Born Into Coal

Watching this documentary was extremely eye opening. I knew nothing about the mining world before this documentary, the only time I have ever heard about coal mining is when something has gone wrong. One of the main reasons this documentary was so powerful was because it didn’t just show random people of a coal town what they thought about the lives of coal miners and their families, it went straight into the homes of the people who live in the coal world day-to-day. The way they filmed the documentary also had an impact, for instance, there were side interview, which was a great way to get the opinion of one person at a time and allow them to truly show their feelings on the situation, but also the tracking shots, where the camera would film the family’s interactions with one another while there was a voice over talking about how their daily lives are different than others. Another important part were the statistics that were shown in text throughout the documentary, that allowed me to truly see the danger that these men are in everyday when they go to work. When they showed the coal miner going to the doctor to get checked for black lung, and he was only slightly concerned as to whether or not he had it, because it is more rare to not have it if you are in the mining business, this was shocking to me because in the area I live in if someone I knew was diagnosed with something as devastating as black lung, they would be beside themselves. The whole documentary flowed nicely mainly because many of the times when people were speaking it was a voice over which made the transitions between scenes fluid. 

Shark Tank Speech Review

In preparation for this speech, I had mapped out exactly what I wanted to say, I wrote down different ideas for intro's, multiple facts and fun ideas that would add the the importance of this group of people. One important thing that I realized through watching my speech on video is that I could use more preparation. I should have practiced my speech more so that when I was in front of the class I didn't need to use my notecard. When I looked down at my notecard I became absent minded, and although I was reading my key words to talk about, I could not think of what I had thought about saying, this led to awkward gaps, and ultimately took away from what my speech could have been. I could have also gotten in touch with the leaders of the SAB so that during my presentation I could have mentioned specific events that we could do the documentary on to show that there is enough time to successfully complete a study on this group. Through viewing this speech on video I have been able to learn my strengths and weaknesses and am now able to realize what I need to correct and work on.

Questions I Hate Answering...

One thing that many people don't know about me is that I come from a "blended" family, meaning my parents are divorced, remarried, and have added more children to the family. Although I love my entire family very much, even as large as it is (4 sisters, 3 brothers), and I mostly do enjoy explaining to other people about how everything works. However I always get those random and cliche questions about step-siblings and step-parents, "Is your step-mom nice?" "Do your parents still hate each other?" "Do you like you step-siblings?" These questions are the most annoying questions to answer, not because of the questions themselves, but because of my answer following them. My parents were separated and divorced by the time I turned one, therefore I only know how to live a life where every other weekend and once during the week I am part of my Dads family, while every other day I live with my Mom and Step-dad. The reason these questions are so difficult to answer is because no one will understand that I call both my Step-father and my biological father "Dad", that my "step" siblings and I treat each other as though we were blood, and my Step-mom and I are the best of friends. People see "broken" families on TV or have seen real life situations that didn't turn out so perfect, which is where these questions come from, and after I answer them the best I can, and make the most sense of what I am trying to explain, I, nine times out of ten get to sit back and watch the confused look on their face when they try to process my family's situation.

TED Talks

I watched a video by Joe Kowan called "How I beat stage fright". Although this seems to be a simple speech by the title, it was much than explaining how he solved his problem. During this video, Joe shares a personal story throughout the entire speech which is one reason why I was so intrigued, I wanted to hear the end of his story. One main quality that his speech has was his relatable topic, there is not one person I have met that does not have stage fright, therefore his audience is just about everyone. Another characteristic of this speech that I enjoyed was that I wasn't watching a video that was just a man talking and telling a story, he was joking, singing, and expressing his personal issue's that he was having at that very moment. You could tell that he was nervous on stage, while talking about how he beat his stage fright, but he continued to joke, and mostly make fun of himself, that the more the audience got comfortable with him, the more comfortable he got talking in front of them. Listening to this speech was exciting, Joe Kowan seemed to have an outgoing, but yet awkward personality, that made you want to listen to what he had to say because there was no way of predicting what exactly that would be. Because this was a more lighthearted topic, Joe did a great job with adding in a couple jokes here and there to lighten the mood and grab his audiences attention, all the while sharing a personal, and rather serious life experience. http://www.ted.com/talks/joe_kowan_how_i_beat_stage_fright.html

