King Me!

In unit 2 of Rapid Prototyping, we learned all about 3D printers and what different kinds there are. We also looked at Riemann Sums and impossible objects, and how those can relate to 3D printers. For an FE we went VisMed3D, which makes body parts out of 3D printers for people. For our action project we had to create three 3D models of a chess piece with a partner. My partner and I chose the king piece, and with that we had to create it out of clay, using 123D Make program, and with a 3D printer. The reason that it looks different was that we had to follow the pattern that each piece is made from the top part that everyone identifies with each piece; like a pawn will be all circles, so our piece is all crosses. What I liked about this project was getting to see a 3D printer print something my partner and I personally made. Something I didn't like about this project, was really having to make all these models in a week, because we had some tech issues. Please enjoy the King Piece we made!!

Overcoming The Wave

In unit 2 of If These Could Talk we looked at murals from 1910-until the present. We focused the Mexican Mural Movement and how art was used a weapon. We also looked at graffiti and how it became popular, and the importance of art being illegal, especially when it is meant to start a revolution. We went to Pilsen, a neighborhood in Chicago, on a FE, and how each mural has a message. For the action project we got in groups of 5 people and we took the images we created for the first Action Project to create a sketch that incorporates each of our ideas. I enjoyed experimenting with different types of paints and seeing which would work best in conveying the message of the group sketch. It was challenging having to make change our original design to make it even more simple, but carry the same message. Please enjoy LL, BKJ, AG, MF’s and my artwork!

                                                                                                                          

NVA, AG, MF, BKJ, LL
Overcoming the Wave
December, 2015
11” x 4” and 11” x 4.5”
Acrylic Painting/ Spray Paint

NVA, BKJ, AG, LL, MF "Overcoming the wave sketch" (2015) GCE Lab School 

The sketch that we created shows a wave coming up and a boat caught in the middle of the wave. The wave is symbolizing the traditional school system and its approach at education, and how they are all the same with using standardized testing and the way they break down learning. The boat that is going toward the wave symbolizes our school and how we are changing what is seen as the “norm” for our educational system. This concept of our sketch is considered revolt art. Our school is really trying to break the norm of our system that we have created. This is also a tribute mural to our school, because we create this mural to recognize the changes we are trying to make. This sketch was inspired from murals we looked at in unit 1 and 2, from the concept of using our peers different styles and mixing them. Also we looked at acrylic murals in unit 2 a lot and wanted to use that in our own piece. This is much different than our last sketch, we changed it because our teacher wanted us to have the same message but have less in it, to make it more simplistic.

NVA "Acrylic Paint Swatches" (2015) GCE Lab School 

In our group, we divided the sketch into five sections and each person chose two sections to use in creating a material swatch. I chose acrylic paint, because my group wanted to use many different acrylic mediums, and wanted to see how it would look without external mediums changing the style. I chose to use the paint as is, skipping the addition of acrylic media to show my group what the paint would look like on its own. I like the challenge of turning little into more and greater. It was also very simple to use,because I had nothing to add to the paint, making it very easy to handle and manipulate. I thought the resulting image was cool, because it has this simple and old artistic style to it. I think the way I used the colors and moved them up and around, made the wave look very powerful, and in a very simple way. When talking about colors, my group looked at many different wave painting and in one we saw that they stuck to using different shades of blue to keep that ocean feel, and that is what we wanted to do. I used the white when the wave is building and then building again, because water when moving and splashing within itself, it makes a white-ish blue color. We do plan to use this in final painting. my group liked the blue sky, and its color, because we didn’t want the sky to stand out, but more settle in, so it won’t look bad.

The resulting image of my swatches came out very detailed, colorful, and really how I wanted them to come out. Also the depth of it was very nice, because it had this feel to it, of the wave really coming up and showing it is going to be real and powerful. This was something I really wanted to see, while painting. I thought the medium was very easy to work with, it was very easy to control. All I had to do was work with my color choices which was fun, and it was cool to see how nice they came out. Also how really simple of a process it took to get such a nice and clean looking image; that still has depth to it, being able to use the colors to create depth is very thing to learn.

In the end, we will use acrylic paint (without additional medium) to create the sky, and the coarse pumice gel to create the foam at the top of the wave. Then the water and inside of the wave we use soft gel, which is something that creates a glossy look for water to pop out. For the boat and people we used spray paint, because we wanted a really clean and crisp look to that part so it can stand out very nicely.

