Vocab Poem

1. sleek-adj. smooth or glossy

2. drab- adj. dull, cheerless; lacking in spirit, brightness

3. robust- adj. strong and healthy; hardy

4. lukewarm- adj. moderatley warm; tepid

5. rancid- adj. having a rank, unpleasant, stale smell or taste

6. briny- adj. salty

7. gritty- composed of or covered with particles resembling a meal in texture or consistency

8. acrid- adj. bitterly pungent to taste or smell

9. rustle- verb. to cause such sounds by moving or stirring something

10. perky- adj. jaunty; cheerful

I was alone in this great body of water. There was noise, lots of it, but deafening to my ears. My body lay lukewarm inside my sleek, skintight suit; my hands, feet, and head suffering through the numbness. The smell of bacteria rotting multitudes of carcasses penetrated my nostrils with the acrid pungency of death. Young and old surrounded me, waiting for this day; celebrating a sport that I did not understand. As the briny water attacked my lips and eyes, they laughed. A faint rustling in the distance did not catch my attention. Certainly those surrounding me were unaware. Screams were now very apparent. What was once full of perkiness was now drab. Chaos ensued, the ocean proving itself robust. I caught a glimpse and it was a shade of purple. The body floated silently as I fought the grit from the sea water coagulating in the corners of my mouth. My nose burned, it wasn't the smell of fish. The rancid scent should have prepared me. I felt something graze my back. Unbeknownst to all, another lifeless human surfaced among us.

Music Video and Lyrics

Music Review-Matisyahu

I guarantee you have never heard anything like this before. The reggae beats combined with the sometimes confusing lyrics that include a man chanting Hebrew gibberish is none other than Matisyahu. With his roots and talent in hip-hop and beat-boxing, his love and passion for reggae, and his Hasidic Jewish lifestyle, nobody knows who or what Matisyahu is about. Growing up in a Jewish family, but rejecting everything Jewish, Matisyahu was a full fledged hippie by the age of fourteen. His junior year in high school, looking for answers in his life, he took a trip to the wilderness in Colorado, then to Jerusalem. He had found a purpose in Jerusalem, God in his life; however, he failed to act on any of his newfound beliefs when he returned home. Shortly after his return, he dropped out of high school and began life as a groupie for the band Phish. Here he solidified his love for "hip hop, reggae, and psychadelic rock." Bob Marley and Phish are the two largest influences on Matisyahu's music, and he has been an inspiration to all those who are afraid to break the barriers and stereotypes in the music world. His greatest influence is on the Jewish community, living proof that religious beliefs do not affect self expression.

Matisyahu does not fit comfortably into any musical genre, but most consider him to be a reggae artist before anything else. His most popular song, "King Without A Crown" has primarily a reggae feel with  upbeat, simple measures of music. All of his lyrics relay a common reggae theme of positivity and hope for all people, only Matisyahu incorporates Jewish beliefs and Hebrew chants in nearly all of his songs. The speed and flow of his lyrics often times are most closely related to hip-hop. Don't be fooled by the beard, curly sideburns, yarmulke, or full body, traditional Hasidic Jewish coat; Matisyahu can fire off lyrics as quickly and smoothly as any rapper.  He explains "King Without A Crown" is the journey he went on in search of his rock; the same journey all people must go on and never fully know if they are doing the right things. He says all people live a basic, moral life, but they don't know why until they find a reason, a foundation for their beliefs. Everybody is shaky at their core, nobody is sure of anything when they are thrown out into the mix of life, this is what Matisyahu means with his words, "King without a crown/ You keep falling down."

