ENG 001: Language & Writing

Soundtrack of My Life (So Far)

2008-12-19T19:33:00.015-06:00

Papa Roach, "Broken Home": The video contains images of a boy struggling with parents that are constantly fighting and have been since his birth. Throughout the video the band itself is shown playing in what appears to be the same house. The song contains lyrics like, "And my wounds are not healing, I'm stuck in between my parents," which really speak to me. My parents, Mary Jo and Charles (Chuck) Leichleiter, got divorced when I was only a couple months old. I spent a good portion of my childhood, up until around 8 years old, living with my mom and going to see my dad every other weekend. My father and I eventually got into a disagreement after I called my step-mom a bitch and I haven't talked to him since. My mom, Mary Jo, is a short, gray haired, 50 year old woman who grew up in the small town of Page, Nebraska on a farm. She does not go by the name Mary, on account that her step-mom's name was Mary and they did not get along, and tends to be angered when called that. She is an ex-hippy with an attitude that has had 2 jobs more often than she has had one to keep the roof over the head of her son and food on the table. My father, Chuck, is a balding, blonde haired and orange bearded, overweight, alcoholic trucker who has been smoking cigarettes since he was 9 and smokes 3 packs a day now. He was adopted along with his sister Anne when he was a kid. His real father died and his adopted parents ended up divorced. One of the lyrics, "I know my mother loves me, but does my father even care if I'm sad or angry, you were never ever there," sums up my relationship with my parents.

Linkin Park, "One Step Closer": The video opens with two kids following a hooded figure and then flashes to the band itself playing in a dark area with fire all around them. Throughout the video there are martial artists with elaborately painted faces. The chorus, "Everything you say to me, takes me one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break. I need a little room to breathe, cause I'm one step closer to the edge, and I'm about to break," represents much of my childhood through middle school. I suffer from depression and the constant verbal assaults that I endured while I was in school and the physical attacks while walking home afterwards brought me to the verge of wanting to hurt myself and others. The lyric, "I find the answers aren't so clear, I wish I could find a way to disappear," was how I often felt during that period of my life since there was no real way I could escape the torment. Luckily my counselor Rachel, who I had been seeing since I was a child because of my father's alcoholism, was able to help me out through counseling sessions and some medication. One 20mg capsule of Fluoxetine, or a generic version of Prozac is to be taken daily. The capsules themselves are white with a green band reading PLIVA 648 on one side of the two piece capsule. They are a half an inch in length and about the diameter of a pencil eraser. The medication coupled with the support of others has allowed me to put up a good fight against my depression.

Three Doors Down, "Loser": Some of the opening images are of a wall with various pictures titled "Most Likely to Succeed" and "Best Dressed" and "Most Popular." The band is shown playing in a high school while the students are running around going to classes. Within the classes are a wide range of differing students. At Seward Public High School I was definitely not a candidate for the title of "Most Popular," in fact I was considered one of the losers. The small town of Seward with roughly 6,000 people is a very cliquey town and the high school is no different. There were the popular, preppy kids that included the jocks and there were the nerds and there were the scurvs as they were called. The popular crowd were all easily identified by their Abercrombie and Fitch or American Eagle shirts and expensive jeans with high dollar shoes. The scurvs, or what was pretty much considered the lowest class, consisted of the poor kids and outcasts. They were identified as often wearing lots of black or even just not wearing high dollar clothes. Every group tended to stay in there own parts of the school with almost no mingling except between the nerds and scurvs who sometimes fit in with both crowds. During lunch the nerds would sit with eachother, the scurvs would sit with eachother, and the preppy kids would sit with eachother. Being a small school rumors were common and they spread fast just like the images in the video of the girl standing in the bathroom stall surrounded by writings that read, "I hate Gretchen." The lyric, "Your getting closer to pushing me off life's little edge," is a message to those preppy kids that their words and actions have effect.

Drowning Pool, "Bodies": The video shows the former lead singer Dave (RIP) yelling the lyrics of the song at a psychiatric patient and also weaves in the band playing of the roof of a building being watched by a security guard. The chorus, "1. Something's got to give, 2. Something's got to give, 3. Something's got to give now. Let the bodies hit the floor," reminds me of the time I went to the Music as a Weapon concert headlined by Disturbed. To the concert I wore one of my favorite t-shirts of the time and brought my trusty lighter that was modified to produce a 6 inch flame. The shirt was black and had a picture of Ozzy Osbourne's face on the front of it. That night the shirt ended up with a torn sleeve and drenched in sweat. You don't sit at a rock concert. The floor of Pershing was packed with bodies pressed next to each other. Loud music emanated from the at least 6ft high black speakers on either side of the stage. The mass of bodies swayed and jumped and moved to the music played. Towards the stage security guards would poor water on the fans to keep them cool. Crowd surfers were moved up towards the front where the security guards would help them down safely. On particularly aggressive songs circular mosh pits would form. The bodies in the middle pushed each other around and often collided with the outside of the pit only to be pushed back into the center. In the mass of bodies if one person fell them it was a sure thing that more would follow and the bodies would hit the floor.

Motorhead, "Hellraiser": The video shows the band playing on stage and Pinhead accompanied by his minions sitting in the audience. Throughout the video it shows various clips from the Hellraiser movie. I grew up watching slasher movies such as Halloween, Nightmare on Elm Street, and Friday the 13th with my cousin Troy and Hellraiser has always been one of my favorites. In the movie there is a puzzle box that when opened summons Pinhead and his Cenobite minions. The first victim is a man named Frank who gets torn apart after solving the puzzle of the box. Later Kristy, the daughter of Frank's brother Larry, ends up solving the puzzle of the box and Pinhead appears before her telling her that they have to take her to hell. Kristy leads them to Frank, who had regained his body by absorbing the flesh of others, in exchange for her salvation. After Frank is killed the Cenobites turn on her though and she banishes them by reversing the puzzle. She then attempts to destroy the box only to have it taken by a strange man. Seven Hellraiser movies have been made following the first film, including Hellraiser:Bloodline which shows the history of the puzzle box and who Pinhead was before becoming a Cenobite. The theme in most slasher films is that the immoral and generally not nice people are the ones who end up getting killed by the main villain. The big bad guy kills the other bad guy basically. The evil is usually banished at the end of each film but is never really killed off and shows up next time.

Warning: Song contains explicit lyrics.
Mindless Self Indulgence, "Shut Me Up": The video is of a store clerk who basically goes crazy after attending a Mindless Self Indulgence concert. The video is just as hectic as the music is goes with. The song, and MSI in general, remind me of my friend Luke who, at one point, was my best friend. Luke is an avid fan of the cartoon Invader Zim, which is kind of crazy like MSI music and a fairly skilled player of Magic. He is short and has very curly black hair and suffers from alopecia, or spots where he loses hair. Luke wears a lot of black accented by usually bright colors such as pinks and greens and odd jewelry. Just like the lyric, "I can't wait for you to shut me up," most people can't wait for Luke to shut up. He is loud, obnoxious, and tends to be rude whether he means to or not but also usually ends up being the life of the party and the organizer. He seems to be capable of being friends with almost anyone. Too much alcohol and eventually drugs caused him to lose face with a lot of his closest friends. Many of which haven't talked to him in a long time. Despite being obnoxious and rude he is a very generous and good person to his friends. He has tried several times at going to school to become a chef and has failed everytime because he has partied too much. Nowadays he is just a pot head.

