Memories of the Sea

The mephitis of rotting flesh, an aroma not striven for. Yet this is where I find my pacification. All around is cerulean. In the sky the birds twirl as if manipulated puppets on the wind’s whim. Below only water and a sunken bateau, and so I sit, the descent is not the challenge. It is indeed the task at hand once you have immersed, wholly, under the ocean’s mighty force. For below the perils of the surface die, and new emerge. Gripped with mighty spear in one and feeble bag in other we begin our journey, every moment deeper, every moment darker, every moment descent. Our words do us no good below the surface, here only the fish declamate, and talk they do. Not in word but in dynamism, ever fretful. Take it only one to spook the masses, take it only one to draw the hunters. Spear in hand the dance begins. It cannot be dispatched. All moves must be calculated in great detail. The trigger pulled, the spear released. Blood fills the water. In to the bag the trophy. By my side it will sit twitching, moribund, calling. A drop amongst a million they can sense. From the blue and without warning, silhouetted against the surface. Hunter becomes hunted. If I run I do so against evolutionary perfection, spurn, I stay the fate none the better. Eye to I we tango in the labyrinth of King Poseidon. Neither I nor eye to be outdone by the other. Primal instinct cannot be suppressed; the need to feed is millennia in the making. One flutter of the tail does me in, and in he comes. Only one option. Release the trophy in exchange for freedom. Never turn your back on the ocean, never belittle.

 

