A World in Pictures Alexander Reese

   Steve Jobs is one of those people who everyone knows about. He revolutionized the way we use computers and the way we make them. A master marketer, possibly the best. This cover was on the October issue of Time Magazine in 2011, shortly after Steve Jobs died of pancreatic cancer. This photo features him with an original Macintosh. Thousands of people practically worship Jobs for his innovation and were shocked by his death. Along with Wozniak, he created one of the most valuable companies in the world, even if through some rather questionable means. His work around the 80's was where he really made his name with the creation of the Macintosh. Even my father had one. When he was fired from his own company, he came back later to save it from the financial ruin it was inevitably facing. He was somewhat cocky, which contributed to why he died since he considered himself stronger than the cancer. He knew he was a giant of a man (maybe not in size or strength) but few have achieved such levels of greatness as Jobs.

Blog #4 Erin Holbrook

This picture is of a group of protesters in Moscow honoring the sixth anniversary of the death of Anna Politkovskaya. A Russian reporter, Ms. Politkovskaya was assassinated on her way home from the grocery store for her criticisms of Russian government. She was well known for her reports on what she called the "Dirty War": The 2nd Chechen Conflict of 1999.

Her reports included a wide range of unnerving topics, from starving children in villages to schoolchildren driven half mad, allegedly poisoned by their own government in a weapons test. After reading about her and her works, I was stunned. I could not believe the injustices going on so publicly and so recently, with nothing done about it. It was only this previous year that her assassins went to trial, the masterminds are still at large. What progress has been made in her line of work, though? What has anyone done with regard to the injustices she passionately wrote about? I cannot emphasize how much her work meant to Russians who knew of her, of how she was criticizing Russia for "trampling on human rights" until the day she died, and how she likely would have more criticisms today. This woman stood up to tell the truth and to try to help people, even though she was killed for it. She is both an inspiration and a reminder that our world is far from civilized. She is a reminder of the violations of human rights committed everywhere, everyday. She is a reminder of the constant uphill battle for justice.

A World in Pictures: Jania Stevenson

 During the Civil Rights Movement, many African Americans did a lot of different things to fight for their equal rights. In this picture you can see Rosa Parks being finger printed after her arrest on December 1, 1955 in Montgomery, Alabama. She refused to give up her seat in the colored section to a white passenger after the white section had been filled up. She wasn't the first person to resist segregation, but her resistance to give up her seat became one of the starting events of the civil rights movement. Soon after her arrest, the Montgomery bus boycott, which became another key event during the civil rights movement, began. African Americans were refusing to ride the bus until a change was made. Thanks to Rosa Parks, the Supreme Court made the segregation of buses in Alabama unconstitutional. Due to everything Rosa Parks did years ago, she has now been deemed the "first lady of civil rights" and "the mother of the freedom movement". Rosa Parks along with her picture sparked a movement that would change America forever.

A World in Pictures - Jasa Harris

Shown is a dad holding onto one child and watching over the other as he struggles to make sense of it all. He searches for answers along with the majority of Bihar, India as they grieved with the 23 families that buried their children and prayed with the other 20 whose children lied in the hospital fighting for their lives.

These children were just poisoned by their free school lunch. A result from a program implemented by the Indian government to guarantee every child at least one daily meal. Although this idea seemed beneficial, its problems were hard to ignore. The most notable issue being the safety of the program as the meals are not always suitable to eat, as demonstrated by this tragic incident. Demonstrations broke out against the government for lack of accountability and just lack of interest. The entire Bihar community was grief-stricken, angry and shocked.

After coming across this story I was heartbroken, unable to understand how an event of this nature could take place at a school, a place where parents feel comfortable sending their children. This story was especially sad for me because it was an adverse effect of a solution to childhood malnutrition and hunger. It made me question, like the majority of the Bihar community, how the government could do better to ensure the safety of their children. So far the program has been pulled, but by doing so millions of children go hungry. This issue of hunger is prevalent throughout India and this incident has brought increased attention to the country and hopefully increased awareness. 

