This is where we post our projects, experiences, thoughts, and discoveries. The lab community is a great place to learn about the topics and techniques covered in the Creative Media Lab. Feel free to leave a comment!

My flash assignment turned out pretty bittersweet to me. When I first got started on picking out a topic, making it linear or non-linear, etc. I had so many ideas rushing through my head, I was sure It was gonna be a good final assignment. Unfortuanately half of the good ideas were able to make themselves into the final project. I was too focused on how to make it better that I pushed all the technical work till later. And when later came, I hardly had enough time to get the bases in(and post it). Anyways, I am confident that the project turned out solid despite the fact I couldnt fit in all the cool stuff.

So here is the map I created of some of the classes 1st years have. I wanted to put a little more in but
this is really cool.

Art has always been an inspiration in my life. Watching my father, I grew to appreciate the true beauty in art. There is no time in history where there was no presence of art in civilization. Those who understand and appreciate art have a love for nature and its essence. The flash shows the audience of how many types of art exist and the creativity that ignites throng the endless eras of imagination. I hope everyone finds an inspiration through art.

My flash project is on tips of how to survive the Expository English course. There are three options: essays, poems, and the novel Frankenstein. each category outline ways to be successful in them. Also, there are different kinds of songs within each category. I wanted each song to represent the frames in a unique type of way.

This is just a second draft of my flash because I still need to add the music and animations.

I chose to do my flashback on the safety, match, and reach colleges because all of the years (1st-3rd) will be going through this process someday whether it be in their freshman year or in their senior year. I wanted to help people realize what kinds of colleges there were out there.

Stoichiometry is something that every student hates. Many don’t know its as easy as a few simple steps. I hope you learn something from this, and thanks for watching it.

The inspiration for this flashback was provided during the first week of my SMASH experience. I remember thinking, “This dining hall is impossible to navigate!” I would have found it helpful to see beforehand what was going to happen when I walked through the doors into the hall, and I never forgot that first feeling of overwhelming confusion upon entering Stern. Someday I hope this flash presentation finds its way into the hands of a lucky first year scholar preparing to come live in the dorms, for I’ve cataloged a few helpful hints and tips to getting through the dining hall efficiently.

My favorite elements of this flashback are the sound effects I recorded using my voice, along with those provided by Anthony, Mauricio, and Jose B. It’s been great working on this project during my final week in Tech 1!

Hi, this is my final draft of my flash. I hope you like it.
-Alberto

Hi my name is Erica, I was inspired to do a my Flash presentation on solving a system of equations because that is something that i perfected while here at SMASH. I enjoy math a lot because it is almost always one answer with out question. during this project i faced many challenges, such as my buttons not working to me background changing to not even knowing if i wanted to continue this project. With the help of my informative instructors and a few of my class mates i was able to create a presentation that i was proud of and actually enjoyed doing after i got the hang of things. if i had more time my project would not as linear as it is because i would have added a different way to solve the equations but we were pressed for time. In closing i am glad that i learned how to use the basics of flash because it is a very helpful tool

this was fun, and once i figured out how to make buttons it became a lot easier
made on July 17, 2008

Beginning to maps for 1st year classes

survival-for-english2

a rough roug draft

For my flash project, I decided to do a presentation on what kinds of things you should keep in mind when moving into the dorms and living in them. The reason I decided to do this was because I remember coming into my first year of SMASH, completely unaware of what was going on, and was nervous as to what to bring with me. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like living in the dorms and didn’t know what kinda of things we would be doing. I just want future 1st year scholars to be able to know what they need when coming into the academy

This is my first draft, more to come soon…

My flash is based on a drink many friends and i stumbled upon one day in the cafeteria.  we were bored and somebody thought it would be funny to pour salt into a cup of coke.  from their, everyone began adding sauces from soy sauce to tabasco sauce (lots of tabasco sauce).  Eventually we needed someone to drink it so i stepped up and took the whole glass.  next jorge drank a glass (but theirs no film on that).  i wanted future SMASH generations to learn about this mysteriously gross drink so they too can alleviate the taste of dorm food with “the drink”.

Art

• Expedition in Art
- For thousands of years, mankind has been fascinated by the beauty and mystery of nature and has been inspired to create art of great beauty and significance.
– History of art
• Forms of Art
- Art embodies many forms. All manifest the magical connection between mankind.
- Mystical hands- Beauty lies in an artist’s brush to manifest to the world his thoughts. Hear of the art is able to communicate an unspoken language that makes a connection to each and everyone of us.
- Music, the Common Ground- Music is truly the finest expression of beauty and it is the truest interpreter of social conditions.
- Movements + Change- Fine Arts exemplify the highest achievements of mankind. Today we are using art to convey every inch of our lifestyle. From Media enterprising to famous architectures and designs. It is endless. Art is evolving with time, but the sublime message of beauty in each source of art will continue to remain as it has for thousands of years.
• Global Creativity :
-African Art
Constitute as one of the most diverse legacies on earth.
Emphasis on the human figure:
Visual abstraction:
Emphasis on sculpture:
Emphasis on performance art:
-Indian Art
Intertwines with the cultural history, religions and philosophies, which place art production and patronage in social and cultural contexts.
Indian art can be classified into specific periods each reflecting particular religious, political and cultural developments
- rock-cut art
- Indian Fresco
- Folk and tribal art
- Visual Art
- Music
-Chinese Art
Has been divided into periods by the ruling dynasties of China and changing technology. Different forms of art have been influenced by great philosophers, teachers, religious figures and even political leaders. Chinese art encompasses fine arts, folk arts and performance arts.
• Gallery
- Collections of beautiful art from all over the world.

hey Simon and Trevor my flash is basically done, but my buttons aren’t working so of you could, could you please help me in class tomorrow.

Alanna Reyes

Outline: Flash Presentation

Title: How to survive the dining hall

Menu slide

Path to Basic (Like Breakfast) Steps

Path to Extra Treats

BASIC LIKE BREAKFAST PATH

Step 1: have your meal card ready to give to the attendant

It helps to have your lanyard off your neck so you aren’t fumbling around for it.

Hand her the meal card, not your lanyard. It’s faster if you just hand her your meal card.

Step 2: get in line for a tray and silverware

There are two lines, so don’t get stuck in the closest one.

If you forget to get a utensil, there are other utensils available at the doors into the seating area.

Step 3: Choose an entrée and get in line for one.

There are also vegetarian choices for those who can’t eat meat.

Speak loudly when asking for your choices.

Step 3b: Getting cereal

The machines, bowls and milk are in the seated area.

Mix and match cereals and drink them with soy, chocolate, low-fat and non-fat milk.

Step 4: Walk quickly but carefully to the drink line

Now that they are remodeling, there is only one line.

If you want fruit juices, there are machines in the seated area.

