Author Archives: Live It Up with Liv

Week 10 Weekly Summary

Starting Off

Starting off the week, we kept on chugging on for our group project. I talk about it more in my radio show progress post, but the week started off great as we continuing planning for our radio show! We came up with a script, as well as organized the radio bumpers and commercials to make the show sound more cohesive. We also recorded at the DKC’s podcasting studio, which was super cool, it felt so professional! Although disaster struck, which you will have to read my blog post to find out…

Radio Show

Here is the final product of our radio show! It was so fun to make, as well as use the resources at the DKC! Martina was a real one and edited it all since we decided it would be good to just have one person edit it for cohesion so shout out to her! Although we ran into some obstacles, we pulled through, and made a great radio show! Enjoy listening!

Daily Creates

Daily Create #1

For the first daily create, we had to make some fun particle art! I tried to make a heart, but you can kind of see it. This was so fun to play around with!

Daily Create #2

a photo of the Capitol building

For the second and last daily create of the week, we had to find a face somewhere! I was scrolling through my camera roll, and found this photo of the Capitol Building from when I visited D.C. over spring break! As I said in my post, it is kind of hard to tell, but I saw the two tall trees as the eyes, the Capitol as the nose, and the street as the mouth!

Overall

Overall, it was another great week for the books! As I have mentioned a lot, I loved my group, and I loved the radio show we came up with. I learned a lot about the materials we could use in order to make a radio show, as well as how to work efficiently in such a great group! See you next week!

Radio Show Progress Week 2

Week 2 here we go! So far, my group has been communicating so well! We had another Zoom meeting on Monday, where we planned out the script, as well as who will be speaking during what segments of the show. We also planned out where we would place each commercial, radio bumper, and the intermission in order to make sure that the show sounded cohesive.

We booked an appointment with the DKC to do a recording in their podcast studio on Wednesday. the recording went great, and we all did pretty well in terms of sticking to the script, but also improving some pieces too. But, disaster struck… the audio didn’t save! Our whole recording was gone, but we immediately regrouped and came up with Plan B. We booked another recording session for Thursday, and will do it all over again. It sucks, but everything happens for a reason!

Overall, I loved my group, and I loved the show that we came up with. We were all able to express our creativity and put our ideas together in order to come up with a great show! So shout out to Macie, Kristen, Martina, and Coni, you guys are the best!

Week 9 Weekly Summary

Starting Off

My motivation is in the gutter, but I must keep chugging on. I am excited for the upcoming weeks, as I am thrilled to start on the radio show. I can’t wait to get to know some of my peers as well as their course characters. We scheduled to do a Zoom meeting on Monday, as well as made a shared Google Doc in order to put all of our thoughts down and to start planning for the radio show.

Radio Show Progress and Promo

As far as progress goes, I love my group! I talk about it more in my blog post, Radio Show Progress, but so far, everything has gone good in terms of everyone staying on task. We were pretty quick to contact each other, as well as make a plan for a Zoom meeting in order to introduce ourselves. Also, we were comfortable in sharing ideas, as well as assigning tasks to people. Several radio bumpers and commercials have already been made, as well as an intro for the show!

For the promo, I knew I wanted to make a design that would represent our group, as well as the vibe we were going for during the show. I made it on Canva and used Google in order to find any images to use. I used a lot of neon, bright colors, as well as a font, that truly keeps the cyber-punk vibe. It is simple, yet effective as it gets across what the radio show is truly about.

Audio Assignments

For the first audio assignment, I did a radio bumper! I go more in depth about the process in my blog post about it, but I made it for the radio show for our group project! I made it as a back-up in case we would need an extra one, but I had fun with it! I liked being able to be creative in terms of making it more futuristic and tech-noir related.

For the second (and last) audio assignment, I made a commercial! We are going to use it in our radio show, and I knew I wanted to make it advertise something we could see in the near future. I decided to advertise a little robot helper that can help with everyday tasks, like cooking or cleaning. Like I said before, I go more in depth in my other blog post, but I wanted it to be realistic to the possible times we could live in in the future.

Daily Creates

Daily Create #1

Confusion by Cleofas Orozco Blancarte

For the first daily create of the week, we had to find or take a photo that represents confusion! I was a bit stumped by this, but I thought of some art pieces that definitely fit this prompt! Confusion by Cleofas Orozco Blancarte is mind-boggling and makes you think of what you are truly looking at.

Daily Create #2

punch card with the phrase, "If we burn, you burn with us!"

For the second daily create of the week, we had to make a punch card! I decided to do an iconic line from the movie series, Hunger Games, since a new book was released this week about Haymitch, Katniss’s mentor.

