perspective student

The main thing that I can tell a potential philosophy student is that you need to prepare to read a whole lot and type a lot of papers.  Since this is an English class, I guess we’re sort of required to read a lot of books and do a lot of essays.  The difference between philosophy class and any other English class is that it’s probably easier to cheat or get an answer for a certain test because most other English classes have a distinct answer.  In philosophy, there are so many different ways of thinking so everybody is going to have a different response and a different outtake on what we’re learning in class.  I can also say that is useful to look at spark notes while you read a certain novel that the teacher assigns.  Not just the plot over view but the analysis.  The analysis for books helps you so much for understanding what the author actually means and why he (or she) wrote in the style that they wrote in.  The last thing I can say to a perspective philosophy student is that you need to be ready for a lot of class discussions that last the entire period.  There are so many different ways of thinking and different alternatives to different events, movies, and books that it sometimes takes the whole period to understand certain things.  These class discussions helps you to better understand why you think the way you do because most of the time when you make a statement, you have to further elaborate and explain why you say, think, and do certain things.  It’s a great class so I would recommend anybody to take the course.  If they’re ready to work that is.

Thoughts about earlier thinking

My thoughts about earlier thinking…..i would say that I’ve changed the way I think about certain things on a philosophical level.  What I mean is that now that I’ve been introduced to a new way of thinking, I take more things into consideration and I ask far more questions than I used to.  I’ve learned that philosophers always ask “why” and they always try and prove another person’s way of thinking wrong.  The one person that I can think have that did such things was Socrates.  He always used this form of discussion in arguments called “Socratic Irony” or “Socratic Method.”  Socratic irony is a form of inquiry and debate between individuals with opposing viewpoints based on asking and answering questions to stimulate critical thinking and to illuminate ideas. It is a dialectical method, often involving an oppositional discussion in which the defense of one point of view is pitted against the defense of another; one participant may lead another to contradict him in some way, strengthening the inquirer's own point. (Think about the question before you speak.)  I somewhat appeal to how Socrates went about discussions and his style of thinking because his main thing was that you need to know what you’re talking about, and have enough intelligence and whit to be able to argue you’re believes and hold your position.

Surrounded By Cuckoos

Sometimes when you think you’re around people that aren’t like you, you believe that they are crazy.  On the other hand, the people who surround you that are different from you indeed think you’re crazy as well.  Just because someone isn’t like you doesn’t mean that they’re crazy because like I stated earlier, they might think that you’re crazy as well.  In the book, Randal McMurphy believed that there was nothing around with him and that everybody around him was crazy; but once you go further in the book you realize that Mack has problems on his own.  His main problem was with denial.  He didn’t believe that the certain things he did were wrong and that everybody was against him.  This is probably why he was so rebellious towards Nurse Ratchet because even though she seemed evil, she was actually out for Mack’s best interest and she wanted to help him.  Once she came to the realization that Mack wasn’t trying to help himself, she started to punish him.  Its one thing not to help yourself, but Mack was affecting how the others were acting as well.  They worshiped how courageous and rebellious Mack was so they tried to follow what he did.  This resulted in a lot of injuries, deaths, and eventually his death.

Together

A topic that has to do with success and togetherness are sports.  When you play together, you usually win; unless the opposing team is just better than you.  Most people who have an individualistic view amongst a team sport the team usually loses.  One quote my coach used to always tell us was “You play as an individual, you fall as a team.”  That just always reminds me that you can’t do everything by yourself.  One story where togetherness was shown was then Michael Jordan first got in the NBA.  Now everybody knew that Michael Jordan was a fantastic scorer, a tremendous athlete, and a top notch defender, all he did was fill up the stats sheets.  He could never pull off a playoff series win.  People said that Michael Jordan would always be a scoring champion but not an NBA champion.  He was told that he was selfish and was always going out to get his and that was it.  Soon as he got some more players to help him out, ala Scottie Pippen, they helped him in regards of understanding a team and togetherness concept in order to win games.  Soon enough, Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won a number of championships and Michael Jordan won a whole lot of other accolades in his lustrous career.

