The Arch of the Sky

I've compiled the first mix over at Grooveshark for those who want to hear the songs - just search "Myth to Sci-Fi" and click Playlists, then go to the first result. All you have to do from there is click Play All!

I tried avoiding (for the most part) obvious singles from well-known bands, and also tried not to go too obscure/off-the-wall. I hope you can find a couple of songs in this batch to love, and that this helps you expand the number of bands you like before you head out into the world!

I got a little carried away and made a double-length mix - 20 songs per mix, so 40 songs. I had to cut out a lot of good ones, so if this goes over well, I'd be happy to make another. (There are even themed ones in the works!)

The mix(es) can be split into parts - the first few are the upbeat section, the last few are the longer songs, etc. - so don't feel compelled to hang out in front of your computer for three hours if you don't want to.

If you like any of the songs, comment or send me an e-mail - I love discussing music.

Here's the track list, along with artist and album titles. Enjoy!

1. “Me and Mia,” Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, Shake the Sheets
2. “It’s On Everything,” Last Days of April, If You Lose It
3. “The One You Want,” The Get Up Kids, Guilt Show
4. “Where Did You Go?”, Valencia, We All Need a Reason to Believe
5. “Open Road Song,” Eve 6, Eve 6
6. “Fine,” Alkaline Trio, This Addiction
7. “Closer,” Jimmy Eat World, Stay on My Side Tonight
8. “Tightrope,” The Coast, Expatriate
9. “Aside,” The Weakerthans, Left and Leaving
10. “Guns of Navarone,” Maritime, Heresy and the Hotel Choir
11. “Fake Empire,” The National, Boxer
12. “In a Cave,” Tokyo Police Club, Elephant Shell
13. “Control,” Mute Math, Reset
14. “Someday,” The Strokes, Is This It
15. “Stay (Wasting Time),” Dave Matthews Band, Before These Crowded Streets
16. “The Science of Selling Yourself Short,” Less Than Jake, Anthem
17. “You Remind Me of Home,” Ben Gibbard, Home, Vol. 5
18. “Times Like These,” Jack Johnson, On and On
19. “Words,” Daniel Watters (Shannon’s little brother!), The Next Draft
20. “Salesman at the Day of the Parade,” Rogue Wave, Descended Like Vultures
21. “City Song,” matt pond PA, Several Arrows Later
22. “Stay Close,” Delorean, Subiza
23. “Keep the Car Running,” The Arcade Fire, Neon Bible
24. “Chocolate,” Snow Patrol, Final Straw
25. “Near Life Experience,” Lifehouse, Smoke and Mirrors
26. “Casimir Pulaski Day,” Sufjan Stevens, Illinois
27. “MPS,” Bear vs. Shark, Right Now, You’re in the Best of Hands…
28. “re: Stacks,” Bon Iver, For Emma, Forever Ago
29. “Calm Americans,” Elliott, False Cathedrals
30. “Winning a Battle, Losing the War,” Kings of Convenience, Quiet is the New Loud
31. “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime,” Beck, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind Soundtrack
32. “Sometimes the Best Connection is No Connection at All,” In Praise of Folly, The Present Age
33. “The Other Side,” David Gray, A New Day at Midnight
34. “Do You Know Who You Are?”, Texas is the Reason, Do You Know Who You Are?
35. “Everything Starts Where It Ends,” Lovedrug, Everything Starts When It Ends
36. “The Room,” The Living End, Modern ARTillery
37. “Midwestern Dirt,” Dear and the Headlights, Small Steps, Heavy Hooves
38. “The Luckiest,” Ben Folds, Rockin’ the Suburbs
39. “Transatlanticism,” Death Cab for Cutie, Transatlanticism
40. “Aurora,” Foo Fighters, There is Nothing Left to Lose

Congratulations, graduates!

I hope to see some of you this summer, this fall, and for the Senior/Alum Summit this winter! I still need to do some things - finalizing grades, posting the grad speech, following through on my promise to 6th period to post the names of good bands/songs - so the blog's not quite finished.

