BLOG POST 7

SEASON FINALE

I title this post season finale, because it is the end to an journalistic adventure with my Professor

Dragan in ENG 274, but the beginning to a wonderful series that I have yet to continue as my

ambition for writing takes me to new journalistic heights. I've learned that detail was an effective

instrument in enhancing your piece of writing, and was a way to seduce your reader into wanting to

know the man or woman behind the pen. Professor Dragan truly emphasized in providing life and

vitality to your piece of writing allowing for the words written on the piece of paper to flow like a

stream of water, but, and, to never fall into a pit of a en-trapping and hallow cave, thus continuing

into a fully functioning body of literary work. Because of this insightful class, I was able to discover

the many unique forms of writing that journalist, and writers have been able to establish, and set

themselves in a legendary ward that can not be touched but only emulated. I've learned through

making blog post, how it has the ability to enhance your skill to free write, and write without any

conceptual limitations, and feel comfortable doing it without any literary limits.

Blog 6  "The Lady at the Piano"

  

Kindness, and generosity are humanistic qualities that are finely interwoven into Judy 

Gascon's elderly heart, whom is a sixty-six year old Woman who volunteers once a week at a 

hospitable to provide entertainment through her musical ability/talent to play the piano. 

Gascon has been taking the liberty to volunteer at this particular hospital for the past 10 years, 

and in order to achieve a very meticulous appearance, she wakes up as early as 5:30 in the 

morning on a Tuesday just to do so. In trivia, and in part of what reflects her desire to help out 

(musically speaking), at this hospitable containing elderly vets, is when she was inspired by 

detailed, personal, and intimate letters from her father, written during his time, and service 

spent in World War II as a Army Air Corp. Because Gascon's appeal is so spot on in achieving 

the look of actual female veteran from the way her hair is styled, and her attire, she 

unintentionally fooled the vets into believing she was a veteran which is a

success worth mentioning.The journalist found her to be a woman with a heart of gold in her

lending a helping a hand to vet patients at a hospitable because generally speaking, people 

forget to think or apply entertainment with and in conjunction to old age vets in a hospitable, 

so the journalist feels that because Gascon's possesses this element in considering old age vets 

still need love, Gascon is a wonderful candidate to pay honorable tribute to from his point of 

view. Lastly in summary, Gascon plays an arrangement of music from the 19th and 20th 

centuries. One line that is amazingly written is "Every Tuesday she is there at the piano, 

serving those who have served with her own brand of healthcare" which entails her good deed 

of entertaining these vets at the hospitable has acted like, and become like a kind of healthcare. 

Andrew sisters who was a popular singing group, and I found this to be a important piece of 

information because before, reading this literary profile, I had no idea this group existed, and 

made me do a bit of research on this group. This profile is resourceful because it identifies, and 

brings to light that humanistic qualities still exist in this world even in the elderly(Judy 

Gascon), and can inspire someone to do research about WW II.

Direct Link: narrative-ly/portland-1/the-lady-at-the-piano/

BLOG POST #5
Preparing For and Embarking on a Journey to Creating a Literary Profile

    For my upcoming piece of work which is an literary profile, 

which will require, and give me the liberty to explore, and gather 

insightful information on another individual other than myself, it would

reveal, and bring to me a plethora of knowledge of what 

it is like to be someone else. 

 
     My second oldest brother has quite a knack 

for writing, and two years ago he began to set on a journey of 

writing films, and series which he wants, and feels could one day be 

recognized, and developed in Hollywood, California. What makes 

my second oldest brother a possible candidate for my literary 

profile is that he carries this nostalgia to him that he can be 

productive, produce, create, and re-create to his own rhythm, and 

beat without having to go through , and complete school, or work 

really hard in a ordinary job in order to be someone/something 

eventually/one day. What makes his nostalgia rare, and unique for 

me is that it embodies both of this fairy tale-like element to life 

that in this competitive world we live in today, to make it "big" without 

having gone through a institution or earning some kind of degree 

for a knack turned profession, or career, he feels it can be this way. 

On the other side to this theory of his is that its more or less 

unlikely to be this easy or non-challenging to be discovered. 