NVA, BKJ, AG, LL, MF "Overcomign the wave( swatches put together)" (2015) GCE Lab School 

Spelling: Machine vs. Man

In unit 1 of my new class, Rapid Prototyping, we learned about vertices, traversable objects, shapes, and shapes’ interior angles. We also looked at different cutting machines and how they work, such as laser cutters, water cutters and blade cutters. Leading me to the action project, we received two different letters, either lower or upper case, and we had to cut those out from any material we chose, by hand and then with a blade cutter. The purpose of doing it both by hand and with a machine is to show the pluses and deltas in using a machine cutter. The letters I have are an uppercase “H” and a lowercase “v”. The purpose of doing it is that we are moving to a new location as a school, and everyone making these letters will help with signs that we might want to create for the new location. What I like about doing this is that we get to make the letters however we like, in whatever format, so people could have done them in cursive or even another language. 

          

Calling Lincoln Park

In unit 1 of If These Walls Could Talk, we looked at the history or murals, from Prehistory up until the Renaissance. We also looked at the visual styles of different murals, and how to classify murals based on its purpose. For the Action Project, we had picked a neighborhood in Chicago, and created a sketch for a mural that addresses a problem that neighborhood. To explain the image, we wrote an artist statement that clearly explains how the image addresses the problem we identified. The neighborhood I chose was Lincoln Park, and I believe that there is a lack of community in that neighborhood. The purpose of this was to learn about how murals are used and what they can do. Also since we are moving to a new space as a school, this is to help get an idea of how to make a mural for a new location. Please enjoy my art piece and artist statement!


NVA
“Calling Lincoln Park”
11-15-15
11’’ x 14’

Drawing

During the 1850s, Lincoln Park was home to many German truck farmers, helping Lincoln Park to earn the name “Cabbage Patch”. It was also home to many industrial workers, who worked in the neighborhood. The Germans started creating the community, but after the Great Chicago Fire, many Germans left and other ethnic groups began to move into the neighborhood, Italians, Hungarians, Romanians, Slovaks, Puerto Ricans, and African Americans; moved into Lincoln Park for the cheap housing built after the fire. But how did a lack of community become a problem if the neighborhood was called home by so many different cultures? Well, the Great Depression the people of Old Town (Southeastern part of Lincoln Park) were worried it was becoming a slum. From housing stock deteriorating as the owners subsided and neglected their properties. So they formed The Old Town Triangle Association in 1948, which inspired the north side of Lincoln Park to form the Lincoln Park Conservation Association in 1954. Then in 1956, the neighborhood was designated as a conservation area. Then, because of the General Renewal Plan that was enforced in Lincoln Park, groups of people, like the Puerto Rican and African - Americans were bought out and forced to move. Then the property value increased drastically, forcing out the poor to make room for the wealthy. Making it, by the early 2000s, one of the neighborhoods with the highest status. 

Today, after a long history of culture and economic changes, Lincoln Park has lost its sense of community despite efforts to help its residents connect with each other. I would say it it isn’t working just because of technology as well, because it adds to the disconnection people build by themselves. I hope to draw attention to this problem through the mural I am proposing. 

In the sketch I drew a-over-the-shoulder view of a man looking at his phone, and on the screen it says, “Take off the headphones”. The headphones symbolize the reason there is a lack of community.Spending time in Lincoln Park and observing the people in the neighborhood, I saw many people with their headphones on and no one looked nor talked to each other. I was inspired by the use of realism, developed during the Renaissance. I chose to use realism as a visual technique because the scene I created is a real one; people in real life are always on their phones. I used a muted and dull color palette to show how boring the community has gotten because of the lack of community. I’ve created this image as a revolt to address the need to put your headphones in and ignore everything around you. 

This is a mural that I’d want to be put in the park or by the lake, these areas are where the most people hang out, and where the most wealthiest people live. From my mural, I want it to wake people up and have them take out their headphones and try to talk to other people around them. From that a community will be born, and there will be no need for one, because it will already be there.

References:

"Lincoln Park." Lincoln Park. Web. 17 Nov. 2015.

Keeping an Eye on People

In unit 3 of Rhetoric, my class looked at the start of colonies in the new world called America. We looked at the conflicts that started from, the French and British and the conflicts made from the Sons of Liberty and what they stood for. For the action project, we had to find a social issue, and create an artwork that would be a great way to represent it using any kind of medium. The purpose was to inspire people from all over the world to unite (like some of the early American colonists). I chose to make an artistic statement about the issue of domestic violence because I wanted to learn more about the topic. The art medium I chose was a drawing with just a pencil and a piece of paper for the reason that drawing is so simple, but also can be complex in the way you make it. Please enjoy the drawing and what it holds.

