Poetry Night 004

Poetry Night 004

Garth Beyer

A Mental Buzz: When Thoughts Attack

Tonight I just want to share a quick random poem I wrote one night when I was hyper at 1:00am in the morning.

 

A Palpable Sentiment

The frame around us is delicate, but the canvas is strong with color.

I want shoes made out of love, nothing other.

Lions, tigers, beard, robbers,

Purple boots, and blue car coppers,

Painted scenes, I’m up all night.

Flying kites and Slaying monsters,

Speak to me in foreign tongues. Share your secrets one by one.

Falling asleep without a parachute, only because you are the sky I fell through.

I just can’t compete with the addictions I’ve made.

Sunshine is racing to the green terrace, my mind is pacing.

Slanted trees, thoughts slow the breeze.

Caught in every intricate corner of my frame, wicked webs holding me in-sane.

Causing me to smirk at my mighty fine work,

As I dance on the dust of wishes being whispered and lost.

Pleading for the arrival of this out worldly superstition survival, lost.

Oh! Just watch me walk across this river,

As the children turn the world upside down on the monkey bars and snicker,

This life is only a faithful conception of a falsely illusive figure.

–          Everett

 

I’m spending time with family in Illinois so no great explanation for the poem. As all of my poetry, I hope you use your imagination to create a story behind the poem.

 

Stay Positive and Imaginate

Garth E. Beyer

Desk Job to Your Passion to Cancun

Garth Beyer

Have you been in a position where you simply felt bad for the person telling the joke?

Last week at my job, I was working in the conference room while my other co-workers were having a meeting. Many of my co-workers have worked at the office for a lengthy amount of time and have seen people come and seen people go.

It was on the topic of a past employee that the joke was made. One person brought up how, Reagan left our office to work at another branch. Unlike our office, those who work where Reagan transferred to, have to pay for their vacation.

My co-workers began to relive their experience working with Reagan. They recalled how she would always carry a goal sheet for the day when she would walk into work. The goal sheet was always lengthy. They were making a joke out of it, one person said, “They require her to carry out a lot there and they even make her pay for vacation, that is just sad. I love not having to pay for vacation. I can’t wait to go to Cancun for four days next month. I have never been there and I need to get away and relax.”

Everyone she spoke to were nodding their heads and letting out chuckles of agreement. I walked out of the room because I felt terrible. I felt bad that they NEED to take a vacation to get away from work.

Do you want to know what I found out about Reagan after that?

She LOVES her job.

People at the office were unaware of the reason she set so many goals at work. She aimed for what she would LOVE to do the rest of her life. By carrying a set of goals and a determined attitude with her every place she went, it was not surprising she landed her dream job.

Would you be surprised if I told you Reagan is the highest paid employee at the branch and has been to Cancun three times in the last two years with her husband?

Stay Positive and Set Goals

Garth E. Beyer

Football Receiver

Football Receiver

Garth Beyer

I did not watch Monday night football, but I can guarantee that at least one player fell short of catching the football during a deep pass. Do you think it was the quarterback’s fault? After all, he runs the plays and it is his job to pass the ball perfectly to the receiver. Or is it?

Far too many times in life, we cut ourselves short from catching the touch-down pass because it was thrown a few feet too far and we do not push ourselves. We  half-ass a project instead of full-assing it and then some, we stick with light work instead of taking on a heavy load and initiating beast-mode. Simply, we don’t work to our fullest potential.

The little train that could was wrong when he said “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can.” That is weak, that is for four-year olds to say to themselves when they are reaching for the cookies on the top shelf.

You however, are Mighty, Powerful, Incredible and capable of achieving what you want.

Well, it is your choice now…

Why are you going to push yourself to reach that goal? Why are you going to push yourself to finish that project? Why are you going to push yourself to take those extra few steps?

“Because You Can. Because You Can. Because You Can!”

Be the football player that pushes himself to catch the ball that was thrown a bit too far. Don’t let the depth of the task prevent you from accomplishing it.

After all, the quarterback might throw you a farther pass because he knows you can push yourself to get it. The universe will never give you anything you cannot handle.

Stay Positive, Because you can.

–          Garth E. Beyer

Poetry Night 003

Garth Beyer

In condolences to all who dread the winter season, I offer you a winter seasonal haiku. Enjoy.

