New Music: The xx

    The xx is an indie rock band from London, England, formed in 2005. It's made up of four teenagers, around 19 or 20 years old, who met in highschool. They made their debut in 2009 with an album titled xx, and Crystalised became one of their most popular songs. It's my favorite of theirs. This turned them a bit more mainstream, and they even performed at lollapalooza this summer. I still wouldn't say they're completely mainstream though. The band has a very unique style, which is really hard to describe, but most of their songs are soft and almost dream-like. It's a simple and subtle sound, but they make it work. I think it's also relaxing. Crystalised isn't one of my all-time favorite songs, but every once in a while it's really nice to hear something different. They have male and female vocals, which is a little uncommon, and towards the end they do a harmony which I think really adds to the song. Here it is:

Better Poem

Winter is that time when the days get shorter,

the weather gets colder,

snow covers the ground.

But winter is a time for fun,

skiing, sledding, skating,

or just go for a run.

Winter is a time for giving.

We should think of others,

help them keep on living.

And winter is that time when you can sit by the fire,

watch the world growing whiter,

under a blanket of snow.

Jay and Nick

     Now that we're reading The Great Gatsby in class, reading every night is a lot more enjoyable. Not only is it easier to understand than The House of the Seven Gables, but it actually has a plot. The two main characters in the story, Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway, have a confusing relationship. Gatsby eventually finds out that Nick is a cousin of Daisy Buchanan, the woman Gatsby loves, but it's unclear when. If he found out after he invited Nick to the party it would prove that he actually had some interest in him, and wasn't just using him to get to Daisy. Gatsby was very friendly towards Nick; he invited him to the party even before they met. Right after they met he invited him to use his hydroplane, and other things later on. All these offers could be for either reason, or more likely a mix of the two. He does seem to have some genuine interest in Nick as a friend. He offered Nick a business proposition to make some money on the side. He said, "It happens to be a rather confidential sort of thing." Nick wasn't interested. Gatsby wouldn't involve him in something like that if he was only using him to get to Daisy. At the very least it shows he trusts him.

Snowflake Battle Poem

 Slippery Slope

A Haiku

Skis glide over snow.

Speeding past the scenery.

Pristine slopes pure white.

I am Thankful For...

One person in the class who I am thankful for is Sam Chu, because he wrote about me on his blog. But there are real reasons too. Like he said, we've known each other since freshman connection and we're in the same division, so I probably know him the best of anyone in the class. He's a smart guy, so he usually has ideas when we work in groups on questions and things like that. It's also just good to have a good friend around.

Someone else I'm thankul for is Jaleel (I don't know his last name). Jaleel is usually doing or saying something... intersesting. Like the time Mr. McCarthy asked him a question and Jaleel had his arms in his shirt and he said something about hot pockets. He also has good blogs which can be funny usually pretty random. But he's also smart when he wants to be, and his blogs reflect that too. There are so many more people and things who I am thankful for, but friends like these make school days better all the time.

I Am a Plow

So apparently I am a plow. Don't ask me how it happened, but here I am with my steel parts, peeling grass-green paint, and covered in dirt. During the summer the farmer used to take me out every day, starting at sunrise and working tirelessly for six or seven hours. By the end of the day I would be filthy and I could barely roll back to my shed. Now though, it's November and I have every day off until April. It's nice to take time off, but this shed is drafty and cold. I wish I would get more appreciation from the farmer for all the hard work I've done. Without me he would be nothing. Does he have seven metal arms that can dig through the soil at the perfect depth and impeccable spacing? I didn't think so. So now I'm just laying here all winter, taking a peek out of the far away window when I can, and waiting. Maybe the farmer will come and visit me sometime, or even bring me inside his house. We're friends right? Or maybe not. Now that I think about it it wouldn't be too bad to go back to work. So bored...

The (almost) Perfect Class

     English is usually one of my least favorite subjects, mostly the writing part, but so far this year I like my American Lit class. The journal entries that Mr. McCarthy starts every class with are always interesting and they make you think. Even though I usually don't write as much as people around me, because I'm a slow writer, it's still good practice. I think I've also learned to appreciate literature more; or at least try to. The blog topics are like the journals: they're interesting and make you think. By writing my blog and reading other peoples' blogs I learn interesting and useful things. For example in the modern slavery blog someone wrote about how some companies, like Nike, use cheap sweatshop labor. Because of this blog I can be aware of what I would really be supporting if I bought Nike products. Last, I really like independent reading days. I know that every thursday when I come into class I can just relax and read a book I'm interested in.
     One change for the class would be to make notes on the reading optional. Taking notes while reading makes it seem like more of a chore than it should be. It doesn't help me very much because I'm good at remembering what I read. Also, if I could just sit down and read, no notes, I think I could enjoy the book more.

