Lupus

For this unit of this course was called body my class and I were assigned to choose a disease that someone has or know that you can interview. I chose to interview my sister because she was recently diagnosed with Lupus. As I did some research I kind of figured what were some symptoms and affects to this disease so it made it more easier for me to introduce this disease. What I learned from this Action Project was that it's actually not a great feeling to go through any disease. Which I knew, but,  this interview made me really realize how much change a disease can do to a persons life. A disease that will never go away, if it doesn't have a cure. It's just hard to think about, hard to think about the struggles in your life, hard to know that your not going to be able to do things like before. What I am really proud of is doing the interview with the right person which was my sister that I love dearly. I learn so much more and now I understand so much more than just what is pain. I wish I could walk in her shoes to feel what she feels when she is in pain.

Lupus is a chronic inflammatory disease that happens when your body immune system attacks your own tissue and organs. The inflammation that occurs in the body can affect lots of the body's organs and systems like the kidneys, brain, lungs, brain vessels, blood cells, joints and heart. These organs and systems play a big part of Lupus that increase the risk of getting cancer. Lupus is really hard to diagnose, but some signs of Lupus are fevers, butterfly facial rash, chest pain, shorten of breath, dry eyes, joint pain stiffness and swelling, headaches, confusion and memory loss. Lupus is not contagious, some people are just born with the tendency of developing Lupus. It can be triggered by certain drugs, infections and sunlight. When my sister was diagnosed with Lupus, my family and I were confused because no one had Lupus in the family. We didn't even know what was Lupus, until we were present on days that lupus activated in my sister's daily life. Her body over night will swell up making her unable to get up from bed because of the swelling and pain on her joints all over her body. She, sometimes had to stay still to breath, because she was short of breath all the time. My sister's fingers, were always a problem because in different occasions her fingers won't go up or down because of the stiffness on her fingers. While sleeping during the day or at night, she will get chest pain that would tighten up her chest that would make her out of breath also. When the family will go out to the beach sunlight was also a problem for her because she had to shower herself in sun block before going all the time. From night to day her parts of her face will get very red and slightly itchy. Her feet will swell really bad too, like if she was pregnant. This disease really changed my sisters lifestyle and the family because now we have to be precocious of everything and always be with her on her bad times. Some treatments that she is taking are insulin and pills for her diabetes and more pills that control the high blood pressure. She has taken chemotherapy only once for the first time in her life. During chemo it effected her eye, which busted one of her eye vain which was very painful.

Key Vocabulary

Kidneys: Lupus can cause serious kidney damage, having kidney failure is one of the leading causes of death, people with lupus. Having kidney failure, they’re also symptoms.

Lungs: Lupus can affect the lungs which will result as, chest pain and shorten of breath but very painful. Having Lupus can also increase chances of inflammation in the lungs

Heart: Lupus can also increase the chances of inflammation in your heart muscles, heart membrane and arteries. Also, you can increase serious heart attacks as well. Sharp chest pain which slows down your heart beats and blood

Interview Questions & Response


Q1: How has this disease changed your life?

R: Lupus has changed my life drastically, emotionally and physically.


Q2: Have you had any follow up disease, after being diagnosed? If yes, which ones?

R: Yes, high blood pressure and diabetes because lupus effects the internal organs little by little.


Q3: What went through your mind when being told you were diagnosed with the disease?

R: The first thing in mind was that I was going to die, I thought that there was not going to be a cure for it and that it was going to consume me very slowly.


Q4: What were your first symptoms that made you get immediate help?

R: I noticed that my finger tip were getting swollen, warm and painful.


Q5: What treatments or medication have you taken?

R: I have taken 1 dose of Chemotherapy. The medication that I am taking now are Prenazone, Vitamin c & d, Plaquenil, and Micro Phenolate.

JR.  Human Body Of  Lupus. Photography. 2014

What Is freedom?

