Update? Yes Please.

I feel as  though the skeleton that once represented my conceptual idea for my project is beginning to get muscles, and some skin (as morbid as a picture as that is). All I need to do now is add the rest of the aesthetics and finishing literary details, possibly some music, and I think it'll be done. I would love to be able to continue this project long after class is over, so I am looking forward to receiving feedback today from classmates in order to fully understand what I need to stop, start, or continue to do in order for this project to be a success. It was a little discomforting pressing the publish button when it was incomplete, but I understand this is necessary in order for my classmates to view my progress.

Roots: and Extension of Growth: a Progress Report

I think I finally have completed the overall skeletons of my wix site exemplifying personal writings from years past. My last update was talking about aesthetics in relation to creating and overall solid ethos for what I am trying to accomplish. I think I have done a pretty good job of that, and now I'm pressing on to finish up the basic components of the homepage, and the subpages. I just have to complete the links, and actually application of remediation before doing some finishing touches and edits. Then I think it will be complete! Though it may not match my beginning draft and map to a 'T', it certainly is beginning to take shape into being something I will continue long after this class is done.

Remediation Project Update

I am having a blast putting my wix site together. The greatest challenge I am presented with this week is creating a solid feel and ethos persay, of my website. Some of my content is more serious, while some is very lighthearted. Reconciling these thematic moods within one website is providing me with plenty of thought and work to creating a consistent feel not only for content, but also for the wholistic picture of my concept.

My Project Update

This project is proving to be a little bit more difficult for me to focus due to the magnitude of what I actually desire to do. The most challenging part is consolidating my information and number of documents to organize them for my wix page. I really enjoy using wix and the presentation flexibility it will give me, but much of this week will be spent putting my documents together and organizing them.

Document to Web Remediation Idea

I have spent much time thinking about what exactly I would enjoy doing with the responsibility of being able to publish electronically the writings I have kept so close to my heart.  After much deliberation on what exactly I want to remediate, I decided that many of my personal journal narratives would prove to be not only artistically, but literarily valuable in this assignment. Though it requires a certain amount of exposure, I would love to illustrate through writing the overwhelming real-life narrative of my testimony to the world. I am kind of torn between formats, which will clearly take greater form as time continues. I do want to develop this project (most likely through wix) into a website specifically for those whom need the encouragement of knowing that someone else has struggled through life and made it out alive. I would love to be able to take this concept of 'Roots' from this blog and translate that over to an entire website, that could very possibly grow into some type of webzine by the time I am finished with it. I have always enjoyed the idea of daily publications of academically practical advice, and now I'm excited to get an opportunity to see that come to fruition.

My Relationship with Technology: A Tool to Share a Story

    Technology as the world knows it is the materialization of the fast-paced mentality of our culture. The instantaneous access to a world-wide web of knowlege, along with the ability to record, maintain, and communicate constantly in a matter of seconds marks the most incredible capabilities of technologies accross the globe. It has become virtually impossible to hide from the global community unless you yourself or someone else desires you to be undisclosed. Even in my seemingly insignificant twenty-one year lifespan the growth of technological advance is exponential. As a little girl, I can remember the first computer our family purcahased. It was (compared to the modern day smart phones and personal laptops) a monster of a machine. An IBM, fully equipped with DOS processing and Windows. (Even as I write this, I can laugh at my poor grasp on the language of the technology itself) Though it was dial up and processed like a dinosaur, we were thrilled. Our educational games flooded the memory space and the rate at which my brothers and I accidentally downloaded viruses was incredible. But we had a computer, and that was all that mattered. Though I begin my thoughts with the introduction of a computer into our family household, there is not a single peice of technology that has impacted my life more than a simple tool to capture a story: The Camera.

    The first time I picked up a film camera was like the first time I learned to open my eyes. My mom and dad had won an 35mm Cannon, equipped with a telephoto lense, from my dad's place of work. As soon as they pulled it out and began taking pictures, I was hooked. I took every opportunity to sneak away and take random shots with whatever film my mother had left. We would go to the local grocery store to get it developed, and as she flipped through pictures the random ones I had taken would come accross her view and the words, "Oh Brianna" were lovingly released from her lips. I can not even explain the excitement that pounded in my chest as I was waiting in line to look at the pictures I had taken (as blurry and indistinguishable as they were at the time). My passion grew into a refined skill that has brought to a place of professional, visual communication. Below are just a few thoughts about my understanding and development within the world of photography.

What early experiences with technological devices or artifacts can you recall? What do you remember about your earliest use of technologies? Or what stories do your parents tell about your interactions with technology? What were the popular gadgets in your house while growing up?

    As I had stated above, my earliest preview of the one peice of technology I have a ferocious desire to continue to grow in was the camera. I recieved my first film camera of my own when I was thirteen years old. The possabilities were endless! I didn't really understand the passion that was growing within my soul until I took a missions trip to Monterrey, Mexico that Spring Break with my mom (homeschool kids have all the fun; don't let anyone tell you differently). It was the first experience of mine in which I was completely out of my element and exposed to a little harsh thing called reality. I remember as I had walked through the garbage dumps that day delivering food to the needy families, I experienced qutie the paradox of emotions. On one hand, the sorrow that envelopd my soul as I watched children play in human waste, and famlies slowly starve because they simply have no other option was overwhelming! I remember just sitting on the bus with my head in my hands in tears over the brokeness of the people there, and the inherent selfishness of myself being here. The other hand was quite extraordinary. What I saw in that dump standing in direct opposition to the overwhelming sorrow as a joy unexplainable. Though these people were suffering, their sustinence came from elsewhere and there was joy. As I sat on the ground with the children distributing and playing with the McDonald's toys we have gathered together to deliver to them, one little boy caught my attention. He put a little mask on his face and looked up at me with the greatest smile in his eyes. 'Click' went the camera, and a passion was born. This little 'gadget' my mom and dad used to document the growth of their family and unforgettable memories proved to be tool through which I communicated the joy and stories of those around me. There is an art to this technology, and that provided the perfect outlet to combine by classic passion with modernized movement.


