It's not because of the Thanksgiving parade or all that warm-and-fuzzy-family-togetherness crap. No, this sole bright spot in the gray, bleak month of November is made even more special because I have three Thanksgiving dinners. Yes, three. Divorce isn't such a bad thing.
Statistically, I heard somewhere that about 50% percent of people will probably deal with this joyous dilemma. As a seasoned multi-Thanksgiving dinner attendee, I have a few valuable bits of advice that will ensure success and minimize phrases such as, "No pie for me, I already ate at Mom's." Because that is just criminal and un-American.
#1 Don't waste your time with rolls.
Rolls are for rookies. They fill up your stomach and turn you into a useless lump. I know, they are so tempting because they hit the table first, but seriously, don't do it. Save that precious space for stuff that matters. Unless we are talking about crescent rolls, that's a different story.
#2 Getting full? Put some gravy on it and quit whining.
It's your mind playing tricks on you. This feeling usually sets in at the second Thanksgiving meal. Your stomach knows better, just keep going.
#3 Never pass on pie.
How often do you have pie? Don't skip it, life's short and whip cream is the most delightful substance created.
An unexpected upside to gorging yourself is that you'll put on some vital weight that will keep you from getting trampled at Target on Black Friday. Throw some elbows! You need that 504 inch TV for $699!
The final wiki for the course is inspired by my place of work, the Lake Superior Zoo.
The Lake Superior Zoo began in 1923 with a man and his pet deer and it evolved into a Mecca for animal lovers in northern Minnesota. Bert Onsgard envisioned a zoo and the community responded with vigor: donating their labor, supplies, and money. Schoolchildren even raised funds to purchase the Zoo’s first lion cubs. The little zoo fought through the hardship of the Great Depression, appealing to the escapist mentality of poverty-stricken Americans. From there, it grew to host an incredible family of animals, ones that have left an impression on people to this day.
Today, the Zoo is home to a Siberian tiger, lions, a polar bear, grizzly bear, snowy leopard, and countless other exotic animals. With its recent accreditation by the AZA, the expansion is on the horizon for the Lake Superior Zoo.
Pandora.com is free, personalized, internet radio. Users create their own stations based on a genre or band and Pandora streams music that is similar. To do this, Pandora uses the Music Genome Project, a system that uses over 400 individual attributes to apply to a song and analyzes them to bring the user music they will like. Some of the characteristics include "Beats Made for Dancing," "Knack for Catchy Hooks," and "Emphasis on Instrumental Performance."
Pinterest is a photo sharing site that allows users to create "pin-boards" and browse through millions of images and "pin" the ones they like on their board. Created by Ben Silbermann, the website became the fastest one in history to gain 10 million users. TIME Magazine called it one of the "50 Best Websites of 2011." Pinterest's mission is to "connect everyone in the world through the things they find interesting."
Alexa.com, the global leader in web analytics, is a website that records traffic (or the number of "hits") on other websites, as well as their rank. It is an invaluable tool for marketing and research. It was founded in 1996 and gets its name from the Library of Alexandria. The top three sites right now are Google, Facebook, and YouTube.
StumbleUpon.com states on its home page, "We help you explore new and interesting things from every corner of the Web." It functions as a roulette-like discovery engine, bringing the user to websites of photos based on their interests and likes. Clicking the button allows the user to "stumble" upon a new page. As of August 2011, the site registered over 1 billion stumbles per month.
Twitter.com is a social networking website that made "micro-blogging" famous. Users of the site send and receive messages no longer than 140 characters, called "tweets". As of 2012, 340 million tweets are sent daily. In an interview with the L.A. Times, Twitter creator Jack Dorsey said when it came to naming the site, he and his team "came across the word "twitter," and it was just perfect. The definition was "a short burst of inconsequential information," and "chirps from birds." And that’s exactly what the product was" (source).
Netflix.com is an on-demand movie provider that allows streaming over the Internet. The website is only one half of the company, the other branch of it is a service that provides subscribers with DVDs through the mail. Netflix brokers deals with movies studios for the films, documentaries, TV shows that appear in their media library. A Netflix app is also available for iPhone, iPod, iPad, and other mobile devices.
