Blog 9: A Whole New World

Well, I'm currently using my iPad for putting together this blog post. Unfortunately, I'm unable to add my super sweet picture of Aladdin and his girl flying through the Arabian sky. Maybe when I finish writing this I'll go back and try harder to make it work....I love Disney...but anyway, this blog topic struck me for a special reason.

I'm not sure if anyone other than our professor as noticed, but my attendance record hasn't been to hot, and that's not because I hate school or anything. The reason is, a little over a year ago I began to peruse a career in modeling. At first, it was tough for me to break into the industry, for several reasons. 1. There isn't much to anything here in San Diego that's worth my time for work, mainly random events or catering jobs which no model wants to do, unless they're desperate for work. So I had to spend a good chunk of time in bigger modeling cities like NYC, MIA, and LA in order to build my "book" or "portfolio" just so I could get signed to agencies.

It took me at least a year to get all of this done, and once I finally had my foot in the door, I realized it was only the beginning. It started off slow, but over time I began getting more "direct bookings" meaning I would get hired without having to go to auditions. These auditions, or "castings" as they're referred to in the biz, really only take place in those major cities I listed above. Because I'm still a student and am determined to graduate in a timely manner, I remained in San Diego and would drive to LA 1,2, or sometimes even 3 times a week! Crazy, I know.

Fast forward to today, and I've now reached a level in my career were I feel comfortable with the work I'm getting and feel comfortable in the industry. At first, it was difficult to understand how this business worked. I'll break it down for you...&;

First, to be a model and get work, you need an agency. In order to get signed to an agency, you need some proof that you look good on camera. For this, you need to do a couple of "test" shoots with skilled photographers. In order to know who's good and who's not, you need someone to point you in the right direction. This is usually done by you "mother agent" who in most cases is the person who scouts you. Your mother agent is also responsible for setting up meetings with agencies and also gets a 10% cut of the jobs you do. You have to be very careful with these people because in many cases, mine included, they sometimes try to take advantage of the models. It wasnt until I began working when I asked my agency in Miami about how I'm supposed to pay my mother agent. She told me I should never pay him a dime. In fact, whoever books my jobs in supposed to charge the client an extra 10% which ends up being the mother agency fee. Thankfully, I never did pay my mother agent and terminated my contract with him before shit hit the fan. That's just a little peek at how the industry works, which you can't fully grasp until you go through it.

Another interesting thing about the world of modeling is that each city has its own season when it gets the most activity. Miami pops off in the winter, NYC gets active on n the spring, Europe is the summer and fall, and I guess LA is year round. I think it has something to do with the weather...but who knows lol.

I'm currently writing this blog post from my changing room on set at Dillard's (a department store in the south that a bet non of you have heard of haha). But that's just a little peek at the workings inside the world of modeling. Everyone's path is different, but we all (models) have to learn how this industry works and ewe have to learn quickly because it is very easy to be taken advantage of. I've seen it happen and it's a sad thing....

Like I mentioned earlier, I'm technically challenged and suck at uploading pics, but if you want to see some of the things I've done, check out my instagram @nick.stenman.

That's another thing, you have to have an instagram these day, so my agents tell me. I guess clients like using models with big following because it's just another outlet to market whatever clothes, accessories, cars, or whatever else it is being advertised. I hope you all enjoyed reading my blog and have fun in class today...I'll be heading to the airport then...

See y'all Friday!

Fake It Till You Make It

I feel the same way as our teacher does when it comes to large crowds and mingling with people. Or atlas I used to. I can remember back in the day when kids started hanging out with each other outside of school for certain social events. Whether it being someone having an open house, big hang out sessions with a lot of peers, or even a school dance, I was never excited to socialize. I even feared it. Sure, you can say all kids are like that when growing up, this could be true, but I really didn't enjoy it at all.

I went on all through high school and it wasn't until I started putting myself in different organizations and getting involved with other people, until I learned how to play the game I guess you could say. Because thats exactly how I felt, like I was playing a game. I found myself being strategic when talking to groups of people, timing when to get a drink, the occasional "pretend I;m doing something important on my phone" move. Weird I know, but we can all relate.