Step 5: Find a seat in the seating area

Sit by your SMASH friends and socialize, try not to sit by yourself.

EXTRA TREATS MENU:

Fruits and Salads:

Fruits and Salads are located at the various bars inside the food area. Pick fresh fruits and make your own salad.

Dessert: After you finish eating, you may get a dessert.

Desserts are located inside the doors into the seated area.

Mints: Mints are on the way out of the dining hall.

Make sure you get a red one. The green ones taste bad.

This is an outline of my flash project.

Flash Outline

Intro: About the SAT (Frame 1)

Subjects: Critical Reading, Writing, Math

Non linear presentation, so there is no order for which subject goes first.

(Frame 2)Info on Critical Reading: two type of multiple choice questions (passage-based reading and sentence completion)
-passage-based reading: 48 questions based on passages that range from 100-850 words. –The passages vary from humanities, literary fiction, social studies, and natural sciences.

-Critical reading questions test how well you understand the written word.

-Recommend having a large vocabulary and learn latin/greek roots

-Approaches to crit. Reading: work on sentence completion questions first, mark your test booklet, the difficulty of sentence completion questions increases as you move through the question set, use process of elimination, consider related words-familiar sayings and phrases, roots, prefixes, and suffixes.

(Frame 3)Info on Math: 44 multiple choice questions and 10 student produced response questions

- the math section has four categories of questions: number and operations, algebra and functions, geometry and measurement, and data analysis, statistics, and probablilty.

- Approaches: Familiarize yourself with the directions ahead of time, ask yourself (what is the question asking and what do I know?), limit your time on any one question, keep in mind that questions are arranged from easy to hard, don’t make mistakes because of carelessness, work on your test booklet, use process of elimination, if you don’t know the answer, leave it blank, for grid-in questions you don’t lose points for wrong answers.

(Frame 4)Info on Writing: one essay (25 minutes), 49 questions on grammar, it tests your ability to use language in a clear, consistent manner and to improve your writing skills.

-Approaches: Read the directions carefully, and then follow them. Look at the explanations for each correct answer. Made an educated guess (eliminate the choices that you are wrong). Use abstract and concrete language to add variety to your essay.

Flash Presentation: Living in the UC Berkeley Dorms as a SMASH Scholar (Non-Linear)

Frame 1: [Title] Living in the UC Berkeley Dorms

Frame 2: [Intro] Living in the UC Berkeley Dorms is an exciting and new experience for many people. Many people who have never lived on campus are clueless as to what to bring and what it’s like to live in the dorms. There are avariety of components that make up how to live in the dorms to the fullest and to not make any mistakes. {GO BUTTON}

Frame 3: [Menu] *Buttons that lead to a variety of different pages, each with a different category.

{TOILETRIES}{DORMS}{OUTSIDE}{LEISURE}{ROOMMATE}{FOOD}{CLOTHING}{KEYS}{WEEKEN

D}{TIME MANAGEMENT}{RA’s}….etc.

Frame 4: Dependant on which button is pushed

{TOILETRIES} A list of things you will not want to forget that are associated with the bathroom.

{DORMS} What dorms are like.. finding dorm.. basic setup.. sizes..

{OUTSIDE} What it’s like outside.. what to do outside.. choice of clothing dependant on weather

{LEISURE} Make sure you bring other things to do on your leisure time so you and your friends wont’ get bored

{ROOMATE} You don’t know who your roommate is going to be, so make sure to have an open mind when coming into the dorms.

{FOOD}The food here is not all that great so make sure to pack some extra snacks.

{CLOTHING}Will want to bring a variety of clothing because the weather in Berkeley can be very unexpected

{KEYS}You must take your keys everywhere. Never lose them or there will be a fee.

{WEEKEND}Whenever you go home on the weekend, be sure to take anything you need. Bring all materials you need to complete your homework, all the clothes you will need to wash, etc.

{TIME MANAGEMENT} You will definitely want to manage your time when living in the dorms. You want to be able to have fun, but not so much fun that your work won’t get completed. Be sure to use your time wisely.

{RA’s} The resident advisors are here to help you. They will assist you in any way possible. Be sure to get to know them well because you will be living with them for 5 weeks. Although some may seem strict at first, they have only your best interest at heart.

{…} = button

first slide: Title page to stoichiometry, Name of presentation,

second slide: history of stoichiometry, who created it, what it does, and what types of calculations are used

from here you can either go into slide three slide four or five.

Slide four has calculations from mass to moles.

Slide five has calculations from  moles to mass

Slide six has conversions from both

from slide six you can go to slide seven or eight

slide eight has finding limiting reactans

slide nine has finding what the excessive reactant

from there you move on to slide ten with conclusion

Hey Trevor and Simon its Nick, I did some refinements on My What’s in a Name? and Media and me so if you have a chance could you please take a look.

finalpodcast mva

Our podcast was based on music piracy and they two basic views on it; for vs against downloading music of the web. We each focused on one side reporting our take on the matter with interviews supporting our side. We have a variety of music and songs to keep a contrast between ideas or sides.

enjoy…

final-tech-podcast-edit

Our group chose to ask third years for any advice they thought would help the uprising second years with school and anything about college that would be useful to know. It is a good way for the 2^nd years to be informed from the other student that know and have been more active in these processes and experiences. I found that the 3^rd years gave some good heads up tips for us and the 2^nd could really learn a lot from this. We also interviewed a couple of 2^nd, just asking what they thought was in store for their upcoming school year.

I chose the song “Ooh Ahh” by Grits because a connotation in the song is life and that is essentially was we all are preparing for and actually getting more of an experience here at SMASH

The picture I put up is from a banner saying “Helping Hand” and that is pretty much why we chose the topic we did and asked the 3^rd years for help.

Alberto\’s Podcast

Hi this is Alberto. This the podcast that I did with Nick and Radhika and this topic was about how SMASH has changed the 3rd years’ lives. In Radhika’s podcast, it has interviews with the first years, but unfortunately, it was put wav file so it doesnt work on my podcast. In my podcast, I made edits in the music (changed the songs) and made the podcast shorter due to the technical difficulties of the wav file. Hope you enjoy it.

advice

our group choose to give advice from the third years to the second years on the future academic year. The third years that were interviewed felt that the information that they gave was important for the second years to know. our group felt that this was important because we do not want the second years to get ready for the college process and not even know where to start.I personally feel that it is only right that the information we know is passed down because some one passed it down to us. i think that it is only fair that we all communicate things that would better our peers because we want every one to succede.

i chose this picture because it represents us giving a helping hand to the second year and how we will always be there for them while we are here at SMASH

The song lean on me came into play becauase the fact that we are helping one another and we are on the same page shows that we are here for one another and that is a beautiful thing.

Music Piracy or Music freedom?

