Last Blog

I actually enjoyed the blogs more than I thought I would.  I enjoyed voicing my opinion on these diverse topics.  I the blog I enjoyed most was the music of the twenties one.  I love music and just to listen to some of those old songs really exposes the raw talent of the artists back then.  I didn't really have a least favorite blog because none of them were terribly boring and they do not really take that long to do.  I think that I put good effort into my blogs, if I have to voice my opinion, then I make sure that I can back it up with something.  I think that doing these blogs helped me mature my writing style, and I always enjoy researching topics.  I would not say they are my favorite assignment, but they are no where near my least favorite either.  I learned how to write in a way that is both concise and somewhat intelligent by doing these blogs.  I also like that they provide some extra points each week.

Mrs. Wolff

I would imagine that it would be very hard to be a new teacher at Lutheran.  I think that she should keep special events such as Gatsby Day because they are nice rewards for accomplishing things.  In my opinion I would scrap the Scarlet Letter because it was boring to read, and the other stories of the time more than made up for it.  I have enjoyed every book besides the Scarlet Letter so she should keep all of those.  I also like the way the tests are formatted, state your opinion, and then back it up with facts.  I think that these tests more accurately test a student's knowledge.  The amount of papers we do is good because there are not too few, and not too many.  Overall, I would keep everything the same except scrap the Scarlet Letter.

The Great Gatsby

"I Ain't Misbehavin'" - Fats Waller. I chose this to describe when Gatsby sees Daisy.  This song talks about how there is no one to share love with but the other person.  Whenever Gatsby sees Daisy, he is always taken by her, he wants to be with her all the time.  Unfortunately, she is married.
"Blue Skies" - Irving Berlin.  I chose this song to describe the lifestyle of Gatsby.  He lives a life full of parties and fun, well for most people.  This song talks about bluebirds flying in the sky, and they are usually a symbol of happiness.  Gatsby may not be a very happy man, but the people at his parties usually are.
"Rhapsody in Blue" - George Gershwin.  Although this song has no lyrics, I think that it describes the rich people of the perfectly.  This song just gives me an image of sharply dressed people walking down the street.  This describes the Egg portions of New York perfectly.  Even though they have their differences, both the Eggs are very wealthy and this song gives an image of unmatched class.
"Ol' Man River" - Oscar Hammerstein II.  This song matches the end of the book perfectly.  This song talks about hardships and sadness.  The end of the Great Gatsby is very sad because almost everyone that is cared about is killed.  Through the lyrics of this song, an image of the same kind of sadness is felt at the end of the book.

Mark Twain's Wit

"Apparently there is nothing that cannot happen." -Mark Twain I really like this quote because it talks about how nothing is impossible. Many people talk about how is or that cannot happen and that just makes everyone sad or depressed abut that subject. If more people fpbelieved in what they do, then there would be much more accomplished. The word impossible is not a work that I like to use when describing things. I know of a baby boy that was born with brain cancer, the doctors said he had two weeks to live. He is now almost one year old and his body is almost completely ridden of cancer. If anything was impossible, it was for this boy to live, and he is now acting like a normal baby. Even in Biblical times, the fight of David and Goliath, a boy killed a nine foot Philistine warrior. That was a truly "impossible" task especially for a young boy. Impossible is a word that is overused, and not necessarily correct. I think this quote could also help encorage people through tough times.

What's good?

I really like the musical group John Mark McMillan. This is a Christian indie rock band, and they are my favorite band currently. Their music is not really like any other Christian bands, and part of that is because of the lyrics. The lyrics that John Mark writes are so vivid, for example in many songs by Christian bands talk about Christs death in a away that is very soft, in John Mark's songs he talks about how Christ was murdered. That just has always really resonated with me because the songs tell it how it was. John Mark has many amazing songs, and he is, in my opinion, one of the greatest lyracists in the music industry. John Mark McMillan also is the band of my favorite guitarist, James Duke. James Duke is a phenomenal guitarist, and I get much of my inspiration from him. I try to produce a sound similar to his when I play. Overall John Mark McMillan is a great band and I would suggest them to anyone.

Stories of the Quest for Civil Rights

http://www.kansan.com/news/2012/mar/12/civil-rights-activist-focuses-modern-society/

I found this article and was instantly intrigued.  I knew that during the times of racial segregation African Americans could be arrested for harassing or even talking to white people.  I did not know that white people could be arrested for talking to African Americans.  Of course, Zellner was arrested because he was talking with who the racist community would call "Extremists," but I still think that that is ridiculous.  This article showed how racist people were during the Civil Rights Movement, I think it was great the Zellner was willing to be thrown in prison many a time just because he wanted to write a paper on racial problems among other things.  This article shows just how bad things were, in "A Letter from Birmingham Jail," Martin Luther King Jr. talks about unjust laws, and this article shows some of those and how people needed to break these laws because they hurt everyone.