TheOatmeal.com is a web comics site created by Matthew Inman in 2009. The site gained popularity because of Inman's clever and humorous spin on everyday situations. The site attracts around 4 million visitors per month. According to an interview Inman gave to the Seattle Weekly, he has been taking drawing classes in hopes of re-inventing his signature style.
Here is the latest comic that media-savvy types such as myself will finder interesting.
The first Spider-Man film stars Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, Kirsten Dunst as Mary Jane Watson, and Willem Dafoe as Norman Osborn/Green Goblin. This film serves as Spider-Man's origin story, depicting the trials and triumphs on his path to becoming a superhero. Director Sam Raimi (who was also the creative mind behind The Evil Dead) showed extreme interest in the project, which had been stuck in the development stage for nearly a decade. The film used a Spydercam, a camera capable of dropping 600 feet with fluidity and exceptional quality, mimicking the acrobatic movement of the high-flying superhero.
Spider-Man 2
The second film in the trilogy focuses on Peter's life as he struggles to balance his superhero duties and his duties as a student, boyfriend, and son. And of course, this is made all the more difficult when a new villain threatens to raze New York City: Dr. Octopus. After an experiment backfires on him, Doc Ock loses his wife but gains four tentacle-like robotic arms that have a mind of their own. They corrupt his mind, making him fatally hubristic and murderous. Meanwhile, Peter finds himself losing his Spider-Man powers, which according to a physician, is the result of stress. Peter must now decide which path to take and where his destiny lies. Spider-Man? Or Peter Parker?
Fun fact: The pizzeria Peter is fired from in the beginning of the movie is a real place in NY. They received a huge boost in sales after their phone number was prominently displayed on Peter's bike helmet.
Spider-Man 3
The final installment in the trilogy is by far the darkest. Spider-Man faces villains such as the Sand Man, Venom, the New Green Goblin, and an alien symbiote. Spider-Man is at the height of his fame, and this inflates Peter's ego, causing him to become reckless and ultimately, susceptible to the malevolent influence of an alien life that bonds itself to his Spidey suit. This black-suited Spider-Man is more powerful but also more deadly. Peter becomes consumed with the power and it addles his mind, causing him to lash out at the ones he loves most. He realizes the negative influence the suit has just in time to rescue Mary Jane from the evil clutches of Venom and the Sand Man.
Despite mixed reviews, it is the most commercially successful film in the series.
“Archives exist because there's something that can't necessarily be articulated. Something is said in the gaps between all the information.” - Taryn Simon
Taryn Simon's bloodline photography project, as mentioned in her TED Talk, extends beyond the realm of archives and strikes a chord with the audience. I work in the College Archives and I thought Taryn's talk was incredibly insightful, but her experience is rare. I have spent a good portion of my time in the archives filing pictures and documents, which isn't exactly earth-shattering stuff. That routine was my job until about a year and a half ago.
The family of one of the College's earliest male professors bestowed upon the Archives all of his papers and letters. James Franklin Lewis was a veritable Renaissance man - he taught chemistry by day and was a prolific poet by night. In his short 42 years of life, he wrote over 2,000 poems, several novels, and three plays. Using his letters and personal documents, I constructed a biography that will hopefully be published.
In honor of the curation of this special collection, a small reception was held in the Library on April 27. Lewis' children (now in their 70's) attended with their families and were eager to share their few memories of their father. Professors from both the science and English departments were invited to speak about Lewis' thesis on organic chemistry and read some of his poetry.
The family was so grateful to my supervisor and myself for the care we took with their father's belonging, his life's work. That to me, was what Taryn was referring to, the thing that cannot be articulated. The pride in one's work; the sense of completion a family feels when their questions are answered. Archiving has become so much more than organizing photo albums.
MetaCortex is the fictional software company where Thomas Anderson works. The root word "meta-" means "beyond" while "cortex" refers to the outer layer of the brain; and "going beyond the boundaries of the brain" becomes Neo's mission in the films. This is made even more symbolic with Neo's daring escape from the office building.
Simulacra and Simulation
Neo stashes cash and illegal hacking software in a copy of Jean Baudrillard's philosophical essay, Simulacra and Simulation. The text explores concepts such as simulated reality and hyper-reality, the idea that imitations and representations are becoming more real than reality itself. It is also where Morpheus' line, "Welcome to the desert of the real" comes from.
