Robert Johnson

Unfortunately, I was unfamiliar with Robert Johnson before reading this article, but I do believe there is a very interesting story behind this man. For him to be one of the first and greatest blues musicians, one would think there would be more information about him. The details of Robert Johnson's life seem like legends themselves. It seems like no one really knew about his true identity or existence. When I was reading the article, I thought it was interesting how people interpreted his "Cross Road Blues" song as Johnson saying he had sold his soul to the devil in order to receive greater playing abilities, but the truth was that he was really begging God for help. From what is known about his life, his life did not seem all that great, especially after the loss of his first wife and child. The interpretation of the song being about pleading to God may actually make more sense when compared to events in his life. Robert Johnson was a mysterious man. It is like he wanted to not be seen. He wanted to play his songs and entertain a crowd, but afterwards, he wanted to be an average African American man that no one really paid attention to. Since not much is known about his life, I understand why Schein's find of that photo was so important. If the picture was really of Robert Johnson, it was really something worth keeping a close eye on. But as good as the find me seem, it may be followed by an agonizing process to authenticate it as well as to determine its actual value and who should be left in charge of it since there is already a growing dispute over his estate. Robert Johnson was definitely one of the greatest. At least his legacy lives on even though most of his life is unknown. He is a man that also proves you don't have to be alive to be famous.

The Flag is Bleeding #2 by Faith Ringgold

Before this assignment, I never really had a favorite painting or photograph. I either like it or I did not like it. In honor of Black History Month, I started looking for African American artists, and I happened to stumble across Faith Ringgold. Many of her artworks are in the form of quilts, and many of them depict Black life in America from the past until the present. Out of the quilts I looked at, the two of the most interesting ones were The Flag is Bleeding #2 and We Came to America. Both seemed to depict the African American struggle in America, but The Flag is Bleeding #2 showed the struggle in a more implicit manner. Both quilts are graphic in a sense, but the graphicness of The Flag is Bleeding #2 seems more symbolic to me. In this quilt, a woman's face is hidden behind the stars of the flag. She and the flag are both bleeding as she clutches two small children. I believe that this quilt represents Black women's struggles and their efforts that they put into building America without receiving much recognition. The woman is hidden behind the stars to signify that even though the United States is "united," the people of this country, including African Americans, are not equal nor "united". The woman is smiling because no matter what life throws at her, she needs to continue to live her life and be optimistic in order to support her family. Her blood and the blood coming from the flag represent the hardships of building this country. The fact that the woman is black rather than white somewhat signifies who did most of the labor. In this case, the woman is most likely a slave. The blood from the woman seems to touch the scared children who hold on to her waist. The blood flowing from the woman to the children represents the present day struggle of African Americans. Even though slavery is over, the struggle for equality and true freedom is not. The woman is the children's backbone, and without her, they have nothing. I like this quilt because it depicts what and who helped build America and what they had to sacrifice. America was built on the exploitation of those less fortunate and the quilt represents this idea very well. This quilt definitely should evoke some type of emotion from all its viewers, especially if the message behind it is well understood. Although The Flag is Bleeding #2 is not the happiest peace of art, it is the truth, and that is why it has now become one of my "like its".