Aaron Dupont: A world in pictures

Hiroshima 1945. This photo/event not only changed a nation or a community, but it changed the course of history. This event is what ended World war 2 along with the bombing of Nagasaki. This bomb completely changed the nation of Japan by killing a big chunk of it's population. In this picture people in this city are probably going about there usual everyday lives, oblivious to the fact that they are on the verge of being destroyed by an atom bomb. Not only did the blast kill many people but the radiation may have killed just as many. This event is also one of the most controversial moments in history. Should the US have reacted this way. Should they have killed so many innocent people. Was their another way to end the war. Many people think we could have found peace another way and ended the war without further violence. But other people still believe this was the only plausible way to end this grueling war. Was this the only solution. Thw orld may never know.

#4 Photographs

This is a picture taken after the shooting that occurred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. In this picture the children were being led to a nearby fire station for safety until their parents could be contacted. Just before this photograph was taken, an armed man entered the school. He killed 20 first-graders and six educators. The children in the photograph are all scared and confused. Most are seen crying and all seem upset. The officials in the photograph, who are helping to keep the children in the line, appear to be determined to get the children to safety but also affected by the events that had occurred prior to the photograph. Outside the frame of this photo, parents are shocked and scared to see if their children were affected. Some are also grieving that their children would not be returning to them. This photograph evokes feelings of pain and sorrow for those families whose lives were drastically changed that day. However, this photo also evokes certain passions to take actions to remove the chances of this ever happening again.

A World in Pictures- Chelsea Southworth

A murdered king is carried through the forest like royalty, his dead family following close behind. Senkwekwe was the patriarch of a small family of mountain gorillas that lived on the Virunga mountains- until they were brutally killed in cold blood.
When this photograph and others were published in the National Geographic Magazine, people all over the world were as shocked and saddened as the park rangers who found the bodies. These dead gorillas were once part of a species with only about 700 wild individuals and an important part of local ecotourism, but the reason for people's deep feelings of sadness went further than that. In the face of a gorilla is something that we as humans inherently recognize and connect with; there is an intelligence and a kindness of spirit in a gorilla's eyes that makes you wonder how on earth anyone could bear to kill such gentle creatures. I still remember the feelings of heartbreak and anger I felt when I saw this picture years ago. This image brought the extremely important issue of wildlife conservation to the forefront of international minds.

War

This man is Gavrilo Princip. This bruised picture of him was taken in prison shortly after he shot a man and his pregnant wife.

In direct result of his actions 10 million young men, a whole generation, would be dead. 25 years after his eventual succumbing to tuberculosis, and malnutrition in prison, another 24 million innocent people would be wiped of the face of this earth.

On June 28 1914, a band of 6 Serbian Nationalists set out in sarajevo to assassinate Arch Duke of Austria Franz Ferdinand. Gavrilo Princip succeeded. With a stroke of luck, Ferdinand's chauffeur took a wrong turn  and ended up in front of the Cafe Princip had retired to after initially failing his 1st assassination attempt. It was at this intersection that Arch Duke of Austria Franz Ferdinand died along with his pregnant wife Sophie.

After the assassination of the beloved Arch Duke and his wife, Austria's swift retribution was brought upon Serbia to start World War I. In this picture though we see a man who has destroyed the lives of millions. His battered face reflects not just the crowd who beat him to a pulp immediately after he fired his fateful shots, it also reflects the hate of a nation. Austria's brutal attacks on Serbia would be returned ten fold at the end of the war, when an enraged allies coalition would impose crippling restrictions on already punished Austria and Germany. This picture shows the soulless eyes of a man who's solely remembered attribute lead to a lasting scar on human history, a blemish of senseless death and gore. Finally this picture reflects a time of violence. Yes, Gavrilo Princip is accredited with pushing Europe over the edge into war, but the true cause of the war was a war mongering culture brought on by the industrialization of countries who now had new fancy weapons to try out. In essence Gavrilo was but a cog in the war machine.

To end with, Gavrilo Princip forever changed the course of human history. In this picture though a simpler world lives on. Peace was still in place, although crumbling from Gavrilo's actions. The lives of millions were still untaken by the grim reaper of war. But all would soon change because of this man.

#4 Hannah Pauley

What does it take for an image to affect a community? Is it a burning building, a few figures strewn across the streets of a devastated city? Do people need to see the entire populace of a third world country eat hot meals to be uplifted? Though such tales of tragedies and miracles are particularly moving, significance doesn't stop where miracles and tragedies do.

It's not uncommon for me to receive a random image, caption in all CAPS from one of my friends. Usually it's something silly--pictures of cute animals, screen-shots of text conversations, hilarious personal videos--and nothing of significant weight. One time, though, I received this in a group message:

My friend’s caption read “THE NEW POPE IS COOL WITH THE GAYS!” I remember smiling a little bit.

