I was 

Today I played 6 hours of soccer in the cold and part of it in the rain and all of that was great, I love soccer, but the best part of the day was listening to Coach that I will play for for the next four years. He shared 2 quotes that really stood out to me and made me think about my life and how I got to the point I'm at. The first quote was

“Life is like a game of soccer. You need goals. If there are no goals in your life then you can’t win.”– Unknown Author

When I stepped foot in Millbrook High School I was ready for what was to come, I set goals, get on the honor roll, make the soccer team, meet new people, join clubs, etc. After achieving those goals Freshman and Sophomore year and gaining more freedom from everyone I set loftier goals that I could achieve myself. Some were academic but most were not for me. I wanted to take on more responsibility on my club team, I wanted to win a soccer state championship, I wanted to get closer to my family before I went to college, find ways to give back to my community, find out who my true friends were, have jobs, make a college team, and just be a better person in general. Those are goals that I've achieved but can still grow on going forward. For me celebrating the achievement of the goals is just as important as setting them and succeeding at them because in the beginning I wasn't what I was in the end. Achieving goals is a feeling that never gets old. Whether it was being captain, committing to Lynchburg, or winning state cup those moments were just as important to me as seeing my parents be able to relax, being able to run again after 2 surgeries, getting my dog to be well trained and listen, or seeing the kids I coached win their first game.  

As we achieve goals everyday we check them off and move on to the next, but looking back I think it's important to reflect on how much of an impact each one of the small goals has on who we are and what we stand for. For me, the small goals I set for myself academically and put me in a position to get merit aid and be as prepared as I can for college. Athletically the little goals I set after surgery to get back to playing got me to the six hours of soccer I played today. the little goals I set for the team I coached led to them winning their first game. 

The second quote he mentioned was 

“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” 

― Mahatma Gandhi

This quote made me think about what community service has done for me over the last three almost four years years. Over the last 3-4 years I have volunteered with several organizations in Raleigh and had the opportunity to do a service trip in Peru Sophomore year. When I was younger and participated in a lot of youth sports, I traveled a lot, was fortunate to have what I had growing up, and was definitely fortunate to have parents who insisted on being down to earth and giving to those who aren't as fortunate as we were growing up. Starting freshman year and ever since then I have been looking for ways to get involved in the community around me. The biggest thing that community service has taught me is that I can learn from everyone and everyone has the ability to have impact on someone or something. The community service I was able to participate in over my time in high school is something that I will never forget and will definitely being taking with me as I join a team that is founded on the 3 Ss. Scholarship, Soccer, and Service. 

Walt Whitman

Basic Observations:

903: It's mainly just addresses. there is a seal looking thing on the page.
925: It talks about a brochure that has a dialogue between 2 people. He's jotted down different ideas about formats for lessons for a Presidential elect. The seal says the Library of congress... finally was able to read it.
Next page: talks about 2 platforms on one it talks about virtue, religion, philosophy, christ. on the other love, christ, and other unlegible things.
Page After that one: Talks about what he should know now and what should happen, something about a crash.
929: He seems to be having a conversation with someone in his journal, something about the Queen of England doing something for a thousand years.
Next page: talks about a trial, weather, waves, wants to sea what the ship is made of, anyone can sail in a fair sea.
Next page: He's asking for bad weather, wind, clouds
930: Wants to see what the ship of libertad is made of,he welcomes something with joy, bad weather or trouble?
931: Calls it the ship of the world, humanity, of all ages, of promise.
Then there is a lot of pictures of a man, with a hat and without one,
Then some writing.

What might be significant? What is revealed about Whitman through his inner thoughts?
       Based on my observations from all the pages individually and whats in the introduction paragraphs for this blog it's significant that he talked about having the presidential elect conversation or dream. I think it's significant that he often uses weather to suggest hard times and talks about the ship holding up when the weather gets bad. That could symbolize the president doing well when times are hard or just anyone in general. Also the ship stands for freedom (libertad), promise, the world, and all ages. So it stands for a wide variety of people and events and he wants to test them with something that is timeless such as the weather. I think that whats he written says his inner thoughts are about challenging people, the president elect, and people in power. I guess i'll find out how much of what I wrote is right when I read what he actually wrote.


