MR. COURTNEY: 2013

Friday, May 17, 2013

English III 5/17: "Everything is Everything" by Lauren Hill

Everything is everything

What is meant to be, will be

After winter, must come spring

Change, it comes eventually

(2x)

I wrote these words for everyone

Who struggles in their youth

Who won't accept deception

Instead of what is truth

It seems we lose the game,

Before we even start to play

Who made these rules? We're so confused

Easily led astray

Let me tell ya that

Everything is everything

After winter, must come spring

Everything is everything

I philosophy

Possibly speak tongues

Beat drum, Abyssinian, street Baptist

Rap this in fine linen

From the beginning

My practice extending across the atlas

I begat this

Flippin' in the ghetto on a dirty mattress

You can't match this rapper / actress

More powerful than two Cleopatras

Bomb graffiti on the tomb of Nefertiti

MCs ain't ready to take it to the Serengeti

My rhymes is heavy like the mind of Sister Betty

L. Boogie spars with stars and constellations

Then came down for a little conversation

Adjacent to the king, fear no human being

Roll with cherubims to Nassau Coliseum

Now hear this mixture

Where hip hop meets scripture

Develop a negative into a positive picture

Now, everything is everything

What is meant to be, will be

After winter, must come spring

Change, it comes eventually

Sometimes it seems

We'll touch that dream

But things come slow or not at all

And the ones on top, won't make it stop

So convinced that they might fall

Let's love ourselves then we can't fail

To make a better situation

Tomorrow, our seeds will grow

All we need is dedication

Let me tell ya that,

Everything is everything

After winter, must come spring

Everything is everything

What is meant to be, will be

After winter, must come spring

Change, it comes eventually

Professional COMM 5/17: Wayne Dyer

"When you judge another, you do not define them. You define yourself." -Wayne Dyer

Monday, May 13, 2013

Professional COMM 5/13: Oldest Memory

For today's blog, I would like you to write about your oldest memory.

What is the first thing in your life that you can remember?
When was it (i.e. how old were you and how old are you now)?
Why do you think you remember this? What do you think it says about you as a person that you remember this specific event/thing?

English III 5/13: "I Wrote a Song about the Ocean" by Simon Joyner

I wrote a song about the ocean I wrote a song about my love

I know you can't cage what once ceased movin'

If you wanna touch her once present ashore

Her tears taste just like the ocean

I know I tremble to their touch

She says that life is made of struggles

and the dead just didn't struggle quite enough

I like to lie down on the ocean

and clear the city from my lungs

Sometimes it rains while I'm driftin'

then I'm dried off by the sun

Now some men believe that they are giants

They stomp their feet against the ground

But if they came across a ocean

they wouldn't feel like giants very long

I know my arms are only sails

and my boat is small and made of bone

I can't pretend that I am fearless

as I wait for the wind to come

I like to lie down on the ocean

and clear the city from my lungs

Sometimes it rains while I'm driftin'

and then I'm dried off by the sun

Mhmm

Monday, May 6, 2013

English IV 5/6: Iain Macarthur Art

GO TO THIS WEBSITE AND CHOOSE A PIECE OF ARTWORK TO POST AND WRITE ABOUT: http://iainmacarthur.carbonmade.com/

WORDS OF THE DAY

17. ostracize v. To exclude from public or private favor.

18. palatial adj. Magnificent.

19. paragon n. A model of excellence.

20. Pariah n. A member of a degraded class; a social outcast.

Professional COMM 5/6: Mother Teresa on Peace

"If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other."-Mother Teresa

What is your interpretation of this quote? The world is a pretty violent and ugly place (taken as a whole), is she right about the source of our conflicts? How do you think Mother Teresa would view the war in Iraq? What about the Occupy Wall Street movement? If you were to live your life according to this creed, as she did, what would that be like? What would you do? Perhaps if we could all believe this, we could change the world into what it is supposed to be... a great human family moving towards completion praying for each other's salvation and health.

English III 5/6: "Undertow" by Warpaint

Your brown eyes are my blue skies.They light up the river that the birds fly over.Better not to quench your thirst.Better not to be the first one diving in,though you caught me and you know why they breathe in the deepest part of the water.

