The 60's continuation

The plot has been fully developed, and the main crisis has reached its apogee. The protagonists are placed in tedious crossroads which lead to certain realizations that contibute to the categorization of the nature of each of them. The audience can easily grasp the symbolism in several acts, which carry out significant meanining in the film. For example, the moment in which peace and equality dominated the scene of one of the strikes. Michael placed a flower in the muzzle of one of the soldiers' guns and this single act presents the same thing that protestants commenced to assert: "We are not against the soldiers, we are against the war". Michael's passion and hope towards the whole movement is vehemently expressed by this action. His genuine desire for the success in "changing the world" is even observed by Sarah Winestock, who put an end to their relationship when she met Kenny, a protestant with much fervor who almost got killed by a train when demanding his rights. Sarah felt immediately attracted to Kenny when she saw his furor when protesting. Kenny was the epitome of her "perfect" man, thus leaving Michael for him. During this time, marijuana was greatly consumed. I believe that this is attributed to the rebellion of youth against the Vietnam War. They used it to escape the war-like environment and to submerge in one filled with peace and love. Additionally, in the 60's not much scientific research was done on this drug; hence, people thought that consuming marijuana was actually benefitial for them. Sarah eventually realizes that leaving Michael was an immense mistake. Not only was she in awe with Michael's eminent act on the strike, but also she begins to feel subjugated when noticing Kenny's attitude towards her. In terms of Katie, she has joined the hippie movement when she found refuge with the father of her child (whom she decides to name Rainbow). When Rainbow is born, she faces many economical adversities, since the father of her baby does not cooperate on any of her needs because he is so focused on his band. Katie feels devastated and desperate for money to take care of Rainbow. She decides to become a stripper, thinking that it was a worthy sacrifice for her daughter. She quickly quits after being treated as a whore. Katie's situation portrays how the conservative society cannot accept her as a young mother and how women's sexuality was somewhat controlled, giving more power to men. As her last resort, Katie calls her family through a payphone. but fails to mention her location during the phone's time limit. Furthermore, Emmet exemplifies a pacifist in the Black Movement, but after perceiving no change and observing many injustices, he reccurs to violent means. A scene with much sentiment was ascribed to Willie's unexpected and heartwarming death. While convincing Emmet that violence was not the answer, and taking his gun ,a policeman shoots Willie thinking that he was menace with the possession of a gun (which was actually Emmets'). After this touching and moving part, Emmet returns to his nonviolent ways, but the struggle for equality augments as the racial segregation intensifies.

The 60’s movie (Part II)

The 60’s movie (Part II)

                During this second part of the movie the same issues are presented as in the first part but there are still no solutions, just more problems and tension. The movie begins with a festival where it can be observed that the hippie movement has evolved. Even Katie is now all about peace and love. Not so far apart, the protesters from Michael’s university promote the same ideals, during a protest to stop the war they all go forward to where the soldiers are standing blocking them and trying to prevent a chaos. Just when things might get violent Michael starts shouting “We are not against the soldiers, we are against the war.” As a part of the tradition of calmness and peace always, a great amount of people smoke marihuana and brownies with the substance, even soldiers. Nowadays many people still consume marihuana but not in such an exaggerated manner as in the hippie movement.  The African-American Civil Rights Movement still continues and the black civilians are exhausted of the treatment they receive. Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated and a riot commences. African-Americans started vandalizing everything that came in their path, and Emmet is a part of it. Earlier in the movie he expresses to his father how tired he is of the fact that nothing has changed for them after all they have already been through. When his father finally finds him he takes his gun away from him before an accident could happen and they hold on to each other. Emmet realizes that his actions were inappropriate. At that moment the police arrive and they see the gun, Emmet’s father is shot and killed. On the other hand, Sarah keeps herself involved in political events and starts distancing from Michael. Turns out that Kenny (the leader of the protests) wins her over. Ever since his “heroic” action in front of the train she felt a sudden attraction. Kenny offered her backstage tickets for Bob Dylan and winning her over in every way while Michael just felt hopeless. Sarah likely got won over by materialism because there is no sign in the movie that he made any emotional effort to win her over. Of course he liked her but he just bought her and she fell over his image and “heroism,” he was her ideal man. Michael did his best but he would not go to the limits Kenny did. At a certain moment Michael goes home to get signs for a campaign. He asks his mother to sign and tells her that she should decide for herself even if his father does not approve and she has the right to do so. When his father arrives he starts talking about how Bryan is fighting for his country and mocks Michael’s ideals. Her mother finally stands up to him and tells him that she has always supported his manner of thinking all of those years and that he should respect her. He offers no response and Michael shows a grimace for her bravery at the moment. 

