Open Letter to Charles Bukowski, brilliant author of "Dinosauria, We"

Dear Charles Bukowski,

I'd like to thank you for writing "Dinosauria, We". The poem is so inspirational, and so intense, and so true. I absolutely loved it. I felt really empowered by what you were saying and I agree wholeheartedly.  Then I found out that you wrote it in the 70s and I was shocked. It all made sense for the 70s too, not just now. Our world is still struggling with the same things we've been struggling with. The 70s seem so long ago and so disconnected from now but reading the poem made me realize that in the grand scheme of things, 40 years is not that long, and not that much has changed. Technology has changed and social norms have changed, but the root of our society has shifted only slightly. Things you point out seem so specific to our time now that I was certain it had been written only a few years ago. It impressed upon me how little progress we have made on a lot of fronts, how much work there is to be done.

Your words are so powerful and flow so seamlessly, how long did it take you to write this? I also wonder, if you had lived long enough, what you would think about our society. Who would you be voting for?

Anyways, Mr. Bukowski thank-you so much for this poem. "Dinosauria, We" will be one of those things pinned up to my wall at college. You've been an inspiration.

Love,
Gianna Clark.

Father and Son

In The Road the element of parent-child relationship is isolated and becomes a major theme of the book. The Father and Son are in this drastic situation where they are completely reliant on each other. They're both reliant on each other to keep them alive. The situation is extremely horrible and stressful and would wear on any relationship. The Son is so young and knows so much about the world, but at the same time so little. The Father is trying to shelter his son and keep his life as normal as possible, and in doing so doesn't tell him whole truths, which the boy picks up on immediately. Things like this seem to be pushing them apart. I think the Son senses this a lot, where as the Father doesn't as much. The Son is growing up in this ridiculously horrible situation and if he lives long enough to understand just how much his Father did for him he will be grateful. However, now it feels like there's this growing resentment towards his Father. In his eyes his Father is the one who makes them constantly travel and move from place to place. There's no way for the Son to completely understand what's going on. Despite this there is an undeniable amount of love between them, but it seems that it's just love. They love each other so much and are so focused on survival that they don't seem to actually like each other, or enjoy the others company. But then again can you really enjoy someone when you're trying so desperately to survive?


I'm definitely not a parenting expert and I won't pretend to be. I'm lucky enough to have great parents, but frankly I find parent-child relationships weird and hard to define. Every parental relationship is different across the board. I'm also not a kid person, which may have something to do with it.

Thanks for reading.
Gianna

John Proctor, Hero or Stooge?

What is a hero? A hero is someone who saves the day, who does good in the world, rescues a few damsels in distress, an overall good guy. Or is he? Maybe a hero is just a guy who was in the right place at the right time. A guy who’s rich, handsome, influential, etc. A hero can be so many things, but when it comes down to it, he does something good, right?

What is a stooge? A fool. No one really expects anything of the stooge, he just sort of runs around and everyone rolls their eyes and dismisses him. No one thinks of themselves as the stooge, but I think everyone’s been a stooge at one point or another. Plus stooges are the most lovable, everyone likes an underdog.

So what’s the difference between a hero and a stooge? I’d argue a lot less than one would think. Little things differentiate the two; circumstance, money, good looks. There’s always that part in a super hero’s tale when nobody believes him or the general public downright hate him, much like they would a stooge. Never the less, something happens allowing him to switch over from stooge to hero.

In John Proctor’s case, he was able to become a hero. First, he had influence in the town. People looked up to John before the witch trials started. He also is rather good looking, making him the perfect fit to play the hero. We can all view John Proctor as the hero because we look back on the times and people of Salem as being extreme and misguided. They persecuted innocent people, which we are naturally against as Americans (the government seems to forget that from time to time, but that’s another story…), so John Proctor can only be thought of as the hero. He went against this crazed society and stuck up for people who couldn’t stick up for themselves.  So he’s a hero in our eyes, of course. But then, we are the society that prevailed. The winners write the history books. If the Puritan ideal had prevailed, we’d all think John Proctor worse than a stooge, more like a crazy lunatic getting in the way of God’s will. The label, hero or stooge, depends less upon what he actually did but which society prevails to think of him as a hero or a stooge.

