Dogmas of Song of Solomon (Macon Dead Jr.)

Hello, I'm N.L. and welcome to my blog. This action project is for the second unit, Dogma, for my Humanities course class Forbidden Books. In this class, we discussed different religions such as Christianity, Islam, Judaism and how they each are similar and different from each other. Our main focus of this was to discover that each religion rests on the same common fundamentals. Islam and Judaism both believe that they are ancestors of Abraham. Buddha and Confucianism both follow the `golden rule”. We continued to discuss books in America that focus on religious\cultural contexts that have surprisingly been banned.


For this unit, we were required to read 3 books for this unit, 1 independent and 2 class books. First, we read The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie. This book was banned from America’s schools for different reasons such as religion, sexual content, and the use of racial slurs. Next, we read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury; which was banned because of its vulgarity and its plot where one of the books that eventually gets banned and burned in the Bible. We went on a field experience to WBEZ to speak with Natalie Moore, a journalist whose book, “The Almighty P Stone Nation: The Rise, Fall, and Resurgence of an American Gang” was banned from the Illinois prison system. There we talked to Natalie Moore about the banning of her book and her opinions on censorship and banning literature in institutions. We also visited the Muslim Community Center to learn more about Islam and the difference in the types of Muslim beliefs. Independently, the students were required to read a book of their choosing. The only criteria for the book are it needed to have been banned from schools.

For this action project, I chose to read Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison. This interview focuses on examining how the setting (time and place) of the book influences Macon Dead Jr.’s personal dogmas.

Opening Sounds (‘Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy” by The Andrews Sisters)

The novel Song of Solomon by Toni Morrison spans from Milkman's birth to age 32 (1932-1963) while including the three generations of the Dead family's history. It occurs around the time of World War II, the Harlem Renaissance, the murder of Emmett Till in 1953, the Brown v. Board of Education decision occurred in 1954 to desegregate schools, and the Civil Rights movement was starting up. Jobs back then were well earned and hard labored. If you didn’t work and had no money you lived in poverty and that' was that. Women worked as well as men but weren’t treated with the same view as men. Segregation then was by social class but obviously by race. 

It’s 1961, and today I’m interviewing Macon Dead Jr also known as Macon Dead II. Father of Milkman, Lena, and First Corinthians and brother to Pilate Dead. Our session takes place in Montour County, Pennsylvania on the porch of the beautiful farm owned by his father. Our interviewee’s father was once a slave in Virginia. When he was freed, he and his wife took a wagon train going north. The farm is known as, “Lincoln’s Heaven” a paradise of agriculture, nature, and family. Macon Dead is an African American man who has distanced himself from his family, his community, and his African heritage on account of his lust for materialistic wealth. Macon is hated and feared by blacks, who dislike his arrogance. He is a landlord to many of the residents of the town of Mercy, Michigan and has spent his adult life driven by the desire to accumulate profit and wealth through his businesses and ownership of properties. Macon’s life is filled with struggles ranging from the deaths of his mother and father to his do whatever it takes mentality to keep money in his pockets. Not many people know too much about or can understand him.

NL: Afternoon Mr. Dead, thank you for spending your time today for my session.

Macon Dead: In all honesty, I needed a break from my properties and stress. It’s no sweat.

NL: I’ll move along with it then. First and foremost, how has money and currency impacted your life growing up?

Macon Dead II: I grew up poor after the death of my parents on their farm. Sadly my father was shot dead on this very farm and my mother died giving birth to my younger sister, Pilate. Ever since money has been the deciding factor of life and death.

NL: Do you believe you can exist without the security of having money, that causes you to be greedy and bitter at times.

Macon Dead: “Let me tell you right now the one important thing you’ll ever need to know: Own things. And let the things you own, own other things. Then you’ll own yourself and other people too”. (55). You need money to have a house, own property, take care of your family, buy a gun, and to fulfill whatever self-desires you might have.

NL: Many people say you’re a stubborn old man who knows nothing but greed. Why do you think that is?

Macon Dead: Those people and their opinions don’t mean a damn thing to me. I am a man of God. I care for my money, my business, and my family only. I don’t need acceptance or approval from nobody but the lord.

NL: That was a very deep response, I guess you get that question a lot. Well, what about the way you treat your own people; you seem to have little to no respect for your fellow blacks or women.

Macon Dead: That’s not true. I simply don’t have time for lower-class blacks, who are beneath me socially and economically. As for women; “You got better things to do with your time. It’s time you started learning how to work. After school come to my office; work a couple of hours there and learn what’s real. Pilate (my sister) can’t teach you a thing you can use in this world. Maybe the next, but not this one.” (55)

NL: It’s surprising because women are still oppressed by America’s society and must pay the price for men’s freedom; yet you still choose to overlook women for their strength. I agree that a woman can’t fully teach a boy to become a man without a male figure in a boy’s life. I don’t agree that women can’t teach boys anything they can use in this world.

Macon Dead: Well you won’t be a man in this world. You’ll always be under someone’s control and will have to depend on another person to survive; which is something a real man wouldn’t allow for himself.

NL: People often believe that names are alive and their meanings change depending on who refers to them and how they do so. For example, a name can be immortalized and turned into a landmark; such as Mains Ave., which is known to blacks as Dr. Street back in Michigan. What are your criteria for giving children names? ”

Macon Dead: “A name that is real is given to a child at birth with love and seriousness. A name is not a joke, nor a disguise, nor a brand name.” (18) Names hold power to those who wield them. If your name holds no power, you will be treated with little respect.

NL: I agree that names hold power to a level of respect people will have for you despite your very name. Those who give names to their children should be aware of the power a child’s name will hold in its future. That’s all for this session; thank you for your time, sir.

Macon Dead: No problem at all, enjoy your afternoon.

