Happy Holidays to All!

Happy Holiday Season
from the ZeumMasters to all!

The creation in the photo is from this morning's winter olympics event in which teams paired up to create blindfolded interpretations of Kwanzaa, Chanukah, Christmas, Chinese New Year and The Winter Solstice. :)

ZeumMentors

During my first day working at Zeum I expected to merely travel to work, work, eat lunch, work, and then return home. I did not expect to be associated with a mentor group within the Zeum Masters' program. Although it appears long and tedious it is actually fun and is very productive. I feel as though I am learning many new things such as different ways to make biographies, clay animations, and today we learned how to make an interesting type of artwork. (image on the side)

Through our mentor groups we have discussed how we would like to tell "our" story, may it be some clay figures fighting atop of a desk, the time a relative did something intesresting, a famous event in time, or just what you did the other day. These groups help us elaborate our ideas or real life experiences so that we may effectively display them. Eli and Ari, my mentor group's leaders, are very helpful with finding out exactly what story we wish to tell and through which medium we want to tell it in. Through tasks which help us see what parts of our life or imagination we want to utilize in order to express the ideas. We are to tell these stories through multiple mediums. Such as an biography type video, clay animation, poem, and etc.

Zeum is neither an ordinary museum nor an Arts & Crafts workshop, rather it is both, a place where one's imagination may be stimulated, expressed, and even taken home. As a Zeum-Master I have discovered a multiple of ways in which stories may be told, how they are told, what they really represent, and how expressing them may show people how you really are, aside from your appearance. They get a chance to discover how you feel and how these feelings are seem in your songs, music, videos, animations, pictures, and/or etc. Although it may take a chunk of my time to complete these projects, mentor group projects at Zeum allow me to express how I feel and it will help my friends and me to understand myself better.

Tempera Resist in the Morning

What have we been creating? We've been silk screening and film making. Here's a sneak peak at some of what ZeumMasters have been up to...work by Andrew and Leigh Ann.

What Do You Get When You Cross Art and Technology?

Mentor Groups Round 2- Silk Screening

Is there a better project out there that combines art and technology than silk screening? Thanks to our beloved educators D.Danger and Fran, zeummasters now have the chance to experiment with silk screening.

We spent the morning discussing silk screening 101. The possibilities are limitless. We could silk screen any image on shirts or paper. David showed us a virtual silk screening demo on an Andy Warhol website and gave us some pointers on what kind of images to use. In a couple of weeks, we will be going on a mini field trip to Babylon Burning (a close three blocks away from Zeum!), a store that centers on top quality silk screening, so we can see how the process works.

The next week or two will be focused on finding and adding personal touches to images we want to silk screen. We have ideas flying everywhere from spoons to faces to the Great Wall of China. The best part? You never know how the images will turn out and it could come with the perfect surprise!

Whatever we decide to make, they will probably be put in display at Zeum so that visitors can be exposed to the world of silk screening. Who knows, our project could inspire future Andy Warhols. All anyone really needs is some time and imagination (and silk screens and ink and paper and blah blah blah). What will you create?

-T

Angry Black White Boy

On Saturday November 8th, 2008, we went on a fieldtrip to see a play called "Angry Black White Boy" at intersection for the arts. It is based off of the book written by Adam Mansbach. The play was about a 14 year old white boy who was angry and tired of learning about white history and how they oppressed black people since beginning of time. That was one of the reason why he wish he was black, another is because he says rap is another form of poetry. The main character(angry black white boy) committed white on white crimes. He was a white taxi driver who tried to rob white passengers, while doing that he threatened them.

This play was interesting. The parts I liked the most were the beats and the music. At first I thought it would be super boring because I don't like plays and can't sit in the same spot for too long because I lose attention focus and want to do other things like text. The play made me a little sensitive thinking about tragedies that happened at my school the past few months and and also other personal things.

This play is very relevant today. There is also more racism and hateful crimes. An example of this is when the N word is used. I feel the feelings felt by the angry black white boy are still felt among youth. The main character said hip-hop isn't for white people but it is. Anyone can listen but I feel the actual rapping should be done by blacks since they are the ones who started it. I feel the same as the main character when he said he hates learning about white history and wishes he wasn't white. For me learning about how whites oppressed blacks, that made me soo mad and not want to be white. I don't know anything about 90s music.

Stanford!!

