GDR poem

Blackness recedes to leave a glowing angel on me

Light frames her body likes it emanating from her core

I don’t remember the fall or the crash or the pain

But surely this must be heaven to have a creature such as her

Silky blonde hair falls about her shoulders, green eyes pierce into my soul

Yet she holds no malevolence or ill intention for me

Instead only pure love and heat flow from her

Surely this must be heaven to have a being such as her

At last she speaks and a thousand songs burst from her

All that is beautiful in the world merges to form her words

My fate my soul all that I am is tied to what she says

And surely this must be heaven to have individual such as her

Her song forms to utter three simple words

I love you is all that she needs to say

At that moment I know that indeed I am in heaven

I must be a god because no man deserves such an angel as her.

Hypocrisy=religion

When have I faced hypocrisy? The word hypocrisy brings back floods of memories from my childhood back to mind in an instant. I grew up in a southern Baptist home and my father was a Baptist preacher in my early teens. I was force fed ideals, thoughts and morals that were never mine or I never even fully understood. I grew up being told that if you don’t act a certain way, believe a certain way, and present yourself in a specific manner then hell would be your home. I never understood these things and when asked was scolded or punished in some way for questioning what I was just supposed to take on faith. The idea of questions never sat well with my father and after growing up I have realized that they don’t sit well or have any real place in the Christian religion. I remember one specific instance where I asked my father about evolution. Although I meant the idea that things must adapt to survive he took the question as me entertaining the thoughts of Charles Darwin. I was severely punished and my question was never really answered, much to my confusion. Blind faith was never something I could just accept. I knew even as a boy that there has to be a logical explanation for everything that happens no matter the context or background of the event. Similar instances occurred frequently in my child hood, unanswered questions, and punishment with out explanation. I never grasped these things until I grew up and moved out away from then to form my own ideas and beliefs. The preachers at the churches we went to were just as bad. They encouraged questions but when they were asked failed to give a reasonable answer and always redirected me back to my father for yet another whipping. Now that I have grown and entertained many ideas from different cultures and faiths I have still found hypocrisy in most all of them. So I have decided that I refuse to be that way with my own children that I want them to respectfully question authorities and beliefs. I want them to be there own people and form their own ideas free from fear of persecution because of them. So I completely believe that religion of any form hold the most hypocrisy of any single thing is this world.

Gdr

I just recently watched the new Justin Timberlake movie In Time. I went into it thinking it was just gonna be another action movie to add to my collection. I got the biggest surprise so far this year however, it ended up being modern take on the Marxist theory of the have's verse the have not's. The movie uses the idea that in the future people don't use money anymore they use time. The same time that they use to live. No one ages past 25 and carry their bank account around in a clock beneath their skin on their forearms. When your time runs out you die! I won't go into the movies specifics but what's really fascinating is the idea behind it. It's revealed in the plot that the haves control the time available on the market by raising or lowering the price of living thus controlling the poor population.This movie really takes Marxism and Darwinism and runs through the wall with it. One of the leading villans even uses Charles Darwins' birthday as the combination to his safe. This movie has taken several big movie ideas and put them all together including Robin Hood and Bonnie and Clyde. I would high recommend this movie to anyone who could appreciate a change of film pace that combines intelligent ideas, high action, classic shakespearian romance, and top actors. Enjoy!

GDR#5

Do I believe Troy Maxson is racist? That question alone is an extremely tricky question on an even more slippery slope. Racism is all relative to the person who is considered racist and the person or people viewing them as racist. I have no doubt that some of my fellow classmates would absolutely view Troy Maxson as a racist. However I do not see him that way. I imagine him to be just an average man who has been yanked around many many times and because of that has a very unhealthy view of what he considers the “white mans world.” While many would see his world views as radically racist in todays time we have to remember that this is not set in todays time. It is set in a time when distrust of another race could save you from many heart aches and troubles even to the point that your safety could rely on your distrust of others. What some take for racism is actually lessons learned through many years of hardships and pain. Negros of that day were denied things they worked hard and fought harder for only to be told no because of their skin color. Troy Maxson is not the only example of this as there are numerous other negros who were denied the fruits of their labors because of skin tone. Many of these were in the civil rights era that most of us know of through history classes and the like. But what is sometimes overlooked is what happened when a black man wouldn’t accept no as an answer and would try to take what he felt he deserved. They were met with brutal treatments by many whites including the kkk but what was more frightening was when the police, the people sworn to protect the public would punish and mistreat them instead of protecting them the way they should. These are the reasons I feel Troy Maxson isn’t a racist but as I would consider a more practical man who is more concerned with the protection of himself, his family, and more importantly his sons.

