Thursday, May 8, 2008
Final Blog Portfolio!
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Please read me.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
A sad story of love
To the dead
The violin in the war
This photograph caught my eye immediately as I thought, look at the ruins surrounding all those soldiers, and the beauty and tranquility represented by a violin. The oddness of that combination made the scene quickly one I would not forget. I think that was the author's intention, to show two very contrasting scenes combined in one photograph. The angle the photograph is taken at frames the soldier playing the violin, making him the central focus of the photo with the other soldiers watching him. The texture of the photo is also an interesting landscape because it appears very dirty, rocky and old, lending to the composition of the photo that makes the violin even more out of place. The shape also appears organic, with the rocks and natural terrain surrounding the soldiers. The lighting of the photograph adds to the natural setting with rocks and dirt, almost like a makeshift stage for the soldier with the violin. The light behind them all helps shadow the scene helping the focus to be on the violin. This photograph documents an occurrence that would not be worth remembering without the violin, that even in the midst of war, there are moments that can make everyone stand still and witness something uplifting and beautiful. The photograph has depth by showing the different heights in the soldiers with the one with the violin being the tallest, showing him as the main focal point and his violin as the subject of the photo.
Final Blog Portfolio
lets mosh
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
gnitsop evitaerc
I close my eyes. I open my eyes.
I close my eyes again. My head pounding in my skull, I know it is only five minutes away from happening again. I fight the same fight every week day, from August to May. The cell phone whirrs with vibration again so loud I feel it down the sheet, through my pillow and into my body and I know I can only hit snooze one more time. I sit up. The first battle of the day has been won.
My mind wanders first thing in the morning, wondering where the first cup of coffee is going to come from or how long I can stand to sit in that class listening to the voice in my head say “Starbucks, Starbucks, Starbucks”, who sounds like the Genie when he’s a bee in Aladdin (clip attached below to give you the full effect, wait until he says “Be yourself”). Soon the need for caffeine becomes too strong to ignore the little voice in my head, he begins screaming "Staaaaaaaarbuuuuuucks" and I have to indulge.
My internal war is with desire. The amount time before I need caffeine varies from day to day, and each day it's like a ticking bomb waiting to explode when that voice gets out of hand. It takes more of my willpower to go without coffee than to not eat that second candy bar, write an essay or go to bed on time. The willpower needed to overcome cravings and longings is an ongoing battle that changes from person to person. I don't think there is anyone who can deny fighting a desire.
Strawberries
Strawberry Fields Forever
With little background information, the song "Strawberry Fields Forever" by The Beatles seems to have little to do with war. In fact, the song's title simply comes from the Strawberry Field Salvation Army Children's Home, which was just around the corner from where John Lennon grew up in Liverpool. This song was first released on the album Magical Mystery Tour, and is seen one of The Beatles greatest hits. This song is filled with nonsensical lyrics that are organized in a stream of consciousness style. The listener is presented with lines such as, "No one I think is in my tree, I mean it must be high or low that is you can't, you know, tune in…" Not surprisingly, this song is associated with The Beatles' heavy LSD use. Drugs influenced many of their songs and melodies as the band sought to create beautiful music out of the fear and hostility of the Vietnam War.
Much analysis of this song is often centered around the Strawberry Field Salvation Army Children's Home. This orphanage obviously played a huge role in John Lennon's childhood as he grew up in Liverpool. During his youth, Liverpool was very much home to the working class. Industrialization was taking hold in the old slave port city and the difficulties of life were very much a reality for its workers. Through lyrics such as "living is easy" and "nothing is real and nothing to get hung about," Lennon references the hardships of this city in this particular song.
Additionally, this scene from "Across the Universe" depicts dripping strawberry juice, an extremely significant symbol in terms of conveying this song's meaning. While strawberries are normally associated with springtime, sweetness, and life, this scene uses the sugary fruit for a much different purpose. In complete contrast, the strawberry juice arguably symbolizes blood. Symbolically, the video depicts fields filled not with delicious fruit, but instead with the blood of thousands of soldiers in Vietnam. Another striking image from this scene occurs as the film's main character, Jude, nails multiple rows of strawberries on a board. After clips of soldiers in Vietnam are flashed on the screen, the camera pans down the rows of strawberries, revealing that they have begun to excrete red juice. As each strawberry begins to give off its juice, a new solider has been killed in war. Then, in perhaps an even more direct approach to this symbolism, the strawberries are depicted as bombs falling towards earth, ready to indiscriminately cause mayhem and destruction.
