Required reading

When I first found out that one of the required textbooks for my English class was a children's book, I didn't know what to expect. I wondered how stories intended for little kids could possibly have enough rhetorical importance to be used in a college-level course. Slightly doubtful, I decided to give Tales from Outer Suburbia a shot, so I went to the student bookstore and bought it. In new condition. In hardback. For the sake of cost, if there isn't a used copy available, I usually won't buy it and just spend the semester mooching off of the library or a fellow classmate. However, given that this was in fact a picture book, I decided I could swing it.



Even though Shaun Tan's Tales From Outer Suburbia can be found in the juvenile fiction section of the library, it is a book that can be enjoyed by adults and children alike. First and foremost, the illustrations are almost surreal and fantastic as the stories themselves. Often, they add to the rhetoric, as seen in "Distant Rain", where the story itself is written on scraps of paper. Or "The Amnesia Machine" which is framed by fictional newspaper clippings, adding to the editorial and almost informative nature of the story.



The whimsical stories are narrated as though they are being retold by a child to a group of friends, and although they are seemingly simple and straightforward, they are a lot more profound and mature under the surface.I found that if I really dug deep enough, I could extract relevant and life lessons that led to moments of introspection beyond what I would expect from a child's book.

Illustration from "Distant Rain"

While this book was an eccentric choice as a school textbook, it has definitely been effective. It makes our class assignments more interesting, because the stories really do make you think, and they can be interpreted in so many different ways that when I hear what a classmate has to say about a particular story, it really gives me an entirely new perspective to consider.

Remember Art Class?

Last semester I took an online art class, and since we never met in person, our assignments had to be photographed and uploaded digitally online. One night, in my own boredom, I was going through all of my albums on iPhoto when I stumbled across the one labeled "ART 010". I figured I might as well share some of what I found for the sake of preventing these bad boys from collecting cyber dust.

Our assignment for this piece was to create something inspired by an artist from the surrealist movement. Even though he may be considered more of an abstract expressionist, I got the okay to use Jackson Pollock as my inspiration.

_{(Watercolor and white out on watercolor paper)}

Bear in mind that I am a starving artist (see also; broke college student) working with minimal funds. Having said that, I got great use out of the watercolor set I bought that semester. Another thing, having few resources and limited supplies really forced me to think outside the box and come up with any type of media that I could put to use (white out, anyone?)

This assignment was to create a piece of "mail art" that had something to do with your childhood. I focused mine around the idea that when I was little, my neighborhood friends and I always set up lemonade stands at the end of my driveway (We actually ended up making a lot of money from it! Money which would later be spent on walkie talkies that we used to communicate with each other. Money well spent, in my opinion).
_{(Watercolor and sharpie on watercolor paper)}

This class was great because it helped open up my creativity. After high school, we tend to get muddled into taking long, boring, lecture-based classes that restrict us to doing the same mundane tasks every night. However, with this class, my creative floodgates opened, and I was given the freedom to express myself in a way in which I've always felt comfortable: through art. While my roommates were buried head deep in a jumble of powerpoints and notecards, I was sitting indian-style on my floor with the newspaper spread out, splashing watercolor paint all over the place. Sounds like a solid trade-off to me.

Hitting the books this break!

At the beginning of winter break, I made it a personal goal of mine to read a real book--cover to cover. Back in high school, before I had a computer, before I had an iPod, before I had a smartphone, I read books like a chain smoker smokes cigarettes. I don't have a Kindle or Nook (as cool as they are, it's one more piece of technology that I don't need. Plus, call me weird, but I like to have the hard copies of books) so I hauled myself down to the Half-Price Bookstore and started my search.

I know it's wrong, but I judge books by their covers. I mean, who doesn't? In all honesty, if a book has an awesome cover, I am ten times more likely to purchase it. For this reason, when I saw this book:


I was immediately drawn. Not just because I vaguely recognized the title and author, but also because the artwork looked pretty badass. So I bought it. Along with "Survivor" by Chuck Palahniuk (one of my favorite authors. "Invisible Monsters" is one of my favorite books of all-time), and "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins (just to see what all the hype is about).