GDR#5

What did Charley mean when he told Willy that the only things in this world are what you can sell? It seems to me personally that Charley was summing up a generation that was so preoccupied material possessions that they have forgotten things that should really naturally matter to human beings like family ties, friendship, loyalty and civic duty. This is after all the time period that spawned the saying "keeping up with the Jones." And I think that's exactly what Willy is saying. I personally believe that the thought process of many people at that time including Charley and eventually Willy reflect in what they say and their actions. Money is a cruel mistress as Willy learns throughout the length of the play, every one wants it, few really have it, and even fewer fully understand how to control it. Everything in the time period and in the story of Death of a Salesman revolves around money, what it can do, how much power it can bring you, how well liked or loved it can make some one. People argue that was the good days or these are better than those days, there is no clear cut answer to which is better but when it is all boiled down, sorted out and made clear there really is no difference. Then now it makes no difference man has always been obsessed with power in whatever form the age brings it. In the beginning it was physical strength but as evolution took effect and the years passed power was defined by the coin in your pockets. I believe this is what Charley meant when he was talking to Willy, that the only things that really matter in life are the things hold fiscal value or can be sold or traded to make money. I find it hard to accept this idea having a close brother, but when it’s looked at from and objective view one can live without family but no one can live without money. 

GDR#4

I've read through a few classmates views and opinions on this story and feel like many of them have really missed the mark. When I read death of a salesman I found a type of comedy in it that seemed to make the reality of what was happening hit a little closer to home. But for this exercise I couldn't decide if it should be comical or a little more serious. So I decided to give an actor for both situations. I really believe that something like that would be extremely interesting and as an avid movie lover I would be ecstatic to see that. Since I have seen only one movie like that in recent memory, The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnasus where there are four actors to play the part of one character.

For the comedic Willy character I have chosen Johnny Depp. When I think of someone playing a somewhat crazed character that constantly contradicts himself Johnny Depp is the first actor to come to mind. But for the more serious actor in the part of Willy I have chosen Christopher Plummer. He is an amazing actor who is capable of submerging himself into his character and bringing something new to the screen while still respecting the original idea of Willy.

For Linda my comedic and serious actor would be the same as I had barely finished reading Lindas name in the assignment before this actor came to mind and that's Betty White. Betty is a phenomenal actor who is still practicing to this day and has the talent to bring to screen a multitude of characters and personalities.
This is why I chose Betty White to play the part of Linda.

For Biff again the choice was clear and extremely easy for me I had no doubt that the perfect actor would be Jude Law. Jude is one of my personal favorite characters and I loved his performance in the Talanted Mr. Ripley which brings the idea of Biffs character to mind. A person who has kleptomania could easily be seen in a performance by Jude Law but more importantly would be the physical presence he has. Being a football star and very attractive man is a must so this is just another part of the role that Jude Law could fill very well since he was also a very good rugby player growing up. This is why I chose Jude Law for the part of Biff.

The part of Happy was much harder to find an actor for to me. So finally I tried to place someone who could have the serious and sexual aspect to them. So I chose Colin Farrell. Colin Farrell is known for his physical and mental attractiveness. He always seems to play an intelligent character in his movies but the main character character I know him as is his part as Alexander the Great. It shows someone who is determined to succeed and throws himself into what he's doing. This is why I chose Colin Farrell for the part of Happy.

MY American Dream!

This post was supposed to be about the average dream but since it wasn't done on time I've decided to change it up a bit and instead of writing about the American dream I've decided to write a little about my personal American dream. The past week and a half have been some of the hardest days I've faced with my MD in years. I tried helping my mom this past weekend move some things from our garage to our storage building. Then I had the bright idea to blow the leaves out of our yard with one of those big backpack blowers. I pushed my body to far to hard and before I was even done with the front yard I was on the ground, luckily my mother was there to help me get back into the house. My legs were locked up like they never have been and also weak. I can't stress how lucky I was that my mom was there to help me otherwise I would have been lucky to make it to the bathroom and making it upstairs to the kitchen would have been out of the question. So I would have gone all weekend without anything to eat. With that brief history I would describe my American dream as being healthy. I would be able to go play football or golfing on the weekends with my friends and not be in agony for days after. I would be able to chase my kids around and not have to worry about getting stiff and falling on my face. My American dream means me having a good job where I can work and not get fired because I'm in the hospital for a few weeks every year. I know this is not the average American dream but when I think of a dream of any kind all I can think of is just being normal and healthy. I have no doubt that although not the traditional dream its one that everyone can respect and appreciate.