Our podcast is on music pirating and whether it is bad or not. We approached the podcast by using two perspectives, pros of music pirating and cons of music pirating. We also added the interviews so that we had one for each side. As for the music, we tried to provide different music for each part of the podcast that set and matched the mood of that specific part.

-Virgil Almeda (VA)

(P.S my voice sucks)

Playing piano is the closest thing to magic for me. When I place my hands on the keys everything fades away and it is only me and my piano. I have shaded the image in half to show that even in times when I am feeling low, I always have my piano.

Activities at SMASH

Hi this is Jorge from the UC Berkeley campus. Our group decided to make the podcast about how the mandated activities affects us as SMASH scholars. We took many steps to make this podcast, our first step was to introduce ouselves in the SMASH way. Then we interviewed the first year Phenoula, the second year Jessica Sodi, the third year Joseph De La Riva, and the RA Lorin Jackson; We did this so we could get a broader perspective in the matter. After all we concluded that although the activities are not always necessary, they do help you socialize and make SMASH a one big happy family.

podcastnickradhikaberto-43

 

 

We, being Nicholas Enea, Rahika Mitra, and Alberto Servin interviewed our fellow SMASH students on how SMASH has affected there lives. We interviewed Monica, Joseph, Megan, and Kim on how SMASH has affected there lives. The podcast sounds really cool, because its the perspective of acual kids who go to SMASH, and not adminstrators

Are Pheromones for Real?

After reading an article that stated that love has to do with pheromones, Team Lovely went to work to find out if this was so and found out some other facts concerning love as well. Alanna Reyes, Ralph Kevin Gomez and Ashleigh Richelle did some research as well as interviewed fellow SMASH scholars and Residential Assistants in order to a gain a wide perspective on a little thing called love.

activities_podcast

Our podcast was concerning the mandated activities at the SMASH academy. For our podcast, we interviewed 3 SMASH scholars and one SMASH RA. The scholars that we interviewed were Jessica Sodhi, Joseph De La Riva, Fynoolah O’Reily. The SMASH RA that we interviewed was Lorin Jackson. We asked them a variety of questions involving SMASH activities. They each gave us varying answers, and each of them had different opinions on the activities. Based on their responses, we concluded that the SMASH activities bring SMASH scholars closer as a family.

The way in which my podcast is different from my group members is basically the songs that I chose. The song’s that i chose were “Move Along” by The All American Rejects, and “Everything’s Magic” by Angeles and Airwaves (AVA). The reason I chose these songs was because they are very upbeat songs which went great with our topic because activities are meant to be fun. I also chose to vary the people who were answering questions so it wouldn’t become too boring in such a short amount of time.

-posted by anthony first, not jorge

Are Pheromones for Real? – Alanna\’s Version

This podcast originated with a curiosity for the effect of pheromones on love and the human body, and ended with a newfound LOVE for the audio editing program called Audacity. Ashleigh, Ralph, and Alanna were captivated by a news article stating that love was finite and they wanted to investigate this further. Team Lovely was formed, and went to work interviewing SMASH scholars and RAs to gain perspectives on this topic. In the end… you’ll have to listen for yourself to hear Team Lovely’s conclusion.

In the background of our podcast, you may be able to discern Ralph’s and my voices singing the song “L-O-V-E”, as well as the song “What is Love?” by Haddaway.  It was important to me that my podcast have two songs within the content to break up the interviews and keep the energy level high.  Equally important was my desire for all of the interviews to go as smoothly as possible, so I took extra time to cut out all of my subjects’ “umm”s and “ahh”s.  I also wanted the interview subjects’ names to go in front of their interviews for clarity’s sake since differently edited podcasts I’ve heard in the past have confused me.

SMASH Changing Lives podcast

SMASH is creating an immense impact on all the scholars’ lives. Those who just entered SMASH and those who are leaving have full gratitude to be part of this program. In this podcast Nick, Alberto and I have interviewed two first years and two third years. Listen to find out what they had to say.

no-names1

Our podcast is about the activities that SMASH students are required to participate in. Our purpose was to see how different participants feel about this matter. We interviewed a first year named Fionnugula O’Riley, a second year named Jessica Sodhi, a third year named Joseph Del La Riva, and a RA named Lauren Jackson. The students had different opinions about the activities than the RA; however, they all felt that the activities bonded the SMASH community.

Unlike the rest of mine group members, I had introduced the podcast with “Sandstorm” (techno music). I had made sure that all of the interviewees were heard at least once. While the interviewees were speaking “Black and Gold” was playing in the background. Not all of the interviewees’ replies were posted, only the statements that I had selected were set in the podcast. Lastly, to end the podcast, I replayed “Sandstorm.”

Hey Everyone!

So, after meeting with Dom from Tides/Momentum tonight, we’ve decided that anyone who wishes to be selected for the conference must email me or simon a short essay (300-500 words) on why they want to attend the conference and what sort of media piece they would create (podcast, video, otherwise). We will select students whose essays demonstrate an interest in the conference subject matter as well as a drive to create a short 3 minute media clip.

We can only take a limited number of students, so if you would like to go, you must complete this essay no later that Tuesday morning. Understand that this is not a writing competition, but a requirement for attending the conference, as there are a limited number of spots. Please feel free to comment on this post or ask me questions at anytime.

Link to Momentum homepage: http://www.tides.org/momentum

Trevor – trevor@lpfi.org

Simon – simon@sidehat.ch

dance_featuring_mos_def_and_spank_rock

This is my podcast.

Music Piracy or Music Freedom???

Topic: A debate/interview about the pros. and cons. of downloading music from the internet

Background Music: Mix of contrasting genres (ex. rock and symphonic, rap and pop) almost like a changing radio

Intro: Debate format, interviews support each side

Cons: Virgil starts out stating why its supposedly wrong, legalities of downloading

interviews

Pros: Mauricio continues with why downloading music is right and an overall pro.

interviews

-Mauricio and Virgil

(p.s. virgils internet is down indefinitly so only one post)

Title: Are Pheromones for Real?

1) SMASH introductions of all three SMASHcasters
2) Introduce topic through interviews [craft questions to interview-ees]
“What do you think of the idea that love is really just a chemical reaction designed to continue the human race?”
Interview Subjects: female scholar, male scholar, adult (staff)

3) Debate
Alanna takes the side of Yes, it is just a chemical reaction
Ashleigh takes the side of No, love is more complicated than pheromones
Pose the question: Are we still tied to our animal instincts, pheromones and all?
4) Conclusion:
No matter which conclusion scientists come to, “Love was made for me and you!”

Intro: Introduction to are topic about how SMASH has impacted students lives. Different perspectives from 1st and 3rd years.

Interviewing:

Ben, Kendrick, Lavanda, Karina, Geo, and Catherine Subject to change (how has SMASH influenced your life?)