At first, it was hard to believe that "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" is an autobiographical piece, simply because the things that Raoul Duke and his attorney do in that book are crazy. But I loved it. Thompson has a raw, tell-it-like-it-is style of writing and doesn't hold anything back. When I finished, I was determined to go watch the movie, which I've heard does the book justice. And who better to play the role of this psychotic, kooky journalist then Johnny Depp?

Another thing that I loved about the book, was what drew me to it in the first place, the illustrations. Ralph Steadman's illustrations looked like they were taken straight from Duke's drug-addled brain and put directly into the book. From the (what appeared to be) blood splatters splayed across random pages, to the bizarre and almost abstract interpretations of the characters, his grotesque images fit perfectly with the plot's gritty and chaotic nature. Sometimes I would find myself getting lost in the vignettes and have to snap my focus back to what was happening.

I would definitely recommend this book to anybody who is looking for something twisted and entertaining.

As for the other two books? I'm currently about 8 chapters deep into "The Hunger Games" and so far, it has yet to disappoint. It's like a modern day teen-appropriate mix between "The Giver", "1984", and "Battle Royale". I want to have it finished before the movie comes out, and at the rate I'm going, that shouldn't be too hard.

Hopefully, when I go back to school, I'll be able to keep up my reclaimed booklove. It's definitely better and way more productive than constantly refreshing my newly transformed Facebook Timeline. I like to think about it this way, which would you be less embarrassed to tell people: "I spent all night reading this awesome book" or "I spent all night toggling between Facebook and Twitter"? You be the judge.

Ring Pops: Fun at your fingertips!

With the semester finally coming to a close and Christmas looming around the corner, I find myself sitting on the couch in my family room at home, TV on, wrapped in a blanket, and not a schoolbook in sight. Just the way Holiday Break should be. However, with all of this free time, I finally have the chance to reflect on this past semester (I can't believe I'm already halfway done with my junior year in college. Where did the time go?).

I've had my fair share of gen ed classes, and as I come closer to the cusp of senior year, I am starting to enroll in some of my capstone classes. Most of these classes serve as preparation for the real-world; so naturally, we engage in projects that mimic what we could potentially encounter in our future careers.

In my Creative Strategies class, our final project was to complete a campaign for a brand of candy. Components of the campaign were: the SAP, two print ads, a mounted storyboard for a TV spot, and a digital ad. The campaign was completed in groups, and I was in a group with 2 other girls. We decided to choose Ring Pops as our candy. While I don't have our final SAP on me (it's saved on my desktop on my account at school, I'll get that uploaded as soon as I get back!), I do have our final two print ads. Our target audience was children ages 8-12, and our slogan was "Fun at your fingertips".

Ghosts of Freshman past

The other day, on a whim, I decided to google myself. I was not surprised when the various social networking sites I use showed up first. However, after going back a few pages, I came across a blog from my freshman year of college. Although the blog was an academic assignment required by all freshman, I found that my young, naive, freshman thoughts still hold enough of a stylistic value to be shared on my older-and-wiser blog. Who needs time machines when you have the internet?

Palmer museum of art

By SARAH ELIZABETH PERRONE on September 23, 2009 12:28 AM | 0 Comments | 0 TrackBacks

Sure, Penn State is famous for it's legendary football team and pristine athletics department, but it also can boast in the subject of fine arts. When walking down Curtin Road, one can see the lion paw sculptures standing before a building that appears to sport whiskers on its doorhandles. That building is the Palmer Museum of Art. The museum is home to 11 galleries, an auditorium, and even a garden. At the Palmer Museum, one can find artists from Philadelphia all the way to Asia. Even though it's just a university based museum does not mean it is inadequate in terms of art pieces.

