Last Thoughts

I haven't written a blog post in a while, and this is not because I did not want to, or had nothing to say, it was because I became caught up in so many other things regarding final projects and work and really just life that I just didn't have the time when I remembered or had access to a computer. I truly wish this class didn't have to end and ironically, I rarely say this. Most often I can't wait for my courses to end so I can move on. I feel connected, even if only in a small way to everyone in the course because of the conversations and moments we all shared over the semester. I enjoyed getting to know Beth and admire her honesty and courage every day.

For my final project I worked with Taylor and together we wrote "Under the Influence." The song began with the title "Trekno," but we changed it to its existing title because our lyrics are under the influence of our fellow classmates. Originally we were just going to write the lyrics together, but when we actually started talking about it, we realized that was plain and same 'ol same 'ol. Next we thought we would just randomly choose words somehow to make up our lyrics, but even that didn't seem to fit the criteria. Finally, we both agreed that incorporating our classmates' words from their blogs as our lyrics would be perfect because we would be hiding them in our song essentially. The only way they would ever know is if we told them so. And that's how the lyrics came about; we went through each person's blog and chose a sentence or statement we felt was profound or significant. I sang the lyrics we agreed on and Taylor composed the instrumentals prior to recording the vocals. When writing the lyrics, the amount of lines fit perfectly and ended right where we needed them to. I really am proud of our results. I think Taylor composed a beautiful song, so right off the bat I think we were headed in the right direction. I really felt the inspiration and desire in this as well, so that could have something to do with why I feel it was a success. So, here are the lyrics! Thank you all for your contribution to our project :)

"Young again, under the influence (Chris)
Go outside, there's a world awaiting (Thomas)
Was I just in an octopus garden? (Jacob)
I am pleased with just being (Justin)
Identity is a series of instances or behaviors that shape us, define us. (Katherine)
Time to get real, the beginning of fear (Kyle)
The main thing that inspires me is courage (Will)
Honestly for once, I don't have a lot to say (Ross)
Ask your inner self, I can't choose what's right and wrong (Sean)
Rain makes me lethargic (John)
Nobody knows who the hell they are (Christina)
No symbolic metaphoric bullshit, just a statue to my god of laziness (Dylan)
This shit is genious (Zach)
Speaking of pickles (Lloyd)
I couldn't help but think about the secrets I keep (Julia)
I have come to the end of me (Ben)
The whole time I was watching I was holding back tears (Joe)
I have always held it close to my heart (Travis)
I'm trying to pull it all together (Bill)
I finally have one, a new place to start (Dara)
Time, it's a gift (Kara)

Undertheinfluence by goodnightlights

Inspiration-in this moment

At this moment, I am aware of the whirring of the fan in the computer modem and the cars passing on the wet 82nd St. pavement because it has rained. My fingers are the loudest, pounding the keys quickly as I type these words. I receive a text message, and my cell phone beeps five times in a row. When I turn or move slightly, my nylon vest has something to say. The wind picked up enough for me to notice just a second ago. I scratch my head for a moment, it's so much louder than it should be. And this is quiet...

Inspiration

Many things are inspiring to me. The exhibit "Notes to Nonself" was very inspiring because there were so many positive ideas, phrases and quotes included in the work. Photos are can also be very inspiring to me, such as this one. It inspires me to find views like this to photograph. I found this picture in 2009 on a blog called Le Love. All of the author's entries are about love in one way or another and I enjoy reading her posts. Another Blog I love reading is The -Ed Chronicles. In fact everytime I read her posts, I feel enlightened or inspired by her attitude and approach on life. Most of the photos she posts for her entries are also inspiring. Here are the links to both blogs in hopes you may find something inspiring from them.
http://the-ed-chronicles.blogspot.com/
http://leloveimage.blogspot.com/

Response 11/15

I really loved Kara's project. It was extremely creative and in my opinion original. It was interesting to see what everyone came up with for their projects and there were a bunch of different approaches taken. I would like to elaborate on my project because what I created to me is only the beginning of what it could turn in to. I would also like to read more of Dante, which Beth suggested. In high school, we studied a small portion of his literature, and I remember being fascinated with it then and wanting more. I also liked the song "Forgiven" played in class.

Who the Hell Do I Think I am?

The exhibit "Notes to Nonself" was very positive and inspiring to me, especially from the standpoint of love. One quote that stood out to me was "I will approach with an open heart." Currently I am in a position where I think this advice, to approach with an open heart, will be beneficial to me even if my feelings may be out in the open. A significant part of my identity is that I am a very loving and compassionate person. I often relate my emotions to most things because they tend to effect me and influence me so strongly. I believe very strongly in love and feel it is a necessity of life. It is a wonderful feeling to be loved.

Reaction 11/8

I did not attend class mainly because I recently got a cold. I honestly wish I would have gone anyway because I found out that I missed a field trip to Herron to see the exhibit on display. This was the first session of Beth's I did not go to and it was disappointing because I always look forward to attending. Because I missed the exhibit and because I had not actually ever been inside Herron, I decided I'd go see it on my own today to see what I missed and I'm so glad I did. I was so inspired by all of the profound things I read throughout the exhibit. I loved that it was so engaging and positive. It was also amazing to think about all of the collaborating the two artists did being so far apart yet creating their work of art. I definitely plan on visiting before it is over.

Bliss

I didn't expect this assignment to end up where it did, but was pleasntly surprised with the outcome of my time spent having fun. At first I thought of things that require money, like seeing a movie, or going shopping, but lately money has been tight because of bills so I had to look elsewhere. Finally, Taylor suggested we go to his house and work on some music. This was the first time we had really "collaborated" so I didn't know where it would go. He had told me he was working on some songs he created in Logic, and ended up playing one for me. It has a sort of techno/electronic vibe. I listened to it and really liked it so I suggested I play around with some vocals. I went in his sound booth and improvised about a minute of synchronous humming. When I listened to the two together, I really liked it. It got me really excited to actually complete the song with lyrics as well and gave me the idea to create a song for my final project. I've mentioned before that music is my passion, and to get something going doing vocals for this music genre would absolutely be fulfilling a dream of mine.