12/5/08 Poem

The children and their families perambulated like shoppers on Black Friday into the neighborhood Christmas party. Mothers magisterially shoved blameless children, not belonging to themselves, out of their perfect angel's way to espy upon the
Exultant One himself: Santa Claus. The arid air outside felt crisp and clean as the brisk wind breathed against my skin. Seemingly ideal weather for the occasion, however, not glacial enough that the imitation snow ahead would not sodden the grass where it had been placed. Fidgetting boys and girls waited in line for a train ride while one covetous mother sneered at another whose Gucci tote was significantly larger than her Louie hobo bag mentally noting to add an upgrade to her Christmas list. These parents seem to have forgotten the original purpose of attending this Christmas celebration. They seem to have misplaced inside their hearts and minds the passion they felt for the season as a child. The savory smells that filled the house when the Christmas Day feast was being prepared, the feeling as if Mexican jumping beans had found their way into your stomach as the anticipation to see what Santa brought this year grew, the enraptured expressions on everyone elses faces in the room while they opened their gifts as if it was the last one they would ever receive, the sight of Uncle Tom wiping the thick egg-nog mustache off his upper lip. If they could find these memories within themselves, maybe the holiday season could regain its meaning.

arid- (adj.) marked by little or no precipitation or humidity
enraptured-(adj.) experiencing or marked by overwhelming usually pleasurable emotion
espy- (verb) to make note of (something) through the use of one's eyes
exultant- having or expressing feelings of joy
fidget- (verb) to make jerky or restless movements
glacial- (adj.) having a low or subnormal temperature
magisterial- (adj.) overbearing, agrressive
perambulate- (verb) form of walking
sneer- (adj.) to express scornful amusement by means of facial contortions
sodden- (adj.) containing, covered with, or thoroughly penetrated by water

Shwayze

"Malibu. It’s where Mathew McConaughey flexes his pecs for paparazzi while shirtless on the beach. It’s where Courtney Cox and husband David Arquette recently sold their home for the modest asking price of more than $30 million to Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. It’s where Julia Roberts built her multi-million dollar, eco-friendly estate as a tribute to Green living. And it’s where Cher, Jennifer Aniston and Mel Gibson share the same 310 area code as the Malibu trailer park community that brought us Shwayze."

Twenty-two year old Shwayze, born Aaron Smith, made his debut at Malibu Inn, a local hang-out/ chill-spot in 2005, as the opening performer for the failed band, Whitestarr. Just like most newcomers, Shwayze too experienced a tough crowd who even tried to kick him off stage. Embracing the moment however, Shwayze introduced himself as "the only black kid in Malibu," which set the crowd off. It was at this point that he first made contact with Whitestarr frontman Cisco Adler.

Cisco, the son of A-list impresario Lou Adler, and Shwayze hit it off becoming not only collaborators but best friends as well. Cisco provides the rock/ acoustic sound you hear, while Shwayze mixes things up with hip-hop. This melting pot of beats and melodies provides for a relaxed, breezy tone true to the West Coast. Shwayze describes their music saying, " It’s California chill, West Coast stoner music.”

Being new to the entertainment industry, Shwayze has not yet made his own mark on history. He has been influenced by some of his all-time favorite artists, including: Prince, Tom Petty, Beck, Bob Marley and Outkast. Yet, he sounds more like a Sublime, Slightly Stoopid and Sugar Ray combination mostly. Basically, if your in a bad mood pop in some Shwayze and feel yourself wind down.

The first major song by Shwayze "Buzzin' " talks about "backyard blockparty by the bar" where he met a girl and fell in love. "Buzzin' " is also the title of his new tv series on MTV. The Song "Corona and Lime" (posted above) is another favorite of Shwayze listeners and portrays his combination of styles well in addition to using metaphors the listeners can easily pick up on and relate to.

When it comes to pushing a particular message Shwayze does not have one imparticular. “I was single, Cisco was single, and we partied in the pool, partied at the beach, chillin’, hangin’ out with chicks. That’s what we were writing about,” he says. It seems they create music for its original intention, sheer fun. Its refreshing not to be bombarded with lyrics which try to tell you what to say or how to act, Shwayze just tells it like it is, how he deals day to day. He is not trying to change the world, but instead he truly puts energy into making the best out of whats given to him.


This sums up what we know of Shwayze to date, but I believe we will be hearing more from him soon, so keep your ears peeled and minds open!

Let It Rock

This video illustrates the ways someone can become a "rockstar". After all the movies, songs, etc. glorifying the lives of popular stars, others feel they should have the right to be "happy" and to have "fun" just like they do. Once the advertising industry realized this desire of the masses, they embraced it. Products such as Rockstar Energy Drinks and Let It Rock Perfume are just a couple ways marketers decided they would quench the average Joe’s thirst to feel like a rockstar. While we typically associate sex and drugs with rock and roll, we should not be so quick to judge; if clothing, scents, music and drink choice boost the confidence of people we should respect this and not reprimand others for their choice of lifestyle if it is not self-destructive. Ultimately, living like a rockstar may not be such a bad idea...

