Back to School

So, after a nice break from schoool, it starts back up on Monday. I am really excited for this quarter! It will definitely be challenging, but hopefully the excitement of doing so many hands on projects will confuse me into thinking all the time being put into it is not that big of a deal. Anyway, if this quarter even ends up being 1/4 of the fun that it sounds like it will be, it will definitely be an amazing quarter!

Oh, Technology!

While I was on my trip in Europe, I received and email saying that my hard drive had crashed. With the wedding plans well underway, I got very nervous, but did not let this news ruin my trip. When I got back to the states the worry began though. After getting my computer back from Best Buy with a new hard drive, I brainstormed with my dad what I should do next. Luckily, I went into Best Buy with my old hard drive and they told me that they would be able to get my files back because it wasn't a software problem, it was a mechanical problem. Therefore, it only cost me $99.99 instead of potentially thousands of dollars to get all my files back! So, once again God stepped in and fixed my problem for me because I left it in his hands!

PRAISE GOD!

What a Wonderful World

Like the title says, God has definitely made a wonderful world. 

The first place that I was able to experience was Ireland. Ireland is definitely a beautiful country. It did rain a lot, constantly reminding me that I was not in sunny San Diego or Orange County, but it was still beautiful and I was able to take home with me some beautiful pictures and exciting memories. The little town that we stayed in Ireland was called Rosscarberry. It is a beautiful peaceful town, very different from the crazy city that I come from. On the trip in Ireland we were able to hike to many castles, which often meant many exciting adventures. On one of the adventures, we saw (and then hiked to) a huge cross that was on the top of a hill that overlooked the ocean. All of the Catholic Churches in Ireland were defintely beautiful. We also visited  some of the neighboring towns, which gave us a small impression of what the cities in Ireland are like. 

After spending an amazing week in Ireland, we flew to Rome, Italy. Clearly, it was a wonderful and spiritual experience that has definitely stengthened my faith. It is one thing to hear and learn about all the old churches and the significance that each one has in class, however, being able to look and touch all the different churches was surreal. For example, walking into the Catacombs and knowing that it was there that many of the first martyrs prayed and celebrated Mass was truly moving. We were very fortunate that we were able to be in the general audience on Wednesday and see Pope Benedict XVI. At one point, luckily in English, one of the Cardinals presented us by name as one of the Universities that had come to see him. To hear him speak directly to the English speaking pilgrims in English was thrilling. Luckily, Joey was able to video the English speaking part of the morning. However, when the Cardinal mentioned our school, I am not sure how well the video camera will be able to pick up that because of how loud everyone started screaming and waving towards the Pope, so for those few seconds of our "Catholic fame," all you can hear on the video is excited screaming.

I am so blessed to have been able to experience all of the wonderful things on this trip. 

All the time, God is good. 

Trip to the Past

February 21, 2009

This week’s video took us back to a very exciting time for Dublin that took place forty-six years ago. This amazing experience, that many people claim to be the highlight of their teenage years, is the trip that the Beatles took to sing in Dublin. In 1963, the wonderful Beatles came to town and performed two concerts, one in Dublin and the other in Adelphi. Very many people remember this day very well. They could tell you who was standing next to them, what song the Beatles opened with, and the excitement in the air that night. Considering that the Beatles were so popular here in the United States as well, it doesn’t surprise me that this is the highlight for many women of their teenage years.

Some people described the Beatles as media savvy. This stood out to me very clearly. Since I have come to John Paul the Great Catholic University for media, it is very important that I can graduate from the school and have people look at me and say that I am a media savvy person. I think this is very important because technology in the media world right now is continuously changing. People have to think outside the box that they created when television first started to be broadcast. Hopefully, like the Beatles, in the world students from John Paul the Great Catholic University will be known as media savvy and hard workers.

Another thing that I noticed from watching the first part of the clip was the fun that the Beatles portrayed. They seem to have a great sense of humor and are enjoyable to watch. The Beatles gave people the inspiration to be a little different. Clearly, they succeeded in that because they now have a book about them called The Beatles Irish Concerts.

Ireland definitely cares about those around them. The Principal of Scoil Fhursa in Kilmore West is a boys school that educates around 270 young boys. This school had been very run down because the last time anyone painted the school was about ten years prior. However, after this school becoming to run down, parents, faculty, staff, and local communities came together to give the school a complete paint makeover. In the chapter that we read this week, Tom Inglis, in the book Global Ireland, describes how “villages are a bit like families.” This painting makeover definitely hits that point directly. Although everyone thought it was the craziest idea, they got the job done through the donations of places around them. Everything from the paint to the catering was donated in order to help these boys be able to focus better during their studies at this school. Not only did businesses and parents help out, but parish groups also donated their time. The boys at The Principal of Scoil Fhursa in Kilmore West are very lucky to have had this experience.

