Blog 30

1. Describe specific connections between the text you read and your experiences in the many aspects of MSB (Into The Wild):

My experience during the Media Saves the Beach showed me a new perspective of nature and health of our valuable ecosystems. Into The Wild, Chris McCandless ventured into the wild scenic areas of the Americas and saw some of the most beautiful sights imaginable. In a way, MSB and Chris McCandless journey accomplished the same things, proving how beautiful nature is and how delicate it is.

Into The Wild (Nature Writing)

Was McCandless justified in the pain he brought to family and friends in choosing his own solitary course in life? Why or why not?

In 1992 the body of a young man was found in the Alaskan mountains. Chris McCandless, the protagonist of Into the Wild, was searching for his true self, but died in the process. Had Chris survived his solitary adventure as he likely planned, the pain he caused his family and friends could have been justified, but his death made that impossible.

McCandless followed his dreams, did what he wanted to, and pursued happiness, even at the expense of his family’s and friends’ pain. It is good to follow your dreams, and to pursue happiness for yourself; the right to pursue happiness is in our country’s Declaration of Independence. Chris knew this. So he ran away from home. The sudden absence of Chris pained his family, and it would be another two years before they would hear any news about him. Chris was following his dreams.

McCandless began referring to himself by a different name: Alex. “Two years he walks the earth. No phone, no pool, no pets, no cigarettes. Ultimate freedom. An extremist. An aesthetic voyager whose home is the road.” says Alex ‘Supertramp’ in May of 1992. In many ways Alex represented another personality inside Chris. Alex was the one who wanted to return when he was on his deathbed in the mountains of Alaska. Chris never intended to return. Chris didn’t care about his family; they were always trying to “buy his love” with their money. Because of this, money was one of the things Chris hated the most. He hated what it turned people into, such as greedy and inhumane. This hatred motivated him to later burn all of his cash and basically live moneyless for two years. His original intentions for his expedition were to get away from money, get away from family, and journey no matter how much it hurt his family. He believed he was justified, but after two years, Chris grew up he realized his intentions were not good.

Some criticized McCandless for being unprepared and untrained. An Alaskan park ranger said, “…he spent very little time learning how to actually live in the wild. He arrived at the Stampede Trail without even a map of the area. If he (had) had a good map he could have walked out of his predicament…Essentially, Chris McCandless committed suicide." McCandless came into the Stampede Trail with a bag full of materials insufficient to keep him alive. It was a wonder that he survived the two-month period that he did. He said in a letter that he was ready to “live off the land for a while”. That was Chris talking. Maybe that was Alex realizing the pain was too great for all and therefore not justified.

McCandless never got to say goodbye to his family, and he died alone in the wild. Some say that’s the way he wanted it, but some say he was going to return. His journal references that he wanted to return home, but some even say he lost his sanity right before his tragic death. The pain caused by his death, in some ways, was justified, and in other ways, it was not. Yes, he was a reckless kid in over his head, but he was also following his dreams. Chris probably never understood the pain he caused his family and friends, and even the many friendly characters he met on his expedition across the continent. The amount of pain Chris brought on by his unnecessary, horrendous, and untimely death cannot be justified.

Into The Wild Rough Draft Essay

Into The Wild Essay:

In 1992 a young man was found dead in the Alaskan mountains. Chris McCandless, the main character of ‘Into the Wild’, was searching for his true self, and died in the process of doing so. Because Chris McCandless wanted, some would say needed, to do something reckless, and his original intent was to survive and return home, his pain which he brought onto his family and friends was and will never be justified.

McCandless wouldn’t agree with the statement that him causing his friends and family emotional pain was justified, maybe the pre-journey Chris, but the Chris who grew during his venture into the wild, the post-journey Chris, wouldn’t. In the story ‘Into The Wild’ there are two Chris McCandless, and the story jumps from the present to the past and back around again, and because of that it is difficult to indentify which McCandless it is referring too. Luckily enough, the Author, Jon Krakauer, gives us a big hint. Chris renames himself several times, one name is his real one, Chris McCandless, one is Alex McCandless, and the last is Alex Supertramp, his alter ego. But along with those names, there is deeper meaning to the change of names. Three names are spread across two egos.

Many people criticized McCandless for not contacting or keeping contact with his parents and family. He did not have to tell his parents anything. He was doing what he wanted, not what other people wanted him to do and he was happy. Again, he didn’t have to do anything. He should have kept contact, or at least not pushed himself as far as he did, and returned before his demise.

Losing a family member is like pain that will never leave. It’s like plastic degrading, it never does, it just breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces. The pain for McCandless would/will never leave, and his death will never be justified, but he never really wanted to die. He wanted an adventure, and with his family it would never have happen, so he left. Although he doesn’t exactly hint at it until he is on his deathbed, I believe he always thought of returning. Alex/Chris originally set off into the Alaskan mountains after 2 years of adventuring to ‘live off the land’. In his journal he said he wanted to return, but only said this before he died.