Dramatic Monologue

He said I had the "wrong end of the stick",

Ha! so young, what did he know?

I'll tell you what I know,

God is Fullness of Being and in Him the End is the Beginning.

That is why I'm going straight to heaven.

I don't believe in this

"if God is Complete Knowledge then He is Complete Non-Motion" Mumbo-Jumbo.

"I am the Resurrection and the Life," that's what He said.

Yet, Jack insisted on his philosophy that

Life is Motion toward Knowledge.

Therefore, if there is such a God of Fullness of Being we would be worshiping Death.

It made sense I must admit.

I just replied that he only thought Finitely.

He continued to argue,

I suppressed my hearing.

A religious man on his way out could not be corrupted with these controversial thoughts!

and God is not mocked!

Then he comes interrogating me,

asking all about the past when I was a sinful man.

But I have put that time away.

He thinks his job is to tell the truth,

He is just a pawn, a pawn in Governor Stark's game.

Foolishness and Foulness I say!

Ah,but what can I do?

Jack, I will pray for your soul.

-Ellis Burden

Embrace Life

Life is what we make of it

it is not that we are born of Luck, good or bad

it is how we embrace the Fullness of our Being

how we Interpret influences, stellar or dull

how we move toward Knowledge,

how we Love one another,

Yet when Duty whispers, we welcome our Obligations

we understand that we are conceived in Sin,

born in Corruption,

that we must Outmatch these odds against us,

take up our cross and become Powerful beyond measure.

Biographical Elements of Long Day's Journey into Night

Some of the greatest works ever written have been inspired, not only by observations made by the artists who created them, but by the lives of the authors themselves. Sometimes triumphs, other times failures; yet the reality of the work allows for the reader to easily relate. This method of putting one's self into the work can be found in Eugene O'Neill's play Long Day's Journey into Night.
Eugene was born as the second child into his family to parents James and Ella O'Neill, after his older brother James Junior. His father James worked as an actor and became a heavy alcohol consumer. Due to his father's job causing him to move around a lot, Eugene was brought up in temporary environments such as in hotels and on trains. His only "permanent" residence stood in New London, Connecticut overlooking the Thames River. His mother looked after him while his father worked, however, she had become addicted to morphine while giving birth to Eugene, similar to mother Mary Tyrone in his play. For his difficulties and insecurities growing up, he mostly blamed his father. He blamed himself for his mother's addiction. (Britannica)
Observing the self-destructive actions of his father, Eugene began to question the faith to which his father belonged, Catholicism. This resembles the struggle with God in his works. Just as Edmund and James in the play were educated, so was O'Neill at boarding schools Mt. St. Vincent in the Bronx and Betts Academy in Stamford, Connecticut and for a year at Princeton. After he was asked to leave Princeton, Eugene himself played into a life submerged with alcohol just like his father. He then set off to sea for work, living an adventurous life. Around the age of twenty-four, O'Neill began to contain himself and desired to live a stable life. This was when he came down with tuberculosis, however, and was confined to the Gaylord Farm Sanitarium in Wallingford, Connecticut. While living at the sanitarium, O'Neill began to write his plays.(Britannica)
Understanding the background of writer Eugene O'Neill contributes to the understanding of Long Day's Journey into Night as a whole. One could argue where Eugene actually places himself in the work. Both sons of James Tyrone, the father in the play, are alcoholics like their father. Their father is an alcoholic as well as an Irish Catholic, identical to James O'Neill. The home the Tyrones live in only serves a temporary purpose, just as Eugene's home growing up. The youngest son Edmund is infatuated with the sea which resembles O'Neill's short lived obsession with the sea. Edmund also is disgnosed with tuberculosis in the play and sent to a sanitaruim just like O'Neill. The twist comes when the son of Mary and James Tyrone, Eugene, is killed at a young age accidentally when he catches a disease from his older brother Jamie. This may be where Eugene O'Neill illustrates an emotional death he experienced in his own life.
In this case, Eugene O'Neill's life obviously influenced this specific work. The details which reflect his real life may be the reason he would not allow its publishing until after his death. It is the dysfunctionality of his family life which makes it even more captivating for the reader. The stark realism of the play has influenced many writers after him.

Works Cited:
"Eugene Gladstone O'Neill." Britannica.com and Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. (2000) 20 Sep 2008 .

Withdrawals

Music slurred voices,
Smoke blurred faces,
Yet, he only heard her voice over all,
He only saw her face among many.

She fluttered around as if without a care in the world,
She looked so content to be without him in her life.
Yet, underneath her layers of disguise,

she felt the same as he.

That I can't eat, I can't sleep kind of withdrawal.