accolade - noun a tangible symbol signifying approval or distinctionEx- He was a man of many talents, and was rewarded with one of the highest accolades for it.
acerbity - noun a sharp sour taste; a sharp bitterness; a rough and bitter manner
Ex- As soon as he tasted the grape, he noticed it's horrible acerbity.
attrition - noun the act of rubbing together; wearing something down by friction; a wearing down to weaken or destroy;
Ex- Sea glass is rounded from years of attrition.
bromide -noun a trite or obvious remark
Ex-He told me to "keep my chin up", what an overused bromide.
chauvinist - noun an extreme bellicose nationalist; a person with a prejudiced belief in the superiority of his or her own kind
Ex- He told her that she needed him and she was nothing without him, what a chauvinist pig.
chronic - adj. being long-lasting and recurrent or characterized by long suffering
Ex- He fell pretty bad skateboarding last year, now he has chronic knee pains.
expound - verb add details, as to an account or idea; clarify the meaning of and discourse in a learned way, usually in writing; state
Ex-He expounded his screenplay by adding many needed details of setting, character, and plot.
factionalism- adj. self-interested
Ex- All he cared about was himself, he was a factionalist narcissist.
immaculate - adj. completely neat and clean; free from stain or blemish; without fault or error
Ex- The Supreme jacket is in immaculate condition, I think I'll buy it.
imprecation - noun the act of calling down a curse that invokes evil (and usually serves as an insult); a slanderous accusation
Ex- An imprecation was created, and the witch cast an evil curse on the man.
ineluctable - adj. impossible to avoid or evade:"inescapable conclusion"
Ex- The impending detention was ineluctable.
mercurial - liable to sudden unpredictable change
Ex- His life was always crazy and unstable, some people described it as mercurial.
palliate - verb provide physical relief, as from pain; lessen or to try to lessen the seriousness or extent of
Ex- He put ice on his wounded knee to palliate the pain.
protocol - noun code of correct conduct; forms of ceremony and etiquette observed by diplomats and heads of state
Ex- The officer didn't want to arrest these kids, but he had to follow protocol.
resplendent - adj. having great beauty and splendor
Ex- She was perfect. Physically and mentally resplendent.
stigmatize - verb mark with a stigma or stigmata; to accuse or condemn or openly or formally or brand as disgraceful
Ex- Without asking both sides for the facts, he stigmatized the boy for his choices.
sub rosa- happening or done in secret
Ex- Romeo and Juliet's love was sub rosa because of their wealth differences.
vainglory - noun outspoken conceit
Ex- She continually talked about how perfect she was, and everyone condemned her for her vainglory.
vestige - a trace of something that is disappearing or no longer exists
Ex- The battlefield was dry and hot, all that was left was scraps of clothing and blood, a vestige of the battle that had occured.
volition - noun the act of making a choice; the capability of conscious choice and decision and intention
Ex- He knew what he was doing when he pressed that button, but his volition haunted him for the rest of his life.
Sunday, September 28, 2014
no posts?
Friday, September 26, 2014
CHARACTER STUDY (I)
He ran into his first class, already late on the first day. Layers of clothes on for the fantastic weather outside, Tyler slowed his run to a walk and quietly entered the classroom. It had taken a lot to get into The Art Institute of Seattle, and now he had to keep that up to make it worthwhile. As he sat down in the back of the room, he began to think about his journey to this place. From the very first time he got his paycheck from his first job in Santa Maria, to the time when he had everything he owned moved up to the rainy city of Seattle, Washington. He had worked hard and fought a lot of tough moments to get here, and he knew it was time to change to fit this.
Thursday, September 11, 2014
Big Question (or lack thereof)
Thinking of one question that could define how I perceive this year seems pretty difficult. That said, this is subject to change i'm sure.
Big Question: What shapes creativity? How do creative people take the inspiration from their lives and create art from it? There are so many different ways to create art, what defines art?
Big Question: What shapes creativity? How do creative people take the inspiration from their lives and create art from it? There are so many different ways to create art, what defines art?
