Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Art Appreciation oral report
Something i forget to mention last night: oral reports did start yesterday with Ancient Art (from about 8000 BC as i recall, covering several periods). They did not seem prepared or thorough, yet the teacher seemed to think they did fine. I know they had a difficult period to report on, but they chose it, and i felt they did poorly. I could do my report better right now and i haven't even started my research! So i'm now confident that i'll do fine. i'm sure that we won't be going until next Tuesday and i have the weekend ahead of me to prepare... not that i'll need to use all of it. Besides, i have work, too.
just got home from work
i'm feeling a lot better now than i did earlier. My first night on the job solo went really smoothly. The only hitch was that Sean took the key that we have to share so i couldn't lock up. He had to drive back down to lock up for me. But i spent a good portion of the night hanging out with this guy Jared who lives in an apartment behind the gas station. He's kind of cute and funny. Hanging out with him definitely makes time move more quickly, plus if i'm alone i don't think people are as likely to bother me. But everything went well tonight, praise God!
Tuesday, April 25, 2006
what i need to remember
Be glad for all God is planning for you. Be patient in trouble, and always be prayerful.
~ Romans 12:12 (NLT)
~ Romans 12:12 (NLT)
i should be studying, but i'm not. i'm tired of studying. i'm tired of reading stupid books and trying to disect movies in the hopes of learning something. i don't want to write another paper about Lawrence of Arabia. i don't care to be prepared for my presentation on impressionism. i just feel so dead. Mythology was okay but i have another test on Thursday. Archery stunk so badly. i'm just dreading these last few weeks of school because i'm so sick of the b.s. i got conditionally accepted at the University of Hawaii but i don't have the money to go and i just got a new job that i don't feel right bailing out on when they're so hard up for employees. i just feel stripped, devoid of ambition or wisdom. What is the point in trying when you always fail? i don't know what God wants me to do and He's not telling me but i still feel guilty that i'm not asking enough. Why do i abuse myself like this? He hasn't said anything for over six years, it's not my fault. i hate feeling like this, like i can't try any harder but i haven't tried hard enough. As soon as i get back on my feet something else that's bad will happen, it always does. i can't be happy or successful or even get by, why no of course not, Kristi has to be held down. i hate feeling like this. Why am i doomed to be a pessimist?
Sunday, April 23, 2006
epic but not empathetic
by David Lean
This movie has great cinematography and is made well enough but i just can’t identify with Lawrence. i think that’s what the makers were aiming for (making him seem unfathomable and an enigma) but i believe that it’s the film’s greatest weakness that they couldn’t give us a hero to identify with.
em...
by Diarmuid Lawrence
Well i was looking forward to watching this but was disappointed by it. It’s not as bad as Persuasion or Northanger Abbey but it’s nowhere near as good as either Pride and Prejudice or Sense and Sensibility or Mansfield Park. Could be worse, but it’s definitely not the best. There’s not enough character development for the movie to stand on its own: i had to keep explaining things to my sister because she was lost. i prefer Clueless.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Dean Koontz quotes
i couldn't find the one i was looking for, but these are good, too
“Perhaps extreme danger strips us of all pretenses, all ambitions, all confusions, focusing us more intensely than we are otherwise ever focused, so that we remember what we otherwise spend most of our lives forgetting: that our nature and purpose is, more than anything else, to love and to make love, to take joy from the beauty of the world, to live with an awareness that the future is not as real a place for any of us as are the present and the past.”
“Like all of us in this storm between birth and death, I can wreak no great changes on the world, only small changes for the better, I hope, in the lives of those I love.”
“When tempest tossed, embrace chaos.”
“Perhaps extreme danger strips us of all pretenses, all ambitions, all confusions, focusing us more intensely than we are otherwise ever focused, so that we remember what we otherwise spend most of our lives forgetting: that our nature and purpose is, more than anything else, to love and to make love, to take joy from the beauty of the world, to live with an awareness that the future is not as real a place for any of us as are the present and the past.”
“Like all of us in this storm between birth and death, I can wreak no great changes on the world, only small changes for the better, I hope, in the lives of those I love.”
