Some Crafty R.A.F.T. C.R.A.A.P.

Before this semester started it had been months since I had been in classroom or had even challenged my mind intellectually. So coming in I felt a little unnerved because I was never strong at English, it was probably the subject I had the worst grade in at any given point, I did not know what to expect, and I had just moved hundreds of miles away from home to a place I visited for a short weekend. After a couple of weeks I started to gain a college life rhythm and regained a fair portion of what I had forgotten about over my summer. I started learning again, becoming more formal and intelligent with my work. I owe my gratitude to the RAFT, the CRAAP, and the assignment where I got to assign each day of the week one of the Seven Deadly Sins. I have come a long way in four months; my classes helped me pick up my feet to do something with my life.

            RAFT, role, audience, format, topic, is one of the earliest assignments that had me grinding the gears in my head. For the longest time I was restricted to writing from my view only so it felt good to be creative with something. As I see it my best work comes from when I enjoy the topic or the concept, especially if it allows me to be creative. The RAFT assignment had me write a letter, or any format of my choice, from any perspective, to any audience, about anything, practically giving me full reign on the assignment. After this letter I opened up my mind to a broader spectrum that helped me find new ideas for topics inside and outside of English class.

The CRAAP test essentially taught me how to weed out the “crap” source sites with a five-step process. Currency is how up to date the site was published or updated. Relevance is how well it relates to the topic of discussion, Authority is how well the author of the site is credited. Accuracy is how reliable the information is. Purpose is why the information exists. Through this easy process it is now more possible to get better source information for papers and essays for the future.

The “writing from a different perspective” assignment was the same week as RAFT and probably my favorite assignment of English class. Since I have an odd fascination with the seven deadly sins, I enjoy reading, writing, and talking about them. This assignment I challenged myself to assign each day of the week a sin that would best fit the average college student throughout their week. It had me go through my week to see how I think I would feel each day and give myself a sin that I would express throughout that day.

English class helped me get back into the swing of school life but beyond that it was just another English class over a shorter period of time with a couple of twists. The biggest twist being the blog. I did not necessarily like the blog but that does not mean I hated it either. I was indifferent to the blog, it was something I knew nothing about and had to take the time to make and learn about despite my enthusiasm in doing so. However, I was grateful to not have essay after essay crammed down my throat. At the end of the semester I would say I have a decent understanding of the dos and do not’s of writing a paper and how to make it worth reading. As well as improving my grammatical issues and getting my point across in the least amount of words possible because words cost time and time costs money.

The Bleeps, The Sweeps, and The Creeps

From the screeching violins of Psycho to the crashing chords of Jaws, filmmakers have long relied on disturbing soundtracks to heighten suspense and terror asserts David Derbyshire (May 2010). Imagine, sitting in a theater during the most anticipated scene of the next big horror flick. Slow grinding sounds turn into faster screeching wails and chills start to run down spine and then back up as the murderer creeps closer and closer. Why do these various noises have this effect? To better understand why and how this works an audience must first look at and understand a few things. First, which sounds force uncontrollable terror onto an audience, then how these sounds cause fear, and lastly the specific effects of sound and music in horror films on an audience. The fear and other psychological effects that occur when watching a horror film come from the film’s sound and music.

To better understand this phenomenon, audiences must first look at the various types of sounds producers and directors use throughout their films to get their hearts racing. One of these sounds is called non-linear, which are abrupt shifts up and down in pitch. Derbyshire explains that these range from the sort of distorted notes that come from a hi-fi cranked up too high, to the squeal produced by blowing too hard into a trumpet (May 2010). Discordant and unexpected sounds are used in horror soundtracks to imitate the screams and cries of frightened animals. The attack length of a sound can have different effects depending on whether it is fast paced or slow paced. Since the creation of horror movies directors and producers have been trying out every scare tactic to see what gives the most outstanding response. They finally found what they were searching for once they discovered the effects certain sounds have on the human mind.

The next step producers and directors struggled with was finding out which sounds trigger which emotion and, even more importantly, how these sounds induce paranoia, as well as other emotions, amongst a crowd. The simplest of sounds that are used in film imitate animals in distress to provoke a natural human response and sense of danger. Christine Hsu adds that distorted sounds that are associated with animal distress tap into natural human instincts and “bring out the animal within” to unnerve, disturb, and panic the audience (June 2012). These distorted, natural animal cries and screams are some of the more commonly used techniques because they cause involuntary distress and action that the viewing audience cannot ignore.