What’s the matter? You hurt yourself? Opened your eyes and there was someone else? Now I've got you in the undertow.Now I've got you in the undertow.Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.Nobody ever has to find out what’s in my mind tonight.

Let tonight pass us by.Do you really want to be the one to fight? And i said “You’re better not to light that fire.It will take you to the darkest part of the weather.

”What’s the matter? You hurt yourself? Opened your eyes and there was someone else? Now I've got you in the undertow.Now I've got you in the undertow.Why you wanna blame me for your troubles?Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.Nobody ever has to find out what’s in my mind tonight.Nobody ever has to find out what’s in my mind tonight.Nobody in my mind. Nobody in my mind.I feel it in my heart tonight.

I laid on the floor, pressing in my eyes.Seeing little lights.These are the decisions that only one could make I wanted to stay home but I went running running running running from the troubles runningrunningrunningrunningrunningrunningrunning

What’s the matter? You hurt yourself?Opened your eyes and there was someone else?Now I've got you in the undertow Now I've got you so why you wanna blame me for your troubles?Ah ah ah you better learn your lesson yourself.Nobody ever has to find out what’s in my mind tonight.Nobody ever has to find out what’s in my mind tonight.

WORDS OF THE DAY

17. Plethora- an excess

18. Repudiate- shun; eschew

19. Tedium- boredom

20. Blasphemy- speech which offends religious sentiments

Thursday, May 2, 2013

English IV 5/2: Creative Prompts

CLICK HERE AND MAKE A CHOICE OF PROMPT WITHIN 3 MINUTES. THEN... RESPOND AS THAT PROMPT INSTRUCTS YOU, IN YOUR BLOG. REMEMBER TO BE THOROUGH AND FINISH THE PROMPT THROUGH!

WORDS OF THE DAY

13. pedigree n. One's line of ancestors.

14. peevish adj. Petulant. (irritable)

15. perfidy n. Treachery.

16. perspicuous adj. Lucid.

English III 5/2: Arcade Fire "Windowsill"

I Don't wanna hear the noises on TV

I Don't want the salesmen coming after me

I Don't wanna live in my father's house no more

I Don't want it faster, I don't want it free

I Don't wanna show you what they done to me

I Don't wanna live in my father's house no more

I Don't wanna choose black or blue

I Don't wanna see what they done to you

I Don't wanna live in my father's house no more

Because the tide is high

And it's rising still

And I don't wanna see it at my windowsill

I Don't wanna give 'em my name and address

I Don't wanna see what happens next

I Don't wanna live in my father's house no more

I Don't wanna live with my father's debt

You can't forgive what you can't forget

I Don't wanna live in my father's house no more

I Don't wanna fight in a holy war

I Don't want the salesmen knocking at my door

I don't wanna live in America no more

Because the tide is high

And it's rising still

And I don't wanna see it at my windowsill

I don't wanna see it at my windowsill

MTV, what have you done to me?

Save my soul, set me free!

Set me free! What have you done to me?

I can't breathe! I can't see!

World War III, when are you coming for me?

Been kicking up sparks, we set the flames free

The windows are locked now so what'll it be?

A house on fire or a rising sea?

Why is the night so still?

Why did I take the pill?

Because I don't wanna see it at my windowsill

I Don't wanna see it at my windowsill

WORDS OF THE DAY

13. Cower- recoil in fear or servility; shrink away from

14. Absolution- forgiveness; pardon; release

15. Blatant- obvious

16. Reprehensible- shameful; very bad

Professional COMM 5/2: Dalai Lama on Peace

"When we have inner peace, we can be at peace with those around us. When our community is in a state of peace, it can share that peace with neighbouring communities, and so on." - Dali Lama

How true. I find this quote to be simple yet enlightening. What if the change the world needs is really just as simple as CHILLING OUT and loving your neighbor? Would you be willing to do it? Or are you so wrapped up in your own apathy and cynicism that you are incapable of caring about anything other than keeping up the web of lies that sustains you in a permenant state of helplessness?

