#5 Mr. Van Gogh, Not just another star in the sky

                With a quick glance Van Gogh’s pieces  appear to be just sloppy strokes of color that form an image, but are they really only that? Many know one of his most prominent paintings, The Starry night yet not all that know the painting can place his name to it. This although sad is one of the features that make Van Gogh art more than just art by some guy with a cool name. His works are elegant in their own respect. For example the way he often left his strokes unblended and robust. This emphasizes the shapes of buildings and structures but it also provides an eerie sense of movement. It is as if the painting is alive and slightly swaying. This can be seen best in his landscapes but it also provides a heavy undertone in his portraits. In his painting of the potato eaters you have to look but the movement is there. The lack of perfectly straight lines offers a softer atmosphere to the piece.

             The soft facial features are sharpened by the harsh shadows that loom over them.  Van Gogh used shadows to portray both age but also the harshness of the life the people led. The potato eaters are just that, people eating potatoes. However it is through the brush strokes that the viewer can see emotions in the people’s eyes and strain and fatigue in their bodies as they gather around the table. Van Gogh can often be tied to the brightly colored paintings of sunflowers and nighttime landscapes but it is in his dimmer darker pieces that you can really feel the emotion both within and behind the piece.So if in parallel you can attribute this painting to Van Gogh’s own state of mind and soul. The dark palette, dim lighting and grim subject matter open a window into the subconscious. 

Van Gogh's Suicide

Adeline Ravoux, the innkeeper's daughter who was only 13 at the time, clearly recalls the incidents of July 1890. In an account written when she was 76, reinforced by her father's repeated reminders, she explains how on 27 July, van Gogh left the inn after breakfast. When he had not returned by dusk, given the artist's regular habits, the family became worried. He finally arrived after nightfall, probably around 9 pm, holding his stomach. Adeline's mother asked whether there was a problem. van Gogh started to answer with difficulty, "No, but I have..." as he climbed the stairs up to his room. Her father thought he could hear groans and found van Gogh curled up in bed. When he asked whether he was ill, van Gogh showed him a wound near his heart explaining: "I tried to kill myself." During the night, van Gogh explained he had set out for the wheat field where he had recently been painting. During the afternoon he had shot himself with a revolver and passed out. Revived by the coolness of the evening, he had tried in vain to find the revolver to complete the act. He then returned to the inn. 

Van Gogh turned down medical treatments and chose to just lie in bed until his death. Theo got their before he died which made him happy. Van Gogh truly had some demons and chose to end his life so he could find the rest that eluded him on earth. It is truly sad he never found success in his lifetime. 

Ferguson: The next Civil War?

You all remember during the summer with the situation in Ferguson involving the young Michael Brown and Ferguson PD officer Darren Wilson. During that time, we saw a dramatic turn in the media towards the incident. With protestors in the streets and military-like vehicles patrolling the town, the small Missouri town found itself as the center of attention in the United States. Even eclipsing certain topics such as ISIS at the time. Then with the increase in violent protests, more media hounded the town.

This conflict stemmed a entire race controversy throughout the United States. Having Michael Brown be black and officer Wilson white, many were saying that the encounter was stemmed from race. It seemed as Officer Wilson were to be ripped apart by not only protestors but the liberal media as well.

BUT, as the tension grew more and more, shocking evidence came to light, forensics studies showed that not only did Brown make an attempt to grab Wilson's firearm but perhaps charged at him again while outside of the vehicle. Surveillance video from a local connivence store showed Brown and his friend he was walking on the road robbing the store for expensive cigars and physically harming the store vendor. And the final nail in the coffin to the case was that a Mr. Johnson, the man Brown was walking with, admitted to Brown making an attack on the officer after lying to the media in the first week or so. With all of this information flowing in, the fight to have Brown's name not fall to dust failed. With an almost embarrassing filter on their protests, things seemed to simmer down, until another issue arose.

Those who still felt that even though Brown's case failed, a fight for race equality emerged. So once again, protests began and the police responded tenfold. And to the shock of many, the Klu Klux Klan has recently released a statement and threats against the protestors claiming that lethal actions will be taken against them if protests do not stay "peaceful". With the PD of the area now in awe of the KKK's involvement, they have backed off a touch in fear of an all out race war between the protestors of Ferguson and the Klan. Now in waiting of future events to take place, the country is watching and waiting to see how things play out.

Once again, a new chapter of American history may unfold in this small southern town causing a widespread movement in the country. But any drastic events are very unlikely. These threats are similar to a Cold War like scenario.

I would write more but the bell is about to ring

#6 The Van Gogh Story

   Though we only glanced over the story of Vincent van gogh I found it vital to elaborate on his crazy life. He has a very interesting story. I found out that his father was was a minster. He was named after his grandfather and stillborn brother. So at a very young age he was grossly exposed to many deaths. Imagine a child

going to see a tombstone with his name on it. His life is very tragic to begin with. He had two brothers and 3 sisters. Art ran in the family as his aunts and uncles were art dealers and his great grandfather who was a successful sculptor. When van gogh was sent to boarding school he was exposed to Constantijn C. Huysmans a successful artist in Paris who taught van gogh to draw. He began to enjoy drawing and wanted to paint for a living. After he left school his uncle got him a job as an art vender. He finally decided to follow his passion to become a minister. He failed to make it but carried out his missionary work.