In conclusion to this interview, we can look back to the mid-nineteenth century and reflect on how far this country has grown as far as societal agreements among the treatment of black men and women. Looking back from the year 2020, we can see the controversial dogmas Macon had. First, names hold great power and should be given wisely otherwise chosen from the bible (Self-Image). Next, money is the only will to live. Without money, you have no purpose in this world (Lust for Money). Finally, women are disrespected, shunned for their mistakes, and are inferior to men (Gender Inequality). I don’t agree with all of Macon’s dogmas but, he is a reflection of some dogmas that existed during that time in history. He allows us to consider how dogma in our society changes with time. Macon’s dogmas can be compared to dogmas of the present to decide on what we need to change or reshape in society. Thanks again for tuning in.

MLA CITATIONS

Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. Plume: New York, 1987

Prostate Cancer

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my very first action project for my STEAM course, Disease. In this unit, Body, we studied different diseases that are very common in our world and country. In class, we thoroughly learned about the 11 body systems of the human body and what's in blood along with other topics. We went on a field experience to the Museum of Science and Industry where we ventured their YOU! exhibit. The exhibit helped us dive deeper into the human body while having an engaging experience. For this action project, we were instructed to interview a family member or friend that had been diagnosed with a disease. We had the choice of who and what disease we wanted to do. I chose to interview my grandfather who once had prostate cancer. I chose this because my grandfather has been negatively impacted by this cancer. While I learned more about the disease, I have become more aware of the seriousness and risks of it.

My grandfather's name is Willy. He is an African-American in his mid-late 60s who lives in Chicago, Illinois. Grandpa Willy began experiencing noticeable symptoms of prostate cancer when he was 62. He started to have pain in his lower back, pelvic area, and knees. He was very active years prior to cancer. He used to shoot hoops with my older brother and me while at the same time living with his asthma. Ever since he was diagnosed with cancer, he has noticeable fewer amounts of energy at times. This disease is included in SDG 3 because the goals focus on influencing healthier lifestyles and advocating for access to health resources such as medical evaluation and immunization in order to catch diseases before they possibly become lethal. Some prevention methods for prostate cancer are maintaining a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, consuming foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals over vitamin supplements, and sustaining a healthy weight. These prevention methods aren’t applicable to areas that have food deserts and are experiencing malnutrition and food shortages.

I interviewed Willy and asked him 5 questions to get his perspective on the disease and its impact on him. My grandfather was 62 in October of 2015 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He will be 67 years old this year (2020). This year will make his 5th year mark after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Some of his initial questions were, “Is the disease serious meaning life-threatening, will I need surgery for prostate cancer? Grandpa Willy decided to seek treatment the same year he was diagnosed with it. A couple days after his 63rd birthday in late-October of 2015, he started treatment in November. He attended External Beam Radiation Treatment (EBRT) for one year. According to the American Cancer Society, “In (EBRT), beams of radiation are focused on the prostate gland from a machine outside the body. This type of radiation can be used to try to cure earlier stage cancers, or to help relieve symptoms such as bone pain if the cancer has spread to a specific area of bone.” They compare each treatment to getting an x-ray. The radiation becomes stronger in each procedure but is typically painless. Treatment only lasts a few minutes, but preparing for it takes a while. Prostate cancer occurs when malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the prostate. The exact cause of prostate cancer is unknown. It is a multifactorial disease with genetic and environmental factors involved in its make up. It is a non-transmittable disease.

Willy from the interview; “I would usually go for radiation therapy treatment out of a 5 day per week limit. I received treatment in an outpatient center. I had to go for 30 days which was 6 weeks of radiation therapy.” At first, he was terrified after hearing the news, but after getting treatment and good news from the doctor, he was relieved of the burden. Willy was aware of the risk of the disease of killing him. It’s been a couple of years since he beat prostate cancer. It has negatively impacted him because he goes to the doctor once every 6 months to participate in a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. (PSA) is a substance that's naturally produced by your prostate gland. It's normal for a small amount of PSA to be in your bloodstream. In the test, they examined his blood sample and he received his results in two weeks' notice. They look for a test reading between 1-4. It can vary within an increase or decrease in change of the reading which is relatively a red flag of cancer. If a higher than normal level is found, it may indicate prostate infection, inflammation, enlargement or cancer. His symptoms from this disease were the urine flow being stopped at times and having trouble releasing urine from the bladder, and the bladder not feeling emptied or feeling full. I feel that prostate cancer can be considered hereditary in our family because Willy’s grandfather died from it and his uncle currently has it. Prostate cancer is one of many diseases that appear in unpredictable patterns within older black men.

The body systems affected by this disease are the lymphatic, urinary, and skeletal body systems. The lymphatic body system is made up of a network of lymphatic vessels, organs, and tissues. Prostate cancer may metastasize (spread) and form tumors in nearby organs such as the bladder, or travel through your bloodstream or lymphatic system to your bones. Signs of metastatic prostate cancer can include swelling in legs or pelvic area, numbness or pain in the hips, legs or feet, and bone pain that doesn’t go away. The symptoms of prostate cancer often differ from patient to patient. The most common first sign of recurrent prostate cancer is a rise in the PSA level in the blood. Medical organizations recommend men to consider prostate cancer screening in their 50s, or sooner if they fit the risk factors for prostate cancer. Willy says men should get tested for it in their early 40s to be safe.

The risk factors of this disease are your age, family’s history of the disease, race, hormones, folic acid in the body and obesity. Older men, African American men, in particular, are more susceptible to prostate cancer. Women very rarely get this disease. It’s a widespread disease across the United States and common outside the country. Scientists don’t know why black men have it more than white men worldwide. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), “African-American men are nearly 1.6 times more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men. They are also 2.4 times more likely than white men to die from the disease.”


Diagrams

N.L. Anatomy of Prostate Cancer. 2020.

N.L. Lymphatic System. 2020

Conclusion
I was interested in learning about this disease and the possibilities it holds for me since I am at risk by being an African-American male. I’m not scared but more aware of the importance of my health as I age. I was able to connect with my grandfather and enjoyed the interview with him. I have stored much of my research on this specific cancer in my memory for future references.


