evaluation

I liked the Mark Twain Wit blog and the Stephan Crane blog where you find somehting then write your thoughts about it. I did not like making the song list because it was very time consuming and I do not know that many songs from the 20s. i think i put decent effort into my blogs, i tried to make them enjoyable for the reader since you had to read multiple blogs on the same topic. Blogging was a good learning experience, it give you a chance to say your feelings on class topices without feling like you are being scruntinized by your peers. i learned that not everything is as it seems and if you look deeper into topics, they become muli-faceted and more interesting. I will not continue to blog, not because i feel it is not beneficial but simply because I do not have the time. next year's student should blog.

Great Gatsby playlist

1. Some of these days - Brenda Lee
             Gatsby loves Daisy.  He believes thaat when she leaves she will mis him dearly and come back for him. She doesn't
2. No, No, Nora - Gus Kahn, Ted Fiorito, and Ernie Erdman
             Gatsby  cannot see anyone else but Daisy he is totally infatuated.  He would not trade her for the world.
3. Breezin' along with the breeze - Josephine Baker
              There is a line that says "Ain't no light a-burnin' ev'ry night for me" and this is like the green light that was across the lake and Gatsby thinks it means something to him, but really it is not buring for him. also he followed Daisy and like a leaf folows the wind.
4. Down Hearted Blues - Bessie Smith
               this song is like when Gatsby finds out that Daisy can never be with him and she moves far far away, he is heart broken.
5. Make believe - Metro Station
               This song is exactly how Daisy is with Gatsby.   She leads him on but in the end she knkows she will never leave Tom, and they will move aay together to be rid of this terrible situation.
6. Manhattan - Ella fitzgerald
             This song talks about the glories of living in Manhattan, this is like how Tom and Daisy love living in town and being the center of attention.
7. toot toot tootsie goodbye - Brenda lee
            this is like how Daisy left and Gatsby was expecting her to write to him and he wrote to her but she neverresponded.  they were forever separated and never to see eachother again.

Stephen Crane - places among the stars

Stephen Crane - Places among the stars

Places among the stars, Soft gardens near the sun, Keep your distant beauty; Shed no beams upon my weak heart. Since she is here In a place of blackness, Not your golden days Nor your silver nights Can call me to you. Since she is here In a place of blackness, Here I stay and wait

The beginning of this poem reminds me of "Le Petit Prince" by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.  This book talks about the stars and gives many insights into a child's mind but also most of the lessons are for adults and the book has very deep lassons to teach.  If you get the chance read this book some day, you may be surprised by the simplistic way which Antoine opens your eyes.  The second part of this poem is about a man waiting for the wonam which he loves but she this is unbeknownst to her.  He is waiting for her to find him his the darkness of his despair of his love for her.

Mark Twain Wit

"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything."
— Mark Twain

I really like this quote because I just realiezed that it is one that I live my life by.  I try to never lie.  I believe that lying will just come back to hurt you in the long run, and it never helps a situation.  Even if you are going to get in trouble, it is better to tell the truth, rather than lie and get into more trouble.  lying does not benefit anyone, even if you are trying to spare someone's feelings, it is better to tell the truth.  Also, like th quote says, if you lie you have to remember what you said because you cannot contradict yourself and expect the peron listening to not notice and inquire.  Lying is the cowards' way out of sketchy situations and everyone should strive to not be a coward.

story of the quest for civil rights - George Conway

George conway was a man who lived at st. Augustine, like the delaney sisiters did, but not at the same time.  He lived there during the late 1940s and 50s.  he participated in many civil rights movements and often put his life and whole fortune in jeopardy.  He was even involved in a march where he was on crutches and the white klu klux klan members were throwing bricks at the marchers.  He assisted in healing the wounded and kept on marching.  George believe that "with God on your side, no one can harm you."  So he never physically fought back the kkk members, just like Martin Luther King jr.  Also, he believed that the oppressors are right where they belong, "six feet under. or more."

A walk through Harlem

The Delaney sister's apartment was located on seventh avenue along with James Weldon Johnson's home and Mother A.M.E. Zion church.  Seventh avenue was a very busy and main central street in Harlem during this time, many people lived here, especially if they lived in the row of Astor houses.  Also, this street is central to almost everything else.  The sisters said they knew a lot of famous people in harlem, I wonder if they knew Johnson.  The sister's apartment and Bessie's office were very strategically placed, whether on purpose or not, this probably added to their success in firendships and business.

expressions in art

this picture reminded me of when Bessie was evicted from her dentistry business because she could not pay the rent and the people put all of her well organized papers on the sidewalk. She was very angry but that just fueled her drive to be able to pay rent again so she could continue working.

Walt Whitman

The line
"And grass and white and red morning-glories, and white and red
clover, and the song of the phoebe-bird, "
 connects to me because we used to have a lot of clover growing my back yard.  I never knew what to do with it so I just picked it and everyday in the summer i would bring in a bouquet of clover. my mother would diligently put them in a little vase and keep them until the next day when I would brin ginmore.  Then one day when I was at my babysitter's, she taught me how to weave the white clover into bracelettes and necklaces. So from that day forth i would sit out in the yard, daily, and weave a bracelette and necklace for my mom. She would look at them and say they were beautiful then I would fashion them so they were around her wrist and neck.  Right before she went to bed shse would take them off and put them on the table and in the moring they would bewhithered and sad looking, so then I just made her a new one.  Today i cannot remember the last time I weaved one of those bracelettes, but I still know how.

Emily Dickinson

FROM cocoon forth a butterfly
As lady from her door
Emerged—a summer afternoon—
Repairing everywhere,
Without design, that I could trace,	5
Except to stray abroad
On miscellaneous enterprise
The clovers understood.
Her pretty parasol was seen
Contracting in a field	10
Where men made hay, then struggling hard
With an opposing cloud,
Where parties, phantom as herself,
To Nowhere seemed to go
In purposeless circumference,	15
As ’t were a tropic show.
And notwithstanding bee that worked,
And flower that zealous blew,
This audience of idleness
Disdained them, from the sky,	20
Till sundown crept, a steady tide,
And men that made the hay,
And afternoon, and butterfly,
Extinguished in its sea.

This peom is comparing a woman and a butterfly. The butterfly comes out and stays ing the garden where the flowers are, while the woman goes out of her house to a place where she can be seen by them men.  The butterfly has no real goal "Miscellaneous Enterprise" and neither does the woman.  both characters just want to be seen, and when the sun goes down, they go home.

My Say

I wish that people would just be nice.  If everyone always told the truth, and never said or did anything mean to others, this world we live in would be so much more pleasant.  People play little games with each other, talking behind other's backs or making plans and excluding one person.  this is not a nice way to live, and the wrong-doers are always laden with guilt. We should follow the golden rule, do unto other as you would have them do unto you.  this way no one gets hurt and everyone can be friends.  all of this evil conniving behavior is uncalled for and needs to stop, because  if it doesn't more people are going to get hurt.

Transendentalism

I prefer transcendental writers because they look at the bright side of things, they are optimists like myself.  Also since their works usually contain aphorisms, They are very instructional to daily life.  I like knowing the truth, and they believe that it can always be found, which is refreshing.  Today not many people always tell the truth so it is nice to learn about people who truly believe that the truth will always be found.  Even thought Emerson's and Waldo's writings can be lengthy, they are bright and cherry.  So, I prefer to read their writings rather than antitranscendentalist works.