Daily Create #3

For the last daily create, we were asked to recreate this pose. But, I wanted to do something a little different, so I made him a superhero! Flying through the city with a big, billowing cape, about to save the city!

Overall

Overall, it was a pretty good week! I was able to manage my time well, and I loved meeting my group members and getting to know them a bit more! I am very excited to do this radio show, as it will allow me to step outside the box, and also practice using audio equipment! Now on to the next week…

Radio Show Promo

logo with five pink female silhouettes, with radio waves in the back, and then the name "Fearless Femmes" "Cyber 75 The Vibe"

Here is a logo for my group’s radio show! I made it on Canva, as well as found this single silhouette of a women. I knew I wanted to represent each group member somehow, so I duplicated the silhouette, and made them pink to represent the “Femme”. I wanted to keep the cyber-vibe, so I made the colors very neon and bright. I also added radio waves in the background in order to emphasize that this is a radio show. I had a lot of fun with this, as I did struggle at the start to come up with ideas, but I am happy with the final product.

Radio Show Progress

I would say the project is going very smoothly so far! Starting off, our group emailed each other in order to get each other’s numbers so we could communicate easily. After we made the group chat, we were quick to schedule a Zoom call in order to introduce ourselves, as well as start planning and piecing together what we want to do for the project. We met on Monday and got a couple of things figured out:

  • Our group name: Fearless Femmes
  • Our radio show name: Cyber 75 The Vibe
  • What each of us will do this week (making radio bumpers, commercials, intro and outro)
  • What we want the topic and vibe of our show to be
  • Introduced ourselves and our characters!

So far, we have all made pretty good progress in terms of creating the extra pieces of the show, such as the radio bumpers or the intro. We plan on meeting soon in order to go over our progress, as well as meeting next week to record the actual show!

Radio Show Commercial – Lil’ Bot Helper

For the last assignment of the week, I decided to make a commercial for our radio show. When our group, the Fearless Femmes, met up, we split up the work by who will do some commercials and who will do some radio bumpers. I decided to do a commercial, because I thought it would be fun to think of some ad’s that would be played in a futuristic, tech-noir world. My first thought was to do a robot helper that would help with everyday tasks. Firstly, I made a quick script, one that would grab the audience’s attention. I then used the another text-to-speech voiceover that makes it more robotic to add a voice to the Lil’ Bot Helper. Next, I found some background music that fit the vibe on Pixabay.com. Lastly, I put it all together on SoundTrap to make it sound cohesive. Out of the two assignments, this was definitely my favorite as I had a lot more creative freedom.

Radio Show Bumper

I knew for an audio assignment I would want to make a radio bumper. In my group, the Fearless Femmes, we are doing a lifestyle type radio show, where people can call in and ask questions. It will still have a futuristic vibe, as well as addressing topics that would be important in a tech-noir era. So, I knew I wanted the radio bumper to match that. First, I used a text-to-speech software called Narakeet that made the robotic voice you hear in the middle of the bumper saying, “You are listening to Cyber 75 The Vibe”. As we can see now, AI and technology are being used more and more for simple tasks 9for example in the Taco Bell drive-thru, you sometimes talk to AI to tell them your order), so I thought it would be fitting. I found the background music on Pixabay.com, with a track called Cyber Music. I then put it all together on an audio editing software called SoundTrap. It might not be used in our actual radio show, but I thought I would create one just in case we needed an extra one, as well as spark some inspiration for myself throughout the radio show project!

Week 9 Weekly Summary

Starting Off

I knew that coming back from Spring Break was going to be tough, but I can persist through it. I was actually sort of excited to come back and to get back into my routine. I found myself growing a little bored, so now I am happy I have something to do! Starting off the week, as usual, I started commenting on other posts. I also immediately got into a group so we could get ahead on planning our audio project, which I am excited to get to know my peers and to be creative with our characters.

Character Story

For the story, I decided to include Krissy Ryan and Evelyn “Lynn” Calico in a mystery, action filled story with Veronica Malone. To check our more about the plot, you can see it in my blog post linked above, but I decided to go for mystery since all of our characters would fit it. Krissy, an innocent bystander who only wants justice for her farm. Evelyn, who wants to uncover the truth. And Veronica, who wants to unmask the wrongdoing’s of the powerful.

Daily Creates

Daily Create #1

For the first daily create of the week, I decided to recreate Jorge Piringer’s digital poetry with my own phrase, Let It Happen. It not only is a phrase I repeat to myself to remind me that some things are out of my control, but it is also the title of one of my favorite songs, Let It Happen by Tame Impala (I highly recommend tuning in if you haven’t listened to him before).

