Final Project Photos

Final Project

I am doing my final project based on an event I have gone to for the last 7 years.

It is called the Gathering.

When the people who run it started it, they said they would do it for 10 years and this year was the final year.

Eventing has been a big part of my life since I was 7, which is when my father took me to my first SCA event. I went off and on as a kid until I started going on my own at 16 to events. Since then, I have gone to at least one event a year.

It has also spawned me doing my own event, called the Blackthorne Revel, every year. But starting this year, I am only doing it every other year.

PostCards Returned

Chapter 5 - Visual Technologies, Image Reproductions and the Copy

"One way of understanding the history of imaging technologies has been to examine how the introduction of a particular invention, such as the photographic camera, changed things in the world(by changing the way we see, or changing how we use images, and so forth)." - pages 183-184.

The invention of the photographic camera gave us the leap forward in what we believed was real. Animals, people and places could now be photographed as proof of their existence. This was in a time when airplanes did not exist so the only form of crossing oceans was by boat, which could take up to a week, and places that could not be traveled to by car were unknown to the majority of the world's population. Photographs of the time were taken as empirical proof.

"The introduction of sequential photography and motion pictures film in the late 1800s corresponded with an increased desire to visualize movement in increasingly mobile and fast-paced society of the late-nineteenth-century modernity. "- pages 185-186

The thought of movement thru moving pictures was considered a novelty to the wealth. Scientist saw it as a valuable way to understand the motion of animals and ourselves, giving us a better understanding of how our bodies work and move. It also fed our thirst for new technologies.

"The juxtaposition or combination of two images to create a third meaning, a concept based on the dialectic ( the idea that each meaning builds on the previous one to create a more comprehensive meaning) and theorized famously by Soviet filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, remains a central component of understanding how films make meaning." - page 189

Films in a way are nothing more than a large set of montages. Backdrops and scenery lend to a movie a sense that helps us believe or not believe a story. Older silent films relied on such things heavily because they were limited to the inserted text, unlike the movies we are all used to. The leap to sound changed our movie going experience forever. We no longer relied on backdrops or scenery to understand what was going on, but their role in the movies remained unchanged.

"Photography offers neither the direct touch not the direct look of the artist on the work in its process of production." - page 193

Photography is just that, photograph. There is no brush strokes. No pencil lines. Photography capture what is there, nothing more. This was the case before the invention of digital cameras. Film camera have an unblinking eye that can't show you what isn't there and because of such, they were a very important tool for science and capturing the untouched wilds of the world before they were gone.

"Benjamin argued that the one-of-a-kind artwork has a particular aura. Its value is derived from its uniqueness and its role in ritual, meaning that it may carry a kind of sacred value whether religious or not." - page 195

It is this kind of sacred value that drives those with money to try and possess these kinds of works of art. But for what? That some of the artists fame or abilities might some how be imbued to the new owner? Or is it a false sense of prestige from knowing you had the kinda of money to throw away on an old painting?

I know some people would give me shocked looks at calling these "Works by the Masters" old paintings, but in truth that is what they are. While they maybe nearly flawless, with invisible brush strokes done by a very artistic hand, at the end of the day, they are still just paintings that have survived a long time.

Which begs the question, What will be considered sacred works of art in 100 years? Or 200?

"It is central to this concept that reproduction allows images to circulate with political meaning and that mechanically or electronically reproduced images can be in many places simultaneously and can be combined with text or other images or reworked." -page 199

Reproductions give those who would otherwise not see such things in real life, the ability to see them up close. Reworking an image allow others to express their feelings towards social climates, political parties and government policies while staying anonymous.

Either of which are things that should be universally acceptable, but they aren't. Taking one of the "Works by the Masters" and reducing it to a common everyday image made our of everyday materials, like legos, while fasinating, some people view it as sacrilege.