Information about SMASH (lpfi, What SMASH IS and how it helps students)

Our views input on SMASH ( our personal experiences on SMASH)

Final thoughts ( final thought on the subject)

The End ( el fin)

1) Introduction:

-Introduce ourselves

-Introduce our topic: advice from ‘08 3rd years to uprising ‘09 3rd yrs concerning all academic aspects regarding educational success in the future.

2) 3rd years advice (3 interviews)

3) What second years expect for the upcoming academic year. (3 interviews)

4) Maybe ask an adult (RA) for educational advice.

5) Conclusion

- general overview

Lending a Helping Hand

1. Into

-Introduce ourselves

-introduce our topic (Advice from 3rd years to 2nd years concerning all academic aspects regarding educational successes in the future)

2. Advice from 3rd years (interviews)

- three interviews, questions

3. What 2 years expect, or think will be like, in the upcoming academic year (interviews)

- three interviews, questions

4. Advice from RA, or adult, to all years concerning all educational successes (maybe)

- 1 interview, qeustions

5. Conclusion

- wrap up (?)

Lending a helping hand

1) Introduction:

-Introduce ourselves

-Introduce our topic: advice from ‘08 3rd years to uprising ‘09 3rd yrs concerning all academic aspects regarding educational success in the future.

2) 3rd years advice (3 interviews)

3) What second years expect for the upcoming academic year. (3 interviews)

4) Maybe ask an adult (RA) for educational advice.

5) Conclusion

- wrap up (?)

I. Intro

• SMASH intro
• “We’re here to talk about how SMASH students feel about having activities forced upon them. A typical day during our SMASH summer session consists of waking up, going to breakfast, going to class, going to lunch, going back to class, having a meeting, going to dinner, and finally tutorial. Unfortunately to add on to our busy schedules, it is required for us to participate in mandatory group activities. After having a full day of classes, many of us would like to go back to our dorms and rest, or just finish up some left over homework. We feel that these mandated activities take much of our free time away, which we could be using to do something else. We interviewed other SMASH scholars to see what they thought about these activities.

II. Interviews

• Questions to come later.

III. Conclusion

• After having done all our interviews….(conclusion will be posted after interviews). But in the end we still believe that these activities should not be mandatory, but rather voluntary.

In my montage I tried to fit a lot of pictures while still blending them together well. The background of my montage consists of just a light pole. What makes it different is that on one side the light pole shines regular white but on the other side it shines black. I put it in my montage because basically it looks cools and unique. Also part of the background is a two anime characters that I like. On the left is Vegeta from Dragon ball Z, and on the right is Kakashi from Naruto. I grew up with Dragon Ball Z and Vegeta has always been the character I rooted for in the show because he always kind of been the underdog, always working for power that mostly never received; sure he was a arrogant jerk but I let that slide. As for Kakashi, he succeeds in being mysterious, powerful, quiet, and funny (and a little bit of a perv) all in one motion. The two faces are split into two so I could conjoin them together. I mainly did this to save room and it fit the split theme of light and dark.

The main pictures you should see first are the two Spidermans. On the right is the regular Spiderman you all know and love. One the left is Symbiote Spiderman. I added him in for two reasons, one because he, in the comic (not in the movie) is really cool and because it ties back into the light and dark theme of my montage. Also a standout to my montage is the bust of Virgil the Greek poet. I tried to personalize him by adding a pair of headphones on his head to symbolize my love of music. The last two side images are of my team, the San Diego Chargers and a logo from the group hieroglyphics.

I think the first time I ever used media was even before I was born, when my mom did her ultrasound to see if I was a boy or a girl. Media has being around my life for as long as I can remember, and I obviously became part of my life. I could still remember being a little kid living in a small town in Peru, and every time I would come back from school, I would not want to go do homework, instead I would go and watch Rugrats, Rocko’s Modern Life, Hey Arnold!, SpongeBob SquarePants, Dexter’s Laboratory, Bananas in Pajamas, or Doug. I had a good time watching cartoons on media, like TV. I also had a good time playing with my Super Nintendo, I only had a few games, but I felt like the most fortunate kid just playing on it.

As I grew older, I started experiencing different types of media, like the boring news my parents used to watch on the TV, or the boring newspapers my parents used to read. Nowadays, we all use pretty much all of the types of media that is offered to us. The very popular iPod is one of the most used sources of media; almost everyone has one these days from the simple Shuffle to the fancy iTouch. Another source of media that became pretty popular these days are the very well known myspace and facebook, they have both done a very good job in keeping people communicated in a very fashion and modern manner. As for me I use very my iPod and my myspace all the time, but what I use the most is my always-by-my-side phone because from there I can access all types of media, from the latest news to the latest ringtones or myspace friend, all at my fingertips.

Although media has shaped our lives for the good, I believe that media could be used for much better proposes. Like maybe teaching the less fortunate kids how to read and write, I believe that would have a great impact to this society if there were more underprivileged kids that knew how to read and write, that way there will be much less poverty around the world. Overall I believe media has change our lives and the world around us, whether it is that we’re watching the soccer game or we’re instant messaging our families in different countries, media is always there with us, however it would be more useful if it was to help the needed society.

lil-rob-summer-nights1

I think this montage talks a lot about me. I started with my family crest in the top right hand corner, it was amazing because I found out my origins are from Spain. Then I went to my background, the Bay Area. I now live in Buda, Texas, but I’m originally from Oakland, California so I felt really good about my background because it says a lot about me. I’m so proud of my roots that is why I had to include my parents countries’ flags. I feel that I have Mexican and Guatemalan blood running through my veins and that’s why I had to add the flags. I also added Bugs Bunny on the side talking about Mexican pride. Next I thought about my beliefs. I tried to incorporate my religion, Our Beloved Virgen de Guadalupe, and some mottos that I live my life by day to day, like “Smile Now Cry Later,” and “My Crazy Life.” What these two mottos mean to me put together is that life is always going to be full of ups and downs but no matter what we always have to keep our heads up and always look for the positive things in everything. Since I am from Oakland I added the Raiders’ logo and slapped it on top of the San Francisco sky scrapers because that to me signifies that we are the best no matter what. LOL! My friends call me “Lil Sleepy” because at the most random moments I fall asleep, and that is why I put “Lil Sleepy” on the bridge. I put him there because I saw it like I have to walk the bridge reach the light at the end and achieve serenity. I’m that type of person that’s proud of my origins and I’m never going to forget where I came from. This is what is in my name.

This montage represents the things that make up Erica Wilson. I am an African American, I am a Christian, I sing in the choir, and even the fact that I am a very innocent person is all clearly represented. My mother is from St. Louis Missouri and my dad is from San Francisco, California and I have the “welcome to East Palo Alto” sign to show where I was raised. I also have where my name originated from as well as a few characteristics that make up me.

