The Science of Evolution

During Professor Kjar's lecture, I had learned about the theory of evolution and that it is not always truly about the survival of the fittest. Growing up and learning about the beginnings of Charles Darwin's concept of "Survival of the Fittest" among the different types of species that there are in the world. What I took from the lecture was that Evolution can also be based off of others helping out others in order to survive. Throughout the lecture, Professor Kjar showed the attendees of the lecture a sideshow that was filled with pictures of bugs that had been helping out the other animals in order for them to survive as a whole.

Picture taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dsbrennan/2668159697/

Blade Runner: A look into the future

Question:
Blade Runner is best known for its cyberpunk mise en scene (design aspects of the film): the incredibly dense texture of its shots. Watch very carefully and describe the 2020 culture the movie suggests visually.

Response:
In 2010, as the film Blade Runner suggests is run and looks very differently than the society in which we happen to live in today. In the "future" as described by the film has clones, flying cars, and flying billboards. The technology that is around today is no where near the advancement that is being shown in the movie. Scientists have for years been trying to create clones and robots and trying to advance the world in technology.

Question:
A moral message of the movie is that it was wrong to enslave the replicants and use them as forced labor since they were so human-like in both appearance and thought process. What would need to be different about replicants in order for us to feel that it was OK to use them for labor?

Answer:
In order for the replicants to become accepted in our world as an assistant to the working field would require the replicants to learn all of the necessary skills that would be needed to help the workforce succeed. I feel as though in order for us, as humans to become comfortable with the replicants working among us, they would be able to help out all of the workers with their job so that the work day can go much more smoothly.

Picture taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/russelldarling/3467086429/

Colliding Music with History

During Professor Lemak's lecture, I have learned how music can be somewhat tied into the history of wars that have gone on. During the lecture, a slideshow was presented to the attendees of the lecture that showed numerous maps of Greece and numerous war images as well as some of the famous names in classic rock music. The actual book, "The Burial at Thebes" is really a discussion between Creon and Oedepus and what to not do as a leader.

Question: How do we balance social justice with moral authority, or just with unjust laws?
Social Justice has a lot to do with the way a person thinks about the choices that they make on a daily basis. If a person chooses to commit a crime they are, put in jail so that they can reflect on the exactly what they did wrong. By being placed in jail, society is slowly becoming a better and safer place to live and work in.

Question: What constitutes social responsibility and justice, and what is the relationship between freedom and power?
Jury Duty is an example of a social responsibility that every citizen of the United States is required to be served. Many try to get out of this responsibility but are then forced to pay a fine or serve for an extra session. The relationship between freedom and power is that the government basically controls and oversees that each citizen is fulfilling their duty by paying their taxes on time.

Question: What constitutes leadership and how do leaders confront moral choices?
There are many different reasons as to why leadership is controlled. Every year on election day, the citizens of the United States are allowed under the Constitution to voice their own opinion as to who they would like to see as their new leader. The way that leaders confront moral choices is by speaking in public and letting those who matter to them (who would be the people) what they are looking to do in order to improve how society is functioning.

Picture taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mexbi/4421764832/

Connecting with ourselves through film

Questions from "self" unit:
1) Is there a self that I can control?
There can be two ways to answer this question. The way that one may think about themselves can be based both on his or her surroundings and how they put their mind towards answering certain questions. One's mind can control some of the actions that a person can make on a daily basis that can turn either into a good result or a bad result.

2) What forces shape our sense of self?
The type of friends that a person may choose to hang out with can influence the decisions and actions that they may choose to take. For example, the person who is hanging out with their group of friends "follows" everyone's actions may just "go with the flow" and not put in any input with the decisions.

Film Critique Questions:
1) Describe the most critical scene. What made this scene so important? What overarching message/principle does the scene convey? What were the cinematic techniques that made it work well? If you don't think it was successful, what made it ineffective? What would have improved it?
The most critical scene of the movie would have to be Jim Carrey's character: "Joel Barish" when he receives the accidental note about Clementine's decision to erase all of his existence from her mind. I think this because it describes the entire conflict of the film by flash backing to all of the times that Joel had with Clementine. I think that the techniques that the film director represented the flashback sequences greatly.

