The Civil War, today

Barack Obama
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/o/barack_obama/index.html

I couldn't find a specific article linking the civil war with today, but I thought that this was one lasting effects of the Civil War. The Civil War was the beginning of the end of slavery, and without the war, slavery could have been around much longer. Barack Obama would not currently be our president, and interracial marriage could still be illegal. I think that this was an important stepping stone in becoming what America is today.

The Constitution, The News, & You

The Hard Work of Gun Control
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/11/opinion/11sun1.html?ref=constitutional_amendments

Basically, this article is showing how Chicago is fighting with Federal law to ban the possession of handguns.
"Thirteen days ago, the Supreme Court undermined Chicago’s ban on handguns by applying the Second Amendment to the states, ruling that people have a right to protect their homes with a gun. Four days after that, Chicago passed another handgun restriction that edged right up to the line drawn by the court. And on Tuesday, a group of gun dealers and enthusiasts sued the city again to overturn the new law. "
It's kind of ridiculous how they keep going back and forth banning and unbanning this law.

This relates to the Constitution because of the Second Amendment; the right to bear arms. Federal law says that this is A-OK, but under state law, Chicago wants to prohibit handguns because they are used for murdering people in a big city. I agree with Chicago's stance because I see no reason why you would need a handgun for defense if everyone else didn't have a handgun because they were banned. I seriously doubt that if handguns were banned, criminals will start carrying giant shotguns around, but who knows.

I thought this was interesting how much they want back and forth and couldn't just agree on a consensus. This also got me thinking about the legalization of marijuana in California, because it's still going to be against Federal law which is like the same thing here, they just can't agree.

What stands out so far?

Writing tips really stand out for me.
Again, writing tips are really working well for me. They're really useful, simple, and easy to understand and use. I think it will definitely improve my writing.
To build upon my success I could use these writing tips more often to further improve my writing skills.
To make the most out of the next few weeks, I need to continue doing all my homework. I'm also going to read my book a lot for the honors assignment.
My future goal is keeping my A+ in this class.

Artist Statement / Picture

Stanley Kubrick

By: Nate Ross

“A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.” This quote is open ended to me; I don’t think it’s only applied to film. I apply it to whatever I’m working on; I want emotions to come from my work, I want it to be meaningful and I want people remember it. Stanley Kubrick wrote this quote and I admire it as well as him.
Three years ago I was not a big movie fan, whereas my father definitely was. One night he decided that 2001: A Space Odyssey was a movie that I really needed to see. Despite being a bit concerned about its three hour length, I watched it. I was blown away by this movie and I believe that it really opened my eyes to the world of film. I watched this movie over again by myself and I was as amazed as I was the first time. I saw new things and I saw that he really took his time and spent a lot of money getting this movie to perfection. I noticed all of the little things that he added and it made me love the movie even more. The skills that he used for the film really inspired me. I applied them to projects that I worked on and they came out much better because of it. Not only did Stanley help me improve my work life, but he opened my eyes to something that I didn’t care about before. I love movies now, and I thank my father and Stanley’s excellent directing skills for it.Stanley Kubrick is a big inspiration to me, although I don’t know if I want to become a director just yet. He really is excellent at what he does and the ways he does them is what I have in common with him. Mainly how he pays attention to the smallest details that can make something really great, and how he takes so much time trying to make something as best as it can possibly be. I am exactly the same way for any piece of work I am doing.
I may decide one day to pursue that career, but even if I don’t, I think that I really benefit from watching Stanley’s work. I hope to do the exact same thing for future generations. Whatever I make, be it an excellent film, an intriguing book, or an artistic painting, I want it to be as influential as Stanley’s work was to me. I want someone to look at my work and think that even if they don’t want to do exactly what I do, they can do it like me. Although I am not particularly interested in doing the same thing as him, I hope that one day I can create a work of art that is as influential as something from Stanley.

Questions about our writing...

I think that my big idea was most successful in my artist statement. My big idea is basically how you don't necessarily need to pursue the same career as your icon but you can still be heavily influenced by your icon. I think this was easy for me because I feel strongly about it. During this project people were wondering why someone would pick someone such as an actor, or a model, even if they have no intentions on becoming one. I feel that I need to use the concerts not pancakes writing tip for this statement, and I think that this has really helped me focus on making my statement really strong. I've been working on the intro and outro a lot because my first draft was terrible, but I feel that I have improved.