“When tempest tossed, embrace chaos.”
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
archiving World's Greatest Films papers
Form in the Wizard of Oz
Chinatown
Getting Wet: Shower or Bath?
Memos Gone Awry
Lost Treasure
Dark Documentary
Images of the Desert
Yeah, this class has been a major headache as every time i try to read the book it's more confusing than helpful and i feel like i'm not learning much. Basically i've written all of these papers by the seat of my pants but somehow still am doing pretty well. I've gotten a C and a B test and still have my final. I'll continue posting my papers here (i'm writing them, someone might as well be reading them, even if they are stupid).
p.s. Please DO NOT copy my papers and use them yourself!
Chinatown
Getting Wet: Shower or Bath?
Memos Gone Awry
Lost Treasure
Dark Documentary
Images of the Desert
Yeah, this class has been a major headache as every time i try to read the book it's more confusing than helpful and i feel like i'm not learning much. Basically i've written all of these papers by the seat of my pants but somehow still am doing pretty well. I've gotten a C and a B test and still have my final. I'll continue posting my papers here (i'm writing them, someone might as well be reading them, even if they are stupid).
p.s. Please DO NOT copy my papers and use them yourself!
Tuesday, April 18, 2006
Images of the Desert
The cinematography in Lawrence of Arabia is breathtaking. It is one of the few films I have encountered that makes one feel as if they are truly there. The human eye can take in so much more information than a camera can, but the cinematography here somehow actually comes close to the real thing. The result is breathtaking and awe-inspiring views.
The range of tonalities is very realistic in Lawrence. Save for the blue tinting in the night scenes the colors are so vibrant and undistorted that they seem real. There does not appear to be any use of filters. The rate the film is shot at was probably 24 frames per second and was not manipulated for effect; the lens’ focal length is most likely normal as there was no distortion of the image with exaggerated depth or quickly moving occupants. In fact everything seems to move at a very slow pace compared to today’s epic films and with as little distortion and as much realism as possible. Amazingly enough, everything within the lens’ depth of field is usually in focus no matter how close or distant the object is that is the focal point. The only exception to this is when things are supposed to be blurred, as when one views the heat waves coming off the sand, and in this case the waves are still in their own sort of focus, mysteriously shivering of their own volition. Special effects are shunned as light is captured in as real a way as possible: the desert is beautiful enough on its own. The framing in Lawrence is quite distinct: fortunately the aspect ratio on the DVD is 2.2:1 (this is slightly cut down, probably from 2.35:1) which doesn’t lose nearly as much of the framing as the transfer to full screen does. Even when the actors are being focused on the viewer sees large amounts of scenery behind them. In several of the scenes the viewer feels so far away from the individuals who are speaking that they would not have been able to comfortably hear them in reality from such a distance.
This film leaves as much onscreen as possible: if something offscreen is referred to a new shot directs our full attention to what was just referred to, such as in the scene with the planes flying overhead on the way to Prince Feisal’s camp. The film often fluctuates between straight-on, high, and low angles to suit each scenes needs: none of the shots are canted, but height and distance vary. Some shots are panned (as with the planes), some track (as when Lawrence and Colonel Brighten ride their camels side by side), constantly reframing.
All of these techniques make Lawrence of Arabia feel less like a movie and more like an artist’s attempt to enable the viewer to feel as if they are really in the desert. The heat and terrain must have made this film difficult to shoot but everything comes across as effortless, a sharp contrast to the harsh reality of the desert. The cinematography of this film is the biggest reason one could call it epic because it lends so much depth to all of the other components. There’s no way this movie could have been successfully filmed on a stage! The desert is a character in itself.