Works Cited

“Symptoms of Advanced Prostate Cancer | Cancer Research UK.” Cancerresearchuk.Org, 2019, www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/prostate-cancer/advanced-cancer/symptoms-advanced-cancer. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.

“Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test.” National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov, 4 Oct. 2017,
www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/psa-fact-sheet. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020.

“Prostate Cancer In African Men | Prostate Cancer For Black Men.” Spaceoar.Com, 2018, www.spaceoar.com/patients/prostate-cancer-resources-and-articles/prostate-cancer-in-african-american-men/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020

‌“Prostate Cancer - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic.” Mayoclinic.Org,  , 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353093. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020.

“Prostate Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version.” National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov, 12 June 2019, www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/patient/prostate-treatment-pdq. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.

E-Cigarettes VS The Youth

Hello, I'm Nakiya'h and welcome to my blog. This action project is for the first unit, "Politics", for my Humanities course class, "Forbidden Books". In this class, we discussed banned books and censorship. Censorship is when a private body of people, or government, decide what form of media, like books, videos, news articles, and so on, contains content that they deemed as offensive. So far we've got to read Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. In this book, many interesting events within the dystopic society led up to a shocking change of events towards the ending of the book. I enjoyed reading this book for the first time.

Socrates was an ancient Athenian Greek philosopher who was a fundamental part of Western Civilization because he developed what is now the Socratic Method. The Socratic Method is the dialogue of questioning an opposer until the opposer makes a contradiction from their point of view. It's considered a dangerous method from Socrates's methods because he was executed after using the method he created because he proved his overseers wrong. For this action project, we had to record a Socratic Debate about a chosen open-ended topic. In our project, Kate and I address the topic of teens smoking e-cigarettes and the dangers it may have on a teen later in their life. I took on the role of Meletus, who was answering the questions, where Kate asked me questions and brought up points as Socrates. Eventually, I nudged towards changing my perspective on smoking as a teen by agreeing that I would make an effort to stop smoking overall. I hope you enjoy the Socratic Dialogue.


 
E-Cigarettes VS The Youth from NL on Vimeo.

Works Cited 

“Is Vaping Safer than Smoking Cigarettes? | National Center for Health Research.” National Center for Health Research, 22 May 2016, www.center4research.org/vaping-safer-smoking-cigarettes-2/. Accessed 27 Jan. 2020. 

“Lung Damage From Vaping Resembles Chemical Burns, Report Says.” The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/10/02/health/vaping-illnesses.html. Accessed 28 Jan. 2020.

‌“Quit Vaping Program Sees High Enrollment and Engagement.” Truth Initiative, 2019, truthinitiative.org/research-resources/quitting-smoking-vaping/quit-vaping-program-sees-high-enrollment-and-engagement. Accessed 28 Jan. 2020.

DRAWING LINES

Hello, and welcome to my Civic Term course called “Drawing Lines”. In this 3-week course, we have had a lot of hands-on field experiences. Sadly but surely, it has come to an end as all good things do. This is the final and only project for my class, "Drawing Lines". In this course, we focused on defining what public art is. My definition of public art changed after taking this class. At the beginning of this course, I believed that "Public art is any art that resided outside or in the public’s view.” Throughout this course, I saw public art through touring different areas of Chicago such as the Downtown Loop, Pilsen, and Wicker Park. We met with people and organizations such as Nathan Mason from Chicago’s Cultural Center, Katanya from Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, and the Chicago Public Art Group. From these experiences during this class, I have come to finalization on my definition of “public art”. Public art is art that resides in the public’s accessibility and is a representation of expression either of one’s self or a group of people." We studied public art first-hand by becoming tour guides in the neighborhoods of Lincoln Park, Downtown Loop, Pilsen, and Wicker Park. We mapped out routes through these different areas in order to have a time-efficient route. Some of my favorite artworks were by Eduardo Kobra, Hebru Brantley, and Sam Kirk. Something that stuck with me from these tours was the reasoning of how street art is interpreted by non-graffiti writers compared to graffiti writers. The difference between graffiti art and gang tagging/graffiti is important because it differentiates something positive to an artistic group from a negatively impacting group of people. We watched, broke down, and discussed the movie, Style Wars. It's a movie about how graffiti writing and tagging came into existence through hip hop and break dancing influences. The biggest takeaway from this course is the work we did with Rich Alapack of "We All Live Here". He has a mural saying his infamous phrase all throughout Chicago's 77 neighborhoods. Recently, we helped begin the process of putting up a mural at Moody's Pub in Edgewater. Our class put together a coffee table book from thorough research behind artworks by many different artists. Each artwork wasn't just a mural, some were sculptures and even moving digital graphics.

Hiu To. "Beginning We All Live Here Mural".2019

For this action project, we were instructed to make a public art proposal for the Grossinger Toyota and Kia of Lincoln Park. The area surrounding our current school campus doesn't stand out with public art or any exciting colors. Our group decided to focus on the people who make the neighborhood thrive in diversity and wealth; the employees of several businesses throughout Lincoln Park and Near North. Our mural would have to speak to a specific group of people and have a meaning behind it. We also decided what we wanted the public to interpret from the mural.
The part of this action project that I am most proud of is our group's sketch proposal because of the effort and different ideas that went into the finished product.

Here below is our group's mural proposal for Grossinger Toyota/Kia of Lincoln Park.

Hiu To. "Grossinger Mural Proposal".2019

Hiu To. "Grossinger Mural Proposal".2019

Hiu To. "Grossinger Mural Proposal".2019

Artist Statement

We sophomore global citizens at GCE Lab School created this public mural proposal for Grossinger of Lincoln Park, to recognize the working citizens of this community. Public art is anything created with the intention to portray a message and be easily accessible to everybody of the art’s surrounding area. The meaning behind this public art mural proposal is the societal recognition of non-resident working people of Lincoln Park. We think that it is important to represent working-class people and people of color. It will inform and educate the residents and community members of Lincoln Park on why recognition of the working people at the establishments in the matters and why these workers should be respected. The inspiration for this piece is based on the people we interviewed, who work in this area but don’t live here. They sacrifice their time because they take public transit in order to get to their jobs. These working people build the community of this neighborhood because the residents of Lincoln Park are dependent on the services that they provide. If these people weren’t here, the community would not have its fancy food and dining, entertainment, education, shopping establishments, businesses, and institutions. This art piece is supposed to give credit to the working-class citizens of this community and how they are lifting up the neighborhood, Lincoln Park.

