Free Write Day

Prompt #13

The most intelligent person I ever knew would never let himself believe in anything.  On his best of days, his first words about magic and myths would spiral off into long rants about why they just couldn't exist.  On the worst of his days, he became bitter about the most wonderful of things--true love, hope.

     Nobody, not even I, could bring him back from his deeply cynical nature.  If he had already started, it was impossible to stop him.  There were only two solutions to this problem, one of which was so far-fetched it hurt to think about.

     The easier of the two, obviously, was to keep him from thinking these things in the first place.  if anyone started getting close to the topic of love or magic, I would immediately steer him away.  That particular part was extremely difficult, because--you know that seven books about that wizard that are totally not popular at all?--I was a huge fan of them.  Those wondrous creations, however, had absolutely no influence on the fact that I firmly believed in magic; I always had.

     Which brings me to the second solution: I had to get him to believe in magic.

     And he, being the person he was, would need proof.

     And I, of-freaking-course, did not have any.

     And I, unfortunately, had no idea how I would get it.

     Rest assured, though, I would get it.

     I was determined.

***

In this experience, I learned that I would stop at a whopping number of absolutely nothing if I thought it would help my friends.  Burning flora and buzzing, panicking fauna did not deter me, but I was under no delusion it wouldn't deter my best friend.  I kept my grip on his arm tight as we trudged through the deep forest, knowing with perfect familiarity that the tension wracking the limb meant he would take any given opportunity to sprint in the opposite direction.

     "This grass is burning!" he squawked heatedly.  "Do you know how dry southern-Texas forests are?"

     I merely continued to pick my way through the forest with care.  When I didn't respond, he burst out, "Very!  That's how dry they are!  One infinitesimal, dying ember could burn this whole forest down!"

     "You're being dramatic," I said with an eye roll.  Despite his IQ being at the level of Einstein's, he could be a drama queen.

     "I am not," he said defensively.  "Haven't you hear about the--"

     "Shh!  Did you hear that?"  I held up a hand, as if it would actually keep him from talking.

     "What, the sound of our impending deaths?  Because--"

     "No, it sounded like a growl.  Or some sort of deep...warbling?"

     He looked at me incredulously, as if he were questioning my sanity.  "No, I certainly did not hear a 'growl' or a 'deep warbling.'  Which, by the way, would not sound--"

     "You didn't hear it because you were talking, idiot."

     "Idiot?  That is the most inaccurate--"

     "Shh!" I hissed again.  He made a childish face at me, and we started moving again.

    As we moved deeper into the forest, the growling became more evident.  After another half-hour of hissing at each other for stupid reasons and making our way through the burning trees, we came into a large clearing with a gigantic boulder sitting in the middle of it.

     "Great," he said to me, blatantly sarcastic.  "You've found a giant boulder.  Now can we leave?"

     "No."

     "Why are we out here, anyway?  You still haven't told me."

     "Be quiet."

     "You've said those words--or some variation of them--to me a total of twenty-eight times in the last hour."

     "And you still haven't gotten the message?"

     He started to sputter, "Of course I've--AAAAAAAGGHHH!"

     Out of thin air, it seemed, a ball of fire came flying straight at us.  Even as we dropped to the floor and it passed over our heads, my best friend still continued to scream at an offensively high pitch.  I put my hand over his mouth and looked up to where the fireball had supposedly come from, and--

     Sweet mother of Dumbledore--"Oh my God!"

     A grey dragon the size of a Redwood had unfurled its wings, creating the most menacing and fascinating sight I had even seen in my fifteen years on this earth.

     "And you thought dragons didn't exist!" I bragged at him.  He was still frozen in shock, pressed against the dry grass to which we had dropped.

     I think I found the proof.

     The dragon's jaw opened and heat blazed inside, which could only mean one thing.

     "Take cover!" I screamed.  I dropped behind what I hoped was a real boulder, while my friend sprinted to a nearby tree and hid himself behind it, which--seriously?  You get nothing below a 95 in your classes, and you hide behind a tree?  

     We ended up having to wait it out, after he moved to take cover behind the boulder with me.  After years and years and years and years of waiting for the dragon to calm down and go back to sleep, dammit, I finally turned to my best friend and exhaled, "Do you believe now?"

