Cathedral City

This story is about a man named Robert who cannot see.  He comes to stay with his old friend because his wife, Beulah, passed away and he needs to visit her family.  His friend's husband is the narrator of this story and we see that he is very uncomfortable with the blind man staying in his house.  The narrator feels that there is a need to simplify and explain everything for the man who cannot see.  The narrator, wife, and Robert spend the evening together at their home and the night ends when Robert and the narrator (who is never named) draw a picture of a cathedral together.
The story, overall, is very poorly written- with grammatical errors on almost every page.  However, the message of the story is very clear to those who think: we are bound by ourselves.
1.  The narrator has never met the blind man, or dealt with blind people, and is indifferent to how the blind man, Robert, feels.  There could also be some feelings of jealousy between the narrator and his wife's best friend as they used to meet a lot and his wife cares about him deeply.  The unnamed narrator is perceived as a man with little tolerance, patience, or willingness to try new things.
2.  After reading the end of the story, it is very possible that the blind man simply wanted some sort of guideline as to how he wished to imagine the wife.  He uses the cathedral lines to help him imagine a cathedral and he would use her face to help him imagine her.  The wife wanted to commit suicide because she did not believe she was worth anything because her husband was never there to show that he cared.  The poetry is a way for her to deeply express her feelings while her attempted suicide was the final cry for help.
3.  To receive a friend means to make him feel as though you have known him as much as the other person.  The wife asks that the husband not judge Robert and treat him as one of his own.  Robert means a lot to his wife because he was the only one able to "see" her plight.  The narrator should be thankful for him because his wife might not be alive if she couldn't be seen by Robert.
4.  Robert was there for Beulah and could never judge her looks.  He was only ever exposed to the person of Beulah.  To see her means that she found a purpose in the world and that someone cared about her.  That person was Robert, and he would never make her change her appearance for him.  He must have loved her for who she is if they got married.
5.  The character's, specifically the narrator, smoke pot in order to think past their normal boundaries.  The blind man has little boundaries on what he can think/"see," because he has no perception of what frame he can think in since he has not seen anything- he is allowed to think whatever he wants.
6.  The people think about God as this impressive being.  Therefore, he deserves an impressive building.  People were unable to associate anything else with God because they cannot find impressiveness in other objects besides large hulking cathedrals.
7.  The narrator can't describe a cathedral because he has never taken in its beauty.  At the end, with his eyes closed- the narrator draws whatever he wants on the paper.  He was not bound by any limit with his eyes closed and could have imagined the most impressive cathedral ever.  This freedom of the mind shocks him because he realizes that this is how Robert must "see" all the time.