Winter-Break

dirty shoelaces
zipped up high with chin enclosed
toes ready to break

I hope you have a wonderful winter season! What are you doing to keep yourself occupied? Any sustainable hobbies? Writing poetry of your own? Do share!

Stay Positive and Stay Warm

Garth E. Beyer

Poetry Night 002

Garth Beyer

Welcome back! I am throwing a twist to Poetry Night tonight. I want to share an imitation poem I wrote. You can read the original poem at http://poemhunter.com/poem/if-we-must-die/ After the poem, I share some history of the original to have you establish a further understanding of the poem in its entirety. I then describe the changes I made and why. I hope you take interest and I encourage you to write your own imitation poem. They can be fun if you can’t seem to get your own started quickly. Enjoy.


If We Must Die

If we must die, let it not be like chickens

Crammed and cornered in a humiliating spot,

While round us argue the fuming and power-hungry politicians,

Making their progress with disregard to our doomed lot.

If we must die, O let us virtuously die,

So that our unnoticed ideation may not be bled

In vain; then even the giants we defy

Shall be forced to admire us though dead!

Brotherin! We must not let our enemies grow!

Though the splinter group let us put them in the grave!

And for their million overthrows let us deal one show!

What other fight then to death for us pave?

Like bulls we’ll face the destructive, spineless pack,

Pressed to the dirt, dying, but fighting back!

If You Must Read This

We are all familiar with bullying, overbearing people who intimidate people that are weaker. The real question is if you have ever been part of racial bullying, and to what extent was the bullying? During the 1990s, white folk were harassing and torturing blacks. They would riot against the black people of the area and set attack dogs after them, they would whip them and brutally torture them. A common person these days would wonder why they did not all just get together and fight back? The answer is… they tried. The goal of Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” was to use various metaphors and analogies to persuade the blacks to come together and fight the whites (Hunter 440). McKay, in this poem, used a very honorable, dignified, and respectful tone. This is necessary to persuade the minority to come together and fight off the oppressors. The choice of words to build up ones dignity and the use of metaphors are the two most distinguishing characteristics of the original poem.

I had various specific objectives, in addition to loose ones, in creating my own imitation poem. I wanted to turn this historical and cultural poem into one of a modern perspective. My inspiration is how oppressive society is to the “common Joe” of America. My first objective was to keep the rhyming scheme, tone, and the theme of the original poem, with the exception of the modern switch. I kept the tone, by using forceful words such as “fuming” and “power-hungry” (Line 3). Extreme words such as these, I thought of when I read intense words from the original poem such as “constrained” ( Line 8 ) and “accursed” (Line 4). The tone also had to do with the rhyming scheme.  Roughly half of the rhyming scheme in my poem was made up of the ending words that created the original poem’s rhyming scheme. Though I kept some of the original works words, I did change some of the word endings, still keeping the rhyme. For example, originally line 6 used the end rhyme word “Shed”, wherein I used the word “Bled”. This also took place in lines, one, three, nine, ten, eleven and twelve. Lastly, when all of this is put together and looked at as a whole, one can see the theme of the poem to be the same: to not die with nothing but a bad image to our names, we must die for something meaningful.

I believe my poem has met my various objectives very well. When my poem is read after reading the original, one can see the “similarities of the strong tone of the speaker by the choice of words” says an anonymous friend who read them. Since I blatantly pointed out that “Politicians” ( Line 3 ) were the source of the oppression, I think I met my goal of creating a modern atmosphere. The majority of Americans declare the mass of politicians to be corrupted. In the original poem the oppressor’s were the whites. In my poem it still stands true, but it has now become more of a specific. Throughout the original poem, McKay uses metaphors such as themselves being killed like “hogs” (Line 1) and labeling the oppressors as “hungry dogs” (Line 3). In my poem I used metaphors such as us being killed like “chickens” (Line 1). I used this because it is common knowledge that the chickens we buy and consume are not raised well and are brutally slaughtered. I kept the same animal metaphor but made it to an up to date metaphor. Next, I thought it would be easier for the reader to understand the subject of the matter by clearly stating “Politicians” (Line 3) instead of making another animal metaphor like McKay did. Overall I believe my poem has met my various objectives being; keeping the tone, theme, and rhyming scheme of the original, along with making it refer to current circumstances.