ZZ Top, "Sharp Dressed Man": The video follows around what appears to be a valet or something for a fancy establishment. He is dressed up sharply and eventually attracts a bunch of good looking women. He ends up leaving with the girls in the car they showed up in, which just happens to be ZZ Top's car that is in every video, after getting the keys from the members of ZZ Top. One look at ZZ Top and you think only one thing. Beards. Two of the members of the band have massive beards and the guy who doesn't have a beard, well his last name is Beard. Ever since my senior year in high school, excluding the times I have had to shave for employment, I have had a beard. My beard is a brown color that matches my normal hair. There are two streaks that have a reddish hue to them on either side of my mouth. My beard was practical. Less razors were gone thru and when its cold your face stays warm. My beard was never as long as the guitarists from ZZ Top. You can't just let your beard grow out of control. You have to trim it regularly and keep it well groomed in order to keep it looking good. The beard is a perfect accessory for whatever you wear and when kept in good condition can make you look way older, most people didn't think I was 18 with my beard, and more sophisticated. Just like ZZ Top's beards helped the guy get the girls, my beard helped me be a sharp dressed man.

Warning: Explicit Lyrics.
Papa Roach, "Between Angels and Insects": The video shows the band playing in a dark studio apartment. Every member of the band is wearing simple black clothes. Roaches are shown crawling all over the place. Occasionally the camera will have the appearance of going inside a band member's body. The lyric, "You're a slave to the system, working jobs that you hate, for that shit you don't need," reminds me of the daily grind of working at Kawasaki in a factory just to pay the rent and buy material goods. Every morning started the same. Get up, take medication, shower, prepare breakfast, and leave for work. There was a ritualistic eating of peanut butter sandwiches, drinking energy drinks, and listening to the same songs on the drive into work. After arriving at work about 30 minutes early and parking the car began the ritual of preparing the workspace and then settling down to read the Lincoln Journal Star. Every morning before the start of the shift everyone would preform a series of stretches to prevent injury. And then assembly would begin. Grab a supercharger assembly, put it on jig, bolt one pipe on and torque the bolts, repeat for the other side. Then take the assembled supercharger and mount it to the engine assembly torquing the bolts as you go. Repeat 100 times. Every workday was fundamentally the same and the only variance was the topics of conversations going on during working. Everything ranging from Delino's girl problems to trying to name bands, songs, or movies for each letter of the alphabet. Breakfast was always my lunch and during the lunch break I always took a quick nap. This routine went on for a year. "Present yourself, press your clothes, comb your hair, and clock in. You just can't win, just can't win. And the things you own own you."

Last Post

2008-12-11T14:12:00.002-06:00

Decent. That's the kind of writer I am. Not excellent, but not piss poor. Reflective writing is probably my strength. A notable flaw that my writing contains, but can be useful at times, is that there is the potential for myself to be overly descriptive and wordy. This can be seen here when I did a content and form writing for the Paramore - Pressure music video. Work-shopping, or peer reviewing, is really useful to writing. To me it is valuable for me to get outside input and possible ideas that I may have not have even thought about. Another viewpoint, especially when trying to decifer visual rhetoric, helps me to come up with other ideas to write about. While writing about the rhetoric of Picasso's Guernica it did not even occur to me at first to try to incorporate the ideas of cubism into my writing until after I had met with you (J.Ware) for the first draft. Discussing my ideas with others also helps me to figure out how to implement them into my writing. I find that personally it can be hard for me to start writing. But once I get an idea to write about the writing often comes fast and I end up going over the required word count. I think "good writing" really depends on what you are writing for. If you are writing for a scientific project or assignment you would probably not want to use witty comments and would probably more want to keep the excess to a minimum. However I do think that a good piece of writing should keep the interest of the reader. If the writing is dull and uninteresting to a potential reader than no one will want to read it and thus the ideas of the writer will not be conveyed and it will be in my opinion a poor piece of writing.

O_O #3

2008-12-07T21:51:00.004-06:00

Above is my trusty tool for daily communication, the Samsung SCH-R500, or the Hue. I have had a cell phone since probably sometime in middle school when my mom realized it was easier to keep tabs on me if I had my own phone. My first phone was just an old black Nokia that was analog. The Hue is basically the equivalent of the Motorola Razr, except it's better. I opted for the blue front and back trim pieces but they are easily switched out for the red variant within seconds. I'm pretty hard on phones but the Hue has probably been the longest lasting most reliable phone I have owned. My phone proudly wears the battle scars of heavy usage. The cover over the charger inlet is broke off. Scrapes and gashes mark the corners of my phone from repeated drops. Sometimes numbering in the double digits per day (I'm clumsy). The front trim piece has a melted spot that I'm not quite sure where it came from. There is a scar across the front screen which currently sports a lighter shade of blue which is changeable via the options menu. On the back trim peice some of the blue has been worn away in the center of the phone reveiling the black plastic. The current wallpaper is a pic taken with the phone's fairly decent camera. The image is of an encroaching storm cloud one day while I was driving into Lincoln. I spend more time texting, something my first phone didn't have the capability of, than I do talking. I regularly hit my inbox limit of 80msgs but thanks to the auto delete feature I don't have to bother doing it manually. Despite lacking a full qwerty keyboard like some of the newer phones texting is accomplished efficiently with the mastery of T9word. The 1gb micro SD card has saved me from boredom many times heading home from work. My Subaru which lacks a radio was my main mode of transportation to and from my old job at Kawasaki. Thanks to the micro SD card and the mp3 player of the phone I was able to rock out to songs such as Ian Van Dahl - Castles in the Sky and Nightwish - Nemo. My Hue is my main way of communicating with the people I don't necessarily see everyday.

O_O #2

2008-12-05T21:14:00.004-06:00

My computer, well not originally mine, has been a trusty tool in the battle against noobs. Nestled deep within it's clear green case at the heart of the machine is its AMD 2.1Ghz Dual Core processor. While not the fastest processor on the planet it does the job adequately and allows me to multitask efficiently. Right now I have 3 tabs open on Firefox, an AIM conversation going on, and I'm playing WoW without any noticeable strain being placed on the computer. This is partially thanks to its fast OCZ Reaper RAM. Currently storage is provided via a 36gb 10k rpm Raptor HDD used for the things that require a little more speed such as Call of Duty 4. The bulk of my storage is handled thanks to a 250gb external HDD. A simple 17in flat screen LCD monitor displays everything. Speed and accuracy are crucial when fragging noobs during an intense round of CoD4. This is handled via the combination of a Logitech G11 keyboard and a G9 mouse. The keyboard provides extra keys to set up as hot keys. The mouse is perfect for a finger person especially with the textured casing on it. It is a 5 button mouse that has the ability to free wheel the scroll button. You can adjust the sensitivity of the mouse on the fly by simply clicking a button. Most of the time I have it set to 3200dpi for maximum pwnage. Additionally you can change the weight of the mouse my adding or subtracting weights. Of course such a mouse can't have just any old mouse pad. The mouse pad of choice is a one specially for a laser mouse and depicts the classic FPS game Counter Strike. Addorning the case of this mighty machine are various automotive stickers applied by the previous owner, my friend Ryan. There is a Mopar performance parts sticker on the front right below the DVD drive. On the side is a sticker for the Holley Avenger series carbs and ARP fasteners.

