hanhatomtangerine-blog
Updates of my college life
Photos, reflections, anything required as proof of completion for scavenger hunts required in JMS 105
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Christmas is coming, so are finals
What can easily destroy your Christmas mood: the Finals
As December has come, Mercer students are about to hit the end of their fall semester. Christmas trees have been set up in the library and the Stetson building, together with colourful Christmas balls and enormous Christmas wreath hung around.
The vibrant decorations brings in a festive mood for everyone. It seems like every student is ready to celebrate the end-of-year holiday.
However, there is an obstacle that stands in their way: the finals.
No one likes to go through pressure, especially when there is an exhilarating holiday awaiting them. But whether they like it or not, exams are part of students’ life. They have to go through the pains before they can have the fun gains.
“I’m slightly worried about the exams, especially Chemistry”, freshman J said
It has been scientifically proven that people lose 30 percent of their intelligence under exam condition. This calls for the fear of not being able to do as well as they normally do during the finals. The threat of a reduction in performance in exam condition is particularly more serious for freshmen, who have not yet had experience of the finals at Mercer.
Studying hard and practising questions can be the key to guarantee their best performance in the finals. J believed she would do “all right” if she studied diligently enough.
But not everyone is so stressed about the finals. Ann, also a freshman, did not seem to be overwhelmed by the coming exams.
“I think when it comes, I will feel more…stressed about it? But right now, I don’t think so, not really”, she said.
Being well prepared for the exams is likely to substantially reduce the anxiety about it. Freshmen have different ways to handle their preparation process. When asking whether she had any plan to study for exams, Ann replied “No”.
For Ann, she said she would probably not change much of her study routine because she felt the amount of time she usually spent on studying was probably sufficient.
Time spent on studying individual subject will also vary depending on how much a student is confident with it. For J, she said she might have to work more on Chemistry.
“I’m most confident with Religion”, she said. This is the one she can at least feel much reassured when taking the exam.
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Visit Rose Hill Cemetery
This was the tomb for a man named Peter Solomon. I took photo of it because it looked so grandeur and tall that I couldn’t fit it in my phone screen. So the result was its top cut in half. (*´∀`*)
They were the graves of the Ross family. Mr Ross seemed to have two wives, whose graves lied next to each other and looked similar.
This was the grave of Sylvester Price. I think his surname is so peculiar so I took photo. In front of Mr Price’s grave was another grave on the ground that was named “Daisy”. I think “Daisy” was someone special to Mr Price (ღ˘⌣˘ღ)
This was one of the graves of the Washington family. This grave was for Jas. H. R. Washington and his wife Mary Anne Hammond. I took photo of it cause it looked so grave and mighty ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
This was the grave of Hugh Vernon Washington, who was a patriot, scholar and humanitarian. The grave said he was “just, generous, gentle and honourable” and “his life was a record of duty nobly done”. He seemed to be a man of greatness in the past. ⚈ ̫ ⚈
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Wise Blood (1979) Review
The movie “Wise Blood” is a disturbingly chaotic portrayal of a man with a fervent hostility towards Jesus Christ. It is based on the novel “Wise Blood” by Flannery O’Connor. The main character Hazel Motes devotes every single moment in his life to eradicate the belief in Jesus and the meaning of his redemption. He attempts to set up a church called “The Church of Christ Without Christ”, which sounds utterly ironic. Motes encounters various bizarre characters in Taulkinham, from an 18-year-old guy who works at the zoo and persistently tries to befriend Motes to the point of annoyance, a preacher who disguises as a blind man and his slutty daughter, a fat guitar player who tries to steal Motes’ church idea. All the characters behave in an exaggerated way, always seeming irritated and irksome. None of them is likeable at all.
The movie is filmed largely in and around Macon. In a scene where Motes looks for the father-daughter pair to threaten them of stopping their preaching, they are in front of the City Hall building of Macon. The building does not look much different in 1979 than today.
