increase to $1,462.50 is a class where they spent one entire class with the server down, and we were unable to post or create the blogs that they spent quite a while explaining. I've had this blog since 2007, and while it's not identical to WordPress, I'm surprisingly* good at figuring out how these things work. They spent, what I'm sure was, forty-five minutes explaining twitter, which I have been a member of since before I started at Ryerson.
I don't mean to say that everyone should be expected to know this stuff, but it's not hard. All of these programs are user friendly, they're hard to break and frankly, they have hints and tips all over them to help the user create a quality product. If you have questions about something on the internet, Google can definitely answer it. I understand the idea of why we have this class, but if they're going to teach "digital natives" how to use the internet, they should be teaching us new things.
And if they're not, they certainly shouldn't be charging almost $1500 to take the class.
Cait
*This isn't surprising
PS: Yes, I know that some of the fees were adjusted, but because I'm taking Macro Econ through Chang, I may be forced to pay the extra fees in order to stay in school.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Thursday, February 2, 2012
As promised, below is my discussion of the Vampire Diaries vs. Buffy, which one comes out on top. Now, there are issues that some might not realize are there – we can’t talk about who did what first, because the books were published before Buffy was on air, but the Buffy movie came out before the books. So there won’t be any “first!” discussion here.
The lore in both worlds has the vampires unable to cross the threshold of houses without an invitation, both can be killed with fire or a wooden stake to the heart, neither can walk in daylight, though in Vampire Diaries, a witches spell can counteract that. While it’s religious paraphernalia that causes the vampires pain in Buffy, it is vervain that does it in the Vampire Diaries. Finally, in Buffy the Vampires are demons that have inhabited the empty shells of the dead by the consumption of the vampire blood before the victim dies. In the Vampire Diaries it is a witches spell that is passed on, again by the consumption of the vampire’s blood before the victim dies.
But, before I begin with the compare and critique, we have to address the players in the Vampire Diaries that we’re comparing to the people in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So here is it, broken down. On the left are the Vampire Diaries characters and the left we have the Buffy characters.
Elena – Buffy
Stefan – Angel
Bonnie – Willow
Damon - Spike
Matt – Xander
There’s almost no competition between our female leads. Buffy is a strong woman who fights demons of all sorts on her own, and dies twice throughout the series, has been to both Heaven and Hell, and still finds it in her heart to love. Elena is taken care of by her boyfriend, her friends and her boyfriend’s brother. Buffy is also more self-sacrificing, as she’s willing to kill the man she loved, even though he’d become the man she wanted back for the good of mankind. Elena however locks Stefan in a basement and tortures him, hoping that that will help him see the error in his evil ways. The vampire slayer scores one on this side.
The comparison of male leads is a difficult one. Matt from Mystic Falls is far more attractive that Xander from Sunnydale, however, Xander is actually useful. He researches, and doesn’t mind fixing up the house when everything gets broken. Xander loses an eye and Matt ends up getting compelled and in a fist fight with a potential werewolf. While he has his negative moments, Xander for the most part is good for his group. Matt however, seems to be a detriment, after bring Vicki “through” from the “other side” and allowing people to come close to hurting the woman he’s in love with Elena.
However, both men have a flaw. Like all the other men, Matt and Xander, are initially in love with the female lead. I understand the love for Buffy, she’s a strong woman who has quirks and is kind and fun. Elena however is a self-centred cheerleader, who decided to write dark poetry and whine a lot.
This leads into the other men in our lead’s lives, Damon, the darkness, and Stefan, the light, compare easily to Angel, the light and Spike, the darkness. However, the darkness seems to be what makes people interesting – their flaws. And similar to Edward Cullen, Stefan suffers from the “too perfect, moody guy”. He’s got a dark past with secrets, but he’s good at everything and oh-so-smart. Angel has a similar dark past, but he’s not above killing other vampires. He doesn’t worry about the consequences behind “dusting” a few bad guys, and his only rule is to not kill humans.
In his own show, (titled, so cleverly “Angel”), he ends up killing a couple people – and cutting off a human’s hand. He distinguishes between right and wrong, not human and non-human. While Stefan gets all uptight when a werewolf (Mason Lockwood) is killed by Damon. Between Stefan and Angel, I’d side with Angel.
The trick for me comes with Spike and Damon. I think I love the characters equally because they toe the line between good and evil like a tight-rope walker. Spike is one of the “big bad” enemies who ends up falling in love with Buffy after she beats him down, and he ends up unable to kill people anymore, and starts working for her side. Damon is also a villain at first, and similar to Spike, even when he’s good he’s bad. Damon has killed the same character (Alaric) twice, the second time “just for fun” – and that he did while he was “good”.