This montage was a simplistic design. I choose items in nature that represented ma and all of my different mentalities that make me as a person. The lioness’ photo represents the powerfulness that I have but yet I am endearing and caring. I choose the two flowers because I can be delicate and pretty but both of those flowers are deadly and if you catch me on the wrong moment I can be deadly. I choose the baby bare because though it is a large animal and can be intimidating it still is a baby and ha some growing up to do. The butterfly represents my openness such as the term social butterfly.

Some people call me Allama, a few refer to me as Iguana, and others call me another crazy name altogether. It doesn’t really matter to me, as long as they know that my real name is Alanna Victoria Reyes.

The main images in this montage are those of a soccer field complete with goals and a birds-eye view of piano keys. Playing the piano and soccer are two activities that I love and treasure. My favorite colors, (pink and yellow, because they remind me of drinking strawberry lemonade on a warm summer day) are also included in the background of my montage.

The name “Alanna” is Irish-Gaelic, which is why I included an Irish flag in the top right of my montage. “Victoria” is an English name, most famously shared with Queen Victoria. Her crown is located in the bottom-right of my montage on top of a Girl Scout trefoil (the green logo). Both of these names combined make me sound very European, especially with my last name of Reyes. This name originates from Spain, hence the Spanish flag next to my Irish flag. In reality, I am none of these nationalities. However, I am a hodgepodge of different cultures, including those of Mexico and the Philippines. This is why the Mexican and Filipino flags are hovering over my family crest.

Closer to the bottom of my montage (or the top, if you are viewing it upside down) are logos from my interests and pastimes. These communicate my identity much more effectively than my name does. “Alanna Victoria” lends an image of a fair, delicate, flower-like girl (which refers to the rose atop the piano keys) who would probably be afraid to play a violent sport like soccer. But then my last name, “Reyes” undoes that notion because soccer players tend to stem from Spanish-speaking countries. Nonetheless, I am still a Girl Scout who sometimes prefers to record the action in sports instead of participating, which is why I included a camera and a Lynbrook Basketball logo. I’m the team’s unofficial amateur photographer, but you wouldn’t know my status from the way they revere my action stills of the players. The LPFI logo is also large in my montage because of the huge impact LPFI has had on my life. Finally, there are pictures of a llama and an iguana in the background, which represent my nicknames.

Hi readers, once again I am Derek Luke Macario. It was a challenge to concise the major, but not all, aspects of my life that complete me and the different things I live with and around. But first right off the back, I look at what my first name meant. Derek, and the many ways it can be written originate for the English and Old German language meaning “Power of the tribe” or “Ruler of the people”. My last lame, Macario, is the Spanish form of the Roman name Macarius, derived from the Greek name (Makarios), which was in turn derived from Greek (makar) meaning “blessed, happy”. This was the name of several early saints. I really like these meanings of my names, but these characteristics weren’t the main focus of my montage.

I included images that represent bigger parts of who I am and what my life’s routine has generally come to be. First and most important is the front entrance to my high school, Lowell, where I would spend more than half of my days living and enjoying my friends company, teacher’s time, and Lowellites’ spirit and enthusiasm. In the lower left area, ant the base of the flag pole is where I hung out most of my time with my friends, that’s where I inserted a picture of Calvin and Hobbes partying.

The next part of my life, that I use to escape all my troubles and worries of life is track. I the bottom middle is a picture of the same spikes I wore this past season in track, I run hurdles, which lots of people are surprised to hear when they find out, and also distance races. In part of the background I faded A picture of myself at All City (May 2008) where I ran in two hurdles races and placed and got a medal. I care about track, a lot more than other things, I would love to continue running throughout the rest of my years in high school and even in college.

Then the lower right corner I have a picture of a Lucario, Pokémon, because it was given to me as a nickname this year, by one of my good friends (who is a Pokémon addict, she combined my middle and last name (once she found out that my middle name was Luke), and it has spread to the point where almost everyone of my friends knows of the name. Also some people just call me by my last name, and I first experienced this last summer in SMASH when, a current 3^rd year scholar started calling me Macario, instead of Derek.

Then Under my name, in the montage I put a little World guy, with the recycle symbol, because I do try to keep in mind of global warming and the preventions and steps I can take to decrease the rate of its occurrence. I’m always bugging my friends, at school, to recycle their bottles and compost their food scraps.

Another icon I involve is the Itunes logo. There is never a time that I don’t want to listen to music, no matter what mood or emotions are present in me. My favorite music is alternative rock, but I will honestly listen to anything.

Another piece I include is a Vans shoe model, because they have become my favorite shoe brand, and in the past year I’ve only bought Vans. I think I do need to get a different shoe, just to get out of this cycle, but I do like Vans.

Ohh, and how could I forget to mention “I HEART SF”. I can’t express how happy or my enjoyment of living in San Francisco, because even thought I’ve lived hear for over 16 years now, I still haven’t seen it all. Yet from what I have seen, I would not wish to make my home in any other place. I like to take a day where I can just go around the different districts, where I witness the vast variety of peoples that interact and live.

The one thing thought that people do assume, or think about once they realize I’m Latino is that I’m Mexican. And yet this is true, these people think Mexican means you were born in Mexico and are an immigrant, here illegally. This is where I decided to add in the yellow freeway sign, usually appearing on freeways around the U.S and Mexican boarder.

Then on the top right corner I laid four flags together. The Mexican, Guatemalan, Korean, and Burmese flags. Mexico, my mom is Mexican and I am half Mexican. Guatemalan, my dad is Guatemalan and I am half Guatemalan. Korean and Burmese flags, my girlfriend half Korean and Half Burmese, lots of people, including my parents did not think that one of my first relationships be with a Korean/Burmese girl.

I like the fact that I come, and involved with a diverse point of view on cultures. Also I take French in high school.

The last two things hat say more about me are two very faded images, a reversed squirrel, and two butterflies. The squirrel, which has it’s head in tail in vice verse places represents how different I am from everyone, everyone is different from each other and that My thinking an viewing of events and experiences are not always the same as many people have. The two butterflies shows that I have a very sensitive and undiscovered side of me, that no one as witnessed to its fullest, not even me, I know it exists, but only know because of all the thoughts that run through my head.