Nihilism
The chapter to which Neo opens Simulacra and Simulation is titled "On Nihilism." Nihilism refers to the notion that life is devoid of meaning. The television show "Seinfeld" has been called nihilistic because of its premise as "a show about nothing," following the tradition of Theater of the Absurd. Fictional nihilists include Tyler Durden from Fight Club, and the Nihilist villains from The Big Lebowski.
"Know Thyself"
The phrase "Know Thyself" hangs in the Oracle's kitchen in the Matrix and is carved into the entrance of the Oracle at Delphi, a temple in Greece. In the Matrix, the Oracle is an elderly woman who makes cookies. The kitchen becomes her temple and her gift of prophecy guides Neo on his quest. Greek myth states that the god Apollo spoke through the oracle, a young woman from the area, called the Pythia. Inhaling vapors caused the Pythia to fall into a trance-like state and rave incoherently. That babble was then translated by priests of the temple.
Morpheus
Morpheus, played by Laurence Fishburne, is the rebel leader of the humans fighting against the confines of the Matrix. His character's name comes from the Greek god of dreams; a god that could assume any human form and appear in dreams. According to legend, Morpheus guarded the gates of the dream realm, false dream taking one route, and prophetic dreams taking another. It is also the origin of the word "morphine."
Nebuchadnezzar
The ship Morpheus commands, the Nebuchadnezzar, gets its name from a ruler of the Babylonian Dynasty. In the Bible, King Nebuchadnezzar II was known for his conquests and for constructing the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. The Book of Daniel describes a forgotten dream that plagues the king, and Morpheus references this with the line "I have dreamed a dream; but now that dream is gone from me."
The Merovingian
The Merovingian is an exiled program Neo encounters in the second film in the franchise, The Matrix Reloaded. Modeled after the Greek god Hades, the Merovingian provides a safe haven for obsolete, out-dated programs. In other words, programs in their after-life. His name comes from a Frankish dynasty that ruled over the region of Gaul from the 5th to 8th century. Numerous myths surround the Merovingians, leading conspiracy theorists to assume they are of divine descent.
Persephone
Persephone is the contemptuous wife of the Merovingian who aids Neo, Trinity, and Morpheus with finding the Key-Maker in The Matrix Reloaded. Her name comes from the Greek legend of Persephone, daughter of Demeter, who is kidnapped by Hades. Demeter was distraught over her daughter's abduction, and as a result she let crops and plant life die. Fearing that humans would starve, Zeus commanded Hades to release Persephone for six months of the year so she could rejoin her mother. She would then return to the Underworld for the next six months, explaining the changing of the seasons.
The media's tangled relationship with the truth has been central to nearly every class discussion; whether it is at the forefront or quietly in the background. I am often reminded of one of the more earth-shattering scandals that occurred only six years ago, the exposure of James Frey's fabricated memoir, A Million Little Pieces. Treachery is not confined to journalism, and Frey suffered the wrath of the public and Oprah Winfrey. Rough day. I decided to dig a little deeper and unearth some information that will hopefully aid future class discussions.
A Million Little Pieces is a memoir by James Frey that chronicles the painful rehabilitation process for the main character, who is also named James, an alcoholic and severe drug addict. James' battle against "the Fury" (the term he uses to refer to his desire to use drugs) is written in a brutal, and slightly modified stream of consciousness writing style. It was released in 2003 and it produced visceral reactions with the public. Oprah Winfrey was so moved by the novel that she made it a pick for her Book Club in 2005, a rather prestigious honor. Book sales skyrocketed, as did its rank on the best-seller list.
In 2006, three years after the novel's release, The Smoking Gun published an article questioning the validity of the author's claim that the events described were based on his real life. Winfrey interrogated Frey on her talk show and he admitted to fabricating parts of the memoir. Frey's publisher, Nan Talese, also was forced to admit that she made no formal investigation into the claim that the account described in the book was actually non-fiction.
Random House has now included a publisher's note in the beginning of the book stating that some of the events described are fictional. Frey is still known as "The Man Who Conned Oprah."
