A Music Review

The Decemberists. An indie band from Portland, Oregon that formed in 2002. I haven't been, I guess you can say, a true "fan" for many years. In fact I have only recently become a fan of their music (maybe about a year ago). I discovered the band on one of my walks around I-tunes and just fell in love with the music. Their new album, even though, it is not out yet, is one on my favorites. You can listen to the new album, The King Is Dead, on the internet or on I-tunes. It is expected out on January 18, 2011, just in time for a belated New Year's present (hint, hint. . .). But, with either this album or their previous ones, you are in for a treat. They really fulfill that "indie" feel of music while adding an alternative spin on it.


Also, since its the holidays and my favorite band is The Killers, I would also like to suggest their newest holiday song, Boots. I really like this song and not only because it's alternative and not your average Christmas song, but because of its lyrics. If you listen carefully they really highlight that holiday time with family and it makes you think of all those good times.

You Got A Friend. . .

Ah, the Great Gatsby and his ways of using people. He doesn't seem to know exactly what the qualifications of a friend are. Would such a good friend do that?

Yes, Gatsby takes Nick to lunch and invites him to parties, but he doesn’t really confide in him. . . at least not at first. He is just another guest at one of Gatsby’s parties; Gatsby doesn’t really pay attention to him, as a friend might. But, it is also obvious that Gatsby needs a friend, whether it be out of his own agenda or because he needs someone who can be there for him (Yeah, its for his own agenda). Nick is that ideal friend; there is a beginning of a great friendship between the two, even if it not so evident at first.

The way Gatsby throws all his parties and acts at them, give a big insight into his life. His parties are really impersonal and really have no rhyme or reason to them. It seems that he Gatsby just wants to fit in with the “old money” and will play that “cool cat” part by throwing legendary parties.
Nick, on the other hand is a little more skeptical and doesn’t believe Gatsby’s first story about his life. Nick is the friend Gatsby needs to keep him tied to reality and be his confidant and Gatsby is the friend Nick needs to embrace his “luxury side”.

A Wonderful Winter Poem

Snow falls around me
I look up towards the sky
My breath is taken away.

A Time to Be Thankful

So I am supposed to pick who I am thankful for. . . well, I really don't want to, because in reality, I am thankful for everyone. Think about it. . . If our class was missing even just one person (and I'm not talking about if someone is absent or something like that), the class would be completely different. Some things would not have happened and some of the discussions that made us think a little deeper may have not been started by that person who asked that random question. It would be a parallel world!!!

But, speaking of deep discussions, this topic is getting a little deep. Also, I came up with this spur of the moment as I was thinking there really was no EXACT person I was thankful for, and I came to the conclusion that I do not want to answer this is the way it should be answered. . .

So! I am thankful for the person who gives insightful perspectives, the person who doesn't read, the person who makes everyone laugh, the person who is always quiet, but surprises everyone with amazing questions and answers. I am thankful for the girl who sits behind me, the guy who sits behind her, and so on. In short, everyone makes a difference, no matter how big or small.

I. . . Am a Plow

*Yawn* As I start my day waking up in the field, I look around and wonder what's in store for today. Ugh, I'm probably going to be pulled by that smelly old cow again. How many beans do these farmers need to plant anyway. Their useless and they smell like the cow. I've never understood farmers, or humans in general. First of all, they talk to me (as if I would talk back-ha!), so you can tell they are a little mad. . . Second, they just leave me out here and don't even bother giving me a blanket. I mean, I know I can't talk, but show some love people. Plus, (this actually makes me jealous) they can walk in the rain and not rust!! What is this?! They just get all the luck! Pfft!

Arrg, here comes the cow and the 'human'. So now I'm just EXPECTED to do all of this work, while the farmer gets to guide the cow and chew on his wheat. Well, the work is pretty simple, I shouldn't complain; all I do is stay put. My perfect form (not to toot my own horn) is just so awesome I can just be pulled along and my work gets done. Its boring, but it gives me time to think.

The thought has come to me several times that sometimes those humans use me as a metafloor, or metapour, or something like that. The big farmer will tell the smallish farmer that he is a plow when he makes and cultivates new friendships. Or the humans on the P.V. will report that someone, somewhere is a plow to foreign places, paving the way, or something like that.

You may ask me how I know all of this. . . It could be true and I could secretly be spying on those pesky humans. Or, I can be making this all up. Well, really, what do I know? I'm just a plow. :)

A New Class. . . .Its All Quiet on the Western Front

Ah, American Literature. The tedious study of literature written by Americans. Sometimes the reading can be hard to understand and a pain to read; that's just how the cookie crumbles. But, the class itself is awesome. Of course, I can only speak for Mr. McCarthy's class, but however, I say only good things.

