My dear June, you fill my mind with curiosity

The beauty of your body calls to me

Causing lust like none I have felt before

Just to have one more moment with you

My dear June, thoughts of pleasure course through my body

Your hair is like fine silk and your skin is soft as wool

I can vividly remember your sweet smell

What I would give to look into your eyes again

Spending that summer night with you

I will always cherish to the end

Making my heart melt away

And long for your forever more

The love we shared, both inside and out

Will keep my internal flame lit

You have a way of causing me to lose control

And releasing the gift I bring

Watching you sleep

After activities are done

Is so soothing, like an island oasis

A place that I could stay, day dreaming in my thoughts.

If I had never had that moment with you

My life would have never been complete

To live with a purpose is to fantasize

That one-day will shall be together again

Analysis

With this assignment, I choose the painting titled Flaming June. This painting was constructed by Sir Frederic Leighton. The main reasons I selected this painting was the excitement and curiosity that the painting brought to me. To me, this painting focuses on pleasures and seduction. It idealizes female figures in artwork. Leighton was able to leave the viewers minds open for their own interpretations. Seeing a partially nude woman within a thin piece of fabric can bring many thoughts to a person mind.

            Within my poem, I was able to replicate the thoughts of a man whom had a night with June, filled with erotic behaviors. My poem helped to bring further understanding of the painting because it provided detailed descriptors of what had occurred, thus opening the minds of the readers to their own imaginative ideas.

Peter Campus: Three Transitions

https://youtu.be/zjoEzDv5rPs

The video I chose for this assignment was by Peter Campus titled “Three Transitions”. This was a unique video where Campus attempts to push the limits on the viewers visual ability to see through their sense of sight. The sense of sight is enhanced because there is, only minor audio in the first transition. In the video, Campus has three videos, each showing him displacing himself. The first video using yellow paper as a backdrop and shows Campus wearing a yellow suit. He then begins to cut through the paper, making it look like he is cutting into his back. He pulls himself most of the way through.  Campus is then shown stepping through the paper wall and ends up facing the camera. In the second video, Campus appears to be painting his face. Using blue paint, Campus can make the appearance of himself through his face. In the last video, Campus sets a picture of himself on fire but at the same time he is still moving in the picture. It shows an appearance like he is looking into a mirror.  

Peter Campus can produce these videos through a process called chroma key effect. This effect superimposes one video image onto another. Campus also uses what is called, spatial and visual imaging. With these effects and different imaging types, the details that stand out to me the most are how Campus can produce these illusions, that work on our sense of sight and how we process our thoughts. The simplicity of each video is another detail that is important. It shows that a video does not have to consist of outrageous special effects or cost an extreme about of money. Imaging can show emotion, affect moods, narrate, and give ideas about a story even when words are not spoken. This allow the viewer to develop their own story of what is being told and try to unravel the mystery of how the transitions were created.  

From the play Hamlet, the scene I chose to analyse, was from Act 1 scene 4. During this scene Hamlet is on a platform outside of the castle with his friends Horatio and Marcellus. They are all waiting to see if a ghost would present itself because there had been previous sighting prior. The scene is suspenseful and dark. At first, the action begins slowly but once the ghost arrives, the action picks up, as Hamlet has an inner conflict with himself, because the ghost appears to look like his father and Hamlet is not sure whether he should go with him or not. His friends urge him not to go but Hamlet wants to prove that his father was murdered and he feels he could get the proof he needs.

These three characters show compassion towards one another. Horatio and Marcellus are friends with Hamlet and are concerned for his safety. They feel that the ghost could put Hamlet to his death.  Hamlet himself tells his friends, “Why, what should be the fear?” Hamlet shows the love of his father through wanting to follow the ghost because of the resemblance of his father but also because he is looking for answers. Hamlet even stats that he will call the ghost Hamlet, King, father, royal Dane.

