Crime and Light

In the film City Dark, they discuss over the topic of how some people seem to feel protected in a well-lighted neighborhood. How the amount of light and crime have a link with one another.

According to director Ian Cheney, “There is controversy over whether more light leads to less crime, but there is agreement that light seems to make people feel safer, almost like its built into our genes to move closer to the campfire or the brightest city.” (City Dark).

www.ohiorvcamp.com

 

More light can reduce the crime by not allowing the people to have a dark environment. In a well-lighted area you can see anyone walking by and aware of what they are doing. Unlike a dark area you are just afraid of who might be behind you or if it’s safe to walk through the dark area.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/migliariandrea/6937788219/

Crime can be reduced by light, but crime is committed also during daylight. People are just going to do things even if it is against the law or not. What people need to do is just learn to be better people and not commit crime. If that was able to be done than we wouldn’t need to have so bright towns and cities.

blog.busbank.com

The light has always been around us from the moon shining down at us at night to the sun shining in the day time. We have also had the need to have light at night; a fire would keep us warm at night and cook a hot meal. Fire would also light our path through the night and then the invention of artificial light and people just kept using light to brighten the night without thinking of the consequences from that.

When walking down the park or neighborhood we tend to go through the well-lit area not the dark so we can be aware of our surroundings and feel safer doing so. Our neighborhoods are bright and our cities even brighter and people seem to rather live in the bright places other than away.

Hidden

In Baytown we can’t observe the night sky like other parts of the country or world. Our skies are polluted and contaminated and in some days we even have weird colorful skies that leave you in "aww" until you stop and think it’s not normal or that beautiful when it is Exxon the one to blame for the orange and purple looking skies.

http://www.123rf.com/photo_3822466_view-of-industrial-chemical-complex-and-dramatic-polluted-sky.html

 Driving down the roads here it’s hard to see stars and sometimes when you think you see a star it turns out to be a plane to your disappointment. On the freeway you can turn to your left and right and see the lights from the chemical plants brighter than the few stars up in the sky ina good night. I will admit that in one rare occasion I was sitting outside enjoying the night with some friends and I just managed to just look up at the sky and let my mind wonder off when I saw a shooting star. I was amazed and questioned myself if it was possible? In Baytown? With all the illumination of garth road and the pollution? Whether it was a shooting star or not I saw it, and I saw a couple of stars too maybe 6 total.

http://www.coyoteblog.com/coyote_blog/tag/refining

Our skies are nothing compared to a vacation I took with my family to Georgia. We went to go visit my cousin and I remember going outside to get my charger. I had forgotten it in our truck, that first day I remember standing outside and just being amazed of how many stars were in the sky. So many that we could not count all of them and they seem to just be so bright and big. I was in Georgia for a total of 7 days and every night I would go outside for at least an hour to just look up at the sky and view the amazing beauty of the sky. Clear, dark skies with just the illumination of the moon and stars above.

http://silvertrumpets.blogspot.com/2012/11/the-stars-were-magical.html

The night in Georgia was breath taking and the landscape and nature I had a chance to witness was amazing and I will never forget my experience.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mtskheta-Georgia.jpg

I was also lucky enough to travel to California and Mexico and stay in an area where the skies at night where dark and just full of billions of stars. To me experiencing that and the beauty of nature gives me peace and relaxation. When I’m out there enjoying it I have a feel of tranquility and like the time has stopped. Gives me time to relax and feel like you’re not in the rush of your daily routine and loud and busy city.

http://www.mobileedproductions.com/blog/bid/81323/Sky-Dome-Portable-Planetarium-A-Big-Hit-in-California-Schools

Nature and Darkness

In the film The City Lights, reflects on how the highly illuminated skies from the artificial light harms our environment and us.

