Embedding a Google Map

This is how a Google Map is embedded into blogger.


And here is a super cool patch of grass....

You Throw I'll Hit

Cricket

Rounders

Sports has changed a lot over the years, but one in particular called Baseball. Baseball is one of my favorite sports with a bunch of different rules than when it was invented. Baseball was based off sports like Cricket or rounders. Before the sport got it's name it was called "Goal Ball", "Round Ball", "Base", "Base Ball", and now baseball. In one version of baseball you had to pitch to yourself and run the opposite way. Players could also be out by getting hit with the ball on a throw. But you still can get out by hitting the ball but only on a hit. But in some versions of the game you still only got 3 strikes until the batter was out. Baseball was an early England folk game, since it was a folk game it had no official or documented rules. The game was never well documented only because it was a peasant's game or a more of a children's game.  But also because people wanted to pass time if the were prohibited from their Church or the State. The first recorded game of baseball was in November 1748 by a family of royalty who lived in Wales. By 1796 the rules were established the game was mentioned to the German's who was a popular place at the time. Baseball was first introduced to America in March of 1786, or even earlier in the 1760's. In the 1850's and 60's American baseball was played with 8 players (mainly boy's or men) and one hitter as shown in the diagram below.

The old Baseball field

Early Baseball game played at
Elysian field

Jackie Robison Stealing a base

Branch Ricky And Jackie Robinson
Sign the Deal

It was a unique style of baseball but only played in Massachusetts. The field was changed into the diamond shape in 1845 when the Magnolia ball clubs had designed their own field to play on. On October 21st 1845 the New York ball club had played their second of their 3 games against a Brooklyn team which was recorded as the 1st inter-club baseball game. After 1845 in 1848 the Knickerbockers had published the rules of baseball. In 1855 the first organized league had started to form with 5 New York teams and one Brooklyn and New Jersey team. But in 1857 16 New York clubs sent delegates to standardized the rules. For example there was a rule on only to get limited amount of runs but now is to have 9 innings instead. Or force outs could happen at any base, also the bases were changed to 90 ft apart from each other and specified 9 men on the field at once.The following year, 25 clubs established an ongoing governing body, constitution by law. But the National Association of Baseball Players are conventionally meeting in 1857. It governed through the 1870's but scheduled no games. The game of baseball in America was for the white men of America until a man named Branch Ricky who was a civil rights activist because he signed the first African American person to ever play in the MLB (Major League Baseball). One reason for Branch Rickey to sign Jacky Robinson was because he didn't care about the color of your skin and what race you were. Branch just wanted good baseball so he helped Robinson through the rough times and broke the color barrier in the MLB. And if it wasn't for Branch Ricky and Jacky Robinson I wouldn't be able to play baseball with the people I play with now



Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jackie_Robinson

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Branch_Rickey

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/jackie-robinson-breaks-major-league-color-barrier

Pictures

http://theviewspaper.net/cricket-an-overrated-sport-in-india/
Cricket
http://www.workplacechallenge.org.uk/competitions/tags/Rounders
Rounders
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball
Elysian Field
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Origins_of_baseball

Old baseball field 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/07/movies/jackie-robinson-the-hero-in-42.html?_r=0

Jackie Robinson

http://www.britannica.com/sports/baseball/images-videos/Jackie-Robinson-shaking-Branch-Rickeys-hand-after-signing-his-first/113946

Branch Ricky And Jackie Robinson

Pioneer to City Girl

I often forget my own privileges of living in 2016. If I were to go back in time, how might my life be different? What things would I lose? What things would I gain? Well, if I were a young pioneer girl, my life would very different from how it is now.

To start, I would not be typing on my laptop right now. Or my phone. Or any electronic device. My entertainment would most likely come from doing chores, telling stories, and singing songs. Maybe drawing, or writing, provided I could read and write. That brings up another difference. I might not be writing this, because I might have no school. Or, at the least, my life would not be very school focused as it is now. My school would be a tent at most, and the rest of my time would be devoted to chores like sewing up clothes, or whatever my mama and papa asked of me.

