Today’s Group Assignment for English II – What is LOVE?

From my experience, poetry in general can be a little intimidating to non-English majors/self-described non-writers. It ranges from having archaic and overly developed vocabulary that requires a dictionary to understand every line to deeply metaphoric description and symbolism that “makes no sense” without doing a mini-history lesson.

So what do you do? You address one of its most popular topics of the ages – LOVE! It has toppled empires, caused wars, heightened family feuds, severed  relationships and marriages, enraged gods, empowered  lonely starlets and their fans to want more from life, and changed the social class of fair maidens everywhere.

• Why would people go through so much destruction, pain, and frustration in their pursuit of LOVE?
•  What is the reward? What do people get in return?
•  Is there an age requirement for being in love? Are adults the ONLY people who can REALLY fall in love? Why?
• What other emotions do you experience when you are in love?

We are going to explore that today with today’s group assignment.

Take a look below at the collage I created on this post.  Notice the pictures, listen to the music lyrics playing and read the quotations. Then, in a group of three, you will brainstorm on the definition of love in your journal/separate sheet of paper.  EVERYONE needs to have his/her own completed assignment (10 ideas at least) to get full credit for classwork today.

You have 20 minutes to complete this assignment.  I will need some brave volunteers to share what your group came up with using the Promethean Board. Be prepared!

Making Your Own “Happily Ever After” – Titanic Returns April 4, 2012

As I contemplate the end of my 20′s, I realize how the positive and negative experiences have shaped my personal philosophy of life and love.  For a career, I need to feel like I am making a difference in the world and be passionate about my pursuits.

For my social life, I need real friends to comfort me in times of strife and tragedy and are consistent in their concern which only empowers me to be the same for them.  In dating relationships, I need the companionship of a best friend, the intimacy of a lover, and the empathy of a passionate philanthropist so that I feel safe enough to be the same thing for my partner.

Being a romantic, I have been reflecting on what elements are necessary to make my current relationship work through cinema-therapy (I know how that sounds but I am an unabashed romantic).  My favorite films I have been “revisiting” is a classic from high school – Titanic starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Besides the epic tragedy of lives lost, the film centers around the love story between a penniless but ambitious artist and a privileged yet fearless debutante defying the odds to be together.

They meet at a very sensitive time for the young woman – she is contemplating suicide so that she can escape her life of strict expectation and family obligation.  At that moment, Jack (Leo’s character) sees through the fine clothes and fancy jewels to who Rose really is – a trapped canary in a bejeweled cage who has lost her song.  It isn’t until he challenges her to fight for the life she wants that she sees him as the lifelong companion she needs and deserves.

When I saw the film in theaters, I remember yearning to have the intimate connection that Rose had with Jack; they knew each other as individuals outside of their disparate, social classes.  Rose and Jack had the courage to support one another no matter what obstacles came their way – threats of being shot, arrested, beat up, called ugly names, even a sinking ship.  How did they know that they were supported? It was innate.  When Jack was arrested for allegedly stealing the “Heart of the Ocean” necklace, Rose was stunned by the accusation.  But when she listened to her intuition, she realized that Jack would never steal from her – that was not the kind of man he was.

I wanted to be Rose in my own life – having the courage to love someone fearlessly and get that same love in return.  I think I have found it.

Trust is vital – without it, you are rowing the lifeboat by yourself.  That can be pretty tiring and emotionally frustrating.  Luckily, I have a partner-in-crime. I also realized that I need more quality time and romance from my significant other (and I am pretty sure he knows it too).

The advantage to being in a secure and trusting relationship is that it gives you space to focus on your own life and interests.  I plunge into new activities and interests that my partner may not be as passionate about as I am.  Then I get to recount the fun to him later.

To be clear, I understand that real life is not a fairytale nor one of Disney’s classic films.  There is no Prince Charming and no Hollywood “happy ending.”  What there is are real people making personal connections, establishing emotional boundaries, and making the leap to loving someone without restraint for the sake of being human.  I would rather leap with Love’s courage than be afraid to fall.

