Clean up Clean up Everybody Everywhere

       I'm not sure what this picture was called, but it was from the retail part of Copia, and it was the one where there is a big mess of clothes piled on top of one another in a store. I see in this picture a bunch of unwanted clothes in a mess on a couple shelves. There is a lot of color, and many different styles of clothing. It's interesting because it looked like the amount of clothes on the shelf was more than what was actually supposed to be there, yet it looked like there was nothing missing from the racks lining the walls. I also noticed that these particular shelves had a sale going, but you cannot see what the sale is because the clothes are all in the way. I think the artist really wanted the mess to stand out in this picture so he made it the biggest thing, and in the center. It doesn't seem like he played with light at all because everything seems to be evenly lit so your eyes are drawn to multiple things at once. I think that the artist took this picture because it symbolizes how people don't care about the little things in life (at least in my opinion). How sometimes people can be selfish. Like they look at a shirt or a piece of clothing on a shelf, decide they don't like it and then just throw it back up on the shelf as if its worthless. In reality it is just a shirt so it kind of is worthless to most people. But to the person that has to organize those shelves every night for the third week in a row, it becomes more than just a shirt. It becomes more tedious work they have to put up with. It is pretty inconsiderate for people to not just take one extra minute from their time to put clothes back where they found them. This picture spoke to me because my sister worked for Aeropostale for a little bit and would always talk about having to organize shelves and tables that always got as messy as this by the end of the day. She constantly had to stay late at work fixing things, and then would come home too exhausted to talk or anything. It took so much out of her. When I am in a store I always try and put things back the way that I found them because I feel like that's just the right thing to do. To me this picture says to slow down. Take time for the little things in life. Life moves too fast and if you don't slow down once in awhile you might miss it. Also it tells me that going too fast and not having consideration for other people, only thinking about yourself, only creates a mess. I mean "mess" metaphorically. Another thing this picture could be saying is, don't procrastinate. Maybe the worker who was supposed to be cleaning off this shelf put it off until the end of the day. That obviously did nothing for him/her because now they have even more work to do. I am a professional procrastinator and I speak from experience when I say that it is better to get your wok done early then to wait until it builds up so that it is not humanly possible for you to get it all done in the short amount of time that you have. I liked this picture and all the colors. Here is the picture: http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/retail/#i32

Human vs Cash

Cash Station* ATM
Chicago place mall in 2009.

CASH STATION ATM in a goldish yellow above three focal lights. The lights are without bulbs and below them is an empty space. A hole which before a atm machine was placed. The wall that 'Cash station ATM' is embedded on appears to be ceramic tile. Starting from the top of the photograph the tile is shinny without impurities. As your eye moves towards the bottom of the photo you notice the age rusted between the tiles that take you to the dirty brick red ground.
The photo made me laugh. I found humor in the fact that this photo was taken down the street in Chicago where people had to have once in time walked by this daily. Also that the bright yellow words 'Cash station atm' is completely misleading for there is no atm but a rusted implication that there once was in fact an atm there. Leaves the viewer questioning 'Where's the ATM?" or more so what the ATM's sole purpose, "where's the money?"
I feel that the artist recognized multiple interpretations from this one photo. I'll list a few that were apparent to me:

atm- a machine that dispenses cash
no atm- no cash?
human vs cash
life? pursuit of happiness.
human belief... the more money the more happy!
no money.  no happiness?
A photograph, a map that reads ATM, X marks NOTHING.

Insinuation.
*****
For me that is just the initial thought. The questioning of why the space still reads "Atm" has me wondering if the business failed. If so, from that chaos? Remove the source of income! Fuck the inscription!  -Just another thought.

PICTURE ANALYSIS

The image that I chose from the collection was one taken in Minneapolis, MN 2004. The photograph depicts either a very androgynous old woman or a man cross dressing while sitting alone in a McDonalds. Her head is cocked to the side as she looks up from her spot at her otherwise vacant 4-person table suggesting what appears to be loneliness or curiosity. Behind her is a man filling up his drink at the soda machine, but he is the only other person captured in the photo. The colors in the picture strike me a lot too. There is a bright teal in the chairs of the table, the woman is wearing a royal blue top, jacket and hairpiece with matching purse, black nylons and dark shoes while the countertop of the soda machine is electric yellow.

My attraction to the image has to do with my love of extraordinary things in ordinary places. I like that this woman has put obvious care into what she has on yet is eating alone at McDonalds (Such a common establishment). I feel like it is a depiction of loneliness and a longing for something more than what you have. This would make sense, also, if the person depicted was actually a man. I believe that the photography utilizes the average and commonplace qualities of McDonalds as a backdrop to let something more magnificent or abnormal standout. It, for me, is a representation of feeling out of place. 

Crying over spilled milk

 http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/retail/#i18




When I look at this image I see of course milk spilled in an aisle not being tended to.  I see, soda being sold very cheap by the pack, a very unhealthy substance.  I see easy living.  To the side being refrigerated is milk, which probably came from unkempt cows.  The walls are wooden, light brown and the floors are tile. 