NVA "Keeping an Eye on People" (2015) GCE Labs School

What is domestic violence? It is when the person you trust most starts abusing you or a loved one, in the place where you should feel most safe. This issue is very well known to many people, but also not as well known as it should be. What I mean by that is, people know about it - either they have experienced it or they have heard about it. So why is it that so many people aren’t doing something about it? And, why have we actually gotten used to the fact that it happens? Most of the time, people don’t want to interfere because they think it’s none of their business, but should we actually let this happen? I say no - just because it might not be our business, I don’t think that we should continue to stand by and let this keep happening.

In 2 out of 3 female homicide cases, the woman was killed as a result of domestic violence (Safe Horizon: General facts). The only way this can stop growing is when we decide to act on the inside of what is actually happening. But domestic violence isn’t only bad to the person being hit; children who witness these events happening are also changed in some way mentally, and may be victims of abuse as well. Maybe they are experiencing domestic violence first hand, and they repeat the cycle with other people when they grow up. These young victims are seeing bullying happening first hand and they don’t know what they should do, 3 million children see domestic violence every year in their homes (Safe Horizon: Effects on Children). We shouldn’t let that happen at all. But why? Why care? Say you saw someone getting hit on the street by someone, would you help or walk away? Or say you saw your child getting bullied, would you do something?

I think of domestic violence as bullying and it makes it just so much worse when it is coming from someone you love. 1 in 4 women will experience domestic violence in her lifetime. I am saying for that to stop now and make that number 0 in 4 women, or even men, who do actually get the other side of the bullying (Safe Horizon: Occurrence of Violence).

The reason I chose to sound off on the topic of domestic violence isn’t because I have experienced it or because I needed to talk about something I have experienced. I felt like it was very important to me to pick an issues that I don’t experience with, just so I have more knowledge on it, and have a larger standpoint on the subject. I also feel like then I might have the power to help people or just teach people about domestic violence, as I am doing with my art. I just feel it is important to learn about more issues that don’t fully apply to you, so you can have an understanding and connect more to these issues.

The medium I chose was a drawing because of saying, “A picture carries a thousand words.” , Well I believe a drawing carries a million words because the more emotion a drawing can have more an emotional impact. I also chose to draw, just for the fact that it is the easiest art form for me and i feel that I can clearly get my ideas across in this artistic form.

I drew person’s eye up close because eyes are the window to the soul and domestic violence victims are not only physically hurt, but also spiritually. I drew a tear to show the sadness that is carried when this violence is happening to them. In the eye, you see a reflection of a fist facing towards the victim. To show the realness of how it is for people that experience the abuse they get. Next, on the fist of the person you see the word saying “STOP”because I want this abuse to stop and so does everyone who gets physically and spiritually abused by a loved one. Lastly, I didn’t add any color to my drawing just because I feel like the colors would actually take away from the emotions that I want to represent, such as truth and sadness. I like that this amazing drawing with so much emotion and truth, can really just be made with a pencil and some strong feeling to get a message across.

I would want my artwork to be displayed everywhere - mainly on the internet so it can travel faster, but anywhere where it could make a difference would be great.

References:

"Domestic Violence: Statistics & Facts." Safe Horizon. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Under My Wing!

For unit 2 of Design and Engineering, we learned about Newton’s First Law of Motion, Inertia, looked at more Trigonometry and did Calculus. For the action project we, with a partner, received a persona and what they needed out of a bike. We then had to create an actual 3D model of a bike that would fit what they needed for their biking experience. I had a person named Andres and because of the problems his grandmother wanted him to avoid, my partner and I made a bike below that fits his needs. What I liked about this project was making the bike and getting to know how far I could go with making it. What I didn’t like was that there were times when my partner and I didn’t see eye to eye, but we were able to overcome those problems. Please enjoy our design.

Before making these bikes, we did some research on bikes and how they worked. One thing I learned was that gears are actually more important than a lot of people may think. They actually really help the bike do certain tasks. Something else I learned was that different materials for the frame can change how the bike will perform. A lot of road bikes have a carbon fiber frame, and hybrid/ mountain bikes will have a stainless steel frame. The carbon fiber is very light, making it easier for the rider on a street to go fast, whereas a hybrid/mountain bike rider will need the steel frame for a more durable ride. For an interview I completed, a biker said, “I would actually like my frame, because it fits my riding, where I will be all over the place.”

