Monday, October 28, 2013

The Lively Art of Writng Pg. 39 Full and Final Thesis

1. Thesis: Competition for grades is a healthy influence on students.
Pros                                                                                 Cons
- Makes Students work hard                                          - Causes Students to become stressed                - Allows students to develop good study habits            -  Makes Students feel overwhelmed
- Students become more proactive
Antithesis: Competition for grades is an unhealthy influence on students.
New Thesis: Competition for grades is a good way for students to work harder and develop study skills.

2.  Thesis: All girls are slightly crazy.
Pros                                                                                  Cons
- Emotionally affected by certain people                       - Secretive and keep to themselves
- Over dramatic about some topics                                - Boys are like that too
- Always think their way is the right way                      - Do not care about fashion/ popularity
- Have to be in the latest fashion                                    - Down to earth
Antithesis: Girls are completely sane.
New Thesis: All girls have a more dramatic reaction to topics and people than boys.

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

Myself in Twenty Years

     Twenty years from now I will be a Marine Biologist. In would have graduated from Stony Brook University with a  Bachelor's degree in Biology and a Master's Degree in Marine Vertebrate Biology and a PhD from Brown University. I would have held jobs before and during college that relate to Marine Biology in some way, such as interning at Jenkinson's Aquarium. While there, I would have  given the proper vitamins and food to each animal checked the pH, dissolved oxygen and nitrogen in each tank for optimal levels.
    
     Another job would be working as a deck hand on a charter boat. In this job, I  learned the migration routes of several species of fish and how to properly hold them. The  most recent job I would have done would be to work in the Stony Brook Research Lab, as a assistant to Professor Malcolm Bowman. In this capacity,  I would have done studies on different species and how they act when their environment has been altered. Specifically, I would have identified critical and not so critical threats to the ecosystem.

      To be a marine biologist, I would have to live close to the water, therefore I will live in Mystic, Connecticut and own a house by the water. I have not gone this far without being noticed. For discovering a new species of fish, I had a two hour program on the Discovery Channel explaining the species and the voyage I took. I have also received several awards including: the American Legion Award, the Rachel Carson Award,  and the Kobe Award. My final goal in my career is to slow down global warming and reverse it's affects.  Lastly, I would aspire to work as a college professor at Brown University.

Thursday, October 3, 2013

Defining Modernism #2


1.           The pieces of music differ in several different ways.  One way in which they differ is in the instruments. In Beethoven’s “Piano Concert no. 5 Emperor” he uses mostly flutes and clarinets for a subtle sound; whereas Bix Biederbecke and Charles Mingus use trumpets and saxophones.  Mingus goes even further by adding the electric bass. The pieces also differ in tempo. Beethoven’s piece has a slower tempo where the Jazz pieces have a quicker beat.

 

2.            The point Biederbecke and Mingus might be making is to celebrate and have more fun. We survived the wars; they are over, so let’s celebrate. Also since the world is moving at a faster pace than before, the point might be to have a fast pace in music, like everything else in the world.

 

3.            Beethoven’s piece makes me feel calm, like I’m at a lake and the water is still and the only noise is the birds chirping. Biederbecke’s piece makes me feel like I’m in one of those old T.V shows like I Love Lucy;   dancing on a floor with those shiny white and black shoes.  Mingus’ song feels like a Mardi Grad parade with the person shouting “ah” in the background. I like the songs that fit the genre of Jazz because it is more upbeat and also has a swing in it. Jazz makes me feel more alive.

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

Empire of the Sun: Jim's Future

      Twenty years from when the movie ends, Jim will have a strong bond with his mother. He lets his mother live with him. He marries a blonde woman named Ethel and has a 7 year old son named Basie. He is very clingy to her and carries out his dream of being a pilot. After being a Corporal and serving 5 years, Jim opened a museum about World War 2 airplanes. Jim has to take medicine to block the Japanese boy from his mind that he sees in his dreams. His dad recently died from a golfing injury. 
      
      Jim now owns a a four story house with a hot tub and an in-law suite for his mom on a 10 acre property. He resides in Acadia, Maine. Jim has his mother white piano and plays it every day. Jim has a gun cabinet in his bedroom for he found a desire to hunt. In his spare time, Jim often goes to his back shed and recreates life size B-51. Jim never think s about his childhood but only about his family.              

Tuesday, October 1, 2013

Defining Modernism Exercise #1

1.      The paintings differ in several ways, such as shading, texture and depth.  For example, Still Life with Bottle of Olives shows shading and creates depth so that the wooden table look 3 Dimensional.  Also, compared to Still life with Grapes and Clarinet, Still Life with Bottle of Olives has a much more subtle background, just dark brown and black, whereas Still life with Grapes and Clarinet has polka dots and different shades of blue.  In texture, the gourd in Still life with Bottle of Olives has crevices and groves on it that complete the look of real food on a table.

2.      I think painters of 1B, 2B, 3B, and 4B chose to paint the portraits as they did, because they were showing their own unique look at the world. I think the point that they were trying to make was that we are in our own time now, and we should not have to paint the world in the same way as the people before us saw it.  We should be able to paint it the way we see it now.


3.      Painting 1A makes me feel like I am going to sit down at my grandmother’s for Thanksgiving dinner. 1B feels almost like the days when I was in first grade because I would often draw like that. 2A makes me feel like there is a family problem since there is at look of pity on the woman’s face. Painting 2B makes me feel like I am in an old Pink Panther cartoon and that the man is one of the characters.  It feels almost homey.  3A has almost a pitiful feeling to it because the poor looking girl can’t give the man what he is asking for. 3B feels classy because I can almost hear the Jazz music in my head.  4A has a childish feeling to it because of the light blue dress on the girl’s face. I prefer the previous centuries’ paintings; because I find that is had more life and more realistic facial expressions.