My life!

I was born in San Francisco California where I lived there till I was about three years old. I don't really remember much from there except for the few friends I had and the earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1988. It is hard for me to believe I remember it, but I can recall sitting in my highchair with a pink bib on and looking at the wall cracking. I obviously had no clue what was going on because I was like 1 or 2. My family decided that San Francisco was not where they wanted to have my brother and I grow up so they moved to Georgia where my Dad's sister lived. We lived with my Aunt until we found a place. My brother was about 1 and could barely walk when we moved into a nice house in Alpharetta, Georgia. I loved Alpharetta, our neighborhood had tons of families just like us and many friends to play with. My dad was in between jobs for a bit until he began working with a friend from church doing furniture refinishing. We had it pretty well off but my parents felt like something was missing. One day some old friends called up my parents saying they wanted to sell their restaurant in Memphis Tennessee. We decided to take a trip to check it out, and my Dad fell in love with the place. We put our house on the market in Georgia and it literally sold the next day. We moved to Memphis when I was 12, and initially I hated it. We moved around the city a few times until we settled in East Memphis. The restaurant we took over called, Brother Juniper's is a family oriented place where I have been working every weekend since I was 12. It was a big change from sleeping in every weekend but I have grown to enjoy it, and especially working for my parents is easier than I thought! I went to Lausanne for high school and then came to University of Memphis. It has been a great first year and I don't know what lies ahead!

research paper

The first time I started looking at sources was when we were assigned to find the encyclopedia articles on our topic. I found two or so pretty nice encyclopedia articles that were on my topic and also directly related to my movie. My movie, Schindler's List deals with this main guy named Oskar Schindler, and the encyclopedia article had several pages just about him. I have not looked much into the articles and so I do not exactly know how I am going to incorporate them into my research paper. The other source that I thought I would use from the beginning is a book I read in high school about a Holocaust surviver, the book called Night by Elie Weisel. It is a very well written and extremely sad story about Elie, his family and everything they were put through. I did not realize that this book and the movie Schindler's List are about two totally different sides of the Holocaust, however, I could possibly compare the two and talk about that. There is also the book Schindler's List which I have not looked into but I assume I will use it to compare the book and the movie.
There are many arguments I can make about my topic, like why even make the movie? What message does it convey? I think these basic questions/arguments are some ways to show that this was an important event in history and to make a movie about the man Oskar Schindler who saved so many Jews from being killed is something people should be able to watch and learn more information about. Watching this movie was a very sobering experience that almost brought tears to me. I had to turn my head away at many scenes because of the brutality of it. A lot of the times when I watch movies I think "oh this isn't actually happening so I can stop being so freaked out, or cry" but with this movie when I was watching it I was realizing "wow all of this actually did happen". This was probably the hardest part of watching the movie, knowing that it was a true story and all of these people were treated so horribly and killed. More questions/arguments like why it was made in black and white? Even though they show a girl in a red coat. This is an important symbol and I know there is a reason for why the producers decided to show this one girl with a red coat in the movie. This might be the hardest part to argue, however, I think it was to show how when people see such mass murder they are taken aback but don't really realize the importance until you point out specific individuals it makes more of an impact. And I think showing this little girl in a red coat obviously stuck out in the movie, because it is in black and white but then when it shows her being dumped into flames it has more of an impact because even though she was just another one of the massive group of dead Jews she was a person too . This girl in the red coat is actually a Holocaust surviver, who has a movie produced about her survival. So I do not exactly know why they would show her being killed. I do think it was a way of showing how there were so many and another little girl just being added to the pile was nothing for the Holocaust.
I really love the book I chose, Night because it is such a remarkable story. I loved reading it, and like I said in my previous blog I pretty much hate reading. Even though I am not sure if I can even use this book because it relates to the other side of the Holocaust it is my favorite source.
Here are some links that I could possibly use for internet sources:
This site is more about background information and informative info that some might not know, and it helped me to understand reasons behind the Holocaust.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Why_did_the_Holocaust_happen
This second link is something that I just found and I think is pretty cool. It lists all the people's names that Oskar Schindler saved from the Holocaust. I don't really know how it will be helpful but I think it's pretty neat. It also has information about Hilter, Schindler, the Nazis and more.
http://www.auschwitz.dk/Schindlerslist.htm

