“Sharing is Caring!”

“Spread the News!”

“Extra, Extra, Read All About it!”

A theme that I often find myself circling is spreading the word.  Sharing thoughts and ideas and then reading all about them.  Word of mouth travels faster than anything it seems.  Its also usually occurs during casual conversations at events, parties, and dates.

Recently one of my friends has been sending me some amazing music that I have come to love.  I am a person who loves music, but has always been a little technologically challenged and thus never explored.  Now, I feel like the sacred Japanese Torri gates have allowed me to enter into a pure, relaxing, and unknown world.  Now, I actually know the name of the bands, their songs, and words!  Eureka!  Who knew Pandora’s box wasn’t so foreign as I thought?!

So, this artistic transformation into the music world inspired me to introduce 10 artists who work in a variety of mediums to you, in hopes that it will enlighten and rebirth your soul.  I chose to provide you with an amalgamation and not my top 10, because I’m flexible and benevolent.

Salvidor Dali

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Bankay

Keith Haring

Judy Chicago

Takashi Murakami

Friedensreich Hundertwasser

Frida Khalo

Andy Goldsworthy

Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Hope you enjoy!

Sara Majors in Art History and Enjoys long Walks.

Recently, one of my roommate’s family moved out of state. Not wanting to simply cancel their subscription to the Free Press, the delivery address got changed to our apartment here in Ann Arbor.

Personally, I’m not a big news reader.  I’ll pick up the Daily from time to time and I’m actually pretty good about reading though my RSS feed everyday.  Then again, I only have subscriptions to Ad Age and io9 (a sci-fi/comic junkie blog).  It’s a pretty good deal, I get the latest information on Toyota’s image, the most recent LOST theories, and updates on Earth’s coming up close call with an asteroid. Thus, I usually just toss out the paper with out looking at it.

There are two things I save, and they both arrive in the Sunday paper. 1) Coupons, because what college student doesn’t like to save money? and 2) Comics.

Every Sunday I now have three pages of color, filled with humor, sweet moments, and serious plots.  I usually not only send myself into giggles, but my roomie too because she finds it hilarious that I laugh out loud.  But how can I not? Comics are funny and remind me of when we used to get the paper when I was a child, a time when everyone one laughed out loud at the simplest of things.

I think that’s the beauty of comics; they speak to all ages.  You don’t have to be old or up to date on the political scene to understand most of the punch lines.  And you have to admire the cartoonists, they manage to fit an entire story into one to six panels, and very often only write a single line.  That takes a lot of talent, to be able to pack so much meaning into such little space.  On top of that, they are able to churn out a comic on at least a weekly basis.  I’m sure they have some wonderful ideas on how to overcome writer’s block.

As it is, I feel like the comic as an art form that is majorly overlooked. Those in the newspaper are barely read nowadays as subscription numbers drop, those for sale in Borders are viewed to be solely in the ‘geek’ category, and the couple of web comics that are on-line are typically discovered by those with a small, tight social circle that rarely extends past their own door.  Comics are a whole art scene to themselves, specializing in not only using the minimum amount of material to the greatest effects, but also in keeping readers interested and coming back for more.

Just think, if cartoonists led the world it would be a lot more efficient.

Your non-news-reading blogger,

Jenny

This ‘Winter’ Break, often incorrectly uttered Spring Break by many Michiganders, I decided to go home.  I wanted a break.  A break from the hustle and bustle of college life, from my life in Ann Arbor.  I wanted to go somewhere comfortable, new, refreshing.  College is great, but it sure is difficult.  Our generation seemed to be programmed to multi-task from the womb.  With cell phones and computers we are always connected, always seen.  I often idealize the time when dorm rooms had one telephone, one mode of communication, of connection from you to the outside world.  I imagine girls sitting by the phones for hours waiting for Mr. Right to call, or boys with their sweaty palms jumping at the sound of each methodical ring waiting for the sonorous voice of their beauty on the other end.

Ah, yes, the simple life, the easy life.

