-11.3-

Assignment: Search at least 3 words that you like in a google search. Share a link that interests you.

Attempt 1: I searched "science, paper, craft" and was lead to this link. A periodic table paper craft! But...the website didn't explain what the varying heights of the elements represented...perhaps its electronegativity (I see Flourine is 4.0 and it's EN value is 4.0.)?

I hadn't really thought about it, but using paper craft as learning tools could be a fun way to teach science. It's easy for students to make, and is extremely interactive. Now that I'm thinking about it...I remember making DNA mobiles in 7th grade. That was fun, and I still remember what parts of the mobile represent!

Attempt 2: Since papercraft is really one word, I googled "
An Atlantic article came up (one of my favorite magazines) so I had to click on it!

http://www.theatlantic.com/video/archive/2013/01/one-kids-sci-fi-short/267320/

One man wrote, directed, and animated a science fiction short at the age of 22 (I don't see why the age matters). The plot of the film is simple, machines fighting against man, but I liked the twist at the end (Slight spoilers here: the ending was painful, since you know a catastrophe is going to happen.) What really amazed me was that one person animated the entire short. The level of detail in the animation was incredible. The article said that it took him 7 months to animate 5 minutes of film. Drawing upon my experience at self-animating, that's a short amount of time!

-5.4-

I looked at the link to Google's branding, and here are some patterns I noticed:
-The product was flat, and had simple shading
-Most icons were geometric shapes
-They used a simple colour palette
-Logos/icons had to be recognizable with any dimension size
-They even took account of the amount of padding around the logos!

I also looked at what others were posting. While looking through a blog (I forget who's) the person mentioned that the educational section of Gofundme didn't have much. I checked it out, and I found this funding project:
http://www.gofundme.com/4890wk

I was puzzled how she got $2000+ in 8 days, since there are many other kids like her that need help, so I decided to analyze her page.

Techniques:
-A short, but sincere background story as to why she needs the money (positive outlook)
-A photo of the person in need
-Credentials (honors student)
-FACEBOOK and TWITTER share button

I also looked at the given site 11 Tips for Crowdfunding and the line "people invest in the filmmakers as much as the project" stood out to me.

I'm not sure how this connects to our goal, but all this talk about crowdsourcing reminded me of this science game, Foldit (Wikipedia link). The game is a 3D puzzle game in which the user folds proteins into the most efficient configuration possible. If I remember correctly, a few hundred thousand users are playing this game. Scientists are using the results for various experiments, getting results faster than if computer software did the work!

-2.4-

Kate Bush Assignment:

“Them Heavy People” by the singer Kate Bush. Listen to the song, watch the video and read the lyrics, etc. Find yourself in the song, find the song in you, and write another verse to the song that is your specific verse, that is about your connection to the work.




Now that I'm rolling, that I'm on my way

I've got to keep it up my newfound strength

Keep on building keep on filling

until I overflow then spill - on someone else. Haha!

-1.4-

A short artist's biography:

Born in China, Shiana Skye Mainarich is currently a senior at Herricks High School, New Hyde Park, NY. Since a very young age, Shiana has visited many art and history museums, sparking a wide range of interests over the years. However, there are three art movements that have heavily influenced her: Surrealism, Manga/Japanese woodcuts, and Mid-20th century Modern Art - specifically modern art with primarily geometric/biomorphic shapes such as the works of Mondrian, Rothko, and Barancusi. The school experience has also served as a theme in Shiana's work, especially in her animation Monday. Currently, Shiana is interested in the artist, Alphonse Mucha, and the voice synthesizing program, UTAU. Shiana has also been heavily influenced by the many hours she spent playing pretend with her friends, causing her work to be mainly fiction and have dream-like elements to it. Through her art, Shiana portrays the world in different perspectives, and allows others to appreciate the world in a new way.

At Herricks High School, Shiana is part of the gifted arts program, STAC. On her own, and through STAC workshops, Shiana has experimented with a diverse number of mediums including: painting, papercrafting, sculpting, drawing, dancing, acting, singing, playing the trombone, playing the piano, composing, writing, and filming. She has directed, acted in, edited, and written four films for Chinese class. She has also performed in the school musicals Urinetown and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, the former as first trombone, the latter as second trombone. Shiana has also completed a "365" practice, in which she utilized line drawing in order to draw a portrait every day for a year. Her most notable work to date is her animation, Monday, which follows the struggles and triumphs a student faces throughout one school day. Her current projects involve finishing a Mucha-inspired digital painting and mixing an UTAU cover of the song Scattered Cherry Blossoms -Elegant-. Over the course of the coming year, Shiana plans to create short films, create an abstract instillation using paper, and hone her drawing skills in realism.