Thank you for reading through this action project. In conclusion to this 3-week civic term course, I got the opportunity to work with a professional artist and muralist, meet important people from organizations such as DCASE, CMAP, CPAG, and the Chicago Cultural Center. The most impactful experience for me was being able to seek out art more through my academics.

My Heroes

Hello, and welcome to my action project for the third and final unit for my Humanities course class, "Stories". In this unit, "The Hero's Journey", we focused on defining what a hero is. A hero is a protagonist or central character who can be fictional or non-fictional. In stories, you would experience the Journey through the eyes of the "hero". We studied the "Mono-Myth" created by Joseph Campbell, who was a professor of Literature. His work covers many aspects of human experiences. "Mono-Myth" or "Hero's Journey" is the main cycle of a fictional character or non-fictional character which shows how someone develops throughout a new path through their story and or life. The "Hero's Journey" is important because it symbolizes ups and downs in someone's life to the extent of progressing through life. In order to further understand real-life heroes, we worked on a couple assignments where we broke down the hero's journey of a real person, plotted the story of a familiar movie, and we watched the Matrix and experienced the hero's journey at first hand.

For this action project, we were instructed to visually represent some steps of a hero's journey of a fictional character and non-fictional character. I decided to make two different slideshows that include both of my heroes who have impacted my mindset and life. I chose Danny LaRusso as my fictional character because he was the protagonist in the movie The Karate Kid that he can be looked at as a hero in different ways. The real hero I chose is my grandpa Bert Haynes. I chose him because I wanted to learn about him and his life. The part of this action project that I am most proud of is the interview and in-depth hero's journey of my grandfather because learning more about him benefits me so I can pass his story on to my younger family members.




Interview starring my Grandpa Bert:

N.L. - Alright I'm ready to start. Can you give me a brief summary of your career in life?

Grandpa Bert - “When first applied to be a CTA conductor I was… I think twenty-three. They kept telling me there were no openings. They asked me if I wanted to be a bus driver and I told them no, I’ll wait. So to make it long story short, I applied in ‘73, 1973 and I didn’t get called until 1977. I waited for 4 years to get the job. They kept calling and asking me,” Don’t you want to be a bus driver?” but I told them no, I didn’t want to drive the bus. They said, “Well, I’m sorry but there are no openings available for conductor right now.” A guy would tell me to that, “Mr. Haynes, take bus driver, work it for 3-6 months then you’ll be able to switch over to conductor. I said no sir, I don’t want to drive the bus. So, I kept turning bus driving down and finally I got that letter in the mail that said, “If you are still interested in being a conductor for CTA, come down to um something something North Clark Street one Monday morning. Cuz when I got hired, you went to the counter to get the application, fill it out at the desk and gave it back to them. They said they would give me a call in a couple of weeks. They told me that they would be calling me in a couple of weeks. A few weeks later, I got called in, I took a test; got interviewed, finger-printe, investigated and got the job. I started from 1977 and stayed until 2003. I retired with a full-pension in  2003."

N.L.- “How did you first know that you wanted to be a train conductor?”

Grandpa Bert - “I knew after my first train ride watching him. In my head I thought, what was he doing. The train would pull into the station as he dropped that lever and he would say, “35th Street, 35th!”

N.L. - “Did you have a mentor or aid when you first started working as a train conductor?”

Grandpa Bert - “Yeah, my mentor was a guy that lived in a building with me in the projects, by the name of Willy Wells. When I started he had been working for the CTA five years before I started. He was my best friend and he was the one who also convinced me to become a conductor for the CTA. He was also a line instructor, who taught the new conductors that started being hired. We went to class first to learn how the train works, duties of the conductors, and precautions for emergency situations.”

N.L. - “Did where you lived and the areas you were used to shift towards an impact on your perspective of the city while traveling all throughout Chicago as a CTA train conductor? Did your perspective on Chicago change?”

Grandpa Bert - “When you get hired with CTA, they determine whether you were going to go north, south, or west. My starting routes and terminals were on the Southside but I traveled north, south, and west through Chicago. Every shift on a route would be 3 roundtrips every day that I worked. By being out there on the train nearly every day, it helped me learn my city more. I got more familiar with the city. By me being a conductor, I would always have to give directions to tourists because they were told to look for the conductors in the third or fourth train car in the middle of the train. I also had to call in every day before you worked at 4:30 p.m. for your assignment and you never knew where and what time you were going to work. If the clerk didn’t like you, the clerk would keep you on “late pm” and “midnight”. A late-night shift is from 6 p.m. to 11 a.m. A midnight shift is from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. The CTA requires you to get 8 hours of sleep in between each shift. I worked out of the 61st and Prairie terminal. Your clerk determines your schedule weekly. A major perspective for me is that traveling on the Southside and Westside everyone on the train would be black and brown people. The further north you went on the train, the more you would notice people who wouldn’t look like me and you. All races and cultures of people to the CTA. My train was literally all white passengers until it got to Jackson on the Red Line Train route. Downtown Chicago's loop at Jackson station was the turning point of different races and cultures of people.”

N.L. - “What were some obstacles and challenges you faced?”

Grandpa Bert - “I would get annoying passengers who came to me with false directions and argued that they didn’t know what directions were accurate. I would still help them though.”
The worst part of being a conductor was collecting carfare after passengers got on the train because people would try to pull all types of stunts to get out of paying their fare. I remember watching this one guy get on the train after I opened the doors and pretend to be asleep when I came to collect fares. I said fare please and he tried playing like he was already on the train.
The worst time to be a train conductor was anytime they had a baseball game at Wrigley Field. It wasn’t so bad taking them to the games; it was picking them up after the games. Drunk passengers would constantly come back there to my position pissy drunk asking to call out a stop or press a few buttons. “I’ve been watching you for a couple of stops and I think I can do that. Can I call out the next stop? Can I come open the doors?” That’s what many drunk passengers would say to me. Once I asked a drunk passenger could I come to your job and come play around at your job. He said, “His boss wouldn’t let him.” I told him that this wasn’t a damn toy to play with, I’m controlling a moving train. I could lose my job by letting any unauthorized person touch anything up here.”