The person I have, as I said before, is Andres. His grandmother wants to get him a bike that will be safe and comfortable for him to ride, and it also has to be good against harsh weather. His route includes having to go through the park and cutting into alleys and rocky roads to get to school and back. The normal part of the bike is that it is a mountain bike, with wheels made for all grounds and stainless steel to protect from rust. But what makes it different from other bikes? It’s very different from many other bikes, because it has gloves that make it easier to grip the bars. It has an umbrella that you can take on and off when it’s raining or snowing. It has a molded seat to fit your body comfortably. The gloves and seat make it more comfortable for the user, mainly so the body isn’t so stressed. The umbrella is for the harsh weather to come, and the wheels are thick to make riding on all grounds easier; it also has shock absorbers like a mountain bike, for Chicago potholes. The we decided it will be called The Wing, because it is like the expression, “you are under my wing.” because for the fact that every parents want to take care of their kid, so you now have a bike that does the same.

NVA. "Wing Sketch/" (2015). GCE Labs School

Now to talk about the bike mathematically, we have a wheel that is theoretically 28 inches tall to get over land easier, making the circumference about 88 inches. His commute takes him 26 min, when riding about 7 mph or 3.13 meters per second, because the route that Andres takes is 3.2 miles, using Lincoln Park, and alleys. On that journey his wheels rotate about 2304 times. Now the wheel used in the model is 1 inches compared to the theoretically 28 inches. Now to make it a faster ride my partner and I chose to have the biggest cog in front and the smallest in back to have Andres go faster. The bike will have multiple gears, but we'll range the gear ratio, since the biggest front gear has 53 teeth and the smallest back gear has 13 teeth which makes it a 1:4 gear ratio. Then the smallest front gear is 35 teeth, and the largest back one has 26, which gives you a 26:35 ratio.

Now when talking about bikes, physics play a huge role such as energy and the different types, like Potential and Kinetic. For this bike and the rider, potential energy will be shown when Andres is on top a small hill because there is more gravity pulling down. He will have the most kinetic when riding in the alleys, because he is going straight and releasing his energy.

We did have to think of certain things though, like how the umbrella would be aerodynamic and how it could fit the rider. We just made it more pointy at the front, so the wind goes over it instead of through. Another concern was how the gloves would work, and we thought of making them more like mittens so people could have more hand space and warmth. We also wanted to make it where Andres could ride without them, and he could just hold onto the mittens for a comfortable grip when riding.

NVA. "Wing 3D Without person." (2015) GCE Labs school

NVA. "Wing with 3D With Peron." (2015) GCE Labs School

Genova Here We Come (Part 2)!

For Italian, I had to make another project on Genova with the same info, but the difference is you can here me speak about myself in Italian. I also take about Genova in Italian, even though it's the same info from my last post about Genova. I really liked this because it tested my skills on speaking Italian, even when some words are just hard to pronounce, also for me learning a new language is very hard. I do see the importance in learning a new language though, so taking Italian was very fun to do.
           

Jamming to Importance!

In unit 2 of my Rhetoric, we learned about new rhetorical devices, such as hypophora and meiosis. We also looked at the The discovery of America, Christopher Columbus, and the Doctrine of Discovery. Also we looked at the voices that weren't shown a lot during that time, mainly the Natives Americans and what new people took from them. For the action project we had to create a Prezi, where we would take a speech or song that someone made and annotate it and talk about the appeals involved in and the devices in the text. I chose Holiday by Green Day, the song, and I liked it because a song from them is going to be heard by a lot of people, and I like that they made it about such an important topic. Please enjoy!


       

Genova Here we Come!

For my Italian class, we have learned how to speak and the language, we also learned about the different cities that make up Italy; such as Rome, Venice, and Milan. Leading me to this fun project, each student had to pick from a hat and on the paper they took out was a city and we had to create a presentation, showing the main features of the city. My city was Genoa, or in Italian Genova. Please enjoy, it might give you an idea for your next vacation!