I think the artist uses great lightening in this photo, to get some point across.  The lighting is nice but it is a dim kind of nice.  Its not pure light, so the mood comes off a little uneasy. 

I feel like the spilled milk could represent, carelessness.  Food is no longer as difficult to get as it used to be, with this easy leisureliness comes carelessness.  Milk is spilled on the floor and no one is tending to it.  Maybe they will later but that's not the point.  People no longer cry over spilled milk when they should.  We have lost value for almost every food idem there is in a typical grocery store.  Why would we care, I mean its right there for us.  Ready to be bought.  We have created a system, to make life easier for ourselves.  We don't care how we get the milk so much as when and how good it tastes. 

Picture

http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/retail/#i4

This image shows us the cashiers of a huge supermarket (target), it has more than 31 cashiers, which represents the need for faster lines, since the demand is so big in those types of stores.. Although the picture is representing the amount of lines needed, there's not much people in the store, we can see three people shopping and five cashiers open.

The red is definitely a predominant colour, specially because it's the representation of target brand, the perspective of the pictures makes it look even bigger, and never ending hallway of lines available and it's very geometrical.

I feel like the artist with this picture represents how American Supermarkets look, there's a huge demand since the population is so big, there's a big need for more line so we can hurry up our shopping, everyone is always in a hurry, the faster the better, there's an efficiency looking of all of that.. But at the same time, maybe the exaggeration of cashiers since there's not much people in the store. The artist represents the "go big or go home" statement of america..

Life isn't always a Disney fairytale

Describe- This photo is of a little girl who seems to be in a Disney Store. There are Disney stuffed animals stocked on the shelves along with other Disney merchandize. There is a main television screen in the center of the photo made up of 4 different screens, the image in on the screen is of the castle in the Magic Kingdom at Disney World. 

Analyze- I feel like the photographer chose this particular setting and situation to display innocence and childhood. You see a little girl surrounded by Disney characters and everything seems happy and bright. Most childhoods are remembered to be bright, fun, sweet, and overall pure innocence and in my opinion that’s what genuine innocent of childhood I see in this photograph. 

Interpret- I feel that the artist created this work to show how innocent we all were once. I  think that this photo looks the way it does to showcase how much childhood has effected us all in one way or another. Also to display how much we grow up to see things differently and once we look back at childhood and our innocence, we see that life isn’t always a Disney fairytale.

Trash or treasure?

1. The image I chose to examine is from Brian Ulrich's "Thrift" collection. The image portrays American popstar Britney Spears. From just being a Britney fan, I know that this image inside the image is from her early career, around her "Hit Me Baby One More Time" era. It appears the photo was taken in a metal garage with wood boards nailed up all around . Scattered across the floor is rand debris, including a bathroom sink. The whole mood of the piece gives off this sense of the "American Wasteland."

 2. The shiny metal background of the garage brings The audiences attention to Britney Spears. The wood planks that are affixed on the shiny metal background also directs our attention towards the centerpiece, which is Britney. The debris on the ground keeps making our attention shift fr Britney back to the garbage and then back to Britney again. The color of the debris is mostly dull colors with a few pops of baby blue and bright pink. The image of Britney Spears is also oddly shaped, it isn't just rectangle or square shape but rather some awkward rectangle with a cut out on either side. This sense of abnormality makes us study the overview photo deeply because something so slight is just off.

 I think the artist, Brian Ulrich, chose to create this work because of the irony behind it. Placing America's sweetheart and pop sensation in a barren, blank room next to random trash is quite ironic. I also think that the trash is symbolic of Britney's past career. Up to when Britney shaved her head in 2007, her career was in shambles and her personal life wasn't so personal when the entire world knew every detail. The image of Britney pinned up during the hay day of her career in the early 2000's when everyone loved her. I'm also going to throw out another idea, online some people dramatize that Britney Spears shaved her head in 2007 for our sins. The way the image of Britney is hung up is very similar to the crucifixion of Jesus, who, "died for our sins." So there might be a connection between the two sacrificing for others sins.

Brian Ulrich photograph

http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/dark-stores/#i13

It looks like the main, middle section of a mall. There are two or three levels but they extend wicked far back and curve. The store fronts seem to have iron fences and most of them are closed, but the emphasis of the photo is on this middle geometrically designed sculpture randomly hanging in the middle of the building under the light. It's turquoise and looks like six sides of a die were angled and overlapped and hung. The light above is dome like and has a diamond/ triangle circular design on it. There are a lot of patterns going on in this photo; the steps in a circle, the red velvet gate thing that makes rows in the lobby of a bank or a movie theater. The repetition of columns and black gates, they're all patterns. They seem to revolve around this circular lounge area in the mall. The artist uses pattern and repetition, so at a first glance it looks like there's a lot going on but really the only non drab color is turquoise. The rest is beige, white, black, brown, grey. The black design on the light and sculpture piece stands out. It looks kind of fruitless and banal in the room, elegant in sort of a tragic way. Perhaps more obviously Brian Ulrich is candidly photographing the banal, mundane aspects of consumerism and capitalism that we've become so immune to. He makes it look shocking, which is shocking to us because we've become used to it. We tend to overlook the intricacies of retail, thrift stores and shopping malls. The workers are invisible to us, the children in other countries manufacturing everything, none of that factors in. It's truthful, his body of work, and it's making a bold statement about how we live our lives: excessively. We're selfish. We're a NEED NEED NEED country. Our society is pretty unsettling to think about so we don't and just buy more stuff. In terms of art history it seems like he's got some photo journalist influences, but I don't know, photography isn't really my area of expertise. It's definitely inanely clear something's wrong with the lessons we're teaching our kids and the way things are at this moment in time.

