Adaptation

 The movie Adaptation that we watched in class is based on the non fictional book "The Orchid Thief" by:Susan Orleans. The main character in the movie was known as Charlie Kaufman played by the actor Nicholas Cage.  In the movie, he has a lot of problems stacking up on him.  He has a really low self esteem, and when he tries to talk to women he ends up messing up.  He at the moment had to start writing a screen play for the book "The Orchid Thief" but is having a hard time writing it.  He wanted to change the way he does movies normally to a different style for this book.  As he goes on he realizes that it's harder than it seems and can't get himself to come up with anything.  In the movie he has a twin brother named Donald Kaufman and he was on the other hand a complete opposite of him.  He became a screen writer as well and became successful  on the first one he wrote and had a girlfriend as well.
The way that this movie represents imagination and reality is the way Charlie thinks about how things are going to happen in his mind, but when he tries to make it work it goes against him.  On the other hand, his brother tends to do the same but it goes right for him, and the reason for that is that Charlie has such a low self esteem and believes too low of himself.  As they go on they talk and figure out their true difference, which was that one cared too much about what others believed, and the other didn't care at all.  The way his brother Donald thinks about things is that he doesn't have to worry about everyone else thoughts and it works out for him, while Charlie stresses himself out just thinking about what they would say of it.  Donald's imagination turned into reality because of him believing in himself and having a positive outlook while Charlie's imagination troubled him too much of how peoples reaction to him would be.

Painting Description

The Furniture of Time
Yves Tanguy (American, born France. 1900-1955)

1939. Oil on canvas, 46 x 35 1/4" (116.7 x 89.4 cm). James Thrall Soby Bequest. © 2012 Estate of Yves Tanguy / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
1256.1979

In the painting "Furniture of Time" you see an image of several pieces of furniture scattered around in an open area.  The painting is Oil on canvas like several of the other paintings and it isn't that small.  The pieces of furniture that are on the painting are kind of hard to see but when you look closer you see a small bench and some chairs that are just shaped differently.  the color of the floor that the furniture is on is a straight gray color, making the color of the furniture pop out more.  The furniture is colored in several bright colors and makes it pop out more.  The furniture are casting shadows and if you look more to the back there seems to be more furniture at the back of the painting.  The painting uses a lot of depth and you feel as if there is no limit to your view.

The reason I chose this painting was because it stood out to me the most out of all the others.  Most of the other paintings where impressive as well, but i think the depth of the painting and the colors it used made me get more attracted to this painting.  The painting here is hard to understand but I don't mind the extra work I need to understand to be able to see the true meaning behind the painting.

Blog Post #4 Street Car named Desire

Blanche seems to be extremely self-conscious about her appearance to others.  She cares a lot about what people think about her and wants to fool people about her age.  She tries to do everything to keep her age a secret and doesn’t like to be in the bright light so that her face can be revealed.  Stella says, “And admire her dress, and tell her she’s looking wonderful.  That’s important to blanche.” (21).  Blanche doesn’t like when light shines on her face because she may think that people will be able to tell her true age if light shines bright enough.  Blanche says, “I can’t stand a naked light bulb, any more than I can a rude remark or a vulgar action.” (38).  Blanche cares a lot about what people think about her and makes her really self-conscious about her appearance.

 In the story A Street Car Named Desire one of the characters named Stanley is a bad husband to Stella.  He verbally and physically abuses her throughout the first scene.  Stanley says, “Stella! Hey, there, Stella, baby!” Stella then says, “Don’t holler at me like that” (6) He then tosses a package of meat at her and leaves to go bowling.  The next day, they have a poker game at Stanley’s house and his wives went out.  Later that evening they arrive and they go into their room while the guys play poker and an argument starts later on because of Stanley being drunk.  He then strikes Stella and it turns into a big scene and she went to her neighbor upstairs.  Stella says, “You lay your hands on me and I’ll---” The stage direction reads, “Sound of a blow struck behind the door.  Stella cries out.” (40)