Another thing that might change is my relationship with nature. Without my house or internet, and with the consistent state of being outside, I would expect to be more connected to nature. I would know the names of almost all the trees I passed along my journey. I would know the best way to start a fire, and how to care for a wagon. And maybe, instead of looking at my watch for 3 to 4 numbers to represent the time, I might look at the sky, guess based upon the sun’s position, and call it sunrise instead of 6:30 AM. Little details like that might change.

I also might have a different connection with my family. Instead of locking myself in my room to do homework at night, I might tend to livestock with my father, or sing and sew dresses with my mother. I might be able to cook up delicious concoctions over a fire with my family at dinnertime instead of making a box of mac’n’cheese. I might know them a little bit better if I rarely left them, and they might know me a little better as well.

Another less-thought-about thing that may change are my dreams and aspirations. Instead of dreaming to be a famous musician, a poet, an author, or a youtuber (that would change the most), I might dream on a smaller scale. Maybe I'd want to know the forest and the trail better than anyone else, or maybe I'd want to become an adventurer. Maybe I'd want to start a town for myself. That would be considered a big dream, especially for a young pioneer girl.

One more thing to add to the list is attire. My normal outfits consist of jeans, a graphic tee-shirt, and boots. Believe it or not, I would not be wearing any of those things in the 1800s. First: none of them had been made; and second: a girl would not be wearing pants in the back then, especially blue jeans. Another fun thing to think about, or else very odd, is that people who wear glasses probably wouldn’t be, had they been living in the 1800s. Glasses had been invented, but they weren’t popular at all, and pioneers probably had other things to focus one.

Lastly, I’m not sure if I would be more carefree or more stressed had I been born back then. Yes, school wouldn’t be an issue, but I would have many chores and a lot of hard work put in front of me each day. I would have to be up early if that’s when I was needed, and I would have to eat what I was given or what I made, because that’s all there was.

To conclude, life as a pioneer girl would be very different in comparison to mine, although it would be fun to go back in time and try it, but it also makes me appreciate the little privileges in life I rarely stop to think about. It makes me remember how easy it is to just go home and listen to music on my phone, when a hundred years ago, that was unthinkable. It makes me want to travel back in time, but it also reminds me to love my own home. I don’t have to be a pioneer to be in touch with nature or my family, I can do those things with just a little extra effort in my day.

(Photo from: https://thereaganwing.wordpress.com/2011/03/20/fraudulism-and-the-new-american-pioneer/)

The Printing Press

The Printing Press

Have you ever had to write a really long essay by hand?  In the year 1420 most people had to write long books by hand.  This all changed once the printing press was invented sometime between 1440 and 1450.

The early printing press, while very basic, made many more books published and it also made many more people literate.  The early printing press was very basic, it basically was a bunch of letter stamps fastened into a board and they were all dipped in ink and then lowered onto a page of a book and they would make that page.  This made it much easier to publish books and the rising amount of books encouraged more people to become literate.

This early, very basic printing press still affect things today.  It soon became more popular to read books after the printing press was invented so the demand for printing presses went up.  This demand for more printing presses made many inventors wonder if there was a better way to print books so they started inventing new ways to print things.  All thin eventually turned into a appliance that many people might have in their house and that is really useful even for printing this article right now,  if you haven't guessed what it is yet I’ll tell you, it is simply known the printer or printing machine.  Now you might be thinking, “Well I don’t print books on my computer,”  if you are one of those people then you should know that there are huge factories that print books now.  We can now even print 3-D things using printers.

Now you might be wondering why I like the print press enough to write two pages about it.  The answer is I love to read.  If the printing press wasn’t invented about 566 years ago then we might not have as many books now and many people, including me, might be illiterate today.

http://www.mosesavalon.com/wp-content/uploads/printing-press.jpg

http://www.wired.com/wp-content/uploads/blogs/wiredenterprise/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Factory-2.jpg

http://i1.tribune.com.pk/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/617241-Books-1381638164-211-640x480.JPG

Family Ties

My family is something that changes, bends and folds to fit with the changes of attitudes of my family members. I remember when me and my older sister were like the same person. We both liked playing outside and board games at our house at the beach. Running around and just having fun. My life was amazing then, and it still is amazing now. When I moved from third to fourth grade, my sister was deep in middle school and maybe she didn't wan't to be around me anymore. This is when we started to call each other annoying and intrusive and this is when we really started to gain some hostility about each other. We stayed in this relation for a while with the occasional agreement on what to do but we always fell out of line. We still have this attitude and I hope to change it sometime soon.

