Stemming from the Feminine

Six paintings sat in the College Center Gallery, organized left to right from largest to smallest. “Stemming from the Feminine” is an art installation of work by Marie Arnold, a recent LBCC graduate.

Common themes of female figures and flowers spanned between the paintings. Arnold explained her creative choices during a brief talk at the installation on Feb. 23.

“I chose females for the feminine energy that we are in today, in this age of aquarius, to represent that. The colors I would choose represented certain chakras…” said Arnold.

The paintings Arnold chose hold a very deep significance for her.

“These pieces are very symbolic for me and very spiritual and kind of sacred,” said Arnold

Most of Arnold’s paintings were multimedia pieces, utilizing paint, ink, and common paint pens. The range of the pieces in the installation showed a truly painstaking attention to detail, as described by LBCC art instructor Anne Magratten.

“I kind of got the inside scoop on some of Marie’s work because I was able to watch her as she was creating these and they’re images that you spend a lot of time on. Marie is somebody who’s definitely in there perfecting the details and layering things up and seeing how they work together,” said Magratten.

Arnold often paints what she describes as “hybrids,” figures that are a seamless amalgamation of different people’s features. She explained how she created “Amber,” a piece in her installation.

“For like Amber, for example, she’s the first time I’ve ever drawn something that wasn’t actually a person. So what I did, I started drawing her face and I’d find different photo references that had similar body part-wise, if I wanted to look for a certain shadow and that way I was able to piece together, like frankenstein how this woman would look,” said Arnold.

Although it was clear that every aspect of each painting had deep symbolic significance displaying Arnold’s sharp attention to detail, her creative process is slightly less deliberate.

“When I draw and paint with these, I channel. I meditate before I do these things… I tap into creative infinity, I think that’s what it’s called, and I just speak it as it goes and I have to interpret it afterwards on why- exactly why I chose it,” said Arnold.

Art is a catharsis for Arnold and healing was another common theme, yet more subtly so.

“Art is a way of therapy of feeling. I aim to be a mystic artist, to create art in spirit to help humanity feel love and light... I channel a lot of energy into these things so they resonate with certain frequency,” said Arnold.  

JN216 Week 7 Blog

1. Sami was very enthusiastic about the piece, he posted it to his website and and shared it on social media. Sami also requested some copies to share with his family and friends.

2. Sami confirmed that all of the information in the paper is accurate.

3. I learned that I need to interview more people associated with who I'm writing a profile piece about. I also need to focus more on their biography rather than their current focuses and contributions.

JN216: Week 8 Media Blog

Topic 1: DH Field Trip
1. Something very surprising I learned from the trip to the DH was how few of the employees were actually reporters, editors, and photographers. There seemed to be as many people working in advertising and printing. Obviously if you include delivery workers, there are far more employees on the production side. Seeing that really drove home just how competitive the journalism world is. Most of the reporters seemed like they had been there for a while, meaning there's a low turnover rate in addition to there not being many jobs in the first place.

2. I had no idea that newspapers still used antiquated presses like at the DH, or that newspapers were printed at the building. I figured the papers would be sent out to be produced in a separate facility with a highly-digitized process. Walking back there and seeing the plates, press and rolls of paper really caught me off-guard. I also found out that I really like how ink smells.


Topic 2: Lessons from Edna
1. The most important lesson is that there's no point in waiting until you get opportunities, make the opportunities. Ignore the pecking order (for the most part), and get your stories. Edna Buchanan's first reporting jobs came when she had very little experience in journalism and she seized the opportunities she had and made the ones she didn't. She kept persisting and trusting her ability to write and be a reporter. She was the first on the scene, she found her own leads, she just flat-out made it happen.

2. In action, not waiting is a mindset, to be fearless and ambitious. In my life, this would be like having Mark Witherspoon from ISU tell me he's going to get me working with the Iowa State Daily right when I get to Ames, which terrified me. However, it's important to remember that I'm where I am for a reason and telling myself that I can't accomplish something has never made me better at it, so it's a waste of time. Then part two is getting to Ames and being tireless in my efforts to refine my writing/reporting and building contacts and learning my beat. If an opportunity doesn't work out, I have to keep working until I find one that does.

