How my presentation went:

It went pretty awesome. I had the Dean, who's name I forget, but she's a sweetheart. She was very impressed with my board game, research, and overall disposition on the subject. She said that the reason I got so many points was because of my manners, and to thank my mother for raising such a gentleman. That got me stoked. I went out on a limb and told her that I drink occasionally on the weekends and I party with friends (you said not to), and she was just concerned if I ever drove drunk, and I don't. She said she loved how straight forward and confident I was.

I think it went great, seriously. I surprisingly had a lot of fun doing presentations and planning my stuff.
 It's so exciting to get all of this out of the way! Such a load off. And it's a really good looking project, if I do say so myself.

Update: 4/13/2012

I realize my last blog post was quite immature and teen angsty. my apologies.
As much as I don't care about this project, like I stated before, I do care about
my general productivity level. I've began my board game, and mapped out most
of it. It is a Monopoly-based game, but instead of buying properties you're buying
measurements and amounts of drugs. All of the chance and community chest cards
are negative effects that are happening when mixed up with drugs. Free parking will
essentially be kicking your addiction for the time being. etc, etc. This game is meant
to be informative to the serious issue of addiction, and inform with information about
the drugs themselves.

4/9/2012

I guess my title is Agent Varner, being a DEA agent. The idea of Capstone is a good one; to research thoroughly into your field of study and expand on it beyond most projects and topics. I personally have found quite positive experience from this project, as much as I hated it.The negatives are that kids aren't going to take this kind of project seriously. I know probably 10 kids off the top of my head that actually have a viable and important project. Every single senior is pulling a project out of their asses to satisfy this grade. Including me. The only thing I care about is actual knowledge, which I have received from the research I've done for my project. But the project itself I could care less about. I don't care about the poster, video, website (although the website is pretty cool), and especially the final product. All-in-all, this class just makes our Senioritis worse and pisses us off. We're already seniors, we're already mad at the education system, and we're ready to get out of here. Don't give us this bullshit. It should've been given when we were juniors, if anything.


A poem by: Jonathan Alexander Varner

Blog Update:

I'd say that my overall project is coming together pretty well. I'm like 90% done with my website, and it looks and works pretty well. Kind of stoked about that. Also, I haven't really done my video, but I have a firm idea and people who are willing to do it. That's the only thing I'm really nervous about.
Also, my final product will apparently be a board game. It'll be Monopoly style, and incorporate my idea with a learning experience and fun educational factors. The game won't be babied. It won't be kiddie. It will be an adult-style game (just like Monopoly isn't really meant for children).
I'm going to use this wikihow http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Your-Own-Board-Game as a good starting place on how to at least get my idea moving.

Blog Update: 19 March 2012

I haven't updated my blog in forever. I guess I just got caught up in other things.
I'd say that my presentation got my point across. It gave some major angles that I plan on using and a basis on what I expect my video to turn out like. It's going to be hard to really start the aging process on Minh, but it will be well worth the trouble when it's done with. I'm stoked for the final project, honestly.

Video Project Blog Entry

1.      Video Project (or Alternative*)

A.          Post a video to YouTube or Vimeo of one of the following;

1.     a documentary on the importance of your project

2.     an animation explaining your concept

3.     a narrative story that illustrates your theme

B.          Include planning documents:

1.        script.

2.        voice over dialogue or narration.

3.        dialogue.

4.        music.

5.        storyboard, script or shot list.

6.        identify needed assets:

                                                                    i.      actors

                                                                  ii.      recording time

                                                                iii.      set design 

So my video that I plan to make is going to be an animation explaining my concept. 

There will be no script because there will be no dialogue. The music will be friendly 

and fast-paced (like most music in a stop motion), where the frames will be keeping

up with the beat of the song. The storyboard is pretty much many frames of my friend

Minh Nguyen smoking a hookah, and then aging with each frame. We will be adding 

makeup to his face to make each shot an older version of himself. It will be showing

the harsh affects of addiction and using drugs everyday. Like, I've said a million times

over, I don't care about marijuana in my presentation. This is not some lie that says 

that marijuana ages and kills you. This focuses on heavy drug-usage like heroin, 

meth-amphetamines, and other addictive substances. I'll need Minh as an actor,

a lot of time to record each shot, and the set design will just be my house, i suppose.