In the 3^rd chapter of the film we see how the sea turtles are affected by the light from nearby streets and commercial areas. The nature of the sea turtles is that as soon as they hatch they need to make it to the sea so they don’t dehydrate and is where they live for the rest of their lives other than when they come back to the shore to lay their eggs.

http://refleksiindonesia.blogspot.com/2011/12/penyu-derawan-wwf-work-on-pulau-derawan.html#!/2011/12/penyu-derawan-wwf-work-on-pulau-derawan.html

Chaney says “Every summer tens of thousands of [Florida sea] turtle, already a threatened species, are lost to disorientation.” (City Dark) It is sad to acknowledge that these innocent creatures are being harmed. The simple action of maybe just turning the lights off at night near the beach could save many of these little guys. In the film the produces and cast demonstrated where the beach was and where most of the turtles were heading towards. The majority where heading towards the city lights and not to the sea.

 

http://blogs.miis.edu/abroad/category/anja-mondragon/

Other animals being harmed were the birds during migration season. Susan Elbin, an ornithologist at the Audobon Society states, The estimate is that there [are] a billion birds killed across the United States every year by collisions into buildings.” (qtd. In City Dark). A billion birds a year just in the United States alone is a very high number not taking count of the other billions of birds being killed in other cities that are also lighted around the world.

http://www.songbirdgarden.com/store/info/infoview.asp?documentid=216

In the film it has graphic to see all the birds that got hurt and the ones that were killed kept in drawers. Beautiful birds just trying to make their journey from one place to another got disoriented and collide with buildings.

It makes you reflect on the importance that humans as well as animal and nature have a need for the night sky. Humans and animals have always used the sky for guidance and time. Our biological need for the night and sleep is important and we are losing the view of the stars by artificial light that contaminates and pollutes our skies. Chad Moore, of the National Park Service, reminds us, “When we add light to the environment, that has the potential to disrupt habitat, just like running a bulldozer over the landscape can. Darkness is a necessary habitat for nocturnal animals, so what’s the habitat for people?” (qtd. In City Dark).

http://www.houstontomorrow.org/livability/story/deforestation-and-sprawl-increase-runoff/

That last question is very good one. What is our habitat? For most of us our habitat consists of an illuminated sky full of pollution and artificial lights. We have lost the connection with the nature of night and the important role in humans. Without night time we wouldn’t be able to survive. It’s in our body the biological need for sleep and way of how night time is to sleep and let us recover from our daily routines.

A Deers Fate

The two poems I have decided to analyze for my blog are “Salt Lick” by May Sarton and “Highway 12, Just East Of Paradise, Idaho” by Robert Wrigley. These two poems to me seemed very odd and cruel. They both seem to be about death and one witnessing a horrible scene of death.

Robert Wrigley describes a horrible and gruesome scene of a deer getting hit by a car. He managed to get almost every detail in the scene. I imagine the poor deer getting hit and dying and made me upset and at one point I had to stop reading the poem because it disturbed me very much. It said “she skated / many yards on the slightest toe-edge tips…” (Wrigley 7-8) The person observing this scene was probably driving or could have been the driver who hit the deer. Seeing a scene like that for me had to leave an impact on you on how your alive one moment and gone the next.

In the other poem I read, May Sarton writes about how deer come to lick salt rock and how sometimes bread is given to them and the deer don’t seem to be afraid of who is there watching them. This poem was still talking about death towards the end but not as horrifying as the poem by Robert Wrigley. In “Salt Lick” the author wonders what would become of the deer when there is no more salt, the salt is an important nutrient for their survival she says, “To fill their need” (Sarton 12) not getting  the necessary nutrients cause a deer to get sick and die. The author compares to her life that like salt one day she is not going to exist she wrote “On some cold winter day / I shall be licked away” (14-15).

            The two poems have a different way of describing death. They both describe it as sudden and without notice. Wrigley is more detailed about the death of the animal and goes on to say “Her neck caught a sign post / that spun her across both lanes and out of sight” (Wrigley 15-16) he even states “I admit I was grateful” (17) this statement made me think he enjoyed witnessing the act of death or maybe, he was just glad the deer died and didn’t land on the street to get ran over by other vehicles. In salt lick May Sarton describes death in her poem as un noticed and with no fault. She states that “the salt, a mystery, / the written word” ( Sarton 6-7) what I understand from that is that the word has another meaning to her. The words in SALT if switched can make a new word LAST. The deer both had to have salt for their diet and at some point would be their last.