On October 18,2008 Irina, Wing Yan, Sammi, Nicole, and Leigh Ann went to Stanford for a field trip. On the way there we talked about radio stations, college and a whole bunch of other stuff. When we finally got to the college campus we kind of got lost. Thanks to Irina, we eventually found a parking spot, and began our journey on the campus of Stanford.

Before we went on our tour, we decided to interview five people, but we only interviewed four.  The first interviewee was named Lawrence and he is an economics grad student. What he told us was, "The best thing about Stanford is the weather, academics, and the campus." Like Lawrence, Nell, an undergrad, also liked the weather at Stanford. She also told us, "[The] people here are really eager to learn." She commented that the most important part of the admission application was the essay, on which she wrote about the things she really cared for. The last two people we interviewed was Dariust and Collin. They told us that the worst thing about Stanford was the "stanford bubble", that people think they're living in paradise and are not aware of what is happening in the outside world. But the best thing is the people. They also thought that the essay was the most important part of the applications and that Stanford has a really god financial aid program.

After all of that, we finally went on our tour! The tour guide was Janice, she was so friendly and funny! She talked about the history of the school,  the Stanford quarter system, the different buildings, and the academic programs offered there. Did YOU know that Stanford use to be a farm?! I didn't think so, and now you do! 

Overall we had a great time. We got to eat at a place there and, truthfully, it didn't taste really well, but we were all hungry and we ate whatever we had. Next time, we hope to see many other colleges and we hope we can go with Irina, who takes pictures of people blinking!

and you're listening to....RADIO Z!

It's NEW !

It's HIP !

It is the ZEUM MASTER RADIO STATION .
Coming or as I have heard it is already set up and running at a Zeum near you !

The Zeum Master radio station was a sudden and glorious idea that one of our educators had and was set into immediate action much to everyones pleasure . The idea is that there is a Dj that is one of our great Zeum master staff and they will become the role of Dj and everyone in the museum who is broadcasting the stream shall be able to listen and enjoy .

When I say they become the Dj they really do become the dj . Everyone creates a dj name and a set . A dj set is a group of songs , announcements , contests , etc that are mixed together to create one continuous track .

The Zeum radio conveniently named RADIO Z really allows all the zeum masters a chance to express themselves through music . When you create your set your allowing people to see what music makes you smile , what songs make you sing , what beats make you move . You allow the audience a chance to see a part of you . Here at the Radio Z set all of the zeum masters personality's definitely seep into our sets . Different djs here have built up definite radio personality's that specific to their type of music .

I know when I hear Dj Coco Puffs rumbling through the speakers down in the animators studio I am in for a whole hour of popular hip hop music and crazy contests that have no other way but to tell me that Denzel is on the microphone . When I hear backstreet boys and Hannah Montana then I am definitely listening to Leigh Ann busting it out . When I hear the great king of pop Micheal Jackson playing , well then that could be anyone .

The Zeum Master radio is also a way for everyone in the building to stay connected . Everyone at zeum is close ; part of the zeum family . The radio really lets the zeum masters be connected to each other when there is a whole floor of guests and exhibits keeping us apart . The radio also helps us stay connected to everyone who works as a part of the office portion of zeum . Although us zeum masters hardly see them it dosn't mean we dont wonder who they are , what they do , and how they have been . In a work place where there is so much going on all the time its great to know something so simple as a song playing through the radio can keep everyone together .











Up above you will find a music player playing a music clip that I created with the help of a Zeum educator [the same one who had the idea for the radio in the first place!] help me make and publish onto this blog . Let me tell you NOT as easy as it sounds ! The above clip is a RADIO Z sampler BRIANNA style.

And a huge shout out to Michael the official director of marketing and develpoment at Zeum ! He got my blog to be read by tons and I really loved all the feedback . So thanks to everyone who supported my blog !

Signing Off - DJ BEE -

Camp Zeum from the inside...

This summer I got to work with two camps AND help with the film festival. The first camp I did was Little Voices I. with educator Fran. Little Voices camp This camp's theme was puppets. We made many puppets like sock, bag, string, stick and shadow. We had a guest speaker come in and talk about the history of shadow puppets and showed us how to tell a story with shadow puppets.

The next camp I did Shout Out! with educator Irina. For this camp we learned about ourselves, different communities and communities around the world. We did blogs, podcast and short films. This camp was made up with kids ages 11-13. We interviewed different issues relating to the 3 topics of out camp. For ourselves we interviewed Nick from BayCat. For our community, we interviewed London Breed from African American Cultural Center in the Filmore. She talked about how she is trying to make change for kids in that community so that they aren't wandering the streets getting into trouble. The last people we interviewed were Katina and Victoria. They talked about world issues and helped us realize other people's perspective and we should keep an open mind about people around us not just ourselves or our community.

