What is considered "speech?"

The broad term "speech" can include verbal, nonverbal, visual, and symbolic expressions. For example, in 1969, the Supreme Court found that high school students could wear symbolic black arm bands in protest of the Vietnam War as part of their freedom of speech rights. 

Joseph Frederick, a senior at Juneau-Douglas High School, unfurled a banner saying "Bong Hits 4 Jesus" during the Olympic Torch Relay through Juneau, Alaska on January 24, 2002. Frederick's attendance at the event was part of a school-supervised activity. The school's principal, Deborah Morse, told Frederick to put away the banner, as she was concerned it could be interpreted as advocating illegal drug activity. After Frederick refused to comply, she took the banner from him. Frederick originally was suspended from school for 10 days for violating school policy, which forbids advocating the use of illegal drugs.


And who says so?

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

But what about my mother?

"to justify suppression of free speech, there must be reasonable ground to fear that serious evil will result if free speech is practiced" and "there must be reasonable ground to believe that the danger apprehended is imminent."

So how does that change what we are comfortable with saying? 

What are some of the words or ideas that are taboo now?

Here is a general guide that will help you.

So what does free speech look like in other countries? 

Do you think that we should be allowed to say anything? Especially online?

For next week Wednesday 

1. Interview five people and ask them 
"What do you know about your First Amendment rights?" Ask them if they know that they can say almost anything - do they know what those lines are?


2. Each interview should last 2-5 minutes. Record these interviews on your phone or on your pad. 

• You can use the following apps or any app you normally use:
• Voice memo
• Recorder (free app) 
• Take video  

3. Take pictures of the people you interview.
4. Take all of your pictures and your interviews and put them on a folder on your desktop
5. Listen to all of your interviews and take some notes
6. Write for 10 minutes straight - (Set a timer) and puke on the page everything you have learned about what people think and what is your reaction to what they think? 

You will take these pictures and listen to the audio to create a slide show of what you hear on the Adobe Spark. That will be for later in the week. 

Where is your tool kit?

What are the tools in your toolkit?

A notebook for notes, ideas snippets, conversations, ANYTHING that can/does/will spark a idea.

A notebook for morning pages, and more about morning pages, and do the morning pages. 

Finally, a notebook as your writing space (we do not write first drafts on a computer. Computers are bad for your creativity.) 

WRITE WITH A PENCIL OR PEN - There are physical and metal benefits

I have a special pen. I love my pen and have taken pictures of it. 

This is my pen. There are many like it but this one is mine. I want you to make your own writing and creativity creed. Take a look at this clip from the movie "Full Metal Jacket"

Take these actions seriously. Here a a favorite quote of mine: 

“Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.
Do it or don't do it.
It may help to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself,. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.
You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God.
Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.” ― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

And here is more from Pressfield. Read him. He is a creative monster. 

Your first assignments for Friday:

• Get your notebooks and personalize them.
• Write your own creative prayer to say to yourself before starting. (I would put it inside of my new notebooks)
• Write a short but powerful paragraph about what you hope to gain through writing practice this semester. 

What you need to know to create a story

Think about your pictures and what is the story that they tell.

You need to think of five things:

Who?   What?   Where?   When?   Why?   How?

Any good story provides answers to each of these questions. You must drill these into your brain and they must become second nature.

For example, if you wish to write a story about a local sports team entering a competition you will need to answer these questions:

• Who is the team? Who is the coach? Who are the prominent players? Who are the supporters?
• What sport do they play? What is the competition?
• Where is the competition? Where is the team normally based?
• When is the competition? How long have they been preparing? Are there any other important time factors?
• Why are they entering this particular competition? If it's relevant, why does the team exist at all?
• How are they going to enter the competition? Do they need to fundraise? How much training and preparation is required? What will they need to do to win?

Thinking about your creative work

Read what one of my heroes says about doing creative work:

“Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.

Do it or don't do it.

It may help to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself,. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.

You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.” 

― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

What is your story?

http://transom.org/2013/the-basics/

Inside the Podcast Brain: Why Do Audio Stories Captivate?

http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/04/podcast-brain-why-do-audio-stories-captivate/389925/

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WjAhl2cSfA4

The Moth

This American Life

Radiolab

Framing the story

How to compose information on your blog

How to start improving your blog

A. Look at other blogs to get ideas.
B. Make notes in your special notebook about what you see and what you like and WHY
C. Start to gather these materials (Memes, fonts, other blogs, photos of your and others etc) and keep it on a folder on your desktop for notes OR keep stuff in Google Keep OR in Evernote. This is a step you cannot ignore.