After reading all the yellow tags I underestimated who much religion, philosophy, and Lincoln played a role in his thoughts. It makes sense sine it was around the civil war and he would have watched people everywhere decide which side to be on, Which religion they want to follow and the implications each religion had on how they lived and acted politically and morally. In one of the yellow boxes it talks about his use of the word liberated instead of liberty and it doesn't know why. An idea that I have based on his thoughts about the war, the two sides, and the separation in the country is that he didn't feel like the US had figured out freedom enough to use the english word liberty, instead he used liberated because its close enough for people to understand but has a different connotation when used instead of liberty. He really doesn't like the idea of the Union losing,  He adds perhaps to having to watch the crash which allows him to think about the positives or just not all the negative potential for the Union to lose the civil war. I think it's significant that he talked about allying lost and this talks about his intention being that it would mean something historically if the union lost. I think that shows that he thought a lot about the implications of the Civil War and how it would affect everyone. When he was talking about the Queen of England I think he was comparing the situation with the civil war and how the other countries are able to maintain control. I was right about the ship and the weather standing for something else such as Lincoln's presidency. It talks about his life going out of control which shows up in his thoughts about the nation going out of control. Lastly all the drawings in the back could be of him, and I think it's interesting that he would've passed  around his notebook to people he was with.

After reading all of his journal and what it was supposed to say I think Whitman would be an interesting person to talk to. He's intelligent, questioning, philosophical, and interesting.

freebie 3/15/15

Is Translating Effective?

#1:As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.
#2:Gregory Samsa woke from uneasy dreams one morning to find himself changed into a giant bug.
#3:When Gregor Samsa awoke from troubled dreams one morning he found he had been transformed in his bed into an enormous bug.

#4:One morning, upon awakening from agitated dreams, Gregor Samsa found himself, in his bed, transformed into a monstrous vermin.
Original: Als Gregor Samsa eines Morgens aus unruhigen Träumen erwachte, fand er sich in seinem Bett zu einem ungeheuren Ungeziefer verwandelt

Analysis is all together so I could make direct comparisons

          
          Word choice affects the meaning of sentences and the tone of sentences because of the connotations and denotations associated with words, as well as the imagery surrounding the word. In this example the words to describe the dream have different meanings. Uneasy to me just means a bad feeling but can easily be shaken off and moved past, troubled creates a little more stress and importance on the negative effects of the dream. Troubled would require more effort to forget about and move past, and finally agitated to me means like seriously troubled and impacted by the bad dream. Another differing word choice that makes a difference in the meaning of the sentences is changed vs transformed. Changed is more casual than transformed. By saying changed the writer suggests Gregor(y) Samsa isn't worried about being a giant bug. Where as  transformed has a bigger significance in that there is a bigger difference between Gregor(y) and the bug he's become. The way each sentence starts impacts the tone of the sentence. The first one begins with as and the last one begins with one morning, both are storyline beginnings to me, more fictional and less likely for this to be a line in a nonfiction book.The other 3rd starts with when and the 2nd starts by getting right into what happened. This creates a more realistic tone, until you find out what happens, and also isn't as dramatic as the other two.Lastly the way what he has become differs. Gigantic insect, giant bug, enormous bug, monstrous vermin are all used to describe the same thing that Gregor(y) has become. The different adjectives to describe the noun bug, enormous and gigantic, give different images of how big the bug is. Gigantic is big but enormous suggests it's even bigger. Then there is monstrous, which suggests it's scary and super big. Also in the sentence that uses monstrous the thing Gregor(y) is transformed into is a vermin. The variation from a bug to a vermin in a different translations create different imagery and meaning. A vermin is something that needs to be killed and gotten rid of where as a bug seems harmless compared to the vermin. 

          The punctuation affects the meaning of the sentences because of how its read. The first 3 have only a period at the end and no commas in between the beginning and end of the sentence. The uninterrupted sentence allows it to be read faster and flows smoother than the fourth sentence that has a comma every two words. The punctuation in the fourth makes it more dramatic and emphasizes every little detail in the sentence, making each one significant to how Gregory transformed into the vermin. The syntax in the sentences add to the tone and meaning of the sentences because it makes the reader either think more about what happened or just move on and know it happened. In this set the syntax of the first three doesn't really impact me. I read them and moved on. the last one has to be read with more thought and slower because of the punctuation so the syntax in combination has more of an impact and after I read it I was considering how he felt about waking up and being a bug. 