Modern Slavery

   There are 27 million slaves in modern day, forced to work long hours, in bad conditions, receiving little food, and for no pay. Many are threatened and beaten. Most of them are found in India and Africa, but slaves exist all over the world, even though it is not legal anywhere. There are more slaves in the world now than there have been in any other time in human history. This is due to a few things: first of all, population has exploded recently, with most growth in developing countries. Second, due to rapid social and economic change, people have been displaced to urban areas, where they have no job security. Also, many corrupt governments allow illegal slavery to continue. Slaves today are cheap and available, costing about $90. On average, a slave in the American South in 1850 cost the equivalent of $40,000 in today’s money. Since they are so cheap, a slave who is sick, injured, or causes problems for the slave owner, they might be dumped or killed.
    Slavery is closer to home than you think. Cases of slavery and human trafficking have been found in more than 90 cities across the United States. Roseline Odine, who grew up in Cameroon, was 14 years old when she was offered to chance to go to school in the U.S. As you might guess, she didn't go to school at all, but was tricked into slavery. For 2 1/2 years she worked for 15 hours a day, in a suburban Washington DC home, for no pay. She was beaten and finally ran away. Rose is now free and has a family, but slavery is still a huge problem. It goes unnoticed or ignored too often, and nobody deserves to belong to someone else.

The House of the Seven Gables

     The House of the Seven Gables was not actually owned by the Pyncheon family, but it was built by Captain John Turner in 1668. When John Turner III lost the family fortune, the Ingersoll family bought the house. It's also known as the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion. Nathaniel Hawthorne used to visit his cousin, Susannah Ingersoll, who lived in the house. By Hawthorne's time, the house only had three gables. He was told stories of the old house, which originally did have seven gables, so those stories are what inspired his novels. Hawthorne's relatives were some of the first Puritan settlers in New England, and his great grandfather, John Hathorne, was a judge in the infamous witch trials. He had a sense of guilt for this, which gave a theme for many of his stories, like The House of the Seven Gables.
     The town of Salem itself was founded in 1629 on the site of an ancient Native American village by Puritan settlers, who had separated from the Church of England and seeked religious freedom. Most of the people involved in the Witch Trials lived in nearby Salem Village, which is now called Danvers, not in present day Salem. The Puritans followed a strict Christian lifestyle, but they still valued education. They founded the first college in America, and offered free education for kids for the first time in history. Certain Puritan qualities, like self-reliance, frugality, industry, and energy, gave them economic success and influenced modern social and economic life.

The Moment I Knew I Was An American

     I can't say there was a specific moment I realized I was an American. I was born here, so it's always been a part of my identity in some way. I don't think of myself as a stereotypical American though, which would be eating fast food, driving everywhere, going to malls, and things like that. I'm an American in that I have American ideas (equality, free speech, separation of church and state), and basically the only customs I know are American ones (whatever those are).
    I've always thought that it would be really cool to live in a foreign country, because I love to travel. I'm not sure where I would live, maybe a Spanish-speaking country because I'm learning it and I like it. But after thinking about it I realized that I would probably end up here anyway. That's not a bad thing, there are a lot of good places to live in the U.S., but this is just the place I know best. I guess that would be a moment when I realized I'm an American. If I lived in a foreign country it would be hard to adjust to their customs, but that would be part of what makes it interesting, and I would learn eventually. I could live there for a few years, but not to raise a family there. They would barely know any of their relatives. Basically, I'm an American because America is the place that has almost everything I know.

Us v. Them... Us and Them

      The main conflict in The Crucible stems from peoples' personal grudges towards another person or group. Some of the main ones are Abigail against Elizabeth Proctor and the Putnams against Rebecca Nurse and other landowners. It's hard to believe that anybody would go to such extremes like killing somebody just for personal gain. Some of them were planning on it from the start, like Abigail, and others realized they too could use the state of hysteria to their advantage, like the Putnams. The only reason people were able to get away with this was because everyone believed whatever the girls said. The judges thought that since witchcraft is only between the witch and the victim, they are the only two who can really testify. The accused witch, of course, will deny it, and the victim can say anything they want.
      Many conflicts, like a grudge, start on the personal level whether it's something between groups of friends or between countries. Conflicts on a smaller scale (hopefully) won't involve killing, but wars do. Some countries or groups of people might have ancient rivalries, the reasons forgotten, but those can escalate until both sides are fighting and making the other side, and themselves, suffer. I personally believe that there must be a better way to solve these problems.

John Proctor: Hero or Stooge?

