Eavesdropping

1. i) To eavesdrop, I wandered aimlessly, resting occasionally in populous areas of hallways and the cafeteria.

    ii) Most conversations I could effectively hear and record for under a minute, and I usually spent around five minutes listening, depending on whether I deemed the conversation to be active and interesting.

    iii) All the conversations I intercepted were between students. 

    iv) It was interesting recording conversation. I suppose it felt a little sneaky, akin to a spy movie; quietly observing and recording my observations, unbeknownst to the subjects of my listening.

2. Often people were unaware that others outside the security of their friends were listening, and it seemed that their filter would shut of when they thought no one was listening, though this seems obvious. I found that in conversations, one or two people would usually dominate the conversation, and others would simply go along with it, without speaking much. Sometimes it was also apparent that people were not really engaged or listening, for various reasons: some were studying, and others seemed to like the sound of their own voice.

3. It can be useful in writing dialogue to understand that most people change how they speak depending on the audience. Also, conversations can be quite drab and without substance if the people conversing are disengaged, or have nothing of interest to talk about. People often also enter a conversation with a particular mood or motive in their speech, which is difficult for others to affect with any opposing or neutral opinion.

4. Dialogue reveals personalities by the way those conversing listen and speak. Often a person with a dominant personality will speak more than listen, whether they have wisdom in the subject they speak about or not. A thoughtful person may listen more intently and pause before speaking to think and process their words carefully. Even tone of voice can reveal a person's personality. For example, someone who speaks with sass and talks a lot is likely overly confident, and possibly opinionated. If a person is overly agreeable and quick to se ind a statement, they may have low confidence and seek acceptance by agreeing with everything a person say in hopes that the agreement will build a connection between the two. They will likely change what they say in order to make sure that their opinion matches yours, rather than back f a solid opinion of their own. All in all, there is a lot to learn about a person simply by listening to the way they speak.

5. I find that in conversations involving several people, often two people will take charge of the conversation and speak most. It becomes difficult to communicate effectively in this environment as everyone has their own opinion, and as a result each person is trying to pull the conversation in a different direction. Often this will result in a competitive atmosphere  in which introverts will not speak out, resulting in feeling left out of the conversation, while the extroverts struggle to have their voices heard, some even wanting to be the centre of attention even if they don't have anything logical to share. Conversation can easily become convoluted and innefective with many participants and no moderation. Patient voices will go unheard, and opinions will be buried.

7. I feel that written conversations often have more siren iron and purpose. This is because life is complicated. In any given day, a person may have hundreds of interactions on different levels with many people. However, if a writer were to create a television show about a detective solving crime, he will likely leave out a brief interaction between the detective and his mailman. This is because this interaction doesn't matter. It does not contribute to the plot in any way, it it just a simple, unrelated occurance. It is for the same reason that on television or in movies you don't often see any scenes involving characters waking up, relieving themselves or thing their shoes. These are all things that don't often contribute to the plot and are just extra information that wastes time in the show or movie. 

Often in life, we have interactions that are simply empty conversations, void of substance. Also, we will have many interactions in a day, not necessarily related or following a theme. So, I find that written conversations are more purposeful, as only the important interactions to the plot need to be mentioned in a story.

Reading Assignment #8: Imagery Paragraph

"In the middle of the town, a community-conscious landowner had opened up a vacant lot and permitted a travelling troupe of enterprising migrants to set up their carnival with rides, booths and portapotties. The rides were best viewed in the dark, an escapade of gaily lit rust, powered by unmuffled tractor engines that competed with the wavering carnival music which squeaked loudly from somewhere in the middle of it all. But on this warm summer night the roaming, cotton-candied masses were out to enjoy, enjoy, enjoy. A ferris wheel slowly turned, hesitated for boarding, turned some more for unboarding, then took a few full rotations to give its passengers their money's worth; a merry-go-round spun in a brightly lit, gaudy circle, the peeling and dismembered horses still prancing to the melody of the canned calliope; carnival; goers threw basketballs at hoops, dimes at ashtrays, darts at balloons and money to the wind along the hastily assembled, ramshackle midway where the hawkers ranted the same try-yer-luck chatter for each passerby." (This Present Darkness, page 9)

