2nd Blog: American Icon Ideas

American Icon #1: Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five

One of the original rap groups that created a new genre of music was Grand Master Flash and the Furious Five. It all started when a young man from the Bronx, Joseph Saddler, A.K.A. DJ Grandmaster Flash, was studying electrical engineering , however; Saddler had a much deeper passion with music. As an adolescent Joseph played with his father's vinyl and as he messed around with the wiring he discovered his new instrument, the turn table. The earlier Hip-Hop and rap groups used to rhyme with soul, passion, poetry with a beat. He had started a revolution. Soon, all around the country, hip-hop groups sprouted out of the slums in American cities everywhere. Personally I love Eminem, although he had his terrible CD's with lyrics that had no value, he also has made some great hits that have provoked me to write rhymes as well. although it was a little to dense, violent, and sexual for a fourth grader I watched "8 mile", the story of Eminem, and from there I wanted to know where rap came from. The first name that popped up on Google was Grandmaster Flash, I dug deeper. When the Ipod mini had just come out my parents bought one for the family and I instantly downloaded every song in his personal library. I devoted my fourth grade summer to learning every one of his songs and I did. That next year I solely focused on finding other old school rap groups to follow. Although I had never been around him to see his true personality, Joseph Saddler, or Grandmaster Flash, inspired me to express my thoughts through writing and emotion from singing. The two intertwine when I write something that I put passion into, and when I hear songs that make me think. Grandmaster Flash was the original, and I guess what I originally fell in love with was the new way of conveying stories and thoughts through Hip-hop and rap music.

American Icon #2: Star Wars

If you know me well, you know I am a thinker, a religious thinker at that, and it all started when I watched the first Star Wars movie with my dad. George Lucas created a dream world for me. Light-sabers and droids had me hooked instantly like a moth to a light-bulb. I was fascinated by the creatures and thrilled by the fighting scenes when the movie suddenly ended. It couldn't be, so I had to watch another, and another, and another until I passed out, either because I was tired or my eyes wouldn't let me look at a screen for another twelve hours. Star Wars created a fantasy world for so many people. An honest to god revolution in film making that sparked some of the ideas of today's sci-fi movies. Anyway, I woke up the next morning thinking. I cannot recall exactly what i was thinking about, but I know I was thinking. To this day I still imagine myself in another world. I think constantly about my decisions on a minute by minute basis and it all started with Star Wars. I still am a big fan of Star Wars and always will be.

American Icon #3: Dr. Seuss

As a young lad, my mission was to save the truffula trees. My mom used to read "The Lorax" to me twice a day just to keep me quiet. The art welcomed me and the story caught my attention like nothing else in the world mattered, like time stopped, and all that was left was my mother, me, and the trufula trees. Dr. Seuss brightened the life of so many, young and old, the books were timeless. For instance: "Oh the Places You'll Go" has been given to me on three separate graduations and have meant something different to me each time I was given it and read it. For some reason his books resonated deep within me gave me a special feeling that his books were all directed towards me. I felt as though I could make meaning out of this book that no one else could. A certain ego came with the feeling as I interpreted every lesson in Dr. Seuss' repertoire, making every story personal to my life. He changed the way a story should be told and the simple lessons that should be apart of everyone's moral identity, but are usually forgotten. Dr. Seuss made my childhood worth while as well as taught me to think about the simple things in life that can make a huge difference.

1st Blog of the Year

1) I am a learner, an avid one at that, and one of the things that excites me most about this upcoming year is to take in all that I can from U.S. history plus the novels and plays we are reading. Learning is a passion for me; knowledge excites me. Also, as you will soon learn, I love class discussions pertaining to history as well as literature. Voicing my opinion, asking questions, and arguing are a part of my personality. I am excited to learn how to be a more clear, persuasive, and eloquent in my writing. Not only in essays, but in creative writing as well. More than anything, I am excited to experience and exceed my fullest potential.

2) As I looked at the summer reading sheet that was presented to us at the end of tenth grade, I thought it's about time I did this. A weird thought to most my age, but as a person I always feel the need to be productive. Especially when college is right around the corner and I will be doing much more work there, so I might as well be prepared. The two books I read were completely opposite from each other. The first book was, The Tortilla Curtain, by T.C. Boyle.
A book that really opened my eyes to subconscious racism along with the perspective of sadness. With a major in literature, my mom recommended this book to me because she thought I would relate to the southern California political issues of Illegal immigrants, and thought I would appreciate his writing style and the way he tells a story. Which I did. She also picked the book because of the use of language that T.C. Boyle uses is very vivid. He also has a very inventive way of using language. "Truthfully", my mother explained to me "I chose it because I met T.C. Boyle on several occasions to record his short stories, and really liked him. Really respected him as an author". The second book I read was by the famous gardener, Michael Pollan. It was called, The Botany of Desire. A fantastic book about the history of four plants and how they have evolved. The apple, the tulip, marijuana, and the potato. All equally fascinating. I learned more in 238 pages of that book than I did in a semester of math. Who would have known that the apple originates from Kazakhstan, or ancient European cultures used to worship black tulips? My dad recommended this book for me for a couple of reasons. One, he thought I would enjoy Michael Pollan's writing style, and I really did. If I could be half of the writer he is throughout my lifetime, I would be satisfied. "It was an intellectually stimulating book", my dad said as I looked at the front cover with curiosity with the summer ahead.