My Joel painting

I would like to start off by saying that I don't have a scanner, nor do I know how to use the one in the library, even though there is instructions. That all being said, I cannot post the fantastic artwork, that is my description of the entire book of Joel, and also I would not like to cause you a heart attack to gaze on its magnificence. I started the painting off by using a pencil to outline what I wanted to do, and mainly to create a cliff formation that was going to be he centerpiece of the painting. I got the idea from the opening sequence of the Lion King, and keeping that in mind will help you with a clear description of the painting. Joel is standing on the edge of he cliff with his staff being held in the air, as a myriad of people listen to his words as he proclaims them. The sky is red, as the sun hides under the hills, and h moon appears behind the clouds. Storm clouds surround the mountain the Joel is on, and holy lightning strikes the ground near the people and causes panic. The lighting creates small fires near the terrified audience, as Joel keeps on speaking.

I actually think I did a pretty good job in m description of what Joel was doing. I am used to putting though to paper, through drawing, instead of with paint. I would have to say that it was one of the best painting I have done, even though I don't think it was the best in the room, it was definitely up there.

Proclaiming Joel

I started my expedition of proclaiming The Book of Joel by finding some shade, and just reading the text out loud. I decided I would try to make the reading more interesting by reading using different tones in my voice, from deep to high. I also tried reading using impersonations of famous people of characters that I know. Then at some point i tried to read The Book of Joel as if was written as a song. I read some of it as a rap song, some parts as just a worship song. The text was obviously not meant for a song, because the words don't go together very rhythmically at all, but maybe I just couldn't find the right tune for it.

After I had read through The Book of Joel one full time, I changed my spot of proclaiming to another, less populated spot. I moved to where the offices of the Spence building meet the music rooms, which face the lake, and in that little corner cove, I sat down to read the paper once more. I was half way through the first page when i notices a duck in the far corner of my little outdoor nook, and as I stared at her, and she stared at me, I realized that it was sitting on something. I didn't dare move, but after a while of staring, the duck just got up and waddled off. I looked to see what it was sitting on, and there were about 10 eggs in a small nest. I decided that the eggs can be my audience, so I started proclaiming Joel to them.

The Book of Joel

This is a comparison piece of The Book of Joel and Walt Whitman's poem "When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd". Both text are gloomy in nature, and like to go into detail about how gloomy their story is. The Book of Joel is more of an apocalyptic prophecy that for tells the end times and the punishments and blessing that come with it. The Book of Joel is not very poetic, but more of a focus description that specifies torments and plagues that will utterly destroy any kind of civilization or life on this earth, for the exception of Judah.

Whitman's poem seems to have a more rhythmic language and flow, which The Book of Joel does not.I would say that the only similarities of the two text are how they are written. Both seem to focus on what facet or piece of their story, and write about it in great detail, then move on to the next piece. Both like to write about sadness and horror, with a hint of anger. I would probably not want to make either men upset, as they might write terrible things about me.

I actually like The Book of Joel the best because it is a biblical story and it is more of a prophecy then a eulogy. I guess it would still be considered a eulogy, but one for the future generations instead of someone in his present time.

When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd

This was probably the longest poem I have ever seen or read. I could understand that this was written about Abraham Lincoln, after he was assassinated. There are some obvious connections to the Civil War, for example, "And I saw askant the armies, I saw as in noiseless dreams hundred of battle-flags, Borne through the smoke of the battles and pierced with missiles I saw them, And carried hither and yon through the smoke, and torn and bloody, And at last but a few shreds left on the staffs, (and all in silence, ) And the staffs all splinter'd and broken." This poem encompasses the authors entire time period, more or less. From the way he writes to the things he describes allows me to see what he is seeing and think about what he is thinking. This poem allows me to enter the mind of the author, which is the purpose of any story or poem. Some minds are interesting to go into, while others are not. I would say that Walt Whitman's mind is something that I am not used too.

