Project 1 Reflection: Manifestation

            This analysis, for me, was very odd. It was not something that seemed to be hard at first glance, and analysis a place in its own right is not a difficult task. It was not until the lens was needing to be introduced and utilized that I found my writing to be lacking. I consider myself to be a mediocre writer, and by all accounts there are any number of my class peers whose writing is far superior, however I had anticipated this assignment to be quick and trivial. My thoughts were misguided and I found myself struggling with incorporating what was required. My thoughts were never coherent enough to be placed on a page in one sitting, and my mind was never on the same track after the fact; this lead to hours, over several days, of struggling to find what to right about. Looking back on the assignment from an outside point of view I find that if I had started my observations with a lens in mind and using that same said lens to pull out details, my paper would have been able to flow better as well as complete what was being asked in a more satisfactory manner. One word that I find describing what I wrote is disappointment. My first analysis was well thought through but lacked direct connection to Mary Austin in both ideas as well as comments. After which my second, third, and consequently 4, and final, drafts lacked the proper ideas. The analysis, however detailed, was based in a faulty thought process. One meant to see the person/s that were involved as well as the environment as something that was alive, instead of seeing the natural side with all that was there to offer.

            I feel as though my analysis was subpar and lacking key features. And, with the field I have thus far chosen to pursue, Nuclear Particle Physics, observations as a whole are not always what is necessary at the time. To see the whole is a good way to work, that is seeing the end game, but to observe and be able to have a mind set in analytical terms one distinct topics and with an obvious focus is key. As I have stated in the previous section  the dissatisfactory work that I submitted, for I could not think how to fix it more before I left for work, is displeasing to me and calls to my attention the need for me to find the focus prior to starting a project and then keeping that focus the entire way through. I plan to . . . well plan in advance to further elevate my understanding of what is called for as well hone my abilities to better myself.

Secondary observation notes

Project #1 Worksheet                                                           

Your Place: TMPCT 150_________________________________________________________

What are the intended functions of the place?                    

Learning, social gathering, research, and information.

What overt messages does the place send (i.e., openly communicated through signs)?

Place of knowledge and camaraderie 

What covert messages does the place send (i.e., hidden messages)?

Secrets of society and the life of the community

Have previous users left traces behind in the place?

Yes, all over in the forms of: trash, markings, damages, ect.

Has the place been re-appropriated (i.e., beyond its original functions)?

As far as I see it has not changed since it was built, and that the function has always been the same.

What social or cultural customs did you observe (i.e., rules governing appropriate behavior)?

All rules of society fit directly into this area. There are the customs and social behavior between people, a virtual law and order system, educational professionalism, and all forms of respect and disrespect.

Who has access to the place?  Are there insiders and outsiders?

For the main part of the area everyone has access to the area. Whether it is in the classrooms or food areas, although, there are restricted areas that are for authorized personal.

Who owns the place?

As far as I know or have seen the land is owned by the University as well as the classrooms/authorized areas, but then the food areas would be owned by private party and passport office would be owned by the government.

What is the place’s value (i.e., monetary or otherwise)?

In terms of monetary value it would reach into the millions, but in terms of social and behavior value there is no way to put a cap on it. It is an invaluable social area.

Are there official representations of the place (i.e., online, in promotional materials)?  Do they accurately capture the place as you experienced it?

There are posters and signs as well as advertisements that sell the building but they do not show the true nature of the area.

Is the place in transition, a changing place?

The changes would be slow and drastic so as far as is shown there is no changes soon to be happening.

What conflicts or tensions are there in the place?

The tensions are in all forms of life, from school to work to friends.

What is the place’s history?  Do you see evidence of the past there in the present?

I have no idea the history of this place but there is an archeology department here which suggests that the buildings’ history is not of significance, but that history of the area that this building is in.

How does this place differentiate itself from other places?  What other places is it similar to, but how is it different from those places?

Similar to a mall but smaller and more personal with the ability to teach instead of sapping the intelligence from people.

What questions do you have about your place?

Mostly just why did they clump all of this together?

Key Features / Profiles (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 165-166)

An interesting subject.  What is unusual about your place?  Alternatively, is there something ordinary about it that you can show in an intriguing way?

