Blog 10: Reconstruction

Reconstruction was the period immediately after the Civil War. This is the period that the rest of the United States tried to eliminate all remaining traces of slavery and tried to reunite the rest of the states that succeeded to the Confederacy. It originally was going well when led by Abraham Lincoln, But after his assassination things got worse. Lincoln's successor, Andrew Johnson, made a mess of things. Appointing leaders to the South to try and "fix things up" didn't work too well. He appointed leaders to do what the South wanted to do, not what the rest of the States wanted them to do. This eventually led to the formation of such things as the 13th through 15th amendments, Black codes, and the Jim Crow Laws. This period is most likely the reason behind the South being seen as such a "hateful" and "racist" place.

"A U.S. Census worker found hanged from a tree near a Kentucky cemetery had the word "fed" scrawled on his chest, a law enforcement official said Wednesday, and the FBI is investigating whether he was a victim of anti-government sentiment." As you can see this is still a problem is some parts of the Southern United States. In my personal opinion, it is because the Reconstruction was not handled properly.




Barrett, Devlin. McMurray, Jeffrey, "Census worker hanged with 'Fed' written on body." Sep. 23rd, 2009, The Associated Press, Accessed September 30th, 2009.

Blog# 9

"Dubbed “Floatopia” after a similar event thrown by college students in Santa Barbara, the recent Mission Bay version left some neighbors wading through trash, concerned about safety and worried about the environmental impact. The bay is home to sensitive eelgrass habitat which can be disturbed by boats."

http://www.sdnews.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Residents+and+officials+note+the+dangers+of+floating+alcohol+parties%20&id=3704527-Residents+and+officials+note+the+dangers+of+floating+alcohol+parties


The controversy of avoiding the No alcohol on any beach law, by taking drinking on to the water. Probably anywhere on the internet, I searched for this story in particular because I heard about it on the news. This relates to our class and Media Saves the Beach in the fact that the drinkers use boats to drink on the water, and the boat usage in this certain area ruins the growth of eelgrass.

Blog #8: Media Saves The Beach

I don't know exactly what I'm going to do for this project. I could try and get people to clean up PB and have people take action, or get more people aware of things going on. I was really interested in the artwork and photography from the website, so I'm probably going to choose to do one of those. Either a compilation of photos and project descriptions, or a large painting or mesh of pictures of some sort.

American Icon Final Product

Inspiration At It’s Best


I remember throughout my youth, hearing familiar songs that I loved. I could never get enough of these songs. They were amazing and were instantly saved forever in my head. I remember finding out who these songs were written by not much later. They were written by a band called, Pearl Jam, and more importantly a man named, Eddie Vedder.

It's been a successful career for Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam since they first formed in 1990. They've sold millions upon millions of albums, and are world-renowned. But just because Vedder is famous, does not mean that he let's it get to his head. Over the years Vedder had donated tons of money, time, and effort towards many charities and causes. The Bridge School, formed by Neil Young, the Kelly Slater Foundation, PETA, and the Surf Rider Foundation, just to name a few. He also supports the causes of animal rights and protection, the environment, and the creative arts.

I'm almost certain that he did not just come up with these beliefs on his own. I'm sure he was inspired by someone, somewhere along the line. I know I was. I was inspired to follow and support my own causes. I support animal rights, the environment, and the creative arts. I try to send down a good message to my siblings and to my peers. I am the oldest out of my group of friends, so I am thought of as the wisest. I try and get my friends and siblings to eat healthier, to try and watch out for the environment, and think about their actions towards others everywhere they go.

No other emotion can fuel the act of giving as easily as compassion. Vedder is filled with this very emotion and you can tell by his efforts. This is something we have in common/ I share my compassion and care with all my friends and people I encounter during everyday life.




Citations/Sources

Eddie Vedder’s Charity Work, http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/467-eddie-vedder, Look To The Stars, Sep. 7th, 2009

Eddie Vedder Interview from Change Begins Within, http://dlf.tv/2009/eddie-vedder/, The David Lynch Foundation, Sep. 7th, 2009

Blog # 6 American Icons Reflection

During this project I learned that I am very concise and to the point in my writing, but I can sometimes miss the big picture and some of the big ideas. I simply rant on about something that truly isn't a real part of the writing.

