ON THIS DAY…….

Congrats to the 1300 Class for making it this final week!
I like to remember good events like today by associating them with special affairs, celebrity birthdays, historical events.  

Birthdays:

• 1911 Joseph Barbera-Animator
• 1940 Bob Mackie - Fashion Designer
• 1874 Harry Houdini- Magician

Events: 

• 1958- ELVIS PRESLEY  was inducted into the U.S. Army in Memphis, Tenn.
• 2002- HALLE BERRY-  was the first African American Performer to win a Best Actress Oscar

Authors Jules Verne and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow died on this day.

Where Bragging is Bad: Reblog if you hate when people "show-off"!

Hello to the 1300 in our final week!
I was reading an article from the Harvard Business Review written by Strategist, Dorie Clark, says that almost every culture has its own metaphor about what happens to people who are judged by their peers to be overreaching.
The U.S. is known for its embrace of assertive self-confidence, etc…however personal branding is seen as a positive way to differentiate oneself in the American workplace.  For foreign professionals who grew up with a entirely different bag of cultural customs and who now need to succeed in the U.S. may find a great deal of difficulties and challenges.
One Indian manager from Dorie's research group compared branding to "committing a sin".  That sounds a bit extreme for us , americans, but this is a strong indicator of how hard it can be to do personal branding from countries like China, Korea or India where modesty, composure and self-control are valued than the ability to toot your own horn.
I have had my fair share of traveling and I find it best to just be very observant and do as the natives do according to the country you live in.

How Artists Work

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

This is our last week of this semester…. I wanted to share one more thing with you...

I was fascinated by a recent book, "Daily Rituals: How Artists Work." by Mason Curry who examines schedules of 161 painters, writers , composers, philosophers, and other exceptional thinkers. 

The further I read, the more I realized that for these geniuses, a routine was vital to their work.   As Currey says, "A solid routine fosters a well-worn groove of one's mental energies and helps stave off the tyranny of moods."  This book is not a "how to" manual but rather a hodgepodge of trivia.  

Workspace . For Jane Austen asked that a certain squeaky hinge never be oiled, so that she always had a warning when someone was approaching .  

For many a daily walk was essential for brain circulation and function like Charles Dickens  was highly inspired by his famously three hour walks that he took every afternoon. 

Even a supportive partner had major influences for some artists like Martha Freud, "laid out Sigmund's clothes, chose his handkerchiefs, and even put toothpaste on  his toothbrush".  Gertrude Stein preferred to write outdoors, looking at rocks and cows-- 

So, I'll close with a toast to those artists who did their work within the constraints of someone else's routine.  Like T.S.Eliot, who found it much easier to write once he had a day job in a bank than as a starving poet.; F.Scott Fitzgerald, who's  writing  was crammed in around the strict military officer schedule.  

I don't look at cows but I'm more productive in the confines of my quiet sound insulated studio, shut away from the world. 

What's your routine???? 

Artists Bring Life

Now coming to a close in our English1300 class and looking back at some of the heartfelt stories and memorable poems we have read,  ever wonder where these remarkable writers get their  ideas?   Although their personal life experiences boosted their pens to paper, cities also drew them to create insight or that "eureka moment".
     Where they lived drives them to write such fiercely emotionally charged words that conveys messages of hope, deep sadness, excitement even death.  Cities like London to inspire Shakespeare, Athens served as a muse for the play writes like Sophocles as well as philosophers Plato and Aristotle.   Painters like Leornardo DaVinci, Michealangelo from Rome.  Kurt Vonnegut from Indianapolis during the depression, Steven King from Cape Cod, Ray Bradbury from Waukegan, Illinois.   Whether it is a city or country side, they all drew inspiration from their own surroundings.   Museums and galleries provide residents and visitors access to these works of art in their memory. Places of worship, city parks and buildings themselves reflect each urban area's artistic ethos.
"Artists are what make the places come alive".

The Love Song of J.Alfred PruFrock (p.1032)

On Wednesday Mr Hamon introduced our class to a new poem.  It has an unusual name for a romantic themed verse.
    In reading this poem I felt the speaker had a sneaky, trickster side who invites us on a romantic walk down windy roads and point out that the evening looks like a surgical procedure.  He keeps delaying and tried to hide something.
    Another side is  PruFrock the fool, whose twisted attempts to make us think he is a super slick, suave confident ladies' man, in fact,  Mr. Bean would score better then he did.  "AS IF"
     Finally, we have the sad, honest man who realizes the jig is up and can't even convince himself of his own stories. Few lines at a time seem to let him lift his mask.  He admits that he should have been
"a pair of ragged claws" and that he has seen "the moment of his greatness flicker" (lines 72,84).

Our average middle-class speaker who pretends to secretly control the world and he kind of suspects that he is a "ridiculous" and a "Fool" but could never fully admit it to himself (lines118-119).

Quote:  "In the room the women come and go Talking of Michelangelo". (lines13-14).  Rewinding motion is like watching the same scene over and over again. Like Dante's Inferno, where character repeat the same pointless motions endlessly as punishment for leading small, meaningless lives.

Procrastination: good or bad?

OK..truth be told... "by choice, at times, I procrastinate".   But here's the thing…
      We live in a time constrained society. People are rushing, & pushing to meet deadlines. If a person can multitask and be successful at accomplishing several tasks at once in a short time frame, then we praise that person's ability.  
    Faster is synonymous with better, and a person who delays prompts reflection about that person's worth and value.   
It can be described as harmful and self-handicapping, a destructive strategy, yet we ALL do it. 
     Active procrastination is positively related to poly-chronicity, where the person can engage in "multiple" tasks at the same time and can adapt their work schedule to meet the deadlines in a timely manner. (Coi, 2009). 
     These people show a certain level of self-reliance, autonomy and self-confidence because they are aware of the risk of subjecting themselves to last minute pressures and still consciously decide to do it.  
     For me, in some instances not all, since I know that Im racing against the clock it creates a certain excitement and pressure that elicit peak performance.  Speaking for myself on certain events, these practices may not work for others. 

March 8th: The World Celebrates International Woman's Day!

     Professor Hamon spoke to us about "GENDER CRITICISM and the inequalities of women in the Literary World and in all aspects of life even in today's modern age.  
      In honor of all the women who have dared to shock, go against the grain and galvanized the paths and inspired hope for millions of us, today, March 8th, marks "INTERNATIONAL WOMAN'S DAY"       
      It's a day to highlight the importance of achieving equality for women and girls not simply of a matter of fundamental rights, but progress.   Companies with more women leaders perform better. Peace agreements that include women are more durable and women enact more legislation on key social issues like health, education, anti-discrimination and child support.  Equality for women means progress for all!  
       I have gathered some powerful quotes of some of the women who are my heroines.  They have helped other women persevere and prosper throughout the years and who have inspired me the most....

James Bond supports "INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY",  his boss, "M", has a few words to say about that!!

Please write your comments, share your thoughts on what does this day means to you and the women that have made an impact in your life.