James Marsters and Ian Somerhalder are attractive men in their own unique ways, but they carry the darkness the same way. They are the ideal rebel, and the kind of man every girl was, at one point, warned away from. They play the characters in a way that is almost reminiscent of James Dean, that they are rebels without a cause. Unlike Stefan, when he goes bad, who comes off as a rebel without a clue.
But, I’ve gone on too long about the men. I want to take a moment and talk about the witches in both shows. Bonnie is descendent from a long line of natural witches who are born with power and a connection to natural. She talks about her power as if it is something that exists within her, like a mage from a video game. Willow however simply harnesses the power of nature, and her vast understanding of that power is what grants her the ability to become one of the strongest Wiccans in North America, almost destroy the world and enable every potential slayer to become a true slayer.
While I find Willow to be the more interesting character, I find the conversation about power being inherently good or inherently evil tiring. I can appreciate the discussion, as it is something that requires debate, I enjoy that in the Vampire Diaries it is treated as nothing more than power – not a disease or a blessing.
As you can tell, when it comes to the characters, Buffy wins. A huge part of that is the female role models in Buffy, though I know the discussion here was a comparison between the men. I hope you enjoyed what has probably been one of my longest blog posts to date.
Be good while I’m gone,
Cait
The lore in both worlds has the vampires unable to cross the threshold of houses without an invitation, both can be killed with fire or a wooden stake to the heart, neither can walk in daylight, though in Vampire Diaries, a witches spell can counteract that. While it’s religious paraphernalia that causes the vampires pain in Buffy, it is vervain that does it in the Vampire Diaries. Finally, in Buffy the Vampires are demons that have inhabited the empty shells of the dead by the consumption of the vampire blood before the victim dies. In the Vampire Diaries it is a witches spell that is passed on, again by the consumption of the vampire’s blood before the victim dies.
But, before I begin with the compare and critique, we have to address the players in the Vampire Diaries that we’re comparing to the people in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. So here is it, broken down. On the left are the Vampire Diaries characters and the left we have the Buffy characters.
Elena – Buffy
Stefan – Angel
Bonnie – Willow
Damon - Spike
Matt – Xander
There’s almost no competition between our female leads. Buffy is a strong woman who fights demons of all sorts on her own, and dies twice throughout the series, has been to both Heaven and Hell, and still finds it in her heart to love. Elena is taken care of by her boyfriend, her friends and her boyfriend’s brother. Buffy is also more self-sacrificing, as she’s willing to kill the man she loved, even though he’d become the man she wanted back for the good of mankind. Elena however locks Stefan in a basement and tortures him, hoping that that will help him see the error in his evil ways. The vampire slayer scores one on this side.
The comparison of male leads is a difficult one. Matt from Mystic Falls is far more attractive that Xander from Sunnydale, however, Xander is actually useful. He researches, and doesn’t mind fixing up the house when everything gets broken. Xander loses an eye and Matt ends up getting compelled and in a fist fight with a potential werewolf. While he has his negative moments, Xander for the most part is good for his group. Matt however, seems to be a detriment, after bring Vicki “through” from the “other side” and allowing people to come close to hurting the woman he’s in love with Elena.
However, both men have a flaw. Like all the other men, Matt and Xander, are initially in love with the female lead. I understand the love for Buffy, she’s a strong woman who has quirks and is kind and fun. Elena however is a self-centred cheerleader, who decided to write dark poetry and whine a lot.
This leads into the other men in our lead’s lives, Damon, the darkness, and Stefan, the light, compare easily to Angel, the light and Spike, the darkness. However, the darkness seems to be what makes people interesting – their flaws. And similar to Edward Cullen, Stefan suffers from the “too perfect, moody guy”. He’s got a dark past with secrets, but he’s good at everything and oh-so-smart. Angel has a similar dark past, but he’s not above killing other vampires. He doesn’t worry about the consequences behind “dusting” a few bad guys, and his only rule is to not kill humans.
In his own show, (titled, so cleverly “Angel”), he ends up killing a couple people – and cutting off a human’s hand. He distinguishes between right and wrong, not human and non-human. While Stefan gets all uptight when a werewolf (Mason Lockwood) is killed by Damon. Between Stefan and Angel, I’d side with Angel.
The trick for me comes with Spike and Damon. I think I love the characters equally because they toe the line between good and evil like a tight-rope walker. Spike is one of the “big bad” enemies who ends up falling in love with Buffy after she beats him down, and he ends up unable to kill people anymore, and starts working for her side. Damon is also a villain at first, and similar to Spike, even when he’s good he’s bad. Damon has killed the same character (Alaric) twice, the second time “just for fun” – and that he did while he was “good”.