           

The New Cutting Edge C.O.O.L Lopper

For my new class Design and Engineering, we learned about simple machines, such as inclined planes, pulleys, wedges, and levers. We also learned about some physics that would apply to these machines as well as Geometry and Trigonometry. An FE we went on is we went to Home Depot and looked at gardening tools and how they are used and the kind of simple machine concepts behind them. Also we went to a place called Gravitytank, where we saw how people study and do research on how to design a new product to sell. Both of these help lead me to the action project, where we had to interview a gardener about the tools they use. Then when we went to Home Depot, we, with a partner, chose a tool and did research on it. Lastly we had to create a design to make this tool easier for elderly people to use or younger people, really anyone who isn’t the average adult size. My partner and I chose to do the lopper, a tool used to cut branches off trees or bushes. I’m proud of the design we came up with, however one challenge we encountered was really trying to make a good design that made sense, and could actually help a person, in every possible scenario. Please enjoy what we came up with!

What is empathy? This is when someone can put themselves in someone else’s shoes and really feel what it is like to be them. As I said before we had to interview a gardener, and what I learned from the person I interviewed was that they like to use the tools as a starter and then just use their hands. They said, “I find tools today are too expensive and just get in the way of the task they are made to do.”

When looking at the lopper we learned that it has long handles to make the use of leverage higher. It uses a bumper so when cutting you don’t smash your fingers, and  it has a cutting capacity of 1.5 inches. From this we have created The C.O.O.L Lopper: the C stands for contractible, the O’s are the wheels that are on our tool, and L is for leverage. It is a lopper that is connected to a step button to cut, and it has handles for mobility and wheels on the bottom (Three: one in front and two in back). This way it is easier to move and swizzle. The handles have gel added to it, also the tool has a bar with holes and a metal bar that will click into it so it stays at that height (like a crutch); this will help to cut at different heights. Also the tool has the regular handles like from the original model so that you can direct where you want the cutter to cut. But why is this so great? Well it is easier to store away, because it can contract and become smaller, it is easier for elderly people to use because it is less stress on their back, and it is easier to control when in use.

NVA/JR "COOL Lopper" (2015)

The physics that goes into this, is force and work, because the user will need to use a certain amount of force to get the lopper to cut. Now we have put some simple machine concepts into this design as well. We put a pulley system in it, because we wanted the tool to always be closed out of safety reasons. To open it to cut it, we have two pulleys that connect to the handles of the tool and they are connected to the stepper, so that when you push down the lopper opens, and when you let go the lopper closes. The ropes being used will allow the pulleys to create a sling shot effect, making it cut the branch you need to cut. Also a wedge is added, that being the blade to cut the branch in general, otherwise it is useless.

NVA/JR "COOL Lopper, Physics" (2015)

We obviously had to think of some scenarios so it wouldn’t be too big, instead being comfortable. Now as I said we are thinking of an elderly person or someone who isn’t the average adult size, so to design our new tool I had to put myself in their shoes by, thinking of strength, when this would be used, and how it would just be better in the end. We also had to take into consideration the other styles of loppers and how they helps people, that being bent handles, or a gear to make the blade longer. These are the competition and so we had to take those concepts and make them better for our tool and the user. The main challenge of doing that was coming up with enough scenarios, where these concepts would need to be applied.

NVA/JR. "COOL Lopper" (2015)

A Good Self Defense Is the Best Offense!

In my new Rhetoric class, we learned about the theory of speech, this containing the difference between content and form. Then we learned about some appeals and devices used in an speech, such as Logos: the stats and real information, Ethos: the credibility of the speaker, and Pathos: the emotions that are shown while speech is given. Then the devices are, simile, metaphor, or allusion. Leading me to the action project, we had to make a speech that includes the three appeals, and some devices, on a topic we are passionate about. The topic that I have chosen is why people should do martial arts, because this is something I do and I am very passionate about it. Some challenges of this project was that at the last minute i switched topics so I had to write a 2 minute speech in a day. What I am proud of is that I actually found a topic that I really care about, because I didn’t like what I had before. Please in enjoy why I think you should do martial arts.

Have you been in a situation where you feel weak, maybe just mentally or physically and you know that you really don’t have a solution in mind? I know that I have, and I could never find a way to feel strong, in anyway. I know that people everywhere come up against this problem. The main solution that I’ve discovered is learning a type of martial art, ranging from boxing to Jiu Jitsu.

Today we have so many problems with everyday life, that leave us feeling vulnerable or weak as individuals, for example :

One: People don’t feel confident all the time. With martial arts you learn to become confident with everything you do. While doing martial arts, and afterwards, you feel new, knowing that you are a better person. And that feeling will always grow, unless you stop. But why stop doing something that can actually benefit you?

