The Savannas

 A savanna is defined as a grass-land with predominantly C4 photosynthesis grass, which is slowly replacing C3 grass due to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere (Ulfstrand).  Savannas are found predominantly in four regions of the world:  Africa, Australia, Asia, and South America from largest to smallest in area.  I will follow this order in discussing the topic.   I should note that there are some savannas in the world, including the United States, that are part of lawns and golf courses, etc.  It is interesting to note that savanna in the United States is recreating the African savannas were humans originally evolved. 

The African savanna is significant to human history in addition to its seemingly simple ecosystem, because the “first, homo erectus… then later our own species, Homo sapiens…” originated and spread out from there (Ulfstrand).  As a direct result of Darwinian evolution, the Savanna was the soil in which the cultivation of the human species occurred.  Before technological advances in weaponry saw daylight (during prehistory), the climate, various predators, the coexistence of other similar primates in the hominid group must have prehistorically given form to the first primitive religions in the savanna.

In general, savannas can be found in multiple climates, and there are three types :  grass savanna, bush savanna, and woodland/forest savanna (Ulfstrand).  For instance, Australia has the largest woodland/forest savanna in the world in the tropical climate zone (Savanna).   The three types are dichotomized by their relative amount of grass to bushes and trees ratios, in obvious respects.   The world’s continents and islands has approximately 20% savannah, and the largest chunk in any continent is in Africa (wiki).   In East Africa, “’niyaka…’ is the word for bush savannah…” (Ulfstrand).  With regards to the various bush species, in the niyaka, many bushes have evolved thorns and poisons to ward off bowser species or species that consume vegetation.  And since at the lower ends of the food change, plants, (which “…are sitting prey,”) are able to regrow lost limbs and leaves and still reproduce after being heavily consumed by bowsers (Ulfstrand).  At an even lower end of the food chain, we have grass, which as aforementioned uses C4 photosynthesis primarily. 

Biologically, C4 is a more sophisticated method of photosynthesis within plants than C3, which allows for the chemical reaction of carbon dioxide to oxygen.  It is interesting to note that grasses in the African savanna have evolved no defenses towards grazing, but rather, have “adapted” a means of “…regrowing bite friendly” rather than becoming chemically or physically inconsumable (Ulfstrand).  This can be explained because grasses are more “concerned” with competing plant space than grazing, which they have already adapted to.  In Africa, all three kinds of savannas can be found, and in woodland savannas, “miombo” is the word “…used when describing the specific vegetation type” of a certain type of tree species that is “…expansive…” (Ulfstrand).  Miombo can be “found in Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe” (Ulfstrand).  

The largest threat to all three savannas (that are in Africa at least) is agriculture, desertification, fires (both natural and human-made), and then bowsers.  Agriculturally, Africa, “as is well known,” has many starving mouths to feed (Ker).  The failure to feed their mouths has been because of excessive dry seasons, causing failed harvests (Ker).  Poverty is also very high (the average GNP is $700), meaning, agricultural equipment is lacking—they still use first industrial revolution tools.  So, because of this, farming isn’t as productive as it can be, and most of it is self-sustenance based anyway.   Regardless, while 71% of people who live in Africa live in rural areas, the remaining few live in cities.  And cities are increasing in size at the fastest rate in the world, which is 5.3% annually (Ker).  While this seems to have no effect on the declining savanna, it is, because with more mouths to feed, more land is needed for agricultural purposes. 

Bowsers can consist of pasture animals like cows.  In North America, the Native Americans had repeatedly burned the woodland savanna down (because of the fire resistant plants that had evolved) to clear large areas for primitive farming (wiki).  Fires have actually been used to created savannas, which were started by “pre-Columbian Native Americans” in the north east United States, Australia, New Guinea (by aboriginals), and India (wiki).  Fires aren’t detrimental to trees in the long run, but are disruptive of other species that need trees as an environment to live in.  Also, fire, which typically occurs at the beginning of a savanna’s respective dry season, is a big-time antagonist towards bushes, and is helpful towards grass (Ulfstrand). 

There are other factors to why African savannas are disappearing. Besides agricultural development and human-induced desertification (by introducing grazers that inadvertently deplete the soil’s nutrients, causing the soil to erode), climate change in general is changing the landscape.  Climatically, like the sun cycle that is every eleven years, rain also has a periodic pattern to it where it can either be excessively dry or wet, which has an ecologic impact on various species that depend on rain for survival.  This trend towards a warmer climate, as has been discussed in the classroom textbook before, is one that is causing the savannas to become more arid, causing desertification by non-human means.

Because trees are highly flammable due to their natural oils, they often die completely in a fire.  However, they have spread their seeds so completely that the now barren landscape, which was the result of the fire, is now highly nutritious for the young seeds to flourish and there is more space for trees to grow when the old ones have died.  Despite the bushes’ and tree’s seeming lack of adaptation to avoid being burnt over, they were the first vegetation to engage in chemical warfare, which is a survival mechanism for “[repelling] grazing” (Ulfstrand).  In the cells of these plants, they are able to in their “normal metabolic” processes create horribly tasting and simultaneously, poisonous substances if they are eaten (Ulfstrand).   

There are many species within the animal kingdom that exist in African savannas, such as the elephant, rhino, giraffe, African lion, termite (and their higher ups on the food chain such as aardvark, pangolins, aardwolfs, and honey badgers), ants, various species of grass, bushes, and trees, and unique birds.  Termite eating is also an African delicacy.  Unfortunately, we humans are having a detrimental effect on the count of these various species that used to live there.  For instance, elephants have declined by 80% over the last 100 years due to their desirable tusks, which make good keys for pianos or good ornaments, jewelry, etc. (Ulfstrand).  If one observes the elephant, one can write whole stories about them when observing their families, deaths of loved ones, and maybe even religion.  Though one can’t exactly verbally communicate to one, they communicate through the touching of trunks between same genders, opposite genders, older and younger (the wiser seems to guide the younger one in most adventures).  And, a cub’s mother is very protective of her children, and they always try to adhere together.  Even the death of a herd member causes emotional response, one would assume; “…they seem particularly interested in the head and tusks… I would guess they are trying to recognize the individual” (Ulfstrand).  One can only conclude that they have a concept of death, but not a graveyard (Ulfstrand).  Although hunting them is outlawed in many countries, illegal bands still get their tusks through their murder.  It is interesting to note that when an elephant makes a threat, he or she means it, and that the murder of a carnivore may result (Ulfstrand).  