This is just the wiki of the movie but it has information about symbolism in the movie and other useful facts that could help me write my paper.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schindler's_List#The_girl_in_the_red_coat

reading and writing

I must say I am not much a reader or writer when I am not told to do so. I truly despise reading because every book I have ever had to read for school I found to be extremely boring. I was never interested in anything we had to read and I could barely understand most of it. It seemed like my teachers in middle school and high school would purposely pick the worst books ever. So my life in high school and middle school basically consisted of spark notes. I only read one full book through out middle and high school that was required. That book was, The Outsiders. I found it very interesting and intriguing, I wanted to keep reading to find out what was going on. It was one of the stories I could never put down. There was also another book I read, that in a sense was required, we had this thing called outside reading where we were allowed to choose a book to read and write about. I chose, The Virgin Suicides. It was also very interesting and I wanted to keep reading to find out what would happen next. However, after those two books I never really found the interest to read anything else. I felt like I had better things to do than sit around and read. I think that school has been my reason for hating reading. Before I started school I never read much, except for the simple picture books with a few words. But when middle school came along I found myself reading what seemed to be the most boring books ever. My best friend at the time went to a different school but I remember she loved reading, and would read at any chance she had. She would tell me how amazing it was, and that I should find books that would interest me, but I never did. And I wish I had now because whenever a teacher assigns a book, I’m just like uhhhhh what now….this is going to be awful. And I know reading educates people, and I could use it, if only I could find something I liked! But now I find myself too busy to ever have time to sit and read a nice book. Except over spring break, I almost resorted to reading. My friend and I were pretty bored because it seemed like everyone else was out of town and we had nothing to do, especially on those rainy days. We actually went to the library to check books out, but came to find out we both had over $20 in late fees that we didn’t exactly feel like paying. So that attempt failed.
I can be an active reader when I feel it is necessary. If I am reading a book for some sort of research than I usually highlight things I think are important. Or for classes, I actually did that last semester. Every class period when the teacher would be going over the PowerPoint (that was directly from the book) I would go through and highlight everything she would say. I think in the long run it helped me study and learn the material for the tests. I think in a way it helps me “own” the text, because I have read the information and put my own notes to the side of it. It makes it more personable because it is my own words next to someone else’s writing.
I remember when I was little; maybe between three and six, I loved the book, Make Way for Ducklings. I would seriously have my Mom read the book to me every night for probably a year. I remember she was so sick of reading it, but every night when she said what book do you want to read, I would say MAKE WAY FOR DUCKLINGS! My dear Mother probably still has that book memorized. I honestly don’t know why I liked it so much but something would draw me to that book so much that I would want to read it every night.
On the writing aspect, I never really would write other than what I was told to for school. Except for when I was younger and I had a diary that I would write about my day in or the cute boys. But I don’t really count that as writing, because when I think of writing I think more like intelligent works that takes time to think about, or something that could possibly be used for a book of some sort. I have never really found my creativity for writing and so I do not think I would be very good at it. I also am not extremely interested in sitting down and just writing. It has always been that way with reading and writing, I just don’t feel like I am particularly drawn to either of them.

This Semester

This is my second semester as a college student, and so far it has turned out to be quite nice. I am enjoying my freedom in college and for the most part enjoying the classes. Some even seem to be easier than those in high school. At first I thought this semester was going to be harder than my first, especially since I have to take calculus. However, for the most part things have turned to be quite nice, and not as hard as I expected.

Most of my classes are lectures, and I am supposed to take away from that and learn. Well as far as my theater class goes I have learned a lot about theater, not exactly things I feel necessary for me to learn but that’s okay. In English I feel like I learned a good amount when we had to read our book and answer the questions. It was very informative and the advertising and arguments sections really stuck out to me because we don’t really think about most things being arguments, because we are not looking for that type of thing while for example when watching tv. In my other classes, like history I haven’t really learned any new information, its more of just a refresher back from middle school history classes. I don’t understand why we learn the same history over and over again? I thought after middle school and high school it would be over, but no! That frustrates me! Calculus also frustrates me. There are hard concepts to grasp and I am just not a math person, but I have to take calculus because I am a business major.