One Good Day with More to Come

So today was an absolutely phenomenal day for my ego. At first, the day did not look all that hopeful. I was suppose to have a test in my Human Communication class at 9. I woke up and went through my everyday morning ritual before heading off to Aderhold. The weather was not all that great either. It was raining but not really hard enough for an umbrella. It was that misty rain that the wind just blows all over the place, so an umbrella would not have been much help anyway. After arriving at my class, I noticed a sign posted outside the door which stated that class was cancelled. This particular part of the Human Communication class only meets once a week. At first I was a little mad since I had woken up early and walked to Aderhold for no reason, but then I became happy knowing that I basically had another week to study for the test and I could also go back to the dorm and get more sleep before going to English class at 12. Nothing special happened in English. It was just a normal day. After English, I returned to my dorm and knocked out some homework, browsed the internet, and watched some baby mama drama on Maury before heading to the gym to play some intramural basketball. I had two games that night and both seemed like the odds were against us. The first game was a co-rec team. For this game, each team needed to have three girls on the court at all times. Our team only had two girls, and the other girl was no Candace Parker, so we were forced to play with only four people. Only the two guys on our team had subs. In a game where it was four against five, we came up on top winning by around 10 points. Since the scoring is different in co-rec games, I ended up scoring 30 points. The next game was an all girls game. We only had five people while the other team basically had a full bench. We thought this game was going to be a little difficult but we ended up beating them by around 12 points. After leaving the gym feeling glorified, I went back to the dorm. I started checking my email and found out that I was in the top 20% of college class and the National Society of Collegiate Scholars wanted me to be a member. My ego was seriously boosted that night. Hopefully this gratified feeling will spill over into spring break. Then I will really be pumped. Now, if I could only get a job.

Respect Your Elders?

Most people are taught to respect their elders, but I guess officer Brandy Dolson had never learned that lesson. In 61 year old Minnie Carey's case, it seems that being curious is a crime worth a little jail time. When asked for their side of the story, Dolson and his partner, Jamie Nelson, claimed that Carey asked, "Why," in a loud and disrespectful manner. Even if Carey had been a little rude when voicing her opinion, that still is not enough to arrest someone. Are officers getting bored and running out of real criminals to harass and arrest? According to the article, Officer Brandy Dolson has had 18 complaints filed against him. In an interview with the Citizen Review Board, he refused to answer questions, making him seem more guilty than he already is. Carey also stated that she has heard of people getting arrested for no reason. She always thought that was a problem in Atlanta, but she never thought it would become her problem after she was arrested for just asking a question. Her question was never really answered by Dolson either. His response was, "because I said so." When was it against the law to stand and talk with some friends on a sidewalk? They were not bothering anyone and no real crime was being committed. I was a little shocked upon reading this article. One can really be arrested for doing absolutely nothing. I do not think anyone will be on Dolson's side of the argument. With this to add on to his other 18 complaints, I do not think he will get much public support. After reading this article, it made me think about a past story where an elderly woman was tased after getting out of her car angrily when an officer tried to give her a traffic ticket. Does the law not take age into consideration when dealing out punishments? Tasing and arrests are a little brutal for citizens who might have just got angry and used a few words to express themselves. False arrest should be more than just a slap on the wrist for the arresting officers.

Jay-Z: On to the Next One

I have always enjoyed Jay-Z. He has always been one of those musicians that I considered to be a true Hip Hop artist. When I heard this song, I thought Jay-Z's message was all about improvement and progression. The video represents these same ideas. Here are the eight points for making visual arguments effective. Point 1: The video pulls the viewer in by introducing interesting graphics. The graphics make the video seem less dull. Point 2: The video uses characters that some viewers may be able to relate to, like the girl in the basketball jersey. These characters help form common ground. Point 3: The video provokes curiosity because many of the graphics used are unfamiliar to most. Some parts of the video are also a little scary, like the man dressed as the Joker. He seems like the type of person most would try to avoid. These visuals also help draw the viewer in. Point 4: Jay-Z uses juxtaposition by putting people who seem like they come from different backgrounds back to back. He may show the basketball player, the man on the drums, and then the man dressed as the Joker. Point 5: In the song, Jay-Z mentions the death of Auto-tune, which is a program that many artists and musicians use to change their voices or to create beats with little effort. Fortunately, Jay-Z's new album does not use Auto-tune. The skull is often a representative of the music industry, especially in rock music. Point 6: The wires that were moving symbolize Auto-tune. When the wires stopped moving, that signified the end to Auto-tune in Jay-Z's case. No Auto-tune is a sign of the progression of music according to Jay-Z. Point 7: The video focuses on the advancement of Hip Hop. Jay-Z is trying to compare himself to other rappers, and trying to prove to them that he is the best; he is Hip Hop. Point 8: The video can have different meanings. Some people liked Jay-Z's older albums better than his newer ones. On the other hand, Jay-Z feels like it is all about moving forward and not moving back. Others may even argue that the video has nothing to do with the song.