There are many interesting facets of our ancestors’ former home (the African savanna), which is disappearing, and radically, our original ecosystem is being preserved to some extent as awareness of their disappearance increases (Ulfstrand).  Mostly, due to the forces of human development, African savannas, which are being replaced by agriculture, are slowly dwindling; we are effectively eliminating the “natural” animals and species that exist.  This is due to the need to feed the mouths of a growing African population, which in Africa is growing at the fastest rate in the world.  This is because of the undeveloped economies and third world status of most countries, (whereas in developed nations, people have adopted a different lifestyle, preferring a smaller family to a large one).  While numbers are painting an accurate picture of how Africa lifestyle must be like, let us not forget that they, too, want a higher standard of living and that their economies are improving especially as political entities are rising from the ashes of post-European colonialism (Ulfstrand).

Bibliography

Wikipedia. 2011. 24 Nov 2011 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savanna>

Savannas.  2011. 24 Nov 2011 <http://www.blueplanetbiomes.org/savanna.htm>

Ker, Andrew.  Farming Systems of the African Savanna: A continent in Crisis.  Ontario:

 International Development Research Centre, November 1995. 

Ulfstrand, Staffan.  Savanna Lives: Animal life and Human Evolution in Africa.  Oxford: Oxford University                               Press, 2002.

Hallucinatory poetry "Beauty"

I wish to find what makes me happy,
and I'm already isolated with my life,
So I'll play piano in a cell,
To satisfy the ear of my future audiences down the road.
And I'll forget the failed relationships.
I will create something original,
Wishing my eyes were the color of green grass.
I buy the Jasmine tea all over 'gain for what I don't have,
As an illusion I will die by natural causes.
I will care about the things most important to me,
My health, skin, and future, and other issues.
No one outside of my family cares deeply enough,
Or finds my manliness at heart desirable.

Hallucinatory poetry "Deathly tanned."

In my imagination,
I come knocking at your door.
You see me,
You slam it shut.
I knock again,
So you cry.
Though I was deathly tanned and love was real,
foreign as can be.   

Hallucinatory poetry "Dust."

Dust is like an enigma,
It settles on the Earth,
But becomes rock after epochs.

Hallucinatory poetry "The Illusion"

Studying was like an illusion,
I waited for my loved one at the Cafe,
Only to come out in despair.
I pursued schoolwork and she warned me,
To never see her again.

Hallucinatory poetry "The Reflection,"

I’m certain my mind is already made,

After hours spent in the cataclysm of hell so to speak,

I will climb from the depths of despair toward some bright ray of hope,

Though in time I've learned that all I felt was made up in my mind,

For in the end of all these steadfast, fleeting thoughts, 

What has passed was between me and you.
That infinite realm of the Universe can shed light,

Although her thoughts are more negative than positive,

I'm in a state of thought I could wait forever till your moment arrives,

Though I should have thought clearly what I was going to say,

That I should have thought about you,

Despite the conclusion we're irreplaceable.  

-Dedicated to Ariel.

"A History Question and Answer"

            In the areas of science, religion, culture and human sexuality what were some of the significant discoveries or developments?  How or in what ways did they encourage human betterment or encourage anxiety or pessimism.  In what ways do those developments still influence us?

            In science, various discoveries were made during this time period.  In medicine, it was a scientific paradigm that diseases were caused by “bad blood,” and that this could be solved by placing a leech on the body to suck the blood out (Levack 752).  Fortunately, as this didn’t solve the issue, the scientific discovery of bacteria replaced the old paradigm.  The practice of medicine changed as this knowledge (for the practitioners, in particular) of avoiding the transference of bacteria, such as washing hands, was implemented.  In geology, the belief that what is observable today can explain what happened long ago or uniformitarianism was developed by Lyell.  This replaced the Bible’s Genesis doctrine for many except fundamentalist Christians.  In biology, the creation of Darwin’s theory of evolution, which directly challenged the importance of humankind in the image of God since it would imply later by the publication of The Descent of Man that humans descended from lesser, species by the process of natural selection.  In 1895, the discovery of the X-ray, which was an accident, removed the assumption that solid matter blocks everything from the electromagnetic spectrum.  And lastly, Einstein’s theory of special relativity in 1905 was developed that said energy and mass were interchangeable by the equation E=mc2.  These scientific discoveries opened the door to more paradigm shifts in the West.

            Sociologists used rational thought in analyzing human behavior during this time period.  Sociologist Lebon’s generalization of crowd behavior and classification of non-educated workers as being more emotional than rational, led to the promulgation of his pessimistic paradigm on the unworkability of democracy.  Lebon believed that rationalism was in itself limited, like romantics before the modernist movement.    Max Weber saw bureaucracy as a positive development in the modern age, who believed in the meritocracy of the work place.  He was more positivist than Lebon.  Freud believed that there was a struggle between the unconscious and conscious mind and that the unconscious can sometimes win.  Another way to put it is that the apparent negative emotions of the unconscious are suppressed by the conscious, which in the extreme case that the unconscious wins, suicide may result (since he worked with mentally-ill patients). 

            In terms of religion, while governments had been secularized, Christian fervor remained the same in this time period except in secular activities (Levack 765).  As evidenced by the continued support for Christianization abroad and the continual support for churches in England and elsewhere, the superior religious zeal over Islam and other religions didn’t wane .  Moreover, religious tolerance wasn’t a paradigm in the West at this time.  Before the First World War, the Polish found their adherence to Roman Catholicism part of their cultural identity and they found this to be a reason for “national sovereignty” (Levack 764).  Uniformitarianism came into conflict with the doctrines of the Bible in that the world wasn’t 6,000 years old.  And Darwinists promulgated that species weren’t created by God as we see them today, but evolved over time, which came into contradiction to Christian doctrine.  Catholics at this time were coming under fire due to positivism and scientific paradigm shifts, and they implemented papal infallibility to their avail, which essentially granted them the divine right that previous monarchies had enjoyed.  Perhaps as a result of this, anticlericalism ensued throughout France, for instance, as liberals were pitted against the Catholic conservatives in heated debates (Levack 765).                

