Amanda's English Blog

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/edward-goldman/american-museums-all-talk_b_796835.html

3 Facts:
-Good art sparks a lot of controversy when released to the public.
- " David Alfaro Siqueiros' mural in downtown L.A. was whitewashed soon after it was finished in 1932 because it offended authorities with its depiction of a crucified Indian peasant with an image of an eagle above his head as a symbol of American imperialism." - Which is interesting because the author might not have had that idea in mind when he was making it.
- The author believes that America is becoming so sensitive and wimpy, that people in America are not going to be able to express themselves freely without having to worry about a lawsuit or being verbally abused.

2 Questions:
- If art is a freedom then why are people penalized for it?
- Who can distinguish what an artist really means when they are painting something?

1 Supported Opinion:
-http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/2008/aug/26/art.olympics2012 ; Where is the line drawn between too far and not good enough? I feel as though this artist went a little bit too far with his art. He made a girls face that was kidnapped out of other younger girls hand prints, which offended a number of people. Although, they are taking measures to remove it, should he be prosecuted? I don't believe so- I think he was trying to convey a point to his viewers, but he might have taken it a step too far.

Vocab:
I did not find the vocab for this section, particularly hard.

corporeal- of the nature of the physical body

elegiac- expressing sorrow or lamentation

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/debra-levine/heady-evening-with-hedy-l_b_783165.html

3 Facts

-Hedy was very famous for her beautiful looks, but behind the scenes she was a very interesting woman.

- She was a German speaking Jewish woman, who was a celebrity in Europe before she managed to come to California.

- One of the neat things about her, is that she wasn't just a typical celebrity when she came to America because she only brought a knapsack with about 80 dollars to her name, and she was ready to start.

2 Questions

- Why did she want to come to America to act?

- How many movies did she appear in before she reached America?

1 Supported Opinion

http://www.hedylamarr.com/ ; that is her official fan page. There you can read more ab out her life and even buy prints of hers. She has made an everlasting impact in America, that we will always remember her name.

New Vocab:

cinematographer: A movie photographer, especially one who is in charge of shooting a movie.

http://lens.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/29/its-the-photographer/

3 Facts

-It was a bunch of pictures taken from a journalist in Afghanistan that was seriously injured by an explosion.

- This particular explosion left him without two of his legs and with serious internal injuries.

- A lady that was working with him, did not follow him over the hill- and she then saw the explosion and she called for help. He was able to take three more shots on his camera before he was too weak to hold it.

2 Questions

- What specifically was he trying to photograph?

- Is the amount of injuries of photographers necessary to the documentation of the wars?

1 Supported Opinion

http://joaosilva.photoshelter.com/ ;

They started this blog to help raise money for him and his rehabilitation. This is going to be a long hall for him, but he is very lucky to have survived the blast with only the few injuries.

New Vocab:

The vocabulary was not particularly challenging, as I found the words were clear and concise of trying to get the message across.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/01/arts/music/01hofmann.html?_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

3 Facts

- Peter Hofmann sang opera, in musicals and surprisingly enough even rock-n-roll which made him impressive because he had a voice that could sing it all.

- He passed away from pneumonia at the young age of 66, this past Tuesday, November 30th.

- Hofmann was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and soon after retired in 1999.

2 Questions

- What inspired him to start singing Opera and studying classical music as opposed to Rock?

- How did he become famous?

1 Supported Opinion

http://www.tributes.com/show/Peter-Hofmann-89885396 ; this talked about how he bridged the gap between the entertainment business and also the performing classical business. He was more than just one genre of music.

New Vocab:

Parkinson's Disease: A progressive nervous disease occurring most often after the age of 50, associated with the destruction of brain cells.

Generally speaking the vocabulary was very easy for me, I did not find anything challenging.