When you read poems you can understand them in your own way. Right or wrong it is your own perspective of understanding it and to me these two poems were hard and I admit I had to read them over and over.

Not so Perfect

The poem that bothered me the most so far that I have read is titled: The Clasp by Sharon Olds. When I first read this poem, the thought of a parent having a satisfaction while punishing their child, bothered me. These days you hear about parents abusing innocent children and even killing them. I’m not a parent but I could never imagine doing something like that to my child. Most abusiveness starts with the adult’s inner conflicts such as, stress, depression, and even situations where they are being abused themselves.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2012/sep/01/soaring-childcare-costs-work-nothing

The author explains "we had colds, / we had been in the apartment two weeks straight (Olds 1, 2)."  She had been home with a two children, one was four and the other one. The author could have been stressed out and tired of putting up with the children’s mood of being sick with a cold and her having to deal with it, while sick herself. Assuming she scolded them for horse playing or misbehaving she had it with them that she grabbed her oldest daughters hand in anger. She mentioned the oldest daughter "shoving him over on his face... (3, 4)." The mother than grabbed the daughter so hard by her wrist that the force she used while angry made her grasp her wrist even harder that she ended up enjoying the pain she gave her daughter." I even nearly / savored the stinging sensation of the squeezing, the / expression, into her, of my anger (7-9).)

http://mileskimoments.blogspot.com/2009/06/nursemaids-elbow-do-it-yourself-fix-it.html

Her daughter was so confused and in shock from the reaction her mother had done to her she had to look up to her to double check it was really her mother doing this to her. In the poem it says “she swung her head, as if checking / who this was (14-15)." For a little girl who is at an age where she can’t reason from right and wrong this action was a hard impact on her. Children think different about the world than adults. When adults think spanking or hurting their child in their own way, they may think that is the correct way to get their child to understand there wrong doing. A child doesn’t understand they are doing wrong they just learn that if they do that again the parent will hurt them and grow up fearing them.

http://grlonthemuv.blogspot.com/2010/08/why-worry.html

The mother reacted on her first instinct of anger. As a consequence, she hurt her daughter, but gave herself the satisfaction of taking control of the situation and gaining respect. The mother was dealing with her spouse and sickness and on top having to stay home with both children got the best of her.  At the end of the poem she did state “One of the/ two whom she most loved, the two / who loved her most (20-22).” The mother obviously loved her child and just wanted to discipline her and gain her respect.

Loving Betrayal

From all the poems i have read so far two have been very similar concepts. The first poem was "What I Want " by George Bilgere. The second Poem was "Hate Poem" by Julie Sheehan. To me these two poems seem to be about a lover from thew past. Someone who they loved so much yet that love might have turned into hate., or so they want to make it seem.

The first poem "What I Want", talks about how wakening up was "That to waken is to plunge through a trap door" he talkis about his ex as someone he hates and is glad she isnt part of his llife no more. In the poem " Hate Poem" she goes into detail of how much she hates him "I dissect you cell by cell, so that I might hate each one individually and at leisure." These two poems were written to I want to wake up in London on a spring morning and read in the paper that my ex- wife has received a lethal injection, courtesy of the state....but something went terribly wwrong and shes been left in vegetive state." than he follows a couple lines down and switches to how "wonderful to sit down with Maria at our favorite restaurant in Madrid." he constantly uses the negative events of his ex- wife with the positive events he remembers with multiple women. Throughout his poem he just uses the amusing hate theme and never reveals the reasons for their divorce, which leaves the reader wondering the many possibilities.




www.huffingtonpost.com


In the second poem by Julie Sheehan, she keeps the negativity. Her statements of hate and to the extreme and very detail measure of hate is impressive. Makes you wonder what cause so much hate towards that person? The poet states "My pleasant "Good morning": hate...you know when im sleepy iI nuzzle my head under your arm? Hate? These lines to me made me think she is still in a relationship with this person and has to pretend to enjoy his company, yet she is screaming with hate.
She goes on with different hateful statements and once again i come to a puzzling staement towards the end of her poem. It says "my, hate which can never have enough of you" she seems to hate him yet at the end she cant seem to let go of him either and might even enjoy the hatred feelings towards him. It isnt revealed either on why the hate? what happen in the relationship? why is she still with him if she hates him?




www.mymodernmet.com

Ever After

The poem that I read and had me question and re- read several times was "Ever After" by Joyce Sutphen.

