ENGLISH! Can you read it?

Finding sources

2005-04-01T20:04:00.000-06:00

Some things that someone might try when searching for sources for Project 4 is adding the + between all words, which might get some extra links added in there.

Also, if anyone is reading there is an Evolution conference next week that some are thinking about attending from the ole community. I believe the date is April 6th, but I am not sure of the time.

Cultural Event

2005-02-23T09:17:00.000-06:00

Reminder!!!

On Thursday, February 25th, there will be a cultural event at 8 pm in Wattenburger Auditorium. The event features Festival of Four, an acoustical music group.

Preliminary Proposal

2005-02-23T00:03:00.000-06:00

The problem I chose is overspending in the higher ups of the education system, in Livingston, my hometown. I'll probably use interviews mainly, but I may research the topic further at my local library. I will interview teachers and some staff around the schools, because of their close relationship to the problem. The photographs I use will show the places in the school system where the money should have been spent, and the places where it should NOT have been spent.

Project 2 Proposal

2005-02-09T01:45:00.000-06:00

I plan on using question number 3 on page 171 as my foundation of my essay. I found Barthes essay a little less confusing when compared to Berger's essay. Barthes smoothly transitioned his ideas, and it was an overall better read. I plan to focus mainly on the studium and the punctum of my photographs. I also want to reread it again to try and find some terms I may have left out the first time.

As of right now I plan on using the pictures at www.newseum.org/mississippi/ as my set of pictures. They are over the Civil Rights Movement.

Student Protestors. Ted Bolumbaum Collection.
1964, Mississippi.

Berger Photograph Response

2005-02-07T01:38:00.000-06:00

http://www.photography-museum.com/sushilg.html

Does this picture show a party? Are they perhaps just having an ordinary dinner? What I do know is that there are six Japanese men sitting around a few dishes of food. One is reading, another playing some sort of musical instrument, and the rest appear to be standing around or eating. This could be at an Inn of some sort. The food they are eating is almost a mystery. I say almost because I can clearly see one plate of eggs, but other than that I have no idea what they are eating. Their attire is all more or less the same, although one has a bandage wrapped around his head and appears to be well on his way to getting drunk.

END BERGER PHOTOGRAPH RESPONSE

Did I do that right? Is there something more that I need to add? I read question 5 a few times, and this is basically what I've came up with.

Berger's essay...

2005-02-03T23:54:00.000-06:00

After completing Berger's essay I have to say that it was pretty confusing to me. He seemed to switch from photography, to the defeat of capitalism, to the "end" of history in lightening quick flashes. I much preferred Barthes tried and true method of writing about photography...simply writing about photography and nothing else. Am I the only one to think this?

Following Barthes...

2005-02-01T22:50:00.000-06:00

Barthes begins Camera Lucida by explaining why he has a hard time finding "his" photographer. This leads to why some photos are hard to learn, if that makes sense. He then begins to give a few terms to describe what he sees in almost every photograph. He describes that the studium is the personal interest that the Spectator has for the photograph. However, seeing a studium within the photograph is only the tip of the iceberg when viewing a photo.

He says that he wants to find something in the photograph that wounds him. He calls this part of the photograph the punctum. The punctum, according to Barthes, is what sets it apart from everything else. He explains that it could be two different types of workers (Nuns and Soldiers) or something just as simple as someone's shoes (the Mary Janes).

He continues to explore these two terms as the essay goes on, and uses most of the pictures to use the terms. For example, he explains later that the studium and puntcum are related to the Spectator. The Observer was only there at that brief moment in time that allowed him to create the snapshot. To me, this is pretty much how the essay developed. It seemed it went from one term, to another, then back to the original. Sometimes the name might have changed, but in the end it was still basically the same thing.

As I understand it...

2005-01-31T01:23:00.000-06:00

Barthes view of photographs is sort of like looking into a lake. The surface of the water works as the studium, and it's what we immediately recognize about the photograph. Then after viewing the surface for awhile, we become aware that underneath is an entirely new thing. This detail would play the part of the punctum. This is how I interpreted Barthes philosophy...figured I would post it up here on the blog to see if anyone else thought of it in a similar fashion.

Analysis of the Creative Zen Touch review...

2005-01-26T09:36:00.000-06:00

The review for the Creative Zen Touch MP3 player touched on a lot of key points concerning players similar to it. The review immediately compared it to its competitor, the Apple I-Pod. They compare some, not all, of the features to the I-Pod. After the first couple of paragraphs, the reviewer just begins talking about the various features of the Zen Touch.

I’m not sure it makes sense to mention the I-Pod in the first few paragraphs. It would seem that comparing all of its features to the I-Pod might have been more informative. I also noticed that there was not a mention of battery life in the entire review. The battery life of MP3 players is one of those things I think almost everyone wants to know about. A bad battery life usually means the MP3 player won’t be coming home with you.

Getting the negative out of the way, the review did hit upon some good info. The review informed the reader that there was no ability to use lossless codecs. The reviewer also mentioned that the menus could be a little annoying, and that it was NOT to be used for someone jogging. Those are definitely things I want to know about my MP3 player, which is all I have to judge this review by. I think overall, this review did an okay job with the Creative Zen Touch.

Revised Review

2005-01-26T09:30:00.000-06:00

Old Spice Red Zone body wash has made quite a splash in my bathroom. The scent is what stands out the most about this product. During my use, the duration of the scent made it close to the advertised eight hours. Only a few times, when I was playing sports, did I notice that the smell of “Aqua Reef” had left my body.

Another quality that I like about this product is the effect of the body wash on my skin. I have used many products like it, and generally I try to shy away from such things. This is the first that did not make my skin dry and irritable. This, coupled with the eight hour scent technology, makes it hard for me to go back to just standard soap.

Old Spice Red Zone has many good qualities going for it to warrant at least a sampling. The scent technology and the hydrating formula are two things that really make it stand out when compared to the body wash’s that I have sampled in the past. The hydrating formula helped add more moisture to my already dry skin. In the end, I give Old Spice Red Zone body wash two big foamy thumbs up.

So I'm wondering...

2005-01-25T22:46:00.000-06:00

Can we let loose in this journal sometimes or is it strictly for English assignments? So...anyways...this setup is pretty nice. I was really lucky because I got a space with a great view here. I can see all the way to the HTML coding (cue bad joke drum). I am sO cool...