Not So Much of a Break

Like the title of this post suggests, this has not been much of a break. Not to complain, but I need to go on a little rant. Because of the holidays, work has been pretty short, so I have worked, and am working tonight, all five days of break. That's 40 hours, nonstop. Yeah I'm glad I'm getting more money because I'm working more than scheduled, but I have been a horrible student. I have not touched any homework.

As far as this paper goes, I really don't think I have much to fix except adding more sources, however I could be totally wrong. We haven't gotten any feedback on our drafts yet, so I'm not quite sure what I need. Peer reviewing didn't really help me out much, so hopefully Monday I'll get some guidance. It's really hard to go back and find sources to match knowledge you have. Dr. Kyburz recommended I use my text book, but honestly, we never use our textbook, so that's still going to be somewhat of a challenge.

Also, if anyone out there is reading this, I've decided to use Star Wars and their cloning of Jango Fett as a VERY sci-fi example of the fear of genetics and cloning. I would just like to know if that's a common example people can relate to, or if it's totally out of context.

This Paper.

Writing this paper has been quite the struggle. I know everything I want to say, but I'm just not quite sure how to say it.

There are so many things that I could bring to the table when talking about genetics. Do I just do fear and science? Do I only detail the debate of religion and genetics? Do I do both, and if so, how do I do it effectively? This paper should be quite easy because it's mostly summarizing, but I still don't even know what sources I want to use.

Honestly, I had no idea I would be so unmotivated to write this paper. Ever since I've been in genetics, and especially after the release of the church's statement regarding the ALS foundation and stem cell research, I have been so headstrong and ready to write a paper on the topic.

Perhaps it's because the end of the semester is nearing and there are so many things I need to do, like write a formal lab for my genetics lab, that I'm struggling so much with prioritizing and work and time management that I just do not want to write. However, I will, because genetics is something that I am passionate about, and even if Dr. Kyburz is the only one in my audience, at least I've had shared something I like with someone.

Legen. . . Wait for it . . . Dary!

In the most non horrible student way, when I found out we had to post two blog entries a week, this is all I could think of. I recently just watched the whole series of How I Met Your Mother, and realized it was the greatest show ever! Do any of you guys watch the show? How did you like the ending?

Do Sweat the Small Stuff Rant

While reading "Do Sweat the Small Stuff," written by Mark Bittman, I was slightly conflicted. I suppose it would have helped to know that he is a food journalist prior to reading because when he was talking about going to a book signing to talking about food, I had no idea where he was getting his words from. Also, for some odd reason, I read his article in the voice of David Foster Wallace as he gave his "This is Water" speech that we read earlier in the semester.

I really understand where Bittman comes from when he says, "the more difficult the question, the shorter the answer." It's so hard to answer a question that takes a lot of thought without spending too much time on that question. Just like when people ask me what I plan on doing after I graduate, I could talk for hours about what medical school I plan on attending, and how I'm still on the fence about becoming an osteopedic surgeon or a forensic pathologist. I may even talk about the difficulties about choosing an M.D. or D.O. However, I normally just say I'm going to be a doctor and end it there. I'd much rather prefer to be asked things like, do you feel prepared for med school? or, do you have any specific graduate schools in mind? That way I can narrow my response down to one specific subject.

As for changing the food system, I also believe it is going to take a long time and be a hard battle. Changing our relationship with food is what is going to be the change. We cannot blame McDonald's for obesity, especially child obesity, because we are the ones who are buying their food and allowing them to stay in business. GMOs are bring in money, but we can stay away by eating organic. It's simpler to change the way we eat than to change the way food is regulated, and it is far more efficient.

MM Screening Reflection

After the screening of my video, I felt proud of my work. However, I though there were ways that I could have made it better, like spending more time on the project as a whole. I just hope the class was able to enjoy the video since my topic was a little melodramatic and not something everyone can relate to. Sure a lot of people like to read, but maybe they do not feel as strongly about books as I do.

I enjoy making videos, especially since I've been getting better at using Windows Movie Maker. In my psychology class, a group of friends and I made a video on the topic of the bystander effect, and we put in clips of our own videos and voice overs, with the addition of music too. I did most of the editing, so this project was fairly easy for me.

The feedback I received from Dr. Kyburz was helpful because the next time I do a project like this, I can put more research into it. This way I can really raise a question loosely based on my opinion instead of making an argument solely with my bias.

