In class this week we have started working on/finishing up our Frank Gehry projects. We watched a movie about a guy named Frank Gehry who designed buildings and is a really creative thinker. He has made all kinds of cool looking buildings and has built them out of the United States as well. For example, he designed a museum that was in Bilbao, Spain and is one of his most famous buildings he created. Gehry goes beyond squares and rectangles, he likes to have curves in his art. The best thing about his work is that it is so unique and different from other architects.
I have always had an interest in buildings and architecture. If I had the patience and creativity that is what I would be doing for the rest of my life. One of my favorite types of buildings were ones that were made from glass. I love how open it is and how you can see everything that is surrounding you. A common element I see are that the buildings look so much bigger, but they really aren't that much bigger. Anytime I'm passing by the apartments on 94 east, right before the Dempster exit, I always have to look at it. It is a little dangerous while I'm driving, but it catches my eye. They way it is not just a straight up and down building, it has a gap between a few levels. The square shape of the building juts out differently for certain floors, makes it look more like a fancy building in the city than an apartment complex.
Curvy buildings are not common very much, so when I saw the Frank Gehry video it just opened my eyes to a whole another view of architecture and design. I loved how the video showed his thought process when he was designing the buildings. For me, it was cool to get insight into a mind like he has. It also was interesting to me how he would make a hair difference in one of his models, but it somehow made it all look more complete. Just to have an eye for that kind of designing and knowing how to finish is amazing. The whole video changed my view on buildings altogether. I appreciate it even more than I did before. The work that the architects and builders put into the buildings is astounding. It showed me that designing a building so complex is more than just throwing shapes on top of each other. If I could, I would travel to Bilbao just to see that museum and all the textures and curves that Gehry thought of himself. It would be great to see other people's reactions to the museum and try to see what they see. I am open for any perspectives of designing that will change the way I view buildings. It only broadens my interests and horizons even more.
Friday, February 22, 2013
Friday, February 15, 2013
Blogging Around
Nigel H (Connection: Tenacity and College):
He talks about freedom he will have at college and being able to push through his hardships. He views these hardships as a way to better himself and get into a good college.
"I can relate to your feeling of freedom that college offers. I am the same exact way. I just want to be on my own and not having to deal with other famil member's drama. It's cool that your mom is able to help you push through the hardships, even though she can create some drama. I think it is best learning from other peoples mistakes. You get to see the results before you even do anything. I also think humanities is a great class for this type of thinking. Being able to make connections like this is important."
Brittany B (Captured Thought: Saying Good-bye):
She talks about not wanting to say good-bye after high school like we all did in middle school. She views good-bye as something permanent.
"I agree with you about good-bye's. middle school was sad for me, I don't even want to begin imagining saying good-bye after high school. It gets annoying after awhile. Making friends, changing schools and then losing those friends. You don't even have to say good-bye, people leave on their own and never look back on the memories. Everybody should think more like you. People always say that they hated high school, yet a majority of those people would go back in a heart beat if they could. Going into college not regretting anything you have done will be a great advantage. The memories will help you realize that there are positives in high school."
He talks about freedom he will have at college and being able to push through his hardships. He views these hardships as a way to better himself and get into a good college.
"I can relate to your feeling of freedom that college offers. I am the same exact way. I just want to be on my own and not having to deal with other famil member's drama. It's cool that your mom is able to help you push through the hardships, even though she can create some drama. I think it is best learning from other peoples mistakes. You get to see the results before you even do anything. I also think humanities is a great class for this type of thinking. Being able to make connections like this is important."
Brittany B (Captured Thought: Saying Good-bye):
She talks about not wanting to say good-bye after high school like we all did in middle school. She views good-bye as something permanent.
"I agree with you about good-bye's. middle school was sad for me, I don't even want to begin imagining saying good-bye after high school. It gets annoying after awhile. Making friends, changing schools and then losing those friends. You don't even have to say good-bye, people leave on their own and never look back on the memories. Everybody should think more like you. People always say that they hated high school, yet a majority of those people would go back in a heart beat if they could. Going into college not regretting anything you have done will be a great advantage. The memories will help you realize that there are positives in high school."
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Best of Week: Corporate Space
In class this week we have been going over Modernism and Postmodernism. An idea of postmodernism that we discussed more in depth was corporate space. The name is pretty much self explanatory. As postmodernist humans we have allowed business and networks to control our own personal space. Everything we do and everywhere we go is all controlled by corporate space. I feel so oblivious to the whole idea, it never had really crossed my mind.
The light bulb in my brain immediately went on, the whole realization of corporate space has just made me think about my surroundings so much more. Every piece of clothing I wear has the name of the company somewhere on it. My iPhone is corporate space. I am connected through so many different networks that are controlled by businesses like Apple. What is sad to me is that it has taken me 18 years to realize that I am just a walking advertisement. Everything I do and say has all been a result of a corporation. It is just how people are raised. No one ever even knows that they are being raised in a certain way controlled by a large network. Maybe once you are older, but by that time you have already been brain washed.