alone

Being alone can be a good and a bad thing.  The good thing about being alone is the ability of concentrating better.  Sometimes when you’re with your friends or with a whole lot of people you when you’re trying to get some work done you tend to concentrate less and you end up not getting whatever you had to do accomplished.  That’s why it’s sometimes helpful to be by yourself so you can be able to hear yourself think and do your work to your highest capabilities.  Being alone also helps you in sports as well particularly basketball.  When you’re in practice for the most part, you’re going over game plan and preparing yourself for the next opponent so it’s majorly team oriented.  When you’re by yourself working on your game, you can work on things you need to work on individually to become a better team player.  The only con I can think of when I think of being alone is solitude and boredom.  It’s always good to have somebody to talk to at all times if you have a problem, or even if you just want to have fun.

alone

Being alone can be a good and a bad thing.  The good thing about being alone is the ability of concentrating better.  Sometimes when you’re with your friends or with a whole lot of people you when you’re trying to get some work done you tend to concentrate less and you end up not getting whatever you had to do accomplished.  That’s why it’s sometimes helpful to be by yourself so you can be able to hear yourself think and do your work to your highest capabilities.  Being alone also helps you in sports as well particularly basketball.  When you’re in practice for the most part, you’re going over game plan and preparing yourself for the next opponent so it’s majorly team oriented.  When you’re by yourself working on your game, you can work on things you need to work on individually to become a better team player.  The only con I can think of when I think of being alone is solitude and boredom.  It’s always good to have somebody to talk to at all times if you have a problem, or even if you just want to have fun.

save the earth do this

To save the earth you could do a number of things.  One essential thing to do is to recycle.  Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from land filling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.  Recyclable materials include many kinds of glass, paper, metal, plastic, textiles, and electronics. Although similar in effect, the composting or other reuse of biodegradable waste – such as food or garden waste – is not typically considered recycling. Materials to be recycled are either brought to a collection center or picked up from the curbside, then sorted, cleaned, and reprocessed into new materials bound for manufacturing.  Another thing you could consider doing is taking the train whether than driving all the time.  Also its also cheaper and eco-friendly to car pool.

invisible

The history of racial inequality in the US is a part of the background for identity development of all men, but African-American men have a unique struggle in this context. Slavery, overt/covert racism, negative stereotyping, and ongoing oppression can create a deep sense of cultural mistrust, beliefs that one’s worth and abilities are overshadowed by stereotypes, and sensitivity to subtle acts of racism. These are elements of “invisibility syndrome” (Franklin, 1999). This work was originally created to address the experience of African-American men, but has been expanded to Asian-American and Latin-American men as well. “The invisibility syndrome evolves when persons feel that they live in a radicalized or depersonalized context in which who they are as a genuine person, including their individual talents and unique abilities, is overshadowed by stereotyped attitudes and prejudice that others hold about them.” (Franklin, 2006, p118). 
People that experience invisibility syndrome often have a daily experience of feeling like that are being discriminated against, often in very subtle acts that are perceived as racially motivated. The “invisibility” is that one’s being is not seen, only one’s skin color, and all ideas attached to it are. The energy required to deal with all of these interactions can be exhausting, and can reinforce propositions such as “black people have to work twice as hard as white people to get ahead.” It can interfere with goal development, sense of accomplishment, and motivation for success and relationship. At worst it can lead to depression, a distortion of how one exists in the world, and intense anger. 

A Book to Read

One book that I recently read I would recommend to anybody.  The name of the book is “Freakonomics,” by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.  This novel is based on economics and they reveal a lot of unhidden truths about our society.  Steven D. Levitt is an economist. Stephen J. Dubner is a writer. They co-authored Freakonomics, a book about cheating teachers, bizarre baby names, self-dealing Realtors, and crack-selling mama’s boys. They figured it would sell about 80 copies. Instead, it has sold 4 million, in 35 languages. Then they wroteSuperFreakonomics. It also became a worldwide best-seller. A lot of other stuff happened, too. A blog. A movie. A radio show. Jon Stewart and Beauty and the Geek. A pair of pants! Now, at long last, all things Freakonomics are here in one place. Welcome to the new Freakonomics.com.  Some of the bizarre questions they ask in the book are things like “Which is more dangerous, a gun or a swimming pool? What do schoolteachers and sumo wrestlers have in common? Why do drug dealers still live with their moms? How much do parents really matter? How did the legalization of abortion affect the rate of violent crime?”  After you read this book, you’ll have a different opinion on how and why we do the things we do in our economy and Levitt covers a lot of topics in an interesting and catchy way.  It’s a must read!

