The Diner

"Nighthawks." That's the name of the painting. It seems appropriate. It reminds me of college students, late at night. Awake, but barely so. Drained from writing papers. Trickling in and out of the all-night breakfast joints.

Nighthawks was painted in 1942 by Edward Hopper. Immediately after Pearl Harbor. It seems to be an accurate representation of human existence after tragedy: everything is distant, vacant, empty. We can't communicate, we can't socialize. We can only sit silently and wonder why it happened.

So why do we love the painting? Why is it famous? Why are prints of it so common?

Perhaps it brings comfort, when we are separated and apart. When we can't seem to connect, to understand what's going on. This painting makes us remember that others experience this too; it isn't just us.

Diego Rivera

When I speak of Diego Rivera as the creator of the Mexican identity, I speak of the creation of my own identity.

The murals of Rivera had created in me a visual memory of the history of Mexico and have helped me to understand and respect my nationality. For me, the history of Mexico is full of living images...full of Diego Rivera. Besides images, my memories are accompanied by feelings of grief, honor, pride and magic that come straight from the emotions represented in the murals. Thanks to the muralist Diego Rivera I can easily relive the history of Mexico.

Rivera was commissioned to recreate the past to remind us of our Mexican roots. His life, however, has not been remembered in the same way. There are biographies written of him and one or two portraits of him. But the life of Diego Rivera was not made of words but of images.

Diego Rivera is considered the father of Mexican mural art in Mexico along with politician Guadalupe Posada. Posada started to break the barrier between government and people doing political satire in his drawings. Diego reinterpreted the history from a nationalistic revolutionary point of view.

More than any other artist, Diego Rivera offered models to incorporate cultural past and ethnic identity in a more modern alternative ways to promote a merger responsible for the social and the aesthetic. Diego was a very important part in the artistic world of the twentieth century and his ideas were well respected in the artistic community. Rivera was an innovative artist because he united the art with his political views creating a social message.

Atlas in Greek mythology is a titan, groups that came before Olympians, but were defeated by the Olympians. Atlas is thought to be holding up the weight of the World, actually this is inaccurate. When the titans were banished Atlas damned to hold up the sky and keep it separated from the earth titan Gaia, because the two were in love. In American Culture as to me Atlas is burdened to hold an unbearable weight, as many of us are. Our weight is usually in the form of a secret, whether it is our own or that of a friend we will always have this massive weight on our shoulders. It can also come in the form of stress, when we stress about school, family, frustrations, etc…it can feel like we are being weighted down. Atlas should not only be thought of the weight that we can’t bare, but the weight that we would gladly bare so that others might not have to. Yes he was damned to carry this weight, but he does so diligently and unwavering; even though the weight brings him to one knee, he does not drop it, he does not complain, he presses on and perseveres. Perseverance is defined by Webster’s as to persist in anything undertaken; maintain a purpose in spite of difficulty, obstacles, or discouragement; continue steadfastly. This is exactly what Atlas personifies.

First Black President

This picture is a the first painting that came out in the newspapers and on magzine that was announceing the first black president. This picture made me think back to when Rose Parks sat at the front of the bus to open up opportuinties for us, and Martin Luther King Jr fought for our freedom. It open up doors for Obama to run for preseident. Now we have the 1st black president. This picture is in many of families home and they have framed this picture.
It is a beatuiful picture and history in the making.

Paint-By-Number

My grandma had 2 paintings in her house I was particularly fond of. They were paint-by-number and done by my aunt in the early 60's. They are stiff and don't have glass in the frames, yet they have no nicks. The walls in Mama's house were plaster - thus the paintings never moved. I have those paintings in my house now. I look at them often, with great respect. And I freely move them about...from nail to nail. 

Scream

The Scream was painted in 1893 by Edvard Munch. When asked why he had been inspired to paint it Edvard responded that one evening he was walking at sunset with two of his friends when suddenly it seemed like “nature was screaming in (his) blood.” He admitted that for a few years he had almost gone mad and during the time he painted the scream he had been “stretched to the limits.” Although The Scream s terrifying I think it is popular because people can relate to it. Whenever a person is going through a personal crisis they see and feel their emotions in the things around them. When people split up with their girlfriend or boyfriend and they hear a break-up song on the radio they automatically relate. The Scream is the visual representation of pain and people automatically assume the subject of the picture is experiencing their pain or at least can relate to their pain in some ways. The bright reds and oranges clash with the dark browns and blues, creating a sense of conflict deep within the inner-self. The swirling and twirling of the sky and the river create a sense of panic and chaos and the screaming man seems to be the only one aware of nature’s madness.
. Whenever I look at it I always wonder why he is screaming. I try to turn away but I can't because The Scream, like any good horror movie, frightens me into wanting more. It radiates horror. The churning skies make me dizzy and I have to fight the urge to jump into the painting and pull the man back into reality, into sanity.

