Musings of a Collge Student

When the Snow Thaws

2010-10-21T03:32:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, perhaps a few weeks ago, on a college campus not-so-far-away, lives Loraine “Rain” White.

Loraine White

The film begins with Rain walking down a crowded, bustling street, which eventually becomes apparent that it is actually a college campus. While talking to an academic advisor, we learn that Rain is a senior Biology major that has just transferred from a small school several states away because her mother is a music teacher and was recently hired by the university.

Her mother, learning of the prestigious vocal performance group on campus, encourages Rain to try out as a way to get involved. Though very musically talented herself, Rain gets debilitating stage-fright in front of others and is quickly rejected by popular group and their leader, Leah Morewhich.

Adam aka "Doc"

"Grumps"

After this, Rain doesn’t spend a lot of time trying to acclimate to her new school, preferring to spend the majority of her time in the Biology department working with the animals they keep on campus. This is where she is happiest- singing and talking to the animals, studying alone. It is here during one of her song and dance performances for her furry friends, that a young man catches her. All she learns is that his name is Derek Prince before she bolts and heads to her first day of work at a local sandwich and coffee shop known as “The Cottage”. Her co-workers quickly become her best friends, especially Adam, who is fondly referred to as “Doc” by his friends due to his pre-med status. The rest of her eccentric friends (Snugz, the teddy bear with a tough-guy exterior; Grumps, the witty rebel; Lupe “Loopy”, the hyperactive coffe-addict; Red, who blushes in the blink of an eye; Sniffles, who has constant, terrible allergies; and Comfy, who can fall asleep anywhere) are actually quite musically talented as well, as Rain finds out during a clean-up jam session that will sound similar to the musical stylings heard in another Disney film.

"Loopy"

Doc works with Rain to get over her stage-fright, and she ends up headlining a show at The Cottage. However as soon as she steps out onto the stage and sees Leah in the crowd, she loses her nerve and freezes up. Derek Prince ends up on stage, singing “Lucky” and coaxing Rain to sing with him, breaking her out of the spell.

"Comfy"

After the performance, Derek asks her out and Rain politely declines. Her friends overhear and Lupe exclaims “Oh, cold! Forget Rain, we’re gonna call you Snow!” When asked why she didn’t choose Prince, Rain explains she has everything that she needs already as she looks around her group of friends, finally landing on Doc. “And just in case you didn’t recognize it, that’s the first song you actually got me to sing in front of people, even if it was these clowns. He didn’t break the spell, you did.” And with a shocked expression on his adorable geeky face, Doc gets the girl and they live happily ever after. At least until graduation…

"Snugz"

In keeping with the Disney storyline, the focus of the story (Rain/Snow White) ends up in a place that is unfamiliar to her and takes solace in the non-judgment of animals. She befriends a group of caring, entertaining individuals who each have a unique personality and truly care about their friend. There is an evil witch character (Leah) and a prince (Derek), though their roles may be even more minor in this version than they were in the original. It is still true love that breaks the spell and frees our protagonist, however the twist her is that it is the love of her friends, and her memories of singing with Doc in particular, that gives her the courage to be herself. We discussed in class how even the Prince does nothing to impact Snow White’s life other than show up and kiss her, she still chooses to ride off into the sunset with him. In this modern version, Rain chooses the guy that challenged her, who didn’t allow her to settle.

Derek Prince

Jeffords would consider Rain to be a Disney feminist- she’s getting a college education, she’s witty (sometimes to the point of being a smart-ass) and she’s willing to stand up for herself, not to mention Demi Lovato is already a Disney star. I also wanted to give her mother a little more of an influential role, though after being the initial catalyst for auditioning, Haas would argue she is mainly a “silent other”. I also took careful consideration in “casting” the The Cottage kids- they are of mixed race, culture, shape, attitude, and even sex. Disney has often been criticized for its stereotypical portrayal of minorities so this was important, as was the casting of a lead who is fairly racially ambiguous. I felt like it would make her more relatable, as audiences tend to latch onto characters and stories they can personally relate to.

It’s filled with the song and dance performance numbers that have become so popular in today’s entertainment, with witty one-liners and a happy ending. It’s “Snow White” meets “Glee” with an M. Night Shyamalan twist! Ok, so it’s no “Sixth Sense”, but it is unexpected.