3. My favorite part of "The Corpse Had a Familiar Face" was Buchanan describing her interactions with police. There was really just a wealth of information and I have a feeling my beat will include dealing with police at times, whether it's protests, politics, or crime, there's police involved in some way. The fact that she distinguished between good cops and bad cops was a pretty interesting example to me. I always had this view as someone who had been harassed by a lot of police and helped by several along the way. She still afforded each police officer their humanity in recognizing that a cop who may save a kid one night, may shoot an unarmed person in the back the next night. I really just assumed that the average journalist was treated very well by police and unquestionably viewed police as heroes. Edna had very mixed interactions but still typically got the stories she needed and seemed to recognize the differences between good cops and bad cops and right and wrong regardless of if someone was wearing a badge.

"No better human being exists than a good cop and no worse creature than a bad one.
The truth is, the good cop and the bad cop are often the same cop, at different moments, on different days, with different people." (Pg. 131)

JN201 Week 7 Blog Forum

1. The first movie I remember seeing in a theater was Star Wars: Episode V - Empire Strikes Back in a drive-in and freaking out when Luke Skywalker got his hand cut off. I remember watching Bambi as a very little child on VHS on repeat, and also freaking out when Bambi's mom gets shot. I really don't watch many movies but I've always watched a lot of documentaries.
A movie that really altered my views was American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2007), which I saw a few years after it came out. It's a documentary about how the U.S. government manufactured the crack epidemic in order to oppress people of color and profit off of people to fund militant groups. The documentary also explores more contemporary examples of the drug war. It's an extremely well-researched documentary with a lot of incredible information that really changed how I viewed the government and drugs.
http://americandrugwar.com/

Another documentary that really struck me was Jesus Camp (2006), which I saw when it came out. It's about a camp for fundamentalist Christian kids and the deep sense of nationalism tied into it. There was a really troubling scene where church leaders are instructing children to worship a cardboard cutout of George W. Bush. I was really fascinated with the deep sense of indoctrination and fear many of these children had.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0486358/

A documentary I saw recently that really left me unsettled was If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011). I felt like it was very sympathetic to the ELF and Daniel McGowan even though they damaged millions of dollars worth of private property, but the information in the film was what really got me. The amount of forest that's been destroyed for profit, the way forests are managed, all of it was new to me. The fact that very little forest is actually protected really caught me off guard and genuinely pissed me off. Describe: The film mostly follows Daniel McGowan, a radical environmentalist that engaged in property destruction with other members of the ELF. McGowan was imprisoned for his roles in various acts of Arson after one of his cohorts agreed to testify against him and other conspirators. The film details how Daniel McGowan became a radical environmentalist and how he became involved with the ELF. It also talks about the classification of the serial arsonists as terrorists although they never killed anyone and the government's curious use of the term "terrorist." Analyze: The documentary won several awards and it was extremely thought-provoking. Even though I disagreed with some of the biased presentation of information and attempts at justifications, it wasn't so biased that I wanted to turn it off. I enjoyed that the documentary explored those issues from an uncommon perspective, rather than mindlessly demonizing Daniel McGowan, they actually tell the story. Interpret: I think the filmmaker was highly sympathetic to ELF, including their tactics, but I think the overall point was that there is a very serious issue with how our resources are managed and that something needs to be done. Evaluation: By watching the film, this was certainly the goal of the documentary.
http://www.ifatreefallsfilm.com/film.html

Piku:
Piku is about an architect living in Delhi with her father and brother. Her father is struggling with his aging and maintaining control over his family. Piku decides to travel to Kolkota to assist in selling her childhood home and her father and brother decide to go along with her. Because her father struggles with constipation and a load of irrational fears, he refuses to fly or take a train so the family has to embark on a 1500 km car ride in a taxi. Because Piku has offended all of the taxi drivers at a local company, the owner, her partner's friend, has to drive them. Piku discovers a romantic connection with the taxi owner, a former engineer. After arriving at the house and realizing her connection to it, Piku decides not to sell the house. Her father dies after riding a bike for 25km and finally completing a successful bowel movement. The movie explored several different themes such as aging, death, patriarchy, and societal expectations such as marriage. The film also explores the mutually controlling relationship between Piku and her father. He's extremely fussy and constantly has to have things his way so he interferes with Piku's life constantly. At the same time, Piku is overprotective and often attempts to control her father's actions. It was a very good movie with a surpising level of depth and touches of humor at the right times to keep the movie from being two hours of dysfunctional interactions.