Movie Review

One movie I would recommend everybody to watch is , “Don’t be a Menace in South Central while Drinking your Juice in the Hood” yes that’s the title…all of that.  The movie was produced and written by the wayans family.  Directed by Paris Barclay produced by Keenan Ivory Wayans.  Don't Be a Menace to South Central While Drinking Your Juice in the Hood is a 1996 hood film/comedy film. Similar to the Wayans' previous effort I'm Gonna Git You Sucka, the film spoofs a number of black, coming-of-age, 'hood films' such as Juice, Jungle Fever, South Central, Higher Learning, Do The Right Thing, Poetic Justice, New Jack City, Dead Presidents, Friday, and most prominently Boyz n the Hood and Menace II Society, all primarily released between 1988 and 1995, and also mixes the names of a few of those titles to form the long title of the film. Some actors in the film also starred in the films the movie parodies, a few even in the same scenes and characters.  I really like the movie because it sends messages in a comedic aspect.  They cover a lot of controversial topics and stereotypes such as, single families, teenage parents, drugs, alcohol, police, and society as whole.  Movies such as Scary Movie 1-however many of them there are get their ideas of spoofing a lot of movies to make one big funny movie from this movie.

Art Review

The Artistic Bombing Crew, better known as ABC, are a graffiti group from a neighborhood in Chicago called Logan Square and these artist originated in the mid 1980s.  The group is known for tagging on property in the Logan Square and the rest of the North side Chicago area.  They’re most famously known for their tagging on the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) trains.  The graffiti on the trains were considered a million dollar problem according to the CTA chief administrative officer.  In the 1980s, the police department made an intense effort to catch and arrest any tagger they would see in the Chicago area.  It was so hard to catch these taggers because they did most of their work at night and they wore all black or even camouflage so the police would have a hard time seeing and catching the vandals.  ABC has caught a number of headlines in newspapers.  Here are some of the names of the articles ABC grased :

Chicago Sun-Times- “Yearly CTA Graffiti Tab is $1 Million (1985)

Chicago Tribune- “Writing’s on the Wall: CTA’s Graffiti Worsens” (1985)

Chicago Reader- Excerpt (1985)

Chicago Tribune- “Gangs play Graffiti Tag, CTA’s It!” (1985)  

Spraycan Art (1987)

Chicago Suntimes- “Exhibit Tags Graffiti as Art” (1985)

Chicago Suntimes – “Tag it as Art, Graffiti Gang gets a Patron” (1989)

Chicago Reader- “Art Faces: Neo-Graffiti by Erik Debat, aka Risk” (1990

We have the Right

I think we should have to right to sample other people’s instrumentals and different sounds to make new music.  I really don’t see the reason on people suing other people for using sometimes only like 5 seconds of somebody’s song.  Some people believe that sampling is an exhibition of a lack of creativity.  I, on the other hand, don’t think of it that way.  You also have to have a level of creativity to even construct a new version and instrumental that was already used before.  Sometimes you speed the sample up, or you slow it down to match whatever tempo or style you’re trying to pursue.  But if that’s the game people want to play with the whole sampling business, and then individuals should also be paid for their drum set pieces.  I can’t count how many times I’ve heard the same snare pattern on a song over and over and over again.  Those people don’t get paid a dime.  But the one hit wonders who are short on money and need to be petty get all of the money when they hear 3 tenths of a second of one of their songs played.  If you’re going to play the game, play the game fairly.  

X is known

Malcolm X is known throughout the entire world and I think that everybody knows his story and his teachings.  Even though X is known throughout the world, people still favor Martin Luther King.  The reason why I believe that Martins teachings are implemented more that Malcolm simply because Martin was more peaceful than Malcolm.  Martin believe more of a “let’s wait and see if the white man will change their ways” type of attitude, hence his famous “Letters from Birmingham Jail.”  Martin thought that whites knew that they were doing wrong but eventually they’ll realize that they were in the wrong and they’ll finally come to peace with blacks.  This indeed wasn’t the case but Martin was at a standstill.  Malcolm, on the other hand had a view that if the white man wasn’t going to give it to him, he would take it.  He didn’t wait for anybody to give him stuff and he didn’t act for favoritism.  He wanted everything allocated fair and square.  In the speech, “Ballot or the Bullet, “Malcolm describes how if the white man can’t treat the black man equally, he wants to disassociate the black race with the white race and start their own community.  Idk, I just think that the media would rather respect a black man who doesn’t fight back in opposed to a black man who fights.