You guys had a wonderful ceremony yesterday. I hope you got to throw your mortarboards! Thanks for a great year, and I'll be back in touch when Shannon and I return from AZ Monday night.

If you have anything left to say, go ahead and say it here!

And just remember...this isn't goodbye; this is good luck.

MFE

LetterfromBirminghamJail.doc

LetterfromBirminghamJailQuestions.doc


Also, reflection questions follow after the jump:
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"That's most interesting. But I was no more a mind-reader then than today. I was weeping for an altogether different reason. When I watched you dancing that day, I saw something else. I saw a new world coming rapidly. More scientific, efficient, yes. More cures for the old sicknesses. Very good. But a harsh, cruel world. And I saw a little girl, her eyes tightly closed, holding to her breast the old kind world, one that she knew in her heart could not remain, and she was holding it and pleading, never to let her go. That is what I saw. It wasn't really you, what you were doing, I know that. But I saw you and it broke my heart. And I've never forgotten."

- Madame, Never Let Me Go

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Our leaders had carte blanche as to what they might or might not destroy. Their mission was to win the war as quickly as possible; and while they were admirably trained to do just that, their decisions on the fate of certain priceless world heirlooms – in one case, Dresden – were not always judicious. When, late in the war, with the Wehrmacht breaking up on all fronts, our planes were sent to destroy this last major city, I doubt if the question was asked: "How will this tragedy benefit us, and how will that benefit compare with the ill-effects in the long run?"

Dresden, a beautiful city, built in the art spirit, symbol of an admirable heritage, so anti-Nazi that Hitler visited it but twice during his whole reign, food and hospital centre so bitterly needed now – ploughed under and salt strewn in the furrows.

There can be no doubt that the allies fought on the side of right and the Germans and Japanese on the side of wrong. World War Two was fought for near-holy motives. But I stand convinced that the brand of justice in which we dealt, wholesale bombings of civilian populations, was blasphemous. That the enemy did it first has nothing to do with the moral problem. What I saw of our air war, as the European conflict neared an end, had the earmarks of being an irrational war for war’s sake. Soft citizens of the American democracy had learnt to kick a man below the belt and make the bastard scream.

The occupying Russians, when they discovered that we were Americans, embraced us and congratulated us on the complete desolation our planes had wrought. We accepted their congratulations with good grace and proper modesty, but I felt then, as I feel now, that I would have given my life to save Dresden for the world’s generations to come. That is how everyone should feel about every city on earth.

- Kurt Vonnegut, “Wailing Shall Be in All Streets”

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I once asked you a simple question: how can we get better without losing who we are?

When we read things like Letter from Birmingham Jail, we’re reminded of the sheer enormity of the problems our parents’ generation began to conquer. We have gotten better. But we’re also reminded that the problems haven’t been solved, and we’ve changed along the way.

Moreover, when we read Slaughterhouse-Five, Never Let Me Go, or even “Just One Thing Missing” (that’s for Finals day), we become painfully aware that the problems we’ll face aren’t getting any simpler. If anything, they’re getting more complicated. War, science, progress, conservation – nothing seems simple.

In “Picking Up Pieces,” I asked you about your snake-skins, the identities you won’t stop forging for years. Now I want you to consider not a snake-skin, but a tapestry – the tapestry of our society, of our world, with so many threads tied together, and with so many others dangling loosely, threatening to unravel the whole thing if someone gives them a good tug.

Interpretations of books shift over the years as society shifts around them, much like the flow of water around a stone in the middle of a river shifts depending on the weather. I submit that both Slaughterhouse-Five and Never Let Me Go will remain relevant, not only in our current day and age, but in the future, because they’re about the tapestry’s dangling threads, about the edges of our way of life that threaten to fray unless someone safeguards them.

By that, I mean that they’re not just about the dangers of our new world. They’re also about remembering to value certain things. For example, both books appear to be about atrocity, but I think it’s more accurate to say they’re about kindness – the responsibilities humans have to their fellow beings, and the connections we can't help but forge.