-derek LM

As our second assignment in Tech class we had to make a montage about our names. I chose to use a picture of a Jasmine flower in the background because whenever someone thinks of my name they always think of the flower. I put the Mexico flag because my ethnicity is Mexican-American. My mom is from Michoacan, Mexico that is why I have a symbol of a crest that is blue, red, gold, and green close to the bottom left. My dad is from Durango, Mexico that is why I have a symbol of a crest with a tree in the middle of it and two leaves on the side close to the other Mexico crest. My last name is hard for some to pronounce but after a while it is easy to say. I searched the web not really expecting to find anything of my last name. I ended up finding an Italian crest. I never really thought of my last name to be Italian but there it was. It got me thinking what else I am besides Mexican. Which led to my discovery of my acestory. I called my mother up and asked her if she knew what other type of blood I had in me. She told me Spanish and German. That is why I have the Spanish and German crests. Since I was born on June 6th, 1991 I became an official Gemini. Although Geminis are known to be outgoing and adventurous I was never that kind of girl until my sophomore year of high school. That is why I have the Gemini sign because it shows that I have grown from a quiet person to a person who likes to stand out sometimes. Starting my Junior year I never really thought of myself as an attractive person, I mean sure my friends would tell me that I was but I never really believed them. Then this one boy came into my life and taught me that it isn’t all about looks but what is inside also. His name is Luis Angel Ceja and my current, first, boyfriend. Last but not least, I chose to write my name small because it shows how my name is not what makes me, me. But what I allow myself to be (hey that rhymes =]).

What’s In a Name?

At first glance, my montage may seem like a jumbled mess. There are a lot of things that I like and a lot of things to me, so it’s hard to fit it all on such a small space. My first name Anthony is said to mean “worthy of praise”. I didn’t know how to represent it on my montage so I decided to leave it out. My last name means “having crow-like qualities.” I wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I didn’t know how to represent either my first of last name on my montage. One thing I did find was my family crest. My last name Vazquez is a variation of the Spanish name “Vasquez”. They each mean the same thing, my last name just changed over time.

My montage contains a variety of images. I’ll start by explaining the picture in the bottom right corner. It is a picture of the CD cover of one of my favorite bands, Angels and Airwaves (AVA for short). I was introduced to this band in 8^th grade by a friend of mine. As I grew older, I started to listen to more of this bands music. I really like their music because it is alternative rock, my favorite genre of music. I like their songs because their lyrics really speak to me. One song of theirs is “Everything’s Magic”. It’s a mellow that basically says there’s magic in everything, even in things you wouldn’t expect to find magic in.

This montage also depicts some of my hobbies and interests. On the bottom left corner is a Nintendo 64 logo. Growing up, Nintendo 64 was my favorite game system. I was able to play all of the greatest games on there such as Super Smash Brothers, Mario Kart 64, and Banjo Kazooie. It was a system that brought my cousins and me together because we would always play, hoping to see which one of us was the better player. Towards the middle of my montage is an acoustic guitar. I do not know how to play the guitar, but I do hope to learn someday. My brother owns an acoustic guitar and I have tried to learn, but haven’t made much progress. I plan to keep playing until I learn the basics of playing a guitar.

At the top left corner of my montage is a symbol of the movie The Boondock Saints. This movie is about two Irish men who go around killing Irish gangsters. Although this is a very violent movie, it is one of my favorite movies. The first time I watched it was when I was working on a video project with some friends. It was a really good movie, and easily became one of my favorites. To the right of my montage, there is a Vans logo that says “Vans Off the Wall”. The reason I included this in my montage is that Vans is my favorite brand of shoes. I like these shoes because they are comfortable and come in a variety of styles. I also included the Vans logo because I hope to one day learn to skate.

Also at the top right corner of my montage is the picture of two flags, a Mexican flag and a Salvadorean flag. The reason I included these was because my mom is Salvadorean and my dad is Mexican. I  am very proud to be of Hispanic descent, and love the two countries I come from. The largest picture in my montage, which is the background, is a picture of my hometown: Los Angeles. Los Angeles is the city in which I was born and grew up in. I lived there for thirteen years of my life until I moved to San Jose. It is not a decision which I regret, but I do miss my hometown from time to time. It is where most of my family is and I do miss them. Los Angeles will be a part of my for the rest of my life.

 

 Hey readers, my name is Nicholas Enea. I made this plethora to let you get a vivid image of my life. I turn 16 on Tuesday, so even though I haven’t had a long life, I’ve had a life full of wonders. This Montage runs a series on my life and my family. So I hope you enjoy it.

In the background of my image is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. I put this there for a few reasons, the first being is that my life sort of looks like it. My life is not straight, or at least not yet, I have many things that put it off course from a normal life. Some of these things being SMASH, sports and other various activities. I think the image of the tower really represents my life well in the first 16 year of it.

Next to the tower is an Italian flag. the Italian flag represents my culture. I am 100% Italian Stallion, I’m just joking I’m not Rocky, but I am full Italian. I’m proud of my culture and the impact it has on my life. In the middle of the flag is an emblem on a trinaga. The trinaga is in the middle of the Sicilian flag. Since, I am Sicilian I put that in the middle of my Italian flag.

As you can see to the left of the tower is a picture of my entire family. This picture was actually at my nonna’s (grandmothers) 70th birthday. I put this picture here because I love my family. Much of the person I am today is because of my family. In fact that may be a curse sometimes. I say that because a lot of people say I talk loud and that is because in my family we always scream. I’m featured also in a picture with my grandmother. This is because my grandmother has been in my life all the time and helps me the most of anyone.

The rest of the montage is an intricacy of things related to sport. I have baseballs and soccer balls in the background because those are my favorite sports, and the sports I play. I have a picture of the Warriors, Giants, and Sharks because those are my favorite teams, and I love to follow them. I finally have a picture of Barack Obama because I believe our society has to change and with him I believe that we can make a change.

HOPE YOU ENJOY MY MONTAGE

Hi reader, my name is Mauricio Rafael Vazquez and I am a second year in the SMASH Academy and attend Mills High School. The montage you see above is quite…interesting with a plethora of pictures, some much more odd than others. In the center of the screen, with a variety of texts you notice my first name: Mauricio.

Something very prominent in my life at school is music, more specifically jazz. I play the intricate brass instrument, the trombone. It may not be the most known of instruments such as the guitar or saxophone, however it is one of the most pleasing and entertaining to play. You notice the Bass Trombone (a different trombone I’m learning to play) under my name with a couple of notes being played. More subtly however, you can see in the background the bell of a trombone sitting comfortably on sheet music. Along with making music, I enjoy listening to it like any other teenager. My preference in music is all types of rock: heavy metal, alternative, classic, etc. My favorite band (the one on the top right hand of my montage) is The Doors, a popular rock group from the late 60’s.

The bottom half of my montage contains a Mexican flag, a crab, wrestlers, the trombone a previously mentioned, and a toilet. The flag represents my heritage as a Mexican. The crab is “cancer the crab”, which as you can guess is my horoscope having been born June 30^th. The wrestlers is wrestling itself a sport I enjoy during the school year to keep me in shape. I also enjoy the simple sadistic fact of throwing other wrestlers around the mat watching them land hard. I also include them very unusual photo of a toilet. The toilet is a very important figure in my skills in public speaking. My first year of SMASH I took the Public Speaking course and I gave several speeches about past memories, important figures, one sided arguments etc. However the speech others seem to remember me for, the one I feel is my best work, is my final speech I gave on the toilet. I gave a very positive, eye-opening approach to my speech and presented it with my chin in the air. That simple speech on such a bizarre topic received much expected laughter and appreciated applause.

