Back from Japan!

Hello Birdies!
So as you know, I disappeared from this blog for a while because I was IN JAPAN.

JAPAN.

It was super exciting! I LOVED it.

Although I made a Tumblr blog for the trip, I ended up not using it because I didn't have the world's greatest wifi over there. No surprise, but although I had a data card, I tried to use that when I needed to Google Map or translate something. So I'll probably delete that blog or maybe make post-trip posts on there about it. Who knows. I also made a Bonjournal for it because I like the idea of writing up my trip and exporting it as a fancy, minimalist PDF. So I'll probably do that actually too.

Anyways, I'll make another post about the trip later, once I finish uploading pictures of the trip onto my computer. I've been home for a couple of weeks now, but I've been really busy getting ready for my senior year of school, getting another job (cause you know, who needs a social life when they're broke?), and going to leadership training.

But be prepared for an exciting rest of the year of posts! I got some great stuff planned and I'm really excited to share my trip with everyone.

Japan Update!

Dear Birdies,
After doing much research into the thought of keeping an online travel blog and app, I made the decision to blog my trip to Japan on Tumblr. I made this choice because Blogger unfortunately doesn't have a very good mobile app and although there is a decent mobile app I've added this blog onto, it doesn't always seem to keep my posts updated when offline.

But since I've been using Tumblr for about a year now (you can follow my official Tumblr blog here), and knowing that it's decently easy to use and you can not only post a lot of different content easily (as well as reblog stuff), but you can customize it easily.

I also thought about an online travel journal/app called Bonjournal. And while it looks really nice and I love the idea of being able to download it as a PDF, you can only put in three photos per entry and you can only do photos and text. So while its just generally really pretty and has a nice PDF download, I like the idea of keeping videos, photos, text, and anything all in one place.

So I started this blog: July in Japan. You can follow all my updates on there if you wish since I'll be posting there as often as I can. I also have an official blog for the trip at the program's blog but since I'm not sure what all kinds of content I can post on there or how often, I decided to make the Tumblr so I can post as often as I want and post anything I desire on it (although I won't post anything inappropriate on it, but I like knowing that its mine to do with as I please).

Sareh

I'm going to Japan!

My Japan coloring book.

I am SO excited to share with everyone (literally everyone, I'm pretty sure my family and friends are SUPER annoyed by now) that I am going to Japan during the month of July! My goal is that since I'll be in this really awesome cool place that I'll get to blog about it every day! (Or every other day...once a week, we'll see!)

So be prepared for some awesome pictures, videos, and stories as I explore JAPAN for a month and if you follow me on social media, I'll be posting there too. I'll hopefully try to make some cool blog posts commenting on what I've learned doing research for The Messenger series vs what I observe while in Japan. Hopefully, I'll learn some cool things that can really help the books and maybe the trip will help clear up some things I've been confused about (research will only take you so far folks).

I'll be in Kyoto for three weeks and then Tokyo for a week before heading home. While in Kyoto, we'll be visiting the golden pavilion, seeing the Gion festival, taking a class on Japanese literature, art, and culture, and lots and lots of other stuff!

The Top 15 things I'm most excited for! (In no particular order)

Some guide books I rented
from the library

1. JAPAN
2. The Bullet train
3. Seeing the Imperial palaces (or touring through the gardens)
4. Visiting the Fushimi Inari Temple (its a temple famous for its hundreds of red torii gates). Excited for this because kitsunes are the fox messengers of Inari. 
5. Touring Japanese gardens
6. Gion district (that's where the geisha are)
7. Tokyo skytree
8. Japanese cuisine
9. Visiting other temples
10. Golden pavilion
11. Kabuki theater
12. Museums
13. Shopping! All the shopping in both Kyoto and Tokyo!
14. Heian shrine
15. hot springs and public baths 

I've always wanted to go to Japan because I think its just so different from America in many ways and that if I was going to study abroad, I may as well do it in a place I'm really excited about. It also so happened to be that the timing was just right this year so its the perfect time for me to go.

I knew that I was going to study abroad this year because it was a goal of mine in college and that this year was the last year I could really could. And at first I was considering some other options from my school and although they would have been cheaper, they weren't going to places I was super thrilled about and they weren't studying topics I was super thrilled about, nor was I sure the timing was going to work out. But with the program I found, although its a bit more expensive, its going to somewhere I'm really interested in, and studying something cool as well.

Anyways, I'm really excited to go on my trip and I'm excited to share it with you. If you guys have any tips for traveling in Japan, traveling in general, or if you know of any things I should try or see, please comment below! Also make sure to follow me on social media and this blog and check in to see all the exciting adventures I'm going to have.

Book Review: The Watchmaker on Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley

(From Goodreads) 1883. Thaniel Steepleton returns home to his tiny London apartment to find a gold pocket watch on his pillow. Six months later, the mysterious timepiece saves his life, drawing him away from a blast that destroys Scotland Yard. At last, he goes in search of its maker, Keita Mori, a kind, lonely immigrant from Japan. Although Mori seems harmless, a chain of unexplainable events soon suggests he must be hiding something. When Grace Carrow, an Oxford physicist, unwittingly interferes, Thaniel is torn between opposing loyalties.

The Watchmaker of Filigree Street is a sweeping, atmospheric narrative that takes the reader on an unexpected journey through Victorian London, Japan as its civil war crumbles long-standing traditions, and beyond. Blending historical events with dazzling flights of fancy, it opens doors to a strange and magical past.


I was really looking forward to reading this book, so when my school library got it, I immediately jumped on renting it. It took me about a week to read through despite it not being that thick of a book. But then, I was reading it at night an hour before I went to bed.

Anyways, pacing wise the book wasn't the greatest. In the beginning, the book wasn't the most exciting but it was definitely exciting. There were bombs and And the middle dragged. The ending
finally picked up.

