Wide-site Image

When thinking of a wide-site image, I realized that I tend to be very thoughtful before I post an entry and usually want to make entries that make my readers think and have discussion. It is to this end that for my wide-site image, I have chosen Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture The Thinker.

Looking at this statue, it is clearly it depicts a man who is in some kind of meditative thought. It is also important to know that the statue is meant to represent philosophy. When thinking about what to write for my blog, I also enter a meditative state so that I can clearly organize my thoughts before I post them.

I feel that The Thinker is an appropriate wide-site image for me as it both represents my thinking process and my blog. I hope that my blog will continue to be interesting and thought-provoking.


Link to picture: http://www.designthinkingblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/thinking.gif

Mystory VII: Quest schema

 
To add to my previous mystory, I will discuss the schema of Star Wars and how they overall contribute to the feel and story of the film. The OUTER PROBLEM is obviously the mission to rescue Princess Leia and destroy the Death Star. However, the INNER PROBLEMS have to mostly with Luke realizing how important he is to the rebels' mission and gaining the courage and strength to carry out his destiny. This involves leaving his ORDINARY world of his uncle's farm and finding a THRESHOLD guardian and mentor in Obi-wan, who also introduces Luke to the MAGIC TOOL of the Force. The Force is quite possibly one of the most important plot points in the film, as it creates a SPECIAL WORLD for Luke by the introduction to such a powerful and conceptual way of thought and seeing the universe. This also make Obi-wan a DONOR for introducing these concepts to Luke.

The ORDEALS faced in the movie are those brought about by the circumstances present. There is the main conflict of the rescue mission and through it Luke is allowed to grow and eventually become a hero of the rebellion. Another great example is the lightsaber battle between Obi-wan and Darth Vader. Obi-wan makes it clear he shares a past with Vader and looks to confront him while Luke and Han Solo focus on freeing Leia. The duel between the two comes to an end as Obi-wan sacrifices himself to Vader so that the rest of the heroes can escape the Death Star.

Star Wars has been seen by some as an inspirational story about standing up in the face of evil and becoming someone bigger than you thought possible. I can relate to Luke in the sense of entering a larger world. As a child, I lived a very simple childhood and was not very outgoing. As I entered college, I realized there is a larger world out there and to be successful, I have to face it head on and with courage in addition to the knowledge I am gaining through my studies. Star Wars is as inspiring a film as it is entertaining.

Mystory VI: Entertainment Discourse

 
For this mystory assignment, I have chosen a movie that I watched many times in my childhood and has played a major role in my cultural tastes. This movie is the 1977 science fiction classic Star Wars.

The story of Star Wars focuses on Luke Skywalker, a young man who has lived all his life on the desert planet Tatooine, and has dreams of seeing the galaxy and experiencing something greater. Luke's fate takes a drastic turn when his uncle acquires two droid robots and one of the droids, R2-D2, reveals a distress signal from a rebellion leader known as Princess Leia calling for help from someone named Obi-wan Kenobi. As the events of the movie play out, Luke eventually meets Obi-wan and after discovering Luke's home has been destroyed, they both set out with R2-D2 and C-3PO, the other droid, to save the princess. Along the way, they meet the bounty hunter Han Solo, a bounty hunter who supplies them with their ship and joins the mission in hopes of being paid by the princess. During their mission to infiltrate the Empire's base, the Death Star, they face the imperial soldiers, almost getting crushed in a trash compactor, and even confronting he evil emperor's own right hand man, Darth Vader.

The main reason why I love the original Star Wars the way I do and why I consider it a great film is because of its story. While the visuals were considered a technical marvel, it is the story and characters that make the movie shine. Several critics have stated that Star Wars is a prime example of plot building, alternating between action scenes that excellently invest the viewer, while making time for its characters to grow and develop, especially Han Solo. Solo in his introduction is originally a bounty hunter who is not concerned about others and just wants to be paid. During the final battle of the movie where the rebels attempt to destroy the Death Star, Han Solo is initially absent from the battle, stating that the princess is saved so his job is done. Despite this, he shows that he has truly come to care about his companions when he distracts Darth Vader and temporarily disables Vader's ship as Luke destroys the Death Star.