Now that audiences know which sounds cause fear in movies and how these sounds cause fear, there is only one thing left to understand: fear itself. Daniel T. Blumstein, Richard Davitian, and Peter D. Kaye infer that specific types of nonlinear analogues are used to elicit fearful responses and thus, seem to be broadly evocative in vertebrates and their analogues can be used to influence human emotions (Nov. 2010). When a human is frightened, regardless of what is frightening them, the same general response is influenced. Whether the audience gets goose bumps, has their hair stand upright on the back of their necks and arms, or has chills rush up and then back down their spine. Derbyshire states that by peppering chillers with these noises, moviemakers are tapping into deep, instinctive fears (May 2010).

Blumstein, Davitian, and Kaye found that horror films had fewer abrupt frequency shifts and musical sidebands while they had more non-musical sidebands than would be expected and more noisy female screams (Nov. 2010). By now audiences have the basic knowledge of how to detect, which sounds are trying to get the best fearful response out of them, how sounds in horror films work, and what psychological effects will be produced from these various sounds. So, the next time a horror movie comes to theaters, venture off to go see it. Watch the movie with anticipation but listen even closer. Looking close will only distract from everything, so instead, listen and feel what the music and sound does and be amazed at the reaction. However, be mindful that every bit of horror has some truth behind it waiting to be revealed.

References

Do film soundtracks contain nonlinear analogues to influence emotion? (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://rsbl.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/6/6/751

How Rock ‘N’ Roll Involuntarily Triggers Our Primal Instincts and “Brings Out the Animal in Us”. (2012, June 14). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.medicaldaily.com/how-rock-n-roll-involuntarily-triggers-our-primal-instincts-and-brings-out-animal-us-240824

MailOnline, D. (n.d.). Ever wondered why the music in horror films scares us? The harsh sounds tap into instinctive fears . Retrieved April 23, 2015, from    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1281385/Ever-wondered-music-horror-films-scares-The-harsh-sounds-tap-instinctive-fears.html

Music and sound in the horror film & why some modern and avant-garde music lends itself to it so well. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, fromhttp://www.academia.edu/1510776/Music_and_sound_in_the_horror_film_and_why_some_modern_and_avant garde_music_lends_itself_to_it_so_well

Music/Horror Movie Paper. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://math.mercyhurst.edu/~wrevak/horrormovie.html

Sound Effects in Science Fiction and Horror Films. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://filmsound.org/articles/horrorsound/horrorsound.htm

Stewart, H. (2013, September 13). How do film-makers manipulate our emotions with music? Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/0/24083243

The Psychology of Scary Movies. (n.d.). Retrieved April 23, 2015, from http://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/the-psychology-of-scary-movies/

In Case of Fire…

It is early in the morning; the sun has not started to rise yet, when the smoke detector alarms start blaring. Apparently, in the middle of the night the fancy leather couch spontaneously combusted, engulfing the entire east side of the house in flames within minutes. The rest of the house is only moments away from being completely ablaze. Ask yourself, “What should I grab before the fire destroys everything else?” The photos of embarrassing family moments, the children, the CD signed by lead vocalist of Metallica, James Hetfield? Is there enough time to save them all?

If disaster struck and I was forced to leave my humble abode behind to be destroyed I would initially throw my phone, wallet, and lanyard into my pockets out of a force of habit. My phone is my main way of communication, besides face-to-face interaction, so it is necessary in order to call for help and contact family members about the destruction. My wallet has enough money to get me a cab to somewhere I could stay in the meantime and holds personal info and my credit card. The lanyard has a variety of keys and flash drives with important work and data stored in them.

After my pockets are stuffed, I would grab a bag and start gathering things that have personal data then the objects that have the highest sentimental value. First thing shoved into a bag would be the laptop, followed by the Play Station 3. The laptop contains school assignments as well as personal projects that would be a heavy burden on my daily life to lose. As sad as it may seem, the Play Station 3 contains a great majority of personal achievements and accomplishment throughout my life. Countless hours and endless effort has been poured into this system’s hard drive, letting it just burn up would be like letting a huge portion of this short life I have been dealt be extinguished by flames.