Now make your blog posts better. 

1. Gather your material  - videos, photos, meme, audio,

2. Write down in your notebook what you want to say about this material. You cannot just puke but you need to put your work into a context.

3. Start to compose your work. If you are doing a New to Me you have to put the work into a context with some thought and some reflection.

Here is one process.

Here is the process

Washington Post listening article  

Same principle here

Using your Blog

Here are a few requirements for your blog. 

1. Your blog should contain all of your assignments for this class unless otherwise directed to your Google Drive. If you have not posted it yet post it today. 

2. You will have a separate page on the blog call "New to Me" on that page you will talk about something you learned through your travails in the "alternative" media. Each week you will find a news story and that news story can relate to music, sports, politics, art, lifestyles. The topics are open but they must have some depth and sophistication. 

Here are some examples:

Starbucks' CEO wants to change how the media portrays America. 

I heard this story this morning on Marketplace. Starbucks wants to start creating content that reflects a better America. It wants to showcase people doing good things in thier communicates and in the lives of others. Starbucks says they have a duty to promote good things and they are not doing it for marketing reasons. I don't believe them. I plan to look at this content to see where they are might be sliding in marketing where we don't see it. 

Titans Linebacker Derrick Morgan To NFL: Consider The Benefits Of Marijuana

People know lots of athletes use marijuana. Now that is it becoming legalized more needs many football players are speaking out about it and how they do or would use it if the NFL would stop testing for it. As a player I think . . . but it could also be complicated because we are already addicted to prescription drugs. I asked Coach Blah what he thinks and he said, "Blah, blah, blah, blah, no way." It will be interesting to see how this plays out with professional athletes. 

K.A.A.N. Is The Answer To All Of Your Rap Desires

I don't always listen to rap, but when I do, I'll listen to the new K.A.A.N. He tackles hard issues like rap used to do (think Chuck D, KMD or Tupac) and his rapping so crazy fast. I like the idea behind this song Mary Jane. My trouble is I get the N and the MF and I'm not offended by it exactly I just wish he could rap the same way with the same ferocity without it. 

Like Richard Pryor said

I just found this new podcast called Blues for the Modern Man. These ain't old Blues songs but new Blues recordings with new artists.  Very Cool. Check out Mac Arnold and Plate Full Of Blues. 

How to start putting your MCOM life together

A couple of things to start:
From this day forward I only reply to professional emails.
What does that mean?
First you need to understand . .. 

What is your audience’s relationship to you—for example, is the reader your teacher? Your boss? A friend? A stranger? How well do you know him/her? How would you talk to him/her in a social situation?

What do you want your audience to think or assume about you? What kind of impression do you want to make? 

With that said then make sure:

1. There is a specific subject line
2. There is a greeting to the person receiving the email
3. You get directly to the point. Use no exclamation points, emoticons or slang.
4. Use proper grammar, spelling and style. Email is not an exception, especially since it might be the first or only was someone gets an impression of you.
5 Use a closing.

For your closing, something brief but friendly, or perhaps just your name, will do for most correspondence:

Thank you,
Best wishes,
See you tomorrow,
Regards,

For a very formal message, such as a job application, use the kind of closing that you might see in a business letter:

Sincerely,
Respectfully yours,

E-mail from Student 1:

hey,


i need help on my paper can i come by your office tomorrow
thx

E-mail from Student 2:

           Hi Dr. Crowley,

I am in your MCOM 101 class on Thursdays, and I have a question about the paper that is due next Tuesday. I’m not sure that I understand what is meant by the following sentence in the prompt:
“Write a 10 page paper arguing for or against requiring MCOM 101 for all SU freshmen and provide adequate support for your point of view.”
I am not sure what you would consider “adequate” support. Would using 3 sources be o.k.?
Can I come by your office tomorrow at 2:00 pm to talk to you about my question? Please let me know if that fits your schedule. If not, I could also come by on Friday after 1:00.
Thank you,
Tim Smith

1. Create your class blog (if you have one from a previous class you may use it.)
I suggest you use Blogger for its' ease of use. Send the link to the blog to me no later than Friday. You will put all of your assignments on the blog. You will link your presentations to the blog. If you are doing something hand-crafted you will take a photo of it for the blog.