When the daughter Sabbath Lily and the 18-year-old Enoch Emory are giving leaflets about Jesus and the church, they stand on the front of City Hall. Various people are coming out of the City Hall and walking pass them down the steps, receiving the leaflets. Motes try to snatch the leaflets from the people. Knowing that the filming location is the City Hall, where the local authorities hold their weekly meeting, I find this scene rather funny when it has a bunch of ordinary people congregating in front of the Hall.
In another scene where Motes preaches about his Church without Christ to the people, they are gathering under the Confederate Monument, which is now between Second Street and Cotton Avenue. At the background, we can see the orange brick buildings, which still look rather the same until now. I think the location choice for this scene is quite good, since the sparse background behind the statue makes it easier to concentrate on the character, thus steering audience towards focusing on his speech.
The white statue also sets a stark contrast with Motes in his grimly dark suit, thus emphasizing the character and also denoting his dark demeanour. Throughout the scene, the director also utilized a high view in shooting Motes, thus creating a sense of inferiority for him. This really injects a subtle diminishing effect to his outward aggressive appearance.
There is a scene where Motes stops his car with Sabbath Lily inside before a bridge, which is actually the Bayou Macon bridge. The setting around the bridge is perfectly for a shoot where Sabbath Lily tries desperately to seduce Motes. She takes him down the grassy land beneath the bridge and starts lying down, showing her body. The bushes and vast area of plants creates a wild look for the shoot.
The director probably made a good choice in choosing Macon as the filming location as he could make use of the old-fashioned look and feel of this city.
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Interview with a destination specialist at Macon CVB
Me: What is your job at Macon CVB?
Her: Okay, so our job is pretty much a tourist welcoming center. We try to get them to stay in Macon. We tell them about attractions, restaurants.
Me: So is this service totally free?
Her: That’s right. So when they come in here, all they’ve got to do is come to us, anybody who’s at the front and what we normally do, we can introduce them to the 10-minute movie on the history of Macon and then they also got the chance to look at the people who made contributions to Macon’s major landmarks and the music.
Me: Are there usually lots of visitors coming here every day?
Her: It just depends. We get a lot of visitors from all over, we got visitors from Michigan or Canada, something like that, Savannah. We get a lot of Teslas. We have a Tesla charging station for electric cars so we get a lot of visitors like that as well. So just pretty much varies but when they come in, they’re just amazed.
Me: What’s the peak season of tourism in Macon?
Her: For the peak season, sometimes spring time cause we have spring break for the students or summer time, when a lot of people are off. People like to travel a lot during the summer. Or October! They have October breaks and festivals as well so that’s normally the peak season of tourism.
Me: Do you have international tourists coming here?
Her: Oh yes, as I mentioned before, we got Canadians, a lot of Canadians. We also got a few people from Germany.
Me: Do you know why Germans specifically coming here?
Her: Well, I think more or less advertisement. What we like to do is to give a lot of advertisement. What we have, not necessarily commercials, but more like billboards. So if you have billboards or magazines and you see Macon in there, that’s what grabs and takes them to come to Macon.
Me: Is it difficult for you to learn all the information about Macon?
Her: Oh yeah, it is. You have to research on your own.
Me: How long were you trained for this job?
Her: Well, for me (chuckle) I volunteered here first. And for me, in order for me to learn my spiel on telling people about Macon is I learnt from other people too. Cause everybody gets their own spiel, we don’t have to copy from each other. All we need to do is we listen on and from there, we do our own research. You can grab information on your own on what you think. I noticed since I was working is I learn something new every day.
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Watch local news on Macon Telegraph for a week (from Nov 27- Dec 3)
Bryan Nichols, owner of Taste and See Coffee Shop and Gallery, made a Main Street Christmas Light Extravaganza because he wants to create a place where locals can go and also attracts more visitors to downtown. The place can also be a gathering place for the community to hang out together.