Two: You will get respect and you know to give respect more often. In martial arts there will always be someone better or bigger than you. But that just teaches kids and you that it’s good to get respect and give it. This will make us live in a better community of people, where no one is ever trying to be the better person. Today we see people getting in street fights, and for what, what is the point of sending someone to the hospital, or getting sent to the hospital? NOTHING. With martial arts, it will destroy your bad ego and let your good one shine. This all comes back to respect and some self control. If someone is picking on you, or yelling at you, just think, “Oh well, they didn’t have a good day and they aren’t really mad at me.” This applies more to random people. Don’t think that of your parents, or teachers, because you might have a lesson to learn.

Three: It’s a good tool to have if you’re attacked. Many people get mugged and hurt, and have no idea how to defend themselves. Well, with martial arts you have something to defend yourself with. Females and other are more vulnerable to sexual assault, they now will also have a proper way to defend themselves. I know that the Gracie family (Who created Brazilian Jiu Jitsu)  has a program just for women so they can better protect themselves from threatening men.

Four: It gives you a better way to focus and really try hard on what you want to accomplish. Many people today are distracted from everyday entertainment devices, that we will usually not want to work hard. Well with martial arts, since they have a belt system, it gives you something to work hard for. This will teach your mind how to start working harder for things you want done. Not only will it help with everyday tasks, but it will help you focus on you. What I mean by this, is we get very stressed, this will always happen, but with martial arts will help you relieve stress. Either by doing Tai Chi, or just doing boxing and just punching something to get some anger out.

So in the end, martial arts is something you need to do, because the boost of confidence, respect, self defense, and lastly helps our focus. All of these things are something that can really help a person become better and feel new. For people who do it, always remember some things, “We do martial arts so we don’t have to use them.” - Bruce Lee, this is really important to just keep in mind that it’s something for fun and it’s never fun to send someone to the hospital. Also martial arts is a river, it will be calm and happy, and it can be stressful, but keeping it fun and always being adaptable is good thing for life.

References:

Stevens, Eric C. "7 Reasons Why Your Child Should Practice Martial Arts."Breaking Muscle. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

Ghosh, Sushmita. "10 Reasons to Learn Martial Arts - List Dose." List Dose. 4 Mar. 2014. Web. 22 Sept. 2015.

BJJ Kid

While doing school at GCE to become mentally strong, I wanted to learn how to become physically fit. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is a martial art where it acts as a sport and a self defense mechanism. This something that I have always wanted to do, with other kinds of martial arts. The main challenge is that it is very hard to upgrade in this martial art, taking a lot of mentally and physically will. This also helped me meet new, people and because of the place I go, POW MMA and Fitness, I got to also explore other martial arts.

NVA/AA "Gracie Regional Tournament" 2015

So to start from the beginning, I was actually inspired first by boxing, mainly through watching movies where it showed the man get defeated and then rise up from will. So in about 2 years ago, I watched a movie called Never Back Down, this had the same premise of Karate Kid, but instead of Karate, he did mix martial arts (MMA). This movie was a slap to face and from that point I wanted to join a place and learn how to fight, but also learn how to become a more cerebral person.

It took a while, but I found POW MMA and Fitness, where for my first class I took Muay Thai, which is the art of eight limbs, meaning fists, legs, elbows, and knees. I did that for a week or, and then I remembered that the main reason I joined this place was to Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and I quickly started that, while also doing Muay Thai. Then, I realized I joined this place at the right time, because they started doing martial art of the month, where every Wednesday of the month they would do a martial art that they didn’t normally have. That quickly grabbed my attention, and the very first one was Kung Fu, a very old and well known Chinese martial art. Then it was Taekwondo, which is a well known Korean martial art, mainly focuses on kicks; since everyone loved this it went on for 2 months. Now it is currently Jeet Kun Do, which is Bruce Lee’s martial art that is a mixture of martial arts he liked.

The one martial art though that has had my focus, is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, which is my all time favorite, because this martial uses leverage, unlike many martial arts. This one takes, a lot of mental strength as well, because it it like playing chess, you are always trying to out smart people. I am training with guy named Dino Costeas, who once trained with the very famous Rickson Gracie. A man named Helio Gracie created this, because he was taking Traditional Jiu Jitsu, and he was a much smaller person than his brothers, so he tweaked that martial art to make it best for him. Now the Gracie family is huge in the fighting world, and the are the ones who created the UFC, mainly to show how powerful Brazilian Jiu Jitsu was to the world.

