Justine

My Theory of Mind 

Problem Log:

3/23/15

1. Nav bar and pages

• Originally wanted my current tag line (Insights, Inspirations, DIY Exercises) to be three separate pages on my blog. But The "home" page did not separate the different pages so all the content went onto one page. This worked out for the better as I like the running page of interconnected content. 

2. Changed from original Kelly theme to Plane theme 

• first used the Kelly template due to its simple design and the cool header, but it was only a one column template, so I could add footer with widgets, but not a sidebar and I really like the look of the sidebar for social media. So, I found the Plane theme which has an even better layout, color scheme and has capability for a sidebar 

3. Social Media Icons 

• Found in the basic widgets on wordpress places for FB and Instagram links, however they are not icons and show the latest picture, which is cool, but I like the look of the icons better. You can download the icons as a plugin, but to get the plugin dashboard you have to claim the the blog on a host site to have the full site abilities. 

4. Researching Web Hosting programs

• Begin my search for a proper host site on Wordpress Search, they listed several options, and I happened to like DreamHost, it looks like its only 4.95/month and includes a free domain…definitely worth looking into! 

3/30/15

1. Creating a Gimmick 

• Last night I played the notorious game of cards against humanity and with the theme of "gimmicks" in my mind, realized that the whole game is "gimmicking" our society. Today I brainstormed on how I wanted to represent this gimmick, and stumbled upon the interested fact that CAH literally sold people a box of bullshit to protest black friday. If CAH wasn't bullshit enough, this definitely topped it off. I plan to write on CAH as a gimmick of our society and continue along the line of how ridiculous our interests are within each other lives.  

4/6/15

1. Thoughts on repeating gimmick

• Brainstormed how I want to repeat my gimmick post on "cards against humanity". Thought about continuing posts with paired up cards giving examples of how outrageous our society is when it comes to entertainment, but I decided to not continue the posts due to lack of motivation on subject and time. 

4/20/15

1. Make video blog 

• Figure out theme and content for video, post for this week's blog 
• Meditation practice, mindful exercise…
• Layout for Video:
• Intro- (recored on camera)
• who I am (landscape close up of me)
• overview of video (intro to meditation, how to make it part of your everyday life)
• what is it? how to integrate it into daily life?
• body- (recorded on computer)
• how to start- find a comfortable position, no distractions (wide view of me going to my spot to meditate)
• sit/stand with spine straight (move closer for side view of straight spine)
• take three deep breaths focuses on the feeling of your breath moving in and up and out and down…(close up of portrait/bust to shoe breath moving)
• there are many ways to practice meditation, but the greatest way to calm the mind, body and soul is to embrace your environment and bring yourself to the present moment…close your eyes and use your other sensesuse your senses to become aware of all the movements of the world around you..(pull away and adding recording of sounds of wind, birds, waves…)
• now begin to bring your focus internally, feeling your breath, observing your thoughts and any feeling that arise and let them play out…mediation music can help, or mantras to keep the mind focused…separate yourself from your thoughts, observe them but dont let them control your state…understand that you are not your thoughts, you just are. 
• end with bringing movement/ awareness to physical body, open eyes slowly and look around, notice if you feel different, how your observation of life feels, journal if you feel if anything really heavy came up to let it out 
• conclusion- 
• how to repeat, how often…
• benefits…(creativity, insight, relaxation, unwinding of thoughts, deeper awareness of our multidimensional being) 
• explore different practices and see what works for you 

4/27/15

1. Process of making video

• Should have known this video was going to be a lot harder than I anticipated. Fortunately I had the idea and script written out and lined up, but as far as finding the right device to record this video, yeah that was a whole different story. 
• First, I tried to be lazy and record from my computer in my room, I set up with a nice background and a close up on me in a meditation pose. I did a couple recordings and when I played them back, found that the timing was slightly off, but enough to make my words faster than my moving mouth, so this was extremely awkward.
• Next, I attempted to use my camera, and set it up in the same spot. At first I couldn't find my tripod connector, but then found that after planning on experimenting with a handmade mount. Then I began recording to find out my camera doesn't want to make videos anymore. It kept saying "stoping recording automatically" for no reason, even though my memory card was empty and the battery was fully charged…. :(((
• After that I took a break to collect my self, and came back with the help of my mom to hold my phone and record on that. I was really excited about this idea at first, but then was half way through and my phone told me that "I don't have enough space" to record anymore. At this point I was on the edge of tears. I tried to delete some stuff, but nothing really worked, and a lot of stuff on there I need and didn't feel like dealing with that whole process….
• So…I asked my dad is I could use one of his cameras, he said yes, and my mom being the angel she is helped me record it again. Now, I the recording for once finally went smoothly, and I uploaded the video with no problem….BUT when I finally went to look at the video that light was shitty, and there was a terrible buzzing noise in the background……. Needless to say I was about to give up for the day. But then I called my boyfriend and told him what was up, he said he could use his phone which has a good quality recorder. I thought Brilliant!…Went to go pick him up, updated him, then realized he needed to charge his phone. We went back home and waited like 30min for him to charge his phone….By the time we got to the lake, which is where I wanted to film originally, the sun was about 10minutes from setting and we couldn't find a good spot. The sun set, I was a whole day in with NOTHING to show for my progress. But thankfully my boyfriend said he would be willing to help on monday before class….
• So, we met up around 1130, tried burnt cedar, it was too windy, then made our way to hidden beach area where we FINALLY found a spot, recorded it in between the gusts on wind and came out of it with a great recording!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• Through all of this I learned that art takes patience and perseverance….and a couple bottles of wine…..  

2. Process of downloading and editing

• So far no real BIG issues like I had before. I've begun editing the video, and if I had the proper equipment (aka video camera and tripod) I would have been a lot happier, but I got tired and wanted to get it done. So it is what is it, and I am satisfied. 
• I really am liking the part on the "thinking dimension" exercise. I made a really cool graphic and stumbled upon a rad song that is perfect for the background. Additionally I was able to record my voice using the microphone at the school which gave a flawless recoding! 
• Making this video has been really interesting and makes me think about people who upload videos all the time, cant imagine how much time that takes!!