“All You Need is Love” – An Innate Awareness and Direct Action of Human Events

This past Thursday, I had the wonderful privilege of planning a film screening of 2009′s Across the Universe at a college’s theater.  I set this event up for my two Composition classes as a diversion from regular classwork (even though the ulterior motive was to foster critical thinking and connecting the dots of human experience from 1960s to 2011).

While it was a meager showing (only 13 students came),  it was a beautiful showing.  A few students even brought cookies for the event.  I was touched because I wasn’t planning to have food at all.  I suggested bringing enough food for “the class” (of 15-20) but I know my students are strapped for cash (even more than me).  I didn’t want to push the issue.  Despite that, there was a great showing of fellowship snacks and shockingly, DINNER!

One of the students who worked as a pizza delivery driver donated six pies of pizza to the event, saying that his manager even donated an extra pie because the event was “for college kids and they sure will be hungry.”  I almost cried!  This generosity was the embodiment of the film’s theme (and the students didn’t even know it yet).

I also thought about how I can make the theme of the film have practical applications to our world now.  The morning before the screening I was listening to my playlist on shuffle and my MP3 player played a song I haven’t heard a few years at least – “We Are The World” of 1985.  As I listened the lyrics (which I know by heart), I realized that this event could be more than just a diversion from class; it had the potential to make history (even if it is just for these classes and this college).

So I decided to make the event a mini-fundraiser for the American Red Cross towards the Japan Disaster Relief.  The suggested donation was $5 but any donation would be accepted.  Before we watched the film, I collected donations that totaled $37.  That might seem small to some people but knowing my students and the financial stresses they carry with them daily, I was very honored that they offered what little they had to such a worthwhile cause.  That is a memory I was always remember.

Who knows what else we’ll do this semester? Visiting the Smithsonian a-la-To Sir, With Love?  Having an End-of-the Semester Party in DC? Get invited to the White House by the President and the First Lady? The President and the First Lady visiting US on-campus?  The sky is the limit! Stay posted!

Top 30 Things You Should Know About This Blogger

So I realized something about this amazing blog and equally extraordinary audience – if you are new to my blog, you probably don’t a great deal about me.  And I further realized that my life has been a testimony to chapters of extraordinarily interesting and fascinating life experiences (yes, I just got a little wordy but it’s for a point).  Here is an ironic list  numbering 30 items  that offer some more insight into who I am as a person, more than just an educator.

#30:I love Christmas music during the holidays!
#29:I love Eggnog! No one in my fam likes it but I get it every year! Then I know it’s Xmas!
#28:I have a special reverence for The Nutcracker – I was a toy soldier and rat (not in the same production) in my dance school’s production when I was a kid. Yes, I was a ballet dancer and I still miss it!

#27: When I got into DC, a strange feeling comes over. I feel this sense of pride and awe being in the region where major decisions in our country are made. And I am THAT CLOSE to meeting the Obamas! Hey, it could happen!

#26: I am so proud of my younger brother! He is my rock (even if he doesn’t know it and gets on my nerves sometimes)!

#25: I hate the smell of chitterlings! When I was younger, my parents would love to cook it on the stove and the entire house had its disgusting smell. To this day, I will never eat a bite of it!

#24: I learned how to type so fast from the Mavis Beacon computer program. When I graduated from middle school, my dad put me on this schedule to work on the program every day, almost all summer. To this day, I rarely have to look down at the keys (really just for the numbers because I don’t use them as much as letters).

#23: I used to be really jealous of my brother when we were little. When he was a toddler and my mom was filming him with the video camera, when she wasn’t looking, I would knock him down softly. LOL! But eventually, I got over it.

#22: In middle school, I used to like this boy but he wouldn’t be honest if he liked me or some other girl. He called me up at home and I got so tired of his crap that I played the chorus in Janet Jackson’s song “If” and hung up the phone. Look it up, kiddies. Boy, did I have some guts as a kid!