This whole idea brings me back to free will. In Sophie's World we discussed not having free will based on nature, or a god. In postmodernism, free will is based on networks and corporations. The whole idea of fashion and what people wear is a perfect example of the lack of free will. People want to wear whatever the models are wearing, and all models are just advertising the biggest designer names. So when girls go to a store, they look for something that looks like what the models are wearing. We think we are choosing our own clothes and our own style, but really we are just designing ourselves to be the way corporations want us to be. Even slang terms like "swag" or "yolo" has become a way of advertising. Companies take advantage of unaware teenagers and put these words into TV shows and movies. Without even realizing it, we are using these terms in our everyday life. We think we're saying whatever we want to whoever we want on our own time, by choice. Meanwhile, there is a business making loads of money off of these words, who could care less about your free will.
I could say that I'm going to be more aware of what I am doing and how I am being used as corporate space, but I won't. I know that I am 18 years too late to try and change the only way of life that I know. I can't even think of where to begin to change. This is the reality of the world, and this is how we have created it to be. So while I'm sitting here frustrated about corporate space, everyone else continues their daily routine having no clue what they are really doing with their lives. Or the reality, what corporations have chosen them to do with their lives.
The light bulb in my brain immediately went on, the whole realization of corporate space has just made me think about my surroundings so much more. Every piece of clothing I wear has the name of the company somewhere on it. My iPhone is corporate space. I am connected through so many different networks that are controlled by businesses like Apple. What is sad to me is that it has taken me 18 years to realize that I am just a walking advertisement. Everything I do and say has all been a result of a corporation. It is just how people are raised. No one ever even knows that they are being raised in a certain way controlled by a large network. Maybe once you are older, but by that time you have already been brain washed.
This whole idea brings me back to free will. In Sophie's World we discussed not having free will based on nature, or a god. In postmodernism, free will is based on networks and corporations. The whole idea of fashion and what people wear is a perfect example of the lack of free will. People want to wear whatever the models are wearing, and all models are just advertising the biggest designer names. So when girls go to a store, they look for something that looks like what the models are wearing. We think we are choosing our own clothes and our own style, but really we are just designing ourselves to be the way corporations want us to be. Even slang terms like "swag" or "yolo" has become a way of advertising. Companies take advantage of unaware teenagers and put these words into TV shows and movies. Without even realizing it, we are using these terms in our everyday life. We think we're saying whatever we want to whoever we want on our own time, by choice. Meanwhile, there is a business making loads of money off of these words, who could care less about your free will.
I could say that I'm going to be more aware of what I am doing and how I am being used as corporate space, but I won't. I know that I am 18 years too late to try and change the only way of life that I know. I can't even think of where to begin to change. This is the reality of the world, and this is how we have created it to be. So while I'm sitting here frustrated about corporate space, everyone else continues their daily routine having no clue what they are really doing with their lives. Or the reality, what corporations have chosen them to do with their lives.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Connections: Time Traveler's Wife
In class we are reading "Einstein's Dreams." So far I have enjoyed the different ideas that the author makes you think about. One idea that stood out to me was people being transported back in time. Not the cliche version of that, but a more realistic view of what it is. The guy being transported back in time is quiet and hidden, but watches everything happen all over again, trying not to disrupt the past.
This idea further elaborates how much tiny things can affect our future. For example, if I wouldn't have sneezed a week ago, I wouldn't have wasted time I could have used for other things. It can be one second situations that have the ability to alter everything. Life literally happens by the millisecond. It all happens so fast that none of us have even thought of how a sneeze or an itch has affected our lives.
One of the first things I thought of after reading was the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife." Probably one of my top five favorite movies. The movie is about how a guy travels back in time for every event that has been the most important in his life. It isn't really by choice, it's some kind of gene disorder and he just disappears in his present day life to travel back to past events. This later creates problems with his wife, who met the time traveler when she was 6 years old. She met the grown up version of him, on accident, and he would visit her every week until she was a teenager and had to leave for school.
The time traveler, Henry, is the guy that is hidden behind the scenes re-living his life over again. Moments he wants to change and moments he doesn't wanna change. He has to swim through the river, only to be swimming back to where he started. Thinking of time travel in a way like Henry went through is more realistic. It is the realistic moments or realizations that I have is what helps me understand a concept even more. Being able to somehow apply what I'm learning to thoughts I have thought of before, or movies I have seen is cool. I feel some sort of accomplishment for being able to do so. What I am enjoying the most, so far, are the constant connections I am making while reading. It is not just this chapter I have connected with. I find some connection in all the chapters.
