1 Week Down, 14 to Go

I started school on Monday. I usually get up at 5 am, because the bus comes at 6:04 am, and then have free time till my class starts at 7:30 am. My classes usually get out at 10:20 or 11:15 am, so I'm usually home by noon.

I have an Espanol 1010 class Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. So far we have learned the alphabet, how to write the date (Hoy es el 29 de agosto de 2009) how to say our name (Me llamo Stephanie), how to ask someone their name (Como te llamas?), basic greetings and responses (Como estas?, Que hay de nuevo?, Buenos dias, Buena noches, Buenas tardes, Que tal?, Muy Buen, Nos Vernos, Y tu? and Hasta Manana, Mucho gusto, igualmente, De Donde eres?, De Nada) and some phrases (A mi me mima mi mama).

I have an American Lit: Modern class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We're reading The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers for the next 3 weeks. It's pretty good so far. My professor also assigned us to read The Egg by Sherwood Anderson and some Robert Frost poems.

I have a British Lit: Renaissance class Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We read The Courtier by Castiglione and some history of the Tudors and Stuarts. In class, we have had small group discussions about the pages we have read.

I having a Drawing class Tuesday and Thursday for 3 hours. So far, my professor has sent us to the library and made us find pictures on the internet and draw them to the best of our ability.

The Courtier

In Castiglione's The Courtier, there is a discussion about timeless topics such as beauty and love which could be relevant in this time period as well, because women are killing themselves as the price of beauty and young people are always looking to date people who are "hot." The conversation seems to go back and forth, trying to find a definition of love and beauty, as well as if beauty goes all the way through or only in the eye of the beholder. The male characters state their sexist judgments about women, listing all the things women should do for their looks and their wifely duties, while making men look like supreme beings.

Their discussion reminds me of the song "Do I Love You Because You're Beautiful" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical, Cinderella. The prince sings to Cinderella, after seeing her at the ball, "Do I love you because you're beautiful or are you beautiful because I love you?" Like the men in this story, the Prince had seen Cinderella, when she was in her work clothes with smudges on her face and didn't give her a second glance till she put on a dress and got dolled up by her fairy Godmother.

In the same song, Cinderella's prince also sings, "Are you really as wonderful as you seem?" which goes along with M. Morello's argument: "Looks and words may be, and oftentimes are, false witnesses." Peter Bembo's statement of "I say beauty cometh of God and is like a circle, the goodness whereof is the center," meaning if beauty is on the outside, then surely it is on the inside. Haven't some of the world's most gruesome serial killers like Jeffrey Dahmer also been good looking and charming?

Romantic

Neoclassic

British Literature: Renaissance

Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe
The Faerie Queen by Edmund Spencer
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
Paradise Lost by John Milton
Utopia by Thomas More

My Glass Mosaic

Mermaid

Modern American Reading List

As I Lay Dying by William Faulkner
Cannery Row by John Steinbeck
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers
Member of the Wedding by Carson McCullers
My Antonia by Willa Cather
O Pioneers by Willa Cather
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
The Sound and the Fury by William Faulknmer
Tender is the Night by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
This Side of Paradise by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Creek Street

Las Vegas

On Monday July 6th, We drove to Vegas. We stayed at the Desert Rose Resort in a condo. When we got there, we went to Panda Express and the Disney Outlet at the Belz Factory Outlet Mall.

On Tuesday July 7th, Mom and I went to the Town Square mall, which is an outdoor mall, while Dad was in his IRS conference. We tried Yogurtland. We got the strawberry and cheesecake yogurt with strawberries, cheesecake bites, and white chocolate chips as toppings. For dinner we went to Sammy's Woodfired Pizza, which is like California Pizza Kitchen. After dinner, we walked around Fremont Street, where we tried a Deep Fried Twinkie at a casino called Mermaids. It was pretty messy, and had chocolate sprinkles and powder sugar on top of it.

On Wednesday July 8th, Mom and I went to the Meadows Mall. For dinner we went to this Mexican restaurant called Macayo Vegas and it was good. Then we checked out the Palazzo hotel, which is the newest on the strip, and connected to the Venetian.


On Thursday July 9th, Mom and I went to the Fashion Show Mall, which is on the strip. We also went to Target, Ross, and other stores on Blue Diamond road. For dinner, we went to Memphis Championship Barbecue, which had really good smoked Turkey.


Today, we drove home.

The Proposal

My Mom and I went to see The Proposal yesterday afternoon. We have a theatre 7 blocks from our house. We both thought the film was cute, probably the best chick flick I have seen in a long time. Ryan Reynolds, Betty White, and Oscar Nunez are all hilarious and Sandra is great as always. I give it 7.5 out of 10.

Renovations

When I was trying to take these photos, Patches seemed to want to wander into them.  She loves her new yard. 

