A Safe Haven in the Blogosphere

Continuing with our series of guests who have visited our HNR 340 class this week was Melissa McEwan, the mastermind behind the blog, Shakesville. She has been blogging for about the same time as our blogging expert Lance Mannion and it became evident to me how bonds over the internet truly can transfer over to real friendships. Lance and Melissa seem like the closest of comrades and almost as partners in crime. I received the impression that they have similar views of the blogging and internet world and have bonded over this, but I could be wrong.

Melissa brought a different perspective than our other speakers. Her blog is a safe haven for people who have felt prejudice or hatred towards them. Melissa accepts everyone and wants them to feel like they have a voice. In creating this safe haven, she has had to go through extensive filtering of comments and endure criticism from others. During her visit, Melissa said “I don’t want to be a part of hurting people,” which I thought was spot-on. Too often people go out of their way to hurt others and it makes me feel good that Melissa goes out of her way to counteract these people and do the exact opposite.

Another great thing Melissa brought up was that oftentimes her readers do not understand when she doesn’t address certain issues or topics. She said that she does not feel comfortable writing about something she has not researched. I often feel that in our society, people talk about issues without really being informed. They just say things. We could use the prime example of Representative Todd Atkin, who publicly said that the female body can stop a “legitimate rape” from leading to a pregnancy. This just defies any anatomical explanation and could have easily been prevented by looking into scientific facts. Now this is an extreme example, but Melissa is onto something. Arguments and debate should be backed by facts.

To conclude, Melissa’s visit was extremely enlightening about a different flavor of blogging. I think that she is using her blog for good and to help make this world better than when she started. Melissa is truly an inspiration and it was an honor having her in our class!

Welcome to Zombieland

While flipping through channels on Halloween with the goal of finding a not-too-scary yet festive movie, the movie Zombieland fit the bill. Although I have seen Zombieland before, it has been quite awhile, and it honestly was just as pleasurable now especially in the context of Halloween. The movie has heart, gore, and obviously, zombie-slaying. One thing I love is how this movie not only shows the aftermath of the apocalypse, but also gives insight into where the characters were before it all went down.

Zombieland is a movie about four characters who are trying to survive when everything has fallen apart due to unexplainable circumstances; these circumstances being the zombie apocalypse. The characters are not referred or introduced to each other by their names, but by the city where they are from. Each character has some sort of mission— computer-nerd Columbus (played by Jesse Eisenberg) is trying to reach his hometown to see if his family is still alive, con-artist sisters Wichita (Emma Stone) and Little Rock (Abigail Breslin) are heading to an amusement park titled “Pacific Playground,” which younger sister Little Rock reminisces about from her childhood, and Tallahassee’s (Woody Harrelson) main two goals are to kill zombies to forget his pain and find a Twinkie. The characters’ lives become entangled as they seek to accomplish their goals.

What I love is how the story is not entirely about zombies. Yes, there is always that overarching theme, but the plot becomes about the interactions and feelings between the characters. The contrasting ideas of “banding together given the circumstances” and “trust no one” are both very present, which reveals more about human nature than zombies. I really felt that I was able to put myself into these characters’ shoes, even though I could not possible understand what it feels like to try and survive flesh-eating creatures.

The interesting thing about Zombieland is that the zombies are used as more of a comedic effect. The zombies are depicted as stupid and brain-dead, which makes every action they do funny. The make-up is very over the top and gory, which makes them seem ridiculous. Tallahassee especially has no fear of the zombies, and in every fight against them he is visibly happy. This is an issue that is used in many horror movies, video games, and books as a scary effect, but these zombies are used more for funny one-liners by various characters and ridiculous fight scenes. I thought this was an interesting take because the zombies are always a threat in the background, but the real drama seems to come out when characters reminisce about their lives pre-apocalypse and come to the realization life is never going back to the way it was before.

This movie really shows how you can make the best of even the worst possible situation. It is a very human movie in the respect that the characters realize all they have is each other. It gave me hope that maybe in the event of a national crisis, people could band together and have human connections as we do now. And although the setting of the movie is a zombie apocalypse, it is more the story of how four characters survive with the help of each other. If you are looking for a crude, funny, action-filled, ironic movie, Zombieland is the movie for you. You may even want to watch it just for the rules of how to survive the zombie apocalypse that pop up throughout the movie. You know, just in case.

A scene from Zombieland
Left to Right: Wichita, Tallahassee, Columbus, and Little Rock
Photo credits

The Ever-Spinning Globe

An upper view of the Heroy Geology Building lobby featuring my favorite globe
Photo Credits: The Daily Orange

I am sitting in the atrium of Heroy Geology Building, just staring at the ginormous globe that spins over the entranceway. It keeps spinning around and around and never ceases, just as our world does. Although this building mainly holds science classes, my Intro to International Relations course was taught in this very building, and has been, as my professor stated, for 14 years. So to most entering the building, the Earth spinning above might have had some sustainability or science context, whereas every time I looked up at it, I saw international relations. I saw different countries interacting, trading, warring, and more. This globe symbolized to me what I wanted to do, even though this figure is in the context of an earth science building.