Matrix, released in 1999, is an action film written and directed by Andy and Larry Wachowski and starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, and Carrie-Anne Moss. The reality in which humans passively go about their day is actually a simulated reality, meant to pacify humans so that machines can harvest their warmth as an energy source. Once Neo is freed from the Matrix (some people actually believe in this concept), he embarks on a quest to fulfill his destiny as "The One" that will lead the rebellion against the machines.
The Matrix uses a visual effect technique called "bullet time." Here's an example (warning: lots of violence):
Matrix Reloaded
This is the second film in The Matrix franchise, the plot picks up six months after the events of the first film. Neo, Morpheus, Trinity, and the other rebel leaders must come to the aid of Zion, the last human city that lies deep within the Earth. The machines have discovered Zion's existence and aim to destroy it. Amid the tension of an impending war, Neo is discovering his superhuman capabilities (he can fly!) and battling his nemesis Agent Smith, played by Hugo Weaving.
It received generally favorable reviews, and it features some of the most epic fight scenes ever. Observe:
Matrix Revolutions
The final film in the trilogy centers around the ultimate war between humans and their oppressors, the machines. Neo realizes his destiny as the One is to be sacrificed for the sake of humanity (side note: the Matrix movies are bursting with Biblical allusions, Alice in Wonderland references, and inspirations from dystopian fiction). As if being saddled with the fate on humanity wasn't enough, Neo must also defeat his enemy Agent Smith in a very rainy battle.
Of the three, Matrix Revolutions received the lowest critic rating, described as "a disappointing conclusion." Filming began immediately after the conclusion of Matrix Reloaded, and it was released six months after the second installment.
Batman Begins
Batman Begins is the 2005 reboot directed by Christopher Nolan featuring the DC Comics superhero, Batman. The film's stars include Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Gary Oldman, and Liam Neeson. The plot revolves around Batman's genesis; his fear of bats, his martial arts training, gadgets, Bat-suit, and of course, the Batmobile. The story is told in a dark and realistic style, setting the stage for a flawed hero who protects the city of Gotham.
In regard to his casting of Christian Bale for the part, Christopher Nolan said, "I chose Christian to play Batman based on the idea that, in trying to create a realistic version of the story, you need an actor who has sufficient intensity and focus in his eyes to make you believe that someone without superpowers could, through sheer force of will, change himself into a superhero." (read the rest of the interview here.)
The Dark Knight
Released in 2008,The Dark Knight is the sequel to Batman Begins set six months after the events in the first film. Gotham is in turmoil once again when it is faced with an entirely new kind of threat. The Joker, played by Heath Ledger, makes his villainous debut as an unstable criminal who feeds on chaos. The film received huge amounts of hype because of elaborate marketing campaigns and was also in the press when Heath Ledger died six months before the film's release. It was his last completed role, and he won an Oscar posthumously.
Nolan shot much of the film's action sequences with IMAX cameras because he believed it enhanced the experience. Despite all of the explosions, turbulent car chases, and face-to-face standoffs, only one of the four IMAX cameras was destroyed.
The Dark Knight Rises
The highly anticipated third installment of The Dark Knight trilogy is due for theatrical release on July 20, 2012. The events in The Dark Knight Rises take place eight years after the conclusion of The Dark Knight with Batman's reputation stained after he took the fall for Harvey "Two Face." Now Batman is called to protect a city that doesn't trust him against a villain that has been described as, "a terrorist in mentality as well as brutal action" (source).
While justifying the educational value of our second group project, Rob said the best way to learn something it to teach it to someone else. I have to agree with him there. So if you were like me in class on Wednesday, and you mentally checked out during the discussion of the ambivalent "Cloud" and still want to know more, this post will hopefully clear things up.
A cool e-book was one of the first things to pop up when I began my search. I pulled this quote because I think it illustrates the power of the Cloud:
If you upload your photos, store critical files online and use a web-based email service like Gmail or Yahoo! Mail, an 18-wheel truck could run over your laptop and all your data would still safely reside on the web, accessible from any Internet-connected computer, anywhere in the world.
I still didn't how it worked, so I kept hunting. I came across a technology blogger named Jay Lee who explained it like this, "In the most layman of terms, cloud computing simply refers to resources and applications that are available on the Internet from just about any Internet connected device." He used email as an example of information that is stored in the Cloud and accessible though any device connected to the Internet, and suddenly it all made sense.
