I started working on plotting this last week after class — and after some of the bad weather — where I was thinking about the thunderstorm we had had that morning. However, my brother was sending me photos of the hiking spots we used to go to. Vickery Creek Mill was completely frozen over, the Sweetwater Creek ruins were iced up, and even Amicolola Falls were partially frozen! This was always my favorite time of year to go hiking with my wife, brother, and sister-in-law when I still lived in that area, and these were all our favorite spots, just as we liked to go up and view them.
While this image wasn’t exactly what I was seeing out my office window during the storm, it was relatively close to the way I was feeling at the time.
Enhancement
The music enhances the image, giving it a sense of dread and foreboding. The crashing booms in the music can almost be the thunder of the storm. The music is as capricious as a thunderstorm can be and at times as finicky as any dark mood.
Almost immediately upon graduating, I was submerged in a world of 401ks, mortgages, and imposter syndrome. While my coworkers were complaining about their children and retirement, I was still struggling to make a doctor’s appointment without my mom’s help. Living 4 hours away from home, with my nearest friend being a quick 45-minute drive in South Florida traffic, I felt out of place and alone. Desperate for relief from the stresses of adulthood, I found myself grasping at passions from my childhood, but nothing seemed sustainable.
Fast-forward to Christmas of last year, I was experiencing the whirlwind of emotions that come with living out of a suitcase in your childhood home. Nostalgia hit hard and I began looking through boxes in the closet filled with our family pictures and memories. After shuffling through thousands of pictures, I moved to the back of the closet and picked up what felt like a box without many pictures in it. To my surprise, it contained my brother and my Pokémon collection from the ’90s. I was immediately transported to my childhood and an influx of memories began to flood my mind. Finally, something that would be sustainable.
Pokémon means more to me than a piece of cardboard. It represents my dad rewarding me with a trip to the comic store for going to Costco with him or being on A Honor Roll for school. Pokémon cards symbolize happy family times, something I was so desperately yearning for as I began to go off on my own path and attempt to forge my own way. I selected the image above because it illustrates my realistic experience of going to the store for Pokémon cards. In the world of Amazon, a lot of Pokémon collectors buy their cards online. Through my own consumer behavior, I learned that I like the process or ritualistic characteristics of going to the store in person more than I like the cards. I believe it is this aspect that brings me back to the security of my childhood than the actual cards themselves. I enjoy seeing children there with their parents eagerly waiting for the latest Pokémon drop. I smile at children begging their parents for the latest Pikachu plushie and promising to “be good” until the end of time. Although it is not always peaceful in the store, such chaos brings peace to me. Ultimately, I think this photo is a great depiction of how I manage the stresses of adulthood through my childhood vice.
Because I knew the topic of my blog post was about utilizing my childhood interests to help navigate the reality of adulthood, I wanted to select a nostalgic audio clip that embodied the characteristics of childhood and Pokémon, without sounding like a videogame. I think the song through its composition as well as the title enhances the meaning of the photo. It’s not just about the cards; it’s the excitement of going to the store, uncertain if they even have the cards in stock. I’d like to continue the same traditions that my father established and I hope to carry it on with my own kids. I cannot wait for the day one of my children asks me if I can take them to the store to get Pokémon cards. Although I never would have thought I would manage the stresses of adulthood through my childhood vice, buying Pokémon cards with adult money has allowed me to heal both my inner child and my present adult self.
Growing up 45 minutes from the beach was filled with numerous beach trips to see the sunrise/sunset or spending the whole day there. Watching another day begin or that day end has always brought me peace and pleasure. The beach at sunset is a mesmerizing spectacle, as the sun dips below the horizon, casting hues of orange, pink, and purple across the sky.It was a place I could sit with my thoughts and enjoy the nature all around me. After living in Tallahassee for almost three years with no beach nearby, I think I took these experiences for granted. This picture reminds me of my year round childhood beach trips with my siblings.
The audio is what most people would expect to hear when they are at the beach; laughter rippling through the air, blending seamlessly with the joyous calls of seabirds and the soothing rhythm of waves. All these sounds can be a little overwhelming for some, but when I find myself at the beach I find these ordinary nature sounds perfect.
When I saw this picture, it actually reminded me of various infected cells. It is actually a picture of the disease defined as the causal agent of Coronavirus Disease. It is a strain of the severe-acute-respiratory-syndrome-related coronavirus. This changed the world and created a new work place as we now know as “work from home” as the new normal. We were forced to take serious precautions that still rendered hundreds of thousands of deaths.
I chose the futuristic creepy sounds because it complements the visual presence of the SARS in this picture. The sounds denote unknown and confused depictions of the cells and how they appear to be attached and dislocated.
For as long as I could remember, I have always adored European architecture. Their intricate designs and ornate details reflect centuries of cultural influences and artistic expression, helping to capture how rich the history is. The building that primarily shown in the image above is of a Catholic church located in Málaga, Spain, a city that is located near the Mediterranean Sea. While the building on the lower left had served as the official residence of the bishop.
