Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Research. Show all posts

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Exit Pursued By a Bear



I have a rule about watching reality television shows; they need to educate me on something. For example, I watch Chopped and Top Chef, but I don’t watch Big Brother or shows following celebrities. The Osbourne’s were the only exception to that rule, but that was because it was unintentionally the best say no to drugs campaign ever done.

When I first began this blog, it was about my move from Los Angeles to Seattle. It was a way to both document and reflect on all the changes go on in my life at the time. After I settled in, it then became about the process of going back to school to get my Master’s degree in Photography. It became less like a blog where you could learn something from my trials and errors and more about just me.

Thus, I’ve decided to no longer update this blog. I am still on all the social media sites and you can find me there. I’ll keep this active so that there is an archive. I find it interesting when someone stumbles upon an old post. Usually, it is my plan for conquering Greenland which I still stand by. 

There is another place you can find me writing. I started a new website/blog with a singular purpose. It made more sense to start from scratch that it did to revamp this one. 

My new blog is “The Questing Geek.” The name is a deviation of the “questing beast” which is from the time of King Arthur. It is a creature that has a snake’s head a top a leopard’s body with legs of a lion and the feet of a hart. This is comparable to how most geeks enjoy multiple fandoms or types of geekdom. For example, the Superwholock consists of equal parts Supernatural, Doctor Who, and Sherlock. This blog supports both kinds of hobbies; geeky and nerdy. The posts will be much like the beast as a mix of all kinds of different posts about all kinds of different things.

I realized that there is a gap in the non-fiction world that I had the right knowledge and skills to fill. There are plenty of books on how to organize your life and there are even some geared toward geeks/nerds. Yet, there are no books on how to organize your geek life. Examples: how to decide what books to read, how to organize your collections, how to connect with others in your favorite fandoms, and how to be a better geek.

The ultimate goal is to publish something more detailed through a publisher or as an eBook. Either way, a website will be a place to find people who might interested in reading about these topics. 

If these topics interest you, please come check out the blog. You can then follow me on Facebook, Twitter, or other social media places. Believe it or not, publishers and marketing people look at how many followers you have. It becomes a factor in publishing your work. Clicking “Like” on a blog post or website will help an artist out. No credit card required and you don’t have to go anywhere to do it.

I appreciate you reading this far and to those who have been coming to this blog since I started it back in 2008. Thank you for reading and I hope to see you around the internet!

Sunday, February 9, 2014

My Proust Questionnaire

When the French writer, Marcel Proust, was a teenager at the end of the 19th century, he answered a bunch of questions about his thoughts and feelings from what would be the modern equivalent of a Cosmo magazine. He ended up becoming famous which made the questionnaire famous and often referred to as the "Proust Questionnaire," even though he didn't really invent it. Learn more about it HERE including his answers. It was an inspiration to those who interview people.

I decided to give my responses because why not. It was actually a good exercise as it forced me to actually stop and think about my answers.

  • Your favorite virtue: Enthusiasm
  • Your favorite qualities in a man: Chivalry
  • Your favorite qualities in a woman: Chivalry
  • Your chief characteristic: Enthusiasm (often confused as geekiness)
  • What you appreciate the most in friends: Their caring nature
  • Your main fault: Self doubt

  • Your favorite occupation: Enjoying any form of entertainment
  • Your idea of happiness: A roaring fire, good company and good conversation/good book
  • Your idea of misery: A dance club
  • If not yourself, who would you be? Someone else
  • Where would you like to live? Paris, Auckland, London, Edinburgh
  • Your favorite color: Blue
  • Your favorite flower: Daisies & traditional red roses
  • Your favorite bird: Penguin
  • Your favorite prose authors: Edgar Allan Poe, Homer, Jane Austen, Sylvia Plath
  • Your favorite poets: Rives, William Shakespeare, Shel Silverstein, Dr. Seuss
  • Your favorite heroes in fiction: Malcolm Reynolds, Jon Snow, Harry Dresden
  • Your favorite heroines in fiction: Cassandra, Anne Elliot, Ellen Ripley
  • Your favorite painters: Jack Vettrano, Rene Magritte, Brent Lynch
  • Your favorite composer: George Gershwin with Cole Porter in a close second
  • Your favorite heroes in real life: Police Officers, Firefighters and Soldiers
  • Your favorite heroines in real life: Police Officers, Firefighters and Soldiers
  • What characters in history do you most dislike: Thomas Edison
  • Your heroes in world history: Elizabeth I, Harry Houdini, Nikolai Tesla
  • Your favorite names: Millicent, Oliver, Henry, Joshua
  • What you hate the most: Dishonor and disrespect
  • World history characters you hate the most: Thomas Edison
  • The military event you admire the most: Spanish Armada vs England
  • The reform you admire the most: Women’s Voting Rights
  • The natural talent you’d like to be gifted with: Language – the ability to pick up new ones and use the ones I know to the best ability
  • How you wish to die: Quickly and with the least hurt to those I love
  • What is your present state of mind: Uninspired
  • For what fault do you have the most toleration: Addiction
  • Your favorite motto: It is actually a quote “Those who danced were thought to be quite insane by those that could not hear the music.”