mutilated

http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/thrift/#i16

The photo I examined contains a sewing machine.  This machine is attached to a table, where other objects are set and pushed against the wall. THe sewing machine itself says Singer and has a sign which says MUTILATED and points downward with an arrow.  a series of other arrows are placed on the machine in red arrow stickers. It is rusting and the text holds a faded appearance. in the fore ground there are red scissors and purple clippers. the front edge of the table contains a ruler.  Directly behind the machine are thread, a coffee creamer container,  and a boom box.  On the wall above there is a Mi Tierra restaurant poster and to the left of it a pile of different items. The condition of the sewing machine and the rest of the environment lead me to assume that they are aged and mistreated.  The machine is most likely broken or incomplete as indicated by the "mutilated" sign.  The fact that there are used objects in the photo suggest that this is a secondhand store and the copious amount of objects placed on the table suggest  that the sewing machine is never really expected to be sold. I feel that Ulrich in his "thrift" section of Copia wanted to show the large amount of objects we have in our culture.  There are so much objects here hey need to be stacked upon each other.  Ulrich might've also wanted to show that what could be someone else's garbage might be useful to someone else.  He might've used this photo as a representation of the lower class, as the downwards arrows may suggest.

Cheap Crucifiction

Description: I see a photo. Interior of a store There are plastic figurines of Jesus being crucified being sold for 9.99. They are facing what you assume to be the viewer. There are brightly colored teddy bears and other animals in the back to the side of the crucifixes. There are several baskets of toys and candy on the ground; they are wrapped in plastic. One of the boxed crucifixes is face down on the tile floor of the store. The tile floor is a boring white hue. In the background, there are air freshener products.

Analysis: The crucifixes are in the foreground facing towards the viewer so they stick out somewhat, but since there are the neon teddy bears in the back, they don't really stick out. The lines of the shelves kind of go off of each other in the foreground and background. When I first looked at the photo, my eyes went to the crucifixes first and then went left to the teddy bears. The next thing I noticed were the items on the ground, the crucifix and the baskets. Lastly I saw the air care products. Every thing in the photo seems to be pretty angular.

Interpreted: It is Easter at K-mart and so it's time to cash in on the fools who feel like they need to have a crucifix in their home during this 'special time'. From my point of view, the photographer is making a statement that corporate America has made the christian idol into a common plastic toy. Jesus Christ is now among Care Bears and monster trucks! One of the figurines is face down on the ground and I think this means that the photographers thinks that this idea of commercializing Jesus is going to collapse soon.

Or

The photographer is taking the stance that Christians are out to make money off of their product, which is Jesus Christ. They have even stooped as low as placing the Idol among commonplace plastic toys to try to make money. The face down crucifix still implies the same thing.

Photo:
http://notifbutwhen.com/projects/copia/retail/#i47

-Matthew

MOTHER (CULT)URE

From the novel, I believe “mother culture” refers to society as a whole, specifically popular or common belief. It plays an important role because the “norms” imposed upon us by this mother culture directly affects or plays a part in decisions many people make.

For me, it is important to refuse that which is imposed upon me by society. This is seen by many as an attempt to rebel or act out, but it stems from very pure personal belief. I believe that the meaning behind life is to be happy, and what upsets me, above anything else, is the judgments and morals pressed on us by people to be a certain way. This is probably due to the fact that when I was growing up, I was always teased, but I choose now to refuse these cultural laws because I believe, as an artist, that I should always honor my vision. Lady Gaga said, “I shall not be defined by the beauty or music projected upon me. I shall define it for myself.” And I feel the same way. She also said, “I feel a moral obligation to push the boundaries of love and acceptance. In order for art, music, technology, and fashion to move forward you have to be audacious.” I feel that I have to be the change I want to see in the world and by living my life, everyday, allowing myself the freedom to be whoever I want to be (fearless of judgment), maybe, one day, I can inspire someone else to do the same. I will live in accordance with what dictates how I feel, unafraid of any force outside the confines of my being.

In short, I try not to be affected by mother culture because I think that it can dilute and suppress the being. That is not to say that I don’t feel pressure to be a certain way considering I live as a part of society along with everyone else, but it is constantly my intention to be free and to always be myself.
( I have a fucking Born This Way tattoo on my finger… I’m reminded every day)

Brian Ulrich's Website

Here's a link to Brian Ulrich's website

You need to pick an image from the "Copia" project to discuss here.

