Birdman (or The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

Birdman is a film directed and produced by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu starring Michael Keaton. The story is about an actor named Riggan Thomson. Thomson is well known as Birdman, a superhero that he portrayed in a movie franchise. He wants to be treated as a serious actor/director so he is directing and starring in a Broadway show.

At the beginning of the film, you find him levitating in his dressing room. At first, this presents a potential supernatural aspect of the movie. You would think he has some sort of superpowers. As time passes, you find out he he has a voice that speaks to him inside is head, which causes Thomson to lose control and use telekinesis to "attack" the voice. However, you eventually realize that the voice in his head is Birdman. Throughout the entire film, you question whether Thomson legitimately has superpowers or he is going insane. You follow Thomson's internal battle as he is trying to put on many previews of his Broadway musical. He faces many challenges including his relationships with  co-stars, critics, his daughter, and himself.

Overall, I was pretty pleased with the film. The cinematography was wonderful. There were many underlying themes and motifs that became clear as the plot progressed. I always felt something was missing as I was watching it, but its imperfectness made it perfect in a way. I never felt bored, and I could always be surprised with a new direction the film took, especially with the ending. There seemed to be many loose ends and things that weren't addressed. However, I was still satisfied with the ending it provided.

I do recommend checking out Birdman.

Exposure

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CfIxWt-i200&feature=youtu.be

I went to Philadelphia with some friends about two weeks ago. This trip was more special than any other trip I have gone on as it was our first time being out in a city alone without supervision. Our original reason for going out to the city was to attend a rally supporting Healthcare. It was one of the best feelings to see a large group of people who want to protect people's right to live and be healthy. After the rally, however, we stuck around to explore Philadelphia.

It was interesting to see all these different types of people in one place. Street performers, a man in a suit running to get to work on time, Uber drivers. Sadly, it was also easy to find homeless people and maybe a drug addict or two. 

Beautiful art followed us wherever we went throughout the city. We found an art museum that showcased student work. Murals were easy to find wherever you went. We even found a massive airplane sculpture and giant paintbrush. 

The whole experience made me wonder if I wanted to live in the city. Maybe one day, but not now.  I feel like their is so much we didn't get the chance to see. I want to go back again to see what else Philadelphia has to offer. 

Rising Action

January is almost over. Its kind of weird to think about, considering it feels like New Year's Day just happened yesterday. About 1/12 of 2017 is done. Huh. I have a lot of big plans for this year.

-Going to Japan
-Going to Katsucon in Baltimore
-Going camping
-Going to Firefly
-Going to Disney World
-Graduating from highschool
-Going to Senior Week
-Going to COLLEGE
-Saying goodbye to a lot of friends I used to know since 4th grade

I just know its gonna be a busy year, maybe even busier than it is for me now (which is hard to believe).  By the end of this year, my life is going to be drastically changed. I'm not sure if I welcome this change or not yet, but I'm anticipating what is to come for my future. Right now, it feels like the exposition of this year is coming to an end. I feel like we are moving toward the Rising Action of 2017.

I drew some doodles.

I've been thinking about my progress as an artist a lot lately. This year, I told myself I would start trying to draw everyday. Unfortunately, my busy schedule always seems to get in the way. I feel like there isn't much time to just slow down and think. So many distractions. I want to keep myself on track.

This is a drawing of my friend Annie.

When does inspired work stop being original?

Many artists state that they are inspired by their artist idols. Painters may look up to Van Gogh. Musicians may look up to the Beatles or Amy Winehouse. Inspiration is where you appreciate a certain element of a person's work and try to incorporate it into your own work with a spin to it. Sometimes, though, "artists" use inspiration as a defense for stealing another person's work. As an artist, your art must be something fueled by your own creativity.  Even if it may be difficult to come up with an original concept, people shouldn't take a carbon copy of someone else's work. There is a difference between inspiration and straight up stealing.

The internet has made it very easy to steal artwork. People have found ways to slightly edit another person's work to claim it as their own. Within 5 minutes, someone can download your work, edit out your watermark in Photoshop, and post it on a media platform claiming it as theirs. Musicians face the same dilemma through remixes and sampling. A writer's words can be rearranged and replaced with synonyms to appear original. Worst of all, there are times artists aren't even aware that their art is being stolen.

