Photo Essay

I am quite unsure how this photo essay is going to
look on my blog. I haven't yet figured out to
reliably move my photos around. I would like to put them in a nice straight line, though only for the last one is the placement really important. If you haven't figured it out yet, I am trying to
illustrate the community of technology users.






All of the people in the photos are connected to me--
most quite close. I was trying to show the
upcoming generation and their natural curiosity
and affinity with computers, cell phones, X-box,
and the like. I am a part of them, but it is a
struggle for me to stay with them. Since the
little ones pictured are my grandchildren, it is
crucial to me to keep this connection. I want to
be important in their lives and media will
definitely be with us.







In our media education
masters's program, I hope to continue
to learn ways to, not just keep up with them,
but help to guide them through the media maze.













































The last picture, the one of the older couple
dancing, is very important to the essay. The
couple are my in-laws, Ken and Ann Smith.
They are my technology role-models. They
are in their 70s (well, in a few months they
both will be) and they use their computers
daily. They both have their own, but I think
they actually have four working computers
in their home. They had a computer long
before we did--I think they still have an
Apple 2E in the house somewhere. Among
his other computer activities, Ken spends
many hours daily indexing for the LDS family
history program. Ann is writing her personal
history, is ward historian, and actually works
online for a company based in Poland. They
keep up with their posterity through emails.
I think they are amazing and, technologically
speaking, I want to be just like them when I grow up.

Amazing Grace

I saw the movie Amazing Grace this past weekend. I have been wanting to see it for quite sometime and it was everything I expected--very moving, inspirational and historic--and I really enjoyed it. If you haven't seen it, it is about the fight to abolish the slave trade in Great Britain. It tells the mostly true story of several good men (and one woman) who spend many years, much money, and a great deal of at least the main character's health in this noble cause. It also tells the story of the repentant slaver who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace." That actually was my favorite part. I will never listen to the words of that beautiful hymn in quite the same way again.

However much I liked the film, there was a new element in my viewing. It was interesting to see that my recent education has, to quote one of Jeana's students, "ruined" movies for me. I didn't just love this great story; I also could see that it wasn't the most well-made movie. It's flashbacks and forward were confusing--I couldn't keep track of which was which and I have no real idea of how long the fight took, though I think about 20 years. It was a decent telling of a beautiful story, but it just wasn't really art. I am still enough of a novice in this field that I can't tell you any more about what was wrong with it, but I could feel that it was missing something.

That said, it still was good for all the reasons I already mentioned and if you haven't seen it I heartily recommend it. I may purchase it to use one scene in class. The story is contemporary with our own Revolution & writing of the Constitution. There is a moment in Parliament where several speakers are openly disdainful of the idea of petitions and rule of the people rather than by the "rightful rulers." I think this scene would go far in helping to illustrate how really revolutionary our new form of government was.

P.S. Notice how I got some images into this post! Whoopee! There is hope for me, yet. Now can someone help me figure out how to move them around? My usual "format to move" doesn't seem to work.

Thoroughty confused

Okay . . . here are the two images I wanted to have go with the last two posts. I have no idea why I was suddenly able to get them and why I couldn't before--let this be a harbinger of good things in my media future.

I think my media blogs have not been what was intended by either Amy or Erika, but I hope they work given the raw material that I am.

Disappointing forays

This post is about my media disappointments this week. As you all know, I am the most novice of our group--at least when it comes to electronic media interactions. This week I have tried to do a couple of new (to me) things and they were not all successful.

I am going to start backward--just a few minutes ago I posted about my Sunday morning viewing. I wanted to add a photo about the Quick Draw segment I told you about. I searched and searched to no avail. I decided that I really needed an image in the post, so I decided that Gertie the Dinosaur would do. It was very easy to find an image of her and I attempted to insert her into the text. I tried two different methods: my usual cut-n-paste and, when that didn't work, I tried working with the blogger site, reading instructions, inserting a URL where they asked for it. There is still no image on the post.

#2 Last week my niece had twin girls. One of them was given my mom's middle name as her middle name--in fact she is the fourth child in the family to be given the same middle name as my mom, who passed away nearly sixteen years ago. As soon as I realized this I thought of Sally Field's classic "you like me, you really like me" Oscar acceptance speech (1984/5, Places in the Heart). I could visualize my mom, looking down from the spirit world, saying that. It made me smile and I decided to send an email out to my family, retelling my "vision" and add a clip of Sally Field from that Academy Awards show. But, I search as I may, I have been unable to find this clip. I did find that it had been on YouTube, but was removed for copyright issues. I went to oscar.org, the official Academy site, hoping they would show it, but no luck there either. This was really disappointing because it was a new foray for me, to send an email with clip, and I spent a couple hours trying to find it--I figure is out there somewhere, but where? I still haven't sent the email . . . it just won't be the same w/o the clip. BTW, I did find out that it is the most lampooned Oscar speech ever and I remember the clip the way most people do--however we aren't remembering it correctly. Here is the actual quote: "I haven't had an orthodox career. And I've wanted more than anything to have your respect. The first time I didn't feel it. But this time I feel it. And I can't deny the fact that you like me... right now... you like me. Thank you." If you can see a picture of Sally Field on this post, then you will know that Erika helped me solve that dilemma.

#3 Okaaayy--guess that didn't work either. I am finding that when I click on the "add image" icon for the first time, nice little instructions about how to do so come up. But, if I close it and try to return, I can't get back to the instructions. Does anyone know what I am talking about and know how to help me?

Enough about my disappointments. I hope my blog signature was well chosen--I want to be the Learner, not "she who threw in the towel."

Sunday Morning Viewing

The only television show I watch regularly is Sunday Morning on CBS. It is an eclectic mix of news/variety/arts/politics that I really enjoy. This last Sunday they introduced a new segment about media in the lives of our children. On the cbsnews.com website they called it QUICK DRAW. The title is perfect. As the voice over tells the story, a line drawing emerges to illustrate it. My first thought was of our sketcher Matt; my second thought was of the early cartoonist, Winsor McCay, the one who drew Gertie the Dinosaur. Basically it showed three generations of a real family and how the explorable world of the average eight-year-old has gone from six to zero miles from home. At first this is only sad as you think of all the obese, housebound children of today. But then they showed the housebound child conversing/playing/learning about friends, family, and places across the globe. But we need to help kids and families find some middle ground, because there really is no substitute for being out in nature, not just viewing it on a screen. I tried to find a link that I could give you so you could watch it, but all I found was this other person's blog about it:

I loved the new segment CBS has introduced: QUICK DRAW: Josh Landis and Mitch Butler on the age of anxiety. I will be watching to see if it makes it to YouTube. It was a very good “editorialized cartoon” of how fast things have changed. Children are no longer outdoor children, but indoor children. It reminded me of how many hours I would spend exploring while my parents had no idea or concern as to where I was.


I had to smile when I read "makes it to YouTube." I had never been on YouTube until last September and really resisted going there for Amy's class. I think I had the typical older generation's attitude of "I don't understand it . . . it must be bad." Since September my attitude has changed--there are so many fun, interesting, and just plain cool things on YouTube. I wouldn't have thought to watch for Quick Draw on YouTube, but now I will.

Hello Media Mates!

Well, this is it . . . I guess I have a blog now.

This is supposed to be a media blog, so I thought I would start with one of my favorite media images: me and my '04 Thunderbird.