This Dali Lama has a great deal of wisdom to convey to us if we only care enough to listen and follow his advice critically. I feel like the essence of his message (in this quote and in general) is that we should not look for change to come outside of us, but realize that if anything is going to be different it will happen from the inside out. Who else, after all, would be to blame if you wasted this life in trivial pursuits? Let's quit whining, pointing fingers, and wallowing in the expectations of the past. Peace is a decision, not a gift or a deus ex machina.

Tuesday, April 30, 2013

English III 4/30: Willie Nelson "Heaven and Hell"

Sometimes Heaven and sometimes Hell

Sometimes I don't even know

Sometimes I take it as far as I can

And sometimes I don't even go

My front tracks're headed for a cold water well

My back tracks're covered with snow

But sometimes Heaven, sometimes Hell

And sometimes I don't even know

Heaven ain't walkin'

On a street paved with gold

Hell ain't a mountain of fire

Heaven is layin'

In my sweet baby's arms

And Hell is when baby ain't there

Well, my front tracks're headed for a cold water well

And my back tracks're covered with snow

Well, sometimes Heaven, sometimes Hell

And sometimes I don't even know

Sometimes Heaven, and sometimes Hell

And sometimes I don't even know

WORDS OF THE DAY

9. Nullify- to counter; make unimportant

10. Tangible- can be touched

11. Abhor -hate

12. Hamper -hinder; obstruct

English IV 4/30: Willie Nelson "Look What Thoughts Will Do"

Once I thought I loved just you

And I thought you loved me too

But today you say we're through

Just look what thoughts will do

Now another wears the crown

And you think you have found

Just what makes your world go 'round

Watch those thoughts they'll get you down

And if within your future years

Your new love should bring you tears

Then you'll think of me I'm sure

But those thoughts won't help you dear

Once I thought I loved just you

And I thought you loved me too

But today you say we're through

Now just look what thoughts will do

Once I thought I loved just you

And I thought you loved me too

But today you say we're through

Just look what thoughts will do

WORDS OF THE DAY

5. prescient adj. Foreknowing.

6. primeval adj. Belonging to the first ages.

7. progeny n. Offspring.

8. proviso n. A clause in a contract, will, etc., by which its operation is rendered conditional.

Professional COMM 4/30: Thomas Merton

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them."

-Thomas Merton

Monday, April 29, 2013

English IV 4/29: "Lady of Shalott" by Waterhouse

What is she thinking about? Who? What the heck is she doing in that boat and why does she look so sad?

WORDS OF THE DAY

1. prosaic adj. Unimaginative.

2. rampant adj. Growing, climbing, or running without check or restraint.

3. rationalism n. The formation of opinions by relying upon reason alone, independently of authority.

4. rebuff n. A peremptory or unexpected rejection of advances or approaches.

English III 4/29: "Hoodwink" by Anathallo

"Someday they will build monuments for us.

People like me walk out the door,

We'll pull you out into the streets

Of far off countries. If I'm ready to go,

How could I let you dwell in delight?

Oh see, all things are so bright and spiritual.

These seeds are growing in extraordinary colors.

Convinced? Even I believe that I have grown something.

It's cased in light.

Don't you worry about me, I'm gone.

Don't you worry about me.

I'm off in a distant place

Where I can be the signifier,

Not that which is signified.

The referent, convincing us (you and me both),

For you, my smile is like bow, bow, bow, bow.

Out here there is no 'under the skin.'

And the form of every other

Is hidden under covers.

Let us sleep

In ease of dark.

We couldn't rest

With this sense of duty hanging off of our chests.

Peeled away, we had to get back from where the

Grip of our hands could lift us from the failures

In the eyes of men, to form our scales and weigh

Our words, good again.

To form our scales in the eyes of men,

To weigh our words

And make ourselves good again."

