Washington State's Reggie Moore Ally Oop vs Washington 1/30/11

Off a steal Faisel Aiden gives an ally oop to Reggie Moore who slams it home to give the Cougs an 11 point lead vs rival Washington at Beasley Stadium. Washington State went on to win big and knock off 19th ranked Huskies at home for a huge win to add to their resume.

Black/White Circles Assignment

In this composition I wanted to have the reader start in the middle and be able to look out and two directions creating balance. Although it is asymmetry which means two halves are unequal, the twirls go off to the right and left. At first I only had black circles so I put white circles inbetween the black circles to create rhythm but act as a balance as well. Now the reader can start at either end of the curvy line and end up in the middle which I created differently on purpose. I created it on purpose to throw off the reader a bit but yet the balance and rhythm are still in tact.

 

In this compoisiton I wanted to expand on my first idea. I thought my first composition was boring so I connected the two ends to create a circle. Then I was intrigued by the Fibonacci Spiral so I wanted to add that concept into my composition as well. However that part was not so successful but I liked it because of proportion. As a viewer, your eye wants to focus on the three big black circles but instead it goes around the whole composition because of the white circles. The white circles makes it more visually intriguing adding a second circle/spiral on top although it is not physically connected. Like my first composition I expanded on that middle part but made more circles within eachother and threw it into my second composition.

Peter Precourt's Katrina Chronicles - CNN News Rating Spike

Recently in the Danforth Gallery at University of Maine Augusta, Peter Precourt put up a series of paintings related to Hurricane Katrina and different aspects of it. The painting I chose that was most interesting to me was the CNN News Ratings Spike. This painting shows an african-american holding his baby with white soldiers in front of him with a caption below it saying: "We watched, transfixed, the superdome superdivide." Below that was the CNN logo and around it, it stated: "And the news networks ratings spiked with each new primetime injustice and finally below that was another caption: "Meanwhile... the complete destruction of waveland mississippi was left on the cutting room floor." Also in the background is an abstraction of absolute destruction beautifully painted to show everything being washed away.

The meaning of this painting shows the media control on every day life which is clear if you take a little time to figure it out. Media only shows certain aspects of situations but Precourt tells all, especially in this painting. Although thousands of people were cooped up in the superdome, people tend to forget the total destruction of the hurricane. However I am confused about what Precourt was trying to say about the african-american male confronted by white soldiers. Was he trying to portray some racism saying that black people were getting the short end of the stick so to speak? Im not too sure but maybe he wasnt trying to be abstract about that specific situation and wasnt trying to show racism within the superdome

Boston Red Sox 2011 Preview

With two huge acquisitions of Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez the Red Sox offense looks more potent than ever. With Crawford and Ellsbury atop the lineup, their speed should force the opposing defense to shift leaving gaps for Youkilis, Gonzalez, Cameron, Pedroia and Drew to drive home the runs. Along with the addition of Bobby Jenks in the bullpen as the 7th inning man, the team is younger and healthier than previous years which is very important considering the long, exhausting 162 game season spanning over 8 months. In 2010 the Red Sox' opening day starting line-up spent the most days on the DL with 258, 48 more days then the A's. However since the Red Sox did not make the postseason they have had longer time resting up and getting ready for the 2011 season.

The x-factor will be pitching. Pitching wins championships and many teams would agree because in the offseason pitchers are always the primary targets of GM's. The Red Sox pitching staff has the talent to be a premier rotation in the majors but inconsistency has hurt them. Lester has been the anchor of the rotation but if everyone else pitches smart watch out for a record breaking win season.

The key to a successful 2011 season will be Terry Francona and his ability to order the lineup. The team has depth with alot of utility players which will make it easier to mix and match the lineup to his liking. Ellsbury has the ability to be lead off but will Francona put him at the bottom of the order as an anchor because Crawford does have the power to hit home runs and drive in runs with Pedroia to follow. Or will Francona take some pressure of Pedroia and put him 5th behind Gonzalez and before Drew to give a Left-Right-Left batting order which causes problems for opposing managers. It will be very interesting to see what occurs but right now as a Red Sox fans there is high hopes for the team going to the World Series.