Experience with blog and photoshop

I thought the blog was a great medium for this project. The format is very simple and accessible. Despite this you can personalize your page as much as you wish. It is also easy to incorporate image and video. For beginners to the Popcycle this is perfect. Creating a website might offer more advanced options though.

I dislike Photoshop because it is so confusing and seemingly inaccessible for those who aren't tech savvy. I used it minimally because of the requirement. Simple photo editors work better for me. Usually all I need to do is remove red eye, crop, and play with color. I can do all those things in Picasa.

Insights

I discovered a definite binary between love of security and comfort and my desire for independance and new experience. I love my family and my home but I feel it is necassary to leave and see new places. College was the perfect oppurtunity to discover a different part of the country. Also I want to join the peace corps when I graduate. However I saw that home is very much a part of my heart, even more than I knew before.

Useful Instructions From the Readings

One of the most important peices of advice I got from Ulmer was to suspend skeptism and have have faith in the process. I'm not sure exactly how he worded it. But just from letting narrative idea's pop into my head I did discover meaningful connections. I definitely didn't discover my ideal career path but I did learn a little more about myself and the patterns that repeat themselves in my life.

Emblem 8

My first attempt at creating an emblem was far too busy so I knew I needed to choose one unifying theme. I chose water because it appeared in many of my narratives. For me it is a symbol of escape and freedom. But I didn't want to ignore another major pattern I found which was hominess and family. I used my epigram to link those two ideas. I also linked them by making my biggest picture one of me and my two best friends from home. All the pictures had a water setting. I also incorporated a little 40's aesthetic with how the pictures are framed.

Wide Image

Morality

I'm not sure how morality plays into my Mystory. My Titanic narrative mentions fibbing which is morally wrong. The major ones are that love and support of friends and family is the most important thing in the world. Also that it is necasarry to leave your zone of comfort and support to find indepandence and discover yourself.

Worldview

It is difficult to nail down one worldview from my narratives. Overall though it is hopeful and optimistic about the world mixed with a desire for Independence and new experiences. There are some negative feelings but nothing overwhelming. There is also the view that authority should be challenged from time to time.

Feelings

I made a list of all the feelings in my narratives.
sadness
rebellion
freedom
independance
optimism
security
claustraphobic
alienation
gladness
hope
loss
love
carefree feelings

As you can see they are pretty across the board. A pattern does emerge however in the juxtaposition between freedom and security.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere from the theme of water is upbeat. It's sunshine, childhood and playfulness. I would like to incorportate the glamourous atmosphere of classic film from one of my community posts. Images of family vacations, sleepovers and my tiny hometown evoke a cozy, secure, loving atmosphere.

Material Attributes or Properties

Water is given a variety of attributes in the different instances it pops up in my Mystory. It is the ocean on a family day at the beach, the setting of one of my favorite song, or a mud puddle to jump in. It's basic properties are wetness, warmth from the sun, blue or clear. Items like the doll, sleepovers, and my family have warm, affectionate, cozy attributes. Walking as well as ocean breeze represent freedom and openness. Theres also an attribute a claustraphobia that comes from being the middle child and wanting to leave a small town.

Embem Post 1 Things

It seems most practical to organize the things I found in my narratives in a list.

Ocean breeze
candy
dolls-madeline
books
moose
rain
sleepovers 2
walks
the beatles
sunscreen
mud puddles
my family
Polyanna

Community Story 6

If there is a single hardcore thing about Littleton NH it is that GG Allin's grave is located here. GG was a punk rock singer famous for the outrageous things he did at his concerts. He was the lead vocalist for a band call GG Allin and the Murder Junkies. His favorite trick was taking laxative and going to the bathroom on stage. After which he would either eat it or throw it at the audience. Charming right?

GG was born in NH to a fanatically religious family. His given name is Jesus Christ Allin. His older brother called him GG because he couldn't pronounce Jesus. His father was abusive and insane so his mom eventually got a divorce and legally changed her sons name to Kevin. But GG stuck. GG was a poor student and was bullied by other kids. It wasn't long before he began to rebel in destructive ways. GG was in jail more than
5o times.

He always threatened to commit suicide on stage. However this is not how things ended for GG. He died of a herion overdose on June 28, 1993, but in typical style he went out with a bang. He was preforming at a small vanue, the gas station, when the power went out. He proceeded to destroy the club then, followed by audience members, led a riot down the streets. He started out naked, covered in blood and feces, but put on a pair of shorts. He then went to a friend's apartment where he took the drugs that killed him. He is buried in a leather jacket and a jock strap. He had a bottle of Jim Beam resting next to him. Fans frequently decorate his grave with feces, used condom, ciggarette butts and liquor bottles.

