A small portion of who I am.

Hey everyone,

I know this introduction is very late and I won’t get credit for it, but I think out of respect to everyone who is taking this course with me, I should still post an introduction of myself. I’m still on the learning curve of OpenLab, so please bear with my mistakes until I get a bit more familiar with this system.

My name is Jerry Carrion. I’ve been a student at City Tech for around five years now and I can positively say this class will be very different than any other course I have taken at this school. I’m twenty-two years old and I’ve been residingĀ in New York City throughout my entire life. I have an A.A.S. in Computer Information Systems and currently working towards my bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Technology.

I’m a pretty straight forward person which most people find hard to deal with. But, I’m also very outgoing and social with the individuals who do actually know me and realize it’s just who I am.Ā I take many interests in a variety of hobbies, subjects and goals in my life.

For starters, I’m a System Administrator for a company called Midtown Comics, Inc. It’s a really tough job to handle at a young age, but it’s also part of what I want to be in my life. I’ve been a customer at Midtown Comics, Inc. since I was in junior high (around thirteen years old at the time), and until this day I continue to shop with them. I read a lot of comic books (not so much as I use to due to school, work, etc…), from great sci-fi titles such as Manhattan Project, Star Wars (Dark Horse and Marvel), Saga, Rocketeer, Chew, Y: The Last Man, Scott Pilgrim, and even The Walking Dead and The Avengers (does contain a sci-fi theme depending on the writer of the series, and transitions characters to an alternate universe). What helped me get my foot in the door for my career in the first place, was being an intern for Marvel Comics. I worked with them for two semesters as a Desktop Analyst and it was definitely the greatest experience I’ve ever got in the tech field. If I continue to talk about this, this story will go on for hours so I’ll just continue about myself, haha!

I also take a huge interest in gaming. I think video games has been a part of everyone’s life at some point even if an individual neglects throughout time. There’s a broad selection of games I have played, starting with the recent titles such as Portal, Mass Effect, BioShock, and Dead Space, to much more older titles like Half Life 1 & 2, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Metroid, Star Fox, Doom, Quake, World of Warcraft, Fallout, Phantasy Star and so on.

Movies have always been something I enjoy. I tend to watch almost all types of genres because it really depends on the story, setting and character development of the film. But movies that have taken me into a deeper understanding of the concept of sci-fi such as Terminator, Robocop, Judge Dredd, Tron, Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Jurassic Park, and The Matrix are all and will always be on my favorites list. I really can’t help myself to NOT watch these types of movies because they are way too interesting!

I believe science fiction is one of the greatestĀ genres there is to introduceĀ to anyone in this world. It has so many stories from different planets or universes, and characters that could be humans interacting with robots, or aliens. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about those specific themesĀ nor does sci-fi have a “standard”, Ā but when it does have something that is contrasting from our universe that would most likely neverĀ be possible, it helps you theorize and imagine what if this world had certain parts from your favorite sci-fi titles. It’s an abstract universe that can pretty much take you for a ride when you are in the right mindset. You can go anywhere to the wonderful settings of Harry Potter and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or more of a darker world such as The Giver, Dune, or Immortal Lycanthropes. My favorite theme in science fiction has to go to a cyberpunk or steam-punk universe. It’s so awesome to see all the gadgets and a futuristic (but not entirely) setting.

Writing use to be something I was never interested in when I was younger. I had more success with mathematics and science more than anything else. When I started taking Advanced Placement writing courses in high school, I started to take a joyous path from there on out. I actually love writing entries that allows me to express and speak for myself. It can be a paper on the US Government or about Aristotle, but if I can give out my opinion of what the subject is and if it’s easy to relate to, consider it done!Ā I’ve never taken blogging serious (but I use to have one on Tumblr a long time ago, but it was more of a photo blog), nor do I currently use any social networks such as Facebook (since 2009) or Twitter.

As you can guys can see, I have a huge interest in sci-fi and I hope that we will all get a long and socialize about these topics, because I think all of us have an interest in sci-fi and now it’s time to share it and see what else can be created or speculated fromĀ the genre. Sci-fi takes imagination to actually visualize these scenarios and it definitely has set the standard of my own imagination.