            Culturally, the modernist movement, which strayed further from the traditional forms of classicism and the individuality of romanticism, was accepted by those who believed in the progress of art.   Artists in Spain developed a new style of painting called cubism (Levack 763).  And more broadly across Europe there was an expressionist movement, which believed in the expression of the individual’s intrapersonal perspective on the environment.  There were unlike previous non-expressionists who tried to copy what they saw exactly or as close as possible to what was in the environment. Many artists existed in this time period who stuck to the forms of the past and yet were “different” than their predecessors were still accepted as being valid, like Rachmaninoff.  He wrote romantic stylized music, yet was a post-Romantic.  Social Darwinism was prevalent in the culture of the West during this time period.  It also introduced a different paradigm of human behavior.  Wrongly, social Darwinists concluded that negative as well as positive habits, such as drug addiction, would be passed down from generation to generation due to genetic inheritance, leaving little room for an alternative explanation—the choice of the individual in explanation of his or her actions (Levack 755).  Today, sociologists know that behavior is shaped by one’s environment. 

            In the West during this time period, many people had the mental condition known as homophobia or fear of the homosexual male or female.  And there are few mental illnesses that have been proven to be hereditary, and this one isn’t.  In the realm of scientific rational thought, social Darwinism didn’t take into account the other “irrational” aspect of the human mind.  Science defines the correct practice of sex as between a man and woman, which many conservatives applauded since it wasn’t in direct contradiction of church doctrine (Levack 759).  Today, fewer people are as intolerant as before, but many take a conservative stance on social conduct, believing in the contagiousness of homosexuality as akin to the spreading of Cholera by unforeseen, unscientific means.  Homosexuality, however, is now recognized by psychologists that it is by sexual preference that determines identity.  Same-sex marriage is not-allowed in many states, Iowa being one of them, though historically, it has been accepted.  Homosexuals are now being suppressed by the general will of the majority in my view.      

            In terms of pessimism, fin-de-siecle, or anticipation of the new century, fostered fears of a person’s respective society (Levack 757).  Some novels depicted society as twisted and sinister, such as, Nana and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  On the other hand, economically due to positivism, European empire powerhouses were usurping the resources of other countries, exploiting their manual labor, converting them into Christians.  In some ways this can be seen in an optimistic light, that things couldn’t be looking any better for the West, at least until World War I.       

Bibliography

Levack, Brian et al. The West: Encounters and Transformations. Upper Saddle River, NJ:

Pearson Education, Inc., 2011. Print

"WW1"

World War I was like a pan-European revolution in the sense that new nations emerged or preexisting nations changed vehemently.  Prior to the initial outbreak of total war or revolution, there were societal changes, economic, and political that was the undercurrent to the pretext of total war.  Europe had gone through the second industrial revolution, which had improved upon various techniques of manufacture.  The manufacture of a 15-round rifle improved the odds in combat versus indigenous peoples around the world tremendously.  Because Europe had carved out Africa and parts of Asia rather easily, though Germany felt left out, economic conditions were better than ever after the agricultural depression that shed prosperity on Europe.  The Europeans defended their position as “superior whites” and subdued the African and Asian indigenous people in the name of Christianity and social Darwinism.  Little did they know that this was backwards in itself, and this mindset of oppression would carry on to their new political entities shortly after the aftermath of the revolution that was World War I. 

Like in France, where the subsequent revolutions after the first were attempted to be suppressed, Europeans in this instance formed their allies and enemies to prevent change.  In Europe at the time, politically, the Triple Entente and the Triple Alliance was formed.  Thus, the timber for the flames had already been laid out when Austria decided to invade Serbia due to the assassination of their infamous King by Serbian terrorists.  The end result of this was that Russia, England, France, Italy, and later the United States and others entered the war against Germany, Austria, and the Ottomans.  The total war was not only economically feasible, it was socially acceptable. 

So, not only was World War I a massive bloodbath in trench warfare, but it shifted societies in directions they’ve never been before.  In other places, besides Russia, there were economic and societal changes that all sort of culminated in a boiling pot.  In England, women were working in necessary positions for the “war effort”, subsequently leading to Women’s suffrage there.   “Social relations” between classes had begun to relax due to the unanimity of the war effort.  In Russia, on the hand, they were lagging behind the rest of their European counterparts.  It was much like the revolution that occurred in France in that the people were in the process of removing the Tsarist monarchy, (essentially the Old Regime), and the aristocracy to transform it into a democracy.  This failed however, because of soviet Bolshevik party gained control, who tempted the Russian people with an alternative, communist model of how society should operate.  The United States, England, and France sent their forces there as the “Whites” versus the Russian “Reds,” but this failed and consequently a new issue arose, the Cold War.     

At the aftermath of World War I, Russia had already become a communist nation after seceding territory.  New nations were born as a result of this: Czechoslovakia, Iraq (in the Middle East), Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Finland, Yugoslavia, Hungary, Austria (which were divided) and Poland.  Germany was stripped of its privileges among the ranks of European colonial powerhouses. 

The formation of the League of Nations paved the way for the creation of the United Nations, however, it did not do its job as Woodrow Wilson intended and his 14 points for a national self-determination paradigm went unheeded. 

Book analysis of "Non-violent Communication: a Language of Life"

“Non-violent Communication: a language of life” is not just a book for diplomats, or politicians, but a book for everyone who wishes to improve their well-being, behavior, and outlook on life.  NVC will be my first term that I will compare and contrast with the term, “interpersonal communication,” from the classroom textbook (Chapter 1).  The second term that I will look at is “public communication” in relation to an example of public communication that my book’s author has given (Chapter 1).  The third term that I will look at is the “horn effect” in comparison with the explanation from my book (Chapter 3).  The fourth term that is “values” with relation to Rosenberg’s values as described in his book (Chapter 2).  The fifth term that I will analyze from the text book is “perception” with an example of perception given in his book (Chapter 3).  And lastly, the sixth term that I will look at is “enculturation” in comparison with an example by Arun Ghandi given in Rosenberg’s book, “Non-violent communication: a language of life” (Chapter 4).