Unusual in all that aspects of it. Ordinary in the incorporation of society.

Any necessary background.  What background information will you need to include about the place in order to situate readers?

None.

An interesting angle.  Rather than trying to tell readers everything about the place, what angle(s) might you use?

Societal implications and uses of this area in terms of nature and beauty.

A firsthand account.  Did you interact with people in the place or participate in some way?  What experiences did you have there that you can write about using “I”?  (Yes, first person point of view is encouraged, especially for this paper.)

I didn’t interact with anyone, merely watched them.

Engaging details.  What specific information must you include in your description of the place?  What potential does your place have for the use of sensory images, figurative language, dialogue, anecdotes, and showing rather than telling?  What do you want the dominant impression to be?

Relationships between people and people, people and the building, people and nature, and the nature and building relationship. Change in behaviors and the beauty that is seen.

Generating Ideas and Text (taken from the Norton Field Guide (Goggin and Bullock) Chapter 16, pages 168-169)

Explore what you already know about your subject.  Why do you find this place interesting?  What did you already know about it?

Incorporates so much in such a small area and demonstrates an ecosystem scaled down to a single area.

If you’re planning to interview someone, prepare questions.  What would you like to ask someone in the place in order to better understand it?

I am not.

Do additional research.  Does your place have an online component?  How else might you gather additional research?

No online component but paper trails are all around that could provide information about specific areas.

Analyze your findings.  What patterns, images, or recurring ideas or phrases did you use to describe your place?  What contrasts or discrepancies do you see?

The changing beauty and characteristics and the way things interact to help or hinder the surrounding area.

Come up with an angle.  What is most memorable about your subject?  What most interests you?  What will interest your audience?

For me it is the interactions and change, and I feel that will be the same for those who read it as well.

Observations of a place

Russell Shearman

Professor L.

English 101 class 86833

13 September 2012

Observation Notes

·         There is a quiet solitude about the classes.

·         Unnerving how easily noise reverberates inside.

·         Just through the door there are restaurants, or at least places to eat.

·         To the right there is a passport room.

·         In that passport room silence is rarely broken by the sound of machinery or on occasion the snickering from a conversation.

·         To the left there are vending machines.

·         Also to the left are bathrooms, both for males as well as females.

·         Behind the wall I rest my back upon is a room, now I am not sure what this room is, but on the walls/windows are markings and paintings and pictures for archeology.

·         The room is labeled that it is for archeology, but what kind?

·         There is no line of sight into the mysteries of the room and therefore leaves me to my thoughts and imaginations on what is behind the wood, glass, and steel.

·         The sounds from the vending machines and water fountain disturb the serene quiet and blissful peace that seems to pervade the halls and rooms of this space.

·         Outside people sit blissfully eating away, conversing with each other on any number of topics, unaware that they are being watched and studied.

·         I do not know these people, and I never will, but they provide me with the knowledge that there are people and possibly things that watch over us without our knowledge.

·         As for scenery in terms of nature there is very little. If we expand the vision for a moment we see outside of this mechanically cooled sanctuary of life is and immense parking lot.

·         Connecting that lot to the world are road, and those roads lead to more buildings and parking garages, as well as the school.

·         The only life that is to be seen out here are the little tufts of grass, or weeds as it may be, and several man planted trees.

·         Nothing here screams or even whimpers of nature and the beauty she hold.

·         Time slips by without a thought as to who has entered into these halls, and is held up against the heat waiting to learn or to partake in the necessary task of eating.

·         There are many doors that seem to lead into an abyss, as all that is seen behind them is darkness, without even the slightest glimmer of light.

·         The only natural light that lingers here comes from the three doors that are open for use, all of which are clearly visible from this vantage point. One to the South that is only to exit, one to the west were commerce takes place, and then one to the north by which you pass the archeology room as well as the passport area.

·         I cannot see how people so blindly and idly sit and feign ignorance, for that is what I hope it is, to the natural wonder that is being taken away from them.

·         People sit and chat and make friends with each other, forgetting about the place that cares and loves

·         them, they forget the roots in which life comes. They unwittingly subject themselves to the ill care that technology provides in the terms of the city.

