What Stage Are We At In Our Project ?

Monday, Decemeber 1st will be the 3rd class my partner & I will have the opportunity to work on our project. We are a bit behind schedule, by class 3 we were supposed to be working on photoshop-ing our pictures. We’re not quite at that stage yet, but we hope to catch up in the classes to come. Right now, we only have 3/4 of our pictures chosen for our photo essay. We took some 40 pictures but only chose 7 really good ones that we’re going to use in our magazine. It is crucial that we brainstorm for other ideas that we can possibly photograph, and write about for our project. After we obtain all our 10 photos, we’ll then start to photoshop them all using Adobe Photoshop and when all that’s done, then we can finally write our articles describing the pictures we took.

Media & The Environment

The clip above is an ideal representation of how the media is our number one source of information. The Inconvenient Truth is a documentary describing how the quality of our planet is diminishing everyday. Sure sometimes the media blows things out of proportion but we believe them. And its actually in our favor because the more they knock it in to our heads, the more we realize that “hey, let’s at least do our part”. As long as each and every one of us think that way, that would be a great start. When you watch that preview, or even if you get the chance to watch the movie, The Inconvenient Truth, you’ll really get some sense knocked into and maybe a little reality check. We can’t keep on living the way were living because if we do, we’re really going to be in troubled waters.

I used the Inconvenient Truth as an example but that is definitely not the only one. Personally, it was the best example of how our environmental crisis is portrayed through different sources of media.

Criterion C: Planning Stage

We have precisely nine classes to complete and perfect our project with some after school time as well if needed.

The first things to do when starting this project is to:

– Choose any topic you like that you think would be interesting to work on.  You do not know what approach you are using to present this topic yet. Once you have thoroughly researched and evaluated the best approach then you can properly choose which once will enhance your topic the most.

– research the topic and brainstorm for ideas of what you could possibly do with this topic. What would be the best way to demonstrate my project to the world.

– take pictures in and around the community that represent what your tipic is about. For example, mine is Global Warming. So i would take pictures of say, oil refineries pollutiing the air and car exhaust.

– learn how to use Photoshop and InDesign and then apply it to our project.

Class 1 ( November 11th, 2008 )

 Class 1 will be reserved for brainstorming and planning. We’re going to put our two heads together and plan out exactly what our project will look like, and what is the message that we want people to understand from it.

Class 2 ( November 18th, 2008 )

We should at least have the pictures by this class. At home, we load them on a 2GB USB stick so it will be easy to transfer to school. Once at school, we’re going to look through them all and pick and choose the ones that would make our project absolutely brilliant.

Class 3 ( November 26th, 2008 )

Class 3 we’re hopefully not going to be behind schedule and start sketching and planning what our articles are going to look like and what we’re going to write about. We’re thinking 4-5 articles and 2 pictures per article. Also, on this day we should have all our pictures chosen and ready to work with photoshop.

Class 4 ( December 1st, 2008 )

We should have most of our articles written and in the proofreading stages right now. If one or two aren’t, it wouldnt be the end of the world as we still have quite some time to do them, and make them perfect!

Class 5 ( December 3rd, 2008 )

Transfer our pictures to photoshop where we will enhance the quality and make it look professional!  I don’t think we could possibly finish all our pictures for today because there are quite a few but for next class they should all be done.

Class 6 ( December 5th, 2008 )

Our articles should be ready to work with. Today after finishing with our photoshopped pictures, we will sit down and discuss which pictures will go where so it will be easier when we have to put it in the layout. Also, we have to discuss which pictures will be put on the cover pages and how we will want to display the pictures so that they look great and eye-catching.

Class 7 ( December 9th, 2008 )

Come up with a title for our magazine. It has to represent everything that the magazine/photo essay includes. It’s not just global warming, it’s that the people around us don’t care, and therefore don’t do there part to make our world better.

Class 8 (  December 12th, 2008 )

Everything should be ready on this day so that we can use InDesign and put our photos and articles into the layout provided.

Class 9 ( December 16th, 2008 )

If there are a few touch ups to be made, today is the day to do so. Our project is due in two days, but by today everything should be over and done with. I can’t wait to see our final creation.

December 18th, 2008 at 3:00PM: The Day Our Project is Due.

CHANGE, we can believe in !

My Thoughts and Opinions about this Presidential Election.

Below is a youtube video of Obama’s speech the night he was elected. It not only inspired me, but allowed me to admire him even more then I already did !

                Imagine, some people were alive to see Martin Luther King Jr. and his successors fight against racial discrimination and to see Barack Obama, the first black man to become the president of the United States. That’s how short the span was between the segregated/prejudiced life, and the life we’re leading today.

                To tell you the truth, I was so much more aware and involved in Obama’s quest to become president then I was for Stephen Harper when he got elected, and re-elected I may add. And you know why, because with our country it’s always the same old song and dance and the same type of people that get elected. God forbid we should have some sort of change in our society! The only reason why I liked Obama was because he took a stand and was ready to make history. Surely, he had to have some insecurity about being black and becoming president, it’s a huge step for our nation but still you never saw it because he was too preoccupied inspiring people with his words and his charisma. He always had such grace and such poise throughout the whole election that you knew he wasn’t like the other presidents before him, he was different. That’s what people want; Bush has been there so long that Americans are desperately craving change and Obama is the exact definition of change !

When Barack Obama was elected the President of United States it was a defining moment. It’s one of those things, special and amazing enough to be written in the history books so that the generations to come will be able to learn about this unbelievable person and how he changed the world.

Why People Love Getting Scared ?

                We are programmed as human beings to pursue pleasure and avoid the painful things, but if so why do people love watching scary movies?

                Personally, I’m one of those people and I love horror movies, and none of that stupid stuff like the Grudge and the Ring, but the real deal; the kind of movies that’ll scare the living daylights right out of you.  It’s all about the thrill, the adrenaline pumping through your body and the chills you feel running down your spine while you’re watching. Your subconscious knows it’s just a movie but movies these days are made so life-like and real it’s incredible. It feels like you’re right along with them. I think people love getting spooked and frightened during horror movies so that at the end, when it’s all done and over with, they feel a sense of relief and satisfaction. The effect that these kinds of movies have on the people who love them is just simply exciting and invigorating; I can just imagine how it must feel for the writers and producers of these masterpieces.

                Also, I think people love them because they can feel frightened and scared during the movie, but they know that this doesn’t cause any real threat to them and that it’s all going to be okay in a couple of hours. The stimulation of not knowing what’s going to happen next or maybe who the killer is just excites people. They love being scared. They know it’s not real, and it won’t cause them any harm so that’s why it’s so enjoyable.  Obviously, some people can’t stand horror movies and get nightmares about them but honestly speaking, it’s all in their heads. Come on, in reality there is no way that Michael Myers or say Jigsaw will come and kill you while you sleep, or while you’re home alone because they’re not real! You know a scary movie’s awesome when you’re shaken to the core at the very thought of one of the characters in the film. Ah! What we would do without scary movies, I tell you!