When watching the play as compared to reading the script, I was able to feel and sense Hamlet’s anger but also his solicitude. Visual images, like a movie, can give a person a better understanding through the visual aids, on how a person is feeling. I was able to see this through Hamlet eyes and his body language. At first, he was caught off guard, maybe a little scared, when the ghost appeared. However, we he sees that it looks like his father; he changes and appears to be drawn to the ghost. Movies are able to bring the characters to life through wardrobes and scene settings. In the video I watched, Hamlet, Horatio, and Marcellus were surrounded by smog and it appeared to be nighttime. The characters in the play version I watched, wore a wardrobe that was more up-to-date with the costume design as compared to previous version, where the cast would wear medieval type clothing.

I chose this scene because I felt it was an important part of the story; Hamlet could get the information about his father’s death that he had been searching for. Within this scene there was one particular line spoken by Hamlet that stood out to me. Hamlet stated, “ Be thou a spirit of health or goblin damn’d, bring with thee airs from heaven or blasts from hell, be thy intents wicked or charitable, thou comest in such a questionable shape that I will speak to thee: I’ll call thee Hamlet, King, father, royal Dane.” These words spoken by Hamlet shows he inner conflict because he does not know if the ghost is good or bad but he knows that it looks like his father.

The two movies that I covered for this assignment were a drama called “Night of the Living Dead” and a comedy called “What We Do in the Shadows”. Both movies have their own unique artistic approach which kept me intrigued throughout. The movie “Night of the Living Dead” was produced in 1968 by George Romero. This movie was in black and white due to the time in which this movie was made. However, black and white movies add an extra element of suspense into scary movies like this. “Night of the Living Dead” was of the first zombie type movies and it helped catapult the zombie craze that we know today.  This movie was based in a small rural town. A zombie outbreak was something that these people were not used to and at first did not know how to react. Most of the movie takes place in a two-story home with a basement.  

There are six main survivors within the home and their main goal is to secure the home and try to survive. Attempts to use a truck to escape was stopped when the truck caught on fire and killing two people. The zombies grew in numbers outside the home and continued to fight to get inside. Ultimately a young girl within the home, changes into a zombie and first kills her parents. The last survivor, a young black man was able to secure himself in the basement right as the house in being over taken by the zombies. The next scene shows the follow morning and there are groups established to help stopped the zombies. One main group goes to search the house, and along the way kill multiple zombies. The young black man survives the night and hears the people outside. He leaves the basement and approaches a window in a slow motion, causing the group to think that he is a zombie. The group mistakenly thinks he is a zombie and kills him.  

This movie brought many artistic elements into play with the black/ white feature, to the use of sounds and music for suspense, and the use of make-up and costume design. Of course, a time as gone on, the zombie movies have grown with advancements in the use of gore effects. I consider this movie to be a classic because of the story behind the movie was one of the first of its kind.  

The movie “What We Do in the Shadows” was the movie I enjoyed more because of the directors’ unique style of making it appear like the characters are real-life characters and how the audience was brought into the home / life of vampires. Initially there are four vampires living within the same home and each with its owns cultural diversity. One vampire is named Viago whom is 379 years old, another is name Deacon who is 183 years old, Petyr who is 8000 years old, and Vladislav who is high in age. The vampires are attempting to fit into everyday life, while fulfilling the need for human blood. The vampires allow a film crew to follow them in their daily lives, leading up the unholy masquerade ball. Throughout the movie there is tons of comic relief with the how the main characters speak and how they act. Tensions run high in the house at times due to various topics like who is doing what chores.  

The group ventures out at night only and tries to attend many local bars. What makes this comical is the fact that the only way a vampire can entire a place, is that they must be invited, and many night clubs would not just invite them in. The vampires befriend a few people within the city that helps bring victims to the home for what they call a “party”. Typically, most of the victims get killed, however there is one victim that gets turned into a vampire. He is a young man that has a hard time with not telling everyone that he is a vampire. The group tries to help guide him in the right direct. Ultimately, one of the Petyr gets killed because of the new vampire’s inability to keep in mouth closed.  