With the help of this beast of technology I am able to satisfy my latest gaming addiction, WoW. WoW is a MMORPG which allows me to interact with people all over the world while sitting in my comfy chair at home in the boring town of Seward. While I was typing this I ran through an instance with my friend Ben who lives in Lincoln. Obviously my computer is able to multitask my game and having this window open, unfortunately I do not possess a dual core processor and can't type and play my game at the same time.

O_O #1

2008-12-03T10:08:00.003-06:00

Above is a picture of wonderful Nissan engineering from the late 1980 to early 1990's. The Nissan 240SX. I personally have owned 3 of these cars but the one that left the biggest impact was my 1991 SE (the trim level) Fastback. It was far from being pretty like the one above. Mine was white and had what seemed to be the standard for a high mileage 240sx; a dent in the passenger side fender and a worn driver's seat. The worn section, which is worn enough that the metal skeleton of the seat is showing, is on the outside lumbar support of the seat. A seat which caused your back to hurt for an entire day after just 10 minutes of sitting in it. Soon after owning it the cup-holder mod was preformed so I would have a cupholder. The previous owner, a friend of mine from high school, had switched exhausts and then switched again to put the stock one back on before he sold it. Unfortunately he just used some u-bolt clamps to put the muffler back on and it fell off driving it one day. Then later on the rest of the piping from the catalytic converter back to where the muffler should have been came off while driving over a speed bump. The resulting lack of exhaust provided for a nice deep, throaty sound emanating from the heart of the car under the hood. The engine to these works of engineering art was a truck motor. Or at least that is the joke about it. The Nissan 240SX exists in Japan as the Nissan Silvia. The Silvia, 1991 on up, is powered by a 2.0L all aluminum dual overhead cam inline four cylinder that was either naturally aspirated or turbocharged. The turbo version, the SR20DET, pumped out a fairly decent 215hp. The previous 1989-1990 Silvia had a CA18DET which is an 1.8L iron block, aluminum head, dual overhead cam inline four cylinder that produced around 185hp. However those crazy Japanese engineers figured that Americans would rather have a big torquey naturally aspirated four cylinder engine and the North American version of the car, the 240SX, came equipped with the KA24E/DE. The KA series of motors were 2.4L iron block, aluminum head that depending on the years either had a single overhead cam, 1989-1990, or a dual overhead cam, 1991-98, design producing 133hp and 155hp respectively. With 175k on the clock the KA24DE in my Fastback produced 129rwhp and 131rwtq which is really not bad considering the mileage and that it was running at 11:1 AFR (air to fuel ratio). Eventually throughout the year that I owned the car I put 30k hard miles on it delivering pizza for Valentino's at their 27th and Superior store. At 205k on the clock the clutch slave cylinder went out of the car and it ended up getting towed. The engine still ran but the car was unable to move under its own power. It ended up like the other 2 Nissan 240sx's that I have owned, not running. One of these was my first 240sx, my 1991 Fastback Super-HICAS with a lsd and four wheel steering and the other was my 1992 SE Coupe that I just sold to my friend Ryan. Ryan, who I met while getting involved in the local car scene, has ended up being one of my best friends. We had spents countless nights cruising around in my beat up Fastback or drifting in empty parking lots after it rained. That's what 240sx's are good for, drifting. They lack the power to really do anything impressive in the 1/4 mile but they handle like a dream. I don't know what happened to my Fastback that got towed, I ended up selling it to the company because I was broke at the time, but my Coupe is still in the hands of my friend Ryan who is currently in the process of rebuilding the engine with higher compression pistons from the KA24E (sohc version) for a little more performance. Once its done I can't wait for my back to start hurting again.

Judith Reflection

2008-11-25T21:07:00.006-06:00

A Perfect Circle along with Maynard James Keenan's other band Tool were played quite heavily during my high school years. During those high school years I was beginning to develop my own personal ideas on various topics like many other youths. One such topic was religion.
Seward, my hometown, is like many small towns in the Midwest. It is predominately made up of Christian middle-class families. Now I was confirmed a Methodist but it was during my High School years when I began to ask questions about what I was supposed to believe in. My pension for rock music and black clothes along being the child of a single parent and my association to peoples that were closer in my economic bracket cast a shadow on me. Wearing black and associating with the "poor kids" was just not something you did if you wanted to be popular. Wearing black and listening to rock music was almost like participating in Satanic rituals I think to some people. The ironic aspect of it all was that the people who were active church members and considered themselves Christians were often the first to exclude or pass judgment on people solely because looks or who somebody associated with. I'm not going to lie. I'm not innocent of passing judgment on people, I am making a judgment right now in fact. But things such as clothes, taste in music, hobbies, and economic class have not discouraged me from trying to befriend people. I don't refuse to be friends with someone just because they are poor.
I guess the point that I'm trying to make is that many of the people who claim to be religious and standing on the moral/ethical high ground are in fact on the same level as everyone else. Just because you believe (or don't) in something does not automatically make you a good or bad person. Actions speak louder than words, and they also speak louder than beliefs.

Judith Observation

2008-11-25T19:33:00.006-06:00

The above video is for the song "Judith" by the band A Perfect Circle. The beginning of the song starts with drums and the video corresponds to this by focusing at the start on the drummer. As the rest of the band kicks in the video pans out and focuses on the band as a whole, minus the singer Maynard. A pattern occurs when the song is primarily the guitars/bass. The video at these moments focuses on the guitarists/bassists. The camera never fully captures Maynards face. While he is singing the camera is primarily focused on his mouth. When another member of the band kicks in with supporting vocals the focus shifts to them. The video appears to be shot with only one major light source on the side. It almost appears to be an old aircraft hanger or something that is the location. The singular light source along with the fact that most of the members of the band are wearing black provide for a dark atmosphere in the video. The focus of the various cameras is usually the instruments that are providing the sound rather than the musicians themselves. When Maynard walks away from the rest of the band the camera doesn't follow him closely. Instead the camera angle switches and Maynard is walking towards the camera. During James Iha's mini-guitar solo the focus is not on him. Instead the cameras show Paz putting up her hair and Maynard taking a drink out of a water bottle. Throughout the video there are effects that are reminiscent of old film (blemishes appear on the screen). The camera is almost out of focus at times and is unstable and bouncy. Towards the end of the video there is the effect of being able to actually see the line separating the scenes like on a piece of film. At the very end the video cycles through the scenes like a piece of film winding down.

Rhetorical Analysis (Final Draft)

2008-11-20T13:56:00.007-06:00

The year is 1937 and Spain is in the middle of a civil war between the Nationalist forces and the ruling Republican forces. The famous Pablo Picasso has been commissioned to paint the mural centerpiece for the Spanish Pavilion at the World's Fair in Paris. His inspiration for the mural arrived when the Condor Legion took flight over the small Basque town of Guernica in northern Spain on April 26, 1937. The elite unit of the German Luftwaffe laid waste to the small town using carpet bombing tactics and cutting down anyone who tried to escape from the crumbling town. In the small town of originally 5,000 people, there were probably more people in town because it was a market day, 1,600 people were slaughtered after the town burned for three days. The Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco denied any involvement in the attack as did the German government. The town of Guernica had no strategical value but was the central location for the Basque people. Having finally found inspiration Picasso painted the above piece of art, Guernica, which depicts the tragedy of war through appeals to pathos, ethos, and the logical constructs of allegory and symbolism.