N.L. - “Was there a time where you felt that it was a low point in your life while working as a conductor? “

Grandpa Bert - “There were many times I didn’t like things but I almost quit one time. The one thing that really got me about CTA is that I didn’t know I would have to drive the train because I almost quit when I found out. As a CTA conductor, there is a 90 -day period before you get sent to motor school, where you learn how to drive the CTA “L” trains. The only way to keep your job as a conductor you have to go and finish motor school. Just in case of an emergency. For example; if the motorman gets sick, the conductor would have to switch places with the operator/motorman to drive the train.” It’s amazing how much the CTA system has changed since 1997. The would always tell us in the early ’90s that major changes were going to come in the future. They told us in a meeting; come June 1, 1997, we taking conductors off of the train and killing the job completely. Conductors would become motormans at the front of the train having the push of a button call out stops, say when the doors were closing, and when there was a delay. We lost our jobs to automation technology. I was a conductor, motorman, and flagman. The conductor position got you in the door, but you had to qualify for at least three other jobs in order to remain in work under the CTA. I didn’t know until I was a conductor that I had to qualify for three more jobs but I did it though.”

N.L. - “How did you bounce back from the title of train conductor being completely erased?”

Grandpa Bert - “Along with my sub-positions of flagman and towerman, I enjoyed my position of towerman the but not like being a conductor. After 15 or 18 of working as a conductor, I was able to switch to a tower job. I didn’t have to work on the train anymore. I worked as a towerman at 63rd and Ashland. As a towerman I was allowed to wear just about anything that I wanted except for sandals and open-toed shoes. The best part is that I work in a building watching the trains go by as I switch the tracks for different train lines. This position was good for when it was wintertime here in Chicago.”

N.L. - “What would you consider your biggest accomplishment while working for the CTA"?

Grandpa Bert - “Being able to work as a CTA train conductor for over two decades, I loved what I was doing because ever since I was young I wanted to be a train conductor and that’s what I did. I always had a feeling I would end up working as a train conductor.”


N.L. - “ Is there anything else you want to add before we wrap up grandpa”?

Grandpa Bert - “Being a conductor wasn’t all the fun I thought it was going to be. We had the worst bosses of any job because the public were our bosses. Especially if the train had to sit, man I ain’t never been cursed out so many times, much and so bad in my life. I had to explain to the passengers that when a train in front of me breaks down, there is no going over it, around it, or under the train. We just have to sit an wait until I get the green light to move the train. The mentality of knowing what you want to be in life at a young age helped me become a train conductor. That’s why I’ll tell anybody that by the time you’re ten years old, you should know what you want to be in life. You should have some inclination about what career you want to work in because you been around to different places, seeing different people's work, and different things in life. You should have some kinda inclination about jobs and careers you want to pursue just like you have inclinations about jobs and careers you don’t want to do. I started off working at Jewels, Speagles, and driving taxi cabs. Then I got into being a train conductor. You start at the bottom and you work your way up. That’s why the higher your education is; the more money you will be able to make.”

References:

The Karate Kid. John G. Avildsen. Columbia Pictures, 1984. Film

Haynes, Bert. Personal Interview. 11 November 2019.

Robert Mark Kamen. “The Karate Kid.” Rotten Tomatoes, 20 Nov. 2005,

www.rottentomatoes.com/m/karate_kid Accessed 18 Nov. 2019.

Domestic Desert Cats

Hi and welcome to my blog. This is action project is for the second unit of "From and To" for my S.T.E.A.M course, Populations. We have been learning about the behavior and traits of animals and evolution and the changes in organisms by how they adapt to the environment around them. We have been studying the concepts of combinations, permutations; sample, population, scatter plots, standard deviation, quartiles, mean, median, and mode. We went on Field Experiences to Lincoln Park Zoo, where we interviewed and listened to Professor Stephen Ross. During this discussion, we learned about how zoos collect data specifically on primates and apes; where do zoos get their animals from, and how scientists record data identifying behavior and traits of the primates and apes. For this project, we were instructed to pick a random number of either cats or dogs from a data collection that our class made together. With my "sample" of cats from the entire "population" of cats, I decided where I would travel to in order to experiment with their behaviors, traits, and adaptations to their new habitat. The most challenging part of this action project for me was creating the clay model of my animal(s) in the future. It was very time consuming but I enjoyed the outcome of my art and this project.

In this project, I decided to incorporate the math and calculations inside of the google spreadsheet so they wouldn't distract you from the story of the project. You can click on the link highlighted to view my calculations.

Citations

Nemtsova, Anna. “The Aral Sea’s Disappearing Act.” The Daily Beast, The Daily Beast, 4 Oct. 2014, www.thedailybeast.com/the-aral-seas-disappearing-act. Accessed 12 Nov. 2019.

“Wildcat | Mammal, Felis Silvestris.” Encyclopædia Britannica, 2019, www.britannica.com/animal/wildcat-mammal-Felis-silvestris. Accessed 12 Nov. 2019.

“BBC - Science & Nature - Wildfacts - Fennec Fox.” Archive.Org, 2012, web.archive.org/web/20131202191221/www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wildfacts/factfiles/146.shtml. Accessed 12 Nov. 2019.