Dynamism- noun; movement

Mephitis- noun; a foul odor

Pacification- noun; to harmonize

Cerulean- adjective; shad of blue

Bateau- noun; a medium sized vessel

Declamate- noun; to speak in a distinct dialect

Dispatch- noun; to hurry or rush

Moribund- adjective; dying slowly

Spurn- verb; to disregard or ignore

Belittle- verb; to detract

Music Review: Slightly Stoopid

The mainstream music industry has a way of corrupting once artistically inclined performers with the riches, fame, and vice of the business. All too often we see artists compromising their creative flow in order to please record labels, radio charts, and adoring tweens who covet the conventionality of Britney Spears-esque persona coupled with cookie cutter beats and lyrics that run skin deep. Rarely into today’s high-risk high reward industry do we see a true message delivered in any song “worthy” of radio airplay. Of course there are some exceptions to the rule but as a general trend the music industry has forsaken the once revolutionary artists of old in favor of commercial success. Fortunately there are still performers that gather such a following off the airwaves that it is almost impossible to keep them off of it, one of these bands is an Ocean Beach, California mainstay called “Slightly Stoopid”. The self-described “fusion of acoustic rock and blues with reggae, hip-hop, and punk” sounds of Stoopid cover a large genre of music listeners and allows one of the more versatile bands going a chance to cross lines and perform essentially what they want when they want. But to understand the success behind Slightly Stoopid in turn you must understand the success of the band’s mentor, “Sublime”.
In 1995 the lead vocalists (Miles Doughty and Kyle McDonald) of the band now known as Slightly Stoopid were still in high school when the got their first big break. The band was offered a record deal by “Skunk Records”, owned and operated by Sublime lead vocalist Bradley Nowell. Shortly there after the band released their first album self-entitled “Slightly Stoopid” which carried with it an unpolished form of punk infused reggae. As the band developed under Nowell a definitive style began to emerge somehat in adherence to the renderings of their mentors and mega-success, Sublime. Stoopid released two more album under the “Skunk” label each once with progressively more reggae influence. As the band began to create their own identity the music of Stoopid also began to take on a life of its own which can be seen in their 1998 album entitled “Longest Barrel Ride” where the band can be seen shirking the punk rock inspired music of their early days in a concerted effort to take the group in another direction. The 1998 release featured acoustic creations in the mold of a toned down Sublime and carried the band to regional prominence in the surf inspired Southern California coast. After the release and moderate successes of “Longest Barrel Ride” and the unexpected death of record company president Bradley Nowell the band split ways with Sublime and defunct Skunk Records in favor of self production, however Stoopid acknowledged the experience and confidence that came along with touring with Sublime and in turn drawing off the massive crowds brought in by the front page notoriety of the band.
After splitting with Skunk the band began writing new music in anticipation of their next album set to be released in 2001 entitled “Live & Direct: Acoustic Roots”, a live album that would be compiled from various tour destinations the band had booked in the coming months. The album was immediately recognized for its creativity by critics at its release in 2001 and included several tracks with a distinct call for world peace, the most notable of these pieces called “If This World Were Mine” where front man Kyle McDonald declares “…the killin’ must come to an end my friend, and unite the nations with one flag…” world peace was not the only thing the band emulated in their third album in coherence with the “Sublime-way”, there is also a substantial call for the legalization of marijuana within the work. The most overt call for legalization takes place in the song “Officer” and coincided with a community effort in Southern California to legalize the cannabis plant. The lines “I said don't go lock me up because me smoke sensi
Yes, this is the ghetto but I live 'cross the sea” and the laid back nature of the band’s music immortalized the crew in So-Cal drug culture and essentially catapulted the group to national prominence in the emerging “reggae crossover” genre.
Just after the release of “Live & Direct: Acoustic Roots” the band picked up a new following, a new identity, and a new apprentice, a band called “The Expendables” fell into the good graces of Stoopid front man Kyle McDonald upon playing a show in Santa Cruz, California. McDonald used The Expendables to open the band’s own label in the mold of Skunk Records called “Stoopid Records”. McDonald also signed a Hawaiian based band called “Pepper” to the label in 2002. Both bands began (much like Stoopid had with Sublime) to emulate their mentors and have both since released five albums in the very “surf reggae” mold pioneered by Sublime and Stoopid. In 2003 the band released their much-anticipated fifth album, “Closer to the Sun” which included compilations with both Pepper and the Expendables. The record was the bands greatest success thus far in their career selling more than 100,000 copies throughout the nation. The record boasted a Billboard Top 100 hit in its namesake song “Closer to the Sun” and solicited major record deals from Capitol, Virgin, and Columbia Records. However the band rejected all three of the offers in order to continue a pursuit of creativity in their music. Kyle McDonald once explained in an interview with “Surfer Magazine” the following: "Everything really starts with acoustic guitars with us, I mean that's what we're jamming on when we're sitting around smokin' weed and watching T.V. and we weren’t about to sell out to the big boys just for more money”.
The band continued work on their record all while continuing their efforts to advance world peace and legalize marijuana. The band began a concert series in an effort with NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) in 2005 to raise awareness about cannabis in an attempt to pass a resolution on the 2006 ballot in California to legalize medical use of marijuana. The group also began to fundraise for several non-profit groups committed to the advancement of world peace and unity. The group released two more albums one entitled “Chronchitis” which was released in 2007 and their most recent compilation called “Slightly Not Stoned Enough To Eat Breakfast Yet Stoopid” in 2008. The band also continues to actively tour with both Pepper and the Expendables and have inspired several other upstart bands including “880 South”, “Current Swell”, “Stone Senses”, and “Burn Unit”. There is no question that the guidance provided by Sublime allowed Slightly Stoopid to evolve into what they are today, a cutting edge, multi faceted, attention-grabbing machine. But Stoopid has in turn given a path for many other bands cut into both their and Sublime’s image to come to prominence through their independent thinking and independent record label. Although often controversial the group has a proven record for standing up for what they believe and not curbing to the lure of commercial successes in favor of having their voice heard by the many who will listen.

The images depicted in my piece of hypnopedia are suggestive through the idea that money buys happiness, this idea is perpetuated by the scenes of illustrious wealth and are equated with power. The words “Need it not be thought, but only bought” illustrate societies apparent need to collect material possessions in an attempted substitute for true fundamental happiness. Although many people have exhibited the self-restraint needed in today’s consumer driven world, the great majority of humanity has become overly infatuated with the pursuit of money rather than the true pursuit of happiness. The pictures of extravagant cars, yachts, jewelry, and others show some of the stereotypical thing to “strive” for. This use of stereotypical wealth symbols helps to push the idea that monetary success is the only true form of contentment.

