Happy Birthday, Louvre Pyramid

This year marks the 20^th birthday of the famous pyramid at the Louvre museum in Paris, France. This giant glass structure has not only become a landmark for the museum, it is also a main entrance.

A report on NPR’s website marked this event.

Henri Loyrette, the president and director of the Louvre, is quoted, “When you ask the visitors, ‘Why are you coming to the Louvre?’ they give three answers: For the Mona Lisa, for the Venus de Milo, and for the pyramid”

Yet, according to the article, the pyramid was not always so warmly thought of. When its design was first proposed, many opposed the idea of “tampering” with the appearance of the landmark. And while some still complain that it is out of place, a modern structure amidst historic architecture, there are still more than 8 million people who come to the Louvre each year.

This article caught my attention because I had the opportunity to visit the Louvre four years ago. The overall trip to Europe, through Italy and France, was something I will remember always, and the finale in Paris, seeing the Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, and the Louvre only added to the experience. I love coming across bits and pieces about places I’ve had the chance to visit; in the pictures in this article, I got to point out where I had been and I remember entering the museum through the beautiful pyramid.

Happy Birthday!

The Blind Side

I’m not usually one for pitching a movie to this extent, but I saw this movie last weekend and was blown away. For anyone who has seen this movie, I’m sure would feel the same and for anyone who hasn’t, I strongly urge you to see it. (It’s one of those rare movies that’s actually worth the theater ticket).

Based on the true story of Michael Oher, “Big Mike” was taken from his mother by social services early in his life and placed with family members. Bouncing between family members, Michael eventually became homeless and was taken in and provided for by a family whose strong matriarch pushed him to reach his dreams.

Once of the most striking aspects of the film is the contrast between Michael and children who grew up just like him and how he turned out compared to the others. Michael was exceptionally gifted at sports, but had he not been given the opportunities he was given, there most likely would not be a Michael Oher story.

I wonder how many more Michael Ohers are out there, who the world will probably never get to appreciate those individual’s talents and capabilities. The tangled web of domestic violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and child neglect is a difficult snare to climb out of. For this fortunate man, he had help from some very generous people and he climbed to success.

Digital Editing: How far is too far?

Our day to day lives are surrounded by two distinct exposures to human contact: people we see in “real life,” and people we see on television or in magazines. This presents two very different messages to us. On one hand, we see what we believe are real people around us, they look like a lot like the person we see in the mirror; yet, on the other hand, there’s the people on television and in magazines with flawless skin and slender waist lines. Thanks to digital editing, there is a constant disconnect between what we see in the mirror and what we see on a magazine cover.

Magazines and television are both meant to entertain, and in theory people like to see beautiful things; but at what point does the use of digital editing, such as in magazine images, go too far? At what point does digital editing cross the line between basic “cosmetic” touch ups to the sort of editing witnessed in the following video?

Whether we are aware of it or not, we form an emotional bond with the people that entertain us on television and in magazines; it can become difficult for some people when they realize that more often than not we cannot look exactly like a supermodel. What we consider to be “beautiful” is shaped by this exposure.

For some it may lead to a belief that if “that” is beautiful, and what he or she might see in the mirror doesn’t look like that, then he or she is not beautiful. With low self-esteem being an underlying cause for practically every mental-health disorder from depression to eating disorders, this becomes much more severe than some simple make-up re-touching.

The bottom line is this: we can’t look like the face on the magazine. Furthermore, we shouldn’t have to look that way, even if we could. Humanity is defined by its diversity, no two people (even identical twins) are exactly alike. Why should we all have to look one way, then? I find confidence, both in oneself and in one’s interaction with other people, to be far more beautiful than the dazzling magazines.

Toms: A Unique Company

I’ve only recently heard of the shoe company called Toms. They’re a relatively small company; their merchandise can be found solely at their website and they operate out of a single office location.

What is so unique about this company is how they clearly keep operating costs at a minimum. The reason this is unique is found in the mission of their company:

For every pair of shoes purchased, Toms donates a pair of shoes to a child in need.

This company offers consumers an opportunity to purchase a rather exclusive brand of shoe (its design not easy to miss) and help someone else out.

What’s their story?