Should people never try to find inspiration in other people's ideas? Of course not, that is impossible. Actually, inspiration is what allows artists to grow and think of new ideas. Finding a certain style you want to replicate is acceptable as long as you don't take credit for it. Using references or even tracing work, for example, to practice can be allowed if you are wise about it. I emphasize, IN PRACTICE. Inspiration is allowed in the brainstorming portion of making artwork. Once you put your pen to paper or paintbrush to canvas, the outcome should be from your own mind. You shouldn't post it or show it to an audience claiming it as your own.

Christmas Feeling

Cookies, Family, Carols, and Joy.

Christmas can mean a lot of things to some people. Its a time a year when family come together again and exchange gifts and love. For some its religious, for some its just another holiday that companies want to make money off of. Children consider it a time they can finally get that toy they've been wanting from the Fat Jolly Man while adults can indulge themselves with some eggnog. Christmas is a lot of things that bring hearts together.

People cling to what they call "holiday spirit." A feeling of pure content and thankfulness for the people around them. For the past couple of years, I haven't felt its presence when Christmas comes around.

Don't get me wrong, I've been around family and friends that love me dearly. I've trimmed my Christmas tree every year and made sugar cookies with the family. Christmas traditions have always been apart of the annual routine and I couldn't imagine myself doing anything else around the time December 25th is fast approaching. However, a certain bliss that I cherished every year seems to have fleeted.

Maybe its because I'm older and I no longer believe in an all-knowing man that knows how good I've been and sneaks into my house to drop off presents. Maybe its because I haven't seen a proper white Christmas in a few years. There is not one single reason alone that has caused me to lose that special feeling. It is all in my mindset in the end.

I've learned that there is no perfect formula for the spirit of Christmas. You can't expect for every little thing to happen the way you want it to be. Its more likely than not that your ideal holiday will not be everything you wished for. And that's okay.

Happiness should be almost spontaneous and never forced. Its organic and there isn't a perfect way to go about it. I think I have stressed over wanting to be happy and trying to make it happen to the point where I can't be happy when I'm doing the things that used to always fill me with joy.

I hope that by Christmas maybe I'll feel the holiday spirit again, but, if not, I know that everything will turn out okay.

Fake News Story: Man Survives Over a Year Lost At Sea

Arthur Kane was a simple fisherman who planned a fishing trip with his pet dog Sparky and 3 other men on April 23, 2015. Little did he know that his life would be turned upside down because of an ordinary fishing trip. That day was the last time he would see his home in Santa Barbara for a year and a half.

Rescuers have found the only survivors of the fishing trip, Arthur Kane and Sparky the dog, yesterday.

Kane and the three men were fishing off the Pacific coast for lobsters about a year ago. On the evening of the 24th of April, they decided go a little farther off the coast for a better pool of lobster instead of going home that night. "It is funny to think that whole mess would've been avoided if we just went home when we were supposed to" Kane recalls.

Kane claims that an insane massive storm caused his fishing boat to capsize. Luckily, Kane, Sparky, and another ship member, John Deeble, managed to get on a life raft before the boat sank below into the deep depths of the ocean. The outcome of the two other crew members , Franky Poehler and Abraham Shaw, is unknown.

With only a small amount of food, Kane and the others remained on the raft for two weeks stranded in the middle of the ocean. They endured heavy rains and hot summer days as they floated on the ocean.

“We had to drink seawater and spit out the salt. Sparky thought it tasty nasty and would only lick our sweat,” Kane says. “I didn’t think it tasted that bad.”

Kane notes that there were times he wanted to give up, but he knew someone had to take care of his loving pet.  According to Kane, he was once visited by a spirit in his dream. They were running very low on resources and needed a solution fast. “The spirit told me that there was an island nearby that had supplies and food. However, the only way we could reach this island was through a sacrifice. We had to throw a beating heart into the ocean. It was pretty nuts.”

The morning after, Kane claims that Deeble willingly offered up his own heart because, in his words, “he would’ve done anything for Sparky”. Deeble’s heart was thrown into the ocean along with his corpse.

“I was pretty bummed that Deeble died. He made some pretty funny jokes.” Kane chuckled.

Kane and Sparky made it to an island off of Indonesia. There, the two of them spent their time fishing using a spear and making a hut out of sticks and leaves. They remained on that island for about 14 months.

Rescuers found the pair yesterday after a helicopter pilot spotted fire beacons coming off the island.

“I’m just happy that Sparky will be able to eat dog food again. I think he was getting tired of eats seagull flesh all the time” Kane says.

Upon their return, Santa Barbara supplied them a year's worth of dog food. What a treat!