"Karma, Snap Rabbit and Dash the Wolf"

In the second unit of my Humanities course class, "Stories", focused on the concepts of morals and values. We studied and read some of Aesop's Fables to get inspiration and examples for what makes a good fable. Reviewing different well-known fables brought back nostalgia from my childhood. To get into our morals and values, we did a self-evaluation exercise that influenced some of my characters' traits. For this action project, we were instructed to create our own fable about anything as long as we end our story with a clear moral or lesson. We had to describe the setting of our story using descriptive language and we also described our protagonist and antagonist by using anthropomorphic features for animal characters in our story. Our story finally had to have a piece of symbolism in it. The parts of this action project that I am most proud of are my story itself because I put a lot of effort into and my edited photo of a scene from my fable. I hope you enjoy my story.

N.L. "Thank You Snap". 2019

“Snap Rabbit and Dash the Wolf"

The blossom of spring in nature made the animals’ homeland burst into beauty. Every Summer morning, the birds sang louder than an opera and the frogs played beats from their bellies. Snap Rabbit loved waking up to the sound of grace in the morning. He skipped through the forest to his job of gardening in the center of the forest. Whenever he had time to spare, he traveled throughout the peaceful forest to greet his neighbors. “Hello, how are you” and “You got help if you need it”, were his most common sayings when he kindly greeted his neighbors. Every day when he was done working, Snap would visit his forest friends to check up on and help them out in any way possible.

All of Snap Rabbit’s forest friends loved having him around. He often helped the foxes, weasels, birds, mice, and squirrels find and collect food for their young. He also took care of Grandma Owl by making her soup for her cold. Only one animal did not enjoy having Snap Rabbit around, Dash the Wolf. Dash didn’t have friends because she didn’t get along with the other animals very well. She lived pretty far from the rest of the animals, besides Snap Rabbit and Grandma Owl.

Snap Rabbit and his family lived in a burrow placed around the western points of the forest. Dash the Wolf lived in the cave 3 miles away from Snap Rabbit and Grandma Owl. She enjoyed being mean to all the other animals as her hobby. She would take backpacks from the children of Snap Rabbit, mice, and weasels to confuse them on which ones belong to who. Dash would often get yelled at by the other animals for playing tricks on them and their families, but she did not care.

Since Snap Rabbit was a good friend of all the other animals and always willing to help them out, the animals gifted him a celebration to show their appreciation for him. A “Thank You” banner hung in between the trees while Snap received gifts from the other animals. During Snap’s party, Dash decided to have some fun of her own since she wasn’t invited. She took some of Snap’s gifts and ran off towards her home with them. Squirrels whispered amongst each other as they watched Dash the Wolf run off with the gifts. In a matter of minutes, Dash was struggling to get out of the giant spider web near Grandma Owl’s home. The spider web caught Dash like how a dreamcatcher catches bad dreams and allows good dreams to flow through it.

The three squirrels ran to Grandma Owl and told her to beware of Dash the Wolf. Grandma Owl didn’t like Dash but she felt bad for her. Instead of staying in the comfort of her home, she went to go help Dash out of the web. She was still sick but helped anyway. Dash was puzzled about why Grandma Owl wanted to help her out of the web. They didn’t have a positive relationship with each other but Grandma Owl wanted to change that.

The biggest nuisance of all the animals in the forest finally was struck with bad luck while hanging in a giant spider web. After Dash was out of the web, she felt bad for stealing Snap Rabbit’s gifts so she decided to return them. She also said sorry for being mean to the other animals and gained trust from them. In the end, Snap Rabbit and Dash the Wolf become good friends and lived peacefully among each other and the rest of the forest animals.


Moral:

Be good to others and good will come to you.
Be bad to others and bad will come to you.

Karma is the constant cycle of good and bad energy flowing through people and their lives based on the actions of people.

FLAVOR

In the first unit of my Humanities course class, "Stories", focused on the concepts of descriptive writing such as adjectives, adverbs, metaphors, similes, and imagery. We studied the importance of figurative language and practiced writing stories figurative language. We had to describe settings using adverbs and adjectives. In addition, we read different etiologies, which are the creation myths of the Earth. We studied how reading a story with figurative language engages a reading more than reader listening to a story. For this action project, we were instructed to create our own etiology about anything. Our etiology had to incorporate descriptive and figurative language and be clear to the readers. The parts of this action project that I am most proud of are my edited photograph of a hand swooping down from the skies, during an important event in the story, and my creative story itself. I put a lot of effort into this story so I hope you enjoy my etiology of cooking and clothing.

The picture below represents a hand sprinkling resources from the sky. Upside down, this picture represents the hand of a demi-god snapping their fingers which brings color and imagination to the island.

N.L. "Snap of a Goddess." 2019 

N.L. "Hand of Nas/Dre".2019

FLAVOR

Boom! Splat! Woosh! Siszz! These spooking exciting sounds came to the ears of mankind like a splash of Oceania washing the shores of beaches. After Xonos and Ursia created our planet, the world was devoid of colors throughout the lands. Xonos’s named means stranger, as in he was a stranger to the land he created beside Ursia. The name Ursia comes from a family of moths called Notodontidae. Xonos is a minotaur who fiercely stands 30 meters tall. Ursia has been seen once in all existence of mankind. She’s described as a fairy goddess with the face of a blossom of roses and the body of an enormous butterfly with moth wings. Our sizzling land was filled with an oppressive hierarchy of people for the past centuries. Our people looked different from each other. No family was the same skin color or shared the exact same characteristics. Our great Elder Wise passes the legends and prophecy of our land to its young. She loves to go on with her storytelling and spew out questionable acts of different gods such as Xonos and Ursia. What interests me the most is the prophecy of their two children. “The Mighty Ones”, Nas and Dre are destined to return to their antecedents created homeland for mortals. They are to provide mysterious resources from the unknown,” once said Elder Wise. Many people here wish for resources that boost their statuses such as riches and wealth. I myself dream of things that change the perspectives of people on this land. Resources such as knowledge beyond our world, realm, and universe. Heck, our even existence. “Stories” such as this one have been told for centuries throughout out so many generations. Elder wise knows about the 5 inner realms; Ereth, Synoth, Haewz, Sahdar, and Nikjau. “Ereth is the realm of our planet. Sahdar is the realm of unknown creatures that could be anything from colossal giants to microscopic insects that breath fire like demons. Synoth is the realm of sound named after the sound of music within nature. The realms of Haewz and Nikjau are unknown, yet they haven’t been discovered by man through prophecy, legend, or miracle. But they are said to be the realms of “The Mighty Ones”. Our people lived simple lives. We are farmers, landlords, tax collectors, traders, priests, students, and children.