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Beowulf Essay
Beowulf, while being the stereotypical "hero", is a lot similar and different from today's modern heroes. Many stories today try to break away from the mold of the traditional hero, such as having the protagonist be an underdog, or an anti-hero. When you strip any modern story to the bare essentials, it's just as much of a hero story as anyone else's. That anyone could also be you. A hero's journey, like the one presented in Beowulf, has a few key points that define it and characters that support it. Each character has their own background that supports their involvement in the story, and each point has it's own purpose to push these characters forward in their journey.
The hero's journey is a long, daunting, difficult challenge. In Beowulf's case, he sought out danger, and completed his tasks that he set out to do by using his strength and willpower. He was initiated into this by the challenge of defeating Grendel, and from the get-go he went head on into defeating these monsters and winning the fights. King Hrothgar is a friend/father figure that helps him on this journey, by not only initiating him as someone to accomplish a task, but as someone to guide and reward him for this. In many modern stories, this isn't the case for how the protagonist acts. Some stories have the protagonist placed into unfathomable odds, or into a situation he does not want to be in. While these stories try to be different, ultimately they fall into the typical "hero's journey" in one way or another. It's an untold but universally used method to tell any type of story. In that way it's similar to those stories, but at the same time vastly different in content.
We can all relate to this type of story in a way. One discussed example was this class. We were initiated into it by our own curiosity or want for a better chance at college, and Dr. Preston is our initiator. Our journey is ultimately up to us, but fate will always play it's part. The determination of the protagonist will have the most effect on the outcome of our story. We will overcome challenges, small ones such as homework and procrastination, and larger ones such as tests and college applications. These are the "monsters" beowulf faces, just reimagined into the real world.
Beowulf serves as an important story to have not only because of the tale it tells about it's time period or moral values, but of the fact that it is a basic template to set all stories to. It shows us the guidelines of a hero's tale, one we can resonate with and use ourselves.
The hero's journey is a long, daunting, difficult challenge. In Beowulf's case, he sought out danger, and completed his tasks that he set out to do by using his strength and willpower. He was initiated into this by the challenge of defeating Grendel, and from the get-go he went head on into defeating these monsters and winning the fights. King Hrothgar is a friend/father figure that helps him on this journey, by not only initiating him as someone to accomplish a task, but as someone to guide and reward him for this. In many modern stories, this isn't the case for how the protagonist acts. Some stories have the protagonist placed into unfathomable odds, or into a situation he does not want to be in. While these stories try to be different, ultimately they fall into the typical "hero's journey" in one way or another. It's an untold but universally used method to tell any type of story. In that way it's similar to those stories, but at the same time vastly different in content.
We can all relate to this type of story in a way. One discussed example was this class. We were initiated into it by our own curiosity or want for a better chance at college, and Dr. Preston is our initiator. Our journey is ultimately up to us, but fate will always play it's part. The determination of the protagonist will have the most effect on the outcome of our story. We will overcome challenges, small ones such as homework and procrastination, and larger ones such as tests and college applications. These are the "monsters" beowulf faces, just reimagined into the real world.
Beowulf serves as an important story to have not only because of the tale it tells about it's time period or moral values, but of the fact that it is a basic template to set all stories to. It shows us the guidelines of a hero's tale, one we can resonate with and use ourselves.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
VOCABULARY #2#
accoutrements - noun additional items of dress or equipment, or other items carried or worn by a person or used for a particular activity.
-EX- He carried his accoutrements in his jansport backpack on the hike.
apogee - noun apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth; a final climactic stage
-EX- as the satellite hit its apogee, something went wrong and all systems went offline.
apropos - adj. of an appropriate or pertinent nature; adv. by the way; at an opportune time
-EX- It was an apropos moment to turn on the satellite's backup power source, but it wasn't working.
bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things
-EX- Bickering emerged from the NASA headquarters over the backup power source.
coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements
-EX- The scientists began coalescing different elements in the lab to work on finding a new power source.
contretemps - noun an awkward clash
-EX- As one of the scientists walked out of the door, he contretemps another one and they spill their chemicals.
convolution - noun the action of coiling or twisting or winding together; a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain; the shape of something rotating rapidly
-EX- the liquid chemicals solidified and created a convolution of shapes and colors.
