Shelby Lee Adams

I believe that Shelby Lee Adams will follow the footsteps of many famous artists that used to be disregarded as not real artists. It seems to be a common pattern among the art community that you do not become famous for your hard work until after you have died. Shelby joins the revolutionary artist group. I do not understand why he is disliked because there are other famous photographers that produce work like him but are praised in the art community. He may not be shooting gorgeous black and white scenery shots but his photographs send a message. In time he will be referred to a visionary for stepping outside of the box and photographing normal people instead of chasing around celebrities. The only reason why he is disregarded is because his subjects aren’t the beloved celebs who are plastered all over every magazine cover. Also, art is a subjective form that heavily relies on the personal tastes of the audience. I agree that I do not like his photographs but that is because I do not like portraits because I prefer scenery and nature pictures over ones of faces. On the other hand, some people have no desire to look at trees or water and would rather purchase or take photographs of someone. Everything in life is unique to the individual. I personally commend Shelby for having the courage to photograph an unpopular subject because no one ever thinks to stop and take a look or think about the fact that the United States does have impoverished areas. I love how he is showing the old American ideal of hard working individuals. I think it's ironic that people are getting upset about photos of "ugly" people when the exact opposite occurs too. There are critics of "beautiful" people photos too, you cannot please everyone because someone will always be upset. 

Clavadetscher's Primary Sources

"American Cribbage Congress Website." American Cribbage Congress Website. ACC, n.d. Web. 27 Jan. 2013. <http://www.cribbage.org/>.[1]

"Basketball." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Jan. 2013. Web. 27 Jan. 2013.[2]

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[1] Cribbage is an older game that most people have heard of but never really played. It is one of my favorite games to play and is always out when I am home. My mom trained me for years as a child by giving rewards like chocolate if I won and now I beat her majority of the time. Three years ago there was a large snow storm in Northern Virginia which knocked out our power for a couple days so we played by candle light during our breaks from shoveling the inches of snow off of our driveway. As a result of this assignment I learned about cribbage tournaments that occur in Nevada, I did not know this game was that popular.

[2] Soccer was my life from kindergarten to 5^th grade until I was converted to playing basketball after playing with the boys at recess. I played with my best friend Jesse outside every day and then I tried out for a team and that was the beginning of my basketball career. I was 5’2” as an 11 year old so I got to play center until 7^th grade when I tried out for a travel team and became a shooting guard. I quickly switched from tallest to shortest girl on the team in one tryout. I was converted from then on, basketball became my life. Practice was my favorite time of the day because I’d go from practicing with the girls to playing with the boys to playing against older men who were 30-50. I was talked into trying out for my high school’s team and played for them for a year. I met one of my best friends through basketball and I still love basketball today. I go to every home Tech basketball game.

Research and Me!

Research is important according to this article because the scientists believed that a specific gene was the cause for human exploration. To test this theory they would need to have a control group and many different subjects ranging from sedentary humans to explorers and compare gene levels or whether the gene was present. Also, research proved that Tupaia’s people came from the same location that Cook’s people came from even though they are vastly different 50,000 to 70,000 years later. You could even consider exploration as a type of research. Think about it, you have a theory about a location that may or may not exist therefore you venture out and study it, collect information and then form a conclusion based off your results. This is known as the scientific method. Humans have also devoted a lot of time and still are, to studying other animals to see how they work compared to humans. We are born with the curiosity to learn and research helps us to find the answers to our questions, broadening our knowledge. Research was also vital in discovering the DRD4 and 7R genes because with further study scientists can discover what they honestly regulate or stimulate in the brain, because right now they are assuming but with further research they can have concrete evidence supporting their claim, and which animals have these particular genes that cause certain behaviors. As Kidd said, “You can’t reduce a complex behavior to a single gene, genetics doesn’t work that way.” It is a true fact that is studied by biopsychologists every day.