Chris McCandless wouldn’t agree with the statement that him causing his friends and family emotional pain was justified, maybe the pre-journey Chris, but the Chris who grew during his venture into the wild, better known as Alex, wouldn’t agree. He probably knew it wouldn’t be, leaving without telling, and next they would hear he was dead.

Nature Reading

Read the italicized passage on page 168 that McCandless wrote and the italicized passage he highlighted from Tolstoy on page 169. Based on these writings and events in this chapter, what convinced McCandless that it was time to return to civilization? What did he learn from his time “in the wild”?

Chris learned what real living was like. He did not declare any regrets, and in some ways I feel and believe that he lost his sanity. He wrote in a poetic form and yet he described his ‘real’ life had begun, rebirth, that he has ‘real’ responsibilities. In the scariest way, what he wrote makes complete sense to me. It does make sense. Complete sense. I think that Chris learned what real living was like. When he ventured off he experienced so much, he covered more ground than most of us will in life, and he ran away from everything in his life, and yet he describes these ‘real’ responsibilities. It’s very weird.

Krakauer observes that it is not “unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders.” Explain whether McCandless would agree with Krakauer.

In 1990 Chris McCandless ran away from his parents and responsibilities, and did something “unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders”, but is that really that unusual? I think McCandless would agree with that statement.

It’s the reason why so many kids leave for the furthest away schools they got into, because they want to do something reckless before they get old and boring. But McCandless, and like a lot of young adults, wanted to do something even more reckless. But McCandless is a rare bread, in my opinion, for he actually did what so many kids threaten to do, he went ‘into the wild’. What is different about McCandless, or was different, is that he did it, but he had a reason. Lots of kids, in fact most of kids will attest to disliking their parents, McCandless did, but he also had a reason.

He hated his parents and always thought they were trying to buy him and his love, he hated money. He hated what money did to people, and his parents had lots of it. That was his reason. Reckless and stupid Chris left with not a lot.

Blog 26

1. Link to award: http://www.ivieawards.org/enter_ivie.asp

2. Summarize the basic requirements including entry fees, contest deadlines, permission forms, file sizes, and other requirements:

Entry Fee: $10

Deadline: April 1, 2010 (but it needs to be in at-least 20 days before)

File Size: Irrelevant, as long as its uncompressed, HQ

3. Will your work be accepted?

Not in my current film's status. The requirement is at least 7 minutes in length, my film will only be able to span 5 minutes, which makes sense for the amount of interviews and script length. But my original intent was to compile and edit my video along with another student film. We decided this early on, so we've been using the same equipment and narration etc.

Great Gatsby Essay

(Draft 1)

Evaluate The Great Gatsby as a criticism of the corruption of the American Dream:

The Faux Dream

The American Dream is a national philosophy in/of the United States in which democratic morals are professed as a promise of prosperity and wealth for its people. The American Dream, first expressed by James Truslow Adams in 1931, says that citizens of any class can achieve a "better, richer, and happier life.", or move up social classes. But the American Dream was a fantasy, a myth, and had already been proven to be so years before Adams had stated this.

We’d all like to believe that you can become a rich, high class citizen by doing an honorable days work, but this is a lie. As told in the Great Gatsby, the lead character, Jay Gatsby, is a mysterious man. A government agent? A drug store owner? What does he do? That is the question for the most of the book. Until it is revealed that he is nothing more than a common bootlegger of the 1920’s era. Yet he started out smart, athletic, but had nothing but a dream to become something more than an American citizen, a member of the America high class. So he did what he had to do if he ever wanted to reach full happiness, in this case it is the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, but that is the point of the American Dream, the right to purse happiness.

Before the American Dream even materialized in the minds of the masses, it was proven incorrect, false, fictional, a lie. The author of the Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald, understood something about people, he understood how we work, how it is inevitable to have some form of segregation one way or another.

"Better, richer, and happier life." The first page of the Great Gatsby, Nick Carroway (the narrator) says this about the way his mind works: “Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, “just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” Nick’s attitudes toward Jay Gatsby are of two minds and contradictory. At times he seems to disapprove of Gatsby’s ethics and possible illegal activity, but he also romanticizes and admires Gatsby, describing the events of the novel in a nostalgic and elegiac tone. Nick has nothing, similar to Gatsby, before he got into illegal activity, and Gatsby continuely tries to get Nick involved with whatever Gatsby does, but Nick declines time after time, showing Gatsby that Nick still sees hope in the American Dream.

He is Gatsby’s neighbor, and he is the one who gets him his golden girl in the end. Gatsby has done illegal things to move up his class status, and yet he has still not reached happiness, which in other words is Daisy. And in the end, it took Nick, who is a nobody, to get him his happiness, but its not lasting.

In the end of the book, Gatsby finally meets up with his golden girl Daisy, but at the price of his life. Gatsby spent over 6 years reinventing his life, breaking the law, and putting his future in the line for happiness, trying to achieve a "better, richer, and happier life." Gatsby does attain this, but breaking the original philosophy that we have all grown up believing in.