Looking at these two buildings just makes me wonder why human beings never carried on this trait of constructing these beautiful buildings, in my humble opinion alot of buildings being built nowadays compared to the past are just an eye sore. It’s crazy how lives drastically change from generation to generation, each having their own unique touch.
I paired the image with an audio file containing one of Scott Buckley’s work, a musician who is based out of Australia. Hearing it reminded me to a similar song I heard walking down the small and narrow city roads in the south of Spain, similar to one being played by a street performer. Very peaceful, justifying that life should be truly lived simply. The name of the song is what caught my eye, “Life is” and then blank. By leaving it like that, I think the author wanted the listeners to fill the blank. Having it be different for everyone, proving that life is essentially what one makes it out to be for themselves.
For this assignment, I wanted to do something a little humorous. I have always loved memes, and usually respond in my group chats with reaction gifs. When I saw this frog, I instantly knew he would be perfect. Even though I am terrified of frogs in real life (like I definitely do not want one to jump on me), I still find them somewhat adorable? I mean, look at this little guy. He’s absolutely “ribbeting”…
I almost went in a completely different direction with the sound. You know how when someone is talking to you, but all you are doing is screaming on the inside? Or, think of Leo DiCaprio not winning an Oscar (again) back in 2013. If you aren’t sure what I’m talking about, you should definitely google it, it’s a treat [screams internally]. One of the main reasons why I didn’t use a screaming sound was because I didn’t want to scare anyone and thought it would be better to go a more positive direction. I found this little 8bit song that I feel captures the “No thoughts. Head empty” vibe. The song also sounds like loading screen music, in which our frog friend’s brain is seemingly trying to load.
I have always been fascinated with pandas because of their black and white fur, size, and playful demeanor. As a child I remember going to the Smithsonian National Zoo in Washington, D.C. and being able to see the Giant Pandas. They were always my favorite. I recently learned that the pandas were sent back to live in China. To show my appreciation for the joy that the Giant Pandas brought me, I decided on the image of a panda.
I was drawn to the audio because of the peace and tranquil feeling it offers. Also, because of the bamboo flute that can be heard in the background. As pandas’ diets are made mostly of bamboo, I thought it was a fun way to find a common ground between the chosen audio and image.
When the image and audio are combined, I believe they are enhanced. The audio enhances the calmness of the panda.
Interior of a cozy living room in a loft style with green plants, Interior design room with a lot of plants, AI Generated by Iftikhar Alam for VecteezyAutomatic Love by Siix0
When choosing the image I wanted to use for this assignment, I wanted something that gave off a “cozy vibe.” I’m also a huge fan of the color green, so choosing this image was a no-brainer. When I look at this image, it looks inviting and feels like the living space that I’d like to come home to after a long day. It looks like the closest representation to what my “mind palace” would look like if it existed, well, outside of the confines of my mind.
A living space where I could throw my bag in a corner, slip into my cow slippers, and just… exist. One where I wouldn’t have to be productive or exert any extra energy, I would simply be allowed to exist. Too often, productivity is used as a way to assign worth to an individual, to the point where that productivity becomes toxic. We measure our worth and overall value based on what we can pump out and give to the world, choosing to serve everyone and anyone before we focus on ourselves.
When I think of cozy or just existing, I like listening to city pop. It’s a genre that’s not too busy and just serves as a backdrop for me to enjoy while I continue to romanticize my life and simply exist. Where I can retreat away when life becomes difficult and overwhelming, when I simply just need to be Jo. Not Jo is defined by what I offer to others and pump out, but just Jo.
Elizabeth Barrett Browning, 1909, by Albert Chevallier Tayler
CC BY 4.0 DEED
Did Robert Browning murder his beloved wife Elizabeth? Some few English scholars believe this to be the case. They argue that, over time, he increased her dosage of laudanum, and, eventually, this overpowered her already-compromised body. If true, as Carmen’s ironic aria Habanera proved her undoing, so too, did Elizabeth Barrett Browning’s great love.
“Love is a gypsy’s child, it has never, ever, known a law;”
Habanera Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, CC BY 3.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
So sings Carmen, the eponymous and infamous femme fatale of George Bizet’s opera, about the uncontrollable quality of love. Bizet had his character sing this song with dramatic irony, as this action sets in motion the events of love, jealousy, and passion that will result in Carmen’s demise. If the above claim about Robert Browning is true, then the photographed painting of the idealized relationship of Barrett and Browning presented with Carmen’s aria may be interpreted as challenging the public’s unrelenting insistence that the Browning-Barrett relationship was ideal, even epic. Instead of the stereotyped femme fatale bringing about the death of her lover, casting herself in the role of the beloved, she brings about the death of herself, the femme.
I did a little bit of traveling a few years back and one of the places I visited was Iceland. One of the things that was so incredible to see aside from the many spectacular views was how clean everything was kept. Not one piece of trash could be found anywhere! I don’t even remember there being any litter in the cities.
I present a site at a waterfall that I got to see and contradict its beauty with the representation of what you wouldn’t expect to experience at such a place. For me, this both enhances and changes its meaning when combined together, by pointing out how the landscaped has managed to be untouched, and pulling me away from the actual expected experience.
