Direction the Class Needs

I really like the way our class is structured. I like the way we have discussions. I feel like i get so much insight from the other classmates. In previous classes it has been mostly lectures, but this stems away from that in an effort I guess to perceive things the way we choose without the bias of a teacher. I don't really like the group works that much because we rarely actually do them in a group with a mini discussion of the text like we should. Sometimes the questions just end up being homework after the fact.
The blogs I feel have diminished a little bit but sometimes I feel like they are interesting to write and read about, but others I don't enjoy that much. I also feel like we should go over the blogs in class more often. As for a direction the class needs I think we can just keep on the same path with more discussions that start from a more abstract question and less group work. I actually like the class as is, so I wouldn't want to change much.

King Still King?

With Martin Luther King's birthday just passing and the observation of it coming up I start to wonder if people still remember him. I don't mean remember who he was, but more of what he stood for. He is definitely more than just another day off of school he fought the good fight and I'm starting to worry that people don't even pay attention to it anymore. Segregation and racial inequality aren't as fresh in people's minds anymore because of the amount of progress that has been made. If a person doesn't necessarily feel directly related to the issue they don't really care. Yes, there is still inequality when it comes to race, but I feel that people let that slide. In letting that slide  I feel that those people are moving away from King. Like he is becoming a faint memory. There are definitely more inequality issues that have taken over and other people have stepped up to fight the current battle. With this happening I'm afraid that Martin Luther King Jr. is losing his prevalence in societies mind. He will always be a historical figure and will always be remember, but I don't think King is still King.

A Beautiful Introduction

I have a very eclectic taste in music and everyone lets me know. I listen to almost everything and I'm willing to try any genre. My favorite tv show is Grey's Anatomy and the music they play in the show is important to the producers. That show has opened my eyes to artists I otherwise wouldn't know anything about. One of my greatest findings was the group Snow Patrol. 

Snow Patrol's third studio album Eyes Open is fantastic. With songs like Chasing Cars, Open Your Eyes, Set Fire to the Third Bar, and Make This Go On Forever its no wonder this album was a success. The music is beautiful and the lead singer Gary Lightbody has a great voice. A lot of the songs have that build up to the climatic part of the song and then the ending that calms out for the most part. This album has the type of songs I just find myself humming or randomly singing. It's the type of music I try to get my friends to listen to. So you should listen and I hope you like

Alone

I don't really know how it feels to be completely alone. I say that I want to be alone, but I really mean is that I want to be alone for a little while. I wouldn't know what to do. I am an only child so I spend a lot of time by myself, but that doesn't necessarily mean alone. There have been times that I have been in a group and felt alone. I would just sit there and feel a detachment to what was going on around me. In those moment I don't care what the other people are doing and I am just consumed with my thoughts. I often do this on the train too. I just sit there and think about everything. The world around me almost stops and I have no idea how much time has passed. Sometimes that feeling of being alone is good, but other times I want to be a part of something larger.

I know this means something

I know that havign people who care about you means something. We enter this world alone and we exit alone. The time in between does not have to be spent alone. In fact it shouldn't be. Just imagine if you didn't have anyone who cared about you then all your thoughts and feelings and dreams and aspirations would be even less significant than they already are. There would be nobody for you run to if you need help and nobody to keep you on the right track. Having people in you life that actually care is very important. I don't know where I would be if I didn't have someone to tell my successses and failures to.

FRANKLy speaking

I've finished the first part of Man's Search for Meaning and thus far Frankl has been talking about his experiences in a concentration camp. I had never heard of Capos before and when Josh related it to the overseers of slaves and it made sense. You have to do everything you can to stay alive.

What actually happened to him wasn't exactly surprising, but his reactions to what was going on we're surprising for me. He talked about apathy and how they pretty much become in a sense numb. All the death surrounding the prisoners had less and less effects on them. It made me think about my own life and how I think I have problems. I sit there an wallow in everything going on, then I read this book and watch It's a beautiful life and I remember other people have gone through worse and taken it in stride. Frankl kept living and Guido kept living his life until the very end. After everything that was thrown at them they got through it even though Guido died. It helped me realize that it could be worse so I should just find a way through it.

Who Will They Choose?

I think Voltaire would vote for Jill Stein of the Green Party. Voltaire was all about cultivating his garden. Jill Stein wants to provide grants and loans to grow green business. She also wants to redirect research funding from fossil fuels to wind, and geothermal. Stein is pretty much trying to get everyone to help cultivate the garden.
I don't really think that Camus would vote. It would be meaningless to him, but I believe he would vote Obama. I don't think Camus would want to stir things up so he'd vote Obama because he's the reigning president.