This idea further elaborates how much tiny things can affect our future. For example, if I wouldn't have sneezed a week ago, I wouldn't have wasted time I could have used for other things. It can be one second situations that have the ability to alter everything. Life literally happens by the millisecond. It all happens so fast that none of us have even thought of how a sneeze or an itch has affected our lives.
One of the first things I thought of after reading was the movie "The Time Traveler's Wife." Probably one of my top five favorite movies. The movie is about how a guy travels back in time for every event that has been the most important in his life. It isn't really by choice, it's some kind of gene disorder and he just disappears in his present day life to travel back to past events. This later creates problems with his wife, who met the time traveler when she was 6 years old. She met the grown up version of him, on accident, and he would visit her every week until she was a teenager and had to leave for school.
The time traveler, Henry, is the guy that is hidden behind the scenes re-living his life over again. Moments he wants to change and moments he doesn't wanna change. He has to swim through the river, only to be swimming back to where he started. Thinking of time travel in a way like Henry went through is more realistic. It is the realistic moments or realizations that I have is what helps me understand a concept even more. Being able to somehow apply what I'm learning to thoughts I have thought of before, or movies I have seen is cool. I feel some sort of accomplishment for being able to do so. What I am enjoying the most, so far, are the constant connections I am making while reading. It is not just this chapter I have connected with. I find some connection in all the chapters.
Sunday, December 9, 2012
Blogging Around
Nicole (Best of Week: Diogenes)
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She talks about Diogenes, a guy who inspires her. She goes on further to talk about how he believes everyone should be able to be happy without money or material things.
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I have never heard of this guy before. After reading your blog, I went and looked him up. I found I enjoyed him as well, he's definitely someone I'll have to further look into. I totally agree with you. Materialism does seem to be something common among people that is stereotyped as something required to be happy. I will openly admit that I am, sadly, one of those people. I believe that it's the environment you grow up in is what makes you how you act. Living in the Northshore for a majority of my life, its hard not to want nice things when everyone else has them and you see how happy they are. I just want the same happiness that they have. I think the man living in the barrel should be an example of how everyone should view life. Wouldn't that be nice.
Dede (Captured Thought: Driving Without Direction)
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She explains how she wishes she was able to be alone and get away some place. Just driving and not having to worry about anything.
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I can 100% relate to what you are describing in your blog. I think a lot of teenagers feel that way. Life just gets too stressful and you want to get away. Numerous times have I found myself driving everywhere, even if it's 4 hours away. Nobody else wants to drive. Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I don't mind. When I got my first car I was the same way. Always wanted to drive, but gas prices have also slowed me down. I hate spending money. Especially when my car doesn't get any gas. I'm sure one day in the next 5 years you'll drive off somewhere. Maybe not even with a destination in mind. It's the best when your mind leads you to some place you would have never thought of on your own.
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She talks about Diogenes, a guy who inspires her. She goes on further to talk about how he believes everyone should be able to be happy without money or material things.
--------------------------------------------------------
I have never heard of this guy before. After reading your blog, I went and looked him up. I found I enjoyed him as well, he's definitely someone I'll have to further look into. I totally agree with you. Materialism does seem to be something common among people that is stereotyped as something required to be happy. I will openly admit that I am, sadly, one of those people. I believe that it's the environment you grow up in is what makes you how you act. Living in the Northshore for a majority of my life, its hard not to want nice things when everyone else has them and you see how happy they are. I just want the same happiness that they have. I think the man living in the barrel should be an example of how everyone should view life. Wouldn't that be nice.
Dede (Captured Thought: Driving Without Direction)
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She explains how she wishes she was able to be alone and get away some place. Just driving and not having to worry about anything.
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I can 100% relate to what you are describing in your blog. I think a lot of teenagers feel that way. Life just gets too stressful and you want to get away. Numerous times have I found myself driving everywhere, even if it's 4 hours away. Nobody else wants to drive. Sometimes I hate it and sometimes I don't mind. When I got my first car I was the same way. Always wanted to drive, but gas prices have also slowed me down. I hate spending money. Especially when my car doesn't get any gas. I'm sure one day in the next 5 years you'll drive off somewhere. Maybe not even with a destination in mind. It's the best when your mind leads you to some place you would have never thought of on your own.
Monday, November 19, 2012
A Tribute to Aristotle: Get Organized
I woke up for school one morning and noticed how I was out of clothes to wear. I was digging through my dirty laundry piles to find the cleanest shirt. I did the smell check on three shirts that I picked out. I found a winner that I was about to put on, but I noticed a huge coffee stain on the side. When I looked at a couple more shirts they were either too wrinkly or stained.
It dawned on me that I should probably wash my clothes. I didn't have time before school, so I grabbed a sweatshirt and decided it had to wait until after school. Later that day when I got back home from school, it was laundry time!