Donovan Valle Intro

avatars-000063796076-zz59ep-t500x500

Whatsup class. My name is Donovan Valle and I’m currently studying Entertainment Technology at City Tech. One of my main passions is music. Love listening to it, making it, everything to do with it. I started out playing classical piano and saxophone but I love making instrumental electronic music and hip hop. Favorite rock band is Led Zeppelin and my favorite hip hop artists is still Kanye West. I also love to DJ on the side when I can and when things aren’t so hectic in life (life of a college student). I’m also a huge basketballĀ fan (favorite team is the Knicks…they’ll get better) and baseball fan (Yankees). I currently am working at a clothing store called Urban Outfitters which is pretty cool cause I can get a discount, but I also hope to be interningĀ at Madison Square Garden and doing some production work for the New York Knicks later this Spring.

One of my weaknesses as a writer is that I take too long to come up with a main idea. Once I have it my thoughts can come pretty easily, but that first part is what kills me. One thing I hate about reading critically is having to read long boring stuff. I’m a picky reader as it is so I have to find things that are engaging and interesting for me to read in order to really analyze it well. The last great book I read was on the life of RZA called The Tao of Wu, which is a great book about how hip hop producer RZA used eastern influences like meditation and Kung Fu to create probably the most famous hip hop group of all time Wu-Tang Clan.

I think Science Fiction is a genre of storytelling that has a huge emphasis on technology and the impact it has on our world and our society. Science is the way in which these fantastic and otherworldly stories and experiences can even exist (whether or not the science already exists or is predicted for the future.)

When answering the question of why this class is only filled with men, my honest answer is I think it’s probably just a coincidence. A very unlikely coincidence, but nonetheless.

Some of my favorite Science Fiction works happen to be mostly films; 2001: A Space Odyssey by Kubrick, Planet of the Apes, Close Encounters, movies like that. For literature, I’ve read A Clockwork Orange which was really crazy but I did enjoy it, and 1984 which is one of my favorite books. From this course I hope to get more of an understanding of the Sci-Fi genre and look into many more films and books in this genre.

Introduction

Met R.L. Stine last year, he came to City Tech to view "Wingman" in the V building Theater

Met R.L. Stine last year, he came to City Tech to view “Wingman” in the V building Theater

2014 Macy's Thanksgiving Parade. I worked in setting up the floats for the parade and this one was my favoite. TMNT!!!

2014 Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade. I worked in setting up the floats for the parade and this one was my favoite. TMNT!!!

Hi I’m Leonel but you can just call me Leo. I’m an Entertainment Technology major, just a fancy way of saying “I’m the guy backstage that made your show experience awesome”. I work freelance as a lighting and sound technician for backstage entertainment, everything from broadway plays to even the thanksgiving parade (As seen above). Oh I thought I should show off that I met R.L. Stine last year as you can see from the picture, yeah I guess I can say he gave me…wait for it…Goosebumps! I also tried asking if I should turn to page 97 or 401…I don’t think he liked that joke. I love comic books, especially DC universe comics and especially Batman. Sci-fi has been my life since I could remember. The first Sci-fi related thing I remember ever experiencing was “Terminator 2” the movie and its been life ever since. My favorite Sci-fi flick till this day is still “The Fifth Element”, among other titles.

One of my weaknesses for sure in reading is loosing interest really quick in what I am reading, so it makes it hard to ever fully finish a book. My strengths has to be having many creative thoughts which really helps when it comes to writing, though I do have certain times where I draw a blank but that’s only human. I have been using OpenLab for at least 3 years now and I can say I’m no beginner at it. Sci-fi to me means the realm of two worlds, the realistic and unrealistic, combined by elements of an imaginative science. I like the questions of why a woman is teaching Sci-fi and why are a majority of men taking the course, I think society has made a sexist standard that only certain genders can like or do certain things. It has been taught since birth and growth that there is a certain role a gender has to play. Hence why there are so many men wanting to take the course and yet so few women, and the woman who doesn’t see the label of a certain subject that is generalized as a “man’s” interest like Sci-fi is the person teaching the course because there is no real label, society made it an imaginary label. One of my most recent Sci-fi favorite book is “The Last Days of Krypton” and I am eager to read all of my “Alien” saga books. What I’m expecting from this course is to learn a new side of Sci-fi.