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Student #1 has left a new comment on your post "artist empowers people with disabilities through m...":

I love this concept of finding a means through which those handicapped can transcend their disability. Sure, the abstract art created by the balloon detention is not a direct representation of anything the artist was intentionally thinking, in fact the artist had little to no impact at all on the piece besides the choice of colors, but there is something beautiful in the simple idea that it was the handicapped individuals choice to think intently that sparked the work's creation. This concept helps us consider whether or not its fair to judge and validate art based on the originality and intrigue of its intention or is it better to only examine a piece only on the definition of the skills involved in its formation. 

Obviously the artists in the video had no capability to create the work we see due to physical constrictions, and even more evident is the fact that the abstractions probably had no resemblance to the thoughts the artists were thinking at the works' conception, but its interesting to consider: what is more essential to a work, its craft and form or the idea that ignites its creation? Before seeing this video if you ever asked me this question I'd say the craft is more important without a doubt, and that the artists ability to translate that work as a means of connection is essential as I've often seen that as the fundamental basis of art. After watching this I can more easily see why some might consider the intention the most significant part of a piece, as ones lack of ability to translate their ideas through skill doesn't at all mean that they have less beautiful thoughts, it only means that its more challenging for them to let them be known.

This transcendence of skill to create art through thought, is truly admirable, touching and beautiful. I think this Mind Generated Art is a grounding point for a stimulating conversation that is essential to the realm of art and design, but even if it never reaches that full potential, at the very least I think its a great way to create inspiring images and bring joy to those involved. 

Student #2 has left a new comment on your post "The Adventures of a Male-Bodied Transwoman in Dram...":

Firstly, I'd like to point out that there are so many issues simply with the title of this article. Calling someone "male-bodied" is problematic. "Assigned male at birth" is a better descriptive word. Saying that someone is male-bodied would mean intrinsically state that someone's body defines their gender and not their actual gender. Also, "transwoman" is no the proper terminology. Either put a hyphen between the two, or say that she is a transgender woman. Additionally, Zara, this is not a man, she is a woman (and referring to her as "he" is kind of completely missing the point of the article). It's frustrating that people can be "easily" accepted as gay (more easily than people of other orientations and gender identities), but as soon as someone wants to be called a different name or use different pronouns from what people would assume, they are attacked and people out-right refuse to acknowledge them as such. I'm so very glad that Bianca has found somewhere where she is happy and accepted and I hope more transgender and non-binary people are able to overcome the difficulties they face every day. 

Student #3 has left a new comment on your post "BFAMFAPhD":

I saw that at least one person wondered in the above comments about the 2% that ended up in medicine. As someone who switched from Biology to Design and Production, I can perhaps shed some light on that. With hindsight, I can now say that studying biology was actually a lot like creating a feasible, functioning project (be it shoe, or set). In my experience, biology at its most essential level is the study of how a variety of systems works together to produce an successful outcome, that is, a living organism. Biology and the creation of a successful production actually share very similar thought and analysis processes. Furthermore, the human element is a very unique thread that binds the two. Both theater and medicine create unique opportunities for human interaction, unlike many other occupations. Simultaneously personal and (hopefully) edifying, both career fields offer piercing insights into the human condition, be it physical or mental.

To put it succinctly, both medical professionals and those in theater arts are in the business of telling stories. Doctors tell the statistical, observable story of an individual, while those in the arts more often examine people in terms of each other and their emotional states. 

Student #4 has left a new comment on your post "Don’t Call it “AV Networking,” Call it Networking":

I disagree with almost everything this article has to say.

Let’s start with “Don’t call it AV Networking, Call it Networking.” Let’s talk about how an AV network is much more complex than a standard network. I have a degree in networking, but I don’t think I’d be qualified to set up an AV network. Let’s not short our talents. Being an expert at setting up an AV network is a much different skillset than being an expert at setting up a network at a financial institution. 

Let’s move on to the financial institution examply. The article says that financial institutions use networks to handle many billions of dollars of transactions per second, so getting a powerpoint to a screen should be no issue. Wrong. Getting a powerpoint to a screen, maybe, is easy enough. Getting multiple projects to reliably sync together, project on a screen, and sync up with the audio content of the production, all while remaining responsive to input is much more difficult that handling many billions of dollars of transactions a second. Maybe I’m putting too fine a point on this, but financial transactions are number. They are a double integer piece of data, immersive multimedia content is much more complex. Financial institutions also have server rooms that are likely the size of an entire theatre footprint, an AV system likely has a converted broom closet, so let’s not try to make the comparison between a banks transactions and a performances AV content.

The last line says that now is the time to start to absorb IT expertise into our industry. Sure IT expertise is important to the AV networking niche, but lets be careful to say imply that standard commercial IT experts can do the job that a specialized AV professional can do.

Student #5 has left a new comment on your post "Pricing Discrimination: Should Your Performing Art...":

This is an interesting analysis of a concept that i've thought about quite a bit in the past but never had the specific categories to pin each pricing strategy to.

I think, generally, that pricing discrimination is a really good thing. Obviously you wouldn't want to be paying the same price for every single seat in an arena for a huge concert. Those in the front row, who will mostly likely have a more pleasurable experience simply on the basis of the energy that the front row will have, should have pay more for that heightened experience. Theres also something interesting about this, because the price you pay for that front row ticket may also correlate to the drive you're going to have to keep up that high energy and get "pumped" for the concert/experience you're attending.

While I do think price discrimination is a good thing, there are certain tactics that Beussman explains that I definitely think would not be a good plan for any event to be enacting in their selling procedure. I would have to agree with the media's reaction to the Coca Cola vending machine scandal, and I think it points out something important about these selling tactics: they can be compared to symbiotic relationships in nature. For instance, the Coca Cola vending machine adjusted pricing only benefits Coca Cola, it doesn't really benefit the customer except for the fact that it provides the product that the customer expected in the first place. It could be described as having a commensalistic relationship with the customer. The other forms of pricing described by Beussman, however, describe a more mutualistic relationship. The customer pays for the experience that they would like to receive on the basis of how they want to experience it, and the company benefits from the increased number of people that will be more likely to purchase that experience because of the fact that they can pay for as much or as little as they want, which provides a far more customizable experience for the customer.