Quarter 3- Journal 9: The Wells' House

So this is basically my second home in life. I'm actually writing this Theory Of Knowledge journal in their house. I really love the laid back atmosphere that his house brings, and how much fun I always have when I come here. Having said that, I need some discipline to keep myself structured. So I don't know if I could actually live at the wells house, despite spending a lot of time here. I think it shows that people need a balance in life. For instance, I feel like I spend too much time doing homework, and I don't spend enough time exercising, or participating in physical activity. I also couldn't just be active without studying or learning things. This is probably why I could never be a gym teacher. While I consider everyone of the Wells family, I definitely need the house to keep my sanity and have fun. Another glorious thing at the Wells' house is their pantry. They just have unlimited amounts of food to snack on, and it's always delicious. However, I can never eat too much of it, since I would just feel sick. This further contributes to balance, and how people need a balance in what they eat as well. Therefore, I believe that in order for people to be sane, happy, content, or any combination of the three, they need balance.

Quarter 3- Journal 8: Obscenity in Art

Is there such a thing as obscenity in art? I don't think so, to be honest. If it's not published than it's definitely up to the discretion of the artist. If it is published, and the museum is private, than it's up to the discretion of the museum. If it is published, and the museum is public, than the public may have a say, but I still disagree with that. Art, by definition means "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." Therefore, the artists that paint things are expressing themselves. So if this is true, then art published at a museum reflects the desired expressions of that museum. Also, if a museum wants a painting at a museum, they should expect it to be obscene because they're artists who are expressing what they wish to express. Furthermore, the definition states that pieces of art are supposed to have beauty or emotional power. If someone finds something to be obscene, it obviously evokes emotion in them, therefore it's art, which means it belongs in a museum. For all of the reasons listed above, I do not believe there can be obscenity in art.

Quarter 3- Journal 7: Love Actually

Is a British film I watched the other week, that wasn't all that great of a movie. I'm sure others would disagree, but hte movie itself I found rather boring, dull and the plot never really seemed to go anywhere. This movie just followed four different sets of people, and their love lives, or lack thereof. While I could only get through an hour of it, the end seemed relatively predictable. Each person lusting for someone else in the end would end up with them, and everyone would be happy. Also, in the first hour, it just felt like the people who were obviously in love dealing with the internal strife of their conflict. Therefore, I don't like films where the plot is only love. However, I've talked with some friends about something like this before, and we agreed that movies are very boring if they have no love story behind them. So I guess for producers out there, there needs to be a balance between love in movies, and other plots. Too much of one or the other gets boring and unwatchable. Maybe I'm being too analytical, but I think this may say something about life itself. In life, you need to find a balance between love and the other parts of your life. If you focus too much on one, the other will fall apart, sort of like in movies.

Quarter 3- Journal 6: The Amazing Race

is a reality television show. Its 16th season premieres tonight, and I'm quite excited. I've seen every season but the ninth, and I love the show. The show travels around the globe, and has teams competing for a grand prize of a million dollars. So right off the bat it has two things I love, competition and cultural diversity. The show takes you throughout the globe to different places, and therefore you can see how different cultures exist, and what exactly goes on. Most of the challenges, interestingly enough, relate to normal activities and trends of the country in which they're racing. This adds to the things you can learn about different cultures while watching this show. Also, since teams race in pairs of two, you can see how relationships between different types of people grow and fade as time goes on. This always add to the comic relief of the show, since it's hilarious to see couples of different varieties and ages scream at each other. I've watched a lot of the show obviously, and it's taught me a lot about the world. Someday, my grandma and I plan to go on that show. I'd like to win, since I'm competitive, but I think it'd be a great way to exert my desire to travel. I think it's a great reality show that actually serves a purpose more than entertainment.

Quarter 3- Journal 5: 500 Days of Summer

Is a movie that I watched last night that I quite enjoyed. I'm going to analyze one of the major themes of the movie. In the setting of the movie, we discover that the main character, Tom, believes in things such as true love is fate. Upon learning this fact, we are introduced to Summer, who he immediately falls in love with. Throughout the movie, we see his and Summer's relationship grow and falter over the course of 500 days. To add conflict to this situation, Summer has a hard time feeling any deep emotions for anyone due to her parents' divorcing at a young age. Now I'm going to spoil the rest of the movie, so don't read if you plan on seeing it. But near througout the movie, Summer has a hard time calling their relationship anything but friendship, much to Tom's chagrin. Near the close of the movie, they grow more and more distanced, and eventually stop "seeing each other." After a random encounter in the park, around day 488 or so, they meet up, and Tom discovers that Summer is married. He is shocked, and can't look at her the same way. She describes that it was fate that brought her and her current husband together. After hearing this, he puts his effort into work and nothing more, and on day 500, meets another girl. After a bit of talking, he asks her to coffee, to which she says yes, after changing her mind. He discovers that her name is Autumn. While the movie is closing, he feels as though nothing is fate, it's all mere coincidence. I have to disagree with this movie. I think that love is fated. I can't explain it, but I feel like a moment in which you fall in love with someone is too special to be passed as coincidence. So while it was a good movie, I think one of its overall messages was incorrect.

Quarter 3: Journal 4- Ian C's latest blog

So just before writing this journal, I read Ian Cassidy's latest blog entry, and people (applied.) And thought it was quite interesting. I was glad to see myself on the last list, because I feel like I've given a lot of effort to earn my spot there, and I truly hope that he recpiprocates those feelings (in a platonic way). I think he does, since I can see them through his actions. However, there was another list that intrigued me especially. The one about "The happiest people know what they have, not what they want." I'm not surprised that I'm not on that list by any means, since I can be very needy, which may or may not come off as ungrateful to others. However, I would like to better myself in that category specifically, and try and not have to know what I want so much. At the same time, however, I want have ambitions, and I think there's a thin line between ambitious and grateful. I don't want to hold on to things that I have, in fear that they'll keep me behind. I want to move on to new things, in hope that they'll keep me going. So is always wanting more, really that bad? Because if you're content, then what is your motivation exactly? (Hopefully this is prompting Ian for another TOK blog). I'm not entirely sure how to find this balance. But in an attempt to better myself, I'm willing to go to hell and back to find it. TEACH ME RESH.

Quarter 3: Journal 3- ART as math

Since we touched base on this in class quite a few times, and had a scored discussion on it, this may seem redundant... or trite... or simply a vie for another journal entry. While the latter is true, my perspective on this topic has changed a bit, since hearing the arguments of Sean Berrodin, the Aurora High School art teacher. Despite being an artist, his adamant point of view remains that math is the closest of the subjects to art. While I used to disagree, saying that numbers have no real value unless applied, and numbers applied to real life don't contribute to art, he says that the mind must be creative in order to percieve and understand math at a deep level. Therefore, the creative mind, creatively using math to create things is therefore... creative, and henceforth art. While I'm still skeptic, mainly because I think that I'm awful at art, yet good at math, I see his point of view, and it does make me reconsider my own viewpoint. However, there is the argument coming from Miranda Amey and Chloe Staargaard. (Not so much Chloe anymore, since she talked to Berrodin). Anyway, they claim(ed) that art is emotional, because it's a portrayal of the artist's emotions. Math cannot be emotional, because all numbers are given rules that must be used when trying to portray things, whether it be proofs or applications, with them. Considering this argument, I completely agree. Conclusively, however, I am more open to the viewpoint that math could be seen as an art form, rather than my static view of art and math being so dissociated.