For my first action project for this course called politics I was assigned to choose a question, interview some friends and family members, and ask for their opinions. My question that I asked was "What Is Freedom?" I chose this question because I thought that It would be very interesting to hear what people's responses were. My topic seemed easy at first, but then it got a little hard trying to write the script. What I learned in this unit was about Socrates and how he lived trying to find someone wiser than he. I learned about his Socratic Method which was the method that Socrates was using for the students he was teaching. It was individual discussions between two people and asking questions. He wanted them to think critically, come up with ideas, and ask questions to the public. The reason why people thought it was bad, was teaching his students about his Socratic Method and teaching them to go out and ask question was uncomfortable for some people. So his students eventually did what his Socratic Method was about and those student’s parents didn't like the fact that their kids were asking them questions and going out to the public and asking people questions. As I interviewed people, I learned that there's more to just freedom than just being free. I heard a lot of responses that were all very great. There  were ones that stood out to me a lot, I liked that everyone had their own definition of freedom.

JR, EGB.  What is freedom video. 2014

Here is my script of the video

Characters:

Haley:Elizabeth (Character 1)
Jordan:Jamilet (Character 2)
Filmed: 2/10/15
Topic: Freedom


Haley: Hey Jordan, how are you?

Jordan: Hey Haley, I am fine how are you?

Haley: That is great Jordan! I am super good.

Jordan: Oh Cool! You seem excited about something. What is it, Haley? Come on, tell me!

Haley: Well, they made a student council group at our school. Which means we will have more freedom. Are you joining? I am.

Jordan: I do not know, do you think that joining will give us more freedom? What is freedom anyway?

Haley: Freedom is to be free, you can do whatever you want. Just join, it will be fun, trust me.

Jordan: Everybody knows that freedom is to be free and have the ability to do whatever you want, but I do not think that joining the group will give you more freedom. Do you think that the students will really be free Haley?

Haley: Yes, Jordan, because the students will not be controlled by a higher power. We will all share our thoughts and we will be able to voice our opinions without negative consequences.

Jordan: Okay, but you can do that independently without being in student council. Do you not have that ability already?

Haley: You are right! But joining will make me feel good and content.

Jordan: Hmm.. Well, if you feel good and content does that make you free?

Haley: Not just feeling good, but the ability to create your own contentedness and goodness, that is freedom.

Jordan: So having the right to create your own contentedness and goodness, that is freedom?

Haley: Well, if they join, they will probably be able to feel the same way. Not only will we have freedom, but we will not be overpowered, we will be able to do what we believe is right. We can do whatever we want without any judgement.

Jordan: Yes! But, do you not have that ability already? Yes, freedom gives you plenty of opportunities but it does not mean you have to join a group to receive more freedom.

Haley: You do have a point, maybe I do not need to...

Jordan: Yes!

Haley: Thank you for helping think through that, Jordan. Now I see I can exercise freedom in more ways than student council.

Jordan: You are welcome Haley! I am glad you understand what freedom is. Bye!

Haley: Bye Jordan!

The SETTING!

For my electives term class Stage Chemistry I was assigned into a group of our choice and discuss a plan about the Christmas Carol setting. As we discussed our plan we said we will build a model into three parts and those parts will be past, present and future with little details attached to each of these parts of our model. The group struggled a bit but in two days we got most of the props done for each sections. I am really excited to see how this model will turn out at the end, with all the other models.

As we settled into groups, each group had a job and those jobs were theme, settings, characters and props everything that basically makes a theater. I was put in the settings with three more other students to work on this part of space of a theater. For the first part we started with lots of stuff like how the model will look and be designed. So we started off by choosing the three top important roles that the theater will need so we went with

Each one of these roles have a need and concern as you see above. We chose these roles because we thought it would fit perfect with each of the parts that the group decided to do for the model. one student built the house that separates into two which is pretty cool. Us girls built the round circle to make three sections off of it to represent each of the three settings of the play. So, we started with that and well we kind of just started from the draft model and made little things like chairs, stoves, and bushes. We added a huge model to the model that was made to look like a barbie house. We decided to use it at last minute because we were running out of time but it was a really good model to show how scrooge's inside of the house looked. We build little descriptions for the house which looks pretty cool and after I thought it wasn't a great idea it turned out it was a good one.