Star Wars is considered the movie that popularized the sci-fi genre and inspired film making itself after the initial release. To me, the movie still remains as one of my favorites and a true example of excellent character building, action, and story woven together into a film that has continued to stand the test of time.

Mystory V

Cosmogram

I feel that right now my personal cosmos is my dorm room. Perhaps the most interesting thing about this particular cosmos is that it both serves as my place to relax after classes and my work place. It serves as my place of relaxation as it is a place where I play video games, read a book, or go online. I stands as my workplace because my dorm is also where I go to study, type my papers, and do online assignments. I see my dorm as a versatile cosmos that is my oasis to escape the cycle of work, as well as an office to accomplish said work. These two facts make a cosmos I am glad to occupy.

Mapping Home

 The lines I have drawn connect to the areas in which my family happens to live. At first, the lines seem to form just a simple triangle. As I think about, one of the shapes a roof is associated with is a triangle. Upon his realization, I have come to the conclusion that the triangle formed serves as a logo of the different roofs we may live under and that the connecting lines are also a symbol of how our family is always connected despite how far we may be from one another.


Link to picture: http://www.mapsofworld.com/usa/usa-maps/USA-Major-Cities.jpg

Vernacular Genres

As my blog theme is that of an ocean, I will discuss an activity that my family did that I loved to do. This activity was fishing. What I loved about our fishing trips was not only the actual fishing, but the bonding that we were able to achieve. We would usually fish in a secluded and quiet place, which allowed us to talk in an uninterrupted manner. We have not only learned more about each other as people and as a family, we have also solved personal problems and created lifelong memories (such as catching my first fish and miraculously fishing one of our poles back out of the ocean) through this activity. I hope we will continue to take fishing trips and that I will one day take my children on fishing trips as well.

Mapping the popcycle

While growing up in Durant, Oklahoma, I am surprised to see how much m seemingly simple town has to offer as I got older. In my childhood, my life was centered around my family's house and Silo School where I attended since second grade. As time passed on, my horizon spanned to SOSU, where I currenly attend college courses. I also am now familiar with city hall downtown, the city library, and our local museum. I is amazing how much I was missing in my hometown. these discoveries have inspired to travel later in life in order to see even more of the world outside of my hometown. Although I may travel, I still want to keep the roots and discoveries of my hometown, no mater how far I may be. 

Mystory IV

What is Home?

I would define home as a place where one can feel safe and secure.It can also be any place where you feel a sense of belonging. I feel this connects to my blog design and homepage through my background as home also can represent a calm place (Something an ocean can symbolize).  Many people think of home as simply a place where they happen to live. I believe this is a rather narrow-minded assumption. Home is no limited to any type of building. Home can exist just about anywhere where you feel it exists in your life.

Decision Scene



I have chosen a picture of a galaxy for my decision scene. A single galaxy can hold can hold many possibilities and discoveries for us to explore. That is not even counting the rest of the universe! This is how I feel when making decisions. I consider the possibilities of each choice and how they will affect me. I also explore different solutions from the ones initially proposed. When making a decision, there can be as many possibilities as there are stars in space.

Link to picture:  http://coolinterestingstuff.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/space-photos-53.jpg

Family Disclosure



One memory from my childhood I will always remember is when my family gathered at my grandparents' house for Christmas when I was about 10 years old. What makes this memory stand out is that it shows how close our family is. At this point in my life, our family was scattered all around the Oklahoma and Texas area. Despite our distances apart, we always got together during the holidays to celebrate and see each other again to discuss our year and share memories and experiences. This is why I always look forward to the holidays. It's my memory of this Christmas that reminds me how close my family is.

Link to picture: http://www.whe.org/assets/images/christmas-tree.jpg

Family Album

When I look through my family pictures, there are two pictures that clearly stand out in my mind. Those pictures are of my father and grandfather in their military uniforms. Even if you did not know the people in the pictures, you can still draw a lot of conclusions from what you see. The men in the pictures are stern, at attention, and carry an air of confidence about them.

