Sheila's Classroom Reading

The readings that were given the other day in class definitely covered the spectrum of what I would think Sheila's work entails. That being said, she proved to be a very gifted writer. It's not often that I enjoy listening to those types of readings, but in this case I did. I would have to say that overall though, my favorite of the readings was the happy one. While I would never condemn the idea of expressing the sad or unfortunate situations in one's life through verse or any other medium, I simply like to write, read, and hear of happy events more so than I do sad ones. Besides, the thought of being in Maui is one that I could think about all the time. Especially if my family and my girlfriend was there to join me. My hope would be that everyone would get some while we were there too! That aside, she talked of beacons in your life. The ones that you can picture more clearly than most other memories. Not just the images, but the sounds, the smells; the entire scene is embedded forever. Those beacons are the ones that should be grabbed tightly and held on to forever. They make the best of poems and stories in my opinion.

Other than the what I think of as "happy poem", the other piece that I really enjoyed was all of the stories of her childhood and the occurrences at place like Six Flags and Action Park. I could really relate to those stories. The car trips with the siblings and the parents, wondering when we would get there, having the anticipation mount as we pulled into the parking lot of wherever our destination was. All together, I think what I most enjoyed about those few stories was how honest and familiar they felt. The language and imagery made me revert to my childhood memories of roller coasters and loosing my bathing suit going down the water slide. As a side note, when you have swim trunks that are already entirely too loose for your waist, never go down head first. The overall honesty of the writing was very captivating and made listening all that much more enjoyable. To conclude with all this, I have to say thank you for giving us a free reading to respond to. You have no idea how much this helped me out. Thanks again for a great year!

Dave Housley Response

I attended the reading that Dave Housley gave at the Chambers Building a few weeks ago. Out of the three stories that he told, I have to admit that the third was my favorite. To be honest, that is most likely attributed to the fact that I did not understand or really "get" his first two pieces. The first struck me to be one that was meant to be quirky, but I guess that it didn't necessarily captivate my attention as much as the other two that he read. I did enjoy the second one despite the length of the story. Sometimes it's nice to hear long stories such as that one. A question that arose while I was hearing the tale was, "Did this really happen? And if it didn't, how in the world did he come up with something like this?" The idea of getting beat up outside of a strip club and played like a fiddle by a shady and obviously untrustworthy man that works for a car dealership is not a story that I feel as if I could conjure. However, this is me versus a man who writes for a living, so I suppose he definitely has a one up on me there. But regardless of how that story played out, like I said, I don't exactly know what I was supposed to take out of it. Or maybe I'm looking to much into it and the writing were simply created to be comical and put a smile on my face. Both of which they did do.

The story that I found myself being most interested in out of the three though, was the third one about the frog who had been kissed by a celebrity and was admitted into the world of Hollywood films stars. Not to mention all the drama and juvenile crap that goes with it on a day to day basis. The reason why I liked this story the most was because I was able to take the most out of it. I have always believed that a simple life is worth living more so than one that is filled with fame and fortune. Having said that, the idea that this prince would enjoy the life of a frog over the life of a celebrity is most definitely a testament to that belief. I try to remember though, that I am not one of the celebrities that live what most would call a "glamorous" life so I have absolutely no room to judge. All together, the three readings, whether I understood them or not, brought a much needed smile to my face in a time of trial at Penn State. And for that, I am very thankful.

SRTE

Yo, filled out the form for ya. I must say, a job very well done this semester. Kudos

What I've Learned

This semester certainly has been a long one, filled with early mornings on Tuesdays and Thursdays. But, nonetheless, I most definitely have learned much from taking this course. To start, I learned how to get up in the morning when you really don't want to. The trick, for me at least, is to start with a shower and a small breakfast. Nothing gets you going quite like hot water and a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel when your body doesn't want to move. On a more serious note, one of the things academically that I have learned is how to be a better writer. I have never written papers on the topics that we've covered in the past months. The advertisement analysis paper is an example of something that I had never done, and probably never would have if it were not for taking English 15. In addition to that, the memoir section was another focus that I had not had the opportunity to do outside of my periodical journaling. Getting to write, and especially receive personal feedback on the issue and the structure therein was something that definitely improved my writing skill as well as my style. A further example in the realm of writing that I have learned about is that of ethos, pathos, and logos. I had heard of these elements in writing, but have never taken the time in high school to explore them further on my own, simply because our teachers didn't cover that material. But learning of them and moreover learning how to use them properly and effectively helped tremendously in the writing and other papers that we had to do for the semester. Overall, the range of topics that we covered in our writing throughout the semester was what gave me the most experience and what I felt improved me the most as a writer.