JN201 Week 6 Media Blog

Topic 1: First Amendment, Copyright and Freedom of Expression
1. I think artists who utilize Nazi symbolism go too far in exercising their right to freedom of speech. David Bowie spent a period of time in the 1970's dressing similarly to a Nazi and embracing white nationalism, his "Thin White Duke" period.
While he has the right to make such statements, I think there's something troubling about defending "freedom of speech" when that speech is advocating a loss of freedom and outright oppression of others. Bowie later disavowed his previous statements and blamed them on cocaine but I, for one, don't think that's a valid excuse for being a white nationalist.
2. I think people should be shunned and lose their careers for embracing and perpetuating such ideals. I am completely opposed to Nazi sympathy. I find it extremely alarming that once Bowie died, it was seen as wrong to acknowledge that he was a supporter of fascism (and a sexual predator.) It really goes to show people with fame have far too much tolerance from society for being genuinely bad people at times.
3. I find myself conflicted on the overall message of the film. As a person who plays instruments and writes music, I do think someone should give me credit if they repurpose my content. However, I have no problem if they do so and declare it as such. When Girl Talk was trying to equate taking a chord progression from a popular song, rearranging it and playing it with a different guitar tone, with making mashups, I have to draw the line. That's how most songs are written, but those artists are actually making that music, rather than repurposing it. With that being said, Lars Ulrich should shut up because he's made plenty from his music and downloading music for free is not the same as taking someone else's work and profiting from it as your own, as he claims it is. Girl Talk is essentially doing that at times, but if it's unrecognizable, then who really gives a shit. If Girl Talk takes a Queen riff and makes millions from it, then yes, Brian May and Co. should get a cut, but having to pay millions to produce a mashup album is insane when most mashup artists make next to no money. I do believe the current copyright laws limit creativity, however. Also, I love the idea of culture jamming and I was glad the phrase made an appearance, specifically about reconstituting ads and commercial property that is involuntarily injected into culture.

Topic 2: Media Ethics
1. The media often seems to get "black bloc" wrong, they label it as a branch of anarchist philosophy and it's really a protest tactic widely used by different branches of radical thought. I'm not sure if it's ignorance or just an attempt to disavow anarchism because a simple "google" would explain that it is a tactic. Also the media makes the mistake of sensationalizing the property destruction rather than acknowledging the reasons people feel so upset that they are breaking things. Dr. King said "A riot is the language of the unheard," and continuing not to hear those people only perpetuates their anger.
2. The media reports for November 10th in Portland were clearly biased against property destruction, which isn't necessarily wrong or unexpected. However, even when radical activists refrain from damaging property or becoming violent, the media is biased against their ideas. Most articles also associated property destruction with anarchism or insinuated that the two go hand-in-hand with no recognition of the broader meaning of anarchism, and invalidated the anger of those who committed property destruction in the process.   http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index.ssf/2016/11/anti-trump_protests_held_for_f.html
3. I think certain independent media do a good job of distinguishing between protest tactics, philosophies, etc. Democracy Now has offered pretty informative coverage of a lot of riots, as in they actually pay attention to why the groups were rioting.

JN216 Week 6 Blog Forum

Topic 1:
1. I would say the biggest thing I learned from Kyle was the importance of being willing to pursue less than ideal opportunities and work my way up the ladder. He had several smaller writing jobs before getting a full-time job as a reporter. Another important takeaway was to keep looking for work even if you are a full-time writer. Kyle works for AP in addition to his job at Mid-Valley and it definitely had some perks in addition to supplemental income. Kyle also confirmed my thought that it's a good idea to write about various topics (even if it's not in print and I'm not getting paid) and build a diverse portfolio. By having a diverse portfolio of published work, I'm more likely to find a good job as a reporter.

2. A piece of information from Kyle that will help me with my last few stories is that I don't necessarily need to force myself to use strictly a funnel style for reporting. I think I can use a little more of a diamond shape like Kyle talked about to build more of an interesting narrative to the news.

