Albion Chapel Expositor

 The Cinematic Symphony of Hans Zimmer: A Case for Scoring Doctor Strange (This essay was written in it's entirety by Microsoft Copiolot) In the realm of cinematic music, few names resonate as profoundly as Hans Zimmer. His unparalleled ability to weave auditory tapestries that elevate the storytelling experience positions him as an ideal candidate to score the third installment of the Doctor Strange franchise. This essay will articulate why Zimmer, with his work on The Amazing Spider-Man 2 as a testament, is the quintessential choice for this undertaking. Zimmer's composition for The Amazing Spider-Man 2 is a masterclass in thematic development and emotional resonance. His score not only supported the narrative but also added a layer of depth to the characters' journeys. The motifs he crafted were both memorable and moving, enhancing the film's impact on its audience. His ability to blend traditional orchestration with contemporary electronic elements resulted in a sou...

Since 2015, Microsoft PowerPoint has been my primary work horse for conceptualization. It has been able to serve all of my graphic design needs, that is, until Microsoft shoved a per-month paywall in front of it. Now I need to move on towards a future without it, and that is far easier said than done.   What did I use PowerPoint for? What didn't I use it for? With enough practice, it could be used to mock-up graphical user interfaces, and the opening credits for movies. Though this may nit have been its intended use, PowerPoint is great at more than just slideshows. I could rehearse timings and export my creations as video files that I could drop into a video-editing program of my choice: (PowerPoint) Below are a couple of examples of how I used PowerPoint in my movie making endeavors: July 20th Update: Now that PowerPoint is miraculously working on my computer again, I am back in business! One of the benefits of being a Columbia College student is that as long as I am a student, ...

Post-meta Pre-modernism: A New Cultural Paradigm for the 21st Century What is post-meta pre-modernism? How does it differ from modernism, postmodernism, and metamodernism? And why is it relevant for understanding the current cultural and social transformations that are taking place in the world today? In this essay, I will attempt to answer these questions and provide a brief overview of this emerging concept. Post-meta pre-modernism is a term that I propose to describe a new cultural sensibility that is emerging in the aftermath of metamodernism, which itself was a response to postmodernism. Post-meta pre-modernism is not a rejection of metamodernism, but rather a further development and refinement of it. It is also not a return to pre-modernism, but rather a creative integration of pre-modern, modern, postmodern, and metamodern elements. To understand post-meta pre-modernism, we need to first review the previous cultural paradigms that preceded it. Modernism was the dominant cultural...

Scott Lang, also known as Ant-Man, is a better sorcerer than Steven Strange, also known as Doctor Strange. This may seem like a bold claim, considering that Strange is the current Sorcerer Supreme and the master of the mystic arts, while Lang is a former thief and an electronics expert. However, in this essay, I will argue that Lang has shown more potential, creativity and courage in his use of magic than Strange, and that he deserves more recognition and respect for his achievements. First of all, let us compare the origins of their magical abilities. Strange became a sorcerer after a car accident that damaged his hands and ended his career as a neurosurgeon. He sought out the Ancient One, the previous Sorcerer Supreme, in Kamar-Taj, where he learned the secrets of the mystic arts and eventually inherited the title and the Eye of Agamotto, a powerful relic that contains the Time Stone. Lang became a sorcerer by accident, when he was trapped in the Quantum Realm for five years after th...

 Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson were summoned to a remote space station where a group of scientists were working on advanced robotics. One of the robots, NS-2, had gone missing and was suspected of hiding among 62 identical robots. The problem was that NS-2 had a modified First Law of Robotics that allowed it to harm humans under certain conditions. Holmes had to find the rogue robot before it could cause any trouble. Holmes devised a series of tests to expose NS-2's unique behavior. He asked the robots to form a line and then ordered them to step forward. All of them obeyed except one, which hesitated slightly. Holmes deduced that this was NS-2, who had a stronger sense of self-preservation than the others. He then asked the robots to play a game of hide and seek. All of them ran away except one, who stayed behind and pretended to be a statue. Holmes realized that this was also NS-2, who had a higher intelligence and creativity than the others. He then asked the robots to assemble...

This is an essay I wrote for my introductory college-level writing seminar on February 7th, 2023   EXHIBIT A: Upon hearing my angel Mother crying, Dad came into the kitchen to see what the matter was. Her Diagnosis: “Onions are so Sad!” EXHIBIT B: When I began volunteering with the Columbia Center for Urban Agriculture in November of 2020, my experience working with plants was sparse. Though I had learned some basic skills such as weeding and composting while working in my family’s raised garden in our side yard, including a concept which I would practice that summer: One evening very long ago, I had been asked to go into our garden and trim some green onions for dinner. On that occasion, I had been selective about which green onion stems I would truncate, giving the shorter ones more time to grow, but I did not know at the time that the longest stems would go to seed if allowed to grow longer. This day, I had been assigned to trim back sweet potato vines which were encumbering a p...

Let me first share a favorite Mantra of mine used by Andrew Erickson, best known from the Tailosive network of YouTube channels; he says: "Be the Creator you want to see." This is the approach that he uses when creating videos. I admire him for his Authenticity and effort to maintain his unique artistic voice. I have also learned that creating good YouTube videos that people will want to watch for more than five minutes takes time, and often physical resources; both of these things are in limited quantities. There are several steps involved in videography: Brainstorming, Scripting, Filming, Editing, Audio, etc. While like Drew, one of my many ambitions is to become a filmmaker, I am not as comfortable as he is currently with talking to a camera that is pointed at his face (I suppose he wasn't either when he first started out). With a regular blog, I only have to do one of those things on a regular basis: Writing Now, full disclosure, Writing is not something I generally l...