Throughout the movie, these vampires attend many parties, learn how to use the internet, how to use a cell phones and how to send text messages. One funny part was when Deacon sent a text message to Viago that read, “there is a crucifix behind you”. The day of the unholy masquerade ball comes, and the vampires attend but bring a human to the party. This causes a big disturbance within the party because most of the party goes want to eat the human, but the group will not let them. This leads to a fight between Vladislav and his arch enemies (the Beast) lover. In the course of the fight, the human kills the lover because he was cheating and trying to kill Vladislav. They get kicked out of the party. After leaving the party, the group meets a group of werewolves in the park. The human turns into a werewolf and brings the werewolves and vampires together as friends.  

The style of this movie and making it appear like it is a documentary, allowed for the movie to be more personable and brought you inside of the movie. The scenes within their home is unique in design with antiques and an older style of decor. There is one scene that stood out to me regarding comic relief and what kinds of struggles Viago faced. He is a bit of a neat freak who likes things to be clean. In this scene, Viago brings a young women home and says to the camera that he knows he is going to kill her, but he would like to give her a good time first. So, he proceeds to talk to her, give her a flower, and play some music. You then see him laying down newspaper on the floor, covering the couch and putting on a bib. He proceeds to bite her but mistakenly hits the main artery, causing blood to spray everywhere.  

My theme for this assignment is focused upon education. Within my household, education is an extremely important topic, seeing that my wife works within the local school district. For me, going back to school and finishing my bachelor’s degree was a difficult task because of my work schedule and raising three teenagers. I was inspired by my wife because of her dedication for furthering education. She already had a master’s degree is ESOL, but she wanted to further her career. She wanted to work in the administration side of the school system, like an assistant principal. To accomplish this, she had to go back to school and earn a master’s degree in Educational Leadership. This past spring, she completed said task and is now in the eligibility pool for assistant principal. Besides being inspired by my wife, I wanted to finish my degree for myself and try to pass on the inspiration to my kids. My wife and I talk to the kids daily about how important it is to get good grades and further your education. Education is even more important for my son, who is being scouted by many colleges to play college football. He has come to find out that schools look to a student’s grades first, before being considered for a scholarship. 

Wall of Accomplishments 

The photo above shows the three degrees that my wife has obtain. Her bachelor’s degree was in Education, her first master’s degree was in ESOL, and her second master’s degree was in Educational Leadership. She made this wall at home because wanted to display her accomplishments as a reminder to herself but also as a visual motivator for the kids.

Work Station 

During the past year and a half with being back in school, this has been my desk / workstation that I have used to complete my necessary homework/ studies. I prefer a larger area to work at, so I can spread out with my materials. Education is meant for developing new knowledge and building new innovations.  

Books are pathways to your imagination 

My wife has countless numbers of books throughout our house. She preaches the importance of reading to expand your knowledge and imagination. These books are an older collection that she found in an antique store. One of her biggest hobbies is going to antique shops looking for these types of historic collections of books. Being better educated, can bring about higher respect within the community 

Organization is key to success 

The picture above is my wife’s desk in our home office. We both are organized people, and both feel that being organized can bring a better sense of pride in oneself. This ultimately can produce a higher degree of work.  

Necessary tools 

This picture above depicts the simplicity of a backpack. A backpack has been a stable for both kids and adults within school. It facilitates the caring of one’s book for classroom to classroom and storing other necessary materials needed to accomplish tasks throughout the day. Being organized can allow a person to set standards for themselves  

Music Theme “Law Enforcement”

Songs researched:

The theme of my playlist focuses on law enforcement and those that serve to protect our communities. This topic touches me on both a personal level and a work level because I have been working in law enforcement for the past fifteen years. Law enforcement is my passion and it has been what I have chosen as my career path. Every day, throughout the world, both men and women put on their uniform and work to protect the lives within their respected communities. Law enforcement encompasses many different divisions, agencies, and departments. Some of these include, the local police departments, sheriff’s departments, port authority, campus police, immigration, United States Marshalls, the FBI, homeland security, and highway patrol. The playlist that I chose consisted of six songs titled, Everyday Hero’s by Dave Carroll (traditional genre), I Fought the Law by The Crickets (rock genre), Bad Boys by Inner Circle (Rap/ Hip Hop genre), Cop Car by Keith Urban (country genre), Thin Blue Line by Caleb Paul (country genre), and Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd (electric blues genre).  

