Animation

Animation is one of my favorite artforms. It's a beautiful art, evocative and capable of great depth. Animation has a long, rich history of wonderful work. The beauty and sentiment of Disney can often be breathtaking, and the humor of the Warner Bros. cartoons and the anarchic madness of Tex Avery can be delightfully satisfying entertainments.

I remember spending much of my childhood watching Saturday morning and after school television cartoons, indiscriminately. The quality of the writing or the animation didn't matter — it was a cartoon, therefore it was worth watching. At the time, that meant a lot of Hanna Barbera, and mediocre adventure shows. But gradually, I developed some discrimination.

There has been a renaissance of animation since the Simpsons hit big. Today, animation is a solid presence on television, and there are specialized cable channels devoted to animation, both old and new. Animation is no longer considered as kid's stuff-it can be seen as worthy of respect.

In the movies, Pixar has become a juggernaut of quality movie-making. Their movies are both critical and commercial successes. And internationally, every industrialized country has its own animation industry. Japan in particular produces animation respected worldwide.

There are some great sources for one to follow the history and news of the artform of animation. Cartoon Brew is probably the best source for current news, and Comics Alliance also covers animation news. Animated Views covers news with podcasts, and Animation Scoop is a full online animation magazine. A little looking will turn up many more sites, of course.

From time to time, I'm going to post up a fun animated cartoon here. Here's one for this week. ☺



Peace,

Dave Roel.

We would worry less about what others think of us if we realized how seldom they do.

- Ethel Barrett

Fast Time to Kill at Fullerton College

My Classes are spread throughout the day, but sometimes it will be only an hour or so, and it's not worth it to go home, then come right back. Now your stuck at school with a free hour. You can either wait around for your next class to start, or you can take advantage of the great resources the campus has to offer. 

I go to the library almost everyday before or after class wether I'm doing research, printing a paper or just working on an assignment. Like many other students, I don't own a printer. The Library offers a fast and efficient print system available to all students as long as they remember to bring quarters. The library offers places to set up your laptop, or other personal devices in  addition to, group study rooms and designated research areas. You can find out more about it here.

I have two classes that require one lab hour a week. The usual time I have between classes is about 30 to 45 minutes, so I can clock into the lab for a quick half hour, and then come back later to finish up my time. Before you go into lab you have to  make sure your class didn't let out early, or get cancelled. Otherwise the time you spend won't count. In the lab there is always an instructor on duty that can answer any questions you may have about your assignment, and provide you with the needed materials.

Classes are going on all throughout the week and they're being released at all different times of the day. For example, I have a  class that Starts at  1:20, and before that I have Men's Chorale. Lunch is in between these two classes. The cafeteria has many tasty and inexpensive options. They offer a wide variety of items with something for everyone. They have mexican food, a grill, pizza, a sandwich place, and a Jamba Juice all for a reasonable price.

As a Fullerton College student it is inevitable that you will go to the bookstore across the street from the campus. They have filtered water bottles, T-shirts, school supplies, and text books. They can also open up a print account for you so you don't have to use coins to print schoolwork all the time, and many other services. If you don't want to buy textbooks you can also rent them for lower prices. You can find out any additional information by clicking here.

You can kill time and be productive simultaneously, so why not? Being a student is a busy job, and there is always more work to do. You can even get a jumpstart on assignments or get some reading done. When these resources are available, you must take advantage of them.

Staying Informed is staying hip.

Liam Harder

What is important?

What is important? Everyone will have a different answer to that. Everyone has different tastes and interests, one's trash is another's treasure, de gustibus non est disputandum, etc. But I think there are some rock-solid universal areas that are important for everyone. Let me know if you disagree.

1. Everyone has a physical body, and it’s important to take care of it. Without your health, you don’t have much. No one wants to live in an unhealthy, pain-filled body. Health is something we can all agree is important.

2. Everyone needs financial security. No one wants to be homeless, begging for spare change for food. In order to live in this modern world, we all need some form of income.

3. Most everyone would agree that the other people in our lives are important — our relationships with friends, family, neighbors, co-workers, significant others, etc. Few of us want to live isolated from others. Most of us want to have a healthy, supportive social system around us.

More or less, these three areas everyone can use as a starting point for identifying what is important in life. Everyone is going to have additional areas, of course. But these three are the minimum areas to pay attention to if we want to have a happy, fulfilling life.

(I note that there are some people who truly don’t care about some of these three things — they truly don’t care about the state of their bodies, or their finances, or their relationships. People like that do exist, and to them I say, Godspeed. Best of luck. Hope that works out for you. I’m probably safe in assuming that they aren’t reading this blog, tho.)

I’ll give more details in blogs to come. ☺

Peace,

Dave Roel.

Be true to yourself, know who you are, then commit to a lifestyle that supports your inner balance and well-being.

- Annelie H. Pelaez

Welcome Back!

          And just like that, our fourth week has begun. I don't know about you, but to me, it feels like we just finished our first and now we're on our second. Before you know it, we're probably gonna be finishing the semester! 

          Well this is four weeks late, but welcome back FCers! Unless you're a first-year like me, then welcome to the FC Student Blog. If you guys are going to be reading this thing, I guess I should provide a little insight on myself, right? Maybe it's just me, but I usually like to know a little bit about the person I'm reading from. 

          Where to begin...
My name is Joy Sun and people really like to make puns with my name, which I don't mind. I just turned 18 two days ago--I know, still a baby compared to the rest of you--I'm an English major, I really dig my TV shows, and really, really good music. But nobody likes most of the music I listen to so I won't get into that. I'm also undecided about where to transfer (if you have suggestions, I'd love to hear them!) and I really like to write. And I hope you guys like to read! I hope to never be boring (if my posts get slow or dull, feel free to let me know. Just keep in mind I am a beginner, and hopefully I'll get better with practice! So yes, I am a first-year, and fresh out of high school. That's Rowland High School, for the curious ones. So since I've been a college student for three whole weeks, things are definitely new to me. 

         For starters, wow the buildings are so much prettier here than my high school. I mean, okay not the 1900 building (1901-1904) but that library? Goodness. I thought it was the main office or something really big and important--not that libraries aren't--because it just blew me away. Yeah I know UCs and other colleges have much more breathtaking buildings but it was a big deal for me! Also, my high school was under construction when I graduated so everything was dirt and rocks and hideous and half of it wasn't even like a school just like a construction site. So yeah, I was standing there on the steps of the library, and I was just like, "well I am definitely not in high school anymore." It was awesome. 
          Also, if I don't come to class or I come late, they won't call my parents? Okay I knew that one years before I started college, but I remember I'd get that dreaded recorded phone call saying I was late to class when I walked in a second after the BELL RANG. I bet you guys don't remember that either huh, when bells rang? I've only been here for so long and I already almost don't. God this freedom is invigorating. Not that I'm going to abuse that freedom, I love most of my classes.  

          For now, I haven't experienced any huge "wow so this is what college is like compared to high school" moments, but when I do, I'll be sure to let you know. I'm saying goodbye for now, because don't wanna overwhelm you guys right on my first post with my banter. But rest assured, I'll be back!

Joy ☼