"A lot of people have been bootleggers. I'm not justifying the behavior I'm just saying it was the thing to do"

Sources Cited:

1. “The Great Gatsby” F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)
2. “The Center for The New American Dream” 
http://www.newdream.org/about/

MSB Current Events

1. http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/22/following-flow-pollutants/?southcounty&zIndex=169982

-this article (titled 'Following The Flow of Pollutants') is very important. Even though I feel like almost everything Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) is important, this one is finally doing something. Most of what Scripps does nowadays is educating and researching about pollution and such, but this is a good example of what they try to do

2. http://www.slate.com/id/2182758

-Basically a new news story about the advantages that Reverse Osmosis (AKA Toilet to Tap) has over other leading filtration processes. Well, mainly the summarized advantages of RO and the parts when it really compares it to other filtration processes.

3. http://theconstanceblog.blogspot.com/

-From Constance's blog, a new law will allow California to help fund recycling and reuse of water programs for discarded tires in Mexico. California ships millions of discarded tires to Mexico, annually, thousands of which flow back across our border which ends up littering the beaches of San Diego.

Newly Found (Relevant to MSB Project) Events:

4. http://discovermagazine.com/2008/may/23-from-toilet-to-tap

-Yet another site that retells the importance of toilet to tap and summarizes how it works.

5. http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep04/toilet.html

-Psychologists lend their expertise to overcoming the public's aversion to reclaimed water.

Optional Assignment: Professional Example

http://www.ehow.com/how_4488049_write-documentary-scripts.html

"Some filmmakers will have a rough script written before they begin shooting while others will wait until all the footage is shot and then have a writer come in to piece together a story from the footage. Still others want a writer to come in after the documentary is almost entirely edited and simply write the narration."

This piece of writing/html tutorial is an extensive professional, extremely helpful source for help on writing a documentary script. It goes through hthe entire process of writing a script, from research to filming, to incorporating your interviews into your previously written script. I found this very helpful in writing my script for my video (which is almost complete).

MSB Update

Article:

http://www.slate.com/id/2182758

1. Summarize the event:

Basically a new news story about the advantages that Reverse Osmosis (AKA Toilet to Tap) has over other leading filtration processes.

2. What is the most important info presented in the story?

Well, mainly the summarized advantages of RO and the parts when it really compares it to other filtration processes.

3. What info is missing?

It's cons.

4. How does this info play into your MSB work?

My documentary is about Reverse Osmosis (AKA Toilet to Tap), so it plays in very well. I am actually using that as a new source on my updated script.

1. Name of organization:

San Diego Council District 8

2. Mission statement (copy/paste from their site):

The Tijuana River Valley is not just a District 8 resource; it has been recognized as being "wetlands of international importance" with economic, cultural, scientific, and recreational value by the Ramsar Convention. I have made the area a priority during my tenure as a District 8 representative because I feel strongly that we need to be responsible stewards of this environmental treasure.

Last winter, rains caused storm channels in the valley to overflow. Polluted water flooded the area. Three horses died, 21 property owners and ranch hands needed to be rescued, property was damaged, and there was significant environmental damage to an area that is essential to the survival of more than 370 species of migratory and native birds, including six endangered species.

To prevent a recurrence of that disaster, I worked with city, county, state, and federal officials to declare a state of emergency and secure expedited permits that have allowed us to dredge pilot and other flood control channels before the rains begin this year. This effort, helpful for the short term, is part of a larger multi-agency, bi-national movement to comprehensively, and permanently, address pollution and solid waste in the valley. I will keep you informed of our progress.

3a:

Council President Ben Hueso spoke directly to District 8 constituents with a State of the District event held at San Ysidro’s Casa Familiar Civic & Recreation Center located at 212 East Park Avenue. Because District 8 is not geographically contiguous, Hueso hosted a similar community meeting last week at Perkins Elementary School, 1770 Main Street, to address accomplishments affecting residents living in the northern part of his district.

3b:

An important interaction with a local city or county government agency:

Council President Ben Hueso was joined by City Council leaders, Mayor Jerry Sanders, San Diego residents and members of the San Diego Organizing Project, an active, faith-based community organization, to protest the State of California’s announced intention to take City of San Diego funds to help close their $24 billion budget deficit.

“At Council this afternoon, we will formally object to the State’s intentions by considering a resolution opposing the state’s proposal to seize additional city tax funds,” said Hueso. We will also take a stand against enacting any new unfunded mandates.”

Overall, this does not count as an organization.

Nick & Gatsby

I feel like Nick Carroway and Jay Gatsby are similar, even though Nick has nothing, and Gatsby seems to have everything. But I feel like they are similar because the way the author/narrator (Fitzgerald/Nick) describe himself compared to Gatsby makes it seem like their the only two normal people in the entire story.

