Cultural Video Project

Barcelona is the squatter capital of Europe. More than 100 squatters have been evicted, but at least 300 remain. The squatter population is due to the major housing crisis the Baecelona is having because owners are opting to rent to tourists instead of residents. As a result, many buildings stand empty when it is not tourist season. But they enjoy a large amount of public sympathy, which makes it difficult for authorities to weed them out. The squatters fill the empty buildings and create a community for the other residence where before, there wasn’t one. The squatters in La Makabra, the building with the photo of the tree painted on the building, decided to smarten up during their occupation, and complained that the owners had deliberately let it deteriorate as a prelude to speculative re-development of the site. Locals were pleased to see the empty factory occupied, and brought them food parcels. This is also the group that held the “Naked Protest”. The protesters stripped off their clothes and invaded the platform as the mayor was presenting a new cultural policy for the Catalan capital back in 2006. They grabbed the microphone and shouted to the public: "The city hall has stripped us bare; but culture will not be evicted."

While doing this project, I made a point to go around and visit ever old squatter home I could (my professor mapped them out for me). Most were either repainted or destroyed and not worth photographing but the active one up the road is still bright and beautiful. Just like with the cave dwellers, these are a people I would want to get to know and possibly move in with. Then, architecturally speaking, it is fascinating to see how people take ownership of a space, especially when artistic people are involved

Professional (architecture) Video Project

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox9mEJQp-8s

just a link until youtube allows me to post it here...

Now I’ve told you all about the legitimate cave dwellers in the above video but the ones not so legit. On the opposing hill from Albaicin are the caves of the squatters. No one knows who exactly owns the land but in the past thirty years it has slowly been taken over and populated by foreigners and squatters. They slowly carved out their own caves from the existing ones but, unlike the caves in the Sacromonte neighborhood, these do not have running water or any sense of formality. In essences, it is perfect. As a dirty hippie at heart, the prospect of living underground without modern comforts speaks to my idiom. Walt Whitman would be proud. He was a transcendentalist who used the clarity of nature to explain the mysteries of our universe through his poetry. He would spend years at a time, isolated in the forests of America contemplating and writing. While this is a little kooky, there is some merit in his method. Nature is inherently perfect and so, by default, it is the perfect influence for any creative process. This is why I believe firmly in Bio-Architecture. From caves to cob to recycled materials, focusing on nature as our source point for architecture will only benefit us in the long run, such as demonstrated with Eden Project done by architect Nicholas Grimshaw. This is where the project truly speaks to me. While taking photos and exploring these hillside homes it has reaffirmed my own architectural idiom. 

Personal Video Project

So climbing, where to begin. Well we can start with the specific kind of climbing I do is bouldering. It is a kind of climbing that focuses on individual moves or short sequences of moves. It is very unlike traditional climbing or sport climbing, which generally demand more endurance over longer stretches of rock where the difficulty of individual moves is not as great. Also, one key difference is that there are no ropes. There for it requires much more technique and initial strength over endurance along with ingenuity. The routes for bouldering are called “problems” and that is exactly what they are, problems for the climber to solve. And this is where the awesomeness of the community comes in. when climbing, especially with bouldering; there is always a gathering at the base of the route/problem with people who are working it. They give each other beta (advice) and try and work the problems out together. There is no real competition, only friendly, and everyone wants to see those around them get better and reach new heights, literally.

In Spain, I have had the exact same experience with climbers as I had at home. First, when I was trying to find the tunnel, some found me wondering around, led me there, and really took me under their wing. Ed and I came really good friends, he speaks the most English, and we even found a few American friends for a few weeks (they are the ones I interviewed for the project). All-in-all climbers are awesome. That’s all there is to it. 

CLAM 10

so i have been bouncing ideas around for a while now about what exactly my "documentary" should be about and it has not been and easy decision to make. i've danced around with multiple social and economical issues, such as the squatter population and La Rambla touristic terror, but none have captured my heart as much as ROCK CLIMBING and the community it includes. Climbing, or more specifically bouldering, is an activity i already enjoy back in the states. But, being able to continue doing it here and finding that the community of people are just as, for lack of a better word, cool and friendly with anyone has truly been my best experience here in Spain. it is for this reason i want my final project to be a documentary on the climbing community and the relationships that blossom from a common passion. my only regret is that i will also be climbing through out Europe and will be staying with other climbers (compliments of Couchsurfers.com) but it is not until after our final project is due.

