See It While You Still Can

This article is about a photo exhibit thats now in St. Paul's Water and Oil Gallery.The exhibit is all picture of animals that are in danger because of global warming. Some of them are even local animals. I think this is really cool because who knows, it may be the only oppurtunity you have to see these animals. It's a cool idea behind the exhibit, owner James Davidson said, "We're all about trying to crate an image of a slower life, one that's more connected to nature." This is something they feel strongly about and they are portraying it throught pictures. This connects to class because we have been working on connecting images to human emotions and descovering what different aspects of pictures create. This article was really cool at if you're at all interested in endangered wild life or global warming I would encourage reading it. Also I think the exhibit sounds really cool.

Ward, Bill. See them while you still can. StarTribune.. October 31, 2008. .

Photo Analysis

Funny Pictures: How to Capture Humor in Photos

I read an article about how the take funny pictures. This article give you many good ideas on how the take a funny picture. It advises to play with camera angle, even try and take some centered shots because they can be funny. Also it explains how to change the sizes of objects in the shot to make it more humorous.
It did bring up one thing I thought was surprising, "The truth is that most great photos first come as an interesting idea and then the photographer sets up the shot." I thought that was very interesting.
It also mentions bringing your camera everywhere and taking pictures of kids because they seem to be the funniest :). I think this article is really cool because it shows a different side of picture taking. When learning how to take good photos we tend to think of the beautiful scenery or emotionaly moving frames, but comedy is just as important. It is difficult to take a good humerous shot and I thought it was really cool to get some tips. I would advise reading this, especially if you are looking at expanding your picture taking.

Miotke, Jim. “Funny Pictures: How to Capture Humor in Photos.” BetterPhoto.com. 22 October 2008 .

Where the Sidewalk Ends

I used to love reading silly poetry. Every other year, at my old school, we had to pick and poem, memorize it, and then perform it. I would spend a lot of time picking out that "perfect" poem, so over the years I have acquired quite a few children’s poetry books. Today I was reading through one of my favorites by Shel Silverstein. I found a poem I particularly like called “Where the Sidewalk Ends”, in her book Where the Sidewalk Ends. Ironic I know! This poem caught my eye because it reminded me of the turning point in Siddhartha’s life so far. The poem describes the “end of the sidewalk” as being a bright, pleasant place. It is where you want to end up after being on the dark, smoky sidewalk. This aspect kind of reminded me of Siddhartha because just as the poem says, “Let us leave this place where the smoke blows black…” (8), he left his old way of life which now seemed to have less meaning and moved on to a new life. The “end of the sidewalk” also reminds me of Nirvana. The end of the sidewalk is the ultimate destination; you can go no further, just like enlightenment is the end all for shramanas and Brahmins.
I really liked the poem because it makes you stop and think. There are so many different areas of life you can apply it to. Even though the sidewalk ends, the poem doesn’t really allude to that being the end of everything. It’s a pleasant poem, but still makes you think about the downer sides of life. I would definitely suggest reading this poem if you like poetry and poems with meaning, still said in ways children can understand. I think the childish side of the poem almost adds depth to it. It makes you see it from the eyes of an innocent child, or makes you think about how you were when you were younger.

“Silverstein, Shel.” “Where the Sidewalk Ends.” Where the Sidewalk Ends. New York HarperCollins Children’s Books, 1974.

news article blog

Palin vs. Biden: A cordial but scrappy face-off

This article is about the political debate between vice presidential candidates. It gives a bit of insight onto what they talked about and describes it as an overall friendly debate. This article to me really shows and describes journies in modern day. Both of them are fighting for the White House and are trying to win their "battle". Also both of them have come very far to be where they are. They had to go through a lot in order to get chosen as a VP candidate. I think it's really cool how you can look at how far they have come, but also how far they have to go, especialy if they get elected. Once elected it seems like they have reached their destination but really, at that point, and journey of Vice Presidancy is just beginning. I think this is an article worth reading if you're at all interested in politics or what could happen in our country after the next election.



"Bumiller, Elisabeth." "Cooper, Michael" "Palin vw. Biden: A cordial but Scrappy Face-off." Star Tribune. 1 October 2008. .

answer to question 2

2. Is Odysseus a hero for modern times? His lies, pride and murderous ways can be considered metaphors for larger, universal truths. Or perhaps in these modern times we need to redefine what we want in our heroes.

Human nature: the psychological and social qualities that characterize humankind ("human nature"). These qualities can be found in any human no matter who they are or what era they come from. In Homer's The Odyssey it becomes apparent that Odysseus is considered a great hero. After the great Trojan War, it took him 20 years to return home. He is distracted by many trials, some more honorable then others. When Odysseus arrives back home, disguised, he asks a cowherd and a swineherd what they would say if he were to tell them their great king is back. They rejoice at even the idea and it becomes apparent that Odysseus would be greeted by some as a hero. He knows all the things that happened on his journey home, but is not about to reveal them, longing to be thought of as a hero. Later Odysseus goes on a rampage and kills all his wifes suitors. He does this out of anger and spite because he is home and his household is filled with men courting his wife. Penelope finally discovers that it is her dear husband home again and rejoices. She equally as overjoyed that her suitors have been murdered. This great slaughter is seen as heroic in the eyes of the household. Odysseus can get away with murder and deciet but still be seen as a great hero.
In our day things are a little different. A massive random murder is not as likely to be looked on favorable, let alone heroicly. Our image of a hero has many of the same characteristics as past heros, but it eliminates the grusome and lieing sides. Our heros are still strong, couragious, and detemined, all traits also found in Odysseus. His journey home took him 20 years. It was a long hard journey with many trials. He went to the underworld, and also spent time with many women other then his wife. When Odysseus arrived home he was looked on as a hero by his family. He had done great things in their eyes and overall returned home. All would agree that it is heroic that he even got home after a war like that. When looking at the big picture his hero traits are the same we would see today. Although he did massacre a large amount of men at one time, it did it out of love. His household was being corrupted by these suitors and he was brave and stood up to them. After the battle his son, wife, and servants were all overjoyed that the suitors were gone forever. In our society, not exactly in the same context as a massacre, we would look at someone with that amount of love and courage to be a hero. He stood up for his cause and took care the situation. In modern day a hero would have handled it differently, but with the same essential motives.
Its true that Odysseus had a somewhat dirty and corrupted journey home, but at least he got there. He did have traits such as pride and deception but also possessed courage and love and bravery. The things he did would seem a bit rash to people now, but the reasons behind them remain heroic.




"human nature." Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. 02 Oct. 2008. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/human nature>.