Blog Review

My blog title is “graycoloredlenses”, which also serves as URL, and it is a reference to my outlook on life (and the fact that I wear glasses). The world doesn’t just simply fit into specific categories like black and white even though many people try to force it too. A lot of things end up being shades of gray. I would categorize “graycoloredlenses” as a worldview.

Disregarding any pictures, my blog has very little color. There are black letters on white backgrounds and subtle hints of dull greens scattered everywhere. It was a stylistic choice to go along with the theme I strive to create. One quick visit to my page and you are instantly greeted by a large picture of two musicians in a group called Rizzle Kicks. One of the musicians is pretending to be a demon and the other is pretending to be an angel. This picture, which happens to fit in really well with the colors on the page, echoes the ideas of black, white, and gray (evil, good, and neutral). It also represents my fascination with opposites, juxtapositions, and dichotomies and how they compare and contrast, which is a subject that shows up a lot in my writing. My blog is readable because it isn’t difficult to find anything, due to its simple design—another stylistic choice. I made it simple to read and operate because I believe that writing doesn’t have to be something that’s overly complicated just for the sake of seeming intelligent or cool.

Glory Be to Godiva

Chocolate is a food associated with pleasure and romance. It is almost criminal to not give your significant other some chocolate on Valentine’s Day. During the first few days of February, I always hear talk about buying Godiva chocolate. I remember my friend telling me that he spent around $50 on a large box to impress the girl that he likes. The icon that Godiva uses is a majestic, naked woman riding on a horse. This symbol represents the tale of Lady Godiva: an 11^th century noblewoman who rode through the streets of Coventry on horseback while nude in order to show in protest of her husband’s harsh taxation.

Another interesting fact about Godiva is that, while it is Belgian chocolate, a lot of the words on the packaging is French. This is most likely because French is one of the languages spoken in Belgium. However, the fact that French is used to advertise for the chocolate is interesting because romance languages are seen as, well, romantic. While I’m not too sure about how the language is seen elsewhere, French in particular has been called the language of love in America. Many television shows show women swooning over a man who speaks French.

Chocolate is sometimes seen as an aphrodisiac. An aphrodisiac is a substance that increases a person’s sexual desire. The word “aphrodisiac” comes from the name of the goddess of love and sexual desire, Aphrodite, who was also brought to my mind when I saw the symbol of the woman of the horse. An aphrodisiac food that tastes good, has packaging with romantic French words, and costs a decent amount of money? Sounds like the perfect gift for Valentine’s Day right? The company that produces Godiva chocolate must enjoy a boost in sales around the holidays, thanks to this sweet, delicious treat.

The Worst Bite of Food I Remember Best

Ever since I learned how to open the fridge by myself, there hasn’t been a day that has gone by in which I wasn’t in there scavenging for food. When I was about 3 or 4 years old, I looked through the fridge and found a stack of American cheese wrapped in plastic. I was hungry and I had never really tasted cheese before. I unwrapped it, took just one bite, and immediately realized that I had just made the worst decision of my life. Even today, I still can’t tolerate neither the taste nor the smell of American cheese. How ironic that the bite of food I remember the best is the worst thing I’ve ever had.

25 Verbs Associated With Food/Cooking/Digestion

Cook, Season, Grill, Boil, Broil

Mix, Pour, Knead, Sauté, Sweeten

Add, Sizzle, Fry, Chop, Chew

Bite, Taste, Swallow, Eat, Savor

Consume, Devour, Ingest, Digest, Satisfy

Faustian Economics – Nature Journal Notes 3/12/14

Faustian Economics – Hell hath no limits

http://harpers.org/archive/2008/05/faustian-economics/

Setting: Modern day America; the Industrial world

First reaction: Cynicism towards the human ideas of freedom and limitlessness and how they lead to wastefulness and greed.

“We seem to have come to a collective delusion of grandeur, insisting that all of us are ‘free’ to be as conspicuously greedy and wasteful as the most corrupt of kings and queens.”

Visual Description: World’s smallness and its claustrophobia. High-speed transportation. Modern industrial factories. Oil, coal, and other natural resources.

References/allusions/other data:

*Paradise Lost – knowledge without wisdom is worthless

*Tragical History of Doctor Faustus – Hell having no limits, Three of seven deadly sins – pride, wrath, gluttony 

*King Lear and The Divine Comedy – If nobody had written these two works, then they would never have been written

*The Wisdom in Words – the word free is related to the word friend, suggesting that one’s identity is not based in individuality, but based on a one’s relationships and connections

*The Declaration of Independence – all men are created equal, and given rights by the Creator; our rights are not granted to us by the government, but are assigned to us by birth

As if/metaphors: Humans defining themselves as higher animals. Humans thinking they can be as wasteful and as greedy as the most corrupt kings and queens.

A Dynamic Morning

Today, I returned to my room from my 10 a.m. math class. When I strolled in, I saw my roommate scrambling to finish the essay he needed to do for homework. As I tried to relax and restore my energy before going to my next class, my roommate kept pacing up and down the room, trying to fathom what he could possibly write for his assignment. Our room isn’t very big so it appeared as if he was all over the place talking to imaginary people even though he was only talking to himself. I found it weird that he was being pressured by this assignment since he doesn’t even have to hand it in until tomorrow. And I found it even weirder that he had to do an essay so early in the second semester, which just started.

Second First Blog Post

So, here I am at Hofstra, and I am blogging for the second time. One would think that, since I have done this before, I would know exactly what to do, but I don’t. Blogging in general is an entirely new experience for me. I’ve written blog posts before and I’ve had people comment on them and share them but that just makes me more anxious to see what might happen.

Writing online makes me feel comfortable, at this point. After my first composition class, I feel like I have matured, in a way. In high school, my teacher had me write in a very strict way. “You should avoid using first or second pronouns!” “You can’t use contractions!” There were so many rules that would constrict the way I write (though I am thankful that she was my teacher because she did know how to teach literature and English well). But after taking my first composition class at Hofstra with Professor Lay, I learned that you don’t have to be so uptight with your writing. I learned that writing doesn’t have to be a tedious task. I leaned that writing is something that is meant to be enjoyed and, as such, I can’t wait to continue.