Think of a time when you first encountered a specific technology. What happened, and how did it affect you?
    The transition from my wonderfully fine tuned film camera to my first digital experience was quite an intense time. I was so very hesitant to move from the classical art of film to the unknown of digital coding and RAW formatted jpegs. However, I finally invested within a substantially more expensive Cannon 30D digital SLR. I had no idea at that moment that not only would this provide me with more room to artistically convey the stories of those whom have no voice, but also provide as a economic stabilizer for the years to come. As I picked up this heavy peice of machinery, I was excited but hesitant. It took months for me to understand how exactly this peice of electronic glory was to surpass my bias towards the finality of film. Success came at a cost, and the cost was lots of time and effort into practice. (I am a self-taught artist whose current medium of choice is photography.) I really began to expand upon my skills as I took this wonderful 'beast' of a camera overseas to Zambia, Africa. My heart's desire is always to bring back the stories that would otherwise never be told on film. This passion gave way to one of the most epic moments I have had in relation to utilizing this peice of technology.
     We were nine hours from running water and electricy in the northern-most corner of Zambia. The border of Congo was a short fifteen minute walk from camp, and the size of the insects compared to the glorious mosquito was incomprehensible. We were staffing a pastor's and missionary conference in the 'bush', and  for anyone under the age of forty or with the energy level of a toddler we had the task of spending the afternoon with the children. While we had anticipated approximately three hundred children, almost five hundred began to show up out of seemingly nowhere in the savannah like environment of the 'bush'. While the rest of the team began to play soccer and other active games with the older students, almost seventy toddlers and myself planted our tired legs on the grass underneath the only tree in sight large enough to provide shade. The term language-barriar meant something new to me that day. I began to just speak to the children and sing songs. They tried to sing along, however most of them just looked at me like I was of a completely different species. I finally picked up my camera and looked at the closest babe to my lense. 'Click' it went one more time. I then pushed the play button on my display screen and turned the camera to show the baby what she looked like. Her previously non-responsive eyes grew large, and a smile appeared over her little face. This was the first time she had seen what she looked like. Child after child, click after click, these little children would look at the screen and laugh as they saw their image for the first time. Words cannot express what a blessing it was to utilize a piece of technology that would normally be for selfish gain, to communicate truth and love to young children that wouldn't normally experience that. While I left that experience thinking only of the joy in the eyes of the children I had the honor of spending my days with, but someone captured the moment on digital record. This only enhanced my passion to continue to grow in my understanding and use of all things visual in the area of technological advance.
   

October Thoughts

What does it mean to be extraordinary for Jesus?

To live and die as if there is no price you are not willing to pay.

To come before the throne of grace in complete and total abandonment,

Desiring to see the nature of the Almighty in it's entirety despite consequence.

What does it look like to be great for Jesus?

To always be aware of the Holy Spirit's voice within the void of darkness in which we walk.

To see the light of hope regardless of circumstance?

What does it mean to be Holy, just as He is Holy?

What does it mean to walk in grace just as Paul and the giants of faith of old did that led them to a life unexplainable?

What do I know of such mysteries within the depths of the heart of the Creator?

To stand on the forefront of war daily,

Looking upon the quiet, serene battle field knowing within the hour the first shot will be fired and casualties will be had.

How many more will pay the price in blood before we, my dear Church, awaken to the war at our doorsteps?

To live as though we have plenty of time is to live as though we do not believe in Christ Himself.

In order for the world to know the One who saves we must take a stand

For the One whom has saved our very souls: Jesus.

The One and Only.

The Holy, Almighty One.

The Jehovah of my life,

My Messiah.

The Lamb who went willingly to the slaughter, giving authority over Himself to the hands of men,

To pay the price for the war we are not fighting.

He is Yaweh,

The Rider on the white horse,

The One whose name is Faithful and True.

The Word became Flesh.

This is Jesus Christ,

The Living God,

The One Who saves.

What do we know of sacrifice?

Of faithfulness?

Of obedience?

It is simply through Him, by Him, and for Him for which our rib laden chest beats and our free souls sing.

It is for Him that all was created,

And it was for His delight that we are in relationship with Him.

He is the rock on which we stand,

And thus the greatest mystery to touch the face of this beautifully broken world:

Christ in me, my hope of glory.

This is my reckless abandonment;

For through Him my song has been sung and my destiny released.

Christ in me, my hope of glory.

It is by slavery to Him that I am a servant of all,

Giving up all for the sake of the Cross.

Christ in me, my hope of glory.

"Arise, Jerusalem! Let your light shine for all to see. For the glory of the Lord rises to shine on you. Darkness as black as night covers all the nations of the earth, but the glory of the Lord rises and appears over you. All nations will come to your light; mighty kings will come to see your radiance." Isaiah 60:1-3