I liked the characters in the beginning. Nathaniel was a protagonist that I liked because I felt I could related to him personality wise. And I also liked Mori as well. He was an intriguing character because you weren't sure if he was behind the bombs or not. And I enjoyed Grace's character because she reminded me of Alana from Tamora Pierce's books but she was a scientist, which was cool to see a woman being portrayed in the 1800s.

And as much as I wanted to really love this book, I just can't. Even thinking about it a while later, I'm still with the same conclusions. There was a lot of plot points that to me, didn't really seem to make a lot of sense. And I felt that the pacing was either slow or it dragged a lot. So the characters didn't seem to make rational choices, and a lot of things went unexplained. At the end of the book, I was left with more questions than answers. Questions to things I felt there shouldn't have been questions to.

There was a marriage towards the end of the book that I felt came out of seemingly nowhere and it wasn't really explained well. I felt the characters involved kinda talked about it, but their reasons weren't strong enough and I felt the whole ordeal could have been avoid, Grace's parents certainly seemed to overreact to her going over to Mori's that it was a bit ridiculous. While I saw Grace's point in trying to get married so she could get her aunt's house, I wasn't completely sold on Thaniel's reason. I did not feel that Thaniel was torn between two opposing loyalties when Grace got involved.

Overall, I felt that the historical accuracy was pretty on point, and that nothing popped out at me of being out of time for the Victorian period. The book made a big deal about the Irish at the beginning and as the book went on, that was a detail that seemed forgotten at times. The description seems to say that its look at "Japan's civil war as its long standing traditions crumble" will be exciting, but it was not. I did not get a sense of a civil war and the way that it affected Japan's traditions.

I haven't studied too much yet into the Meiji period, but from what I do know, I can say this, the way the atmosphere of Japan was portrayed as seems correct though. Ignoring the part about the civil war, I was fine with that.  I wish though that we would have seen more looks of Japan and how it affected Mori later on.

Another thing that bugged me about the book was the "dazzling flights of fancy". There is magic in this book, although you wouldn't realize it until about halfway in. No one in this book ever addressed this, where the magic came from, if Mori was the only one with it, and other things. The book was more alternative history/science fiction/light fantasy. And I wish that the fantasy elements would have been dealt with more. Thaniel never seemed to be bothered by any of it, except for the fact that Mori could have been creating clockwork bombs. The only person with a dash of common sense in this whole book was Grace and even then, I question her. 

The biggest thing that brought me out of the story was in the end when we find out that Thaniel and Mori are in love and on their wedding night, Thaniel leaves Grace for him. And honestly, it was such a deal breaker for me. As Grace thankfully pointed out, it was ridiculous and rude of him and cruel. I get wanting to go through with it because you feel stuck, but once they had married...well there had to have been a better time to break things off. Like, I dunno, BEFORE the wedding or at least wait a while after you've been married. Or even just leave her at the alter. I just lost a lot of respect for Thaniel as a protagonist and it almost ruined the book for me.

Not only that, but the relationship between Mori and Thaniel seemed so sudden to me. It was as if it came out of no where. There were probably signs before hand, but they were so subtle I didn't catch them. I guess in a way, I give my complements for not being so obvious, but it was such a shock. In a way to me it seemed as if the author suddenly decided that she wanted to throw them together and then never went back to change anything about their friendship. 

Overall, this book had a lot of potential, but it was lacking in a lot of places as well. I'm disappointed in this book and I definitely think it could have been better if it had been longer and the author had taken the time to flesh out parts of the book a little bit more. Its almost there, but not quite yet. 

What is a Word War?

So I don't think I've ever posted about Word Wars before and that's a great writing tool I've neglected to tell you all about.

Word wars are a fun way to get writing. All you need is at least one other person and a way to keep time. My friends and I usually go by minutes because we live in different time zones, but the minutes are still the same. Word wars are commonly used for getting writing done, but we also use it as a time to focus on completing anything that needs to be done.

Basics of a Word War

1. Someone calls the "war" (i.e name your time): for example, for 20 minutes starting at :15 (as I am writing this). You can name any amount of time that works for you. We usually do it in segments of five. 
2. When the minute time reaches :15, everyone begins writing or doing homework or whatever you're planning to do. And then for that 20 minutes, you're not supposed to do anything else but that one thing. 
3. Once you've reached 20 minutes, everyone regroups to announce what they got done. If you wrote something, we usually share what we wrote to get feedback or to just share. We also announce the amount of words we wrote.
4. (If you're writing) Whoever got the highest amount of words, "wins" bragging rights for that round. 

Word wars are just a great way to get yourself writing or doing anything that needs to be done, Its especially helpful if you're not feeling motivated or if something is overwhelming because you can take it in chunks of time and then take a break. And if you're doing it with a friend or several, then there is other people there for feedback and motivation. 

You could also do a word war by yourself, just set a time and write for however long you desire. But they're usually more fun with friends.

The main point is to just have fun, get motivated, and get stuff done.

So as long as you remember those three main points, you'll have a great word war.

If anyone wants to try one, we can start some in the comments below. Let me know!

Sharing Links: 12/23/2015

So I just realized I haven't shared anything in a while, so I've decided to share some great articles I've been reading and a couple of intriguing websites. Plus some videos on people who see colors and sounds with words and music!

Websites

Online Etymology Dictionary- This website won't have every word, but if you've wanted to know the history behind a lot of words, take a look here!

Medium- I've heard this is a blogging website and a lot of people post articles and blogs here. So check it out if you're looking for more to read.

Articles
Due to haven't shared anything for a while, I'm sharing my favorite recent articles from some websites I subscribe to.

Quartz- This Free Encyclopedia has Achieved what Wikipedia has Only Dreamed Of

Paul Ford- What is Code?

