Madame Butterfly

Madame Butterfly is an opera by Giacomo Puccini. An opera is a dramatic work in one or more acts set to music for singers and instrumentalists. Madame Butterfly is an animated short story produced by John Luther Long in 1898. It is based on the recollections of Long’s sister, Jennie Correll. It was published in Century Magazine. 

It is about an American naval named Lieutenant Pinkerton who moves to Japan to take on his duties on a ship docked in Nagasaki. His friend Sayre put him down with a girl named Cho-Cho-San who would be Lieutantenant Pinkerton’s wife for the duration of his stay. Her family really favored the marriage until he forbid them from coming to the house to visit. They reacted by disowning their daughter Cho-Cho-San. 

I thought the play was very interesting seeing something from such a different time where musicals where highly popular. It’s crazy to see how things change and evolve in ones culture in such a short period of time.

Extra Credit Sacrifices

 Life is all about sacrifices. For instance, while doing this assignment I sacrificied my time hanging with friends or playing basketball in order to complete this. It is all about maintaining a healthy balance with your personal life and your studies. 

            Other examples include sports players such as Tom Brady, who is one of the best all time Quarterbacks in the NFL. He sacrifices a lot more than just time to hang out with friends. For him, he sacrifices time with his family because the NFL is a full-time job and he is always crafting his game in order to be the best possible athlete come game day. Even on certain holidays such as New Years or Christmas he is in the gym or on the football field doing what he loves sacrificing more than we can count in order to be the best player possible in search of winning the Super Bowl and bringing Tampa their first championship since 2003.

Gothic Cathedral extra credit

 Gothic Cathedrals and churches are religious buildings created in Europe between the mid-12th century and the beginning of the 16th century. The cathedrals are relatively known for their great height and usage of stained glass in the buildings interior. Gothic Cathedrals had a lot of usages and was even a place where they conducted business meetings. In order to be known as a "Gothic Cathedral," the building had to have stained glass, a bishop chair, and had to be built in the shape of a cross. Service was typically 4 hours long and buildings were full of relics from across the world.

Hagia Sophia Assignment

     Hagia Sophia was the largest Christian Church of the Roman Empire, but later was converted into a mosque. The video we watched on Native Americans showcased all of their different abilities and unique culture. They believed everyone and everything was connected as one. Lovers of nature, they called the land "mother." They embarked on a religious journey by God to "find the center place."  Native Americans culture involved dancing that included outfits with feathered hats and a drum set as they marched and chanted their beliefs.

    The Byzantine's had a very big impact on modern-day architecture with their inventions. They invented  the pendentive dome which is construction that allows a circular dome to be built upon a rectangular floor plan. The first fully developed pendentive dome dates to the reconstruction of the Hagia Sophia in 563.The Hagia Sophia became the paradigmatic Orthodox Church and its architectural style was emulated by Turkish mosques a thousand years later.

Why are people more creative than others?

     Creativity is defined as the ability to come up with new and useful ideas. Its a trait that everyone posseses, some people better than others. The website mentioned two different creativity traits called "little-c" and "big-c." Little-C refers to making a joke and Big-C refers to writing a speech. Creativity involves a "complex interplay between spontaneous and controlled thinking." They conducted an experiment on how different parts of the brain are used while developing complex creative thoughts. The three parts analyzed on the website were Default Network, Executive Control, and Salience Network. Different regions of the brain are responsible for different functions. People that can co-activate these different regions are more likely to be more creative and innovative. So the question arises are some people more creative than others?

    While more research needs to come out on this, Personally I think, yes. People that have more creative hobbies are going to see the world differently and have their own idea about things and what they can be used for. For instance a sock. Socks are used to put on your feet. But someone might have a totally different perception about what socks are used for. Thinking outside of the box and searching for answers is the key to creativity.

Raul Cuero's interview on creativity

     Dr. Raul Cuero is from Colombia and he talks about triumph vs survival and the power of creativity to solve all of life's problems. Growing up in poverty with no toys to play with, he decided to start noticing nature and its behaviors. He says in order to understand nature we have to become one with it. He realized that he had no value off the basketball court and decided to strive in the classroom. A microbiologist who has nine scientific inventions pays tribute to his goals and mindset. He stated that everything is a process and that good things take time. Intensity was the word he used to describe how to approach your goals and ambitions. 

    When asked about today's generation and if we have a creative disadvantage he said that creativity has nothing to do with art or luxury, but on how we perceive nature. Being indoors playing video games or watching Netflix takes away from emerging in intellectual conversations and dampens our interpersonal communication skills with each-other. We learn by doing and failure is something that should make us driven and determined. 

    The Living Smart documentary was a great watch and taught me a lot about the importance of having a "universal conscious" in order to succeed and eliminate all the haters out there.

Violence and Movie Gores (Extra Credit)

     Honestly, I am a fan of all movie genres, as long as it keeps my attention. Growing up I have watched a plethora of scary/violent television shows and movies. I think it is interesting because it isn't something we are accustomed to on a daily basis. An example of this would be a television show that I used to watch called "The Walking Dead." Obviously a fantasy, the show depicts zombies taking over the whole world while the "uninfected" do their best to survive, while staying sane and civilized. Seeing the make-up they use on the cast and how real it looks is very intriguing. While I love seeing people battle and bloodbath fighting in movies, I believe it teaches our youth the wrong message. Kids could view violence as being "cool," or "manly," and may have a negative impact on society.

    Personally, my go-to movie genre is comedy. Theirs nothing better than sitting back and having a good laugh from actors like Will Ferrel or Adam Sandler. My favorite comedy is probably "Stepbrothers," because I have never witnessed a movie that makes me laugh that hard. If you haven't seen it then it's a must watch. Comedies over Horror movies any day of the week!