My Project Interpretation

Our project was inspired by a group that does the "Freeze Project" These group of people go into busy places and freeze to make an underlying statement about slowing down. Basiclly to enjoy life.

I feel that our little "Freeze Project" was successful in that attempt. We set out on a mission to make a public statement, and I definitely have a good feeling about it. I can honestly say that I've never done anything like it before, and I was really nervous about it. But all in all, it was pretty successful.

It took a lot of back and forth thinking to come to the idea of me holding organic food and Kayla eating McDonalds. We knew that we wanted to portray something about stopping to cook dinner, and enjoy creating food. Also, it's a much healthier stance, and I'm known to be a little bit of a health nut. I'm not sure that our message was very clear, but I definitely feel good about our project.

Project-Irony

I'd say that people deal with irony everday, just as they are faced with advertising and the need to slow down in this fast paced world. It was very clever to use our modern day ironic news reports as Fenon did during a past time in France.

We really aren't much different. Sure the scenes are different and there are different occurences, but over all we are still human and irony still happens.

So I googled Irony, and here is something interesting that I found.

Irony is an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.
Three kinds of irony:


1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else.
2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know.
3. irony of situation is a discrepency between the expected result and actual results.
Example:
"A fine thing indeed!" he muttered to himself.

Project-Advertising

Advertising is everywhere. It's everywhere you look, on your drive to school, at school, at work, on t.v.

After the first group's project I noticed more of the advertising I see everyday. People even wear advertisments. Of course I knew that, but this project just made it stand out to me.

I think everything I own is an advertisement. My car; Honda. My purse; COACH. My backpack; Northface. Even my shoes; Ed Hardey.

I guess it's not something that you can get away from, but it's good to just be mindful of it. Try not to get sucked into thinking that you need things that you really don't.

Pay it Forward

It was about 630am. I was working the Drive-Thru for Starbucks. Another typical morning in the coffee world. The drive-thru line was backed up to the parking lot.

So I process another transaction, and the lady in front of me wants to pay for the car behind her. "Okay", I'm thinking...

Well, the girl pulls up and I tell her that her drink was paid for by the car in front. And shes excited "really!" "no way!"
My first impression was that it was her Mom. Then I found out it was just a random woman that did a nice deed for this girl.
Then the process goes on...This girl pays for the car behind her, and the guy behind her pays for the next and, so on and, so on...
This goes on for about 53 cars, about two hours go by...I'm explaining the phenomenom to each person, and each person happily pays for the next.

And you'll never guess. The last car pulls up, I tell her that her drink is paid for and she pulls off. I didn't even get a chance to tell her that she was the 54th car. She absolutely, mindlessly ruined the Pay it Forward morning.

All in all though, it's still pretty amazing that that many people wanted to do something kind for a person they never met.

The Splasher and Graffitti

Learning about the "Art of Graffitti" last week opened up another view to me. I never fully considered that these people are trying to get a point across. Usually I see "tags" and think of them as "Gang" related, not ever thinking that they could be political statements or demonstrations of Art.

So I really enjoyed the video that we saw about the Graffitti in South Africa and San Paulo. It's so inspiring that these artistic people use their talent to spread a message to their city.

Watching the movie gave me the perspective of the painter. Something I would never have known.

My sounds are of my evening...Dinner with the family while watching T.V. Typical Americans. That's what we do...And I incorporated my sleep machine. I listen to the "white noise" when going to sleep. It's sort of strange, but it's the constant noise that calms me. Especially at night when my mind is wandering and I know that I have to get up super early for work.

My Yoko Interpretation w/Pic

Everyday Consumers

I currently am working at Starbucks, somehow expecting that the income will pay my bills...That's another topic all together.

So I've been thinking. About 45% of our customers return everyday or the same time each week. It's so strange. Most of them order the same thing every day, and rarely switch it up. Starbucks is their constant in life. It truely is their "3rd Place". As Starbucks likes to encourage people. There theroy is that you have home, your office, and a third place to do homework, read, socialize, etc...