Johannes Vermeer

       Johannes Vermeer

    Ik ben een goed schilder!

Johannes Vermeer was a dutch painter in the 1600’s. Although now a well known painter worldwide, when Vermeer was alive he was heard of but not exactly famous. On the contrary he was fairly poor, and when he died, he left his children and wife in debt. Some people believe that he was poor because he didn’t produce enough paintings, and because he used very expensive materials for his paintings.

Mainly, Vermeer focused most of his paintings on middle class people, and community, mainly painting women. Vermeer is mostly known today for his great care, and use of light in his paintings. Vermeer is now known as one of the greatest painters in dutch history.

One of my Personal favorites, The Milkmaid, is a wonderful example of his care, detail, and work with light. The small arrows show Vermeer’s careful use of light, shading, and light source. The big arrow on top shows his attention to detail, and how long it truly takes to achieve a masterful painting. This also painting portrays Vermeer’s use of domestic life. Just to add to the complexity, the canvas on which The Milkmaid was painted was actually relatively small! It stands at 17 ⅞ in. tall and 16 ⅛ in width. Because of the canvases size, it took an estimated three years to complete this painting.

I feel that Vermeer himself is pretty inspirational because although he lead a harder life, he still painted wonderful paintings and didn’t give up on what he did. I never have had the patience to work on a very detailed piece of art, so learning about him I’m starting to figure out I have a way to go on the path to fame.

The Sad but True Happy Ending

WWI was the reason for the Soviet Revolution. Many Russians lost their lives to the war. The revolution took place because the Russians wanted to overthrow the government who supported the war. There was a lot of poverty in Russia, the government was inefficient, and the war was already going on for three years; the people started to wonder why they were fighting in the war.

As I write this today I am inspired by the bravery of people who were sent to forced labor camps. What does this have to do with me? I was born in 2003, and the Russian Revolution ended in 1918. I am planning to answer that question with this paper.

Many small actions determine who I will be or if I will be. For example, if my great grandpa made a different decision and did not put a hat on a statue I would not be here today, I would have not existed. Everything you do affects the world in some way. That is the same as the Soviet Revolution. Such a huge event it can not be described in a one page essay. Though I will do my best with my family.

The effects on Russia after the revolution were very notable. Russia stretched out and became “the Soviet Union”. The focus on education in the Soviet Union led to a bigger population. The Soviet Union withdrew from WWI, because they saw no reason to keep fighting and dying. The Soviet Union became a socialist state.

Let’s get to my family. My great grandma (Basya) lived in Poland, part of the Russian empire in the early 1900s. Peasants, farmers, and middle class demanded change, they were sick of the poverty, people dying in the war, and the government. The answer was the Soviet Revolution in 1917. The Russian Empire broke in 1917 and Poland becomes a independent country. Russia was advertised as being a safe place for Jews and other religions and a place where everyone worked together. Basya wanted to be a Jewish actress, so she moved to the Soviet Union and applied to an acting school. In 1937 she was put into a forced labor camp, because she was accused of being against the revolution. She was sentenced to 10 years in the forced labor camp. There she met her future husband, Ivan. He was a jokester and put a hat on a statue of Stalin, but the Soviets thought is was a offensive so they put him into a forced labor camp for 5 years. He was given an additional 5 years, because while Ivan and others in the camp worked on a dam, Ivan knew it would not work, and told the officials. After the dam did not work the officials gave Ivan another 5 years in the forced labor camp. After Ivan and Basya got out, they married and had my grandma from my dad’ side.

.

So really I am directly affected by the Soviet Revolution. Without it I would never be in this world. Millions of lives were affected. If you want to know more about the Soviet Revolution be sure to research it. There's a lot material on the internet so try to sift through it.