Lenny Article

• The Lenny Interview: Bobby Eckstein, Sexual-Assault-Prevention Educator
• Girlfriend in a Coma
• The Sickest Girl
• Padma Lakshmi: Endometriosis Is Real, and It's Staggering
• An Interview with Dr. Tamer Seckin, Endo Expert

Fast Company Articles

• How To Design A Video Game With No Graphics
• What If We Just Gave People Enough Money To Live: 2015 In Basic Income
• HOW THE FOUNDER OF HOLLABACK! MADE A CAREER OUT OF FIGHTING STREET HARASSMENT
• Why Making Movies is not for the Faint of Heart. 
• War, Peace, and Techonology: A History of the 20th Century Through Color Trends

National Geographic

• See How Six Communities Around the World Are Adapting to Climate Change
• This Is Your Brain on Nature
• Krampus's Sidekick? Fanged "Vampire Deer" Explained
• How National Parks Tell Our Story—and Show Who We Are
• 500 Years of Virgin Mary Sightings in One Map
• How These Communities Save Energy—and Time for What Matters

Videos:
I was recently really fascinated by these videos on Synesthesia, so I thought to share. Plus, in the last video, the girl plays the violin.

Synesthesia: The Science Behind Seeing Sounds & Tasting Color

Hearing Colors: What It's Like To Have Synesthesia

What's It Like To Hear Colors? - A VR 360° Synesthesia Experience

Movie Review: Star Wars VII: The Force Awakens

So I recently went and saw the new Star Wars movie almost on accident (basically the thing we wanted to do didn't work out so we saw this instead) and it was a fantastic choice.

Overall, up front, the movie was awesome. I'm going to try my hardest not to give away any spoilers so this post might be really vague.

I think one of the movie's greatest strengths was its use of humor. I never thought of it before, but all past six movies were lacking in humor and this movie was not shy about it. I also loved the little digs occasionally at itself and the way the actors reacted to some things. It gave the movie a slightly more lighthearted side that I think is more reflective of 2015 then the other movies. I think its a smart choice to help draw in new Star Wars fans and to help them relate better to the characters.

One of the other great things I loved about this movie was the awesome scene footage. There were moments during the movie that were quite really, breathtaking, and at other times were simply just moving to see. They really played with the mood of the scenes and I thought did a great job with the special effects and editing.

The new characters were awesome in their own right. The main girl, Rey, was my absolute favorite. She was a hero and I thought really brought the movie together. A lot of people were calling Finn the new "Luke", but I think its more Rey then it is him. I personally loved Rey more then I did Finn, I thought her character was stronger and she did a fantastic job for this being her first, big time role.

 Finn's character was also strong and at times, the most real and funny character in the movie. Looking back on it now, I think almost that his character just wasn't as strong. Some of his motives seemed a big overdone or unexplained. And although he was more of a reluctant hero, he seemed to be more of a sidekick to Rey.

Now there are some parts about the movie that disappointed me. While I enjoyed the moments where it echoed the earlier movies and the homages paid to it, and also how Leia and Han Solo came back for another go, I thought that at times the movie seemed to recycle too much of the old movies and its tropes. At times it was too much like the old movies and certain parts of history for comfort and I thought I would have enjoyed seeing more new ideas brought to stage.

That being said, I loved the way we saw Han Solo and Leia's relationship in this movie and how we saw what happened years after the last Star Wars movie where we left them. I also thought there was an interesting dynamic with them and the new "Evil Dark Overlord" but in a way, it wasn't anything new or surprising.

In fact, it was slightly unexplained to me and I felt his character could have been explored more. I enjoyed his character and thought he was a definite strong antagonist, but he was also a slight disappointment. Something about him bugged me. If anything, I am super curious about his mentor that was introduced in this movie.

Then there were the points in the plot that were seemingly unexplained and I was left more confused then enlightened. And while there are parts of our characters that are still a mystery, they have lots of room to explore those. But I also felt there were those missed opportunities to explain things that they might have not realized were unclear or they cut them out due to time.

Overall, this was a great movie and I definitely would recommend it. Even if you're tired of Star Wars (like I am of Harry Potter), I would go see this movie for the fantastic shots and the humor and Rey and Finn because I'm definitely rooting for them.

Sincerely,
Sareh

Announcements and Updates! Including an Author Website!

Hey Ya'll!

Just making an announcement that I'm making an author website for a class and I'll be adding a link to the top of the blog when I'm done. It'll be on Wordpress and I'll be posting official book updates there and special content!

Nanowrimo is coming up! If you sign up, I'm on there as Sareh Q. Add me!

My friend Jelsa published her first book, Picture Imperfect, through Swoon Reads! You can check it out on her blog, on Goodreads, or buy it on Amazon (which you totally should!! Its not even that expensive, so go for it!).

I've been on this writing site, Inkitt, for a while now. I have the first two chapters of Sword of Clouds up on it. But if you're looking for a new writing site, I recommend it! Its simple and easy to use. Plus there's a copy and paste lock and all the writing is vetted by editors before being allowed to post so most of it is pretty good!

Several of my friends and people they know started this really great blog, The Book Creators, and you should totally check out their twitter too!

Also, recently, HarperCollin's other writer's website (you might remember Inkpop) Authonomy is closed. Also, another writer's website that was on my radar, Valorpen (or Hexbound has it was first called) is also closed. My sympathy to those affected by the closings.

That's mostly about it for now so stay tuned for more excitement as always!

Sareh

Why Art Education is Important and how to support it.

With the recent recession, American schools began to cut funding from their art programs. This included classes like drawing, painting, photography, theater, music, ceramics, etc. Many people don't see the value in teaching our future adults art, design, and fine art, and many more don't see how it is important to our society.

So I decided to compile a short list and explanation why I believe that art is important.


Art covers many disciplines.

There is, as a sure example, the art field known as Scientific Illustration, that especially in the past was able to show us how minerals looked, dinosaur bones fit together, how the planets revolved around the sun, the places around earth that pictures weren't able to capture. Before there was photography and the internet, much of the ways we saw science was illustrated by brilliant artists and scientists. It till is today and is a beautiful way of cataloging the wonders of our universe. 