    Secondly my Father is someone of a established stature having 

immigrated here in the late 1970's to Brooklyn, NY from Ghana, 

and was from nothing nut a green card among the many 

other credentials he carried with him, he was able to build from the 

ground up a 5-borough distribution business  that has lasted to 

today, and has been taking care of me from the very day I was 

born. Whats contradictory is that he left school very soon 

after receiving his associates to start this business, and sometimes I 

feel I should do the same, (leave school after my associates, 

and become self made someway, somehow) but he shuns that idea,

and is strict about me completing school. and i feel its not all that 

fair or reasonable when thinking about the decision he made but at 

least cam find out why exactly he went in the direction he went 

after possibly interviewing him.

RESPONDING TO A PERSONAL MEMOIR
BLOG POST #4

        Toure in 'What's Inside You, Brother," is phenomenally written in the sense that he 

effectively creates, and establishes a detaching element by embodying the role of a narrator in 

order to describe, and acknowledge the pros, and cons of his real self. In conjunction with 

becoming a a narrator to realize, and identify issues, and problems of his self, Toure utilizes 

a split alter, not the kind of alter that is usually deemed as a mental disorder by diagnosis or 

perceivable means, but rather as an effective instrument in his piece of writing. Throughout 

Toure's memoir, the reader can fairly become familiar with where Toure is now as an 

individual having matured and escaped from the social-like, and self identifiable prism of 

embracing his ethnic creed (which is of African American blood), and how he formerly 

struggled with identifying with what ethnic group he belonged to, and where he best fitted in 

with. Toure makes it easy for the reader, [including I of course], to see this changing element 

from Toure's past to present. To sum this up, Toure makes it clear, and comprehensible that 

being African American in America is complicated, and can be overwhelming, and that the 

African American group in particular has many obstacles to face.                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

        What grabs me about Toure's writing is his symbolic, and in part realistic description of 

his struggles as an individual is by putting himself in a boxing ring, and correlating all of 

boxing's components thus using and representing it in place for his own obstacles. "Iv'e known 

Toure a long, long time, you could say we grew up together"(725), is an example of 

him becoming another individual in order to explain about himself or at least make it that he's 

been friends with Toure, (again himself), and that he knows Toure well enough to know his 

pluses, and as well his flaws. Secondly in Toure's writing, we have "More of the silly chauvinist-

negrovinist?- joking that we waste time with instead of thinking of ways to get ahead"(726), 

which this line emphasizes, and puts into perspective a source of criticism, and belittlement 

towards the schema of African Americans, and thus bringing to light the sort of 

prejudice existence that surrounds whether African Americans value life, and 

handle responsibilities, which even from having evaluated the theory behind this line, I 

disagree with what this line may entail about African Americans. Lastly in Toure's writing 

which shows that even with taking on the role of an alter to perhaps identify himself once and 

for all, a line in his memoir shows that he still may have not reached total fruition with this 

problem that hes facing in completely identifying with himself on pg 729, where he states 

"Since we've known each other so long, I felt I could be completely honest, I was wrong," 

which shows a bit of growth but burdened with subtle doubt.                                                                              

         Toure's memoir may have been published particularly for Men of 

African American race to read, and perhaps reflect with, and then seek growth from within 

themselves, perhaps using Toure as a role model  to look up to as an African American man, 

and to not give up as a black man in America's society. Toure's memoir is a success because of 

it's innovative formula, and blueprint style of writing where he tells of, and entails of his life of 

problems he faced, and how he eventually became a victor of it all.        

   "Poor Babies"


Men laden with tea of Sichuan Province, China in the year 1908 taken by Ernest Henry Wilson immediately draws to mind when looking at this photo how exhausted the Men appear to be, and represent and show what hard work is, and how these Men have probably no other choice but to do this burdening task. These two Men seem plagued by fatigue, and overwhelmed by the duty and responsibility to make sure the goods on their back, which is carefully packaged tea makes it to its place of destination.The man that is giving at least what it appears what he can only afford to give is his grace, and his acknowledgement to the photographer, and spite his tiresome journey, he possesses the dignity to at least give the photographer that much of himself. The man to the right of the photo has his back turned to the lenses, and may have not wanted to participate in taking the photo, and may have gave his back to show purposefully, or these two Men, and the way they are positioned was the style intended.