After working on the two camps, Irina, the camp coordinator asked me to help her with the Zeum's first annual film festival. I was totally shocked she asked me to help because she could've asked anyone else. I spent 2 days editing the podcast and films for Shout Out! camp. That was really long time to edit and more than I wanted in the beginning but once I started editing the stuff, I really got into it. I wish I could've done more editing.

For Fran's camp, at first the kids gave me a headache. I think i thought that because I am not use to working with the same group of kids for a week straight because otherwise i work with different people all moments of the day. Once i got to know them one on one though, it was alot better. They were respectful, adorable and sad that camp was ending when the week was over. The kids were amazing.

Working on camps was fun. I got to many things i never thought was possible for me since I'm usually working on the floor. Camp was tiring since I am not use to waking up at 6:45 to get ready to be at 8:30AM. Usually I wake up at 8:00AM to get ready to be at work before 10AM. Waking up early for a week straight was worth it though since i grew to love the campers. My favorite memory was when I learned new things like, for example, going in depth with Imovie and garage band and the history of shadow puppets! Once the camps were over, I was sad because even though camps were only a week, I grew attached to the kids!

Nae's trip to the Jewish Museum!

Hey! Its Nae...I'm currently a zeummaster. I've been working here for two months now and i love everything about zeum especially helping kids create things by using their imagination.

All the zeummasters went to visit the Jewish Museum on 8/12/08. We had the chance get a tour given by two teens that work in the program there. The place was coo and from what i heard everyone enjoyed themselves. We learned how old the building is and what it was used for back in the day because part of the building is old and part is new. It was cool to see how the building had more meaning than what i'd thought was a "sacred place for people all around to see how Jews live and feel". Here's this coo pic that I got off their website!

I was impressed with the tour guides and their interest in the architechtural structure. They made it easier for me to become interested. What really shocked me was how much time and effort people had put into making the building..it shows they care about the space they were given because they were creative and used it wisely. I think the tour would've grabbed more people's attention if they showed us some art that resembled the Jewish community.

When i stepped inside of the building it was as if i was surrounded by art that i quite didn't understand. As they started to tell me about what the walls symbolized and the history of the building I started to become comfortable with the art. I was able to see how things connect.

It was great and I really enjoyed myself. This was a museum like no other, It had its own style. I usually walk into a museum and see painting or sculptures that represent something and I didn't feel that at the Jewish Museum...I'll be visiting again, soon!

*+_+BREANNA+_+*

hey everybody my name is Breanna, I love a lot of things here at Zeum. I started here not knowing too much about this internship. i am now sad that I'm leaving on thursday and probably won't get to see all the friends i've made over the past 12 days ( the program I'm in makes the learning experience really short) because we live really far. I am so glad that I've gotten this opportunity to meet people who come from all over the world to visit Zeum, at first i was like you got to be kidding me and like my second day of working at Zeum i met people who where from israel. I LOVE THIS PLACE!

+_-*JESSENiA*-_+

HOLA EVERY1!

My name is Jessenia and i love art, music and poetry. Working here is so much fun and has been a very big experience for me, because i have met people of different cultures and races that have inspired me to become more open minded. Also, i have met cool Co-workers that i would have never thought i would be friends with. Im so glad i have had the chance to be here, because i have been learning new things every time i have came to work. I enjoy being around people and making them feel good. Zeum and the people that i have been surrounded with God has truly blessed me to have you guys around me a lot because by the time i leave, i will walk away with new skills, life lasting memories and good friends. I Thank GOD for this opportunity and GOD bless all of u at Zeum that has worked with me. Thank You very Mucho!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i hope you guyz have also enjoyed working with me also.

A Reflective First Blog Post by Brianna

Hey Everyone !
Brianna is taking this blog for a joy ride . I have been working at Zeum for almost one year . That one year mark is coming at me fast and I really can not even believe it . Going from never visiting Zeum to becoming so much a part of it is a dramatic and welcome change . When you first introduce yourself to someone you put down the basics " Hello my name is ___" and then your age , birthday , what you like , what school you go to , and other things along that line. Well heres how mine sounds - Hello my name is Brianna . I'm fifteen years old, and a ZeumMaster.