Non-violent communication, or NVC, is a term used widely in the book and it seems most similar to the concept of interpersonal communication offered by the classroom text book.  NVC and interpersonal communication both seem to describe communication as being culturally necessary for our day to day lives in order to be healthy emotionally, intellectually, and ethically.  Both suggest that people might die, which can be the end result of poor communication.  However, the major difference is that NVC just by what I’ve read includes a whole different outlook than just “interpersonal communication,” and is by appearance, more complicated than it looks.  NVC appears to have a four-step process that involves a lot of self-analysis.  My book starts of describing the NVC process by saying to paraphrase, we first start out with being subjectively self-aware, which has an impact on our own wellness; second, being objectively self-aware about our emotions within our environment; third, look at what creates our emotions culturally and individually; then lastly, looking at what actions we take, which can either improve or deteriorate our daily lives (pg. 6 of NVC).    

In the text book, public communication is communication given to an audience (not via EMC but via face-to-face).  In a public speech that Rosenberg gave to a large audience of Palestinian Muslim men, there was a man who was vehement against American action in Palestine (page 13-14 of NVC).   He decided to receive questions from him that were angry and pointedly anti-American.  In the end, he invited him to have food at his home for a Ramadan dinner because he ended up explaining his reason for being in Palestine.  NVC can be found in the form of public communication, so they are similar terms, and NVC tends to be primarily a human form of communication.  The fact that he let him vent his rage was a sign that they could understand each other despite being from different regions of the globe, and that culture is not a boundary but a unique difference that is to be cherished. 

The horn effect, from the text book, is what happens when we attribute a negative emotion or quality to a person we dislike.  NVC goes one step further to ask us how we should respond upon hearing a negative comment from someone we dislike or like if the tables were turned so to speak (pg. 49-50 of NVC).   There are apparently four ways in which we can respond interpersonally.  Firstly, we inwardly respond in a negative manner to a negative comment, or, we essentially blame ourselves.  This in effect prevents us from responding in the correct manner, and should be avoided, according to the principles of NVC.  Secondly, we might blame the sender of the message, or we blame others.    This, again, should be avoided, because like blaming ourselves for our actions, we in effect accept the judgment that we have received.  Thirdly, we accept our own emotions and intrapersonal thoughts and merely respond in a seemingly less menacing way.   This is better than the first two because, it accepts responsibility for our actions whether they be right or wrong.  Fourthly, we respond in a way that is sensitive to the other person, avoiding any menace altogether.   This is the best method for responding to a negative action, because it in effect takes responsibility and we get what we want because we make it clear what bothers us and we are more respectful. 

According to the textbook, value is simply a bipolar quality of there being something right or wrong with a particular idea.  While Rosenberg assumes we understand what value is in this book, he explains how to avoid “moralistic judgments” or judgments based on our own values when comparing them with someone else who appears to not share the same values.  Rosenberg coins a new term, called Life-alienating communication or LAC, which is different from NVC, in that it may cause us to behave violently toward each other and ourselves if used.   Drawing comparisons with other people in terms of achievement or physical appearance is also life-alienating as well as denying responsibility.  Value judgments on the other hand are not to be confused with moralistic judgments, because deciding what is valuable and not is a part of life, while moralistic judgments are made on people “who fail to support our value judgments” (pg. 17 of NVC).  

Interpersonal perception, according to the textbook, is a process of understanding other people and seeing what they’re like.  We give meaning to their actions.  NVC requires a lot attention to interpersonal perception, which, when given the chance to be perceptive, might be in the end a misperception.  In a case between a co-worker and a student of Rosenberg’s in Rosenberg’s book, the co-worker is infuriated with the level of teen pregnancies that are going on statistically (pg. 62-63 of NVC).  But at the end of the dialogue, she becomes less infuriated and more understanding because the student has used the principles of NVC, making the co-worker feel that the two of them weren’t “’worlds apart’” (pg. 64 of NVC).  The co-worker was in effect having a misperception about teens, and she in fact didn’t connect with relationships between young teens. 

In the classroom textbook, enculturation is the process of creating a cultural person through “learning.”  In Rosenberg’s book, he gives an example by Arun Ghandi of how he was before he became nonviolent, (or before the NVC process), when he was growing up.  He was subjucated to constant beatings by white and black men for his color in South Africa, which instilled a lust for revenge in him.  This was a part of his culture at his time, racism that is.  And so, when he was finally sent to visit his grandfather (the actual Ghandi we read about in literature), he learned how to lose that part of himself that was violent and he changed his attitude (pg. XV of NVC).  Change has to come from within ourselves in order to further the cause of peace.  And he gives plenty of examples of how things “are not enough”, such as building a huge nuclear arsenal that insinuates peace through fear, and amassing powerful armies or subjugating our workers using passive violence.        

In conclusion, NVC is a process that should be learned by everyone.  It is a process that mostly requires one to empathize by employing a simple four step process.  There are negative consequences that can appear in our lives when NVC isn’t used, when we don’t follow the examples of great people, such as Ghandi.   If we don’t go through a process of learning the NVC either through trial and error and rediscovering the processes for ourselves, there might be a huge learning curve for us in the future. 

"What is an Ecological Footprint?"

Wrote this for class, if anyone is interested in understanding what it is, read!



An ecological footprint is what I leave behind because of my existence on the Earth. It is the affect I have, or a population, has on the environment in terms of land water to dispose of their waste and to eat, transport, live, use services, and buy things. The affect I have on the environment is measured in terms of carbon waste, hectares, and number of earths I would need if everyone lived the same way I do, in order to understand how I fall in place with each other relatively speaking and to understand how to live more sustainably.

The statement, “the population problem does not lie entirely with the developing world,” is true, because in wealthy nations, despite there being a slower growth rate due to laws or other factors than in developing nations, people in 1st world countries have a much larger footprint overall, considering, we consume a lot more and live a lot more extravagantly. And countries like China already have a population problem and are almost entirely developed. So while we are living in our big homes and using our fancy technology, poorer nations, though growing at a faster rate, are leaving behind a smaller ecological footprint, relatively speaking.

Hallucinatory poetry, "Star Hatchery."

There's a former waitress who's cooked up some plans.
I'm a scientist and a lover. 

And if this were science fiction,
There's a star waiting to be born in the hatchery.
So I go after it.

I'm possibly fed up with my Queen since I go away.

With a call to the higher authorities she's sure.

But after reevaluation I've decided I'm too feeble.
I don't become the Star.
There is no justice when there's no judge to be seen,
But any attempt at success will go unrestrained, unabated.