Daily Create #2

Claude Monet's Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies but it is pink

Secondly, the topic for the daily create on Thursday was to take a picture, and change the color of it! Over spring break, I visited D.C., and at the National Gallery of Art, they had one of my favorite paintings, Claude Monet’s Bridge over a Pond of Water Lilies. I am not sure if it was just a re-creation or the actual thing, but it was still pretty cool! Anyway, I made it my favorite color, pink!
Daily Create #3

apple pie

For the last daily create, it was pretty simple. Since it was Pi Day, the prompt was to make a pie! As mentioned in my reply, one of my favorite traditions on Thanksgiving is to bake an apple pie with my family, which is my grandma’s recipe. Although I do not have an actual photo, so I had to pull one from google. But it looks pretty similar to the one I make! Happy Pi Day!

Overall

Overall, I found it to be a pretty easy-going week! I was able to find a group pretty quick, as well as the daily creates were pretty fun to do. For the character story, it was fun to try to think of a scenario where all of these different characters would interact, and make it convincing enough. Can’t wait to get started on the audio project next week and meet my peers!

The Black Harvest

Characters:

  • Veronica Malone
  • Krissy Ryan
  • Evelyn “Lynn” Calico

Veronica Malone

Archetype: hard-boiled detective

DOB: 11/7/1992

Place of Birth: Boston, Massachusetts

Occupation: Detective

Marital Status: Single

Physical description: Dark eyes with brown shoulder-length hair, tan skin, lean build

Bio: She is sharp-tongued, no nonsense, and is always curious to get to the bottom of a case. With a witty sense of humor and a strong moral compass.

Favorite food: Spaghetti

Favorite drink: Dr. Pepper or Espresso Martini

Favorite color: Red

Favorite book: The Long Goodbye by Raymond Chandler

Favorite movie: Probably Ocean’s 11 or Miss Congeniality

Favorite possession: Her journal or her revolver

Personal motto: Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Krissy Ryan

Archetype: innocent bystander

DOB: 2/20/1999

Place of Birth: Pennsylvania

Occupation: Farmer

Marital Status: Single

Physical description: Muscular, medium-long blonde hair, green eyes, freckles, 5’5, tan skin

Bio: Krissy Ryan was born in a small town in Pennsylvania. Her parents are farmers and their business will be passed on to her when they retire. Krissy is happy with her life but deep down she has always related to characters like Moana or Belle who feel that they were possibly meant for something bigger. Still, she is content and despite some underlying restless feelings. That is until she gets dragged into a mission by her ex boyfriend.

Favorite food: Bacon Cheeseburger

Favorite drink: Cherry Coke 0

Favorite color: Pink

Favorite book: Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Favorite movie: Moana

Favorite possession: Her apple watch

Personal motto: “You don’t have to be ready, you just have to be brave”

Evelyn (Lynn) Calico

Archetype: hacker

DOB: 5/19/1998

Place of Birth: Helena, Montana

Occupation: Journalist

Marital Status: Single

Physical description: Short and beautiful. She always wears heals so that she feels like she can be respected in her profession. She has gorgeous blue eyes and a strong posture. She has longer hair than she knows what to do with so she always wears it in a bun.

Bio: Lynn is a strong and independent woman. She moved our of her parents house right out of high school when she went to college out in Montana and stayed there. She is a bit of a work-a-holic and doesn’t go out much. But its nothing to pity on, she loves her alone time and when she isn’t working she is reading and enjoying a glass of wine.

Favorite food: Steak. Rare.

Favorite drink: Your finest wine.

Favorite color: Yellow!

Favorite book: Agatha Christie Novels

Favorite movie: Bad Reality TV

Favorite possession: A photo of her family back home

Personal motto: “As women achieve power, the barriers will fall.”

Setting: The year is 2025, but the world feels stuck in the past. The rich hide behind fortified mansions, while the poor drown in bourbon and broken dreams. Out in rural Pennsylvania, the air is thick with suspicion, small towns swallowed by the creeping influence of corporate greed. The tech is there, but it’s old, clunky, and just another tool for the powerful to keep their boots on the necks of the desperate.

Synopsis:

Krissy Ryan never thought she’d have to fight for her family’s farm—but then again, she never thought her crops would start dying under mysterious circumstances either. The corn and wheat aren’t just withering; they’re rotting from the inside. Desperate for answers, she turns to Evelyn “Lynn” Calico, a journalist known for digging up dirt on the powerful.