To summarize what we discussed today:

1) Describe

2) Analyze

3 Interpret

Ishmael comment

 By mother culture, I believe Ishmael means an omnipresent voice, the universal voice, the voice that tells and retells the story of humans. It's important for him to find individuals who are able to distinguish mother culture in their own lives and see patterns and look at the bigger picture. He needs people who question, ponder, mull over instances and events and encounters and incidents. It is important to him also because he's spent so much time in a cage thinking about overall questions. Observation goes a long way. Observation can yield theories and evidence can support these theories and ideas about human nature and the human race and behavior and why things are the way they are. I hope that statement isn't too vague but a lot of things in the world are astoundingly devastating and the simplest notion as to how to solve some problems can be the most difficult to explain. Observation and analysis of the world require deep thinking and frankly, a lot of people don't think about it because it's scary and once you start you can't really move on with your own life. The world doesn't make sense. People haven't always been one way and blaming human nature is silly. The prospect of the all knowing universe and not knowing some things; well some people can't handle it.

Mother culture is a constant contributor to my stream of consciousness and to my decisions. It's on the back burner but I've never stop pondering why is this a certain way and why is it so easy for some people to mindlessly accept and adopt societal beliefs when they are so agonizingly wrong? It's made me spacey and on a whole other brain wave length than most of my peers, and when I have explained it or jumped to a different reference I get blank stares. My friends have joked I'm like an old Greek man watching the birds and rattling on about life. Mother culture can persuade people into a certain mentality, and once it's recognizable searching for answers comes almost intrinsically.

It's part of the reason I'm so impatient and frustrated with my generation and with American society. We are all so reliant on technology and self absorbed and I feel even more isolated to people. In Chicago it's easier to strike up a conversation on the train since people are friendly, but I'm not ever sure if people are going to understand what the hell I'm talking about because in order to explain mother culture and all you have to have experienced the questions, the period of wonder, of searching for truth and answers. Perhaps more obviously people can base their morality by what they hear and see about and such which I don't think makes a very good sense of judgement. We have a weird sense of morality, I think, and revenge is commonly accepted and condoned, even, to my surprise, amongst children. "An eye for an eye." But poor behavior shouldn't create an opportunity to get back at someone. It's fucked up, if you think about it. Everyone's on their high horse about everything and that's allowed because everyone wants to seem better than everyone else. If it's about watching T.V. or recycling we do it to either to look good in front of others or because we really want to save the environment. Mostly getting to the top is on everyone's to do list, and so then surfaces another morality sub point: lying, cheating, and stealing. Mother culture is the voice that when you begin to formulate your own beliefs, you question. I'm not sure how much of this makes sense.

Mother Culture

The Mother Culture is the culture that all Taker cultures stem from. This is why no matter where you go, with the exception of a few Leaver cultures, the underlying ideal of Taker cultures are the same. Ishmael realizes this is why man believes he is the end result of evolution, and because of this the Takers are taking what they want from nature believing it was made for them.

Ishmael

In Ishmael, Mother Culture is the continual progression of society from the previous cultural facets. Mother Culture also differentiates the tankers from the leavers. The takers are the culture that the narrator belongs to while the leavers are all the other cultures with the exception of the takers.

I would describe mother culture in my life as pretty much everything from the media to my parents. All of these things are influential parts to my culture as a whole. Mother Culture influences my ideas, thoughts, decisions, and perceptions. It influences my moral habits because it establishes right from wrong, bad from good, attractive from hideous, etc. Mother culture influences almost every one of these moral habits because it serves as an established order. By grouping images or texts and then declaring them as either right or wrong, or good or bad, mother culture creates this dividing line between a huge array of things.
-Alexander Cumming

“Mother culture” to Ishmael means, I think, that the takers (the narrator's culture) and leavers (every other culture). Ishmael says that “Mother Culture” concludes that the leavers' story is the first chapter of humankind's development and the takers are the second chapter. It’s important to him because he feels that his “mother culture” is what makes him who he is. “Mother culture” in my own life would be the culture in which I was brought up in, the environment in which I started to develop and that would be a Greek Orthodox household. I guess you can call that my “mother culture”, my household growing up is all I knew and help develop myself into the person I am today. Your moral habits are influenced by “mother culture” because that is what you were brought up with and help better yourself in decision making. “Mother culture” influences my perception of right and wrong by creating a self moral system within yourself. Once you see things and are more aware of the world, you can see the right and wrong and with the “mother culture” you were brought up with you can decide what’s right from what’s wrong. 

Ishmael and Mother Culture

Mother Culture is the concept that everything we have now and in the future that is given moves our society forward.  "Mother Culture is a quiet voice that moves your whole society.  Mother Culture includes everything in your existence that perpetuates a mentality of domination and dominion."  This concept is important to Ishmael because it is to realize the differences between leavers and takers motivation and reason.

