Journal pg. 94 Seeing 1&2

1. The very first thing I recognized was the poster of Bruce Lee on the wall his snarl and recognizable face caught my eye, that's one of my childhood favorites. Secondly the basketball posters and cards on the wall drew my attention, simply because they are objects I really enjoy as well. His room is almost overly nostalgic in a sense and is fitting for a teenage boy. The cultured tones, mixed with everything a kid would love, sports, kung-fu, music, and so forth. From this piece of work I can tell that Osorio's style goes above and beyond to hammer his point home.

2. Still being 18, I'm still within my teenage years, and spotting such things such as basketball posters, a pair of turntables, car posters, and a Bruce Lee poster on the wall made me feel nostalgic to the point where I wanted to actually call my mother and ask where were some of my objects like this. Yet the glass mirror floors, and hands reaching out of the walls holding basketballs kind of send it over the top to where it falls over the thin line of fiction and fantasy. To some point the room hits all major factors of a teenage boys dream room, but that's the point exactly most teenage boys dream of something this cool. The room comes out as an over glossed fantasy that has some outright outrageous things. Non the less I don't think the average fifteen year old has mirrors on his floor.

Pg 91 Seeing #1&2

1. Cole does an amazing job on bringing things down to scale. Focusing on the smaller things that we seem to overlook, our perception is what deceives us in the end. Cole is is infatuated with the scale on which we look at things and how they would look to others, imagine what the world is to an ant, or how gargantuan the sea or sky is. Cole's essay changed my perception in the manner that what humans see is microscopic compared to what really is going on. Microorganisms living all over our bodies and inhabiting the earth that we can barely see let alone probably see our bodies as walking planets. To experience things in a different manner we have films like "Honey I Shrunk The Kids" that puts the viewer in shoes of a human that sees blades of grass as skyscrapers. Yet to some extent Cole's essay doesn't necessarily change my outlook, what isn't seen isn't known, well at least until you bring a high powered microscope.

2. I believe that Cole ends her essay with a quote to set a familiar tone, if the reader is familiar with the authors work they would relate the ideals of the other work with Cole's. Maybe she was influenced heavily by the author and believed that it set the tone in closing. If she didn't use a quote, maybe the reader wouldn't relate her ending point with another author and it could've been stronger maybe if it were her words. Schrodinger's paragraph runs a little long but the first sentence embodies the thesis of the essay perfectly and would've fitted better. Throughout the entire essay certain things are noted and summarized, it gives a little more insight to what influenced the essay, and what work went into it. Some of the notes being her own, some of the references very recognizable and insightful, and they all make the reading easier.

pg 42 Response.

As I listen to A Love Supreme by John Coltrane craving a cheap ramen meal and skim through my textbooks, this is a vision that fits exactly what I expected of my college studies. Flipping through the photographs of each family with not only the food of their culture, but the backdrop of their environment, each photo is evokes a different range of emotions.

"well fed...", "together..." "american dream..."

1. See the Fernandez family, all smiling great well fed smiles, products of achieving a comfortable American dream, this photo shows no sign of struggle, only the prosperity of the results. Abuela sits with the kids front and center as food surrounds the family. From chicken tenders for the kids to oven roasted chicken, name a product and it's likely there. The wife of the family shows the largest smile, even after what would seem like a pre weather disaster trip to the grocery store. Aside from it all this family is "together", a mother and father, with a son and daughter, this picture is almost too perfect only thing missing was an apple pie.

2. One of my favorite magazines is Complex Magazine, ran by Marc Ecko. It is for your young 16-27 hip male, updating you on the latest from clothing, technology, and so forth. As I look through certain advertisements, which usually get overlooked each one is glossy, photoshopped, if not photoshopped then unauthentic, and seemingly unnecessary. New cars, clothes, woman in provocative poses. Most of the advertisements you don't realize what they're selling until you look into the bottom right or left of the page and the brand's name in small print. Yet I can't blame these brands for paying their hard earned revenue for advertisement space in a popular magazine. They have every right, to flaunt their product, and in a very smart manner might I add, if you see a spread on jeans for the fall, and the next page is an ad for an urban brand's jeans, you might consider. Advertisements in fashion and lifestyle magazines go with the emotion or tie into the visual flow of the articles. You wouldn't put an advertisement for liquor next to a story of an esteemed athlete who committed a vehicular manslaughter while under the influence. Much like comedy advertisement is all about timing, to act on human emotion and know exactly when you have your audience where you want them.

I flip through the pages of my favorite magazine and stop after coming to an advertisement I would be unbiased to. I don't drink alcohol but I stopped at an advertisement for Heineken beer, the backdrop was green matching the company colors with two cans showing the front and back logos. The slogan is simple and to the point saying "Heineken's new can is all perfection, no gimmick." Maybe a slight shot at its competition who has made advancements with such gimmicks as a censor that tell when it's cold, or a wider mouth to make it easier to pour. The basis of print advertisement is to catch your eye or remind the constant customer who has been conditioned by advertisement to purchase the product. The thing is with ads is they are made to evoke a certain emotion, but it is very limited. They add sad music for the save the animals commercials, or using scantily clad women to sell alcohol. Advertisement is an exact science, while photography is an open canvas of emotion. While the Heineken ad is far from complex, it says we make good beer, no gimmicks no filler. Then you have on a entirely different spectrum the Fernandez family photographed by Peter Menzel shows the family with what seems to be the contents of the pantry and fridge surrounding them. It raises far more questions then a simple beer advertisement and makes you analyze the photo much longer. How did they get all that food? Are those cheez-its in the background? Are they gonna eat that pizza? Yet this is the ordinary, what any regular family does, they get groceries to feed the household, no matter their economic position, people make due with their finances and feed themselves. In comparison one plays on impulse, while the other makes you react in ways you wouldn't imagine.

First day of class.

Nervous as probably I'll ever be, I walk into my first ever college class. Everyone is silent staring at the clock diligently. It is around five minutes to six, and even the teacher is silent, so I stare down and grab a chair towards the front. As the clock strikes six Ms.Kazay swiftly gets class going, and for the next hour and twenty minutes it is a complete whirlwind of knowledge, a cornucopia of data say you will. She glides over the syllabus, every phrase that sticks I highlight with great detail. What all seems so overwhelming during class is now starting to make more and more sense as I type this. We even did a little exercise to get to know one another within the class. Each person presenting one another in a slight comical tone trying to break the ice, which felt kind of good to finally let that first breath go. I feel like this is going to be a great semester, hopefully resulting in me learning a bit more about myself and even me receiving an A for my grade.