My Favorite Song

My favorite song is Carolina Girls by General Johnson and The Chairmen of the Board. This song always puts a smile on my face wherever I hear it. I love that he describes Carolina girls as sweet southern pearls and that we are the best girls in the world. If someone was to tell ask me what a good song to shag to, I would defiantly say that this song is perfect. This song makes me think about the beach and shagging at my hometown's annual debutante ball.

Proofing Clemson Printmakers

Recently I visited the art gallery in Lee Hall. The work that is on display there is absolutely amazing. The piece that I found to be the most moving was done by, Jennifer Stoneking-Stewart, entitled, Inner Child. The art work consists of an old black and white photograph of a class of elementary school kids and their teacher. Under the portrait are three drawings of microscopic pictures of bacteria and virus. Over the photograph of the kids there is a red disease that wrapped itself around the kids coming from the three drawings of this disease. The bacteria looks deadly and seems to be unknown to the happy children. There are three black boxes around three different children symbolizing the target of death for the bacteria. The picture is black and white and the only color is the red bacteria and the cultures under the photograph. This shows that the only life left after this epidemic is that of the disease, not the people. Overall, I think this image is speaks volumes about what a bacteria can do, emotionally and physically.

My Autobiography in Six Words

Gastonia

Faith

Orange

Laughter

Friend

Love

Persepolis

Satrapi's book conveys a complex political history stained with the national tragedy of Iran which was known then as Persia. The author shows through her visual rhetoric the intensity of the Islamic Revolution. The leaders enforced women to wear veils and outlawed bilingual schools. The veil created much turmoil in the country. The author centers in on the main character's family when she tells the reader about her mother being a revolutionary and hiding from the government because of a picture that was taken of her protesting. Later into the story, the girl turns her back on her strength in her God and puts her faith in herself. This shows the effect of the revolution. Even though this girl wanted things to change in her country, she still let it all get to her head and changed her motive. I would say that the author achieved her goals through the very simple graphic novel that gave a compelling story of a young girl.

In this story the use of color is key to completely setting the tone. The harsh black and white set the stage for the harsh reality of the situation. There are no happy times in this story so there is no need for color. The absences of gray shows that there is no gray to the political system. The people of the nation where either for or against the government.

This frame has great visual rhetoric. In the earlier frames the author explains that the revolution is like a bicylce, when the wheels don't turn, it falls. This picture shows tons and tons of people trying to ride this larger than life bicycle. It takes great coordination and skill to keep your balance and everything in check with that many people. One person can make a wrong move and screw everything up for everyone. The background in this frame is completely black, which shows just how bad the situation is. The only white are the people and the bike. These are the only symbols of hope, they are the only ones how can make a difference.

My Most Memorable Image

My most memorable image is this picture of the cross in the Grand Teton Mountains. I went on a summer trip 3 years ago called Teens Westward Bound. We traveled on a bus for 23 days across the country and back. It was the trip of a life time. The stopped at all the tourist attractions across the country, including the Grand Cannon, New Orleans, Mount Rushmore, the Alamo and many more. Here in this image is the alter in a church that we named the TWB church. All there is is a glass window behind the alter. The visual rhetoric shows that there is nothing more beautiful than nature. You could not put an stain glass behind the alter that would be as moving as the natural beauty as the mountains. The cross is the first thing that you see and is the most important symbol in this image. It shows the Lord's grace and beauty.

Movie Review - The Other Boleyn Girl

This weekend I went to see The Other Boleyn Girl. It was a fabulous movie with a great story line. The movie compares the two Boleyn sisters, Mary and Anne. Everyone has heard of Anne Boleyn, the woman that married King Henry, making him annul his marriage to Queen Catherine of Spain. Anne also gave birth to Elizabeth who went on to become the longest ruler of England. This story of the sisters shows the how Anne managed to ruin her family. The girls' father wanted the Anne originally to be the Kings mistress but she lost her chances when she they were on a hunting rid and made the king fall of of his horse, which greatly embarrassed the King. Soon Mary became the apple of the King's eye. They entire Boleyn family went to court to try and raise their standings and power. The story goes on to explain how both of the girls had love affairs with the king, both giving him children. The story ended on a very serious note when both Anne and her brother were beheaded on charges of incest, after she miscarried the king's child. Overall, I think that the movie was great and was very effective in comparing Mary and Anne Boleyn.

Editorial Cartoon - Visual Rhetoric

This editorial cartoon is criticising the sources of the New York times. The artist is claiming that the paper gets their information from people that are highly unqualified and uneducated. They make reference to a man that believes that Elvis Presley still lives, which is completely untrue and shows that this man in the cartoon is crazy. The man in the cartoon is wearing a lamp shade on his head, has unmatched shoes and is carrying a fishing pole with a light bulb on the end of it. He says, "I give them my gossip and they print it...cool!" Clearly this man has no idea about what he is talking about and should have no business writing for the New York Times. The visual rhetoric used is very simple but it gets the point across. The black arrow is the first thing that the eye sees, this is the most important information.