Gatsby is continually showing surprise for Nick's actions, because their so different from his neighbors. I also think that the reason why they became such good friends is that they have so much in common, they were in the war...and their normal.

The Great Gastby Blog #1

1: The narrator is Nick Carroway

2: The author, F. Scott Fitzgerald, accomplishes a lot with the narration. In many ways the Great Gatsby is an experimental piece of American literature because of that very reason, the narration. It's a fantastic narrative that breaks the 5th wall and is open about his reflections on the events happening. It's fantastic and makes you think what's going to happen at the end of this.

Example Work Sample

1. What is the most successful element of this work sample? Why do you believe this?

I think they use professional technology and also a mixture of comedy to convey a message.

2. What is the message of the work? How do you know?

Well, it is a video compilation of fictional PSA's, each with a different message.

3. Who or what is the intended audience for this work? How do you know?

Well, the audience is pretty much for anyone inside the US, along with the fans of the TV show 'The Office' because their using these PSA's as promos for the TV show.

4. How do specific elements of the work sample come together to deliver the message?

Comedy and line delivery (mixed with the styles of the video) make us laugh and think, also possibly want to watch the Office.

5. Describe one technique the creator of this work used. Why do you think this technique was used for this specific piece of work?

It has an interesting mixture of close-ups and medium shots of the actors when their delivering their lines to catch our attention.

6. Why did you choose this work sample?

Mainly...mainly I liked the style, it was trying to mock/depict an average American Televised PSA for different causes, but I really like it, it takes all of the elements that a normal short PSA has and included it into their video.

Newspaper Reflection

I feel like the newspaper project was the first project that I felt very pressed on time. Also, I was getting sick and missed the very last part of it, so I lost a major part of revision for my article. I think that I displayed leadership skills which got us ahead of most groups, within the first day we had chosen our city and date (which would change), also I made us decide on topics within the first day so we could begin brainstorming and research early. In the end it turned out well, I think.

Starting early will help me in MSB because I have already chosen on a topic that I am really passionate about and I have also begun on research, contacts, and my script for the November 5th critique, and I will be collecting beach footage around OB, NTC, and my neighborhood of point loma in the next few weeks. I have also already begun on graphic editing and looking for images and graphs relating to my topic.

MSB Blog (17)

D'Vaughn's blog: She basically said for MSB we're not limited to only beach based organizations and people (who work with beaches directly) for interviews. That we can also use government power to strengthen our arguments.

Thomas's blog: Basically says that he is considering making a movie on the pollution's affect on the public. Its an odd prompt for an MSB movie because almost everyone does direct beach related topics.

Shanna's blog: Shanna discusses a possible painting/mural depicting the marine's suffering of external pollution. The reason for me liking this idea so much is it's unique, like a new idea, something that hasn't been done before.

BLOG #15

Possible Project Products:

1. Write a sentence describing the final product:

A movie/documentary/video on the reverse osmosis filtration system and why its rejected by so many.

2. Post an example of a professional or other high-level product that could serve as a basis for your work.

http://mediasavesthebeach.org/ (What Do You Really Know? Keven Middleton)

3. List three specific ideas that you can take from your example to lead you to a high quality product. Write specifically how you will apply these ideas to your work here. Be as clear, exact & specific as you can!

• I like the way its structured, much more professional than the other videos.
• Interviews and B-roll
• I could present my facts in a more fun way in the video, and add more personality to the narration.

1. Write a sentence describing the final product:

A photo/Essay that has at least 6 pictures and each with a paragraph from an essay.

2. Post an example of a professional or other high-level product that could serve as a basis for your work.

http://mediasavesthebeach.org/ (Photo Essays)

3. List three specific ideas that you can take from your example to lead you to a high quality product. Write specifically how you will apply these ideas to your work here. Be as clear, exact & specific as you can!

• Professionalism
• Quality of photos
• Quality of writing

BLOG #14

"What is the Reverse osmosis system?

"How does it work?"

"Why is it being publicly rejected by so many?"

• Point Loma Sewage Treatment Plant
• Surfrider
• Coastkeeper

I posted these places because they might know a lot about the water system or someone or someplace I could contact and ask them or set up an interview.

Blog #13

"A big Pacific storm swept into California on Tuesday with damaging winds and downpours that put a central community under an evacuation advisory because of mudslide fears, while residents near hillsides denuded by wildfires in the south braced for a dangerous overnight drenching.

The main fear was that the rains would cause mud and debris to rush down hillsides made bare from the summer fire, state fire spokeswoman Colleen Baxter said"

The controversy covers a lot of issues stemming from money and the conditions of southern california. The condition of our water with be affected by the rain and pollution brought in due to the gravitational pull of the globe. If people were told more about the water quality after a rain storm, there would be more people working for change.

The information missing is where specifically did this take place and when. It says it was talking about San Diego from LA and it has a date published but doesn't talk about when.

I'm not sure, this is one of those 'downer' articles, no hope no solutions no fixes, just problem after problem. The next followup would definitely be about what people are trying to do about it.

