this picture is of chuck close’s art. I found the picture in an article on CNN.com about coffee table books. The article briefly discussed how these books (which now include DVDs and CDs for many people) are many times overlooked. These everyday things may contain information or images that will please or possibly amaze people. The article just proved that taking a closer look into the everyday can have many benefits.
http://www.cnn.com/video/?/video/health/2007/12/18/intv.gupta.ear.cnn
I thought that this story was really interesting and about something that goes beyond things that we see everyday. The video is about a surgery that can now be performed when people are born with a numb of skin where there should be an ear. For the surgery they take cartiledge from the ribs and are able to make a mold and an ear can be formed. The ear may come with some imperfections but for the most part looks very natural and can make a big difference in someone’s life. When hearing about the surgery I thought it seemed like something extraordinary and not what many people would consider everyday.
Today i read in the news that the rate of using the death penalty has hit a thirteen year low. After reading this, I was glad to hear that many states are rethinking their methods of punishing criminals. Although I do that criminals should be punished, I do not feel that the death penalty is the way to handle it. The death penalty has become too much of an everyday thing, something that people have been used to hearing about. People’s lives are not something that is to be taken lightly and putting someone in and electric chair or giving them a lethal injection is not something that Americans should become accoustmed to hearing about. We should have a reaction when we hear that the death penalty is being put to use and I think that the United States and starting to realize this once again.
On Sunday night my friends and I watched this movie. Reading the back cover I was apprehensive to see it, thinking that it sounded confusing and possibly boring. However, my friends really wanted to see it so I sat and began to watch it as well. To my surprise, I really enjoyed the movie. I thought the concept of being able to erase someone from your memory was very interesting. Also, the fact that although the two main characters were erased from each other’s memories, they still found each other. Another girl who also had a man erased from her mind had forgotten about the affair that they had but once again formed feelings toward him. Erasing something from someone’s memory does not stop the natural attractions that we have or the things that seem to be fated. I think that even if someday we are able to erase people or things from our minds, it would not help us but rather hurt us. We need to have certain experiences, no matter how painful they are to grow as people and this movie helped to show that.
While thinking about the everyday and events that normally occur I also have the idea of going home tomorrow on my mind. To me the idea of going home seems strange. Since I have started college it seems like I now have two homes, which I previously thought to be somewhat impossible. It almost seems as if while we are at college we have one life and while at home there is another. Although this is an odd concept, I like the idea. I feel as if at college I have millions of oppurtunities awaiting me and so many possibilities of what could happen in the future. However, I also like the idea of being able to go home, to a place where everything is familiar and surprises are more unlikely. It is nice to go to a place where the everyday actually simply means everyday things, things that you are used to seeing as you drive around your hometown, things that no matter how unsafe they are, make you feel safe because they are everyday to you; you have a connection with them.
the pictures that i posted below are the first three pictures that appear after searching the word “everyday” in flickr.com. It is amazing to see all of the different ways that people interpret the everyday. When asked to think about the everday each person will give a different response. all of the different pictures shows that the everday means something different to everyone.
reaction to the movie:
i really like the data collection in this movie. I think it was a very interesting way to interpret America in the future. I think in a sense the movie represents many things that are actual possibilities. For example, what if one day we are required to have our social security number tatooed on our arm? To me that is a scary thought and reminds me of a loss of freedom like under Hitler’s regime. The everyday can be very mundane but it is also changing and we have to be aware of things that could happen in the future.