          I’m not gay, and my gay friends aren't Catholic, but this image, spread all over the internet must have brought a smile to everyone in the gay community and its supporters (it certainly blew up my phone with replies). It’s not so much the event as the symbolic message of it: the fact that a huge religious and political influence would take a bold stand on a subject of such controversy is surprising—and for the people he’s acknowledging, it’s uplifting. The pope, put in office to lead a religion that has been known to condemn homosexuals, says, “I ain’t gonna judge.” It’s a message that, noting the source (it’s not a young, rebellious liberal), shows a significant shift in social beliefs and behaviors around the globe towards a group which has only begun to be accepted here in America. Of course, many churches will continue to disagree, and oppression of homosexuals worldwide has not disappeared, but this image, one of irony in its best form, is one that gives a great sense of security and triumph to an emerging part of society. And, after witnessing two very close friends "come out," it’s even comforting for me to know that perhaps our attitudes and social standards are making a meaningful and permanent shift.

#4: A World in Pictures-Zac Byrd

7/7 2005 was the “9/11” of London.   The bombing killed 52 passengers and injured about 700 others.  It was a regular morning in London.  Regular people were going to work on the public transportation systems like normal.  It wasn’t a special day, but then at 8:50AM the bombs started to detonate during rush hour.  This photo is from the double decker bus after it exploded near a medical facility.  It had sent the entire city in a whirlwind of panic, depression, anger, and confusion.  Officials had signs telling people not to come into London and paramedics were all over the city aiding the victims of the four bombs.  Everybody was brought closer together by this tragedy and felt similar to the Americans after 9/11.  Angry.  Security and searches for the bombers after this photo were put on high priority.  Once captured people felt better about these bombings but they still had a significant impact.  They injured and killed friends and family, and put an entire country on “panic” mode.  Brits now honor the victims the same way Americans honor the 9/11 victims. With a moment of silence.

Karl Werner Assignment 4: A World In Pictures

1945 Nagasaki, taken by the U.S. Air Force

This picture, captured by the U.S. air force, depicts the atom bomb's detonation on Nagasaki, Japan. This bomb killed over 80, 000 people and was part of a pair of nuclear weapons that directly led to Japan's WW2 surrender. The picture is of the giant mushroom cloud left in the wake of the bomb, seen high up in the air. This picture represents an event that shook the entire world. The dropping of the atom bomb ended the terrible war, but also ended thousands of innocent lives. It caused the whole of humanity to step back and examine both our own fragility and our capability for destruction. The dropping of the bomb devastated the Japanese community for years after, and its shock waves were felt across all the other continents as well. These were felt through both peace allowed by the war's end and revulsion at the intended and unexpected aftereffects of the bomb. This deployment of nuclear weapons directly led to the historical and modern stance against nuclear weapons, as well as the terror inspired by them during the Cold War. In this picture, we see an event that shook the world politically,  ethically, and scientifically. It was a big step for mankind. But to this day, no one is sure whether that step was in the right direction, wrong direction, or somewhere in between 

Good vs Evil: Jania Stevenson

Good and evil are concepts that are thought to have a clear, definite line between them. There are good people and bad people, and the good people don't do bad things and the bad people don't do good things. Although this is what is believed by most people, I think that this is not the case. In the movie "Bernie" there is a guy named Bernie who lives in a small town. Everyone knows him and he is well liked by everyone because they thought he was a good person. He ended up shooting and killing a woman he worked for. This shows that there is no absolute line good and evil. The line is blurred by the fact that everyone has the ability and the choice to be either one. This movie also shows that good and evil are viewed differently by different people. The people who liked Bernie still viewed him as a good person after he committed murder. To them, he was just a good person who did a bad thing, while to others he might have been viewed as evil. So in the end, there is no true good and no true evil and both of these concepts can be perceived differently by different people

Assignment 4: A World in Pictures4: A World in Pictures

On Monday morning, you could have stood on the top level and witnessed the beautiful eccentrics of New York city. On Tuesday morning, you would have run in horror.The two tallest buildings in New York City fell on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 and because of the consequential pain and destruction, America would forever be changed.

On September 11, the majority of the nation watched in horrific silence as they saw the pictures of chaos.

This picture from New York Magazine marked the start of a new era for America.