To be a little more specific on a time I had to develop a identity kit, was when I studied abroad at Oxford for the summer. When my buddy and I first arrived at the house we'd be staying at by our school, we soon found that we would be living with actual Oxford students, not some other kids from what is known as a party school looking to have a fun summer abroad. These dudes were legit. They were serious with their studies and frequently discussed in such amazing depth the issues which were discussed in their classrooms earlier in the day. My friend and I sat back in awe, fearing one of them would ask us our opinion on such matters. But eventually, the time had come. It wasn't all that bad, because some of the things we talked about, I actually found interesting. And as the days went on, I began staying more up to date on the news and whatever else was a hot subject of debate in the world and soon began adding to the evening conversations in a manner i sure hope was sufficient lol. Those were good times. 

Happy Sunday everyone, GO CHARGERS!

Discourse His Horse

Forewarning....I'm exhausted and have to go to bed early tonight (ideally by 10pm) because I have to be up and on the road to LA for work. And yes, that means I will not be present in class tomorrow, I'm sorry guys. But anyway, let's get to talking about discourse communities. Our boy Swales, I believe thats his name, gave us the breakdown of what a discourse really is...not like those fakers he referenced who think they know what they're talking about. Or should I say "thought" they knew what they were talking about. Anyone who care so deeply about this stuff is probably super old and....I'm gonna stop.

After putting some thought into it, I came up with a few groups that I think fit the mold of what "S" was talking about. Unfortunately, they were all pretty messed up groups, meaning they all did/ continue to cause harm to the public good, to say the least. The group I decided to talk about, seeing as I just finished binge watching a show on these guys, is the drug cartels.

Lets talk about the Columbian drug cartels, or should I say Narcos. Just like the groups "S" refers to, these guys fit all the qualifications of being a discourse community. All of the different cartels, prior to them being broken up, had a set of common goals with respect to one another. They were all making loads of cash off of the drug trade and they were all happy about it. Secondly, their lines of communication with one another were flawless. When trouble was on the horizon for one of the cartels, they would communicate with one another for assistance. These lines of communication were nearly untraceable, making them their own sort of genre. And lastly, the Narcos were very secretive and suspicious groups. No outsiders were allowed in and those who were granted access, had to meet very strict standards. Goodnight peeps.

I don't care what you think

Holy smokes!!! Why are all these people so angry when they write their article??? Do they really believe that by talking all this digital smack is gonna sway anyones opinion. No way!!! Even as I was reading the article posted on the conservative website Townhall.com, I was blown away with how negative the author was. Although I consider myself a "conservative" when it comes to politics, the article "Liberals Are The Sort Of People Who..." written by John Hawkins, blew me back. What is the gosh dang point of bad nothing people with different view points. Im sorry, bad mouthing doesn't quite cover it, bashing is a better word. I mean, what is he trying to prove here? The people who read these articles from this particular site clearly already are conservative thinkers, so whats the point? I did think some of it was funny, and yes I agreed with some of the thing Hawkins says, but I mean really, thats the best you have to offer our society???

Oh well...

Now we shall cross the bridge over to the left. In the article "Donald Trump's bet: We are all chumps" written by the Washington Post, a notorious left wing news company, we see the same harsh criticism on someone who's opinions don't exactly fall in line with their own. My question with these news outlets is why the hell do they even bother posting this stuff. I mean, I understand why they do it, to re enforce their political beliefs and cement their viewers ideas on whats going on in the political world today. But man, this is annoying. No offense to anyone who subscribes to these bias outlets, but come on people, we can do better than this.

That exactly why I have grown fond towards this JSTOR daily website. A better name for it would be "information outlet". Because thats exactly what it is! Just the facts, no opinions. Love it. The first article I read from them was "Where American Public Schools Came From". I really enjoyed this article because it is something I've always been curious about and is relevant in our lives today because it affects everyone. We all have a duty to pay our taxes which funds public schools in America. So in theory, I helped pay for your brothers, sister, moms, dads, sons, daughters and anyone else education. Frankly, I'm not so sure how I feel about that. Don't get me wrong, I am grateful for the fact I have received a sorta free education, but to be honest, I think it was a shitty education. Classroom sizes were large for me growing up, which inhibited me from getting a sufficient amount of personal time with the instructor, and for me thats very important to my success in a classroom. Because of my experiences in public school, one of my biggest goals in life is to send my kids to private school so they can get a better education. But even then, I will still be paying taxes that will go to Public Schools. I wonder then, if I am able to send my kids to private, if I will be ok paying taxes for public education.

But here's the point, the JSTOR article didn't tell whats right or wrong about American Public Schools, all it gave me was the facts like how it became a thing and how it grew into what it is today. You mean I get to make up my own mind/develop my own opinion??? No way!!! LOL. But anywhoot...thats the best example of an un-opinionated article I can find that is relevant to todays society and actually gives you something to consider.