1. This passage describes a cheap carnival of wild partying to an abundant degree. It effectively paints a picture in your mind of the chaotic scene.
2. There is a lot of visual imagery in this passage, describing the various sights of the night carnival.
3. "A merry-go-round spun in a brightly lit, gaudy circle, the peeling and dismembered horses still prancing to the melody of the canned calliope." I think that this passage is effective because it is full of imagery to give a clear image of the carnival, using both visual and auditory imagery to describe the gaudiness and overall sketchiness of the scene. It clearly creates a picture of a low budget, ill-maintained ride.
4. I think this passage creates an imagery of mindless partying and recklessness, which certainly gives a negative vibe. Due to words such as "gaudy", "peeling", "squeaked", and "best viewed in the dark" tell us that the carnival itself is functional, yet not in great repair. Moreover, words like "cotton-candied masses" and "ramshackle", which are directed at the crowd indicate that this is a less than sophisticated gathering, once again, a negative feel.
5. The mood created here is a dark, mindless party where patrons go for cheap entertainment, likely also void of the law. The great, surging mass of people is plainly driven by the will to enjoy themselves however the participants desire.
6. The purpose of this paragraph is to set the scene with a certain darkness, absent of all good and just actions, effectively exposing the crowd as a lawless mass seeking cheap pleasure. It sets up the scene for the entrance of two characters, angels who pass by, overlooking the scene.

Imagery:
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic
Smell
Taste

6 Word Memoir #2: Define Me

Writer's Note

The text in this image talk about how music is a very important part of my life. This relates to the image well, as the guitar in the picture is the instrument that I have been playing longer than any other: my classical guitar. Music is important to me because it has always been a large part of my life, as my father is a music teacher, and music will be a large part of my life in the future as well, as I plan on going into music as a career after high school. The text is set along the edge of the guitar, to give a sense of flow and connection. In this photo, I used various effects including a lot of touch ups, hue and saturation manipulation, darkness adjustment, vignette and others.

6 Word Memoir #1: Time

Writer's Note
The words in this image send the message that time is constantly slipping away, being lost forever and that we should take hold of the time we have before it is too late. The image shows a clock, many times over under a kaleidoscope effect as if it is spiralling away, with the text caught up in that shape as if it too is passing away. I feel that I should clarify the punctuation just in case of mistake, the semi-colon implies a break in the sentence separating two thoughts. I used many effects in this picture, including colourization, vignette, and the kaleidoscope effect. 

Log Book: Monotony

Nothing particularily interesting happened yesterday. Yet another run though of Shrek took place, which was fun, though not much else in terms of productivity. It leads me to think of a Ferris wheel; round and round it goes, yet without going anywhere at all. As I look up at the great curvature of steel, I consider that this is what life is like to some. They let the wheel turn, and watch as time passes by. All in the sake of continuation, they sit back and enjoy the ride. Futility turns the wheel, and yet a line still leads up to the ride. I've been on it long enough to have memorized the view. Others still repeatedly gaze off into the distance expecting change without any basis. Now, I've let my feet touch the ground, and though it doesn't seem like an immediate improvement, it changes the perspective. Seeing the same thing gets old, and I've gone in circles enough to be ready to change the direction. There is nothing special about a fish that can swim downstream, but perhaps one that finds a new path will find himself in a more satasfactory place. Alas, there is more to life than survival.

Log Book: One Week

Shrek the Musical is in one week. Needless to say, I am super excited, yet also a little nervous. Yesterday we ran through the entire show, and there is still work to be done, but it'll all work out great.

Log Book: Jazz Concert

Last night was the annual Jazz Winter concert for our school. It was great, and lots of fun with the exception of one panic-filled moment. As I sat down to play guitar with the grade 12 jazz band, I noticed the name on my music folder was not my own. Somehow I had taken the wrong folder. I left stage and ran to the cafeteria where my guitar case was, then to the band room, all with no avail. As a last resort, I grabbed the original copies of the music from the band room and back. I was very grateful to find that Mr. Johnson had taken the opportunity to say thank you's for the evening, effectively stalling until I returned. The picture above shows an empty music stand, and I think it is clear how that relates to all that madness.

Log Book: CMU

Friday was a campus visit day at CMU especially for music students. It was fun, and very informative, and will be my second choice for a university.

