Music Review

The song I chose to review was 'Death of Communication', By Company of Thieves. They are probably my FAVORITE band, aaaand I love them. Anyway, I think that a lot of messages could be found in 'Death of Communication', but the one that speaks to me is that life is complicated, but people make it harder for themselves by holding on to material value, rather than focusing on being a good person. There are some lyrics in particular that really stick out for me: 

"Honestly, my honesty is always what I gave for taking your bread,

I never thought you would have hung it high above as you did over my head"

I think this is talking about how people tend to count their favors, or what people owe them. I think that many people have lost their sense of generosity. 

"Sell your soul for someone's goal, 

Maybe then you'll have a friend! 

Go on, sell your soul to be controlled, 

Maybe then you'll have a friend!"

I think this is talking about  how a lot of people are manipulative and really concerned about how they look in other people's eyes, or about reaching their goals, so they arent afraid of using people, and then disgarding them when they've reached their goals.
I love how this song is upbeat, but its still lyrical.
I know these are just a few of the lyrics, but I wanted to keep it short.

Here's the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYTYWKghs1Y&ob=av3n

Holden

In class, we have been talking a lot about Holden- his character, principles, relationships with other characters, etc.. He IS the main character, of course. I think that Holden has an interesting view of himself and the people around him, and since the book is written from his point of view, that is the reality that we see- Holden's reality.
Since Holden is the voice in the book, all we, as the readers, know, is what he chooses to tell us, how he chooses to tell it to us.

I think that Holden likes to tell the reader things that make him seem bigger and badder than he really is. In th book, he also calls out a lot of people for being "phony", but never tells them, so in effect he is being phony himself (which I suppose would make him a bit of a hypocrite...)

I'm Thankful For....

Though there are many interesting people in my American Lit class, the one that i am most thankful or would have to be Alex Terry. She is a wonderful person and a great friend (and the reason I am no longer failing geometry). I love eating lunch with Alex, and sometimes continuing our interesting discussions from class, and seeing her (and poking her from the cello section) in orchestra. It's also great to see her in Company when were wrapping up whatever were doing, and shes waiting for her brother. Alex always has something interesting to say.
AH LUV YOU ALEX <3
I'm going to cut this post short to go eat thanksgiving leftovers. :D omnomom.

Open Letter to Charles Bukowski

Dear Charles Bukowski, 

We just read your poem, Dinosauria, We, in class and I found that it really made me think about the future in a different light. I have thought that humans were self-destructive for a while, but your poem really hit home- we are in a downward spiral that we need to do something about. Not only do we need to take action, we need to do it quickly. I think that people are to stubborn to acknowledge this themselves, so people need to bring the problem to their attention, either in artistic ways like this, or just by spreading the word. whether our downfall will be climate change, or economic collapse, I think this poem will bring awareness for many of the issues at hand.  

Thanks, 

Stina Taylor

Father-Son Relationship

In The Road, the two main character are a father and son trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. The father's only concern, and reason for living is to ensure his son's survival for as long as he can. I think their relatiionship is much stronger than most father-son relationships for two reasons:
1. they're living in a POST-APOCOLYPTIC world. They rely on eachother for suvival and are eachothers reason to stay living.
2. There is no mother in the picture. The Boy's mother, The Man's wife, committed suicide- were presuming not long after whatever caused their circumstances happened. The father knows that he's all thats keeping his son alive. If he dies, his son will almost indefinitely follow shortly after.

The fathers only real concerns are for his son. He wants his son to have the most enjoyable experiences possible, considering theor situation. The father has frequent flashbacks of the world as it was before whatever caused this apocalypse, and of his much different childhood. He, however, does not share any of these memories with his son because he does not want to tarnish the world as e knows it with th realization that it could be- and was- much better.

I also think that the son realized that they depend on eachother for survival. He often asks questions about what would happen if one of them died- questions which the father seems very hesitant to answer.

John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

In my eyes Proctor is a hero. Sure, his record isn't exactly perfect, but overall, he seems to try to do what is right (in his eyes). I think that the fact that Proctor wants hard evidence of these women being witches makes me feel better about his character. In the beginning of the Cricible, I didnt like John Proctor because he was an adulteror, but as the tory progressed, I realized that he ha stopped his affair with Abagail and tried to do the right thing.
Proctor tries very hard to protect his wife, after he realizes what Abigail  trying to do. He dosen't want his wife to suffer for his mistakes, by letting Abigail torure her and accuse her of being a witch, ruining her reputation with the colonists.

Really, John and Abigail's affair is what started this whole mess of everybody accusing everybody else of witchcraft. Abigail wouldn't have drunk the charm to try and kill Goody Proctor, then she wouldn't have ended up trying to defend herself by accusing the other women and girls of whitchcraft.

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

I could see how "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" would have been very convincing at the time it was written. Many people would never have dared question the authority and power of God, and this sermon would have reinforced that fear quite suitably. Jonathan Edwards illustrates (with quite compelling words) the absolute power of God, and what could happen if he is crossed. He portrays God as "angry", which would lead me to believe that he would not hesitate to take action if he was offended.  
Do  you think that God would rule with fear? Wouldn't he want to "rule" with respect? Or for people to follow his guidelines solely because they are good people?
I think that this sermon helped Jonathan Edwards gain the control that he wanted (not that this isn't really what he believed.) I think when people make huge speeches/sermons like this it makes me a little skeptical. Does anyone else feel like he was doing this partly from a political standpoint?   
I know this was short, but its about all I have to say on the matter. (Sorry it was late, Mr. McCarthy... :/)                                                      

Arrivals... There Goes the Neighborhood

My neighborhood.... There used to be a lot of kids on my block, and we all used to hang out together. After school we would hurry to finish our homework so we could go outside and play foursquare, soccer, and ride bikes on our dead-end street.

Then life happened. The older kids, at around 12, started getting less interested in hanging out with 9 year olds. a few years later they went off to high school, and well, we all know how much free time you have after that. This was the disintegration of our "gang". More and more of us started getting older, busier, more capable of going other places by ourselves, and soon enough people started moving away.

First it was Nikki, down the block. Then it was Sheila, my next-door neighbor, the Casper's (Anna, Kimberly and Charles).

I never really noticed how many people left. Not until those summer days that you're sitting at home, longing for school to start (but not wanting to admit it.) Bored, and remembering when you were younger and all you had to do was run over to the neighbor's, push the bell (It was the one to the left of the mailbox, right?) and wait patiently for someone to open the door.

Now, in Nikki's house there's an old couple. In Sheila's there's a young family with little kids, and the Casper's is currently up for grabs.

Well... There goes the neighborhood.

Introductions

I'm Stina Taylor. I'm a sophomore at Whitney Young Highschool. I am part of the set crew for the Young  Company and have participated in two shows, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, and Jugger's Rain. I also Irish Dance, and have done it since I was five.
I like to read, but hardly find time to anymore because school and Company have taken over my entire life.

I take the blue line to school and get off at Jefferson park.

My mom is from Sweden, so I have grandparents, an aunt and uncle and two cousins there. My family and I go there every other summer to visit them. On these trips, we often go to Norway and camp in the mountains as well. We fish and hike and do outdoorsy stuff like that.