Some of us aren’t like all the other sheep among the herd. We, the mind-blowing artists, create many works from natural resources such as rocks, grass, trees, and water. We discovered the colores red, orange, and green from nature on our planet. We wanted to adjust common things to be more appealing to the eyes of man. At first, we all lived without a worry for taste until the Night of the Black Moon. During this night, my friends Ezra, Amarowa, and Benji and I snuck out from our homes. We closely watch the Black Moon and the blistering sparkles vividly glow from the stars in space. As we stargazed, a hand reached out from between the Black Moon and clouds. Nas, the descendant half-blood god of trends and style, struck our world with an explosion of colors and life throughout the land. Nas’s fist pounded our island like a mountain erupting from beneath us. Nas was only one of the “Mighty Ones” destined to come back to our island. As soon as Nas snapped his fingers, every piece of clothing lit on fire with eye candy. You could see the flavor of his craft within different colors of every thread. Our clothes before were boring colors such as beige and khaki, but now that changed. Benji’s sandals became the oceans’ waves, Amarowa’s dress transformed into a glossy sunflower, Ezra’s hair and shorts merged into the stars and glowing sky, and my headscarf had turned into angel wings. Galactic stars and hues of light shined bright throughout the pitch-black atmosphere. Right then and there I and my friends slept into the breeze of the night.

The next morning, we all woke up in our beds with no idea how we got there. As breakfast was being prepared Ezra noticed a fisherman out on the water ready to caught lunch. In our village, our usual meals are either loaves of bread, rice, fish, fruits or water. As the fisherman was drinking water from her pouch, a hand from above our stars graciously swooped down onto the shore of the ocean. A humongous oval-shaped stick flew into the palm of their right hand. A gigantic bowl rose from the ocean made of diamond crystals. “I am Dre, the mightest of all”, a voice shouted through the wind. Dre’s head levitated from his body as if he was decapitated. His hand right hand started stirred the stick around in the submerged bowl. Ezra hurried outside without care of fear to watch Dre. Our eyes glistened as Dre sprinkled mystical ingredients and seasonings from a portal that shot out his eye on his forehead. “I bless you all with this porridge, it will open your third eye,” said Dre. The population of the island gathered around and watched him mix and swiftly stir things into the bowl.

 Dre stood in shock as he stopped stirring the humongous bowl. Smack! He clapped his hands against the bowl which shattered it into a hundred thousand pieces. Every shattered piece of the bowl became a dish for everyone on the shore filled to the brim with a mushy oaty substance. “Porridge, this is the food from that legend,” said Amarowa with excitement. Everyone, including myself, stood confused as Amarowa and Wise jumped with joy. Elder Wise and Amaraowa explained, “This food will strengthen our minds with knowledge and creativity. It will allow us to find the Gods within ourselves.” Elder Wise walked further towards the ocean as she was stuck in a daze. Dre handed her a giant book that shrunk in her hands so humans could obtain what was within. She proclaimed that this book would provide the prophecy for the future and generations of their people to come. Benji finished the porridge with a single slurp while everyone else enjoyed the tastes and feelings in their mouths. An inferno of savory fats made our mouths water. Elegance from the half-blood god was expected nevertheless. Dre smiled down on his parents’ creations and then returned to the sky from which he came.

Green Tree Python

In my first unit of "In/out" in my sophomore STEAM course class Population, we have been learning about the math and science behind organisms. We have been learning about Set Theory; which is a language used to write mathematical statements for grouping things. Something similar to Set Theory is taxonomy. Taxonomy is the science of classifying and organizing organisms. We went on Field Experiences to Lincoln Park Zoo, where we took pictures of an organism that we would study for our action project. In class, we got to dissect a Lubber Grasshopper, which taught us about morphological features, differences from similar organisms, and the anatomy of the organism. For this project, we were instructed to pick an organism, breakdown and represent the taxonomy of that organism. We had to create a mosaic that would represent and showcase the taxonomy of our organism. We also had to compare and contrast our animal to that of another student’s animal. Lastly, we had to represent our organism using Set Theory. The most challenging part of this action project for me was creating the mosaic of my animal. It was very time consuming but I enjoyed the outcome of my art.

TG. "Green Tree Python". 2019

The Green Tree Python can be found in places below the equator including Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and Australia. According to ExoticAnimals, “They are usually in or near a rainforest and are primarily arboreal, residing in trees, shrubs, and bushes”. Occasionally, you can see them on the ground. “Green tree pythons have a particular way of resting in the branches of trees; they loop a coil or two over the branches in a saddle position and place their head in the middle. This trait is shared with the emerald tree boa (Corallus caninus) of South America.” Fun fact, females grow bigger than males when they mature.

TAXONOMY (Classification of Organism)

Kingdom	Animalia	It’s a multicellular organism and reproduces 25 viable eggs per clutch.
Phylum	Chordata	It has a spinal cord and tail.
Class	Reptilia	Maneuvers on the ground. (Tetrapods)
Order	Squamata	“Squamates” or scaled reptiles.  Suborder: Serpentes
Family	Pythonidae	A family of nonvenomous snakes found in Africa, Asia, and Australia.
Genus	Morelia	A genus of large snakes in the family Pythonidae. Currently, eight species are recognized as Morelia.
Species	viridis	Scientific Name:  Bright Green Snake Morelia viridis (Green Tree Python)

Taxonomy Gif

Here is a Gif I created to represent the taxonomy of my organism.

N.L. "Green Tree Python Mosaic". 2019

Venn Diagram

My Venn diagram below shows the similarities and differences between three other organisms chosen by my peers. They are my Green Tree Python, the Two-Toed Sloth, Dwarf Mongoose, and the African Giraffe.