     "I'll never doubt anything, ever again."

Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO

Aperture:

Aperture Setting F2.8

Aperture Setting F22

1.  We should relate the Aperture with the pupils of our eyes.

2.  The smaller the Aperture number, the higher the Aperture size.

3.  A smaller Aperture will bring the whole picture in focus, while a larger Aperture will make the background blurry and the foreground sharp.

Shutter Speed:

High Shutter Speed:

Low Shutter Speed:

1a.  Low Shutter Speed

1b.  Low Shutter Speed

1c.  High Shutter Speed

1d.  High Shutter Speed

1e.  High Shutter Speed

1f.  High Shutter Speed

1a.  High

1b.  High

1c.  High

1d.  High

1e.  High

1f.  High

2.  In "Shutter Priority" mode, the camera selects the Shutter Speed itself while you choose the Aperture.

In "Manual" mode, you set both the Aperture and Shutter Speed yourself.

In "Aperture Priority" mode, the camera selects the Aperture itself while you choose the Shutter Speed.

ISO:

ISO 200 (far left, if you couldn't gather):

ISO 3200:

1.  An advantage to using a high ISO at a sports game is that, when using a high ISO, the camera needs less time to take the picture.

2.  Use the lowest ISO on the camera whenever possible, because they produce the highest-quality pictures.

3.  A high ISO should be used when there is not enough light to capture a picture with a low ISO, or when you need to take shots quickly.

What happens when you mess with these Pillars of Photography:

The Aperture settings on this camera include 2.8, 4, 5.6, 8, 11, 16, and 22.

The Shutter Speed setting on this camera include everywhere from 1 second to 1/4000 of a second.

The ISO settings available on this camera include 100, 200, 400, 800, 3200, 6400, 12800, and 25600.

Photoshop

"Happy."

"Metal."

"Square."

"Bowie."

Photo Manipulation and Ethics

1A.  Many different photographers attempt to alter their photos to how they would like them to be, instead of what was really happening as they were taking the picture.  One photographer took out all of the female members of a council and photoshopped them to be men; another added a missile to a picture when the real one misfired and didn't launch.  Photoshopping pictures can get (and often does get) people fired from their jobs with their newspapers or magazines.

1B.  In my opinion, this type of photoshop is extremely unethical.  One of them stands out in particular:  the one where the women are photoshopped out of a council and replaced by men.  It's very insulting.  Journalistic photos should represent the facts of what happened on the event, not your own opinions.
2A. 

I find this photo to be the most unethical photoshop.  It's insulting to Oprah, and the many other women that have seen it.  It also says something about the opinions of the person that photoshopped it:  they seem to think that Oprah's body isn't thin enough to be on the front of a magazine, or that a woman cannot be beautiful without an Ann Margaret body.

3A.   

In this photo, the pyramids were photoshopped closer together in order to fit the vertical frame of the National Geographic cover.  I still find it unethical, but it's not as bad as the others.  It doesn't represent the photographer's separate opinion, and it's not particularly offensive (to me).

Prompt Shoot

This is "Bowie," and the rule of photography is balance (shapes).

This is "Square," the the rule of photography is leading lines.

This is "Happy," and the rule of photography is viewpoint.

This is "Metal," and..?

Current Event 4.2

1.  Austin Independent School District has a current enrollment number of 83, 591.

2.  Big Ben will swap 607 acres of public land for 1,185 acres of the private, neighboring LaMota Ranch.

3.  Rose Quartz and Serenity are the two Pantone colors of the year.

4.  I color.  I have a book called "The Enchanted Forest," and it's a coloring adventure that leads to a giant dragon at the end of the book (belated spoiler alert).  I really like the trend, mostly because I do it myself.  It helps with a lot of things--such as relaxation, stress, anxiety.  It's also just...fun.

5.  If I were to do one of these, I would go to "Chicano Giants of Jazz" with Joe Gallardo and Luis Gasca at H&H Ballroom--I'd do it with my mom.  We both love jazz and jazz-type music, and it's all we play in the car when we take longish trips.  I usually do nothing on the weekends, and this would probably spice things up a bit.