Before my father went into the Air Force, he was not the same person as he is today. He described the military as an institution that broke a man down and rebuilt them into someone new. That certainly seems to be the case with my father. Today, my father and grandfather can both be described as responsible and hardworking men. When I think of those pictures, it reminds of how such an experience can shape a person into what they are today.

I would define an endocept as memories we are not completely aware of, but are still be able to feel.There are glimmering images into are mindset that may have a concept that we may not necessarily consciously build.

Mystory III: Obtuse meanings, haiku, and illumination

Obtuse meanings
Image: When I first saw this image, my first thought was amusement at the exaggerated sizes of the buildings in the picture and the confusion of the man in the white coat. However, what made me look at the picture closely is just how the roads and buildings were proportioned in terms of each other.The shorter path leads to the small building, while the longer path leads to what can be assumed as a city. The man is thinking about which path to take. This picture illustrates that the amount of effort he puts in is journey, the man can expect a similar sense of reward.

Verbal Punctum
In English, we often times say words that may initially sound right when said aloud end to be wrong. One of such word that I had this experience with cavalry. Being fascinated by history during my high school career, I no doubt ran into this word several times. I knew how it was spelled, but I, as well as man of my classmates, pronounced the word "calvary," and it wasn't until my senior year that I learned the proper pronunciation. I can not believe someone with m interest in history got this wrong for so long.


Haiku
Since this exercise concerns the mood of our blog, I will explain why I chose an ocean setting for my background. An ocean can symbolize many things for people, whether it a beach vacation or a boat trip across the ocean. The mood I wanted to create, however, was one of serenity and reflection. With most of my blog entries, I try to invoke thinking in other people. One of the images I envision while thinking and reflecting is that of a peaceful ocean, thus a picture of an ocean was an obvious best choice. I choose simple fonts for my blog so that my entries will be easy to read while having a sense of formality and clean writing.

Illumination 
An image that lead me to insight back in eighth grade was a mid-semester progress report. Being a student who usually always got straight A's, I was shocked to see that it was mostly straight B's. Wondering how this happened, I came to the realization that my habits of rarely studying in the past were not doing enough for me to get m regular grades as they had in the past. Thus I studied every night for the rest of the semester and by the end of the semester I obtained straight A's again. The insight I gained from the image of my progress report was that no matter how smart or talented we may believe we are, we all need study or practice to uphold our expected standards.

Mystory 2

Mystory 2

Term Extension Upon reflecting on the fact that my major is finance, I feel that a proper metaphor for finance is a concrete foundation. Although it may sound strange, it may become more clear when you consider that finance deals directly with the foundation of an business: money. It is common knowledge that in order to properly construct any building, a strong foundation on which the building will sit on needs to be set first. Without a structurally sound foundation, it is possible that the building could collapse on itself. This is why it is always important that construction workers build a strong foundation in order to ensure a strong building. In any type of business, money or finances are what help a business continue to operate. It is in this sense money can be considered the foundation of a business. Like construction workers, it is the job of financial advisers and accountants to make sure that a business' finances are being properly utilized and invested in order to make a profitable return. This is why it is important for any business to have a strong finance department, just as a building needs a strong foundation. Link to picture: http://www.bearwoods.com/images/0219.jpg Anti Definition When I think of the term anti-definition, the first word that came to my mind was music. If you looked up the word music in the dictionary, you likely read that it was sounds combined to create form as a means of expression. However, music is not something I feel can be that easily defined nor has a single definition. Music can be a means through which we learn about the history of our world by listening to pieces from the different periods of music (Classical, Baroque, etc.). More prominently, it is also a language that allows to convey emotions and feelings in a way that can be far more powerful than any written or spoken text. This alone separates music from all other forms of creative expression. Furthermore, I believe even if you studied music for the entirety of your life, you still would never be able to encompass it into a dictionary definition. Music is not only a form of expression as we are taught to think of it as, but music is also the key to truly understanding humanity and even ourselves. Link to picture: http://mustech.pbworks.com/w/page/21952707/FrontPage