Image Deconstructed Reflection
The images presented on this website are all extremely intriguing. Each displays clearly discernible idea that strikes a cord with pretty much anyone. Reading about Diana Markosian who went into Chechnya and photographed the Muslim community. The pictures she took display the common interactions between the people in this area, that live in such extreme conditions. She uses the backdrop to portray the idea of the pictures. There is one of a couple, who are not allowed physical contact with each other until marriage, and the image shows them sitting on opposite ends of a bench, while the frame is rather large displaying the dismal blank winter behind them, making the distance between them even further. What was more interesting, was that Markosian's experience in Chechnya was as interesting as her pictures, and it furthered the idea of hardships in the area.
Monday, November 26, 2012
Sunday, November 25, 2012
The Fam and Thanksgiving
My thanksgiving consists of delicious food, unrelenting business talk, a ping pong tournament, more food, board games, and naps sporadically intermingled with this whole extravaganza. I have always celebrated thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. I'm not really sure why, but that's just how it is. My mom's side of the family consists of us, them, and my aunt's up north, ex-resort owning brethren. All in all, there are fourteen of us, three of the Strom clan, four of the Rabens, and seven of these up northers. Now, every year the Strom clan always likes to show up a little bit early to the Rabens household, which is actually a half an hour past when we were sappose to be because my mom really enjoys taking frustratingly long, and ill timed showers. When we do arrive, we always come in through the side, mudroom entrance. This may be for easier access tot he table, or some other mildly logical reason, but my inclination is that my Mom just enjoys being a little different. But we are always first to show around noon, and we help clean a little, make some coffee, just basic set up over all. My brother likes to tend to the cooking, my mom likes to help cook as well or help with some clean up, and I usually just sort of wander and talk to members of the Rabens clan, indirectly averting the eye of my aunt who will unquestionably force me into some mild chores. After about twenty minutes of this little circus, Grandma Harriet, who really deserves a class of her own comes to the door and walks her cute little self in. Grandma Harriet is an 83 year old, Macy's working ball of sweetness that could has a handicap parking pass, though she is probably more able bodied than most 50 year olds. When she comes, everyone of course must go hug her and ask her how she is, and then she usually takes up her post of setting out the pickles and the olives in a little tray every year because she "Always needs a little salty with her food." Then come my aunt's side of the family. First is cute old Grandma Nancy, who was born surprisingly on the same day as Grandma Harriet, who is a dear old lady that belongs to a little writing club. Accompanying her, is Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim is a character. He is a heavy set, 5'10" guy who has consistently for the last five years asked my brother and I about A. If we have a girlfriend yet. B. What movies we've seen lately C. If we've seen or read the last installment of the Twilight saga. He is always the first to take up a couch and doze for a couple hours. He also made it very clear this year that he was not a big fan of Obama's re-election in saying that because Obama won, he would like to purchase an automatic weapon, and a hand gun. These two, Jim and Nancy always come and set out their contribution to the meal, of which are actually very good, and then come the the rest of the northern clan. They are a clan of four, who are Eric, Jane, Scott, and Mary. They are all varying and different. Eric is the owner of a very flat, but sort of hilarious personality, Jane is a bubbly, and interesting woman, Scott has his father's monotone voice, but has a considerable amount more of youth and intrigue in him, then finally Mary is really just as her mother is, but slightly more self conscious in her soul searching. They too set their dishes out, and we all take part in that awkward, initial greetings.
From there we all eat food. Us "youngsters" get to go out on the porch at the kids table, though I am the youngest at sixteen and the oldest is twenty five so the title of the table is rather undeserving. But this table consists of me, my brother, cousin Ross and Blake, and northerner Scott, who has now lives in uptown. I have always been a little bit excluded from conversation because of my age and experiences, and this is still true today. What used to be chit chat about high school, accompanied by the overuse of swear words, has changed to talk of work at Ernst and Young, Target, and my brother's research lab, which is only more fervently accompanied by the overuse of swear words. I love this time of the day though. I really learn a lot, and when the food runs out and the older boys are getting heated about a subject in which they are arguing the same point, but just mildly rephrased, I sneak off to the wondrously furnished basement for a little afternoon nap.