Juvenile delinquents can significantly improve their behavioural issues if they are treated by therapists rather than receiving threats and punishments. Around 70 percent of youth in the juvenile justice system have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder. However, even when troubled juveniles need mental therapy, the treatment is not always available. Middle Georgia has a drastic lack of psychiatrists and school psychologists. What aggravates the situation is the parents’ tendency to use punishment, such as by calling police, rather than mental health treatment when their rebellious children cause troubles.
Najiy Williams, the leader of a sex trafficking operation, was arrested and sentenced to more than 14 years in prison. His operation lasted between September 2015 and February 2017, during which his victims were forced to have sex in hotels in south-eastern cities including Macon, Valdosta and Charleston.
There will be a runoff for the position of the Secretary of State and a Public Service Commission seat on Dec 4. Republican Chuck Eaton will compete with Democrat Lindy Miller for the Commission seat. Former U.S. Rep. John Barrow will face state Rep. Brad Raffensperger for the Secretary of State position.
Chris Floore, assistant to the county manager for public affairs of the city-county government, earned a spot in the Chris Traeger list for top 100 influencers in local government. He ranked 75 in the list.
A dog and cat daycare, called My Dawg Furbaby Vacation, can be opened. The plan for the animal facility is proposed by Jackie Schultz, who has an unwavering love for animals. She has sent an application for use of land at Rogers Road in Lizella to the Zoning Commission. The facility would offer daycare and overnight accommodation as well as other services for animals such as grooming.
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Rock Candy Tour
We went on a Rock Candy Tour. It is a tour that we walk around downtown Macon with a guide and he will introduce to us about the famous places that have historical values to Macon. The tour guide specifically focused on the places that had connection to famous musicians of Macon. I guess that’s why they were called “Rock”?
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The Role of Media
The Macon Telegraph is undeniably an essential newspaper for Maconites. As its name goes, “Macon Telegraph”, the newspaper covers local news. It also has sections for national news and worldwide news, but for me the local news is the main and major part of this newspaper, simply because it is meant as a local news outlet for the Macon-Bibb County. National news has been covered by various big newspapers, so the Macon Telegraph’s best strategy to gain readers is to deliver local news for local readers. It is a small newspaper, but that doesn’t make it any less important. Everything has its place in this world, and I believe this is particularly true for the role of the Macon Telegraph.
I have just come to Macon for nearly four months until now. But I feel I have gained a bit knowledge of this city thanks to the Macon Telegraph. The newspaper delivers news about what has happened in the Macon-Bibb County. They have journalists in charge of different focuses. Among the news during a day, a large proportion of them are crime news, which indicates to me that the safety of this area is still at an alarming level. They cover news about plans initiated by the Macon-Bibb County commission. I remember the plan for the Little Richard’s house was a big issue during October. There were objections and approvals for the plan, which was why it took so much to settle down the issue and come to a compromise between two groups. For a foreigner to Macon like me, the Macon Telegraph was so helpful in explaining the background of the Little Richard’s house, the I-16/I-75 Interchange Project which really enabled me to grasp the whole problem. The Macon Telegraph plays a significant role in connecting people to the happenings of their community. I said people because not only the Maconites can learn about their communal issues and civic problems but foreigners can also grab a sense of what the Macon community is experiencing.
I think the Macon Telegraph, and other local news outlet like the 13WMAZ, is like the vein that connects the heart and other important parts. The newspaper serves as an announcer to people about the events around them. Always knowing what is going on reminds people that they are part of this community, which will strengthen their sense of belonging and deepening their bond of love for other residents.
I like the 13WMAZ’s slogan, which goes “Straight from the Heart”. I think they have understood their role as the voice of people. They want to deliver truthful news and represent the genuine opinion of the residents around Central Georgia. I think this is marvellously important because these newspapers can create a wave of influence that imposes a great strength and pressure on those in power. Reflecting honest thoughts of the residents is the only way for authorities and those with communal responsibilities to respond correctly to the needs of their people.