Both the green monkey cup and Mexican wrestler mask remind me of my grandma in some way. My grandma gave the monkey cup to me at a very young age. Every one of my cousins also got a sipping cup based off of various zoo animals. However, as the years passed all of these cups were lost, all except for my green monkey cup. It reminds me of all of the adventures my grandma and I had through the Foothills and at the school she substituted at. I acquired the Mexican wrestler mask while in Mexico. A couple of years ago my family celebrated my grandparent’s 50^th anniversary by taking a cruise to Mexico. This mask holds dozens of memories from the cruise that I will remember till the end of my days. The last thing I would save is a book from The Heroes of Olympus series. This particular book is the third in the series called The Mark of Athena and is the one I am currently reading and responsible for. The series is my younger brothers but is one of the only series to have peeked my interest in reading.

In the succession of everything that holds value in my life why would the sentimental things be acquired last? Objects with sentimental value are nice to have but the matter that holds that value is not necessary. What really matters are the memories that they hold, which can never be totally forgotten even without sentimental objects. Objects are just things taking up space. It is just like when someone dies, their body may be gone but they will live on in the memories of the people that loved them. However, if the objects that hold personal info and work burn up, that data will be lost or very hard to recover. Losing info like that could potentially put up a large barrier preventing any further progression in life. Losing projects for school or work, for example, would cause a serious grade drop or get someone fired and would cause an unnecessary amount of stress. In short, these items will keep life rolling and less hectic and less stressful. Who needs more stress in life, especially after their home has burned to the ground?

Durex Ad Analysis

Durex has outdone its competitors by relating their product with a popular mobile videogame to get their consumers laughing. By incorporation comedy from a well-known source into their product’s advertisement, Durex has grabbed the attention of their customers and has maybe influenced which condom company people will purchase from. The image is relatively simple with the background being a light green color that helps direct attention to the condom. Within the condom the sperm cells are being launched from a slingshot in an attempt to break free from the condom with no success at all. This is a reference to the popular game Angry Birds. This is all brought together by the logo in the top left corner that follows the text “Durex Extra Safe”, basically stating that Durex is better than its competitors.

The condom signifier represents the signified condom. The denotation for this image is a basic condom, while the connotation could be protection or safe sex. This condom is keeping the sperm cells protected within the condom to ensure that pregnancy is avoided. In this case the sperm cell images can be called an indexical sign because they can represent the babies that could have been. The text in the top right corner resembles a symbolic (arbitrary) sign because it is saying that this signifying image of a Durex condom is extra safe like all of the literal Durex condoms. While also stating that it’s competitors products are not as safe as their own. This competition between condom companies is otherwise known as the politics of this industry. Ads like this make the competitors product look defective while making their own products shine with flawless glory. Consumers will purchase the product they trust more to protect them from disease and from sperm cells trying to escape.

Basically, Durex is stating that no sperm cell can break through their condoms, not even if they had a slingshot, and that consumers can trust in their product to do its job.

Round-Up Blog Post: Greek Mythology

Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson and The Olympians  series has introduced many children and adults alike to Greek mythology since the first book in his series,  The Lightning Thief , was published in 2005. The first series offers its fair amount of exciting Greek stories and lovable/not so lovable characters that peak anyone’s interests. His follow-up series, The Heroes of Olympus, lured his fan base into loving Greek mythology and all of its stories and characters even more than before. Every story was more fascinating than the next, every god and demigod with distinct and different personalities. Greek mythology dates back to around 2000 BC and needs its fair share of attention. Here are a handful of blogs that talk about everything Greek and may help spark an interest in this complicated, yet intriguing, mythology:

iGreekMythology by Nicos Stylianou

Stylianou loves Greek mythology so much; he has dedicated an entire blog to it. The blog is for students, teachers, parents, and anyone else who shares passion for Greek mythology. Stylianou offers resourceful material to heroes, Greek Pantheon, stories, Gods and more.

Paleothea: The Ancient Goddess by Ailia

Ailia’s blog is special because she devotes her blog to the women of Greek myths, such as Artemis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera, and more. She has worthwhile archived posts to view that demonstrate how extravagant Greek women were back in their time. She also links to her own personal guide to Greek mythology.

Rogueclassicism by David Meadows

The blog title means an abnormal state resulting from the forced migration from a lengthy classical education. The focus of Meadows’ blog is Ancient Greece and Rome and how each of them molded their great cities in honor of their respective gods. Quidquid bene dictum est ab ullo, meum est1.