I would not like to consider myself as a taker according to this novel but in many ways I am.  According to this book we are all takers, one who takes what they need in order to survive anyone who are not hunters and gatherers are takers, not leavers.  So Mother Culture to me should mean that I go by the taking and destroying earth morals basically, this sort of talk in my head.  But I am not a fan of how black and white these two terms are so therefore mother culture for me would be giving back to mother the best I can, and showing respect to my home, these types of voices in my head.  If mother culture is that voice in ones head that tells them how behave in a certain place and time then i do follow the voices but most definitely not all of the time or often enough.   


How does mother culture inform how you make decisions?
Mother culture is everything i guess since the  beginning.  So here we are now and we can see how we have made our decisions from how poorly in shape our home is and how our fellow man lives his life now.  Poor decisions were made.

 How are you moral habits influenced by mother culture?
Well mother culture is everything, it is the voice in our head that tells us how to act a certain way to get by in society.  I don't like to think all of my habits are influenced by mother culture and yet they are.  

Mother Culture represents how things are going now, right now.  How everyone is caught up in their own shit and not so much worrying about everyone's shit as a whole, in togetherness.  This is a singular time period.   So by thinking this I think mother culture influences my perception of right and wrong as we are all in a time of wrong.  Some have the right idea, but most don't seem to grasp it or just don't have the strength or courage to grasp it. 

My idea of Mother Culture

If I understand the concept of Mother Culture, and I'm not sure that I do, it seems to be the concept that if you do not adhere to the standards of life and culture, you won't be fed or allowed to live. I assumed it is named as such for it's similarity to an actual mother. If you don't abide by the rules of your mother, then you're to go to bed without dinner! The concept is important to him because he's the only one who has realized it exists. And now that he realizes its existence, he is upset there is no other way to live. Or it seems implied by how he has talked to the antagonist saying that Mother Culture (along with his other teachings) will forever be evident in his life from then on. To me, it seems like Mother Culture is, in itself, a set of religious beliefs. A different version of the ten commandments, if you will. It is much simpler though. It simply says, "Cooperate, and you will be fed." It leaves much more space for interpretation on ethics. I, myself, have to cooperate in the way that I go to school, get a job, make money, and have a family just like anyone else. In my mind, Mother Culture applies to everyone in the same way. Does anyone disagree? Maybe I didn't understand the text correctly.

Matthew

How would you describe mother culture in your own life?

From what I understand, Mother Culture, in the novel, is the embodiment of the culture around us and all of our influences, whether it is the media, our parents, friends, teachers, etc. In my own life, Mother Culture is all around. Whether it’s my train ride to school or my teachers talking, I intake each bit of information and retain that knowledge for later. It’s also my aspect on life, everything I see, whether it is significant or not, it might affect me later. Like for example, when I look at an ad in a magazine, I might not immediately think that I’ll link this ad when I think about something later, but unknowingly that might just happen. Mother culture is the music I listen to and the books I read and the homework I do. Mother Culture is sort of like this large ambiguous figure that has no definite black and white answer but rather is a large gray area that covers many different diverse areas of culture and visual stimulation. Mother Culture is all around us, and there really isn’t a way to escape it, but rather embrace and discover more about ourselves. 

-Frank

Questions for Discussion: DUE BY MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27th

After you have read the first chuck of Ishmael, discuss one or more the following questions. I encourage you to discuss things with other class members too:

• What does Ishmael mean by “mother culture” and why is this concept important to him?
• How would you describe mother culture in your own life?
• How does mother culture inform how you make decisions?
• How are you moral habits influenced by mother culture?
• Elaborate on how mother culture influences your perception of right and wrong?

My Community's Glossary

• Yo - Hello
• What's good? - How are you doing? or What are you doing right now?
• I am going to cop ... - I am going to get...
• Brew - Beer
• Plug - A good drug dealer
• Y'all - You all
• Teenaiders - Teen consular  in school
• Dip - Leave in a hasty manner
• 33rd - Our local prison
• Tepee - To cover someones house with toilet paper
• Wildcats - Our school's animal and team names
• The Village - The local movie theater
• Bro - A guy who usually plays sports or is popular.

-Alex Cumming

Slang Tang!

 Ay yo!- Hey.

Amped- very excited.

Stoked- another word for amped.

 Noms- yummy food.

Let me Peep that- look at. 

Mobbing out- To leave.

 Shaka-  hang loose.

Dope- awesome, cool.

Sweet- another word for dope.

Sip- drink up!

Fo sho!- most definitely.

Fuck that noise- stop the sounds.

 Bail out- To get away from.

Whudd up!- Hows it going.

Whats good- another way of saying whats up.

Killer- Cool.\

Dude- Friend, or some random.

Rage it- party time.

Crispy- nice, or fresh looking.

Goober- goofy.

Tokin- smoking mj.

Chill-hang out, cool down.

Dank- sweet.

Danky danks- good food. 

Munchin- eating.

Dirty filthy beats- dubstep.