The Macon Telegraph delivers news about the current problems around Macon, revolving around the high crime rate, low education level, employment issues, taxes, budgets. I like that I learnt about so many problems that the community and authorities have to deal with because it made me realize that everywhere always has a problem of themselves. Rich cities, poor cities never cease to be faced with problems of all sorts. But the large amount of news about the problems around this area also highlights the community’s high awareness of their well-being. It clearly proves that the Maconites are serious about where they live, about their home, about their lives in this area. If they don’t have a strong connection to their vicinity, they won’t demand so much effort dedicated to make changes here and there for the greater good. As such, I think it is necessary for the newspaper and media to constantly update people on the issues and problems around so that they have plans and purposes to improve their community.
Media has a substantial influence on the way people think. People receive information, news and knowledge from media, therefore it is inherently conducive to the establishment of media’s role as an orientation for people’s mind. With this substantial role, media should be an unbiased party that can shape people’s thoughts in the correct perspective. The Macon Telegraph reports authorities’ opinions that explain why they object this, support that. But it never colours anyone in an unfair light that would cause misunderstanding and spread unnecessary hate. I think that is what media should strive for. However, conflicts of opinions are unavoidable. But perspectives are endlessly convoluted and intertwined that they make the decision to follow a certain opinion such a rigorous process of determining. Newspapers and media try to alleviate this pain of thinking correctly by trying to report as truthfully as possible, but sometimes that even brings a backward effect. I think this is a big problem that every journalist or media expert has their own answer.
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Attend a Mercer Players production
I came to watch the play Romeo and Juliet by Mercer Theater on November 10.
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Attend InTown Macon Neighborhood Association
The people were discussing about:
Plans for the Christmas party
Current budgets of the association
Calling for donations for holiday party
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Interview a homeless person
I found Mr Davis under the bridge near the Martin Luther King Jr Blvd. I was trying to search for homeless people to do an interview. The girl at Macon CVB told me that I should go to Daybreak Center because there are lots of homeless people there. I was walking towards the Daybreak Center when I encountered Mr Davis sitting under the bridge.
“Can I do an interview with you?” I asked
He seemed very reluctant at first. I explained to him it was only for homework. We had to interview a homeless person. He asked me what I wanted to know. I said I would only ask him general questions.
“Why did you become homeless?”
He mumbled. I tried to make out what he was saying. Lost health. Alcoholic. Injuries. Sent to hospital. That was what I could hear.
“I told you, this is not me. This is not me. I’ll get back to my life after the treatment”
So he had a strong will. And pride. I told him he would definitely get back to his life.
Mr Davis, or full name: Glen Davis, had been working numerous jobs before he became homeless. He worked as a builder, carpenter, a plumber, an electrician. He said he used to lead a group of builders when working in Warner Robins, his old home.
When he was in training for football together with his cousin, he got a serious injury in his knee. He couldn’t work anymore. He had to go to hospital.
Then Mr Davis got into alcoholism. And they sent him to hospital in Macon.
“Do you currently live in Daybreak Center?”
“In Salvation Army”
He said they made those homeless leave at 8 am and they can only come back after 4 pm. So I asked him what he did during the day. He said he only stayed there, which meant under the bridge. He just sat there all day and came back to the Salvation Army when it’s time allowed to come back.
“So what do you do in the evening?”
“I watch TV”
“What did you do yesterday?”
“I sat here”
“How about tomorrow? Do you have any plan?”
“I sit here”
He said when his knee was recovered, he would go to his brother’s house in Warner Robins. He had 7 siblings.
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Ingress missions not at downtown, Mercer or Tatnall
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Ingress missions downtown Macon
These are the badges. Seem like Ingress has had some updates. I need to screenshot each badge for the mission.