Silence in November Rain

Imagine you have a bag of marbles.  You own that bag.  It is yours to manipulate, yours to control, and yours to make you feel superior.  Well now, suppose an outside force- such as lovely and curious cat or an impatient everyday person- decides to unsettle your bag and knock it right over.  Those marbles are no longer under your control.  You are no longer their leader.  As they bounce and roll all over the floor in a mass hysteria- you begin to lose track of them all.  Some will roll under the fridge- others will not bounce far at all.  Once the chaos has subsided, only then can the marbles be replaced in their bag.  The only problem is, this takes time.  The marbles under the fridge will be left their and never return to the bag.
In a class room, especially a large one, the students' collective cooperation- not to talk but rather to listen to the teacher is how the teacher can contain all of them at once.  Usually, this is done by teaching and commanding the attention of all of the students.  Once the teacher lets that go, or once a foreign factor decides to introduce itself- the students slip away.  That does no necessarily mean the students slip into chaotic chatter- though that is often the case; a teacher can lose students "under the fridge."  Chaos in the classroom is dangerous for two reasons. 
The teacher's lack of control will make the students realize that they can get away with whatever they decide they want to get away with.  Those that decide to talk will continue to talk and soon realize that even when the teacher is in command, teaching a lesson for example, they can talk regardless.  Those that do not actively talk, but rather zone out due to the undidactic chaos and associate that feeling of zoning out with that class.  Then, for all future classes, the zoner immediately disregards everything the teacher attempts to teach- regardless of the subject matter or interest.
In 1992, Guns N' Roses lead singer, Axl Rose, wrote a song called "November Rain" as part of the album Use Your Illusions I.  Though the overall meaning of the song is directed towards breaking up with a previous lover, one line holds true to the value of silence.  "And it's hard to hold a candle, in the cold November rain."  This applies to the teacher.  When a classroom descends into a manic fray of noise and sprawl, it is not entirely the teacher's fault.  A teacher is only human and cannot possibly expect to lead an entire group of students forever.  The Romans could not so why should we expect teachers to be able to?  As "November Rain" claims; a candle is hard to maintain in the rain because the water would constantly put it out.  This holds true for the classroom as well because a teacher can only do so much to maintain students' attention and teach.  Uncontrollable chaos in the class is like the cold November rain constantly trying to bombard the only currently available source of light- the teacher.
So then, how in the world is a teacher supposed to maintain control?  It is a large mixture of things that determines a successful classroom controller from a door mat schlub.  First, the teacher needs to have some sense of authority over the students that he or she is teaching. This is gained by distinguishing boundaries such as how to address the teacher- basically anything that sets the teacher on a higher imaginary level than the students.  Next, a teacher must be able to maintain interest.  In a large class, this is incredibly hard to do but in the smaller classroom setting- it can be easier to adjust teaching style to the combined group learning style.  Finally, a teacher must not allow exceptions to be made in his classroom "kingdom."  Order is the teacher's responsibility to ensure by eliminating key individuals- otherwise, the students who wish to learn suffer along with the talkative horde.
The students also have a responsibility.  In our society, there are three Cs: citizens, criminals, and cops.  The "citizen" student sits in each class, takes notes, occasionally distracts himself, and does nothing when the class goes to utter pandemonium.  The "criminal" is the student who pays no attention at all, simply attends the class to fulfill a graduation requirement, talks as much as he or she wants, disrupts the civilians and cops from learning, and initiates the imminent classroom chaos.  The "copper" student does all the things a "citizen" student does but rather then the occasional vocal slip up, he or she regulates his or her surrounding students to maintain order and let the teacher teach.  Thus, there is no sole responsibility as to who is in charge of classroom management.  It is a shared duty of trust between the teacher and the students to allow learning to happen.

A Dark Angel

Right now, I am looking at my little Space Marine figurine that I painted in a dark green, red, and yellow color scheme.  It is wearing a cream colored robe and his holding a big gun- which I believe is called a "Lascannon."  It has the number 9 on his right shoulder blade and a winged sword on his left.  The winged sword symbolizes the army that he is a part of- the Dark Angels. 

If the movie "Toy Story" applied to our toys, then I could only imagine what my little figurine must do when I have left the room.  Perhaps he shoots at stuff in my room, maybe he runs across my desk for fun (like a miniature obstacle course), or maybe he gather material for a secret fort hidden somewhere.  I don't know- all I can say is that things in my room do tend to disappear.

Wonder is when we cannot fully comprehend the limits of an item.  We may think that a toy does not move or talk but we experience wonder when we have no proof against its mobility.  We understand that we understand nothing.  As a 6 year old I would have a limited comprehension on an item's limits and could imagine whatever I wanted to and stand to reason my logic.  I have no grasp on what cannot happen and what could.  For all I knew, a little figurine in armor could be a little space man that is building its refuge in my room underneath my bed.  As we grow up and (presumably) get smarter, we begin to learn the limits of objects and we realize that plastic is only plastic and this knowledge puts boundaries on how much we can wonder.

A concept, specifically a foreign one, should make us curious and cause us to investigate.  It is the natural human way.  The way we wonder about something unknown to us can drive us wild.  We begin to think about it often and pretty soon it begins to take over our thoughts.  I recall when I first realized that people can die.  I became obsessed with this and I began to wonder about afterlife and what death really meant.  I thought like this for awhile and I wondered all sorts of things.  But it never got to the point where I became so lost and skewed from reality that death became an idol- but the option was always there.