I'm no match for the Star's strength once it's hatched,
But time will be stolen from it when it's been fully and fairly treated,
Or so she says.
On a ship I believe I can reach the Star before it's too late,
Because there will be star harvesting,
And like while you may or may not believe aborting a fetus is right or wrong,
It is my choice, in the end, because I'm paving the way for humanity.

We're arriving and we wonder how we may be warmed by the Star,
Whenever its weather changed we kept on wanting to be a star.
Though our hearts are too large to be contained and used,
They're beginning to be made of metal.
The Star's gravitational attraction catches our eyes.
We think as we come closer and judge it,
That she ran away and never came back again.

If this were science fiction,
There's a star waiting to be born in the hatchery.

Hallucinatory poetry, "Whenever we said Judge for Yourself"

Whenever we said judge for yourself,

Like there was a part of us we could make better,

And whenever we smiled and talked,
We always wanted to sound better.

So after we left the store we were gone,
'Till one day the waitresses decided, one by one,
To never see or talk to us again.

Hallucinatory poetry "Life."

Life's like a video game,

You hold weapons pointing from your breasts,

Though they're wine glasses for your customer.

And though you're in the army,

You're really actually peaceful,

In bed.

After you desired me gone,

I don't know if I'd find love again.

Hallucinatory poetry "Brightness"

Her face is bright like a light-bulb,
And she's analytical with her hands.

The definition of schizophrenia,
Is implying I'm dumb like I'm not sure whether it's real,

I'm mad, because I threw my laptop across the floor,
Like I hold on to the notes of a piano piece.
And though I'm doing my daily business
Of analyzing poetry,

When the psychiatrist hears what I have to say,
It's like my love had swallowed a bullet,

because She knew what it really meant,
Where the poem says, "..put a bullet inside his head."

But without my knowing,
She takes pills instead.

Hallucinatory poetry "Music."

This poem is a silent musical piece,
That lasts as long as you read it.
If I'd be trying to create something orignal,
I know I'd be a musician,
Because post-moderns don't dishearten,
The tradition of malcontent music.  

Hallucinatory poetry "Time"

At the cafe,

My voice succumbed
To the voices of many.
In Time,
Like a cape of grandiosity I am silent.

It's snowing outside and the blizzard has you wondering,
Whether to put on the black coat and look your best,
And Time doesn't know whether you're in haste,
For, you are absolutely sure you're too late.
You're arriving and you've walked through the door.
A lady storms through and sits down with her acquaintance by the bar,
And you have one chance
To express it now or never--your never ending affection for honey!
Then a voice crack and she's left to her place of work because she's an alcoholic.
There you'll see Time and Time again sorrow and despair.
Time wont allow your wishes come true
For she's in love with him and you are in love with her.

Hallucinatory poetry "A Return to Despair."

When I was walking home in the rain from the Cafe,
A random stranger came up to me with her arms open,
She gave me a hug,
My illness becomes bitter and my headache returns.

A lyrical love piece "Diamond in a Rough."

"There's a diamond in a rough,
It's being chipped away slowly,"
How do you make a diamond turn to dust?
Years ago,
I never had to second guess what I thought,
So on the piano I used to express what I felt,
I can't think of sadder times,
When I'm without her,
She made me feel that you had a soul.

A lyrical love piece "Excitement is leaving me."

Did you know excitement is leaving me,
In all my daily activities,
There are none that satisfy me when I'm without her,
There's one who called me a virus I would see again, 
And still my poems are sufficient to describe my disease,
And there are few who I would be excited to be with,
And now I have to find a way to find a replacement,
Which cannot be done very easily.
There's "Non-violent communication"--a book, on the table,
And it's giving me ideas,
I can write something original after reading a passage from it.

A lyrical love piece "Dueling"

Still as a liberal,
I'm melancholy,
She's afraid of the man who wrote to her,

Still as a socialist,
The days of dueling are over,
But in books and games they live,

Still as an unhappy communist man, 
I love her like the calm moonlit night.

"Happiness prime."

Nevermore when I die,
Will happiness be primed,
And she is Mother Russia.

"Love at first sight."

Sometimes is love at first sight mutual,
Though she didn't love me,
There's a painting on the wall by Vincent Van Gough,
And it looks so real.
Do I wonder which way her world goes?
I do.
I hereby wish my love for her expire,
Because she dislikes me,
I assume I'm not her type,
And hiding is no way to live,
Behind misery and in the confines of a cell.

A lyrical love piece "Desolate Man."

When you made that call,
I decided I would plead guilty,
Because I didn't want to fight when you had already won.
Now that the judge decided we'd have years of separation,
How can you ever amend a relationship that was nonexistent?
So I'll have to find my way without you.
Do not become like me.
Do not become a lonely,
Desolate man.    

A lyrical love piece "She has a confidant."

When you were bartending,
It is true I was not in love,
At the time my father was telling me the difference
Between it and infatuation,
In the unlikely case you care to remember,
I was quiet and shy because I disagreed.
When you were bartending,
The whisper in my ear directed at him
Was like a flirt at the same time,
While I then knew you had a confidant,
I later reasoned,
She whispered in my ear as well,
As though it was not over between us.
Perhaps he is your brother,
Or so I thought,
Though it's over between us. 
You leaned against the wall
As if to say give it to me,
Though he was watching your side from that angle,
And I knew you had a boyfriend,
From then on my imagination has played tricks,
Sometimes to the point,
That love is hate. 
And 1984 isn't a mere book.

A lyrical love piece "She loves to show."

You love to show me that pretty ladies leave me,
Although you're like a model to us you are not in our dreams,
Though you know not that you are ugly, albeit, mean looking.
Or maybe I become old one day, but you will wind up much uglier than us.
And you make money that way.
You love to show that the princes and pawns gape,
And the confident ask you to date,
But none are your favorite,
Only he... 
Only when I talk with you,
Did I wish you to turn me down,
When I wish things are all my fault...
You love to message me,
Or else you left me,
To be with him. 

A lyrical love piece "Up in my head."

I still see you shooting arrows like an Amazon,
Up in my head,
Oh it's all up in my head,
And can a poet become once again a pianist?
For a man to change his profession,
Something drastic has had to happen in his life,
Like love gone awry.
If a pianist prefers poetry over music,
Than what has gone wrong to society or him?
Something serious, right?
I still see you going to school walking with that man,
Up in my head,
Oh it's all up in my head,


 

Analysis of “The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain: Full documentary”

             When the Visigoths moved from barbaric tribes (from France, Germany, etc.) to Spain, they

found many Jews living there already, for Judaism had existed in Europe before Christianity had spread.