I can’t really think of something this semester that I have learned and wish I knew before. However last semester I learned something that I wish I would of known before school started. I never knew how to look up professors on ratemyprofessor.com in order to get good teachers. After learning that in the middle of last semester I was able to look up the classes that I needed for this semester and then find teachers with positive comments. I am quite pleased this semester because most of what people said turned out to be true, and I have ended up with good classes/teachers.

This semester has gone by fast, and like I said not too bad! I am sure there are many things I could do to make it better. I could first of all stop procrastinating on everything but I don’t know if that problem will ever go away. Never once have I been able to study more than the day rather the night before for a test or even exam. I don’t know why but I just love putting everything off till the last minute. When I actually come down to the crunch time I don’t exactly love it though, rather hate it! I could also take better notes in my history and theater classes. The classes are quite boring lectures with a lot of information so I take my laptop to take notes. If I didn’t my hands would probably fall off from writing so much. But, the laptop does have a little problem because it distracts me. I guess if I wanted to do better I could ditch the laptop but there's no way I would do it!

When I think about what to gain from my education, it is a good question. I don’t exactly know to be honest but I can think of a few things that might possibly help me. Well first of all going to college I hope to get an education in order to find a good job after college and graduate school. I know there are things I will learn that will specifically apply to my major and those are the things I feel that actually educate me. Everything else that I feel like I will never use again are just there in the back of my head to “say I have them” and not look like some high school drop out. The classes I am taking like management 1020 and management information systems are classes that apply to my business degree and teach me valuable things I need to know that are one hundred percent related to the business world. These types of things are what I think educated me, because I am trying to learn them for a purpose not just because “I have to”. For example, we are required to take a certain amount of general education classes. Well for many of us those classes are not going to help us with our major, just help to round us. I feel like it’s nice to know these things but they are not going to apply to me later in life, like the art history class I took first semester. To be educated is important and to know certain things that I think I won’t need to know now might come in handy one day. I define educated as someone who has gone to school and actually learned the things they were supposed to. Many people go to school but I do not think everyone gets an education. I think this is based on ones curiosity. If you want to learn and are curious about the subject matter than I think it is easier to learn. A lot of kids in my senior class did not give a crap about anything; they just wanted to smoke pot everyday. Well they never did their homework or pay attention, so I do not feel like they actually got a good education. And I’m not saying I pay attention to everything and study all the time because everyone has there “I don’t care anymore” moments but I feel like getting an education is important because even though a lot of us don’t want to learn the things, you cannot do much in life with out one.

I do want a degree and an education. I know I am not the hardest worker but I do want to learn and feel smart! Honestly a lot of going to college is just to get a degree, in order to get a good job. Unless you want to work at McDonalds the rest of your life your not going to find much else. Its reality and you’re not going to find a well paying job with out a college degree.

Yellow Wallpaper

As I began reading the “Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman it took me a moment to realize it was a compilation of journal entries. I followed along for the most part, a few questions here and there but for them most part understood it was a woman who had a bit of an illness and basically had nothing else to do but write. Her living arrangements were a bit odd, and I still do not exactly get what the deal was with that, and by the end of her journal entries it left me a bit confused as to what exactly happened, and what the entire story was really about. It was a bit confusing, the wallpaper and different things she mentioned. I could not quite understand if she was locked up some sort of way or it was just a metaphor because she was so confined to her barred up house. Her husband, who is a physician, was another little mystery that her journal entries brought up. At first she portrayed him as a some what harsh man who made her stay locked up in some horrible place. But then she would say how sweet he was, and he spoke to her so nicely. I did however wonder if she was trying to say her husband was cheating on her when she was talking about walking in unexpectedly and John and the lady were “reading the paper” or something. The story as a whole brought many questions that I am not really sure if I ever found the meaning to them. I think the message the woman is trying to convey is for other people that share her same nervousness disease. She mentions many times how it is not helping her to be confined to her house with absolutely nothing to do. She is always asking her husband if they can leave, and seems quite bored with her situation. I think this message could possibly try and show other people suffering that there are other ways to cope with the illness. It is so boring to be confined inside with nothing to do but write in a journal. Well it might work for some people but not me! I am trying to look for symbolism in this story and while I am sure there is plenty I am having a bit of trouble trying to figure something out. I want to say that her house is a symbol for possibly her past and how her illness confines her to something she does not want to face. She describes the house as something she does not exactly enjoy, how the wallpaper is all messed up or the bars are so tight on the window. I think overall this story was something that had to do with this woman’s feelings and how her only way to express herself was through her writing.