Kitt Bakke

I attended author Kitt Bakke's book release talk at UW last week. I really didn't know anything about her or her book, and I was amazed by what an adventurous life she has had.

What really made me think, was when she was talking about being a part of a radical group that protested against the Vietnam war. Well, my Dad was at Ohio State when all of the students were being gased and all of that protesting was going on. And Kitt said she was a part of the WA D.C. protest and other various important places such as Cuba. She really is a very interesting woman.

But this just got to me, so I called my Mom to talk to her about what my Dad experienced(he passed away a few years ago), and she didn't know. So I contacted his old college friend. Basiclly, by going to this one little extra assignment by Joe, I've made contact with one of my father's oldest friends, and I think that's one of the most important things I could take away from Kitt Bakke's book release.

Yoko Writing

When Mad

Scream into a jar
cover it up
and let your scream loose in a bathtub full of water.

Baghdad Bridge Reopens (three lines)

The Aimma Bridge reopens after 3yrs.
Concrete division of the Shiites and Sunnis is now connected.
But opinions of the locals are still divided.

NYtimes.com

Death Investigation (three lines)

Two bestfriends found dead in ditch.
Left for walk at 5pm.
Brutally shot to death.

CNN.com

Vetran's Day (three lines)

1 of 350 US soldiers held captive during WWII.
63 years ago, memories flood to mind.
In memory of Vetran's Day.


CNN.com

Ethanol Industries (3 lines)

Bankruptcy declared for largest ethanol producer.
Similar problems arise for other ethanol industries.
They are all hopeful, but selling is possible.

NY Times

Obama (in three lines)

First black Chief Executive chosen with ease.
Clear promises; to cut taxes, exit Iraq, and expand healthcare
Celebration in Chicago.

New York Times

Writing as Andy Warhol

Wedding rings are the essence of love. And here you can buy them online at a discount. It seems that marriage has lost it’s meaning. I mean, is love at a discount if it comes to this? Purchasing the sacred symbol online for 15%off. What is this?!! Barbaric. I would hope that my marriage has more purpose.

Yet, in this great time and place you can purchase all kinds of things online. Easily from the comfort of your own home, or while you’re in a meeting (multi tasking). Just come to this one stop shopping site and purchase anything you’ve ever dreamed about. Shoes, PDA’s, Ipods, you name it. Agh! And what’s this? A Retro gift basket! Huh? Well, it comes with everything from Bit o Honey, Jolly Ranchers, Mambas, and Slap Sticks. Yes, I’m referring to the 80’s decade of candy nostalgia. In the 80’s everyone was concerned with big hair and lots of make up. I remember my friend Z always wore those fishnets with heeled boots. And she’d say A let’s go dance like the Thriller video. That’s when Michael Jackson was a big hit. Everyone had on one black leather glove and wore hightop sneakers.

The Two Films

4. Both films in subtle ways comment upon race, gender, and class. How does the notion of time and duration impact on these categories?

While watching the first film I immediately noticed some of these issues come up. I'm not sure when the films were produced, sometime between the 60's and 70's I assume. At first when watching the Last Clean Shirt film I thought that the woman was the driver's lover. Now, after thinking about it, he was probably her driver. Just a friend that she was chatting with. I'm still not sure if this is correct, but it's what I assume. I don't think that interracial relationships were very common during that time.

The second film was about a girl from Europe that moved to NY,NY. Even though the film moved really slowly, I thought it was interesting. It offered a lot of different views of the city and gave us a perspective on time. The mother was very concerned about the girl, and always wanting her to write more. It sounded very typical of a mother/child relationship.

my first movie

Okay, so I did not find this movie making stuff to be as easy as it looked. In fact, I couldn't even figure out how to get my movie files onto my USB drive ( I don't even know if that's what it's called!). I feel so frustrated! So I resorted to the Windows Movie Maker on my laptop. Yes, it is limited in functions and the final product is not as encaptivating as Final Cut Pro, but Hey! I gave it my all. Anyway, here is a few of the clips that we recorded on our Bothell excursion. I imagine I'll figure Final Cut out before this class is over(o:

Surreal Writing...