This poem has you question why did they get divorced? Whose fault was it for the relationship to end? How old were they when they got married? How old were they when they got divorced? How long did they date for before talking and thinking about marriage?

The narrator wonders what he thinks of her now that they are not in each other’s life. You assume she’s talking about someone who was part of her life and would like to know what he thinks of her now. The narrator uses the terms "ex" as the only thing that relates them now, they used to be one and used to be something but now are simply strangers that are not related but only have one thing in common two letters.

In the fifth paragraph she says the words they rarely used (husband and wife) seems odd to not be used if you’re married. Makes me wonder why didn’t they use those words? Did anyone not asked them of each other? When you go out somewhere where people don’t now you, you introduce yourself and the person you’re with and if you’re married well you say it’s your husband or wife. Maybe they had a weird relationship or kept a low profile of their relationship due to society? Family issues?

The sixth paragraph gave me the most curiosity of wanting to know what kind of relationship they had. It is mentioned that they "posed" (so young and helpless) as they cut a layered cake...Was their marriage obligated that she had to say they posed? Why would you say that scene in your life was a “pose”? 

When you get married it supposed to be a happy day that you never forget and don’t recall the memories as being fake or obligated. Maybe the narrator leaves out specific details to give the opportunity to use your imagination and let you make any conclusions of why things happen in her relationship with that person who used be someone in her life someone who met something to her and now wonders what has become of him and if he even thinks of her like she thinks of him.

The very last sentences of this poem seem to me that things happen that she kept just taking form him. She describes it as the layers of a wedding cake how first it’s sweet than it’s just a layer … and then becoming one thing once again.

From being two people that became one it ends with one’s self being one again and just left with the thought and memories of what it was and what they had when they were something.

Stitches

In David Small's book Stitches: A Memoir, one aspect that really stood out to me was the dysfunctional family structure. His family was not family oriented and lacked the love and nurture affection needed as a human being.

 David was brought up with no knowledge of being loved and cared for. As parents it was their responsibility to show affection and love and a sense of security for their child. Everyone in his family was isolated and did their separate thing. Usually a happy family sits around the dining room table enjoying their mother’s dinner and having a conversation with each other about every ones day, or just simply enjoying the company of one another. In David’s situation this was not the case. Dinners at his house seem like complete quietness and keeping to yourself and almost like a weird vibe and tension in the room of just unhappiness. After dinner the mother who throughout the book was just in a bad mood would slam doors and cabinets, the father would punch his punching bag and the brother play his drums.(pg15,16) Did the father punch his punching bag to deal with his unhappiness? Did the brother play the drums to not hear his mother’s anger?

 Feeling lonely and as a young child not understanding the isolation of every family member, David would draw and let his imagination take over. Some of his drawings in the book seem to turn into real life and you could see them walking out of the paper. In another occasion you see David falling inside his own drawing. These situations just seemed like him having his own mental escape of reality and problems that he just didn’t understand. (pg. 14, 48, 49, 61-63)



www.flickr.com


The family had a lot of issues which caused the unhappiness and loss of love and affection. The mother was lesbian and could not be outspoken about it due to society. The mother was married to a man who she didn’t love and had two children. For her the role of a wife a mother was something maybe she didn’t want and only had to accept due to society. The grandmother also had some fault in David’s unhappiness; the grandmother was insane and was mean. David’s mother grew in that environment and carried it out in her own way with her family. The father was a doctor and was always busy and didn’t spend enough time with his family and neither showed any affection. Why didn’t the father show affection? Was he ever concerned or question his family structure and relationship?


wilsonknut.wordpress.com

  When they had family vacations they would not enjoy them together, instead they would split up and go their different ways. (pg65) This was very odd due to the fact that a family vacation is supposed to be a vacation where your family is together enjoying once again each other’s company. In the book David wrote that he always left with his mother and his father and brother left together. Did David ever meet his father’s parents? Did the parents ever switched children in these so called family vacations? Why didn’t they go as a family?