The range of tonalities is very realistic in Lawrence. Save for the blue tinting in the night scenes the colors are so vibrant and undistorted that they seem real. There does not appear to be any use of filters. The rate the film is shot at was probably 24 frames per second and was not manipulated for effect; the lens’ focal length is most likely normal as there was no distortion of the image with exaggerated depth or quickly moving occupants. In fact everything seems to move at a very slow pace compared to today’s epic films and with as little distortion and as much realism as possible. Amazingly enough, everything within the lens’ depth of field is usually in focus no matter how close or distant the object is that is the focal point. The only exception to this is when things are supposed to be blurred, as when one views the heat waves coming off the sand, and in this case the waves are still in their own sort of focus, mysteriously shivering of their own volition. Special effects are shunned as light is captured in as real a way as possible: the desert is beautiful enough on its own. The framing in Lawrence is quite distinct: fortunately the aspect ratio on the DVD is 2.2:1 (this is slightly cut down, probably from 2.35:1) which doesn’t lose nearly as much of the framing as the transfer to full screen does. Even when the actors are being focused on the viewer sees large amounts of scenery behind them. In several of the scenes the viewer feels so far away from the individuals who are speaking that they would not have been able to comfortably hear them in reality from such a distance.
This film leaves as much onscreen as possible: if something offscreen is referred to a new shot directs our full attention to what was just referred to, such as in the scene with the planes flying overhead on the way to Prince Feisal’s camp. The film often fluctuates between straight-on, high, and low angles to suit each scenes needs: none of the shots are canted, but height and distance vary. Some shots are panned (as with the planes), some track (as when Lawrence and Colonel Brighten ride their camels side by side), constantly reframing.
All of these techniques make Lawrence of Arabia feel less like a movie and more like an artist’s attempt to enable the viewer to feel as if they are really in the desert. The heat and terrain must have made this film difficult to shoot but everything comes across as effortless, a sharp contrast to the harsh reality of the desert. The cinematography of this film is the biggest reason one could call it epic because it lends so much depth to all of the other components. There’s no way this movie could have been successfully filmed on a stage! The desert is a character in itself.
Monday, April 17, 2006
finally taking the plunge
i have been wanting to leave my parents’ church for a while now. i got forcibly removed from the college S.s. class because the teacher said that i was (and had always been) argumentative and was chasing people away. Over a year later the only new class members they have are kids who have moved up from youth and i the one person who did leave the class told my sister it was because the class was boring. During the whole fiasco my pastor didn’t help, he only called my mother and asked her if she knew that i am a “troubled youth.” i’m twenty-four years old for crying out loud!
The music has improved since i moved back and began attending again but i don’t feel comfortable getting involved in the program. Every time i’ve tried it doesn’t work out or i feel uncomfortable and stifled.
It also really bothers me how the AWANA program is not backed by the church body: we’re considered a nuisance and annoying, etc., and don’t receive support, only resistance.
The most important thing for me to look for is a place where the Word is being taught in Church and Sunday school. It really annoys me when a sermon is based on one verse and isn’t about what the Bible says so much as it’s about what the minister thinks about the subject. My pastor’s sermons are boring, difficult to follow, and devoid of God’s opinion. i want to find a place where i can really get into God’s Word and be encouraged by fellow believers.
See more progress on: find a new church
Sunday, April 16, 2006
original and excellent
by Joe Wright (IV)
Though i would not rate this movie as well as the miniseries of the same title, this movie is certainly an excellent one and takes an original look at the book (also of the same title). While there are a few changes and fast forwards it was overall another very pleasant foray into Austen’s world. The music is excellent and the scenery beautiful. The tone is also unique. Definitely worth consuming.
Sunday, April 09, 2006
Thursday, April 06, 2006
wow
i have been trying to work up the courage to do this for over a week now and finally just took the plunge. It was last night’s episode of Lost that did it for me: they said “if you want to change, just change” so i snuck the family clippers to my room, spread out a sheet, set it for 1/4”, and did it. My hair is so dark and thick! Hopefully i’ll be able to get some pics up soon. It feels weird and will definitely take a little getting used to! The funny thing is that i’ve been hot all week and last night it was raining so when i woke up it was cold, the coldest its been in a couple of weeks. Just my luck, right?