The 60's(part 2)

            This movie is spicy; the first thing that makes me think is that my generation is not as lost as people said. It is impressive, how even the soldiers were smoking weed; people seemed to be “high” all the time. I think that they took hashish brownies for breakfast. However, this is not an exaggeration from what happened in real life, and in some way it keeps happening. In the parts seen of the movie, the black people start to hit back. For a lot of time they were mistreated, but now they are tired and start a riot in Los Angeles. Emmet joins to the riot, until his father catches him, convinces him to come home, Emmet gives him a gun he stole, and then the police arrives and kills his father. This just shows how violent and tense the situation got, as a direct cause of segregation. Samantha in the other hand, becomes a real activist, she gets so in deep on it, that she begins to cheat on Michael with the leader of the protests, Kenny, who was the man that did not let her expose her opinions before (and yet), but he becomes a hero, because he almost died trying to stop a train. Michael finds it out, tries to impress her with a brave action, stopping the National Guard from hitting all of the people that were marching to end the war with sweet words, more specifically, “We are not against the soldiers, we are against the war”. But things did not worked out; he is not as radical as she is. Then he helps with the campaign for presidency of a candidate that is against the war. He collects signatures, and gets his mother’s signature, the first open protest from his mother to the gender role she has. This is because, his father defends the war, but she does not, and she faces her husband and tells him that she has her own opinions, breaking with the gender role of the pleasant and sweet housewife. Katie ran from home, and assumes the gender role of a mother, because now she has to take care of her baby, because, although she found the father of the baby, he is as responsible and mature as a three year old child. The struggles arise; the war gets worse, while Brian is still in Vietnam fighting. The tension gets greater, and there is no resolution yet in any part. The civil rights movement evolved and turned to an angry and violent response of a race that has got tired of being oppressed. The gender roles are better defined, and the problems are seen better at this point. The resolution of all the problems is not seen yet.

The 60's Movie Reflection , Part. 2

In this second part of the movie we see how the movements have evolved and becoming something else even thou they have the same purpose. For example the young protestors of the university like Michael are now hippies which promote peace and love. The black movement took a drastic turn after the death of Martin Luther King Jr. since they became a more violent group. Also we see that Bryan and apparently all of the country believe that the Vietnam War has a true reason to be (which doesn’t) and that his young brother is not appreciating the risk of losing his life for “defending the United States”. Finally we see Kathy as the wife of a hippie singer that is irresponsible and that does not care much about his son, since he is more concentrated on being high and his music gigs. This also reveals the truth of those days when they were little helps from government for the people that didn’t have a job and that had to work on the lowest levels of society like Kathy working as a stripper. The protests in all the country were getting to another level of social transformation since they were affecting directly the roots of the problem. Students took the university by force as a way of protesting very similar to what happened here on campus which was something never done before which caught a lot of attention by the media. Also the burning of Draft Cards and dollars were sings of how intellectual the protests were being held now. Some strange customs that are presented in the movie is the constant smoking of marihuana which obviously evolved in addiction problems later and the hippie congregations were they danced and danced manically. The 60’s was opening the door for the controversial 70’s that followed up as the historical moments advanced.

The 60's Movie Reflection , Part. 1

In the sixties movie presented in class we can observe a lot of important social movements happening at the same time. The first one I saw is the raising importance of educating oneself. Michael the younger male is not well appreciated by his father who prefers his oldest and testosterone-full brother Bryan. We can see that being well educated was considered important but was not really well appreciated by others. This search of knowledge leads Michael to question him, society and the government which involves him in the revolutionary events happening around him. I see him as part of the pioneer thinkers that helped mold the world to what it is now. Another movement represented in the movie is the liberal woman and her rights. Michael’s youngest sister Kathy is the best at showing her independence of society. She has sex with the man she wanted to, dances as she wants and with the one she wants to. In her time she was seem like a spoiled brat but the reality is that she is not too different of the woman of nowadays. The rights of women in the other hand are not fully developed since they were starting to demand equines in gender thus in the black communities the woman is more respected than her white counterpart. The final movement seen in this movie is the Black Power Movement which was starting to manifest against segregation in the United States. We can see that in the city of Alabama some people where fighting for the right to vote of the black people and where not welcomed. Their protests were peaceful and without any intents of hurting someone but the racism was stronger than common sense which always ended in a white hurting a black guy. The movie also mentions some important events that motivated these movements like the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War and the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr. These great events led to some interesting changes in the movements and their effect on society.