This is footage of GG on Jerry Springer. It's long but you get an idea of his persona after just a few minutes.

Community Story 5- Public Policy Problem

I'm not sure if this constitutes a public policy problem, but it was a policy that affected me negatively personally. In New Hampshire school buses will only bring you home if you live more than two miles from the school. My house was a mile and a half away. During middle school this was a serious problem. I usually carpooled to school and walked home. Home was the worst though because my house is on an enormous hill. Often I had to walk back and forth a few times a day for after school sports practices and things.

Thinking about this made me realize a huge difference between my life before and after I was allowed to drive. My friends and I walked so much back then! Katie, my best friend, and I would walk to my house after school and have a snack. Then we would walk to another friend's house or to the store for candy or something. Then usually we had cheer practice or something back at the school. That's about 6 miles! If I walked that far now I would consider it serious exercise. I basically freak out if I'm on campus after the buses stop running and I have to walk to Kite Hill, about a quarter mile. But back then walking represented freedom and Independence not exercise or an unpleasant task.

Community Story 4

Another peice of Littleton history is the Jax Jr cinema. It has been around since
1920. The building however is not the original. This is because the theatre has been burned down twice in 1928 and in 1951. When Jack built the third structure he intended to have the finest theater in New Hampshire. He also wanted the building to be fireproof. This is the structure that stands today. It is the only movie theater in our town. It only plays two movies at a time.

On April 5, 1941 Jax JR was the setting of one of the coolest thing that has ever happened in Littleton. "The Great Lie" starring Betty Davis and Fred Astaire priemered here. It was a joint celebration because it was also Davis' birthday. Ten-thousand spectators flocked to Littleton to watch. I love Betty Davis and so wish I could have been there!



I love the aesthetic and clothing of the 40's. Everything was so glamorous and romantic. I might incorporate that style into my wide image.

Community Story 3

Polyanna is called the most optimistic fictional charector in the World. She is the main charector in a book with the same name. She is an orphan who is sent away to live with an old lady. She basically goes around the town spreading cheer and good deeds. Even when bad things happen to her, like becoming crippled, she stays happy and hopefull.The author Eleanor Porter (1868-1920) lived in my hometown when she was a chiild.

This statue sits right outside out public library, which is located on Main Street. It is meant to send a message of welcoming. It is bronze and antiqued made to look historic . However, the statue is not very old, I remember when they put it up. People are encouranges to rub her feet for luck and happiness. Each year in the beginning of the summer there is a "Polyanna Glad Day." This consist of a festival in the library and a lot of grown women dressing up as Polyanna.

Community Story 2

One of Littleton's claim to fames is Chutters. Well, more imporpartantly Chutters' candy counter-- the longest in the world.


The store is located right on main street. The candy counter spans the entire 112 feet of the store. You can find basically any candy you want but they specialize in nostalgic sweets from the past. I remember walking there with my friends many times after school. It's only about a tenth of a mile away. First you have to put on plastic gloves and get a white bag. Then you go from jar to jar choosing what you want. We usually focused on the penny candy.



The store sells classic flavored soda and lots of rustic gifts and house decor. The also have a huge variety of homemade fudge. When you walk in, it almost feels like stepping into the past. It has a very homey atmosphere, This is partly for the tourist who flock there for skiing in the winter and camping in the summer. Everytime someone visits me from college I always take them to chutters for a sweets fix.

Community Story 1

I grew up in a little tiny town, way up in the mountains, called Littleton NH. As you can see in the picture it is practically in Canada. So as you would probably imagine, it is in the middle of woods and nowhere. There was never very much to do. The most happening place in town was Walmart. Well that and the "hick pit" where you can find local kids wearing carharts, spitting tobacco, and talking about whose truck is bigger. There are certainly huge advantages to living in such a sheltered community. However, by the time I graduated high school it was getting more than a little suffocating. Which is probably why I decided to go so far away.

There were only 75 people in my graduating class. A high school that small is bound to suffer from everyone-knows-everything-about-everyone syndrome. The gossip and drama sometimes really bothered me. This is not to say I'm not guilty of a little gossiping myself. But I've realized some good things about it since I've left. With so few students everyone has an opportunity to get very involved in any activity that they want to. Also I got a chance to get to know everyone in my class in a way that would be impossible if there were a lot more people. I think I might want to move back to a town like this in the (very far away) future when I have my own kids.