I also, took a glance at the article on JSTOR "Stranger Things", only because I binge watched it an approximately 28 hours...I know, I'm the man. I fricken love the 80's theme and of coarse Mrs. Winona Ryder. She's amazing in it. The article did a good job laying out where the whole nose bleed/psychic  powers thing derived from. All good info.

Breaking Down Barriers

Well....I had no idea that one could feel so strong about something as simple as a "genre", but this world is filled with surprises. Amy Devit has a lot to say on the matter, but quite frankly, that was more than I could take. I will say this though, after reading Devit's article, I do have more respect (I think thats the right word) for the idea behind genre's.

When I hear the word genre, I think of old books and stories or black and white movies. I never understood why this was, I just simply accepted it. After reading Devit's article, it does make a bit more sense why I associate genre with old things. This is because each genre as we know it, is like a pillar. There is a non-fiction pillar, a fantasy pillar, one for horror, one for drama, the list goes on and on. These pillars are made up of individual works of literature or film that provide the cement, or marble, or clay, or whatever you want these pillars to be made of....even cheese if thats your sorta thing. I prefer parmesan. Not sure if anyone can tell, but I'm hungry.

Sorry for the sidetrack, but any time a new piece is written, recorded, filmed, or constructed in any other way, it is labeled by some critics or the creators themselves as a certain genre. Therefore, we are constantly maintaining what Devit calls "existing power structures and dynamics" and providing them with what they need for the continuation of these labels. Something about that bothers me. I think it's wrong for someone to determine what category your work can or cannot fall into. Why do we need labels anyway, all its done throughout history is kept us apart and segregated.

One last thing I'd like to comment on is music. I would to give music of the past 10 years a round of applause. This may be the only category of artistic creativity that has defied the rules and regulations for genres. In fact, in the past 10 years, we have established an entirely new kind of music that falls into no previously existing category...EDM, or electric dance music. Other than EDM, all you have to do is turn on the radio and you can hear all sorts of music that you would have trouble categorizing. You've got rappers spitting flows over guitars and drums, Justin Beibers voice over edm, you even have Kanye West singing beautiful hooks to songs while letting loose all his ignorance over the following verse... I LOVE IT

Greetings Classmates

How's it going everyone, I'm quite excited to embark on this blogging quest throughout this semester. This is something that I would consider new for me and the fact that I'm already technically ungifted, makes me a little worried so I apologize if my blog isn't very visually appealing. Anyway...my real is name is Nicholas, though I go by Nick because its just easier. I am a senior here at San Diego State who's just trying to graduate and get on with it. When I first came to this school, it was as a football player. Football was my life. Ever since High School, all I ever thought about was playing Division 1 Football. So when I got the chance to play at San Diego State University I leaped on the opportunity and committed fully 100% of my focus towards it. Little did I know, I would soon be overcome by an injury to my lower back which I had sustained as a senior in high school and been plagued with ever since. The pain and discomfort reached a level that I was incapable to cope with, so after just one year, I decided to hang up the cleats and see what else life had in store for me. Though I was un aware of it at the time, deciding to end my career as a football player was one of the best decisions I think I could've ever made. After taking a semester off from school and allowing my head to clear, I re-enrolled in classes the following Spring. That semester, I was convinced by my older brother who was also attending SDSU to rush the same fraternity he was in. Other than school, I really had no other obligations or affiliations to be a part of which was the first time since...well...ever. So I did it. Joining a fraternity was definitely something I was not expecting to do while in college, but I'm glad I did. In fact, I could not be more satisfied with the experience I had while being a part of a frat. It was crazy. But my time in that world has come and passed. It was fun while it lasted, but at some point you just realize its time to shift gears and start down another path. Which is exactly what I did. So after doing a study abroad at Oxford and getting an internship with the Mayor of San Diego, I decided that I was going to finish out my degree by taking fewer courses each semester, allowing me to be involved in something else on the side. Even though this way is making it a lot longer for me to graduate, I'm ok with that because I know eventually I'll get my degree. Plus, from what I hear, the real world's a scary place, personally I'm in no hurry. So now I work part time while going to school and hope to graduate in the Spring...we'll see. But for now, thats a little bit about me and I hope I get to learn from you all throughout our blogging experience we will all be sharing this semester. Adios.