I include a small picture of Texas the Golden Gate Bridge extending outward. I lived in Texas for approximately six years, but around four years ago I moved here to the bay area. Texas is a symbol for where I WAS, while the Golden Gate represents where I am. Its photograph is larger, because I not only live here but I was born here, no Texas. I have a very small flag of Spain in the upper left hand, which corresponds to my ancestral heritage that come from Spain. Most of my great-great grandparents are from somewhere in Spain and moved to Mexico years ago where closer relatives where born. Finally there is a large cross huddled in the left side of my background. Religion is very important in my family, making up my most of my values (background) and therefore I am a devoted Catholic.

Hope you enjoyed learning a little more about Mauricio Rafael Vazquez.

Whenever people look at me they never think that I am a second generation African. They always suppose that my ancestors had lived in this country. But until they became aware of my last name, they begin to ask “What are you?” I reply “I am Nigerian?”

I always hated it when people pronounce my last name wrong. They would always add extra syllables in it or articulate it incorrectly. I always had to remind them that my last name rhymes with “Aloha.” Once they hear it they would also ask “Are you part Hawaiian?” It’s hilarious.

Pretty much my whole name is relevant to my religion. My full name is Valerie Uchechi Onuoha. Valerie is my Roman Catholic name, which is why I have a picture of a church along with a cross. My middle name is Uchechi, meaning God’s favorite. And my last name is Onuoha (aloha) which means the people’s voice.

For my African names, I placed the continent of Africa in the clouds. The clouds represent heaven, where God is located. By placing Africa in the heavens, I tried to symbolize that although Africa is in the poorest state, God is watching over it. For my last name, I placed a picture of a mouth to represent the voice of the people.

What I would like people to know about me is that I love mathematics, music, and exotic places. I placed the background of my montage in the middle of an African jungle. This signifies my desire to travel to interesting places. I added in math symbols in the clouds to symbolize how much I idol it. And lastly, I placed music notes that are coming out of a stereo to signify that I have a passion for music.

My name is my identity, and so far I had presented it with pride. I am a Nigerian and a Catholic, and I don’t want to be a shame of it. Because of the love that I have for my name, I am living in two separate, but yet perfect worlds. And from now on, whenever I hear people asking me what I am, I would show them this montage and would later reply this message: “My name is Valerie Uchechi Onuoha, and this is who I am.”

Hi my name is Alberto Koji Servín. My first name, Alberto, is Spanish for Albert, which means “bright nobility” or “intelligent”. The name comes from the Germanic language and it has been a common name for Belgian and German kings. So in my montage, I put a shiny, bright crown to symbolize the meaning of Alberto and my middle name Koji. Koji is Japanese and it stands for “loyal to parents” and “govern” or “rule”. My last name is Hispanic and has an interesting meaning that I didn’t know about. It derives from the Latin word cervus, which means deer.

            In my montage, there are two flags. One is the Mexican flag and the other is a Japanese flag. The Mexican flag represents my dad’s heritage and the Japanese flag represents my mom’s heritage. Since I come from a unique mix of cultures I don’t know what to consider myself. I don’t favor one heritage over the other because both are equally important to me and both represent who I am.  When people first hear my name, they often have a confused look because I don’t look like a Mexican to them. As soon as I explain my background to them, they then understand why I have a name like Alberto.

The A1 steak sauce bottle represents my nickname “Alberto Sauce”, which I got from my 1^st year in SMASH. It was in Public Speaking where a student described me as barbeque sauce and now, a lot of my peers call me by my nickname.

            Within the flags are pictures of my family crests. On the Mexican flag is the Servín family crest, which originates from the Middle Ages in the mountains between Spain and France. On the Japanese flag is my mom’s maiden name’s crest, which is Sasaki, originating from the late 1300s. The cross in the upper left hand corner shows that I am a Catholic and have strong faith for my religion. My religion has been a huge influence on me and has helped me shape my morals, compassion for others, tolerance and moderation in all things.

            The last two pictures represents things that relate to music. The alto saxophone is in my montage because it is the instrument I play. I have had an interest in music because it’s fun and can express emotions that words or pictures cannot do. The picture on the left is my school band. I go to Branham High school and I enjoy being in the band because it’s like another family to me. Music has had a strong influence on me but I also have a strong interest in science. So I plan to learn about acoustics or sound waves in physics.   These pictures all represent me for who I am and what my interests are.            

What’s In a Name?

When I first meet a new person, nine out of ten times that person will think or assume that I am Indian. However, I do not believe there is a single drop of Indian blood in me. In fact, I am a Mexican-American. What is even more amusing is that my name also throws off the new person as well too: Ashleigh Megan Richelle. Not your typical Hispanic name, yet it suits me just fine.

The history behind the making of my name is not very complex. My mother picked out the name Ashleigh one day when she happened to see it on a sign. She knew that was the name for me. Of course, my family on my mother’s side wanted me to have a more traditional Hispanic name like Guadalupe or Maria, but my mother held firm on the name Ashleigh. What I appreciate most about my first name is that it is unique in its spelling. There are only three other Ashleighs that I have seen with the common spelling. It makes me feel special that I can stand out in this way. My last name, on the other hand, is quite a mystery. Let’s just say that my last name may not even be the correct last name, but that is a long story that should not be delved into now. What I do know for sure is that my last name, Richelle, is of French origin. Whether my last name is the correct one or not, the roots of the name have coincided with who I am today and what inspires me.

In my montage is a medley of imagery that makes up who I am. Of course I include the colors of the Mexican flag on my softball field to show pride for my culture. I also include the Eiffel Tower, not because my last name is of French origin, but because for the longest time I have had a deep connection with France. Call me crazy, but even before I knew the origin of my last name, I had always been fascinated, inspired and in love with the country. It is the one place in the world that I would want to visit. In the background of my montage is a picture of a ripple from a water drop layered on top with pictures of exactly five daisies and three dragonflies. The daisies and dragonflies with the corresponding numbers signify a few of my favorite things: my favorite flower, favorite animal and favorite numbers. The background image of the ripple represents how I am a very emotional person (i.e. crying). Ever since I was a little girl, I was always empathetic with everything and everyone.

In the foreground, there is much more to look at. I set my scene on a softball field because the sport had a big impact on my life. When on the field and at play, nothing matters at the moment. Softball became an outlet for me to let out all my frustrations. It helped build my character and made me better-rounded. Around the softball field, one can also spot a bright green tree, a moose, and the characters Little Miss Shy and Oscar the Grouch. The bright green tree is actually an Ash Tree. The direct translation of my name is “of the ash tree” so it only seemed appropriate to include it somehow. The moose found in the scene is actually there to represent my childhood (and today) nickname: Moose! My mother came up with the name because I had always been a big kid growing up. I passed my mom in height several years ago, so it was then that she began calling me Moose because a moose is a very massive and robust animal, like I was and still am today.

