Roughness

https://docs.google.com/a/g.clemson.edu/document/d/11L9N8sqGEMMP70bX94Rx9tdB_OQim7GfAl87PcTK3ok/edit?hl=en_US

Define Reality

I don't think it's possible to define reality other than to say it's what happens.  I'm not going to limit myself to 'my world.'  Personally, I think it's necessary to acknowledge the existence of reality in its entirety.  Yeah, I judge based on look and I judge in general - not a single person you meet can say otherwise.  But I'll say this - people dress a certain way for a reason.  People's body language is a certain way for a reason. So taking pictures of the minority is just the minority, nothing else.  To be the best at what you do, no matter what it is, you need to acknowledge everything.  And that's what I think reality is - everything.  Dreams, miracles, if it happens it's reality.

ORGANIZATION

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=osyRqD8-v2I

"Daughters" by John Mayer

6/8 meter

A-A-B-A-B-C-A-B  Song

Intro Instrumental - 8 bars  (Exposition)
Verse - (A) - 8 bars
Verse - (A) - 8 bars
Chorus - (B) - 8 bars
Verse - (A) - 8 bars
Chorus - (B) - 8 bars
Bridge - (C) - 8 bars with tagged ending  (Climax)
Instrumental interlude - 8 bars
Verse - (A) - 8 bars
Chorus - (B) - 8 bars
Tagged Ending  (Resolution)

• The third and fourth verses (A) are modified by variations in the melody.
• Instrumental breaks between the chorus (B) and the second cycle of verse (A) help the listener know that John is starting a new cycle in the pattern.
• Interesting that no instrumental break is given between the chorus (B) and bridge (C).  This makes the bridge more exciting and even stronger.
• Tagged ending helps to resolve the song.

This is pretty ordinary compositional organization.  John Mayer's composing and performing are pretty extraordinary!

Not Much of a Field Trip...

This image depicts one of the tiger statues in front of the Scroll of Honor at Clemson.  This is the tiger of more ferocious nature.  I think it serves several purposes, especially being the meaner looking tiger.  It's a guardian over the Scroll of Honor and has an air of strength, making it a testament to all of the military members that have, and will come from Clemson.  At the same time, being right across from Memorial Stadium, it sends a message saying be afraid.  It's a pretty neat statue to have on campus.

Questions

How does an entertainer look at themselves as being someone who is emulated?
Why does the average person idolize entertainers?

Website

To get the bad out of the way, this first screenshot is HVCHSMTPA.org.  This is the digital home of the Hopewell Valley Central High School Music and Theater Parents Association.  Quite the mouthful.  This is a poor website firstly, because the information doesn’t fit between the curtains that are the background.  Then if you were to scroll down, you might never get to the end.  Rather than linking material and putting it all up front, you have to scroll all the way down and search through the different colors and fonts to find what you need.

This screenshot is of the General Motors website, GM.com.  It took me a long time to find the website, because I was looking for a truly “perfect” website.  This website gets everything you need in front of you immediately; no scrolling is necessary.  It has a very modern, “metal” feel due to all of the straight edges, the plain font, and the photo of buildings as the background.  As far as functionality goes, the drop-down menus are far from cumbersome and there is a news feed right in the front preaching the gospel of GM.

"Faster, Cheaper, Better"

It’s a jet flying into the perfect blue sky with turbo propulsion.  That is, it’s a 100 dollar bill folded paper airplane, well shadowed as if it was flying up into the beautifully shining sun, folded so that the 100’s are very clear.  It may be seen as a jet propelling through the air toward a vacation destination, an F22 going into battle for financial success, or maybe just your money flying away!  But next to the words in big, bold, yellow capital letters are the words:  “Faster, Better, Cheaper.”  Inside this edition of Money, the cover story pulls the verbiage from the cover:  “Faster, Cheaper, Better” and relates it to budgeting, setting up a portfolio, selling your house, trading stocks, investing, planning a vacation.  It is a collection of smaller pieces about each of those areas organized by the theme of “Faster, Cheaper, Better”.   The authors introduce that they are attempting to appeal to different types of people.  Those “crave{s{ extra time, even if you have to spend a little more money to get it” will look at the advice under the “Faster” headings (52).    “Cheaper” tips are for frugal people who are “willing to do more legwork or cut some nonessential corners to maximize savings” (52).   And those looking at the “better” tips are the perfectionists, though there’s little definition of what a perfectionist might look like.    There are many graphics throughout the article including a bar and line graph.  However, I found the best images to be of a revved-up piggy bank.  It’s souped up with extra horsepower (pun intended), with mag wheels and a turbo exhaust system.  This image is repeated in some of the sections, first as it crashes through a fire ring with the title “Set Up a Moderate-Risk Portfolio” (55).  Then it’s in the driveway of a house in the “Sell Your House” section (56), and on an island wearing a sombrero with various needed beach articles surrounding it (63).  I find it interesting that the image inside the article was not the same image used on the cover.  Though the cover image did catch my eye easily, the piggy bank worked quietly effectively, as well. 

Rosato, Donna, Penelope Wang, and Susie Poppick. "Faster, Better, Cheaper." Money July 2011: 52-63. Print.