Thanksgiving is a great time of year. Everyone eats a ton, we become humbled to think of how much has been given to us, and we're grateful for how lucky we are to have such luxuries. In addition to being thankful for how much I can stuff my face, I'm thankful for Melanie "Melon" Balanon. Melon is a great friend to me. As much as we talk, we constantly tease each other. I ask her what was due for homework, and she asks me what outfit she should wear. I'm very appreciative that she's such a delightful friend.
Word count: 98
Friday, November 25, 2011
This Land Verse
I walked the sidewalks, down Michigan Avenue,
Under the street lights, past rushing people,
The sky-rise buildings, and glimmering waters,
This land was made for you and me.
The honking horns and, excited gabbing,
Over-used cell phones, and broken headphones,
The crowded "L" trains, and wandering tourists,
This land was made for you and me.
Under the street lights, past rushing people,
The sky-rise buildings, and glimmering waters,
This land was made for you and me.
The honking horns and, excited gabbing,
Over-used cell phones, and broken headphones,
The crowded "L" trains, and wandering tourists,
This land was made for you and me.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
Community Stories
An Account of Experience with Discrimination:
The "old slaveholding spirit" that Sojourner Truth mentions in her letter basically means that if you grow up around people that believe a certain thing, there's not much you can do to make your own ideas about what is wrong or right. For example, most people grow up believing in the same political party as their family. It's then hard to figure out why these beliefs are wrong or right. For some people, they just are. They don't need a real reason.
Primary documents are much different from a secondary document. Primary documents give a much greater feeling than secondary ones do. This is because lots of secondary ones can be very vague and unbiased. Primary documents really illustrate how the author sees a situation. It gives the reader a better understanding of how people actually felt in that time period.
Here is New York:
White begins by defining New York by what it's not to prove to the readers that it's unlike most other cities they might think of. Its beauty is in how industrial it is- from the high rises to the bridges. A traveler might, however, see dirty buildings, smog, and dirty water when passing through New York. Some problems in the city are claustrophobia-endusing subways, over-crowdedness, insane traffic, and bad weather conditions. The city-folk deal with these issues by being patient, and the city makes sure that they're always remembering that they are a part of this huge, amazing area. The author mentions each neighborhood being its own "city." They are independent, have different characteristics, and have a wide variety of places to go. This is similar to Chicago's neighborhoods, because each one is very different and can have such different people.
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall:
Being jilted sixty years ago made Granny very independent. She did things on her own, with no one's help. In the final paragraph, Granny is once again, left alone by her family and others in the household. In the end, she always turns out having to do things for herself, whether it be raising children and keeping up all of the work a man, at that time, would be expected to do, or even just blowing out a candle. She thinks that the community dissolved in the sense that no one appreciates anything anymore. In her lifetime, she had to do everything by hand, and the hard way. However, now people could do things in less time and less energy wasted, but with more efficiency. It's making people lazy.
The difference between a dissolving or disappearing community and a changing one is very large. In a disappearing community, most hope for it staying abroad is lost. A changing community could be being altered for the better. Growth and progress are forms of change in addition to dissolving.
Song:
Future Breeds - Hot Hot Heat
Lyrics-
The "old slaveholding spirit" that Sojourner Truth mentions in her letter basically means that if you grow up around people that believe a certain thing, there's not much you can do to make your own ideas about what is wrong or right. For example, most people grow up believing in the same political party as their family. It's then hard to figure out why these beliefs are wrong or right. For some people, they just are. They don't need a real reason.
Primary documents are much different from a secondary document. Primary documents give a much greater feeling than secondary ones do. This is because lots of secondary ones can be very vague and unbiased. Primary documents really illustrate how the author sees a situation. It gives the reader a better understanding of how people actually felt in that time period.
Here is New York:
White begins by defining New York by what it's not to prove to the readers that it's unlike most other cities they might think of. Its beauty is in how industrial it is- from the high rises to the bridges. A traveler might, however, see dirty buildings, smog, and dirty water when passing through New York. Some problems in the city are claustrophobia-endusing subways, over-crowdedness, insane traffic, and bad weather conditions. The city-folk deal with these issues by being patient, and the city makes sure that they're always remembering that they are a part of this huge, amazing area. The author mentions each neighborhood being its own "city." They are independent, have different characteristics, and have a wide variety of places to go. This is similar to Chicago's neighborhoods, because each one is very different and can have such different people.
The Jilting of Granny Weatherall:
Being jilted sixty years ago made Granny very independent. She did things on her own, with no one's help. In the final paragraph, Granny is once again, left alone by her family and others in the household. In the end, she always turns out having to do things for herself, whether it be raising children and keeping up all of the work a man, at that time, would be expected to do, or even just blowing out a candle. She thinks that the community dissolved in the sense that no one appreciates anything anymore. In her lifetime, she had to do everything by hand, and the hard way. However, now people could do things in less time and less energy wasted, but with more efficiency. It's making people lazy.
The difference between a dissolving or disappearing community and a changing one is very large. In a disappearing community, most hope for it staying abroad is lost. A changing community could be being altered for the better. Growth and progress are forms of change in addition to dissolving.
Song:
Future Breeds - Hot Hot Heat
Lyrics-
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
Across a bridge, the Ablett strip
There lives a man with Atlas grip
Windows covered, single mattress
On Friday nights it feeds his address
Well, across a bridge on Ablett.st
There lives this girl, she used to be
Still half-naked, she falls in traffic
You dumb *** kid, here's your dumb *** life back
I won't come back crawling again
I won't come back crawling again
No, I won't come back crawling again
I won't come back crawling again
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
Some, they fear, just your name
For me, I wish it was the same
I'm still waiting for somebody to fix
This damage to my body
Some may fear the future breeds
These drunken sailors planting seeds
I'll just need this cheque to clear
So I can check right out of here, believe me
I won't come back crawling again
I won't come back crawling again
No, I won't come back crawling again
I won't come back crawling again
This merry-go-round
Has spun itself into the ground
And an eighth of me knows
That an eighth of this life is still fun as ****
But they bred you better
They bred you better
They bred you better than me
They bred you better
They bred you better
They bred you better than me
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
I won't say anything
I won't say anymore
They bred you better
They bred you better
They bred you better than me
They bred you better
They bred you better
They bred you better than me
Response:
This song describes about the singers community as a very competitive place with people that aren't too bright. The tone of the song gives the lyrics a rougher, rebellious feel. He clearly doesn't enjoy thinking about his community, considering the fact that for the entire song he's comparing himself to other people in the neighborhood, and how he doesn't want to even think about going back there again. His life didn't turn out as he'd expect it, and although some parts of it were great, he's still trying to refrain from going back because the other people in the community don't understand who he is.
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