Optional Assignment: Industrialization

Industrialization: NTC San Diego

In the mid-1920s, the City of San Diego hoped to strengthen its economic ties with the military, and offered more than 200 acres of land to the Navy at the north end of San Diego Bay to entice it to move the Recruit Training Station from San Francisco.

· 70-year history as a military base

· More than 133,000 uniformed personnel and another 30,000 civilians relying on the military for their livelihood.

· Beyond these payroll and visitor expenditures, the Navy spent an additional $10 million for base operation support contracts.

· The end of the Cold War led to military downsizing and the need to close surplus bases. In 1993, the federal Base Realignment and Closure Commission slated NTC for eventual closure.

Issue:

NTC or Liberty Station, has not been hit with any real issues. The main issue (1997-2005) was safety issues. At 1997 the navy ceased all operations in NTC, leaving it completely. Once they left, there was almost an 8 year period where it was left to rot, mold, and crumble. Beginning in 2004-2005, the NTC area began a largely time consuming face lift, that actually is still going on to this day. It's new name is Liberty Station, even though to most locals of the Point Loma area still call it NTC. It's now a mall...sort of...

Relevant News Story:

http://www.ntcfoundation.org/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=10723

Map:

Media Saves The Beach!

Questions:

1. What is the Toilet To Tap filtration system and why is it being rejected by so many people?

The toilet to tap system (or reverse osmosis) is something that I feel very strongly about. I believe that it is one of the only inventions that could save the world (in this case, from running out of water). I do plan on doing my project about it.

1. What is the Seal controversy? Why is it such a problem?

I hate the seal controversy because I do not see a problem in it. I feel like out of all of the beaches in San Diego can't we give one to the seals?

1. Why is our potable water running out? What are some proposed ideas to solve this problem and how does this work?

People are stupid. Simply put. Global warming can be solved by planting trees, essentially the water problem can be solved in a simple way, similar to that. Plant for gardens everywhere, they are natures natural, biological water filter and they are healthy for everything. That's just on idea, there are endless amounts and none of the relatively smart effective ways are being passed on.

Endless Struggle

Endless Struggle

Just because something is proclaimed to be one way or another does not mean that it is. The Civil War ended in favor of the North and that was believed to signify the ending of slavery and equal rights for the former slaves, the masses assumed emancipation would be finally realized. Although laws and amendments were passed to maintain this belief, the Union failed in their attempts to reconstruct the South. To have such patriots of the Confederacy stop flying their flag and suddenly flying their enemies was too much for Reconstruction to handle, too much to just be amended.

In Tony Horwitz’s book, “Confederates in the Attic”, he discusses the death of a man named Michael Westerman, a 19-year old high school grad gunned down through his truck’s tinted windows because of his Confederate flag, and the area he lived in and died in. The town of Guthrie, described in the book, is a backwards, small American town. Still separated by race, it’s a wonder that not more people have been murdered over the hate symbol.

In his book, Horwitz explores a world where Confederate flags are raised high and proudly, and racism is practiced and taught as something normal. It is, in a way, a cliché world inhabited by Southern stereotypes. Most people laugh at this world, but in reality it has a very dark history. Reading about this area in Kentucky, I was quite affected by this reading; mainly because I was one of the people who didn’t/don’t believe it exists. Reconstruction ended abruptly and the many compromises struck with the North and South to keep out of each others business did not help. Hundreds of people all across America have been killed since the end of the Civil War over race.

There is a reason why we consider the end of the Civil War to be the beginning of modern America, and that’s mainly because it shot us out from the dark ages of thinking. Some people say that it was the start of Modern-America; some people think it was the start of Modern problems. “They say that war ended a long time ago. But around here it’s like it’s still going on.” In many respects to what happens in people’s minds, it is still going on. The paramilitary racist factions that struck their high point during the early 1900s are mostly still here today. The Ku Klux Klan is believed to have anywhere between 6,000-8,000 members, and use modern day technology to hide and still spread the word of White Christianity. Basically, that’s what happened to the Confederate radicals and that’s kind of why people believe the war not to be over, people are still fighting for change.

In all of the written and legitimate ways the Civil War is over, but that doesn’t mean people are not still fighting. Some people don’t believe it is, yes they’ll agree that the Confederacy isn’t still around, but they still fight, just under new names. Neo-Nazis, The Ku Klux Klan, passed on from generation to generation, the beliefs and practices of the South are still carried out, and the United States tried to deny this until the point when it becomes problematic. The Confederate flag still flies high, so high it has become a legitimate United States symbol for public schooling, for example the school that Westerman went too, along with the four black students who killed, all went to that high school. I am surprised that the Confederate flag problem has not gained as much press as you would think. We fought against the South, and here was its flag standing in for legitimate government symbols. I guess I was just suppressed that it’s a part of the government and not just hanging from people’s backyards.