From here, the Ping Pong starts, and this is the spectacular of the whole event. Each of the youngsters is paired with on of the older, less coordinated adults. This year I was paired with Uncle Jim, who in matches seemed to grow ever more frustrated when ever I would miss a ball. In this eight year long tradition, the winner usually boils down to which ever youth decides to hog the ball more. This usally ends up being my overly competitive cousin Blake. In fact, he's always in the championship, and his partner usually gets about 15% of the balls. By the fact that I'm writing this shows that it always has been a sore spot for me, who has never been graced with a championship. When the winner has been crowned, and the spray painted paddle, that has a turkey candle glued to it has been awarded, it's nap time number two, or in my case, I always like to see what little mechanical interests that my Uncle is taking part in. Uncle Steve like the rest of my family enjoys a slightly larger equator, and he works from home, selling different switches for countless mechanical processes. He is a man who loves hobbies, he has a huge garden, has three little Vespas, and enjoys wood working, so it's not surprising that he is a dreamer. This year he showed me some motorcycles that as can be seen from his search history, he dreams about on a consistent basis.
From here, some of the northerners leave, leaving just the urban Scott around, and we all amble over to the table for another round of feasting. By this time, we enjoy a very relaxed conversation on whatever, and cousin Ross pops off one liners at an interval of twenty seconds. We are all a little sleepy, so we attempt to keep the conversation alive, but us sleepy people make our way over to the T.V. to watch a British fixer up car show, while my peppy mom and cousin rile a few people up to play some board games. This livens them up and they get a little rowdy over apple to apples, attempting to cajole the judge at the time into choosing their ironically chosen card, and thus making lots of noise. After this, the night fizzles out, and we pack our food and games up. We say our goodbyes in a rather stereo typical hug, nice to see you kind of way and slowly make our way down the Raben's long driveway. Our night is then finished, and sleep is welcome.
My thanksgiving consists of delicious food, unrelenting business talk, a ping pong tournament, more food, board games, and naps sporadically intermingled with this whole extravaganza. I have always celebrated thanksgiving with my mom's side of the family. I'm not really sure why, but that's just how it is. My mom's side of the family consists of us, them, and my aunt's up north, ex-resort owning brethren. All in all, there are fourteen of us, three of the Strom clan, four of the Rabens, and seven of these up northers. Now, every year the Strom clan always likes to show up a little bit early to the Rabens household, which is actually a half an hour past when we were sappose to be because my mom really enjoys taking frustratingly long, and ill timed showers. When we do arrive, we always come in through the side, mudroom entrance. This may be for easier access tot he table, or some other mildly logical reason, but my inclination is that my Mom just enjoys being a little different. But we are always first to show around noon, and we help clean a little, make some coffee, just basic set up over all. My brother likes to tend to the cooking, my mom likes to help cook as well or help with some clean up, and I usually just sort of wander and talk to members of the Rabens clan, indirectly averting the eye of my aunt who will unquestionably force me into some mild chores. After about twenty minutes of this little circus, Grandma Harriet, who really deserves a class of her own comes to the door and walks her cute little self in. Grandma Harriet is an 83 year old, Macy's working ball of sweetness that could has a handicap parking pass, though she is probably more able bodied than most 50 year olds. When she comes, everyone of course must go hug her and ask her how she is, and then she usually takes up her post of setting out the pickles and the olives in a little tray every year because she "Always needs a little salty with her food." Then come my aunt's side of the family. First is cute old Grandma Nancy, who was born surprisingly on the same day as Grandma Harriet, who is a dear old lady that belongs to a little writing club. Accompanying her, is Uncle Jim. Uncle Jim is a character. He is a heavy set, 5'10" guy who has consistently for the last five years asked my brother and I about A. If we have a girlfriend yet. B. What movies we've seen lately C. If we've seen or read the last installment of the Twilight saga. He is always the first to take up a couch and doze for a couple hours. He also made it very clear this year that he was not a big fan of Obama's re-election in saying that because Obama won, he would like to purchase an automatic weapon, and a hand gun. These two, Jim and Nancy always come and set out their contribution to the meal, of which are actually very good, and then come the the rest of the northern clan. They are a clan of four, who are Eric, Jane, Scott, and Mary. They are all varying and different. Eric is the owner of a very flat, but sort of hilarious personality, Jane is a bubbly, and interesting woman, Scott has his father's monotone voice, but has a considerable amount more of youth and intrigue in him, then finally Mary is really just as her mother is, but slightly more self conscious in her soul searching. They too set their dishes out, and we all take part in that awkward, initial greetings.