WORDS OF THE DAY

5. raze – to destroy

6. acrimony – harshness, sharpness ( especially in words)

7. desecrate – to profane a holy place

8. Placid- calm; peaceful

Professional COMM 4/29: Lao Tzu

"An ant on the move does more than a dozing ox." -- Lao Tzu

This quote comes to us, through many centuries, from a Chinese teacher and philosopher named Lao Tzu. Lao Tzu is said to have written (or perhaps compiled) the text known as Tao de Jing. This book is the cornerstone of Taoism and one of the oldest and most beautiful religious texts in existence. This particular quote is one that has a very profound message for all of us in it. Too often we are content to let our life-position limit us more than it should. While we complain and let negativity paralyze us, we miss the opprotunity to move towards our most important goals (or perhaps to form those goals).

Monday, April 15, 2013

HAMLET LINK

http://www.shakespeare-online.com/topics/hamlettopics.html

English III 4/15: "Independence Day" by Elliott Smith

Future butterfly, gonna spend the day higher than high

You'll be beautiful confusion

Ooh, once I was you

I saw you caught between all the people out making a scene

And a bright ideal, tomorrow

Ooh, don't go too far

Stay who you are

Everybody knows

You only live a day

But it's brilliant anyway

I saw you at the perfect place

It's gonna happen soon, but not today

So go to sleep, and make the change

I'll meet you here tomorrow

Independence Day

WORDS OF THE DAY

1. grovel – to humble oneself in a demeaning way

2. ensue – to follow

3. cryptic – mysterious, puzzling

4. vilify – to defame or speak of someone as a villain

Professional COMM 4/15: Washington Irving on Tears

“There is a sacredness in tears. They are not the mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are messengers of overwhelming grief...and unspeakable love.” -Washington Irving

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

English III 4/9: Neutral Milk Hotel "In the Airplane over the Sea"

What a beautiful face I have found in this place

That is circling all round the sun

what a beautiful Dream that could flash on the screen

in a blink of An eye and be gone from me

soft and sweet

let Me hold it close and keep it here with me

and One day we will die and our ashes will fly from the

Aeroplane over the sea but for now we are

Young let us lay in the sun and count every

Beautiful thing we can see

love to be in the arms

Of all im keeping here with me

What a curious life we have found here tonight

There is music that sounds from the street

there Are lights in the clouds

Anna's ghost all around

Hear her voice as it's Rolling and ringing through me

soft and sweet

How the notes all bend and reach above the

Trees, now how I remember you

how I would Push my fingers through your mouth to make

Those muscles move that made your voice so

Smooth and sweet

and now we keep where we Don't know

all secrets sleep in winter clothes

With one you loved so long ago now he don't

Even know his name

what a beautiful face I

Have found in this place that is circling all round

The sun and when we meet on a cloud I'll be

Laughing out loud I'll be laughing with everyone I See

can't believe how strange it is to be anything At all

LOOK! Paris likes them!

Professional COMM 4/9: Einstein on Good and Evil

"The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."

Monday, March 25, 2013

English III 3/25: Conor Oberst "Entry Way Song"