The 60's

            The 60’s were a transition time marked by the diversity of opinions and the strong and transcendental incidents that occurred at that time. As seen in the movie, which carries the name of that time period already named, things started to change forever, and the events molded the rest of the history of the United States and of the World. It was a mix of revolutions and changes in all directions. One of the primary facts watched in this movie is the racism and the anti-segregation movements. The movie is sort of a collage of real footage that reminds to a documentary, and the story of a family suffering different aspects of the social movements, and an iconic event of that time, the Vietnam War.

            The oldest of the three brothers, Brian, was not picked up to study at college, so he joined the Marines; he is the patriotic symbol of the family that risks his life to keep safe the nation. On the other hand, Michael is smart, and is conscious of the changes his generation is confronting. He volunteers in a group of the church to fight in a pacific way the segregation. In this process, he meets a young black man named Emmet that is his age, and they become friends. It is impacting how racism was so marked in the 60’s because, when they got to the march, the police tried to stop them violently, only for protesting, and the only reason they did not hit the black people, was because there were journalists around, and they did not want to get in trouble. Michael gets to study at college, where he goes to meetings of activists that are trying to stop the war and smoke weed (all they can), there he changes his way of seeing the life, primarily because of a young beautiful girl called Sarah, that fall in love for Michael when he defended her in public, from the leader of the meeting, who thought that her ideas were dumb, and did not let her participate. This is a way in which women are mistreated by society, because Sarah could argue and fight all she wanted, but still, the leaders of the groups composed by men would not hear her opinions. It is ironic how they fight to end with prejudices and injustices, but they are not capable of treating all the members the same way just for the gender.

            In another different aspect, there is Katie, the youngest of the three brothers. She is young and beautiful, and also rebel. She is an intention of saying “no” to the gender roles of the moment. One of the first things she does is that at the beginning, at a school dance, she started to dance with a color boy, action which was punished by the principal of the school, because it was considered inappropriate to dace the way she was dancing. This is clearly a point for segregation because in deep, the real fear was that both races, the white and the black, would merge, concept that was not accepted by society back then and is not well seen nowadays. Katie goes to parties hidden from her father, until one night she had sex with a musician and she gets pregnant. The prejudices she had to face were humongous, because her father wanted to beat her and her mother wanted her to give the baby in adoption secretly, so nobody would now that she got pregnant. This behavior of her parents makes me wonder, what would have happened if it happened in a different way, if one of their sons were going to have a baby. The reaction clearly would not be the same. This is an example of gender roles, as same as another important aspect seen in the movie that is kind of hidden and clearly is part of the gender roles, which is the fact that the mother of the house was a housekeeper, while the father brought money to the house. One of the most important moments as seen in the movie in which women began to take control of their lives, was the birth control pill. That pill was purchased by Sarah, who is of a newer generation, and of a far less conservative generation. There is yet much to be seen of this turbulent time period called the 60’s.

The 60's Movie Review

The 60’s movie

                The 60’s movie represents the different political and social circumstances through which the United States passed through. In the beginning, the film starts by introducing an American family composed of both the parents, a daughter (Katie) and two sons (Michael and Bryan). The first incident occurs when the teenagers are at a school dance and Katie dances with a black student. She is grounded by her parents and called on by the a nun by for behaving “inappropriately.” Woman gender roles in society can be observed throughout the movie with Katie. Katie’s parents demonstrate to be stricter over her, compared to her brothers. She sneaks out of the house to another friend’s place and is caught by her father who becomes fully disappointed of her behavior. Not long after she sleeps with a musician at a party and gets pregnant. After the incident her mother is trying to find a solution since what Katie did was considered immoral at the time and girls weren’t supposed to have sex before marriage and the Church would not approve of her actions. Shortly after her father finds out and becomes more alarmed and disappointed and says that she has dishonored the family. In another scenario Katie’s bother Michael goes to a teaching regarding the war in Vietnam and witnesses a young woman trying to speak her point of view and isn’t paid attention for being a woman, leaving Michael to defend her. Later on Sarah Winestock is seen getting anti conceptive pills which were being introduced to women and were are great controversy at the time.  These actions present how women were considered inferior to men at the time and were more limited in her roles and decision making in society.  During these years also took place the African-American Civil Rights movement represented primarily by Willie and his son Emmet Taylor who from the beginning fight for equality in the American society. Due to the segregation between blacks and whites, African-Americans were not allowed to be in the same places as white people. As a sign of protest they go into a diner and are thrown out by force and violence. Additionally shortly after a march for their rights to vote father Willie’s church and house are burned down as a sign of the white society throwing them out of their territory. 

