I have a problem with myself; I don't read as much as I used to or as I should. In addition I don't read education/career related books.
I used to read a lot. Mainly it was classic literature. Early on I discovered worlds, theories and philosophies that were foreign to most of my peers. It was a lonely time but an exciting time.
My eyes started hurting due to reading via candle light/flash light (some books were read in secret). My ability to read a book in one sitting slowly diminished. Soon, it took me weeks to read a novel.
I don't think I am currently reading as much as I should and more importantly I am not reading materials that relate to my current field of study. This too must be remedied.
Perhaps this summer I will attempt to get through 30 or so novels of interest. The trick will be to pick through literary works that help with final thesis project ideas.
Someone recently said to me that their #1 rule is not to hope. In that spirit I will not hope to read these book but I will strive to read the 30 that I put before me.
On another note, improving my writing skills comes next!
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
TV Will Rot Your Brain
Watched the documentary Why We Fight last night with Josh. Many thoughts that have previously passed through my head were pretty much realized in this movie.
The themes of the movie were nothing new to anyone who has been following media or politics or any other related subject.. basically anyone that hasn't had their head in the sand for the past 65 or so years. However, the part that really got to me was when US propaganda footage was shown in the movie and Josh said something to the effect of "wow, those were so obvious".
Yeah, they seem very obvious to us and at the time of their showing, these films were very obvious to the adults watching them. Those movies, however, were never meant for adults. I believe they were geared toward small children to watch before they caught the Mickey Mouse Double Feature.
To me the angles of the propaganda films scream "CHILDREN'S POINT OF VIEW!" They were all low angle movies that not only heroized the "brave men" but also gave children the feeling of "hey, we are on your level looking up at tall adults with you".
In his book, Feeling Like a Kid (which by the way is bound like a children's story book), Jerry Griswold comments on themes, feelings and phrases that connect with children. Why then can't a film/movie use these same themes to connect with children, especially if all it takes is moving the camera a few inches/feet this way or that way.
Propaganda was aimed at children because they were/are the next generation of citizen and most importantly soldier. The movies gave them an idealized character, like Superman, to look up to. And although children could never be the man of steal (no matter how much they tried) they could definitely become a brave, proud soldier.
What does modern TV say? We are not so much told to idolize or heroize TV/Movie characters. There are boys and girls that idolize terrible role models from TV but thats really not media's main objective. Modern television is made to pacify us. Things like reality TV is made to shock us to the point of not caring about truly shocking things. It is currently more important to know who got voted off American Idol or who got bad mouthed on the Hills than to know what our foreign policy is. I mean, we are just talking about our safety.
There was a great line in the movie last night. I cannot quote is verbatim (or maybe I can) but the gist of it was this:
We are a nation that suffers from Amnesia, forgetting what happened last week every time a Monday rolls around.
The themes of the movie were nothing new to anyone who has been following media or politics or any other related subject.. basically anyone that hasn't had their head in the sand for the past 65 or so years. However, the part that really got to me was when US propaganda footage was shown in the movie and Josh said something to the effect of "wow, those were so obvious".
Yeah, they seem very obvious to us and at the time of their showing, these films were very obvious to the adults watching them. Those movies, however, were never meant for adults. I believe they were geared toward small children to watch before they caught the Mickey Mouse Double Feature.
To me the angles of the propaganda films scream "CHILDREN'S POINT OF VIEW!" They were all low angle movies that not only heroized the "brave men" but also gave children the feeling of "hey, we are on your level looking up at tall adults with you".
In his book, Feeling Like a Kid (which by the way is bound like a children's story book), Jerry Griswold comments on themes, feelings and phrases that connect with children. Why then can't a film/movie use these same themes to connect with children, especially if all it takes is moving the camera a few inches/feet this way or that way.
Propaganda was aimed at children because they were/are the next generation of citizen and most importantly soldier. The movies gave them an idealized character, like Superman, to look up to. And although children could never be the man of steal (no matter how much they tried) they could definitely become a brave, proud soldier.
What does modern TV say? We are not so much told to idolize or heroize TV/Movie characters. There are boys and girls that idolize terrible role models from TV but thats really not media's main objective. Modern television is made to pacify us. Things like reality TV is made to shock us to the point of not caring about truly shocking things. It is currently more important to know who got voted off American Idol or who got bad mouthed on the Hills than to know what our foreign policy is. I mean, we are just talking about our safety.
There was a great line in the movie last night. I cannot quote is verbatim (or maybe I can) but the gist of it was this:
We are a nation that suffers from Amnesia, forgetting what happened last week every time a Monday rolls around.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Holy Scripture, Fairy Tales and the Boogy Man
I have linked my love of dissecting novels/literature with my 12 years of Hebrew school and bible study.
Now all I have to do is instill to my audience the concept of what role Rashi, Rambam and Ramban play in the reading and understanding of holy scripture and how that relates to my version of classic children's literature.
My plan of attack (a year from now) is to focus very little (if at all) on my past work and instead speak of my past experiences and my knowledge and relationship to thinks like religion and Kabbalah (no Demi More required or needed, thank you!)
On the other hand I have to really watch out for drawing out my presentation into a multi-hour event. Too much info can be damning, too little info can confuse people even more.
At least I still have a year (or at the very least 10ish months, to smooth things out and make everything come together.
Fairy Tales Beware!
Now all I have to do is instill to my audience the concept of what role Rashi, Rambam and Ramban play in the reading and understanding of holy scripture and how that relates to my version of classic children's literature.
My plan of attack (a year from now) is to focus very little (if at all) on my past work and instead speak of my past experiences and my knowledge and relationship to thinks like religion and Kabbalah (no Demi More required or needed, thank you!)
On the other hand I have to really watch out for drawing out my presentation into a multi-hour event. Too much info can be damning, too little info can confuse people even more.
At least I still have a year (or at the very least 10ish months, to smooth things out and make everything come together.
Fairy Tales Beware!
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