Greek mythology is one of the most interesting and well-rounded mythologies out in this great big world. Hopefully, one or more of these blogs have sparked an interest in Greek mythology but if the blogs are not enough, maybe Rick Riordan’s book series’ are. If people slowly lose interest and forget about Greek mythology, it will just become another dead mythology. It would be a shame if Greek mythology were to die out because it has so much to offer and so much to live for.

My Deepest Condolences

To Whom It May Concern:

I suppose I should apologize first with my deepest condolences. Under other circumstances this might not have happened. This was not my choice; I was molded and built for this kind of thing. As I sit in this warm, cramped room with my brothers I dread the moment we have to meet. When that time has come I will have killed you. They will call you DOA or KIA and it will be my fault. Your family will see me as a monster and protest for me and my brothers and sisters to be removed from the country. Your family will never forgive me for what I will do. Maybe you will come to understand and forgive me. I sit here and beg for your forgiveness. I understand that may very well be asking for too much. I hoped that at least you would understand.

With every gunshot I hear I know that our destiny comes closer. Boom! Then I hear one of my brothers lifeless bodies hit the ground. Clash! There goes one of my sisters. With every one of my brethren that flies one of yours falls. The reloading of the cannon assures me that we will meet very soon.

There is always the chance that I wont kill you. If I missed your torso you may have a chance at surviving. What kind of life would you live? Maybe you would become a vegetable or paralyzed from the waist down? What kind of life is that? Would you want to live after that? Even if I hit you in the shoulder I would tear your arm clean off. Who is to say my brother won’t hit you after me to finish you off? It would be better if I just killed you myself. It would save you much pain and suffering. I would let you live if it was my decision but I do not have an opinion and letting you live is not an option.

I fell the cannon load once more. It is my time, I have entered the chamber and we will meet soon. I am built to destroy and kill. Every fiber of my being has been formed for this moment. I can see down the chamber as it focuses on you. The chamber is long and dark. We will meet any second now. All of the training in the world could not have prepared me for this. I here the trigger pull then I feel a blast behind me and I am fired out of the cannon. We finally meet together, now we die together and I could not be more sorry. I never knew your name and now I have killed you. All I knew was that you were an American soldier but what you were does not matter anymore. All I can say is that I am sorry but in the end these are only words, words cannot fix anything and nothing else matters.

                                                                                                                                                                   Sincerely,

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     The 50 Caliber Bullet

My Way Of Life

There once was a club for only very exclusive members only, it was formed by one member in the year 1996 and over eighteen years it had grown to only 8 members. This group was called The Roofs Over Your Head. These members were only allowed into The Roofs Over Your Head group when I started to live my life under their shelters. Each member represents a new chapter in my life, every time a new member is allowed into the group a meeting is held to discuss what it was like when I lived there. The newest member was added when I moved to college, this is the latest meeting.

Feather: “Alright everyone let us get started, we have a new member this evening. Go ahead and introduce yourself.”

Baseline: “Hello everybody, I am 2627 West Baseline.”

Exclusive Members: “Hi there!” “How lovely to meet you!”

Feather: “Excellent. Now everyone let us get down to business. You all know how this works, lets talk Austin…”

Oak Knoll: “Oh I do miss that little baby!”

Boynton: “Wasn’t he just darling?”

Lassen: “Oh, be assured, he is all grown up now.”

Ceanothus: “How would you know? You’ve missed the last three years of his life!”

Lassen: “I witnessed more of his life than you ever will!”

Feather: “Everyone, In order please.”

Oak Knoll: “Oh, I suppose that means me, Austin was just a new born when I knew him. He was the cutest little thing, he couldn’t have been more than twenty pounds last I saw him.”

Ceanothus: “He is easily ten times that now.”

Oak Knoll: “Oh, I know that but he will always be the little baby when I first met the darling.”

Boynton: “He wasn’t too much bigger when he was with me either. He was my little infant that ran around the yard.”

Orient: “He was my Infant too!”

Boynton: “He was only with you on weekends. I’m not even sure why your in this club? He hardly remembers you.”

Orient: “Shut up! David worked really hard to win custody with Austin!

Boynton: “As did Isha. She and I both were so upset when Austin had to leave us to visit you and him. It was truly painful to watch Isha cry. Never have I seen a mother have so much love for her child.”

Orient: “You say that as if Dave and I didn’t share that same love for the boy. Of course we did! The boy still has memories of me and the water tower!”

Feather: “Of course you and him loved him. No matter how long we were apart of his life, he will always cherish the memories he has from all of us.”