Zeum is such a big part of my life now . It is a place where I work yes but also it is a place where I learn. I honestly can not say how much I have learned from everyone who works here at Zeum. I believe it is because people who work here are all so different and diverse. If I have a question about anything under the sun and beyond I believe there is someone who works with Zeum that can answer that question ... Or at least know enough to help me find the answer.

Also Zeum is a very rare place where teens can work with adults and feel like they have some importance. I'm not busing tables at some awesome cafe , bagging grocery's at your nearest Safeway , Or even serving you coffee at your neighborhood Starbucks . I am a part of an organization that really incites great feelings in people. A place where people like working . A place that harnesses creativity . I really truly believe that a young children's lives are very impressionable. When I was around seven I used to watch tons and tons of movies . I would read almost non stop . When I used to read I would make the books I read into movies in my head . Then as I realized that I could make the images real . What I saw real . That came in the form of art . Now as I am getting older I still carry that same passion for art .

I think everyday that I work at Zeum I look at all the kids and can notice the ones that are going to take something from this place that day . Really that is what we are here for . To open peoples eyes to something they may have or have not ever before seen . I am just ecstatic to be a part of that great mission.


P.S : This was my first blog not only for Zeum but EVER. YAY !

Blinky Bug Workshop

On Saturday 06/28/08, we had a guy come in at 9:30 to do a special workshop with the ZeumMasters. The workshop was about making Blinky Bugs. "What is a Blink Bug?" you may ask. A Blinky Bug is a bug you make from using electronic parts like: LCD Lights, copper wire, guitar strings, conductive tape, pipe cleaner and 3volt button battery.

He told us how one day he was bored and he had a bunch of old electronic parts lying around so he decided to experiment by putting the parts together. He also told us that before he discovered the conductive tape or glue dot he had to saughter the parts together(hot glue gun the parts together). He said it is cheaper to buy the materials online instead of an arts and craft store, walgreens or electronic store.

For me, when Ari told us about the blinky bug workshop i thought "This is going to be boring or dumb" but once we actually got to making it, my attitudes changed. I actually liked it, i wanted to keep making more but time ran out. My blinky bug didn't work and was all messed up. One reason mines didn't work is because i chose red and blue eyes and those two colors don't work together. This has to do with how l.e.d.s work. But look above. Two blue eyes and it works!

Kickoff to Summer and...

ZeumMasters finished off a long and inspiring day of team building and nonstop action on the summer kickoff day with a few songs in the music production lab.

Almost Summertime at Zeum

Hello Folks !! Summer is about to kick in and I am uber excited. I am looking forward to a lot of fun and interesting things; going to summer camp at Hidden Villa with full scholarship, working at Zeum, assisting with Zeum's summer camp, Little Voices and taking a Health Education class.

I am really excited to help Perry with his camp, Little Voices because I really enjoy working and educating young kids. I always wanted to work with kids (which I already do as a ZeumMaster) but for camp we see the same kids for one full week and that way I get to know them more than I already do as a ZeumMaster. My goal for this camp is to make every child an artist and an amazing performer on stage. And if they're shy then I'll try my best to bring them out of their shell within a week. How, you may ask? I will use my creativity that Joy taught me, my way of inspiring people when they seem to look like they are day dreaming, by offering them unique things to do or telling jokes that Perry taught me, and self motivation that Bob taught me.

For example, last week there was a visitor who really wanted to make an animation but without clay! He wanted to use his toy car that he had bought from Walgreens. He was screaming and yelling at his mom because his mom was like you can only use clay, how many families do you see using cars? I obviously eavesdropped and I stepped in and explained to the mom while his son was take a potty break that anything the boy wanted to do in his animation was ok. When he was done he gave me a big hug and that made my day. I really didn't expect that I could do something like this but I guessed wrong.

