Scrolls from Sir Charlie

Last Monday, I started a new studio (aka a class) at NUVU called the art of documentary filmmaking. The goal of this studio is to make a short documentary about accessibility in the next three weeks. All of last week we talked about the technical aspects, getting used to the cameras and trying to figure out the best angles. Specifically, we learned about: “Rule of Thirds” (which is when you place your main object in the crosshairs of the camera located every third of the image) The depth of field (the object that is not in focus, is more or less in focus depending on what the depth is) The composition (what is in the frame, is just as important as what is out of the frame) Different kinds of light (natural, artificial, etc.) We watched a few short documentaries and talked about what made them good, for example, the camera angles, the lighting, depth, etc. I think I want to make a documentary about disabled people in wheelchairs, or the similar...

For the last few weeks, I have been at a new school called NUVU Studio  in Cambridge, MA. I will be continuing at this school for the rest of the year.  I hav e a very different daily schedule than what I did when I was at the Healey School. I wake up at 6:30 in the morning, taking a half an hour to slowly get my brain working. I then eat and do all of my morning activities until 7:30. At that time, I complete about forty-five minutes of math on Khan Academy. After doing Khan, I walk into Davis Square and take the Red Line (subway) to Central Square. I get to school at around 9:00 and usually start work on my project until lunch. I am allowed many more freedoms now, which was quite disconcerting for my first few days. I am still not used to the fact that lunch is an hour long and I'm able to just get up and leave the building without anyone telling me it's lunchtime. After lunch, I work on my project for the rest of the day. To get home, I take the Red Line back and do a sho...

There’s a demon in my attic I see water dripping from my roof I pack my bag with snacks and tools To help me find my proof I climb sneakily on a stool Ascending upwards to the room Sweat flowing down my cheeks As I contemplate my doom I see stacked boxes in a wall That could be hiding the beast My mouth curves in appall As I imagine myself as his feast I jump to reach my goal To see a large shadow And in hand my vicious ski pole I run at my foe To see him turn with a spade I realized he only wanted to make a garden He wore a sweater that was crocheted I slowly considered a pardon Realizing he only wanted a garden

For the past few years, I have not been in traditional public school as often as most other families. A few years ago, my immediate family and I took six months off of work and school for a six-month-long sabbatical.  We visited many famous places around the world around Asia and Europe. Also, last spring, I took off two weeks from school to go on a trip with my grandmother to England, France, and Holland. I took off the rest of the school year after the trip and homeschooled mainly using Khan Academy. I mainly practiced Algebra 1, so that I could take Geometry at the high school as an eighth grader. In truth, I really disliked doing multiple hours of math every day, but I had to in order to stay out of the Healey school for math the following year (this year). Currently, I am liking Geometry as well as the teacher, Mr. Morgan. He is a very nice guy with an odd sense of humor. You can't really tell whether he’s joking sometimes or if he believes what he’s saying, however, ...

Yesterday my grandmother and I went to the Massachusetts State House to go to a hearing on carbon pricing. We also went to a presentation for legislation on four  bills. These four bills were on toxins in everyday items, such as toxic flame retardants in children's products and residential furniture, these toxins are extremely bad for our healths and can cause mutation, and sometimes even cancer. Another bill was an act to disclose what toxic chemicals are in children's products, personal care products and cleaning products. The third bill was an act to require environmentally safe cleaning products, so that the things that are used to clean places do not harm the environment around them. The last act was a bill requiring disclosure of solvents used by dry cleaning. The solvents used in dry cleaning is usually perchlorate which can be harmful to both the employees and also the customers who are getting their objects cleaned. I think the most interesting bill is the bill ba...

In our house, we recently installed solar panels to reduce our carbon emissions and also save about 45% of our annual costs for our house’s electricity. My Dad wrote a few questions for me to answer that would attempt to persuade much more people to add solar panels to their own houses, and also to try and persuade others to add them to their own houses. Why does solar work for our house? Solar works for our house because we have multiple roof areas mostly south facing that have sufficient sunlight to make a good amount of electricity to be worth the money that they cost. What is the design? There are 19 panels on the one side of the roof and 5 on the other side of the roof above Mom, and Dad’s bedroom How much does it cost? It costs $20,000  when they are installed, but nothing every year afterward. How much electricity will it produce? Our solar panels will produce about 5946 kWh every year for 25 years. What other financial benefits? We will save ...