http://kanyewest.com/

Kanye West had a vision of what he knew his music should be and thats exactly what he did on his new album. He has come up with his own signature sound that would be very hard to emulate. The rap music that we are used to hearing is so one dimensional , there are the lyrics over a beat just track after track. I have been listening to the album since thanksgiving and i still can't completely wrap my head around it. The one thing that I know for sure is that it is one hell of an album. Most albums are 50% killer 50% filler it is so rare that every song on the album is worth listening to multiple times. The album varies from what we expect from Kayne with old school samples integrated into his beats (see devil in a new dress) to something new like runaway which is a fusion in between 808 and Heartbreak and Graduation.

Jay and Nick

What a friendship, one is a man with everything he wants but is missing the one thing he needs. The other does not know the lap of such luxury first hand but experiences it second hand. There has been so much talk of people being fake in this time it is almost weaved into the culture of the time. Each feeds off the other which is the realest relationship that exists. It is so natural a good example is the whale and the little fish that eat the plankton and parasites off of its hide. Without the feeders the whale would probably die from all of the parasites and scum on its back, without the whale the feeders would not be able to live and would die because of starvation. The same is true of jay and nick. Nick gets to live the highlife and become accepted into the elitist circle and in exchange all he has to do is try to get him reconnected with the love of his life. Which oddly enough would sound a lot harder than it actually is, GO FIGURE. Neither has to sacrifice very much if at all, I wish I had a friend like Jay Gatsby. Gatsby could control the entire situation around him if that was what he wanted to. He could you use his mob like connections to have Tom terminated and then when Daisy is not doing too well trying to support herself and not go into tremendous debt this stranger could step in and solve all of her problems and through time it would turn out it was her long lost lover. There is no way nick is really being used in such a horrible way because after all Gatsby could be reunited without him.

Winter Poem

Winter is the grim reaper of the seasons, the executioner of green and the mother of gray.

We pretend to love for the holidays and that sense of rebirth in the new year.

Really we're just surrounded by the passing of the seasons, from life to death.

From our fat summer existence, holding on, clinging to the memories of the warmth we felt not so long ago.

But yet the summer breeze is dissolved, the orange leaves are starting to decay and all that is left is the cold prison of winter.

But no reason to be afraid, there is that glimmer right over the rooftops, it is the golden light of spring.

That glimpse is what we live for, our only inspiration to survive this season of death and despair.

Slowly counting our days; the days to the warmth and rejuvenation of summer.

Even when is seems that it will never end it begins to warm.

The thaw starts from the toes and works it way up and by the time it gets to our heads and we fully realize it, that glimpse of spring is no longer a glimpse, but our reality.

What I am thankful for

I am thankful for just as many thing as everybody else, no more no less. I apreciate all the little things no one thinks get appreciated. The little things are the things that matter, things like bringing someone a ready made pb and j or occasionally the giving out of fragranced hand lotions. Maybe its not taking offense to some of the nasty things that can be said about certain unsaid clothing items, which may or may not be from a maternial section of Macy's or from other fancy department store. All of the above are just little things that Lauren Jeong does that make my day or at least my second class of the day a little bit better. I have known Lauren since I was in seventh grade but we really bonded on a friday, when I had a tramatic expierence at one cold stone creamery, but this is not importnant, at all, what so ever, the story does not matter, never has, never will. After that we very became good friends and confidants until the end of that year when she decided to be a hot shot and transfer to the Whitney Young Academic Center Program. Now as we have become reunited and see each other on a near daily basis the bond is stronger than ever. Her ability to be a loving person regardless to the situation has never been taken for granted and i love and apreciate her for it. Now lets not forget about the other people in the class that I am "thankful" for such as Gordon Bentley. Gordon is that little finishing touch or a crushing blow to how a class period is going. What I mean is that if we are doing something in a group he can provide that little insight or comment that can help to answerer the question, Or he can take a class from being productive to just goofing around, just kidding that has never happened. He is a very good student and cares a lot about the class.

Hamster

Hamster: "This lively pet hamster will keep you company throughout the day. Watch him run on his wheel, drink water, and eat the food you feed him by clicking your mouse. Click the center of the wheel to make him get back on it."