I chose pictures of my friends, family, pets, and happy experiences to make the collage. These pictures correspond with the heart in the middle because I feel like these are the things that make my heart and keep me strong and grounded in my identity. The pictures look like they are laid out halphazardly, kind of like they are dumped out of a box onto the floor, which I love because I'm very unorganized and I hate being forced to structure the way I do things. I chose the butterfly because as cheesy as it is, I feel like I'm going through a transformation right now, from a child to an adult.

The symbols in the middle stand for different things. The baby tiger represents my education at Clemson, I'm not sure exactly what I'm going to do with it. The flower represents beauty in nature, and the outdoors, because I've always felt very zen outside. The symbols are childish in their design to represent how young I feel and how reluctant I am to be a grownup in the real world.

Felt Post- Stuck in the Middle

I think growing up in the middle of my two brothers has been a large shaping force in my life. I have traits that are like both my brothers, and I often fall on the spectrum. My mom called Ryan a disaster child. She told me when we were little she could never bring him to other people's houses. If he was left alone for ten minutes everyone on their television would be purple and there would be at least three broken things.

My brother Ian couldn't be more different than Ryan. First of all he's a pretty big kid, while Ryan is dainty. I can't think of a better word than that, maybe wispy. By the time I was five, Ian was bigger than me and almost as big as Ryan. Also Ian was incredibly laid back, he was pretty slow to walk, to talk and all those things. For the longest time he would just sit on the ground and make noises until someone brought him what he wanted.

A lot of times middle children feel ignored and have trouble finding their place. I can identify with that to an extent. I was never a joiner as a child, I quit ballet, gymnastics, soccer, basketball, softball, girl scouts, track. Also has a teenager I was pretty rebellious, I think my mom would say I was the hardest to deal with of the three. But since Ryan is six years older than me, and he's a half brother, and I was the only girl, I don't think I have the antisocial traits inherent with "middle child syndrome."

Look at that other picture, of us as toddlers, whenever I'm in a picture with my brothers, I'm making that same face. If you look at pictures when am the same age and alone, I'm cheesing hard.

Forum III Problems with project

I had two major problems with the project. One was that while I was doing it, I really didn't have faith that things would work out the way Ulmer said. I am still a little skeptical that things will fit together or any meaningful patterns will emerge. Another issue is that this project makes up a large part of our course grade. By turning it in all at once, instead of in parts, we don't get a chance to see how it will be graded. Obviously the grading will have to be subjective with this type of project. It's just that usually it takes me a few assignments to see how a teacher grades, what they like, and what they don't.

Forum II My experience

I wouldn't call this an experience one filled with epiphanies necessarily, but then we aren't done yet. It was interesting looking back at my childhood and trying to remember experiences as well as what books and movies I liked. I don't exactly think these have a huge reflection on my life so far, and my eventual path, but again, I guess we'll see. To be honest in the beginning I sort of thought this project was stupid, and I was just going through the motions. It has become a lot more clearer to me though, as I engage with the process.

Forum I Connections

Honestly I wasn't sure I was going to be able to find any patterns when we started constructing the Mystories. Sure enough though one pattern definitely, maybe two have emerged. The first and most obvious pattern is water. I can pretty much follow it through all my posts. I love the mysterious, fantasy sense of the ocean along with the powerful dangerous part.

Water shows up first in my post about the Octopus's Garden, as well as the one about Titanic and two of the childhood narratives. Also one of smells that always lifts up my mood is ocean air. There's something about it that makes me feel lighter and happier.

Another pattern that started to emerge is being rebellious. It starts in the Titanic narrative and I think it is echoed in the choice of the book Madeline. As well as my narrative about playing in the mud.

Entertainment Discourse

If there is anyone in the class that has not read this book, or at least seen the movie I would be completely shocked. Charlotte's Web is a classic. For those who don't know, it is about a pig, who realizes he is going to be made into bacon. Fern the farmer's daughter saved him when he was born a run, and comes to visit at her uncles the farm, but Wilbur is lonely. Luckily he befriends a spider, Charlotte, who comes up with a brilliant plan to save him. To introduce herself she weaves "salutations" in her web.

The Zuckerman's want to cook Wilbur for Christmas dinner. To trick them Charlotte first write "some pig" in her web. The Zuckerman's think it's a miracle and people come from miles around to see. Next Charlotte weaves "Terrific" into her web. Wilbur wins at the state fair in competition with a large pig named Uncle and he is saved.