As I was discussing my life with my Father this past week, he commented how draining it must be to be so involved in x, y, and z and still expect to have a riveting social life.  I dramatized my congruency with his opinion, feeling the pressure release as I found I was not alone.  Society, parents, and even ourselves put pressure on us to have the resume with the most depth showing how active we are and what we are capable of.  We must prove ourselves to the world.

Life is all about balance, I suppose.  I dare to believe that in all that we do, we still find the time to relax, to enjoy the world around us.  To smile at those who pass us, or to even be daring and strike up a conversation with them instead of walking to the beat of our own drum blaring in our ears by our ipods.  To take in the chill of the winter breeze as it stings our nose or to stop, close your eyes, and imagine the sun rose that morning to be your spot lot, to follow you and to warm you.  Allow yourself to feel special.

Remember that we are exquisite beings who are capable of completing many tasks at any given moment, but that doesn’t mean that a moment spent on one task is wasted.  No, let it be those moments where you are so invested, so absorbed in one thing where you can find freedom, relaxation and peace.

Continue to be involved, because as much as these activities wear on us, they also shape us and provide pride for who we are.  Just remember that it does not take an official school break to actually allow you to take a break.  Partake in some unpretentious, brainless act a day to release the pressure.  Do something that feels like home to you.  Take Dorthoy’s word for it, “There’s no place like home.”

Enjoy the rest of your ‘break’! ; )

Sara majors in Art History and enjoys long walks.

We see the beauty in happy things– but there is beauty in sadness, too.  A photo essay by Yves Marchand and Romaine Meffre captures the haunting beauty in Detroit’s demise, as featured in this Time article.

This is Detroit Central Station.  I’ve often stared at it as I passed by it in train rides and car trips, wanting to photograph it.  There was something so inexplicably attractive about this building– the essence of a grandeur that no longer exists, the ever-standing reminder of a lost era.

We see the beautiful in happiness, which is why we tend to ignore the beauty that exists in sadness, as well.  An aching, haunting, mesmerizing kind of beauty that captures our hearts and makes them long– for what, we don’t know.  But the more we seek the sunny side of things, the more we eschew the darker aspects of life.  The more we shun sadness, the less we notice of it.  We care not for crumbling buildings and broken windows– we want high towering buildings of shiny stainless steel and bold reflective windows; we do not gaze upon rusting metals of old desk chairs and falling fluorescent lights– we always cry out for more comfortable cushioned chairs, gleaming white boards stretching across walls; we would not attend a tour of a Spanish Gothic theater, caving in on itself, built at the height of the twenties– we would rather watch football games from the newly built skyboxes of plastic and metal, placing ourselves well above the rest of the world.

We do not care for sadness.  We do not care for eras lost.  We do not care for the impoverished, the helpless, the struggling.  We turn our heads from obviously crumbling, unsustainable infrastructures, children without proper education, cities without safety and stability.  And as we do this– as we try so hard to ignore all that is wrong with the world– all that we see to be ugly, all that we think can never be beautiful– we ignore those who desperately need attention and help.  We do not care for them.  Because we would prefer to view the beautiful things in life.

But here it is: there is beauty in sadness.  So look deeply, think carefully, and act– because if this is what Detroit is like in its “ugliness”, then imagine how it once was and could be again, in all of its beautiful splendor.

—–

Gabby Park is a pastime photographer who loves to look at the art of others.

Burton and Depp. Almodovar and Cruz. Spielberg and Hanks. These dynamic director-actor combinations have created some of the most memorable cinematic moments over the past twenty years. The newest pairing to join the group is Scorsese and DiCaprio. Much like the director-actor couplings that reigned before them, this relationship is completely mutualistic. Scorsese is responsible for taking DiCaprio from his status of a titanic teen heartthrob to a legitimate actor, while DiCaprio helped make Scorsese relevant in the 21^st century. However, though their partnership has created such film masterpieces as Gangs of New York, The Departed, and The Aviator, their newest enterprise, Shutter Island, falls short of living up to the Scorsese-DiCaprio name.