From doing this for 5 months, I have become very fit, and I think a little more logically in certain situations. Something that martial arts taught me that I always will remember, is that people do martial arts so they never have to use them. I think I can stand for myself more, being someone that people could always pick on, making me very inconfident about myself. I am still a white belt, but one life goal I have set for myself, to become a black belt, which will be hard but I am up for the challenge. I will definitely, keep doing Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, and trying other martial arts to mainly become a well rounded fighter.

Giving Yourself Medical Attention

In unit 3 of my Cure class, we learned about how prevent problems from happening, and making ourselves our own doctors. We for some FEs, looked at diets, yoga, and making medication out of herbs. Leading me to the action project, we had to create a video where a person went to do the doctor to look for a way to prevent something from happening to them. For me I chose a man wanting to prevent any lung problems from happening, as you might see the doctor is very caring and understanding, which is in honor of Patch Adams and how he was so loving to the people he treated. The purpose of this was to show people that they can be there own doctors, and that we control a lot in our lives. Please enjoy!


                     

What does the Chorus do?

In unit 3 of my Drama course, we read A Raisin in the Sun to examine the role of the matriarch. We also learned about Greek tragedies and what they have done to superheroes to make them seem more life like. Also we looked at the chorus in a play and song, and how they say the moral in the story. We went to the Cultural Center to look at paintings, and to practice techniques to write a Greek chorus. For this Action Project we picked a character from Raisin in the Sun and to show that characters in the play have their moments of glory and failure just like a Greek tragedy. I picked Walter from the play because he is someone who has a lot of problems with trying to be a hero. The purpose of this was to see how important a chorus is in a play, song, and book. Please enjoy the chorus I made to resemble a Greek tragedy, a Raisin in the Sun.

The Common Cold

In unit 2 of my cure class, we learned about the quadratic formula, and we looked about different medicines and their purposes. For a FE we went to CVS and Whole Foods to look at the packaging of medicine, and the different things they say, including side effects, the intended effect etc. Leading me to the action project, we had to create a medicine box, that had a main ailment and the symptoms. Then we had to add four different treatments for this ailment, behind and over the counter, and two others that someone would/could do at home. The ailment I have chose was the common cold, because it is something I get from time to time, and it usually lasts longer than any other ailment for me. We also for the action project had to make a video solving the quadratic formula given to us by the dimensions of our boxes. The purpose of this action project was to show people all the different medications there are for people to use, that are in chemical form and outside treatments.

NVA "The Common Cold Box" 5-09-15. GCE Lab School

The Stone Journal

For unit 2 of my Drama class we looked at the three plays, first it was A Doll's House, next was The Little Foxes, and last was Marie Antoinette. With in these plays the main theme was what women's roles were when it came to society, and should it they be equal to men. In A Doll's house they hit on that subject by talking showing how the main character is controlled by everyone and then how she finally gets the power to control her husband. In The Little Foxes they hit on this subject by showing how the women had all the control over the other main characters, who were men. With Marie Antoinette they actually showed how society controlled her life. Some FEs we went on were going to watch the play Marie Antoinette and got to interview the understudy. Now to the action project, we had to write a script with us as one of the characters, Nora from A Doll's House, and a historical/mythical figure. I chose Medusa as my mythical character to use in my play, because I like Greek Mythology so much. My play in a summary is about, Me and Nora as friends, meet Medusa and have to battle her, finding the what society can do to people.

 

Spinal Disk Replacement

In Unit 1 of my Cure course, we learned about different ways to approach math problems like substitution and elimination, but most important we learned how cells work in the body. We also learned the different parts and the organelles inside of the cell and what they do. For the action project we had to create a Prezi presentation on a surgery of our choice and explain the organs involved and the cells they are made up of, and what happens in the surgery. I picked the replacement of a disk in the back, mainly the lower part, and I thought this would be could because of how serious it can be if the surgery were to be done wrong. The purpose of this project was to see how different cells in the body have very different ways of working and to show in a real life situation.


         

Kate The Tamer!

For Unit 1 of my Drama course we read Taming of The Shrew, written by William Shakespeare, and we talked about how the 16th century had such a big role in effecting the play he wrote. As Shakespeare grew, he soon went into the role of writing sonnets, mainly because they were popular and he wanted money for his. Bringing me to the action project, we had to write a sonnet directed towards a character in the play. In the sonnet it would address them about gender roles in marriage, and how they could use help with it. I chose to write to Kate, the shrew, and tell her about how she needs to make her relationship with Petruchio more equal. Enjoy the poem!

“My hand is ready, may it do him ease”

Did you mean that, or did you just say that to please?