I can't say I love the House of the Seven Gables, but I can't say I hate it either. Something Mr. McCarthy said sticks out in my mind, "These were the first people to write novels; they had to figure it out by themselves and tried new things. They paved the way for the rest of America's great writers." Those may not have been his EXACT words, but when you think about American lit that way it gives you a new perspective when it comes to reading hard-to-understand-and-sometimes-boring-American-literature.

That's what I love about this class, it gives me a new spin on things or ideas I may or may not like and it makes me think more extensively about the topic. There is not much I would change. . . not much at all (I mean, I wouldn't mind not reading THOTSG, but. . .it is a requirement and I can live with that). The one thing I feel we need to do more of is vocab/grammar. I like doing vocab and things of that nature, and I absolutely hate doing grammar exercises (suffered through enough of that in grammar school. . .haha, and that wasn't supposed to be a pun-but hey, it's a literary term!). But, I think putting an emphasis on grammar (in papers, assignments, etc.) is really helpful and it will come in handy later in life.
So yeah, I really like my American lit class and have little to no complaints! It's allll good.

Modern Slavery

Slavery was common in the United States during the 19th century, but people eventually came to their senses and realized something was wrong. Thanks to President Lincoln, slavery was legally abolished. Or so we thought.

Today, the United States STILL has forms of slavery, but, not as severe as the 1800's. Latinos come to America looking for work to have a better life, but, big corporations and businesses take advantage of them, paying them below minimum wage for long, strenuous hours. In some states, workers are brought into the U.S. and FORCED(!!) to work.

All around the world, there are still forms of actual slavery. In many countries humans are sold into forced labor; they are forced to work for their "employers", which is just a nice way of saying 'master'. These slaves are forced to work long, tiring hours for no pay; and on top of that, many are frequently abused and threatened either mentally or physically. Many of these slaves are also children, obtained through trafficking, bought from traders, and bought even from the child's own family.

One of the examples I know most about comes from India. About a year ago, I read the book Sold. It was about a young girl who was went to go work in the city so she could send money back to her family. But, what she did not know was that the man that set it up was really selling her into a brothel, where she was forced to be a prostitute. This may not be a exact true story (names, dates, etc.), but it is based on what does happen to these kids in India.

Its unfair, unjust, and inhumane. Slavery is just WRONG. There is things we can do to help, though; organizations like Anti-Slavery, and Amnesty International work to protect human rights and abolish slavery once and for all. Working together as a race may be just what we need to finally create everyone equal.

(pic from: iwka.wordpress.com)

Dollops and Tidbits

So, first of all, I did not picture Nathaniel Hawthorne to look like this. I know that's pretty random, but it was one of my first thoughts when I saw his picture. Nathaniel was born in Salem Massechusets on July 4, 1804. That's actually really ironic; he became a great American writer and was born on the 4th of July (haha). Nathaniel Hawthorne’s great-grandfather was a magistrate during the Salem witch trials; he played a big part in denouncing the guilt of many victims. The fact he was connected indirectly to the Salem witch trial probably has a great deal to do with the fact that the event plays a part in his writings. So speaking of writings. . . we move on to The House of the Seven Gables (Da Da Duuum!). But, a quick interesting fact first. Herman Melville, author of Moby Dick and a good friend of Hawthorne's, dedicated his novel to him.

The House of the Seven Gables (the actual house, not the book) is located on Turner St. in Salem, Mass. The history given about the house in The House of The Seven Gables has some truth in it; substitute Turner for Pyncheon and change a few facts around. It was actually built by John Turner in 1668 and sold to Captain Samuel Ingersoll in 1782. When he died at sea, he left the house Susanna who *connection!* is Nathaniel Hawthorne's cousin. For those who do not know (I didn't either, at first), a gable is one of those pointy triangle things on a house. Another fun fact: The House of the Seven Gables is New England's oldest mansion.

Ahh, the Puritans. You are born on a Sunday and the next thing you know, you are a social outcast because you have been shamed and are considered a "child of the Devil". The Puritans have a belief system that is not much different than other religions (well, a few differences). . .they just take it to the extreme. In their belief only the chosen will be saved by God's sovereignty; its not enough just to believe in God. They also believe that all sins be punished (most likely severely. . .). So to wrap it up, 17th century Puritans were a little cuckoo, the House of the Seven Gables is a REAL house and Nathaniel Hawthorne who was indirectly connected somehow to his stories. And. . . another fun fact: Benjamin Franklin was born on a Sunday, so to Puritans he was considered a sinner.