The 60's movie review

A wide variety of controversial themes are vividly displayed in The 60's, a movie that effectively places the characters in the context of that ambience (the black and white newsreel footage contributes to the scenarios). As we are introduced to the primary characters; Michael, Brian and Katie, the plot commences to develop and the audience begins to grasp the air of the conflicting ideals and ethics of the era. Gender Roles are vastly present in the movie. First, we see Katie being reprimanded for showing "immoral behavior" while dancing with a black student on a night out (racism rises as another strong theme that molds the plot). Since Katie is a woman now, her parents wish for her to exhibit certain "qualities" that society expected from young ladies. Brian joins the Marines rapidly after high school, since his performance in the football field did not astonish any scouts. Their parents support his decision and reveal admirability for his enthusiasm, attitudes never present towards Katie. On the contrary, her father feels deceived when he caught her in the closet of a friend's house with a boy. The parent's expectations on Katie drastically diminish after she gets pregnant by a musician in a one night stand (at least that is what musician thought). Katie is aware that she has "dishonored" her family, so she decides to flee. Michael gets in Loyola University and becomes involved in the civil rights movement, and after campaigning for Bobby Kennedy and Eugene McCarthy, he becomes involved in radical politics. The audience meets another character, Sarah Winestock, when Michael defends her in a meeting for civil rights, since other members dislike the fact that she is a woman giving her opinion, manifesting her voice. Spectators are also introduced to Willie and Emmet Taylor, an African-American family struggling with equality for all races. Racism is highly prominent throughout the movie. Not only is Willie hardly hit, but we also see how blacks are separated from whites in diners and bathrooms, as if they were another abominable species. After a black man is seen eating in a white man diner, he is literally kicked out and strongly beaten. The portrayal of all these characters transports the viewers to The 60's providing them with a slight hint of prosaic events that occurred in that time.

Two can play

In class we have been reading a play called “Two Can Play” which takes place in a late 70’s Jamaica that has been overwhelmed by the effects of political warfare. In the play we have two main characters; Gloria and Jim, who are two perfect examples of gender roles in that time. Jim presents the typical sexist male role who is afraid of women power and who thinks men should have control of everything even if sometimes women have more courage than them. This behavior in Jim is what causes his bad relationship with his wife. This is shown in the way Jim tells Gloria to do things around the house, like cooking and taking care of Pops. He also needs to feel good about himself and in control even though he is a coward. This is shown when he is afraid of the gunfire outside and he is hesitant to look for Pop’s medicine even though Pop’s was dying. His cowardliness is also emphasized in the fact that Gloria is braver than Jim and is willing to go outside and stay calm about the whole situation. Gloria takes control of all the things Jim can’t man up to do. Constantly Jim acts like he is always right, and that his decisions are the best, but because Gloria is a woman he never takes in consideration Gloria’s thoughts and feelings even though she seems smarter than him. He sees Gloria as his property and not much as his wife, this type of thinking is presented at the end of the play when he directly says that he wouldn’t let Gloria go because he owned her. Throughout the story we see that Jim loves Gloria but his sexist mentality prevents him from sharing his feelings the correct way. For this reason he almost looses Gloria when she decides that she can’t take Jim’s behavior anymore and that Jim is never going to change. Through this we see that Gloria is a strong character and that she represents the revolutionary ways in which women had to take control of situations so they could be respected and taken in consideration. Even though the story presents the reader with a late 70’s Jamaica these situations still happen in our present day.