Topic 2:
I'm going to cover the Stemming from the Feminine art exhibit on campus with Marie Arnold where she is doing a brief talk and Q&A about her work.
It is on Thursday, Feb. 23 with artist Marie Arnold, recent LBCC graduate at the Calapooia Center Gallery. I will be going to take pictures of the art before the event and talking with people who are attending and organizing. Following the event, I will essentially be doing the same thing.
  

Building Bridges, Breaking Barriers

Sami Al-AbdRabbuh emerged from a long hallway with an apologetic smile on his face

“I’m sorry, I have an urgent meeting, I hope it will be done in 20 or 25 minutes,” said Al-AbdRabbuh.

Al-AbdRabbuh is the interim care and conduct coordinator and Arabic cultural and language adviser at INTO OSU in the International Living-Learning Center, a building designed to promote a sense of community amongst international students.

He’s also an engineer, former (and potential future) political candidate, Corvallis School Board member, educator and peer leadership adviser at OSU, host of “Chariots of Curiosity” on KBVR, and PhD candidate. He is currently writing a book, as well.

“If you see my calendar, it will be overwhelming and colorful, but I do work a lot. As long as I’m not sleeping, I’m either working or I have scheduled fun-time,” said Al-AbdRabbuh. “Sometimes I work 60 [hours], sometimes 80, even.”

Al-AbdRabbuh was born in Tuscon, Ariz., his mother is a Syrian refugee and his father is Saudi. He spent most of his childhood outside of the U.S., including Bahrain, which he left after witnessing government repression of protests.

His mother’s experience as a refugee contributed to Al-AbdRabbuh’s motivation to be an advocate for others and create connections between communities.

“I feel very fortunate I had someone there, many people around her helping her out, and she’s safe now… I can only imagine someone here feeling vulnerable,” said Al-AbdRabbuh. “We are one family, and I believe in the idea that borders are superficial. The only connection we have is the human connection. So when I see someone vulnerable and I see them without the power or the rights that I have, there is only one moral duty, it is to make sure they get access to what they need and have honorable living.”

Al-AbdRabbuh’s knowledge of history and his experience in Bahrain informed his current positions.

“I read history, I saw the uprising in Bahrain, I saw how it impacted the community, so I see it only necessary to really rise up and speak up whenever it’s needed,” he said.

Even with all of his self-proclaimed privilege as an educated U.S. citizen, Al-AbdRabbuh has still experienced and witnessed oppression in his time here.

“I am Muslim in America and it’s not really quite beautiful. If I tell you about some concepts, very honorable concepts, they have been whitewashed for 30 years now, where you’ll say ‘woah, that’s a concept that I think is un-American,’ just because how the media is presenting you what you know about us.”

Echoing what many people involved with underrepresented communities say, Al-AbdRabbuh has felt unable to speak about his culture at times.

“It’s unfortunate. Sometimes I can’t speak up about my heritage, about my faith, about the ideals that I live by, because they’ve been whitewashed. Or they’ve been, in the words of one of the students: ‘there have been propaganda that did not allow us to connect with each other.’ I either can be silent, or be respectful and gentle but still vocal. I chose the latter,” said Al-AbdRabbuh.

Al-AbdRabbuh had a message for people who feel threatened or unsafe in the current climate.

“This is your home. If it takes me to my last breath to make you feel this is your home, this is your home… Even if you’re visiting here and you’re coming here for your degree, or if you’re a son or a daughter of an immigrant, or if you’re an immigrant yourself, if you have documentation or not, I want you to speak up,” said Al-AbdRabbuh. “And maybe speaking up is a danger or is a risk, that’s true, but find someone who you can trust. Find a community that could listen to you. Not necessarily a community that looks like you only, maybe you can start with that.”

Although Al-AbdRabbuh stressed the importance of remaining safe, he expressed the belief that people can benefit from reaching beyond their typical comfort zone, relating this to his own experiences. He added that he feels it is the responsibility of people with rights and power to reach out to those who do not have the same access.

