Monday, October 19, 2009

Local Urban Legends

Check them out!!!


Local Urban Legends/Spooky Tales Hawaii


Thanks to Rommel for finding this link.

Thursday, October 8, 2009

Other Pictures for Art as Power

Art as Power Activity/HW


Art as Power (Assignment)


There are several other options after you interpret the initial two. Some suggestions:

Petrus Christus' The Nativity

Hans Memling's The Last Judgement

Raphael's The Triumph of Galatea

Michaelangelo's The Fall of Man and the Expulsion from Paradise

Titian's Bacchus and Ariadne

Titian's Venus and Adonis

Tintoretto's St. George and the Dragon

Rubens' Samson and Delilah

Rembrandt's Sacrifice of Abraham

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Urban Legends Flash Videos

Watch at your own discretion


Urban Legends, Ghosts, Other Paranormal Concepts

Sunday, September 27, 2009

Medusa and Binarism

Medusa and Binaries


In "Perseus and Medusa" as well as "Shambleau," the following yin-yang binaries seem to apply:


West versus East

male versus female

speech versus silence

fire versus water

Northwest Smith's name versus Shambleau

Greece versus Libya

Earth versus Mars

sharp edges versus curved edges

and today's concepts,

debauched feminine versus divine feminine,

male speech versus women's silence

PRIVILEGED SUBJECT versus MARGINALIZED OBJECT

We should begin to question these binaries and ask ourselves why they exist and why we allow them to so complacently exist, without really questioning them or challenging them .

Even in the clip shown in class today, exhibited, here, notice how there is a direct, polemical contrast between characters:

Sadako がやって来るさ。。。



In the clip, who is the empowered subject? Who is the marginalized object?

When we watch T.V., are we passive objects, or active subjects?

What is the liminal boundary between the world of nature and the world of technology?

How is Sadako intertextual with Medusa?

How can silence be strength?

How is the professor similar to Northwest Smith?

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Extra-Credit: Research Skills

Today (W) in class, we were introduced to Medusa.


This extra-credit is also worth a chunk of homework points, as it involves New School Historical research skills.

Here's the task:

What is the historical basis for Medusa? In other words, what were the Greeks so scared of during their time such that they made Medusa monstrous?

Were they looking at octopi? Sea-creatures?

What is the historical origin of Medusa?

That's your extra-credit. There can be only one.

Extra-Credit: Cactus 'N Coffee

September 26th, Saturday, Cactus Garden, KCC Ilima Courtyard, 800-1100.


Moriso Teraoka, who has been working at KCC for many years now, singlehandedly made the Cactus Garden by himself, lugging up the plants, soil, and spending hours out there weeding and watering, tending to the succulent garden. In many ways, Moriso is a hero, this campus' hero: he never asked for compensation and recognition for his efforts.

On this campus, sometimes we take the beauty and richness that we have at KCC for granted: cigarette butts, empty chip packages, graffiti, cans and soda tossed into the bushes.

If you participate in cleaning up the garden, I will reward you with a decent chunk of extra-credit points to be applied to your homework grade, but more importantly, I think you will be learning that there are valuable lessons to be learned in cleaning up your own school's garden, taking pride in your school, and learning to have fun while maintaining fellowship.

An added incentive is the delicious breakfast pastries and the grilled lunch (hot dogs and burgers) that the school's Office of Student Activities will provide. Believe me, the coffee and pastries are worth it.

If you plan on going, please let me know verbally or by email. I need to submit a count of participants to the boss in charge, or else they won't have an accurate count on how much hot dogs, burgers, and veggie patties to purchase.

This is always a fun event every semester. You guys should check it out.