Blogga Question 2. All My Sons

In the popular play All My Sons by Arthur Miller, Miller uncovers how characters will make choices based upon how it will affect them and their own and put the needs of society behind their own. The character that most exemplifies this is Joe Keller. He decides to sell faulty parts to the U.S. army. Although he knows that theses parts could cause death, he elects to sell them anyway. When these faulty parts cause the deaths of 21 pilots, he places the blame of this mistake on his partner and neighbor. When his neighbor goes to jail for this (for which he is innocent), Keller gets off scot free. When his son Chris finds out about this, Joe justifies his involvement in the crime by tell Chris, " For you! The business was for you!" (70) Joe vindicates himself by telling himself that the crime was for his family. He places his family's need above the needs of society.

I don't like Joe. He exemplifies everything I hate in society. Because of his decision, he caused the death of 21 pilots, and whats more, he split up another family by sending Mr. Deever to jail for a crime he didn't commit. This is just wrong. Also, its not that his family would die if they had to work jobs.

Nickel and Dimed, pt. 2

In this section of the book Nickel and Dimed, Barbara travels to Maine. She is amazed that almost everyone she see is caucasian. She describes how everyone is caucasian, the students, the housekeepers, the panhandlers. And everyone spoke english. This is very funny to me because now that I look at Edina, I notice that almost all the people I see are caucasian. I had never really thought about that before. Thats the mark of a good book when it causes you to see things differently.

She finds that the low paying workplace is still not a good place to work, even when you move to significantly different surroundings. She at first thinks "Maybe if you give white people a whole state to themselves, they treat aone another real nice."(52) She still pays just as much, if not more. The managers are still abusive. And you can't survive without 2 or 3 jobs. You turn out to be working 3/4 of the day and can't support yourself.

Nickel and Dimed 1

On monday morning, I was just about to walk out the door to my bus when I thought, "Hey, I need a book for English class today!"That was when I ran downstairs and found an excellent book that I hadn't read for several years. It named Nickel and Dimed and its author is Barbara Ehrenreich. I compare Nickel and Dimed to Don't Eat This Book by Morgan Spurlock's (remember Super Size Me?) in the way that the author goes out and does something that no sane person would do, enter the "unskilled" market (In Spurlock's case, eating a diet of McDonalds for a month). Ehrenreich leaves her home, and enters the world of low wage work.

Ehrenrich goes through three states, Minnesota, Maine, and Florida, in order to find if low paying work is a possible lifestyle. Her list of jobs ranges from waitressing at restaurants, and working at Wal- Mart, to working at Merry Maids. Her book was written in order to defeat common thoughts like, if someone works, they aren't poor or that low wage workers are too lazy to rise through the ranks. To back up the first example, there is a passage in Nickel and Dimed that works very well, "Joan, lives in a van parked behind a shopping center at night and showers in Tina's motel room." (Nickel and Dimed, 26.) She also works a full time job. This shows that even though she works many many hours, she still has to do all that.javascript:void(0)

Needles and Covers

The Photography of Mohammed Ali

I was recently reading the New York Times when I chanced upon a publication about photographs of Mohammed Ali. There are several pictures in this article but the one I found to be the most powerful and filled with raw emotion was the photograph of Mohammed Ali during a fight. Its profoundly touching... how he knocks his opponent out with such grace and skill.

The article showed Mohammed Ali in all moments of his life, from meeting Fidel Castro to pictures of him after a fight. The most memorable of these is of Mr. Ali in a boxing match, which was photographed by Art Shay. Mr. Shay attracted my interest through his attention to the composition of the picture and how his picture really captured the mood of the match, exciting and action- packed.

New York Times Online, BENJAMIN GENOCCHIO, October 19, 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/19/nyregion/long-island/19artsli.html?scp=3&sq=Photography&st=cse

Painting, Atmosphere

Ain't no colour paint gonna cover the stains
The pictures on the wall will all remain
And even though he's home now, sound and safe
Surrounded by the faces that he place his faith
The images visit from the past he witnessed
Can't stay away from the memories
Sticks with each detail, embedded in stone
Like he chiseled stoves convictions into his bones
The progress stops and pauses, spits and sputters
Like the basement faucet
And it's obvious he's lost in his regrets
You can smell it on his breath

Ain't no colour paint gonna cover the stains
But now the alcohol is gonna mother the pain
Tuck it away, no complaints
Just laying on his back, on his backyard under the rain
Take tomorrow but doesn't no how though
For every swallow there's another to follow
He weaves his way throughout the story
Looking for a new missing piece or a door key
Spirits used to be for celebration
But now they just take him away from the hell that's waiting
Re-up until it's three sheets up
And pick a place for the skeletons to meet up

Ain't no colour paint gonna cover the stains
But if the oxygen escapes it'll smother the flames
No introduction doesn't speak his own name
Gonna beat them demons at they own game
The sunset rides to the end slow
Same song echoing outside of the window
You can't grow if the skin don't fit you
Sometimes you gotta get low just to get through
No inspiration left to do your best when
Nobody hates you more than you're reflection
Suffer the shame until it stuffs the drain
He's got two hands and a bucket of paint
Come on

This song is about self loathing, addiction, and that there is nothing thats going to cover his (Slugs) circumstances. It sounds like Slug is talking about someone else at first glance. When one looks closer at the lyrics, they can see that its himself he is talking about. He talks about how alcohol is going to stop his pain and push it away. He talks about alcohol as if it will "take him away from the hell thats waiting." Also from this song, it sounds like he's trying to cover up his past. He says from line 2-6, that even though he's safe and secure, he is visited by images from the past.