In the end Charlotte must leavve Wilbur, because it is her time to die. But with her wisdom and the independence she has taught him he should be able to make it without her. He also has Charlotte's little spider babies to keep him company. I think Charlotte's Web is as good now as when I was younger. The characters in at are so adorable and lovable especially Charlotte, who dedicates her life to saving her friend.

Entertainment Discourse

Ludwig Bemelman's Madeline was a series of books and an animated movie, I loved both as a child. It is about an all girl's school. They live in an old house covered with vines where they all break bread together every night. The girls all follow their teacher Ms. Clevell in two perfect rows. Madeline is the only redhead in the group and she is constantly getting into trouble. I'm sure many girls can relate to reading Madeline as child because it is such a classic, I feel like everyone has read it. My children will read it, there children probably will too.

I liked Madeline I wanted to be French like her and I named my favorite doll after her. Madeline wasn't a Madeline doll, she was a baby doll. There was nothing particularly special about Madeline besides that I loved her and took her everywhere. Naturally since I was dragging this doll around everywhere, it wasn't in the best shape. She got left in the rain a few times.

I was out shopping with my aunt and mom one weekend, and like normal I brought Madeline. We went to Frugal Fannies. They have a large communal dressing you. Tons of naked people. Naturally to a child this was both fascinating and frightening. Anyways, I ended up leaving my doll there. When we got home I was very upset. My mom called the store the next day but they had thrown Madeline away. I was crushed.

I think the Madeline books send a good message to little girls. While they do encourage mischief they also teach girls to go against the grain and be different.

Entertainment Discourse-

Gila Monsters at the Airport was a book my father read to me when I was a little girl. It's about a boy who's moving to the West Coast with his family. He is from New York city and he doesn't want to move even in the least bit. He is extremely happy there. He's imagining all about how awful and scary it is going to be there. His friends fill him up with all sorts of stories.

In Arizona he imagines, scary Gila monsters meet you at the airport. He thinks he'll have to take a horse to school and be forced to sit on a cactus. He is very worried that they don't play baseball there. This book is meant to talk to kids about their prejudices about different places. I can see how this book would be a big help talking to your child about moving, being older now I can recognize this rhetorical purpose of the work.

Looking back at the book, I can see why I enjoyed it as a kid. It is easy to read, with only a few words on each of the pages. It sort of lyrical so the works well for being read aloud. The illustrations are also really really great. They are simple but very well done, and so funny. I think I'll probably read this book to my children if it's still around then. I think it has a positive message about acceptance and it also manages to be pretty educational about Gila Monsters and the landscape of Arizona.

Entertainment Discourse-diegesis

When I was younger, probably around first to fourth grade, I love the Babysitter's Club. But I got even more in The Babysitter's Club Little Sister books. They were easier to read and more relate able to me. Kristy was one of four of the 13 year-old girls that made up the Babysitter's Club. Kristy's mother married a wealthy widower named Watson and his progeny and named Karen and Andrew. Karen is the main character of the Little Sister series. Because it's for little kids every story in the series has a moral.

I remember one of the books, the theme was lying. Karen saved her money for new Rollerblades. She finally bought the. The first day she was trying them out, she fell and broke her wrist. When her neighbor asks her how she broke her wrist Karen says she was trying to jump over a family of snails so she wouldn't run them over. With each person she tells the story to her story gets more and more elaborate. She gets herself in some sort of tangle with her fibbing, although what it was about exactly I don't remember. I couldn't find a copy of the book. Finally the story gets back to her father, who reprimands her. Everyone then lives happily ever after.

The only other thing I remember for the series was a girl named Natalie in Karen's class, who had glasses and droopy socks. The pictured book is not the same one with the lying, but it's the only picture I could find.

Childhood Narrative 3

This is a picture of a day that represents an amazing memory of my childhood. it was summertime. I remember my family went to Michigan for a family reunion. That was also the third time I had ever ridden in an airplane. It is my first memory of airports or flying. We were staying at my grandmother's house. I remember her making us breakfast, and feeding my bacon to her dog, Chauncie. I also remember my mother getting us dressed and insisting we stay clean until we get there.

We went to the reunion. It was basically a barbecue/ picnic sort of thing. There were horseshoes and volleyball. I remember meeting lots of relatives, specifically lots and lots of old people. I also remember getting lots of hugs and kisses. For the grownups there was drinking and socializing. For us kids It was fun but there wasn't much for to do.

There had also been flash floods for the weeks proceeding that weekend. The rain had just stopped that Friday Everything was wet and muddy and there were all these enormous puddles. So finally after the reunion was over, my mom took us to a playground. She told us to get as muddy as we possibly could. I also remember meeting that kid with the cast, although I don't remember his name. So we all played for hours and pushed each other in puddles, and covered the slide with mud, kid stuff. Then we went home exhausted and soaked.