Pictures show us what we cannot know first-hand. They can make a statement or argument. They can educate on the reality of the world. They can change how a person thinks about an idea or event. This week, find a picture that shocked, comforted, or changed a nation or community of people (falling of Berlin wall, JFK assassination, etc.)

Include your picture, a description of it, and what it provokes you to think about in your blog.

If you're facing writer's block, consider the following:
What happened just before the photograph was taken?
How do the people in the photograph feel?
What is happening outside the frame of this photograph?

Due Sunday, September 15th at 11:59 pm!

Good vs Evil #3

Good and evil coexist in the world however there is no "war" between them. They aren't battling each other. It's not like the moves such as The Dark Knight where Batman represents good and the Joker represents evil, and they go at each other to the point where both parties almost kill each other. In reality, good and evil exist in everyone. Kellinger may have found a wallet and returned it, but who says she didn't throw a block at a fellow preschooler when she was young? Those two events may not be seen as being of the same magnitude in our world but one is good and one is evil. And even if one is only slightly evil, whether a complete accident or just an example of a toddlers innocence where they don't know any better, evil still has coexisted with good. There's nothing we can do about it as humans.

For those who are religious, the Bible says that you can not eliminate sin. Everyone is born with it. Therefore, there is no war. You cannot fight it. It is an absolute, and the only absolute in this dilemma of good vs evil. Because since we are all born with sin, there is no absolute good. And I believe that everyone has done at least one good thing during their lives. Whether its as small as saying good morning with a smile on your face or as big as donating millions of dollars to a children's charity. Whether you like it or not, you are good but you are also evil.

Take myself for example. I have helped an old lady pick up her fallen groceries in the middle of a parking lot, I have helped a teammate dispose of ice and plastic wrap when they can't get up due to their injury, and I have broken up multiple fights at school. However, I has also bullied and harassed classmates, I have been caught cheating on tests, and I have deliberately disobeyed superiors and disrespected their authority. I am good and evil, all wrapped up into one person. And everyone in the world is this way. Some people steal food because their too poor to afford it, but then they share it with their starving children. Good and evil can't exist without each other, and neither one will ever go away.

Alexander Reese Good vs Evil

    Does the world have good? Does the world have evil? Unfortunately, it has both. They're in a war, but not nearly as clear cut as movies and other sources of entertainment would make it appear. Lots of actions and people also fall in between the two rather ambiguous categories. The typical battle of good versus evil also typically has a single hero or good side and a single villain. You could try, but would most likely be very unsuccessful in identifying these in the real world. If you had asked this question during the cold war era, I would've pointed at communism, but someone from elsewhere might tell you capitalism is evil. "Good" and "evil" Mean different things to different people sit different times. Evil can also be too much of a subjective word. It carries so much weight but has no standard meaning. Because of how imperfect humans are, I believe we will always have evil, but that by no means justifies giving up.

Good vs. Evil: Hans Stromberg

In most movies you see these days, you can pick out your hero and your villain in about the first thirty minutes. Wouldn't that be nice in everyday life? Being able to pick out the hero and the villain, the good vs. evil. Unfortunately, real life doesn't work that way. There is no clear cut good and evil, only a nice, big grey area that everyone is involved in. Even in this huge grey area, there is some light, people still do good things in everyday life. On the other hand, so called "good" people do bad things. Politicians are supposed to be morally good people because they have powers that demand them to act wisely. Instead, in the news you are always hearing about corrupt politicians doing things they shouldn't. Of course, this is usually pointed out by an opposing side making them stoop to their opponents level.

Also, there is no getting rid of good and evil. That has been around since the beginning of time, God vs. the devil, the epitome of good vs. evil. You will always have people doing evil and corrupt things, it's just human nature. We aren't designed to be perfect little angels, we are flawed making even the best people do terrible things. Therefore, we will have good and evil as long as humans walk the earth.

Good vs Evil- Rachel Hart

I don't believe that there is an absolute good and evil. I don't believe that a person can be too evil that there is no good to them. However there is a war of evil vs. good. We are all human and we struggle against ourselves and one another to do the "evil" thing or the "good" thing. While good and evil may only  be perceptive. One person may see something as being completely evil while another sees it as somewhat good.  Yes, good and evil have to exist even in the smallest forms. For every action there is a reaction. When a person does something evil, a form of good has to occur to fix the situation. If there was no evil, would there ever be a good? Would things ever change because one evil had happened? Neither good nor evil can ever eliminate the other forever. There will always be something good to counterbalance the evil and vice versa.  