Your power, your shrewishness, your pride, you forswear

when fitted for a hat you loved, from your head, you let him tear

Why let a man tame the only thing that makes you whole?

Instead of looking under the tree to find the present, you looked down the stocking to find the coal

You are the bondmaid,a jest, and the doll that was tied to strings when you met

You are the bug and he was the knave with a net

Stand up for yourself, become equals using your stomach, your air

When standing up you become peaceful, stopping the attack, and make it all fair

Tame the tammer and let him see and learn

He will learn not to have tried to tame the powerful, and he will burn

Have you learned what I am saying, make it equal don’t let someone control everything

You are strong and free willed, and soon to be, loving

Why We R Naught Wanting Smallpox to Happen Again!

In unit 3 of my Disease class, we learned about, the different type of epidemic and the levels that one can reach. We also learned about R naughts, which is how many people can get sick/infected from one person. Next, we learned about correlation and causation, correlation is when two events during the same time period have the same rates (one not really causing the other). Causation, is the same thing, but they are caused by one and another. For my action project, we had to pick a disease that has become an epidemic. When we do that, we had to find out what the R naught of it is, where it has happened, and talk about factors that might lead into it. The purpose of this was to see how some epidemics are caused by a lot of different things, and to see how infectious one can be. The disease I chose was smallpox, mainly because I have always been interested in how it was used as biological weapon for war a lot, and wanted to know why they use that one. The only real challenge to this was mainly that, it was hard to find different factors, that would be on a certain website we used to make our graphs, to correlate the correlation and causation factors of a disease.

Smallpox is an infectious disease, where it can be very hard to know when you have it, causing people to spread it around more. It is a disease that comes from the variola virus, and the incubation period can take from 7 to 17 days. In that time it is able to spread to other people, without them knowing until it is too late. The type of symptoms that will be shown are high fever, vomiting, back pains, those are the starting ones. The one where you know you have smallpox is when a rash starts to form on the head, hands, feet, chest, and soon everywhere; after those that have happened, blisters will start to form on the rashes and they will have a clear liquid in them and soon pus will be in them.

The R naught of this disease can range from 5 to 7, meaning from one person, 5 to 7 can get infected from that person. As I said before, it is hard to tell when you have until it’s too late and you have passed it on to others. From that, it should be able to tell how this can lead to big epidemics. The first cited one was from the thirteen colonies when the British would bring the disease to people that have never been exposed to it before, Native Americans. Soon it started to spread all over the world, but in different time periods, not making it a pandemic, another area in which it has spread would be Australia in 1828. From that date it just proves that disease is really dangerous and go anywhere and be anywhere. The area I want to focus on more is when it was in India in 1974 when smallpox, which was the most recent case of a smallpox epidemic, which happened in January and finished in May. In this time it killed 15,000 people in that time. Now both of those are very dense in population, meaning people would be living together in a close environment, and this is one of the biggest factors. Another factor that should be addressed, is the lack of doctors in some areas, now even if there aren’t in some, we need more doctors to help it be contained or prevented.

It is eradicated today and is not seen anymore because there is a vaccine made for it, but even the vaccine can be a problem; this is because if too many people get the vaccine in one area, it can spread faster than the actual virus itself. In 1979, it was declared eradicated, but it is believed that WHO or the CDC have some samples of it just for study, or for biological warfare. Prevention is one of the hardest things to do since it can spread without anyone knowing, so the main prevention to do for people in that area is stay away from anyone that is showing symptoms, and for a city or the whole area I would actually say to get more people interested in being a doctor, so they know ways to help the community. Just as a prevention tip for everyone is always cleaning your hands so that if you are in contact with someone; or with someone with the disease, if needed to go out just wear a mask so people aren’t contaminated with it.

NVA "Smallpox Graph" 2015. Gapminder

The picture above shows how drought, or when water is more available, the disease is more likely to show up in India. This shows, that smallpox could actually appear more when the water is good, meaning people will be drinking water  a lot, and when that happens it is easier for people to possibly drink from an infected person’s drink.

NVA "Areas that have had Smallpox" 2015. Gapminder

References:

“Smallpox” Mayo Clinic. Aug 16, 2014

“Smallpox Vaccine Overview” CDC. Feb 7, 2007

“Smallpox” IDHP. n.d.

“Frequently asked questions and answers on smallpox” WHO. n.d.

“Samantha Farley “1974 Smallpox Epidemic of India” Prezi. 2012