Bella knew she would never be good enough for the Cullen boy who held such perfection in his stance, style, and overall demeanor. She realized her insignificance in the situation. She had acknowledged it many times before that she deemed less a beauty and less a catch than other girls in her class. With Edward though, she remained unable to erase him from her mind and move on with her life. She felt his stares, and held great intrigue for this boy that seemed different from the rest. He enticed her, and she envied him. It was a situation that Bella had never experienced, and feelings she has never felt. Bella desired to know more of him, yet she feels insignifant to his flawless being.

He was the envy of all the freshman girls. Tan, muscular, and a personality that made every girl like him and every guy curious to how he did it. I had never seen him as more than a friend. To me the charm every girl saw was just goofiness and the hot body was simply the fact that he was in good shape. Then one day he asked me, "Molly, what are you going tonight?" It wasn't until he repeated the question with a litte something else in his voice that I realized his intentions. Hesitant at first I accepted his request to hang out as something more than just friends. Things evolved but eventually faded, and I was like feeling as Bella had felt. Insignificant and wanting something unattainable. A relatable character, conveyed in so many different story settings, Bella embodies the feelings of want, heartbreak, and love all in one.

Mona Lisa

The Mona Lisa a famous portrait of Leonardo De Vinci. Many people have a replica of the Mona Lisa in their house. This is a famous piece among many people. Leonardo did not finish this piece all at once. When I look at this portrait I do not see why anyone painted this. The colors are dull and are not appealing to my eye.It it depressing in my opinion. I would not want a picture of a lady in my house. My senior year of high school, I went to Pairs. We got to see the Mona Lisa. We had to wait in a long line for about 30 minutes. When I finally got to the Mona Lisa, I was very disappointed. My thoughts were the Mona Lisa was a large portrait. This was a surprise because it was so small. The portrait was not what i thought. I do not see why the Mona Lisa is famous. I think a lot of people like this portrait because a friend or someone likes it. I think people like Leonardo De Vinci not so much his work. This is one of those situtions where if a famouse person had it, we have to have it. This made the Mona Lisa become so famous. After seeing the Mona Liza in person, it is not an investment i will ever make.

America's Past Time

Staying loose is a very key necessity in this game. The dress is very formal for a sport. Full uniforms with belts and different colors. Some of the colors are bright and vary according to a particular mascot, others are simple white and gray colors with stripes. Metal cleats are needed to dig into the dirt as runners round the bases. The cleats give traction on the solid, sometimes slippery ground. A hat is required on the field and a helmet is needed to set foot in the batter's box. The game is decided by balls and strikes, offense and defense.

The rituals for the players and coaches are extreme. Some fans are as dedicated to the rituals, if not more, as many of the coaches and players. Many have their own routine. Some eat certain meals, listen to certain music, or pass around signature hand-shakes to other team-mates. Some even purposely do different activities if they're in a slump or had a bad game. The rituals vary greatly and have only evolved and expanded throughout the years, and there have been many.

The rules of the game are very classical and formal. The game has changed slowly as technology has evolved, but the game is insistent on sticking to its roots. The rules are nearly perfect and in my opinion took a genius to develop the rules and fundamentals of the game.

Many people would argue that America's past-time is boring. Some people have said, "There just isn't as much action as football or basketball." This is true, but it is a harder sport to play than those two. Baseball is not as physical as football or basketball, although basketball isn't very physical at all, but how many people do you know that can hit a 95 mph fastball? Or an 85 mph curveball for that matter.

Football and basketball take a lot of practice and dedication, but you have to be born with many physical advantages to play the game at the collegiate or professional level. You have to have height, speed, strength and coordination to play the game. Baseball takes these qualities as well, but the practice it takes get to the collegiate or professional level is extreme. The great thing about it is that anyone with some athleticism can do it if they do the work, but few are capable of such a task.

David Eckstein is a 5'7, 175 pound MVP of the 2006 World Series. What other sport could he achieve such a feat? Other than golf. Another example would be the 2008 American League MVP Dustin Pedroia, who is slightly bigger than Eckstein at 5'8, 180 pounds. I could go on and on but I believe I've made my point. It isn't their size or strength that make them great, it's the hard wok and dedication the two of them possess that have turned them into playmakers.