An example of illustrated
minerals

Another example is paint pigments. Paint, at least traditionally, was generally made by taking materials like minerals and crushing them together with other substances like egg yolk to create different colors and kinds of paint like oil, and tempera. This involves at least, some basic idea of chemistry. 

(AB EX NY: Art Terms in Action: Paint)

Artist, Janet Echelman, uses different types of materials like ropes, to create large floating art installations in urban areas. She has given Ted Talks and her work has been featured all over the globe. The large moving sculptures responds to the environment and are beautiful. I believe this kind of art must take into consideration of some engineering, architecture, and environmental science. 

Simon Beck, a British cartographer and artist, uses math and snow to create beautiful designs. 

This HuffintonPost talks about eight contemporary artists who talk about how art meets technology. 

Art reveals to us the lives of our fellow human beings and helps teach us empathy

A photographer, Jimmy Nelson, went out and photographed a series of portraits about vanishing people and cultures. Photo Director for National Geographic, David Griffin, gave a Ted Talk about how photography connects us to our world and our fellow human beings. 

Another artist, Melissa McCracken, has made a series of beautiful paintings showing us what it looks like to her to live with synesthesia. A condition that allows one to see colors for music, or taste for touch, or to see sounds. Laura Rosser, a pianist, has the same condition which NPR interviews her about. 

Melissa McCracken
"John Lenon- Imagine"

Another form of discipline is writing. Fiction has been studied by science and is said to help us have more empathy for others and change the way we think. So its not just nonfiction is that is educational to read, but fiction is as well. It can be a fun way to show us other lifestyles and cultures. 

Art is about us, humanity, and the world.
Artist, Jen Lewis, uses macro-photography to show how period blood can be beautiful. She started the project wondering why we take something so normal and turn into something that's spoken of in whispers and rarely acknowledged in society. 

Jen Lewis

Cartography is a discipline that has often used math and art to create beautiful pictures of our world, not only as how it is viewed from space, but how we have seen our world in the past. For example, in the past a lot of maps would show beautifully illustrated mythical creatures such as mermaids in places like the Atlantic Ocean and wonderfully drawn ships. They could also show us how the people at the time saw their world. Many countries would use their capital cities as the center of the world and reflected that on their map, using important cities like Jerusalem as the center for theology-minded maps. 

When the Europeans first came to Japan, the Japanese were fascinated by the Europeans whom they spent a large amount of time painting, creating woodblocks, and drawings. From this we can see how the Japanese were just as fascinated with the Europeans as Europeans found them. It can help show us what they thought of them and what other cultures find/found fascinating and important to document and create. 

With the technology of photography, everyone from around the globe can and has documented everything from important battles and events in history to things like selfies that some people think in the future might be used as a way to show what my generation was like. Some argue in the future they could even be considered an art form. 

It can help change our world and make a difference. 

There is an artist, Olafur Eliasson, who set out 100 tons worth of ice into blocks arranged in a circle, to reminds us that climate change is real and affects us. 

Emily Pilloton, creator of Studio H, helped start a project that taught students in poor, rural communities design and helped them create change for the better in their towns. 

(Emily Pilloton: Teaching design for change)

The Association of Graphic Artists, also known as AIGA, created a movement called, Design for Good, to help showcase, empower, and inspire, artists and designers to create art and design for the betterment of our society. 

MICA, has a graduate program in Social Design, to help teach students how to create design and art to isn't focused just on making money.

Art has been shown to be a good tool for those with disabilities and as a means of therapy. A feature in National Geographic several months ago featured an artist who gave masks to soldiers returning from Afghanistan and Irag that they could paint. These masks represented what it felt like to live with PTSD and other feelings that came from being out in battle. 

It has impacted history and helps show us life in the past. 

Without paintings we might not having an idea of how Queen Elizabeth I looked or how many other famous people in the past looked like. We might not have an idea of how to read Mayan words if they hadn't carved it into the buildings and painted it on their walls. We might not have ever learned how to read Egyptian Hieroglyphics and decode the past if they hadn't painted it everywhere on their walls, burial chambers, vases, and so on so forth. 

As an article I was reading on Deviantart pointed out, art can also teach things like cultural appreciation, Ethics, creativity, along with how to be flexible when things don't turn out how you planned, collaboration which can help teach patience, and other things. It also has been proven to help kids be more motivated and confident. Plus, there's something extremely satisfying about finishing an piece of art work or a design. 

Ways you can help support art

1. Buy a piece of art (especially from your local artists!)
2. Tell an artist how much you like their artwork (and actually take the time to look at it).
3. Go to a museum and look around 
4. Attend an art show or exhibition
5. If there's a local college or university in the area that showcases their art students, attend the show and see what they're creating. 
6. Go see a play, opera, concert, or theater show. 
7. Share online art that inspires or touches you.
1. Good places to see art online and share it or buy it is Deviantart, Behance, Society 6, and Etsy.
8. Take an art class and create your own art.
1. You can take classes or lean about art on sites like Coursera, Skillshare, Craftsy, and Khan Academy,
9. Watch Neil Gaiman's "Make Good Art" speech. 

As an art student, I wish that everyone would at least appreciate art and recognize that it is important to our society and culture. Art captures what we believe is important, makes important discoveries, and helps bring us together. It can also help us improve our thinking, energize us, relax us, and inspire us. Art can be a tool through which we can change the world. 

Sincerely,

Sareh

Blackbird- The Stone Violin

The Blackbird, also known as the Black Stone Violin, is the only full sized, fully playable, stone violin. It was made by a Swedish artist named Lars Widenfalk who named the violin the Blackbird after blackbirds due to its coloring. Supposedly, Stradivari (a great violin making master, on whose designs this violin is based off of) often named his violins after birds.