But as Lynn starts pulling at the threads, she finds something rotten beneath the soil—encrypted files, missing researchers, and a project called “The Black Harvest.” The deeper she digs, the more dangerous it becomes. Recognizing the need for an investigative mind sharper than her own, Lynn reaches out to an old acquaintance: Veronica Malone, a Boston detective with a reputation for being a pain in the neck of every crooked politician and mobster in town.

Veronica, reluctant but intrigued, follows the trail from Boston to the Pennsylvania farmlands. What she finds is bigger than a local farming crisis, it’s a corporate conspiracy designed to lace food with chemicals engineered to dull resistance and ensure obedience. Someone has been tampering with the food supply, and the last scientist who tried to expose it turned up dead with a data chip clutched in his fist.

The three women form an uneasy alliance, navigating a world where the line between friend and enemy is razor-thin. The deeper they dig, the dirtier it gets. Every clue leads them further into the shadows, and every move they make is watched by men in tailored suits who don’t like their secrets being uncovered.

The climax takes them to the back alleys and smoky lounges of New York City, where the only way to expose the truth is to play the game like the criminals they’re up against. With a desperate plan, a stolen data drive, and nothing left to lose, they take their fight to the highest levels of power. But in a world where justice is just another commodity, winning isn’t just about exposing the truth—it’s about surviving long enough to make it matter.

Digital Media:

  1. Podcast-Style Audio Logs: A series of moody, noir-style recordings from Krissy’s perspective throughout the story.
  2. News Broadcasts: Have news reports of the situation happening in real time.

Themes:

  • The illusion of free will in a controlled society
  • The moral grayness of justice
  • The power of truth versus the power of those who control it
  • Corruption as the currency of power

Conclusion: The world learns of “The Black Harvest,” but change is slow, and justice is fleeting. Veronica, Krissy, and Lynn have won a battle, but the war rages on. Because in a world like this, there are no happy endings, only the next fight.

Week 7 Weekly Summary

Starting Off

This is rare for me to say, but I was actually motivated to start the week. I started off with commenting on other people’s posts, as well as starting to think of ideas for the assignments this week. My mind started flowing with ideas for what to do, so throughout the weekend, I will start narrowing it down to the story and propaganda poster that I truly want to do. I also started on looking at other people’s creation in order to find ones that my course character, Veronica Malone, would love! I talk about it here, Vee’s Favorite Digital Projects.

Making a Scene into a News Story

For the news story, I decided to do a article about the Black Mirror episode, Hated in the Nation. I talk about it more in my blog post, Social Media Turns Deadly, but I used Canva in order to create the poster itself, and then wrote out the article basically summarizing the events of the episode, making it sound like an actual newspaper story.

Propaganda
A photo of Lady Liberty with her scales tipped by money, and a large silhouette behind her.

I knew that Veronica Malone would appreciate a poster that talks about the justice system. Specifically the corruption that comes with it. I go more in depth about it in my poster, Propaganda, but I created the design on Canva, and used an iconic symbol of justice, Lady Liberty, with her scales being tipped by money as well as the powerful people behind it. She would support it because she has worked in the justice system, and seen the corruption first-hand. She believes in standing up for the forgotten, as well as making sure that those who do not have power or money have a voice.

Daily Creates

Daily Create #1

A photo of the state of New York in districts, renaming the city of Buffalo as "Snowfalo".

For the first daily create of the week, we were asked to rename a place on a map, which sounds pretty familiar as to something that happened recently. I decided to rename the place where my parents grew up, as well as I did for practically half of my childhood, Buffalo! I renamed it to ‘Snowfalo’, which as you can tell, implies that there is snow for pretty much most of the year.

Daily Create #2

A gif of Chris Evans in the movie Knives Out.

For the second daily create, we had to make a gif from our favorite movie! My favorite movie of all time is Knives Out! I love murder mysteries, so when I saw Knives Out for the first time, I was immediately in love with it. The cast is stacked with stars like Christopher Plummer, Jamie Lee Curtis, Chris Evans, and so many others. The details behind it truly makes it shocking when it is revealed who the culprit is, but yet you are mad that you didn’t see it sooner. For the scene I picked, I did a scene that I quote a lot, which is Chris Evans just saying “…yup!”. A simple, yet effective line delivery!

Daily Create #3

A photo of a chair, with a computer and keys on it outside.

For the last daily create, we were asked to take a photo of what it would look like opposite of our own perspective. I was sitting outside since it was so nice out, so I thought this picture was cool!

Overall

Overall, it was a pretty good week! I was able to manage my time wisely, and I had a lot of fun making the propaganda poster, as I could relate it to the times we live in now, as well as something my character would support. So ready for spring break (and hopefully) warmer weather!