Many a time did I sit here my first semester of college reviewing for International Relations quizzes, looking over my notes frantically as I saw other members of my class doing the same in different parts of this lobby. I can see it as if it was yesterday. The globe was spinning then too.

Right now, on a Thursday evening, there is no one but myself in the lobby. The globe spinning is so much louder than I recall. It is roaring like a plane engine. It is not usually heard this prominently during the bustle of the day. The comfy chairs in the corner are unoccupied for once. There are only four, and sometimes I would close my eyes before class while sitting there to recharge. It is a victory if you can snag one of those. If not, you had to sit on one of the benches I am sitting on right now, with weird slates on them. I have a better view of the globe this way though, which truly is a mesmerizing sight.

I never noticed before the texture of the floor. The tiles look imprinted and very earthy. It looks like a plant got fossilized in these tiles many years ago. It looks intriguing and very whimsical. The tiles themselves look cool and are a shade of black that does not look uninviting, but creates an edgy vibe.

There are also displays in the lobby that are unnoticed by the general masses. There are a few cases of rocks and some fossil displays near the windows. They are tucked away in another corner, out of the line of traffic. Only if you really look or spend some time in there do you notice them. I remember glancing at the displays once and not understanding any of the words written on the labels.

One of the things I love is that the whole lobby is window walls, almost as if it is encased in. I can see the Dome, Crouse, Maxwell, Hendricks, the old law building, and more from this one lobby. This also allows for natural light. I remember when I had a different class here at night, this was always a wake-up call for how dark it became in just the span of 55 minutes. I was able to see the days getting shorter just by how every class, it was darker and darker afterwards.

Upon looking more closely at the globe, I notice it is not like a normal globe. There are no inscriptions of cities or country boundaries. This is purely a scientific globe, including clouds, topographical sights, and latitudinal and longitudinal lines. Hmm, I have never noticed that before. I wonder how many have.

It Just Takes Time

I wholeheartedly agree with Mark Twain’s ideas of societal conformity in his essay, “Corne-Pone Opinions.” There are so many facets of society that have started with much scrutiny, but with time have earned a place, which he discusses using the example of the hoopskirt. It takes time for people to accept new things, but almost always they eventually come around. I think this is because people generally do not like change.

Change is scary and unknown. Change adds a new factor into the mix that people then must deal with. Change takes extra effort and inconvenience. I believe this is why at first, a new part of society is met with opposition, but once discovered that it is here to stay, people adapt. And the more exposure, the more likely one is to jump on the bandwagon.

We could use America as an example. England did not want its colonies to separate from the motherland and was willing to fight a war to prevent this change. But this change happened despite all of the odds, and America was born. Although England was unpleased after the fact, it did eventually recognize the United States and is now its closest and most reliable ally in the world. The hard feelings went away with time and it  accepted that America was never going to be a colony again.

In more recent history, the idea of Botox and plastic surgery used to bring an overall sense of disgust. Now, these body modifications are met with little surprise, especially among celebrities, and maybe even discussed with some sort of justification as well. Even the idea of “twerking,” which initially caused horror, and I think it still does for some, nevertheless became a party staple and skill to be proud of. My point is, once something is no longer “different” or “new,” the stagnancy against it will be less forceful.

Mark Twain has not been alive for over 100 years, but his ideas of society are still relevant to this day. I think this goes to show that although people change, the ways of society often do not. It will be interesting to see in another 100 years if these ideas will continue to be true.

Pictures: An Extension of Memory

In one of my previous posts, “We’re the Kids of the Future?” I strongly dismissed Generation Y’s (aka MY generation) dependence on technology and social media. I also discussed how out-of-touch this generation is with reality and human interactions. Looking back, I may have been a little too harsh on this issue, but I have recently seen some of the good in this installment in society.

Last week, I was scrolling through Facebook on a study break when I had this urge to look through pictures from my previously-mentioned trip to Turkey and Venice. Luckily for me, I had posted over 300 pictures from my trip on Facebook! As I was looking through the pictures from Venice specifically, I couldn’t help but notice how beautiful these pictures were. The sky and water looked so blue in every picture, and this coupled with the vibrant buildings and gondolas made for incredibly pleasing photos. And to think that I had just snapped these with my phone as we wandered around!

Just beautiful

Look at that sky

I even found pictures that truly captured the scene in Venice, such as the dozens of people and pigeons gathered in Saint Mark’s Square, the magnificent bridges connecting the city, and the regal buildings on every corner. I have to admit, after coming off of Istanbul— the most amazing and cultured city I have ever been in— the more commercial and touristy Venice almost paled in comparison. But looking back at these pictures, I had a huge appreciation for the beauty of the city and couldn’t believe how lucky I was to experience this. I felt so happy and warm inside as I recounted these wonderful memories of summer that I even sent a picture to my mom (who accompanied me on the trip) so she would be reminded as well.

St. Mark's Square in its glory

  

Rialto Bridge

Although it is annoying to see people take pictures of everything, in this moment I was  overjoyed to have such easy access to these pictures. They triggered fond memories from the trip as pictures often do. I am not in agreement with documenting every moment of life, because that is what your brain is for, but it is very nice to have reminders of the memory so the experience can be recalled so vividly.     So take pictures and record history, but don’t let it get in the way of living.

All photos taken by yours truly