In Cordoba, Granada, Toledo, etc., many Jews had lived there since 476 A.D. and was a minority living in

relative freedom in cities reported to have been founded by refugees from Jerusalem. After the advent

of Islam, when the Berbers invaded the Visigoth peninsula ruled by Rodriguez, the Muslims treated the

Jews as believers of the same book and had the attitude that they “…should be treated with respect.”

And afterwards, the Muslim conquerors tended to treat Jews and Christians with respect except during

times of war. After the founding of Al-Andaluce, when the refugee prince from Damascus took control,

cultural fusion took place and the prince was able to quell the tensions among the Berbers and North

African tribes because of his political status as a potential unifier and leader.

           During the 900s, after the death of the third descendent from the prince from Damascus, civil

turmoil broke out in which the “Christians and Jews turned against each other…” and the Berbers and

Arabs, leaving a broken land into smaller states.  I expected to find the Muslims and Christians to be at

constant war with one another, but they “didn’t square off” except when the Christian, Typhic Kingdoms saw

Muslims as a threat to themselves. It seems that the

Muslims held no inherent dislike of Christianity at that time. However, the Jews were at a disadvantage

from the Christians, who entertained prejudices against them (a mindset that eventually led to Nazism).

I expected Islam to be more adamant about maintaining itself in its followers, but with the onslaught of

was left of it during the existence of Typhic Kingdoms) a Crusading zone, and not as Holy as Jerusalem.

But when King Alfonso laid down his code of laws, he was tolerant of both Muslims and Jews.

                The Islamic world constructed through its own advanced architectural techniques many

buildings, mosques, and palaces in Al-Andaluce, which later, due to the eventual demise of the land of

light, were converted into Christian buildings. Another contribution of Al-Andaluce was the recording

of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman texts into Arabic during the time of the European Dark Ages, when

much knowledge was being forgotten or neglected, including medicinal texts in Greek with regards to

botanical plants. Furthermore, as an architectural contribution, the Muslims enhanced the existing

Roman aqueducts by adding water wheels, which was possible because of the abundant rivers in Al-

Andaluce. Finally, astronomically, the advent of the Astrolabe “allowed” navigators to travel the seas,

such as Columbus.

"The Eastern European lady"

Based on a dream I had early in the morning,
I was nonexistent--a ghost traveling to-and-fro
Like a camera in a movie with no person seeming
To run it, but I saw everything and did nothing
Until it was too late.
Either I or my sister was skiing because I remember...
But I couldn't tell, because I was in her place, like Azazel the devil
Though she was in her swimsuit,
I saw the girl who called the police on me water skiing,
She had on a bikini and a beautiful, wet face,
That no man would not fall for, and in the distance,
Her shirtless, thin fiance was sitting on the stern of the boat,
His face was turned away for the brief time I looked at him--
His chest was bare revealing some hair like a sailor's,
But anyway, when I stared at Her
It was as though she knew I was there,
I proceeded to leave as the Judge decreed but time stood still,
And she gave me no eye contact as expected
But the tinge of what she said to me still was like an expression
Upon her face, that I'm an annoying, arrogant, creep.
As my sister and I were coming to the dock,
With an excitement and enthusiasm to see me again like old,
He had just bought a boat which looked new. 
And I can't remember if I went with him or not.  

"Tunisia."

You're flying to Paris,

(Where your connecting flight is to Tunis),

The first sight you see is the shore,

From outside the window.

And if one imagine's what one would find,

In a short amount of time,

The plane touches down,
You're about to hear a Tunisian tale

Of wealth and knowledge...

And your heart beat's fast,

Cause you're alive. 

A voice says you're shaken

By all the other times you've seen sand.

When you seek the wind from the west,

You can be on time now,

You notice the humidity is at an all time low,

There's a woman making a viable claim,

You don't know whether

It's at a parlor or a restaurant,

If you saw the jewel,

Maybe you could give it as a gift.

When you're catching a taxi,

Everyone's looking forward to the hostel.

Two teachers are standing in front of you

You expect to find a land of religious folk.

But you wonder what the plan is like,

Since you're in a foreign land,

And they're taking a train to Sfax.

Your group hops on the bus, 

A friend picks up the guitar and sings,

It's some tune you've not heard before,

You've heard the eastern radio on your way up,

After a few nights spent

You're hanging in the courtyard,

You remember back in Florida,

There's a psychiatrist,

Who's in your mind who knew,

Sometimes all your observations are incorrect, 

And though she doesn't state it she gives you a label.

There's the distant dunes of the desert,

Which are changing by the wind in fine,

That all the hotels in the world cannot imitate.

"Walter Baldwick."

A handsome pianist and aspiring writer goes to a college,
When we read what he writes and infer from what little we know,
We do well and we see clearly things we wouldn't be able to show.
Since he's quiet and shy in real life, we get to know about his personality,

He puts his status up, posts on his and our walls in face-book, speechless.
And he has poems, stories, a journal entry, which provoke us to ponder.
So while our friends post on our walls, we have a laugh and break our folkways,
We're getting laid, getting numbers, and having a blast in our daily lives. 

Then, randomly, when he knew what was the most important thing in the world,
And his close circle of family and best friends whom he'll never block,
Clicked on the "x" next to his friends in list, removing everyone who knew him,
So we're left wondering why he'd do such a thing as a friend?


Hay una pianista guapo y escritor ambicioso quien va a un colegio,
Cuando nos leemos que el escribe y inferimos del poquito nos conocemos,
Nos hacemos buenos y vemos cosas mejor que no podemos usualmente funcion,
Y aunque el es muy callado cuando el hable y tiro en la vida, nos podemos conocer mas o menos su personalidad,


El pone su estado en lo alto, el pone al corrriente en su y nuestros paredes para nosotros leemos.
Y el tiene poemas, cuentos, y un elemento publicacion para su personal ideas, que provocarle a nos consideramos.
Asi mientras nuestros amigos envian los correos, tenemos una risa y romperamos nuestra cultura popular,
Nos vamos a companeros, recibimos los telephono numeros, y teniendo el tiempo de nuestras vidas de cada dia.


