Gym Time On A Smooth Note, Taking It Down A Notch. #corcovado #astrudgilberto #antoniocarlosjobim #bossanova
Gym time on a smooth note, taking it down a notch. #corcovado #astrudgilberto #antoniocarlosjobim #bossanova #brazil #brazilianmusic
More Posts from Sr-deflector and Others
With my girls, my son, and wife who performed incredibly, though didn't collect any $$ @laila4ever @ #5k4unitedway
Entry #8 - Talley's Folly - by Lanford Wilson
About Sally…
As a young lady, Sally Talley was the poster child of the successful American family: beautiful, educated, and well behaved, which may be attributed to the family’s conservative values and high regards for social and business/professional status. She was raised in the Midwestern town of the Ozarks, where her family owned a large uniform factory. In her early 30’s, Sally is an independent, single woman, and though living in the same house as her relatives, she is isolated from them. Hunted by her inability to bear children, and as a cause, the rupture of the most promising business partnership her town might have witnessed, she finds herself an outcast in her own home. In spite of the negative connotations her name carries, at least in her parents’ house, Sally shows much desire to move forward and help others, as she shows by working as a nurse’s aide, and through her sporadic outings with her colleagues, with whom she plans rent a place.
About Matt…
Matt Friedman is a sharp-witted accountant, living in St Louis, Missouri. His passions include the art of mimicry, an acute understanding of numbers, and great conviction for pursuing Sally. In the United States, Matt does his best to put his past behind him, but remains hunted by the death by torture of his young sister, and the torture and incarceration of his parents, both by French and German agents respectively. After fleeing Europe as a child, he reached the United States, and as an adult is a very observant man, realistic, and often sarcastic, who takes pride in being a logical thinking person, whose emotions rarely dictate his decisions. One aspect of his life which is dominated by his emotions and past experiences is the point of procreation. He has decided not to bring a child to the world, as he doubts there is anything but war and suffering in it. His love for Sally is another aspect of his life where his emotions remain totally committed.
Their views…
Sally and Matt’s views of life and world are quite different, yet they seem to be tied to each other in a very particular and interesting way. Matt’s passion for living in the moment, expressed through his impersonations and mimicry are contrasted by Sally’s dry sense of humor, and calculated way of doing things, for instance her savings plan. Her sense of awareness regarding social values and family life, contrasts Matt’s little desire to have children, although he lungs to marry Sally. In Matt we see a determination to detach himself from his roots by adopting different accents through mimicry, whereas Sally has not left her home town, still lives with her parents, and plans to remain close by. Ultimately both have resolved to keep personal part of their lives at least from one another, which in fact does bring them together closer than any other single thing in their lives… their suffering brought by their respective painful losses, for example Sally cannot have children and is affraid Matt will not accept her for this, and Matt does not want to have any children and does fear Sally would demand family and children, should she accept him… perfect match!
Entry #2 - RAGTIME - E.L. Doctorow
QUESTION #7
How does Doctorow use the characters of J.P. Morgan and Henry Ford to illustrate the differences between wealthy Americans of two different generations? In the novel, are these two men admirable characters? What does J.P. Morgan lack in his life?
I my opinion, the author’s tone regarding these two characters does exemplify some key differences between the wealthy classes of the time, whether from different generations or not, which is made obvious during the two magnates’ first meeting at Morgan’s residence.
During their exchange throughout dinner and the conversations that follow, I felt that J.P. Morgan symbolized the financial savvy banker, always looking for more gains, arrogant, and disconnected from the needs of those around him. In the case of Henry Ford, I felt he was more “true to his roots” and did not wish to change that fact.
Ford’s character in my opinion, provided a picture of the growing generation of entrepreneurs of the time, like Tateh and the owner of the Franklyn Novelty Co., focused on a product that not only provided a needed service for the community, but brought them joy.
Ford took pride in keeping things simple, when it came to his believes, morals, and even the product he chose to develop, whereas Morgan was more of conqueror, the one with the insatiable hunger for more, money, assets, even longer time on earth, as he pursued his quest to understand the afterlife and reincarnation.
I believe both characters are definitely admirable and flawed of course, which helped me relate to their passion and emotions, although Morgan seems to lack empathy for those below him, from employees, to peers, competitors, to those in the lower class.
QUESTION #10
After reading Ragtime, how would you describe Doctorow's view of the United States and its citizens during the period in which his novel is set?
Based on the setting and theme of this novel, as I understood Doctorow’s views of the country and its citizens is that of unfairness, where the powerful wealthy class, as well as those with a little more political and social power than others, do take advantage and oppress the rest whenever possible, allowing very few opportunities for advancement.
Examples of this are Coalhouse’s incident where race was the motive for act of unfairness and discrimination, and the relationship between Evelyn Nesbit and Harry K. Thaw, where gender and class were the motives. This gives way to an excellent set up for Emma Goldman’s character, which in my opinion is symbolic of the sentiment of the vast majority of citizens found on the opposite side of power, pushing them to organize and protest against this type of treatment.
Whether with real or fictional characters, Doctorow uses historical events and his creativity, in order to convey his message of inequality in America at the time, on an attempt to break the social-economic and racial barriers our citizens found themselves living under, or at least to make them visible to the rest of the world.
"That's why 5 percenters, college kids, and ex-felons feel us" one of my favorite albums; #RasKas always nasty. #GZA #WuWednesday #90sHipHop #realhiphop #lyricsfordays
#floweroflove #claudemckay #poetry The perfume of your body dulls my sense. I want nor wine nor weed; your breath alone Suffices. In this moment rare and tense I worship at your breast. The flower is blown, The saffron petals tempt my amorous mouth, The yellow heart is radiant now with dew Soft-scented, redolent of my loved South; O flower of love! I give myself to you. Uncovered on your couch of figured green, Here let us linger indivisible. The portals of your sanctuary unseen Receive my offering, yielding unto me. Oh, with our love the night is warm and deep! The air is sweet, my flower, and sweet the flute Whose music lulls our burning brain to sleep, While we lie loving, passionate and mute.
Yesterday's gear. #chelseaboots #orangepants why not? #denimshirt
#tbt A few days ago. #sobanoodles #spicyvegan #food #vegandad #instafood #yummy #whisky #cigars #instamoments #enjoylife #2018
#PhotoToaster #bobmarley #rastafari #houseofmarley Sometimes, we just need to bring it together in the old fashion, Bob Marley style, with a little twist 😏💨
