Thursday, July 29, 2010

Icons Part 2

My Primary Icon is my grandfather. I will use him because just like me, he wanted to be remembered by people, he wanted his family name and his name itself to go down to history and to never be forgotten. I also feel that way, I want to be remembered as well, i want my name to go down to history. I want to be more than just an average civilian when i grow up as an adult, just like my grandfather. A related icon to my grandfather is the Mason society because by joining the Mason society, my grandfather was able to go and become more than just a mere civilian, and he had the wish of at least 1 man from the family to become a Mason. After all his sons failed (my uncles) he wanted me to become one but due to his disease, he died without telling me his wish and now one day I hope to fulfill the dream and become part of the Mason society.

Main Ideas for artist statement.

- Prove my connection with my grandfather
- Connect Masonry with my family
- Connect my past ancestors with masonry and how
the connection with masons began.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Icons



Icon 1

I have decided to use my grandfather as my primary icon. I have decided this because he always helped people and was always hones. During his life, he had many opportunities that would grant him wealth, but he decided to give it all to his people. Back during the day, he was the owner of the land which is now known as Colonia Castillo. He gave it to people that where ether in search for a home or were homeless. Many people would have not been able to survive through those times if my grandfather would have not helped, and he is very well known around that area.

Icon 2

the second icon i will use is the masons. Recently about a year ago, my mother and grandmother told me that my grandfather was a member of the Mason society. His grandfather was a mason as well and his grandfather led him to become one as well. My grandfather desired that at least 1 man from the family to become one, all his sons failed and he was going to ask me to become one, but sadly he was diagnosed with Alzheimer disease and never got a chance to tell me. He died in the year 1999. The masons are an icon in my life ever since i was told about my grandfather being part of their society because i have always wanted to become more than just a regular human being, i wanted to go down in history have my named remembered, and maybe joining the society might help me do that.

Icon 3

The third icon i will choose is Benito Juarez. According to my grandmother, my great grandfather knew Benito Juarez and both were part of the Mason society. It's thanks to him that my great grandfather was part of the society and thanks to him my grandfather was part of the society, and thanks to him, I now have the dream to become part of the society that if it wasn't for my grandmother revealing the secret, i would have never considered becoming part of the society.

Resources for all three icons

Grandmother (info on grandfather)
grandmother(info on masons)
Wikipedia (info on masons and Benito Juarez)


Monday, July 26, 2010

Summer School Blog1


1 Goals 4 summer school
-improve my writing
-make reading an everyday habit
-earn organization skills

2 the picture shown above is climatology studies. When i grow up, i would like to become a climatologist and study the weather. I have been always interested in weather and i can't remember since when probably when i was six years of age but it has always been my dream to become one.

Monday, June 21, 2010

This I Belive (A World Without Borders)


My grandmother once told me that mankind is our true nationality. That no matter how we speak, where we live, or how we look, we are all human. I asked her, “then why do we build fences around countries to keep certain people away? If we are all humans and all the same, then why do we want to keep each other away?” My grandmother said that even though we are all the same, we are still afraid to embrace one another’s religions and cultures, afraid that if a high concentration of different people move in and practice their own traditions, our own true identities may be frogoten. Even up to this day, we are still afraid of people’s unique appearances and so we build fences to keep them away.

I thought to myself how life would be all over the world if we closed all borders. What if we let anyone from any place go anywhere, and move wherever they want? I think that would be a wonderful idea. Now that all types of humans have spread over the globe, it would be much easier for people to adapt to different lifestyles. I think this is possible because on a constant basis, I pass through neighborhoods and see children of all races playing soccer on the street, they all grew up together and got used to their differences and manage to get along, so if one neighborhood can do it, maybe the world can as well. We as the human species would be able to learn from people all over the globe about how to live a better lifestyle.

If the whole world would come together and become a single nation, the Human Nation, it would become the first step toward achieving peace. War begins with fear of the neighboring country. We have military and weapons so other countries will fear us, so united as a single nation, the need for military personnel would decrease and would make the world a much more peaceful place. For something so big like a reformation, it would take a very long time, there would be many international gatherings, debates, ect, but I know that that we as humans are capable of understanding that we may not hide ourselves behind our borders, eventually we will have to face each other and accept the fact that like my grandmother said, no matter how we speak, where we live and how we look, we are all human. Our true nationality is mankind.