·         Few stumble in thinking where has all the beauty of nature gone, but even fewer see what beauty man has created in its stead.

·         The clocks tick can only be faintly heard. I know not where it comes from, only that there is one somewhere in this space of clam.

·         People walk wistfully by with nay even a notice that anything is going on out of there world.

·         That this, a mini ecosystem, could be the place of study and a place of beauty.

·         There is clean, cool, and refreshing water at the push of a button. Plumbing that prevents disease from uncleanliness. Food that is readily available either by order or through a machine and the pressing of a button. A way to make yourself legal in other countries, and an educational system that thrives in this area.

·         There are those who have walked in this “T” shaped hall that you can tell care for their wellbeing as well as that wellbeing of their fellow man, and then there are those who are here merely to be happy for a time.

·         Those that wish to teach and those that wish to learn.

·         People who want handouts and an easy life and those who are willing to work for what they have and will have, and willing to struggle to find joy in their lives as a result of the effort they put forth.

·         Only time will tell if those who acutely observe there environment notice that all is not what it seems, for under this layer of trust that people see lie secrets that few know, and maybe even fewer would divulge.

·         Secrets inside the man, inside the woman, inside the child, the worker, the teacher, the student, the server, and inside even the building itself.

·         Noises can be heard coming from no discernible place. Maybe from down below or behind or it might just be the thoughts of sorrow, joy, anguish, love, misery, compassion, and all other sorts of human emotions that rattle around while secrets lay hidden.

·         I see a couple caringly holding each other’s hand and smiling whilst they speak, but I also see a young gentleman who gazes longingly at the girl. A friend perhaps or maybe just somebody that was once known to her, somebody who’s care and compassion was turned away.

·         There are those who walk by with angry scowls and an ill favored look on the day. Whether it be from something that is just this day or something that has been pressing on their souls.

·         Every so often there is what could be considered the calm before the storm. Time ticks slowly and without care then in a flurry a small army of bodies rushes from the class room and out to freedom in the unsuppressed, albeit unnatural and manmade, landscape.

·         There are pipes that lead to the floor and then nowhere into another mystery, another secret that this building holds. A building that is comprised of all things of nature, bent into the use of man by man. A building that harbors what the world has to offer in terms of spirituality and emotion. A building, that has things that form both naturally and are made comprise the heart and soul of this place.

Analysis of a cover

Russell Shearman

Professor Linthicum

English 101 class 86833

9 September 2012

The Sorrow Behind the Cover

            There are many words that describe human emotions and the effect that they have on how a person acts, and this cover of Time magazine incorporates a few, as well as the correct ones to bring about action. On the surface the sadness in the young child is apparent and the pain this child shows cannot be masked. The claim of ignorance to atrocities happening all over an entire continent cannot continue to shine on the faces of those who are supposed to be saviors and crusaders for those afflicted. On September 7^th of 1992 a Time magazine photographer captured the human essence in its weakest state.

            A state of not simply sorrow or the pain that comes with loss, but the effects of anguish, misery, heartbreak, despair, gloom, and what is caused by maltreatment, malnourishment, and inhumanity of peoples’ greed. Even as a wealthy and pompous king sits feasting on his throne and throwing scraps to those that he is supposed to watch over and protect so to sit the dictators and warlords the un-freed African nations. Glorifying themselves and watching as the people that are thought of as lesser rot. Time captured the need for hope and justice and the cry for help without ever writing a word. Showing that the so-called civilized world does not always pay heed to the things that are found unbeautiful or that are out of sight, but sometimes must be called to action and to remembrance that there is always a humble and weak start to nations that grow to thrive and prosper. And, that with help through the misery and turmoil, the oppression and agony that people endure a glorious outcome may come. In the cover the young boy is looking up at an unseen figure which suggest that the oppressor, the torturer and person causing the sorrow is readily around and active in the life of the one in misery. There are many causes of all of extreme emotion and many terms to describe those same said emotions, and behind all of these emotions lies a perpetrator/s, sometimes unseen and unknown, but needlessly there. There is also always a hope in the background that can be seen, although sometimes it is hard, through the bad.

http://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,19920907,00.html

Please read before the paper.