CLAM9

My photographic idiom is all about the marco. I love revealing the smaller universe around us and show new angles on the world that we live in that would otherwise go unseen. Some of my favorites are of nature and flowers looking up to monumental piece of architecture. It really messes with your sense of scale but also is an interesting commentary on the odd mix of nature and the city that we currently live in. Usually, I try to leave out people so that I have complete control over your since of placement in the photo but that is not to say it can’t still be done. Another one of my favorite photos was taken recently when I was slacklining with my new Barcelona friends. It is taken directly up the slackline pointing at Ed. The lines on the slackline shoot you straight at him but the angle is such that he appears to be a giant balancing on the end of this massive rope! All-in-all I just enjoy messing with people and shoving new ideas and perspectives at them, whether they like it or not.  

new places new friends

this past week i've made friends with a local climbing guy Ed and his friends. we found each other on my tumblr when i posted a question to "Fuck Yeah Climbing" desperately trying to find a local climbing tunnel (its a revamped traffic tunnel on Montjuic made for rock climbers and boulders). Ed was the one answered my desperate plea for help and since then we have become fast and good friends! expanding my circle and becoming friend with locals is a more rewarding experience then i ever thought it would be and i cant wait to see what happens in the next few months!

this is from one time Ed and i slackligned in the Citadel Park

CLAM 8

This photo was taken while I was on my class trip to Toledo, Spain this week/weekend (note:that is why my last blog post was late because I only had my iphone with me) and I believe many of Mr. Wright’s “rules” can be applied to it. First of all I had to get down and dirty in order to get this shot. I was bent over, knees in the mud, and hanging over the edge to a 50ft castle wall all in pursuit for this shot. Needless to say it was a bit beyond the call of duty Mr. Wright called for but we sacrifice ourselves for our art. There are also the angles of the composition for this photo that’s, while I was hanging on for my life, were all very carefully constructed. The transversing line created by the rock wall itself stretches from corner to corner creating a tile to the image. But this is then balanced by the heavy green moss and reaching blades of grass on the far right. There was also a considerable amount of shots before and after this one all taken at different angles and with different settings. With this final product I ended up using a wide angle lens, my macro setting on high, and a neat filter that comes on my camera names “pin hole”. It  is a reference to an old style photography in which light was let in from a single tiny hole in a box onto film in order to create a picture. Pin hole camera’s are extremely easy and affordable to make now-a-days but I prefer my little setting on my digital camera, at least for now.  I wouldn’t particularly say the lecture was helpful, any art or art related major should already know a great deal about composition or basic photography, but it did help me explain why I take photographs to way I do.

Here are some of some photo I took this fall on my film camera that I am quite proud of: 

CLAM 7

Part 1:

First off I would like to start with the disclaimer that I have not eaten at a McDonalds in over 3 years and am no expert in the flavor or quality of their food but, judging from the home pages, it seems Spain has us beat by far on health meter. On the American page, the first thing that is presented to you is the NEW Angus BBQ and Beacon Burger! Big, juicy burger, dripping with sauce stands proud, front and center on the home page for the USA with a tiny wrap peaking out around as if to say “hey remember me? I’m the healthy guy!”  While on the Spanish side of the cybernetic pond, the primary image is a chicken wrap displayed proudly and boldly! There isn’t even a hint of a burger until further down the queue and even then, they are nothing special. It’s sad but this only furthers the stereotype that Americans are fat, lazy and want nothing more than to chow down into out overly processed and artificially flavored food.

A second and off topic observation is the amount of design and work that was put into the Spanish website over the American one. The USA page sits on a single large image that is completely un-interactive with smaller advertisements along the bottom and a sidebar which is the only part that is navigable. The Spanish page, on the other hand, has a clickable and scrolling image wheel in the center that not only directs the user to more on each topic but also makes fun sounds when used! It also had click-able text along the top and bottom of the screen to allow for more navigation throughout the site. All-in-all, a much more heavily designed and thought out layout then the American one (but that can also be said for Spain in general over America).