Boynton: “When Macen was born, Austin definitely took on a new role in life. He loved his baby brother oh so much.”

Feather: “I ensure you they had their ups and downs as all brothers do”

Boynton: “I remember the time Austin over fed the fish, he was so young and innocent, he didn’t mean to of course. There was also the time when Austin had gone for a walk with another little boy in the creek. His mother was so worried she called the cops. Funny when he came back home to the cul-de-sac he was met by half a dozen police officers. I was oh so very sad when he moved on with his family.”

Orient: “I can agree to that…”

Lassen: “That would put were Feather and I first met the little guy, right Feather?”

Feather: “You are correct sir.”

Lassen: “Yeah, Feather and I watched the little guy grow up darn near into the man he is today.”

Feather: “I actually did watch him grow up into the man he is today.”

Lassen: “No one is counting Feather! Anyway I watched this bleach blonde child grow up into his teenage years. He had every haircut from a mullet to having his head shaved. Personally, I liked him better as a bleach blonde six year old than when he became a teen. Feather, don’t you remember when Austin was at risk of a heart attack at twelve?”

Feather: : “Ahh yes, that was a very large turning point for the boy wasn’t it? His life was at risk in his early teen years he had to be put on a severe low carb diet because of the fat in his blood could have caused blockage in his arteries.”

Baseline: “Wow, I didn’t know about that.”

Feather: “That is what this little get together is for, it is for you to get to know this man that has now taken refuge with you.”

Bedford: “All of our input is suppose to help you understand Austin.”

Feather: “Why don’t you tell him about your Austin, Bedford?”

Bedford: “There isn’t much for me to tell other than he was just some teenager who moved in the same time his father had. They moved in when I had another family renting me out. Said they had to get away from that old, falling apart house, Lassen.”

Lassen: “I’m still standing by the way!”

Bedford: “Anyway they moved in with Cambria and who two children, Kaitlynn and Gary. Dave and Cambria became a couple and Austin became family two the two kids. Austin was the big brother role model they never had. By the time they all left Dave, Cambria, Austin, Kaitlynn, and Gary had become a family. Dave and Austin had helped them in a very hard time and if you looked at them now, they look like a family that has been together ever since they were born.”

Ceanothus: “They moved in with me after that. I am the first house they got as a family. They were almost the ideal American family, the only thing that was missing was a newborn baby. A couple months after they moved in however it was announced that Cambria was pregnant. Soon after that Dyllan was born and they became that idealistic American family. Then Austin left for college…”

Feather: “Austin was back and forth between two families. He has been since he was born. Boynton, Oak Knoll and I were Austin’s mother’s homes. Lassen, Ceanothus, Orient and Bedford were his father’s homes and apartments. There has always been conflict between the two families. Austin did his best to keep them in check, and if that meant keeping them as far apart as possible while he was the middle man, that is what he did. I have been in Austin’s life for fifteen years, longer than anyone here. I watched him grow from the little blonde infant into the big bearded man he is now. I have seen him go through all of his tough times as well as his best moments. I’ve seen him go through every grade in school as well as all of his relationships. I would know better than anyone when I say Austin has become one of the finest young men I have ever seen. Isha and I were particularly sad when he left for college. Know tell us, what do you think of Austin?”

Baseline: “To be honest, Austin seems like a great man from all of your stories. I haven’t know him for more than a month but I can’t wait to experience a whole new set of stories with him.”

Feather: “Excellent, and with that we will close today’s session. One last thing Baseline, Take good care of our Austin.”

Where I’m From…

I am from the fish tank,

From high expectations and broken glass.

I am from the end of the gravel road,

It felt like driving through craters.

I am from the willow trees

The red woods

That sprouted to the heights of skyscrapers.

I am from the annual camping trip and the bizarre,

from Isha and Dave,

I am from the stubborn

and reckless

From “May the force be with you”

And “No matter how big you get, I can still kick your ass”

I am from Sunday mornings to sleeping in.

I’m from the Golden Foot Hills and the Feather River,

Fruit syrup and homemade ice cream

From the orange Santa suit because it’s alright to stand out

And the innocent grandmother too sweet to understand her Easy Keeper

Photographs line the insides of totes

I am from classic rock and alternative radio,

I am from selflessness and animal rescue,

I am from living life to its fullest and taking caution around every turn,

I am from a family that never truly was,

A family divided into two,

A family driven by madness that somehow made ends meet

And shaped me into the man I came to be.