Benjamin Sandberg Writing For New Media Blog Post I In this reading I will be telling you bits and

pieces about my life. It will be largely incomplete due to the fact that making this compilation complete would take much more time than I have right now. This reading can be read however you would like. It will be embedded with hypertext links internally and externally located that may or may not come together in a linear outline of my life. Click on any links that fancy your interest and take a journey into my mind where my recollections, like this document, do not come together in a linear story despite its literal linear narrative. I will be discussing such topics as religion, family, school, work, theatre involvement, etc. Keep in mind that there is a concluding statement at the end of this post that you should read before moving on to the next post. To begin this reading either read the first post below about my birth or choose a link above. Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------------------I, Benjamin Troy Sandberg, was born on January 7, 1991, in the U.S. territory of Guam. I was born to my mother Holly Sandberg and my father Troy Sandberg. I was born in Guam because my father was a military fireman who was stationed at the base on the the small island. I dont remember anything while living on the island because I was only one years old when my parents, my sister Tiffany, and I moved to Roy, Utah. ---------------------------------------------------------------Explanation of my huge family: My family is made up of a yours, mine and ours type of structure. I will try to give the short version of this story to keep it simple. My parents Troy and Holly were parents to my full sister Tiffany and I. They split up when I was about 6 years old. After this my mother married a man named Scott who, in simple terms, was a scumbag. They gave birth to my half brother Braden. After their split-up my mother took a while raising the three of us before she decided she could start dating again. When she did she met my current step father Richard Jackson. In his previous marriage he had six children, Jeff, Tim, Jenny, Sarah, Jon and Amy. His wife died of a brain

tumor and Richard was single until he married my mother Holly, when I was 11 years old. Together they had my little brother Matthew. On the other side, my father met Lori, who had three kids from her previous marriage, Ashley, Amy and Aubree. After their marriage they had my sister Taylor. This makes up my very large and somewhat complicated family structure. To learn more about each of my siblings or parents click here. ---------------------------------------------------------------Family List: Holly Jackson: This is my lovely mother, whom I care for a lot. She has always been there for me throughout everything I have done in my life. She is the only one I am comfortable telling everything; and I always have been able to tell her everything, which is something I will always be grateful for. Troy Sandberg: This is my father. I have always felt that on top of being my father he has been a friend. I lived with my mother growing up, and visiting my dad was usually a good experience for me. Since we didnt see each other as much he always had fun with us when he did. Richard Jackson: This is my step dad. From a very early age in childhood he has been my father in the home. I have never really referred to him as my step dad except to clarify which father I was talking about. He is just as much my father as my real one is. He has always been very supportive in everything I have done. Lori Sandberg: This is my step mother. A mostly kind woman with the occasional bad temper. Tiffany Farr: This is my one and only biological sister. Her last name is Farr because she is married to Austin Farr. She is going to be having her first child in a few days time. Braden Jackson: This is my half brother, born to my mother and Scott. He is a funny kid that can also be very irritating when he wants to be. And he enjoys annoying people a lot, but I love him for it. He

has a large heart, even though he tries very hard not to show it. Taylor Sandberg: This is my half sister, born to my father and step mother. She is a wild tom boy who has absolutely no fear whatsoever. She speaks her mind no matter the consequences. As you can imagine she easily makes enemies. Matthew Jackson: This is my half brother Matthew, born to my mother and step father. He is a smart mouthed quirky little guy who looks just like his dad. He is bound to end up being an entertainer. Jeff Jackson: This is my step brother Jeff, born to my step dad and his previous wife. He is married with four kids. He is the only sibling of mine that I am not fond of. The truth of the matter is that he and his wife were the only ones who never accepted my mom and us into the family. I can handle them not accepting me, but when my mom is hurt because of it, thats where I draw the line. He is in my little black book of people I dont particularly like. Tim Jackson: This is my step brother Tim, born to my step dad and his previous wife. He is married with three kids. He is a funny hardworking guy who loves sushi and going to the movies. Jenny Xander (Andi): This is my step sister Jenny, born to my step father and his previous wife. Jenny is married to a mysterious individual named Kimball and has two kids. Jenny and Kimball stay mostly to themselves and a few years ago changed their names to Jack and Andi. Over the years we have seen extreme changes in the happygo-lucky sister we used to know as Jenny and we suspect that Kimball/Jack is controlling and possibly abusive. Despite our efforts we have not been able to convince them to move closer to the family. They currently live in Arizona. Sarah Scott: This is my step sister Sarah, born to my step father and his previous wife. She is married and has three kids with another on the way. She is one of the happiest people I know and will probably always look no older than 20 years of age. Sarah and I

have our own nicknames for each other. She is Marinara and I am Jalapeno, read phonetically rather than properly. Jonathan Jackson: This is my step brother Jon, born to my step father and his previous wife. Jon is married and has three kids. Jon was my hero/idol as I was growing up. He was my closest brother and I wanted to be just like him. He currently lives in California working as a landscape designer for rich Los Angeles people. Amy Shreeve: This is my step sister Amy, born to my step dad and his previous wife. She is currently married with one child. Through a lot of my childhood I grew up with Amy living with us. She is a sweet girl and kind to everyone. She is the kind of person who only deserves to have good things happen to her. That is why it is so sad that she has had to face so much in her lifetime. With her husband, Travis, they have a 50/50 chance that every child they have will have a disease called Zellwegers Syndrome. Their first child was born with it and she died within the year. They decided to try again and their second child, Vincent, also had the disease. He is almost two years old now, much older than he was expected to live, and seems to be healthy. Ashley Butler: This is my step sister Ashley, born to my step mom and her previous husband. Ashley is a short tempered girl who has her issues in life. She means well but she makes bad decisions. She seems to be turning things around, she is about to get her Associates Degree, and this alone could help her change her life. She is currently engaged. Amy Brunson: This is my step sister Amy, born to my step mom and her previous husband. She is currently married to Casey Brunson. She is the classic blonde, she often says dumb things that make everyone else laugh. Aubree Butler: This is my step sister Aubree, born to my step mom and her previous husband. She is currently in a bad attitude teenage girl stage. She is one of the most promising of the girls on that side of the family. She will have her associates degrees when she graduates high school.