The song Everyday Hero’s by Dave Carroll was written to honor all First Responders during 9-1-1. Dave Carroll wanted to bring to light, the commitment that First Responders show each day because their work is often overlooked. This song made an immediate impact on its listeners globally. Each day, First Responders are willing to put their lives before others because they took an oath. Often, the people being helped are complete strangers and that does not become a factor when response is being rendered to a threat. This song spoke on the emotional side of people, whom have lost a loved one.  

The song I Fought the Law by The Crickets, is about a man whom went on a robbery spree and ultimately got caught. The phrase “I fought the law” became and still is a commonly used saying when talking about criminal activity and being apprehended by law enforcement. Ironically, the lead singer Bobby Fuller was found dead shortly after this song made the top music charts. His death remained a mystery but many people have suspected that foul-play was involved.  

The song Bad Boys by Inner circle was produced with the theme of cops and what the criminals going to do when they are pursued. In 1989, the song became a theme song to the television show COPS and became a huge hit all over the world. The song had an extremely catching theme to it and a fast beat, that attracted many people. The hit song later spread to other countries throughout Europe. The song reached the number one ranking in many different countries.  

The song Cop Car by Keith Urban was about two young people whom get arrested and happen to fall in love in the back of the patrol car. The couple had the likings of a Bonnie and Clyde type paring. While this song does not primarily focus on law enforcement itself, it is still known that they are a huge part of telling the story of this song. The song included other artists like Sam Hunt, Zach Crowell, and Matt Jenkins. The song received a lot of attention and later was nominated for best country solo performance at the Grammy’s.  

The song Thin Blue Line by Caleb Paul was a song that was written to honor the members of law enforcement whom had made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty. Caleb Paul worked as a police office in Baton Rouge before becoming a country singer. The song was written after an incident in Dallas, where several officers were shot. The song went viral and within days after the songs release a shooting occurred with Baton Rouge. The Thin Blue Line has become a staple in law enforcement and a symbol to remember those who have lost their lives. The song provides a powerful and emotional message to its listeners.  

The song Blue on Black by Kenny Wayne Shepherd was produced in a way that the listener can determine how it applies to them. Some have said that the song was applied to death, abusiveness, and broken relationships. The idea of the song was though up by a member of the band named Tia whom saw a shirt with blue and black on it. The song was later released by another grouped called Five Finger Death Punch whom took they proceeds and gave them to a foundation for veterans and First Responders. The dynamics of this song are sends a strong message.  

Working for the Lee County Sheriff’s Office is both a rewarding and dangerous job to have. With each day of work, anything is possible, that can be life changing. Currently, I am a member of the Corrections Bureau’s Correctional Emergency Response Team. One day, our team received a call from the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office requesting assistance within the county jail. There was suspension that there was a gun within the facility and their jail staff were not equipped to handle an emergency of this magnitude. Our team, consisting of twenty-four members suited up with all emergency equipment available and responded to the scene.  

Once on scene, a game plan was formulated. We divided up into four teams and each team was assigned an area for searching. Each area that was to be searched, currently was housing nearly fifty inmates. Parts of the game plan consisted of the handling of all inmates, conducting pat down searches, and searching the entire housing areas. Direct orders were given by our command staff, that if an inmate attempted to harm anyone or becomes unruly, we were to use whatever force was necessary to handle the situation most effectively.  