Part 2:

The advertisement I chose was one in our resident hall’s paper Medi Campus. So off the bat we know the kairos is obviously college students because they are the only ones who can/would read the paper. Beyond that, the advertisement depicts upcoming events such as and Avril Lavine concert and a few movie premiers, obviously fun events that are coupled with the balloon-like design of the display together invoke feelings or merriment and fun, thus the pathos has been discovered. The Logos also follows a very logical approach along the lines between each fun event to a single point which is you the reader. You have access to all of these fun events that are coming so SEIZE THE DAY and go out and have fun! So finally we approach the ethos, we are young, stupid, and still have time to be crazy to WHY NOT?!?!?!? Below is ad in question but also a video clip is from one of my favorite shows Misfits and Nathan demonstrates my point perfectly!! (please excuse the language, I couldn’t find one that had been censored but hey, its British tv, they don’t do that kind of lame stuff  anyway)  

will people please just SHUTUP AND LEAVE ME ALONE?!?!?!

One great thing I miss about America is that people don’t talk to you when you don’t want them too. People will just mind their own business and walk on bye.  Maybe you will get a cheerful “good morning” or “hey” but that only happens in the South and if there had been a decent amount of eye contact beforehand. Here there is a constant bombardment of “TAPAS? TAPAS?”, “Hey Girl”, “FREE SHOT? FREE Shots?”, random men constantly trying to sell me crappy beer, and the all-time-favorite “HEEEEEY SEXY”. Most evenings I hide out in my room, not in fear but out of sheer annoyance of those who keep trying to talk to me. I am this close (*holds up fingers extremely close together*) to punching the next one in the face! Sorry that this is a rant but it’s getting to me because I can’t enjoy my evenings because of these men how harass me at every turn! I’m extremely close to breaking someone’s neck or arm, which ever I can get a hold of first. So watch out pushy men because I have done that before! (breaking someone’s arm I mean)

CLAM 6 (not 5)

This week I believe I will take up the issue of “Nietzsche’s typewriter”, or just entire “Google is Making Us Stupid” article in general because, as an avid reader and computer enthusiast myself, I cannot relate to Mr. Carr in the slightest.  While I do skim most articles and sites inspecting for only the facts I need, it is not the same as curling up with a good book and becoming lost for hours on end dragon guarded castles. The difference lies in the mind site and level in which you read the two. When you’re browsing the interwebs, what you find could be interesting, boring, fun, amusing, filled with adorable kittens or just plain stupid. The fact is that we don’t know and so we skim though things to see if the knowledge is useful of interesting and if so, we read on. If not, we move on and the mental anguish is lessened (what doesn’t help is most of the time we are doing research on the internet it is for, example, school work and so we want to get it done as fast as possible so we can return to more fun activities). But there is a mental shift that happens, or should happen, when you change from information download to something actually enjoyable, such as a book, article, short story, or whatever tickles your fancy (note: information download can also be considered interesting reading because, sometimes, learning about something completely new can be just as engrossing as a trip to Neverland!). We stop doing a key word scan and begin to FUCUS on what is being said. There is a different level of commitment to the word and interest quota that needs to be filled in order for it to be worthy of our full attention in this modern world. The key thing in all that I am saying in “INTREST”. I never disagreed with Carr in that we do read differently then we use to but we are in no way losing our reading abilities. If anything, the internet has refined them! We can sort though fluff faster and get to the meat of the material or, if it pleases you, you can slow it down enjoy it. Carr and his War and Peace friend just need to find more interesting material to lose themselves in because, frankly, War and Peace was boring the first time around and why he would want to read it again is beyond me. I guess that is where Carr and I differ, I know what I like and have no problem absorbing myself into the words. He might need to do a little searching because what he is doing, obviously, isn’t working out.

Now to relate all of this to the topic for this blog, Captain Obvious and I had a great little chat over this quaint little story over poor blind Nietzsche and his typewriter today. Of course his writing skillz increased when he switched mediums! It so much of a pain to correct the tiniest mistakes on a type writer over just scratching it out and going on with pen and ink, especially when you can’t see (I know all of this because, despite my lack in moons, I have used a typewritten and I have heard many a horror stories from my mom and her college days when she had to retype entire pages from one mistake and a lack of whiteout). I would not be surprised he didn’t have the next four chapters laid out in detail in his mind (in addition to an outline of the entire work) before composing the first sentence. It saves time, money, and unnecessary labor hours and it bettered his writing. But Nietzsche is right, “our writing equipment takes part in the forming of our thoughts”. Just as how the internet has shifted our reading to scanning, it has also changed our writing, in most cases. We are now exposed to more writing styles which we can emulate or take inspiration from and we can produce it faster thanks to the magic Microsoft Word and its spell checker (one of which I am most grateful! I’m a horrible speller). As a side note I believe the internet has also turned us into bullet point writers but that is another topic for another day and for when I feel like writing more.