"Copyright, taken literally, means "right to copy". The term refers to not one but a bundle of rights. This bundle includes the right to distribute, produce, copy, display, perform, create, and control derivative works based on the original. ......... Copyright grants legal protection to the "expression of an idea", not the idea itself." - page 204

My KISS Collection

Collections are interesting things. Some people fall into randomly, others are something that perks the persons interest or shows pride in something. My mother in-law has several small collection: tea cups, blue glass and owls. Me, I collect unicorns, wolves and KISS memorabilia.

The KISS memorabilia started when I had a friend who was the manager of a Spencer's store. The first thing I bought was a guitar-shaped gumball holder, which I still have unopened. My collection quickly grew from that point on.

KISS is a band that has been going for nearly 40 years. The started the year before I was born and are still going strong. They have 40 albums.

But for me, it's about the music. I remember the first time I heard one of their songs, "Shout It Out Loud" from the Destroyer album, I was hooked. Destroyer was the first album I bought on vinyl LP. Destroyer had a song on the b-side that really took off in the 80's when Eric Carr redid it, "Beth".

I sucked up every bit if trivia I could find, most of which was odd little tidbits. One of which is that Gene never had anything done to his tongue, but he has had other "members" reduced in size.

I know the full line-up of the band. It has had some interesting ups and downs.

It started with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. Gene saw an ad in Rolling Stone placed by Peter Criss, a drummer “looking to do anything to make it”. January of 1973, Ace Frehley joins the band. The band takes off shortly there after and makes it big.

1980 rolls around, and creative conflicts almost spell the end. Each member puts out their own album under KISS and Peter Criss leaves the band. Eric's symbol is the fox. Eric Carr replaces him and is the drummer until his death in November 24, 1991.

1981, Ace Frehley leaves the band and is replaced by Vinnie Vincent. Vinnie's symbol is the Egyptian ankh. Vinnie leave in 1984 and is replaced by Mark St.John.

Mark St.John only does one album, Animalize. While on tour, Mark becomes ill and can't continue so Bruce Kulick took his place. Bruce stayed with KISS until 1996 when the original members of KISS decided to do a reunion tour.

Ok, enough rambling...

I guess the main reason I chose to collect KISS stuff was the sense of family that KISS Army has. From the 80's on, you could find long time KISS fans bringing their kids to the shows.

The last KISS concert I went to, in 2004, at least a 1/4 of the people there were under the age of 18.

It was also a very emotional concert for me. One of my younger sisters, who has serious heart problems, had wanted to goto a KISS concert with me before she died. I had some unexpected money come in, so I bought tickets for her, me and Darren, on of my partners, nearly center, half way back, of the venue.







It now includes:

Peter Criss Teddy Bear
2 sets of Lego - 1 with blood on Gene's face
1 set of book ends
1 water fountain
1 chip and dip bowl set
2 Halloween mask
1 lunchbox w/thermos
1 thermos
4 musical jack-in-the-boxes
6 small statue busts
1 mouse pad
1 metal lithograph sign
1 cover art print
1 small flag
1 small limited numbered statue
1 6ft wall poster
1 foldout xmas poster
1 bottle of Red Wine - Unopened
2 glass ball xmas ornaments
3 Packages of Incense
Complete Set of Psycho Circus Action Figures (1 signed)
Complete Set of KISS Alive Action Figures

CDs:
Double Platinum
Music From The Elder
Creatures Of The Night
Asylum
Crazy Nights
Smashes, Thrashes And Hits
Hot In The Shade
Revenge
KISS My Ass
MTV Unplugged
Psycho Circus
The Box Set
Carnival Of Souls: The Final Sessions
Greatest KISS
Limited Edition - KISS 15 years on
"Let's Put The 'X' In Sex" CD/Video single
Rock the Nation 2004 Concert CD From Clark County Amphitheater


Tapes:
Peter Criss
Killers
Music From The Elder

T-shirts
2003 Reunion Tour
Psycho Circus Tour
baby-doll shirt & pants set

Irish student hoaxes world's media with fake quote

When Dublin university student Shane Fitzgerald posted a poetic but phony quote on Wikipedia, he said he was testing how our globalized, increasingly Internet-dependent media was upholding accuracy and accountability in an age of instant news.