I picked up all my clothes from the floor and threw them all into a basket. I brought the basket down to my laundry room and separated my white clothes and my dark clothes. After I put the first load in the washing machine I waited 50 minutes, switched the first load into the dryer, then put the second load into the washing machine. When both loads were done I brought the basket of clothes up to my room and started folding my laundry.
Instead of throwing all my clothes randomly into my drawers I decided to organize how my clothes are put away. Normally I would have clothes hanging off my chair and thrown in my closet, but I had the determination to organize each drawer. I took out a piece of paper and wrote down what each drawer should be and tapped it to my dresser. If I didn't do this I would easily forget where everything would be.
After everything had a drawer, I organized my clothes into piles. I put each pile into their corresponding drawer and felt accomplished because my room was clean and now everything had a place.
Friday, November 9, 2012
Best of Week: True Knowledge
In class this week we have gone into in-depth analysis about the book Sophie's World. One of the ideas we discussed was the idea of true knowledge. The philosopher Plato believed "we can never have true knowledge of anything that is in a constant state of change" (Gaarder 86-87). We can only have opinions about things, or what are senses perceive. Plato also states "we can only have true knowledge of things that can be understood with our reason" (87). Reasoning would be something not defined by your senses.
At first I thought that the idea of true knowledge that Plato had was contradictory. I feel like every idea or object starts out as something that is in a constant state of change, and then becomes something understood with reasoning. In the book they use the examples of Math and a rainbow as comparison for reason. The simple math of 2+2=4 is considered reasoning, but there had to been several different states of change that the idea of math even went through to get where it is today. I am unsure if I agree with Plato, though he is a great philosopher, I believe that our senses and being in a constant state of change is what brings about creativity in the mind to have the ability to make an idea reasonable.
On the flip side, I can see where this philosophy of Plato's comes from. He has given me a different perspective for knowledge. I always viewed knowledge is a measure of how much you know in general. In my definition of knowledge senses were included. I think back to all the times I have argued with my brother about an item. Every time we fight, he always thinks he is right because he's the more knowledgeable person. For example,we were fighting about cars. He was telling me that our mom's black Acura was classier than our neighbors white Acura. My brother started spewing facts about how white becomes dirty easily and owners are less likely to take care of the car. I disagreed strongly, but fighting with him was useless. At the time I thought that since he did know about cars more than I did, maybe he was more knowledgeable about the whole situation overall. Looking back on it now, his opinions and his senses are what drove his argument for what was better on a car. He wasn't exemplifying knowledge, although he tried to make it seem like that by giving me "facts."
Overall, I enjoyed the reading on true knowledge as well as learning about it more in class. Ever since learning about it, I have been more aware of Plato's philosophy and trying to see if other people are also confused by the definition of knowledge. In general just the short reading in the book has opened by mind up a little bit and has me questioning things or conversations I have had, trying to find connections in my everyday life. Plato has guided me (sort of) to a new way of divergent thinking and really asking questions and analyzing what is really important.
At first I thought that the idea of true knowledge that Plato had was contradictory. I feel like every idea or object starts out as something that is in a constant state of change, and then becomes something understood with reasoning. In the book they use the examples of Math and a rainbow as comparison for reason. The simple math of 2+2=4 is considered reasoning, but there had to been several different states of change that the idea of math even went through to get where it is today. I am unsure if I agree with Plato, though he is a great philosopher, I believe that our senses and being in a constant state of change is what brings about creativity in the mind to have the ability to make an idea reasonable.
On the flip side, I can see where this philosophy of Plato's comes from. He has given me a different perspective for knowledge. I always viewed knowledge is a measure of how much you know in general. In my definition of knowledge senses were included. I think back to all the times I have argued with my brother about an item. Every time we fight, he always thinks he is right because he's the more knowledgeable person. For example,we were fighting about cars. He was telling me that our mom's black Acura was classier than our neighbors white Acura. My brother started spewing facts about how white becomes dirty easily and owners are less likely to take care of the car. I disagreed strongly, but fighting with him was useless. At the time I thought that since he did know about cars more than I did, maybe he was more knowledgeable about the whole situation overall. Looking back on it now, his opinions and his senses are what drove his argument for what was better on a car. He wasn't exemplifying knowledge, although he tried to make it seem like that by giving me "facts."
Overall, I enjoyed the reading on true knowledge as well as learning about it more in class. Ever since learning about it, I have been more aware of Plato's philosophy and trying to see if other people are also confused by the definition of knowledge. In general just the short reading in the book has opened by mind up a little bit and has me questioning things or conversations I have had, trying to find connections in my everyday life. Plato has guided me (sort of) to a new way of divergent thinking and really asking questions and analyzing what is really important.
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