Log Book: Snap

On Thursday, my friend allowed me to play his new guitar- a beautiful Taylor. Somehow, in tuning the instrument I managed to break a string on his brand new guitar. I have absolutely no idea how it happened, though full of guilt I intend to buy strings for him.

Log Book: Strings Attached

Last night I went out with friends before remembering to restring my guitar for tonight's jazz concert. So there I was, setting up my guitar past midnight for today's performance.

Imagery Quickwrite: Alone

Kyle always knew he was different. Despite countless times he had been reassured, told that he was loved, he never seemed to feel less empty. As if he was all alone, yet surrounded by people.

This morning began like any other. Woken up by his mother, he went through the motions of a regular day. School was followed by supper with his family, and after this he found himself at the shopping mall with his mother. That is when it happened- Kyle looked up, blankly scanning the crowd. There was no sign of the familiar body and face that he knew to be his mother. Being a child presented certain disabilities in terms of height, and the young boy's vision was crowded by rushing  bodies of all colours at waist height. Panic began to set in.

With eyes heavy full of tears, Kyle clutched his stuffed bear tightly. Its soft brown fur brought him only the slightest bit of comfort, and he inhaled heavily in order to suppress his tears. A dry, musty smell filled his nose and the sound of footsteps seemed to thunder around him. Footsteps everywhere, yet no familiar clicking of his mother's heels. Oh, how he longer to be wrapped in her cold and rigid, yet comforting arms.

Kyle often wondered why he was different. Moreover, he longed to know why everyone around him couldn't tell. He squeezed lightly on his own arm, pondering his own soft, warm flesh. He looked closely at the tiny hairs that covered it and then back up to the crowd. Closely examining those around him, he noted that no one else had these tiny hairs. Was he sick? Dying perhaps, but no one wanted him to know so they wouldn't tell him? Kyle yearned to know.

A man bumping into him jerked Kyle our of his thoughts and back into his current situation. Still no sign of his mother. His tongue felt huge in his mouth, yet dry and sticky. His mouth tasted stale and his palms became clammy. The sudden realization of how much his feet ached drove Kyle to fund a bench and sit down. Lonely and afraid, he was left to his thoughts, and to his thoughts he returned.

Feeling the sweat on his hands, though about his friends. Their hands had never became wet like this, or else he had not noticed. They, too, were cold and stiff.

Kyle's head felt stuffy, as if it were packed with tightly-fitted tissue paper. He felt the wetness of a single tear as it rolled down his cheek. He had never been lost before. Instinctively reacting to the cold, wet feeling, he pressed his stuffed friend against his face. It was fluffy and comforting, but blocked his vision. He did not notice the single figure approaching him.

"Kyle?" The woman said to the crying boy alone on the bench. Her voice echoed through his head, pulling him back to reality once more. "Thank goodness, I have been looking all over for you! Come, let's go home now." The boy immediately jumped with sudden enthusiasm to embrace his mother. A soft, hollow thud sounded as he ran into her. She bent over and hugged him, and wiped her dry blue sleeve on his face to dry his tears. Hand in hand, the two left the mall.

Clinging tightly to the cold, rigid hand he knew so well, the thought crossed his mind once more: Why am I different? He would find out. Someday, somehow, he decided, he would learn why he was so unlike everyone else. But for now, he had the comfort of his mother's firm hand. He was safe now. Someday would learn about himself, but for now he was happy just to be found.

http://io9.com/5907815/concept-art-writing-prompt-a-lonely-child-on-the-planet-of-robots

Log Book: Soon

Nothing particularily exciting happened yesterday, though we ran through the second act of Shrek the Musical. The performance is approaching steadily and becoming near, and I am quite excited to be honest. It's been a lot of fun to prepare, all coming together for the performance.

Log Book: David

This past Sunday, a friend who I worked with at camp was baptized at North Kildonan Mennonite Brethren Church. His name is David.

Log Book: Free Movie

Cineplex had a promotional event at which free movies were played with $2 concessions. On that day, my friends and I went to see The Amazing Spiderman.

Log Book: Gorgon

One game I particularly enjoy playing at youth group is called Gorgon. The point of the game is to assemble an object, usually a flashlight or spray bottle, and conquer the "Gorgons" by using this device on them, whilst avoiding being tagged. What makes the game interesting is that all the lights in the building are shut off for the game. 