That Moment It Dawned On Me. . . Hey! I'm An American

I don't really think I had that great epiphany moment when I realized, "Whoa, I'm an American!" If anything it was the other way around. When I was little, I guess I just assumed that everyone was American; that they grew up here and just lived in the U.S. It wasn't until I started learning about my individual ethnicity and culture from my parents that I realized not everyone is from America.

I remember asking about my German and Guatemalan heritage, traditions that were unique to my respective cultures. Going off on a tangent here. . . I think that's why so many people identify themselves with the culture they came from. It makes the individual different from everyone else (a sense of pride) and allows people to identify with other people in their respective culture. Personally, I am proud to be of both German and Guatemalan descent, but I am also proud to call myself an American.

There are a lot of aspects of America that we take for granted as citizens. Things like speaking out against something we don't agree with, or practicing our respective religions. Not every country can do that. I always knew and understood this, but it never became a reality until I was given the opportunity to travel to Guatemala and Costa Rica two years ago and the Mexico last year. Some people there live so much more poorer than we do not get some of the same opportunities Americans do. Don't get me wrong, a lot of people in those countries are very well off and do extremely well. And most importantly, they are happy.

This blog kind of leaned toward the aspect of "What is an American" rather than when I realized I was one. But, I think that the definition of an American plays a big part in realizing we ARE Americans.

Us VS. Them. . .Them AND Us. Wait. . .What?!

Okay so in EVERY conflict, dispute, argument, and disagreement of ANY kind, there has to be two parties. . .them. . .and us. Well, I guess unless its like a internal disagreement, with like your consciousness, another personality, a hard decision or something like that-okay, I'm rambling.

So, going into specifics, the Crucible is definitely a good example. There are two sides to the million dollar question: are there witches in the village of Salem, or is it all just heresay and rumors? The side who is allied "with the Church and with God" of course believe that Satan has infiltrated the town and there is indeed witches present. This includes the court, Parris, the Putnams, and everyone in favor of the hangings. These are the people with motives to benefit themselves, whether it be for self image or money. They are convinced that children are innocent and have been bewitched by the Devil and witches.

In the other corner, we have the people who are falsely accused but prove to be the closest to God. These are people like Rebecca Nurse, the Proctors, and all the other women accused who did not confess. They did not confess (lie) to being witches, they stayed true to God. These good people have no motive except for saving their loved ones from the unfair judgments of the court.

So whats a conflict without some violence? Of course, the court has the highest authority, they are "officially" allied with God and have the final say whether you are a witch or not. They basically don't take no for and answer; you are either a witch, or you hang. The people filled with goodness don't stand a chance, they are condemned if they refuse to lie.

The story goes back and forth: accusing people, saving people from Satan, questioning people, accepting their confessions, no longer accepting their already accepted confessions. There are two sides all of a sudden because a stupid girl can't get what she wants. Before this whole thing, it was them AND us, not them VS. us (well, maybe except for Proctor and Parris. . .)!! So is that really how it has to be? Does violence have to be done to realize what happened was wrong? This whole story reflects martyrdom; all of these good people paid the ultimate price to stay true to themselves, retain (or in Proctor's case, regain) their goodness, and stay true to God.

John Proctor. . . Hero or Stooge??

THE Crucible. A tale of a witchcraft, greedy ministers, and A LOT of assumptions. John Proctor is the man in the town who does not really go along with Parris and doesn't even like him. He believes in exactly what he wants to, and no one, not even the minister can change his mind.

So, John Proctor. . .HERO! John proctor is definitely an honorable man throughout his time in the book. He may have done some. . .well, not GREAT things, like having an affair with Abigail, 17-year-old. Now, boys and girls, it is not nice to cheat on your wife. But, John Proctor knew he made a mistake and just straight told Abigail it would never happen again. And even though he cheated on his wife, he still stood by her and supported her when she was accused of witchery.

John Proctor never changed his beliefs; he refused to believe in witchery and instead turned only to God. He strongly held on to those beliefs until the day he died. He died with honor and dignity, a true hero.