James Marsters and Ian Somerhalder are attractive men in their own unique ways, but they carry the darkness the same way. They are the ideal rebel, and the kind of man every girl was, at one point, warned away from. They play the characters in a way that is almost reminiscent of James Dean, that they are rebels without a cause. Unlike Stefan, when he goes bad, who comes off as a rebel without a clue.
But, I’ve gone on too long about the men. I want to take a moment and talk about the witches in both shows. Bonnie is descendent from a long line of natural witches who are born with power and a connection to natural. She talks about her power as if it is something that exists within her, like a mage from a video game. Willow however simply harnesses the power of nature, and her vast understanding of that power is what grants her the ability to become one of the strongest Wiccans in North America, almost destroy the world and enable every potential slayer to become a true slayer.
While I find Willow to be the more interesting character, I find the conversation about power being inherently good or inherently evil tiring. I can appreciate the discussion, as it is something that requires debate, I enjoy that in the Vampire Diaries it is treated as nothing more than power – not a disease or a blessing.
As you can tell, when it comes to the characters, Buffy wins. A huge part of that is the female role models in Buffy, though I know the discussion here was a comparison between the men. I hope you enjoyed what has probably been one of my longest blog posts to date.
Be good while I’m gone,
Cait
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
How Buffy Ruined Twilight for Me
I like Twilight. I've read the books 5 or 6 times through, and watched the movies. I found it amusing, and entertaining, a quick read, and a pick me up, like reading Cosmo or Nylon. However, I started to read Twilight again, after watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and it just wasn't good enough anymore.
And yes, I know, I like the Vampire Diaries and they do the brooding vampire/soul mate thing too, but I’m going to compare the Vampire Diaries and Buffy at a latter date.
First, it really was just a matter of weeks and Bella was willing to die for Edward. I hadn’t realized how quickly things progressed until after watching Buffy and comparing the two. A few weeks after knowing Angel, Buffy still wasn't sure if she was going to have to kill him. The first time they met, she got angry at him, and their relationship didn't exactly take off from there.
As well, Robert Pattinson does not do brooding vampire as well as David Boreanaz - and since watching the movies, all I can do is picture Pattinson in the role of Edward. He's not attractive, not a good actor, and ruins the imagery for me. When I read the books, I hear him and see him saying the lines, and I’m just heart broken. He is truly unattractive.
In Twilight, the vampires are tame, “vegetarians” who, like alcoholics, stick together to keep each other strong. In Buffy, Angel is part demon, part human. When he goes to protect her, his face is disfigured by the demon possessing him, and Buffy ends up loving him anyway. Edward is easy to love, he is willing to die for Bella while being incredible at basically everything. Angel, however, sometimes lacks basic communication skills. He struggles to relate to Buffy at times, and their relationship takes work. Like a real relationship should.
So yes, I’m talking about vampires and realism. Get over it.
But what kills me the most is that, when the relationship was hurting Buffy, and we could talk about Spike or Angel, both times, she didn’t collapse though she was in love, but she stood up and did what was right for her. At one point, Buffy even kills Angel because it’ll save the world. I can’t imagine Bella actually giving up staring into Edward’s big dumb eyes long enough to notice that the world was ending, let alone, kill him to save it. When she realized that Edward was leaving her, she curled up into a ball and had to be rescued by a pack of werewolves.
So yea. Buffy ruined Twilight for me.
Come back tomorrow when I talk about the Vampire Diaries and Buffy.
Be good while I'm gone,
Cait
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
For those of you who find me funny...
...I've decided to publish my short stories online through Smashwords as "e-books". I recently posted a story, "Manslaughter" and there will be more to come.
The story can be found here, just follow this link.
Thank you for all of your support. The fact is, if you enjoy my blog, you'll likely enjoy my fiction, however, there is a caveat on that. I'm certain that some of the content includes strong language and scenes I wouldn't want my parents to read (yes dad, that means you), so if you're sensitive to that, please don't be mad about it.
Thank you!
Cait
The story can be found here, just follow this link.
Thank you for all of your support. The fact is, if you enjoy my blog, you'll likely enjoy my fiction, however, there is a caveat on that. I'm certain that some of the content includes strong language and scenes I wouldn't want my parents to read (yes dad, that means you), so if you're sensitive to that, please don't be mad about it.
Thank you!
Cait
Monday, January 30, 2012
Abduction
"Being a good CIA agent is genetic."
or
"Raise the perfect spy on the nations money and then tell him to do any other job."
or
"Raise the perfect spy on the nations money and then tell him to do any other job."
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