    In 1880 he moved to Brussels and became an artist. His brother Theo helped him financially in his journey. Through this journey he experienced some very strange love interests. He was attracted to some very troubled women. He became in love with his cousin who fled to Amersterdam in disgusted. Then he fell in love with an alcoholic prostitute. She modeled for his paintings which we discussed in class.

    He began studying Japanese art and eastern philosophy. At this time Theo was worried about Vincent and his declining health. He suffered seizures and supposedly eat led paint. Vincent and his brother were constantly arguing and one day Vincent van gogh went to a brothel with a razor and cut his ear off which he gave to a prostitute. They had to admit him to a hospital.

   Theo had a baby with his wife and named him Vincent after his brother. On July 27 1890 van gogh shot himself in the chest. He did not die immediately and bled profusely. He was fixed up and sent to his brothers house which he died only a few days later in his brothers arms. Not too long after Theo died. His wife Johanna collected Vincent's paintings and displayed them in Paris.

   Then we all know how famous he has become after his death. But through my research I found true,y how disturbed he really was. Between the death in his early childhood and his continued feelings of what some would categorize as depression. He lived a tough life and was always in a shadow. He didn't have his own identity as his dead brother was named after him then his brother named his kid after him he must of felt as though he wasn't his own person. It's a sad story but, I'm glad I learned more background into such an amazing story that everyone should be familiar with. 

After the Martin Luther King Jr. piece we went over, Mrs.Cassidy pointed out that DNA doesn't determine ethnicity, and ethnicity is a big part of equality. I found this article on it:
http://www.genebase.com/support/index.php?_m=knowledgebase&_a=viewarticle&kbarticleid=378

Many people think their race is superior.  Equality seems like such an easy concept but it's so hard to be enforced. Can we all just be born equal? Is it that easy? On the outside yeah, but we're conditioned to view certain groups of people certain ways. We all have different views religiously and that really is a basis for so many things. Atheists are looked at as sinners, just like homosexuals are. We're also conditioned to see women as the weaker sex. And certain racial groups to be less important/more important. And we as children see these people being shunned and made to look like outkasts and like they are weak. We adapt those thoughts and beliefs. Imagine everyone just cleared their heads and started new, didn't tell anyone any info about their religion, heritage, sexual preference, income, etc, and we had to determine if we liked them on what really matters, their interests, and how nice they are and not the material things. We're all humans. We all have out own opinions and goals and obviously we're not always going to like everyone we meet. But that doesn't mean we have to judge them, and it doesn't mean we have to treat them like we're superior. It really is a pride thing and envy thing. And I'm not sure how big it is around the world but I know it's bad in America. Martin Luther king jr is right when he said we're all born equal. Even though we're all different, our biological makeup isn't all that different. We all have potential and we can all do big things. We should open our eyes and see that were not all that different. We should stop judging people and start seeing that we're all just human.

1 out of 4 homeless men have served our country

According to usverteransmagazine.com one out of every four homeless men have served our country and this week in humanities we learned that Long Island has the highest homeless rate. If you choose to fight for our country I think for life you should be guaranteed assistance on a place to live, food and basic necessities. The men that go and fight don't sit here and think about retirement and when they're done fighting where they are going to live and I don't think they should have to worry about things like that. They're putting their life on the line for our freedom I think they should all be guaranteed at least  roof over their head and not just homeless shelters that take them in. They should have ptsd counseling for life after serving to try and get back to the place they were once in before going to war. I don't think we give these men and women enough credit for what they do for us and I don't think any of them should be going to sleep hungry, cold or without a place to sleep.

A look into the life of Jonathan Swift (5)

In the early 1700s, Ireland was in economic turmoil.  It was controlled by England, which was mainly Protestant.  For this reason, the wealth and power was held by the Protestants of Ireland, the minority.  Most of the Irish were Catholic, and were living in extreme poverty.  Similar to the aristocrats living in Versailles, France in the 1600s and 1700s, the wealthy class in Ireland was relatively blind to, and did not understand, the plight of the poor.  The pervasive attitude among the upper-class, Protestant Irishmen was that the poor Catholics were a burden.  They did not seek to find a way to solve the issue of poverty, but instead wished they would disappear.

Jonathan Swift was a wealthy, Protestant man living in Ireland around this time.  In 1729, he mocked the opinion of wealthy Protestants in his satirical piece, "A Modest Proposal."  To highlight the ignorance of this class of people, Swift wrote that the upper classes should kill the poor children and use them for food and clothing.  Jonathan Swift's point of view was ironic, because he himself was not horribly affected by the tumultuous economic times.  This irony struck me as quite odd, and I decided to research more on Swift.

When Jonathan Swift was born in 1667, he did not have the same wealth that he eventually garnered by the time he wrote "A Modest Proposal."  His father died when he was just two months old, and Swift's mother struggled to raise him without a steady income.  Additionally, Jonathan Swift was constantly sick, adding to the struggle.  In hopes of bettering the situation, his mother gave Jonathan to his uncle who was a member of an attorney and judge group.  Jonathan was then able to enroll in a private school and receive a sound education that would create a pathway towards his later success.

Because Jonathan experienced the hardship of poverty first-hand, he did not share the same perspective as other wealthy men.  Instead, he was clearly bothered by their ignorance.  Jonathan Swift knew that the poor were still people, not just objects taking up space.  By writing "A Modest Proposal", Swift was able to grab the attention of both the wealthy Protestants and the poor Catholics.  Because he was well known in the religious community, his words were not ignored.  Jonathan's words spoke so loud that, even today, we see relevance in each and every one of them.