By Sean Uan-Zo-li

The Rich (But Not Too Dark) History of Milk Chocolate

If I asked you what you the meaning of life is, what would your answer be? To the select few, the answer is quite obvious:  chocolate. Maybe that’s not quite how the question is actually supposed to be answered, with other answers like 42* or [insert your name here] on the line, but in my opinion, chocolate is pretty much it. I mean, the probability is high that you have experienced that delicious, creamy, smooth taste of chocolate dissolving on your tongue, a sensation that is topped by almost nothing. You’ve had all the way from the low life, extra sweet, almost not-chocolate chocolate that the typical consumer dubs chocolate today, to the expensive, sumptuous chocolate that you generally find on your exotic travels. (Or just in a high quality chocolate shop…) And as a fellow chocolatier, I understand your struggles of lasting a week without this amazing dessert by your side, in any way, shape or form.

In case you haven’t noticed yet, I am just a little bit of a chocoholic. According to the significant accumulation and consumption of chocolate in my household, and the suspicious chocolate wrappers littering my room, I am a major chocolate connoisseur. My favorite style of chocolate is a really dark milk chocolate, (or a light dark chocolate, if you prefer that terminology). An estimated consumption of chocolate in my normal week is about a quarter of a pound, give or take a couple ounces. Because of this natural affinity for chocolate I have, I believed that I had an obligation to find out some of the rich history of milk chocolate. Hopefully, if you’re reading this blog, you have a similar bond with the delicious entity, so you will enjoy learning the history.

Unless you are the rare person who actually knows how milk chocolate blinked into existence, you are most likely ignorant in the matter. Do you think those wrapped and packaged Hershey bars just fell out of the sky and hit Milton Hershey on the head? I think not. And eating chocolate without knowing these details is like celebrating a goal in soccer without knowing who assisted, which is quite simply unacceptable. Therefore, I believe that it is my duty to enlighten those who love chocolate the way it is today, by acknowledging the brilliant people who shaped this wonderful victual. I would begin the extensive history at its very beginning, with the Aztecs and Mayans, but technically this blog is supposed to be about milk chocolate, so let's fast forward a bit, to when milk chocolate was first brought into the waiting arms of our world.

Milk chocolate began its journey with a man named Daniel Peter. Mr. Peter was a very noteworthy man, so I’ll begin with a brief background. His life began in the humble village of Vevey, which is located in Switzerland. Daniel Peter worked in the candle making industry as his first career, but when the oil lamp superseded the candle, demand fell, so Daniel Peter had to find some other way to make money. Therefore, he decided to go into the chocolate business. (There are some nit-picky details about how exactly he went into the chocolate world, but they are not particularly relevant to this blog post. Go look them up yourself. Use this link to find the whole story, if you feel so inclined.) The chocolate world, at that time, was mostly dominated by other chocolate giants, so he had to find some different way to draw customers. Mr. Peter reasoned that a new product should do the trick.

Around the time that Daniel Peter joined the chocolate market, he had also formed a friendship with Henri Nestlé, who worked as a baby food producer at that point in time. Henri Nestlé had been working with something he called “milky flour” to use as an ingredient in his baby food. (Remember that: “milky flour.” It is quite essential to the creation of milk chocolate.) It was as Nestlé was working with this “milky flour,” that Peter had a light bulb moment. He came up with the idea of uniting milk and chocolate into one delicious whole.

Sadly, his light bulb moment did not tell him how to make the milk chocolate, just that he should. Therefore, Peter spent the next seven years of his life struggling to make his new product. He used much trial-and-error, often experimenting during the day, and researching late into the night, trying to reach a solution to his problems. The principal problem that Peter faced was that the milk and chocolate solids did not combine as smoothly as one might hope. In fact, they didn’t really combine at all. The water in the milk caused the chocolate to fall apart and grow mildew, which simply ruined the batch of perfectly good dark chocolate.

Eventually, Peter had the idea of using condensed milk in the chocolate. This way worked better, but still had some dicey results. Finally, (although I think that Peter should have reached this conclusion sooner) Daniel Peter decided to give Nestlé’s “milky flour” (completely evaporated milk) a try. He experimented with that idea some, and eventually found the desired result. In 1876, milk chocolate finally emerged into this world. This first product was called “Gala Peter,” with Gala meaning “from the milk,” which is simply a shout-out to the predominant factor in making it special. (If you have survived this long in my brief, not-so-brief, history of milk chocolate, I hope you have gleaned at least a little information on your (should be, if not is your) favorite food.)