No matter what the opinion, Jay-Z will always be a favorite among many.

Pavement- Cut Your Hair

I had originally never heard of the band Pavement or heard of the song Cut Your Hair. Upon watching it, though, I found it interesting. The video also uses the eight points that make visual arguments effective. Point 1: The video catches the viewer's attention by starting off in a scene that should be familiar with the title of the song, a barbershop. One part of the video that caught my eye was when the guy sneezed a cat. This is not usual, so it makes the viewer want to watch more. Point 2: The video establishes common ground by starting in a barbershop and showing a guy about to get his hair cut. Most people have either been to a barbershop or have had their hair done by another person before. Point 3: The video evokes emotion when the guy sneezes the cat, when the guy wears the ape mask, when the guy starts drinking the hair tool disinfectant, acts like a king, and wears the frog mask. Most viewers are probably a little confused after seeing these parts. Point 4: The video uses juxtaposition by using five characters sitting next to each other. Each character is a different person and has a different experience when it comes to his turn to get his hair cut. Point 5: One icon that is used is the barber's chair in the left corner in the beginning. Viewers should associate that with a barbershop or some type of hair salon. It makes the scene easier to pick out. Point 6: The symbols used in the video are when every guy got or brought something new to the barber's chair. This showed that they did not want anything done to their real hair. Many bands pride themselves on designer hair cuts while they are happy with what they have going for themselves naturally. Point 7: The video is selective because it tries to focus on the over made up aspect of the music industry. Point 8: Different interpretations can be made about everything, including this video. One may agree that musicians waste too much time on their appearance while others might say that looking good is a part of the musician's career.

Make it Rain...On Venezuela

Most people might associate the saying, "Make it rain," with Rap and Hip Hop lyrics as a term meaning to throw out money. In Venezuela's case, they are using the quite literal meaning of the saying. In most of the world's history, I hope, Mother Nature has provided the Earth's surface with rain, but lately, I guess she has been a little stingy in her precipitation giving in Venezuela, which has led the country into a serious drought. In addition to the shortage of water, the drought is also causing an electricity crisis. Venezuela has become so desperate that they have started a method called cloud seeding, which is just bombing clouds, in order to get a few raindrops. I did not know one could even bomb a cloud. Does this method even work? The idea seems a little crazy, but if you are desperate, you will try anything. According to the article, the bomb is a mixture of silver iodide, dry ice, and salt. It is shot into "vertically growing cumulonimbus clouds to encourage raindrops to join together." Jose Gregorio Sottolano, the president of the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology says the method seems to be working even though he cannot calculate if or how much water levels have increased. Venezuela is in serious need of rainfall. Most of their power is generated from dams, which can become inefficient if the country's lakes and rivers have record lows. To top off their frustration, Venezuela is nearing the height of the dry season where clouds are hard to come by. Their hyrdo-grid could collapse by June. Unfortunately, cloud seeding is not guaranteed to work. President Hugo Chavez blames the electricity shortage on the drought while his critics blame the drought a little but also blame his inability to have diverse investments in electricity. They say Venezuela is too focused on hydro-power. Venezuela has learned that it is hard to mess with Mother Nature. The article Venezuela tries to make it rain was taken off Reuters.com though the original article was written by Charlie Devereux from the Global Post.