I was taught early on about the "loop." Get the writer into the story with something from now-ish but more in the past and have it lead into what I'm going to write about. Then have the rest of the paper be about whatever I needed to talk about. Then finally get the reader back into the real world with my paper still in their mind. Maybe even have them think about it later on in life. I had tried multiple ways to try this and get it to work. I believe I achieved that. It definately made my writing more interesting and fluid, instead of just random thoughts and facts.

There is always something you have to improve. If I had time for one more draft I would definately try and expand on how he inspired me or how I'm going to continue to inspire and achieve those beliefs.

"They've sold millions upon millions of albums, and are world renowned. But just because Vedder is famous, does not mean that he let's it get to his head." I find it interesting because it says that he is famous and has tons of money. That's what most people want now-a-days. He goes beyond that, he wants to help as much as he can, and donate where he can. I think this sentence proves that.

American Icons Photograph

I need to make it black and white, and add a contrast. Please let me know what you think.

Photography Techniques

1) Slow Shutter Speed. One of my favorites. Just look at that water! it looks ghostly! I would love just to play around with this setting. It is so fascinating.

2) Bokeh. This is a very interesting technique. For this you are supposed to blur the background while leaving the edge of the focused object soft. It always leaves me pleased looking at this style and I would love to try it for myself.

3) Rule Of Thirds. I plan to use the rule of thirds to my advantage to capture myself and the background behind me. I had seen the original photo and the man and his dog were a lot further away and were dead center. Since it has been edited to fit this rule, it is drastically improved.

Blog #4

The feedback I had gotten was both good and bad. Good on the fact that it was completed and the reader got the point I was trying to make. Bad on the fact on which the reader didn't specify clearly on what I could add or change. They gave one good option of adding in an emotion or trait that both My icon and myself have in come. That helped a lot on the basis of being a more complete and thorough paper.

Artist Statement

I remember throughout my youth, hearing familiar songs that I loved. I could never get enough of these songs. They were amazing and were instantly saved forever in my head. I remember finding out who these songs were written by not much later. They were written by a band called, Pearl Jam, and more importantly a man named, Eddie Vedder.

It's been a successful career for Eddie Vedder and Pearl Jam since they first formed in 1990. They've sold millions upon millions of albums, and are world renowned. But just because Vedder is famous, does not mean that he let's it get to his head. Over the years Vedder had donated tons of money, time, and effort towards many charities and causes. The Bridge School, formed by Neil Young, the Kelly Slater Foundation, PETA, and the Surf Rider Foundation, just to name a few. He is also supports the causes of animal rights and protection, the environment, and the creative arts.

I'm almost certain that he did not just come up with these beliefs on his own. I'm sure he was inspired by someone, somewhere along the line. I know I was. I was inspired to follow and support my own causes. I support animal rights, the environment, and the creative arts. I try to send down a good message to my siblings and to my peers. I am the oldest out of my group of friends, so I am thought of as the wisest. I try and get my friends and siblings to eat healthier, to try and watch out for the environment, and think about their actions towards others everywhere they go.

No other emotion can fuel the act of giving as easily as compassion. Vedder is filled with this very emotion and you can tell by his efforts. This is something we have in common/ I share my compassion and care with all my friends and people I encounter during everyday life.

Blog 3: Resources

Eddie Vedder:

1) http://www.looktothestars.org/celebrity/467-eddie-vedder

A website on all the charities Vedder is involved in or was involved in the past. It also mentions the causes he is for and supports 100%. This is an important resource because is shows that he is not just another "rockstar" and he actually cares, instead of just donating a bunch of money to a random cause to "look good."

2) http://dlf.tv/2009/eddie-vedder/

A face to face interview with the David Lynch Foundation and Eddie Vedder himself, about how Pearl Jam was formed and what it was like just starting off.

3) http://www.answerla.org/pic/2003/03-CNN/eddie-vedder.jpg

Eddie Vedder in the crowd with "Stop This War" written on his acoustic guitar. Definately shows that he cares about this world, and the events that occur. He is active in the things he believes in and works towards them to see the world as a peaceful place.