#21: My cousin let me ride with him on his motorcycle when I was a teenager. We went REALLY fast! It was so much fun but my mom was so afraid for me. I couldn’t stop laughing!

#20: My mother has an obsession for all things Ralph Lauren, especially when she was pregnant with me. She named me after her favorite designer and perfume.

#19: I am the oldest sibling in my immediate family. My younger brother is my new roommate.

#18: Initially, I attended college in hopes of being a doctor. I took an internship in HS with an orthopedic surgeon and fell in love with the practice. But once I started taking the required math and science courses (and started failing those classes even with all help in the world), I quickly switched to English.

#17: I worked in the Human Resources Department in the University Library when I was a sophomore at UF. I learned a great deal about the inner workings of payroll (like library staff gets really agitated when their checks aren’t correct).

#16: No, I have never been married (and I have no kids) but I would like to be someday.

#15: For a school trip in HS, I went to Europe. The class and I went to Italy (Venice and Verona), Germany and Switzerland. Talk about a great Spring Break!

#14: I am a chronic bibliophile. Currently, I’m reading Think Like A Man, Act Like A Lady by Steve Harvey and I just got uploaded Grimm’s Fairy Tales (you got to know the classics, right?),  a lot of Oscar Wilde, Louisa May Alcott, Jane Austen, and W.E.B. DuBois on my E-reader application on my laptop!

#13: I love Spoken Word Poetry. I have two locations in Miami that I used to when work wasn’t too hectic. I have yet to find a new place in the DMV area.  Any suggestions?

#12: If I had to choose a TV character that was the most like me, I would say either Brenda Lee Johnson from TNT’s The Closer or Kate Reed from USA’s Fairly Legal. Their mix of strength and vulnerability is something I can DEFINITELY identify with.

#11: I met Hill Harper at Yale where he held a luncheon for young people for his book Letters to a Young Brother. He is incredibly nice and well-spoken. My HS students were trying to hook me up with him. How embarrassing (but he did call me “exquisite”)! Not bad for a HS teacher!

#10: I am a closet romantic. I hate to say it but it’s true. I love listening to my fave love songs (mostly from MJJ) to go to sleep to.

#9: I buy at least two new fashion/celebrity gossip magazines every other Friday. I am also a loyal follower of The Young, Black, and Fabulous celebrity blog since 2003. A lady has to stay current on ALL kinds of news!

#8: I secretly want to be a DJ. I actually tried it out at a friend’s party and I was terrible (but I loved every minute of it!). I have this secret talent of creating the most amazing mixed tapes/playlists for every mood. My iPod and Blackberry are full of them.

#7: My parents raised my brother and me to appreciate the rich history of African-American music and film. We listened to all the Motown greats (The Temptations, The Four Tops, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross and the Supremes, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles, Gladys Knight and the Pips, Jackson 5/The Jacksons), Sam Cooke, James Brown, 70′s and 80′s Soul/R&B singers (Earth, Wind, and Fire, The Emotions, The Pointer Sisters, Phyllis Hyman, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Freddie Jackson, The Commodores, Lionel Ritchie, Donny Hathaway), and 90′s R&B (Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Janet Jackson, Anita Baker, Vanessa Williams, Tevin Campbell, Boyz II Men, Usher, TLC, En Vogue).  I tend to gravitate to those greats and compare everyone else on the music scene to them – sorry, new artists!

#6: I was not popular in HS. I was/still am really tall (almost as tall as the teacher), a tomboy (I played volleyball and preferred jeans and Chapstick to dresses and lipstick to wear to class), was a novice writer (I wrote a vampire novel for fun and it became a Freshman sensation) and liked to listening to SKA and rock music (long live No Doubt, Prince, and Lenny Kravitz!).

#5: After not having an “exit strategy” for graduating college, my parents moved me to CT in hopes that I would go to grad school at Yale. Yale didn’t work out (I worked full-time in a bookstore and in retail for a year instead) but Columbia eventually did. Not bad for a runner-up.