MM Video Project

Here is a link to my most recent video for the project:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDFeTwtbBDo

Multi Modal Reflection

1. For the multi modal project, I have chosen to make a video using audio, text, and images. The audio I chose was the song "Young and Beautiful," performed by Lana Del Rey for the movie The Great Gatsby. This song fits what I'm trying to express because the images chosen are mostly covers of F. Scott Fitzgerald's book, The Great Gatsby. They show how the cover ages and is re-illustrated, but soon taken over by technology. The text in the video is used to transition the images.

2. The editing platform I used was Windows Movie Maker because I am fairly familiar with the program. When I was finished editing the video, I uploaded it to Youtube for easier viewing.

3. My concept is the over ruling of reading books by technology. I was inspired to create this video when I was talking about reading to my family and realized that no one in my house reads, and if they do, it's almost never from an actual book. I myself like the feeling of turning pages, so it's strange to see people prefer the use of tablets for reading. My fear is that books will no longer be something that people want because it is so much more convenient to have a bunch of files on a tablet rather than a large bookshelf. Also, the song inspired me because not only is it from a movie rendition of one of my favorite books, but it makes me think that the book is asking, "Will you still love me when I'm no longer young and beautiful like the new technology?"

4. I feel that my project can be better by taking out some images that I now realize I do not want to use, for instance an empty library. Also, using image transitions rather than letting the pictures abruptly change will allow a flow of information.

After Innocence and Documentary Writing

The documentary that I chose to watch was After Innocence, directed by Jessica Sanders. As it follows the stories of eight men, the film shows the beginning of the use of DNA evidence to exonerate free men. As a student in biology in this modern day, it was so hard for me to grasp the fact that DNA evidence was not as conclusive as it is now, because back in the 80's when these men were in prison, forensic analysts were just learning how to use it. Watching the injustice done to these men really tore my heart out. What angered me most is how much it seemed like the prosecuting attorneys were just trying to cover their tracks of being wrong rather than fessing up to the mistake they made that cost someone their life. I am really into forensics and how biology can be used in the criminal justice world, so this film gave me a perspective on how flawed something seemingly absolute can be.

By writing summaries of Christo's Valley Curtain and After Innocence, I feel like I have a better understanding on how to tell a story without adding my personal bias. Not only does this skill help me write summaries of films or stories, but it also helps me write my lab reports, which cannot have any personal additives. Also, in writing a lab report, I am essentially summarizing what I did for the specific experiment. This helps be understand the value of these projects.

CVC "Rubric" Reflection

Critical and Creative Thinking: 3. Ability to summarize a text clearly

Writing the summary of Christo's Valley Curtain, a short documentary directed by the Maysles brothers with Ellen Giffard in 1973, really taught me how to turn something black and white into something abstract. I had a hard time adding detail to my summary because when I think of writing a summary, its short and sweet and hits all the major plot points. Well, that is not exactly the way it should be done. Also, I am the type of person who prefers words on paper, so watching something and trying to get detail was difficult. However, once I was able to piece the story together in a way that made sense, I was able to make a summary that I didn't feel terrible about handing in.

Genre Knowledge: 1. Ability to write appropriately regarding the situation

Since we were writing a summary, we were not able to write our feelings, give meaning to the scenes, or write about why we liked a specific detail. For me, that was kind of rough. I found myself going back right after I had written a sentence to change it due to the analyzing I did. After a while, I felt as if I was doing okay without adding my opinion, but with a project like Christo's, it was hard not to. It was also difficult not to applaud the theatrical aspects of the documentary, like the way the directors used similar sounds to transition between scenes. Now that we have completed this project, I feel a lot more comfortable writing more summaries without adding my own thoughts.

"This is Water," This is Great

"This is Water" has got to be the most meaningful video I have ever watched. The speech alone was brilliant and moving, but the addition of the clips guided me to understand it for what it was. I loved that David Foster Wallace was able to take such a simple concept and turn it into a whole world of questioning. Of course he wasn't necessarily trying to make me question life, but how could I not? This video really made me think of all the times I have dreaded on such small things and felt that I was the only one annoyed with the situation, when I'm truly oblivious to everyone else. There is now an understanding that I am not alone in the boring, routine life that is going to be mine after I graduate. To be honest, I wish I could have heard this speech in person for myself.

First of all, just the introduction with the fish alone was enough to make me appreciate the video. Wallace was right when he explained it's the obvious that we are blind to. I also loved the video segment of when he was explaining the average adult days. The alarm ringing, the shower head, the coffee brewing, is that was life is going to be? It made me realize how easy my life is since it is not terribly routine. However, if life is going to be that routine, I might find it hard to get out of that default setting.