From there we all eat food. Us "youngsters" get to go out on the porch at the kids table, though I am the youngest at sixteen and the oldest is twenty five so the title of the table is rather undeserving. But this table consists of me, my brother, cousin Ross and Blake, and northerner Scott, who has now lives in uptown. I have always been a little bit excluded from conversation because of my age and experiences, and this is still true today. What used to be chit chat about high school, accompanied by the overuse of swear words, has changed to talk of work at Ernst and Young, Target, and my brother's research lab, which is only more fervently accompanied by the overuse of swear words. I love this time of the day though. I really learn a lot, and when the food runs out and the older boys are getting heated about a subject in which they are arguing the same point, but just mildly rephrased, I sneak off to the wondrously furnished basement for a little afternoon nap.
From here, the Ping Pong starts, and this is the spectacular of the whole event. Each of the youngsters is paired with on of the older, less coordinated adults. This year I was paired with Uncle Jim, who in matches seemed to grow ever more frustrated when ever I would miss a ball. In this eight year long tradition, the winner usually boils down to which ever youth decides to hog the ball more. This usally ends up being my overly competitive cousin Blake. In fact, he's always in the championship, and his partner usually gets about 15% of the balls. By the fact that I'm writing this shows that it always has been a sore spot for me, who has never been graced with a championship. When the winner has been crowned, and the spray painted paddle, that has a turkey candle glued to it has been awarded, it's nap time number two, or in my case, I always like to see what little mechanical interests that my Uncle is taking part in. Uncle Steve like the rest of my family enjoys a slightly larger equator, and he works from home, selling different switches for countless mechanical processes. He is a man who loves hobbies, he has a huge garden, has three little Vespas, and enjoys wood working, so it's not surprising that he is a dreamer. This year he showed me some motorcycles that as can be seen from his search history, he dreams about on a consistent basis.
From here, some of the northerners leave, leaving just the urban Scott around, and we all amble over to the table for another round of feasting. By this time, we enjoy a very relaxed conversation on whatever, and cousin Ross pops off one liners at an interval of twenty seconds. We are all a little sleepy, so we attempt to keep the conversation alive, but us sleepy people make our way over to the T.V. to watch a British fixer up car show, while my peppy mom and cousin rile a few people up to play some board games. This livens them up and they get a little rowdy over apple to apples, attempting to cajole the judge at the time into choosing their ironically chosen card, and thus making lots of noise. After this, the night fizzles out, and we pack our food and games up. We say our goodbyes in a rather stereo typical hug, nice to see you kind of way and slowly make our way down the Raben's long driveway. Our night is then finished, and sleep is welcome.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The image above creates a comedic scene playing off of an comedic idea. In this image, the two very manly men, Popeye and Bluto who are burly chested sailors, are paired together in as a couple which societally, playing off of the gay stereotype. The humor is furthered by the fact that the two are enemies and that the reasoning for this, is that there was some romantic friction. Again playing on the contrast of demeanor of these burly men, and that of the stereotypical gay couple. Then to add to this, they two men who got found their beginnings in the early 30's are in a contemporary social gathering. The purpose of this little comic may be to convey the idea that some unexpected people may be gay, and that in some instances there can be very unexpected partnerships. That may be reading into this light hearted comic too much, but it sounds about right.
