In the Red and Brown Water

“In the Red and Brown Water” is a play about a girl named Oya and her struggles on becoming a young woman. Oya has many things going for her such as being a high school track star with the potential to take her talents to a state university on a scholarship as well as having many guys wishing they could date her. However, Oya is most concerned with helping her ill mother, Mama Moja. Mama Moja eventually passes away and Oya is devastated. Oya’s godmother becomes the new mother figure in her life and helps her realize that her education is more important than chasing Elegba, Ogun, or Shango. However, she ends up having Ogun move in with her because the track scholarship is no longer there for her which really upsets her on top of her mother passing away. She ends up having an affair with Shango and the fact that she has to decide which one of these men she would rather see more becomes Oya’s biggest problem throughout the play.

In my opinion, the most important thing that happened to Oya was death of her mother, Mama Moja. It was a devastating loss for Oya and stopped her from taking the track scholarship she was offered. Instead she became focused on trying to find a man she could start a family with. Had it not been for Mama Moja’s death, Oya probably would have became a very successful runner and received a great education.

Ogun had the most compelling performance in the play. I was impressed how he overcame his problems such as stuttering and wanting to be with Oya. Originally, Oya wanted nothing to do with him but he ended up moving in with her and fixed his stuttering problem. I was happy for him because it is always nice to see people persevere and overcome their struggles.

I thought the play was kind of hard to follow sometimes. For the most part, it was straightforward, but during certain scenes I found myself somewhat confused on what was going on. For example, there was not much detail about her track career. Also, I don’t understand why Oya cut her ear off at the end. I understand she was going through many difficulties, but it seemed a little excessive.

This was not my first time seeing a live theater performance. I have seen a few Broadway performances which were amazing so this play did not really meet my expectations. I thought this play was decent but I found myself feeling confused too many times. For that reason, I would not recommend this play to others, even though I am not a big theatergoer. 

The Social Network

Nothing speaks more to a college student than technology.  iPhone. iPad. MacBook. Xbox. These devices are so common among college students that it is assumed that almost everyone has at least one of the above. Students also love to use social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr to update their friends with the latest news from their lives. Now, how was arguably the most popular social media website, Facebook, created? The Social Network, by David Fincher, is a true story that depicts the life of former Harvard University student Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg), his creation of Facebook and how “You Don’t Get To 500 Million Friends Without Making A Few Enemies.”

When thinking of a genius, one thinks of brilliance, risk taking, genuineness, and creativeness. Albert Einstein. Thomas Edison. Bill Gates. Larry Page. These brave men tested the waters with their unique, unproven ideas, having no idea what the perception or outcome would be. These men all overcame each and every obstacle that stood in their way. To invest as much money as they did into their new inventions was a huge risk because no one had any previous knowledge about the items or organizations being created. In The Social Network comes along a Harvard student by the name of Mark Zuckerberg (Jesse Eisenberg) who thinks he is the next great “genius.” Well, let’s just say Mr. Zuckerberg comes no where near the likes of those men listed above. Through his selfishness, mysteriousness, and unfriendliness Zuckerberg comes off as a mean, uncaring guy who does not value friendship or trustworthiness. Zuckerberg defies what a good person stands for and would do when creating something new. Cameron Winklevoss (Armie Hammer) and Tyler Winklevoss (Josh Pence) were the ones who actually came up with the idea of a social networking site and asked Zuckerberg to enter into an agreement with them to develop Facebook. Not only did Zuckerberg betray the Winklevoss’ idea of wanting the site to just be for Harvard students but he ended up creating it without their help and took all the credit for himself. Also, as we all know Facebook is now used worldwide, another betrayal of the Winklevoss’ idea. The Winklevoss’ reaction when they heard about Zuckerberg taking their idea, even expanding it, was one of the most memorable scenes from the movie. Their expression was priceless and truly shows that “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Their anger and feeling of betrayal, as well as some jealousy, could be felt as if we were in their position.

Overall, this was an outstanding movie. The actors the way they portrayed the vibrant emotions and feelings of their part was magnificent. Zuckerberg came off as cold and self-centered. The Winklevoss’ came off as very determined. Saverin came off as a good friend. Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), the founder of Napster, came off as a jerk. There were great memorable scenes such as when Saverin was raging at Zuckerberg, when Zuckerberg hacks into student’s emails, when Zuckerberg is being really sarcastic and checking the lady lawyer’s math, and the classroom scene. A good mix of comedy and serious scenes make this movie enjoyable for everyone. Although Zuckerberg’s behavior can really tick off the audience, overall this was a solid movie that everyone should see given how big Facebook has become.