An aspect that's been challenging for me was the continuum. I knew exactly what my continuum with my icon is in my head, but it has been challenging for some reason to write it out. This resulted in people wondering why I bothered writing how I don't want to be just like my icon because that was all I wrote, but it wasn't what I meant. It also resulted in people having a hard time finding my continuum and big idea because I wrote it in a way that isn't very easily seen. I meant to be write what I wrote up there for my big idea. I want to make something that someone will find amazing, and if it's a movie or a song or something, they don't have to become musicians or directors if they really like it. They can see what I did and how I did it and take those skills and apply them to anything they want to. The most challenging writing tip was also the most helpful. The C-not-P tip made me struggle during this project but I really benefited from it at the same time.


Here is what I am currently working on; the outro.

I may decide one day to pursue that career, but even if I don’t, I think that I really benefit from watching Stanley’s work. I hope to do the exact same thing for future generations. Whatever I make, be it an excellent film, an intriguing book, or an artistic painting, I want it to be as influential as Stanley’s work was to me. I want someone to look at my work and think that even if they don’t want to do exactly what I do, they can do it like me. Although I am not particularly interested in doing the same thing as him, I hope that one day I can create a work of art that is as influential as something from Stanley.

1. Does this easily show the continuum?
2. Does this easily show the big idea?
3. Should I get rid of the last sentence?

Icons Loop

Opening - "Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest directors and writers of all time. He was very creative and his movies were very influential. "

Closing - "He is my favorite director to this day, and I hope to one day be as influential as him."

I chose this intro because it shows what I think about Stanley Kubrick. I should probably work on it more because, to me, I don't think it's the best attention grabber. The closing reinforces part of my continuum and closes up again what I think of Stanley.

I think it ties together my big ideas because in the intro I say how influential he is. In the end I say that I want to become an influential person and have great ideas like him. I think that that kind of encases my big idea.

I would like my readers to be thinking of my big idea and how they may relate to it as well. I want them to think about great pieces of work and how they would also like to create equally great creations of their own. I hope that my final artist statement properly conveys that message that I'm trying to send.


ICONS LOOP REDUX

This is my new intro because I hated my other one.

“A film is - or should be - more like music than like fiction. It should be a progression of moods and feelings. The theme, what's behind the emotion, the meaning, all that comes later.” This quote is open ended to me; I don’t think it’s only applied to film. I apply it to whatever I’m working on; I want emotions to come from my work, I want it to be meaningful and I want people remember it. Stanley Kubrick wrote this quote and I admire it as well as him.

This is my new outro, I'm still working on it though

Although I am not particularly interested in doing the same thing as him, I hope that one day I can create something that is as influential as something from Stanley.

American Icons & Resources

Icons
I will use Stanley Kubrick for the majority of my artist statement as well as 2001: A Space Odyssey. Stanley directed 2001 and I think that it shows what kind of director Stanley is and why I like him as a director. Mainly because of the attention to detail he has in the movie, and that connects to me. He makes his actors have many takes because he wants his movie to be perfect, and that also connects to me, I go through many drafts when I'm working on anything.


Resources
IMDb of Stanley Kubrick
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000040/
This will be very useful to me because it has so much information on Stanley and his work.

Wiki page of Stanley Kubrick
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanley_kubrick
This will be the same use as my previous link, but this has more information on Stanley.

American Icon Ideas

Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick is one of the greatest directors and writers in my eyes. I thought 2001: A Space Odyssey was a masterpiece, as well as A Clockwork Orange. While some people find them boring or just disturbing, I think that they are brilliant films. Stanley became an important icon to me when I found my love for movies. He is a genius in my opinion and he represents great films to me.





Samuel L. Jackson

Samuel L. Jackson is one of my favorite actors, and starred in one of my favorite movies. Samuel did a brilliant job as Jules in Pulp Fiction. I love movies and Samuel has always been a great actor in my opinion. Before getting great roles, Samuel mainly played drug users and minor villains in movies. Now he is world-renown and loved by America.





John Lennon
I chose John Lennon as a possible icon because he is my favorite musician. He wrote some of the most incredible songs that really opened my eyes to the world of music. Music is a big part of my life as I listen to it constantly, and John Lennon plays a big role in that. John and the Beatles were originally from Liverpool, England. They moved to America and from then, their popularity sky rocketed. John Lennon inspired America and revolutionized rock.