Post #40: Slam

In order for us to continue working with poetry without causing mutinies, Mr. Burge has been showing us slam poetry. We watched one from Saul Williams about drugs and imprisonment and while it was a really cool poem, It didn't really elicit an emotional response from me, besides being mildly unsettled.
it got me wondering if there was slam poetry that wasn't about such negative things. I love Anis Mojgani's "Direct Orders" and "Love Poem For His Wife", because they are about being happy and fulfilled, but pretty much every other slam poem I've seen in class is so unhappy and negative in its tone. Depression and substance abuse and OCD and other things I'm not real keen to read about/listen to. Where is the slam poetry about that first date that didn't end horribly? Where is the slam poetry about going to the library? About making good choices?
Why doesn't that elicit an emotional response? Why doesn't a poem about life and happiness get a response the way a poem about death and sadness does? Are we so desperate for catharsis that we automatically assume that if it's dark and unhappy it's good?
I want to hear poetry that isn't about violence and drugs. I want to hear happiness and joy. I want to learn things about the human condition that leave me hopeful and with a light heart, not things that leave me with my skin crawling, my heart heavy, and a vague ominous feeling. I want to hear that there is hope, because there is always hope. Always.
"The inside might be as dark as night, but at the end of the tunnel there's a light." - Starlight Express
-D.

Post #39: The Adventures of Victorian London People

Victorian England is an interesting place. You have a really highbrow and fancy society, and then you have the seedy and impoverished society. Both are involved in some really great literature and television. Charles Dickens, The Bronte Sisters, and Elizabeth Gaskell often dealt with both ends, and sometimes the middle class peoples. We just read "The Red-Headed League" and true to Victorian Style, it's pretty dense. However, granted you understand the word choice and sentence structure of the era, the story line is pretty easy to follow. Basically (and notice the word 'BASIC') what happens is this red headed guy applies for a job that is actually a ploy to get him out of his house so his assistant, who is actually a criminal, can tunnel to the bank and steal a butt-load of money. Sherlock, with help from, well, no one, as Watson is really just a glorified body guard, solves the case and all's well that end well.
If I'm going to read Victorian lit, I'd much rather read The Adventures of the Extremely Seedy and Sketchy. If I'm not really going to learn anything about the human condition besides sometimes people aren't very nice, I would at least like to be entertained. All I got from Sherlock Holmes is that people like to pick on red heads, which I already knew as I am a red head myself, and that running around solving mysteries is a totally okay way to spend your time. I generally enjoy mystery stories. Heck, I owned almost every single Nancy Drew book when I was eleven. But I just could not get into Sherlock. I'm not sure why. It might be because there were no characters for me to relate to, or even root for really. The stakes didn't seem that high and the final scene was mildly anticlimactic.Even Scooby-Doo, which is just a cartoon remake of Sherlock Holmes with more characters, a dog, and some monsters is more exciting to me. Seriously, It's the exacts same plot as a Sherlock Holmes story. The Mystery Gang (Sherlock) happens across a mystery (client shows up with a problem), they walk around for a little bit observing stuff, Daphne (Watson, a Police Officer, someone in general) does something dumb, everyone regroups (Sherlock invites the Police), a trap is laid, "it's just mean old Mr. Jenkins, the groundskeeper!" (AHA! We caught you red handed!") Fred Explains the why, Velma explains the how (Sherlock explains to Watson), Everyone goes for a milkshake (Holmes and Watson have a drink). Same story. At least in Scooby-Doo we learn the importance of team work, and it's silly fun. Sherlock, not so much.
"Hey c'mon get involved until the mystery is solved!" - The Scooby-Doo Show Theme
-D.

Post #38: Patron Saint of Beekeepers

Part of me really wants to hate Valentines day. I want to wear all black and be angry and hate it. Love sucks and cupid is stupid and boys are butt-heads! It's a big Hallmark holiday and everything is terrible!
But then I realize that I'm being a bit of a jerk, and Valentines is actually a lot of fun. I bought Superman, Avengers, Frozen and Thor valentines, and my family and I always exchange valentines and eat dinner. My grandma makes heart-shaped cinnamon raisin bread and the LilSis manages to put a bajillion valentines in everyone's mailbox. Also, the valentines come with stickers that I never give out. I hoard them and use them for my own ends. I'm going to bake stuff and share it with my best friend and the Lilsis, and I have almost finished this years secret crafty valentine. Last year I made knitted hearts for everyone. they turned out adorable. I can't wait to do my hair and wear red lipstick and maybe a skirt and wallow in the fun that is Valentines day.At school, invariably, someone will show too much affection and a teacher will get annoyed, and invariably, someone ends up crying. There's a lot of emotions on valentines day. There are also delicious candy hearts. I love candy hearts. And when they go on clearance, you can buy them and throw them into the street, and pretty soon you will have a beautiful abstract art piece in front of your house. It's super duper rad.
Also- Saint Valentine is not just the patron saint of love and marriages and greetings. He is also the Patron Saint of beekeepers, epilepsy, fainting, plague, and travelers.
"If it's not love, than it's the bomb that will bring us together."- The Smiths
XOXO
-D.