I do not know what is more horrible, the Confederate flag, a blatant symbol for hatred, religious and skin color superiority, and Anti-Americanism, being used for a public symbol or a man being killed, shot in the heart, in front of his wife. Its not that racism isn’t a stranger to California, but this historical problem lasting longer than one hundred years is beyond racism. Yes the Civil War ended in 1865, yes it abolished Slavery, and yes America was one notch more accepting, but just because slavery is absent, does not mean the belief of skin color superiority is. If humans can’t get past skin color than we are doomed, guaranteed.

Sources:

1. KKK Main Site, “http://www.kkk.com/” (Updated 2009)

2. US History Post-Civil War Conditions,” http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h409.html” (2002)

3. Authentic History Civil War Timeline, http://www.authentichistory.com/postcw.html (Updated 2006)

Reconstruction

After the Civil War, the North or the Union was left with a country which had different beliefs than them, so they were faced with a challenge. How do you edit this place so you won't have another Civil War? Easy. Reconstruction.

Not so easy, actually.

Reconstruction took place between 1865 and 1877, and was when the Union needed new amendments, took three different presidents, it off-sparked American terrorism (most groups still around today) and racial tensions and battles which still rage on today. Reconstruction is the reason for why the Civil War (in many respects) is still around. I mean that the War is still alive and in battle today because there are still people fighting, and it's not even that difficult to find those people. You go driving around Virginia (which happens to be one of the main Confederate areas at the time) and you'll see a Confederate flag in the first 10-60 minutes there. Most people say its their 'Southern Heritage', thats a lie. The flag dates back to the birth of the Confederacy, it represents a country divided, and it represents the racist, greey part of that separation. If Reconstruction succeeded you wouldn't be seeing any of these 'so called' Americans flying the Red/Blue Confederate flag.

This Article (http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/86418/the_flag_of_the_confederacy_still_stands.html) by Robert Switzer details the many confederate flags you will find flying today in the South and how it does not stand or symbolize anything good about Southern heritage, it is and always will be a symbol for segregation and hate, a symbol which people use proudly, but in reality, it is a symbol for greedy men and women who didn't want to lose their slaves (their 'property')

BLog #9

http://www3.signonsandiego.com/stories/2009/sep/22/following-flow-pollutants/?southcounty&zIndex=169982

Okay, this article (titled 'Following The Flow of Pollutants') is very important. Even though I feel like almost everything Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) is important, this one is finally doing something. Most of what Scripps does nowadays is educating and researching about pollution and such, but this is a good example of what they try to do. Doing something that will educate many, and finally doing something that will help test which water is healthy to swim in (or do anything in) and what is not.

They are using top of the line equipment to test (most/all of) our beaches and inform and warn the masses. As the years go on into this millennium, our oceans are goign to get progressively more disgusting/polluted, Scripps is doing all they can.

Blog #8

Some ideas I have for the Media Saves The Beach project are all related to video ideas. I love filmmaking and documentary filmmaking has interested me since I was young. I want to do a video project with extreme informational themes and facts for it's audience.

The content that interests me the most is how important the ocean is, yet we treat it so poorly, but most people don't even know that we're doing it. Pollution is a serious thing.

Blog #7: Final Work

Blog #7

(Final Image)

(Final Artist Statement)

“My Old Friend”

Cinema has always been a medium of self-expression that always interested me. It's been a love of mine for so many years that it's difficult to remember the beginnings of this hobby of mine. Thinking back, I still remember standing in the hall of my middle school, where it all began. I still remember being that little 13 year-old middle school kid staring out the wide window, waiting for summer. My brother’s friend, Hunter, came down from the high school across the street. Summer wasn’t over for him either, but he had the time. He must have saw me staring out into nothing, because his next thoughts lead him to say hello to me. It did. He had been attending the school High Tech High Media Arts, so naturally I asked him how the ‘movies’ was going. He said it was going well, to my surprise, I had no idea. Two hours later I was at my house, quickly jotting down ideas for films, somehow he had inspired me to get into filmmaking, without me knowing.

I’ve never considered anyone my ‘idol’ before; I never have really seen the point. But when I stopped looking for one, my greatest idol appeared before my mind. It wasn’t Barack Obama, it wasn’t John Lennon, and it wasn’t Al Gore. No, it was that kid who talked to me in middle school, and he wasn’t a celebrity. He is a personal inspiration; it was that high school kid, that friend of my brothers, that friend of mine, Hunter Moskowitz.

Almost everything about Hunter was, and is, a constant source of inspiration to me. Everything, even down to the way he dealt with people; it was all his own way. And I’m not even talking about his filmmaking skills, which were at a level that an 18-year old high school student usually doesn’t attain, but it was his opinion of things, his way of expressing himself in all mediums of art. His films, even his filmmaking style, still remain constant sources of inspiration to my life and my choices. He would randomly call me up about something he had thought up of, something of which myself or anyone else would never come up with. But even past the ideas, past the amazingly odd stories and scripts, he was even good at executing them in the line of production. He would make short films, which housed such ideas so funny, so sad, or sad happy, things so out there that they would make you think, no matter what they were, and no matter who you are. Even his finished films are so out there they let you to crawl into his mind for a second; they make you to see what he was thinking. The amazing thing about him was that he was able to do all of this without loosing any artistic qualities by making his films into artsy pieces of trash. And in many respects, he was immortalized inside his own films.

