My hobby is to collect cards with human pictures

In last weekend, I stayed at home and enjoyed a ‘solitary play’. My hobby is to collect cards which are with pictures, especially children and lovely people are shown in these pictures. Before reading this book, I wondered whether hobbies can be classified as play or not. I figured out; it’s true that hobbies, collections, listening to music, art projects, pets, reading, yoga or crosswords can be included in the solitary play.

According to chapter 10, the rhetoric of the self is usually applied toward solitary activities, but can be characterized by other ideas such as fun, relaxation, and escape. Even though there are several multiple meanings of the self, the central focus is in the experience of the player. In other words, play as self is idealized by attention to the desirable experiences of the players. For me, I had individual’s personal freedom to choose the collection of the cards as play, it is intrinsically motivated. It is also true that this subjective play experience is fun to me. Additionally, I realized that sometimes I felt like lonely after came in U.S.A.; however, the collection of the cards with people pictures always can make me be relaxed. For example, when I saw children with bright smiles or friendly people in these pictures, I could not feel lonely. Rather, I was warm in heart and peaceful. After then, I desired to play the collection of cards with pictures.

Moreover, when I collected several cards with people pictures, I often imagined what they spoke each other or what happen next steps in these pictures, then I made narrative stories and scribbled something on backsides of the cards. Thus, I think the rhetorics of self as play could be connected to imagine as play. According to Brian Sutton-Smith, he also said that it is not always easy to keep them apart. The imaginary and the self share the common ground of freedom. Also, these two are individualistic rather than communal. Both of rhetorics seem to overlap in this notion; players are actively engaged in their activity. Above all, players’ active experiences are supposed to be central in play. 

Experience ambiguity of play: fate as play, power as play, or identity as play.

 Last Sunday, I celebrate the Korean New Year day with my Korean friends. We ate rice cake soup and played a game of yut. Before have taking the J762 seminar, I just thought that play is easy or simple to define. However, I knew that play can be explained by different views and several rhetorics (e.g., fate as play, power as play, or identity as play). In this celebration, I have opportunities to think about ambiguity of play, especially rhetorics of fate, power, and identity.  First of all, traditionally in the morning of the New year, entire family gather together to eat rice-cake soup, tteok-guk. It is the most representative dish eaten on New Year’s Day. Tradition dictates that New Year’s resolution is embodies within the tteo-guk and when one eat that tteok-guk, one is withing New Year’s wishes. Long cylindrically shaped rice cake symbolizes luck and good health and long life. Koreans enjoy same custom, culture about Lunar New Year’s Day if other people even don’t know. By doing so, Korean can build a sense of community or identity through play.

Moreover, a game of Yut is Korean’s popular folk game, make two teams and play with yut. There are Do, Gae, Gul, Yut, Mo. Do means pig and Gae means Dog. And, Gul means sheep, Yut means cow, and Mo means horse. When you get Do go 1 block, Gea go 2 block, Gul go 3 block, Yut go 4 block, go 5 blocks when you get Mo. A game of Yut looks like a game of chess or board game. A game of yut can win as throw yut well, but it stands on how use marker well. As I mentioned, this game can be shown as fate as play because if you throw yut well, you are likely to win. Fate as play positions the “events and outcomes of lay origination outside of the player (p.68). Fate as play embodies a belief that one can exercise control over life’s circumstances even when it is known complete control is impossible (p.53). However, it is also important to how use marker well or how plan your strategy in this game. In terms of power as play, physically skill and intellectual strategy are important forms of contest (p.74). Additionally, from a social play perspective, power as play is an expression of conflict that is realized through competition. During playing this game, we were praying to throw yut well and were planning strategies to win. Through celebration to New Year play, I could experience identity as play, fate as play and power as play.

Find, Foster, and Fun(Funny)

After was watching a Cain’s Arcade video clip, I could have opportunity to think about what happy/fun play for human is. Above all, I think if someone plays with imagination or innovation, this play would make people feel really happy/funny. For example, Cain could also keep self-esteem and proud by himself through making something by using recycled materials. He really seems to be a happy/fun innovator in his own play. Moreover, according to website of The Imagination Foundation, it can be shown that our Global Cardboard Challenge is an annual event that invites the world to build anything awesome out of cardboard, recycled materials, and imagination. Likewise, it is reasonable that play which is accompanied by ‘creativity’ would make all people, adults as well as children, be happy and fun in their life. We always expect to just children have creativity in their idea; however I believe that adults also can play with creativity or innovation.

Furthermore, I played with creativity for fun play. I found funny photos at unusual angle in this website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S81EjM1Oifs

According to this website, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, but sometimes this ain’t exactly right. Distance overlapping, positions, and timing can sometimes create a brand new perspective of a photo. we want to show you 100+ Funny Photos Taken At Unusual Angle, a compilation of photos taken at the exact right timing and angle, thus creating a humor side of the story; intentionally or unintentionally. After watching video and funny photos, I also took several funny pictures to create new perspective of a photo. During this play with funny photos, I could feel like as become an innovator or a creator for humor/fun. Thus, we need to find play, foster creative play, and enjoy fun play.