“If you’re not speaking to anyone else other than yourself, then you’re not in the community that you need to be at. I’ve made that call sometimes, too… change my friend group, change the community I live in because I felt like that. And now I feel I belong because I can connect with everyone,” said Al-AbdRabbuh. “Trump supporters who have all the ideals– or some of the ideals that contradict with my beliefs, some of the preconceptions about Muslims or Arabs that’s totally different from what I believe, but I try to find something that I can connect with them where they can trust me and I can trust them in our encounters.”

Al-AbdRabbuh is committed to building communication and connections between communities.

“If you’re a Latina, or you’re a Muslim, or if you’re Transgender, and something is going on for you, don’t only speak with those who you feel at ease with, maybe push your boundaries a little bit beyond with people who you could still feel safe with, but they might listen you to. They might empathize with you. Right now, we’re building huge silence. The wall I worry about is not the wall on our southern border, the walls I worry about are the walls between our communities that is building silence between each other,” said Al-AbdRabbuh.

While he said he’s been accused of spreading himself too thin, he takes inspiration from Leonardo Da Vinci in his ability to handle so many endeavors simultaneously saying that he’s driven by “passion and curiosity and media and invention.”

In a short walk on the OSU campus, at least five people approached Al-AbdRabbuh, in addition to several phone calls, each receiving an enthusiastic response; it was clear that he’s passionate about people.

“Finding the highest or deepest value I can give to the community… Everyday I’m waking up, I think what is the deepest and highest value that I can use my time in,” said Al-AbdRabbuh.

At A Glance:

JN201 Media Blog Project 1

Describe The Channel
I watched the Netflix original "Hip-Hop Evolution." It's a documentary mini-series that explores the history of hip-hop through interviews with many of the pioneers of hip-hop, extending to contemporary artists. The first episode focused on the foundation of hip-hop in the Bronx in the 70's. The first episode mainly follows how parties with funk and soul records became DJ's learning how to mix records and isolate specific break beats, which lead to break dancing. Then, DJ's started having people accompany them to interact with the crowd. The people interacting with the crowd started saying things rhythmically with the beat which became rapping. The style was born out of types of gospel and radio DJ's that would rhyme rhythmically while introducing songs. Rapping and the style was also credited to people like Issac Hayes and Barry White, who would talk over the music. One of the last things the first episode discussed was Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five being the first group to tour and start playing bigger venues. I believe the final topic in the first episode was how much rapping evolved through battling and how much innovation came from competing.

The second episode focused on hip-hop starting to cross into the mainstream in the eighties. A big topic in the second episode was The Sugarhill Gang releasing the first hip-hop album and the resentment from the underground that had been around for years. The album went platinum and The Sugarhill Gang started playing all over the world. Artists in the Bronx began to feel like hip-hop was getting played out and started to go to Manhattan and playing punk clubs. They found that the punk kids really liked hip-hop and Russell Simmons credited punks as being a group of people that help kept hip-hop around in the early days. Simmons met and punk kid named Rick Rubin and started Def Jam, one of the most influential hip-hop labels ever. Def Jam produced Run-D.M.C., Jazzy Jay, LL Cool Jay, and The Beastie Boys. One of the biggest events in really putting hip-hop into the mainstream was the collaboration of Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith on "Walk This Way."

Theme Song: Dead Prez "Hip-Hop"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jNyr6BJZuI

Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith "Walk This Way"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B_UYYPb-Gk

Tupac: "Hail Mary"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkJA6SYwa94

JN201 Week 3 Media Blog

Topic 1:
https://twitter.com/ibanezofficial
Ibanez uses Twitter to advertise their products. They don't often post links to their new products, their main technique is to share links pertaining to established musicians they sponsor and at times reference one of their products. Some of the tweets with references to famous guitarists include testimonials or demonstrations that are obviously famous-person testimonial. Most of the other tweets are snob appeal, claiming musicians can get farther and sound better by using Ibanez products because of their superior design and quality. Much of the snob appeal truly comes from their website, which many of the tweets link to.

