iMedia: George Carlin's Modern Man

George Carlin's comedy, not just this one video, can teach us many things. His cynical attitude shows what is wrong with society and he tells it like it is and is never afraid to hold back. His genuine honesty has gained him a very loyal following, even after his death a little over two years ago.

I first was introduced to Carlin's comedy around the time of his death, strangely enough, by an old friend. At the time, I didn't understand how important this man was to popular culture and how many comedians he has inspired. However, as I got older, I understood the magic of his words and how true he is as a person and comedian; how he can take a serious issue and make a joke about it without being over-the-top.

Carlin can be seen as quite controversial, with monologues such as "Seven Words You Can Never Say on Television." For the time of 1972, he was very inappropriate. He knocked down barriers and was something no one at the time was familiar with.There are no words that I can say to do this man justice, except to say that he has inspired me and my personality today. He is a realist, which taught me to be the same. The world is not perfect, and he knew it.

In this specific video, Carlin states what a "modern man" is. How superficial "he" is and how this type of person is not real at all. He examined and critiqued what is wrong with this modern culture and used his wonderful wit to exploit it. For this and many other things do I admire him.

Best of Week: Born Into Brothels

I thought that the best thing we observed in class the week of 10/18 was the documentary Born into Brothels. What I liked most about this film, although not the only thing, was how happy these children were just to be learning photography. Avijit was already very artistic and when introduced to this new art form, he immediately enjoyed it. Every single child has something different to offer through their photo skills as well. Some take photos of their families, some of the streets of which they belong to. Each time one of them smiles, it makes me smile. This documentary has so far taught me that you need to pursue your dreams, because you never know where they will take you. These children have taken advantage of the opportunities that photography gives them, because otherwise they are not given much. Not one of the children let themselves be affected too much by their surroundings, either. They try to stay positive and enjoy their lives while they are young and before they are forced to grow up and become adults, whatever their responsibilities will entail. This documentary leaves me with a sense of hope after each day of viewing. It has also peaked my interest in Indian culture, whether that was the purpose or not. I could only hope to achieve something of this magnitude with my life and I extremely admire Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski for all their time and effort put into teaching these kids that there are ways to escape the pain of living in a impoverished brothel. 

Metacognition: QE Essay

I have written about my experience while writing essays in a previous post, but as this essay progressed, the style of my thought processes changed. 

While discussing this essay in class before the entire process began, I had an idea about what question I wanted to write about: What role does education play in creativity? I even thought of an example while still in class that I could use to open up the paper with. However, after receiving Section 1 with a grade on it, I read the other questions that night. I realized I could use the same example, but choose a question that would be easier to use the class material as support.

When the time came to write Section 2, I had not prepared anything the night or nights previous, which left me in a bit of a rush. I had to think fast and about what made sense or what did not. In times like these, there is no space to be creative or add extra insignificant details, which is actually quite nice. It eliminates unnecessary thoughts/words. Before starting Section 3, though, I did make corrections on Section 2 because God knows I needed to. 

And now it is time for Section 3: the final section of the QE Essay. Even though we were given class time for this, I could not make myself focus. Therefore, this was left for the night before the whole essay was due. Bad idea, yes, but I find that I work well under pressure. Much as I am now: rushing to get this blog post done before the school day is over so I do not have to worry about it anymore. 

What I learned through-out this QE Essay process was that it is easier to write an essay or any piece of writing in parts; it takes the dread and pressure out of the equation, at least somewhat. There were still deadlines and guidelines to follow, but you can focus more on a single section instead of the whole.

Blogging Around

The first blog that I read was Angelo's. His essential focus was that inspiration is needed to write essays and other pieces of writing. It is difficult to become inspired, but your environment can in turn help to focus your mind and give inspiration while writing. "I agree with you that inspiration is hard to come by at first, but when you find it, essays and other pieces just come together naturally. The part about your loud siblings was comical, as well as the part about you staying focused on an essay in the midst of a fire. I enjoyed your acronym for inspiration, even though it didn't make too much sense. But inspiration doesn't make sense, either, does it?"

The second blog I chose to comment on was Katie T's. Her writing style reminded me very much of my own, and it was if I had wrote her Metacognition post myself. Her focus was on blog posts, and how writing them takes time and may not be a simple task.  She starts out by reading other blogs, which I have done as well, to start on her creative thinking process and get her mind going. "I enjoyed this post very much, I must say. Your style of writing reminds me very much of my own, in certain ways. The part about soaking up each others creativity is very true; we, as students, draw creativity and ideas from peers and other elements around us. Although you still have to find a way to differentiate your thought processes from what you may see in the end, reading other classmates' posts is very helpful. Blogs don't have to be something to dread, because like you said, they aren't so bad after all."