I’m not sure how future generations will read either one. The books may be static, like the rock in the river, but they ask difficult questions and leave them unsolved. Meanwhile, the world keeps rushing on.

Which aspects of Slaughterhouse-Five and Never Let Me Go will maintain their relevance as we move forward? Which pertain to the problems you wish to solve? And how do you think future generations will read them – as curiosities, prophecies, or something in between?

Please compose your responses in a Word document over the next twenty minutes; you will submit the document to turnitin.com when you have finished. Good luck!

(Will anyone connect the song title/blog title to our course?)
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Per popular request, here are your reflection/discussion questions for Never Let Me Go and Slaughterhouse-Five.

To everything there is a season,
a time for every purpose under the sun.
A time to be born and a time to die;
a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
a time to kill and a time to heal ...
a time to weep and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn and a time to dance ...
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing;
a time to lose and a time to seek;
a time to rend and a time to sew
a time to keep silent and a time to speak;
a time to love and a time to hate;
a time for war and a time for peace.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

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What time is it now?
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How does one rebuild a life?
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Use this space to ask one another questions; I'll pop in three times tonight, but I need to devote more attention to the freshmen, who are taking a two-day-long exam on Romeo and Juliet beginning tomorrow!

Hmm...there doesn't seem to be a lot of demand for these, but I'll post them now that they're finished. Chapters 1-11 and 16-18 are available a few threads down.

Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapters 14 and 15

NOTE: This is the one that's due Friday. If you're looking for the Brave New World presentations, scroll down three threads!

For a quick review, look here: Shifting Gears #6: 42

+ Are you afraid that you won’t have enough time to do the things you dream of doing, or to follow through on your best intentions?

+ What would the worst part about dying be? What do you fear you’ll miss?

+ Do thoughts of “the good left undone” ever give you pause?

+ What is the meaning of life beyond self-perpetuation?

+ Do our most admirable human qualities give us a clue about what the ultimate meaning of life actually is?

+ What would happen if we knew that nothing really mattered?

+ If purpose and meaning are conferred upon us, what are some conceivable meanings?

+ Is purpose unique for every being, or is there a unified meaning of human existence?

+ Do you feel like you understand the meaning of your life? If you don’t yet, do you feel like you’ll get it someday?

+ Is life meant to be complicated? A constant work in progress? Is it meant to be “solved”?

+ If our dreams came true…would we be worthy? Would we be ready?

+ If humanity is meant to improve, how can we get better without losing who we are?

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This post is due at 11:59pm on Friday, May 14th.

Please try to post insightful, specific, and polished pieces. Your post should be at least two seven-sentence paragraphs long, and punctuation, grammar, and mechanics all count towards your grade. Compose your replies carefully, and always remember to state the why for every what!

For this post, written feedback for two of your peers is required!

Good luck!

For a quick review, look here: Shifting Gears #5: What If This Storm Ends?

+ Numerous cultures and theologies provide different explanations for what death actually is. Why don’t we have a “Unified Theory of Death”?

+ If you’re wrong about death, were you wrong about life?

+ Can there be a meaning in death, or is there only meaning in life?

+ How should one greet death? How should we greet life?

+ Do we tread more or less carefully, depending on how we feel about the end? Should we?

+ If there’s no “beyond,” is there any point to the “here and now”? How would our lives in this “plane” (using the dualist system) change if nothing lies beyond?

+ Does the mystery surrounding death actually help us live better lives?

+ Is fear a positive or negative force?

+ Is there existence beyond death? What’s the basis of your belief?

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This post is due at 11:59pm on Wednesday, May 12th.

Please try to post insightful, specific, and polished pieces. Your post should be at least two seven-sentence paragraphs long, and punctuation, grammar, and mechanics all count towards your grade. Compose your replies carefully, and always remember to state the why for every what!

For this post, written feedback for two of your peers is required!

Good luck!