Childhood Narrative 2

Some of my best memories as a kid were on the beach. That's funny because it was always a huge ordeal to take me to the beach. I'm pretty pale now and it was worse as a kid. I had to be covered with 45 spf sunscreen, put on a tee-shirt after an hour, then take 15 minute breaks under the umbrella. Other than that though, it was amazing.

We always went to the beach when we stayed at my Nana's house. She lives about five minutes from the ocean, you can either walk or drive. My mom would get my brothers and I up early, and get us breakfast while she packed up soda, chips, sandwiches, towels, beach toys and all that stuff. Then we would all go, I love the feeling of the warm sand on my feet. My brother Ian and I would run into the ocean as far as we could go. Sometimes I would walk along the rocks with my dad looking for seashells and little hermit crabs. If we found one he would let us keep it for a little while, in a bucket.

Then when we were all sunburned and tired we would start packing it up. Ryan, Ian, and I would have to take our sandals down to the waters edge, rinse our feet off and put them right in the shoes. Then we would get in the car, go home, and shower all the sand off.

To this day the smell of an ocean breeze in the air is enough to make me smile.

Entertainment Discourse: The Titanic

When I was in third grade, the big new movie was the Titanic, and it wasn't just big, it was epic. Slowly, everyone in my girl scout troop went to see the movie and it was all anybody talked about. This made me pretty upset because my mother refused to let me go see the movie. She said it was age-inappropriate and she thought my eight year old self would be too sad after.

But as I said before I really wanted to see the movie. I wanted to see Kate and Leo fall in love, a very large boat, and froze corpses floating in the ocean. So I hatched a plot.



My best friend Brianna and I were planning a sleepover coming up, one where we went to the movies. Of course, her mother wanted to get permission from my parents before going to the movie, because of it's rating. So I thought ahead and asked my dad, whether I could go, he was pretty oblivious to the ongoing controversy. He happily called Brianna's mom and told her it was fine.

So the day finally arrived and we went to see the movie. I never got to see the drawing scene, I think we took a popcorn or bathroom break during it. We weren't even old enough to understand what was happening with the car and the sweaty hand business. I was old enough to know that Leonardo DiCaprio was the cutest boy I'd ever seen.

All did not end well though. That night I couldn't sleep and was crying about seeing that frozen baby in the end scene. I wanted to go home. So her parents called my parents and I was completely busted.

Entertainment Discourse

I've always loved The Beatles. In there music I can always find something that's relevant to my life. It makes me feel understood, like I've just had a long conversation with my best friend over caramel lattes. My dad always used to sing the song Octopus's Garden when I was going to sleep. Then, it seemed like my special story about a fantasy, under- water world.






I still really enjoy this song. It's very relaxing to listen to. I think it also connects to something that my be a pattern in my life. Escape, the song is about a place where you can escape the authority and mundane activities of normal life. I think this desire to escape is why I enjoy reading so much. When I was little I loved going for walks in the woods in my backyard. Whenever I found a little clearing I thought it was a fairy bedroom. It also connects with the pattern of water. I love rain and swimming, I've spent the last six summers life-guarding. I will try to follow this patterns in future projects

Micro-narrative #1

Now, I know that this can't possibly be my own memory, since I was too young when it happened, but it's been told to me so many time I swear I can remember it. It was the middle of the summer and my family was driving North for a camping trip. We were driving from Massuchusetts up to the mountains of North Conway NH. The drive was about two hours, we left around six after my parent's got out of work so the sun was setting during our ride.

My father was driving and my mother was in the passenger street. I was strapped into my carseat in the back, my brother Ryan, who must have been about seven, was sitting next to me. We were almost there when my parents noticed a cluster of cars pulled over on the side of the road. They were out of there cars looking at something, my mom and dad must have known what it was. It was two moose, a mama and a baby. I don't know if you've seen a moose but they're HUGE and very majestic looking. People were gathered around, being as silent as possible snapping photos without the flash so the wouldnt scare the magnificent creatures.

My family carefully got out the car, my dad grabbed the camera while my mother took me out of the carseat. I'm sure Ryan had to be told "hush!" a few times, he was a fairly hyper-active child. Everyone was in awe of the moose until suddenly I said my first word "Pu-ppy!" and scared the two moose away. Despite the fact that my parents were extremely excited and proud of my accomplishment we were forced to make a quick exit. People were not too excited about us ruining thier authentic New Hampshire experience.