References

"Eighty-Six the Mother" by Lynda Haas- http://tlearn.trinity.edu/file.php/4592/Haas_Eighty-Six_the_Mother.pdf

"You Can't Lionize the Lion" by Byrne- http://tlearn.trinity.edu/file.php/4592/Byrne_Lionize_the_Lion.pdf

"The Curse of Masculinity" by Susan Jeffords- http://tlearn.trinity.edu/file.php/4592/Jeffords_the_Curse_of_Masculinity.pdf

The Magic of Disney: The Company Behind It All

2010-09-28T00:39:00.000-07:00

Contrary to their image, it takes a lot more than magic and fairy dust to keep the Walt Disney Company running. Like most entrepreneurial enterprises, corporate Disney has had its ups and downs. The first milestone for the Disney company would be the production of "The Alice Comedies" in 1923. This comic strip turned live animation set the bar for Disney, and introduced the blossoming company into the world of production.

The comany continued to grow, create, and release films and animations but a noteworthy milestone would have to be the hiring of Michael Eisner as CEO of the Disney company. Eisner, along with Frank Wells (president) and the rest of "Team Disney", brought new leadership and vision to a faltering company. The more experienced team managed to drastically increase annual profits and stock value, while understanding that in order to maintain success they could not stay stagnant. Under Eisner, the company expanded into other media/business activities and diversified the Disney label. Eventually, their acquisitions would lead to the multitude of subsidiaries that are a part of the Disney empire today.

Similarly, another huge milestone would be the acquistion of Capital Cities/ABC, which put television stations, radio stations, newspapers, and claim to cable networks. These media outlets created a synergy in the company in which they could grow, expand, and promote upon each other. For a more extensive look at major events in the company's history, this timeline, which shows major corporate events with theatrical movie releases as well as other premieres.

It does surprise me that for as much success as the Disney company has enjoyed, they have also been faced with much criticism, even from their own employees. The Disney Blog posted this announcement after Roy E. Disney decided to drop their lengthy campaign against the Disney board.

In my opinion, the key to Disney's success is their ability to mix forward thinking with the nostalgia of childhood. This may seem contradictory, but Disney relates to its fans and consumers through the "magic" of Disney- the simplicity and innocence of animated cartoons and wholesome family messages- while doing so with new media and modern business strategies. They have managed to make to Disney brand marketable and a consumable product. Fans can purchase not only the movies, but merchandise and apparel to go along with the movies. They can visit the actual world of Disney, and listen to all of their favorite songs. But the one thing other companies could really learn from Disney is successful use of synergy- Disney uses its radio and newspapers to promote television, television shows to promote movies, movie songs get played on the radio...it's just and endless circle of self-promotion.

Because of their strong hold in several media outlets and their dominating presence in American (and even international) culture, I don't see Disney going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, I expect them to grown even further and continue to make advancements in animation and technology. I also believe they will do more community initiative programs such as their Friends for Change campaign, reaching out to communities and using their influence to affect change for the environment.

One drawback of having so many outlets, however, is that Disney must constantly monitor, protect, and re-envision its image. They have taken on a lot of social responsibility, and their fans have high expectations of anyone and anything affiliated with the Disney brand. So one major challenge they face is making sure that everything tied to the name Disney meets with those expectations (I'm thinking specifically of Disney Channel stars and entertainers such as Miley Cyrus) or risk compromising their reputation and image. But is this pressure to maintain a wholesome image deserved? Is it Disney's responsibility to provide role models for our youth, and how much power should we give them to determine what an appropriate role model should be?

References

CS 1300 Advice

2007-11-29T10:45:00.000-08:00

To the students taking this class next semester, no matter how trivial and redundant some of the lessons may be, always pay attention and do the practices- you will definitely learn things you didn't know before.

Class Website and Stumper Comments

2007-11-28T18:39:00.000-08:00

I was really impressed with everyone's websites, but the ones that truly stood out for me were Natalie's, Holly's, and Sarah's. I loved the simple yet ecclectic layout of Natalie's, Holly's colors went really well together and I loved the way she made her pictures semi-transparent, and the photos used in Sarah's really showed off the personalities of her and her friends. To see more comments on their websites, click the following links:

Websites
1. Sarah's
2.Holly's
3.Natalie's

My favorite Stumper pictures were Alex's, Kate's, and Paul's, because they were all really original pictures, and I enjoyed the clues and comments that accompanied the pictures. To see my comments, and others, on their Stumpers, see the links below.

Stumpers
1.Alex's
2.Kate's
3.Paul's

Trinity Stumper

2007-11-20T13:10:00.000-08:00

How well do you know Trinity's campus? Do you think you know it fairly well? Test your knowledge by seeing if you can figure out where this picture was taken.

Sam's Homepage

2007-11-20T11:43:00.000-08:00

Come visit my website! Hopefully this webpage will give you a little more insight into what makes me, well, me. Enjoy!