To continue with this, I know that I have learned a lot about Penn State as a campus as well. I doubt that I would have ever made my way into the Palmer Art Museum if I hadn't had to go there in order to write a blog response on it. Furthermore I know for a fact that I would have never gone to see Kiss Me Kate, let alone any musical performance on campus, if I hadn't had to go to write a blog response on this as well. To add to that, even when we were required to meet at the Arboretum and the Library, the two places of which I had already visited several times, I still learned a great many things on both trips. The how-to-research lesson that was given to us at the library a few short weeks ago was probably one of the best hours that I could have spent anywhere else on campus this semester. All together, this class made me learn more about Penn State itself and the campus more so than all others that I've taken this semester combined.

As a final thought, taking English 15 has made me think about art in a very different way. I used to think about art to only be paintings that were done by Leonardo Di Vinci and sculptures done by Michelangelo. Now, I see art as most anything and everything. Music, literature, architecture, an even food preparation; all things that I would without a doubt the highest of artistic works. Going off of that, I have learned a new appreciation for the people that create these works of art. Going to the Palmer Art Museum as well as the Arboretum were two places that most taught that to me. I'm thankful everyday for being able to take this course and embrace all that I have learned, and all that has been taught to me.

We Are Penn State

I feel like I should start this off by admitting that coming to Penn State in the fall was not my first choice in schools. I had wanted to go to the University of Delaware, but the extra cost was a deterrent as well as an inhibition for me and my family. That being said, after the events concerning Sandusky, Paterno, the victims, and this university as a whole occurred, my feelings toward the idea of myself being a student here greatly changed. I found myself downtown during the riot. I sat in class with hundreds of others and discussed what had happened with my professors. I watched with disdain and awe as television programs like South Park and The Daily Show insulted the name of a great institution. With all of this, it did not only feel as if we were talking about the university alone. It seemed to me, and I'm sure to many others as well, that all of this speculation, these insults, and these discussions were about the students as individuals. All 40,000 of us have our own opinions, our own views, our own pride regarding the fact that we go to school here. The point that I am trying to make is that because of these unfortunate events and the way in which I reacted to them, this marked the first time that I really experienced the pride of being a Penn Stater. I now feel as if attending this institution is a part of me and I will always keep close to my heart. I'm certain many of my other fellow students and alumni can agree that they have the same notion.

It was interesting to read and watch the articles and videos posted in the main Blog. Between re-watching Jon Stewart and the candlelight vigil, and seeing the words that were given to describe the emotion students and faculty feel at this time found in the article by Lori Shontz, I had somewhat mixed reactions. The disgust I experienced a few weeks ago flooded back, but the pride I mentioned a few moments ago remained. Overall, I especially enjoyed Dave Housley's article the most, as I found it the most relevant to my own thoughts and ideas. There was a quote that I found in his writing which really grabbed me and made me think. It reads like this, "This is how it goes around here. These kids puke in our streets and urinate in the bushes. They are terrible pedestrians and can be worse neighbors. Then they go and do something like raise 10 million dollars (last year alone) to support pediatric cancer patients." The reason as to why this most stuck out to me is because I believe this is how many of the people that live in State College feel about the students living both on and off of campus. It is a testament to my hope that for every evil action or occurrence, there will be with it people who choose to believe in the good of this world. So while Sandusky may puke in the streets and urinate in the bushes, I have hope that both the people in State College and the students of Penn State will band together in a time of trial and turn his evil into a candlelight vigil filled with goodness. And for that reason, We Are!...

The Theatre!

Kiss Me Kate adds to one of the many theatre performances that I have attended both at local theaters and on Broadway. I have seen other shows such as Oliver, Brigadoon, The Sound of Music, Les Miserables, and Around the World in 80 Days to list a few. Compared to the other shows I have seen, this one measures up pretty well considering that it was a collegiate level performance. The vocalists I thought had very mature voices and were able to blend very well with one another. In addition to this, the dancing and choreography was outstanding. The whole cast did a really nice job executing all of the difficult moves that were put into the production. All together, the show was more than what I thought it would be. I was more entertained than I had expected mainly due to how well the actors and actresses played their roles. The two gangsters and their song regarding the quoting of Shakespeare make me laugh all of the way through their corny dance. The male lead surprised me as well. It is not often that I hear such a strong voice even in a professional performance. In my opinion, the casting, stage elements, and overall talent that everyone possessed added to the fact that the show was very well done.