Hyped- excited.

slangg

This glossary has some east coast slang, and some I made up/ heard growing up...

mo' = moron, an idiot, (i.e. why are you being such a mo?!) also mofo sometimes
wahtah bubblah= water bubbler, what we call drinking fountains
wicked= adverb, (i.e. that was wicked good!!) to describe something, it's usually for emphasis
fancy- all dressed up and someone who's a smart aleck. (oh you think you're fancy huh?)
iight= all right, o.k., sounds good, or good luck with that
punkassbitch= someone who's being difficult
putz= someone who's being difficult or not paying attention
schlep= to lug around, sometimes used if you want to be dramatic
peafowl= an idiot, "stop being a peafowl"
za=pizza
show show= shower
breet breet = burrito
home slice = close friend
dumbass = one of my siblings
funky fresh= sounds good
like a boss= when someone did something amazing


I say things like "that was a shit-ton of rice, or I just did a fuck-ass homework assignment" but that's usually when I'm on a dramatic role....

L-Town

I'm from Livonia, MI and most of the words I am putting in this are for people from Michigan in general, not just Livonia. 

1. L-Town: Livonia, the name of our city.
 2. H.D.: This stands for Handy Dip, an ice cream shoppe in Livonia that everybody goes to.
3. CoPa: Comerica Park (Stadium where the Detroit Tigers play).
4. Pop: Soda.
5. Michigander: Someone from Michigan.
6. Up North: Vacation spot in Northern Michigan, usually around Gaylord, MI, where many people like to travel to, to hangout, ski, or go hunting.
7. Doorwall: Sliding glass door (I'm not sure if this is a Michigan thing or not but I have heard that it is).
8. The Joe: The Joe Louis Arena in Detroit where the Red Wings play.
9. Michigan Left: While driving, turning right to go left.
10. The U.P.: Michigan's upper peninsula.

PRSNL DCTNRY

Within a tale of my life, you might hear phrases like "I'm over it" or "I'm so past the point" to suggest my ambivalence towards a subject that I'm beyond caring about or the word "literally" used frequently to stress the reality of a situation. I tend to use phrases and say things that dramatically mock a stereotypical flamboyant gay man to poke fun at myself for obviously being very visually homosexual. For example, when given a mint I may say, "No thank you, it has too many carbs," or use the word "bitch" as a term of endearment when picking up the phone call of a close friend.
How my friends and I talk is very theatrical. Everything is overemphasized and very loud.
Another phrase I say a lot is "Oh my god, I'm literally going to die" even if what has caused such a reaction is, in reality, something as simple as needing a glass of water without possessing the ability to remove myself from my seat.
I think that this language of extremities works so well for me because it removes the monotony from my day and allows me to exist as a fantastic and colorful character even in the most dreary parts of reality.

Glossary

Rad: something thats really good/cool

Hard/Raw: same as rad, but a step up from rad

Boag: a cigarette

Queeze: alcohol that isnt beer

Brew: beer

Scrub: someone who does something stupid/someone who sucks

Cop: to obtain something

Hit Up: to call someone/contact them in some form

"The Move": typically when kids are trying to find out where a party is, they hit up their friend and ask "where's the move?"

 Whip: your car

to "Scoop": to pick someone up in your whip

to "Swing" something: to pass something; "swing me that drink"

Slang

Gnar-gnar - cool

Dank - cool

Carebear - term used in games used to describe someone who's new to player vs. player

Scrub - idiot, tool

Leet or 1337 - good, awesome, skilled

HAM - acronym for hard as a muthafucka

Muckalucka - used in place of muthafucka when kids are around

Derp/Herp - stupid

The Rats - referring to my Moms chihuahuas

Play in the sandbox - telling a game tester to "play in the sandbox" means to test something in a controlled area that doesn't actually exist in the final product. Usually used to test numbers or find bugs.

confused...?

Hey I'm just a little confused about the any media self portrait and the rationale statement...can someone clarify it? like it says 3 studies but what does that mean exactly?

Thanks,
Frank

p.s. it's all due Wednesday right?

Dope Glossary

The average words used by Matthew McMillin on a daily basis:

Dope: Cool

Sick: Cool

Nice one!: Cool!

Pro: Cool

Fresh: Cool

Dude: Friend or Asshole (depending on tone)

Bro: Friend or Person who wears tapout, backwards visors, plays beer pong regularly

Skrill(a): Money or Cool

Reekris: Cool

Hot chocolate: Cool

Mack: (v) Flirt

Noms: Food

UC: University Center

South Loop: Downtown Train intersection

Yummies: Food

B-room: Bathroom

Za: Pizza

Slang

Gotchu- I understand what you're saying.

Raw/Sick- Something that is cool.

Boo- One of your girls.

Bay / Babie- “Baby” as in your significant other or close friend.

Dat Shit Cray- That’s crazy.

Ight- Alright.

Ku- Cool.

Shyt- Wow / could be taken in positive or negative context.

Cracker- A white person.

Lame- Something or someone that is stupid or silly.

Flame- Something that is delicious.

Leggo’- “Let’s go.”

Goin’ Ham- Partying really hard, “Go hard or go home.”

Straight- It’s cool / it’s alright / I’m cool / I’m alright.

words of the hood

The glossary below contains terms that my friends and I commonly use in our community:

Bitch- gender neutral, what my friends and I call each other.