In other, more ‘normal’ circumstances John would not have been the hero. He cheated on his wife with the Reverend’s niece, who was still a girl. John would have been the sorry loser caught on ‘Cheaters’ by his wife in a crappy motel with his face blurred out and would run around cursing the camera in the parking lot. We love to hate cheaters. It all comes back to circumstance. Only the craziness of the witch trials could save John from such reality television defamation and catapult him into heroics. It could also be argued that if John hadn’t cheated with Abby the whole thing wouldn’t have happened. Abby wouldn’t have been so drawn into the whole witch craft thing and wouldn’t have urged the girls to participate in the rituals and she wouldn’t have drunk blood, etc. The whole thing could have been avoided. But we say “It’s okay that you inadvertently caused all the madness, John. You tried to save everybody with some less than fool proof evidence. That’s all that really matters. Thanks a bunch.”

To answer the question; John Proctor is a hero, at least in this story. But the point is that the term hero or stooge can’t be viewed as a simple thing. People are weird and complex and beautiful and ugly all at the same time. So maybe no one’s a hero, maybe we’re all just people, and what we are depends on perspective. Except for Superman and Chuck Norris, they’re definitely heroes.

Maybe my take on this was a little bit…cynical...or maybe its more critical? Not sure. Thanks for reading anyways,

Gianna

Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God

 What do I even say about this, I have so many thoughts about religion and God. My Grandma’s very Catholic and my Mom and Dad were both raised Catholic. I’m baptized and I’ve had my first communion in a Catholic Church, but since, my views have changed. When I was younger I never consider not believing in God or Jesus or the Church or whatever. But as I’ve gotten older I’ve come up with my own beliefs. I don’t really believe in the bible or God per say, at least not what the bible says God is. I feel like there has to be some sort of spiritual world after ours, but I don’t know what it is. I think it’s silly for people to pretend they know what happens after you die or what’s beyond our world.Maybe it's not that I feel like there HAS to be something after we die, but I want to believe there is.  I don't want to just disappear, for my soul to go away. Catholicism gives people security, it tells then what they want to hear. That they won't actually die and the bad people will be punished and that they will get to live in paradise forever. I'll tackle most of the blog referring back to the Catholic Church because its what I know, it's the most experience I've had with Religion. 

I don’t understand religion, it leaves me utterly confused. The Bible for instance, supposedly these prophets wrote it, but why should we believe them? Why should we trust them? Maybe these people are just writing a book to fit their own agenda. People in powerful places are writing rules to get other people to do what they want them to. How is it that so many Catholic Priests (men of God, am I right?) can sexually abuse kids? (Including little boys) Aren’t these the same people preaching against not only sexual abuse but also homosexuality? I guess I just don’t get it.  I’m tired of our society being closed off to people, denying them their rights. I’m a firm believer that everyone should be able to marry. My Mom always says that 50 years from now people will look at our struggle to legalize gay marriage in a similar light to the way we look at the civil right movement.Warning: I'll connect anything I can to gay rights, it's sort of my thing.

In the Catholic Church women can't be Priests or anything of the like, just Nuns. I'm sorry, but what? Did the Church just decide to turn a blind eye to the past century of women's rights and our struggle for gender equality? Guess so. If Lutherans can do it (My best friend's mom is a Lutheran Pastor), why can't the Catholics?

Religion can be good and useful and all that stuff, but too often it harbors a close minded mentality if not fear if not hate. And if "God" or whatever exists, then I think he is angry. Angry because people are using him to keep humanity from furthering itself by arguing about who should be whom, who should do what, and who should love whom.

Arrival...there goes the neighborhood

When separate groups of people arrive and join or combine with another group, chaos can ensue. It can cause a small amount, or a great amount of conflict. In a community there is a complex group dynamic in place, when a new group of people joins or combines with the group it, inevitably, screws everything up. Things have to be reworked, whether it’s a welcome change or a reluctant one. Change, of any sort, is always hard, but when people are entered into the situation, it becomes more complex. People have emotions, actions, reactions, etc. All of these further complicate the process. Every person in a group also has a role, or a status. This role or status determines how they interact in the group. There are simple ones, like a child’s role in a family. The details of the role will differ from family to family, but it is a role none the less. Then there are more complex roles, or roles that are less obvious and hard to define. For instance, in a group of friends one may be the “leader”, the one whose decisions impact the group the most, or the one who gets the group to come together. One may be the instigator, or the gossiper, or the comforter, or what have you. Regardless, most people have roles and are comfortable with them and understand what their role entitles (most of the time without knowingly acknowledging that they have a specific role).

And then a new person comes. Perhaps it’s a new family member, or friend, or someone in the workspace, or Europeans coming to “discover” your home. Whoever this new entity is, they’ve now shifted the group dynamics, and they are adding themselves into the equation. This shift can be easy, or extremely difficult and detrimental. A lot times it has to do with if the original members of the group accept/like/welcome the new entity of the group. If members of the group are closed off to the new member it makes transition harder. It also depends on what sort of role this entity aspires to attain. Perhaps they’re content with blending in with group, adopting the group’s beliefs/values/system. However, if this new addition is looking to lead, or take charge, or drastically change the way the group works, they can be met with a lot resistance.