Set in post World War II America, Shutter Island is a psychological thriller about U.S Marshall Teddy Daniels and his investigation of an asylum for the criminally insane. Though the movie is visually stunning and rich in detail, the plot of the story is uncharacteristically unoriginal. Part Sixth Sense and part Secret Window, Shutter Island falls victim to a predictable narrative- (SPOILER ALERT) the main character ends up becoming a part of the madness that he is trying to escape from/solve.

To be honest, I left the theater confused. Why were people clapping as the credits rolled? Were they also, like me, mesmerized by the sweeping scenery or did they truly think the plot was original? I couldn’t help but think that this expression of enthusiasm was another example of the American public’s quick acceptance of superficiality rather than substance. Shutter Island is truly undeserving of the Scorsese-DiCaprio endorsement and it is an unfortunate hiccup in their cannon of work. 

Hope everyone is enjoying their spring break and please leave your comments below 🙂

There is more to science fiction than a story taking place in battle cruisers fight out in the dark reaches of space.  In fact, not all science fiction actually takes place in the future.  Science fiction, like many genres is as varied as the authors who write for it. But the one thing tying it all together, is the effect of a science on the characters in the novel.

Hard Science Fiction

These types of stories are typically written by authors who have a strong background in science; think Isaac Asimov or Arthur C Clarke.  As such, most of the science if very detailed and realistic. It plays such a role in these stories that the technology is actually central to the plot, not just part of the environment.

Soft Science Fiction

The so called ‘soft sciences’, sociology, psychology, and philosophy, are the central aspects to this type of story.  They focus on the effects future technology could have on a society or individual characters.  Ray Bradbury and Frank Herbert are authors of this sub-genre.

Cyberpunk

Philip K. Dick and William Gibson are popular cyberpunk writers; Gibson even invented the word.  Cyberpunk is about the negative, almost dystopian like societies that are dominated by computer technology, typically involving hackers and AI (artificial intelligence).

Military

Military science fiction stories focus on interplanetary or interstellar war and usually stress traditional military attributes, aided by a soldier’s point of view.  On of the staples of this genre is Forever War by Joe Haldeman, in which a university student is drafted for an interplanetary war.  When he returns to Earth years later, it ends up that a few years for him were a few thousands for the planet.

Apocalypse/ post-apocalypse

If you’re thinking zombies, guess again. Setting instead are after a world altering disaster such as nuclear war or an alien invasion and how humans overcome the event.  If you’er interested, check out works by SM Stirling.

Alien Invasion/ Alien Contact
Aliens are common in science fiction and thus what most people think of when picturing the genre. Sometimes they try to destroy the earth, sometimes they are benevolent. The TV show Stargate SG-1 has a little bit of both, and if you want a more classic story read H.G.Wells’s War of the Worlds.

Alternate Universe

Shorted to AU, these stories revolve around the idea that something has happened in the past and the course of history changed or may involve an alternate reality, aka a parallel world, that exists next to the one we live in but is defined by some differences. John Cramer and some of Philip K. Dick’s work can be considered a part of this sub genre.

Steampunk

These stories don’t actually take place in the future, but rather in the past with technology superior to what was actually available at the time. The stories are typically set in the Victorian era, and unlike cyberpunk don’t contain dystopian elements.  Think Jules Verne, the movie The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, or Lincoln with a machine gun arm. This is actually a relatively new genre, just coming about in the 1980s.

Time Travel
Time travel stories center, obviously, around the ability to travel through time and the effects it has on the traveler or sometimes the future. The Time Machine by H.G. Wells is a great example.

Space Opera

No signing is actually involved here.  Space opera is actually the sf equivalent of epic fantasy, meaning high adventure amongst the stars.  It’s this genre that used to be serialized in the movies and pulp fiction and it’s characterized by beautiful women and bug-eyed monsters.  Star Trek is actually a more sophisticated, contemporary space opera.