N.L. "Four Set Venn Diagram". 2019

Even though these organisms might be similar by some traits or characteristics, each has its own traits to separate from each other. The African Giraffe is a tall mammal and herbivore that eats small fruits and leaves. The Two-Toed Sloth shares a connection with the giraffe in eatings small fruits, leaves, and other plants. The Green Tree Python is a carnivore that eats other small reptiles. Lastly, the Dwarf Mongoose is a small carnivorous animal that lives in South and Central America. All four of them have similarities such as they all live in places below the equator and they all depend on trees throughout their lives. In other words, they are considered “Tree Huggers”.


Set Theory

Here is my list of math sets of my organism and the organisms I used in my Venn Diagram as well as organisms that share similar traits and characteristics.

Epsilon ϵ = Is an element of.
Set Brackets { } = All elements of the set.

Reptiles = {green tree pythons, alligators, lizards, turtles, cobras..}
green tree pythons ϵ Reptiles
English Translation
 Animals that are included in the Reptile set are green tree pythons, alligators, lizards, turtles, cobras, etc...


Carnivores = {green tree pythons, dwarf mongoose, tigers, bears,...}
green tree pythons ϵ Carnivores
English Translation
 Animals that are included in the Carnivores set are green tree pythons, dwarf mongoose, tigers, bears, etc...


Tree Inhabitants = {green tree pythons, dwarf mongoose, chimpanzees, two-toed sloth, giraffe...}
green tree pythons ϵ Tree Inhabitants
English Translation
Animals that are included in the Tree Inhabitants set are green tree pythons, dwarf mongoose, chimpanzees, two-toed sloth, giraffe, etc...


Vertebrates = {dwarf mongoose, chimpanzees, two-toed sloth, giraffe, green tree pythons...}
green tree pythons ϵ Vertebrates
English Translation
Animals that are included in the Vertebrates set are green tree pythons, dwarf mongoose, two-toed sloth, giraffe, etc...


Morelia viridis = {green tree pythons}
green tree pythons ⊂ Morelia viridis
English Translation
Animals that are included in the Morelia viridis set are green tree pythons.

In conclusion to my very first action project this year, I was interested in learning about my organism and I found out ways to look deeper into biotic organisms. I hope you learned something new and mostly I hope this engaged and raised questions for you. Thank you for visiting this project. Please give me any feedback you can. Thank you!

Housing Discrimination in Chicago: A History of Injustice

This is my action project for my workshop, "Writing Workshop". In this class, we looked at many different examples of writing and reviewed some basic and advanced writing skills. We took the time to either write a research paper about a topic we were interested in, write a personal narrative about ourselves, or write a summary response essay. This workshop challenged me by introducing me to more styles of writing. I chose to do a research paper because I wanted to challenge myself for this last project of my Freshman year. I have spent a lot of time researching housing discrimination. I even reached out to the director of Human Rights Compliance/Fair Housing at the Chicago Commission On Human Relations. I hope you enjoy my research paper.

GMOs vs Organic Seeds (Debate)

In the last unit of GMOs in my Freshman STEAM course, Food, we learned about genetic modification and gene editing. We studied math related to genetics such as Punnett squares and probability. We went on Field Experience to the Green City Market in Lincoln Park. There we got the opportunity to meet and speak with farmers from all over the Midwest about their opinions on the argument on GMOs and organic crops. For this final action project, we were instructed to choose a side in the argument on GMOs. I was able to gather information from the farmers at the Green City Market to use as resources in my debate below. I enjoyed arguing this topic because the topic is an issue which can have a global impact. I hope you enjoy!

Volunteering at Marwen

Before and during my time at GCE, I have ventured out to a free art program located in the west loop of Chicago called Marwen Arts. I have been attending to their art programs for about 3-4 years now. This completely free art program has built me into the successful young man I am today. Marwen has given me opportunities in auctioning off my artworks, meeting professional artists, and experimenting in different mediums of art.

I have been recently volunteering at Marwen, a free art program in Chicago. At Marwen, I have been volunteering and helping at events such as DIY Holiday Parties, End of Term Exhibitions, Career Fairs, and even as a student representative at their annual gala. During these times, I have been doing things such as setting up tables and chairs, passing out flyers and giving people information about the art program, setting up and running a photo booth, and making buttons for people. From this volunteer experience, I have been learning how to stay organized, how to insert myself into communities, and help give back to communities. I made a difference for others by introducing people to a free art program where they can learn arts, express themselves, and develop their artistic skills. These experiences have impacted my future volunteer work because now I can look forward to connecting and reaching out to fellow organizations that support Marwen.

Here are some pictures of me setting up cameras for a photo booth at Marwen's Fall Term Exhibition.

N.L. (2019) "Setting Up Lights"

N.L. (2019) "Gathering Tech"

Thank you for viewing blog.

Beef Fried Rice

In the third and final unit of Birth in my Humanities course, Food for Thought, we studied how advancements in technology and research such as the Industrial Revolution and technology has affected our food today. We watched a movie called, "Food Inc", which showed us how major food industries and corporations such as Tyson and Monsanto control the animals and food we eat. The movie exposed me to the disgusting realities of the food industry in our country today. In this unit, we also read excerpts from Michael Pollan’s book called, "In Defense of Food"; which explained how the Industrial Revolution has affected our food and the way we eat today. We learned about the difference between organic and industrial food, different ways of farming to substitute for industrial farming, and the six ayurvedic tastes which relate to nutrition. We went on Field Experiences to Whole Foods where we analyzed different food and nutrition labels and to Uncommon Grounds where we met Brandon who talked to us about their rooftop farm and how their restaurant operates. For this last Action Project, we were instructed to write a food review on a meal that was restaurant cooked and homemade. We had to describe each dish using our senses and recommend which one we like more. I decided to write my reviews on beef fried rice because it is one of my favorite dishes from Asian cuisine. I really enjoyed this project because I went out to eat my favorite meal and then recreated it myself at home.

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