Gur- shortened version for “girl”.

Don’t Even- saying someone is lying or telling false info.

Skeezy- referring to someone who is gross.

Birch- another version of using “bitch.”

Booka- a term of endearment that my best friend and I call each other.

Bookers- a different version for “booka.”

Fancy- meaning that someone looks good.

Czerwone- polish word for “red”, the code word my friend and I use when talking about people near us.

The Queen- typically referring to Lindsay Lohan or another celebrity.

Huntie- a term of endearment, same meaning as honey.

Celtic Woman- referring to a girl with red/orange hair.

Trick- a way to address anyone, usually a joke.

Chu- another way to say “you”

Pinku- referring to my job at PINK.  

Busted- when a girl looks bad in what she is wearing or how she presents herself.

Glam- referring to someone who looks absolutely stunning.

Boo- when someone is disappointing and doesn’t follow through.

Babies- referring to my dogs, Carlos & Lucy.

Hola Gatita- literally translates to Hello Kitty, one of my nicknames at work. 

The Ghetto- the bad part of Hanover Park and Streamwood.

-Frank

averageslang

people places and things


B-Town: Berwyn, Illinois. The town that I live in.

B Dubbz: Buffalo Wild wings. yuck -___-

Cheap: used to identify anything bothersome. Ex. If someone is annoying you can either call them a cheap kid or say "Cheeeeeeeeeeap"

Flame: when something is good, it's flame. I hate when people say this. some people say fire too, but it's like the same thing I think.

Kid: anyone, usually just a person around the same age. used to speak of them when they're not around. Like  "that kid is so funny"

Match it: put in equal amount

Ratchet: how you address someone who has gone too far and/or is out of control


Shady: sketchy person or place

Shystee: what you call people when they're extra shady. Ex."That kid's shystee he stole an ipod from her at your party."

Shysteeville: Joke name for the less nice part of Berwyn, separated by the tracks. The side I live on lol

The train: Usually referring to the Blue Line, if not than the Metra. but most likely the blue line.

Taco: Taco Bell!

Troll: Someone who bothers people and starts arguments


"Tssss": noise a lot of Berwynites tend to make when they speak. Not sure how it started, but it's embedded in their speech and has grown to be involuntary. Ex. "Let's go downtown tsss"


West: The high school I went to, Morton West. There's East too.

ZAH:  my van:)

boat slang

scuttle but- water fountain
bulkhead- walls
p-way- passageway
hatch- door
head- restroom
galley- lunch time!
berthing- living quarters
shit bag - bad sailor
liberty- free time
pollywog- haven't crossed the equator
booter- coming straight from boot camp
balls- midnight "balls to eight watch"
chit- paper asking for permission
ay ay- acknowledgment
muster- report to your group

These are just a few words used onboard a ship. Because the military is so diverse I was also introduced to a few other words. Im interested to see what others post to test my street/geek knowledge.

Blog Assignment!

The famous linguist Benjamin Lee Whorf stated that "language is not simply a reporting device for experience, but a framework for it."

Our America begins with a “Ghetto Glossary” or a list of esoteric terms, terms that someone from within the community in the book would likely use and understand that someone from outside the community might not understand.

If you were to write a book chronicling the life of people from your own community, what terms and words would you include in a glossary at the beginning of your book? That is, what terms and words do people in your own community frequently use that people from outside of your community might not be familiar with or understand?

Similarities within The Amish & College Students

The liminal period is very confusing to the Amish, because they truly are put out into a world culturally different from what they are used to and in the end they need to make a choice. Just like college students, college students  are given more freedoms and responsibilities and in the end also have to make a choice that predicts their future. They are both alike in a sense, they are both very confusing times for teens or adults going through this. They are given just enough freedom to experience life, but in the end have to become responsible adults and eventually make a choice. During Rumspringa the Amish have the opportunity to for once be an individual and experience life beyond the Amish church. During the college years, college students have the opportunity to live life and decide what they want to study and become. They are both very similar in the sense of freedom and decision making. This time can be very stressful and confusing, finding out what they truly want and not just what their parents want for them. They now have the right to decide for themselves in what path they choose for themselves. 

Stupid.

In my opinion I believe this liminal period, 'Rumpspringa' is so confusing for the Amish for multiple reasons. One they're already basically stunt at a early age with this pause in their education. So they are ignorant to anything but their own church. It's no wonder 90% choose their church in the end. It's just safe. It's also betrayed that the English/American way of life is "sinful" and it's embedded that they can't and won't survive this way.


 I have a mixed outlook towards the Amish community. At first I couldn't believe this is legal. That the government would allow this. Then I'm thinking the government should provide a program for the amish during their 'Rumpspringa'.  Like a grant or even a safe house. ... THEN I researched that the Amish are exempt from certain taxes. So even if they do choose the American life are they even aware that they could apply for social security benefits and they don't need the crutch, their church? I just feel that their "elders" neglect to show them the benefits of becoming an "englishman" actually has. Which forces these children to stay at their church. 
Maybe there is something ... like a pamphlet? to guide these kids. Yet, from what I gathered it isn't a choice but more of a handicap they bestow on their children which becomes a guarantee they will be back. 

