MLK

I cannot imagine what it would be like if I still lived in a society of segregation, fear, and hatred. I can not imagine  how different my life would be if these changes had not been made. The intolerance that went on during that time period I simply cannot understand and I hope that something like will never happen again. When we look back at history and think about people who have changed the tide of history who do we think of? I think that none are more influential than MLK who knows what could have violence could have been birthed from the tension between ethnicities during that time if not for Dr. King to preach about the importance of nonviolence  

*modern day slavery and us vs. them

The discussion that we had in class about how big corporations manufactured their products and treated their workers so unfairly really opened my eyes to the injustices of these corporations. Do not get me wrong i was not oblivious to the sweat shop or how everything was getting outsourced to be made cheaper. I was unaware of how little it really did cost for these companies to make the product, five dollars to make a pair of shoes that could sell for a hundred plus dollars? I find this practice sick and extremely unjust to the consumer who wants to buy the product, but no more. It is not hard to buy things that are not made in China, it is just a bit more pricey and if that means that I buy less clothes but still spend the same amount of money because i know that what I am not feeding the profit margins. I vow to only buy clothes that are either made in Canada and Mexico because they are trade partners with the United States or to buy clothes that are made in Europe. I will not buy clothes that are made in a third world country were the worker is being exploited to the point of being akin to slavery. While I do know that I will not be able to completely follow this I will certainly take advantage of whatever opportunities to do so I am given.
China is becoming a world power because of American businesses. We are creating a world power that does not have a democratic government, censors the news and is so power hungry that it has taken over the country of Tibet  in recent years killing protesters or anyone standing in their way. The situation is so bad the Dalai Lama has left the country and is in exile in India. There is speculation that the Chinese will be the one who will be selecting the next Dalai Lama instead of the usual comity of the Buddhist hierarchy that goes through the long process of finding the Dalai Lama's reincarnation who will become the next Dalai Lama. Instead it is rumored but still highly likely that the Chinese will try to select and march around their own version of the his holiness but will be no more than a puppet and representation of the ever controlling Chinese.
 It is simply appalling what the Chinese are doing and the western media has turned a blind eye and allowed to let this happen. At this rate with the Chinese gaining more and more influence through out the globe they will soon become a global super power that will even overshadow that of the United States. It almost seems inevitable that there will be a power struggle between the Chinese and the United States in the not too distant future as seems to be the trend when there is a changing of the guards of world powers. I hope that my insight is completely wrong that relations between us and them will never come to a boil but in my mind the future looks bleak. Who knows who would come out on top either we have the experience and the allies to do the job but they have a nation of hundreds of thousands of men if not millions who would be eligible for a draft. What would happen to the companies that have factories over there? what about all of the workers that they employ? I don't think anyone can answerer these questions but the future.
    

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.