Harlem

Harlem was a place that was unusually revolutionary.  One reform was in music, in Harlem, genres of music called Blues and Jazz  were formed there.  Famous musicians such as Duke Ellington and James Reese Europe came out of here.  In Harlem, there were music clubs all over, and famous musicians such as Duke Ellington would play at these clubs.  The genre, Blues, was developed out of poetry, the Harlem Renaissance poets often wrote their poems with a beat, and musicians took this idea and made great music out of it.  Blues gave way to a number of music genres, and many of the genres that are popular today were formed out of Blues.  Music was a major part of the Harlem culture.

Having Our Say

Sex is around everyone because of media.  Television and even song lyrics tell about how people live with their girlfriend or boyfriend.  This is totally wrong.  Sex was given to humans by God to be a sacred act, it was planned to be between one man and one woman after marriage.  1 Thessalonians 4:3 says "For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality."  I feel like media, among other things, is slowly wearing away the morals previously held by society.  For example back in the 1950's sex before marriage was socially unacceptable, moreover, the values of society were very high.  I think that almost all values of society have gone, and this is hurting the current generation in a way that could be irreversible.  Sex before marriage is clearly a sin, and I think that every day it is being viewed as a more common activity.  Morals as we know them are disappearing as the day goes on.

Expressions in Art

I think that this picture accurately portrays the work of a slave.  They had to do the most laborious jobs such as picking cotton.  This picture shows the slaves picking the cotton, and cleaning it.  This panting does not show the hardships, however.  Many slaves had to work all day and then if they stepped out of line, they would be beaten to the edge of death.  Sometimes the slaves would even die.  This was a terrible time in our nation's history, and I am glad that it is over and we have learned from our mistake.  Slavery was a terrible idea, and the events these slaves had to go through were much more than anyone should have to go through.

Connections from Whitman

This poem is about how Whitman thinks that things during childhood shape who one becomes in their later years.  The entire poem talks about things that happen to people during life because he wants to connect with them  through his writing.  He covers topics from drunken fathers to mothers placing dishes on the dinner table, preparing for dinner.  He tries to cover all of these topics because he wants this poem to relate to the reader's life and the poem then becomes personal.  He is saying everything that happens during a person's childhood, good or bad, affects who the person becomes in their life.

Emily Dickinson

I HIDE myself within my flower,

That wearing on your breast,

You, unsuspecting, wear me too—

And angels know the rest.

I hide myself within my flower,

That, fading from your vase,

You, unsuspecting, feel for me

Almost a loneliness.

I think through this poem, Emily Dickinson is talking about how she is a sort of recluse. Most of the time, she would stay in her house and not answer the door unless it was someone she knew well, and even then, she sometimes did not answer it. I also think that she refers to the vase as a sort of person of refuge. This vase person, obviously has started to drift away from her and now she is trying to explain the possible emotions that the person is feeling. This could also describe her emotions of the time after the person left her.  She was obviously close to this person and when they left she felt an emptiness in her life.

Affirmations of Life

One way that I get through tough times in life is through faith. No matter what happens in my life, I know that I am a member of the Body of Christ and that means more to me than anything. I think this verse in Romans pretty much sums up what I think "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us" Romans 8:18. Whenever I am feeling depressed or sad about anything, I turn to this verse and it always puts a smile on my face. Knowing that we are saved through the resurrection of Christ is one of the greatest feelings, and it provides happiness in all situations.

The Truth about Nature

This past summer my mom, dad, and I went to Prince Albert, Canada to visit my uncle and his family.  When we were up there, we went on a picnic in this beautiful forest preserve.  As we were eating an Elk with at least 12 points on his antlers walked out of the woods and looked at me.  As I looked back at it, it started to walk slowly forward and sniffed every few steps.  It never broke eye contact with me and it was completely calm.  When it was about 20 feet away it turned around and walked back into the woods.  I probably could have walked out and touched it, but I did not unfortunately.  When it looked at me I felt as if I were a part of the Elk family.  It was as if it trusted me.  It was a very cool experience and I had never had it happen on that scale before.  I have been around nature more than many people but never had I experienced nature like this.  I hope it happens again someday.

Team Nathaniel

I choose Team Nathaniel because his works are more focused towards the historical side of literature.  I enjoy reading historical events because they are based off of something factual.  Poe's works are all about how terrible his life was, and frankly, he should keep his problems to himself in my opinion.  Another reason I like Hawthorne better is because Poe's works were extremely dark, and in my mind, they were like nightmares.  Hawthorne also wrote with more eloquence.  Granted, it was often overkill, I enjoyed reading what was going through the character's minds.  Overall, in my opinion, Hawthorne was the better writer, and his books will be read throughout the ages.