It's refreshing to see such a sophisticated and well put-together musuem, and it certainly does not hurt that the museum is on campus grounds. Students can enjoy the temporary exhibits as well as revel in the beauty of the permanent collection. Either way, the Palmer Museum of art provides a great source for art critics and admirers alike to flock and enjoy art. Although the Museum closes at 4:30 every day (except on Sundays when it closes at 4:00), that is still plenty of time for everyone, from the football player to the english literarture major, to come in and indulge his or her inner art historian.

While that was just a snippet of my former eighteen year old self, the rest can be found here. Oh, the memories.

The little things about big cities

I love cities. I love the hustle and bustle, the constant motion, and the uninhibited sense of freedom that everyone seems to possess. But some of my favorite aspects of cities are the small, arbitrary things that usually remain overlooked.

Graffiti I saw while in Manhattan

I love being in surrounded by art. The way every visible post or pole shows traces of sticker bombing, the way artists pass out their demos, claiming them to be the "next best thing", and the way building facades are tagged with elaborate and sometimes thought-provoking messages. It's like everyone's trying to leave traces behind, as to make their mark in a place where they would otherwise go unnoticed.

Random sticker slapping on scaffolding in Chelsea (and my cousin in the background!)

There's an unrelenting sense of determination that everyone wants and needs to be heard. No matter how big of a message or how it gets across, the point is--- it gets across. Quite frankly, I think that if someone has the guts to lay a piece of his mind out on the table, to be dissected and picked apart by thousands of critical eyes; then he deserves to be recognized, or at least acknowledged for doing something that so many will never have the courage to step up and do.

In need of new study jams?

With the end of Thanksgiving Break peeking around the corner, I am slowly starting to realize that with the amount of work I have to do over the next two weeks, I should probably get a move on. However, being that it is a holiday, there has been a spike in the amount of activity going on in our house. From the constant coming-and-going of friends and family members, to the never ending commentary of football or hockey echoing throughout the entire house, it's hard to find a peaceful place to get things done. Fortunately for me, when I'm done stuffing my face with homemade food (a luxury I have taken full advantage of the past few days) I can retreat to my room, shut the door, and enjoy some much needed solidarity.

I, for one, know that it is nearly impossible to get anything accomplished unless my music selection is perfect. I guess it makes me an anal person, but it's crazy the way one song can throw off my entire study groove. Thankfully, I've finally come across an album that appears to be sent directly to me from the Study Gods themselves. Kaskade has been one of my favorite artists for a while now, so the release of his new album Fire and Ice on October 24th was like an early Christmas present.

The album is comprised of two discs Fire and Ice. The first disc, Fire is everything you would expect from Kaskade; ten catchy progressive house tracks, with awesome vocals and collaborators. Each song is so distinct, yet still maintain the deep-house signature style Kaskade is known for. What's awesome about this album is the way the second disc Ice mirrors Fire. This disc contains the same ten tracks, but they are deconstructed to give them more of a chill, lounge-esque vibe.

When I find myself in need of music that will not only keep me awake, but also help steady my focus, I turn to this album. The way the two discs seamlessly flow together keeps me from having to constantly scroll through my jumbled iTunes library to find a new song to play.

The music video for Kaskade's "Eyes", one of the hit singles off Fire & Ice.

My personal favorites from the Fire disc include the popular single "Eyes" (featuring Mindy Gledhill), "Llove" (featuring Haley Gibby who frequently collabs with Kaskade. Check out "Dynasty" and "Move for Me" to hear more their work together), and "Turn it Down" (featuring Rebecca & Fiona).

Although everything from Ice is amazing, I'd suggest listening to "Lick It" (featuring Skrillex), "Room for Happiness" (featuring Skylar Gray), and again "Turn it Down" (the reduced BPMs and touch of dubstep juxtapose really well with its Fire counterpart)

So whether you need to get work done, start getting work done, or just feel like chilling out, I'd highly recommend buying this cd to help you do so.