It has been ONE year since I first became a ZeumMaster. Zeum is a terrific job. Working with different kids is an opportunity and I feel privileged. Seeing kids smile when they're done with their animation, music video, paper mask, what more can you ask for? It felt like I had an impact, not only in customer satisfaction but my daily live. Zeum has been contributing a lot to my daily life. Before working at Zeum, I was really shy performing on stage (and I still am) but working on it, nervous when talking to a huge group of anxious visitors and just shy in general. Now, I am not shy to talk to huge crowd of anxious visitors, I talk to them about Zeum to personal life. (; I am however still a little bit nervous on stage but I am determined to sing my lungs out when summer is over. (:

My Going Away Final Blog Post

Working at Zeum and being a zeummaster has meant a lot to me. Having this job has a big affect on me. I could talk to any of the adults at Zeum and youth. I’m blogging about these things because I’m going back to my hometown, Los Angeles, where I was kidnapped from to go to San Francisco, just kidding. However, I am going to miss my job and being with the people at Zeum because they are like a second family to me. Being with the people at Zeum, they have taught me that its o.k for a young man to get sensitive sometimes and no one would make fun of me or think I’m soft (a punk), which is what associates call it in the streets. Now, I can listen to women music, talk a lot and brush my hair which has become really wavy.

I don’t think I’ll ever meet bosses like Christian and Ari. They are the coolest bosses you could ever meet because it’s like they never get mad and they are always smiling which brightens my day and also makes me smile. I want to have the same mood as them when I get older like them because the people in my family, most of the time are always grumpy for no reason. I think it doesn’t take much to just put a smile on your face. Show them teeth, no one cares if you didn’t brush them, just kidding, but wait I think that’s the answer…People don’t smile a lot because they don’t brush their teeth as much as Christian and Ari do everyday. See, if people don’t start smiling then that’s what people should think, so you better smile and show them teeth. A teeth smile is what I mean, not a lips’ smile.

To get back to the point, I hope I could come back to Zeum in the future and see the same people because they are all like family.

To conclude, my most memorable moment at Zeum was when all of the zeummasters went down to the slide at that park by Zeum. It was funny because when we went over there the little kids thought we were taking over their territory but teens can play too. So, we went over there and all the kids all stoped what they are doing, looked at us like we didn't belong. Then on top of that you had the cutters, which was unfair.

I really really enjoyed being apart of Zeum, I learned a lot. I thank everyone and now I’m off to college in L.A. Peace Out you guys and girls, and I hope your lunch breaks become longer than half an hour.

Mixing & Matching: The artform of Mashups

Yesterday morning ZeumMasters had a special presentation by DJ Earworm ...and dont worry its not an ear bug. DJ Earworm creates what are known as "mashups." A mashup is a combination of differents songs lyrics and background music. For example, you would put MIM'S "this is why im hot" lyrics and add them to Rihanna's "Umbrella" music. And its not just like the mix songs you hear on the radio, they're 2 different things.

While the mixing we hear on the radio starts out as one song and then gradually you hear a second song fading in, a mashup uses the same song beat and takes out the lyrics from a different song and gets added to the beat. Its like a new song. You can download an acapella version of a song and and instrumental version of another song and mash them together( hint the term "mash-up")

I don't consider myself a really "technically connected" person, meaning it may take me a while to pick up on things on the computer. But when DJ Earworm was explaining everything to us and showing us how we could create mashups, i was really following along. I love music. Its a huge part of my like.

Music does so much; it gives people something to move to, and it can change peoples moods too. Its a form of expression. I could really connect to the concept of mashups because when i listen to songs on the radio i think to myself "that would be cool if i could put these words with that beat". I was really into the workshop because it gave me a chance to see that i can do stuff like that. He explained that mashups work when you choses songs whose key and tempo are the same, and my mind was thinking of so many songs that would sound good together.It was neat to hear it from someone who got into doing it by accident. I think it also opened up a lot of people mind's by showing them different things and forms that they can do with music. Being able to have the opportunity to hear from and have this presentation done by DJ Earworm was also influencial to Zeum because it gave us different ideas about how we could maybe incorporate mashups into the Zeum environment, such as MPL.

DJ Earworm showed us some examples of mashups he didnt like, and he showed us one of his more popular one's named " United State of Pop," which is shown below;

All in all the presentation was really fun and opened my mind. It gave me a chance to think about music and the different things that i can do with it.

Trip to Youth Speaks Poetry Slam!

On Friday May, 16th, 2008 Zeum took a field trip to Youth Speaks Poetry Slam. It was amazing, they talked about real life issues like the War In Iraq, Abortions, Violence among youth and so much more. One thing that surprised me is that young folks care about issues that you wouldn't think young folks would care about like Education Budget Cuts, War In Iraq, Global Warming, God, Violence, Abortion/Parents not wanting you and so much more.

Most of topics I could relate to like Abortions/Parents not wanting you because a few of my friends had abortions which is sad because abortion is a real serious issue. I also agree strongly with what one person said about War In Iraq should end and the budget cuts should not go through.