According to his website,

"The belly of the violin is only 2.5 mm thick at its thinnest point. Such was the precision with which the belly was constructed, with its sound-holes, back and graceful scroll. The ribs were made in one piece by first sawing out a 30 mm thick plate shaped to form the external contour, and then, with infinite care, removing the inside using water-drill and hand-tools so as to create a thin rib, no more than a couple of millimetres thick at its thinnest point.
Stone may seem stable, static material, lacking in "give"; but when the work on the ribs was almost complete, they fractured at a point where the stone had a "give" of approximately 15 mm. Diabase is a very dense crystalline rock deriving from the interior of the Earth in the form of magma which solidified 1.6 billion years ago."

While working on two big diabase stones that were supposed to form part of the embellishment of the Norwegian TV building in Oslo, Norway, he discovered that the rock gave off a sound like a bronze
bell while using a hammer and chisel. After recieving his grandfather's headstone (a newer one was being built for a larger family grave), he reliezed that the stone was about the right size for a violin. And so he sought out to create the world's first and only playable stone violin.

A fascinating thought: what did primary rock - Mother Earth - sound like? Would it be possible to capture in a single instrument the sound of which we all form part?

Constructing the violin took some work. After most of the body of the violin was finished, when it came to the back piece, the headstone material had been used up. So Lars himself went out and cut a block of a porphyry resembling diabase, but that's black with pale flecks. The interior surface was finished with real gold to produce the finest possible tone and silver steel pegs were used to secure the neck to the body. The fingerboard, pegs, tailpiece, and chinrest were made from traditional black ebony. Inspired from the yellow bill of the blackbird, Lars used yellow ivory from mammoth to form the bridge.

The Blackbird is not the only stone violin, a Czech sculptor by the name of Jan Řeřicha, also made some stone violins from marble. These violins weigh in between 3.6 and 6.5 kg, while the Blackbird weighs only 2 kg.


The Swedish composer, Sven David Sandström, composed music specially for the Blackbird and in 1992 at the Seville Expo in Spain, at the Swedish Pavilion, the music debuted on the Blackbird. That same year the violin was blessed by Pope John Paul II in Rome, and since that year, the violin has traveled all over the world.

Sincerely,
Sareh


Resources
Wikipedia- Blackbird violin
Blackbird- The black stone violin

Blog updates and fixes

So for some reason, my header stopped working, and so I went in and did a couple of changes. In the meantime, I guess I'll be changing the blog design to improve some things. So hang in there with me please!

TV Review- The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

So if you missed Twitter blowing up about this show, its a new TV show from Tina Fey about a woman, Kimmy Schmidt, who's been in a doomsday cult since the 90s. She's just been rescued and decides to stay in New York City where she tries to rebuild her life.

The show is comedy and satire and if you're not super comfortable with a lot of things, then you probably won't find the humor enjoyable.

Which brings me to my main point. I enjoyed the show and watch the first season or what they have up so far. And although I enjoyed it, there were some things that bugged me about it.

One of the shows more debatable part of the show is its use of characters and stereotypes. Its protagonist Kimmy is white and her roommate is a black gay man. Other characters include, Dong, whose nae might get a lot of snickers from some people and some offensive scoffs from others. Kimmy and Dong bond over their names, which according to the show, both refer to male genitalia in their respective languages (Dong is supposed to be from Vietnam).

Critics have ratted on him because of his portrayal of a stereotypical Asian male that's often seen on TV and in white media. He has broken English, is good at math, and thinks that Americans are really weird. Some critics wish to see a better portrayal of Asians- especially Asian men. One where they're not seen as unattractive and "not as smart as we are expect in math".

Another character that faces problems is Kimmy's boss, Jacqueline, who we first meet as a rich Manhattan wife, and then we later find out that she's actually Native American who pushed back her culture heritage to go become "modern" and marry rich, 

"Meanwhile, Jacqueline’s subplot of reconnecting with her Native American roots is just a bit odd. She dyed her hair, plugged in some eye contacts and left her parents and backyard buffalo in order to follow the American Dream of marrying rich. It’s pretty random when introduced in Episode Three, feeling less like a curveball for her character arc and more like a sloppy hot dog chucked into the plot."- Gabe Bergado, The Daily Beast

 I kinda agree with this criticism about her character arc. While I do enjoy seeing representation of Native Americans in the show (let's face it, when do we ever see anything representing Native Americans except when arguing over sport team mascots and maybe Native American casinos?), I agree that it just seems kinda pushed in there and thrown in. But hopefully the show will further use it to grow her character even more, besides as coming to terms with her heritage.

One thing to remember though is that the show is satire, which means that it uses comedy as a mean to criticize today's society and tropes. Also is that its Tina Fey who is producing the show and is known to not shy away from humor that others might find a little bit too frank.

That being said, I thought there were some parts where the show took things a little bit too far and were a bit uncomfortable. They were those borderline areas of, "do I laugh or is this inappropriate to laugh at?".

I'm not quite sure how I feel about the whole, "rescued from a doomsday cult", plot line. While it presents a vehicle for the producers to critique the 21st century and compare it to the 90s, which some references its younger viewers might not get, I feel that it is a touchy subject and it really isn't one that should be light of too much.

Doomsday cults have a history of death and disasters following them and I think that its a topic that's not talked about as much as it should be. Which is one reason why I think its an interesting choice, but I think viewers should be sensitive to the fact that for the people drawn into these cults, they're not likely to believe their leader is wrong so quick and that for those drawn into them, getting out can be tricky.

Besides that, the show is pretty entertaining, and I did enjoy it. There's really no overarching sense of a plot line that I can feel besides Kimmy adapting to the 21st century. In other shows, you have a sense of what the characters are working for, but here its just episode to episode mostly somewhat new things.