  A little history of this photo, and its background respectively belongs to  "The Tea-Horse Route", which spanned between the years of between 700 A.D-1960 A.D, and this photo in particular which I'm examining was taken at the dawn of the 20th century in the year 1908. Clearly at the beginning of the 20th century, technology, invention, and innovation was still in its prime, and wasn't largely applied to travel and commute especially in remote villages, and minority areas like Sichuan Province, although cities and modernized areas elsewhere around the world had some new advance form of traveling established like trains for example. Taking that into consideration, walking and climbing miles upon miles was by all means the only way these Men could do which was by foot. These Men possess a slim build, and are rather very lean which may be how they are because of genetic predisposition, or the source of food that may be available to them which would have been only a variety of fruits, and vegetation which may answer why they are slim. We may not be able to fully see the full body of the man to the right of the photo, but based on the slenderness of his legs, its fair to assume his upper body is just as lean.                              
The gentlemen to the left of the photo facially appears to reveal sheer sadness, and hopelessness and facially looks drained. The weight of the goods that they are carrying looks physically heavier than them and they must be having to use every muscle, bone and ligament to support them and their mass responsibility that is on the backs which may be in pain and immense aching.                
It makes me wonder, and I may only be speaking on behalf of myself or someone reading may feel the same way, but based off of the circumstances these two Men are in with having to deliver large amounts of tea on foot following a specific route to get there, i assume these Men were forced and had no freedom to say no, and were obliged to do so, and probably were looked at as nothing worthy of but just to do a difficult and harsh job mandated by who ever had more power in the community.The benefit I see these Men getting from their journey is a really good source of cardio, but even then, was all their walking and involuntary exercise even compromised for with nourishing meals, or just a thank you when they arrived at the goods/tea's place of destination because these two Men look like they ate sparingly. Would it be fair to say that these Men were facing cruel and usual punishment that they didn't even acknowledge or know that they were facing for such 
a strenuous responsibility, or were they taking one for the team.

These men and their overwhelming responsibility puts into perspective how blessed and fortunate it is,and definitely convenient to live in present day 2014 of the 21st century where we have so many technological conveniences that come to our full advantage in traveling, communicating and a well established form of logistics where something can  be delivered from point A to point B without having to do it yourself and when we live in a time where so many labor issues have been addressed and situated to the point that no one is forced to do a job they don't want to do and we have the liberty to say yes or no and choose where we see fit as an individual.

These two men may have been handling township or community based responsibilities alongside the questionable fact that this duty was the only way which they can feed themselves, in a literal and in a fundamental sense. Perhaps their family was their main motivator, but what about considering the root of why these two men are obliged with the task of delivering kilograms of tea. It brings up the question if were there any governmental, and leader manipulation involved taking place behind China's closed doors?, and were they feeding on the socio-less fortunate?, and were feasting on the sheer reality that people like these two men in the photo were hopeless, and would rush to the responsibility of delivering tea on foot miles upon miles, because the people in charge were aware of their emotional vulnerabilities stemming from the result of their socio-status (like these two men). Aside from my description of these two men earlier in this post where I looked at the obvious disadvantages these two men appear to possess based on their appearance, and them taking on the burdening responsibility, thus clearly giving off, observable sadness, discomfort, deep fatigue, mild malnutrition, and perhaps underfed which didnt compromise with the intense labor they were enveloped by. Summing up everything I've mentioned, all of these factors are i conjunction with one another, and are the surrounding factors plaguing these two men.