Matisyahus' words paint the perfect picture on the canvass of laid back, funky, urban beats that force people of all ages, races, and places to get into every ear-catching song. He subtly and intricately converts each of his listeners to Orthodox Judaism by expressing great happiness and satisfaction in God. I often find myself rattling off rhymes about things I've never heard of, sometimes in Hebrew, expressing my jubilance in the Jewish lifestyle. Beyond the obvious Jewish overtones lie lyrics of encouragement for any and all struggling in their lives. "King Without A Crown" includes lyrics of perseverance and guidance to never give in..."I'll stand on my own two feet/ Won't be brought down on one knee/ I'll fight with all of my might to get these demons to flee..." Matisyahu creates his music and lyrics out of pure passion. He is not an artist who has a vital message to the world nor does he try to transform the philosophies of his listeners. He loves the things he sings about and the music comes from within himself. Take it or leave it, Matisyahu's message of personal creativity within a strict religious cult is so attractive because it is so nonchalant. Listeners flock to him because he exudes uniqueness.  

The ultimate message preached by Matisyahu is not the Jewish guidance or positive reinforcement, but individuality. I appreciate his music because he is doing something so out of the ordinary, so completely wacky, yet he masters it. Most of us are all made of different parts and Matisyahu is the musical epitome of the parts creating an awesome whole. More than anything he does musically, I respect his persona. His personality speaks to me louder than any of his words because everything is so effortless. Never has Hasidic Judaism been so cool. The message he conveys is unintentional, but powerful. If more people lived like Matisyahu, we would see an unmatched amount of creativity in this world. Criticism comes from everything Matisyahu is and everything he is not. His hip-hop is ridiculous and fake people say, his reggae style is forced, and of course the Hasidic community has disagreed with his openness. However, all things considered, none of his critics could possibly deny his crossover ability.

Matisyahu defies the rules of the musical genre and stereotypes in a tasteful way. He is an influence for the world in terms of his ability to be more than one thing, one classification. He is a harmless rebel armed with rapid fire Torah verses and an obnoxious amount of facial hair. He is the oddball that everybody embraces. There is something for everyone within his aura. Like or dislike his music, respect for him should be automatic. Very rarely does an artist come along who can combine all aspects of his or her's life while maintaining such a deep passion for their music. Matisyahu includes everything in his music while crafting a mixture of beats and lyrics to perfection.    

Hypnopaedia

Hypnopaedia

Volunteering is one of the highest services a person can do for the people and area around them. Sacrificing time and energy to work hard in giving back to those around them receives high praise from everybody involved. However, volunteering does not pay. A person will not be given any money for completing the sometimes tedious, boring, dirty jobs volunteering can entail. A volunteer in the community therefore must truly work from the bottom of his or her heart and expect nothing of tangible value in return. On the contrary, a true reward of sorts may come through the sense of accomplishment and moral gratification achieved after volunteering. Many feel payment in this way may actually be more satisfying than working for things of monetary value. The act of volunteering calls a person to put their self aside and work for the greater good of the whole. The fact of this hypnopaedic statement is dissapointing; volunteering doesn't pay. But is that the reality of the situation?  

The Judge Will Be Judged

I thought I had escaped it, 

But ultimately it was inevitable.

My time has come

To make this final decision. 

A member of my family has 

Resurrected the news that has haunted me for so long.

My son has freed me of my burden;

He doesn't know but he will surely find out.

We have lived a lie, one that he deserves

To know. Throughout my existence 

I have been able to realize my greatest

Flaws have outweighed my greatest feats. 

Sucked into corruption, my name will be

Forever tarnished by my son; irony 

All too real to create. Where did my

Little boy go? What happened to your childhood?

Do you not remember? I taught you about life

And treated me you as my own, if only you knew

The truth. You didn't have to eliminate me, 

We could live in peace forever; but 

Your employer controls you now, not only 

Your destiny but mine as well.

My decision and your charges against me I

Will not deny. When a friend, a man of 

God, an admirable father, a hard worker,

And a heaven bound sole, calls for one

Simple favor, I was willing to go against my usual 

Judgement. I lived with my sin for

All of these years, becoming too comfortable

With my greatest lapse in character. But

You awoke me from my ignorant hibernation. 

Alone, with this bullet I do not understand,

For what reason has my own son turned against me?

Perhaps I sit here because I have denied him

The fact he deserves to know. 

A broken man will have no more to wonder

For eternal sleep will come silently. 