JN. House Model 2. 2014

JN. House Model 1. 2014

JN. House Model 2. 2014

AJ.Model.2014 

The Stage Designer is suppose to have appropriate design for the time of the arrow of the play. Have lots of safety with the sets and props. The crew job has to be done right in order to look good. Also, have the correct appropriate equipment for the stage. 

The Director is in charge to always have a finished script for a show to run. Rehearsed actors is really important for this role because without the actors not practicing what they have to do makes the stage performance look very crappy. It's a really big part of being a director and making the actors take this role of rehearsing their scripts and acts. Any injuries and understudy is also very important because if they get injured this goes to the director's responsibility. Everyone's job being done on time.

The Crew/Tech always have to be careful with setting things on stage and while performance is on play. Safety for the sets, props, swifts and people. Fit and timing with light and sound. A Backup electricity generator for the lighting and sound. Also, have everyone trained so they know what to do with the lighting and sounds which is a really big part also for a stage.

AJ. Settings. Photography. 2014

                                           Here is a video of the two work days with my group.

Stand by Me

For this class Ollywood I was assigned to choose a movie that would best suit me and would be able to watch. I chose "Stand by Me" by Rob Reiner. I was recommended by my teacher and so I watched it thinking probably it was going to be boring but at the end I really like it and now it's one of my favorite movies of all times. I think that this movie was great. I am really proud that I got to see this movie because it was fun to watch especially a movie from the 80's.

Hey, my name is J.R and I’d like to talk to you about a really great movie titled Stand by Me directed by Rob Reiner” This movie was released on August 8, 1986, The Main characters are Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman. Stand by Me is now one of my favorite top movies that I’ll always recommend to other people. I liked this movie very much because it used some cool film techniques and some of the kids lives were a mess because of their parents really stood out throughout the whole movie. They really expressed a lot of their emotions and that’s one thing that I really liked because it made me feel what they were going through.

This movie is about four young kids that go on an adventure trying to find a missing dead body. As, they go on their adventure they go through some challenges and also become more mature. These kids try to find a missing teenage boy that got hit by a train. When they` found out about the missing boy they thought that if they found him they probably will become hero’s and have their faces on tv and the newspapers. The boys really want to do something different and special with their lives, and some just want to get away from their terrible families.

In some scenes of the movie there were a lot of fade out (dissolve) editing cuts used, more in the parts where the boys were talking/walking together on the train tracks and well because the movie is one long flashback. So, it makes good sense that the film editors would use fade outs to capture these past moments. Another editing cut used effectively was the Eyeline Match used when the group of boys all started on their adventure and one of them mentions “Food” and none brought food so they start giving their money to Gordie to count. The editing here shows that Gordie is really the unofficial leader of the group by focusing our eyes on what he is doing as he collects all of the money as the one in charge. In addition, camera techniques including long shots and mid-shots of the train tracks were used in the scene when the boys debated whether they should risk taking the train tracks and getting killed by the train and jumping off but it was 100 ft. These camera techniques, along with the editing made me feel like I was part of the group.

Besides editing and camera angles, the soundtrack of “Stand by Me” included songs weren’t really that familiar to me because the story takes place during the late 1950s. The song that really stood out to me was “Lollipop” by: The Chordettes, which is played in the scene when the boys were walking in pairs singing lollipop and making the “POP” sound. The song actually matches the action in this scene, which is interesting because the soundtrack is part of the story, not just playing over it like in most other movies. Another powerful part of the soundtrack is the flute played in Ben King’s “Stand by Me” song which is played in the early part of the film and played again in a different beat at the end of the movie. which is “stand by me by: Ben King” This song is also the title of the film, which makes me think that the theme of is really important in the movie.

Some sound effects that really brought certain scenes to life and made the boys’ journey more realistic were crumbling rocks, barfing and gunshots.