Entonces, al azar, cuando el conocia que estuve la mayoria de su vida,
Y su grupo cercano de familia y mejores amigos quienes el no hace bloquearles nunca.
El removo todos quienen conocieron el a uno punto o otro en cara-libro.
Y ahi nos somos sobrante considerar porque el hacia tan cosa dramatica como un amigo?

"Cancun"

Upon arrival at the airport in order for you to capture,

There’s a pretty girl you see who you won’t see again,

You exit from the terminal where you’re finally supposed to be,

The journey that you profited from was from there to here.

A warm breeze brushes against your face,

All the taxi drivers want to have your money,

But you don’t know what to say and have to get going,

The sunlight is partially obscured by the sparse clouds.

While in the white taxi van going to the resort, Cancun,

You think, the windows are up unnecessarily,            

The temperature is right, because you want to feel the wind again,

But there is no way to roll them down.

And there are foreigners with you who don’t know English.

The driver unpacks your luggage at the hotel entrance,

And the doorman is there to greet you and has your name on a list,

You finally arrive and have some catch up to do.

You walk through the lobby towards the opposite end.

The ocean is blue, but nearer the dune-less sand it’s turquoise,

And you aren’t surprised because of what’s been said.

The mere beauty of it is captivating your attention.

The sound of waves beating against the shore to turns your mind to peace…

You create a mental list of things to do but there is not enough time

The lack of sleep from waking early in the morning is getting to one,

The most important thing is to be out in the beach.

You notice the warmth while the night stays the same as during the day,

Your priorities are now with the night clubs in downtown Cancun and dinner—

An hour earlier than what your watch says,

You hop on a bus to go to a restaurant…

Despite the cuisine being offered to you, you are consistent,

Because, you know the amount that is eaten is not dependent on location.

Your mind turns toward facing a fear but it escapes—

Like an alarm, your mental note to go to a nightclub causes you not to go.

After a night in the morning you arrive from a boat to “Women’s Island,”

You stay a short time as you forgot to bring any money.

After a day passes and you have returned, you do things cheaply,

You rent a golf cart and drive towards the Mayan ruins.

At the southern-most tip, there’s no way to cross over—

So you quickly take a picture and leave.

You spend three hours at the most beautiful beach on the island,

The clear water shows the sand on the bottom’s white and fine.

You draw a connection that nut shells look a lot like sea shells.

Somehow you feel you aren’t experiencing as much as you should be,

So you follow through with a goal to walk towards a boat,

The water is cool at first when you sink in letting every part of your body become wet.

There's a person sitting on top the stern waves to greet,

You say, "hola,"standing and begin to return to your spot.

As though you just got there, you quickly leave.

Your flight leaves at 2:53 pm and you get there on time.

This will not be the last time you are over at Cancun…

"The Trash Heap."

In a town at the center between the East and West
There's a cafe.
It was brown and green and had on its top,
Words carefully put for it's name;
In it there lied a group of workers who called themselves acquaintences,
And had their mutually exclusive group of friends,
These people were unfriendly and ignorant,
And thought the town revolved 'round them.
But it was due to a pair who used to work there,
Who exerted their influence
During the night,
And as I couldn't be averted the morning after,
By which time the Owner was there,
I cursed the restaurant's food;
Their subtle dislike, ideologies, services, and taste in channels,
And upon a sacred oath sworn with my sister,
Will never return,
Where it now be known as "The Trash Heap,"
Though I don't walk around its vicinity anymore.

"Mexican Food"

Mexican food is difficult to acquire a taste if one is largely unfamiliar,
Especially to certain spicy dishes which tend to cause the tongue to burn;
‘Till recently, I haven’t found it necessary to add spices, but now I do;
My favorite dish has always been the taco, because of its versatile nature:
Not only can one put many kinds of meats and salads and sauces,
The taste differs from country to country depending upon food production practices;
Regardless, if one wants to go on a taste binge or odyssey one has to be careful
Although there isn’t a way to really be sure, when in Mexico,
That one won’t get sick from eating at an "unregulated" location. 
My next favorite dish is mole, sopas, y proxima es pollo con pan.
It’s always a magical experience to the next.

La comida de Mexico es dificil adqurir un gusto para le.
Hasta ahora, tengo que no le busque necesario bonificar las especias, pero hago;
Mi favorita comida tiene siempre ere el taco, por que es natura versatil:
Nada puede poner muchos tipos de carne y ensalada y salsas,
El gusto es diferente de pais a pais dependemente en costumbres produccion comida;
Aunque hay no esta orientar que es asegurar, cuando en Mexico,
Tu necesito estar has cuidado ir a un locacion, aunque, hay no manera estar seguro.
Mi proxima favorita comida es mole, las sopas, y proxima es pollo con pan.
Es siempre un experiencia magica a la proxima.

"Chinese Food"

Tastes so good it will make one get addicted to it;
And want to get fatter because of the uniqueness in it's qualities,
And although it is sometimes fried, aren't we guilty of the same?
No one here has had authentic Chinese, dear Americans, even though it's different,
Because you know, there are some foods I prefer over others;
And Chinese ranks in the upper four from where my list of favorites, include:
Persian as number one, then Italian, Arabian, and Chinese.
American is so dull, it makes me want to forget about eating.

El gusto esta asi buen que uno le hago adicto a le.
Y quiere venir mas gordo por que del singularidad que son en modalidades,
Y aunque es a veces freia, son nos no culpable de igual?
Nadie en Ustados Unidos ha tenido China autentico acki, amor Americanos, empareja aunque que es diferente,
Por que sabes, hay algunes comidas que yo prefiero mas encima de otros;
Y China clasifica entre en el cuatro parte superior donde mi lista de la favoritas, incluir:
Persian es numero uno, proxima Italiano, Arabana, y China.
Americano es mucho desafilar, tomarme que quiero desenteder comiendo.

“The Moroccan Restaurant, Cassablanca's.”

There's a Morrocan restaurant in Kennesaw where you can do Hookah,
I was employed there as a dishwasher;
Even though I'm an American Citizen,
I must have looked like an alien to them.
It was only for a summer so I quit and then found other employment.
As a dishwasher, I was constantly being criticized for not working fast enough;
The boss Cook eventually chewed me out and I was fired.
But every time I was there, I enjoyed a meal of Moroccan cuisine.
I never tried the hookah because I don't want to get lung cancer,
But I did in Tunisia as an exception.