      John Proctor is one of the most rational and unreligious characters in The Crucible.  Unfortunately, this is what led to his death. I believe he was a hero because he knew the reasons that everyone was crying witch, and tried to stop the unfair accusations. Basically the one bad thing he did was cheat on his wife, but he made it clear that wasn't going to happen again. He is usually kind; for example when you first meet him he is going to check on Betty. Proctor is Christian, but he openly disagrees with how Reverend Parris preaches. He wasn't afraid to stand up to Parris about it, or to the judges in the court. His strong will and pride also show at the very end, when he refuses to have his confession posted on the church door. He knows he has already committed enough sins, and by not giving a false confession he believes he is honoring the other prisoners who didn't confess, and he can still go to heaven with pride.
      I don't think Proctor was a stooge, because he was doing what he thought he should and not what others wanted him to do. His accusations against Abigail are what caused his death. When he finally admitted he had an affair, to make them not trust Abigail, they made him look like a liar. After, Mary Warren turned on him saying he made her do witchcraft. John Proctor was never meant to be accused; Abigail wanted Elizabeth dead. Her plan backfired while causing the deaths of more than 100 people.

Sinners In the Hands of an Angry God

      This sermon by Puritan minister Jonathan Edwards shows the strict, conformist beliefs of the Puritan faith. Using pleasant metaphors like the bow of God's wrath pointed at your heart, or hanging by a thread over over hell, could easily scare someone who believes strongly in God to not make the slightest slip. Edwards was  a very smart man; he graduated from Yale when he was sixteen. He knew how to manipulate people very well. If reading this in modern day can still spark such a strong reaction, imagine it being read by him, in a Puritan church, in 1741.

      Though he was good at what he did I don't believe that he was using it the right way. Having so much fear and ignorance is no way to live. One good thing that Christianity usually has is the idea that good deeds can help you go to heaven, but they threw out this idea believing they are the chosen ones. This, to me, is a selfish act that defeats the most important feature of religion. Maybe religion originally, at least in part, was motivation to to good things and be a good citizen. Its simple: if you're a good person you're rewarded.

      Besides that, I don't believe that there's an all-powerful God with your fate in his hands, and there can't be a VIP reserved seat in heaven with your name on it. It is your actions that shape your life and only you can make life how you want to live it.

There Goes The Neighborhood

      When two different societies meet, especially if for the first time, there is likely to be some tension. A long-continuing and very complicated example of this so called clash of civilizations, is between the Muslim world and the West. These groups have always been very different. Of course to humans, different = bad  so, what better way to solve your differences than by violence? Conflicts between the two groups have persisted even since the Crusades in the middle ages. The most obvious example in modern day would be terrorism caused by extremist Muslims. The basics of this complicated situation is that the minority extremists hate how America and the west have almost the opposite values of strict Islam. The word Islam is said to mean peace, submission, or obedience; or some combination of those words. Contrastingly, the west is about freedom, expression, equality between men & women, etc. Sometimes rumors are taught, that are usually completely untrue, that worsen the situation. The book Infidel, by Ayaan Hirsi Ali, describes parts of her childhood growing up as a Muslim in Africa. She says how everyone in her class "was convinced that there was an evil worldwide crusade aimed at eradicating Islam, directed by the Jews and the whole Godless West." On the other side, some Americans think that all Muslims are like the extremists and that they are all violent. There's been discrimination against them, like opposition to the mosque near ground zero, and other situations. One big, but not so simple, step to lessen tensions could be to clear up these extreme misunderstandings.

Introductions

      Going into this school year I was relatively excited; hoping it would be a bit better than (seemingly unending) last year. This was for a number of reasons. First I wouldn't be a freshman anymore, meaning I knew a lot more people, and I knew my way around. Also, I had more of a say in my classes, so there would be more things that I'm interested in. One big thing I wasn't looking forward to this year was all the homework, and at the very bottom of the list of all the time-consuming assignments would be writing. I've never considered myself a good writer, and even when something comes out fine, it probably took me hours and hours sitting at the computer (or at least longer than it should). Even though I sometimes loathe writing, I know that it is an important skill and I would like to get better at it.
      Some things I do enjoy are bike riding, martial arts, traveling, and history. I also like trying new things, whether its a new food, place, activity, or type of music. How these interests can all come together would be traveling to another city or country, learning about its history, going for a bike ride there, eating local foods, and doing things that might be touristy, or something the locals would do. This curiosity can also apply right here in Chicago. I like seeing new parts of our diverse city, and learning the history of my neighborhood and others, understanding how they got to be that way.
      For whatever reason, my personality doesn't reflect that more adventurous side of me very much. I tend to be quiet and keep to myself, though less with my friends. I like to think of myself as a generous person, whether its volunteering at the food pantry, or just doing somebody a favor. All these characteristics describe who I am and thank you for reading about me!