Detroit vs. Everybody

While reading Detroit vs. Everybody, I was completely unaware of the condition the city of Detroit is in. As I saw the first few pictures Rembert had  included, I too was discouraged. Being from a nice neighborhood right outside of Pittsburgh, I now realized that I have been living in a bubble. I have been "protected" from the world around me for so long that hearing about another city being in such a devastating state, is almost impossible to believe. The best thing a person can do to truly experience their surroundings is to observe, maybe engage in small talk with the locals, definitely ask questions, and explore. Rembert seemed to do all of these things, which he then used to produce this article which not only brought a new outlook on the importance of Detroit, but also raised awareness to what many citizens have been living with on a daily basis. When I think of cities in America I think of busy streets, diners and fancy restaurants fully packed every night of the week because the residents of that city want to experience the "city life" as much as possible. I think of parks filled with young families, single adults walking their dogs, or the occasional old couple that talks their walks around the pond to show everyone what life is all about. However, in Detroit, the streets are empty, houses and miscellaneous buildings are filled with trash and signs of lost hope instead of happy loving tenants and customers. In an odd way, even though all of these rather tragic events have happened to the once boisterous city of Detroit, there are still moments of beauty and joy, which is why Detroit is still on the map. The art that has taken over most of the city allows people to have an imagination, which may be one of the reasons why some people just can't let go of the city. Looking at other pictures and articles about the city, it is easy to want to root for the underdog, a city that is considered on of the largest in the nation, and known world wide as the "motor city", its hard to forget a place like that. http://www.destination360.com/north-america/us/michigan/detroit

Bodies of 2013

The fact that Wesley Morris uses the story of his sick mother to intensify this article is what truly kept me reading. From personal experience of having a sick mom, I too can identify with how he was feeling, seeing and accepting the changes that are happening in a negative light, and then looking at the world we live in only to realize that people in the public eye are overly concerned with self image. One thing to remember is that taking care of your body and your health is one thing, but to go to extreme lengths to lose weight or get your picture on the cover of the magazine because you have the "ideal body" is absolutely ridiculous. In todays world it is all about what celebrities are doing and wearing, saying, or singing. Morris was 100% on point when he talks about all of the nudity in pop-culture in 2013, it reoccurred so many times that watching certain music videos felt uncomfortable. The confusing part of the celebrity nudity is that Miley Cyrus hangs nude on a "wrecking ball" and gets majorly criticized, the thing that many people don't know is that Miley later stated that her nudity had a deeper  meaning than just showing off her self confidence. http://tenorbuds.tumblr.com/image/60978290832

However, when a respected artist such as Beyonce, appears naked, or close to it, she is worshiped because she is an older woman, new mother, and wife to famous rapper Jay-Z, who can do whatever she wants because "she's still got it"…but what does that mean? What does she still have? If its self confidence, well many other women could use that same excuse but be scrutinized instead of complimented. I think that Katy Perry put it simply when she talked about the whole idea of nudity is becoming too common, and as she said that she is guilty of showing her goods, she knows that showing her body off all the time is something that just isn't necessary, because eventually, people will stop caring. The issue with magazine and movies is they compose this unrealistic "person" that everyone is trying to look identical to, for instance the 5'8'', 110 pound model who has perfect hair, perfect skin, and not one flaw. That is impossible, no one looks like that, not even the girls who are on the covers of those magazines, with all of the technology today half of the women on the cover of magazines are just a collection of multiple women's faces formed to make the perfect cover girl. http://on.aol.com/video/models-on-magazine-covers--a-shocking-photoshop-transformation-518027543