---------------------------------------------------------------Throughout the years I have attended many different schools in many different places. A few of the more important ones will be listed here. Amelia Earhart Middle School Martin Luther King High School Clearfield High School The University of Utah ---------------------------------------------------------------Amelia Earhart Middle School: I attended this school while I was living in California. My favorite teacher I have ever had was at this school. He may be the single most important influence in my life that led me to where I am right now. His name was Mr. Whiteford and I first had him as a teacher when he taught my history and english class in the seventh grade. I liked him as a teacher so much that I wanted to take one of his classes the following year. The other class he taught was theatre. I was a shy kid back in those days. Despite this I took the theatre class and through it Mr. Whiteford helped me to open up and discover how much I enjoyed acting. After attending Amelia Earhart I spent a year at Martin Luther King High School. ---------------------------------------------------------------California: When I was about 11 or 12 my step dad got offered a job as the Institute Director at the Seminary at the University of Riverside California (UCR) with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons). We moved to Riverside and it is still the favorite place that I have ever lived. While living here I attended Benjamin Franklin Elementary School, Amelia Earhart Middle School, and my freshmen year at Martin Luther King High School. We moved back to Utah when my step dad retired, leaving lovely California behind us. ---------------------------------------------------------------The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (and my views on it) [Website]

I grew up in a Mormon family. There is a lot of pressure on young Mormon boys to go on a mission at the age of 19. Over the years I slowly became separated from the church and decided not to go on my mission. Telling my parents this was difficult, especially since all of my older brothers had gone on missions. I stuck with it though and got through the awkward stage where my step dad was disappointed in my decision. My mom continued to support my decisions and was very helpful through this part of my life. I have very strong feelings about the church many of which contradict each other. The church confuses me and I have come to the conclusion that I do not believe in the church but I feel like the influence it had on my childhood is still with me today. ---------------------------------------------------------------Martin Luther King High School I spent my Freshman year at MLK high. It was a great school and I had a large variety of friends. You might say we were the misfit crowd. We were all so different, but all outcasts, which made us the misfit kids at the high school. My group contained nerds, goths, stoners, skateboarders, and hippies. We were a motley crew but we had lots and lots of fun. After that first year my family moved to Syracuse, Utah where I attended Clearfield High. ---------------------------------------------------------------List of places I have worked: Stokers Nursery Bluffridge Elementary (Custodian) The Salt Lake City Library (Custodian) Marriott Library (A/V Special Collections Library Aide) U Department of Theatre (Video Marketing and Promotion) U Department of Dance (Videographer) ---------------------------------------------------------------Clearfield High School While at Clearfield High was involved in many different ways. I was in theatre, stage crew, choir, and I was even a T.A. (Teachers Assistant) in the Dance Company. It was a very important time to me and I made a lot of my best friends during my three years attending there.

---------------------------------------------------------------The University of Utah I am a film major here at the University of Utah. I work in three different departments on campus as well as attending and working in the film department. I work for the Marriott Library in the A/V section of special collections. I get to transfer old films, videos and tapes in our large collections of A/V material. I also do Videography of the Ballet and Modern dance performances. And on top of that I make promo videos for the U Department of Theatre. As a film student I have produced my own films with my buddy Mohammad Allam. I have payed every cent of my schooling myself, supported by no one, and I have done so with pride. I have worked my ass off to get myself through college and it has helped make me a better person today. I will be graduating in the Spring of 2013. ---------------------------------------------------------------Theatre My interest and involvement in theatre began with Mr. Whiteford at Amelia Earhart Middle School. He showed me how much I enjoyed theatre and he helped me to open up from my shy little bubble. When I was going to Clearfield High School I joined the Productions class, which was our schools theatre troop. I performed in a total of 8 shows during my high school career. I was a lead in a competition piece called Mikes Choice in which we placed at regional conference. I also played the lead in my Senior High School musical Pippin. I played the role of Pippin and it was one of the funnest things I have ever done in my life. My involvement in theatre ultimately led me to my decision on a major at University and where I was to attend. I decided that Film was the major for me and this decision led me to the University of Utahs film department. Unfortunately since attending college I have been unable to perform in any plays due to my class and work schedule. My current involvement in theatre is only with my job for the U Department of Theatre where I make promo videos for each of the shows they are performing. [Click here to see these promos] ---------------------------------------------------------------Concluding Statement

As you have learned about my life you may be wondering what this has to do with the topic of my Blog. Well, the topic of my blog is Film Noir, and through my various accounts in life there are moments in it which may be noir-like but for the most part you will find that my life has not been so bad or so hard. I show you this because it is this difference between my world and the world of the Noir that makes me so fascinated to the subject. It is the reason that many people are fascinated with the subject. And I wanted to show you how I came to be a film student whos biggest influence comes from an era of films in the 40s and 50s. So join me as we delve into the dark and witty world of the Film Noir.