Reflection on "Two Can Play"

As observed in the play “Two Can Play” by Trevor Rhone; Jim is a very complex and dynamic character whose attitude varies drastically as the story proceeds. From the beginning the reader can perceive Jim as a very coward male that hides behind his chauvinistic way of thinking as an excuse for not satisfying his role as “the man of the house” in front of her wife Gloria. Example of this coward attitude, are the gunshots he hears that scare him to the point that he has to take valium pills to ease his paranoia of being shot. The pathetical way of reacting to this matter is antagonized by the bravery of her wife which is the one that is always fixing his problems. After Jim’s father dies he drastically changes his attitude to be more like a brave man or something close to it. This fake change is still dominated by his wife since she is the one that takes care about everything in the house. Jim only takes the role of a “man” at the time he gives orders or complains about something. He is no more of a coward trying to look strong so he can make himself and his wife believe that he is something important. In the other hand we have his wife Gloria that takes the place of both men and women in the house. She cooks, she took care of Jim’s dad, she pays the bills, she buys food, and well, in sum she does everything. She is the brave one that does not succumb to the fears that his husband has. She is the example of a strong woman that works hard to make something out of her life with or without the help of her husband. She is the central pillar of the house and of Jim’s life whether or not he wants to accept it. They are not the perfect couple but they do are the only thing that each other has. Maybe that is why they are so important to each other. Even though that Jim does not show his feelings until late in the story, Gloria in her way of being show the love and compromise that she has to her husband. This story is getting really good and I wait for a fantastic ending, maybe one In which Jim becomes a man after all or accept his male inferiority as compared to his wife.

Reflection on "Two Can Play"by Trevor Rhone

“Two can play” by Trevor Rhone takes place in the late 1970’s in Kingston Jamaica during the height of the country’s political upheavals. But what he really writes about is about a couple who struggles with their marriage because they barely understand each other. During the first act of the play Jim is called a paranoid by Gloria when she tells him that Andrew wrote them a letter. He is constantly drinking valiums so he can sleep and he’s constantly closing the windows of the house and staying locked up inside even if he tries to appear to be the brave man of the house. Once, she tells him that for calling himself “The General” he can surely loose his calmness easily in a sarcastic tone towards him. Contrary to Jim, Gloria seems to keep her emotions under control and tells him “Jim, yuh have to fight fear. Open the window.” Gloria plays the role her husband should play in a male dominated household. Throughout the play Jim is always ordering Gloria to cook him, clean the house and do chores but when tough situations appear Gloria takes the lead in the house and keeps everything from falling apart, including Jim’s emotions. During Act II scene I, the audience perceives a clearer view on how Jim tries to assert his dominance over Gloria after she comes back to his house and he notices she stands up to his demands. Gloria tells orders him to serve her some of the Wincarnis he had bought. Trying to re assert himself he orders her once again to wash dishes and fix him something to eat. Having enough of this they have a discussion and he tries to soften her with sexual blackmail and she stops him and warns him she will not go back to him under the same conditions she has been living under  for the past twenty years of her living by his demands. The discussion goes on and Gloria is going to leave Jim and he questions why. In response she restates that he doesn’t treat her like the man she married does, that is all she asks from Jim. At the end Jim realizes how Gloria had been feeling all those years and they both settle their differences after hearing each other out. Jim is determined to be the man Gloria wants her to be and changes his behavior towards her.  

Analize the ways in which Jim tries to be masculine

Jim is a very complex and dynamic character. He displays unemotion and roughness to succumb to his gender role and gradually contributing to the male stereotype. Jim does not cook or clean, since he believes that those chores are exclusively for women. He also associates tending for the elderly as part of women's duties. This is clearly presented as Gloria takes care of the physical health and well-being of Jim's father. When Jim's father becomes ill and commences to cough blood, Jim is reluctant to fetch the pills his father needs to recuperate. Gloria then undertakes to go in Jim's place. As Jim asserts, "I'm the General. Me run tings.", the audience rapidly perceives his hunger for domination and how Gloria exists to provide his comforts, which are mostly food and sex. He wants to effectively achieve his role as "man of the house" by making the decisions and taking control of every situation the family might encounter. Jim is not as strong and masculine as he puts on. A series of reactions ensures the reader thaty Jim is wearing a veil to cover his true self and to carry out his archetypal characteristics. When Gloria tricks Jim into thinking that she flushed the money, Jim begins to cry. Crying is very much associated to women, thus, Rhone incorporates female qualities to Jim. Additionally, Rhone presents the stereotype in which men are affiliated to cleverness and astuteness. Jim wants to be the one with all the good ideas concerning where to hide the money to execute their plan to become legal and reunite with their children, so he tries to take credit for Gloria's ideas. He explains "What A tell yuh, Gloria, I is the General. Dem could search till thy kingdom come, dem would never find where I put the money." Jim also tries to manipulate Gloria to cook, after she arrived from America. He appeals to pity by showing Gloria his burned hand in an attempt to cook, while she was away. Despite all these negative traits, Jim is considered a dynamic character because to avoid losing Gloria, he is willing to put effort and change his way of being. By determined to reconquer Gloria's love, Jim demonstrates that he is not as self-centered and selfish as his behavior suggests during the rising action and the climax of the play.