Daily Post: 2/13/2012

I guess what's next from here is actually put relevant information on the site to make it useable. And to expand on my poster design which shouldn't be too difficult seeing as how I'm almost done with it. My video is the least important to me in all reality because I don't really see my project being much of an entertainment thing, which is how my video will be. I am focusing in being completely informative, so the main points of my project will be expressed on the website. I think I'm also designing a little pamphlet or brochure just to kind of get the name of the project out there.
I genuinely don't see the video working out as well as the poster and the website. I honestly won't put nearly as much time into the video as i will other things.

Poster.

Daily Post: 2/3/2012

So I presented my website and I actually really enjoy it. Even though I'm completely worn out with the whole "Capstone" thing. My website is starting to look really nice. The layout is really cool, and even though wix isn't really what people want, I think that it should be used because it just looks overall better and more professional. Especially if you buy your own domain (which would be cool, but I just don't have the money for it). I really like my capstone project because it falls into my passion for everything I believe in.

4 Effective Poster Tips:

The first tip is to really think about who this poster is for. The audience and setting of the poster is incredibly important. And the purpose of the poster. Are you selling something, promoting something, or educating people.

The second tip is to reduce clutter on your poster page. If there is too much randomly assorted "stuff" than it won't have a clear focal point that is stressing the main opinion of the poster. If you are going to input many different images, than they need to be surrounding a bigger, main idea.

The third tip is to not rely on text objects to grab people's attention. Text should be used sparingly because graphics and images are supposed to describe the point of the poster to hold an audience member's full attention.Using text every once in a while is not a negative aspect in your poster all the time.

The final tip for creating an effective poster is to try and use bigger images rather than blowing up images. Your resolution should be high and so should the size of the poster.

11/17 or 18/24

200 dpi min.

Daily Post 1/23/2012

So I presented my video and gave my explanation for why I had such an interesting video and everything seemed okay. Obviously my video was kind of juvenile and fun, but it was a test and now I know how to construct a stop-motion film. I'm kind of stoked for my video. I'm going to take pictures of Minh smoking, and with each picture add more make-up to his face to age him. It should turn out kind of cool if I do it right.

On another note, I just found out that B.B. King will be in Oklahoma on the 23rd of February and I'd love to go.

Video rough draft.

Daily Post: 1/13/2012

So today I expanded on my previous website. My template I got from Wix.com is really appealing to me and I hope it turns out well. the only issue is that I have to use Dreamweaver eventually to make an identical webpage so I can get the grade. Which I think is dumb, since Wix is an optional alternative, but that's alright. I am a productive person, and I try to do as much work as I can in this dreadful 2 1/2 hours, but this is just too long to sit on one topic and never drift from it. That's why I'm writing this blog post; I refuse to talk about drugs for 3 hours straight without having a really fine guideline of what to do.

Daily Post. 1/12/2012

So I was thinking about how I feel towards drugs and drug-users. Addiction is a disease. Anyone who hasn't been addicted to anything seriously have no right to judge addicts based on their using of drugs. I want to offer people my help and to cut off the drug trade to all of these sick people. I don't see addicts as "bad people" and I certainly don't judge them. When I say drug-users, I don't mean that you smoke the occasional joint, drink the occasional bit of alcohol, or take pills for real physical pain. With that being said I can honestly say that those 3 things can lead to a life of addiction though. Not everyone can force themselves to quit doing something. More than half of our United States population is addicted to sodas and the caffeine in sodas. Think about the time you tried to quit sodas and you got that killer headache that didn't even go away when you slept. Drug withdrawals are 100 times worse than that headache. To be an addict is to be sick but so is to quit your drug.

Nobody does a drug once with the intention of becoming addicted to it. The United States really needs to give up this "war on drugs" bullshit and stop treating drug-use as a crime and start treating it as a medical condition. People should not go to prison because they have an addiction, they should go to government funded treatment centers. Now, a drug dealer or transporter should be locked behind bars, because all he is doing is adding fuel to the fire. If we legalized drugs and regulated them, we would have control of the drug world instead of homeless drug users dying in the streets every day. Using drugs shouldn't be scary because of going to jail and getting in trouble, it should be feared as a possessive device that can spiral your life and the lives of people around you straight down.

