(#6) The End

1.) This semester in english 15 was interesting to say the least. Being an engineering major, I was initially frustrated that I had to take the class in the first place. As if it isn't hard enough to get my chemistry, math, physics and whatever other 3 million classes homework done, now I have to write papers that I probably will lack interest in. This was my initial assessment on taking english 15. This initial assumption was immediately proven wrong within the first week. While sometimes I found the papers tough to write, they always managed to teach me a little bit about myself. I've always been interested in the arts and with that I love to draw things. I say things because I myself usually have a tough time making out exactly what my creations are. Having taken this course I came to the realization that I was extremely narrow minded about  the definition of art before. I've now come to the conclusion that art is essentially what you think it is. No one is technically correct, making it so that no one can actually be wrong. My perception on art probably would have changed somewhere down the road, but I like to think I will be a better person having gained an understanding for it this early. I figured at the beginning of the class that the papers we would told to write would be these boring research papers that no one would ever read and ever care about. Again, to my surprise I was wrong. WIth the writing of the memoir, I gained an understanding of family and the love that exists therein through my own writing and experiences. It's as though it was there the entire time, but it took writing about it to figure that out. The next paper was the visual analysis paper. This may have been the single best paper I have ever written. The parameters of this paper allowed my creativity and thoughts to flow in a manner I had yet to experience. I have always considered myself a decent writer, however, I would only ever do what I had to in order to get by. I now realize that I completely undermined my potential and I regret that. Moving on to the research paper. I absolutely hate research papers. However, this one was the exception. Allow me to write a paper on one of my favorite bands and speak my mind, sign me up. I was stoked to write that research paper. I never thought stoked and research paper could go in the same sentence. In the end, I learned more about myself by simply writing papers than I ever thought possible. I can't say enough good things about english 15 or my lovely teacher Ms. Squillante. I know that I will feel a bit of sadness not being in this class next semester.

2.)
http://danalandis.blogspot.com/2012/02/first.html#comment-form
http://chelsea-quinn.blogspot.com/2012/02/here-goes-nothin.html#comment-form
http://ew4acm.blogspot.com/2012/03/my-take-on-art.html?showComment=1335728905459#c8770925288704620844

3.)
I COMPLETED MY SRTE's!!

(#5) God of War 3 review

The climb to the summit of Mount Olympus is no simple task for a mere mortal. However, with rage and vengeance coursing through his veins, Kratos will overcome any obstacle and kill any man, god or creature that stands in his way. In the end, there will only be chaos.

“God of War 3” has managed to surpass the awesomeness that was God of War 1 and 2 with flying colors. The graphics are nothing short of astonishing. Never has the blood and gore of a video game appeared so real. The game places you right beside Kratos in every battle, eagerly awaiting the next opponent. With every ork, ogre, siren, fury, gorgon and god you slaughter, you are left with nothing but a taste for more. Whether it’s tearing the head off of Helios (god of the sun) or ripping the legs off of Hermes (herald of the gods), you never quite reach your fill.

God of War 3, being the sequel to God of War 2, begins with Kratos and the Titian, Gaia, ascending Mount Olympus with the ultimate goal of killing Zeus (King of the Gods). Unfortunately, when they reach the top of Mount Olympus, Zeus is ready for them and outdoes them in this first battle. Kratos and Gaia are knocked sent hurling down Mount Olympus. Gaia manages to get ahold of the mountain half way down with Kratos on her back. Kratos needs her help in order to survive, but instead Gaia betrays him and sends him to his death at the foot of the mountain. Kratos wakes up in the realm of Hades (hell) and is forced to kill the god in order to get out. Once free, Kratos continues his ascent to the top of Mount Olympus where he seeks vengeance with Zeus, killing every creature, Titian, and God along the way.

To my knowledge, this epic game has only one downfall. You (Kratos) are awarded a myriad of weapons throughout the game, of which, you cannot decide what one to use. All of the weapons have different strengths and are unique in their own way. The possibilities are endless and yet they are so overwhelming.

In my vast experience of gaming I have yet to encounter a game with the ability to keep my interest throughout the entire story. God of War 3 easily kept my attention with its excellent story line, in depth character development, awesome graphics, and overall badass style. All I can hope for now is that the producers at Santa Monica Studios create a sequel to this masterpiece.

(Art Event #2)

This is definitely one of the top five most repulsive things I have ever seen in my life. My love for those awesome little Cadbury Creme Eggs has been forever ruined. On the other hand, I have often wondered what it would be like if those eggs actually contained some form of life. This little display of "art" has left me wondering no more. In fact, I will probably try to stay away from those eggs from now on. I did however enjoy the artists various types of lifeforms located inside the eggs. While all of them appeared similar, none of them were the same. I found myself focused more on what little creature was going to come out of them next rather than my ruined childhood. This was overall a cool project and is now scarred in the back of my mind.

Looking into the next link with the "Patton Pottery," I found a pleasant surprise. Pottery crafted in the shape of human faces! Thankfully this managed to take my mind off of the horror that were the Cadbury Creatures. I have seen faces on pottery before, but not this good or as creative. To me, all of the faces resembled that of old people, some wise, some happy, and a lot of them a bit crazy.

(Art Event #1)

On friday April 6th I attended a cultural event at the Eisenhower auditorium. The speaker that night was Aron Ralston (yes, the guy who cut his own arm off). His story is a very interesting one that,in the end, taught him more about himself and his ideals then he could have ever imagined. In summary, Aron was out climbing canyons by himself, slipped on a rock, and managed to get his hand caught in-between the canyon wall and a huge boulder. He managed to survive down in the canyon for 127 hours before amputating his arm, allowing him to make his escape. With the exception of the some gruesome details, the event was excellent. Aron puts you right next to him in the canyon as he retells the hardships he encountered and life lessons he learned. He talks about the capabilities of the human body and the value he now places in his family.  While I could never relate to the situation Aron was in, I was able to find a commonality in his thoughts on family. He talked about how he was a loner and while he did not resent his family, he never spent as much time with them as he should have. Aron Ralston is an amazing person with an even more amazing story to tell. If you are lacking motivation or think your life is/has been tough, I would suggest listening to Aron talk. You are bound to come away with a different perspective on life.