For the imagery I put the word choice for what he turned into, into google and heres the results.
From top to bottom: Giant bug, gigantic insect, enormous bug, monstrous vermin.

When looking at these images, you can see the imagery for the first three doesn't very significantly, however the final image is not like the others and is disturbingly different considering they all came from the same original text.

          I don't know how effective the sentences are because there isn't context for the sentences, so I don't know how significant this sentence is to the text, I would guess fairly significant because it has a big piece of character development, but I don't know if Gregor(y) Samsa is supposed to be a victim that happens to be transformed, an evil scientist that wants to terrorize people as a bug, or just a science project gone wrong. Either way each sentence is slightly to very different from each other and then in turn different from the original sentence. By themselves the single sentence might not change of the text overall but if the same translator continues to translate like they do a very different tone could be created from 2 different translators translating the same text.

          When I went to Peru a few Spring Breaks ago the people I was with and our hosts were talking or trying to talk by translating through someone who grew up here but then was doing mission work there so he spoke pretty good Spanish. The problem with translating that this exercise, that article, and my opinion bring up is that meaning is lost. When we were having a conversation we would say what we could in Spanish and then ask Keegan to translate. He would then in other Spanish words ask if they had a word to describe what we were saying. Sometimes there was a direct translation but not always. Or they would say its like... but not really, so they were trying to relate it to things we understood but it still wasn't exactly what they wanted to say. The problem with the translation of books is that all of the book is written by an author with a purpose and intention in mind, but then that is interpreted by the translator and rewritten with different intentions and purpose, even if the translator didn't necessarily intend that. The tone that the original piece has could be the same as a translated piece in parts but overall the tone of each piece might become entirely different. 

Bug Pictures From:
http://www.bizarbin.com/monster-bugs/
https://1pointperspective.wordpress.com/tag/insect/
http://www.realmonstrosities.com/2012/03/what-is-biggest-insect-in-world.html
http://heyinfinity.com/2013/07/03/monstrous-vermin/

English IOC. I hate computers and can't get it to load it keeps telling me it can't upload so I emailed it to you.

                          The journey across the high wire

http://www.ted.com/talks/philippe_petit_the_journey_across_the_high_wire/transcript?language=en

The TED talk The journey across the high wire given by Philippe Petit in 2012 is about his journey through life, how he became a high wire walker, and what hes been able to do with his skills as a performer, wire walker, and street juggler. He is sharing with audience his keys to success and how he has gotten where he is in life. Passion, Tenacity, Intuition, Faith, Improvisation, and Inspiration. Six words Philippe used throughout his TED talk to share his story with the audience. HE says,

“Passion is the motto of all my actions,” HE shares how he used this motto from a young age to go from learning magic at 6 to learning how to juggle at 14. He shared how is passion drove him to keep trying and to do things he was passionate about.

“Tenacity is how I kept it against all odds,” When he was 14 he brought his juggling clubs to the best juggler in the world and while Philippe could juggle well it wasn’t fluid or graceful and the best juggler in the world told him that his clubs were bad and that’s why he couldn’t juggle fluidly. He kept going to the circus and watching or listening rather to the wire walkers and at 16 he became a wire walker. The he goes on to discuss the learning process and how he taught himself to wire walk.

“Intuition is a tool essential in my life,” He taught himself the tricks wire walkers in the circus do within a few months of learning, but he wasn’t happy he wanted to do more and be better. He got kicked out of 5 schools while also mastering wire walking. He invented his own tricks and took bigger chances including walking across the Sidney Harbor bridge and in 1974 walking between the World Trade Centers. He describes his first steps over New York City as unsure. But he says,

“Faith is what replaces doubt in my dictionary,” When he’s unsure he has faith in himself, his training, and his equipment so he doesn’t have doubts while hes performing. He explains to the audience that he is just as happy and creative in the clouds on a wire as he is juggling in the street. He then juggles for everyone.

“Now improvisation is empowering because it welcomes the unknown. And since what's impossible is always unknown, it allows me to believe I can cheat the impossible.” He then shares the story of wire walking in Israel between the Arab section and the Jewish section. His plan was to get in the middle of the wire, make a dove appear and then release the symbol of peace. But the dove had other plans and instead of flying away it landed on his head. He nudges it and it goes onto his balancing pole then improving he bows and hits the pole with his head to move the bird who instead of flying for the third time goes onto the wire. He shares this story not for its comic value but for what happened next. As he was tired and walking the crowd started clapping in encouragement for him to finish. The Arabs and the Jews together, in unison, in encouragement of a similar goal despite their vast differences.

