ENG 2150 Gimme Shelter: the spaces we live in

For my project there are many points and questions i will and would to like to address.  Willets Point is an extremely interesting neighborhood in Queens that has become and will become a major source of economic growth in New York City.  I hope to address why and how Willets Point has become and will continue to be a substantial source of wealth for the five boroughs and additionally, how it became this central of economic prosperity.  Willets Point once a desolate area now houses the famous Citi Field.  Lastly, another main point i would like to address is how and the process it was for a city that was left neglected for so many years to become a landmark for economic prosperity.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6lZMr-ZfoE4

Back in 2007, Apple did something truly amazing.  Not only did Apple create a device so unique and so complex, they also shook up the entire technology industry as a whole.  On June 29, 2007 they introduced the world to the very first iPhone.  Never before was a cell phone so sleek, so smart and so fast.  The Iphone took the word cellphone and created an entirely new meaning.

In Georg Simmel’s essay “The Metropolis and Mental Life” he illustrates the idea of a “blasé attitude”.  The word blase can be defined as apathetic to pleasure or excitement as a result of excessive indulgence or enjoyment (Miriam-Webster.com).  In other words one has become so unimpressed by something because one has experienced it so often.  This blase attitude is a nonchalant approach to mundane daily occurrences in our lives.

Several million people in the United States alone own an iPhone. Do we realize how vital our smart phones have become to us?  If you want to see where your sister is you text her, if you want to find out the weather for the evening you google it, if you want to know where santa claus lives you siri it, if you want to try a new restaurant two blocks away you yelp it. Hence the geniuses who invented these devices called them : smart phones. We are glued to our phones and we check and recheck our phones constantly. But do we really appreciate the capabilities of this piece of aluminum and plastic we use most of our waking time?

I would say we have all come to view the amazing and extraordinary iPhone with little acknowledgment for all it actually does for us.  We have come to see the iPhone with a blasé attitude , forgetting how much easier this little device makes our lives.  We literally have the world at our fingertips and yet we oversee the true magic the iPhone offers.  We have accepted this cellphone as part of our lives and forget that as little as 6 years ago no such thing existed. You could not just google on your phone the weather in India and instantaneously get an answer.  We have an unimpressed daily experience with our cell phones and forget to acknowledge the many burdens which are relieved due to this innovative invention.

After three long hours, your thighs are burning, your throat is parched, your shirt is drenched with sweat but you finally made it.  You completed the uphill trek and now, as you stand on the very top of the mountain you look down to the most breathtaking, astonishing view you’ve ever witnessed in your entire life.  The waterfalls, the lush greenery, and the sun kissing the top of the hills that surround you.  The beautiful crisp wind blows across your face and instantaneously your thighs seem at ease, your throat is a little less dry and the wind cools the sweat that drips down your back.

You look down to the abyss of scenery, you look up to the clouds, you look to your right and then to your left and for a split second you question the reality of the presence that surrounds you.  That very view at the top of the mountain is direct representation of the type of consciousness that William James refers to.  Consciousness, so personal and unique to everyone individually, is as personal and unique as that very view from the top.  To me, the view from the top of the mountain is my personal slice of heaven.  Consciousness will never be experienced the same exact way by two people and one’s thoughts only belongs to themselves the same way how that view only belongs me to.  You and I can both be standing on the very same mountain at the very same time and experience two completely different experiences.  You can be complaining about the dirt under your fingernails and the ache in you lower back while I breathe in and digest the world that surrounds me.

Numerous emotions run wildly through my head as I stand and admire the world’s natural beauty while wishing I never have to leave.  This view represents our way of being conscious of several different things all at one time.  As I stand on the top of the mountain and ponder about life, where it has taken me and where I plan to go, I am unaware of all the conscious feelings and senses that engulf not only my head but my body as well.