The film focuses on the friendship of these boys, and since it is told as a flashback by the main character, Gordie, it seems to show the difference between childhood and manhood. There were many scenes that showed parts where it was childhood to manhood like when all four of them went together to find this missing dead body. Chris manning up in front of his brother when both his brother’s gang meet where they find the missing dead body.

I’d recommend this film because it shows a lot of friendship between these kids and shows lots of bravery and confidence in going on to an adventure to find a dead missing body together. The best part is that each one of them has each others back no matter what.

Thank you for reading!

The AJ & JR Show: There Will Be Blood Critique

In my elective course, Ollywood we focus on the components that makes a film come together. The second Action Project is a video critique about the 2007 drama film, There Will Be Blood. The purpose of this project was to give a general explanation of the plot, characters, framing, lighting, and also our personal experience of the movie in a video format with a partner. I'm proud of being with a peer, and to accomplish this assignment in this time frame we had. The most challenging part for my partner and I was the filming of the video, we had faced a lot of camera and tech issues while filming. Overall I would do it again with my partner! Below you can locate the rest of our project. I hope you enjoy it as my partner and I enjoyed making it.

Filming Info 

Movie Title: There Will Be Blood
Genre: Drama
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Release Date: December 26, 2007
Main Characters: Daniel Plainview By: Daniel Day-Lewis and Eli Sunday By: Paul Dano
Number of awards: 55

AJ and JR Show: There Will be Blood

        

Slideshow seen in the video above:

        

Thank you for your view! Click here for link to There Will be Blood movie trailer!

My Model Stage: Stage Chemistry

For this action project we were assigned to build our blueprint that we were also assigned to do for the first AP of stage chemistry. My first AP I chose to measure Fasseas in Menomonee Boys & Girls club. I Basically Measure throughout card board and cut and built Fasseas Stage that I drew on my blueprint. What I am most proud of is to have my stage built before everything is due and well, because it was a fun AP. As a follow up with my previous Action Project (Link) I had turned my blueprints into an 3D model, that you can locate below in a series of moving pictures.

For my first motion that I chose was a trap door that I cut in the middle of my stage. I chose to cut it in the middle of  my stage because I thought  it would be cool to have a person go through it while performing to get the audience to react some type of way. This trap door is made for actors (people) to make a good way out of the stage more like disappear. While someone is going through their scene they will usually go through the trap door to not make a plain exit from the stage, and they will usually end up in the bottom of the stage. As you can see on these to examples of the trap door on my stage this person weighs 135 pounds and the force being made on the trap door is 600.507 newton's same as the upward force on the trap doors. The way I found out how much force was given up and down the trap doors, with the persons weight. The person weighed 135 and so I multiplied it by 4.4482 and got 600.507 newton's which is the exact force for both ways (up and down).

JR. Going Through Trap Door. 2014

JR. Side View. 2014

For my second motion I chose was a pulley. I put my pulley above my stage so it can look like a real pulley and for the people that will be using it. I added a chair on the left so that a person can pull the person up and down and make it look like the person is above ground. Usually the person will wear a belt and that belt will be attached with the pulley to bring the person up and down. To make this pulley I made a hole on the top of the roof of my stage and inserted a loop to put in the rope to give my pulley some action.

JR. Pulley In Motion. 2014

Trap Door Safety Rules:

• Make sure your on time to go through the trap doors.
• Be careful how you land.
• Make sure the trap doors are unlocked.
• Fall the proper way in case something goes wrong.
• Trap door must be clear from the bottom (besides something comfy to land on) and top.
• If done using the trap door, please lock it so no one falls through it while walking on stage.
• Make sure their isn't nothing blocking the trap doors on stage.
• Don't fall head first while going through the trap doors.

JR. Safety Rule. 2014

Pulley Safety Rules:

• Make sure that you belt is clicked on and working good.
• When above ground don't touch the belt or release the buckle.
• Don't pull or grab on to the pulley rope.
• Don't get distracted while your about to get pulled up.
• Make sure to get your harness on before getting pulled up.
• Don't perform a weird stunt that will get you tangled while above ground.
• Chair man has to be strong and not get easily distracted.
• Make sure your weight is checked before using pulley.

