AMNH

I was more excited to visit this museum with my class than the library, because, well...it's a museum. However, due to train traffic, I showed up 65 minutes late...I didn't see anybody from my class. I did see a really large globe with smaller globes around it. I thinkit represented the planets compared to the Sun. Only it didn't look like a sun, it was just a simple but solid structure. And also because inside was a theater so it probably looked cooler and more detailed from the inside. I don't know for sure because the entrance was closed as well as other sections of the museum.

Thats what that reminds me of - cancelled television shows. A lot of special tour in the museum were closed or about to be closed within the next hour or two. Like television, sometimes tv shows just get cancelled for no reason - news or sports and other crap. I didn't care, but there were TONS of children there - it was almost packed. I think I was the oldest student, there until I Ron... Well, Ron left, I walked around for a while, then quickly got bored. I did, however, bought some desk mats - 4 of them - the ones that I used to have when I was a kid so it was sort of a "throwback" or nostalgic feeling or whatever you call it. I also took some pictures of dinosaurs......then left.

New York Performing Arts Library

I was sort of excited to be somewhere else besides the classroom, like being with the class in the city. Well, that is until we entered the library. As I followed the class into the place, I thought I might see something worth taking pictures of, that's why I brought my camera. However...there was nothing exciting, only books. Books of old russian music notes was on the second floor, so was books on motion pictures, which is the only thing there that I found interesting. So interesting, that I took my time to open the book and read it. It was cool. I didn't even go past that floor or the next one, within the hour I just left with some of my fellow classmates and walked around the city. That was fun. The one thing that I didn't see was books on television, or specifically, late night television. (I just want to mention that next Monday, June 1, 2009, will be Conan O'Brien's first day as the tonight show. I watched some behind the scenes web videos, and they are as funny as I hoped it to be) That could have really helped with my final project. Oh well, I'll just google it.

A Vision Of Students Today

I think the main argument in the viseo is that technology isn't always helpful, but instead causes students to be lazier compared to students in the 19th century. As some of the message shown by students on loose leaf paper or laptops like the the one that says that they bring their laptop to class but does not do any class work or doing all assignments on Facebook - it makes them look to dependent on technology. Plus, the scene at the end of the video where the teacher is using an actual blackboard instead of a computer, has to move around to write a message. Isn't that better for everyone?

S1M0NE

About this movie...its kind of corny. However, it does have an interesting plot - a man creates a virtual actress, fool everybody into thinking she's real, decides it's getting out of hand and tries to delete the program...and gets arrested. Hey. The funny thing about it is that audiences go batshit over her, a complete obsession, no matter how purposely crappy her movies are, like "I Am Pig" What the hell? Anyway, it was funny because it reminded me of today's society where everyone is blind from what's really going on - the truth. What is the truth , I don't know, I'm sure other in our class do.

Research Project

I am really interested in watching late-night television and the associated talk shows on the local networks; CBS - David Letterman, Craig Ferguson; NBC - Jay Leno, Conan O'Brien (the best), Jimmy Fallon (the worst); FOX - Spike Feresten, an unknown writer who worked as a writer for the shows "Saturday Night Live", "The Simpsons", "Seinfeld", "Late Night/Show with David Letterman" and "Space Ghost Coast To Coast" - a parody cartoon talk show; ABC - Jimmy Kimmel. These are the entire talk show host on network television. Comedy Central, a cable channel, has a talk show with Jon Stewart, "The Daily Show", and after him comes on "The Colbert Report", starring Stephan Colbert, a correspondent for Jon Stewart until he had his own spin-off.
I want to talk about the different sections of late night programming like Letterman, Leno, Conan, and Kimmel. The first part is the monologue, a stand-up routine where the host talks about currents events and makes jokes about it. After the monologue, the host walks to his desk and continues to talk about some current events but also perform a comedy skit with some of the shows performers and writers. The skit may or may not have to do with current events, but it usually does. Then, after the comedy act, two separate celebrity guest come out for an interview in front of cameras and a live audience (which I've been in three times on Late Night with Conan O'Brien). Sometimes the first guest would stay for the second interview, but most of the time they leave, probably due to tight schedules. On Conan's show, sometimes there would be a comedy skit in between interviews or during them, the latter seems to be the funniest. When all the celebrity guests have been interviewed, a musical group performs, of any band that the either the host or the producers chooses, and is usually a current band. Sometimes the group leader of the band would come to the hosts’ desk and sit down next to it for a brief interview before the end of the show. This is the standard procedure all late -night television programming, however, each show varies in how they present them, with different writers and performers and with a different host, each show is different. Most of the time, issues discussed in interviews have to do with current events, the hosts’ stand up monologue, and the celebrity guest sometimes only appear on the show to promote their new movie that they’re in or trying to sell something. Musical guests are common, but sometimes, instead of a music group or solo act, there is a stand-up comedian, usually an unknown. Less commonly, instead of celebrity guest, they could be a cook or a chef, or an animal trainer, bringing live (sometimes dangerous) animals. It always provides entertainment.

The Uncanny

Sigmund Freud descibes "uncanny" as somrthing that is familiar but different. This kind of feeling causes something called "cognitive dissonance" where you have two paradoxical feeling about a oject, idea, or a person. A very interesting subject. A good example of "uncanny" would be if my dad, who has facial hair (mustache and trimmed beard) suddenly shaved everything, his mustache included, it would be a very strange feeling for me because I have NEVER seen my dad without a mustache, exect in pictures when he was in high school, and I haven't seen him without a half-beard in over ten years. If I were to see now, without any facial hair, he would look a very different person, even though I've known him all my life. It would be a very uncanny experience.

Open Your Eyes

This is a little late but, I watched, or, we, the class watched Open Your Eyes, a spanish film remade as Vanilla Sky, starring Tom Cruise. As a film, I enjoyed it, it was interesting and engaging, and made me think about certain themes that was discussed in class...because Jason us to. Themes that I found that were similar to other films were Questionable Reality (ok, I made it up, but it sounds legitamite), where the main guy seems to be living in two different worlds, which makes us more confused, but interested. I'd write more but I can't think of anything, sorry.