As a whole, it is obvious that the internet has changed the way we deal with information, whether its reading or writing, but what Carr and other have to realize it’s a domino effect. You can’t change the way you deal or do one thing without changing or influencing how you do another. As the neurological portion of the article said, our brains are constantly changing and developing, even as adults and so, frankly, Carr should, frankly, stop being a baby and learn to focus and read again. Preferably something appealing to his particular idiom.  

GREAT SUCCESS!

hokay so, every tuesday night for the past 4 weeks we have been having a pot luck dinner here in lena's and mine dorm room. the rules are simple bring a plate, chair, utensils (optional), a chair, and a dish of your liking to share. we started with a modest 7-10 or so people but last night we doubled our numbers and crammed 20-odd people into our room! but its a good change, we have expanded our family to include the texas kids and that means, more people= more DELICIOUS FOOD!!! (and forging new friendships and all that jazz.) it goes with out saying but ill do it anyway, Pot Luck is my official favorite night of the week!! 

super bowl... SPANISH STYLE!!!

as everyone knows, last night the Steelers played the Packers in an Epic Battle to the Death for LOVE, GLORY, and HONOR in a contest of Strength and Will known to all as the Super Bowl! but lets not talk about the game right now, because, honestly the Packers were the only ones that brought it. lets, first, talk about that disaster of a half time show!! now ill think you to the yahoo news article that completely thrashes the Black Eye’d Peas preformance but i want to talk to you about Slash’ and Fergie’s short snippet of “Sweet Child O’ Mine” that was not only random but it  also destroyed that song! (and not in the good way!) sorry Fergie, honey, but you need to stick to your cheesy, repetitive Pop and leave Rock alone! While her voice was screechy, Slash didn’t bring much to the table either.  he seemed bored the and the whole performance had no energy until Usher fell from the sky and began to dance! 

now for the Spaniards, or should i say the tons of British/UK-ians that showed up for the game and the handful of Americans. It was interesting hearing brittish accents replace the the voice of my mom (she gets really into football) yell at the tv. but the best part was explaining rules like the difference between and incomplete pass and a fumble when the “bloke had the ball in his hands!” i think they thought i was a football goddess by the time i peaced out (after half time because A) it was 2 in the morning and B) i couldn’t stand Fergie any longer).

all-in-all i think the over all game experience here, while different, was still exceedingly FUN! though i do have one final beef and that is we didn’t get to see any of the COMMERCIALS!! oh well, that just means i get to spend the majority of my time in studio today on youtube! :P

yahoo article

im so easy

so i saw this jif on my tumblr and so i then proceeded to spend the next 4 hours watching A very Potter Musical and the SEQUEL!! needless to say it was a prefect Saturday night wasted here in Barcelaon! (wtf is wrong with me...oh thats right im a dork :P )

clam 1-5 reposted

CLAM 5

My family and I have hosted 4 different exchange student, all from different countries, all at different times, each with their own questions, and I still cannot answer for you what America’s/my own culture is.  Sure we each do things differently, have different manners, eat different foods, and most likely dress a little differently but there is so much more to culture then that! Our celebrations, customs (note I do know the list in the previous sentence is included in this, just let me finish), and traditions, I feel, have become lost in America. Sure we have Thanksgiving, The Fourth of July, and so on but those have been taken over by commercials and money and, while both of those are a huge part of the American culture, we have lost their original significance. On The Fourth we are suppose to, yes, celebrate our independence but also remember and commemorate those how died for it and the huge significance of what our, a few rag-tag colonists, beating the power house of the time meant to the rest of the world! But what do we do, get drunk and buy fireworks to shoot at our friends. Then for Thanksgiving, we are suppose to remember our red skinned friends and the time of thanks when they saved our butts that first winter (and my own family consequentially, we can trace back to the Mayflower, the Brewsters family, fun stuff) but what do we do? We stuff our faces with turkey and then watch a parade, football, and, in my case, a pumpkin chunk’in contest!