America's past-time is great because anyone can play it. It broke the color barrier in sports, helped the country get through World Wars, as well as the Great Depression, and is played throughout country fields, city streets, and third-world countries. People find a way to play the game. Whether it's a traditional ball and bat, or a stick and boucy-ball. People have played and watched the game for more than 100 years, and even though the game has been tainted in recent years, beaseball and its fans will find a way to get through it and make it great again.

Starry Night

"Starry Night" is Van Gogh's most sought after and replicated painting. People have based songs, and other merchandise on this painting. It's difficult to shy away from it. Van Gogh painted "Starry Night" while in an asylum in Saint-Remy in 1889. Some believe they 11 stars are a religious reference to the verse Gensis 37:9. Whether it reflects a religious reference, Van Gogh based other paintings on the stars and night. People can relate to this painting because people feel comfortable and at ease. The sky keeps the viewers eyes moving with the swirls of the clouds and the stars. The movement keeps the onlooker involved, while other factors take hold.

.....is like....

Hope is like holding on to a cloud. While you are laying there on the roof, on a bright sunny day, you may think you could almost touch one. Even though you may not be able to, you hold on tight to the idea that you can. So you day dream, about grabbing on to that cloud, and flying away on it. Hope is what propels us to the next day, the next big thing, the next place in our lives. Hope is what keeps us going through the monotonous tones of everyday life.

Relief is like having a weight lifted off your shoulders. Relief is when you were younger diving down for that dive stick. Even though you got a big breath right before you dove in, you know you can't hold your breath any longer. So you are swimming as hard as you can to the bottom, you grab the dive stick, and touch the bottom with your feet. You push off as hard as you can! When you reach the surface you gasp for air. So relieved that you made it to the top for that breath of life.

Jealousy is like clinging to your neighbors mailbox. You see that they have the perfect car, perfect house, and perfect family. You watch from the outside because you can see that what they have is exactly what you want. You are jealous of their perfect red Mercedes, their 3 small little children that hunt Easter eggs in the yard, and you wish that your house had french doors and green shutters. So, you stand there clinging to their mailbox. The exterior of everything they have. The mailbox is at the end of the driveway, so far away from what they own, but close enough to just get a glimpse of the "perfect life."

hope is a fat guy

Hope is a fat guy standing in front of a salad bar. He dreams of the day his waist is back to normal. The tomatoes and carrots are his instrumens of obtaining his desire--the ladders he must climb--the hill he must run up. But he's determined. The bacon bits and creamy ranch are his pitfalls. The Big and Tall store will be a distant memory if he can just eat that first bite.

Longing is a lightbulb. Full of bright burning energy, but trapped within a delicate casing. If the glass is broken and it can escape, everything goes dark. No matter how badly it wants to explore the world outside the fragile glass, it would be doomed to failure.

Jealousy is cauliflower. It's just as good as broccoli, but no one wants to eat it. It sits there on the salad bar and thinks, "i taste just as good, i'm prettier, and i won't get caught in your teeth--why the hell won't you pick me?!" It just sits there glaring at the broccoli--everyone's favorite--and dreams of the day it can grow legs or be able to go kick broccoli's ass. It dreams of being the lone vegetable on the fat guy's salad, yet no matter how hard it tries, it just can't be seen as good as broccoli. It sits there...green eh white with envy.

On Belay

Rock climbing is completely different from any other sport out there. Many people think that climbing is dangerous and stupid to do. The truth of the matter is that rock climbing has it’s inherit risks, but there are many ways to limit the danger of injury. Climbing is as safe as you make it. Whoever chooses to climb carries the responsibility to make it as safe as possible for ones self as well as other people. There are not any “rules” in the traditional sports sense; no referee or score keeper in rock climbing. There is more just safety precautions and etiquette to remember. When you’re on the rock, be mindful of other climbers and be respectful of them as well as the land. I can’t tell you how irritating it is to come up to a spot and have trash all over the place and to have annoying people blabbering on about stupid things. Climbing is unique in that you are not usually competing with any one else or against another team. Its just you verses the rock. You are always trying to out do your last climb. It is a test against ones self to push your limits to the up most. The motion of a climber is also unique. It can be as graceful as a ballet dancer, or it can be filled with grunts and spastic lunges to small holds. Climbing is a real testament to the wonder of the human body. It is always amazing to think about the fact people practically stick to the wall on holds smaller than the width of a pencil.
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The Cafe Terrace on the Place du Forum, Arles, France, At Night