You may be asking yourself why this is important, why you care, why you are reading this. I can't exactly tell you why, but I can tell you what I consider important. And what I consider important in all this is how important all this is, to me at least.. My only true American Icon or American Idol or American influence, was a personal inspiration, it was that high school kid, that friend of my brothers, that friend of mine, Hunter Moskowitz. Even though Hunter passed away last June, to me, he’ll always be that high school kid who changed my life.

Sources Cited:

David Krause, Chris Moskowitz “Interview With His Mom”

(September 11, 2009)

Hunter Moskowitz, “All Alone” (2008)

Hunter Moskowitz, David Krause. Personal Emails,

(April 2006-Febuary 2009)

Hunter Moskowitz “The End of The World” Film Script.

(Unknown Date of Completion)

American Icon Reflection

I feel like my writing started out with tons of content and ideas, but lacked any form of structure, grammar, or sign of correct writing. Basically, the revisions were to correct the textbook flaws, not the lack of content. I feel like the first draft, for me, is always the one with the most writing, and most ideas, spread across the entire page. I feel like I used short, real stories to capture and pull in the audience, that’s one thing I did a lot. I don’t know about if I had another draft, probably trying to squeeze in one more idea.

(one sentence which stands out to me)“My only true American Icon or American Idol or American influence, was a personal inspiration, it was that high school kid, that friend of my brothers, that friend of mine, Hunter Moskowitz.

This sentence stands out to me because I feel like it’s well written and gets the idea across to the reader. I feel like this is one of my best sentences, because I actually use part of it in the beginning, similar to the loop, I bring the readers back to the beginning, but expands on the idea with all of the new knowledge they have, to help understand with the new ideas and the old statement from the beginning

latest draft of photo

Photo Techniques

Some photo techniques I plan on using in my final photograph are:

1. Rule of Thirds: Even though the original photograph that I am recreating did not follow, the original had color, so I guess I can call mine a stylized recreation, seeing as though mine will have a larger size, zero amount of color, more contrast, and follow the rule of thirds.

2. This is a posed portrait: my photograph will not be a cheap 'done in five minutes' picture. It will be a posed portrait. Since I was there when he actually took the picture, I know how (I even know which kind of camera he used) he took the picture.

3. Vignetting: The orignal had an accidental vignette to the photo, mine will have an on purpose one, completely controlled.

Since I was with him when he took the picture, I have been able to be successful in recreating the photo in the same method he took the picture.

Blog #4: In Class Critique

My Artist Statement, currently at least, is basically all of my content down on paper. I tried hard to get all my thoughts and feelings (even beliefs) down, and I believe I succeeded in that matter, but now all I need to do is revise, organize, rewrite, and things of that matter.

My in class reviewer picked up on that, and understood that as a first draft it had content, but not organized or clean in any matter. He basically told me that I should include some quotes, and talk about some specifics, but other than that I just need to edit.

My major goals for my artist statement are for people to look at my photo, then look at my statement and have all of their questions answered, but also give them some background information. I want them to understand the background of my photo, I want them to understand why and how, and who my icon is/was, and who he is/was.

(Draft 2)

Cinema has always been a medium of self expression that has always caught my eye. It's been a love of mine for so many years that it's difficult to remember the beginnings of this hobby of mine. Thinking back, I still remember standing in the hall of my middle school, where it all begin. I still remember that little 13 year-old middle school kid staring out the wide window, waiting for summer. I still remember my schedule, boring, hot, pointless. I still remember my feeling, standing there, that kid was me. It was one of the last days of school, even though the days resembled that of a sunny summer day. My brother’s friend, Hunter, came down from high school. Summer wasn’t over for him either, but he had the time. He saw me staring out the window and thought it would cheer my day up if he stopped by and said hello. It did. He had been attending the school High Tech High Media Arts, so naturally I asked him how the movie making was going. He said it was going well, to my surprise, I had no idea. Two hours later I was at my house, quickly jotting down ideas for films, somehow he had inspired me to get into filmmaking, without me knowing.

I’ve never considered myself follower of one, therefore it has always been difficult for me to idolize someone. But when I stopped looking for one, my greatest idol appeared before my mind. It wasn’t Barack Obama, it wasn’t John Lennon, and it wasn’t Al Gore. No, it was that kid who talked to me in middle school, and he wasn’t a celebrity. He is a personal inspiration; it was that high school kid, that friend of my brothers, that friend of mine, Hunter Moskowitz. He helped me through many hardships during my life, and steered me in the right path so many times. But there was more than a sense of wisdom that made me idolize him so.