Darth Vader:

1) Star Wars Episodes III - VI.

Darth Vader would not exist in the pop-culture world if it were not for these movies. These are the key to his fame and he wouldn't exist outside of George Lucas's head and books without them.

2) http://www.starwars.com/databank/character/darthvader/

A Complete character bio on Darth Vader. The equivalent of a biography. It states everything there is to know on Darth Vader and thensome.

3) https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMlOc2vO0xVYpsqdxKMbmljX0u9r85FjtLsL0CAMo1ksQS60qjSTEF-BOdhdkEtEPlqdY6PMaezjxXkwdpc9NGOWBzwWudSDMqFivnmsvCD98kSaFQARXeaAVNrHby5tqoDYrZu58Koz0/s400/darthVaderMug.jpg

This image shows that Darth Vader has become a life-altering figure. A cup definately shows that its a huge impact.

American Icons

1) Billy Corgan represents my creativity that I am always conscious about letting out. He is a very creative man, and you can tell just by listening to his songs. The music video for "Today" is a great example. In the video, Billy is an ice cream truck driver, and he eventually finds his guitarist and other band members wearing random outfits, such as a cowboy and James Iha wearing a sundress, and paint his truck with a bunch of paint. Pretty random if you ask me. But he's not one to care about that. It's music. It's life. We shouldn't care what others think. we should just have fun.

Billy Corgan inspires to me to play and practice my guitar and music skills more and more. He plays guitar with passion and makes it look extremely easy when he plays. He is easily an American Icon because he has sold many albums throughout his career and is world renowned for his band, Smashing Pumpkins.

2) Eddie Vedder. This is a man who is a huge influence to my life, and to my music. He was/is the lead singer to Pearl Jam, and has his own solo career as well. He formed Pearl Jam in 1990. The name 'Pearl Jam' was named after his great grandmother Pearl's famous homemade jam. He had sold many albums that have all reached platinum to multi-platinum status. He had also made the soundtracks for movies such as: Into The Wild, I Am Sam, and Dead Man Walking. In the summer of 1994, Vedder and Pearl Jam got into a disputed battle with Ticketmaster regarding their ticket prices for their concerts. In 1995, The Justice Department sided with Ticketmaster and the dispute was settled. Vedder is also active in several enviromental and pro-choice causes.

In my music, I am beginning to play from my heart. To write everything that sounds great and that really sings from my own personality and soul. He had done this for every album, and every song he's ever written. It made him get to the top in the 1990's. To write for you, is to write what you want to hear, and what you feel. If you write for yourself, you will never feel down if someone doesn't like your songs. It was meant for you, and you love it. It wasn't made for them, so they shouldn't have to.

3) Darth Vader. A very strong, and intimidating man. He is a man who follows his path to the end. He does not give up, and never surrenders! His wife Padmé, his mother, and his friends were what was important to him. He eventually chose the path to the Dark Side, and lost of all that. He lives his life in hate and vengeance.

He was a world renowned character in the 70's with George Lucas' film series, "Star Wars." He is still known today, as a extremely powerful jedi and a torn individual. He can be seen in every "Star Wars" film today. He may not be "Darth Vader" but he can be seen in the earlier episodes as his younger self, Anakin Skywalker.

He is important to me because I love the Star Wars series and he is my favorite character. I believe that is a VERY important part of American history and deserves to be honored as an icon because everyone loved Star Wars when it first came out, and we still love it to this day. People will continue to love this movie, and George Lucas is a genius for thinking up such characters and story.

Blog Numero Uno!

Junior year. Finally made it! I hope to make this year a great one. Learn a ton from all of my teachers. Retouch matt skills with Darren, Bio with Brandon, and humanities with Randy.

My overall goals for this year are as follows:

1. Not go to summer school again!

2. Earn ATLEAST all B's (hopefully A's)

3. Have a great Junior year.

I hope to become a better writer. I'm decent at writing papers as is, but everyone, including myself, could always use some improvement. I'm excited for history, it's an interesting subject and I want to learn more about the past and our own country.

I hope to develop better social skills, such as talking in front of the class more, and just being comfortable in front of others.