#4: I lived in NYC for two years. While at Columbia, I stayed in Harlem with my great uncle. It was wonderful and I miss it terribly.

#3: I saw the musical The Color Purple two times: once on my own dime in NYC and once when my parents came to NYC. As far as the rest of my family goes, I have become an adopted New Yorker.

#2: As a result of #4, I am a huge fan of  Sex and the City. Yes, I have seen the entire set of the series and yes, I own the movie (and I have seen it at least three times so far).  Unfortunately, I was a little disappointed with its sequel – Carrie, you married the love of your life! Work stuff out TOGETHER! You don’t need to go OUTSIDE your marriage to feel complete in your marriage! I’m just sayin’.

#1: I have fallen love in with New Orleans a year ago at a conference and hopefully, I will be able to spend my summer there for some volunteer work that can beef up my resume.

The Power of GLEE: More Than Just Campy Fun

So like many of you, I was ready for watch a great game for Super Bowl Sunday.  Unfortunately, I was only saw the first half (and from what I heard about the second half from my resident sports expert aka my younger brother, I didn’t miss very much).

But I was also bummed because I missed the special showing of GLEE after the game.

So after work yesterday, I used my tech knowledge to watch the new episode the network’s website and didn’t miss a beat! The episode, as promised, was AMAZING! But this time, I think it was amazing for another reason entirely than just its catchy soundtrack.  Its message to young people (and older people) rang out louder than any note Lea Michelle or Amber Riley could belt on any day of the week.

I don’t want to give too much away because I want you all to see the episode yourself and decide.  Basically, it was about the school’s football team joining the Glee Club for a strangely brilliant lesson in eliminating intolerance and arrogance among the “jocks”. Pay attention to the dialogue.  It surpasses the usual biting sarcasm that makes the show so funny.

Let me know what you think!

http://www.fox.com/glee/full-episodes

Happy Friday – Sad Day for Co-Songwriter of “Forget You”

As promised, here is another post from the office of LDR . . .

So I was on my favorite social media site (you can tell by the number of updates I post in a day, much less  a week) and I read about how Bruno Mars, the genius behind my new favorite songs “F*ck You,” “The Way You Are,” ”Marry You” and “Grenade,”  is seeking a plea bargain for his cocaine possession charge. 

How tragic that this young man with such a gift for songwriting and singing is handicapping that success with his personal demons.  I guess it just shows us how even celebrities and musical artists are just as human and flawed as we are.

But with money, you would think access to help on all levels would be as easy as dialing a number in your smart phone.  That’s what I would think! If I had that kind of money, I would get a shrink, book myself an” extended vacation” at a local rehabilitation center, sponsor more people with my illness at that center on my dime, put out a song about my experience and sell it online (with proceeds going to the rehab center), write a memoir about my experience, and sell it to the highest bidder in the publishing world for millions.

I would recognize that my frailty can be a beacon of light to millions of people who suffer the same problem and I (as a public figure) have a responsibility to turn this experience into a teachable moment for the world. 

It sounds pretty simple, right? That’s what I think.  Let me know what you think.

BET 2010 Awards – Have I Officially Outgrown Them?

So I was one of the millions of viewers watching BET 2010 Awards last night.  Unfortunately, I was torn between watching “True Blood.”  Then something came to me.  I wasn’t really looking forward to seeing any of the marquee performers.  The only thing I was looking to was the Prince tribute and the MJ tribute.  I just wasn’t invested in that world anymore.  Trends come and go, but good, quality music lasts forever. 

I guess you reach an age where salacious trends can’t satisfy your need for transformative musical sustenance.  The greats did that – Teddy Pendergrass, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Patti LaBelle, Berry Gordy’s Motown artists.  The true entertainers were students of this discipline.  I think that is why the passing of Michael Jackson hurt so much.  He bridged the generations with his understanding of music that created pathos in his audiences.  But who will do that now? 