Other than this we have other journeys we can consider embarking on with these two men, like how before, and after delivering tea on the horse road tea route would be to interview, and ask these men questions like "who were they?", "what is their primary reason for why they are delivering the tea?", and "what thoughts ran through their mind?" while on such a journey. I would like to in a sense conduct my very own literary profile on these two men observing the minor and major things of their core personality and existence, and provide for them a sense of relevancy, and significance as humans that were more than just delivery men once upon a time in Sichuan and in fact served a larger purpose for themselves and their family. I know its only my imagination to want to be able to interview these men, and i would need a time machine to transport me back in time, and to the place /setting of where they inhabited, but procuring an interview with these men would have been the ultimate closure on what exactly was taking place during their trip, and overall bring a level of depth to them instead of having to be left in obscurity or these two men shrouded in mystery. The only thing that can be drawn from these men are what can be analyzed from the photo, but the only thing the viewer of the photo got to see was that two men are being blanketed by the level of mystery sometimes black and white can bring can bring to a photo.

I want to at least in my imagination or wishes, resurrect more to the men in this photograph first being able to give them both individually, and respectably their own identities. Even if I could I would even want to re-establish the nature of this photo, and wish to have the frontal view of the man to the right of the photo so that the mystery as to what he looks like can be answered. I want to ( like the aspiring journalist I am), give these two men a second chance at having measurable sense of character, and a profile that goes beyond delivering tea in Sichuan on the horse tea road. As the title of this photograph is "Men laden With Tea", these Men are also laden with mystery, and never really got a chance to be known other than exporters of tea.         

"Authors Note" on the Non-Fiction Vignette (Assignment #1)

A Piece and Moment From Within My Vignette

The annoyed Man begins to throw a dictator-like tantrum,

blushing completely red and in a gestural like motion moving his hands aggressively, and comparably to Adolf Hitler over the preaching Woman. The preaching Woman hangs on to the bus rail for support in the case that she won't tilt over while the bus sways her and the Man back and forth, like a new born in a cradle being rocked. The preaching Woman is successful in completely ignoring the Man, and keeps her volume the same and remains emotionally composed, as if the Man existed only in bad dream or some MTA matrix of some sort, and not once does she attempt to speak louder than the shouting Man.

My Reflection 
This very intense and climatic scene that i  included in my vignette seemed to reveal two very distinct behaviors and levels of reactions among-st people and how they interact with one another. In this part of my vignette, it can be acknowledged that the preaching Woman is truly a humble Woman, and is disciplined through and by her devotion to God and has completely avoided reacting or defending herself against the Man in a way that may degrade or disprove her level of Christianity and represents being a Christian the best way possible by not being confrontational. It takes true spiritual discipline to not come out of your good element especially when someone is in your face tempting you in every way they can just to get a reaction out of you . As for the Man, his mission was clear in that he wanted to express his spite and anger towards the preaching Woman by not holding back and making aggressive and ugly attempts to shut the Women up and in a sense, shun the preaching Woman's spirit. From this, we can observe and take note that the preaching Woman, and the revolting Man come from two very different places and between their exchange, we can make out their characters as a person. In writing this piece, I have come to grips that for the first time, I wasn't reflecting or documenting a time, occurrence, moment or experience from my life, but had the chance to tell of a story of two complete strangers, and what took place between them.

As i begin typing, i realize that i take my first steps on embarking on a new journey in my journalistic path on to becoming a a professional journalist which is giving birth to my very own first blog. My name is Michael, and I've since acknowledged in my senior year of intermediate school that I had a knack and kinship to writing, as any assignment i had in English class from intermediate to high school, i would take that writing assignment and make it my playground for developing and experimenting with how i can become a better writer. I made the best of my ability in adapting and utilizing an extensive vocabulary for any given literary or English assignment while still making my point clear, comprehensible, and organically sensible to the teacher, professor and peer/peer review. Writing is where i always found myself most academically inclined and in other course subjects, i made an effort in maintaining a balanced grade. Being that the foundation of this course is to delve into the world of creative non-fiction, when i encounter having to define what creative non-fiction is, it first has a puzzling contradictory definition in my mind but as i take it apart, i can understand that it means to take a real life occurrence, whether your very own or someone else's or some significant event or time in the world and re-tell it using your imagination and slightly augmenting some of what actually happened and placing some of your own creative ideas to a story. Most importantly the majority has to be facts and minimally your own input, and its also important to remember not to dramatically change the nature of what happened.