The musical theatre genre is one that holds a special place in my heart because of the many

performances that I have taken a part in. In addition, theatre and classical music as a whole is

something that I have been involved with since I was in elementary school. I love and

appreciate all musical productions, but if I had to pick a favorite, I would have to say that

The Phantom of the Opera would most likely come first. Andrew Lloyd Webber is nothing

short of a complete and total genius. The way that the music makes me feel, both

instrumentally and vocally, is something that I believe everyone needs to feel at some point in

their lives. When the final note is uttered by the Phantom, when the strings come in strong

and then fade to nothing; the beauty of the music makes my heart ache. So while this certain

performance of Kiss Me Kate was a great one, I will say that it is simply impossible to beat

the talents of those like Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Emmy Rossem,

or Patrick Wilson.

I have never read "The Taming of the Shrew" even though I have read many other of

Shakespeare's plays. Having said this, the production that I saw on Saturday gave me great

appreciation for the plot regardless of my lack of prior knowledge. It seems as though the

characters and the crew of this musical as well as the writers did a very nice job incorporating

the plot of the "Taming of the Shrew" in with this production. My favorite part of this

experience was simply being able to see a musical theater performance as I have not been able

to attend one in quite some time. I often wish that I could have the musical talent of all those I

saw on stage, however I reckon that I have enough to make me happy and express myself in all

of the ways that I enjoy.

The #1 Party School

Obviously, when listening to this podcast for the first time, I felt a broad spectrum of emotion. Initially, during the first few minutes when the reporter was taking the accounts of the girls peeing on the resident's lawn and the boys stealing the stop sign, I was caught between trying to imagine this actually happening and attempting to explain that this may have been faulty, over the top reporting. Already, without getting even ten minutes into the podcast, I had to pause and reflect on what was being said and the accounts that were being given. I concluded that I would be embarrassed to have to explain that events of this nature actually happen on "my" campus. Later in the list of interviews with students, a senior reasoned that his actions could be supported or okayed by the fact that this was college. "You won't ever be able to do these things again in your life," was his seemingly drunken response. Unfortunately, between the public urination, the stealing of roadsigns, and the dancing naked at parties, this senior's reasoning seems to be an apt mentality of many of the students both attending Penn State and other colleges around the nation.

Of course, in a podcast like this, there is going to be many appeals to all ethos, pathos, and logos. I would say that the reporters were very careful in regards to whom they chose to interview. The scantily clad and drunken east hall freshmen girls with their "frackets", the State College residents who suffer from the disrespect of the frat houses, and the extremely ditzy and intoxicated 21 year old who is celebrating her birthday by getting wasted and tailgating. Let us also not forget, an almost cliche instance of a student's death due to alcohol poisoning, reminding the audience that average nights consisting of routine fun and games are often the nights when unexpected tragedy strikes. Each of these interviews bring with them a feeling of disgust, resentment, and pity for whoever is listening, giving this documentary a dismal aura. In this way, it's almost as if the things that make this podcast so emotional, are also the things that take away from the appeal this has to the audience.

Finally, the podcast did use tactics that I thought were more effective, such as interviewing Graham Spanier and other Penn State alumni along with providing other statistics regarding alcohol and drug use. In his speech, our Penn State president explained that the poll saying the school was the number one party school in the nation was voted on by students of this university. Continuing with that, he made the convincing argument that most of this had to due with the students of this campus wanting to simply be the number one school in the nation at everything possible. For example, we all take pride in having one of the best and most recognizable mascots in the entire country, as well as having one of the best and most recognized football coaches and teams in the nation. However, given statistics that show lower grades in students who consume alcohol regularly, the whopping 75% of students who drink on and off of campus, and the excessive partying state college residents experience, it seems as if the words from Mr. Spanier are of no consolation or effective explanation to those being negatively affected by the irresponsibility of Penn State students while under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

The Reading Room

There is silence. But not the erie, foreboding, dead silence. This is a more subtle silence, a silence that will enlist the help of slight, small noises to give itself welcomed and minor breaks. The ruffling of pages, the barely audible footsteps of people humbly entering and exiting through the large rectangular archway, and the occasional whisper from one student to another makes this silence more peaceful than all others. In the center of the cavernous the room, footrests accompany comfortable, inviting, single chairs complete with convenient end tables for which to place one's computer, books, or other valuables. To the right and to the left of these lounge chairs sit rows of scholarly looking wooden study tables stained in a dark cherry red fashion, adorned with reading lamps so students may better see their assignments of which they are so diligently putting their time and effort into. The walls are lined with shelves that sit ten feet high, filled with books of numerous shapes and sizes. The crimson, ocher, ebony, indigo, and olive colored hardbacks all suggest years of knowledge and wisdom from those who have come before us. "Absorb these words within our pages," they seem to say. "We are the keys to illumination." With the calming, easy glow from the light above me, the soft, cushioned, and carefully stitched material beneath me, and the sensation of the written word around me, serenity and peace flood over me like a wave as I inhale deeply, wallowing in the air's sweet smell; holding my breath and enjoying my newly found equanimity. My haven in a time of struggle.