I am a Plow

I am getting sick and tired of being used to move the dirties and least sanitary substance on this planet, DIRT. I just get used all the time I don't have any real friends nobody cares about me. Nobody even goes to the trouble of cleaning me because they just figure ill get dirty anyway, but what can i do. Maybe one day I just don't start than I will either have my guys ripped apart and put back together or  I will be compacted into a square of metal the size of a sugar cube. Maybe it is not as bad as i think it is maybe my existence does have meaning, I have made the lives of manual laborers easier by doing their job quicker and more efficiently than they ever could of. I have helped build the greatest monuments of the human race since my birth. O but the things I have been apart of the graves that I have dug the trenches I have made, but we all have participated in acts that we wish we hadn't, right? Remember when farmers had to go and dig and plant the seeds themselves now I do half of that job. I have made the advancement of your race more rapid and exponentially easier. The next time you see me out doing my thing don't be afraid to stop by and tell me you appreciate me, I never get any love because I plow through dirt and I spend way too much time with the worms.

Evaluation

I like being creative, therefore I like this class. The assignments that we have had to do such as the blogs and independent reading projects have given me lots of freedom to express my idea the way that i want to so i can get the point across that i need to. It is great to not be trapped inside a creative box, although i dislike taking notes. Lets be honest taking notes sucks and completely takes any enjoyment you get out of reading. I don't read unless i have to because taking notes have just ruined it, when I read I look for things that i would write down in my notes and not following the plot. Notes ruin reading ask any kid who has had to do them and i more than promise that 9/10 kids say it has been ruined by it, i guarantee it.

Modern Day Slavery

This may be a bit of a stretch, but the way student athletes are used at big university is some what like slavery. They have to spend long hours doing extremely strenuous work and don't get paid a dollar amount but by receiving more work on top  of the sport they are play. Being a student and passing all of your classes and still being able to compete at one of the highest levels of play is the real achievement, forget winning any major titles they should just get a trophy for being on the field every week. The colleges especially division one colleges make a fortune each season from ticket, apparel, and concession sales just at the stadiums alone, not to mention buying stuff online or at a store off campus. While these students may be receiving an education without cost these players have to have money to pay for things like clothes and transportation not to mention food and other essentials. These athletes parents shouldn't have to be giving their kids an allowance while they are at college, and it isn't like they could keep a job because of all the hours they have to put into practice and games. Its no wonder there are so many cases of these student athletes taking free stuff or special treatment. Who wouldn't want to accept something in return for their endless hours of hard work, I know that i sure would. Plus what is so wrong about accepting it, who made that rule? While i can see the harms that it could have on the athletes maybe a no tolerance policy is not the way to go I think that there should be a limit in how much free stuff you can get a month, a couple meals here and there some new clothes that could never hurt anyone.

Leaders never follow

The town of Salem would be a good look into the future of American politics. The witch trials represent how intollerant of differences the public can be. I think that the witch trials and the injustices before the civil rights movement are eerily similar. In the south Black males were often accused of crimes they didn't commit for reason that were unknown to them, in Salem peoples accused of witch craft had never actually commited the crime but were just suspected because of their look and or how they acted. This is how it was like in the civil rights movement people of color were randomly selected and accused of crimes that most of the times they did not commit. As we can see that through out the history of Salem, that I know of. The towns people also reacted harshly to Hepziba because they assumed that she was a mean old woman because of how she looked.

Baseball is America

I knew i love baseball in 2005 when the Chicago White Sox won the world series. My love for the game has only increased since. I always loved the game don't get me wrong, one of my favorite things to do when i was younger was play. I would look forward to playing my games on the weekend, especially because my dad was my coach until i was in sixth grade. I think that is the reason why I love it so much, whenever i think of baseball i always think of my family or just of really good times with better friends. I have never looked forward to something as much I have been looking forward to this baseball season. There is no way that this year's jv team is not going to be dominate not to mention how fun the year is going to be also.  

John Procter is

John Proctor is the man, he is smart enough to see through the BS of the rumors of witch craft going around the town and does not give into the panic that follows. I admire John Proctor most for his intellect, while mostly everybody else gave into the hysteria he stayed out of it. This was probably because he knew what Abigail's true intentions were not to free herself from the grasp of the devil but to draw the attention of the town upon her and to hopefully win back her once lover, yours truly. While John did not give in could you really say that you would of been immune to it if you didn't have the inside scoop about what was going on. I don't know if i really would have been, a modern day example is islamaphobia. I know that the stereo types about Muslims are not all true but I know this because of out side sources but in Salem there were no outside sources to speak of. What I am trying to say is that the great fear that took place during that time was not as crazy as it may seem today, whether  that fear was real enough to justify the killing of what we know as innocent citizens, I don't think so.     