2. I think their technique is effective, they seem to be appealing to several demographics. They advertise with musicians from a lot of different genres and time periods. They use testimonials from new metal bands to attract predominantly young men who think by buying expensive guitars, they will play better. Guitar sales have shown in the last few years that women are buying guitars at a higher rate than ever before, Ibanez is making an effort to market guitars to women. They are stepping beyond the typical marketing technique with women, which is to advertise acoustic guitars, and providing examples of female guitarists who play electric and play heavier or more aggressive music. I think their techniques are effective because they are trying to attract buyers from many different backgrounds by presenting diverse applications of their many products.

3. Famous-person testimonials tend to be quite effective for things like instruments because any time someone invests in a new guitar or even pickups, it's typically a costly investment. People often look to musicians they want to play like or sound like for direction on what products to use. Music can also be quite competitive and the idea that your guitar is better than all the other guitars is certainly an appealing thought to those who wish to stand out from the pack. I've spent years experimenting with pickups but I typically start by trying to find out what pickups a musician I like uses. If/when I see a musician I really like talking about a product, I usually at least look at what they're saying even though I assume they're just saying whatever is needed to get paid for an endorsement.

JN216: Week 5 Media Blog

Topic 1:
1. My best work so far in the term was the Inauguration protest in Portland. I felt like I had to learn a lot to interview complete strangers, most of which are distrustful of the media. I also had to learn how to really remove myself and stay in my reporter role. I think it was just a very well-written piece, the lede is awesome and I think the amount of detail makes it a really effective piece in giving someone a perspective as if they were there, rather than a general overview.
2. My biggest challenge is approaching people to conduct interviews at events because I'm not particularly social. All of the protests I've covered have forced me to really step beyond my comfort zone and build confidence as a reporter and not be afraid to approach people.
3. The biggest lesson I've learned from Edna's book is that you have to be able to ride a wave of chaos to arrive at your story. You have to be ready to pounce on the story whenever it presents itself. What really drove that home for me was how primed she was to get to any event to cover a story, she was so ready that she would beat law enforcement at times. But her ability to get to scenes quickly was what really set her apart and made her have enough content to write several stories a day.
4. I have to get better and sussing out what really is and is not important for a story. I'm so detail-oriented that I find every minute detail worth including and that's simply not how news stories are written.

Topic 2:
1. Sami Al-AbdRabbuh
2. Sami's claim to fame is that he is a former congressional candidate, Corvallis School Board Member, OSU faculty and community organizer.
3. Source: Sami
4. Where are you from? How many jobs do you have? How do you do so many things? Why did you get so involved with so many different things?
5. I'm going to observe Sami at the end of one of his jobs and his transit to one of his other jobs.

JN 216 Week 4 Media Blog Post

Topic 1: Profile

1. Sami Al-Abdrabbuh, Karelia Stetz-Waters
2. Sami is a former congressional candidate, Corvallis School Board member, OSU staff member, and community organizer and refugee advocate. Karelia is a writer and English Department Chair at LBCC and is an advocate for the LGBTQA+.
3. Sami- What is your background? Why did you get involved with education? Why did you get involved in advocating for refugees? Why did you run for office/will you run for office again? Is there anything else you'd like to add?
Karelia- What is your background? Why did you decide to become a teacher? What inspired you to be open about your sexuality with colleagues and students? Why do you strive to create an inclusive environment in your classroom? Is there anything else you'd like to add?
4. Interview a colleague of Sami's, a student of Karelia's


Topic 2: Edna and SPJ's Code of Ethics
1. An example of when Edna followed an SPJ guideline was when she acted independently and decided to cover a plane crash rather than a large sale her editor assigned her to in chapter 4.
2. When Edna called in the crash, her editor told her not to cover it.
"No, he said, it's not a Miami Beach story. The Sun was a local newspaper, but no paper is that local--the crash was at the other end of the causeway. I said the only thing I could at the time: "Hello? Hello? I can't hear you. . ." I held the phone at arm's length."
Edna covered the crash anyway with another reporter from The Sun, and they won awards for their coverage of it. Edna pointed out that her editor ended up taking credit for assigning her to that story after she won awards for the story.
3. I think Edna absolutely did the right thing, a plane crash is far more important than a sale. I can't honestly say I would have acted in the same way, I would be worried about losing my job for directly ignoring my editor. I think if I had been working at the same paper for a while and had a little slack, then yes I would cover the plane crash instead, but not as a less established reporter.