A Sinfonian Holiday

COME OUT TONIGHT!!!

BRING BAE...you know, if you haven't actually bought them a present

I will be in performing and I will be playing this godly instrument tonight! 

The IP Stanback Museum - The Influence of James Brown

The influence of James Brown reaches across American culture. He has influenced music, dance, style and politics. At the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium, his legacy has been well preserved. All items in the exhibition come directly from James Brown's home in South Carolina and the Stanback is the only place that you can see them. 







The exhibit will be open until July 2015, but don't wait. Come visit today! The museum is located on the campus of SC State University, across the street from Felton Laboratory School and next to Andrew Hugine Suites. Call to schedule a tour at (864) 536-7174.

The Life and Legacy of James Brown

Here at SCSU, we are all about honoring the past so we can know our future. No other musician has contributed as much much to music as James Brown. The Godfather of soul has not only touched music, but he has influenced dance, style, and even politics as well. In our museum and planetarium on the campus of SC State, we have showcased these qualities of the life of James Brown. The Stanback was gifted all of the items that were in Brown's home. Here is just a bit of the exhibit that I have captured using the 6-second video app Vine.

The James Brown Exhibit will be open at the IP Stanback Museum and Planetarium until July 2015 so feel free to visit anytime between now and then. It is free and open to the public Monday through Friday from 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. For more news, visit the SC State website or the Stanback blog CRASH

IT'S HOMECOMING 2014!!!!!

It's homecoming at SCSU. And what better way to celebrate than counting the bulldogs around campus. Here is  a little slideshow put together using the website Kizoa which offers  a bunch of different options for editing your slideshow Around here in bulldog country

Bulldog Homecoming - Video Maker

As you can see SC State just oozes bulldog pride! so come join us and catch yourself some of this bulldogs pride. It's simply irresistable!

Photo Editing

Editing your photos can really bring them to life. And since everything can be done from your phone nowadays,  it has become easier than ever to edit your own photos.

For this post, I used the apps Afterfocus and VSCO Cam, both of which can be found on  Apple or Android devices.

Finished product after using Afterfocus and VSCO

First, I opened the picture in Afterfocus

Then, I selected the focus area

After that, I just highlighted the mid area

Lastly, I adjusted the contrast and exposure and added a bit of fade

Photo Manipulation

Photo manipulation programs give you the opportunity to edit photos to be more appealing or pleasing to the eye. The following photos were edited with Gimp, a free photo manipulation program that usually comes standard with Linux OS.

In the following photos, I adjusted the curve balance of black, white and gray, as well as adjusted the saturation and color balance.

Before. The black in this photo appears a bit faded.

After. By adjusting the curves of light and darkness, the black in this photo is darker and the colors appear more vibrant.

Before. This picture also appears faded. The background is more bright.

After. Adjusted the curves, color balance, and saturation, making the background a darker color, the blacks darker and the colors more vibrant.

Before

After. Adjusted the color balance to make the blues and magentas stand out more.

The slightest of tweaks in light, darkness, colors, saturation and contrast can make all the difference in the final product of a picture

Rising Tuition at SCSU: A Student's Perspective

Many changes have taken place at South Carolina State University. With a lower rate of enrollment, and a deficit of $13 million, there have been decisions made by the university's administration to raise tuition. This raise in tuition, though considered a minor increase by some, is a major issue that faces students.

The decision to raise tuition happened during the summer after students already put in their financial aid for the previous cost of tuition. The sudden change caused many students to have to rush to find a solution in less than a month.This left many students with balances for the fall semester. I decided to get the opinions of students.







I spoke with Gabrielle, a sophomore speech pathology and audiology major from Charleston, SC. She was not pleased with the raise in tuition. "It limits opportunities", she says. "It makes it harder for students to go to school and live on campus."

Brandon, a senior biology major from Charleston, SC was indifferent to the raise in tuition. "The raise in tuition doesn't affect me because I stay off campus and the military pays for my schooling."








Some students were more upset with the heavy issuing of parking tickets in conjunction with the larger tuition bill. "I don't like the fact that they are raising tuition when they are creating more parking tickets for everyone", senior English education major Alonzo said. "It lowers enrollment, especially when you're coming from out of state", said freshman business management major Chaoke.

When students are not involved in the decision-making processes that affect them, it creates an atmosphere of mistrust. Students should always feel that they can trust the school administrators to make decisions with their best interests in mind.

The Apple Watch

Has Apple done it again? Only time will tell.
The announcement of the Apple Watch immediately brings to mind other smartwatches like the Samsung Galaxy Gear and the Pebble. In my opinion, smartwatches are only a technology designed to look cool and nothing more, though some think that it will revolutionize the way we use technology, making it our gadgets wearable. It is the same technology and software that already exists in your pocket as your phone, just miniaturized and strapped to your wrist. So will it revolutionize the way we use technology? I highly doubt it. However, I do think that it opens possibilities for making smaller, more efficient technology.

At a glance, you can see that the Apple Watch has the appearance of a regular watch. The screen is 1.5 inches for the smaller version and 1.65 inches for the slightly bigger one. There are a variety of colors, including silver, black, grey and special edition yellow or rose gold. As of right now, we don't have any news about the internal specs, but as time draws closer to the release,we are sure to see more about what's on the inside

So can we expect this watch to revolutionize the market? we will have to wait to find out. My position still remains that it will not dramatically change anything.Apple still has plenty of competition in this market. Other brands have had time to test out the functionality of this kind of product and measure consumer responses. It may become like Google Glass, a product that only a select few people use faithfully. But it also might slant the entire market in it's favor. Only time will truly tell.

What I Like Most/Least About TV

We get so much from TV. For many of us, it is a source of news, music, and just overall entertainment. Iconic moments on TV have brought entire groups of people together. However, there are a few things I have grown to dislike about TV. Over the years, entertainment has changed. Networks are going so far over the edge to get those extra ratings. Reality shows are the worse thing to ever happen to TV. It has convinced people that what they see on the screen is real and that it is possible for them to emulate the lives of celebrities. What some people don't realize is that these so-called "reality" shows are scripted and are run behind the scenes by a crew of writers.

How far are we willing to go for entertainment?

Violent scene from the VH1 reality show "Love and Hip Hop"

It has become an acceptable form of entertainment to watch stereotypes perpetuated on prime time TV. We put these over dramatic displays of ignorance and violence on air for the entire world to see. For those who have never met Americans, TV shows give them their first impression of what we are like. From these portrayals, people around the world get a bad impression of who we are.

Is this what we want the world to think of Americans?

We must be conscious of what we put out there for the world to see. To this end, there are petitions to have certain shows removed from the air. What we allow stations to air and what we sit and watch also shows what we are willing to let them portray us as.