The last two characters found on my montage are Oscar the Grouch of Sesame Street and Little Miss Shy. Oscar the Grouch is on my montage because he describes three main characteristics of me: Eyebrows, smelliness and grouchiness. Now before you get all weirded out, please take a second to read on. When I was little, I had this bad habit of not taking a shower everyday. I will not go into detail, but be sure that that phase is long gone! Also when I was little, I was a very hairy child. So as you can assume I had a bit of a monobrow growing up. Nothing extreme, yet was still present. Lastly, I mention the grouchiness for one reason only: I am NOT a morning person.

Little Miss Shy represents exactly what her name states: being shy. I had always been a very shy and insecure person. I have always been very socially awkward (and still am to a certain degree), so making friends was such a hassle. For a while, my shyness left me a loner in grade school. As time went on though (and honestly with special thanks to this program) I have been able to break out of my shell. I include the Little Miss Shy character to remind me of how much I have grown and a reminder to help others get through such troubles too.

“Is it pronounced like Radical? Or is it Rad-ika?” is the first remark I come across when I say my name. Radhika Mitra, when people hear my name for the first time, they have various reactions. Some say it’s beautiful, others directly connect it with my ethnicity and others don’t really take the time to understand what it means. Radhika comes from an Indian goddess named Radha, though it is religious, goddess Radha represents a sense of divine energy. In my images I highlighted the pink flower and the goddess to represent the soul of my name. My last name, Mitra is very unique and relates to my Bengali heritage directly. The contribution of naming me Radhika Mitra came from my grandparents. I have represented their love and support through a traditional Indian agarbati holder (incense stick holders) wrapped around with a payal (anklet with jingles on the ends). It is because of my grandparents, I had a childhood that instilled the values and morals I posses today.

My montage displays my passion, values and dreams, which defines who I really am in the inside. My love for photography arose from my father, who has always been the person I look up to. I have dedicated a camera on my montage to represent my father’s love as well as to present my interest for the art of photography.

Music is one of my greatest passions. I have been attached with my piano through the rainy and sunny days. I had thought of giving it up, but that is when I truly understood how much I love it. Piano has become a strong driving force in my life. People often ask me, “Radhika, if you could have a super power what would you have?” I always answer, “To make people smile.” Piano is the only way I can do that. I can bring in happiness in people’s life through my music. My dad being a photographer, he influenced me greatly on the art I pursue as my passion, which is music. He always tells me , “Always do what you love and stick to it, Don’t jump around.” I find his words encouraging at times and overwhelming at others, but in the end I always feel inspired.

Balance in body, mind and spirit is an important component in my life as the world just continues to pour stress and work down our back. Without the balance I find my self lost and complaining. My Ma always gives me advice when I feel that way. She tells me, “Bringing discipline and balance in your life can be the only way to heal your self from the stress.” I practice martial arts to not only train my self to stay physically fit, but to also stay away from stress. Thus, I have given a picture of myself when I began training. At first, it was very challenging for me to bring structure and commitment in my life, but as time went, I developed and grew. I chose a picture which was taken in the beginning to represent the challenges and rewards I have received when I was introduced to martial arts.

My goal is to attend Stanford University for my future education. I know with determination and with the right heart I can reach there and go on to make a difference in the world.

These are all the things that encompasses around the name Radhika Mitra. My identity and my life does not solely rest on my name, instead it involves everything that makes me myself. I will always continue to stand with great pride in myself, my background and my values.

lil-rob-summer-nights

Day to day that passes we are surrounded by media. CNN, i-pods, Disturbia, Myspace all examples of news, music, movies, internet we are exposed to on a daily basis. I know on a about a daily basis music by rappers has an effect on me because I don’t know but I feel like what they sing sometimes relates to what’s going on in my life.

Sometimes what Lil Rob, or Big Moe sing does really relate to a point in my life that im going through.

As I’ve been growing technology has been changing a lot right in front of my eyes. I’ve gone from big boxed TV’s to new flat LCD screens. I went from my Super Nintendo to Nintendo 64 to Playstation 1 and later 2.

Now in high school a piece of technology that plays an important role in my life are computers. I use them for homework class work and projects. On the side I also use it for my music and Myspace. I’ve learned how to use programs that help you make movies, others that help you make commercials, or even just presentations.

Either way media and technology are around us all the time and instead of just using this technology I believe we can use it for good and better. I think we can use it for bigger things. Like our teacher, Trevor said,” We wish we couldn’t say that technology is the key to our future,” but I mean really take a look around and find out and get involved by finding out how technology has done for you.

Trevor,

I’m not going to be here this Thursday so is there anything I need to know or have before tech class next Tuesday?

Media et Moi

I recently found an old home video of my family and me visiting Half Moon Bay on Halloween. My favorite part was an approximately 3 minute long segment of 4 year old me unsteadily riding a pony and repeatedly yelling, “Austin!” at my baby brother. I could tell I was having a lot of fun, yet I don’t remember a thing about that trip. Thanks to media, namely our ancient cinder block of a video camera, I can now go back and relive the moment. There is so much more that makes up media than you know, or at least I knew. In a way, technology is what makes the world go ‘round these days, but technology can also have opposite and sometimes detrimental effects as well.

From my computer at home to my always-by-my-side IPod, technology is constantly around me and affecting me. My first experiences with media began during my pre-kindergarten and on years of home videos. Nowadays, it is all about having the latest IPod or the newest LG camera phone. As a child (and even now), I was completely fascinated by all the buttons and toggles and etc., not to mention the gadgets’ shiny colors. It is simple factors like color and style that make the actual contraption so popular. Furthermore, it is the ever-evolving media capabilities that make these machines ever more effective at exposing the public to different types of media.

Music, video and the internet are probably the top three forms of media exposure. Media, in all its forms, has also provided an effective way of communicating all over the world. While telephonically and using email is the most direct way of communication, it is often the indirect forms of communication such as music, television and internet that have a much bigger influence. From musicians, like The Foo FightersKT Tunstall, to videos on NBC concerning the war or Nickelodeon, home of great cartoons, all provide some sort of message to their audience, positive and negative. and

As technology and media changes, the world changes as well. Media can change how people communicate with each other. Through programs like Adobe Photoshop and Windows Movie Maker, communication becomes more focused on what we see with our eyes. Media can make communication more beautiful, more pleasing and more entertaining. These changes are even occurring now. At my high school, Santa Teresa High School, there is a program called the Multimedia Arts Magnet Program. In this environment, we use programs like those said above. I have learned how too communicate my ideas, opinions and likes through art and technology, integrated into one. It is in this class that I have learned to create new memories in an abstract way.