Post #37: The Importance of Societal Norms In Victorian England

I am a total Masterpiece Theatre junkie. I love it. Downton Abbey, The Jane Austen Series, Mr. Selfridge, you name it, I probably watched it. Along with the amazing costume design, I love the view on societal norms. Only invite your closest friends to your wedding? Scandalous. Don't change for dinner? Even more scandal. Dress yourself? Unheard of. It sounds silly now, but 100 years ago, that was what was expected. One of my favorite plot lines on Downton Abbey right now is the transition from a Victorian estate to a post WWI world. To watch things shift from season one, which was set in 1912, to this season, set in 1921. Barely a decade has gone by, but things are rapidly changing.
The Importance of Being Earnest was so funny because it really just poked fun at the norms, as well as being exceptionally witty. Mr. Wilde knows what makes society tick. At a time when arranged marriages were still quite plausible and what you served for tea could make or break your position in your community, Wilde took those norms, made fun of them and set them alight with deft satire. It's brilliant.
On the capstone front, on Friday I was a "Victim" for the Mock-Mass Casualty Incident the medical academy hosted. I was a RED in the medical academy's mock-Mass Casualty Incident. Red meant that I couldn't walk, but I could answer questions, and my vitals were a little wonky. I needed immediate care. It also meant that I got some super awesome contusions on my arm. My mom came to help out, as she has a degree in theatre arts and is super awesome at doing stage makeup.

I scared the poor produce guy at Safeway when I forgot about the makeup and pushed my sleeves up.
Go forth and create.
-D.

Post #36: Self Poet-traits

So, once again, art for a grade comes back to bite me. The only class I've ever gotten a not-so-great grade in was sixth grade art. The side that was art history? No problem. The side that was me imitating the art? Problem. The teacher said that "I failed to follow instructions" When we had to do self portraits, and I did mine Picasso style. There was nothing in the instructions that said it had to look realistic. It just had to be an accurate representation of me. Fast forward a year, and I have signed up for an art class at the rec center. I come prepared with all of the materials and twenty minutes into free-handing circles the instructor comes up to me and says "Your circles aren't roundy-round enough. I instructed you to make round circles." needless to say, I did not take Art For Children II.

I come from a family of creative people. My mom makes jewelry and collages stuff, my grandma paints, and my uncle is a LEGO master and a mixed media artist. I like to knit and collage and write and do artistic things, but in my free time. Sometimes for profit, but usually just for the heck of it. There's a great cliche about how art is "about the process", but it's true. Sometimes my projects take ages, just because I have to think things through. Other times I work on a project just to have something to do with my hands. 

But now,  for English we have to make a self portrait. Based on a poem (hence the post title). So, I've managed to collage and glitter my way through, and hopefully all works out. 

Go Seahawks! 

-D.

Post #35: Shrinky-Dinks

 A few weeks ago, I found a pack of blank Shrinky-Dink paper. Super magical Shrinky-Dinks. So, I've been experimenting with sharpies and colored pencils and gel pens, and I've made buttons and some jewelry thus far. I am really proud of the set I made that says 'Scribo', which is Latin for 'Write'. Shrinky-Dinks are magic. You color them, and then you stick them in the oven and they get curled and wonky, and then they flatten out, making fabulous tiny pieces of art. It's a great analogy for life. Add pressure or heat, and things will get wonky and curled, but when all is said and done, nothing was as big as it seemed, and everything straightened out. It's magic.

I finished another knitted hat, but it turned out looking like a WWI Army helmet. If you know anyone putting on a production of War Horse, let me know. I'm not sure what I'm going to work on next. I've sort of got a sweater going, but it's more of a weekend project than a TV Tuesday project. I think I might make another hat. I've got the materials to make a trapper hat... Or maybe I'll make some socks. Decisions, decisions. I still need to work on valentines and a birthday gift for the LilSis. So many crafty things, so little time. When it warms up, I think I'm going to make a PVC pipe bow and some arrows. For now, I guess I'll work on some more Shrinky-Dink jewelry. 

"Give me a sledgehammer and give me strength, watch the world come crumbling down." - Fitz & The Tantrums

-D.

Post #34: Learning It All Vs. Knowing It All

AP is a challenging course, and I love that. I thought I knew Hamlet, and I thought that it was too easy, only to discover I really had no idea how funny and weird and powerful it really was until I got to discuss and read it with my peers. And also with a ton of help from Mr. Burge.
Poetry has never been my strong suit, and I really would love to feed the Perrine's book to The Crusher from that BBC show The Life Laundry. I'll admit, sometimes I consult the interwebs for help. I'm not above having someone explain it to me. The minute I say that I know and understand  it all and that it's too easy is the minute I stop learning. And I almost let that happen with Hamlet. I never ever want to be a know-it-all, literally or figuratively because then I'll never learn anything new. Learning is one the few things in life that I could never possibly tire of. I want to learn as much as I possibly can in my time here in this life, and even then it could never be enough. I want to learn about poetry and writing and I want to learn new knitting stitches and I want to learn how to do coin tricks and tie knots. I want to know more about science and physics and how dishwashers work. One of my favorite school memories is of my Uncle explaining how airplanes get off the ground (it's not magic, in case you were wondering) and the concepts of balance in regards to weight when I was seven. Up until then I just figured airplanes were magic. But, with help from someone, my life was enriched and I learned something new. Granted, I'm a little fuzzy on how airplanes work now, but what matters is that someone was willing to explain something to me. Someone cared enough about me to make help me become a little wiser. I have been blessed to be around people who want me to learn and encouraged me to ask questions and were willing to explain things. They helped me to see that knowledge is power, but learning is just as important, if not more so.
As long as we learn something every day, and contribute our views and ideas, our future is bright.
"And above all, watch with glittering eyes the whole world around you, because the greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places. Those who don't believe in magic will never find it." -Roald Dahl
-D.