I Hear America Singing

I loved this poem. It was so beautiful. I loved the imagery and the feeling it gave me. Personally, I really really really enjoy singing. So to read a poem that depicts the American people singing, proud of what they do, makes me happy. Even though I know that the poem's not literal, and that he doesn't really mean people are actually singing, I like to picture lots of huge, muscley, dirt-covered blacksmiths and beautiful young mothers singing as they do their daily work. It's lovely.

This is what America should be. People, proud of their work and thier lives, doing good work. Families that love eachother and what they do, and support each other. America singing. When I think of someone singing, I think of someone singing out of joy, so happy the song just bursts out. They can't help it. Or I think of someone singing so, so sadly, out of a grief that's so great they can't stop themselves from wailing in a beautiful ballad. Either of these images makes my heart swell. Singing is such a beautiful way to express your emotions. People singing while they do their work, so filed with emotion that they can't contain themselves. Full of happiness at being alive, being safe and free in America, being loved by someone. People grieving for a loved one, for something in their life that they can't control.

Whether you're singing out of joy or sadness, it's a wonderful thing to sing. Maybe you're proud of your family, maybe you're proud of the life you've created; maybe you're grieving the family you left behind, or the mother you lost. No matter what, you should sing. Sing because you can. Sing because you have a voice.

King Still King?

     Martin Luther King. What an incredible man. One of America's most well-known civil rights leaders. He was, and in my opinion still is, a symbol for those of us who feel they have no place in the world. For those of us who feel segragated against for immoral reasons, for those of us who have been poorly treated because of race or class. Had Martin Luther King not said all he said, and done all he did, perhaps America would not be wehere it is today.
     Yeah, sure, there were others. Yes, eventually someone else would have shone, and yes, evetually racism and segregation probably would have been beaten (for the most part anyway; it's not like it's completely gone everywhere). But would it have happened like it did with King? Would someone else have made such and enormous impact on African American culture? He was so important to America's history.
     And what if he had not been shot? Would people think of him differently, if he had not died for the cause? A martyr for his people, for his American people. Of course, he still made an impact with his words and with his actions, but sometimes (and this might be terrible to even say) a tragedy like a death is just what the world needs to put things into action. Whenever people think of Martin Luther King, they think of a noble man who fought for his cause and went as far as he possibly could.
     Today we have Martin Luther King Day. In my experience, at least with myself and the people I know, this day is not a reflection on him and on the world and what we can do to make it better, just like he did. This is how it should be. Of course, I don't know about other households. Maybe some families have big parties celebrating their hero, their reason for freedom and justice. Maybe some parties mourn for King. I honestly don't know. But I don't think we need a day to remember him by. I think he is still alive in the hearts of every person who cares for others and everyone's independence.

This Sacred Soil

     "This Sacred Soil" is a speech that chief Seattle of the Duwamish and Suquamish fishing tribes made to the Governor of Washington Territory in 1854. Reading this kind of shook me, actually. It just makes me sad. It makes me sad that he was so kind, so cordial, in addressing the Governor. That he seems to be losing hope in his faith and in his people/ But what makes me the most sad of all is the fact that I will never know or fully understand Seattle and his people's ways of life, their view on everything around them. 

     It is so beautiful to read about how "Every hillside, every valley, every plain and grove, has been hallowed by some sad or happy event in days long vanished" (p230), how "The very dust upon which you know stand responds more lovingly to [his people's] footsteps than to [the settlers'], because it is rich with the blood of our ancestors and our bare feet are conscious of the sympathetic touch" (p230). I love to think of the earth and everything in it as a living thing, with feelings and a conscious mind, connected to every other living thing. 

     Seattle's view of the dead also mystifies me, in a wondrous way. He says there is no death, only a change of worlds. That everyone has their time. Upon first reading this speech, it seems that Seattle is grieving the decay of his people, but he goes on to say he does not mourn the fate of his people. He sees things in a much different way than people today do. He has a different way of looking at life.

     This speech just makes me wish I could be a fly on the wall. Not just in this situation, more than a hundred years ago, but everywhere in the world. I wish I could understand every culture, read every book there was to read about different people, discover new ways of looking at this wonderful life. But at the same time, I find something mysterious and exciting about the fact that each culture is its own, and that's what's special about it. The fact that other cultures don't fully understand it, don't know everything about it, makes it that much more unique. This speech from Chief Seattle really puts life in perspective.

Music Review

  Soo, as I'm sitting here, wondering how in the whole wide WORLD I'm supposed to pick one CD to review out of all the wonderful music in the world, I am hit with a stroke of brilliance. Should I write about Ben Folds' Rockin' the Suburbs? Or Brad Paisley's Time Well Wasted? Oh no no no no NO. While these are both absolutely fantastic albums, I've decided on the one to top them all: Flight of the Conchords, Season One Soundtrack. What a masterpiece.