This is a visual argument if used properly because in essence, it's a sad puppy. Its eyes are those big, pleading, wanting eyes that call for immediate adoption. The fact that it's a puppy makes it even more pity inviting because it makes it seem more innocent and helpless. Its stance contributes to the idea because it's pressing agianst the bars, almost pushing to get out of its little box. This image just calls for you to come and scoop it up in your arms and snuggle it up to your face until you finally feel that the moral wound inflicted upon you by this puppies eyes has been healed. Then this puppy is just an annoying pooping machine.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Monday, November 5, 2012
The Dumbest Generation.
Mark Bauerlein's "The Dumbest Generation"purposes the idea that we have the alarming problem that our youth, could be the dumbest generation so far, despite all of our advancement technologically. He describes that with all of the advances that ease day to day life, us youngsters have taken it too far and we are slipping intellectually.
Agreeable quotes
"brazen disregard of books and reading."
I have noticed that many of my peers are more likely to go and donate all of their worldly goods rather than sit down with a nice book for an afternoon. Many of my friends are relatively affluent as well which does seem to support Bauerlein's idea that this generation is definitely not the most well read of past generation who had nothing to do but chew on straw and read. I think that this is a problem because yes this generation still reads news articles on the internet maybe, but generally I feel that the reading level of my age group has decreased visibly. I have come across more than one instances where I will use a word that I think is maybe a little bit special and it will be received with a blank face. This problem is trivial and it may lead to nothing more than generally slightly less in depth vocabularies, but it could go further. Who knows.
"Social life is a powerful temptation, and most teenagers feel the pain of missing out."
Once again, I have definitely noticed this very strongly in my peers. It can be seen in the boy checking facebook during class, or a girl who tweets eighteen times a day. I know if I no longer had a twitter, or a facebook, or an account on reddit, I would have many, many more hours of usable and unobstructed free time. Bauerlein is also very correct in saying that teenagers feel the pain of missing out. I think this is the driving force behind pretty much all of teenagers risk taking. Whether it's sneaking out, in hopes of being a part of that once in a lifetime, badass excursion, or having some crucial piece of hilarity about some person's dog that you can obtain from the twitters. This want to be a part of everything new and popular drives teens to do anything social really. So, again with the progression of the digital age, where is it going to?
Disagreeable quotes
"America's youth know virtually nothing about history and politics."
This statement I think is dependent on different situations and areas, but I don't see this cultural deficiency as strongly as Bauerlein makes it seem. I know that Wayzata offers more in depth, and many more histories that it was even conceivable for my mom and dad, and I think that being as these classes are being taken, this statement isn't true. There are many things in history that I've described to my mom and dad that they have never heard before. Not just that they had forgotten, but they had never heard of the migration of African Americans after the civil war, and other little tid bits and ideas either. There are too many outlets for people to learn now that I can't get behind the validity of this statement.
"going online habituates them to juvenile mental habits."
By juvenile habits, Bauerlein refers to a want for instant entertainment, and I think that he is wrong with this statement. Not completely, but that instantaneousness about information and entertainment in the present technological age is what makes it so special. What would you do in 1953 to find an answer to a trivial question like who was the Queen of France in 1634. You'd go to the library, find an encyclapedia and search through through the book until you can obtain your answer. Now, it's type, enter, and be dazzled by all the options. That instantaneousness is whats special now in the academic realms and consequently the entertainment world too. Internet usage doesn't lead to juvenile mental habits, but new habits that are just different, and as the trend of this blog implies, it's not known where this change could lead to, but I don't think this is the right way to describe the effects of internet usage.
Effectiveness
Through Bauerlein's utilization of countless statistics, he does make a point about parts of the general trend of us youths. But I think he goes about it incorrectly. As we have discussed in class multiple times, Bauerlein fails to address those competitive, striving students for the rest of the book. He just throws them out, and he doesn't seem factor them into much else. Not only that, Bauerlein seems to only choose negative statistics. He tosses out the IQ progression, and the fact that standardized tests have been showing progression in difficulty and success from the 70's. He only cites statistics that contribute to his idea and it makes the argument very one sided. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a point, this moving away from novels and growing concern with social status is a problem, but Bauerlein fails to show really any positives, or solutions to the situation. He just states all of the negative, then says "Yes. That'll do." And fails to really make a round, whole argument. I got a lot from the book, but (it may partly be my want to defy his idea) I didn't think Bauerlein was correct in his assessment, and conclusions in this book.