Bad PowerPoint Presentations

2007-10-23T11:55:00.001-07:00

I enjoyed all of the 'horrible' presentations on what not to do when creating a Power Point, but I especially enjoyed Juan's, Alex's, and Andre's. I loved that all of Juan's slides were white and barely readable, and his presentation was very amusing! Alex did a great job making all of the slides clash with obnoxious colors, and I really liked that she included charts and graphs with distracting values. The use of distracting animation and colors was also very well done in Andre's presentation. After seeing all of the wonderfully-terrible presentations, things you should remember to do when giving a Power Point presentation are:

Include title pages for your slides, using a large, bold font
Use simple, color coordinated backgrounds and colors
use appropriate pictures and animations to make the presentation captivating, but don't use too many!
Coordinate text fonts and sizes so that it looks professional and is easy to follow
Make text size legible
Use short, concise statements in a bulleted format
Include a bibliography for any cited sources, including pictures

For another example of what NOT to do during a Power Point presentation, follow this link:

http://www.cs.trinity.edu/~sbrusnig/bad_files/frame.htm

Samantha Brusnighan

Copyright Policies

2007-10-01T19:48:00.000-07:00

In today's tech-savvy world, copyright infringements can become a problem. Technically, as soon as anything as fixed in a tangible form (ie printed off or published) it is protected by copyright laws. In certain instances, photos can be used without citing the sources. For example, students may freely use other’s works, as long as the work (say a Powerpoint including video-clips) is displayed only temporarily, and on a secure sight (like Blackboard). All other works, photos included, are most likely protected by copyright laws. Some photos may not display an explicit copyright policy; these should still be cited, but permission for use does not need to be obtained. If a photo does have explicit copyright policy, has displayed that permission must be given for use, the appropriate information should be cited and actual permission granted for use of the photo.

My Response: Time's Person of the Year and Web 2.0

2007-09-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

I was happily surprised when I read the Time's "Person of the Year" article- I was not expecting anything so entertaining, nor so optimistic about the future of our society. Apart from the fact that the article itself seemed more blog-like than an informative article, I loved the fact that instead of naming one single person who made a contribution to a specific cause (or didn't, they just look good on the front of a magazine), it was anyone and everyone who was recognized. While it did not try to hide the fact that there are still horrible things happening globally, it brought attention to the fact that we, ordinary citizens, are aware of it and talking about it openly. It is no longer just the small group of informed scholars/specialists that can talk about global issues.

This also ties into the article I read: Web 2.0 at Work. The article includes trends that have helped to 'accelerate the upsurge' of Web 2.0, including the development of social networks such as Facebook and Youtube, broader availabilty of 'user-friendly' software, the search for ways to use information in a more productive way, and the rising importance of knowledge workers. The article also lists ways in which companies such as Northwestern Mutual and Motorola have used Web 2.0 applications to facilitate both workers and consumers alike, primarily through tools such as Blogs, Mashups, and Wikis.

Although the article mentions nothing about the longevity of Web 2.0, it is optimistic about its uses for the present and near future, even saying that "within a few years, rich, collaborative software platforms that include a slate of technologies like wikis, blogs, integrated search, and unified communications will be the norm...". I agree with this statement- while I am in no way an expert on such topics, I do know, as a college student constantly on her computer, that such interactive tools are becoming more popular, easier to use, and more essential to communicating every day. For now I expect this to continue to grow and become an even more powerful communications tool.

Samantha Brusnighan

Experience with Microsoft Word

2007-09-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

During my Junior year of high school I took BCIS, which provided me with a very good understanding of Microsoft Word. I am comfortable doing most things with Word, including inserting pictures and Clip Art, grouping, changing the color of pictures, text layout and formatting, inserting files from other documents, and page layouts. I would however, like to review how to use the paint and drawing tools that Word offers.

Samantha Brusnighan

Intro Blog

2007-08-23T11:56:00.000-07:00

Hi! My name is Samantha Brusnighan, but you can call me Sam.

I love learning- I know that sounds cliche but discovering something you didn't know before, or finally getting something to click, is the greatest high ever. Last year I did an internship at Moody Gardens which included doing a project/presnentation on animal behavior, specifically concerning the penguins I worked with. It was an amazing experience.

You could say music defines my life. I enjoy all types of music, except rap. The type of music I'm listening to reflects my mood, whether it be silly, sad, energetic, angry, etc. One inch shorter and I'd legally be a midget (or dwarf or whatever the technical term is), and I love rollercoasters. Those two things together could potentially be problematic, but I've never had it set me back (I'm also very optimistic, and you'll rarely catch me not smiling).

My computer experience is limited; I've taken BCIS and a Photojournalism class, which taught me the basic ins and outs of Photoshop, but that's about it.

So if you were to try to pick me out of a crowd, look down, and try to find the smile!

Samantha Brusnighan