B. Blog Entry:

So my intended PSA about illegal and prescription substance abuse among adolescents will obviously carry a serious tone rather than a comedic one. I'm thinking about either choosing a simple and factual information and example video, or actually creating a stop-motion that is about a drug using teenager. I haven't decided if I wanted to create a time lapse stop-motion or something else.
The colors for my video won't be anything specific or dark. My intention is to NOT scare the audience, but rather politely inform them the dangers and life-changing effects of drugs. The imagery will be some examples of drug users and links to many videos and documentaries that are really covering the drug intake and effects.
The persuasiveness of the paper will mainly originate from the factual information. I believe it is my job to give you the most accurate forms of facts, but not my job to persuade you to not use drugs. Hopefully the drug facts will be enough for you to persuade yourself off of the idea. I like the idea of people making their own decisions after being educated on the topic, rather than walking blindly into a situation. If someone knows plenty of information regarding drugs and still decides to use, it's their own decision.
I will make my point by presenting plausible situations, reoccurring directions of drug users, and many cold-hard facts. There's not a reason to fear drugs, but there is a reason to avoid the usage of them because of the negative consequences on the body, mind, and social being. There is no effective way to force someone who is using drugs to quit cold turkey. There is a process and it starts with you have to want to help yourself.
I intend to create a hypothetical drug program that teaches children the truth about drugs rather than the scary bent truth. I will create a website with a neutral color scheme. I will also create a pamphlet that explains the program and even shares some of those facts with the reader. I will create a PSA just to very briefly address the dangers and side-effects of many drugs.

Daily Blog 1/6/2012

Today we took a small tutorial on Youtube concerning the essential tools of Photoshop CS5. I already know how to properly use Photoshop for the most part, but it's always good to study an art.We were also handed a handout that described each of the tools in brief words. I gathered roughly 8 pictures and I have plenty of room to gather even more. I finished my documentary today and it really opens my eyes to the drug usage on the streets. It really increases my passion for wanting to stop drug use. I don't care that drugs are illegal, and I don't think it's necessarily wrong to do them, but I hate seeing people destroy themselves instead of finding happiness in other things. There are plenty of other things to do even when there's nothing at all to do. Paint, draw, sing, dance, journal, read, and all kinds of things.

Daily Post 1/5/2012

Today we were given the assignment to start looking into creating a video with regards to our Senior Capstone. I decided that I plan on creating a stop-motion film. I spent the majority of class time researching how to make stop-motions properly and generally how they work and some ideas of drug PSA's that I could maybe make.
After I finished watching stop motion videos, I began watching a documentary about Black Tar Heroin and how it affects people in the streets of San Fransisco. The video is gut-wrenching and kills me to watch it, but I need to gather all the knowledge I can about drug usage if I want to really explore my career interest. I haven't finished the documentary, but I plan on finishing it outside of class.
I, unfortunately, have not come up with a plot for my intended PSA about drug usage and the side effects of addiction.

A. Blog Entry:

a) My Capstone project can be summarized as a reconstruction to drug-prevention and drug-treatment programs that are mainly targeting adolescents. Studies show that when sheltering a pre-teen or teen from information concerning drug and substance abuse, they are more likely to pursue their curiosity concerning these drugs than someone who is given factual and honest information. I want to create a hypothetical drug program that deals with prevention and rehabilitation but with real information rather than scare tactics. Of course it will be best to simplify standard facts for the youth to grasp, but rather than stating that doing drugs is wrong I want to enforce the idea that drugs are unhealthy for your physical being, social life, and mental capabilities and support my statement with solid proof. I plan on receiving and interpreting much research concerning drug abuse and drug prevention while I impel my project.

b) It's extremely important to take this seriously because the lives of millions of people are affected by drug abuse among adolescents. Every single parent of a teenager is affected intensely if the youth is held down in substance abuse.These drug users are more often than not, not functioning members of a community or society in general, which is important to have a strong sense of power in a community.

c) My project is intended to be a more effective drug prevention and rehabilitation program. This gives back to society by keeping adolescents out of trouble with their own bodies and with the law. It takes stress off of the parents because there is a major stress in parent-child communication. To strengthen the relationship between parent and child as well as to keep the youth out of drug using is a plausible goal for my project.

d) I plan on studying Criminal Justice as my major at Sam Houston State University. After completing my education I want to become a DEA agent and serve to help eliminate drug trafficking. This is my passion because I'm a heavy believer in served justice. The justice system of the US needs improvement and I want to help take part in shaping that.

e) This supports the Richland triple bottom line by not being economically refuting, being socially correct, and environmental. The social justice line is the primary concern when expressing a project like this, and mine fits fine.