Angel de Quinta's Stage Door blog

Reading Angel de Quinta’s STAGE DOOR Blog made me feel a few ways. First, it made me want to watch the new Mary Poppins Movie. I have seen the original when I was young, but I haven’t had the chance to watch the new movie “Mary Poppins Returns”. From what I remember of the old movie, it was a pretty cheery movie with a nanny name Mary Poppins who flies around on her umbrella. Reading Angel de Quinta’s article made me feel like the new movie has different features than the older one.  Angel de Quinta’s talks about how the family is struggling in the new film, which is pretty depressing. It was also a little difficult to understand because I had to google translate the article. In my opinion, Angel de Quinta is a strong writer and was able to make me feel the weariness of the new movie with her words and at times how magical the plot is. I also listened to the YouTube link she had below and the music was very odd to me. It was sad and happy at the same time. I would play this music to help me fall asleep at night.

Skittle Grid

The skittle Grid project was one of the most fun projects I have had to make in college ever! Although I did not complete my project in class, when I sat down in my dorm and completed the project it was a very soothing and peaceful project to complete. I am glad I was able to bring it home because whenever I am stressed out in a public setting I am more likely to be clumsy and start messing up my project, which leads me to become even more stressed and anxious. Here's a picture of my project :

I used orange skittles for my background, red to outline, and yellow for the inside of my star. It was cool to see that this is how pixels look really close up. I wonder if you made a skittles grid the size of a house if you would be able to see the picture from an airplane?! In conclusion, this class is showing me things I would have never thought of, and showing me a different perspective of art!

Multimedia

Comments while watching Raul Cuero's interview

• grew up sleeping on the floor
• always playing in the river - made him curious
• no books
• parents didn't know how to read or write
• made a promise to himself he would never be like that
• gave up soccer to play basketball
• basketball was a way to get a better education through athletic scholarship
• criticized his whole life

• you are capable of anything you put your mind to
• ceiling is being raised too high
• wrote a book about his life
• "important to have a universal conscious"
• no money, no toys, played with roaches
• you cannot plan creativity
• prejudice - shocked 
• believe in good and goodness
• fueled by people who judged him
• wants to focus on raising kids more intellectually 
• all they do it watch tv - superficial 

Some of the main points I took away from this interview are actually pretty eye opening for me. It is crazy to me how this successful man grew up sleeping on the floor, compared to myself and many others who were lucky enough to have a bed under my head and a roof over it. Raul Cuero mentions how he had no books to read while growing up. Reading at a young age was something I always dreaded, and now I realize it is something I took for granted. I am very blessed to have been able to grow up the way I did, and often times when something didn't go my way, I threw temper-tantrums. I wish I could go back to my young self and point out all the ways that I had been so much more privileged than most of the world. Another point I want to start using in my life is how Cuero stressed the importance in having a "universal consciousness". To me, this means understanding the world altogether as one, rather than separately as individuals. It also makes me want to open my perspective to the world and not to be blinded by the media. 

Carolina Chocolate Drops

For class on February 12th, we went to the Reeves theater to watch a documentary on the Carolina Chocolate Drops. I honestly enjoy the music that they play. I think it has a cool beat. I wouldn't listen to the music to study or on a daily basis, but I would go see them in concert with my friends to try something new. It was interesting to watch the group throughout the years. I felt that the film was very long and it repeated numerous times. I enjoyed seeing them play in the concerts because you could feel the effect they had on their fans. It was fascinating to watch the behind the scenes as well. Many times bands break up and you have no idea why. This film showed and told you exactly why they fought and why Justin left the group. I was happy to see Rhiannon Gibbens was pretty successful after the split. Dom Flemons seemed like a character. My favorite of the group would probably be Justin Robinson because in my view he was a nice guy who just wanted to play music. 

Madame Butterfly Claymation Youtube Video

The video we watched in class on February 5th might have been one of the weirdest videos I have ever watched in my whole life. I thought it was a very weird way of showing the story of Madame Butterfly. I want to see the original opera so I can compare the real video to the claymation. Basically what I got from the YouTube video is that Madame Butterfly was impregnated by a sailor named Pinkerton. After he leaves, it is shown that she becomes pregnant with Pinkerton's baby. After time goes by, Pinkerton returns to snatch his baby back. In the car when he comes back is a barbie wife, and children from all across the world. The most disturbing part about the video was the end. After Pinkerton steals his baby from Madame Butterfly, she is devastated. It was very weird watching a claymation walk off the set, and then begin to tear off the clay, and dismantle itself. I actually felt the pain of the claymation puppet though. 

Oldest Native American Dancing Footage

The video shown in class called "Oldest Native American Dancing Footage" was very interesting video to watch. To me the video was filled with pure energy. The emotions projected from the people in the video were so strong I could almost feel them through the screen. It was cool to see the dances and rituals performed. I personally thought the clothes they wore were awesome. I found a picture online of a headdress and I wish I had one myself -

I bet the Native American with the biggest and coolest headdress was the most respected and had the most clout. Another part of the video which I enjoyed was the fact that there were Native Americans of all ages seen in the video. It was interesting to see what dances/ activities were performed at different ages. I could see the women made blankets, clothing and jewelry, while the men hunted in the woods for food. The children were always watching because they were being taught to follow in their parents footsteps.

Notre Dame Cathedral

In class today (Tuesday February 5th) we were shown videos and pictures of the Notre Dame Cathedral. I have heard of this cathedral before but have never seen what it actually looked like. I had only known that it was a beautiful sight to see. One of the features of the cathedral that stood out for me the most is Rose Eye. The stained glass is incredible and probably a breathtaking sight to see in person. Another cool feature is the ribbed arches that support the ceiling of the cathedral. Although the flying buttresses were built for support, I think they make the cathedral look even more spectacular. I also think it is kind of freaky they have gargoyles around the outside of the building. They look pretty life size so if I were to see them in person I would probably be scared of them. In conclusion, I would definitely travel to Paris, France to see this cathedral.