6.  The major cause of global warming, according to the article, is long-term human emissions of greenhouse gases. A result of global warming are an intensification of thunderstorms--which seems to be accurate, judging by all the rain we've gotten the past few months (and we're in south Texas--come on).
   I don't worry actively about global warming, but it is a worrying problem.  This is the sort of thing that can end very badly, and it's not something we can solve with war; it's not a conflict.  Global warming is the fault of everyone.  I also don't think there's much we can do to prevent global warming, because then we would have to convince pretty much everyone on the planet to change the way they're doing something or other, and that just wouldn't work out.  Who could have enough power to get everyone to listen?
   Global warming is possibly not paid enough attention, and it definitely is a huge problem in our society today, but when there's not much you can do about it, people tend to just give up.

Viewpoint

The Rule of Composition is "viewpoint."  The picture is taken from below the subject, which makes the photo very dramatic (although every picture taken on this day is going to be dramatic).

Symmetry and Patterns

The Rule of Composition is "symmetry and patterns."  The squares and the few diagonal lines repeat themselves, which make the photo visually appealing.

Balancing Elements

The Rule of Composition is "balancing elements."  The photo would feel empty or off with any of the elements of this photo missing--the flash, or the rubble (what's left over of the building).  They lean in opposite directions, which balances out the photo.

Simplicity

The Rule of Composition is "simplicity."  The background of the picture is very clean and simple, which makes the subject of the photo very clear.

Rule of Thirds

The Rule of Composition is "rule of thirds."  The main subject of the photo is in the right side of the frame, yet the other side of the photo isn't completely empty (which makes it a really appealing photo).

Lines

 The Rule of Composition is "lines."  Without the lines in this photo (such as--the rubble had been plain boards, and not been structured in rows), the picture would not be as visually appealing.  The photo is also interesting because the lines go in different directions, but come from the same place.

Balance

It's the geometric shapes.

Framing

The Rule of Composition is "framing."  The man on the ladder in the photo is framed by what's leftover of this shelter they're taking the picture from (a house, a workplace), which makes the color in the background stand out against the shadowy inside.

Avoiding Mergers

The Rule of Composition is "avoiding mergers."  The man on the left has a tower obnoxiously close to his head, and it really bothers me.

Current Events 4.1

1.  5 things to look for in Obama's State of the Union address are as follows:  A breakup note, a retrospective (to look back and forward), a social push, a tee up for Democrats (he'll tout the progress made while in his presidency), and have Austinites represented.

2.  The contact between Guzman's lawyers, Penn, and actress Kate del Castillo helped Mexican officials track him down.

3.  "Space Oddity," "Heroes," "Let's Dance," and "Fame" are four of David Bowie's most famous songs.

4.  1.4 billion dollars is the projected lottery win for this year.

5.  My dad would probably want to go so badly that we all went--which is why I would go.  I'm not a Star Wars fan, myself, so I wouldn't go out of my own choice.

6.  I would not buy lottery tickets (Powerball or otherwise), because it's a huge waste of money when you almost always get nothing in return.
     My grandparents have bought tickets before, but it's usually just on a whim.  They don't constantly buy tickets (mostly because they realize it's a huge waste of money, too), it's more of an every-once-in-a-while thing.
     I don't think I would buy tickets for this record drawing.  It's not likely I would win, and that kind of publicity is a whole new level of crazy.
     If I were to win, I would probably spend the money mostly on books or music.  I'd help out my mom with her car bills and get her a better life in general.  I'd put the rest in some sort of bank account and save it for when I grow up and go to college or start living on my own in my own house buying my own food and paying my own bills.  It would be there as a backup, just in case I don't make it in whatever job I end up doing.
     If I didn't win, but came in third place and won three-million dollars, I would definitely help my mom out with her bills and then save the rest for college.  No room for books or music or backups for the future.

Lone Star Dispatch Issue #3

NEWS

"New absence policy in effect this year"

1-  AISD has made a change to their procedures: a student will not get credit for a course if they have not attended at least 90% of that class.  This could be a problem for some parents or students because there isn't a very clear line on what absences are counted as excused or unexcused.