Quickwrite: In the Belly

Though I inevitably knew it would come, I never had thought much about this impending day. After countless hours on a small shelf of with a few companions, I had nearly forgotten my fate. Each of us there knew in the back of our minds what was to come, yet as time had passed it had become merely a distant memory of fear rather than the ever-present thought that it once was. But yet, my time had come. It was just yesterday that I was plucked from my position on that shelf, as a silent scream failed to escape my mouth. I realized in that moment what was to happen next. The truth which I had avoided for so long was finally thrown in my face.

This morning, I woke up feeling stuffed, with pain in places that seemed new to me. My insides rattled with any movement and I remembered where I was. I watched children play with glee as some strangers took me. I was strung up as a public display, a prisoner awaiting my gruesome execution. Thoughts of who I once was crossed my mind, spurred on by the sight of the children. Their joy and excitement brought me only sadness with the realization that I would never see my loved ones again, nor hear their soft laughter. I was ripped from my memories by a sharp yell from one of my captors. The children rushed over, eager to take part in what was to unfold. The first in line wore a crown, and was given a blindfold and a large club. The small crowd around me cheered with excitement as the horrible deed unfolded. Quicker than I could think, the child struck me with his weapon. Pain seared though my ribs and tears came to my eyes. Just a little longer, I thought. This would all be over soon. I cringed as blows were given, and pain surged though my body. I wanted to shout, scream, run away or anything that would stop the violence but I was bound by a heavy cord and could not escape. Alas, my day had come; the inevitable day on which they would come for me and as a cruel ritual beat me until I was no more. One final blow tore open my body, and it was all over. I was now free of my oppression and pain. It had to happen sooner or later, I knew from the beginning. Thus is the life of one like me: a piñata.

http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/image/27554940036

Log Book: I Think I Got You Beat

There is one particular song in Shrek the Musical that has some unusual instrumentation in it: farting. The song, called "I Think I Got You Beat" is a duet between Shrek and Fiona in which the two contest over who had the more burdensome childhood. In the middle of the song is a duel of expelling gas between the two. Needless to say, I never thought that I would have to rehearse farting rhythmically for a performance.

Log Book: Gardner

The Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra had another rehearsal of which I had the opportunity to sit in on. This rehearsal was for their upcoming concert titled Basie and Beyond, at which they will play music from the Count Basie Orchestra. This concert will feature a fantastic trumpet player named Derrick Gardner, who was at the rehearsal.

Quickwrite: Minions

If I were to receive a number of minions of a week, I would first set them to the task of completing any homework I have. With that out of the way, their next job would likely be to clean my room, and to fix my car. My car is having issues as of late that cause it not to start, so fixing that would be the highest priority. Once that was finished I would have them do body work on the car, taking care of any rust and any other problems. Other minions I would re-string my guitars, and clean my instruments. Aside from these things, there's not a lot I would have them do, though I'd probably also have the minions bring me food periodically.

http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/image/66027852107

Quickwrite: Dreams

In answer to this question, I will have to remain vague as I am not entirely sure about the contents of the dream I would create, nor to whom I would send it. However, I know that I would not create a nightmare. I would find this to be abuse to this ability, and instead I would want to create a message to the recipient which could not be simply conveyed face to face. This reminds me of the movie Inception, and like the movie, I would use this ability to plant an idea. I would only have one opportunity, and so this idea to plant in this person’s brain must be of great importance. Perhaps I would implant the idea that fear is something created in the mind, and teach this person confidence. Or I might give a message that would cause them to strive for success rather than accepting second place. No matter the idea, it would be something specific to the recipient. Something that said person must learn, but yet an idea that cannot simply be taught. There are some concepts which must be learned from oneself, yet through dreams I could cause someone to come to a realization with upmost confidence that this was their thought alone. I would choose a person wisely; someone I know well enough to understand what they must learn. I would allow this person to have an epiphany that would change their life for the better. I would use a dream to set a person free from their own mind.

http://writingprompts.tumblr.com/image/41409991566

Log Book: Engine Maintenance

In a direct follow up to my car trouble on Friday, my dad and I set to work on repairing my vehicle. With the alternator, spark plugs and their respective wires and a few gaskets replaced, we have yet to find the primary source of the problem. The next attempt will be towards the starter of the car, with fingers crossed.