“Inspiration. By inspiring ourselves we inspire others.” With his walk in Israel he inspired Teddy Kolak the mayor of Jerusalem to never give up when trying to solve problems in Jerusalem.

Philippe Petit uses mainly Pathos in his talk, which is backed up by Ethos. He is very credible on the subjects of performing, wire walking, and juggling. Having done it all his life his background makes him a credible source for telling this story. NO one is a better expert on their life than themselves. He uses a lot of Pathos in his story. The six words he uses to lead his TED talk evoke emotion from the audience. They are powerful words that are given meaning by the stories Philippe shares. The story of his walk in Israel uniting two sides that usually hate each other is moving.

 I chose this TED talk because I think Philippe Petit is fascinating to listen to and I wanted to learn more about him. Over the summer for IB Film we had to watch a documentary off a list and Man on a Wire, the documentary that follows Philippe’s walk over between the Twin Towers was one of the options. I recommend it for anyone that likes documentaries or just wants to be amazed by what he was able to accomplish. (It’s on Netflix) Watching him talk with such passion and enthusiasm about how he was able to walk across on a wire, or cheat the impossible was very entertaining and interesting.

The purpose of Petit doing the TED talk is to share his story with the audience, and in doing that he inspires the audience to do what they’re passionate about, be inspired and inspire, improvise when they’re unsure, have faith instead of doubt, use their intuition to guide them, and have tenacity when things get hard. It’s easy to take advice on those 6 things from someone that has done them all himself throughout his life. He has experienced so many things throughout his life using his talents to travel all over the world and inspire groups of people throughout.

Double Indemnity as part of film noir

2. Film noir literally means “black film.” As you are watching the film, keep track of all the elements in the picture that seem dark or depressing. Think about the characters, the setting, and the storyline.

Film Noir is a mood, tone, or style of a film. It developed in the post WWII era in the United States and is similar to German Expressionism. Double Indemnity is a typical film noir piece from 1944. It is a black and white film which is significant to how it fits into film noir. By shooting in black and white lighting becomes key for telling viewers the mood that is being created by the film makers. The lighting in film noir is generally low key and plays on shadows and sharp lighting to tell a story. For example a majority of the action in the film happens at night which allows the film makers greater freedom to enhance shadows that would already exist to create a mood for the scene. The entire time Walter is leaving the confession for Keyes he is shot in low key lighting that leaves shadows on him and behind him. Even in the shots during the day there are shadows in the shot. For example when Keyes is talking to Walter in his office about the case there are shadows on Walter but not Keyes hinting that Walter is dark.

These films typically were centered around a dark male character and he usually meets a seductive, attractive girl who usually has her own dark agenda in mind. This is seen in Double Indemnity in the main characters Walter Neff and Phyllis. Throughout the film he is always dressed in dark suits that contrast well with the lighting, hats that cover his face, and is angled so you can't look at both his eyes at once when he is doing something dark, morally wrong, or illegal. For example when he goes to shoot Phyllis and they shoot each other you can't make out his eyes because of the lighting. Phyllis is often shown in seductive clothes, which are made even more seductive by the lighting and her positioning in the shot. The "black film" aspect is seen for her character through her actions and motive more than her clothes. However she is usually shot in lighting that brings out shadows and creates an eerie or dark mood. 

The plot is dark because the plot fits perfectly into a plot of a film noir. It is motivated by money and sexual desires. Phyllis has already killed someone before and now she's tired of her husband wants to be with Nino Seketti and uses Walter to get rich so she and Nino can go and be rich and happy. Walter wants to help Phyllis because in the beginning he believes they love each other and wants to help her so they can live happily ever after. None of the killing is shown on screen because at the time these films came out it was barely acceptable to have plot driven by dark things and it wasn't yet acceptable for murders to be shown on screen they were too dark. The setting of the train tracks and the field surrounding it are seen as dark because they are desolate and eerie. And again all the dark acts take place in the dark of night adding to the setting being seen as dark. 

With all the dark features of this film Double Indemnity is a typical film noir that is a classic from its time period.