Finally, the last part of the video that we watched was about a taxi driver who was able to experience seeing people from all age groups come together and learn how to become chefs. Whether the reason behind was to go professional or just to entertain house guests, everyone who attended worked well with each other and helped the experience be an awesome learning experience. Similar to the way John Paul the Great Catholic University works, Lynda Booth, the founder, brings in professional chefs that the students are able to learn from and work with. 

How will I apply my knowledge from my producer class in the future?

In class Professor Christopher Riley asked us what we want to do with the information we learned during our production class this quarter. He gave us 15 minutes in class to write something, this is what I wrote:

What I want to do with this knowledge is probably the most obvious, I am now intrigued by producing and might do producing in some projects in the future. This class really helped my knowledge of what producer does and made me realize that I have a lot of the skills that a producer needs to be successful. And with more practice here at JP Catholic, I might go on to be a producer outside of the school. Because of the other class that I am taking, I am understanding what exactly a producer is doing and I am witnessing examples of producers and learning what works and what doesn't work. Also, as being an assistant to the two producers on my team and taking this class at the same time, I am able to try and help them successfully do their job and I am able to explain different things to other team members. By these different experiences, I can be a better producer in the future when I actually become one. Producers need to dream pretty big and follow that dream in order to be successful, and through different conversations with people, I have found that I have a lot more confidence in people than they have and that I would be able to help them with their projects by encouraging them in getting their story told. The other reason why I think I would enjoy being a producer is because I am really good at knowing a little about a lot of things and I know how and what to do, even if I am not the best at any job in particular. As a producer you need to know when a job is done correctly and well, and the basics of how to do it, but you do not need to be the best at any particular case. Because I like being involved in all aspects of production I think that this job is very suitable for me.

I Can Do Anything

February 13, 2009

            I really enjoyed watching this video on Theo Dorgan. He made a lot of great points that seems to be obvious, but is still extremely needed. I really liked that he started out the interview by saying that he would describe what he is currently doing as “de-confusing” himself. I find myself often trying to figure out where in the media world I would be able to fit myself into. Therefore, when he said this,  I was able to immediately connect with him for the rest of the interview. He mentioned that he also gets caught up in other things around him and isn’t able to write a lot continuously. I think that this shows great compassion for others and those around him. The fact that he is willing to come out of retirement and continue helping people in different art programs is very amiable.

            One thing that stood out to me was that he is not necessarily trying to make things better for the arts, but he is trying to make things better for the community where he lives. This also shows a lot about his character. Although he was a successful administrator and organizer, did well with writing poetry in Ireland, and was deemed to be a success in Ireland, he said that he would be able to work in business. One reason he thought he would be able to work in business is because he does not thing that he could make a living off of poetry, although possibly through writings. He wrote his first poem for a girl when he was on his way to picking her up from a dance when he was 18 or 19.   He said that the only reason he still writes poems is because they keep coming back to him.

I thought it was also interesting that he quoted Samuel Beckett who said “Fail, fail again, fail better.” He really took a lot from this quote. As a screenwriter, one needs to be prepared to fail and then be able to come back and try again and then fail another time, but for different reasons, and still keep going. I think that this quote is good for anyone in the entertainment industry because people get rejected a lot more than they get brought in.

He also was very concerned with politics and he wanted to make a difference using these skills in politics. When he was at University, he wrote a poem involving politics, and he was thrown out of the classroom and everyone was shocked that he would mix poetry and politics. Apparently, at this time, that was unheard of. The fact that he was able to stand out against the crowd and publicly state how he feels is something that all Catholics should be constantly trying to do. Standing up in the world and being the light and the example for all those around us might be the only way some people are able to feel Christ’s love for them..

One thing that Dorgan said that I can relate directly to is when someone asks “What needs to be done?” and then he responds “Let’s do it.” I definitely enjoy being told a problem and then either solving it myself or helping someone else solve the problem. I really liked that he mentions how he isn’t on art boards for just handing out money, but he is there in order to give confidence to those who he thinks will be successful in one of the industries that art encompasses.

I really liked that he ended by explaining that art is intrinsic to human beings and how language is, in and of itself, an art form. As simple as this statement is, I think that it definitely can be over looked sometimes. We use the language we speak to write beautiful stories. These stories remind us of how beautiful language is and how much we take it for granted sometimes. It is nice to be reminded of how wonderfully God made us that art is intrinsically in all of us. 

Trip to Europe

So, I am going on a trip to Europe with my school and so right now I am taking a Global Cultures class to learn more about Ireland and Rome - - the two places I will be visiting and every week we are reading a chapter and watching a TV news broadcast to learn more about the culture! So below are things I have already written and be ready for more to come!

God Bless