Us VS Them

When in a conflict it is almost human nature to stay loyal to your argument rather than admit what you said was wrong and agree with the other person. We would rather argue our point to the death that admit we were wrong. This has happened to all of us whether or not it was a big argument or just a simple disagreement between friends we  feel that if we agree with the other person we relinquish the rights that we have and become a lesser person. In a way this is exactly the opposite by agreeing with the other person you can show that you are a smart enough person to realize when you are wrong and to not give into the pigheadedness expected of us. While our human culture would not be the same if everyone always agreed with one another we would probably set back to the stone ages if fierce rivalries or just the drive to accomplish or create something just because we were told that we couldn't. But maybe that competitive drive is what keeps us moving forward, forward towards the next big discovery, the next big invention, the next big innovation, the next big THING really. That drive is what makes mankind a hideous and wonderful thing, would Gandhi have liberated the Indian people from the British if he agreed with what they were doing, or would the British have ever delved into affairs in India if not for the competition between European nations in that time. If the competitive nature of mankind did not exist would there be new ideas and if there these ideas would stand uncontested without a doubt in anyones mind that they were a good idea. If not for the competitive nature of our race we could still be in caves roasting rabbits on a spit or worse than that we wouldn't even exist.

Is there a free pass to the afterlife?

The Puritans of the new world were something else, if they existed in todays world they would be highly controversial and one of the most talked about subjects in the media. These people had no question in their mind that there was a heaven or hell, they did not question what they were told by their leaders. They knew of no other way of life so when someone who traveled around came and told them that if they weren't perfect in God's eye they would have to suffer eternal damnation. This would be extremely scary for anybody put in this situation keep in mind that these people didn't know any other way of life what the pastors said was law because religious figures also were in charge of the government. They must have done an extremely good job of suppressing the mind of the masses to because to that among all of these people not one person doubted what they were told enough to speak up. I think this is how the madness of the Salem Witch trials started, literally, god forbid somebody question the church they were accused of the unthinkable and just like that in the eyes of everone you lost your chance to go to heaven.

There goes the neighborhood

There goes the neighborhood can have so many different meanings and be used in so many different situations. I think a good example is the new wave of so called rappers who don't rely on their rhymes or flow but on their vocals singing their raps. Wale and Kid Cudi are the first generation of these but I'm sure that more of them are going to come because of how successful they have become. I will take a lyricist over anything a great example of an up and coming is Whitney Young's very own Vic Mensa. His lyrics not only have meaning but uses vocabulary that you wouldn't expect to hear and makes it work with an amazing flow. Gucci Mane and Waka Flocka are modern day Junior Mafia because of how they talk about the life of crime that they lived before they or still are living. That is one of the appeal of these rappers is the mystery behind them and the danger they represent. A true success story is none other than Jay Electronica who was homeless in the projects of New Orleans barely making it but now that he records his exhibits has become one of the most played songs on my iPod because of the great combination of amazing beats, great samples in the music, and the feel that whatever he says is the truth. I believe that hip hop is a story being told through poetry in motion the artist who just hype themselves up and don't say anything they are straight trash.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4byOJr-SLU

Introductions

My name is Emmett Drea and i am from the neighborhood of Pilsen on the south side of Chicago. I was born on January 9th 1995 and have lived in the same house my entire life and don't have plans on moving anytime soon. I am an only child and i wouldn't have it any other way. I got to travel a lot when i was younger because of my parents having an exhibition a bout gun violence in the united states where my dad takes pictures of people from all over the country who have been shot and survived. They have had showings all around Chicago, the national civil rights museum in Memphis, and most recently Grace Cathedral.
Growing up I went to the preschool at the Fourth Presbyterian Church downtown on Michigan avenue on a scholarship. Then I went Galileo Math and science academy from kindergarten until third grade and then i went to Newberry academy until 6th grade. I left Newberry because i knew that i didn't have a good chance of getting into whitney so i went to LaSalle Language Academy. Ive known for a really long time I have wanted to go to Whitney Young since i was about in 6th grade and I want to go somewhere i would have the best chance to do that. My 8th grade year at LaSalle I got to go to Germany for a couple of weeks and it was one of the best experiences of my life. When i found out i was going to Whitney i was felt so accomplished.
I love being at Whitney Young and i couldn't imagine going to any other school.