Review of “Two Can Play”

            “Two Can Play” is a type of bitter humor. Although the reading goes easy and is funny, the message transmitted is quite strong. This play reflects the reality of Jamaica more than thirty years ago, a country doomed in the riot of an internal war. One of the themes seemed so far is how external issues can affect people who are not involved in the confrontations. This point is clearly seemed when Pops died; he died, because the doctor was afraid to get into that part of the city at that hour, and they could not get to the doctor’s house to pick up the tablets. An innocent person died for nothing. Besides, the familiar separation is also seemed, because Jim and Gloria’s sons had to leave Jamaica to emigrate to the United States in order to get a future farther than being a robber or a prostitute. Another noticeable aspect is the fact that in this play, Jim fights to get into his role of being the man of the house, but he can’t. The real leader of the situation is Gloria in every aspect. Jim is so coward, he is afraid to everything, he locks the house completely because he is afraid to the sound of shots, he wants to go from Jamaica, but then he is afraid to the people that might take him out of there; he is a real coward. The only part of the male role he occupies well is being requesting his wife to everything in the house, he does not cook, he does not buy food, he does not wash the dishes, he just leave everything as it is because it is not his duty. At the end of page 30 it is partly said that Jim is cheating on his wife, this arouses another important point, how the relationships deteriorate because of the tension of the environment. The play is just starting yet, and it promises to give a lot to count.

The Samurai

The samurai technique is about not being afraid of editing your own work just because you spent a lot of time into it. There are going to be times where our writing is good, bad or super good. It’s up to us to distinguish when our writing is good, really good or bad. If it’s not really good then we should cut it out and leave the essential. This is how really god poems develop, with really good and strong fractions. One good example of this is a minisaga. A minisaga is a super short story where a whole plot develops with just a few sentences. In order to have a good minisaga you’ll have to use the Samurai technique, where you cut out anything that’s not necessary or not really good. I wanted to share with you guys a minisaga that a friend of mine did and I really think is really good. Her name is Yoarelis Olavarría and this is her masterpiece:

Dead End

Road trip. Fun and smiles. Then Impatience takes over the wheel. A reckless turn. Suddenly, the wheel is misleading their destiny. A crash. Blood. Bruises. Wounds deeper than skin. A widowed husband. Motherless passengers. Now cars pass by. Impatience, observing its work of art, welcomes Death to the passenger’s seat.

Imagine yourself sitting in front of a computer, at this bare second…writing. Imagine also, that you are someone that loves to read because reading takes your mind to the limits of imagination; someone that loves to paint or draw because through it you can show people the way your mind sees things. Imagine you are someone who sees the world differently through the lens of a camera, because you can focus on the beauty of a candle stick or a rock. Someone that loves to dance, because through dance you can show the passion of feelings through movement. Imagine you are someone that cannot contain a smile each time you feel the warmth of the sun or the breeze of the wind touch your skin; someone that on a friend’s face sees happiness just because they form part of your life. If you imagined this, then on that minute, on that second or fraction of a second…you were being me.

My name is Karla M. De Jesus and I guess this pretty much expresses how i am and how i feel towards the world around me. I study Computer Engineering at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus and I'm 18 years old. I am a very spontaneous and artistic and i hope you, dear reader, enjoy the things i'll be posting. Enjoy the blog while you can; it's a limited time edition blog.

Love is patient, love is kind,
Love does not insist on its own way.
Love bears all things, believes all things,
Hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never fails.
- I Corinthians 13:4-8
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Composting

I have lived in many places more time than the time I spent in my own country. Countless nights I have slept in Santo Domingo and Puerto Rico without loosing in my mind the feeling of being Cuban. My first four years were the only ones I lived in Cuba, from which I don’t remember quite much. From that experience I can say it is a colorful country full of coffee and sugar; a country with humor in its people. I feel proud of being Cuban. Beautiful Island of sun and coconut killed by a few, or many idiots that do not appreciate the beauty of the heat of your happy and tired people. Cubans are an stange race. We suffer, we split, we go away, but our hearts keep caged back there, I think it is the only place they can beat alive. I hope to see my people in their country, instead of the prison they are now. I hope to see them free at last, without the fear of dreaming and the hope of living.