Play with a lovely baby! Play is just play!

Last Friday, I went my friend’s home in order to celebrate her baby’s 100^th day from birth. At that time, I really enjoyed playing with her baby, Suri. I hugged, kissed, contacted eyes her and sang a song for her. I felt it seemed like play, joyful play to me. Her smiling and communion with baby made me was happy like as feeling in heaven. However, other friend said me that he never has enjoyed playing with babies. He said when he was being with babies, he just felt like this time is stressful or hard to him. In contrast, time to play with babies is always enjoyable and playful to me. I thought that a standard to judge whether this is play or not might be depending on personal perspective, not common value.

Moreover, after reading chapter ‘the rhetoric of fate’, I also have a question about play: “where are the standards of the value of play?” either in own self as individual, internal or norms of community as external.

According to the book, entitled The Ambiguity of Play, some lottery players say that, despite the fact that they know  will lose, they so enjoy the fantasy of winning, and dreaming of what they will do with their winnings, that it is well worth the price of the lottery ticket. In other words, lottery players might enjoy playful not reality, but rather imaginative satisfaction. For me, advocates of the rhetoric of progress of play seem to emphasize on rational or reality of play, whereas advocates of the rhetoric of fate of play seem to have values on illusion or fantasy of play. I think both perspectives about play are reasonable to understand meaning of play. Just it could be different depending on different value standards to perceive what the play is. Finally, I wonder it is possible in class of play, hierarchy in play, quality of play. If so, who can decide what the better play for human life is.

Let’s go on a trip to Korea where my hometown via other blogs

Sometimes, I used to feel like as going to Korea. Last weekend, I really missed Korea due to the homesick. So I decided to take a trip via other blogs. Follow me, let’s go together on a trip to Korea! Among of several places in Korea, I decided to go to the Jeju island. Actually, I have gone to the Jeju island at six times in my life. This place is my favorite province of Korea. Additionally, Jeju island is a tourist attraction spot where is loved by many Korean. Likewise, I also have good memory and experiences about Jeju island. Thus, I believed that playing in Jeju island made me be happy and far away from homesick.

First of all, while I took a trip as play, I was enjoying ‘imaginary play’ which means that I imagined like as I ate delicious Korean food and drove my car along the seashore. I think the ‘imaginary play’ is not just for children’s development, but rather for all of human play including adults’. According to book, entitled The Ambiguity of Play, Erikson said that while the child goes forward in his play, the adult goes sideways. This apparently means that children are growing up while they are playing and adults are not (p.47). However, he argues even though adults have already grown up, it cannot be supposed that growth virtues of play are irrelevant. Adults also are able to keep up their own sprits through play. That is, play is no longer the only preserve of children. Play is no longer the preserve of preparing for growth. Like as my imaginary play, adults also are able to continue own emotional play.

Moreover, I believe that play has a significant function as ‘healing’ for someone. Human can prepare to do what is for next step through healing by play. For me, although I had homesick and little bit of depression, I was able to heal my soul and recover from the depression because of blogging play-taking a trip via blogs. In addition, by playing via blogging, it gave me the happiness. That is, it is clear that play has important functions as emotional healing and happiness for human.

In sum, last weekend, I enjoyed play as to go on a trip via blogs; this imaginary play was results in healing and happiness for me.

Shall we dance? Let's Hiphop dance!

Last night, I went the SRSC on campus to do exercise with hiphop. Definitely, this play is more suitable on dance rather than exercise. In other words, this program is that people follow up instructor’s demonstration about dance with popular music. During dancing hiphop, I had opportunities to not only listen music which is the most popular in these days, but also learn how to dance hiphop.

To begin with, I think the rhetoric of play cannot depend on only the singular. According to the book, entitled as The Ambiguity of Play, the author provides the seven rhetorics to be presented in this work are characterized as follows: the rhetoric of play as progress, the rhetoric of play as fate, the rhetoric of play as power, the rhetoric o play as identity, the rhetoric of play as the imaginary, the rhetoric of the self, the rhetoric play as frivolous. Based on these seven rhetorics, I could not find exactly how dancing hiphop match up among of seven rhetorics. For example, I think my play is explained by both the rhetoric of self and the rhetoric of play as identity. First, I did dance with hiphop music for fun, relaxation, or enjoyment. This is form of play in which play is idealized by attention to the desirable experiences of the players. This mean is that I focused on intrinsic satisfactions of the play performances. Moreover, during the enjoy doing it, I could confirm the identity of community of players who share popular culture (e.g., music, dance) in global as large community. Eventually, it can be said that it might be more proper to speak of the plural thetorics throughout.

In sum, to understand the ambiguity of play, I agree that we need to find the relationship between accounts of play in terms of intrinsic and extrinsic functions is yet another way of talking about the interplay of play and nonplay (p.17). Furthermore, I will think about how several rhetorics are related each other to explain 'play', how each rhetorics represent as features of 'play' in this semester.  That is, It also should be needed to figure out what extent ambiguity is an outcome of the seven rhetorics.