I made sure there were a variety of notable literary characteristics in my poem. I believe that the more noticeable characteristics, the better. I used metaphors and imagery together to provide the best possible picture in the readers mind. Such as in line 13 when I say we (the oppressed) will act as bulls and have the reader imagine the stature and strength of a bull. This also occurs in line 7 when the pressuring societal members are declared “Giants”. This allows the image of large powerful people to pop into the readers mind as they read the poem. Another literary characteristic is word choice. As stated earlier, it was a goal to maintain the forceful dignified tone in the poem. The only way to do this was to make sure my word choice was familiar, yet allowed strong particular feelings into the reader of this poem. For example, “Crammed and cornered in a humiliating spot” (Line 2). Crammed and cornered would be perceived as very oppressive words. Humiliating, is a very decent representative word that may touch the readers emotion since it is very likely we have all felt humiliated at one point or another. The next literary term which I have already pointed out is the metaphor. Instead of giving more examples in my poem, I would like to just note that the metaphors were vital to maintain the image of the original poem since it was basically created out of various metaphors. Now, other various literary terms that you may question when reading the poem, is if there is alliteration, a protagonist, antagonist, and if you had to label the kind of poem what would it be? Well, I did not use alliteration in my replica because I thought it would take the focus away from the theme which we know to be dying for a worthy reason. Next, we can see the Shakespearian theme of the iambic pentameter, count the number of lines, and note that it is a Shakespearian sonnet. In this sonnet you will find an antagonist. The antagonist broadly speaking is society, specifically speaking, it would be politicians. As for the protagonist, we can all agree it is us! You can see the modernization through these two literary terms, with the original works protagonist being blacks, and antagonist’s whites.

As for the attitude, tone, and theme of the poem in relation to the original, after reading both poems, you can see the correlation is dead on except for the timeline. The theme stood very strong for the blacks against the whites in the original poem. The historical theme was to not die for nothing at the hands of the white people, but to die nobly and for reason. In my poem, the theme is the same, but the context is different. It has been brought into a modern perspective saying that we should not die at the hands of society, that we must make something of ourselves and fight back and if we must die, let us nobly die. The tone and attitude of each poem are exactly the same, strong, powerful, honorably, dignified. Overall, the poems are one in the same, an imitation. When each is read, the reader can have the same feeling for each and can say the theme is the same, but notice one little change; that the original poem has been brought to a modern perspective.

 

Stay Positive and Stand Your Ground

Garth E. Beyer

Works Cited

Hunter, J. Paul, Alison Booth, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Poetry. 9th ed. New York: W.W. Norton, 2007. Print.

The Roof of Culture is Green

Garth Beyer

When one is asked “Why does this issue matter?”, it most commonly is attached to some global dilemma currently taking place in the world, from deforestation in South America, to global warming affecting the poles, to poverty stricken nations affected by some natural disaster. The smaller scale topics are often left out, such as tribal wars in Ecuador or child labor in southern Africa.  These topics mainly remain unquestioned. Unfortunately, when these topics are questioned and analyzed, very few are adequately considered. The results, which can even be considered rewards, of a simple topic such as the use of green roofs in society, can create an overall sense of awe in society. There have been some people who have studied the relationship between green roof’s and culture, such as Emma Dummett, student of University of Edinburgh, and Mark Anater and William Koonce, writers for the Urethanes Technology International articles but there are too few people on this planet that know of the conditions these authors explain. Those who rarely pay attention to such little articles, miss out on the realization of the importance of green roofs in their relationship with culture and architecture, and in humanities in general. I believe it is important to contribute my own opinions to this underappreciated topic in society. In addition, I will analyze the thoughts of those mentioned above who have delved deep into the research of Le Corbusier and his connection between nature and culture through green roofs. And lastly I will give my own thoughts about their conclusions.