cull - noun the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality; verb remove something that has been rejected;look for and gather
-EX- The generic replaceable power grid was culled in place of this newfound energy chemical.
disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements;fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
-EX- The disparate between these two power sources was immense. The chemical was vastly superior.
dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or -pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
-EX- Some of the dogmatic members of NASA believed it to be unholy, and something bad would come from it, but they did it anyways.
licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
-EX- The licentious, evil boss of NASA should have listened to some of these people, because his nature would lead to the downfall of the entire business.
mete - noun a line that indicates a boundary
-EX- Once the ship crossed the mete that defined atmosphere into space, it drifted towards its target.
noxious - adj. injurious to physical or mental health
-EX- Everyone in the NASA HQ Room was noxious with excitement for this new discovery.
polemic - adj. of or involving dispute or controversy; noun a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma); a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)
-EX- While most agreed it was one step ahead of the competitors, some of the more polemic workers argued just for the sake of argument.
populous - adj. densely populated
-EX- Once the launch was a success, the populous of the camera room increased three-fold.
probity - noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles
-EX- The lead designer of the rocket boasted with probity of his launch, that made it directly on target.
repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply
-EX- When anyone dissed his rocket, he was quick with a repartee that backed up his statements.
supervene - verb take place as an additional or unexpected development
-EX- And then suddenly, his moment was supervened by something happening on the launch camera. Alien ships began flying in from every side of the earth, directly to the chemical.
truncate - adj. terminating abruptly by having or as if having an end or point cut off; verb make shorter as if by cutting off; approximate by ignoring all terms beyond a chosen one; replace a corner by a plane
-EX- As the alien ships made their way into Earth's atmosphere, many lives were truncated in the wake. Buildings and families were devastated.
unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame
-EX- The CEO decided to take all of the security guards in the facility to his office, having them personally guard him and him only. He felt unimpeachable, but he was quickly proven wrong as the aliens, alongside his workers, climbed right over all of the security and stole the CEO after all.
-EX- He carried his accoutrements in his jansport backpack on the hike.
apogee - noun apoapsis in Earth orbit; the point in its orbit where a satellite is at the greatest distance from the Earth; a final climactic stage
-EX- as the satellite hit its apogee, something went wrong and all systems went offline.
-EX- It was an apropos moment to turn on the satellite's backup power source, but it wasn't working.
-EX- Bickering emerged from the NASA headquarters over the backup power source.
-EX- The scientists began coalescing different elements in the lab to work on finding a new power source.
-EX- As one of the scientists walked out of the door, he contretemps another one and they spill their chemicals.
-EX- the liquid chemicals solidified and created a convolution of shapes and colors.
-EX- The generic replaceable power grid was culled in place of this newfound energy chemical.
-EX- The disparate between these two power sources was immense. The chemical was vastly superior.
-EX- Some of the dogmatic members of NASA believed it to be unholy, and something bad would come from it, but they did it anyways.
-EX- The licentious, evil boss of NASA should have listened to some of these people, because his nature would lead to the downfall of the entire business.
-EX- Once the ship crossed the mete that defined atmosphere into space, it drifted towards its target.
-EX- Everyone in the NASA HQ Room was noxious with excitement for this new discovery.
-EX- While most agreed it was one step ahead of the competitors, some of the more polemic workers argued just for the sake of argument.
-EX- Once the launch was a success, the populous of the camera room increased three-fold.
-EX- The lead designer of the rocket boasted with probity of his launch, that made it directly on target.
-EX- When anyone dissed his rocket, he was quick with a repartee that backed up his statements.
-EX- And then suddenly, his moment was supervened by something happening on the launch camera. Alien ships began flying in from every side of the earth, directly to the chemical.
-EX- As the alien ships made their way into Earth's atmosphere, many lives were truncated in the wake. Buildings and families were devastated.
-EX- The CEO decided to take all of the security guards in the facility to his office, having them personally guard him and him only. He felt unimpeachable, but he was quickly proven wrong as the aliens, alongside his workers, climbed right over all of the security and stole the CEO after all.
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