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.