Picasso himself had a fascination with bullfighting and many of his works reflect this. In Guernica the bullfight is somewhat untraditional. There is no matador, instead the fight is between the bull and the horse. The bull, depicted on the far left, which can be interpreted as Franco who was responsible for the tragedy at Guernica. The horse, shown as the central point, is skewered by a lance to symbolize the slaughter of the people of Guernica. The absence of a matador, which would represent the Republican Spanish Government at the time, shows the lack of involvement the government had in controlling the situation. In this the bull fight is an allegory for war. The twisted nature of this bull fight, in that it is bull vs. horse, illustrates the twisted and gruesome reality of war. The bombing of Guernica was not part of the civil war between the Republican and Nationalist forces. It was instead a slaughter of a noncombatant village by the fascist allies of Franco and so the bull fight was not between a man and a bull. Using the bull as a symbol for Franco and his Nationalists establishes a certain ethos. Bulls are characterized as aggressive, often mean, and masculine animals. On the contrast using the usually docile horse as a symbol for the citizens of Guernica also establishes a specific ethos. To convey the argument that the bombing of Guernica was an unjustified massacre it is logical to represent the victims as the less aggressive animal and the aggressor as the more aggressive. It would not make much sense if the people of Guernica were portrayed as a more dominant animal. The stark contrast between the characterizations of bulls and horses builds upon the idea that this attack was one-sided. Through the logos concept of cause and effect Picasso makes the statement that if you go to war, death and destruction will follow and often times the casualties are not limited to the combatant. The civil war between the Nationalists and the Republicans cause the noncombatant Basque village of Guernica to become a target.

Appeals to pathos are everywhere in Guernica and prove to be tremendously effective. The choice of Picasso to only use black, white, and gray helps to convey the depressing and somber reality of war. This limited color palette of blacks, whites, and grays is common among the earlier analytical cubist works. The use of various shades expresses the idea that not everything is black and white. The extremely dark shades used in conjunction with the black background set the mood as dark and brooding.

The graphic images of a dismembered soldier still clutching a broken sword, the skewered horse, the burning woman, and the weeping mother all work to invoke sorrow and dread upon the audience. The weeping mother who is holding her dead child in her arms with her head raised skyward and mouth open screaming conveys tremendous sorrow. The tongues of the mother and the horse are sharp triangular shapes which emphasize the harshness of the emotions they are expressing. Picasso's cubist style, which uses geometrical shapes and attempts to display all the perspectives of an object on a two dimensional plane, and allegory of the bull fight themselves dehumanize the mural to depict the inhumanness of war.

The arrangement of the individual aspects of the mural also are important. The horse is placed in the center to emphasize the importance of its ideal in the piece. Also to emphasize the horse there is a light shining down upon it. The bull is however placed on the outskirts of the piece and appears to be looking away from the scene in the middle. This action of looking away by the bull gives the feeling that Franco, didn't care about the people of Guernica and just looked the other way will the German Luftwaffe used the town as bombing practice. The absence of the symbol for the Spanish Government, the matador who is the usual opponent for the bull, relays the feeling that the government really didn’t do anything to stop the horse from being slaughtered. The chaotic imagery of the mural shows the chaotic nature of war. Within all the death and destruction there is hope. A flower grows out of the sword of the fallen soldier. The flower is a symbol of new life. The fact that it is sprouting up from death symbolizes that regrowth or rebuilding is possible.

Much of the power of the mural stems from the ethos of its creator, Pablo Picasso. As one of the founders of cubism and a well known artist at the time he had the ability to influence the masses. Also the power draws on that when it was presented the massive mural was the centerpiece for the Spanish Pavilion at the World's Fair. The theme of the World's Fair in Paris was modern technology. Picasso's Guernica along with other works presented at the Republican Spanish Pavilion shocked spectators and exposed them to the horrors of Franco's fascist Nationalist regime. The power of Guernica is still prevalent today. A reproduction of the piece hangs outside the Security Council chamber in the United Nations. And on Colin Powell's February 5, 2003 visit to the UN the reproduction was covered. Most likely because Powell was there arguing for war in Iraq.

Works Cited
Walsh, David. "UN conceals Picasso’s “Guernica” for Powell’s presentation." World Socialist Website. 2003. http://www.wsws.org/articles/2003/feb2003/guer-f08.shtml

Bowers, J. "Picasso: Surrealism and the War Years." Baltimore City Paper. 2004. http://www.citypaper.com/arts/story.asp?id=7455

"Treasures of the World." PBS.org. http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html

Guernica

2008-11-09T19:49:00.006-06:00

The above image is that of the mural titled, Guernica, created in 1937 by the artist Pablo Picasso. When questioned about the meaning of aspects of the mural Picasso responded with, "...this bull is a bull and this horse is a horse... If you give a meaning to certain things in my paintings it may be very true, but it is not my idea to give this meaning. What ideas and conclusions you have got I obtained too, but instinctively, unconsciously. I make the painting for the painting. I paint the objects for what they are." Not to undermine or dispute Picasso's statement but aspects of the mural do have meaning, provided you understand the cultural context in which the mural was created.
Spain at the time of this mural's creation was in the middle of a civil war between the Republican government forces in charge and the Nationalist forces of General Francisco Franco. Franco's regime attracted the attention of Nazi Germany and Italy. On April 26, 1937 the Condor Legion, an elite aerial unit of Hitler's Luftwaffe created to practice battlefield tactics, bombed the small Basque town of Guernica in Spain. Guernica was the central point for the Basque people who resisted the Nationalist forces of Franco. The original population of the small town was only about 5,000 people but the day of the attack was a Monday which would have been a market day. A market day would have attracted people from the surrounding areas into the town. For three hours the bombing continued. Anyone trying to flee the town was mowed down by the planes above. When it was all done around 1,600 people were killed. The Condor Legion was under control of Leiutenant Colonel von Richthofen. After the attack occured Richthofen denied the that the target was Guernica and instead stated that the intended target was a bridge nearby. Not a single one of the 24 aircraft hit the bridge, or the arms factory or railway nearby.
Picasso had been commissioned prior to paint the mural centerpiece for the Republican Spanish Pavillion at the 1937 World's Fair in Paris. After the attack on Guernica he recieves his inspiration for the mural. After the fair Picasso's artwork tours Europe and North America from WWII to 1981 raising awareness about the fascist regimes on the rise and the Spanish Civil War. It travels everywhere but Spain, because Picasso refused to let it travel there until they had democracy and civil liberty. Picasso dies in 1973 and Franco dies in 1975. On October 25, 1981, the 100th anniversary of Picasso's birth, the Spanish government finally returns Guernica to Spain where Picasso always intended it to go.

http://www.pbs.org/treasuresoftheworld/a_nav/guernica_nav/main_guerfrm.html
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/guernica.htm

Free Write

2008-11-02T22:11:00.002-06:00

This particular clip is from the BBC show TopGear where three British men test out cars, interview famous people, and just generally do fun stuff. This particular episode they went to the southern part of America and had to find cars for under $1000. Jeremy Clarkson managed to find a third generation Chevy Camaro RS, which is pretty much the quintessential trailer park automobile. Richard Hammond found an old Dodge Ram and James May found an '89 Caddilac, a "Pimp Mobile". The section of the episode where this clip starts is the part where they have to decorate eachothers cars in an attempt to get them shot while driving through Alabama. On Clarkson's Camaro they painted "Country Western is Rubbish" and on the Caddy they put "Hillary Clinton for President" and "Nascar Sucks" and on the Ram they painted in pink the words "Man Love Rules OK". All of which are generally pretty liberal or offensive terms to the people in the generally republican state of Alabama. The funny part is that the people of Alabama don't make themselves look very well. While the crew is driving along the freeway they are honked and stared at by pretty much everyone that goes by them. They pull into a gas station to fill up and the fun really starts. The owner of the place walks out and starts to yell at them for the phrases painted on the cars. She mentions several times that "this is a hick town" and even comments on why they did it thinking they might get beat up. The first thing she spews however is that she asks them if they were all gays. Clarkson responds in his usual smart ass humor that he is married and has three children. The lady storms off and calls "the boys" to come rough up the British triplet. They all leave in a rush despite having trouble with the Caddy. Its funny how they chose the most stereotypical redneck American cars, painted on phrases that they knew would cause trouble, and then preceded to drive through Alabama. While not all the people in America would have responded this same way it just goes to show why some people in other countries make fun of the US.