JR. Safety Rule.2014

I used my blueprint to build my stage because when I created the blueprint with the measures of Fasseas and I needed those measurements for my stage. I also included a roof and also made my stage hallow so that way I have a better view of my trap doors I put on the top of my stage.

My Mathematical Formula For The Trap Door:

JR. Trap Door Mathematical Formula. 2014

The Beast of the Southern Wild

For my class Ollywood I was assigned to choose between five films to watch and write about the production design- the sets,costumes, and props of the film as well as identify the protagonist, antagonist, and other plot elements. I chose to critique the film  Beasts of the Southern Wild. I really liked the movie because it showed the positive things a child can do. I think that is very interesting that the movie was directed by someone who got inspired of the Hurricane Katrina.

Beasts of the Southern Wild is a film directed by Benh Zeitlin. The movie was filmed in Louisiana and released in the year of 2012. Young Hushpuppy lives with her father Wink in a little community on water with a small group of neighbors. Hushpuppy is only six years old and is curious about her mother who is missing, but is maybe alive somewhere. Wink is the only thing she has right now, but he’s extremely sick and is an alcoholic Hushpuppy is the protagonist of the film, and one of the quotes that best represents her character is when HUshpuppy says, “The whole universe depends on things fitting together just right.” I liked this quote because for her to be six and actually speaking this is pretty impressive; she seems to know a lot like an adult. The antagonists of the movie are the aurochs and the storm.It clearly has the residents on edge, as one. The little boy warned the others“ The storm is coming, the storm is coming, the storm is coming.”

Hushpuppy wants to find her mother and spend more time with her father, Wink. She tries to understand why her father acts the way he acts and what’s wrong with him. She questions herself about why her father doesn’t seem to want to be with her and pushes her away. She tries to understand him and talk to him but he’s always busy drinking and barely has time. She wants her father to stay healthy and be there with her. But, there’s a problem that happens. The storm get overly aggressive and floods the town, affecting a lot of the people in their own households. This storm infected most of the animals, leaving the people in the town to starve.  Hushpuppy’s desire is to leave on an adventure to find her mother. She wants to find out if her mother is still somewhere alive. She carries the hope with her even when her father tells her that she’s dead.  Meanwhile, the antagonists - the aurochs and the storm -  lead to the destruction of people, houses and constantly threaten the other characters and take over of Bathtub make Bathtub as their environment the entire community of the Bathtub.

The director, Zeitlin, was inspired to make the sets of Beasts after the crisis of Hurricane Katrina. That hurricane struck the Bahamas before passing to Southern Florida, then to the Gulf of Mexico and the southeast of Louisiana in late August of 2005. It caused severe destruction and left a lot of people injured, dead, and homeless. Beasts shows the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina through the sets and costumes. For example, the houses in the Bathtub were destroyed, garbage was floating on everywhere on the water, there weren’t enough animals to feed on just everything was a disaster from the beginning of the film . The characters who lived in the Bathtub wore the same clothes again and again -- often they were ripped, worn out, too-big boots and shoes. The outfits that the characters wore actually fitted with their personality it makes people think about who the person is.

Hushpuppy now knows that her father is ill and is soon going to die. The only way to not stay alone is to go on an adventure to find her dead mother. Hushpuppy and her friends, leave the hospital and make her company as she tries to find her mother.The scene that most stood out to me was was the ending of the film. The scene is when Hushpuppy’s father dies and Hushpuppy sets him on fire on the car boat onto the water. It really shows the courage, bravery and strength to actually do what she did. She now has to face the real world, being an orphan, also with the Aurochs taking over is a big deal for her. Not only that she’s an orphan but she also has her fathers neighbors that were his close friends. Hushpuppy now is on her own with no family.

Stolz, Kit. Meet the future, little girl. 2014.