Kings

As long as I am questioning things that boggle me, here is another one:  Why does England have the Royals? What do they do, exactly?  They own a lot of land, which commoners cannot walk on or use in any way.  They have numerous homes (castles) replete with servants, which they do not pay for, they only have to let commoners visits certain parts on certain days and times (oh, what a bother).  They have no political control, only attend state events and have their faces on everything from tea, posters and biscuits.  Basically, they help the tourist industry, but, again, who cares?  Well, there must be people that do.  You know the ones.  The same people that buy people magazine must get the same designer dresses, jewelry and suits and haircuts and quest to be Royal.  Again, I don’t get it.  It seems to me that it would be a lot cheaper to get rid of the whole Royalty thing.  But what would they do?  I mean they don’t have last names, have never worked and arguable couldn’t even make a sandwich if hungry.  Maybe the Royals are like upper class welfare?  Now that is something to think about!

News

I do not often discuss politics in my blogs, but I read a micro-blog on AOL that I need to comment on.  Elizabeth Lauten, a Republican, communications director for Representative Stephen Fincher, spoke her mind and then was forced to apologize.  What happened to freedom of speech? Ms. Lauten wrote that the President’s daughters failed to “show class”, “dressed like they were at a bar” and “could not refrain from making faces while on TV”.  While harsh, especially the part where she stated that the girl’s parents, the President and First Lady, “do not respect their positions or the country”, she sought to have the girls to be better.  She said what she meant and I am sure meant what she said, then apologized, by stating she “quickly judged”, had “many hours of prayer”, and after “talking to her parents” and “re-reading her words” realized her words were “hurtful”. 

My questions, which I find really scary, by the way, are:

Who made Ms. Luaten apologize?

Why did she consent to make such an apology?

Why should she apologize?

Who is to say she was wrong?

Why is she not entitled to speak her mind?

Why are the President’s daughters immune from any commentary?

The retraction made the news infinitely more than a comment about a couple of teenage girls.  It made me question what is going on with our news media and who is controlling it.  Very disturbing stuff!

Art

The "Art of Maximizing Your Time" is a tricky topic and one that gets the best of all us artists. how many times have you.... oh look a bird...... what was I saying? Oh yes, I am talking about maximization of time and resources and not procrastinating, or in fancy economic terms, opportunity costs. As a high school student, I know that this skill is one that I need to master once I get into college but it is one of the great skills that eludes me. I get home from club meetings, four tests, a quiz or two and sports practice, sit on the couch for a minute or two to relax and then find that there is little chance that I will get up. The problem is that there is so much stimuli in the modern age, between TV, social media and video games, there is always something to keep me occupied in the vast space of generation X and the empty cybernetic void that consumes all of our lives. Once I finally start working again, I stay up late at night to study, which makes me tired the next day, which makes me have to catch up at night, which causes me to be even more tired the next day. It is a vicious unbreakable cycle that all high school students must endure, but we all live through these four years and it makes us stronger and more prepared for college, hopefully....now about that bird.....

Marketing and Marvel

Recently, Marvel Comics had a conference discussing its movies and fate of its cinematic universe. Marvel shocked the audience not only by announcing all of its movies in the phase two and phase three part of the Universe, but by dividing the third Avengers film into two separate movies.  Marvel is also making movies off of lesser-known Marvel properties such as the Inhumans and, in the cases of Captain Marvel and Black Panther, not having the hero be a white male.

Marvel has always been good with its reveals, choosing to make each big movie announcement at a large conference event with a lot of hype.  For instance, at a recent event, Marvel provided free Wi-Fi so that the people attending could tell everyone about its announcements via social media, thereby giving themselves free publicity. Marvel further decided to disclose 10 new upcoming movies, some of which are based upon comic book story lines, which people thought could never be adapted to the big screen.  In addition to all of this, Marvel cleverly adds a teaser for an upcoming movie at the end of their newly released movies, which generates even more publicity and hype for the next movie. In the past few years Marvel has made a concerted effort to make itself a bigger presence at the various Comic Cons than DC Comics, by hosting more events, panels and give –always, thereby making Marvel synonymous with fun, entertainment and excitement.

Marvel, based upon their advertising strategies, is “streets ahead” of DC. Marvel realizes that the best and cheapest type of advertising is the kind that they do not have to pay for.  Marvel created the hype and has the fans spread word electronically.  This clever advertising ploy allows Marvel to save money, which then allows it to use that money to create better quality products. Further, by having TV shows and Movies on Netflix, ABC and on line, Marvel Cinematic Universe is more accessible and popular than ever.  DC, on the other hand, now has to play catch up to Marvel and is forced to copy their strategy of having solo films lead up to a massive team up event. Although Marvel has given up some of their biggest property by selling movie rights to companies like Fox and Sony, I think it works out for the best.  Now the Universe will be more fleshed out and we will be able to view different corners of the lesser-known parts of Marvel as opposed to than only seeing the more mainstream heroes. 

Art

"The Art of  Gum-Ball Machines, and Other Simple Pleasures" from The Accidental 
Masterpiece, asks the question, Are gum balls a metaphor for,life? I think yes. 
( The chapter actually talks artists like Wayne Thiebaud, but that's an aside) 
There is a container, holding colorful balls of gum, each a different flavor.  
Conflicts arise as you hope for one color but desire a different flavor.  You 
put in your money, will it not to get stuck, and swoosh, a ball drops out of the 
large mound into the opening for you to grab and pop into your mouth.  College? 
Yes, it is. Gum ball  machines are like college in that you put in your coin and 
hope that the gum ball  that comes out of the machine will be an offer  of 
admission. 

I am quite sure that the author of The Accidental Masterpiece did not intent his 
book to be about  a High School Senior's quest for college, but, like art, there 
is always room for interpretation.

 Ah, to be an egocentric high school student...............

Art

The chapter "The Art of Pilgrimage"from The Accidental Masterpiece is simply 
that.  We all have a goal, and all get there differently. Whether it is painting 
as a recluse in the desert, walking through ice water in the darkness to find a 
road, or sending our applications through the Common App, we do what we do. What 
more can I say. We all have a goal, desire and quest for something, we just have 
to realize what it is and how to get to to to achieve that goal.

Art

When I saw the chapter entitled "The Art of Staring Productively At Naked 
Bodies" I thought how am I going to relate this chapter to college in a "G" 
rated way.  

I took the idea of focus from this  chapter. We paint what we see, and do what 
we do, and have a focus of a goal.  While others may not see what we do, we know 
what our goal is and we strive to achieve it.  Zine's, movies ITSA's, art, it is 
what we do now and it is important of us, now.  I hope when looking back, it 
will be a found memory of me now, that I can take with me and improve upon.