2-
Quoted in the story were AISD high school assistant superintendent Kathy Ryan, assistant principal Susan Leos, the AISD website, assistant principal Lawrence Britton, sophomore Anita Yem, and junior Danielle Bryant.

The strongest quote, in my opinion, was, "Absences are excused for medical reasons, religious holy days, court appearances, college campus visits, activities regarding US citizenship, military dependent, or a pre-approved reason."  (I think so because all throughout the story I was wondering what AISD did see as an excused absence.)

The first sentence kind of made alarm bells ring in my head, like What causes you to not get credit for a course???!!  So, yes, it did make me want to read more.

The conclusion was a quote.

COMMENTARY

"Sophomores, straight 'outta driver's ed"

1-  Sophomore drivers aren't mature enough to be driving on the road, and need more driving experience before they're put on the road.  People should be warned about a person that has just gotten their license or is learning so they can proceed with caution while on the road.

2-
Nobody was quoted in the story.

...There were no quotes.

The first sentence did not make me want to read more.  I sort of just got the writer's opinion and didn't want or need to know more.

The conclusion was an opinion.

STUDENT LIFE

"Pet rescue strikes a cord with a pair of animal lovers"

1-  Two juniors Fuaad Ajaz and Alex Reyes volunteer helping animals at local animal rescue centers on the weekends.  Volunteering is fun (but not always), and it helped them figure out what they wanted to do with their lives.

2-
Quoted in the story were Fuaad Ajaz and Alex Reyes.

The strongest quote was, "I love it because it helped me figure out what I want to do with my life.  I know I want to work with animals.  I also love it because I see so many animals neglected, malnourished, and unwanted, just thrown on the streets to die, and I like to see their transformation and see them get healthy again so they can go to their 'forever home,' wherever it may be."

The first sentence did make me want to read more.  It was kind of sweet, and I wanted to know how they managed to spend their time doing something that wasn't for school (because there is A LOT of that).

The conclusion was a quote.

ENTERTAINMENT

"Sci-Fi movie excites"

1-  Star Wars is coming out, and people are very exciting.  They're thinking of dressing up for the premieres, and tickets are sold out almost everywhere.

2-
Quoted in the story were sophomore John Martin and sophomore Craig Johnson.

The strongest quote was, "Ever since I was in kindergarten I've liked Star Wars.  My family would go over to my grandparents' house.  They had the original series, and that's the only thing that I would watch."  (It shows that people have grown up watching Star Wars, and a new movie coming out after 33ish years is extremely exciting).

The first sentence had the words "Harry" and "Potter" in it, so I most definitely wanted to read more, even if the rest had nothing to do with Harry Potter.

The conclusion was a quote.

ATHLETICS

"Lacrosse sticks it to the opponents"

1-  Lacrosse season is starting again after a long wait, and they're eager to get back on the field. They're working on their individual skills as well as working together as a team.

2-
Quoted in the story are senior Patrick Moran, senior Sam Portillo, junior Kylie Parkins, head coach Doak, junior Lexi Curtis, and senior Zach Manley.

The strongest quote was, "Playing at Bowie has definitely affected my teamwork because it makes a group of guys come together to achieve the same goal.  You have to have team chemistry to achieve any goals we set in front of ourselves."

It didn't really make me want to read more, but the subject of Lacrosse appeals to me in general, so I kept reading.

The conclusion was a quote.

IN-DEPTH PAGE STORY

"Senior fights a life-long disease with no sign of a cure"

1-  Katy Jacobs was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at a very young age, and had to learn how to adjust and take care of herself afterward.  Her friends watch out for her every day, and she doesn't let it keep her from living a normal life.

2-
Quoted in the story were senior Katy Jacobs, senior Bryn Williams, senior Summer Hawkins, and father Gary Jacobs.

The strongest quote was, "Look at your disease as nothing more than brushing your teeth.  You don't want to do it all the time, but if you don't  take care of t, it will only hurt you in the long run."

The first sentence definitely did make me want to read more.

The conclusion was a quote.