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Sliding Scale of Book to Movie Adaptations

There are quite a few factors when grading a book to movie adaptation. This is how I categorize them when putting them in context to other people (readers or non-readers of the book)


Here is my scale:

Category A: 
  • Adaptation is in the 90-100% accuracy range, fans of the book are happy, can be watched whether you have read the book or not, could inspire people who liked the movie to read more of the author as well as the book
  • Examples in this category: 
    • A&E/BBC's Pride and Prejudice
    • The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (American)
    • To Kill a Mockingbird
    • The Godfather
    • Atonement
    • Shutter Island
    • Persuasion
Category B:
  • Adaptation is in the 75-89% accuracy range, fans are reasonably happy, but argue about choices, stands well on its own for non-readers, fans of the film would consider reading the book
  •  Examples in this category:
    • Perks of Being A Wall Flower
    • Ender's Game
    • Fight Club
    • Lord of the Rings (All 3 books)
    • Time Traveler's Wife
    • Gone With the Wind
    • Stardust
    • Sense and Sensibility
    • Rebecca
Category C:
  • Adaptation is in the 55-74% accuracy range, fans of the book are split 50/50 with their love of the movie, non-readers like if not love the movie version despite that, there is no guarantee anyone who watches the movie will ever read the book
  • Examples in this category:
    • The Shining
    • The Great Gatsby
    • Bridget Jones Diary
    • The Hobbit (All parts)
Category D:
  • Adaptation is in the 40-54% accuracy range, fans of the book tend to dislike the movie with few exceptions, non-readers don't necessarily get everything that is going on, but the movie is good enough to enjoy, non-readers won't want to pick up the book at all
  •  Examples in this category:
    • Percy Jackson and the Sea of Monsters
    • Water for Elephants
    • Eat, Pray, Love
    • Hunger Games/Catching Fire
    • Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Category E: [Difference between Category E & F is non-reader's reaction]
  • Adaption is in the 1-39% accurate range, fans of the book are down right angry about it, non-readers rather enjoy the movie as it can stand on its own, non-readers want to read the book, but end up either not liking it or just as angry as the fans with the adaptions levels
  •  Examples in this category:
    • World War Z
    • Where the Wild Things Are
    • Dexter (TV series)
    • V for Vendetta
Category F: [Difference between Category E & F is non-reader's reaction]
  • Adaption is in the 1-39% accurate range, fans of the book are down right angry about it, non-readers don't like the movie because it is either poorly made or too confusing to follow, non-readers don't even know or care there was a book
  • Examples in this category:
    • Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief
    • Watchmen
My examples are ones off the top of my head for each category and is meant to illustrate my criteria.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

TED: Yossi Vardi fights local warming

This is a warning for male bloggers...very funny...references to other TED talks that I have posted.



As always, I recommend checking out more TED talks HERE.

Thursday, October 30, 2008

TED: Jill Bolte Taylor and Stroke of Insight

Jill Bolte Taylor was a brain scientist who had a remarkable experience. She had a stroke and she talks about everything she went through. It's a funny and inspiring story that she tells at TED. I had two different people tell me to watch this one and I found it interesting they both came to different conclusions about what she experienced.



If you want to know more about this, she has written a book called "My Stroke of Insight: A Brain Scientist's Personal Journey." I want to pick it up, but I have a pile of books I need to get through first. I actually have two books on hold for me at the library as we speak.

Wednesday, July 16, 2008

Welcome to the neighborhood!