Orlando

On Friday May 1st, My Mom, Dad, and I flew to Orlando with a layover in Denver. We stayed in a hotel the first night and the rest of week, stayed at a condo at the Westgate Resorts on International Drive:

On Saturday, went to the Festival Bay Mall, Sonny's BBQ, and VF Factory outlet:

On Sunday, we spend the day at Sea World:

Then we went to Downtown Disney and got some ice cream and did some shopping:

On Monday, we went to Epcot. The park was having their annual garden festival where they make characters out of bushes and flowers:

On Tuesday, we went to the International Drive Flea Market and the Orlando Premium Outlets:

Then we went to Downtown Disney and took the shuttle over to the Disney Boardwalk:


On Wednesday, we spent the day at Magic Kingdom:

On Thursday, we spent the morning and afternoon at Disney's Hollywood Studios:

Then we went and ate at TGI Fridays and walked around Old Town in Kissimmee:


On Friday we went to the Lake Buena Vista Factory Outlets, the 192 Flea Market, Sonny's BBQ, and the Florida Mall:


Before we went to the airport on Saturday, we went to a farmer's market and then drove out to Cocoa Beach: On our way home we had a stop in Austin and Denver, but didn't have to get off the plane.

American Literature: Natural & Realistic

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
The Awakening by Kate Chopin
Daisy Miller by Henry James
Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
Maggie: a Girl on the Streets by Stephen Crane
Sister Carrie by Theodore Dreiser

Naturalism & Realism

For my American Lit final, we had to define Naturalism and Realism, using quotes from authors:

Naturalism:

"For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you"- Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass

“One cannot violate the promptings of one's nature without having that nature recoil upon itself. "-Jack London

“I remember a hundred lovely lakes, and recall the fragrant breath of pine and fir and cedar and poplar trees. The trail has strung upon it, as upon a thread of silk, opalescent dawns and saffron sunsets.”-Hamlin Garland

"Vinnie [Dickinson's sister] rocks her Garden and moans that God won't help her. I suppose he is too busy getting angry with the Wicked every day"- Emily Dickinson

“The creator who could put a cancer in a believer's stomach is above being interfered with by prayers”- Bret Harte

"Her seductive voice, together with his great love for her, had enthralled his sense, had deprived him of every impulse but the longing to hold her and keep her"- Kate Chopin, The Awakening

"Yet, man, in his simplicity and complacency and inability to cipher, thinks nature regards him as the important member of the family-- in fact, her favorite. Surely, it must occur to even his dull head, sometimes, that she has a curious way of showing it" - Mark Twain, Following the Equator

"I can see no limit to the amount of change, to the beauty and infinite complexity of the co-adaptations between all organic things. . ."- Charles Darwin

"When it occurs to a man that nature does not regard him as important, and that she feels she would not maim the universe by disposing of him, he at first wishes to throw bricks at the temple, and he hates deeply the fact that there are no bricks and no temples. " — Stephen Crane

Realism
“Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away"- Philip K. Dick

"In the desert
I saw a creature, naked, bestial,
Who, squatting upon the ground,
Held his heart in his hands,
And ate of it.
I said, 'Is it good, friend?'
'It is bitter -- bitter,' he answered,
'But I like it
Because it is bitter,
And because it is my heart.'"
— Stephen Crane

"If we'd stop trying to be happy we could have a pretty good time"- Edith Wharton

" Impossibilities are merely things which we have not yet learned. "-Charles W. Chesnutt

"And woman should stand beside man as the comrade of his soul, not the servant of his body. "-Charlotte Perkins Gilman

“To be hanged and drown that is not so bad; but I do not wish to be shot. No; I will not be shot; that is not fair"-Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

"You go through life like a perambulating prayer-wheel, a friend of nobody but the righteous, and the righteous are those who agree with you as to what is right"- Jack London, The House of Pride

"A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it begins to rain"- Mark Twain

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails"- William Arthur Ward

"Most people live, whether physically, intellectually or morally, in a very restricted circle of their potential being. They make use of a very small portion of their possible consciousness, and of their soul's resources in general, much like a man who, out of his whole bodily organism, should get into a habit of using and moving only his little finger. Great emergencies and crises show us how much greater our vital resources are than we had supposed"- Henry James

Art Final Project

For my final project, I wanted make a collage to be representation of an actual pier named Creek Street in Ketchikan, Alaska, because I loved the architecture and how all the buildings were on docks on the water. I thought the pictures of it were peaceful and reminded me of places I have been in the Caribbean. I thought the houses would be a good focal point and felt the picture fit into my theme of art and nature. I wanted to show how something humans built can be just as beautiful as the nature that surrounds it.

I wanted to incorporate the way Gary Vlasic at the Phillips Gallery made a form out of different pieces of magazines and/or paint. I also liked the way Fred Tomaselli incorporated different images into his collage, Head, as seen in the textbook, and how his use of black brightened the other colors. When I did the rough draft with the houses in a primary color scheme, I felt there was something missing, with no trees and/or water. I started looking at all the magazines around my house and found pictures of trees and skies that fit into my color scheme

For my final draft, I made a mixed media collage on a foam white board using a color scheme of red, yellow orange, green, and blue violet. I made two houses, sky, trees, and the dock boards out of mod podging pictures from art magazines, newspapers, and other magazines I had around my house. I also painted the windows yellow orange and the doorways blue violet, and painted the dock and the roofs black. . I also hid a few forms of human silhouettes that fit into my color scheme. I also wanted the dock board to be reflective of the houses.