When the plan was ready to be executed, all teams lined up and breached each housing at the same time. This allowed for a surprise affect. Each housing area and all inmates were searched for the suspected gun. Many inmates became unruly and did not want to comply with our orders. The only force that was needed to handle the situation was pepper spray. Through the course of the operation, nearly 160 inmates were pepper sprayed, while producing no injuries to any officers, staff, or inmates. The search produced negative results and it was later discovered that the supposed gun that was seen, was only a tattoo of a gun on a waste line of an inmate.  

In the end, the scene was secured, and all our team was able to go home to their families that evening without any injuries or issues. Corrections and the patrol divisions are both a dangerous and rewarding because each day an officer can save a life, take a life, or have their life taken.  

If…. by Rudyard Kipling 

If you can keep your head when all about you 
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you; 
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you, 
But make allowance for their doubting too: 
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting, 
Or, being lied about, don’t deal in lies, 
Or being hated don’t give way to hating, 
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise; 

If you can dream — and not make dreams your master; 
If you can think — and not make thoughts your aim, 
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster 
And treat those two impostors just the same: 
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken 
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools, 
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken, 
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools; 

If you can make one heap of all your winnings 
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, 
And lose, and start again at your beginnings, 
And never breathe a word about your loss: 
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew 
To serve your turn long after they are gone, 
And so, hold on when there is nothing in you 
Except the Will which says to them: “Hold on!” 

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue, 
 

Or walk with Kings — nor lose the common touch, 
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you, 
If all men count with you, but none too much: 
If you can fill the unforgiving minute 
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run, 
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it, 
And which is more: you’ll be a Man, my son! 

Synopsis: 

This poem spoke to me in great depth because it truly relates to situations that I am facing currently in my life. To me, this poem speaks of leadership and how someone is supposed to handle themselves when faced with obstacles. In the first part of the poem, it speaks about “keeping your head” under stressful situations because others may not be able to do so. As a leader, you must be able to stand tall and weather the storm. 

 “Trust yourself” is a key essential element for leadership because not everyone is going to see the way you see things and are going to challenge you. But as a good leader, a leader must accept the input from others because ultimately it could help accomplish the goals set in place. 

 “If you can wait and not be tired of waiting” speaks about how a leader needs to empower those that are under them. To give them a chance to perform and contribute, while you sit back and wait. This allows the people around you to grow. 

 “If you can meet with triumph and disaster and treat those two imposters just the same” speaks to me with encouragement to keeping moving forward, whether I have success or not and continue to set new goals for myself. 

 “If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken” speaks about trust. A leader must have trust in their people, while the people need to have trust in their leader. Without either one, the daily goals will be hard to achieve.  

“If you can make one heap of all your winnings and risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss, and lose, and start at your beginnings” deals with the  

attributes that make a person a leader through success and how they can use their knowledge in many different situations.  

“Hold on when there is nothing in you except the will which says to them: hold on!” focuses on the ability of a leader to overcome the obstacles and challenges that arise. Persevering through these obstacles will make a person much stronger and effective. 

 “If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue or walk with kings- nor lose the common touch” speaks about how a leader should never forget where they came from and who helped them along the way.  

Overall this poem focuses on what it takes to be a leader and what leadership qualities are needed to be successful. I mentioned before that this poem speaks true me and this is because I am currently going through a situation like this at work. I have taken on a leadership role at work over the past few years and have many people look up to me. I have shown that I am able to stand fast, even when opposition goes against me. I have been in line for a promotion for some time now and have been passed over several times, in favor of others that a less qualified than I. But I have continued not to get down and move forward with my own personal goals.  