Even as early as 2005, Peter Diamandis possessed a rare thing: a optimistic outlook on our future. In a world where theories of our eminent destruction outnumber theories on how to overcome, Diamandis' ideas become spots of light in a sea of grey. He delivered a TED Talk in July 2005 discussing space exploration, our "next great leap," and how it is humanity's "moral imperative" to do so. How did he plan on accomplishing this? He made a competition out of it.
The X Prize Foundation was created by Diamandis in 1995. It's mission is to "bring about radical breakthroughs for the benefit of humanity" in the field of technology with categories that include exploration, life sciences, energy and the environment, and education and global development. Today, the foundation is regarded as one of the leading innovators of scientific research. And this isn't some nerdy, global science fair. The developer of the winning prototype receives 10 million dollars.
The New York Times ran an article concerning the ever-pressing issue of the volume of the music played by ice cream trucks. Citizens of Stafford, New Jersey are beside themselves with anger over the apparently offensive music, stating that "... [it] should be considered as much a nuisance as the roar of a low-flying jet or the screech of a car alarm," not a joyful reminder that life has meaning.
The issue went before the Stafford Town Council and the ordinance was passed by a vote of 4 to 2. The law states that drivers are forbiddento "use a sound device, mechanical bell, mechanical music, mechanical noise, speakers, amplifiers or any other similar type of sound device." After much contention, drivers were at least permitted to use a handheld bell.
Some weeks later after the smoke cleared, an interesting insight into the case was revealed: Mayor Block's lactose intolerant daughter reportedly launched into "hysterical fits" when the chiming music of the approaching truck could be heard.
The Amazing Spider-Man is a comic book series created by Stan Lee and published by Marvel Comics in 1963. It is the debut of Peter Parker: nerdy photographer by day, web-slinging crime fighter by night.
Parker was bitten by a radioactive spider, empowering him with arachnid agility, strength, and a sixth sense that forewarns danger, a.k.a. "spider sense." After the murder of his Uncle Ben, Peter vows to use his new-found powers to combat evil. The chief conflict in the series is not just between Spider-Man and supervillians, but between Spider-Man and Peter Parker.
"With great power comes great responsibility."
Spider-Man films
The first film in the Spider-Man franchise was released in 2002. It was directed by Sam Raimi, who also directed The Evil Dead, and starred Tobey Maguire as Peter Parker/Spider-Man and Kirsten Dunst as his love interest, Mary Jane Watson.
The film was a box-office smash, and it received an 89% rating at RottenTomatoes.com. The movie's plot is more closely aligned with the Ultimate Spider-Man comic books, a reboot of Stan Lee's original series, made in 2000. The chief difference is the nature of Spider-Man's web-shooters. In Lee's comics, Peter invented the contraption that allowed him to shoot webs; in the movie and Ultimate Spider-Man series the ability is granted to him when he is bitten by the radioactive spider.
Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
The rock musical based on the Spider-Man franchise began production in 2007. It was a risky project that was met with numerous setbacks. The notable ones being the resignation of the director, Julie Taymor, the life-threatening injuries sustained by five cast members, and the ever-increasing budget.
An unreleased film based off the Marvel Comics' hero, Spider-Man. It is a reboot of Sam Raimi's films, and is intended to be more faithful to the original comic series. An article in Entertainment Weekly said the reboot would reinvent the franchise, just as Christopher Nolan did with Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. The decision to make the film was in response to the production company axing Raimi's "Spider-Man 4." It is rumored that this movie will be a "more gritty, contemporary redo of the series."
It stars Andrew Garfield, who also appeared in The Social Network, as the title character, and Emma Stone of Zombieland and The Help as Gwen Stacy. Set for release on July 3, 2012. Check out this blog for lots of info and behind-the-scenes extras.
Comics
The term "comic" comes from the Greek word komikos, meaning "pertaining to comedy." The comic strip as a medium arose in 1889 and gained popularity in the 20th century when they began to be published in newspapers and magazines. There are short panel comics whose visuals and text are mutually dependent on each other and combine to produce a (usually) humorous situation.
Comic strips were compiled to create comic books (sometimes referred to as "graphic novels") and they divided into sub-genres such as adventure, war, and superheroes. Competing publishers Marvel Comics and DC Comics control over 80% of the market.