The Palmer Museum Entry

To start with this, I had no idea before last Tuesday that I would ever step into the Palmer Museum of Art. Mind you this has nothing to do with me not liking art; I have the utmost appreciation and resepect for all varieties of art and the types of artists who create it. I simply did not imagine that I would need to set foot in there while I spend my years here on campus. With that being said, I am incredibly happy that Mrs. Squillante gave us this assignment so that I may have the need to examine the museum to see what works it had to offer. After doing much wandering and even more wondering, I stumbled across a piece that commanded my attention for minutes before I was able to take my gaze off of the work. The piece was created using acrylic and charcoal on the canvas and was constructed by William T. Wiley in 1975. This work, entitled "Modern Limits", featured many images that I could sum up to be described as different. The image that lay before me was one that at first looked as if the artist had set off a fire cracker that was made of charcoal. But as I started to look closer, I saw that this initial explosion of sorts was actually riddled with both text and seemingly hidden images including a skull, an eyeball, a moon, a telescope, variations of what look like city slums, and to top it all off, a man wearing a sombrero in the bottom right corner. The text, I gathered, was a conversation between two people. It read in one area, "Grumble Grumble." "Listen to me." "Don't be so serious." "I can if I want....". After doing some research on the meaning and symbolism, I found that many of this objects of which appealed to me each had a very distinct purpose and were not placed there simply for enjoyment. The man with the sombrero represents the father of the artist. Furthermore, the eyeball and the telescope represent a person looking through a surveyor's telescope. Consequently, Wiley's father was a surveyor for the U.S. government. In accordance with the text, I found it to be a conversation that is being had between a parental figure and a child. Whether or not these were actual conversations that Wiley had with his father I cannot be sure of, but it would stand to reason if they were. Because of this symbolism that is tied to parental and infantile or adolescent figures, the piece reminds me of the relationship that I have with my parents. Ultimately, I look at the text within the piece focusing on how juvenile it is in the case of both parties. I conclude that I am glad that none of these conversations have taken place in regards to my family for quite some time. That aside, as I continued to research this artist, I was suprised to find that Wiley is a very accomplished artist with works of his being held in many famous museums around the country, such as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Art Institute of Chicago where his works being exhibited are much like this one; beautiful and filled with a symbolic nature. The only claim that I imagine Wiley would be able to make here is that his family and his background is important to him and is something he can be proud of. While I realize this may a simple claim, it is important to remember that not everyone may be able to make a claim such as this one. With all of this being said, I would fancy myself as a museum goer and thouroughly enjoyed myself last week. In addition to this, while I did not like some of what I saw, I always appreciate every work of art because of the fact that I know it means something to somebody. I am sure that I will go back, maybe not in the near future, but sometime in the next year or so. It depends on what they are exhibiting in regards to my interest level. All in all though, it was an experience that I am glad I was able to be a part of.

First Blog

My past experiences have as a writer have been varied. I, like most of my classmates I am sure, have written extensively in high school being dared by our teachers and instructors to expand our minds through literature and the written word. Over the years, I have written creatively, conjuring various short stories and tall tales that would satisfy the rubric for an essay. I have written persuasively, arguing the sides of both pro life and pro choice as well as democratic ideas versus the ideas of the republicans. I have written research papers concerning books and other select types of media. And I have written from my heart, keeping journal for the past year, often reflecting on what I had written in the months before. A strength that I would find in my writing is my style. While it may be observed as a common style for the average American teenager or as a common style for any writer, I would like to believe that I present my information clearly and effectively in every way that I can. I would also list my ability to quickly formulate ideas when writing as a strength. For this reason, I enjoy writing creatively the most. As for my weaknesses, I have a few. The one that I am most aware of and wish to change this year is my use of "fluff". Often times I will "fluff" my papers in an attempt to both make them longer and seem more intelligent. However, I realize that all this does is add a sense of redundancy as well as a somewhat superfluous nature to my writing. My second weakness I consider to have in my writing includes my proclivity to make spelling errors and have a lack of revision. This year, I would like to learn how to better present my information in a more clear and concise way in addition to giving it a more professional tone. I believe the best way for myself to make these improvements is simply to read more. People will often say that the best way to learn to do something or to better yourself in an art is to open yourself up to it as much as possible and, more importantly, to closely observe it and learn from it. I am hoping that this course will better me as a writer by opening me up to many different ideas of which I normally would not have had the opportunity to experience. All together, I really hope that this class will expand my horizons and better my writing style helping me to become an all around better author and writer.

http://stereogum.com/495331/vh1-100-greatest-artists-of-all-time/list/