Sunday, September 26, 2010
I really worked with the tools that were possible and just moved things around, added a slideshow and a pole. I changed some fonts and color schemes. I added an About Me page and included 3 links to some of my work. I really enjoyed the customizing aspect of the blog, where it doesn't have to look like a blog, but something more complicated. I was also interested in the coding, as I've had previous experience in html. Looking forward to the next class.
Monday, September 20, 2010
Interactive Tools
Hi,
I am from Brooklyn, NY. I am a sophomore art major with some possible minors that I have not yet declared. My favorite form of art is sculpture and photography. I am particularly interested in public art. I am interested in many things like books, psychiatry, culture, and languages. I enjoy the outdoors and don't like the cold.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
On finding money/ memory
After watching A Simple Plan, I guess everyone was discussing what would happen if they were in that situation. For one, there is a small chance of that, and you can NEVER predict how you will react or what you think you will do. I would think that the mind shuts down when you're in that kind of situation. Nonetheless, the point of these kinds of things is to get us to think and reflect on our own morals. I was actually annoyed throughout the entire movie, I just wanted to flip out on everyone there, they were all so normal in the sense that they did exactly what someone in real life would do. Again, this was probably the point of the movie.
Mr. Bennett mentioned that finding money like that in that kind of circumstance is a burden, and it truly is. I feel like if I was in that situation, I can only hope that I would actually do what I think now is the best option. I would probably take some of the money. Only as much as I think I can get away with. No one will miss 50,000 when there is another 4 million in the bag. If there was someone with me, there is always the problem of them coming back to the scene to get more money. Which means a greater possibility of getting caught or them simply having more money than me. I don't know whether I would report the plane, but I would probably have to in order to prevent the other two people from ratting everyone else out. I would then wait a couple of months or years, and finally I would invest the money into something that would produce a profit or spend it on something I need. I really can't think of what I would do with so much money, because I, as everyone else, am in danger of getting greedy and asking for a couple more thousand. I hate the things money can do and does to a person.
Quick random thing on memory. Some "professionals" once said that if you train your brain to remember your childhood and try really really hard to recall certain things and even write them down in great detail you can remember as far back as infant days. The furthest back I can remember is 1992 when my great grandfather died and I remember a bit before that when he was alive. I still remember him very faintly, not his physical being, but his general presence. There are things that seem false though, that with time I'm not sure whether they really happened, although they are confirmed by my parents.
Mr. Bennett mentioned that finding money like that in that kind of circumstance is a burden, and it truly is. I feel like if I was in that situation, I can only hope that I would actually do what I think now is the best option. I would probably take some of the money. Only as much as I think I can get away with. No one will miss 50,000 when there is another 4 million in the bag. If there was someone with me, there is always the problem of them coming back to the scene to get more money. Which means a greater possibility of getting caught or them simply having more money than me. I don't know whether I would report the plane, but I would probably have to in order to prevent the other two people from ratting everyone else out. I would then wait a couple of months or years, and finally I would invest the money into something that would produce a profit or spend it on something I need. I really can't think of what I would do with so much money, because I, as everyone else, am in danger of getting greedy and asking for a couple more thousand. I hate the things money can do and does to a person.
Quick random thing on memory. Some "professionals" once said that if you train your brain to remember your childhood and try really really hard to recall certain things and even write them down in great detail you can remember as far back as infant days. The furthest back I can remember is 1992 when my great grandfather died and I remember a bit before that when he was alive. I still remember him very faintly, not his physical being, but his general presence. There are things that seem false though, that with time I'm not sure whether they really happened, although they are confirmed by my parents.
Miscellaneous
In retrospect, my last post was pretty shitty and lacking in any insightful information, so I don't know why I got so worked up about it. There has been a lot to say, and I like writing in a blog because writing things out always gets my thoughts organized, because I can't remember my own ideas for the life of me. Whenever I take someone's order, as I walk away, I ask myself what the hell they wanted to drink.
Anyways,
On some overdue movies.
I felt like the movies we watched kept getting more recent, and honestly, held my attention a bit longer. I loved the first films because they had so many artistic and great qualities, but I feel like the films were watching now are sort of easier to view. It's not that I prefer them over the older ones, but personally I can visually see them easier. I don't know if that makes any sense.
Unforgiven was probably my favorite movie so far. I haven't watched that many Westerns but this one really hit me. I thought it was visually stunning, some of the images that I saw were so simplistic, but told so much. I really liked the overall silence of the film, how things moved sort of slowly, to parallel the Western way of living. I felt like everyone in the film was real, and they were really listening and looking at what was around them. In general, I liked the way the environment of the West made the viewer feel and how desolate it was at times. Everyone just seemed to be. No one was pursuing anything, they just were. I always feel like everyone around me is after something, myself included. It's never silence however.