But our loss is even greater than of the failure of our own holidays. Try and sing for me right now one folk song? Something not from the radio. Come on, anything? How about something your Grandmother use to sing? Or try this, how about a dance or two? There has got to be something? An old gig or old tune just waiting to come out? Wrong. As Americans, we have lost so much of our traditional and folk past because we are so focused on the commercial, the newest and greatest things we just forget and push the past aside like it doesn’t even matter. I mean my little brother has 4 different kinds of iPods for PEATS SAKE and he is still begging for an IPhone! I’ve been doing a lot of soul searching in college (not spiritual stuff or religion stuff, just finding out about the greater world and how it pertains to me) and one thing I found, with help of my boyfriend John-Michael (aka he told me about it) this festival that takes place in Black Mountain, NC called L.E.A.F.(Lake Eden music and Arts Festival). It’s a music and arts festival for everyone (families and pot smokers) and they focus on preserving the folk heritage of American (other countries too). It’s a hippie fest to end all hippie fests, believe me, that has music, folk and not, and contra and swing dancing all day and well into the night (for those that don’t know, contra dancing is an American folk dance that is a lot like square dancing but much more lively and a ton of fun!!).

This is not a pitch for everyone to go to L.E.A.F., I just mentioned it because it has really helped me to discover about myself culturally. I live in Tennessee but my Grandparents (mom’s side) grew up less than an hour (and that’s in mountain time, anywhere else it would only be about 20 minutes but mountains roads are so winding and twisted) from where the festival is held its like I’m learning about them and their past, and thus about myself, every time I go. I know what you’re thinking, why don’t you just them to teach you themselves. Well heart breaker alert. My Grandmommie has Alzheimer’s disease and she can’t really talk about this stuff anymore but she does sit in her chair, sometimes, and sing old songs from when she was a girl and it’s like I can connect with her because I actually know the songs too Granddaddy is a different story, he is healthy but was in the military. A general and all that jazz, he doesn’t dance but he sings along too sometimes.

Sorry that this didn’t turn out how the assignment was supposed to turn out but would you want something that wasn’t the truth? This is my view on American culture; that we have lost that parts that really matter. 

here are some photos of LEAF so you can understand (all mine)

CLAM4_ out of all the lectures, videos, and links we had fo rthis assignment, these 3 images stuck with me.

Refuge Destination

Refuge Origin

International Immigration

it just blows my mind how the usa can have one of the largets international immigration population but have next to no refugees! are we not a land of prosperity, opportunity, and freedom?! what ever happend to “Give me your tired, your poor,Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free;The wretchedrefuse of your teeming shore…” (The New Colossus). i mean its on the freaking Statue of Liberty! an iconic symbol for everything our country stands for and we don’t even abide by our own promises. the more time i spend abroad, the more i realize America needs a serious overhaul and in more ways in just this. but i will save that for another rant later. peace.

CLAM3_

CLAM2_YAY guess what, for assignment dos, I get to brag about my adventures in online communities and everyone get to see how much of a dork I am. Oh joy. Well, first of all, this is my first blog ever because I don’t believe in putting everything about me out there for everyone to read. It’s just not my style but this kind, just about my travels, is acceptable because it’s more of a record of my adventures and stories that I would otherwise forget. Personally, I prefer more anonymous forums such as 4chan (yes j-m I’ve spent time on there even though u warned me not to) and then other places where you can talk to friends or people with common interests. Discussion boards on redvsblue(the best internet show ever!) , facebook (obviously), and a couple others that really talk about random stuff are a few examples. I even dabble in a bit, or a lot, of online gaming and chat with my guildies (woot World of War Craft!). There are also some games like Mine Craft and ye olde RuneScape but they are all just hobbies. Call me crazy, but I do prefer HUMAN interaction. You just can’t properly express sarcasm via text; this post is a perfect example. So, in the immortal words of the internet, kay thx bye.  

CLAM1_Since this assignment is late anyway, I’ll make this post short and sweet. Well, maybe not so sweet because, to be completely honest, I believe this class is a complete joke. I mean, during the “tutorial” on blogging, which was horrible in its self, I seriously got RICK-ROLLED!  Don’t get me wrong, I know I appreciate this class because it keeps me responsible in recording our adventures, otherwise I would forget about “An Act of Desperation” or Lena’s and mine “Lemon Red Pepper Stir Fry”. I just wish they would cut out all of the fluff and stop trying to be hip on everything. In a perfect world, we would have freedom of our keyboard to write what we want and they would just keep us responsible and up to date, not make us blog about blogging (which is stupid and redundant). 

ps i am super excited about our final project! i already have my topic picked out and everything!!!