Rumpspringa

      I would infer that this liminal period when the Amish are exposed to the 'English' world is confusing to them because they have never been exposed to this type of social and physical environment. It is as if almost everything from automobiles to air conditioning is completely foreign to this young adults and they have to quickly adjust their life styles to respond to all of these exotic amenities.
      I would think that these young Amish adults initially find conflict between their individual freedoms and their communal responsibilities at first when they are exposed to the outside world. However, since most young adults return to the Amish church after Rumpspringa, I would imagine that most of them understand why their religious practices demand such a strong bond between the members of the community. Additionally, the consequences of not returning to the church after Rumpspringa such as being excommunicated and ostracized also deeply affects their decision too.

The Devils Playground and Liminal period

 Why is the liminal period so confusing to these Amish?
I think the liminal period is so confusing to these Amish teens is because all of their lives they have been taught how to live by others and by god.  So when they turn 16 they finally are able to teach themselves how to live and lead their own lives and this scares them.  Without these orders of how to live, these kids are set loose to the world and easily influenced to go down wretched paths.  Paths filled with drugs, sex and violence, far from what they are used to.  When these things are far from what they are used to they are interesting and accepted by the young naive Amish teens.  

springing into rumspringa

 I think that the Amish find their liminal period to be so difficult because of of the obvious differences between  our 'culture'. Being exposed to an entirely different world can't be easy, and it's overwhelming. My guess is that most Amish decide to stay because they feel more comfortable wit what they are familiar with.  During Rumspringa they lose their important family values because its a push to temporary independence.  Personally, I think that the change is too drastic too handle. I feel like they all feel lost and try whatever new they can during this time, because they feel the pressure of  'there's so much out there'. And that backfires because they don't always get the best experiences out of it and decide that their Amish life has more to offer. But I guess if we were to try the opposite, we would choose to stay ourselves because people generally like what they know and are familiar with. As for me, I don't really feel like I'm in any liminal period. I feel more lost when I go to a restaurant I've never tried than when I started college. I didn't really have to adjust to Columbia in anyway besides taking more money out of wallet and more time out of my day to get there and back.

Devil's Playground

I think that many of the Amish youth choose to go back to the Amish religion instead of staying with the American people because they have been brought up their entire lives believing that the only good way of life is the Amish way of life. When the Amish youth go out to enjoy their Rumspringa period, I do not think many of them see it as a possible way of life for the rest of their life. I think they see it only as a chance to get away from their parents, the rules, and to just have fun. After a couple years of this they get bored of doing the same thing over and over again, and finally decide to go back to what many of them believe as the proper way of life. Also a lot of them are probably encouraged by their parents to come back. They are brought up to believe that the English customs are the "devil's playground", so I think that also plays a role in them wanting to go back because they don't want to feel like they are going to go to hell by not going back.

amish assignment

I don't think the period of Rumpspringa gives Amish youth a very accurate reflection of American life. It's not healthy to release them into a whirlwind tour of drugs and alcohol with unlimited freedom; that's not how it is with every teenager, just overly sheltered ones who finally get a taste of freedom. The limited space for them to explore the Devil's Playground set them up to go back to the Amish church because it's familiar. It's what they know and predictable.They get an inflated experience of how American life can be, not what it is on a day to day basis. Sure if I wanted to I could get hammered as a piece of sheet metal every day and go to class and my life could be in a circular motion spinning wildly out of control, but in reality it's not. Most have a routine just as the Amish have a routine of chores and whatever other values of the religion that are incorporated into every day life. They go back because during Rumpspringa their lives are fun, and crazy, and uncharted ground and the consequences are immediate. So they become discouraged after a couple parties. The Amish relish hard work, chores, being devoted and having strong moral convictions. They are living with a strong "connection" to God which has been engrained in their brains for as long as they can remember. They are also so removed from American life the farm, community and religious values are basically all they know. They are devoted and unless something from American life is seriously tempting or keeping them from going back to the church, they go back because of they see the immediate results of irresponsible and reckless behavior, which is not at all what American life is all the time, it's a distortion of it. It's what American teenagers do; we try on different identities and after that generally go back to our original personalities. Maybe not. Maybe just in my experience. I think we really stay who we are but during our teenage years we are fairly susceptible to being influenced and swayed by others around us but in the end the sense of self/ values veto and impeach whatever person/group of people we were trying to be like.

And yes, the liminal period of college is confusing as heck. I want more humanities classes and when I'm in them I want more art classes. I want to be an artist but I don't want to be surrounded by artists, I hate our general holier-than-thou mentality. I want to be productive and pro-active at the same time explore Chicago and network but I don't even know if I want to be a fine artist, documentary film maker, comedian, or screenwriter. And I miss the east coast terribly. How am I supposed to find my identity when I have a shaky sense of self and I can't even remember what I ate for breakfast?