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Volunteering for more than 10 hours
I have volunteered at the Macon Outreach for two months until now. I volunteer every Friday from 11 to 12 and from time to time on Tuesday from 12 to 1. I took selfies when I was working there to have evidence but I’m not sure if this is sufficient to prove that I did volunteer there for more than 10 hours.
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Go to a coffee shop downtown
I went to a coffee shop downtown someday in early November. The coffee shop is called Taste and See Coffee Shop. They have lots of different types of latte but they all seem too sweet for me so I ordered an affogato. The affogato was really good. I love it.
I ate a bit already and remembered that I should take a photo so it didn’t look so great ^.^
affogato and me. I looked so stupidly sad but it was because i felt so tired after walking around downtown for too long. ( ͡☉ ͜ʖ ͡☉)
this is inside the coffee shop. they look so yummy.
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Capricorn Studio, Capricorn Business and Allman Brothers first album cover
Capricorn Studio
Capricorn Business
Where Allman Brothers first album cover was taken
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Review Macon Action Plan
One major problem addressed in the Macon Action Plan (MAP) is that Macon needs to be create a supportive environment for faster growth of the local economy. The Macon’s Urban Core is the economic centre that currently holds the majority of offices for essential welfare services such as health care, education and government jobs. Due to the presence of various properties in the location, the Urban Core holds a good land value and is ideal to attract more investment in properties. However, the potential of the Urban Core has not been developed to its fullest. To ensure sustainable economic growth of the Urban Core, the Macon authorities realized the need to enhance the balance of both residence and businesses in this area. Residence is needed to supply customers to business services. In terms of business investment, the Urban Core needs to anchor existing businesses and at the same time, attract more new businesses to invigorate the economic prospective and ensure healthy competition among the businesses for motivation.
In response to this problem, the authority develops the initiative to build the business institutions in the Urban Core into economic anchors for future growth. One strategy is to promote an Urban Core health district. Health care is one of the major services that attract traffic flows of consumers to the Urban Core, due to the availability of medical institutions such as Navicent Health, Coliseum Medical Center, Regency Hospital and Mercer’s medical school. The actions needed to take is to build a medical corridor, which aims at linking major health institutions. The immediate possibility is to link Navicent with Mercer’s medical school. The linkage can be further extended along Forsyth to 2nd Street, over to Coliseum Center and Regency. The medical linkage serves to reinforce the importance of medical service to the local residency and enable Macon residents easier access to the health care centers.
Another solution to improve the economic prospective of Urban Core is to promote Macon as an attraction for business investment. The authorities need to strengthen competition and re-establish natural churn in the local market by giving build-out assistance to business owners. The assistance involves giving small loan funds to small and medium business investors to enable them to enter the market. These loans specifically target at high-risk borrowers, who do not have access to traditional loan services. Pop-up storefront space is another solution to encourage investors as this allows them to test their business operation, usually in a period of 60 to 90 days. This trial period would give business owners evaluation for the potential of their firms and possible refinements if needed.
The Urban Core particularly needs to support start-ups and attract job-creating businesses to foster a stronger economic growth. To encourage start-ups operation, the authorities need to build sufficient infrastructure that would enable the most productive operation for commercial life. Collaborative workspace, high-speed Internet, networking, small business promotion, information accessibility, Mercer Innovation Center are among the necessary assets that can assist start-ups in their businesses. The authorities also need to promote more industrial uses along the 7th Street, which used to be home to the Central Georgia Railroad and Southern Railroad. The neglected land use in this area is creating a huge waste of economic resources. Despite the decline of traditional industrial uses, this area is nevertheless a contributing factor to the sustainable economic development of Macon and therefore, should continue to be employed. The solution is to create a modern industrial park between the rail and the 7th Street.