Little Designer

Almost every day after school when I was done with my homework I remember going outside to play with my friends. We would ride our bikes around the neighborhood or play either hide and go seek or some kinds of sport. My childhood years for me were the best! I enjoyed every single day.

 On rainy days or at night I remember taking out all my journals and books, crayons and just imagining all sorts of dresses. I would spend hours drawing and coloring big dresses, whether they were wedding dresses, party dresses or simple everyday dresses, I enjoyed it very much and hoped to grow up and be a clothes designer.

 I remember watching TV and me laying in the living room floor just picturing dresses with big flowers and bold colors. Some had different patterns and then I would begin with sketching and coloring and adding shapes and flowers and beads here and there. When I was finished I would show it to my mom and then she would post it on the fridge door and I was very happy.

 From drawing to coloring dresses I started wanting to actually begin cutting linen and try to sew. I asked my mother for help and permission and she would help me make dresses for my Barbie’s...of course it was more difficult than the drawings and I would become impatient.



http://www.fashionbelieve.com/how-to-draw-a-prom-dress-in-manual-and-automatic-tutorial.html



 When my first little dress was finally finished I was so happy and just wanted to keep making lots of clothes for all my dolls not just my Barbie’s and even for myself I used to love to go through fashion magazines and look at the clothes and when we went to the mall I always wanted to go in to the boutiques and just look at the dresses.

 As I got older I stopped being so fascinated with drawing clothes in particular dresses and just drew different type’s art and I did get into drawing lots of eyes with shading and almost real look to them. I’m not the best artist and I stopped drawing for a very long time now.

Childhood Memory

It was twenty years ago and I can still remember my first day of school like if it were yesterday. I was only four years old and was excited for my first day of class! My outfit for the day was washed out jeans with a zipper on the side of my ankle and a bow at the end, with a pink blouse, half ponytail , big pink bow, and black shiny shoes. That morning my mom took me to school and had breakfast with me,I had french toast and orange juice. The cafeteria was big and there were bigger kids than me and everyone had backpacks. My back pack had a small pillow and a small blanket.

 I remember my mother walking with me down the hall and I could see lockers down the hall and pictures. Than we entered a class with other children my age and I became extremely shy and nervous and I hugged my mother. In the classroom there was a colorful shelf to the right hand side of the entrance door, and small tables and chairs and a huge colorful carpet with letters. I remember having to meet my teacher and than my mom telling me to have a nice day give me a kiss on my cheek and leave. Suddenly I became lonely and sort of confused. I had never been left alone with  strangers and began to look for my mom desperately. I began to cry and the teacher came over to me and told me it would be OK and introduce me to some classmates than I stopped crying. One of my classmates happen to be one of my neighborhood friends and I felt like I wasn't alone any longer.

 The teacher had instructed for us to join her and sit in the colorful carpet and asked each student one by one to introduce our self by saying our name and our favorite food. That day we did several activities such as played with blocks and paint, learn colors, numbers, story time and we had lunch, and I even made more friends! Later we had to take a nap and for me that was a little weird since I was not home and was expected to sleep in school. It took me several days before I could actually take a nap in class.

That afternoon the teacher pinned a small yellow bus with a number on our shirts, and we had to get in line and sit in the gym. We waited our turn to ride the correct bus and go home. My Neighborhood friend and I sat together in the bus. Finally I heard my name get called out and I was helped out of the bus and my mother was waiting for me! I was so happy to see her and just tell her everything I had done all day.  We had a conversation about my first day of school and I was so excited for the next day.