Also, in case you couldn’t figure this out, milk chocolate went in multiple different directions after Peter worked his magic, such as ways you probably know very well, like any milk chocolate company you can think of right now. This expansion of the novel idea of milk chocolate spread quickly, aided by the equipment of the second industrial revolution. The machinery enabled milk chocolate of all varieties to be produced quickly and efficiently, leading to the dissemination of milk chocolate all over the world. Milk chocolate has changed drastically since it first opened its eyes, but every piece of milk chocolate can trace its roots back to its ancestor, Gala Peter, the first milk chocolate bar.

Now, the next time you go eat some chocolate, try to honor Daniel Peter and his legacy by savoring every last bite.

*Obviously, according to the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and anyone in their right mind, “42” is the true meaning of life (besides chocolate, of course).

Link to Table of Contents

Sources

http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/MilkChocolate.htm

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_Peter

http://www.britannica.com/biography/Daniel-Peter

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chocolate

http://www.chocolate-history.co.uk/milk-chocolate.htm

http://www.howstuffworks.com/how-chocolate-is-made7.htm

Image Links

Chocolate #1

Chocolate #2

Chocolate #3

Gala Peter

There are Lot's of Reasons for the Industrial Revolution, But Mill Girls Were the Ones That Caused it to Start

The invention of the first power looms started the textile industry and triggered the industrial revolution. The Spinning Jenny, invented in 1764 by James Hargreaves, was one of the very first power looms. Mill girls, also known as factory girls, were the ones that work them. Families hoping to earn more money, would usually be traveling from different farms into an urban society, hoping to get better jobs and wages. So when advertisements went up saying how they wanted girls and women to come work at the mills, many traveled far for the new job offer, leaving families to go work in the mills.

Girls who left for the mills usually only left because of poverty, which caused many to go desperately in search for good money. Many women and girls who found jobs at the mills, thought working in a factory brought a sense of freedom, earning their own money without the help of parental authority or guardians. Also, boarding houses were provided as places to sleep, as well as a parlor, dining room, and kitchen. Despite all the benefits though, for some, it was compared to the life of a slave. Working for long hours every day, getting a low-paid wage, and living in harsh working conditions made it easy to believe that. I know for myself, that I don’t wake up every day to go to work, but to learn things at school. Working six days a week, mill girls were constantly laboring in the mills for 66 hours a week. Comparing that to my own life, I go to school for nearly half the amount of those hours.

A sample schedule for the mill girls in Lowell, Massachusetts went like this:

1. 4:30 AM the morning bell located in the center of the boarding houses rings for breakfast.
2. 5:30 AM work starts, all girls and women heading out to the power looms for their jobs.
3. 12:00 PM ring in for lunch with the bell.
4. 12:35 PM ring out to commence work.
5. 6:30 PM the bell rings so that the mill girls come in for dinner.

I wake up at 7:00 AM, and go to school for about 7 hours, far less than the mill girls. But the mill girls fit their education into their work schedule, going to church on sundays and taking evening classes at local high schools.

Around my age, which is 13, some mill girls got the desired job of drawing-in-girl. Drawing-in-girls, would make the beams ready in a loom for the weaver, and though this required some skill and nimble hands, this job was not demanding. They were paid by piece, not by the hour, meaning that the drawing-in girls could work at any pace they wanted. If a girl might want to read, than she could read any time she wanted, as long as she got the job done as a drawing-in-girl. The clothes that teens wore at the Mills were somewhat different to what I would wear today. While I will wear jeans and a t-shirt, Mill Girls wore dresses, stockings, shawls, coats, boots, and aprons. Activities at the boarding houses where the mill girls lived were similar to what I might do in my own free time. I’m an avid reader and love playing the piano, and the Mill girls in their own free time, would play the piano, read, or recite poetry from local newspapers or magazines. Mill girls were hard-working, and without their skills on the weave, we wouldn’t even have the tech today to make good quality clothes.

