Do You Remember?

KEITH AARON DAILY

Thursday February 7, 2013| Your place, Your Voice.

 

 

Remember the Time…

Written by: Keith Caudle

Interviewee: Raymond F. Williams

Background  

            Raymond F. Williams was born on Sept. 5, 1941 in St. Petersburg, Fla. to John E. Williams and Minnie Williams. He is now, 71 years old, and has literally gone from large floor model black and white televisions, to flat-screen HD TVs. I expressed to him that I thought of him first when thinking of how technology has changed over a person’s lifetime, because he is a part of the generation that has seen technology and communication change before their eyes. He replied, “I could have never guessed that we would have half of the things we have today as far as technology goes.”

Radio

            The first all-inclusive communication system for the home was radio.  Raymond thought back to his childhood to remember his early experiences with radio. “I thought radio was great, it was a good way to find out what was going on in the world, and it also served as our family entertainment.” He talked about how scarce radio was during that time, and how little stations there were compared to how many stations we have today. The radio reception he had was poor because he lived in a very rural area; they also received the signal form Tennessee. His memories of WLAC’s Randy’s Record Shop, and the mysteries that he listened to as a boy seemed to be very vivid.

Lula and Raymond Williams in Houston, TX.  

Television

            As a child I remember speaking with my grandfather about television and whether his family owned a one or not, he told me they did and his father purchased it around 1952. He said yesterday, “I felt privileged to have a television in my home during those times, because not many people had them in my town, only the well-to-do.” After that statement I asked him how he felt when he turned on the television for the first time, “I thought the world had exploded (laughing),” he could not wrap his mind around the fact he could now see and hear things at the same time. When television arrived he expressed that there were few channels, and things stopped playing to the tune of the Star Spangled Banner around midnight until about 9 AM the next morning. He liked to watch show Amos & Andy, Howdy Duty, Our Mrs. Brooks, and Zorro. We went on to discuss his experience with color television, he told me that they first had a Technicolor screen that looked like a rainbow that went on top of your black and white screen, that sounded like it did not work very well, “you could not see anything clearly, it was useless (laughing).” Years later his father was able to afford color television, he said it took so long for them to get one because they were very expensive at that time, but his family was the second in the town to get one, “I felt like we were rich when my dad bought that home.”

The Progression of Technology 

            After we finished up speaking about how his family moved from radio to television I was intrigued to find out how he feels about the way that technology has progressed over his lifetime. “It’s been so rapid, it all has come so fast, I never thought things would change so rapidly, it’s a lot to take in.” He feels that everything has moved to a new era, and that modern communication has transformed the world, which it most definitely has.

Lula and Raymond Williams at their 50th wedding anniversary.

Concerns with Being Left Behind by Technology 

            What I found most interesting was how concerned he was about his generation dealing with technology. “It has been somewhat difficult for older people like me to conform to today’s technology.” I understand what he saying, because most people in his generation do not use a lot of technology, and they know very little about it. My grandmother for instance is just starting to embrace more technology and she is 72 years old. When it comes to my generation it has been easier for us to adjust to technology, because we grew up learning it.

            We did end on a good note with technology due to the fact the he says, “Technology has made the world very productive due to communication advances.” My grandfather has really embraced communication, he has an iPad, he also has basic knowledge of computers, and he has always has a pretty advanced cellphone. I feel he is a technologically advanced 71 years old. 

 

 

Protesting

The photograph used for the photo analysis.

What I See

 By Keith Caudle-Fairfield.  The photograph is made up of two separate pictures that are divided by the headlines. At the top of the photo there is a very large crowd in Egypt. The people in the crowd are filling up the picture. The headline reads “Protesting in Egypt,” which makes you think that every person on this side of the issue is out in the street fighting for their rights. In the bottom of the photo we see people who appear to be teenagers or children. Two of the children are on their phones, two of them are watching television, and the other two are on their laptops. The headline reads “Protesting in USA,” this makes me think of how the younger generation, and sometimes how our country is perceived. Protesting in Egypt symbolizes unity, passion, and hope, but protesting in America symbolizes laziness, the feeling of complacency, and the new generation. Without the headlines in the photo the symbolism would be the same, there would just be a discrepancy in where the photos were taken or who they are portraying. The strongest symbolism in protesting in Egypt is unity, which was the first word that came to mind. Through this depiction of Egypt you can feel the sense of unity through the amount of people you see in the photo coming together for one common goal. When looking at the way Americans protest the first thing that came to mind was complacent. The word complacent is used often to describe the current generation in America, partly due to the advancement of technology that is shown in this photograph.