Come To the Dark Side: Lucy Wan

The world is not colorblind.

While the divide between good and evil seems like absolute values, it is not all black-and-white. Instead, we live in a greyscale, a range of color from black to white and everything in between. Though good and evil seem like two entirely different things, they are interconnected and intermingle. Good is to evil as love is to hate; they cannot exist without each other, yet they are completely unlike.

The only war between good and evil is the struggle of an individual between them. Though some people seem like the definition of evil, there is good in them and vice versa. As Americans, we believe the bombing of 9/11 was an act of pure evil, yet the Taliban would see it as the right thing to do. Ultimately, our perspective determines our viewpoint of good and evil. Good v. Evil encompasses a grey area that depends on the way we assess the situation.

Good and evil cannot be fully defined. While good seems like love and evil seems like hatred, it is not so easy to spell out the difference. Our opinion of good and evil depends on our opinion of the context that surrounds separate actions. Good and evil are not two different concepts, but rather a greyscale of humanity.

The many shades of Grey Jack Humphries

The epic battle between good and evil is often dramatized in literature, media, and even the news. The villain is dastardly and devious while the hero is made perfect by the end of the tale. This Light vs. Dark mentality oftentimes eliminates the middle ground that so many of occupy. In the real world nobody is perfect, just like nobody is purely evil. There are no dastardly villains for us not so perfect people to triumph over, and in the end what makes us view people as good or evil is our perception and lack of comprehension. 

Our perception of the world around us is the most valuable tool we have. No body can take away what we think and what we believe which is why our perception is also extremely dangerous. People have died because of how their actions have been perceived by other humans. For example take the murder of Trevon Martin a Florida teen killed in cold blood by the racist George Zimmerman. Or was it the drugged up aggressive Trevon Martin that attacked the protector of the neighborhood George Zimmerman. Our media spun the story one way, based on the perceived actions of George Zimmerman  and Trevon Martin. In the end though no one may know the full truth of this tragedy because there are two different tales that describe the incident. This goes to show that how events are perceived is just as important as the event its self.

 

Even more important though is understanding each other. If we knew why we do what we do, and who we are as human beings, all the violence, deception, and evil would be seen for what it truly was. Look at the Trevon Martin, George Zimmerman event again. If George Zimmerman knew Trevon Martin as a human being, he could have avoided his prejudice towards Trevon and conducted himself as a non-violent neighborhood watch member. And if Trevon had know George Zimmerman was a thourough neighborhood watch member who was just looking out for his community Trevon would have felt less threatened and could have acted accordingly. In knowing and understanding the motives and minds of the people around you, you eliminate the true evils of the world. You are able to deter ignorance and vanquish hate, because it is only possible to hate someone or something you don't understand. 

In being able to understand those around you, the knowledge that nobody is purely good, just as nobody is completely evil becomes evident. Even the worst criminals, and most hateful people in the world have some good in them. As well, even the most good doing people in the world have committed some level of ignorance,  or hate in their lives. The important thing to remember is that there are two sides to every coin, and that in completely accepting one, you end up knowing less about the other. This ignorance to the world around you is true evil, just as completely comprehending the world around us is truly good.

Good vs. Evil- Chelsea Southworth

In the stories, the shining knight dressed in white armor always defeats the dark, evil villain. It’s easy to tell who’s good and who’s evil even at the quickest of glances; the good guy is beautiful and virtuous, while the bad guy is hideous and despicable. Even their color schemes match the black and white morality: villains are dark and wicked, while heroes are light and pure. But in real life, how can you tell who’s ‘good’ and who’s ‘evil’? Is the mother who takes the money from a lost wallet to feed her children evil, or is the evil one the corporate executive who dropped his wallet on the street?

The truth is, in real life, there is no defined line between good and evil. Everyone is capable of both, and everyone does things that are good and bad over the course of their lives. Even the definitions of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ are subjective – it all depends on your perspective. To quote Tom Hiddleston, “Every villain is a hero in their own mind.” At the same time, anything you do, no matter how good and heroic you think it is, can be twisted into and portrayed as something bad. There is no ultimate, universal black and white regarding humanity; there are only billions of interpretations of the grayscale in which we exist.