Previously in class, the name Le Corbusier was referred to, and because of my interest in French culture and language, I had an immediate interest in why he was being mentioned.  What more could I have asked for? Not only was he a French architect, but he had a particular passion for nature and green space, just as I do. Our connection was imminent and I wanted to know more. Though I knew some benefits of combining nature with our lifestyle, I was surprised by what Le Corbusier was mentioning about the depravity of society during the early 1900s. He mentioned that people were receiving less than the proper amount of sunlight each day, which is six hours. He also mentioned that green space was being taken over and that the aesthetic settings of an environment were being lost. Until I was told about all of this, my mind remained subjective, only to my own reality which is nothing like the one Le Corbusier describes. However, the more I thought about it, the more I realized the likeliness of this occurring in the time Le Corbusier was probable. Not only in the past was this nature deprived lifestyle pressed upon humans, but also in today’s society. Currently in less fortunate parts of the globe, people are being deprived of their basic needs. With this empathetic feeling in mind, I instantly realized just how important a small factor such as sunlight and nature could affect our daily lives. Just to share a slight glimpse of the importance Le Corbusier’s thinking, it is common knowledge that weather has an effect on a person’s mood. When it is winter and cold, a person may feel more susceptible to negative emotions such as depression. But when it is spring the flowers are blooming, and the sun is shining, there is a grand boost of energy and optimism. Flowers and sunlight coordinate with nature, and nature coordinates with peoples’ tendencies to behave in certain ways– positive ones. It was in that sense that people were being deprived of basic necessities that offer a life of content and pleasantness. Now what is the most basic and simple way to provide these people with the connection to nature and the necessities it contains for a happy life? Le Corbusier would answer this simply by saying each house needs to begin with a green roof. Le Corbusier, being an architect, did just that. He put green roofs on each of the houses he designed. Previously mentioned Emma Dummett, does a thorough explanation of Le Corbusier and his creation of the relationship between architecture, nature, social aspects and culture.

Next, few can automatically see the relationship between nature and culture. Emma Dummett who wrote “Vernacular architecture, nature and the sacred: Le Corbusier and the influence of the ‘journey to the east’” is here to assist you. In her paper she discusses and explains Le Corbusier’s view of how members of society are deprived of their basic needs and how, through nature, they are connected to the sacred. She begins by stating Le Corbusiers’ two most strongly held beliefs: “the need for human society to reconnect with the natural world, and the importance of finding a new form of sacred or spiritual experience for the skeptical world of the twentieth-century, industrialized West” (Dummett 1). Where does the answer for both of these needs come from? Green roofs of course! Green roofs provide the perfect connection between the natural world and society while at the same time offering that cultural or spiritual experience the fast paced and quickly growing society needs.

Before I carry this out further, it is important to define what a green roof actually is. Most would assume that it is a roof that some sort of vegetation covers, offering a beautiful sight. Is that all though? Just as a religious group walks into their temple or shrine and feels a sense of awe, a weight taken off their shoulders, a feeling that they are no longer on earth, that they are in another reality, so it is the same with green roofs. Day to day, people are clustered with each other in confined spaces, deprived of sunlight, unable to escape from the dark reality of their lives. This lifestyle is even carried to their homes, where they have children who need to be fed, work that still needs to be finished, and cleaning to do. The green roof is their temple, their shrine. It provides the same cultural affect the temple does to the religious group. It gives a person a sense of freedom and lightness. To continue the analogy, religious groups often have special medicine for their people, or certain out worldly ways of healing. Does this not stand true for green roofs also? Green roofs provide an open space full of oxygen and sunlight and a view of greenery. This offers a sort of combination of the safe out worldly ways of healing, but these ways have now become tangible. On the subject of green roofs, Dummett states that “Le Corbusier incorporated those aspects of nature which are easily controllable into his designs, in a way which implies that the natural world has a role to play in servicing human needs” (Dummett 15). In contrast to early years, if people were now asked what are the basic fundamental human needs, most would respond by saying protection, individuality, affection, leisure, creation, and freedom. Without a doubt, Le Corbusier, through his architectural green roofs, offers each of these basic human needs. Having a green roof offers a sense of protection, you are high up, apart from the world if disaster and misfortune. You are free of all obligations when you go to your green roof. It is your vacation; it is where you go to spend leisure time, to let your imagination be free and creativity run wild. Green roofs offer you the chance to be an individual, to stand out among the rest, and show that as you love nature, nature will love you. Nature will offer you shade when it is hot, it will care for you by giving you oxygen to survive, and it grows with you and gives you a peaceful setting to relax in. Now that the importance of the connection to nature, and the wonderful human needs it provides has been examined, we can look on to see how Le Corbusier’s work has grown throughout the years.