America vs. Egypt

            This photo is interesting because of the difference in how America deals with issues opposed to how things are dealt with in Egypt. When things happen in Egypt they take to the streets quickly in protest to fight for the things that a majority of the country might oppose. Here in America when something of monumental impact happens we rarely protest. The last large protest that was all inclusive in America was Occupy Wall Street, but during the government shutdown the streets were empty. We as Americans seem to take to social media with our issues and concerns, and we post petitions online to be signed in order to start conversations about new laws. Americans no longer pound the pavement as often as other countries to allow our voices to be heard on issues that affect us as a whole. The way that Egypt is protesting in the photo reminds me of how African Americans protested during the Civil Rights Movement. I think that as a people we have almost completely lost that sense of unity for causes close to us. It is important to note that African Americans came together during the Trayvon Martin case, because that could have happened to any of us. My grandparents always fear that we as a generation are slowly finding major issues in America less important, especially when matters of race are involved. In Egypt when the country resists how the president/prime minister handles the country they take it to the streets to overthrow him. We Americans so often stay silent when certain groups in government cause the government to shutdown, because the legislative branch cannot agree on a budget to keep our country moving financially.  

It Only Takes One…

            Hopefully in the future Americans will take to the streets to stand up for what they believe in. In America we get so used to someone else handling our problems for us, but in countries like Egypt you cannot always count on the government to work everything out for you in the proper manner. It only takes one passionate person to stand up for something and others will naturally follow.

Know Your Rights!!

The First Amendment

Picture posted by http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org

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

By Keith Caudle- Fairfield. The First Amendment is the basis for just about everything we learn in the field of communications. The most important clause for all concentrations in the field of communications is “Congress shall make no law…abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press…” This clause gives journalist the freedom to say or print what they want within limits, and as long as the information is believed to be factual through reliable sources. The freedom of speech allows journalist to publish factual stories on topics that may at times seem distasteful without fear of being censored.  It is very important for students who are preparing themselves to work with the press to know the rights they are protected under in the First Amendment.

Reporter Abbey Niezgoda (ABC 6: Rhode Island) is attacked by a women who does not want to be questioned. Abbey exercised her right to report from a public street.

Minutes Away Miles Ahead!

The President of Miles College, Dr. George T. French and Bishop Teresa Snorton greet guest as they exit.

By Keith Caudle- Fairfield. On Thursday, October 17, 2013 Miles College held a special ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the three new facilities that are being built on the campus. The buildings include a welcome center, female dormitory, and a new student center.

Miss Miles College Joshalynn Green, with her court 1st attendant Shantinique Ransom and 2nd Attendant Ar’Shundra Hampton.

The Miles College Purple Marching Machine Band in action as the ceremony comes to a close.

 

What’s on my mind…

A Nike gym

By Keith Caudle- Fairfield.This picture was taken for my photographic imaging class. The assignment was called the One Photo Challenge, which called for the class to take a picture of the first object that came to mind. Well the first object that came to mind was a duffle bag, because I was and still am ready for Christmas break.

Historical Landmarks

The dedication memorial at the entrance of Miles College Fairfield, Ala.

By Keith Caudle- Fairfield. This image was taken at the entrance of Miles College. It is the memorial that was dedicated for the 100th anniversary of the founding of Miles College. I wanted to capture this image with the flame in motion, and have the background as Brown Hall. The reason I wanted the flame in motion was to show what the memorial symbolizes, which is that Miles College is still going strong and lighting a fire within its student to achieve great things in life. . I also want Brown Hall to be in the background; because I see it as the nucleolus of this school everything we need to get our college career started is accessible inside that building.

Mural for All at Railroad Park in Birmingham, Ala.

I took this picture at Railroad Park. The focal point of the picture is the “Mural for All” which was created by the Birmingham community and was unveiled last week during the Empowerment activities. This mural was one of the highlights last week and it was something that I had to see. I like the fact that the mural was placed in a park the is very popular in the area, because it’s a reminder to always empower one another. This is an interesting image because each tile was painted by an individual from the Birmingham community and you can tell when you are close to the mural, but each individual tile made one beautiful cohesive image, which was exactly how the mural was planned. Russ Bennett who planned the mural said, “It shows that each individual is important, and together they have cumulative power.”

Do You See What I See?

By Keith Caudle, Fairfield, Ala.– For this assignment we had to pick an everyday object and focus on a small part of it. The key to this assignment was to get as close as we could to the object and shoot it from different angles. With the photos that we chose we were to add sentences that would explain each photo, which I decided to add as the cutline of my photos.

1. This shot shows the side view of my object. I love the way the small details show up in the picture from the smallest cracks to the dirt that I did not realize was there.

2. The angle that I shot this picture from makes the object look as if it is elevated off of the surface. The artificial light in the room worked well in this shot, because a reflection from the object shows up in the shadow.

3. The under view of the object was highlighted in this shot. The purpose of the shot was to show the space between the top and base of the object, which makes it look as if something is missing.

4. In this picture the bottom half of the object is shown. The flash made this picture appear to be taken in the dark, because of the flash from the camera.

5. My object is a mirror support. This object is right by my bed in my dorm room, and it has indirectly become a part of my daily life. I spin this object at least 2 to 3 times a day whether I am thinking or watching television.