My new apartment is in Seattle, but the neighborhood is actually called "Green Lake." Unlike Toluca Lake, where I leave now, it actually has a real lake.

Here are some stats about it:

Green Lake is in north central Seattle. The centerpiece of the neighborhood is a glacial lake, its basin having been dug 50,000 years ago by the Vashon glacier. In 1855, David Phillips surveyed and named it. In 1869, Erhart "Green Lake John" Seifried settled there. In 1891, it was annexed to Seattle. In 1910, Carnegie built the main library. In 1927, they built a bath house that is now used for various play performances. In 1929, the community center/field house was built. In 1955, an Olympic size indoor swimming pool was added.

There is a 2.8 mile paved path around the lake with lanes divided for people on foot or on wheels. The lake itself can be used to swim, paddle boat, canoe, row boat or wind surf.

My apartment is closest to the community center that has the indoor pool and tons of classes including pottery, fencing, hula dancing, cooking classes, etc. I could go on and on and on about all the classes I want to take, but I'll wait until I actually sign up for them.

Did I mention that the park is two blocks away and I'm a total of three blocks away from the actual water?

Here are quick photos I snapped which aren't very good. I hope to have better ones once I get up there.

Sunday, March 9, 2008

Compare and Conrast Cities

Part of my research is looking at the cold facts and comparing Chicago to Los Angeles to Seattle. Here are some of the interesting facts I've come across (Sorry for the size):

PEOPLE

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Population

2,833,321

3,849,378

582,454

Median Age

33.2

33.7

37.7

Households

1,039,449

1,322,551

267,007

Male Population

48.69%

49.62%

49.99%

Female Population

51.31%

50.38%

50.01%

Single Population

56.90%

50.34%

58.88%

ESTIMATED TOTAL POPULATION BY AGE




Age 25 to 34

17.38%

16.96%

20.40%

Age 35 to 44

15.39%

16.02%

17.56%

RACE




White

41.06%

46.75%

69.26%

Black

36.27%

10.31%

8.09%

Asian

4.73%

10.25%

14.55%

Hispanic

28.17%

49.03%

6.19%

FAMILY




Married, w/children

16.63%

22.55%

12.19%

Married, no children

18.02%

19.03%

20.03%

Single, w/children

11.78%

10.88%

5.39%

Single, no children

53.61%

47.57%

63.00%

Never Married

40.64%

37.31%

41.79%

ECONOMY

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Unemployment Rate

5.50%

4.90%

3.70%

Future Job Growth

19.05%

18.91%

22.38%

Sales Taxes

8.75%

8.25%

8.80%

Income Taxes

3.00%

6.00%

0.00%

Income per Cap.

$23,303

$22,238

$32,520

Household Income

$44,664

$40,844

$48,917

HEALTH

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Air Quality (100=best)

1

1

4

Water Quality (100=best)

31

52

59

Physicians per Cap.

331.8

245.2

386.3

CLIMATE

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Rainfall (in.)

34.1

12.8

35.9

Snowfall (in.)

33.6

0.2

11

Precipitation Days

118

29

155

Sunny Days

189

284

152

Avg. July High

81.5

76.7

75.2

Avg. Jan. Low

20.4

49.8

36.7

Comfort Index (higher=better)

47

46

72

EDUCATE

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Pupil/Teacher Ratio

18

21

19

Students per Librarian

886

930

533

4 yr College Grad.

15.61%

16.12%

30.07%

Graduate Degrees

10.09%

8.85%

17.19%

High School Grads.

71.28%

65.93%

88.50%

TRANSPORT

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Commute Time

38.5

31.9

27.2

Auto (alone)

50.47%

65.65%

55.56%

Mass Transit

26.10%

10.36%

17.76%

Work at Home

2.37%

4.08%

4.60%

COSTLIV

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Overall

126

156

132

RELIGION

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Percent Religious

57.63%

58.08%

37.26%

Catholic

39.93%

39.99%

16.15%

Protestant

6.77%

6.75%

11.74%

Baptist

1.91%

2.29%

2.03%

Jewish

4.36%

5.93%

1.87%

VOTING

Chicago

Los Angeles

Seattle

Democrat

70.250%

63.102%

64.953%

Republican

29.150%

35.598%

33.691%




In conclusion, in almost all categories Seattle is more of what I'm looking for across the board. Some of the stats surprised me like Chicago comes off as way more Catholic than Los Angeles.