Bidden Pathos

2008-10-26T19:51:00.002-05:00

Bidden starts off by saying we might have to slow down our commitment to double foreign aid. He mentions slowing it down twice. This plays on the logic that if we can't take care of our own country how are we supposed to help others. It also plays on the emotions that people have about "I" first. Bidden's little slip, "We also are going to make sure we do not go forward with the tax cut proposals of the administration...of John McCain." I think plays on a lot of people's feelings that McCain will be another 4 years of Bush. Whether slip was intentional or not I think a careful listener would pick it up. He goes on to talk about not supporting tax cuts to the wealthy or corporations, "we are not going to support the $300 billion tax cut that they have for corporate America and the very wealthy." Bidden goes on to talk about not letting up on breaks for creating new jobs, education, and affordable health care. This plays to both logos and pathos. The emotional aspect of this is that a lot of people are fearing job security right now with the economy gone to hell. The lack of adequate and reasonably priced health care scares people and also costs the country billions in money from ER visits. Now the logical part of it is that new jobs and better education for everyone would help the economy tremendously. He breaks up the seriousness and allows for a laugh by mentioning that the light telling him his turn is almost over is blinking. "The $100 billion tax dodge that in fact allows people to take their post office box off shore and avoid taxes. I call that unpatriotic. I call that unpatriotic." That statement stirs up the patriotic emotions (and anger) of citizens who don't exploit this gap. After Palin's "attack" on Obama's voting history Bidden starts off by clearing up why Obama voted the way he did. In this case it was because the bill provided for research into alternate fuels. He states that on separate votes Obama votes against giving tax breaks to oil companies. This makes Obama seem more stoic and gives people more faith in him (and restores what Palin may have taken away). Bidden goes on to say, "If John really wanted to eliminate them why is he adding to his budget an additional $4 billion dollars in tax cut for Exxon Mobiles of the world?" This goes on to question the logic and authority of McCain to deal with the economic problems. It also deals with emotions because people aren't really happy with oil companies right now, nor would they want to give them a tax break when they are posting record profits. Bidden uses a lot of hand gestures while he speaks to help emphasize the emotions he is trying to pass off. He also tends to restate topics multiple times in an attempt to drive home ideas. This could be a means to make sure certain words or phrases register and stir up something within the listeners.

PS - I believe this will be late. My mom had car troubles coming home from work so I had to run out and get her which killed about an hour and a half.

Presidential Debate

2008-10-21T19:37:00.002-05:00

Right off the bat McCain uses pathos by saying, "By the way our beloved Nancy Reagan is in the hospital tonight." This really has nothing to do with the first question of "Why is your economic plan better than the other guy's?" but is clearly said to spark some emotion. He goes on to say "Americans are hurting right now and they're angry, they're hurting and angry. They are innocence victims of greed and excess on Wallstreet and as well as Washington D.C. and they're angry." It's true, the average American is a little upset that they aren't doing so well financial and yet you have CEO's and politicians living the high life still. He goes on to use logos by saying, "We have allocated 750 billion dollars, now lets take 300 of that billion and go in and buy those home loan mortages." It makes sense to help people out with there home loans since that is one of the major factors for our current economic crisis. He uses logic again when he says, "It doesn't help that person in their home if the next door neighbor's house is abandoned." Home value suffers depending on the neighborhood so if all the other houses are abandoned and in ruin then the value of the homes with people living in them will decline. Obama uses both pathos and logos when he talks about his core principles he wanted for the financial package. He says, "making sure CEO's don't enrich themselves through this process." This plays on the emotions of the average joe who sees rich people still living lavishly while they suffer and the logic that the rich getting richer is not advantageous to the economy. Obama is clearly trying to play towards the emotions of the middle class when he talks about economics. Which is a logical thing to do considering the majority of Americans aren't upper class. McCain trys to emphatize with people by bringing up the now famous Joe "The Plumber" after Obama's first turn of speaking. To understand the whole Joe "The Plumber" you have to be familiar with the incident where Joe met with Obama. Obama had said something along the lines of "spreading the wealth around" during that meeting. McCain and most conservatives have been trying to attack Obama by saying that this was a "socialist" statement. They both attack eachother (Obama's is more jokingly) as a way to discredit the other person.

The context of the event affects the viewers. While both candidates have a equal amount of time and the program was broadcasted on t.v. and put online there is one major problem. The event only had participants from two (albeit the major) political parties. There were no independents, greens, etc. as part of the debate. Since only republicans and democrats were part of the debate the audience doesn't get the chance to learn more about the ideals of the other canidates from other parties. Only certain questions are asked at the debate so not everything gets answered. Even the questions that are asked get skirted by the canidates at times. The audience has limited control over the event where two presidential canidates (who will have control) argue.

Rhetoric Questions

2008-10-15T18:42:00.004-05:00

Envision Chapter One
1. How do you distinguish between aesthetic and rhetoric images? Do all images contain rhetoric and aesthetic values?
2. Depending on the audience how could someone read into a visual rhetoric too much? How do you keep from reading into rhetoric too much? Is that a danger to using visual rhetoric?
3. How do you convey a point in visual rhetoric without lacking substance?

Envision Chapter Two
1. Since a lot of advertisements use faulty logos why are they still successful?
2. How would you determine if scare/threat tactics would work?
3. Does cause/effect deal more with logos or ethos? Why?

Husker Football is Good for the Economy

2008-10-06T20:54:00.013-05:00

It’s Friday night at the Valentino’s downtown location. A couple, probably in their late 50’s, enter the store and approach the counter where I am standing. The woman orders a salad while the man orders a small Val’s special pizza. After idle conversation while the couple waited for their food I learned that the man was a UNL alumni and was back in town for the game tomorrow. This is not such an unusual occurrence for a Friday night like tonight. Tomorrow is the Nebraska vs. Virginia Tech football game and it is a home game for the Huskers. Days like tomorrow, when the population of downtown Lincoln is probably tripled, is the perfect opportunity for businesses and independent entrepreneurs to make a few bucks at the expense of the fans like this couple who have traveled all the way back to Nebraska to watch the game.

The time on the radio in my mom’s little red Honda Civic reads 8:45 in the morning. The speedometer needle is rapidly falling from 60mph to 45mph to 25mph as the car enters downtown Lincoln on 9th street heading south on this slightly overcast but still fair weathered day. Three people are standing along both sides of the street in a triangular shape, two of which are holding identical white signs with red lettering and the other holding a handmade cardboard sign with scribbles made by a black Sharpie, all three of the signs read “I NEED TICKETS.” Scalpers.