I give the people who went up alot of respect because they shared personal stories about their life and their feelings about major issues in the world teens wouldn't be caught dead talking about because its uncool, geeky etc... I would not be able to get up there and share my personal stories.

This poetry slam relates to zeum alot. like the poetry slam where youth can express their feelings, youth can do that here by making claymation, news broadcast, music videos. No one can judge you because of your contents in your expression.

I got this picture from the youth speaks website : youthspeaks.org

What's Going On Here

When I first started working as a ZeumMaster I really didn't know what to do and how to be friendly and communicate with visitors. For the first month, I was basically like a sponge, absorbing a lot of new information from technical stuff to dealing with challenging visitors, and observing other ZeumMasters ...how they handled challenging situations such as a when a visitor injures themselves, or how they greet customers. Now, it has been 40 weeks since and I feel like I'm a PRO! Having said, I am able to greet visitors and handle all problems professionally.

Want to know what's going on right now? First round of mentor group is about to end, and round two is about to start, how exciting can that be! Throught out the twelve weeks as a group, I gained skills to operate the software iMovie, effectively operate Macintosh computers, and confidently greeted visitors. What I loved getting to announce the Best Of Show to everyone at Zeum andI enjoyed answering their questions. I remembered the day when we as a group voted on what project we should do as a group and we all voted to do the best of show. It was nice to see that we as a group shared a common interest.

One thing that didn't work well was the day when we were setting up for the event because we were kind of in a rush and we really didnt have a large bowl to put the popcorn in but we managed to do everything on time. What I hope to do for round two mentor group is have people from outside of zeum work on a project with us. I really look forward to meeting new people and hope that we get to do something like this.

I'm also excited about camps this summer! I hope I get to work with Perry's Little Voices Camp. Most of the summer camps this year have to do with the 2008 Election year.

Paul

TWJN: Traci Wendy Jule Nicole blogging

PODCAST PODCAST PODCAST.

Our project is centered on producing podcasts regarding the budget cuts in California. These cuts initiated by Governor Arnold Schwarzenneger are severely crippling the education system in all over California, including the bay area. Our project aims to inform the public about these budget cuts in order to make an impact on the situation. Our belief is: Knowlege Can Lead to Change. If people know about these cuts, they will start to work together to make a difference and change our current situation.

We have spent the past couple of weeks interviewing average San Francisco citizens about the budget cuts. Not only have we learned how to approach strangers without looking like a creep with a recorder, but we also learned how to affectively interview people. We learned how to come up with questions as well as create related questions on the spot. We're planning on asking our teachers, students, and parents about how the budget cuts are affecting their lives. Our project is still in a rough draft state, but we're moving at light speed to deliver this podcast series to the public and stop the budget cuts.

IT'S NOT FAIR!!

''Students Walkout In Alameda Over Budget Cuts''

Hundreds of students walked out of their classes wednesday in Alameda in a protest over the state's proposed budget cuts which have already led to local cutbacks.

I chose this quote because i think that what they did in alameda was really smart. This kids walked out because they were cutting $250,000 from high school sports. But I think that students should be also upset about their education. Education is more important than sports. Unless you're really good at basketball or any other game, athletics won't really take you anywhere in life.

I'm afraid this is going to affect me next year in high school because there might be so many students in every class that teachers might not have time to help every student individually. Another thing that bothers me is that Schwarzenegger is ready to cut $1 billion from medi-cal. It's not fair because some people really depend on Medi-Cal. They might not have enough money to pay for everything the medi-cal pays for.

Well i just think all this is not fair. It's not fair that teachers are getting fired, because some of them are really good teachers. One of my teachers got a pink slip. He's one of my favorite teachers, and I don't think that was fair. I feel very upset beacuse I actually learned something from him. He makes learning easy. And if so many teachers like him got pink slips that they might not be working next year because of the budget cuts I think that's bad.

Califonia's education budget cuts are a huge issue to deal with.

Hello, my name is Leigh Ann, and I am doing a podcast at Zeum on the proposed California budget cuts. We are collecting our research on this blog site so that we can share it with the rest of California.

In my opinion, Schwarzenegger is a cruel cruel man. He plans to cut 4.8 billion from California's education system and additional money from other social services. According to the article "The Governor's Budget Cuts Nearly Every State Department" published in the SF Chronicle on January 11th, 2008, "As Schwarzenegger pushes for an overhaul of the state's health care system to cover nearly all of California's uninsured residents, he also is ready to cut as much as $1 billion form Medi-Cal, the state's medical services program for the poor, elderly and disabled.

