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.
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.
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!
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.
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
Buy a piece of art (especially from your local artists!)
Tell an artist how much you like their artwork (and actually take the time to look at it).
Go to a museum and look around
Attend an art show or exhibition
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.
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.
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.
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!
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.
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!
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.