Blowin' It Up

As disgusting as this may be, the most freedom I have ever felt in my entire life was in an airport bathroom.  I did not care at all about what the other bathroom occupants thought of me (though I hardly ever care what anyone thinks about me).  I was likely never going to see any of the international dumpers again.  I did not memorize their face and no one ever looked me in the eye.  The whole freedom of releasing whatever you want in an airport bathroom, no matter how gruesome the sounds, is that you simply let stuff happen and do not try to change it.  The freedom is that you are no longer a slave to what other people think of you.  You have placed yourself higher than the chains of self-glorification.

You Can Drown In Water

David Foster Wallace (DFW) was absolutely correct when he stated that each of us individually believe we are the center of the universe.  Like the Americans who battled the British oppression, we naturally do what is best for ourselves.  A lot of times, we prioritize our personal needs above others' needs- just as DFW described in his grocery anecdote.  As non-psychic human beings it would take a lot of effort to understand the emotions of someone passing by you in a grocery store.  We can not do this, and because of it- we are unknowingly left with the feeling that we are the only ones with problems in the world.

It takes a lot to get me very mad or upset.  Where Dave was mad at the people in line at the grocery store, I would not have given two thought about the length of the line and patiently waited my turn.  Even if someone had cut in front of me- I still would not have cared because it does not matter in the grand scheme of things.  Now, do I go into the deep situation awareness that Dave decides to go through with the analyzing of why people were doing the things they do?  I do not.

I would like to know what people are thinking when they do the things they do.  If they are following DFW's theory then they think they are the center of the universe.  Thus, the aggressive hummer driving father attempting to save his child simply turns into another fat cat.  If they really are in a desperate situation where there needs truly are greater than my own- then heroes can be born. While reading into other peoples' minds is not necessary by any means- it would certainly be interesting to see how selfish or selfless a person is.

During Dave's speech, people laugh and clap during two different sets of moments.  The first moments are the blatant jokes.  These are when a joke is made or something funny is said and it is understandable to someone who is not actively listening to the speech.  For example, and DFW even confirms this, the various anecdotal stories used to grab attention like the fish and the Eskimos or even the description of the grocery store..

The second form of lauded moments are when the audience can relate to the experiences DFW presents.  A lot of people are intently listening to the generic grocery store adventure because there is more praise given in the moments Dave intended for.  The narrative is easy to follow and easy to relate to.  There is also muted clapping during the parts when it is revealed that we might not be the only one with problems in the universe.  This shows that the audience is understanding/has understood the point, that we are naturally selfish thinkers, made in David Foster Wallace's excellent speech.

Caligula And The Temple of Doom

1.  Caligula realized his desires and determined what was necessary and what was unnecessary.  When the girl he loved died, he says that love was only a trivial "want".  He then goes on to explain that he needs some sort of happiness, or purpose.  Chasing the moon gave him a purpose and because of that, he was happy- and should he die; he would die happy.  When the people enjoying their meal are referenced, Caligula refers to that happiness as a sort of self-deception.  Therefore Caligula has realized what can be summed up as the meaning of life.  He does not need simple distractions in his life (ex. the love he felt for the now deceased woman), but rather a meaningful purpose such as taking the moon.

2.  The patricians know that Caligula is a deep thinker.  One mentions that he was too fond of literature and the overall implication is that Caligula can get deeply emotional.  I cannot confirm or deny what Caligula does in his free time but I do believe that he has achieved a different plane of thinking.  The fact that that Caligula is not even sad about the loss of his beloved Drusilla shows that he is thinking in broader, universal terms.

"You'll Never Walk Alone" With This Many People Involved

The object I have found in my home is my Elvis Presley, "You'll Never Walk Alone," 45.  It has many attachments to plenty of different people.  First, the vinyl had to be made in a factory by lots of people.  The resources the factory used had to be accounted for by more people.  Once the vinyl was created then the 45 went to the mass production company that had to put all of the grooves in it and cut it out.  The record was then placed in a paper sleeve that had to come from a tree grown by someone who had to cut it down, ship it to the paper pulping facility that turned it into paper and then shipped it to the manufacturing company that turned it into a sleeve for 45s.
All of that was for the record itself and does not account for the music.  First off, the music, "You'll Never Walk Alone," was written by Rodgers and Hammerstein and then sung by Elvis in a recording studio run by lots of people.  Also, the instruments don't play themselves.  Therefore even more people had to brought in to play the music so that someone in Sun Records could record the music and have it placed on the vinyl disc: one side- just the instrumentalists; the other- said instrumentalists plus Elvis.