This poem is aesthetic with its intention on effecting the readers emotions. People can easily relate to the situations that are describe with the passages. There is strength within the words presented and encouragement on how to handle yourself when faced with opposition. A few of the terms to remember I felt related to this poem were centered space, earth-dominating architecture, and symmetry. Centered space typically focuses around an object and in this case, the object would be the leader. The situations that the leader faces throughout the poem, draws the read in and teaches them what to do. Earth- dominating architecture often does not look for attention but demands it. This relates to a true leader because a leader needs to have the attention of their followers. Symmetry typically is a view within a building and showing what it has to offer but, in this case, I look to the leader as the building and the things that they have to offer are the qualities they possess that makes them a good leader.  

06/04/2019

The domestic architecture that I choose for this topic was that of my parents’ house. Their home resides within an area that consist of homes that are a bit older in style and lack many of the newer, more modern designs. The outer appearance of their home reminds me of a style like a ranch-style home, without the extra-long design. The home is basic is many ways and does not offer the elegance of an upscale home. Even with the less formal style, the home clearly shows the defining spaces among the different rooms.  The ceilings throughout the home are flat and low, not vaulted. Even the exterior the roof is has a low roof line.

The home offers a long-gated style and is only one story. The interior walls consist of white semi-gloss paint. The walls are smooth in texture with a light amount of textured design. The white interior paint allows the home to be bright. However, with only having one main color, the home does not offer much vibrancy, from a color standpoint.  The placement of the interior walls gives the home a cube-feel, which sets each room apart from one another. Even with the cube feel of the rooms, the rooms are not cramped and give a homely, feeling that offers the coziness that many people like to have. The decor of their home displays that of western feel, with use of browns in a lot of the furniture. There is carpet throughout the home, except for specific areas like the kitchen and bathrooms.

My parents’ home compared to my home is a completely different altogether. My home has an exterior pitched roof and is not long-gated. The interior design offers more an open space with a master great room that flows within the breakfast nook and kitchen area. The ceilings are vaulted, offering to the spacious feeling. The interior walls do not consist of white paint, but that of darker paint and offers more of a sophisticated feel. The darker colors also give the home more of an intimate feeling. The walls are smooth in nature, with small amounts of added texture.

The furniture style consists of a more modern look and contains more varieties of colors, with each room having its own personality. The flooring is wood laminate, which offers a newer modern style of flooring. It also creates a darker feel within the home, adding more to the sophisticated feeling. With my home, the design of the lighting, cabinetry, and floor plan gives the overall appearance of an upscale appeal.

Both homes give their own unique appeal. I do prefer the design of my own home, not just, because it is my house. I enjoy the mood that is given with the different colors and the more open spaces.

“Uncommon Friends”  

The sculpture “Uncommon Friends” was created and dedicated to county of Lee, by artist D.J. Wilkins in 1988. The sculpture depicted three friends whom resided in Fort Myers during the winter months. These friends were famous inventors and business men. Their names were Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and Harvey Firestone. All three individuals were instrumental in making of innovations that made the quality of life better. The sculpture is designed with the three friends sitting by a campfire and with animals in the water, nearby. The reflection pool, that encircles the sculptures, has a diameter of 40 feet, while the island on which the sculpture sits, has diameter of 20 feet. The cast of the men were designed using cold cast aluminum because it would be able to with stand corrosion better. The scene of a campfire gave significance that represented the three friends spending time together. They were some of the earliest winter residents of Fort Myers and they helped establish Fort Myers as a place of travel for recreational purposes. Through this piece of work, Wilkins wanted to focus on the bonds that the friends shared and not their fame.  

In the early days, the trio started taking camping trips to Florida. They would travel from the everglades to many other cities. They often had the company from other friends that included John Burroughs and James Newton, whom also have significant ties to Fort Myers. The sculpture scene depicted the three friends in attire consisting of suits because this is how people in the time era dressed. Along with the sculpture itself, the artist wanted to include many items representing indigenousness of  

this area. These items included; plants and animals (alligator, fish, frogs, otters). The piece of work gave a representation of the life people could enjoy living in Fort Myers. The location, which is a place in a park, fits in with surrounding perfectly.