Dark city was the total opposite of Unforgiven, in a visual sense I guess. Nature vs. urban darkness. I got this movie to watch on my own, and I was really taken aback by the ending. During the entire film I wasn't sure whether it was cheesy, or whether it was going to pull one of the Men In Black thing where our universe is actually in a marble in some alien's locker etc. BUt it kind of did. I was rather confused at the end of the movie. Not about the point of the movie, but whether I was really seeing the city turn towards the sun. It was pretty badass though. I'm a sucker for good science fiction movies that aren't pushing it. I loved the concept of trying to figure out the human soul and how you can't find it through our minds. I thought it was an interesting way of presenting it. Visually, it was a beautiful movie. I thought that the images were so atmospheric and powerful. I also feel like I've seen some of the things in the movie on some album covers (Ayreon- The Human Equation). I thought Memento was a more "realistic" way of asking where the human soul is or even what it is. I also thought Memento tried to have us question whether we truly know ourselves or who/what we are. Although In Dark City, the guy at the newsstand lost his memory, he still retained certain characteristics, so did Leo in Memento, but he couldn't understand whether he was a killer or not. His mind played tricks on him, because while he felt that he wasn't a killer, his mind made him forget that he really was. His mind also forced him to live everyday in the moment, which makes me question why the soul can't always do that. Also, does one come to the conclusion that there is no God or that there is no order in the universe by thinking about it, or did they really feel it. Was it an inclination first, or just cynicism? Maybe it was first a gut feeling, and then the mind sort of took over. I thought that Memento stressed the idea that we are alone in the world more than Dark City, because John's wife actually stood by him throughout the entire film whereas no one cared about Leo and used him to further their desires and needs. It was really sad how he tried to make up a story to comfort himself and that no one could help him even if they wanted to.
I also can't remember anyone's name in the movie so I googled Memento, and it said that the main character was Leonard Shelby, which I felt like wasn't his name.
Anyways,
On some overdue movies.
I felt like the movies we watched kept getting more recent, and honestly, held my attention a bit longer. I loved the first films because they had so many artistic and great qualities, but I feel like the films were watching now are sort of easier to view. It's not that I prefer them over the older ones, but personally I can visually see them easier. I don't know if that makes any sense.
Unforgiven was probably my favorite movie so far. I haven't watched that many Westerns but this one really hit me. I thought it was visually stunning, some of the images that I saw were so simplistic, but told so much. I really liked the overall silence of the film, how things moved sort of slowly, to parallel the Western way of living. I felt like everyone in the film was real, and they were really listening and looking at what was around them. In general, I liked the way the environment of the West made the viewer feel and how desolate it was at times. Everyone just seemed to be. No one was pursuing anything, they just were. I always feel like everyone around me is after something, myself included. It's never silence however.
Dark city was the total opposite of Unforgiven, in a visual sense I guess. Nature vs. urban darkness. I got this movie to watch on my own, and I was really taken aback by the ending. During the entire film I wasn't sure whether it was cheesy, or whether it was going to pull one of the Men In Black thing where our universe is actually in a marble in some alien's locker etc. BUt it kind of did. I was rather confused at the end of the movie. Not about the point of the movie, but whether I was really seeing the city turn towards the sun. It was pretty badass though. I'm a sucker for good science fiction movies that aren't pushing it. I loved the concept of trying to figure out the human soul and how you can't find it through our minds. I thought it was an interesting way of presenting it. Visually, it was a beautiful movie. I thought that the images were so atmospheric and powerful. I also feel like I've seen some of the things in the movie on some album covers (Ayreon- The Human Equation). I thought Memento was a more "realistic" way of asking where the human soul is or even what it is. I also thought Memento tried to have us question whether we truly know ourselves or who/what we are. Although In Dark City, the guy at the newsstand lost his memory, he still retained certain characteristics, so did Leo in Memento, but he couldn't understand whether he was a killer or not. His mind played tricks on him, because while he felt that he wasn't a killer, his mind made him forget that he really was. His mind also forced him to live everyday in the moment, which makes me question why the soul can't always do that. Also, does one come to the conclusion that there is no God or that there is no order in the universe by thinking about it, or did they really feel it. Was it an inclination first, or just cynicism? Maybe it was first a gut feeling, and then the mind sort of took over. I thought that Memento stressed the idea that we are alone in the world more than Dark City, because John's wife actually stood by him throughout the entire film whereas no one cared about Leo and used him to further their desires and needs. It was really sad how he tried to make up a story to comfort himself and that no one could help him even if they wanted to.