See more progress on: shave my head
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
quintessential quote
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our dark that most frightens us. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people don't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do. Its not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own lights shine, we unconsciously give other people the right to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
~ Timo Cruz, Coach Carter
~ Timo Cruz, Coach Carter
Two Women by Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer van Delft painted many scene of everyday life even before it became commonplace in Impressionism. The Milkmaid was painted from 1658-1661 using oil on canvas. The painting is 177/8” by 16” and is currently at The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam. Young Woman with a Water Pitcher was painted from 1662-1665 also using oil on canvas. The painting is 18” by 16” and is currently at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.
Milkmaid features a servant pouring milk from a pitcher into a bowl in front of a window. The table is draped with a muted green tablecloth and holds a draped blue cloth, bread in a basket and arranged around the bowl, and a blue jar. The maid’s clothing is simple, a gold top, dark blue overskirt, and dark red underskirt. Her sleeves are pushed up and out of the way for her work. Her head is covered with a simple linen, folded back so she can see her work. Behind her on the wall are a black frame, a basket, and a brass container. On the floor is a wooden footwarmer and tiles that are set into the wall where it meets the floor.
Young Woman shows a woman standing at a window, holding it ajar with her right hand, and with her left hand she is holding a golden pitcher as if she is about to lift it up. The pitcher is in a basin on a table draped with a tapestry that is red and contains blue, yellow, and brown in the pattern. Next to the pitcher sits an open box with scraps of blue fabric and jewels hanging out. Behind the table there is a leather studded chair overflowing with more of this blue fabric, probably a dress. On the wall is a large map of Netherlands. The young woman is wearing a gold and black bodice and a dark blue skirt. Her head is covered, as are her shoulders, in a white linen or cotton. Her clothes are finer than the milkmaid’s: she appears to be of a higher class.
While the two paintings are both of women with a pitcher they are very different upon closer inspection. In the Milkmaid the woman is middle aged, using a stoneware pitcher, and though she is standing near a window the room is dim. She is surrounded by things that have to do with her work and the room is plain: the walls have little decoration other than the tiles and are stained or damaged in places. The Young Woman, however, is young—in her early twenties—and does not appear to be as weighed down by life. The window is more ornate and the room is full of diffused light. Everything about the room speaks of beauty with the tapestry, delicate fabric, and ornate jewelry box.
Line in the Milkmaid is straight forward: everything points towards her task of pouring. Here the pitcher is the focal point and your eye moves around the room later, drawn outwards to see what lies beyond the milkmaid’s focus by the very objects that surround her. The objects on the table are situated as in a still life. Line in the Young Woman is more fractured: her arms point both toward the window and the metal pitcher. The bottom of the map points towards her face. Her gaze is out the window. There is more than one focal point here: one could cite the window, the young woman’s face, the pitcher, or the box as possible candidates.
Both paintings are set in the corner of a room. The walls help create depth. The table is set in front of the Milkmaid while beside the Young Woman, and both also provide perspective. The color in both paintings is very similar but the tints and shades emphasize the two women’s differences in status. The Milkmaid is painted with great detail and in muted tones. The Young Woman is wearing brighter hues that are much bolder but at the same time they have a softer quality because of what Vermeer did with the light. He didn’t make the young woman’s features as distinct which provides a sharp contrast to the plain milkmaid with a detailed face. It’s difficult to describe but both works are very different and beautiful in their own ways.
There are patterns in both works-—the jar, basket, and window in the Milkmaid, the window, bodice sleeves, and tapestry in the Young Woman-—but neither really move ones eye around the room. Both paintings are well balanced. The Milkmaid is simple, as is its occupant, and the white wall is a nice counterpoint to the dark clothes and fabric. Meanwhile the Young Woman feels like it is overflowing with things to look at on one side, which balances out the light that she emanates and the simplicity of both her features and the featureless wall behind her. There are a variety of objects to look at in both rooms and these help one’s eye move around the paintings. Each painting is pleasing to look at repeatedly because one can always discover something new every time she gazes at them.
