I'm Thinking Arby's

The Arboretum is gorgeous, let's just put that out there. From the overall layout of the landscaping to the strategic placement of plants contrasting each other's shape and color, a lot of thought went into the aesthetics of the H.O. Botanical Garden.

One of the most interesting aspects of the garden was the sheer amount of plants and colors that seemed to remind me of other places and moods. I'm not typically the artsy-fartsy kind of person that sips wine while listening to Bach and viewing a piece by Van Gogh, but I definitely felt a strong connection with the plants. I am a nature-enthusiast as well, so I guess this connection shouldn't be that much of a shock, but I still found it interesting the heavy impression a simple tree or leaf can make on a person.

 For example, the hay featured above reminds me of all the time I spent as a kid bailing hay and hanging around the horses at a farm beside my house. It was more than just the memory of the action of riding my horse, instead, it was the feeling you get from it. After seeing this plant for one second, I was instantly feeling the same way I felt as a kid when I would throw on my cowboy boots and run down to hop on my geriatric white pony, Molly. The hay is a better reminder than a picture for some reason; it seems to take a different avenue to awaken the memory that it connects to.

As for this picture (on the left), it reminded me of the movie Gone With the Wind for some reason. I used to be forced to watch all four hours of it with my mom and my sister, and seeing a sight like this triggered that memory in my brain. Also, just viewing the open field and blue sky seems to be a very positive visual stimulant. The garden, itself, contains beauty, but the unconstrained nature of this view seems to be even more pleasing.

The Arboretum seems detailed from the macro to the micro level. From an aerial view, the stone structures, winding paths, and lush vegetation add small accents to the larger design. Also, when viewing individual plants, you see the intricacies and minute detail afforded by nature over years of evolution and development. The plant below stands out among the flowers, with its multi-tiered / multi-colored assortment of petals, but is lost in the grand scheme of the garden when you distance yourself from it. This draws an interesting parallel to students at Penn State; everyone is a unique person, but when viewing Penn State as a whole, only the large aspects standout. It also reminds me of Trix cereal, so there's that. 

But, getting back to the garden, itself, I would definitely bring my friends there when they come to visit me. It seems like one of the few places that doesn't reflect the 40,000+ student population here, which is nice when you need to hangout without people lighting cigarettes, talking on the phone, or almost hitting you with their bike.


Did anything remind you of completely unrelated memories / situations?

Did you enjoy your trip there?

Do you like Trix cereal?

Hit the comments!

My Take On the Palmer

     Recently, I visited the Palmer Museum of Art at Penn State with my English 15S class. I frequent the Carnegie Museum of Modern Art back in Pittsburgh, so it was refreshing to see different collections and presentation style at this museum. One piece in particular really stuck out to me, probably because I am easily amused by bright colors and fancy shapes... Anyhow, here's my take on it:

     First of all, the piece is by Dale Chihuly and is pictured below.

Peacock Blue and Yellow Seafoam set with Yellow Lip Wraps

Analysis: When I first approached this piece, I was immediately drawn to the colors, and then noticed the structure afterwards. The smoothness of the glass coupled with the bright contrasting blue and orange (yellow according to the artist) created a very delicate and complex scene. The piece claims that the human brain is wired to compare what it sees to what it knows, in my opinion. I instantly think of an organic, ocean-based plant when I see this piece. However, on paper, it is simply blown glass of various colors and patterns. It reminds me of the types of plants you see when you watch the Discovery Channel simply because my brain wants it to find solid footing with something I know. Also, the rhetorical decision to place it in front of a window allowed it to be illuminated and more transparent than any other piece in the museum, assigning it a distinctly light feel. This could also add to the beach-like ethos appeal of the piece, or create another claim.