His report card: Wikipedia passed. Journalism flunked.

The sociology major's made-up quote — which he added to the Wikipedia page of Maurice Jarre hours after the French composer's death March 28 — flew straight on to dozens of U.S. blogs and newspaper Web sites in Britain, Australia and India.

They used the fabricated material, Fitzgerald said, even though administrators at the free online encyclopedia quickly caught the quote's lack of attribution and removed it, but not quickly enough to keep some journalists from cutting and pasting it first.

A full month went by and nobody noticed the editorial fraud. So Fitzgerald told several media outlets in an e-mail and the corrections began.

"I was really shocked at the results from the experiment," Fitzgerald, 22, said Monday in an interview a week after one newspaper at fault, The Guardian of Britain, became the first to admit its obituarist lifted material straight from Wikipedia.

"I am 100 percent convinced that if I hadn't come forward, that quote would have gone down in history as something Maurice Jarre said, instead of something I made up," he said. "It would have become another example where, once anything is printed enough times in the media without challenge, it becomes fact."

So far, The Guardian is the only publication to make a public mea culpa, while others have eliminated or amended their online obituaries without any reference to the original version — or in a few cases, still are citing Fitzgerald's florid prose weeks after he pointed out its true origin.

"One could say my life itself has been one long soundtrack," Fitzgerald's fake Jarre quote read. "Music was my life, music brought me to life, and music is how I will be remembered long after I leave this life. When I die there will be a final waltz playing in my head that only I can hear."

Fitzgerald said one of his University College Dublin classes was exploring how quickly information was transmitted around the globe. His private concern was that, under pressure to produce news instantly, media outlets were increasingly relying on Internet sources — none more ubiquitous than the publicly edited Wikipedia.

When he saw British 24-hour news channels reporting the death of the triple Oscar-winning composer, Fitzgerald sensed what he called "a golden opportunity" for an experiment on media use of Wikipedia.

He said it took him less than 15 minutes to fabricate and place a quote calculated to appeal to obituary writers without distorting Jarre's actual life experiences.

If anything, Fitzgerald said, he expected newspapers to avoid his quote because it had no link to a source — and even might trigger alarms as "too good to be true." But many blogs and several newspapers used the quotes at the start or finish of their obituaries.

Wikipedia spokesman Jay Walsh said he appreciated the Dublin student's point, and said he agreed it was "distressing so see how quickly journalists would descend on that information without double-checking it."

"We always tell people: If you see that quote on Wikipedia, find it somewhere else too. He's identified a flaw," Walsh said in a telephone interview from Wikipedia's San Francisco base.

But Walsh said there were more responsible ways to measure journalists' use of Wikipedia than through well-timed sabotage of one of the site's 12 million listings. "Our network of volunteer editors do thankless work trying to provide the highest-quality information. They will be rightly perturbed and irritated about this," he said.

Fitzgerald stressed that Wikipedia's system requiring about 1,500 volunteer "administrators" and the wider public to spot bogus additions did its job, removing the quote three times within minutes or hours. It was journalists eager for a quick, pithy quote that was the problem.

He said the Guardian was the only publication to respond to him in detail and with remorse at its own editorial failing. Others, he said, treated him as a vandal.

"The moral of this story is not that journalists should avoid Wikipedia, but that they shouldn't use information they find there if it can't be traced back to a reliable primary source," said the readers' editor at the Guardian, Siobhain Butterworth, in the May 4 column that revealed Fitzgerald as the quote author.

Walsh said this was the first time to his knowledge that an academic researcher had placed false information on a Wikipedia listing specifically to test how the media would handle it.

T-Shirt Images

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I am unsure in which order or layout that I am gonna place them on the back or what size they are going to be.