ATKM Dramatic Monologue

I am caught between what is right and what is wrong

Doing neither I bid a sirens song

Yet do the latter and my conscious broke

And the former labeled as a choke

It wasn’t to be this way when it begun

Three fathers yet as good as none

Crippled by allegiance to the crown

Being slowly yet silently dragged down

The years have flown since initiation

And now I do sit at this station

Of right and wrong, good and evil

Never governed by the steeple

But rather by the one who bought me

A petty sum brings me to a knee

For in a candid test a fate

The father I’ve been seeking now forsake

The straw that broke the camel’s back

Has hindered my accordance to this track

Of love I am indeed a victim

Stolen by the once trusted kingdom

Satan’s work is seldom scene

But rather manifested in a dream

Of years before my life was bore

Another bid adherence swore

Yet not to the same set of hands

Instead to a woman in different lands

To which my namesake has belonged

Indeed the servant had been wronged

So a quest embarked upon never conquered

Finding her a fallacy concurred

But in history we find ourselves repeated

Time is a force, not defeated

The same mistakes that came before

Indeed came knocking at my door

But in the end the past redone

And the king’s swan song has been sung

Taken not by mortal justice

But instead by a man always trusted

Vindication, yet not so sweet

For I too have taken the devil’s treat

In the end what’s done is done

Summarized not by simple pun

But by a spider and a twitch

Undone I’ve been by my own niche

College Essay

It has always been power that man has craved the most. More than love, money, earthly possessions, or happiness man yearns for power. It is an abstract concept not done justice by a dictionary definition or the mores of great men but rather by the touch of a hand and a beat of a heart, for power comes in all forms. “Vires, Artes, Mores” should not be read in its literal sense for that would little do it its proper homage, rather it should be viewed as a guiding principal in the lives of the common man, something to strive for, something to earn. As a derivative of power it should be seen; power in every sense of the word.

I claim not to have power over any man on this earth and nor do I desire it, rather I covet power in myself, for only through true belief in ones self can he ever hope to lead others. Vires is a quality I see a great deal of in myself. As a recipitant of Lee County’s “Do The Right Thing Award” I was publicly recognized for my contributions to the community, but it is not recognition that a person in the true embodiment of Vires strives for. Rather I found strength by visiting the poorest of the poor while in China. I had made the trek with hopes of meeting my newly adopted cousin and had instead encountered a myriad of life’s lessons all at once. One of these lessons was to learn to appreciate every moment we have on this earth because only too many, both foreign and local have felt the pain of loss, dereliction, and neglect.

Man is nothing without knowledge; this simple statement highlights the need for not only Vires but Artes as well. Intellectual pursuits cannot be limited to the concrete confines of a schoolhouse; they must be widespread and far-reaching. This is something I have always believed. Perhaps this unquenchable thirst for knowledge is what led me to attend the National Youth Leadership Forum on Medicine over the summer of 2008 where I and my fellow scholars were treated to a up close and personal look into the present day medical profession in America. My cerebral search expanded upon my return when I enrolled in a class to become a Red Cross certified Lifeguard and first aid applicant, adding to my budding interest in the protection of the community.

Finally it is Mores we look upon to find the true strength of a man, his character. In my pursuit of Mores I have chosen consistently to lead by example, whether it be going far and beyond the necessary levels of community interaction, serving as president of my school’s “Fishing Club”, organizing the F.I.V.E. Freshmen Retreat, or contributing as a Student Ambassador for Bishop Verot High School I find that actions, not words define who we are. In the spirit of this belief I choose to think not on “Vires, Artes, Mores” as singular entities but rather as a united message of power that every man can achieve with an earnest drive to do what’s right.

A Game of Ease

It’s been rumored by a thousand men but touched the ears of none

Brighter, crisper, more antiseptic to hide our problems

Easier it would be to cower in the shadows while the armies of Allah rage

Smarter to relinquish hope and lay down arms against oppression

 

Brigades! Blasphemy! Brother!

In death we are equaled, in separation strengthened

It will come in your darkest hour and raise you to the highest mount

Fear not the end rather the beginning

 

Nature will triumph over all

The only hope is in the last real assurance

The only hope is in the one true promise

At the end you’ll face the deific gates or plunge the sirens call

 

Two ways out one way in

One departs with honor, one in disgrace

There can be no common ground in the true existence

We strive for victory; we strive for physical manifestation of joy

 

It is monetary happiness you seek to find, so pillage and plunder; your soul

Nothing in life is free of its celestial price tag

Trivial in the pursuit of life, yet like Egyptian cotton to the creator

Steal, cheat, lie; in the end it’s all a game

Long Day’s Journey Into Night Mini Research Paper

The setting of the story is as crucial to the overall ebb and flow of the work than any character, occurrence, or dialogue could ever be. Setting captures the reader not allowing he or she to break from the mental landscape being created deep inside their minds. Long Day’s Journey Into Night author Eugene O’Neill exemplifies the use of setting in his work as a vehicle to enhance his depiction of his characters, the plot, and the overall theme of the work. The setting in O’Neill’s work goes beyond just a place and a time and instead captivates the reader or listener in a complete soul body and mind experience that goes well beyond the realms of basic literature.