My name is Zareth Jana. I'm a Biology student at UPR Recinto de Rio Piedras. I was born in Puerto Rico. People always tell me that my name is weird and they don't believe that I'm puertorrican. As my other post explains, I'm an exercise freak. Working out is obviously my main hobby, but I also enjoy watching movies, reading and hanging out with my friends among other things. I love music, especially acapella, pop, rock, indie and techno. I cosider myself to be a very friendly, persistent and hard-working person. I am certain that I will achieve all of my goals. I want to be an orthodontist. I believe that a smile is the maximum expression of happyness and I would feel honored to contribute in that aspect of people's lives. I forgot to mention that I love spending time with my family, going to the beach and shopping. I also love animals! I have a labrador retriever. He is so loyal and obedient! Really cute. I'm done talking about me.

My favorite quote: "Most people are other people. Their thoughts are someone else's opinions, their lives a mimicry, their passions a quotation" -Oscar Wilde

A Little Bit About Me

My name is Carlos Molina, I am a Mechanical Engineering Student, currently based in University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus; however I am not from here, once could find my natural habitat a little bit to the left in the Caribbean map. I was born in Las Tunas, Cuba in February 13, 1992. This is a remote part of Cuba in which people don't speak like in Havana, reason why when people meet me does not believe that I am Cuban. I moved from Cuba long time ago to the Dominican Republic and spent eight years of my life hanging around there, I can't complain, I had a lot of good times. Now I am living in the Island of Enchantment, Puerto Rico. It is a really beautifull island, not because the most probable thing is that Puerto Ricans will read this, but because it does really catches your attention. My grates interes are aviation, engineering, and a bunch of things I have in a sort of "to do before die or get old" list. I am looking forward to enjoy my time, because if something is real, is that World is so big, and life is so short. I like living my way, having fun the way I like, not as others state having fun is. Well it is just the tip of the Iceberg called Carlos Molina, if you want to know more, keep watching Lords and Ladies of the Ink.

Writing in a Restaurant

Here in Casa Lima is where I go almost every day in the morning to get my chocolate mocha with whipped cream to start my day. What I like about this place is how calm it is early in the day. It is perfect to jus t go and sit and slowly sip down my coffee while eating a croissant or reading a book. If it’s later in the day I’ll just come and have a turkey sandwich or a strawberry yogurt. Occasionally when I’m sitting there relaxed enjoying coffee I can’t help but notice people’s behavior. Several times I have seen how people constantly focus on a person’s way of dressing or acting in a judgmental way. Usually one wouldn’t notice but if you try and sit down, relax and just observe people go you’ll notice. Places like this are the best to have pastries and sweets while relaxing or socializing with friends but also you can notice how others interact and get a more clear view on  their personality. It is also very interesting seeing so many different kinds of people that come and go; I find it very interesting on the variety of people that are part of our campus. Tomorrow morning I will likely go back and get my daily coffee and sit there for a few minutes and see others come and go as I do to start their day and every time I sit down here I notice something new. 

Just a little about myself

My name is Samalis Santini De León and I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I am currently a mechanical engineering student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. I live both my parents, my brother and two dogs and a cat I consider part of it. I love science and math which are the main reason to why I chose to take the path of engineering. Asides from academics I enjoy reading for hours just as much as I enjoy practicing sports such as swimming and skimboarding. Excercises have always been a part of my life specially swimming which I have practiced for nine years already and I almost represented Puerto Rico in the open water swimming competitions at El Salvador in a lake located in the mountains near an inactive volcano.  Sadly I didn't go because of some "mistakes" the National Swimming Federation made and I lost the opportunity. I also enjoy yoga, pilates and anything that requires physical effort.  I consider myself an outgoing person who loves to try new things when I have the time. Also, I tend to be very observant, maybe too much at times since I am constantly analyzing people in the way they express themselves, their movements, and many other aspects that surprise me on how much it can say from a person. In general terms these are some facts about myself, I hope you enjoy the Lords and Ladies of the Ink blog!


"Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices, but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence and fulfills the duty to express the results of his thought in clear form."
-Albert Einstein


"A human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We experience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. A kind of optical delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from the prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty. The true value of a human being is determined by the measure and the sense in which they have obtained liberation from the self. We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if humanity is to survive." (Albert Einstein, 1954)

Activity: Use Loneliness

Today I have to write alone. Like if that where something new, this is going to be easy. I love to write each and every time I can but lets start by following the instructions. I have to explain my life to another person, that sounds like a bad idea but since no one is going to read this well, let's try before time runs out. I would like to tell you about my true life, not the one that you can see in my eyes or the one that I try to project. No, the real one. The real story where there is no laughs, no friends... only loneliness. Maybe that's why I picked this theme for. Maybe I felt it as mine... I am the older son of the family and since dad was killed, the "man of the house". My mother has been sick for about five years, he has some heart an liver issues. My brother is still at High School, this is his senior year... He is a good man, he is the reincarnation of my dad. He should be the one in my position, he is the best at it. My father... well... He was murdered while he was working by a maniac shooting people randomly, 9 months ago. I was raised on a very humble house in the mountains where I still live. The rest of my family has like a Devil/Angel relationship with the world. Mom's family are the best human beings alive but dad's family are just a bunch of drug dealers. It has been really difficult to decide which path to should choose since each one offers you unique benefits. But I decided to do something different, something in the middle of the two, something that was never seen in our family... I decided to be someone... I like writing poems too, I even have my own Pen Name: The Ink Demon hehehehe I know its sounds strange but I earned it when I was in 7th grade. I really like hiding behind those kind of things so I can distract myself of the chaos around me. It is easy to look tough so no one can hurt me but sometimes you just want to run and cry in someone's arms. What do I have left to write? I don't know there is so much to write and so little time... It is kind of ironic since I was the one who put the time limit but hey, who was going to know that I would enjoy my loneliness more than ever?

Obsessions

"We are run by our compulsions. Obsessions have power. Harness that power."
- Natalie Goldberg

Ever since I was 15 years old, I have been obsessed with exercising. I can spend hours talking about the subject and never get tired. My eyes commence to shine every time I speak of it. I have stimulated my mother and some friends to adapt to this healthy lifestyle. My mother has lost over 35 pounds and she feels very content with what she has achieved. Sometimes my father sees me exercising at 2:00am and he tells me that I am crazy and that I should go to sleep. It is so funny to see him get mad at that hour, but I usually ignore him and continue my workout. Some of my friends are addicted to alcohol and other drugs. My drug is exercising. When you release endorphins while working out, they interact with receptors in your brain that help you appease your perception of pain. Another function of endorphins is acting as sedatives in response to neurotransmitters. The endorphins bind to the same neuron receptors that pain medicines bind to. The jolly feeling triggered by endorphins is constantly compared to the effects of morphine. Regularity in exercising is essential. It has been scientifically proven that working out helps reduce stress, boosts self-esteem and improve sleeping habits among other health benefits. I could not survive without exercise. It gives me the strength, the attitude and the stamina that I need to fulfill my daily duties, encompassing my studies and chores. I have a membership in the YMCA gym, and I own most of the beachbody programs. These programs include plyometrics (jump training), Kenpo Karate, Core Synergystics, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training), Yoga, Pilates, anaerobics, resistance training, weight training, Capoeira, among others. I also enjoy running in El Parque Central. I can write about fitness and exercise perpetually, but I will not torture anyone.

A little About Myself

My name is Louis Gerald Santiago Flores and I am from Caguas, Puerto Rico. I am a student at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. I live with my brother and my mom since my dad was murdered last year. We live in a small house in the mountains where we enjoy the warmth and cold of nature.Playing the guitar is the most important thing to me after breathing and poetry. I am a very dedicated musician and writer, it is my way of expressing my feelings and staying calm. I write poems every time I feel inspired (which by the way, is very rare) and usually write about something deep or epic. I don't like writing crappy stuff. I am a very active person in my church and community. I am the coordinator of seven of the church's chorus two of them composed by children. I am a very quiet guy that does not like speaking out of place or in the wrong moment, so I prefer to remain silent in most cases. I am studying mechanical engineering and aspire to become a lawyer after I graduate. That is pretty much about myself and if you are reading this is because you are in the best blog available on the internet right now. Welcome tho The Lords and Ladies of The Ink page. This is OUR PRECIOUS!! Blog.... GIVE ME THE RING!!! Emmm sorry, I ment, to give us some feedback. Have a nice Day! Blessings

att. Louis G. Santiago