Final Draft My Goals Essay

            1:  Goals have many different meanings to people.  Personally, my definition of a goal is to achieve that first, for it to be a stepping stone to the bigger main goal I have.  My goal at the moment is to have a minimum of a 3.5 GPA by the time I graduate in 2013.  Now, like most goals, to other people it may not have a meaning or it may not sound as important to them, but we all are different and have different goals that we want to achieve.  It all depends on how much effort and time the person is willing to dedicate to that specific goal so they can make what’s in their imagination a reality.
2: Like I said before my goal was to have a minimum of a 3.5 GPA by the time I graduate in 2013 and that goal to me is a huge step in my future goals.  The reason for me to get that average is for me to be able to transfer to a good 4 year college.  If I have a good enough GPA, I can get accepted to a good 4 year college and get my bachelor’s degree.  Once I do go to the 4 year college, it will be a lot more expensive than what it is now at a 2 year, so I will need more money.  A good way to get money would be to get an academic scholarship, and I would need a good GPA for that so I can get a good amount of money. Of course making this goal possible will be a hard thing to do and it will take a lot of work to accomplish it.
3: Personally, I have never been good in school academic wise because I tend to have bad study habits.  A lot of the time, I may not have time to complete assignments and exams, so I tend to rush and just try to get it finished as fast as I can.  I need to be able to make a time outline to get things in order so that I won’t have to do everything at the last minute.  Starting my work earlier and concentrating more in school will help me out a lot so that I won’t feel stressed out and panic out leaving me unable to do anything at all.  These are problems that are going to arise during my years in college and I have to learn to develop them.
4: As I go along, the work won’t get any easier, so I have to learn as quickly as possible and adapt to being able to manage time well.  The work will get more intense and it will make it hard to keep up with the work especially if I’m taking multiple classes.  There are many ways to solve this problem and the main one is to be more concentrated in school.  Taking notes and participating more in class will help me understand what I need to do and what I’m learning, making studying and homework assignments a lot easier to do.  It all depends on how much effort I put into making myself a better person overall.  Being able to make these changes will allow me to act better upon other problems that may come forth as I continue on to my main goal.
5: My goals are extremely important to me, and I will continue to pursue these goals until they are all accomplished and I am satisfied with myself.  The goals here will not only allow me to reach my main goal, but as well turn me into a better person over all.  Setting goals for yourself is a helpful way to keep yourself motivated to do the right thing, and pursue something special to you.  My goals help me reach my dream job and get me the education I need to do it.  It keeps me motivated to continue on struggling with whatever life may throw at me because at the end I know what my result will be.

My Short Term Goal

            Goals can be described in many different ways to other people.  Some people may consider it an achievement, others as a step towards something bigger along the way.  My personal goal is to get and keep my GPA at a 3.5 or higher by the end of the semester.  The goal may not seem as much, but for me, I have never been much of a good student to begin with and my grades have always been sluggish.   It will help me in the near future and in the long run as well for me to keep my GPA at a high average because of me needing to stay in school to continue my education and be successful. 

            I understand that goals can’t be accomplished overnight and I have to work hard to it.  I can’t just wake up and check my average and have that 3.5 that I want.  I have to be able to progress in school academically and be able to do everything I can to earn my grade.  Mainly what I would have to do is to complete all my assignments on time, pay attention in class, participate, take notes, and do well in tests.  Then again it’s easier said than done, so I know I will struggle in doing all of those things since I’m not fully used to it.  I think I can make it all happen as long as I am determined to do it and have patience and believe in myself to do it.

            It plays a huge roll in how things will turn out for me, even though as it may not seem as important.  If my grades go down, I can be in academic probation and I won’t be able to pay for school.  If I can’t get my education and graduate, I won’t be able to pursue my main goal of being a psychologist.  With my average up, I can qualify to transfer to better schools, I can get scholarships, and be able to graduate on time and get things started faster.  Yes things may not be as easy as it sounds, but all we need is a bit of a push and dedication and we will be able to do it.