Image Sources: https://cullenshistorycorner.wikispaces.com/file/view/boardinghouses.jpg/127456513/639x479/boardinghouses.jpg

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/11/11.001j/f01/lectureimages/4/image24.html

http://s222.photobucket.com/user/TheAutark/media/LowellMillGirl.jpg.html

http://www.teenagefilm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/FactoryGirlsFeatured.jpg

Video Source:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkJwOYagvuI

Sources for text:

http://ocw.mit.edu/ans7870/11/11.001j/f01/lectureimages/4/image24.html

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/retrieve.do?sort=RELEVANCE&docType=Biography&tabID=T002&prodId=MSIC&searchId=R1&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchType=BasicSearchForm&contentSegment=&currentPosition=1&searchResultsType=MultiTab&inPS=true&userGroupName=catlin&docId=GALE%7CEJ2108101948&contentSet=GALE%7CEJ2108101948

http://milltimes.weebly.com/boardinghouse-living.html

The Affects of the Civil War on Modern Day Society

The American Revolution my have created the United States but the Civil War definitely decided what land it would be. It took place from 1861 to 1865, and it's main root cause was to keep or abolish slavery. It was the largest and most destructive, and cost 625,000 lives! That's roughly as many American soldiers that have died in all the wars this country has fought in combined. Although the war started in 1861, the real fighting began in 1862, and went on for three years. Until the spring of 1865 when all the principal Confederate, South, armies surrendered and the North had won. Later on that year the 13th amendment, which put an end to slavery in the U.S, was passed.

   Obviously the Civil War has affected our society today in very clear ways. There are no African American slaves anymore. Without the civil war today someone like me wouldn't be able to go to school, especially one like Catlin Gabel. If there were no civil war there would be no civil rights movement. People like MLK jr, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, and Andrew Goodman would not have had the liberty to obtain civil rights. Jim Crow laws would have never been passed. Although it changed the world between black and whites there are more affects of the war. Such as medical advances, cultural legacy, and technological advances. Even everyday things such as differently shaped left and right shoes or home delivered mail! I could go on and on about how many different ways the Civil War has shaped the nation, but I want to point out one thing instead. Even though the war had it's very many accomplishments, but it has still not granted us all freedom. We still have a long way to until cross that line of liberty and justice for all. The Civil War definitely sealed the deal though.

-Divine Niyungeko

Sources:

http://www.civilwar.org/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Civil_War#Root_causes

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/opinion/why-the-civil-war-still-matters.html?_r=0

http://www.aarp.org/politics-society/history/info-06-2011/civil-war-changed-american-life.html

Symbols of the Revolution

During the state of nationalism in Europe the countries wanted a symbol, object or language that would truly represent their country. They wanted something that would hold the people together when they face horrific wars, like the war started between the government and the nationalist. The nationalist fought for the independence of their countries, they believed that each country should have its own government instead of having the entire country be ruled by one king.

The American revolution was the first revolution deflecting the European monarchy system. The American revolution was a hard fought battle, full of war and politics. The journey to finding America's independence was such a great battle that it lasted eighteen years. Once the hard fought journey had ended the new country created a seal in honor of their winning their battle. The seal was named The Great Seal because of the honor it holds. The seal represents America's freedom and their courage. The flag in the eagle's mouth says “one out of many” in Latin. The olive branch in the the eagle's left talon stands for peace. The thirteen arrows in his right talon stand for war. The number of arrows, thirteen, stand for the thirteen colonies, at the time. For more information on symbols during the American revolution visit this presentation: https://prezi.com/hp0f6bpft15b/iconic-symbols-of-the-american-revolution/

France took on nationalism. They were one of the first countries to fight, inspiring many other countries to follow in their wake. After the French won their war there was hope for the other countries. During the French nationalism period a symbol of a rooster was made, and is now very important and symbolic to the French culture. The rooster had been used before nationalism in art and furniture but it wasn't truly famous until it was used in the revolution. The French decided to use a rooster because of the play on the Latin words gallus meaning gaul and the French word gallus meaning rooster. If you would like to fing out more about the rooster, or the other French sybols you can visit this cite: http://www.consulfrance-jhb.org/Symbols-of-the-French-Republic

 

Catlin Gabel, the school I attend, has a original logo of three trees. The three trees stand for lots of things. In my opinion the three trees represent the unity of the people on our campus. You will always have somebody by your side, you just have to look. We dig our roots deep, so we will always stand by. We are tall trees that just keep growing taller and taller, with stronger roots. There is also a more literal meaning of our three tree symbol. We have lots of trees and nature around our campus. To find out more about Catlin Gabel visit: http://www.catlin.edu/page.cfm?p=498

                                                         

Martha Graham and the Rise of Modern Dance

For centuries, classical ballet was the only dance style that people taught and choreographed. Martha Graham (1894-1991) was one of the pioneers of modern dance, who broke away from the specific, disciplined technique of ballet. She was one of the first dancers to discover and perform with different techniques such as contractions, floorwork, and energy with opposition. Her choreography and approaches at dance are what made modern dance what it is today.