I found myself continuing to watch the season despite m misgivings and enjoyed discussing the issues and satire that it presented with my roommates. I hope to see the show evolve and continue to be something that stands out from other shows and displays its relentless, unapologetic critique of society and our issues.

Sincerely,
Sareh

Resources
IMDB- Kimmy Schmidt
Wikipedia- Kimmy Schmidt
"The Dong Problem": How Kimmi Schmidt Deals with Race- The Daily Beast

TV Show Review- Marco Polo (2014)(Netflix)

So this year I finally gave in and decided to get Netflix. I've been watching a bunch of movies and tv shows and decided that I would review some of them.

I'm a big history nerd and so when I saw that Netflix has this show called Marco Polo about the famous explorer during his early years in the Mongol Empire, I just had to watch it.

The show was very well produced and the actors I felt where very believable and talented. Not to mention that most of the history in the show seems to be pretty spot on. At least the clothing choice is wonderful.

NOTE: THIS SHOW IS AT LEAST PG-13 AND IS STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED FOR YOUNGER VIEWERS. 

Characters

There's quite a few characters in this show, the protagonist is of course, Marco Polo. During the time that we find him, Macro Polo is about seventeen years ago and has joined his father and his uncle along their travels down the silk road against his father's wishes. 

Across the long journey, they finally make it to the Mongol Empire where we find out that Marco's father did not bring the Christian priests that the Mongol Emperor, Kublai Khan, wanted him to bring. In exchange for his mistake, his father decides to give Marco to the Khan, basically abandoning him there.  

Marco impresses the Khan with his descriptive memory and his ability to tell show the world he sees through words. Although he hurts throughout the series from his father and his uncle leaving him there, he quickly gains the Khan's trust. But along the way he also makes a few enemies and friends as well. 

One of the characters he makes an enemy of is the Khan's crown prince, Prince Jingim, who distrusts Marco as he is a foreigner (his nickname is the Latin) and when Marco uses his ability of words, embarrasses the prince in front of the court. Jingim begins to feel that his father favors Marco over him and doesn't understand why the Khan trusts him or keeps him so close to the court and himself. 

Marco gains the favor and trust of many other characters though. This includes Empress Chabi who wants her son to rule on the throne, but also shows wisdom and compassion throughout the show. She is also pretty tough and is willing to kill to defend her family. 

Another character is a blind monk named Hundred Eyes who is basically a ninja and who mentors Marco and teaches him how to fight. He loves using proverbs when he talks and is one of those really terrifying people you don't want to mess with. But he bonds with Marco and they form a strong friendship despite Hundred Eye's protests that they are not friends. 

Marco quickly runs into the illusive and mysterious Kokachin in the show, who is a princess held captive in the Khan's court and who is expected to marry a noble, wealthy family. She is well protected by her bodyguard and has another friend that Marco doesn't trust. Her people were killed and we learn that she wishes to escape the court. Marco tries to earn her trust and basically is super attracted to her. 

Of course, I can't leave out our Chinese counterparts, although there is many more Mongol people I could cover (Khutulun deserves a quick mention because she's super tough and wonderful). But we have our antagonist, Jia Sidao, who is the chancellor of Xiangyang, the Chinese city that the Khan tries to take over during the season. He's crazy and power hungry, willing to do anything to get where he wants to. 

His sister, Mei Lin, is willing to do anything to protect her daughter from her brother and from anyone else to might try and hurt her. She constantly puts herself in situations that she might get killed for, but she usually shows compassion and one can tell that what she does, she doesn't really want to do it, but only does so for her daughter. 

We also have the Empress and her little son who constantly are at odds with Jia Sidao. The Chinese Empress wants peace with the Khan and believes that agreeing to peace with him is the only way to save her people and prevent further bloodshed. 

Plot

I won't write too much here otherwise I'll give it away, but the main plot of Season 1 is that the Khan wants to take over Xiangyang and is constantly pushing for it. There are several subplots, including ones that aren't totally solved during season one, but for the most part they all make sense. 

Several subplots include assassinations, getting in the middle of people's businesses that you shouldn't (come on Marco, why do you have to be all up on Kokachin's business? She never asked for your help! Actually, I find it kinda creepy the way he just swoops in and tries to act like she's a damsel in distress and needs him. She's actually not and pretty awesome if you watch on.), and lies that people end up dying for.

Overall:
I was really impressed with this series. I love the historical part to it, its so fascinating and I think they do a great job making it exciting and interesting. The costumes and setting are great and believable. And the characters are all very well acted.

There was a little bit too much nudity and other things in it for me, but I usually just skipped to a different tab during those scenes. Beyond that, I didn't mind too many things.

I wish that some things would be explained more, like why Marco takes such an interesting in Kokachin, and several scenes and subplots seem to be either too long drawn out or are over dramatized.

But, I highly recommend this show to anyone who's interest a least bit in history and would like something exciting to watch. Each episode is pretty long, and there's only one season up so far, but I heard season two is supposed to be coming, so I'll be watching out for that!

A Weighty Talk

So I originally posted this on my Tumblr, but I thought to share it on here too. (In case you're wondering, I don't post a lot of my own content on my Tumblr blog. Mostly just reblogs.) Anyways, I didn't write this to offend anyone or to put anyone down, but it was just my general thoughts on stuff that was happening during the holiday season. 

I don’t know if anyone will read this, but if they do, I want you to just sit back and listen to what I’m going to say. Like, actually sit back and think before you type. 

I was inspired to write this post by a fellow thin person struggling with her weight. 

I bring this up as a thin person who struggles with her own weight. I happen to weight less than 85 lbs (most I’ve ever weighed is like 86 lbs for a day). I think I’m underweight to a degree (although I’m short and have always been thin like this), and would like to get to at least 90 lbs and stay there. (My current weight stays in between 78 lbs and 83 lbs normally). 

But normally, when I tell people I would like to gain weight (or when I think I’ve gained weight), I get all sorts of dirty looks, people telling me to shut up, and other rude comments. Its actually very hurtful. 