Milkmaid features a servant pouring milk from a pitcher into a bowl in front of a window. The table is draped with a muted green tablecloth and holds a draped blue cloth, bread in a basket and arranged around the bowl, and a blue jar. The maid’s clothing is simple, a gold top, dark blue overskirt, and dark red underskirt. Her sleeves are pushed up and out of the way for her work. Her head is covered with a simple linen, folded back so she can see her work. Behind her on the wall are a black frame, a basket, and a brass container. On the floor is a wooden footwarmer and tiles that are set into the wall where it meets the floor.
Young Woman shows a woman standing at a window, holding it ajar with her right hand, and with her left hand she is holding a golden pitcher as if she is about to lift it up. The pitcher is in a basin on a table draped with a tapestry that is red and contains blue, yellow, and brown in the pattern. Next to the pitcher sits an open box with scraps of blue fabric and jewels hanging out. Behind the table there is a leather studded chair overflowing with more of this blue fabric, probably a dress. On the wall is a large map of Netherlands. The young woman is wearing a gold and black bodice and a dark blue skirt. Her head is covered, as are her shoulders, in a white linen or cotton. Her clothes are finer than the milkmaid’s: she appears to be of a higher class.
While the two paintings are both of women with a pitcher they are very different upon closer inspection. In the Milkmaid the woman is middle aged, using a stoneware pitcher, and though she is standing near a window the room is dim. She is surrounded by things that have to do with her work and the room is plain: the walls have little decoration other than the tiles and are stained or damaged in places. The Young Woman, however, is young—in her early twenties—and does not appear to be as weighed down by life. The window is more ornate and the room is full of diffused light. Everything about the room speaks of beauty with the tapestry, delicate fabric, and ornate jewelry box.
Line in the Milkmaid is straight forward: everything points towards her task of pouring. Here the pitcher is the focal point and your eye moves around the room later, drawn outwards to see what lies beyond the milkmaid’s focus by the very objects that surround her. The objects on the table are situated as in a still life. Line in the Young Woman is more fractured: her arms point both toward the window and the metal pitcher. The bottom of the map points towards her face. Her gaze is out the window. There is more than one focal point here: one could cite the window, the young woman’s face, the pitcher, or the box as possible candidates.
Both paintings are set in the corner of a room. The walls help create depth. The table is set in front of the Milkmaid while beside the Young Woman, and both also provide perspective. The color in both paintings is very similar but the tints and shades emphasize the two women’s differences in status. The Milkmaid is painted with great detail and in muted tones. The Young Woman is wearing brighter hues that are much bolder but at the same time they have a softer quality because of what Vermeer did with the light. He didn’t make the young woman’s features as distinct which provides a sharp contrast to the plain milkmaid with a detailed face. It’s difficult to describe but both works are very different and beautiful in their own ways.
There are patterns in both works-—the jar, basket, and window in the Milkmaid, the window, bodice sleeves, and tapestry in the Young Woman-—but neither really move ones eye around the room. Both paintings are well balanced. The Milkmaid is simple, as is its occupant, and the white wall is a nice counterpoint to the dark clothes and fabric. Meanwhile the Young Woman feels like it is overflowing with things to look at on one side, which balances out the light that she emanates and the simplicity of both her features and the featureless wall behind her. There are a variety of objects to look at in both rooms and these help one’s eye move around the paintings. Each painting is pleasing to look at repeatedly because one can always discover something new every time she gazes at them.
Sunday, April 02, 2006
pertinent passage
'"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to have all of you, to sift you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to Me again, strengthen and build up your brothers." Peter said, "Lord, I am ready to go to prison with you, and even to die with you." But Jesus said, "Peter, let Me tell you something. The rooster will not crow tomorrow morning until you have denied three times that you even know Me." Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler's bag, or extra clothing, did you lack anything?" "No," they replied. "But now," He said, "take your money and a traveler's bag. And if you don't have a sword, sell your clothes and buy one! For the time has come for this prophecy about Me to be fulfilled: `He was counted among those who were rebels.' Yes, everything written about Me by the prophets will come true." "Lord," they replied, "we have two swords among us." "That's enough," He said.
~ Luke 22:31-38 (NLT)
~ Luke 22:31-38 (NLT)
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