This bullet represents the inner peace I

Lacked for so many years. The trigger

Feels right, wrapped around my finger, knowing

Only God can judge me now. But on

Earth the judge has made his final decision, 

Admitting the truth indirectly.

 

FOUND

Alcohol

Get the hell in here.

I hope he doesn't hit me.

Grab the scotch off the table.

I don't want to go near him.

Grab me the box of cigarettes.

I can't bear the burns again.

Stare at me in the eye when I'm talking to you.

I hate you.

Step closer to me, over here boy. 

  I want to get out.

Stop trying to get away dammit.

I hope you die.

Mini Research Paper

 

            Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” includes biographical parallels focusing primarily on his own personal flaws as well as the shortcomings of his family members. Through the poem, O’Neill stated the plight of his upbringing without directly attracting attention to his personal life. Utilizing biographical aspects in many of his works; readers mistake many fictional situations as ones that are highly realistic or actually true. Growing up in a household with a family that did not display any signs of love or emotion led to a lack respect for himself or anybody else. Similar to the fact in today’s world that a child growing up in an abusive or broken is more likely to become an abuser; O’Neill was mentally and emotionally abused, leading to his participation in heavy drinking and attending brothels. The ignorance from his own mother and father hindered O’Neill from having a truly positive outlook on life. In O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” the lack of effort Mary and James Tyrone invest in their sons disables the children from ever seeing the future as optimistic, mimicking the unfortunate situation O’Neill suffered through in his early years.

            Mary Tyrone replicates O’Neill’s mother through all of their worst qualities. The two women suffer from a serious drug addiction that has a stranglehold on their ability to mother a child. Mentally incapacitated, O’Neill conveys the tragedy of having a mother who cannot emotionally soothe, although she is physically there. O’Neill’s father, a famous actor, traveled the country leaving his wife alone with his son. An intimate relationship could never be formed because of the addiction to morphine; a fact in the play as well as in O’Neill’s life. The love between the two never was in question, but the morphine was a wall between mother and son that neither ever scaled. O’Neill could not find a haven in his father’s love either because he never displayed any signs of emotion to prove he truly cared. 

            O’Neill manipulates James Tyrone to exemplify his own father in the role of actor, husband, and father. Both are Irish immigrants and famous actors who perform strictly as a means of earning good money. O’Neill’s real father traveled performing The Count of Monte Cristo, a less popular, but higher paying occupation than performing on Broadway. O’Neill does not change almost anything about his real father and James Tyrone, the two even sharing the same first name. Neglect is the most common trait the two men share. Leaving their wife and child alone a majority of the time, they did not ever verbalize to their families the emotions they felt. The love between father and son existed, but was empty. James O’Neill and James Tyrone abandoned their children to some degree because they created a relationship with their sons that hindered them from having a passion for the many opportunities in their lives.

            O’Neill integrates himself into “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” as all three sons in the Tyrone family. Every child in the play possesses negative qualities their parents helped them develop. O’Neill himself plays a lesser role in the characterization of Jamie, comparable only in visiting brothels and drinking heavily. He relates himself most closely to Edmund, who like O’Neill, suffers from tuberculosis. Both attend a sanatorium to treat their tuberculosis, which does very little to help treat their disease. Edmund’s tuberculosis disintegrates any dreams or aspirations he had, and drives him to drink and think somewhat erratically. O’Neill contracted tuberculosis at a similar time in his life and reacted the same way. O’Neill named the member of the Tyrone family that died shortly after birth after himself, suggesting perhaps he would have rather died than live the life he did.

            “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” explains the basis for all of O’Neill’s other plays and pieces of literature. This play, when examined from the author’s biographical view, provides the foundation for the tone of several of O’Neill’s future works. He did not want the play published for fifty years after he wrote it probably to allow readers to formulate their own opinions on his works. Publishing “Long Day’s Journey Into Night” allowed readers to understand O’Neill and gain a great respect for his works. 

Poem

The revelation lurks-

The anxious feeling irks.

One has a great desire-

Information one must acquire.

Feeling for something new-

Searching for something true.

On the verge-

With every urge

A revelation.