I also can't remember anyone's name in the movie so I googled Memento, and it said that the main character was Leonard Shelby, which I felt like wasn't his name.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Runaway Train, Untraceable
This is rather delayed but I think that Runaway Train had many things to talk about and I couldn't really organize my thoughts about it.
I really loved the idea that Manny and Ranken. looked similar and were essentially the same in many respects. I think this was a simple way to make a great statement. What stood out also was when Manny replied to Buck and Sarah (in a heated scene) that "we all die alone." I thought that this scene was a bit too quick and overlooked. I feel like it wasn't as slow moving-orchestrated music creeping up-thought evoking as it maybe could have been. At the same time, i think that this was the point. Manny said this so quickly and made it a fact. We didn't have time to think about what he said, and it seemed like neither did the characters, probably because they were going to die in about 4 minutes. I loved that Manny stood on top of the train cart as it descended into desctruction and responded to Ranken that he is free. Maybe some may call that scene cheesy, but I thought that it was extremely powerful. It sort of conveyed a feeling of literal and figurative freedom. Although Manny was on top of a train that was set along a particular track, he was not inside the train, he was not bound by anything. In a way, the scene reminded me of V for Vendetta, when V came out of the burning building and felt freedom. Manny was as free as it gets, he had no connections to anyone (literally, he let the train cart with Buck go) and he was finally alone in the world. I don't think my explanation did the scene any justice, but I was very moved by the scene.
On the non relevant side of things, I was forced to watch Untraceable this weekend. The movie was about a hacker who was killing people publicly. The more people visited the website where he showed the death of a victim, the faster the person died. Besides for the fact that it was a sort of Saw, and some other hacker/FBI movie combined, it was predictable. The only thing taht I thought was particularly interesting was that they showed the killer throughout the movie. I don't know how weird this is going to sound, but I did sort of see why the killer did it. He was seeking revenge, but as with SAW, I don't know whether taking someone else's life is something we should be allowed to do, even for the sake of revenge. So, I fell asleep during the last most suspensefull moments of the film, and I still knew what happened. Also, I thought that it was another commentary on how sick and cruel humans can be. It really pissed me off that the hits on the website where growing beyond exponential rates. And it pissed me off that OFCOURSE the mega computer government programers couldn't block the site somehow. These kinds of movies always underline our stupidity and cruelty. I understand that this could probably never actually happen, but if there is any small chance that it could, I think the outcome would be similar.
I really loved the idea that Manny and Ranken. looked similar and were essentially the same in many respects. I think this was a simple way to make a great statement. What stood out also was when Manny replied to Buck and Sarah (in a heated scene) that "we all die alone." I thought that this scene was a bit too quick and overlooked. I feel like it wasn't as slow moving-orchestrated music creeping up-thought evoking as it maybe could have been. At the same time, i think that this was the point. Manny said this so quickly and made it a fact. We didn't have time to think about what he said, and it seemed like neither did the characters, probably because they were going to die in about 4 minutes. I loved that Manny stood on top of the train cart as it descended into desctruction and responded to Ranken that he is free. Maybe some may call that scene cheesy, but I thought that it was extremely powerful. It sort of conveyed a feeling of literal and figurative freedom. Although Manny was on top of a train that was set along a particular track, he was not inside the train, he was not bound by anything. In a way, the scene reminded me of V for Vendetta, when V came out of the burning building and felt freedom. Manny was as free as it gets, he had no connections to anyone (literally, he let the train cart with Buck go) and he was finally alone in the world. I don't think my explanation did the scene any justice, but I was very moved by the scene.
On the non relevant side of things, I was forced to watch Untraceable this weekend. The movie was about a hacker who was killing people publicly. The more people visited the website where he showed the death of a victim, the faster the person died. Besides for the fact that it was a sort of Saw, and some other hacker/FBI movie combined, it was predictable. The only thing taht I thought was particularly interesting was that they showed the killer throughout the movie. I don't know how weird this is going to sound, but I did sort of see why the killer did it. He was seeking revenge, but as with SAW, I don't know whether taking someone else's life is something we should be allowed to do, even for the sake of revenge. So, I fell asleep during the last most suspensefull moments of the film, and I still knew what happened. Also, I thought that it was another commentary on how sick and cruel humans can be. It really pissed me off that the hits on the website where growing beyond exponential rates. And it pissed me off that OFCOURSE the mega computer government programers couldn't block the site somehow. These kinds of movies always underline our stupidity and cruelty. I understand that this could probably never actually happen, but if there is any small chance that it could, I think the outcome would be similar.
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