Hay una Morroquen restaurante donde tu puedes hacer pipa de agua,
Trabaje ahi como un lavadora de platos pero no estuve licitamente trabajando ahi,
Parejo sin embargo soy un Americano, acabe mirar igual un extranjero,
A ellos.
Estuve para el invierno entonces resigne y proximo encontre otro trabajo.
Como un lavadora de platos, me fuero muy criticos para no estuve trabajando rapido suficiente;
El cocinero jefe pronto mastico me out y yo despedio.
Pero todo tiempo estuve alli, me gusta un casado de Marroquí.
Nunca tenuvo el hookah por que no hago querer tener cancer de pulmon,
Pero hice en Tunisia que una excepcion.

"The Rock"

There's a rock rolling down the stream, slowly.
It never was dirt but was magma.
It is prejudiced against, naturally.
Slowly it's becoming sand but the river continues without it.
And there are many rocks, next to it,
But they’re at different stages in their pathetic existence,
To us they’re dead.
One day, though solid they may be,
They will become universally understood,
Becoming beautiful answers to a common question:
Is there life on another planet?
And through the development of love and compassion,
They won’t be discovered for another million years,
The intelligence of rocks will have become loved, admired.
Mystically, the rocks grew upset because they were handicapped,
And were alive.
And once the rocks have been spoken of in this new light,
The English language will have changed,
To include them in a non-demeaning term,
Like the "Solids,"
A "rock" has many derogatory meanings, obviously.
A million years later, an ancient song was playing called "Rock and roll"
And soon the whole genre was listened to by the sentient rocks;
Because they felt oppressed, trodden over,
And were treated with the hopelessness as ants are to a crazed child:
Mystically, then, "Rock and Roll" was influenced heavily by Rachmaninoff.
For the Tribe of rocks, he was non-intimidating, and humble.
And he whispered into their ear or so they thought they heard:
Our subconscious mind never developed to its immortal soul.
For the Tribe of rocks, Led Zeppelin was their favorite group,
They're God-like and immortal,
In their music lied a secret code.
The Tribe of rocks chose "Rock and Roll" as their main language,
Then a new mystic after them was yet 'live and his name is Daniel.
And he felt like a rock and had a soul...

"My car"

My car is so dirty, it absorbs all the sunlight
Amidst the bright, sun-shiny foreground
And inside my car, there are so many things
That have to be picked up, for me to be at peace with myself.
'Cause it's a Taurus 2004, Ford, there will always be better
That money can buy, and people can afford, and
Friends admire.  Though there are some cars worse than mine.

"The Ruler of Pluto"

There's an imaginary ruler of the dwarf planet Pluto, 

He wins the dark side of the moon battle ten times over.

His Pluto is so cold, so distant, and so planet-like.

It would take a probe to reach Pluto ten years to pick him up,
And on average, it takes five and a half hours for radio signals to get there--
From earth.
 

We think that if the ruler of Pluto became exposed to the sunlight,
He would be unaffected like the cold color of its sea,
That's why we don't miss him when we're from the third planet of the Sun;
The green atmosphere, thin, and visible, holds heat like a sheet.
And it's just how cold it is that eludes him, because of who he is,
We infer.


The ruler's rock of rocks, ice, and his Loneliest of All made us yearn for more.
He had his reflecting moon, Charon, with him.
So Charon is thought to have been caught in Pluto's gravitational pull:

A stray from the Ort cloud--that's how puny we know it to be.
There are two other moons that orbit Pluto which are even smaller than Charon,
You see.

But as native inhabitants from the third planet of the Sun, 

We never theorized how cold Pluto is on its dark side
And it's moon, Charon, it never became fact where it came from.
Then one, long, Pluto day, the Sun's rays warmed Pluto one more time:

The horizon begun to disappear and cooled facing the backdrop of stars,    
Nebulae, etc..

We were always there with him in spirit, and we always loved him,

In his blissful, ignorant mind.

"Legacy"

                We got a helicopter.  It was camouflage, not black.  There must have been at least four up in the air with us and I was on the one with the President of the United States.  I remember hearing his voice and it had a lazy, doesn’t-care attitude typical of a warmongerer.   Up in the air with us were the top military commanders and pentagon officials, all of whom were dressed in their most highly decorated uniforms—not a single peon was among us.  One would think to enter the field of potential danger, everyone ought to be wearing camouflage—no, but simply the best looking attire one could possibly imagine.   Strategically, the biggest error a country can make is to have the most important backbone such as the military and head of state in harm’s way, because what would happen if they are all lost in the field of battle?   My guess is this mission must have been classified or unbeknownst to anyone else for them to be up in the air simultaneously.  And for some reason I was up in the air with them.   

                We are following a river.  Jungle surrounds both sides.  High opera plays in the speakers to everyone and everyone seemed quiet. 

                “Are we there yet?”  Came on the speakers (the opera music was cut whenever someone spoke).   I still couldn’t make out who it was, but my subconscious knew.  

                “Not yet Mr. President, just a little bit further.”  Said the best helicopter pilot in the world, while holding a 5-star General status.  He spoke like a peon.   He grabbed the throttles and pushed them forward and they looked eerily like those from a 747 Boing commercial airliner.  The helicopter leaned forward and the rotary blades were able to force the helicopter faster given the new angle.  One could see on either side helicopters surrounding the central one with me and the president. 

                While George W. Bush offered few catch phrases here and there, there were many twists and turns but then we stopped moving forward and simply hovered.

                I could hear someone say, “We’re here.”  I was guessing we were in some Latin country, but when I looked down all I could see was the largest kept secret known to mankind—the biggest drop of a waterfall.  It was impossibly deep, no one had a name for it.  And why did this river remind me of the Rio Grande?  We were also level with the top of the plateau on the other side (of the border).   Swiftly, either intentionally, or we were out of fuel I don’t remember (the mission was highly classified), we had to make a landing.  

                George W. Bush stepped out first and a woman came screaming to him.  There’s poor children and some ancient ruins in the background.  His commanders stood motionless and didn’t seek to protect him.  But they all looked formally dressed and unintimidating, without a weapon sheathed or drawn.

                The Queen said, “How dare you enter our territory without our permission.  Can’t you see my child is starving?”

                Reluctantly he gave the cue to his commanding officers and they threw nets down on the side of the helicopter.  He produced two or three crates full of food.

                “Mission fulfilled.”