2. Start a page on your blog called - New to Me. This is where you will place a new podcast, article, news package, Vlog, that informs you of something you didn't know before. Starting this week you will populate it with from an alternative media source. (I will provide you with a list to get started.)

4. Starting on Monday, bring your iPad to class. By Monday have the following apps downloaded:

    Production
    Adobe Spark Page
    Adobe Spark Post
    Adobe Spark Video
    Adobe Photoshop Mix
    Videolicous

Blogger
Wordpress
Tumblr

   Content
   NPR
   BBC
   The Economist 
   Choose from some of these options
   Alternet
 
Podcasts - these are my favorites and this is a place to start
    This American Life
    The Moth Radio Hour
    To The Best of Our Knowledge
    On Being
    Welcome to Night Vale
    Creative Warriors

Organziational 
Google Drive
Google Keep
Evernote

Understanding your working through The Artist's Way

So how do I be "creative"?

Basic Principles

1. Creativity is the natural order of life. Life is energy: pure creative energy.

2. There is an underlying, in-dwelling creative force infusing all of life--including ourselves.

3. When we open ourselves to our creativity, we open ourselves to the spirit's creative within us and our lives.

4. We are, ourselves, creations. And we, in turn, are meant to continue creativity be being creative ourselves.

5. Creativity is God's gift to us. Using our creativity is our gift back to God.

6. The refusal to be creative is self-will and is counter to our true nature.

7. Wen we open ourselves up to exploring our creativity, we open ourselves up to God.

8. As we open our creative channel to the Spirit, many gentle but powerful changes are to be expected.

9. It is safe to open ourselves up to greater and greater creativity.

10. Our creative dreams and yearnings come from a divine source. As we move toward our dreams, we move toward our divinity.  

“Are you a born writer? Were you put on earth to be a painter, a scientist, an apostle of peace? In the end the question can only be answered by action.

Do it or don't do it.

It may help to think of it this way. If you were meant to cure cancer or write a symphony or crack cold fusion and you don't do it, you not only hurt yourself, even destroy yourself,. You hurt your children. You hurt me. You hurt the planet.

You shame the angels who watch over you and you spite the Almighty, who created you and only you with your unique gifts, for the sole purpose of nudging the human race one millimeter farther along its path back to God.

Creative work is not a selfish act or a bid for attention on the part of the actor. It's a gift to the world and every being in it. Don't cheat us of your contribution. Give us what you've got.” 

― Steven Pressfield, The War of Art: Break Through the Blocks & Win Your Inner Creative Battles

Emails

A couple of things to start:
From this day forward I only reply to professional emails.
What does that mean?
First you need to understand . .. 

What is your audience’s relationship to you—for example, is the reader your teacher? Your boss? A friend? A stranger? How well do you know him/her? How would you talk to him/her in a social situation?

What do you want your audience to think or assume about you? What kind of impression do you want to make? 

With that said then make sure:

1. There is a specific subject line
2. There is a greeting to the person receiving the email
3. You get directly to the point. Use no exclamation points, emoticons or slang.
4. Use proper grammar, spelling and style. Email is not an exception, especially since it might be the first or only was someone gets an impression of you.
5 Use a closing.

For your closing, something brief but friendly, or perhaps just your name, will do for most correspondence:

Thank you,
Best wishes,
See you tomorrow,
Regards,

For a very formal message, such as a job application, use the kind of closing that you might see in a business letter:

Sincerely,
Respectfully yours,

E-mail from Student 1:

hey,


i need help on my paper can i come by your office tomorrow
thx

E-mail from Student 2:

           Hi Dr. Crowley,

I am in your MCOM 101 class on Thursdays, and I have a question about the paper that is due next Tuesday. I’m not sure that I understand what is meant by the following sentence in the prompt:
“Write a 10 page paper arguing for or against requiring MCOM 101 for all SU freshmen and provide adequate support for your point of view.”
I am not sure what you would consider “adequate” support. Would using 3 sources be o.k.?
Can I come by your office tomorrow at 2:00 pm to talk to you about my question? Please let me know if that fits your schedule. If not, I could also come by on Friday after 1:00.
Thank you,
Tim Smith