Nas-Hip Hop is Dead

People often fuse Hip Hop and Rap into one genre of music, while others beg to differ. Many define Hip Hop as real music and Rap as just songs people come up with when they are bored or have nothing to talk about. Hip Hop artists include people like Common, Mos Def, Jay-Z, and Talib Kwali. Rap artist are people like Lil' Wayne, Gucci Mane, and Soulja Boy. There is a clear difference amongst these artists' lyrics. Hip Hop songs relay a message while most Rap songs talk about how to make the most money, have the most swag, or how to get the most women. In his song Hip Hop is Dead, Nas tries to point out how different Hip Hop and Rap really are. Nas believes what people define as Hip Hop today is not Hip Hop. Real Hip Hop is starting to be replaced by Rap. Nas is trying to slow or stop this transition. In the video, Nas uses the eight points that make visual arguments effective that were mentioned in Chapter 10 of Essentials of Argument. Point 1: The beginning of the video pulls the viewer in by making a statement that many would find a little absurd. Point 2: Nas establishes common ground by placing situations in the video that many are familiar with (drug dealers, gangs, etc.) whether or not they have been in those situations themselves or just knowing that these situations do occur. Point 3: Nas evokes an emotional response by showing what seems to be wrong with the "new" mentality of Hip Hop.Point 4: Nas uses the police to represent people against Hip Hop while people who are for it still try to listen to it even though it is illegal. This part of the video proves the importance of Hip Hop to people. Point 5: Microphones have always been an icon of music in general. Nas displays these icons by hanging them from the ceilings in various parts of the video. Point 6: One symbol used in the video are the headphones that the police destroyed. The headphones symbolized Hip Hop, and its destruction once the police had crushed them. Point 7: The video is selective because it focuses on one major point, which is the destruction of Hip Hop. Point 8: People can interpret the video in different ways. Some agree with Nas' opinion of Hip Hop while others disagree with his views.

The Popularity of Self Destruction

Most people can agree on the fact that they like living. Yes, life throws out its obstacles, but most of us make a quick maneuver and go on with our lives. What I have yet to understand is why people who love life like to destroy themselves? I have always been taught that my body is my temple and it should be well taken care of. I might not be the most health cautious person in the world, but I do my best to avoid stuff that may threaten my life further down the line. I try not to cause any intentional harm to my temple, but others do not seem to care as much. There are people in the world who smoke, drink, do drugs, and just act like they have no common sense. All of these actions puts one's life in danger, but their participants act as if they do not see a threat. Why are smoking, drinking, and drugs so popular? People think that is how one shows that they are cool. I think that is the complete opposite. That is how one shows that they are a moron. If someone starts smoking at an early age, they can have health problems before they are even considered old. Smokers say that smoking helps relieve stress. So does laughing, but laughing will not kill you. I want my lungs and other organs to continue to work properly until it is my time to go. I am proud to say that I cannot pave a small street with the tar found in my lungs. I know some people who cannot have fun at a party without drinking. I am always the odd one out at some parties, but I do not need alcohol in my system to have a good time. Get some food and some good music, and I am absolutely fine. If a party ever gets busted, I will not be the one getting arrested. Also, some girls feel that it is necessary to degrade themselves at parties in order to get a guy's attention. I respect myself and if I guy cannot respect me, than he can just keep it moving. I do not know any open drug users, but drugs are bad, too. Personally, I like knowing what is going on around me. Too bad some of the people I know do not feel the same. Self Destruction seems to be such a good thing to some people. They like that feeling that they get when they rebel against the norms of society. I like being an individual but I can do that without putting my health at risk. Self Destruction sounds like a terrible thing to do. Too bad it will never disappear.

First and Last Blast Off to Mars or Asteroids

Recently, I read the article "Let's Build a Stairway to Mars" by Michael Benson from The New York Times. It seems that the Space Shuttle will go on its last exploration next September. After this launch, astronauts will no longer be sent into space. This decision seems odd for the United States, who is the leader of space travel, but without sufficient funds, astronauts just have to keep their feet plastered to their home planet. According to Benson, President Obama needs to find a way to make this a public interest and find some money to revitalize America's space program. Astronauts have not been sent to space in a while. They are no longer considered "explorers." The last astronaut mission was almost 40 years ago when Apollo 17 returned from the moon in December of 1972. Without Astronauts, Benson even finds the International Space Station to be pointless, stating that, "it flies, of course, in circles--with no destination." With all the scientific advances present in the modern world, it seems odd not to send astronauts to space every once in a while, but 40 years is a long time. All the training that astronauts go through seems to be going out the window if America's space program cannot get any funds. Even the public is no longer interested in space travel since no major occurrences have happened since Apollo. For its last travel, the shuttle program is looking for long distance exploration. One of its destination options is Mars. The cost for the program would be around $3 billion. Astronauts would get to step foot on Mars for the first and the last time until a source of funds finds its way to NASA. Another space destination are the near-Earth asteroids, since they may cause danger to the planet as in the case of the dinosaurs. With the exploration of these asteroids, scientists may develop a way to avoid or deflect future asteroids heading towards the Earth's surface. Another positive about the asteroids are that they are filled with valuable metals, like gold, silver, and zinc. An international cooperation would make space travel even more interesting. Benson is looking forward to seeing a U.S. lead space mission with participants from China, Canada, Europe, and Japan. This cooperation would definitely help with funding. Though the asteroids sound like a good idea as well, Benson has his heart set on going to Mars. Let's see if space travel will just become another story to tell the grandkids.