Movie Article

After reading the article “How and What a Movie Communicates” about making movies compared to television and what a movie communicates, it has helped me to understand more about the business of making movies. The article points out the uniqueness of television based on its simultaneity which is not possible with movies. The article also discusses the art of movie making versus the business of selling a creative work of art. Often these two parties have differences which result in either a packed house at the movies or a total bomb which loses money at the box office.

The director, writer, and actors of a film all have to come together into a unified artful whole. The director is ultimately responsible for a film; the actor must immerse himself into the character he or she is playing. If the actor is particularly charismatic the film will have the signature of that actor. Producers of movies usually perform executive duties. Eighty percent of the movies produced are based on books. Many movies are left unwatched because they have not been marketed. By and large the content of movies reflects the American Dream.

Schindlers List, my movie for my paper was produced in 1993 by Steven Spielberg. The movie won seven Oscars and is considered Spielberg’s greatest accomplishment. This movie is based on a very tragic true event that happened during World War II. The protagonist, Oskar Schindler builds a factory in Poland and hires Jews to work for him. He witnesses the horrific events against the Jews and endeavors to save as many of them as he can. The film is in black and white and this communicates a somber tone to the viewer of the film. The musical score also makes the viewer feel sad which also sets the tone as the dramatic events unfold.

This article was informative but it does not really affect the way I view films. Yeah maybe it added some background information, but when I go to the movies I go to be entertained, sometimes to be educated, but I don’t really look at the movie in terms of how the film was put together by the director, writers, or actors.

Advertisements!

I absolutely love the first video about the Dove self esteem challenge. First of all it is completely accurate how advertising can be totally untrue. I was completely shocked and honestly did not know that much photo shop was used to make these people look what is supposed to be “good”. I think dove is doing a good think with their natural beauty campaign because nothing you see on a magazine cover or in the movies is natural beauty; it’s all fake. The argument in this video that Dove is trying make is that what you think is real beauty is all fake and that only one’s natural beauty is the only thing that is real. This seems to be a very honest video because it is showing reality and how out of wack the mindset of the people who think it is natural beauty.
Wow, the playstation versus wii commercial was quite interesting. Obviously the more attractive and well slutty girl is trying to sell the wii with her ways of thinking that apparently are supposed to get people to want and buy the wii. Well yeah probably if you’re a guy. But anyways this commercial was very interesting because the lady representing the playstation made good points that the wii girl didn’t really argue back, more just make stupid little comments that made a little bit of sense. I guess in this commercial it was more about what the player wants out of the game system to make a decision. This ad for sure makes value judgments that do not apply just to the product. The girl is dancing around half naked slapping her butt saying things like she’s “fun, easy and cheap”. Well this sure sends several messages other than about the wii. Obviously we all know what they are, but I think this article is not in the best taste, and it makes fun of the other girl because she’s more conservative.
The cinnamon toast crunch commercial is obviously a commercial trying to promote cereal. They use techniques to try and make the cereal look appetizing in order for people to think “oh that looks good I want to go and buy that so I can have it for breakfast”. I think this commercial leaves out important things but things that commercials obviously are not going to put because that would make negative advertising on their product. But things like the sugar, it has a high amount of sugar which is not the healthiest thing, and they also say it is homemade. Well we all know that it is produced in factories and there are tons of machines and workers that help to produce the cereal.
Well the Calvin Klein commercial was just about like any other cologne/perfume commercial you see with two people who are all passionate for each other, some dramatic music, and some sort of physical action. I think these commercials are so stupid because they try and make it look like if you wear this certain perfume you’re going to get laid. Well we all know that’s not the case. Yes it might smell good, and help attract woman to you, but okay lets be realistic woman don’t just go up to guys and say oh man you smell nice, okay lets get together. Well at least I don’t think so! (I sure don’t!) This is in a sense false advertising because first of all you don’t even know what the scent smells like, and your life is not going to magically turn into the guy on the screen.
I have to say I really like what we had to do this week for the blogs. It is by far the most interesting and fun!