X marks the spot

X marks the spot where people defend for themselves and don’t take s*** from anybody.  There’s a little bit of Malcolm X in everybody.  Whenever you have an extreme view or belief about something and you’re willing to fight for it, that’s the Malcolm X in you.  Everybody has a little bit on rebellious attributes in they’re personality.  I don’t know why this is but hey, you can’t do anything about it.  When people think about Malcolm X, the first thing that comes to mind is that he’s just this violent soul that hates the white race.  I don’t think that’s the case.  I think that Malcolm just thought that blacks weren’t getting a fair chance to succeed in life so that’s what angered him.  All the opportunities that were provided for the whites weren’t provided for the blacks and I really don’t know why.  So I kind of see why Malcolm did some of the stuff he did and said some of the stuff he said because it was out of anger.

album track

So I’m guessing the Album/Track blog has to do with the movie we just saw in class last week.  SO basically the movie was about how a wide variety of artist and different producers sample different bits and pieces of old songs, instrumentals, and things of that nature.  Even if the sample was only 2 seconds or just one snare flam, they still considered this as a sample.  Back in the day it wasn’t really a big deal, but once these old ass has-beens started going broke, they started being petty and looked for the smallest chord or instrumental they had in their song and tried to sue and received all of the royalties.  One of the most famous samplers I came across in the movie was a drummer by the name of Clyde Sshutterfield.

I know this means something

I don’t really know if “this” means anything so I googled the 4^th of February to see what was historically significant on this day. Soooooooooooooooo I came across the Barbie doll.  YAAAYYYYYYY!!!.  Today was the first day of the invention of the Barbie Doll. This doll was created by Ruth Handler, who was one of the founders of the Mattel Company. Barbie was named after Ruth’s daughter. Later on, when the Ken doll was made, it was named after Ruth’s son.  Barbie is a fashion doll manufactured by the American toy-company Mattel, Inc. and launched in March 1959. American business woman Ruth Handler is credited with the creation of the doll using a German doll called Bild Lilli as her inspiration.

Barbie is the figurehead of a brand of Mattel dolls and accessories, including other family members and collectible dolls. Barbie has been an important part of the toy fashion doll market for fifty years, and has been the subject of numerous controversies and lawsuits, often involving parody of the doll and her lifestyle.

Recipe

There are a lot of fine dishes in the world and there are a lot of unique recipes out there.  I would say that my favorite recipe of all time would have to be the recipe to make French toast from scratch.  I came across this recipe when I was about 8 or 9 years old when I saw my mom making French toast.  I was so eager to know things back then so I asked my mom how to make it and so she did just that.  The first thing you have to do is gather all of your ingredients.  You will need cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, sugar, bread, milk, and eggs, oh and a bowl.  Once you get the bowl, you’ll crack as many eggs as you want (depending on how hungry you are).  Then you add the cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla extract, sugar, and milk in the bowl and mix it up.  After you mix it well enough you dip the bread in the bowl until it covers both sides of the bread.  Put it on the skillet and enjoy and wait for it to be done then enjoy!

Food Review

The hottest food spot in the west loop of Chicago, IL is Ella’s Corner.  Ella’s Corner is on the corner of Loomis St. & Jackson Blvd.  The owner of the restaurant, and the cashier, Gordon Torres (aka Gordie) started the restaurant in the early 90s and had a vision that’ll change the way people eat.  Gordie knew that the demand for sit down cultural restaurants was slowly decreasing so he decided to make a hot dog and burger joint.  He built the restaurant on the corner or Loomis and Jackson simply because it was next to two important institutions, The Police Academy and Whitney Young.  This was smart because he knew all of the students and future policemen and women would need to eat something hot and quick when they were on their lunch break (not to mention quite tasty).  Ella’s menu consists of things that Chicagoans like the most, hot dogs and burgers.  Obviously those are not the only things on the menu, he has a wide variety.  You can get anything from, chicken, pizza, pizza puffs, fries, fish, and even salad.  I can say from experience that the chicken Cesar salad is one of the best things on the menu.  Ella’s opens and closes at the best times of the day. He opens shop at 10:30 and closes at 4:30.  I believe that’s smart because after 4:30 most of the students and cops are on their way home from school so they wont be in the area.  Needless to say, Gordie wouldn’t make any money if he extended his hours to the evening.  Without a doubt, I think Ella’s Corner is a great place to eat and I recommend anybody who’s in the west loop area to stop buy and grab a bite.