The Arboretum at Penn State

My first trip to the Arboretum started off hectically as I was running late from my class that is on the other side of campus. I had just made it to east halls around 12:25, the time we were supposed to be there, so I went into a full on sprint trying to make it there as fast as possible. Luckily, I was not the only one running late but given that I am not a nature lover, I was not off to a good start. As previously mentioned, this was my first trip to the Arboretum so I had no idea what to expect. I have been to Penn State so many times but had never heard of it. I knew it was a big garden that would have many interesting trees, bushes, and plants but I did not know how vast or unique it would be. Most gardens I have been to are very simplistic and ordinary in their design, consisting of only the basic plants.  Well, I do have to say I am very surprised I had not heard of it before because for a non-nature lover it was actually pretty neat and had something for everyone. From the numerous purple flowers to the stone by The Hosler Oak tree, the Arboretum intrigued me and helped me appreciate gardens more so than I usually do.

The abundant, bright, purple flowers that lined one of the walkways of the Arboretum, grasped my attention immediately. Its bold color and pure originality came in bundles, and it seemed as though this group of flowers could go on forever. The sun glistened off the crisp, bountiful petals, making me really appreciate their beauty and how these types of things can put your mind at ease and just make you appreciate the little things in life.  Purple was the color of my high school and is one of my favorite colors which is one of the reasons why these flowers stood out in the midst of all of the other beautiful things in this garden. It brought back a lot good memories for me from playing sports, meeting amazing people, and having a great four years there.

Something else that caught my attention was the large stone by The Hosler Oak tree. I had never seen anything quite like this which is what made me stop and take it in.  Its hard, large structure, isolated from the tree and surrounding bushes, softly nestles against the mulch. It just lies there, probably being mistaken for an animal such as a turtle quite often due to the similar characteristics and the fact it is not near the tree. A curved outer layer that directly blocks the bright sun and shields the mulch underneath it is another key feature of this stone. The majority of the stone is a worn out gray with a slight touch of light red stripes near the bottom right of the stone.

The Arboretum was definitely a great, peaceful place to go to. It allowed us to relax and just let our minds wander which was really nice considering how hectic the start of college has been. I am surprised I had never heard of the Arboretum before because it was pretty cool and definitely better than I thought it would be. Every student should make sure to check it out at least once during his or her four years here. 

Palmer Museum Visit

Artist: Unknown

Title: Stirrup spout vessel

Year: A.D. 200-500

Materials: Earthenware

This stirrup spout vessel features a person with large, circular eyes, a white hat, and a flat grin. The person is looking straight ahead, holding some sort of writing in its hands. They’re engraved into the front of the stirrup sprout vessel, blending in well with the variety of brown, red, white, and orange on this piece of art. There is a good amount of white marks on it, including several around the person’s eyes.

This piece of art was created in A.D. 200-500 by the Moche culture, a South American society located in Peru. This was a society that stressed community over the individual. Some activities that show this idea are that they lived in the desert, and the rivers nearby them were dry for mainly the entire year. Being in the desert and having limited water sources meant that no one person could make it on their own and everyone needed to work together to survive. Their main food sources were fishing and farming which also required people to work together, further showing how this society stressed community over the individual. Another key aspect of the Moche culture was that they used art as a way to communicate with one another because their lack of a developed writing system.

After viewing this piece of art, I started to picture myself living in A.D. 200-500 as part of the Moche society and realized how different it would be from the world we live in today. It made me feel extremely fortunate. One reason it made me feel fortunate is because communicating in today’s world is so easy with cell phones, Facebook, Twitter, and email. I cannot imagine having to use things like art, symbols, and other signs to communicate because it would be much more time consuming and a lot more difficult than it is today. Another reason I feel fortunate is because the world is much more highly developed than it used to be. You can tell they lived somewhat of a poor life by just looking at their art and how it looks worn-out and dirty. I also felt curious after viewing this stirrup spout vessel. I wanted to learn more about the Moche culture, what their art meant, and what it was used for.

The artist of this stirrup spout vessel is unknown. However, it still creates credibility through the time period that it was created in. A.D. 200-500 was a time period that art dominated culturally as it was the main source of communication. The people of the Moche culture created art all the time and in many different forms such as ceramic pottery, textiles, and ceremonial centers decorated with murals. These different pieces of art all had a common goal of conveying their own, unique messages, all while showing how credible the Moche culture’s form of communicating was.

Although this piece of art can be interpreted in many different ways, I believe the claim it is making is to really think about your own life and how it compares to those of earlier generations. The figure is holding up a writing and looking straight ahead. In my opinion, the figure looking straight ahead is not just a coincidence. I believe it is looking at whoever views the stirrup sprout vessel and trying to send those people a message. It is saying to all future generations to never take things for granted and never forget the people before you. I believe this because life was an everyday struggle for people of that time period. Everyday was a new adventure and people did not know how much food or water would be available to them. Also, I believe it is saying never forget the people before you because as a general life lesson you should always be thankful for the people who contributed great things and paved the way for the world we live in today.

Overall, I enjoyed my first visit at the Palmer Museum of Art. I am definitely not a museum-goer but I thought it was cool to be in a new environment and see things that I have never seen before. I saw several that I liked, so it was actually kind of difficult to pick one I wanted to write about. I definitely could see myself going back because I did not see everything and I feel like every time you go to a museum you can find something cool that you did not encounter the first time.