Where There Is Love

I do not need lavish styles of life to make me happy.  I feel that it would only make me unhappy- having everything handed to me without a challenge.  Therefore, I have found a few personal life challenges for myself.  I am pretty sure that I will be relatively happy once these challenges are completed. They are based around personal achievements and they all involve a large amount of work to accomplish.

             

The first challenge I have for myself is to get on Broadway with piano.  This means that I would have to work very hard to build up the chops for Broadway and get referred onto the scene.  Pit musicians on Broadway are never hired- only referred between conductors and directors.  So the challenge would be getting myself up to that level and I would be very happy because I will have completed a lifelong goal.  Already, through the various musical performances at McNamara, I've played the Broadway level music and done fairly well.  Now All I need now is to get known in the music world and get myself in New York.  Music and musicals are what I love and I would be very happy to get this far.

The second challenge I would gladly face is to become an aviation captain.  During the few days I've had a class called Intro to Aviation, I learned that these captains are very well paid and respected in the aviation world.  I don't want the money but that doesn't mean I can't use it for someone else or for a greater cause.  Also, these captains only work for about two weeks at a time so it could fit nicely with the above challenge of Broadway.  The training required behind these positions is very extensive and it requires a lot of personal achievement and growth.  That feeling of accomplishment is also a great source of happiness.

The third and final challenge I have set for myself is to contribute one thing to the world.  What this one thing is, I don't know.  It all depends on what life hands me to work with or what tools I acquire from life.  This contribution that I would like to make would affect either the whole world or the whole United States of America   Do I have any idea what I would like to do for the world?  No.  I don't currently have the resources for solving a disease or ending world hunger/poverty. If I can obtain the funds I would gladly turn a supermarket into some sort of non-profit (meaning no shareholders; all money bought in goes to supplying the store and paying employee paychecks).  I would just as happily start up some sort of national or international charity to help families afford food.  

Whatever challenges I can accomplish in life will make me happy as long as I know that my life was worth living.  If I can help at least one person than that is what my sole purpose in life is to be.  I would die very happy if I know that at least one person smiled at something I have done for them, either directly or indirectly.

Who I Am.

My name is Daniel Flores.  I am a nice person and my hobbies include but are not limited to: playing instruments, painting, and playing games.  I can play many different instruments but the main ones I focus on are Piano, Cello, Guitar (electric and acoustic), Soprano Saxophone, and keyboards (xylophone, marimba, vibraphone, etc.).  When it comes to painting, I am very good at painting miniature figurines.  I usually buy space men figurines.  I enjoy all types of games, whether they be electronic or tabletop.  My favorite board game is Monopoly and my favorite video game is called "Peggle".  Other than what I do for fun, I am a nice person that enjoys life.

What I believe to be the most important thing to me... is me.  I live a nice life and would not trade it for anything in the world.  It is important that I live life to the fullest.  Therefore, I shall live with no regrets.  That is important to me because I will know that I've always tried my best and reached out as far as I can.

I am a baptized Catholic.  I believe that we will be judged by our actions after death and therefore I live everyday with that in mind.  It has gotten me very far.  I don't go to mass, I don't pray, and I don't really care about how my life should be shaped by the Bible.  Do I condemn religion? No- again, if we are judged by our actions than I don't think God would care whether or not I talked to him everyday of the week or on Sundays as long as I was doing good for someone else.

I am half Filipino and half America.  I don't attribute any sort of significance to cultural background because it is not important.  I am not going to throw on a toga and dance around a roasting pig because my ancestors did so 200 years ago.  Whatever traditions my parents decided to make relevant are the ones I followed (ex. Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, ...)

I hope that I can look at all the things I've done in life and not have a single regret.  I don't care if I make a lot of money- as long as I have fun.  I hope for the strength to stop doing something that I do not like and pursue something I do enjoy.