To achieve the savings, administration officials said they want to eliminate some Medi-Cal benefits – such as dental care for low-income adults – instead of reducing the number of people who get basic medical services." In my opinion, this quote shows that Schwargenegger doesn't care about other people who are in need, all he is worried about his salary and not people who need health care services and education.

In the same article "Schwarzenegger has asked for several cuts immediately, including $400 million from schools and community colleges, $33 million from Medi-Cal, $74 million from welfare programs and $25 million from a project at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center."

In the in article entitled "CSU rallies against propsed budget cuts" posted on the Mercury News website by Leslie Griffy and Dana Hull, the authors mention that "California State campuses could be forced to reject 10,000 qualified students, offer fewer courses, put off maintenance and lay off lecturers if Govenor Schwarzenegger proposed budget cuts for the system become reality. The state of California has a $14.5 billion dollar deficit."

Budget cuts are a major issue and we should not just let it slide and pretend it doesn't exist, because it does. If you don't want education to be affected than do something like call up his office: (916)445-2841 and tell him what you think. As a reminder if you do call, please be polite and respectful.

Mentor Groupin'

MENTOR GROUPS! This is a new thing we've been doing. The goals of creating mentor groups are several. We work with the same group of four for twelve weeks. It provides more one on one time with an educator based off of our needs. Mentor groups also serve as building a stronger community within a small group. Different educators work on different things (for twelve weeks) such as working on a project, hosting an event, and possibly interviewing our neighbors about things from helping homeless people to getting the community involved with Zeum.

I'm in a group with Carlos, Jule, Samantha, Irina, and myself, Paul. We are currently working on an event called "Best Of". The art from Best Of is basically from when visitors come in and make awesome movies... we highly encourage them to fill out a media release from to have their movie showcased.

All four of us have different jobs. Carlos's job is to call different restaurants to ask for food donations for the event we're hosting. But, we all took turns calling because there were four restaurants to call. My job is to fundraise. I am basically looking for potential donors to donate money for us to rent the Zeum Theater. Fund raising is a new thing for me. One thing I've learned from my mentor group about fund raising is to be calm and polite. I had to call Buca Di Beppo for possible food donation and I was calm, polite and nervous. Usually my nervousness take over but this time it didn't. I remember calling a customer to remind them to stop by for your interview , and my friends were next to me and they were cranking out jokes and I accidentally drooled and I stopped talking in a middle of a sentence. But then I told her that there was static problem. Sorry. Samantha's job is the food entertainer as well as keeping and making sure everything is running smoothly. Jule's job is to advertise this event. Together we made flyer's saying we're having a Best Of showcase for Jule to put around Zeum. Irina's job is similar to Samantha's job except she is making sure we're doing what we need to.

One thing I like about mentor groups in general is that we really get to know who we work with and what each other needs are. I think that schools, after school programs and senior outreach programs should all have a mentor group because that is the only way to get to know who you're working with as suppose to working with 30 people at once. And the fact that after twelve weeks we show what we've done is totally awesome. When the first 12 weeks is over we will switch mentor groups and learn more new exciting things. And I will definitely look back at the time I spent with my group and acknowledge what we've successfully done.

Graffiti is Art

My name is Carlos Monroy, i'm 16 years old and im a ZeumMaster. I have been part of the Zeum crew for 5 months and it's been a very good experience so far.

Zeum has so many things to introduce a young person to. It is a great place to work and to be in and as a worker it has given me many ideas and one of the ideas that I want to talk about is graffiti. Graffiti is not just vandalism. It is also art. Art that people misunderstand and don't know the differences between them. People do many things to express themselves such as write poems, play an instrument, act, play games, and many young adults such as myself do graffiti. There's different kinds of graffiti; There's tagging, trow ups, pieces, wild style, and murals.

What you see around the city is tagging and tagging is just a name that writers get and their object is to be around the city, so that every other tagger knows them. Trow ups are a small graff that you make with cans and it doesn't take long to make - it's easy to do.

Pieces are around cities - you can sometimes see them on store walls and other places. They use more colors and are more organized, they take time to do.

Then there's wild style letters that stands out and many people can't read it... but its very cool... it takes practice to do and many people enjoy looking at them and trying to figure out what they say.