When people tell me they are trying to loose weight, I don’t go around saying the same kinds of things to them or acting like their goal is any less than mine. 

I’m not going to remind people here specifically of skinny-shaming vs fat-shaming, but this holiday season, I’d just like to share that while you’re thinking of loosing weight this new year’s, trying to maintain your weight, or whatever, to remember that everyone’s goals are important. Just because someone is trying to do something opposite of what you might be doing doesn't mean you’ll get bad karma from them just talking about it. 

No one deserves to be put down for their weight goals. If I support you in your effort to loose weight, at least be willing to listen to the people trying to gain it too. We have our own problems too. 

Thanks!

Sharing Time- 8/4/14 (P.S Writing Contest Alert!)

Music and Videos

I'm not surprised this following video is from Canada, but in any case, its pretty adorable. I wish American banks would do this! Any chance I can get help paying off my schooling? 

Janelle Monae's "Cold War" music video.

"Do your bit! Skate to work!", New York City, 1940s pic.twitter.com/RPuJZ9O6dJ

— History In Pictures (@HistoryInPics) July 5, 2014

In the News
Coffee shop with no employees. - This article is kinda old but its a neat idea. This coffee shop doesn't have an employees because it runs on the honor system. People can pay whatever they want for the coffee and serve themselves.
Fail-This article deals more with design, but I thought that it can be applied to writers too. It talks about how its okay to fail.
What would you give up for world peace?- I thought this article was share worthy because it deals with "hive mind", the idea that we could share a collective mind- some animals like bees and ants have what is called a hive mind. In Night Lies, Faith joins a team where the team's leader has them join his hive mind.
25 free apps that help make the world a better place- Its a Buzzfeed article, so I take everything with a grain of salt on this site. I don't trust it, since they've been known to plagiarize, but it is entertaining and they share some pretty cool stuff regardless.


Writing/Book Articles/News
Double Standards for Journalists- This article deals with a topic I ranted about earlier. But it basically goes on to say that journalists need to treat social media like they do traditional journalism. Which includes fact checking and acting professionally. If they don't, they risk losing their reader's trust.
Unlimited Profit: The Math behind Kindle Unlimited- I'm not good at math, so I didn't fully understand this. But for the more math inclined brains out there, this article makes out the math behind Kindle Unlimited and how authors and Amazon stands to make a profit.
YA- The Changing Face of Marketing- This discussion I found during my marketing class. It deals with how authors in 2014 are marketing themselves and their books. Its pretty interesting and worth a look.

Contest Alert
Do you have a finished MG, YA, NA, or Adult manuscript? Looking to be published? Well Pitch Wars is going on and I thought I'd share. You can find the rules and mentors listed here Pitch Wars Mentors 2014.

Story Time
So I've had this story idea for a while now. But I thought I'd share it with you because its been going pretty well.

Beautiful Manipulation

Being against evil doesn’t make you good.

Rhielle Medley knew three rules. 1) When you got into trouble you called in your local superhero. 2) Superheroes can only be killed by their nemeses. 3) Don’t tell anyone you’re not perfect.

Since she was young, Rhielle, a fraternal triplet, knew she and her sisters, Sian and Ilvione were different. They always knew how to be perfect in public. Physically, socially, and personally graceful and flawless, the triplets could get away with anything and even a complete stranger would feel like they had known them forever. But on the inside, they are far from perfect.

When their parents' rocky marriage comes to light , suddenly everything seems to spiral out of control. Someone is killing the superheros, Sian is taking advantage of their power, manipulating everyone in her path, Ilvione keeps disappearing, and Rhielle just wants to finish her homework, and go to work.

But when their local superhero, Nest, asks her to help him find out who’s killing his colleagues, Rhielle will have to ask what’s the difference between good and evil? Can you still be good if you just stand by and do nothing? And if she, herself, is even worth saving before it becomes too late.

I'm not quite sure where I got the general idea from, but its a really fun story to write. I'm basing their power though off a Superpower Wiki entry though- Supernatural Beauty- and giving a new look to the power.

For more Beautiful Manipulation, you can check out the story at my Wattpad page or on my Pinterest Board. Also, here's a semi-depressing, but interesting article that I know Sian would use to her advantage- Being Attractive Pays Off.

Also, check out my friends' stories on Wattpad- Drunk on Love by natmarie, Clever Devils by EDcarrol, and The Dawn- The Aleron Chronicles Book 1 by Evelynn Grace.

Sincerely,
Sareh

Sharing Days! 6/13/14

Random articles, Music and Media

• A shipyard of cranes was turned into dancing oragami. 

I found a new (Its actually old but new to me) song by BOA called "Hurricane Venus".

• This post written by Lauren DeStefano about "manic pixie dream girls" and how girls can be girls and not an object to be attained. 
• A map that shows the entire world in stereotypes. 
• Studying is really hard when this happens: 

  

  If this doesn't illustrate studying, I don't know what does.
  Can she just absorb it for me and give me the knowledge?

Posts from Around the Web about Books

• Maggie Stiefvater's post about our apparent misconception and points out that books don't make you smarter.
• This post arguing that genre fiction can be just as good as literary fiction. 
• Lauren DeStefano's tumblr rant about the "Ugly Snobs of Publishing."
• A post about how your local bookstore is a privileged. 
• This post about what happens when kids see only white kids in books.

Articles Dealing with Amazon's Bullying

• A post that deals with Future of Publishing and how Amazon vs Publishers can change who sells our books.
• Amazon's battle with Hachette was a big discussion at BEA 2014. 
• Amazon's Battle Against Hachette Escalates.