Only two blocks south of the first three scalpers are there more people standing on the west side of 9th street. One is a man holding another handmade “I NEED TICKETS” sign and the other is a boy holding a sign almost bigger in size than he is. Right behind this pair is the closed little white shack used to sell Husker memorabilia like t-shirts and hats to the visiting population. The Honda turns east on P street and comes to a stop at the traffic light on the intersection with 10th street.

Four more guys are standing on the northwest corner of the intersection here. One of them is holding a neon green sign reading, “NEED TICKETS, TOP $ PAID.” Two of the guys are just standing there it seems locked in a discussion. The last guy is holding up two tickets spread apart in one hand. All four of them are decked out in Husker hats and jackets. The memorabilia suggests that they might be fans but the fact that at the same corner where one person is looking for tickets and another is selling them makes me wonder if for them it is less about the game and more about the money to be made off legit fans. A white mid-90’s Silverado smashes the tires against the curb and stops next to the four men. Meanwhile he is impeding traffic and blocking up two cars behind him. The scalper steps back from the truck with the tickets still clutched in his hand and a displeased look on his face. The Silverado rolls away and continues north on 10th street.

The last three blocks till my destination pass without much incidence and the Civic hangs a left at 13th street, passes the homeless guy who makes his residence out of the benches on the west side of the street, and comes to a stop against the curb in front of Valentino’s downtown location and my job as a delivery driver.

Is it even about the game anymore or is it just about the money? You have scalpers out in the constant cycle of buying and selling tickets for a profit. The Husker gear that all of them adorn is almost a camouflage when they are standing on a corner surrounded by fans. Then you have the companies like Valentino’s who not only sell pizza at their downtown location but also at the stadium less than 10 blocks away for $1 more. A distance of less than 10 blocks ups the price of a single slice of pizza. Every parking lot in the downtown area charges for parking during the game at rates that are double or triple the usual amount on a non-game day. The lot right next door charges $11 to park there for the event, and it usually ends up full. Driving anywhere around downtown and you will notice signs by every lot with amounts ranging from $5 to $15 depending on the distance to the stadium. Even the frats and sororities get involved by selling off the little parking they have. Fans are forced to either pay outrageous prices for parking or do what some fans do, park an outrageous distance away from downtown on the side streets. Game days are perfect examples of capitalism at it's finest.Then of course you have the memorabilia. A little blond haired boy is hopping in an awkward circle around his father. The kid is wearing red nylon shorts, a Husker jersey, a little white sweatband bearing the Husker logo and he even has a little “N” painted on his cheek. The father isn’t quite as loaded down with merchandise with just his Nebraska hat and shirt. No doubt he spent quite a bit of money on the paraphernalia for him and his child. Then of course there is the gear celebrating the new coach of the Huskers, Bo Pelini. I wonder if he gets a cut of the profits for using his name?It is 4 o’clock and only 3 hours till kickoff of the game. The number of people walking around has picked up and every once in awhile you notice a small huddle of orange clad people making their way down a sidewalk taking precaution to avoid the masses of red. As I venture forth on my delivery to the Post Office off of the 7th street my little red Honda ducks, dodges, and weaves like a running back through the endless sea of fans adorned in red. The cops are out in full force directing traffic and people to the best of their abilities. The officer standing in the intersection blowing the whistle hanging in his mouth and waving his hands has your typical blue police uniform and little black hat. One thing is out of place. He is wearing a pair of yellow sunglasses that look like they belong on a kindergarten child and not a member of law enforcement. Once through the red sea and into the Haymarket area of downtown the number of red shirts lessens to a lake instead of a sea. The smell of beer and sounds of drunks yelling can be heard from the many establishments littering the Haymarket. The Civic arrives at the Post Office building and pulls to a stop facing the wrong direction and blocking up two parking spots. Oddly there is only one other car in this particular parking lot besides me. The delivery is done and the Honda begins the journey back to the store. The doorway to downtown, 9th street, has now become a gridlock of anxious fans trying to enter downtown. Twenty minutes pass and the Civic barely manages to move a block. The smells of grilled meat and sounds of rabid drunks coming from the tailgaters in the Journal Star parking lot overwhelms you while you impatiently wait for traffic to move. A scalper weaves between the stopped cars to approach a vehicle. On the sidewalk two college girls, one blond and the other brunette, are clad in white Husker shirts. They are distributing CD's to people walking along the sidewalk. One girl runs up to my car and shoves a CD into my hands and rushes back to the bank of the 9th street river of cars.

So what is the cost of attending a Husker football game? First there is the price of the ticket which has no doubt increased after scalpers. To be a true fan you have to be adorned in the appropriate attire of course so spending money on shirts, hats, etc. is a must. Of course you have to travel to the game, get a hotel room if you are not a local, and then pay outlandish prices for parking if you don't feel like walking a couple of miles. Now if you're over 21 then you will probably end up spending money at one of the many bars downtown. You need food to go with the beer so there goes more money from the jacked up food prices. Husker football games have been sold out since 1962 and the businesses love it. Bars are packed with people celebrating before and after the game. All the tables at restaurants are full. All the rooms at the major hotels downtown are booked. And all the fans wondering about are drenched in red, black, or white Husker gear. Shirts, hats, sweatshirts, jackets, you name it and there is a Husker version of it. It’s no doubt that the businesses love the money that is brought in by Husker football games and maybe that is just what we need right now in the face of the current economic conditions. But maybe it’s just fueling the problem. All that money that is brought in from Husker football has to go someplace. While my wallet is usually kept full by the generous fans on game days most of the money goes other places. The owners of the businesses whether they are small or corporate owned are the ones that end up scoring big on game days. The real fans end up broke paying for tickets, parking, and food while everyone else exploits the fans’ passion for the game. Husker football is good for the economy, but who’s economy?

Rubik's

2008-10-06T20:23:00.002-05:00

1. What have I learned?
Husker football games bring in loads of money at the expense of the fans.

2. Examples.
The existence of scalpers just goes to show how far capitalism has taken hold in this country. That even something as small as a football ticket can be bought and resold at a higher price to a legit fan.
Valentino's selling at the stadium and downtown. Packed parking lots charging outrageous prices.

3. Downtown during a football game can be compared to a warzone. The winning forces are the businesses raking in the profits while the losers are the fans who get taken advantage of. The police are kind of like the UN making sure no one gets too out of line and directing where people can go.

4. Even something like a college football game is viewed as a means to acquire money. It doesn't matter to businesses whether the fan gets taken advantage of. For some reason however the fans don't object to paying $15 for parking and scalpers must be making money otherwise they would stop. I just think it shows how greedy this society is and that if college football is only about the money it brings in, what's next? Highschool football, YMCA soccer games?

5. Game days are really about one team vs. another team. Without the teams there would be no fans. Without the fans the businesses would fail to make the money they do. And without the fans the police would have a lot less interesting Saturdays. Football binds everyone together, whether they are in it for the game or the money.

6. As frustrated as I get on game days with all the traffic and people roaming around it is good money. We get a lot of big orders which usually means good tips for me. Especially if the people have been drinking and enjoying themselves a little too much. Without it, I would have less money to spend on things I don't really need. Businesses that thrive on the popularity of football might suffer and their employees might share the pain.

We're no strangers to love...