All That

Growing up, I loved to watch All That on Nickelodeon. To this day, I still think it was one of the best Television shows ever made. All That brings back so many good childhood memories. It was sort of like a Saturday Night Live or Madtv for the younger folks. Watching it now, it seems like kiddy humor, but I still find myself laughing more than I do when watching any other comedy related shows on television now. With clips like Good Burger and Repairman, it is hard not to laugh. All That was a part of the good times of Nickelodeon. Now, Nickelodeon is just a jumble of pointless television shows whose viewers know nothing about the good ole shows from the good ole 90s. During its running time, All That pleased its viewers so much. It was a comedy show that was actually funny and one that children could watch without getting in trouble. All That proved that great humor and appropriateness could actually go together. All That was a show kids were proud to watch. My generation still admits they watch an episode from time to time on youtube. Other than being an important show in the lives of its viewers, All That was also important in the lives of its cast members launching many of their careers. Amanda Bynes got The Amanda Show and What I like about you, along with other numerous roles in movies. Keenan Thompson is a regular on Saturday Night Live. Nick Cannon has also received his own show on Nickelodeon (The Nick Cannon Show) and MTV (Wild'n'Out), as well as numerous movies and a brief music career. Lori Beth Denberg went on to The Steve Harvey Show. Kel Mitchell has also been in numerous films and television shows. Without All That, these actors careers may have never got off the ground. All That has and always will be one of my favorite shows. Every time I hear the theme song, I wish I could watch a full episode. As long as it stays alive in its short clips and segments on youtube, I guess I'll be somewhat satisfied.

True Guidoism

When comparing the article written by Troy Patterson and the one in the Washington Post, there is no big difference. The Washington Post basically describes what New Jersey Guidos do while Patterson's article just bashes the Guidos' behavior. Neither article seems to be speaking about these Guidos and Guidettes in a positive way though. Each article goes out of its way to describe the daily routines of the Guidos and Guidettes as a life of stupidity. The articles make it seem like being a Guido is pointless. Unfortunately, the Guidos and Guidettes think otherwise. It does not even seem to bother them that a Guido is seen as a negative stereotype most of the time. Moussa, the guy in the article from the Washington Post, feels like being a Guido is not a stereotype but an actual culture. I am pretty sure a majority of Italian Americans probably do not agree with Moussa's beliefs. It is like Moussa is not representing a stereotype but is representing how all Italian Americans act, and if they do not act like him, they need to. According to Moussa, there is absolutely nothing wrong with being a Guido. Too bad the world thinks differently, except maybe the viewers of Jersey Shore. Moussa's website, NJGuido, probably represents everything MTV's Jersey Shore is all about. Moussa would fit perfectly into the cast. He even believes in fist pumping. Moussa also claims that Guidos are suave and sophisticated. Unfortunately, there is nothing suave or sophisticated about the guys running around on Jersey Shore. In fact, most people would say they are the complete opposite. Many Italian Americans have a problem with being called a Guido, but not Moussa. He truly believes that he is a Guido and there is nothing offensive about it. According to Moussa, one does not even have to be Italian. Being a Guido is just "a state of mind." Moussa is trying to break the idea of the Guido stereotype by making people believe that being a Guido is really culture. Let's see how many people follow.