Log Book: Run Through

In our most recent rehearsal for Shrek the Musical, we completed a run-through of the second act. As expected, it was rough, but an accomplishment nonetheless. 

Log Book: Saturday

I regret to say Saturday was a lazy day. By this I mean that I accomplished nothing of value other than continuing on existing. The day finished off watching TV with one of my good friends, so though it was unproductive, the relaxation was pleasant.

Log Book: Stall

This past weekend, my cherished automobile went into slumber while travelling down Portage Avenue. This was during a rain shower, which certainly did not affect my mood on the situation positively.

Log Book: Comic Con

The Central Canada Comic Con took place recently at the Winnipeg Convention Centre, and I went with a few of my friends.

Log Book: Tricks

A games night took place recently at Ness Baptist Church's youth group, which I am a part of. At this games night, I wound up playing Rook with a few of my friends which was quite enjoyable. Each play in a round of Rook is called a trick.

Log Book: Mita

Mita Kaikatat Kivonen is a song that I recently performed with the SJASD Senior Divisional Choir. The song is written in 5/4 time, which I enjoy a lot as compound time signatures are less common and more difficult than 4/4, for example. This piece is a lot of fun to perform and I enjoyed learning it.

Log Book: Vocal Jazz

In Vocal Jazz, we were assigned to research other singers or vocal jazz groups. Vox One is a group that I discovered through this assignment that I enjoy very much.

Log Book: Snooze

This is my view as my eyelids reluctantly peel open on a Monday morning. My routinely vile nemesis called "morning" looks me in the eye with a cruel grin and cruelly whispers: "you're late". With the shudder of realization of the truth of this statement, I take a running start to my day straight out of my bed.

Log Book: The Art of Tango

I had the opportunity to attend a recent Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra concert featuring Michael Phillip Mossman. The concert showcased selectively Tango music, and was appropriately titled The Art of Tango.

Log Book: Paganini

I play classical guitar, and as of recently I have begun working on a piece called Grand Sonata for Guitar and Violin, mvmt II: Romance. The piece was written by an Italian composer by the name of Nicolò Paganini.

Log Book: Youth

For a youth event at my church, We had a "Fear Factor" night. Among several game involving eating strange and repulsive food combinations, throwing jelly beans into a friend's mouth and a few other things, this game involved tying a balloon around your ankle. The object was simply to pop other people' balloons with your feet and be the last one left with a balloon intact.

Log Book: Wind Ensemble

I play French Horn for the school Wind Ensemble. It is a lot of work but all worth it.

Log Book: Good Morning

Thanks to a first period spare, I often find myself with a few friends at Tim Horton's in an attempt to wake up thoroughly. Though I enjoy it every time, I occasionally think about how frequently I spend money on this habit and the effects on my diminishing bank account.

Log Book: Celica

I own a 1989 Toyota Celica, and I enjoy it famously.

Log Book: Serenity

This is a quote from a movie called Serenity. The movie is based on a sci-fi TV show called Firefly. After recently watching the series, it has quickly risen to the position of my most favoured show.

Log Book: Dialogue

During a rehearsal for Shrek the Musical, there was one specific line which I for some reason simply could not say. Due to the bad picture quality, it is nearly impossible to read, but it says as follows: "Hey, I told you already: I live alone! My swamp, me! Nobody else, understand? Especially useless, pathetic, annoying talking donkeys!"

Log Book: Theory

The notes on the staff in the picture relate to choir, as I helped a classmate to learn music theory for choir class by helping him to identify such chords as the one above.

Log Book: Loops

I used Garageband to create a background track for rehearsing jazz soloing. I did this by recording in a bass line, guitar comping and inputting a drum track. I then set the recording to loop, and soloed over it.

Log Book: Blues

This was a Blues form used in Jazz Band one day to practice soloing. The Roman numerals refer to chords based on scale degrees in that specific key. Also, lowercase numerals represent minor chords while uppercase numerals show major chords.

My Digital Footprint

Depicted in the above drawing are various logos reflective of my footprint on the digital world. Among them are the logos for the school I attend, the church and youth group I am a part of, and the Winnipeg Parkour group. Also pictured are the logos for the summer camp I serve at, the Royal Conservatory of Music, Facebook and Apple.