Recently, it can be assumed that one would know that green roofs are becoming increasingly popular in urban areas due to the recent global move in environmentalism. William Koonce and Mark Anater, wrote an article in the Urethanes Technology International called “Green Roof Systems Become Increasingly Popular In US and Europe”. To make an immediate connection with their article, a question must be asked. Do you think Le Corbusier thought of all the other functions that green roofs could provide for the modern day home? Not only has he provided a link to the cultural past with his green roofs, but he has also established root functions for the house “—shielding the building from cold and heat, rain and snow – green roofs have additional benefits. These include conservation of energy, extension of the service life of the roof, reduction in storm water run-off and flow rates, and overall cost reduction over the life of the roof and restoration of ecological and aesthetic value to open spaces in urban areas” (Koonce 1). Le Corbusier has successfully provided the owners of the green roofed house basic human needs, a link to the cultural past, and now a positively set based life, not only for the owner himself, but also for the world in general. From saving the owner money, to conserving energy, Le Corbusier has thought of it all. The advantages of having a green roof are clear and this is why there has been a recent growth of green roofs all over the world, especially in Europe and North America. Koonce states that “Green roof technology is well-established in Europe and its inherent advantages for energy efficiency, longevity, storm water management, ecological responsibility and improved quality of life are making it more popular in North America” (Koonce 6).

In final analysis, present day humans do not realize it, but when they create green roofs, it is actually a teleportation to the most basic necessities of life. Le Corbusier knew this concept early on, and through his green roofs, he assisted humans in the entering of a meditative and supernatural state. He did this by having them step into something exceedingly aesthetically beautiful, the green roof. After being in the depths of a crusted and failing civilization depriving them of life’s necessities, people are now able to enter an environmental retreat at home. This concept was explained in Dummett’s paper, discussing the nearly tangible connection between Le Corbusier’s green roof designs, nature, culture and humans essential needs. Green roofs provided the basic human necessities such as, protection, freedom, creativity. Now, the original question was, “Does this issue matter?” It matters in the sense that Le Corbusier’s conception of the green roof could be the one most productive efforts to stabilize society will providing people with a portal to their culture past, the fundamental necessities of peoples’ present and long lasting harmony of the future.

Stay Positive and Go Green

Garth E. Beyer

Works Cited

Dummett, Emma. “Vernacular Architecture, Nature and the Sacred: Le Corbusier and the Influence of   the ‘journey to the East'” Google Docs – Online Documents, Spreadsheets, Presentations, Surveys, File Storage and More. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.

Koonce, William, and Mark Anater. “GREEN ROOF SYSTEMS BECOME INCREASINGLY POPULAR IN US     AND EUROPE.” Urethanes Technology International 27.1 (2010): 18-21. Advanced Placement     Source. EBSCO. Web. 15 Feb. 2011.

Subsidizing Delegation to Acquire More Time

Garth Beyer

Team-Work Accountability

In a haste to delegate and decrease your responsibilities, you may hand tasks and duties to someone else. I highly encourage it when you are looking to acquire more freedom from stress and more time to take part in what you love. But when the tasks are for a shared vision you need to take the time in the beginning to make sure you are not putting the extra weight on their back before you teach them how to work with it on their back. Delegation is a shared process and will be added as a chapter by itself in the eBook “Parents Cost Us Money Too”, as a matter of prevention over clean-up.

In the beginning the vision needs to merge between the partners. Not only the desired result of both parties, but also the process and timeline. By communicating a timeline together there is a lesser necessity to make frequent meetings in the future, which results in exactly what you wanted: more time!

Delegation is tough… to start

When you begin delegating you will often feel that you are doing even more work than before. I thought the point of delegation was to give you freedom and remove stress from your life? This empowering result of delegation comes AFTER you follow the four D’s of delegation.

1. Define the problem

What is the issue at hand? What are you delegating?

2. Discover the resolution for the issue

Ask questions to focus on the result of the delegation.

3. Discern the ideas by brainstorming

How are you going to get the desired result? What will work? What wont? What needs to be taught?

4. Direct the partner– the most important.

What resources do you have available to increase their success rate? What role will you play while they carry out the task? Are there other members of your team that assist?

There you have it, a quick and straightforward approach to delegating.  Remember, it is often difficult to start but you only have to focus on the results that delegating will offer. Need further help or a more in-depth reasoning behind an aspect of delegation, feel free to comment and I will get back to you within 24 hours.

 

Stay Positive and Delegate

Garth E. Beyer