Last Saturday I stood in your entry way

That place where we used to wait

For cars to carry us away

Like once in this storm, they drove me and justin home

The music was just being born

It was all I was longing for

Now im on a plane

Off singin my songs again, oh please dont think ill of it

Cause its the reason I exists

But you, youre the crutch of a cripple

You're the calm of a conscience

You're the peace that I have found

When all these voices talk too loud you are quietly reassuring me

With the hands of a healer

And the tongue of a teacher

Its your voice that I have known

To be the first one on the phone

Yeah, you ran all the lights to the hospital

So don't you say to me

That life's a trap

The future is nothing but a tragedy

'Cos I'll be out of that window

Yeah, I'll start wishing to die again

Just say we're not walking backwards, kid

And show me to the door

And I'll walk behind

Out into the hot sunlight

Where the world's very much alive

Even when I close my eyes

Well, should I admit

That my promise is counterfeit

That I'm careless and childish

And that's all I can hope to be

And would you concede

That I think only of myself

I refuse everybody's help

Who has been reaching out for me

Well, you reach with the soul of a sailor

And the swing of a miner

You have cleared the rock away

Leaving gold there in its place

And it is more than anyone could claim

Oh, with the sense of a banker

And with the touch of a tailor

You saved this life for me

And you have sown it to beauty

And I am grateful now and I will always be

So would you sing with me

The song is all I know

Some truths are told now only in a melody

So I've been writing a new one

Yeah, I've been taking my time with it

It's gonna be so perfect

It's gonna hold all of us inside of it

You will see

If you just add your harmony

I think it would be complete

And be worthy of singing

Becomes a symphony

Yeah, you're the cool of the water

You're the start of the summer

Keep me still like a anchor

In a storm you're the cellar

When I'm heavy with worry make me light as a feather

When I'm deafened by anger you're the song I remember

With the grace of a dancer and the strength of a pillar

When I'm starving to suffer you just fill me with laughter

You're a poet

And a saint

You are the only one I choose to imitate

Oh, like the love of a father through the eye of a camera

It's this picture I have seen

We're on a sloping hill of green

And you are walking there beside me

English IV 3/25: Creative Prompts

CLICK HERE AND MAKE A CHOICE OF PROMPT WITHIN 3 MINUTES. THEN... RESPOND AS THAT PROMPT INSTRUCTS YOU, IN YOUR BLOG. REMEMBER TO BE THOROUGH!

WORDS OF THE DAY

17. necropolis n. A city of the dead.

18. neophyte adj. Having the character of a beginner.

19. nimble adj. Light and quick in motion or action.

20. nominal adj. Trivial.

Friday, March 22, 2013

English IV 3/22: "Chimes of Freedom" by Bob Dylan

Chimes Of Freedom

Far between sundown's finish an' midnight's broken toll

We ducked inside the doorway, thunder crashing

As majestic bells of bolts struck shadows in the sounds

Seeming to be the chimes of freedom flashing

Flashing for the warriors whose strength is not to fight

Flashing for the refugees on the unarmed road of flight

An' for each an' ev'ry underdog soldier in the night

An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

In the city's melted furnace, unexpectedly we watched

With faces hidden while the walls were tightening

As the echo of the wedding bells before the blowin' rain

Dissolved into the bells of the lightning

Tolling for the rebel, tolling for the rake

Tolling for the luckless, the abandoned an' forsaked

Tolling for the outcast, burnin' constantly at stake

An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Through the mad mystic hammering of the wild ripping hail

The sky cracked its poems in naked wonder

That the clinging of the church bells blew far into the breeze

Leaving only bells of lightning and its thunder

Striking for the gentle, striking for the kind

Striking for the guardians and protectors of the mind

An' the unpawned painter behind beyond his rightful time

An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Through the wild cathedral evening the rain unraveled tales

For the disrobed faceless forms of no position

Tolling for the tongues with no place to bring their thoughts

All down in taken-for-granted situations

Tolling for the deaf an' blind, tolling for the mute

Tolling for the mistreated, mateless mother, the mistitled prostitute

For the misdemeanor outlaw, chased an' cheated by pursuit

An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Even though a cloud's white curtain in a far-off corner flashed

An' the hypnotic splattered mist was slowly lifting

Electric light still struck like arrows, fired but for the ones

Condemned to drift or else be kept from drifting

Tolling for the searching ones, on their speechless, seeking trail

For the lonesome-hearted lovers with too personal a tale

An' for each unharmful, gentle soul misplaced inside a jail

An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

Starry-eyed an' laughing as I recall when we were caught

Trapped by no track of hours for they hanged suspended

As we listened one last time an' we watched with one last look

Spellbound an' swallowed 'til the tolling ended

Tolling for the aching ones whose wounds cannot be nursed

For the countless confused, accused, misused, strung-out ones an' worse

An' for every hung-up person in the whole wide universe

An' we gazed upon the chimes of freedom flashing.

WORDS OF THE DAY

13. mendacious adj. Untrue.

14. metonymy n. A figure of speech that consists in the naming of a thing by one of its attributes.

15. multiform adj. Having many shapes, or appearances.

16. mystic n. One who professes direct divine illumination, or relies upon meditation to acquire truth.