Mark Bauerlein's "The Dumbest Generation"purposes the idea that we have the alarming problem that our youth, could be the dumbest generation so far, despite all of our advancement technologically. He describes that with all of the advances that ease day to day life, us youngsters have taken it too far and we are slipping intellectually.
Agreeable quotes
"brazen disregard of books and reading."
I have noticed that many of my peers are more likely to go and donate all of their worldly goods rather than sit down with a nice book for an afternoon. Many of my friends are relatively affluent as well which does seem to support Bauerlein's idea that this generation is definitely not the most well read of past generation who had nothing to do but chew on straw and read. I think that this is a problem because yes this generation still reads news articles on the internet maybe, but generally I feel that the reading level of my age group has decreased visibly. I have come across more than one instances where I will use a word that I think is maybe a little bit special and it will be received with a blank face. This problem is trivial and it may lead to nothing more than generally slightly less in depth vocabularies, but it could go further. Who knows.
"Social life is a powerful temptation, and most teenagers feel the pain of missing out."
Once again, I have definitely noticed this very strongly in my peers. It can be seen in the boy checking facebook during class, or a girl who tweets eighteen times a day. I know if I no longer had a twitter, or a facebook, or an account on reddit, I would have many, many more hours of usable and unobstructed free time. Bauerlein is also very correct in saying that teenagers feel the pain of missing out. I think this is the driving force behind pretty much all of teenagers risk taking. Whether it's sneaking out, in hopes of being a part of that once in a lifetime, badass excursion, or having some crucial piece of hilarity about some person's dog that you can obtain from the twitters. This want to be a part of everything new and popular drives teens to do anything social really. So, again with the progression of the digital age, where is it going to?
Disagreeable quotes
"America's youth know virtually nothing about history and politics."
This statement I think is dependent on different situations and areas, but I don't see this cultural deficiency as strongly as Bauerlein makes it seem. I know that Wayzata offers more in depth, and many more histories that it was even conceivable for my mom and dad, and I think that being as these classes are being taken, this statement isn't true. There are many things in history that I've described to my mom and dad that they have never heard before. Not just that they had forgotten, but they had never heard of the migration of African Americans after the civil war, and other little tid bits and ideas either. There are too many outlets for people to learn now that I can't get behind the validity of this statement.
"going online habituates them to juvenile mental habits."
By juvenile habits, Bauerlein refers to a want for instant entertainment, and I think that he is wrong with this statement. Not completely, but that instantaneousness about information and entertainment in the present technological age is what makes it so special. What would you do in 1953 to find an answer to a trivial question like who was the Queen of France in 1634. You'd go to the library, find an encyclapedia and search through through the book until you can obtain your answer. Now, it's type, enter, and be dazzled by all the options. That instantaneousness is whats special now in the academic realms and consequently the entertainment world too. Internet usage doesn't lead to juvenile mental habits, but new habits that are just different, and as the trend of this blog implies, it's not known where this change could lead to, but I don't think this is the right way to describe the effects of internet usage.
Effectiveness
Through Bauerlein's utilization of countless statistics, he does make a point about parts of the general trend of us youths. But I think he goes about it incorrectly. As we have discussed in class multiple times, Bauerlein fails to address those competitive, striving students for the rest of the book. He just throws them out, and he doesn't seem factor them into much else. Not only that, Bauerlein seems to only choose negative statistics. He tosses out the IQ progression, and the fact that standardized tests have been showing progression in difficulty and success from the 70's. He only cites statistics that contribute to his idea and it makes the argument very one sided. I'm not saying that he doesn't have a point, this moving away from novels and growing concern with social status is a problem, but Bauerlein fails to show really any positives, or solutions to the situation. He just states all of the negative, then says "Yes. That'll do." And fails to really make a round, whole argument. I got a lot from the book, but (it may partly be my want to defy his idea) I didn't think Bauerlein was correct in his assessment, and conclusions in this book.
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