The House of Pride

In Jack London's story The House of Pride, the main character and "negative organism" Percival Ford annoyed me throughout the story. It seems like all he was full of hatred towards anybody who was different than him and all he did was complain about his surroundings and comment on how better he was than everybody else: "He was different from them--from all of them." You would think someone living in Hawaii would lighten up.

There is he is "sitting under the algaroba trees between the lanai and the beach" in Hawaii and all he can do is judge the female dancers for their "bare shoulders and arms" instead of taking in the view of the land and sea. Percival reflects on how the women he has dated are different than the "frightening" army women: "He ruled those women by virtue of his superior mentality, his great wealth, and the high place he occupied in the commercial baronage of Hawaii." He also doesn't get along with the army men who he claims " were like their women!"

Dr. Kennedy even sees what kind of person Percival is and describes him perfectly: "You go through life like a perambulating prayer-wheel, a friend of nobody but the righteous, and the righteous are those who agree with you as to what is right." Percival is stunned to learn from Dr. Kennedy, that Joe Garland, who Percival believes "is bad and immoral," is his half-brother.

Percival continues on his path of negativity and feels "shame" for his father's actions: "He was appalled by what was in his blood." Instead of embracing his half-brother, he tells Joe " "I want you to go and never come back" and offers him " Five hundred down and two hundred a month as long as you stay away" and only when Joe takes the offer does Percival smile.

Salt Lake Field Trip

Song of the Flesh Series 17 by Gary Vlasic at the Phillips Gallery

Form: This is a mixed media collage. The colors are red, blue, white, and green. The artist has cut out pictures of jewelry, a duck's head, bugs, and different colors to make twigs. Diagonally he has put the quote" We shall see the sky sparkling with diamonds."

Meaning: The theme is art and nature, with a representation of woodland creatures such as ducks and bugs, mixed with sticks. I believe with adding the jewelry, he wanted to say that the woodland creatures deserve recognition of beauty as much as jewelry does.

Success: this was my favorite piece of his art, because it was unique. it wasn't formed to make a human being like the others. I liked it because of the words he added as well.

Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem by Sam Wilson at the Cathedral of the Madelaine

Form: This painting shows Jesus carrying his cross diagonally while images of women either cry or pray for him, while images of flowers, decorate the corners. The color scheme is southwestern using black, purple, red, orange, yellow, green, and blue.

Meaning: The theme is sacred realm, with religious iconography of the moments before Jesus' crucifixion and his followers' reactions to what is happening. I think the message is to remind churchgoers about the sacrifices Jesus made in order to save the world. I think the corner flowers are there to remind us of the resurrection and Easter.

Success: I am a religious person and I think this painting has a very powerful message of faith. I think it is very visually moving with its theme and images. I think the big wooden frame adds a lot to the painting as well.

A +B (It is too late, sit down) by Ike Bushman at SLC Library

Form: It is a triptych featuring digital print and acrylic on masonite. The color scheme is a monochromatic green, with brown and beige. The focal point are the brown sticks and green circles. it is a non-representational work of art. it looks like he has also carved lines in the background or painted over lines he didn't like.

Meaning: The theme is looking outward and taking the time to view art, hence the title. It could also be art and nature, if someone interprets it as brown sticks and green leaves.

Success: This piece definitely caught my eye, because of its earth tone colors and its calming effect. he does center his objects in the middle of the piece, but I don't think it would have been as effective to balance them elsewhere on the canvas.

Lighthouses

Roman Fever

Edith Wharton in her story Roman Fever, describes a conversation between two women, Mrs. Grace Ansley and Mrs. Alida Slade, who used to be friends, and "run across each other in Rome, at the same hotel." "Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley had lived opposite each other—actually as well as figuratively—for years," both marrying and having children of their own, losing touch with their friendship and growing older apart.

After reconnecting, "these two ladies visualized each other, each through the wrong end of her little telescope." Their reconnection is awkward, like being at a high school reunion, where you haven't seen each other for a while, and know nothing about what the person has been doing since then. It's hard to visualize your friends having a life without you, when this person used to be a close confidant and you still picture them as their unchanged childhood selves.

"For a long time they continued to sit side by side without speaking" and "Mrs. Ansley was slightly embarrassed by what seemed, after so many years, a new stage in their intimacy, and one with which she did not yet know how to deal." If someone is not around their friends for a while, you lose common interests and the ability to relate. It does make it hard to converse and relate to someone about the present, which is why people are so nostalgic.

When they talk to each other they talk about "bridge games" and their daughter's lives, and their past together, revealing their friendship ended over fighting over Delphin Slade. Mrs. Ansley's revelation about her daughter Barbara proves that sometimes the past isn't worth being brought up, in response to Mrs. Slade saying " I had everything; I had him for twenty-five years. And you had nothing but that one letter that he didn't write." Sometimes it is best to just let the past die.