Professional COMM 3/22: Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

"Treat people as if they were what they ought to be and you help them become what they are capable of being." - Goethe

Hmmmm... what does he mean here? This guy is one of the most famous and prolific writers in history. What does it mean to treat someone as if they are what they should be?

Thursday, March 21, 2013

English IV 3/21: Kahlil Gibran "Joy and Sorrow"

For today's blog, I would like you to read this short piece by Lebanese-American mystic and poet Khalil Gibran. Let the words flow over you in the special way that his words have. Read the piece twice and then write a commentary on it or a short piece of your own inspired by it. Enjoy!
______________________________________________________________________
On Joy and Sorrow
By Kahlil Gibran

Your joy is your sorrow unmasked.
And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears.
And how else can it be?
The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain.
Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven?
And is not the lute that soothes your spirit, the very wood that was hollowed with knives?
When you are joyous, look deep into your heart and you shall find it is only that which has given you sorrow that is giving you joy.
When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, "Joy is greater thar sorrow," and others say, "Nay, sorrow is the greater."
But I say unto you, they are inseparable.
Together they come, and when one sits, alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.

Verily you are suspended like scales between your sorrow and your joy.
Only when you are empty are you at standstill and balanced.
When the treasure-keeper lifts you to weigh his gold and his silver, needs must your joy or your sorrow rise or fall.

WORDS OF THE DAY

9. loquacious adj. Talkative.

10. maudlin adj. Foolishly and tearfully affectionate.

11. languid adj. Relaxed.

12. mellifluous adj. Sweetly or smoothly flowing.

Professional COMM 3/21: Camus on Happiness

"You will never be happy if you continue to search for what happiness consists of. You will never live if you are looking for the meaning of life." -Albert Camus

English III 3/21: "Sounds of Silence" by Simon and Garfunkel

This is a classic that I think many of have probably heard at least some time in your life. Like Bob Dylan, these guys were more than musicians; they were (still are) poets. Look at these lyrics and try to find meanings that aren't directly stated, but that you feel are there.

I think this song is about the apocalypse. The gray time when silence comes to the race of humankind. It could also be about a time of mourning or of losing something essential (loved one, hearing, sight, a treasured ability...). They seems to be singing about an emptiness which can either be interpreted as internal or external.

"Hello darkness, my old friend,
Ive come to talk with you again,
Because a vision softly creeping,
Left its seeds while I was sleeping,
And the vision that was planted in my brain
Still remains
Within the sounds of silence.
In restless dreams I walked alone
Narrow streets of cobblestone,
neath the halo of a street lamp,
I turned my collar to the cold and damp
When my eyes were stabbed by the flash of a neon light
That split the night
And touched the sounds of silence.

And in the naked light I saw
Ten thousand people, maybe more.
People talking without speaking,
People hearing without listening,
People writing songs that voices never share
And no one dare
Disturb the sounds of silence.

Fools said i, you do not know
Silence like a cancer grows.
Hear my words that I might teach you,
Take my arms that I might reach you.
But my words like silent raindrops fell,
And echoed
In the wells of silence

And the people bowed and prayed
To the neon God they made.
And the sign flashed out its warning,
In the words that it was forming.
And the sign said, the words of the prophets

Are written on the subway walls
And tenement halls.
And whispered in the sounds of silence." Simon and Garfunkel

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

English IV 3/20: Creative Prompts

CLICK HERE AND MAKE A CHOICE OF PROMPT WITHIN 3 MINUTES. THEN... RESPOND AS THAT PROMPT INSTRUCTS YOU, IN YOUR BLOG. REMEMBER TO BE THOROUGH!

WORDS OF THE DAY

5. insurrection n. The state of being in active resistance to authority.

6. iridescence n. A many-colored appearance.

7. itinerary n. A detailed account or diary of a journey.

8. jargon n. Confused, unintelligible speech or highly technical speech.

Professional COMM 3/20: Hafiz

“I wish I could show you when you are lonely or in darkness the astonishing light of your own being.” -Hafiz

English III 3/20: "For What it's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield

"There's something happening here

What it is ain't exactly clear

There's a man with a gun over there

Telling me I got to beware

I think it's time we stop, children, what's that sound