10 Question for Maya Angelou

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,2257965777001_2139640,00.html

This is an interview with the iconic Maya Angelou. She is an award-winning writer, poet, and lyricist. She is known for her unique tone in her poetry such as, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”, and how she relates most of her poetry to the African-American culture.

She has written a total of 7 biographies including her new autobiography called “Mom & Me & Mom”, a story of her relationship with her mother and the time she spent with her. She also speaks of her upcoming 85th birthday. She speaks briefly on her past works and makes the inspiring comment that basically states that even though she has had so much success she still wants the write so that everyone can understand it.

This woman is a remarkable writer and historical figure to be looked at and embraced as what it means to write with a purpose of something other that some kind of profit.

Man Struck by Lightning a Total of Four Times, and Lived!

So on the news this morning, I learned that a man from Columbia was struck by lightning not once, not twice, but four times and is still living to tell the tale! So what the people of the village decided to do was bury his whole body in dirt to see if this would take all of the static out of his body. It was very interesting to watch. 🙂

I still can’t believe this man is still living to talk about it! ¡Que soprenda!

Looking to Study Abroad This Summer?

Are you a language minor or major and would like to study abroad this summer? Then look no further than the Spanish in Costa Rica program which will take place from May 19 to June 22 2013. Enjoy beautiful beaches and gorgeous sights, all while being completely immersed in the Spanish language. I will be going to San Jose, Costa Rica this summer and can’t wait!! While there, I will take tons of pictures to show everyone. It has always been a dream of mine to travel abroad, and this summer I will finally get the chance. 🙂 I hope everyone at least considers traveling abroad at some point in their educational journey. It will be an unforgettable experience. Even though travel abroad is a little on the expensive side, there are grants, scholarships, and loans available to students. 🙂 So, just consider it!

Ahh Costa Rica.¡Pura vida!

Southern Miss rolls past Louisiana Tech

Southern Miss rolled past LA Tech  63-52 in the second round of the National Invitational Tournament Monday night. Southern Miss gets revenge from a 65-55 lost to LA Tech on Dec. 8 this season.  Dwayne Davis and Jerrold Brooks led the way for the golden eagles with 13 points a piece. Jonathan Mills poured out 10 point and 8 rebounds.  Raheem Appleby led the bulldogs in scoring 17 points. Alex Hamilton finish with 15 points, 13 which came in the first half.  LA Tech really struggle against Southern Miss zone defense and turned the ball over 18 times.The golden eagles moved to 27-9 on the season. LA tech (27-7) seasons comes to a end with the lost. The Golden Eagles advances to the NIT quarterfinals and will host BYU on Wednesday in Reed Green Coliseum. 

Multimedia- Photography

“Gaines Ray Newell, a 67-year-old retiree from Richton, Miss., hangs plastic grocery bags on the fence surrounding his pea patch in attempt to scare deer away from eating his crop”

The first photograph I took illustrates the rule of thirds. My grandfather is standing along one of the vertical lines, and his head is hitting the upper-right “golden point.”

“Three tomatoes are plucked from the garden prematurely for a traditional country favorite- fried green tomatoes”

This next photograph illustrates taking the advantage of the repetition of lines in a scene. It also plays with shapes- circles and rectangles.

“A rambunctious puppy takes a split second out of his outdoor playtime to satisfy his curiosity”

The last photograph illustrates an extreme close up shot. It also plays with depth of field.

Photography assignment

This first picture of an abandoned building in downtown Hattiesburg, Miss. illustrates the concepts of balance and repetition in photography. The windows’ shape and colors are repeated and displayed symmetrically across the building, and parallel lines on the top and bottom add to the geometrical aspect of the whole.

This second picture of the same building shows a good example of framing and depth: The wall on the foreground has a frame that opens on a second level and wall, deeper in the background. The side walls give an idea of the building’s depth.

This last picture illustrates the concepts of repetition and contrast: the patterns of the floor and the shoe are repeated, and the geometry of these patterns, as well as the colors clash and form contrast between the subject and the background.

Photography Assignment

I took this picture in Cancun next to my hotel. It shows lines as the many concrete blocks stack and line down into the ocean. It’s also a form of depth perspective where the blocks are bigger up close but narrow as they go deeper into the ocean.

This is another picture I took in Cancun. My dad has a pose he does in front of every new place we travel to. This picture shows not only a long/wide shot because it is at a distance. It also displays scale by having my dad standing next to two large pillars.

My friends and I drove around the country when we were bored one day. This is a picture of one of those friends and myself displaying rule of thirds. We are offset from the whole picture making it more interesting with the little house in the background. I added a more vintage filter to make the picture more interesting and appealing to the eye.

Using the Rules of Third

            This is a picture of Laurel Mayor Melvin Mack.(bald black man).  This picture was cropped to take out the background. I took this picture of Mack ignorant to the rule of thirds.  As I continued to take pictures I began to realize that pictures where the object is in the dead center are boring to look at nor do they require one to use his/her imagine. But some pictures require one place the object in the center; like the picture I took of some Laurel High School basketball players. Although this picture is in the center, I took the picture from an angle, which makes it look decent. Over time I also figured out that angles make a good picture.  The picture of the laurel basketball players is me learning from trial and error what makes a good picture.  The third picture of the guy on the skateboard is a picture I took after learning about the rule of thirds. The picture is staged, but it really looks like he is moving forward. 

 

Scale shot of graffiti on a building

 

Medium shot of my dog Taffy

 

Close up shot of myself

Elements of Photography

Carla Smith dances with onlookers during her second line, a New Orleans wedding tradition that calls for the wedding party to parade around several blocks after the ceremony. This photo is a typical representation of “formal balance.” There are two items of each side of the frame that are proportional to one another.

Lionn James drums with fellow protestors from the “Occupy Wallstreet” movement during the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina. This photo represents the rule of thirds.

Caitlin Jackson bowls during a friendly game at Hub City Lanes in Hattiesburg, Miss. This photo represents several photographic elements: perspective, rule of thirds, silhouette and movement.