For a quick review, look here: Shifting Gears #4: The Dark Night of the Soul

+ If we have souls, where are they? What’s the relationship of the soul to the physical form? Do you believe they’re joined, interactive, or related in some other what?

+ What constitutes a human being? Is the Monist or Dualist school closer to what you believe? Do you subscribe to a subset (Materialist, Idealist, Interactionist, etc.)? Which sounds most logical? Which do you believe? (Are they the same?) Why do you believe what you believe?

+ Can my soul be “bruised”? Can it suffer injuries through interactions with the physical world? Can it be altered by what we do or experience?

+ If the soul can be altered, how can we construct identities? (For that matter, if it can be changed, how do you go about changing it?) If the soul can’t be altered, do we ever have true freedom?

+ Are we more than what can be sensed? Is what goes on in my head – my consciousness and thoughts – different from my soul?

+ If we’re just programmed by cells and chemistry, are our “infinite possibilities” actually limited – at a sub-molecular level?

+ Are we more capable of goodness because of our experiences, or because of what we’re born with?

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This post is due at 11:59pm on Friday, May 7th.

Please try to post insightful, specific, and polished pieces. Your post should be at least two seven-sentence paragraphs long, and punctuation, grammar, and mechanics all count towards your grade. Compose your replies carefully, and always remember to state the why for every what!

For this post, written feedback for two of your peers is required!

Good luck!

For some reason, I can't shrink the file size of my presentations. Here they are in .doc form; they're not in the usual Feraco format, but I think they're still usable.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five
Part Seven

I'm altering Part Six (Chapters 12-15), and hope to finish it tomorrow morning.

For a quick review, look here: Shifting Gears #3: Smile Like You Mean It

+ “Morality is not properly the doctrine of how we may make ourselves happy, but how we may make ourselves worthy of happiness.” -- Immanuel Kant

Is Kant on the right path? Is everyone worthy of happiness (which would mean Kant was wrong), or should we be doing something in order to deserve our good fortune (karma, caution, compassion, etc.)?

+ “We are always getting ready to live but never living.” -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

Has Emerson observed the human condition correctly? Were we always the way Emerson suggests we are, or does this shift with age?

+ Do you prefer Kant’s system, or Aristotle’s? Which school best reflects your beliefs – teleology, deontology, or something you created yourself? Which beliefs have you established?

+ Is there more to happiness than the simple fulfillment of moral imperatives – which seem to be the basis of both systems?

+ We contrasted what made you happy when you were five versus what makes you happy now. Was it easier to be happier when you were younger? Which happiness was "better"?

+ Are you more concerned with the well-being of others now that you’re older? When did you think more about your own happiness – then, or now? How has your attitude towards happiness changed, and why?

+ Is a life spent waiting for intermittent pleasant surprises worth living?

+ If happiness is such an important human concern – and if great minds seem to have devised ways to find it – why do we still sabotage ourselves?

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This post is due at 11:59pm on Tuesday, May 4th.

Please try to post insightful, specific, and polished pieces. Your post should be at least two seven-sentence paragraphs long, and punctuation, grammar, and mechanics all count towards your grade. Compose your replies carefully, and always remember to state the why for every what!

For this post, written feedback for two of your peers is required!

Good luck!

Presenters: Post any instructions your critiquers will need for your activity here.

Critiquers: I will give you your instructions in handout form tomorrow.

Movie Viewers: Meet in the Little Theater tomorrow morning, and we'll start the show! I'll have a paper for you...

EDIT: As requested, here is the model presentation I threw together last week.

Some caveats:

+ There are far fewer images than I would have included in a real presentation.

+ The order served the purpose I wanted, but your order can be different; just think of what you want to accomplish with it.

+ Had I included a recording of myself giving the presentation, you'd notice me going through things very quickly. I use one to two spoken sentences per bullet, which means I hop through slides every ten to twenty-five seconds. That makes my presentation kinetic. It is very important that your presentation goes similarly - that you move through your information at a rate that keeps your audience informed and free from boredom.