     It opens with the intriguing drum beat of the "french" song "Foux du Fafa", followed immediately by ludicrous french phrases that have nothing to with anything. This entire CD is a rollercoaster of one funny song after another. My personal favorite is "Sally", one of the last songs on the album. What a flash of genius.

 

"You're so beautiful, like a....tree."

"You're so beautiful, you could be a part time model....(but you'd prob'ly still have to keep your normal job."

 

     Brilliant. This is the funniest album of the year. The lyrics of all the songs have the wonderful quality of sounding improvised but never failing to be hilarious. Coupled with the episodes of the show, these songs can have you laughing till it hurts. Brett and Gemaine are two of the funniest humans alive. Their New Zealand accents add to the effect perfectly. This is such a great album, you should definitely check it out.

 

Jay and Nick

     Here's the thing about Jay Gatsby. He seems like a really cool guy. To the general public, he seems secure in himself, rich, confident, and the pretty much the greatest guy ever. Which he sort of is. Ish. The real truth is (and I believe this is true for many men) that he is actually very insecure. We get a real example of this when he sees Daisy again. He gets SO nervous, and when she finally comes he works so hard to show her all his great stuff, to show off his wonderful life. He doesn't think that just himself in the flesh will be enough. I think he is a sensitive guy hidden behind his money.
     Sooo, when he strikes up a friendship with Nick, at first it seems like, "Ohh this is so cool, Nick and Jay are gonna be friends now, what a nice guy". But Nick notices something underneath his understanding style and confidence. He sees him thinking hard about every word he's saying, which is something I'm sure you'd have to do if you were trying to give a false impression to the world. It's really hard to judge someone when you don't know what they're truly like.
     My first impression was that Jay was an awesome guy and that he really wanted to be friends with his next door neighbor. Then, when he asked Nick to invite Daisy over, I thought maybe he was just using Nick to get to her. But also here's the thing. I think maybe originally that was his plan, to just use Nick, but when people are around each other a lot, many times I think they don't really have a choice but to become friends. Either that or to hate each other's guts. In the case of Gatsby and Nick, I think they're going to develop a real friendship, or at least a respect for each other that they have for no one else. There's something special about scheming together, even if it's mostly just one person's plan. Even though Gatsby almost tricked Nick into starting the whole thing, they're in it together now. I think they'll stick together.

A Winter Poem

Cold

So cold

Hungry

So hungry

Driving past, turn up the heat

Frost on my lashes

Warmth fogging up their windows

Solid breath in air

Cold

So cold

Shop windows filled with gifts

Bins filled with gifts too

Rooting to find something special

You can just buy it

I have to find it

The most wonderful time of the year

The coldest time of the year

Warm bed

Cold stone

Warm comforter

Cold wool

Warm bath

Cold snow

Cold

So cold

Don't stare

I know what I look like

Don't hold your breath

I wish I could too

Pine trees in your homes

Pine trees in my homes

This park is my home

Don't tell anyone

Cold

So cold

Thank you

Thank you for your dollar

Your pity dollar

Pity I don't need

Keep driving

Thankful for what you have

What I don't have

Driving past, turn up the heat

Frost on my lashes

Warmth fogging up your windows

Solid breath in the air

And cold

So cold

The Trick to Writing

     The trick to writing? Oy vey, if people knew that, there wouldn't be any bad writers, would there? The trick to writing....that is a very intense question. I would say that the trick to writing is to put meaning into the words. To put feeling and emotion into the words. No one wants to read some dry peace of literature that doesn't mean anything. The more invested the writer is in the work, the better it is for the reader. If the writer is interested in what they are writing, hopefully the reader will be as well.
     It really doesn't matter if you have good technique, or even good spelling or grammar. It helps of course, because then the reader won't be distracted from taking in what they're reading, but if the emotion's there, it should be pretty good.
     Even as I'm writing this I'm deciding to contradict myself. I do that all the time. But the thing is, sometimes you just can't stand the person writing. Someone could be writing something emotionally and be completely invested in it, and someone else could read it and think, Ugh, this person is so annoying. But then again, does that mean it's good writing, because it caused someone to have a reaction? Maybe. I don't know. How are you supposed to answer this question??
     I'm going back to my original plan. If you care about what you're writing about and you put real emotion into it, you will be able to write something decent. Then there are things you can do to make it even better, with grammar and punctuation and phrasing and stuff, but all that really matter are the basics. The important stuff.