Crucial Conversation

This is actually an assigned reading book for my Business Communications class. I have read this book more than any other assigned reading book or textbook though. It basically teaches you have to talk to people and how to know what to say, when to say it, and how to say it. It was written by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron Mcmillan, and Al Switzler. It taught me that body signs can tell you more about the message people are trying to give you more than the actual words coming out of their mouths. The first lesson it teaches is that the only person you can directly control is yourself. We cannot control what other people do, but we can control ourselves (most of the time), but through our words and our actions we can influence others. Many salesmen, advertisers, and business people in general know how to smooth talk their way into your mind, and press the right buttons, but they cannot control you or what you do. How we act and react is based on previous experiences and genetics given to us by our parents.



There will be times where we are put into difficult situations that may be awkward and uncomfortable, but that doesn't mean we can avoid them. This book also focuses on ways to make yourself and others feel comfortable and safe to discuss or confront awkward or embarrassing situations. One of the examples used in the book is a boss having to tell one of his employees that he needs to wear deodorant because his coworkers have been complaining. This is just a few of he awkward situations that real people have to deal with, and Crucial Conversations helps you develop your people and conversation skills to help you in your career and life.

This book is a good read, and can be very fulfilling to your future. Knowing how to talk to people and be social can make you better at what you do and how you present yourself. I would recommend this book to anyone who is majoring in any form of business degree, or if you just want to develop you interpersonal relationship skills.

The Things We Carried

I thought this was an awesome story. Judging by the weapons and the descriptions of "what they carried", and what was around them, I would place them in Vietnam. They all carried things that were important to them. When you think about it, you would carry with you the things that you would see as a necessity to stay alive. Anything you would bring would slow you down more and make you more tired, so the things you would bring with you would have to be of the utmost importance. Of coarse there were things they were required to bring with them as part of their designated job, but they all could bring extra things, things that mean something to them. Kiowa brought his grandfather's hatchet, which I thought separated him more as a Native American than a soldier. Ted Lavender carried a few ounces of dope, and of course, Jimmy Cross, the main character, carried his letters and picture of Martha.

The story kept going back to the part when Ted Lavender was killed and how quick it was and how he just fell like a rock. His death seemed to be the focal point of the story, which created all the conversation. I guess what you could say about his death is that since he carried so many things with because of his fear, he never really had a chance. He relied to much on what he carried to protect him and not enough on his own personnel ability.

Lieutenant Jimmy Cross carried his tokens of Martha, a girl that doesn't love him back, and someone he is hoping is still a virgin, just so he can get the chance to de-flower her himself if he makes it back. He had a chance to be with her on his date with her, but he feels he ruined it because he was to aggressive and has been thinking of how he could have done better on the date so he could succeed next time. He looks at her pictures and looks at her letters pretend them to be love letters, even though they aren't. Then when Ted Lavender was killed he blamed himself for his death because he was to caught up on Martha instead of leading to the best of his ability.

What We Talk About When We Talk About Love - Raymond Carver

I honestly didn't like this story. I feel like both couples have comepletely distorted love to being something that two drunk people share that makes them tolerant of each other as they drink their sadness away. THe story has a woman who was physically abusd by her ex-husband, but still seems to think that he loved her even though he tried to kill her.he stalks her after they seperated and tries to kill her new boyfriend, nly to end up killing himself. That isn't love. That's just obsession mixed with somekind of demonic anger problem that stems from eccess drinking, which is what the two couples are doing in the story in the first place

Mel, the most talkative character, told a story about an old couple who got into a car accident and were taken to the hospital he works at. I guess you could say what the old couple had was love, but Mel, who also spent five years in seminary, seemed to not understand the lesson their relationship was showing him. Andif the story hadn't told me that Mel went to seminary for five years, I wouldn't of guessed that he had even gne to church in five years.

How the story was written captured what I imagined two drunk couples talking about love would sound like. I just didn't want to know these backard perspectives on love from these characters who wouldn't who couldn't tell the diference between love and being tolerant of someone. Mel and Terri were together for about a year before they got married. I would need at least a year to be able to tell if I could see myself marrying this person, and probably more than that to be able to see if this was the person I was meant to marry. In the end I guess that the story annoyed me more than anything.