2008-10-05T07:06:00.001-05:00

The picture presented for you is the now legendary Rick Astley. Rick was part of the incredibly awesome music industry of the 1980's. His video for "Never Gonna to Give You Up" has since risen to the level of epic status. This rise can be attributed to the vast numbers of nerds and internetphiles (yes, it's a made up word). You may or may not have heard of the Rick Roll, many of you may have even experienced one firsthand. I subject myself to the Rick Roll several times a week. If you have not, click on this awesome link to see the trailer for Grand Theft Auto: Tokyo.

If you clicked the link like you should have you will have been disappointed. There is no GTA: Tokyo, instead you are linked to the Rick Astley video. You have effectively experienced the feeling of being Rick Roll'd (albeit a poor attempt, I fail).

The truly interesting thing about the Rick Roll is that it has spread wide and far beyond the digital realm of the internet. Entire crowds at a Mets game have been Rick Roll'd as well as bosses at work. The concept that started on a simple internet picture message board, 4chan.org, has spread to encompass the world. On April 1st Youtube played an epic prank on everyone of it's viewers for April Fools Day. For the entire day clicking on any video on the homepage would send you to the Rick Astley video. Youtube itself has played an important role in the rising popularity of the Rick Roll. Without the ability to upload and share video content such things as a Rick Roll would have failed to gain much popularity.

The effects of the Rick Roll can be seen even today in the face of the current presidential election. The current democratic nominee Barack Obama has even received the honor of becoming his own Barack Roll. I failed to embed the Rick Astley video (Something about RickAstley not wanting it embeddable) so instead I will treat you with the Barack Roll video and it's awesomeness. Enjoy.

Blog Post Six: Content and Form

2008-09-28T21:14:00.003-05:00

First of all I'd like to apologize to anyone who may end up reading this, it is a bit lengthy. Before I realized what I had done I had 251 words in just the first 19 seconds of the song...ooops. I do however cut back on some of the detail later on just for space sake.

As the video opens up the camera pans over a cracked white-face pressure gauge with the needle resting calmly at 0. Next we see water pipes with a small amount of water seeping out. Then the camera slides over the first characters of the video, the band.
A white door opens, in walks a young white guy with brown hair in white. Camera pans to his boss, also in white complete with one of those little white dinner cook hats. The boss is holding a metal spatula in one hand. He checks his watch to see what time it is and gives the young guy a displeasing look. Obviously scolding the kid because he was late.
Back to the band and a close up on the fiery red headed female lead singer of an otherwise all male band, Hayley (she is effin' gorgeous).
A white photography studio. A photographer is kneeling down looking through his camera like a sniper. The target is an attractive blond girl sitting in a bright red chair the color of Hayley's hair. Camera flash. The blond is now standing posing in a corner in a pink one piece dress with a little frilly bottom. She has one leg up forcing itself against the wall behind her. One arm is rested on a pay phone. The blond is now standing with her back to a wooden wall with the planks running vertically. Camera flash. Close up on the face of the blond beauty, her hair framing her face.
Hayley and the band again singing. The fiery red head center stage.
Back to the brown haired boy, putting on his little dinner hat. The boy reluctantly begins working.
Another close up of Hayley and then a pan of the whole band.
The blond is now sitting in one of those brownish metal folding chairs with her legs crossed and her arms wrapped around her knees. She has her hair straight now and it falls down the front of her black and white dress. Next to her in the bright red chair we saw in a previous scene. Close up of blond. She has dark eyeshadow and bright pink lipstick.
Close up on Hayley again. Then the drummer with his blue polo with horizontal white lines banging furiously on the drums. Then a shot of the whole band.
Blond is still sitting in the metal folding chair. She is holding a little silver foil wrapper to a candy bar. She wants to eat it, but before she can taste it a hand pulls it away from her. A brunette is bent over at the waist shaking her head at the blond.
The purple shit wearing guitarist is airborne. This shot of the band only has the 3 male members with the guitarists/bassists up front and the drummer in back. Close up of Hayley. Next is a shot of the same pressure gauge as at the beginning of the video, the needle now rests at 50. Another close up of Hayley singing and the band playing. The water is seeping out of the pipes a little faster now.
The blond is still in her chair, now looking disappointed.
Hayley again and the band again.
The brown haired boy is operating a shake machine and filling a cup full of chocolate.
Hayley.
The brown hair boy turns away from the machine and bumps into his boss, spilling the chocolate shake all over him.
Paramore playing again. The pressure gauge is now reading two marks above 75. Water is dripping.
The boy and the boss look at the mess caused. The boy is pulling fries out of the grease, obviously they have been in there too long because they are burnt and smoke is rolling from the machine. His boss walks by and looks upset.
Hayley.
Boy.
Hayley.
Boy.
Paramore playing. The guitarists up front just finishing the final turn of an aerial acrobatic move. The gauge is climbing past 100 steadily now, the water is dripping faster.
The blond is picking out a brown one piece dress from a metal rack filled with dresses. She holds it up in front of her body clad in pink in front of the mirror looking at herself.
Hayley.
Brunette in a blue top walks behind the blond and takes the dress away and hands her a slinky little silver number. She gives a heavy sigh, obviously not pleased with what is chosen for her to wear.
The band is playing furiously.
Long blond haired boy slams food tray down in front of the order window and the brown haired boy. Boss talks to the blond boy. Boy takes off his apron and hat and walks out.
Close up of Hayley singing with the mic less than an inch from her mouth. The pressure gauge reads two marks above 100 and climbs til its dangerously close to the red zone. Water continues to hasten its flow from the pipes.
Brown haired boy is walking across a small patch of richly green grass in his white tee and blue jeans.
Hayley and the band are playing.
The boy shows up at a window and pounds on it. The window is framed by a green cement block wall. The blond is sitting in a chair surrounded by a swarm of makeup artists. She is wearing a blue jacket or shirt. The boy motions for her to come to him, she puts her hands up like she is helpless and does not know what to do. He runs off.
The pressure gauge is now deep into the read zone. Pipes begin to show signs of bursting.
The boy is at a fire sprinkler control, he pulls it.
The pipes break spewing copious amounts of water onto Hayley and the band as they continue to play.
The sprinklers go off in the studio with the blond.
The guitarist in the purple shirt does a badass roll over the other guitarist while still clutching his cherry red instrument (it's so badass I just had to mention it).
The blond escapes with the brown haired boy.
The gauge drops back down to 0 and the video fades with the band standing there soaked with water.

The video has three characters. The band, the blond girl, and the brown haired boy. Because of this I chose to separate the different scenes paragraphically depending on the character. Only when the boy and the girl meet did I use one paragraph for both of them. The video cuts back and forth between the band and the two kids abruptly so that is what I did and why some lines are just one sentence or even one word. As the video progresses and the pressure builds (pun intended :P) the scenes change faster. This is why there are a larger amount of new lines started towards the end. The video ends with the band soaked after the water finally gives up. The pressure gauge is at 0 and the beginning and the end.