2)How does the film end (what is the last thing the viewer sees?) Why?
The story ended with the final scene of Joel and Clementine in the hallway, in which they appeared to have agreed to give their relationship one more try.There is debate as to what the repeated scene of Joel and Clem playing in the snow right before the credits means. In an interview also included with the published shooting script, Gondry said he wanted the scene of them playing in the snow to loop throughout the credits. This desire apparently sprang from the initial intent (expressed in an early script) that Joel and Clementine spent the rest of their lives meeting, falling in and out of love, getting their memories erased, and then repeating the cycle. However, Gondry said that this was not done, because it would ultimately distract from the credits.In addition, several photo-stills that were from footage that wound up on the cutting room floor show Joel and Clementine sitting together on the steps to Joel's building with their arms around each other (and dressed in the same clothes that they wore in the hallway scene). It is unclear whether these were pictures taken for promotional purposes or from footage cut from the final scene at Joel's apartment.

Photo taken from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/martyn/87345479/

The Fight for Survival

The song The Warrior by Scandal featuring Patty Smyth talks about her battle to find love and that she doesn't let anything stand in her way because she is a strong woman. If someone wants something. They must survive so that they can obtain it.


You run, run, runaway
It's your heart that you betray
Feeding on your hungry eyes
I bet you're not so civilized

Well isn't love primitive?
A wild gift that you wanna give
Break out of captivity
And follow me stereo jungle child
Love is the kill
Your heart's still wild

Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang, bang!
I am the warrior
Well I am the warrior
And heart to heart you'll win
If you survive the warrior, the warrior

You talk, talk, talk to me
Your eyes touch me physically
Stay with me we'll take the night
As passion takes another bite, oh
Who's the hunter, who's the game?
I feel the beat call your name
I hold you close in victory
I don't wanna tame your animal style
You won't be caged in the call of the wild

Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang, bang!
I am the warrior
Well I am the warrior
And heart to heart you'll win
If you survive the warrior, the warrior
I am the warrior

Shooting at the walls of heartache
Bang, bang!
I am the warrior
And heart to heart you'll win
If you survive the warrior, the warrior

How language makes up my world

1) Describe a small speech community to which you belong: What language(s) and/or dialect(s) do you regularly use (=the code), and what are the social norms for their use? Note the kinds of interactions you all engage in over one "typical" day: What are the topics discussed, the settings, the purposes, the "key," the types or genres of speech, etc?

The main language that is spoken in my family is English. As I have grown up however, I have learned bits and pieces of different languages that are a part of either the society in which I live in or my heritage. I have learned both Hebrew and Spanish in school. At numerous family gatherings, I have learned some Polish and Yiddish words because some of my family members had come over from Europe and they wanted me to learn some key words in order to make my vocabulary much stronger. Although the main language that I use daily in my life is English, I sometimes throw in a few words from the other languages that I happen to know.

Setting and Scene
The conversation that I observed was in my friends dorm room. Me and my friends were having a friendly conversation about how our day went. We discussed if whether or not we had had either a good or a productive day and if we had some good news that we had to share with the group.
Ends
As our conversations continue with each other, we sometimes have personal experiences or advice that we add to the topics. These results can sometimes make a friend feel special and welcomed to such a nice community filled with people who cared about them.
Key
The main purpose of our discussion was to reach out to our friends and help out with any problems that they may had been experiencing.Whether it is a good day or bad day I can always count on my friends to be there and support me in times when I would need them to be there.
Genre
The stories that would be shared among my group of friends can differ on a daily basis depending on the kind of day that one of my friends had and whether or not they wanted to share their stories with everyone.

Picture Taken From:http://www.flickr.com/photos/fredarmitage/48405833/

Me, Myself, and I

According to Franklin's article about "The Self" one must search through all types of descriptions that come from the mind. He tells his audiences that one must take time to examine their body and to chart down the certain things that happen to be bothering them at the present time. They can also make a list of virtues that they wish to improve on for a certain week. For example, one may vouch to go to the gym at least twice a week and to not eat any junk food so that they are not defeating the purpose of the task.