Articles dealing with YA

• My friend Rae wrote a wonderful post, Shameless: Reading YA, in response to an article in Slate about, another adult, arguing that there's something shameful about adults reading YA.  (If you may recall, another similar post was written a couple years ago that I wrote a heated rant about and then later turned into a speech that eventually won 6th place at a speech competition.)
• So Twitter and I guess the internet exploded this week when author, John Green, mistakenly said something offensive and misguided about a shot in his movie. Well an article was written about why "Our Fault in Our Stars" is not the savior of YA fiction.
• The Real Story Behind the War on YA.

In the News

• Here's a weird news piece that a friend showed me. Child Found Dead in Fridge, weighed 17lbs. And another one about A hospital patient lost for three days, later found in a stairwell.

P.S I know I'm posting on Friday the 13th, but you guys believe in any superstitions? 

Sincerely,

Sareh

Online Journalism and Bad Ethics

Image Link

I used to use Yahoo! for the majority of my news gathering. It usually gave me interesting news and different kinds of news. It was easy and right there to use. But I recently stopped using Yahoo! at all. One of the reasons was that I've found more news on Twitter (Twitter is apparently a hive for journalists) and its more immediate. But the biggest reason I stopped reading Yahoo! was due to the lack of professional standards I started seeing in their journalists. 

I'm not sure if Yahoo! wants to be more of a blog than a real news organization, but I have a problem when people who call themselves "journalists" (i.e professional journalists) start to turn the news into their own personal blogs and to further their own personal agendas. 

I saw it in other stories they reported on, but the ones I saw this the most in was in their reporting on LGBT stories. Now I'm fine reading these and was interested in them because its now a "hot button topic". Its big news and journalists are capitalizing on LGBT stories. 

See, these journalists when reporting on the topic would often insert their own personal opinions into the story and I finally got fed up when I started seeing them call people who disagreed with them, "bigots" and all sorts of other things. 

I'm not okay with this. Because Yahoo! doesn't clarify if this is really news they're presenting or opinion pieces. If this is a blog within the organization I'm reading, or if their editors are somehow letting this slide as an actual piece of news. 

I'm not okay with this because 1) the very first thing you learn in journalism classes (I should know, I'm a journalism student) is to NOT insert your opinions into a reporting piece (unless you're writing an opinion piece), 2) you shouldn't be calling your readers bigots in the first place on a professional website. Its not good PR, I believe. 

Now I know online journalism is usually written in a more "conversational" style, but that still doesn't mean that you can totally forgo all professional standards. If you want me to take you seriously as a reporter, then you have to act like a professional. 

According to my journalism textbook, The Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics is considered a standard for most media professionals. This code of ethics rules that journalists should: 

• Examine their own cultural values and avoid imposing those values on others.

• Support the open exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.

• Distinguish between advocacy and news reporting. Analysis and commentary should be labeled and not misrepresent fact or context.

• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived.

• Remain free of associations and activities that may compromise integrity or damage credibility.

• Deny favored treatment to advertisers and special interests and resist their pressure to influence news coverage.

And while there's no clear code of ethics for online journalism itself, the Poynter Institute has recommended a set of rules for online journalism.

• Journalists should avoid conflict of interest. 

• News Organizations should clearly label news and opinion. 

• Journalists who work for news organizations may keep personal blogs, but they should discuss their plans with an editor to avoid potential conflicts. 

 I don't care what you're writing, but if you're a journalist and you're writing actual news, leave your opinions out of it. If you want to write your opinions into something, clearly state that this is an opinion piece or get a blog.

So I even took the liberty of emailing SPJ's Ethics Hotline (you can also call them, but since I was writing this over the weekend, I emailed them) and the Vice Chair of their ethics committee emailed me back, agreeing that opinions should be kept separate from news and that opinions in news stories should be labeled as such.

So, have you seen other examples of bad journalism in the media lately? (I would show you the article I'm talking about and a few others but unfortunately, I didn't save them).

Sincerely,
Sareh

Sharing...Sundays! 5/25/14

So I couldn't...post on Friday because I was on vacation, but I took some lovely pictures I'll be putting up on my portfolio on Devinart.

Music and Media

• Here's a wonderful Ted Talk about domestic violence. 

And while we're talking about domestic violence, I saw this video on Buzzfeed about domestic violence in public and how people react, when its guy-on-girl/girl-on-guy. 

The video is presented by the Mankind Initiative which aims to help men in domestic violence situations. 

• To hear the kind of music I've been listening to for my story, Those Crazy Years, check out these Spotify playlists.  In Full Swing & Electro Swing. Also, some classic 1920s,  Flapper Jazz Dinner Party.
• I created a "research template" for writers. Here's the PDF version. I can also send it to anyone who thinks it might be useful. Let me know what you think and if I can improve it! 

Articles From Around the Web

• Check out my friend, Rae Slater's blog! Here's some of her articles on commercialism and on what to do after you finish a draft.
• Check out this post on how to know if you're a book nerd.
• This NY Times article on putting warning labels on classic literature for students. 
• This post detailing more of the battle between Amazon and Hachette. In short, Amazon is basically trying to gain more control of the publishing industry (despite already owning a large portion of e-book sales) and is punishing publishers, authors, and customers in its quest for dominance and money. 
• How to support an author's new book.
• This Contently post- Is Beacon the Netflix and future of freelancers and journalists? 
• Another Contently post on how freelance designers are using social media to fight plagiarism.  
• New York Times' interactive calculator on whether its better to buy or rent a home.

Websites to Look At

• Who Pays Writers? tries to figure out how much writers make and offers tips and suggestions to writers. They also have a magazine aimed at helping writers as well. 
• Old Magazine Articles- They have tons of free old magazine articles available online. Writing historical fiction and trying to find out something from a particular time or era? Or just curious? Well look no further! 
• Crisis Textline- is a free crisis hotline aimed at teens with help and support available 24/7. 
• Perdue Owl offers lots of hints and suggestions not only for research papers, but for researching as well for fiction writers (well you can take it that way). 

Sincerely,

Sareh