"Cafe Terrace at Night" is a painting by Van Gogh of a coffee shop in France. He painted it in September, 1888. Van Gogh is widely known for his painting "Starry Night". "Cafe Terrece at Night" is the first painting in which he used the starry background in the night sky. Visitors in Arles, France can still visit the site where Van Gogh sat with his easel to paint this picture. I have always wanted to visit France, ever since I was a child, so I love any artwork that portrays it. "Cafe Terrace at Night" has warm, inviting colors that make me wish I could be sitting at the little coffee shop myself in 1888. I love to look at this painting and imagine what the coffee shop is like inside and the French people having conversation over coffee under a beautiful starry sky. It provides a sense of serenity, as if you would have no worries if you were there. Van Gogh is famous for many of his paintings, but "Cafe Terrace at Night" is one of my favorites.

All is Fair in Love and War

Love is like a roller coaster it has it’s high and it’s lows. The ride can take you as high as Mtn. Everest then in a mila second send you plummeting back to earth like a skydiver without a parachute.

Anger is like the calm before the storm. It builds and builds until it finally releases all of its fury in one ferocious action. Like the eye of a hurricane the source of the anger swirls around the problem creating fear and havoc all around it.

Jealousy is like a wicker candle it will burn and stay aglow but can eventually tip over and burn down everything around it. Jealous revenge can start with a simple bee sting but over time it can fester into many stings which can prove to be fatal.

All The Worlds A Stage

I have been acting all my life.  Although I have only been acting on stage since I was in kindergarden, I have in someway or another acted everyday of my life, whether it is covering up my true feelings about a situation or trying to make someone laugh, I am acting.  

My stage debut was when I was 5 in my church's annual Easter drama and that is where I fell in love with the thrill of being on stage, all eyes on you.

You know when you purposely say something a certain way or do something because you know that it is going to affect someone, you are acting.  Everything we say and do we do it for a purpose, although we might not be completely aware of it, we are acting.  As babies we figure out how to manipulate our parents to get what we want; we cry just because we know that we can get what we want by doing it.  We are all actors.

When I am on stage I can be someone different.  I can escape my problems, be free of my personal struggles, I am no longer bound by my fears.  I have new problems and new struggles that are my characters; sometimes they are worse than mine sometimes they aren't, but when I am that new person, no matter how hard it is, I love it.  

Whether I am on stage or just living my life, I am an actor.  

"All the worlds a stage, and all the men and women merely players."

-Shakespeare 

Emotions are Weird

Happiness is taking a shot. It is something most people love. It’s something you usually take part in with other people. Happiness is found easily. And it doesn't take a huge amount to satisfy people.

Jealousy is a germ. Jealousy is something you know is there but you try to ignore it or overlook it. Jealousy is often small but when someone is extremely jealous, it creates a sickness inside them. Jealousy is everyday and everywhere. People deny their jealousy.

Anger is a high heel. Things start out looking smooth and then something sharp and quick happens. Anger is impossible to ignore. Anger can last five minutes, or it can last all day. It comes in a variety of intensities, or colors.

Mickey Mouse

Mickey Mouse is a household name and creates an image of wonder and imagination. He is the face of the “most magical place on earth,” Disney World. As a child everyone dreams of Disney World and meeting Mickey Mouse. I think he represents that fun and the dreams that every child wants to experience. The whole Disney experience and especially Mickey Mouse seems so big and wonderful to a little kid. I have always enjoyed Mickey Mouse, but being a girl, also Minnie Mouse. I remember my first trip to Disney World and the excitement I felt meeting Mickey and Minnie. I was overcome with joy. I still have my autograph book with their signatures. I don’t think I took the infamous Mickey ears off for a month after my trip to Disney World. Even now that I am older the character still brings out the child in me. Mickey represents a world that is full of magic and wonder; and I think that is why he is appealing to so many. I think Mickey takes you away from reality into a world that is unlike any other. As a child, living in such a magical world is the greatest thing ever. As I got older and learned the real story of Mickey and the Disney world, I have an even greater respect for what Mickey represents. It is also exciting to see that excitement you had in other generations. My family will be taking my brother's little boys to Disney World and I am really exicted to see how they react. It is nice to see the innocence of little kids in such a wonderful enviroment. They get excited just talking about it. It is funny how such little things mean so much when you are a kid.