Oh Those Sinners. . .They Are Held in the Hand of An Angry God

So, first of all, the piece of literature that this post is based off of it the sermon of Jonathan Edwards, Sinners In The Hand of An Angry God. The sermon was about the fact that Puritans of Edwards' time believed God was always ready to take away an afterlife in Heaven. They believed that at any time you showed a lack in faith or sinned, Heaven would be taken away from you and you would spend your afterlife in Hell. Edwards uses analogies like "God is always pointing a bow and arrow at you heart" and if you were to sin, the arrow would fly and destroy the promise of Heaven.

WHERE DO THEY GET THIS STUFF?!?!

Edwards' intent was most likely to bring a sense of unity to the Puritan community by living very similar, safe lives. If everyone was doing the same thing and following rules out of fear of God, they would be easy to control. Even though they are now in the New World to practice their religion freely and without government involvement, there was still theocracy. This is a separate government, but many decisions and rules are decided in correspondence to the Ten Commandments and other religious beliefs. Edwards was most likely a town leader, just as he was a pastor; he used fear of God to control his town.

Now, first of all, how did he come up with these beliefs? Was it pure imagination or did he get the idea from someone (I'm pretty sure he didn't read it in the Bible)? I guess we'll never know. But, what I know is that it is good to be God-fearing (I'm Catholic, by the way) but not to the point where I need to be scared of every little white lie. Not to the point where I lie awake at night and fear God shooting me with an arrow or drowning me with the rapids he holds back. I also don't believe that God would do such a thing. He may sometimes be an angry God, but a merciful one at that.

This sermon tells us how much the world has changed. We still refer to God in some government cases: oaths, The Pledge of Allegiance, and other things of that nature. But, our decisions aren't always based off of religion anymore and our government certainly doesn't control us through fear of our God. This is mostly because would not be possible. There are so many religious just within the United States and not everyone believes in God. Our society has become a place where our faith is a personal form of government where it is our job to control our actions and morals, not that of a pastor/official.

Well Shoot, Darlin'! There Goes That There Neighborhood!

My dad is one of those overprotective parents. He even had a hard time when I started to take the CTA; as he says, "Its not that I don't trust you, Anna, I just don't trust other people. There are a lot of crazy people out there."

Coming from two very different cultures, I know what its like to be mistaken for only one of my ethnic back rounds. One time, I was at school and one of the older women from our school's parish came up to me and started talking about all the gangs around the area, the recent drive-by's, and things of that nature. Now, my old school is in Bridgeport, and its not very diverse; its mostly European immigrants. I'm guessing she did not know my last name because she started talking about the fact that all the gangs and shootings were because of "those Mexicans." She talked as if the entire Hispanic community were just bad people who were in gangs. So when I heard her say this to me I nodded and tried to speak in defense; it could have been any gang in the area. I've also had people like her tell me to be careful if I ever drive through Pilsen or on Archer Ave. to Midway. That's just an arrogant statement. A couple times I've told people I'm Hispanic and the change the subject to "Oh! Yeah, you know, it really could have been anybody.

But is all of this really what the world has become? You see one story in the paper or on TV and start stereotyping races. Or a boss does not think you are qualified because your skin is a different color than their own. We are not born with discrimination and fear of race, we learn it. What does that say about our society?

The Banana Peel

So, a little bit about me. Hmm. . . Well, my name is Anna Hernandez. Born on the 16th of June, I am a half-Guatemalan, half-German 15-year-old who lives in Chi-town. I live in the Mckinley Park area and this is the 6th apartment/condo we have lived in since I have been alive. Whew!

I am a Sophomore at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. I am in NJROTC and absolutely love it. It is so much fun and has become a big part of my life. I am even thinking of doing ROTC in college and going into the Navy.

I tend to be a little strange at times, just ask anyone in NJROTC. I’m shy and not very talkative at first, but as I get to know people, thats when the talking non-stop starts. I’ve also been told that I also indecisive and very analytical.

I play the guitar. . . I love it, but I don’t think I’m very good at it. Soccer, volleyball, and softball are my favorite sports to play, but I love watching America’s pastime, baseball. GO CUBBIES! I also love to swim, read, and hang with friends.

Alternative and rock are my favorite types of genres, but I listen to pretty much everything; my favorite bands are The Killers, Paramore, and MGMT.

I love absolutely everything about history and loathe math. Sometimes I’ll read my history textbook for fun. I am setting my sights to be a forensic anthropologist. Its a good combination of history (old bones) and science, which I also enjoy.

So thats just the peel of the banana, so to speak. There is many more details and characteristics underneath. Its 15 years of likes, dislikes, memories, and experiences. We’re gonna need a bigger blog!