Graham demonstrated passionate emotions in her choreography, something ballet was unable to do because of its constricted, particular movement. She explored with loose movement in the limbs and spine; spiraling energy and opposition; and expressing emotions through movement. "Ballet…did not say enough, especially when it came to intense drama, to passion," she said. Graham’s innovations are now known as the "Graham Technique," which is used frequently in modern and contemporary dance to convey strong feelings. She greatly impacted dance, and is known still as the "mother of modern dance".

Martha Graham's creativity has greatly affected me and my dancing. She started something that has been used, altered, and elaborated on, to create entirely new approaches at expressing things through movement. Ballet training is extremely important for all dancers, because it teaches proper technique that is used in all styles, but I’m glad that I can use different movement in contemporary. Contemporary dance lets us portray feelings in a way that we can’t through ballet alone. Martha Graham inspired and influenced many dancers and choreographers, and completely changed dance. Her work has made dance more enjoyable for me, and many other dancers all over the world.

Sources

1. https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/photographs-the-classics/martha-graham-letter-to-the-world-kick-1940-42/12395

2. http://www.victoriaeugenia.com/100urte/laredsocial_temas_danza.html

3. http://moblog.whmsoft.net/related_search.php?keyword=martha+graham+technique&language=english&depth=3

One With the Music

I step on stage and my heart beats at a million miles an hour. As I let my fingers take over, I relax and immerse myself into the song. When I’m playing guitar, I don’t have to worry about anything else, like the colossal amounts of homework due, my next big game, or even the seemingly astronomical crowd staring up at me. It’s like taking a hiatus from the real world, where all your problems melt away into music. All I have to fret about is hitting the right note and staying on beat.   

This hidden oasis in the vast desert of reality wouldn’t exist without the modern classical guitar, an acoustic wooden guitar that originated in Western Europe. It belongs to a family of wooden instruments called chordophones. It typically has six strings made of nylon. The design of the modern classical guitar can be attributed to Antonio de Torres, the most influential guitar maker in the 19th century.  Francisco Táregga was a guitarist and composer who was considered the father of modern classical guitar playing. He determined many aspects of the modern classical technique and raised the prestige of the guitar in the classical music tradition.

My pick hits the last note and I let it ring out as applause erupts from the audience. Walking offstage after a performance is the best feeling. it’s an adrenalin rush, and really boosts your confidence. It’s a feeling of relief for getting past it and not having to be the center of attention any longer, and of exuberance for conquering any fears about performing. It’s also a little sad because the music stopped and reality dawns on you again. I am so thankful for people like Francisco Táregga and Antonio de Torres because they assisted the foundation of the instrument I love. Without them, there wouldn’t be that feeling of stepping of the stage, or the butterflies that tickle my stomach before I perform. There would be no interruption of actuality, and because of that, I am truly appreciative of this instruments and all people attributed to its creation.  

Resources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modern_classical_guitar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_classical_guitar

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_guitar

Images
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vAqS-e1fIbEwHQNmOl0ZwjR-9UCQYorRYjXD07ePlL1jOokAa-QQHf9Fs6u4aKTdMx8qfOkqbjM9nU9HgjQf4r4NjWWCziyea_8j_h48OF-TDFA587YzBF6oBsieH2cIcU6qw_em
https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/6moRzUclPRssacbxnptPUV40gTQ4_fADx5xrczwLdSCRD1QsIkSZzu1-AGZj8P0g7PkjAaY1KCrANjrIrf4LHWUc71CqwEfDYauHe2nxEA1QcPGBg-SfNk_v1mTTmcjh5849BKHP

Video
https://youtu.be/B43xHBpNUWk