I am not going to apologize for writing on a religious subject. I will however apologize to offending anyone and their personal beliefs. I try not to be pushy and throw my religion at anyone, but this as I was reading this text, and receiving a substantial number of questions from classmates (in my Hist 109/110), this topic seemed to fit perfectly with what has been on my mind. In this I mean no disrespect to other faiths and beliefs and I whole heartily will accept anyone who has the desire to be a good person and functioning member of society, but I also have a great love of my faith. I merely wished to clarify what our view was and analyse how this gap came between all the Christian sects. The strife that has arisen from fighting is truly sad.

Again I apologize for and offense that may be taken from my select point of view, but I do not and will not apologize for what I believe in. Thank you for spending the time and effort to read this, and if you so desire the paper, and have a wonderful day.

Analysis of a writing situation: "The only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent"

Analysis of a Writing Situation

“The Only True God and Jesus Christ Whom He Hath Sent”

By: Jeffery R. Holland

            This piece of work is of a religious nature. There is a common misconception amongst people that persons of the “Mormon” faith, as we are frequently called, are not of the Christian sect. This is, however, a terribly wrong statement. As depicted in this talk by one of the many Church officials whom have been put into place by the support and sustaining of the people of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, also known as Mormons, Jeffery R. Holland explains that Mormons indeed are Christians. Not only is it explicitly stated in the name of The Church but also in the actions preformed and lifestyles that most members live. Elder Holland states that “we do not need to be apologists for our faith, but we would like not to be misunderstood. So with a desire to increase understanding and unequivocally declare our Christianity…” (Holland).

            Some might wonder as to why this is the piece that has been chosen, and the reason is simple. The simplicity of the misunderstanding leads to great controversy between religious sects and the people of the world. And, as these feelings of hurt and mistrust grow and become more rampant, instead of growing into a unified nation and even world, the division becomes greater and the strains on human ties, especially in the family, grow thicker and more volatile, and with all misunderstanding some person or persons are hurt by the concept. As well as how this misunderstanding came to be. History shows that through misunderstandings and mistrust of others wars and contentions form and violence becomes part of what could be a peaceful world. In the Mormon faith there are a set or articles, thirteen to be exact, that state simple and core beliefs of the faith. The first and foremost states “’ “We believe in God, the Eternal Father, and in His Son, Jesus Christ, and in the Holy Ghost. ‘” (Holland). This statement testifies that there is a distinct belief in Jesus Christ, therefore a connection to Christianity, which is a belief that Christ lived, died, and lives again and through Him mankind might be save.  This also states that there is no belief in the trinity. That fact causes the misconstrued conceptions that people have.

            The fact of the matter being that the Trinity, or God the father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are one, comes from no scripturally based knowledge, but was instead dictated by a council of man “in the year A.D. 325…” (Holland). This council combined all three members of a distinct Godhead into one. Now there is some truth to the statement that the Godhead is unified as one. Though the confusion being that they are one being and are, “abstract, absolute, transcendent, immanent, consubstantial, coeternal, and unknowable, without body, parts, or passions and dwelling outside space and time.” (Holland), is incorrect. They are three separate being unified as one in purpose and action, which is to save all mankind, for all people truly are the children of a loving Father in heaven. This statement about the Godhead may best be summed up by “a fourth-century monk cried out, “Woe is me! They have taken my God away from me, … and I know not whom to adore or to address.” (Holland).        

            As a reiteration of the above statements there is no scriptural saying to provide a Trinitarian figure, but only a creed that has been passed down through the ages and brought turmoil to the Christian faith. Time and time again blood has been shed in the name of religion and there is little use for this, and the root of this bloodshed and hatred is misunderstandings between peoples.

[Source] Taken from a talk given in the General Conference of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, October 2007 by Elder Jeffery R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles.

http://www.lds.org/general-conference/2007/10/the-only-true-god-and-jesus-christ-whom-he-hath-sent?lang=eng&query=%22the+only+true+god+and+jesus+christ+whom+he+hath+sent%22