Without the context provided by the images in "Across the Universe," this song may lack meaning in terms of protesting war. However, when coupled with the striking images of smashed strawberries, dying soldiers, and combat zones, "Strawberry Fields Forever" develops into a much more significant piece of musical art.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
Joey and Mia's cool post about war
My response to Battlestar Galactica
SOUTH PARK. This is a show I watch, similar to Joey watching his sci-fi shows, in that both try to relate real world situations and messages to the public, although in very different manners I would think. I don't know much about Battling Galactic Stars, but South Park takes real world things and stories, makes fun of it and then presents a deep, meaningful message at the end. The effects real life has on either show adds greatly to the shows content and meaning. I know South Park would not be the show it is without the events that occur in our day to day lives to make it funny. As I have run off on quite a tangent here I will cease after one final attempt to drive home my point. From songs to tv shows and even more, there are many different types of pop culture that draw on real life. I think the point of including metaphors, allegories and other things in media is to promote communication and understanding. No matter what show you watch, the importance is that you become informed. If it's funny, if it's sad, if it is totally off the wall and you have to dig so deep to even find the relationship to a real world issue, it still makes you think.
Monday, April 21, 2008
The War
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Civil War photo analysis
I chose this photo to analyze because in looking at the section entitled, "Lincoln's Assassination," it stood out to me as a picture that captured the scene of that tragedy. Not that I had forgotten the assassination, but seeing the photographs reminded me of the magnitude of that event, and the great loss our country suffered. I felt moved by this particular picture because it depicts a place that should be remembered and it compelled me to stop and think about Lincoln's assassination and what has become of the Ford Theatre since then. This photo captures Ford Theatre in its originality, before restorations and tourism of today's world. The image is shot at a far off angle, capturing the beauty of the architecture of Ford Theatre as well as the scene that encompasses it. This seems to be a form of documentary photography, working to capture the building as it is in that time to be remembered. The photographer shot the building with a direct approach, slightly from the right to show more than just the theatre. The vertical lines repeated in the image through the buildings and windows direct the viewer to scan the whole picture, up and down, not focusing on any one subject. This is one instance I think the photograph is still very powerful without a central focus because the whole thing works together to create a vivid image of a memory. From the clear sky above the buildings to the pitch black windows, the contrast from light to dark gives the photo an eerie feel, adding to it's documentary feel. The expressive landscape also helps convey a spectral feeling, which might have been part of the author's intention. The whole photo works together to create an image of long ago when an important event occurred.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
August 29, 2007-photograph
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Analyzing a photograph
This photograph caught my eye immediately when I was browsing all options for this assignment. This photo combines many elements to evoke emotion from the viewer. The photograph appears to be expressive, showing the living and the dead in the same shot. The photo has both a landscape because of the clouds captured in the shot and subjects, being both the people standing and the people on the ground. The focus of the photograph is not clearly on one person or object, but on the scene as a whole. The angle and depth drew my eye first to the old woman leaning over the body at the far right of the scene. The clouds are also interesting in this picture because they were captured showing shadows, making the photograph ominous and adding contour. The light is natural, and soft, giving a realistic, raw look to the photo. The photo does a good job of portraying the emotion of the scene, and the woman in the foregrounds outstretched arms capture the pain and sadness of the situation. The puddle of water that shows the reflection of a man crouched over is another area of the photo that draws focus. The rough contour of the man's reflection also depicts the grief and anguish that the living are feeling as they wander among dead bodies. The artist's intention appears to evoke the powerful emotions that only comes with witnessing death, and through this image, he accomplishes that.
Dearest America
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
104 article assignment
Thursday, April 3, 2008
I don't remember (oxymoron?)
I Remember
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Lentil
Ten is key.