Blog Post Five: Anonymous

2008-09-22T18:50:00.002-05:00

Here we have a video posted on YouTube by the infamous group Anonymous. The video is a message, a message to the Church of Scientology, or the Co$. If you can call them a church. Anonymous is a staunch opponent to the Co$. Scientology is a dangerous fraud and Anonymous is trying to out them by spreading the truth.
At the very beginning of the video is a short clip taken from a speech by the current leader of Co$, David Miscavige. He states, "Because if world leaders learned anything through the social aftershocks since 9/11 is that they do not necessarily posses the tools to lead. And thats where determined individual Scientologists come into the picture." It is interesting to note that the video was posted September 11, 2008 on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Following this clip that has been remixed is a catchy upbeat song set to sole shadowy figure cloaked in a Guy Fawkes mask. Many of you will have seen the Guy Fawkes mask from the semi-recent movie V for Vendetta in which a man, V, wearing the mask intends to carry out the Gunpowder Plot. The Gunpower Plot was an actual historical event in which the royal family was to be assinated by blowing up Parliament. Guy Fawkes is generally given credit for leading the escapade but he was actually in charge of the explosives. So why wear the masks? Obviously it's to hide their identities. Speaking out against the Co$ can be quite dangerous as they believe that if you are not one of them you are fair game to be destroyed (Fair game policy). The Co$ is a fraud intended to brainwash people and steal their money.
Anonymous has been linked to several seditious attacks against the Co$ and people in general. Just recently Oprah was the butt of one of their pranks. But their message has caught on and several large scale news agencies are working as well to discredit the Co$. If you don't believe the Co$ is evil then go out there and discover the abundance of information linking them to their lies and crimes. Or you can just watch the "Shrinking World of L. Ron Hubbard" and see how bat shit crazy their chief liar was.

Blog Post Four: Another Video

2008-09-19T20:35:00.003-05:00

The title for this blog post is a little misleading. It clearly states "Another Video," but what this really is is more of a collection of images, or a slide show if you will, with music in the background. The music is "Stand Up" by the Flobots. This is the same group that made the song about riding a bike with no handlebars (okay, its probably about more than that). The images used, as well as the song itself, are not just some random objects put together collectively to form a YouTube video.
"Stand up, we shall not be moved, except by a child with no socks or shoes," is represented rather accurately by a child from a presumably third world nation who is wearing no socks or shoes. The images that follow that correlate with the different verses and lyrics of the song. Hurricane Katrina, the big one that took out New Orleans, is subtly mentioned in the song meanwhile startling images of the aftermath are displayed. Many current or semi-current events are poetically discussed throughout the course of the song. "And we won't fight a war for fossil fuel, it's time like this you want to plot a coup," is pretty obviously about the controversial war in Iraq, if you can even call it that.
Several images are presented that are anti-war. These images relate directly to the strong anti-war sentiment that the song takes. "A threat for a threat leaves the whole world terrified, blow for blow never settles the score," is essentially the Golden Rule, you know the one that you learn in church. Violence begets violence which begets even more violence. Someone has to stop the cycle, turn the other cheek and end the war. Someone has to stand up and refuse to be moved.

Blog Post Three: Video

2008-09-14T20:39:00.002-05:00

Originally created and performed by the wonderfully talented John Lennon, the song Imagine as seen and heard in the video was performed by the band A Perfect Circle. The effect of the song, as sung with Maynard's unearthly vocals, is magnified by the stunning visuals presented in the video. At the start of the video you have an ominous feeling as the stealth bomber is flying through the night. Then the images begin to transform into more graphic images of warfare. Throughout the video there is a sort of comparison presented between life in America and life in the rest of the world. We see images of obese Americans gorging themselves on food in trivial events such as an eating competition juxtaposed with riveting images of people starving in the less fortunate places in the world. There is a staunch similarity between the image of the crowd performing the wave and that of the army marching through the street. The image of George W. Bush presented along side that of Hitler, Stalin, and Castro shows the opinion of the artist that Bush is just as evil (an opinion I agree with). We continue to see images of Americans living lavishly while the rest of the world suffers.
The original version of the song as performed by Lennon has a separate feel from this version. The images presented in the video combined with the voice of Maynard and the sounds of A Perfect Circle give the message an almost tragic feel to it. The video itself has a liking to that of a newscast. While the video is playing there is a strip along the bottom displaying various messages. If you read what is displayed on the strip there is a mixture of news headlines and sports scores. Some of this information seems to be pointless when there is an image of a dead human being displayed on your screen. The names of the sports teams are slightly humorous in that each team has names such as; Atomix, Bombers, Deathrays, and Conquerors. The team names are in of themselves a part of the message trying to be conveyed. As the song goes, "Imagine all the people, living life in peace. You may say that I'm a dreamer, but I'm not the only one. I hope someday you'll join us, and the world will live as one." Peace.

Blog Post Two - Diagram

2008-09-11T12:50:00.003-05:00

To the right is a diagram of the human heart. Why would we need such a diagram or any diagram for that matter? The purpose of a diagram is to act as a sort of visual aid to help in the explanation or interpretation of an object. In this case, the object is the human heart. A diagram of a human heart would help facilitate the learning of the many parts of the hearts and possibly their functions. Someone interested in human biology or the medical field would find this diagram very helpful in their studies. In the specific area of writing a diagram can be immensely useful in helping your readers to visualize a specific point you are trying to put across. They may also help in the understanding of a selected topic. In this blog post about a diagram I have altered the original purpose of the heart diagram. Originally the heart diagram was for showing about a heart. Now, after the insertion of it into my blog, it takes on the new purpose of simply acting as an example of what a diagram can appear like. It is important to note that not all diagrams will be an exact mirror of the heart diagram I have embedded. This particular diagram uses arrows to point to the different sections of the heart associated with the correct term. It is in my opinion that since I have removed the diagram from its place of origins and stripped it of its original meaning that I need to specify what it means. I can't just insert some random diagram that has nothing to do with what I am talking about. The diagram must have a connection within the specific piece of writing. With the invention and use of digitalized media and the web the diagram is more accessible and it is possible to take a diagram out of its original context and use it for a completely different purpose. Just like I have done here. Now my readers, live long and prosper.

Blog Post One

2008-09-04T14:18:00.017-05:00

"The essay can do everything a poem can do, and everything a short story can do - everything but fake it. The elements in any nonfiction should be true not only artistically - the connections must hold at base and must be veracious, for that is the convention and the covenant between the nonfiction writer and his reader. veracity isn't much of a drawback to the writer; there's a lot of truth out there to work with. And veracity isn't much of a drawback to the reader. The real world arguably exerts a greater fascination on people than any fictional one; many people, at least, spend their whole lives there, apparently by choice. The essayist does what we do with our lives; the essayist thinks about actual things. He can make sense of them analytically or artistically. In either case he renders the real world coherent and meaningful, even if only bits of it, and even if that coherence and meaning reside only inside small texts." (Atwan 23-24)

- Annie Dillard

So why did I choose Annie Dillard's essay, "Essays and the Real World," for this particular assignment? For one thing her opinion on what defines an essay is similar to mine. An essay does not have to be one of those uncreative, unimaginative, and downright boring 5 paragraph essays that we learned in the past. Essays do have limitations though. And that is that almost anything can be an essay, as long as it remains rooted in nonfiction. A fictional short story is not an essay. But as Dillard pointed out in her essay, nonfiction does not have to be boring for either the writer or the reader. The real world is full of interesting subjects or topics for both writing and reading an essay. A writer of fiction would weave a new world for the reader to explore but an essayist explores the real world. Just look at the current events going on around the world. We have the potential for another Cold War brewing after the whole Russia vs. Georgia war. India was just allowed to start using nuclear power, the same power we criticize the North Koreans for having. Those are just a few of the interesting events that are happening around the world and new events happen everyday. Just because you are writing about facts does not mean you can't be creative when you are writing. If a writer just displayed the facts straight up it would not be much of a piece of writing and would probably be downright boring to read. An essay can be almost anything, as long as it does not cross the boundary into fiction. Get creative.

Test Post

2008-08-28T14:47:00.002-05:00

Test Post.