An important problem regarding the Urban Core is that it has not provided a sufficiently distinctive experience for visitors compared to other downtown areas. There is a clear lack of diverse range of choices for activities offered in the Urban Core. The MAP received a large demand from commentators that there should be more entertainment and restaurant services, with longer opening hours within the day and the week. The Urban Core also does not have much green space served as civic gathering places.
To develop the Urban Core into a more modern and attractive place for visitors, the authorities firstly aim at creating the place as a clean and safe area. One solution is to cultivate the comfort and appeal of the public image of Urban Core through streetscaping efforts. The look and feel of the area leaves first impression on visitors, which is essential in ensuring their longer stay and higher likelihood of returning. The authorities focus on beautification program, including adopt-a-planter program, lighting on buildings, street trees and trails as well as public art on alleys and rear walls. The safety of Urban Core should also be improved through the implementation of a crime tracking system.
The underutilized land in Urban Core poses a potential for expansion of open space. The historic downtown should also have a social gathering place. Rosa Parks Square is ideal for being used as a gathering place due to its picturesque location, proximity to major business sites and its size. However, the Square has not been deployed appropriately, leading it to become isolated with other nearby sites. Therefore, Rosa Parks Square should be upgraded to better suit the need for passive relaxation and active uses of the residents. Improving the Cotton Avenue Plaza can provide additional uses that complement the needs of residents using the Square.
Tourism also plays an important part in promoting a more nation-wide image of Macon as an appealing city, which will also foster economic growth. The authorities’ solution to this is branding Macon’s Urban Core. The first step in establishing a brand for Macon is to create a recognizable logo for the historic downtown or the Urban Core and a persuasive message. The expansion of the Ocmulgee National Park into the Ocmulgee Mounds National Park and Preserve will also contribute to the tourism development of Macon. If the expansion is complete, it will become the first National Park and Preserve east of the Mississippi, creating a competitive natural tourist attraction.
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Attend a Lamar Memorial Lecture series
I went to the 61st Lamar Lecture Series on October 22 with guest speaker Dr Barbara Ladd. She is the professor of English at Emory University, specializing in Southern literature with focus on race, gender, trans (south) Atlantic studies, American studies, American modernism and William Faulkner. She delivered three lectures on the theme “The North of the South: The Upper South in Literary History”.
Her opening lecture was titled “Tidewater and Swamp”, starting at 10 a.m., which I missed. Therefore, I decided to go to her second one, called “Poe In and Out of Richmond”, which took place at 6 p.m. on the same day. Her last one was called “Backwater”, which was presented on the next day.
The lecture focused on discussing the author Edgar Allan Poe and his connection with Richmond, Virginia reflected in his works. Dr Ladd took out extracts from Poe’s literary works and analysed how his love for the Southern culture was demonstrated. The chosen extracts described the scenery of Richmond in a very rich texture and sensuous details that clearly highlighted his thorough understanding of landscape. This can only be crafted from someone with a spirit wholly dedicated to the south.
Dr Ladd also spent time reading from her own commentaries on Poe’s works. I was completely persuaded by her exceptional talent with language. Her word choices were succinct yet evocative. She presented her layered thoughts through a well-structured, incisive approach. I recalled that the audience was very attentive during her lecture. I think it was partly because she was teaching rather difficult materials that would be hard to comprehend once one was distracted.
I didn’t attend her lecture throughout the end because I had to study for a test on Wednesday. I think I was only half way of the lecture when I left. It was really a great opportunity for me to attend the lecture from such a good English professor. I have always loved literature but didn’t have the chance to take any English class so far. Listening to literary talks, with florid diction and complex commentaries really brought back some nostalgia of my time struggling with English during high school.
I was also quite surprised to find out that Edgar Allan Poe was actually an author representative of the Southern literature. I haven’t read much of Poe’s novels but I once read a poem by Poe called “The Raven”, which left me rather galvanized and stunned. After Dr Ladd’s discussion on the trace of southern literature in Poe’s works, I feel a bit more interested in finding out more about southern literature.
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