I’m not saying that there shouldn’t be music for young people to dance to.  We all need that kind of escapism at weddings, dances, family reunions.  But when the radio becomes saturated with the same kind of music all day, every day, you wonder what the kids are really learning about music.  Is Auto-Tune the new standard?  Is sampling the new hook?  Does a ”tight jam” trump powerful lyrics?

And then you wonder why new artists coming out lack substance?   Where are the apprentices to the rhythm and blues that my parents listened to?  Until young consumers value themselves the same way record executives do when it comes to their spending power, the status quo will remain.  What do you think?

Hitch and the Romantic Comedy: Why We Need to Drink the Kool-Aide

So last night, I got into a fight with my roommate over . . . you know what, it doesn’t matter. The important thing to note was that I was exiled to the place every writer (even my fav fictional writer from NYC) is forced to go – the local coffee shop.

Once there, I found it buzzing with young high school and college students meeting for study group sessions and to chat, immature girly or manly cliques meeting to gossip and check out the opposite sex at a safe and un-embarrassing distance, and a couple of grow-ups still too obsessed with the day’s work happenings to stop talking about them and go home to wind down.

There was I – in the midst of lulling conversation. My impulse was to hit the net and go surfing on my laptop, but that night was different, I couldn’t tell you why if you asked me.

I found myself reaching into my CD/DVD case to pull out a movie to watch. I pulled the movie Hitch.

As I was watching the opening scene where the title character explains to the audience the “basic principles” of understanding the female psyche, I was left with a really powerful saying:

Life is measured not by the breaths you take but the moments that take your breath away.

Wow, that’s deep!

Now I know there are going to be some cynics out there (yes you, my favorite gargoyles!) who are going to say “This is too much! I still trying to survive the land mine that is Valentine’s Day this weekend!” and they might be right.

How can you open a comedy (much less a ROMANTIC comedy) with something like that??? You are killing the humor before a joke can even be tested out! What is wrong with you?!

But after we get over our own ego and pessimism, we can allow the saying to saturate our thoughts (well after the movie, right?!?).

Have you ever had a “moment that takes your breath away” or were you just “breath[ing]“?

Too often, maybe because of the drudgery of daily life and family/spousal responsibility, we live our lives in a series of tasks, trying to make it to the next day, the next week, the next month, the next year.

I definitely lived that for some portions of my life, especially when I was in grad school in NYC.

My objective was to just “get over” – finish this assignment, pay this bill, put this food on the table, get this gas for the car, catch this bus to get to school on time.

Then later, my tasks extended into events within the job market arena (and I truly was the Christian being sacrificed for Roman entertainment in that arena) – pay more bills, pick up more of that overtime to make rent this month, grade more college/HS essays, get more hours this month, etc.

As a result of this living, I grew to REALLY hate my jobs! Something definitely gave! I wasn’t sleeping, barely eating anything, and insanely depressed emotionally and physicially. I was a depressed worker bee and I wanted a break from it all IMMEDIATELY.

So I gave myself a mental vacation by renting movies from the local video store.

There I discovered a world beyond my concentrated trek from home to work that I had ignored for so long, a world of culture, art, beauty, and fun.

This was the gateway to potential breath-taking moments: taking trips to the art museum, going to concerts, plays, musicals, writing and reading for fun, seeing independent films, dancing, and attending church functions (that I had to coordinate to make it fun for people my age).

I am not going to lie and tell you that instantly, my life became perfect as a result of this discovery. That DEFINITELY didn’t happen. I still went to work. I still performed tasks. But work and tasks were more spread out, being filled in with potential breath-taking moments.

Eventually, some of those moments became breath-taking and slowly, I started enjoying my life.

So I say all this to say that we all need to look for those breath-taking moments (even as a single person) so that we are more than just hamsters on a wheel in a cage.

So on this Valentine’s Day Weekend, I will leave you with a saying from one of my favorite writers of all time – Oscar Wilde (if you see me, ask me about him. I can talk about him for HOURS!!)