            O’Neill employs many setting scenarios in order to progress his characters throughout the play. The work takes place inside of the Tyrone family’s “summer home”. The “summer home” as it is called in the work is not a large dwelling and is often snubbed by Mary for its lack of size and quality. O’Neill employs the house under different pretense than anyone else using it as a symbol of the impermanent state of the Tyrone family. As the reader finds out through the work the family only frequents their summer home for a short time each year and throughout the remainder of the year stay in shoddy hotels across America. This temporary state of being also extends somewhat to the relationship between Mary and James Tyrone which has become strained even further due to James’ refusal to buy a more permanent residence for his family and become a permanent father and husband. Other setting factors are used by the author to advance and sculpt his characters, fog is one of the great setting devices used throughout all of literature and its use in the work is an integral part of the overall book. At periodic times throughout the work a fog will roll into the scene. This haze is extremely symbolic due to the fact that at most times the Tyrone family is in a mental haze themselves. Whether it be drug or alcohol induced, the stupor that the Tyrone’s often find themselves in essentially “fogs” their ability to see one another for who they truly are. Instead, the family is forced into bickering with the only people they love because of the inordinate amounts of stress and loneliness, which only perpetuates the overall feeling that each and every member of the Tyrone family is becoming lost in their own mental fog (which has been manifested in the work as a physical obstruction).

            The setting of this work not only influences the characters but the plot as well. Darkness is a reoccurring theme throughout the play and is coincidentally tied in directly with the setting in the work. Darkness begins to make its presence felt with the existence of fog but it is never truly catalyzed into a prominent setting figure until the day draws into the twilight hours. As night falls the Tyrone’s sit in almost complete darkness thanks to James’ refusal to “waste” money on electricity. The impending darkness is symbolic of how the entire family as a whole is now functioning. As the day has wore on the characters have become more and more aloof, some thanks to substances while others just from the stress of the day. While they sit in darkness some of the most profound moments in the play begin to happen. “The looming darkness acts as a decisive moment in the work as a whole and goes a long way in lamenting the overall fate of the Tyrone family…” notes John H. Raleigh in The Plays of Eugene O ‘Neill. Raleigh’s observations back a theory that O’Neill utilizes darkness to bring out the most primal emotions of his characters and to illustrate the true colors of James Tyrone who from this point in the work forward must be viewed as a contemptible and calculating man.

            It is clear that the setting of the play is crucial to both the development of characters and the exposition of the plot sequence but perhaps to none is it more vital than to the thematic development of the book. Although several themes exist in the work they all share common ground in the fact that the setting extenuates them. The most apparent thematic element being tied to the setting of the work is regret. All of the main characters show regret in a varying level of degree. Mary is overtaken by regret for almost the entirety of the play forcing her weak persona to turn to the use of drugs to compensate for her longing for a better life. O’Neill manifests this abstract idea into his setting without ever calling attention to it from the reader. Darkness and fog are both setting components that help to author the overall theme of regret through the play. The examples do not stop with Mary however; almost all of the Tyrone family is stricken by addiction to substances that help to disguise their real thoughts and feelings. Darkness and fog are used to show the inability for the family to “see through” the tribulations they face and instead their choice to turn inward and forsake their fellow kin. 

            Despite setting often being overlooked in the grand scheme of a work it is indeed one of the most critical components of any literary piece. Whether it be understated or glaringly obvious the setting put forth by Eugene O’Neill directly influences the characters, plot, and thematic elements of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. The masterful use of symbolic elements in the actual setting of the work causes them to go widely unnoticed by the untrained eye and thus, when caught add a greater dimension to the overall mystique of the piece itself. There is no question that without O’Neill’s expert use of setting components the overall meaning of the work would have been lost amongst the dialogue, instead Long Day’s Journey Into Night goes down in history as the greatest work of a legendary playwright.

 

Works Cited

• John Henry Raleigh. The Plays of Eugene O'Neill. Edition. 1. N.p.: Southern Illinois University Press, 1965.

Dickinson Poem

 

Senseless minds in silent freedom speak

Governed not by right or wrong

Led like sheep across the fields

Unaware of life’s true needs or wants

 

From birth blessed waters blind them

From there all secrets are to be revealed, upon penalty of scorn

Rationed to bread by the creator immaculate

Yet none ask why or beat the drum

 

Shadowed by Pilot’s last regret

The ten sentinels of alleged truth, yet who is truly bound

Allowed to scorn their fellow man through ignorance

Taught to love all, all taught not to love

 

So when Babylon may fall none do know

Led through the night by eternal light

How sure is paradise beyond the mount?

Fear is the great motivation