Regardless of if the transition is a tough one or not, the group is forced to adjust. That’s why new members are often met with hostility and negativity. The title of this blog post can represent two things; the first one being the resistance of the original party to accept new members and the second one being what it appears to be, that new members of a group often create unnecessary chaos and conflict



Thanks, guys. Gianna. 

Introduction

Introduction to me. I am Gianna Clark.

Age: 14
Birthday: November 22
Year: Freshman
Favorite color: Purple
Favorite food: Chocolate

I find those to be the first questions people ask when they're 'getting to know you' or playing a name game or what have you. I think my post would be really boring if I went on listing favorites, so I'll give some random facts about myself that might be useful to know, or at least moderately interesting.

My cats are named after Star Wars characters. Luke and Leia, and yes, they're brother and sister. They're black and white. I found out recently I can call them tuxedo cats, which I think is adorable. You could call me a Star Wars nerd, you could say that....with conviction. I own all of the movies. My favorites are the original 4, 5, and 6. Anyone who knows anything about Star Wars knows the ones that followed just can't measure up.

I'm addicted to Harry Potter. I'm starting to think I'll never get my Pottermore letter, I'll have to wait till its open to the "general public", which is less than satisfactory. I saw Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 2 at midnight, with one blue haired Emily Hawkins. Oh, yeah, and I have a wand.

I was born on the north side but I've lived on the south side for 8 years. My Mom worked at UIC when we lived on  the north side but when she got  a job at the University of Chicago, we moved. I know the question, so here's the answer: I'm a Cubs fan, but not a Sox hater.

I'm bi-racial, black and white (like my cats, for those of you paying attention). I have a special place in my heart for black and white things, ie. my back pack. My mom is white and my dad is black. I love being biracial, it's definitely been self-defining. It gives me a different outlook on a lot of things, especially race related things. I've never known what it's like, but I don't think I'd enjoy being confined to one race.

If I could I would walk around barefoot all the time. We have more nerve endings on our feet than we do on our hands, so you can feel more with your feet. I love the feel of different floors, from the carpet in my room to the hard linoleum at school, to the soft grass in  my back yard. I wouldn't say I connect to things with my feet, but I sort of do.

I act with the Lookingglass Young Ensemble, I sing with the Chicago Children's Choir and I dance at Whitney Young. I'm very much into the performing arts. I love being on stage. I'd like to become a professional actress. I know, I know, it's not an easy career. When I tell people what I want to 'be when I grow up' they're expression changes. They look down on me, almost belittling me. It's as if they're thinking "Oh isn't that nice, she wants to be an actress. Well, let her dream for a little while longer". And it's annoying, because what they don't know is that I can see this process going on in their head. In case you can't tell, its sort of a pet peeve of mine. But that's okay, I don't need other people to believe in me, as long as I do (how's that for inspirational?).

I'm a vegetarian for ethical reasons. I always knew I'd become a vegetarian, it was just a  matter of time. I read the Omnivore's Dilemma in Biology last year and found that I had to make decisions about what I eat. I love being vegetarian, it's not hard for me at all. I love animals and I can't imagine ever eating my cat, so why would I be okay eating another animal? I have my own personal reasons for being vegetarian but I don't expect other people to follow suit. Another pet peeve of mine; when people judge other people because their choices are different from their own.

I have asthma and allergies. I'm allergic to any animal with fur, feathers, hair, etc (that doesn't keep me away from them, obviously) and most grasses and pollen and trees. I'm also allergic to peanuts and possibly cocoanut, I'm not that eager to find out about the cocoanut. I have exercise induced asthma which means when I exercise my 'breathing tube' (not really sure what you call it) gets inflamed, making it difficult for air to pass through to my lungs.

I like sleeping with my windows open, even if its freezing out. I also like that feeling when you wake up before the sun rises and you feel like it just you and the world. That time when no one's awake and it's silent out. But then I go back to sleep, because I love to sleep.

I wish I was British, really really badly. I've decided I'll just have to marry a British man. Another thing, about me, I've decided I won't get married until everyone can get married. I'm quite the gay rights activist.

I have a mug collection, including a Yoda mug, a Shakespearean insults mug, a Wicked mug, a San Francisco mug, an Alice and Wonderland mug, a Hershey's Kisses mug, and a Mickey Mouse mug, among others.

I've no idea how to end this post. But, erm, thanks for reading, I guess, and I'll see you in the classroom!


Gianna