Almost everything about him was, and is, a constant source of inspiration to me. Everything, even down to the way he dealt with people; it was all his own way. And I’m not even talking about his filmmaking skills, which were at a level that an 18-year old high school student usually doesn’t attain, but it was his opinion of things, his way of expressing himself in all mediums of art. Still, his filmmaking abilities inspired much of the last 4 years of my life.

His films, even his filmmaking style, are still constant sources of inspiration to me. He would constantly call me up and tell me about something he had thought up of, something of which myself or anyone else would never come up with. But even past the ideas, past the amazingly odd stories and scripts, he was even good at executing them in the line of production. He would make short films, which housed such ideas so funny, so sad, or sad happy, things so out there that they would make you think, no matter what they were, and no matter who you are. Even his finished films are so out there they let you to crawl into his mind for a second; they allow you to see what he was thinking. The amazing thing about him was that he was able to do all of this without loosing any artistic qualities by making his films into artsy pieces of trash. And in many respects, he was immortalized inside his own films.

You may be asking yourself why this is important, why you care, why you are reading this. I can't exactly tell you why, but I can tell you what I consider important. And what I consider important in all this is how important all this is, to me at least. The difference between me and most people’s Icons or American Icons is that I’ve met mine, got to know him, and my icon changed my life. That is what’s important. My only true American Icon or American Idol or American influence, was a personal inspiration, it was that high school kid, that friend of my brothers, that friend of mine, Hunter Moskowitz. Even though Hunter passed away last June, to me, he’ll always be that high school kid who changed my life.

American Icon Resource List

(I'm posting this extra-early in case I did this incorrectly)

These are my remaining two potential American Icon’s and a list of 3 resources that will come in handy when writing my paper about them.

Merian C. Cooper was a filmmaker from the 30s, an Icon that I idolize greatly

1.  Exploits of Merian C. Cooper (Documentary) 

2.  A bio of Merian C. Cooper and his accomplishments:  http://www.jaxhistory.com/KingKong.html

3.  PIctures 

Hunter Moskowitz was a friend of mine who died in June of 2009; he had a great influence on my life:

1.  Email (to me about his movie)

2.  Pictures

3.  Film

American Icons, Blog Post #2

I feel like my icons are somewhat odd, or at least the American ones, since they are not very recognized to many people that I personally know, but I feel like they have impacted my life and what I plan to do with my life the most, even more/so than people that I have actually met.

My first inspiration is Merian C. Cooper, a film director most known for his film ‘King Kong’ (1933).  He also pioneered color filmmaking in the 50s, revolutionizing how we watch movies forever.  He is a man who, in a lot of aspects, revolutionized American film.  I was raised watching classic films and was inspired to become a filmmaker.  Merian C. Cooper was an incredibly smart, incredibly creative person, who first joined the filmmaking rush in the early 1900s, with his films of animals.  He was always inspired by his surroundings, which led to his films like King Kong, and this is Cinerama (a film that mixed new technology and amazing shots of the world and of nature to provide the first realistic film experience, taking people all over the world).  Both films revolutionized the way that people watched movies.  

I guess a guy like Cooper is an Icon.  If you ask any old film buff (including me) who Merian C. Cooper is, you'd get a direct answer.  He is an Icon, not a well known icon, but as far as his work goes and his innovations, I still consider them magic.  

My second inspiration is a personnel friend of mine, Hunter Moskowitz.  I knew him since I could remember, pretty much, he was a good friend of my brother.  He passed away last June.  He had the most influence on my life, compared to any of these other icons.  

On a Personal level, he was an incredibly good friend.  Almost like a brother, pretty much a brother.  He was the reason I chose HTHMA over the other two HTH schools, he was the reason why I decided to adventure into the realm of filmmaking when I was 13, he was the reason I did a lot of things, and the reason why I didn't do a lot of things.  When I found out, it really hurt me where I lived.

 On an icon level, he is, to me at least, a huge Icon.  His creativity allowed him to do and create images on the screen that I've never seen done before.  He was also able to write things so out there that it could be regarded as experimental, but it wasn't like that.  He was a good filmmaker, and a good friend, and an American Icon to me, and still is, and still will be. 

John Lennon, of Beatles fame, only lived to be 40, and as much of an impact that he had on American culture, you’d think a Beatle fan like myself would have rode the Lennon train, or at least see some concerts, if I were my age or older in the 60s-late 70s.  But I don’t think so.  Lennon (and all the rest of the Beatles) were notorious for using LSD and other strong hallucinogens to make them ‘creative’ for their music.  A lot of times they drew in a ‘drugee’ crowd.  I don’t condone doing drugs, especially mind altering ones. 

 

John Lennon’s lyrics are still an inspiration to me, even though when you grind out the glamorous icon image to what he was, an amazing artist who practiced drugs, I don’t think he is anything like me.  His lyrics inspired my thoughts and feelings, which is odd, because when I really researched Lennon, who he was, what he liked, what he did, I found that he wasn’t an Icon to me, but his lyrics were.