Last form of graff writing is murals, the best of the best it takes a lot of practice and a lot of time to be perfect.



All these kinds of graffiti can be amazing, but few people enjoy this others hate it and don't want to see it. They just think that people who do drugs, and high school drop out do it. They are wrong we are not drug users and most of us are doing very well in high school. There's also people who feel offended and think that the city looks dirty, that is a crime but expressing yourself is not a crime.

My idea that I am bringing to Zeum is to let Zeum and everyone that attends Zeum is to let the art of graffiti stay alive and encourage many young artist who are afraid of going to jail for expressing themselves. With the project BRINGING ART by DARK will make the wall outside in main gallery look better and not just a simple wall. This project will be conducted by a street artist and his friends and it will be soon to come.
"paint the town in many colors and name it art."

It's time for a change

Yesterday at zeum, a few of us had a chance to express our views on the various political issues going on around us.  We talked about the presidential election, which is a first in many ways.  

We talked about the government fundings and most of us agreed that education is what's most important.  We looked at images of political art (like the one to the right) and graffiti.  Recently, the government funding for education was reduced and many teachers lost their jobs.  Teenagers like us, we want a change.  We want to have a say in what we think is most important for us. "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtgul, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has," says Margaret Mead an anthropologist.  We should never underestimate the power of teens, nor shall we ever neglect their opinions. thus, teens will be the next generation to make a change in this world.

Many of us depend on those who already have power to help us solve our problems, yet, we dont participate nor believe in politics. "Unlike the older public, halfheartedly involved in democracy, we dont realize the purpose in any involvement at all and this may destroy everything we wish for," says Camila Domonoske. Domonoske is so right, the new generation of teens do not pay attention to politics. thus, we should not complain about the reduction of school funding, the war in Iraq, or the people without healthcares if we are not going to believe and participate in politics. 

At zeum, we are given the opportunity to make a change in this world, to change our reputation in others' eyes that we dont engage in politics.  We're working in mentor groups now and my mentor group with ari and christian will create our own political statements in photoshop and stop-motion animation, to present to people that us, teens, have the ability to cause change in this world.

Josh on Media Movement

What I think about BAYCAT (Bayview Hunters Point Center for Arts and Technology) Presenting: Media Movement - the new exhibit up in the spiral gallery. (the photo is of me, Joshua.)

This morning, the ZeumMasters looked at the new show in the spiral gallery, which was mostly made up of videos. The video I watched the most was about transforming the negative. I picked this video because youth that start off young, influenced by the negativity don't help anyone at all. Living this way not only makes their life difficult, but the community they're living in also.

I know this because it took me till I was fifteen to realize that I wanted to make a difference. That was the turning point in my life because something bad would always happen to me when I was disobediant. I wasn't going to school, I was hanging with youth who were selling drugs, and I would be involved in turf issues just because I was with the wrong crowd. I didn't want that in my life anymore. Pretending to be someone you are not is very hard because everyone wants to be and feel apart of a group.

If I were to run a workshop with other teens on how to use media to make a difference, first, I would give it a name. It will be called, "Love looking for trouble". The video would be a discussion with different youth from different turfs (neighborhoods) but not about the negativity anymore, with another group of youth who are influenced by the negativity from different turfs and have a small conversation on why youth today, love looking for trouble!

I say and pick this name because in the past, my friends and I would be so confused about what's life about. We would get up in the morning and say lets go look for trouble. We would go in the streets looking in cars to see if there was bags in the front or back seat. That mean't that either lab tops were in the bag/s or something useful was in the bag/s because then people would put bags over things. That's why people don't leave important things in their car unless it was some books. You don't get that everyday...a person breaking in your car for a book which is quite funny to say.

However, my friends and I were so confused that we loved looking for trouble until one day we ran into trouble. That was the day where my friends and I knew what we were doing had to stop and change our lives around into something that could influence others to start being positive. For example, instead of stealing and hanging out, finding a job was a better choice. Instead of hanging out on the streets getting into more trouble, playing basketball was a better choice. And finally, instead of waking up bored and lazy, going to school getting educated became the number one thing in our lives.

Of course, other youth in our neighborhoods and people my friends and I knew called us names and thought we were "soft" (doing the right thing makes you soft), but we were told by an older adult, that you only get one life, so be the best that you could be and make things better in life not worser than it already is. This older person was a random senior citizen who knew what we were getting ourselves in just by looking at us. That was surprising!