Boys .are trying, constantly imagining...Playing with toys and learning how to be men. Not that that makes any sense. This picture depicts three young boys in a museum pretending to be in the ocean. Oceans are filled with wonder and new possibilities. The boys are discussing how to navigate the machine through the sea to find marvelous new creatures. What lies beneath the depths? Only they will find. Long talks, negotiation, strategies. Young men in training, wearing ties, looking like great men...




Boys will be boys. Playing in the mud, getting dirty. They enjoy the outdoors, the fresh air. Their momma’s made them wear button up shirts today. It was important to look nice in the photographs. Now they are cleaning up the beach. Helping the turtles find homes and be protected. The poor turtles were probably in danger from all the the industrial growth that has been going on in the US. They need fresh water and a new home. The two boys are friends. They are growing up together, as brothers. It’s getting late in the day now, the shadows of hard work and caring are left on the ground. It’s time to go back home and sleep it all away. Find the next adventure tomorrow. Tomorrow maybe toy guns, cowboy and Indians.

everyday is not the same

What is everyday now is not the same as it was 40 years ago. I feel like I'm going back in time trying to learn what was so simple back then and apply it now. What I'm doing is trying to make my own Halloween Costume. I never realized how difficult sewing was and why I never tried it before. It's so confusing and difficult I could scream! If only it was 40 years ago, I would have known how to do this by the time I was old enough to use a pair of sisscors. But now our everyday is using the computer, knowing how to blog, and use other such electronics...Back to my sewing...

Un Chien

While watching Un Chien Andalou I felt a little disturbed. The most vivid image that comes to mind is the scene when He slices the women's eyeball with a old fashioned razor. Agh! I hate watching stuff like that! I mean, I literally hide my face during those scenes during movies. But during this clip it was completely unexpected, so it caught me off guard. Now I'll never forget it, I'm sure.

TicXTacOToe

The game of X's and O's, also known as kisses and hugs. It's an easy game taught to us at an early age, often used to pass the time during school days, or even out of pure boredom.

So, it's a quick little game that I played with my roomie to fulfil this assignment. After brainstorming a little about what the game takes I came up with a few ideas. It's a game of strategy, and planning. It can be fun, and stressful at the same time. And in the end there is only one winner.

Experiencing the Everyday

Taking a moment to look through the lens of the Everyday was enlightening. I enjoyed the chance to take a step back. Usually we are so consumed with the hustle and bustle of getting from here to there, worrying about the next meeting or tasks that need to be completed.

For my assignment I landed in the middle of a typical American Utopia. Where the grass was the same height, American flags were prominently displayed, and satellites were hanging from every home.

Blanchot//Everyday Speech

I had to read some of these thoughts over again. I think that they can be a little confusing in a theoretical way. However, I think that I grasp what the writers were saying, but it's hard for me to pull one thought out of these pages. I think that they all kind of go together in order to get to the point.

So I will take the conlclusion of Blanchot "Is not the everyday, then, a utopia, the myth of an existence bereft of myth? We no more have access to the everyday then do we touch this moment of history that could historically, represent the end of history." pg.41

With a first quick read, I find this confusing. What I think the author is saying is that we are creating history with our everyday life, and that even with everyday we have the ability to end it. The everyday is not unimportant, it identifies who we are and what our meaning/purpose is.

Doing Nothing...

I enjoyed myself entirely during this doing nothing excercise on Sunday, Septemeber 28. It was a rather warm afternoon outside so I decided to layout on our deck in the back yard. I listened to the neighbors lawn mowers and the sound of our TV blaring the Cowboys football game. I live in a household of Texans so football on Sundays is a must.

In addition to these sounds, I listened to the birds in the trees. I actually think that these are the little birds that escaped our house at the end of July. They are little African finches, and they're songs kind of sound familiar.

Of course the best part of being outside for me is the sun hitting my face. I love the feeling of the sun and being warm. It makes me happy to be outside on an unusally warm day.