“In 2006 an American traveler, Blake Mycoskie, befriended children in Argentina and found they had no shoes to protect their feet. Wanting to help, he created TOMS Shoes, a company that would match every pair of shoes purchased with a pair of new shoes given to a child in need. One for One. Blake returned to Argentina with a group of family, friends and staff later that year with 10,000 pairs of shoes made possible by caring TOMS customers.

Since our beginning, TOMS has given over 150,000 pairs of shoes to children in need through the One for One model. Because of your support, TOMS plans to give over 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need around the world in 2009.

Our ongoing community events and Shoe Drop Tours allow TOMS supporters and enthusiasts to be part of our One for One movement. Join us.”

culter jamming!

I thought I would share some neat stuff from one of my other classes. We have been learning about culture jamming. I'm sure we all know what culture jamming is but I found some neat ones and here's some we looked at for that class. Culture jamming is a great way to portray a different side to an advertisement or idea. You can shed light on the truth and take away the advertisers intended message and show the real message behind it.

who is the vice president?

I have a embarrassing story maybe proving how little some of us in the younger generation really know. My dad recently called me very upset saying I have a question I have to ask you. He said who is the vice president? Since I was caught off guard I ask what the heck are you talking about. He said he was watching something on TV and the camera crew was somewhere stopping young people on the streets asking them who the vice president was and then asking them who Angelina Jolie is dating. He was furious because hardly anybody knew that Joe Biden was the vice president but everyone knew that Brad Pitt was dating Angelina Jolie. I was amused myself by this so I went home and ask my roommates the same question. After a long time of ummmmm I know this wait wait finally they both were like I have no clue. Also I forgot to mention of course when my dad asked me I was stumped at first and only remember who it was because in my mind I pictured those Obama Biden signs that were in everyone's' yard. Why is this happening to our generation? So many people have completely wrong and negative thoughts of our generation because of situations like this. Is it selective memory, because honestly we have all heard Biden's name many many times or is it true that majority of us don't care about anything or anybody but ourselves (since we are known as more of a "me" generation). I think this could be a case similar to the "idea teen" seen through MTV that rarely exists but the media chooses to create that image of us young people. What I wonder most is why it doesn't bother us that people think of our generation so negatively?

the best jobs to have in years to come?

I have a fear of being that person I know who graduated with their bachelors or maybe even masters and they can't find a job! This scares me, majority of us are going to graduate college in enormous debt. We are furthering our education in hopes of having opportunities that otherwise wouldn't be available. I couldn't imagine going through semester after semester seeing my dream getting closer and then when it finally arrives left wondering what to do after graduation. This economy scares me and the times these days seem to greatly change even over one year. It's like that video we watched in class, how it said we are preparing students for jobs that don't exist to fix problems that we don't know are problems yet. We really have trust put into our colleges and universities that they will give us the guidance and education we need to attain what it takes to make it to the next level after graduation. I looked up the outlook for careers in a few years here's what I found

I found a great site that lists all careers expected education, salary, outlook over the next ten years. Check it out

http://www.bls.gov/oco/

exams over papers?

At the end of the semester I'm noticing something... I don't have one final exam but final papers in every class. As my friends from other colleges started coming into their week of finals they are saying the same thing, all papers! I'm wondering, do teachers know something that we don't? Personally, test are easier than papers mostly because the abundance of multiple choice and fill in the blanks. Then Ted said that we didn't want an exam instead of our final paper because it would be 100 questions like our quizzes, take home. Well, that still sounds easier to me! : ) Only because you're guaranteed to get correct answers and have the time to look them up. I started to think well our papers are like looking something up also so why am I feeling like papers are so much more work, not to mention they definitely are way more work for the teachers to grade? Then I realized our papers are making us become confident in ourselves as students. To look up the answer for a test out of a book or from your notes, you know you're correct because it's what the teacher said or what that really important guy from your book said. In our papers we can only use that kind of knowledge to back up our own. What we have to say is the focus and the pressure is on us. Hopefully we benefit from all this paper writing, I'm sure we will