PHOTOGRAPHY

1.  My favorite photo in this issue was "Do Re Me."
1A.  I think I like it because it shows a lot of people doing the same thing in sync, and it looks good.  The colors are also very light, and the photo makes it look like they're all having a good time.

2.  My least favorite photo in this issue was "Stopping the ball."
2A.  It's not very interesting (as in, the person in the picture isn't really doing anything).  The colors are also slightly unappealing.

3.  I would've liked shoot on Science Day.  It seems like a fun thing to do, and it would be interesting catching the things elementary school kids find interesting on camera.

4.  I'd rate it about an eight.  The composition is really good, and they're pretty intriguing.  There were just a few that weren't very visually appealing.

LAST TASK

I'd suggest writing about Lacrosse and how it should be more than just a club team.
I'd suggest writing about a teacher, maybe Mr. Chisum because he's new and what he plans to do with the orchestra.

Welcome Back

I might be a little in love with this picture because of the dog sitting in the bottom corner.  It doesn't even look real.  And its face is the essence of beauty and perfection - a dog-level model.

I have an extremely hard time believing that this picture is real.  The color, the bolts of lightning, the way the reflection is captured, the mountains, the clouds--almost everything about this picture is my definition of perfection.  It's a dream photo.

The lion looks so majestic, gazing at wherever its eyes are glued to.  He blends in with the grass (which was probably on purpose, on the lion's side of things), but he stands out in a beautiful way.  Also, the lighting, and how the grass frames the lion makes it look gorgeous.




What was the best song of 2015?

The best song of 2015 was Pentatonix's cover of "Lean On."  The very beginning of the song is amazing--and human voices replacing all of the electronics from the original version by Major Lazer is interesting and really freaking beautiful.  The glissade from the singer Mitch, and the bass from Avi, and the general groove of the song are extremely uplifting and make you want to dance to it.

What was the best movie of 2015?

Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation was the best movie of 2015.  Half the reason is THIS IS HOW YOU DO IT--a Mission Impossible movie should be like this more often.  It was action-packed, and it was funny, and the acting was great.  The other half of the reason is that I didn't go to the movies much this year and come out really appreciating the movie--this was the only one.

What was the most important news story of the year?

The most important news story of the year was the Same-Sex Marriage Debate.  It's really significant to me, personally, because I was in New York (Manhattan Island) when the news was released that same-sex marriage became legal, and everything went completely crazy.  It was amazing.  Times Square was lit up with the good news.
Also, it's important to me (and a LOT of other people) emotionally.  It was and still is a very big deal, and a huge step forward for the US.

Who was the most important person of 2015?

It's really not my place to choose the best of anything for 2015, because I don't get out there much.  I had never heard of anyone on the list of the eight most important people in the US except Putin and Trump.  I just read about Caitlyn Jenner, though, and she seems very significant.
TIME says her coming out prompted "widespread conversations about gender identity and issues of equality for the LGBT community."  I, personally, think it was brave of her, especially with people all over the place who are openly against everything to do with the LGBTQ+ community.

What was the biggest sports OR entertainment story OR sports/entertainment person of 2016?

I Googled this and almost the full first page on Google was Caitlyn Jenner, so she is my answer again, and for all the same reasons.

Annnnnd, MY holiday:

1).  One thing about this Christmas that I'll always remember was how terrible it was.  It was completely different, and nobody was there, and we had our giant meal extremely late, and there was half as much food as usual.  Nobody seems to be willing to put in the effort for a good Christmas anymore--people aren't even showing up.  It was all just extremely depressing.

2).  I didn't really bother to make an resolutions this year, probably mostly because I had an overall terrible break and didn't feel enthusiastic about it.  I can try to procrastinate less, but I make this one every year and I never really succeed.

3).  This is very short-term, but I'm looking forward to the second part of the fifth season of Teen Wolf, and also Supernatural (with season 11) and the Flash (season 2).  Also, I want it to be summer.  Another thing:  THE TRIALS OF APOLLO: THE HIDDEN ORACLE COMES OUT IN MAY, AND I NEED IT TO COME FASTER.  Percy Jackson+Teen Wolf+Harry Potter = Extremely Happy Jaye.