Odds are that you, at this moment, owe the government almost $50,000 because of their overspending. Check out the constantly accumulating debt clock if you feel like being overcome with despair.
Thomas Jefferson got it right when he said:
"I, however, place economy among the first and most important republican virtues, and public debt as the greatest of the dangers to be feared."
The United States attempted to create a central bank twice, but these attempts failed. In 1913, a secret meeting between the nation's top finance magnates took place on Jekyll Island, just off the coast of Georgia. Interesting choice for a location considering that in the novel The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, the character Dr. Jekyll represents the dark, deviant side of human nature. But the fact that X-Men: First Class was filmed there redeems the island's reputation a little.
Anyways, this secret meeting was the origin of the Federal Reserve System. The House and Senate voted in favor of this bill on December 23, 1913 and President Woodrow Wilson signed it later that day. The primary duty of the Fed is to manage the nation's money supply and maintain financial stability (source).
The sad part about this system is that is flawed and corrupt, and what makes it worse is that everyone knows this and little has been done to change it. There are petitions, such as Audit the Fed, that strive to force the institution to be upfront and accountable for where money is actually going. It is becoming harder and harder to ignore the site's claims:
"Over its nearly 100 year history, the Federal Reserve has presided over the near-complete destruction of the United States dollar while Congress has kept its hands off and its eyes closed. Since 1913, the dollar has lost over 95% of its purchasing power, aided and abetted by the Federal Reserve’s loose monetary policy"
The most apt description of the National Debt Crisis comes from Cracked.com:
"A National Debt happens when governments spend more than they actually have, and everyone getting the money agrees that's absolutely fine."
Cave Paintings - Early Graffiti
Most cave paintings were created during the Paleolithic period (40,000 BC - 10,000 BC) and were discovered in the 1860's (source). Since the early humans didn't have freeway underpasses and train cars yet, they unleashed their vandalizing self-expression on caves. Cave paintings often depict hunting scenes, giving us glimpses of a time when woolly mammoths and other prehistoric creatures still roamed.
That's pretty neat.
Cuneiform
Cuneiform is considered the earliest writing system, developed around 3,400 BC. And if the history of writing really interests you, here's lots more info. It evolved from simple record keeping into a full blown writing system capable of transmitting messages. If you could decipher the 1,000+ unique characters, that is. This is a letter from a high priest to a king:
The postage on that thing must have been ridiculous.
This website is a free English to Cuneiform translator. I gave it a try:
Your entered text was : mariah is doing a great job so far In the Babylonian Cuneiform Alphabet this is written as :
Smoke Signals - Old World Instant Messaging
"Now all of China knows you're here." Pretty effective.
Disney's Mulan got it right with this depiction of the Great Wall's security alarm. Smoke signals and signal fires are one of the oldest forms of communication. Polybius, a Greek historian, created a alphabet by holding up different combinations of torches, giving him the ability to convey complex messages. Unfortunately, the system itself was rather complex as well, making it difficult to use. The most recognizable use of smoke signals today is the Catholic conclave. Black smoke tells the expectant crowd that a pope hasn't been chosen yet, while white smoke indicates that they found the right guy.
Greek Epics and the Oral Tradition
The Iliad and The Odyssey are two of the most well-known stories in the world and they mark the beginning of Western literature. The Greek poet, Homer, used to recite these epics from memory and they were written down around 800 BC (source). They have had an enormous cultural impact and The Odyssey has become a story archetype, like in the Coen Brothers' film O Brother, Where Art Thou?
To learn aboutthe awesome origin of fireworks, check out my other blog post.
Rosetta Stone - Code Breaker
The Rosetta Stone is a hunk of black granite that is inscribed with Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic script, and Ancient Greek. Rediscovered in 1799, it provided the key to understanding Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (source). Today, Rosetta Stone is also a line of popular language learning software.
Go get 'em, tiger.
Banned Books - Censorship Begins
In the year 496, Pope Gelasius I issued the Decretum Gelasianum, a list of "books to be received and not to be received." His reign could be described as a kind of papal power-trip. Though the Decretum refers to the Scripture, it is still the first known example of writings being purposefully withheld from the public.