Controversy Abroad

Recently there was a news story that sparked my attention. The story was that of the murder case where American, Amanda Knox was accused of killing her British roommate in Italy. Both girls were studying abroad in Italy two years ago when Meredith Kercher was found dead in her room with her throat slashed. Since this incident Knox and her former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito have been held in an Italian prison accused with murder. At the end of last week a trial was finally held and both were convicted of murder, Knox receiving 26 years in prison and Sollecito getting 25. There is much controversy in the case stating that there is no hard evidence to convict the two of such a large crime. Knox is known for a leading bit of a riskay lifestyle and was said to be into crazy sex and drugs. It is being said that when the Italians got word of this lifestyle they immediately did not like Knox and had already decided that she was guilty regardless of any evidence. Americans are in an uproar about this situation and feel as though Knox is innocent and did not receive a fair trial. Living in America it is understandable for people to want to stand behind a fellow American and fight for justice. It is hard to know though whether or not Knox is truly guilty. She might actually be guilty but because she is American people don't want to think that she is. It is hard to determine because it seems as the all of the news outlets are obviously biased toward America and Knox's innocence. The plan for Knox's future is to appeal the case and hopefully have better results in a future trial. At this point it is just hard to say what truly happened on that tragic day in Italy. I have included a link to a video about this incident for those of you who are unfamiliar with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EM439vCS258

final blog

Tommy Gaston-

Ok so for my final blog I want to do another random thing. I’m sure all of you saw my digital story on the hunt and know by now that I am big into the outdoors. I was looking for an idea for my last story for professor DeSanto’s class and came across an interesting article on cougars in Missouri (Missouri Coalition for the Environment). For a long time many thought that they were extinct in our state and according to the article, sightings of these cats were placed in the same category as UFOs. But lately evidence has been piling up. Some people have caught video footage and evidence like poo and paw prints have proven they are back. No thanks to human endeavors (meaning no reintroduction plans, game reserves, etc) more and more sightings are taking place. This is significant because it tells us that not only are they surviving in the wild, but thriving and growing in numbers without human help. That does not mean however that we shouldn’t do our part. They are still endangered and need to be protected by law. Not too long ago, a pair of Missouri hunters was prosecuted for illegally killing one. Under the endangered species law in Missouri, the only time it is okay to kill one is if it is attacking a human. It is important to get awareness out about this magnificent cat and to convince local residents that keeping them around would be a beneficial addition to Missouri wildlife.

Well folks it has been a great semester. . . My email is sonofthunder2006@gmail.com if any of you want to contact me

Ok so one last thing before I go: here is tourettes guy, remember he is funny but curses a lot, enjoy

more on violence

I think I agree that there is a fascination with violence on television these days. One particular show that came to mind as I was reading Andrea’s blog was one of my favorites: Monk. It is a show about a detective with a severe OCD but it works to his advantage to solve crimes. The thing that stuck out to me was that if you watch it, when the murder scene happens there is often little if any intense music. I don’t know if this is simply desensitization to violence or simply playing the violence down. I think you could argue it both ways.

I think the trend will continue as long as these kinds of programs occupy most of the air time. Now that I think about it, if I were to turn the TV on right now there are virtually no programs on that do not incorporate some sort of violence. I can recall one time I was watching spongebob with my kid sister (yes I was watching spongebob) and it was an episode where he was trying to entertain a group of kids. Nothing worked until finally he accidentally hurt himself. The kids laughed and he said: “They seem to be amused by my pain.” He then proceeded to an afternoon of self inflicted torture to entertain the kids. Although this is just a kids show and this kind of violence doesn’t seem like a big deal, I think it tells us, like Andrea said, that there is a fascination of violence.

Video Games to TV

In addition to the gore of video games I have found another source of crime and gore that is quite appealing to many. All of the crime shows that are on TV today seem to be quite a hit. CSI alone has several different series. NCIS, 48 Hours Mystery, Cold Case, Without a Trace, the First 48 and so on. I am noticing a trend here, a fascination with violence. It is amazing to me in a country that prides itself on freedom and peace that violence would be so popular in multiple outlets. Now I must say some of these shows can be interesting to try and play detective and solve the case, but bottom line they are presenting a case of violence and ultimately death. Maybe it's because there is daily violence in other countries that the United States does not experience that leaves Americans feeling cheated. Maybe Americans just want to add some excitement to their lives. Or maybe they are just curiuos about police work. Whatever it is, it seems like the fascination is just getting larger and more widespread. It makes me nervous to think what will happen several years from now if this "addiction" continues at the rate it is now. Either there will be an over-population or criminals or cops, I would prefer the latter. Whichever it is, I think it is interesting that these crime related games and shows are so popular and have been for some time now.