Tuesday, June 1, 2010

R.E.M. Soundtrack


A Visit to Calliope

  • I cant tell you why By Shin Kono

    Pg. 67- 68 until the end of the 1st section on pg 28. This song goes perfect in this part because this piece of music is a bit sad in the beginning but then it gets more soothing as it goes and it goes perfect with this section of the chapter because it almost seems sad that Ishmael only has a few weeks left and then the mood gets a bit happier because Ishmael will finally release the message he must send to Julie.

  • August’s Rhapsody By Unknown Composer (Soundtrack)

    Pg. 68 starting into the second section up until pg 75 (end of chapter)

    In the second section of pg 68 Ishmael begins to talk about calliope which in the book is like another world and so in the beginning of the song, it sounds mysterious, almost as if you are exploring a place you have never been into, and as you go, the song is almost describing nature. The whole chapter describes nature and the way life works, how we see things. That’s why this soundtrack goes well with this chapter.

Calliope Part II

  • Beethoven Piano Sonata in C sharp “ Moonlight” By Evelyne Dubourg

    Pg 76 – 83 This song goes with this section of the chapter because Ishmael talks about what animals do for their offspring to survive like killing each other’s offspring ( white footed mouse ) and about evolution which consists of killing and fighting each other and that these strategies evolve because they “work” . In my point of view, I find this depressing because animals must kill and fight to survive, therefore a sad theme is perfect to my ear for this section of the chapter.

  • Egmont Overture By Ludwig Van Beethoven

    Pg. pg. 83 (where he begins to talk about calliope again) – 91 (end of chapter)

    Ishmael begins to talk about survival and evolution in a more serious way. He explains how awk’s forest disappeared, so they evolved into Bawks, the Bawks had to work together to find food in their new environment, developed teamwork ect. This song goes well with this scene because it sound serious but a happy serious, almost as if things are going as planned. That’s why the song goes with this part of the chapter.




    Alan’s Ishmael

  • My Immortal By Evanescence

    Pg 282 – 286. This song goes perfect with this chapter because this song sort of reflects “a pain that is just too real, there is just too much that cannot erase” also a part that of the song that says “you used to captivate me by your resonating light, now I’m bound by the life you left behind.” These lyrics relate to Julie because she is sort of bounded by the life Ishmael left behind for her. Julie now has a different view of the world, probably would have never seen the world she sees now if it wasn’t for Ishmael. Now she lives a life based on Ishmael’s teachings. Thtas how this song relates to this chapter.


Thursday, May 20, 2010

Evelyn Glennie

What i will remember most about Evelyn Glennie's performance is that she has lost her ability to hear and yet she is still able to play beautiful music.

I really enjoyed listening to Evelyn Glennie play the Marimba. She played it in a very soothing way that relaxes you.

I really think that each person experiences music in their own way by what they like to hear. It all depends on what you find soothing or pleasurable to hear. For example some people like rap, reggae or maybe hip pop but sometimes music can be manifested by your own life experiences. Rock represents some of my past life experiences and i can actually see myself in the lyrics so it all depends on what you find comfortable and recognizable to the ear.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

School Garden


Questions From Board

Does this visit inspires you to make your own Garden?

- This visit to the senior garden does not inspire me to make my own garden because i never did like to garden. It's not that I hate it, it's just that I'm not interested in gardening.

What would you grow if you hd this garden?

- If i had the senior garden, i would grow plants that decorate my house, makes it look nice, also i would grow fruits that I enjoy, which is basically anything that is tropical.

Do you think the seniors care about the garden?

- I do think that the seniors care about the garden, the garden is very well groomed, and when asking questions, the seniors (at least the one I asked) seemed very confident with the information they shared with me.

What kind of plants were there?

-There were many types of plants, there were:
peppers
potatoes
lavender
strawberries
snap dragons
rainbow chard
and many more......

Interviewed Questions

What's the purpose of the Garden?

- The purpose of the garden is to learn about plants (gardening) to eat healthier and mantain a healthier lifestyle.

How did the senior garden started/who funded it?

- John (environmental sciences teacher) started the garden. John asked a group of students to help him with the garden and they all worked together to create the garden.

What's the future of the Garden?

- Each senior generation will hopefully maintain the garden until they are asked to remove the garden by the owners of the NTC. Students are welcome to help mantain the garden during summer.