King still King?

I understand the Martin Luther King, Jr. did a lot for the black community and for every individual of color, but I don’t think he is still King in today’s society.  I believe this is so because people don’t even appreciate what he did for our country.  People don’t even pay homage for him when we have a day off because of his birthday.  It means nothing to people anymore and it’s sickening.  I’ll be honest, I didn’t even know it was his birthday until I found out we didn’t have school on Monday.  Like I believe that for my generation, Martin Luther King doesn’t really mean anything to us because we are reaping the benefits those generations paved for us.  I believe that my parents and my grandparents appreciate the man more because they saw and lived through the struggle.  As a whole, my generation hasn’t experienced segregation in our whole lives.  We like to think that we have but that isn’t the case.  I do think that besides the kids getting a day off of school, the adults should get a day off of work because they made this day possible for us and they actually appreciate what Martin Luther King has done for our society.  Without him I probably won’t be at the school that I’m at today because they name of the man my schools is named after learned from Martin Luther King.  I also wouldn’t have the diversified collection of friend that I have today.  That’s what I think on whether or not King should still be King in today’s world.

I'm a Shoe

If I were a shoe I would be a Jordan.  I know its kind of obvious but come on now lets be serious?  I don’t think anybody is on my level when it comes to the Jordan brand.  Before im 23, ill have every single retro from 1-23.  It just be like that sometimes ;).  I like jordans so much because theyre probably the most comfortable shoe on the planet.  If your trying to style & profile, or your playing on the court, the Jordan shoe will look right and feel right with whatever you do.  I don’t really like Jordan team shoes, im more of a retro guy.  So far, I have the 1s, 6s, 7s, 8s, 11s, 12s, 13s, 14s, 17s, 18s, 19s, and the 2k9s.  My favorite Jordan that I don’t already have is the retro 5 and the 10s.  Perry Beals has the retro 5s with the original color way and I hate him for that.  He always rubs it in that he has the 5s and I don’t.  One day ill have the 5s in my possession and everything will be all good yo.  I think every NBA player that is sponsored by Jordan shouldn’t come out with they’re own shoe.  I say this because the Jordan shoe dynasty is so profound that no other shoe can compare to the retro shoe.  I think its somewhat of a mockery.  So as I conclude, I believe that the Michael Jordan retro basketball shoe is unlike no other and everybody should cop a pair.  SWAG SWAG!

poemblog

As we lay here..deep in the sheets...I look into your eyes..
You make my life complete
The clock is ticking..time goes on
I can't believe that you're still with me...your love is long
When the suns out..people play..people dance..people live...people are happy
During this time everythings good..
But when it rains...will you still be here? It'll be nice if you could.
But I know..things change..people change..lovers move on..chemistry dies
But like a flower..it'll always spring back up with a little warmth...will that be the next time I look in your eyes?
People trust..people love..people forgive
But damn what people do..will your love for me still live?
The chemistry must live...our love must live
For you I'm willing to give..
Everything....
Everything..
For you I'm willing to give everything..
LOVE

Globalization

1.    Many people can develop an argument on whether or not the globalization of soccer is good or bad.  I can honesty understand the view points of both sides of the argument to its worth discussing.  One can argue that the globalization has been for the good simply because as labor mobility among soccer players has increased, there has been a decline in team inequality at the country level.  Meaning, now that players from the entire world are seen playing for any type of soccer club, the teams are more balanced and it urges a sense on competiveness throughout the world of soccer.  Another point is that if you look at a pro for economic globalization it can be said that globalization give corporations a greater flexibility to operate across borders and that global mass media ties the world together.  Soccer’s global popularity can be for the good for the world because it gives everybody a common ground of interest.  One disadvantage of the globalization of soccer is how citizens bring certain racial and bias slurs into the game.  There’s a whole chapter in the novel (chap. 3) that discusses how fans at first didn’t accept Jewish Soccer players.  In chapter 6, they discuss in the beginning how police would question Nigerians on why they are in their town.  In the text, it states that, “Because they were trained to be suspicious of visitors, and because Edward looked so different, the police pulled him aside and said “Why have you come to Ukraine.” This happened before the globalization of African soccer players playing in the European leagues so these players stuck out and were talked about.