     After further review of this piece, it seems like it wouldn't be a stretch to say that it is arguing the fragility of the coral reef. The piece could easily fit into somewhere like this and maintain the same delicacy and beauty of it's organic surroundings. Although it is simply colored, blown glass, it displays the same characteristics of many aspects of coral reefs. It could house fish and sea anemone, as well as survive the temperatures and general climate of a typical reef plant. This could be an incredibly off-track inference made by a freshman in college, but I really think it has some connection to environmental and oceanic life.

     As for the credibility of Dale Chihuly, further investigation reveals that he is widely renowned for his blown glass work and has quite a following. His other works have been exhibited at many museums across the world and he has brought in a reported $26 million worth of sales. Viewing more of his work, as well, helped me understand the significance of the piece at the Palmer. It was placed alone by the stairway, rhetorically assigning it more emphasis than some of the other pieces of pottery placed side by side. Without knowing the credibility of the piece, I just viewed it as another cool piece, but, after further review, it tells me I was privileged to have seen a piece from such an accomplished artist.

Also, the dude has an eye patch - instant credibility in my book.

Closing Thoughts: Overall, the Palmer turned out to be a book that shouldn't be judged by the cover. The building itself seemed small compared to what I had been used to in Pittsburgh. However, upon entering and making my way through the museum, I realized that it contained much more quality art than I expected. I definitely imagine myself going back, especially because it is free and who doesn't love free stuff?! Hopefully they will continue to bring in new exhibitions and artwork throughout my years here, as I will be looking forward to a better experience than the last for every visit.

Do you agree/disagree with my views and inferences on this piece?

What is your opinion on eyepatches?

Know any good jokes?

Leave it in the comments!

   

Curtin Call Overhaul

I just spent about an hour and a half meddling with the template, color scheme, background, and font on my blog and I still feel like it needs work. At one point my background was a cat staring at an astronaut... 

Basically, what do you guys think? Is it too dark? Too complex? Too simple? 

Help would be greatly appreciated, leave a comment if you can.

Welcome to Curtin Call

So, first of all, welcome to the blog! This post will address the rhetorical choices that went in to the creation of Curtin Call as well as a little philosophizing at the end as an added bonus, enjoy!

Blog Title: When it came to titling this blog, the possibilities seemed endless. Questions such as, "Should it be witty?", "Should it include my name?", and "Should it be detailed or vague?" arose immediately. I decided that I should pick a title that connected to my life, directly, as it is right now. The choice became easy after that and I figured you can never go wrong with alliteration. And as Forrest Gump would say, "That's all I have to say about that."

Template: I chose my template purely off of what was visually pleasing to me. I am sure that I will mess with it continually throughout the lifespan of this blog, but, as of now, I chose a template that easily shows all of the necessary links, posts, and gadgets. This template also refrains from both oversimplification and unnecessary complexity. Some templates were much too minimalist and made the blog look empty and untouched, while other cluttered it up so bad that it looked like a 14 year old girl's newsfeed on FaceBook. I found a happy medium with this template and hopefully it works for you, the reader, as well.

Color: Right now I am leaving the blog with colors that appealed to me when I made it. They happen to be Penn State colors as well, so that definitely works towards the overall theme. However, I may eventually incorporate different colors, patterns, and backgrounds that are more visually pleasing.

Font: When it comes to the meat of the blog, I like functional fonts that don't distract the reader from the content. The choice fell to Arial, a very functional and easily readable font. For the title, however, I wanted a more distinct font. Syncopate seemed easily identifiable and simplistic while still maintaining a more stylized look.

Pages: I threw the pages on the sidebar among the other gadgets because I wasn't sure how pivotal that link would be to my blog. As I further develop the blog I will most likely expand this gadget. But, as of right now, the only page I have is a short bio about me.

Sharing/Finding: My Twitter name is up on the side in case people would like to see a different side of me other than the blog. Also, I put up a subscription gadget even though I have no idea what it does (I don't visit blogs much).

Links: The links are definitely a work in progress. I may decide to link to other peoples' blogs in my class or just other blogs I find on the internet.