To love yourself is the start of a lifelong affair.

Have a great weekend!

This Is It – Really?! The Mythology of Michael Jackson

 I’ve always wanted to be able to tell stories, you know, stories that came from my soul. I’d like to sit by a fire and tell people stories—make them see pictures, make them cry and laugh, take them anywhere emotionally with something as deceptively simple as words.

                 - Michael J. Jackson from his autobiography Moonwalk

As I was organizing my CDs and DVDs (which are becoming more of entertainment for travel on my laptop than for routine use at home and office) this weekend, I began to go through my collection of music and video of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5. This made me reflect on my musical education I had received from these Gary, Indiana natives that revolutionized the landscape of popular music forever.

While I was not present on Earth to have seen the Jackson 5 in their heyday in the 70s, my parents did in their youth and made it a practice to play the group’s music at home for my brother and me in heavy rotation when we were little. Listening to such trademark hits as “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “Can You Feel It” showcased catchy pop hooks, insightful lyrics, colorful harmonies and of course, the vocal delivery of the youngest Jackson who would grow up to be the King of Pop.

Even as a kid, Michael Jackson carried this kind of knowledge of storytelling in the songs that he sang with the Jackson 5. What did a 12-year-old know about heart-breaking regret in losing the woman he loved, wondering “Who’s Loving You” now? What did a child know about being conflicted in ending a relationship in “Never Can Say Goodbye”? What did a preteen know about being a “Sugar Daddy”? He was wise beyond his years, a quality I can definitely identify with.

This knowledge made the music come alive with feeling and authentic emotion, making the listener feel like little Michael was singing right to him/her. No wonder the female fans went crazy at the concerts, chasing the guys everywhere they went!

It’s important for artists always to maintain control of their lives and work.  There’s been a big problem in the past with artists being taken advantage of. I’ve learned that a person can prevent that from happening by standing up for what he or she believes is right, without concern for the consequences.

- Michael J. Jackson in Moonwalk

But just as Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie could not have become the meteoric superstars that they are without The Supremes and The Commodores, Michael Jackson was groomed to be a star through Motown’s Jackson 5.

As I listen to the later music of the Jackson 5 who was transitioning to being the Jacksons on Epic Records where the brothers had more creative control over their music, Michael’s vocal arrangement became more advanced in songs like “Get It Together,” “Blame It On The Boogie,” “Enjoy Yourself” “Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)” and “Dancing Machine.”

There you can begin to hear the signature ad-libs and vocal styling that made Michael famous on the albums Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad and beyond.

 In his solo albums, you can hear his determined individuality in the arrangements he created, the instrumentals he demanded, and the self-created vocal percussion he added to the tracks. He wasn’t the little kid being told what to do and sing; he was the polished and professional man who made his own decisions on the music he made. You have to admire that internal fortitude!

 Michael Jackson set the bar in music, musical entertainment, choreography, musical film, the power of God, love, and true philanthropy for every musical artist and human being for generations to come.

I know that I have to carry the banners of God’s love and philanthropy that Mr. Jackson so eloquently addressed in songs like “Man In The Mirror,” “We Are The World,” and “Earth Song.” I have been truly blessed to have my life enriched by his works and influence.

To me, every time I hear one of his songs, I am reminded that his spirit is resides there and in the world I live. Love lasts forever.

Outrage Ensues After Jackson Funeral Nomination

Should Michael Jackson be honored for his body of work like the latest music video of “This Is It” or his star-studded funeral at the NAACP Image Awards?

Check out this article that has a letter from Billie J. Green, former NAACP’s Beverly Hills/Hollywood Chapter president that was sent to the current president of the organization, claiming that a nomination for Michael Jackson’s funeral is an “embarrassment to the past and present members of the NAACP and the African-American community as a whole.”

What do you think? Read the article and post a comment.

 Outrage Ensues After Jackson Funeral Nomination.