Daley, Sean. "Painting." When Life Gives you Lemons, You Paint That Sh** Gold. Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2007.

Should Homer be considered an early feminist or an old-fashioned sexist?

It can be argued though many different examples and quotes that Homer is either a feminist or a sexist. Personally though, I believe Homer should be considered an early feminist because he makes one of the most active and powerful characters, Athena, a resourceful and intriguing personage. Athena, the gray eyed goddess, is considered (by even the gods) to be very cunning and powerful. An example of Athena being powerful and crafty is that Zeus, the King of the Gods allows Athena to carry his lightning bolts. Would Zeus have trusted a weaker sex to his most powerful weapon. The answer is no, he trusted a mighty Goddess. To counter the example of Homer being sexist, Homer wouldn't have written down stories then change them, he would hear stories and blend together the common points of the story. To say that Homer is sexist is saying that the entire Greek society is a sexist body.

To accurately describe whether Homer is sexist, one must see the other side of the argument, that Homer was a chauvinistic writer. An argument come when Telemachus tells Penelope to go to her room and to keep the maids busy and such. Then later he says that in Odysseus' place he is the master of the house. This defies common knowledge that most of the time a person who is older is more wise. Telemachus takes control, thinking that his mother is not up to the task of dealing with various problems. These quotes show how some characters are sexist,. I believe that the word sexist was not around in Ancient Greek Times and therefor cannot be applied to this ancient Greek work. The arguments I supplied may only be used if the word sexist was around in that day and age.

Sunshine

My favorite musical artist is Atmosphere. The rapper for this group is Slug, I respect this rapper because he raps about his life and whats happening in it. "Sunshine" is a classic example of this.

"Ain't no way to explain or say
How painful the hangover was today
In front of the toilet, hands and knees
Trying to breathe in between the dry heaves
My baby made me some coffee
Afraid that if I drink some it's probably coming right back out me
Couple of advil, relax and chill
At a standstill with how bad I feel
I think I need to smell fresh hair
So I stepped out the back door and fell down the stairs
The sunlight hit me dead in the eye
Like it's mad I gave half the day to last night
My bad sight made me trip on my ass right into that patch of grass like that's life
All of a sudden, I realize something
The weather is amazing, even the birds are bumpin
Stood up and took a look and a breath
And there's that bike that I forgot that I possessed
Never really seen exercise as friendly
But I thing something's telling me to ride that slow speed
The brakes are broken, it's alright
The tires got air and the chain seems tight
Hopped on and felt the summertime,
It reminds me of one of them Musab lines like


Sunshine, sunshine, it's fine
I feel it in my skin, warming up my mind,
Sometimes you gotta give in to win,
I love the days when it shines, whoa let it shine

If I could I would keep this feeling in a plastic jar
Bust it out whenever someone's actin hard
Settle down, barbeque in the backyard
The kids get treats and old folks get classic cars
Every day that gets to pass is a success
Every woman looks better in a sun dress
The sunshine's an excuse to shoot hoops, get juice
Show improve their moves and let loose
I hear voices, I see smiles to match em
Good times and you can feel it in the fashion
Even though the heat cooks up the action
The streets still got butterflies
Enough kids to catch 'em
Ridin my bike around these lakes man
Feelin like I finally figured out my escape plan
Take it all and the day started off all wrong
Somehow now that hangover is all gone
Ain't nothing like the sound of the leaves
When the breeze penetrates these southside trees
Leanin' up against one, watchin the vibe
Forgettin' all about the stress, thanking god I'm alive
It's so simple, I had to keep the song simple
When I get home I'm gonna open all the windows
Feelin all right, stopped at a stop sign
A car pulled up, bumpin Fresh Prince's Summertime" 

This song describes how Slug wakes up with a hangover, after drinking and staying up half the night. Slug steps outside and falls into the grass. He sits up and sees how great the weather. He stands up and sees his bike that he had forgotten about. He gets on the bike and forgets about his hangover. This song is almost unique by Slugs standards because of the difference in theme and attitude. Its almost ... Happy. Slug finally found his escape. After you listen to this song, you feel like lifes' just a little better.

Daley, Sean. "Sunshine." Sad Clown Bad Summer. Rhymesayers Entertainment, 2007. 

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