Monthly Archives: March 2018

You can find the details of this assignment above under the “Assignments” tab.  Don’t forget to post your destination here once you have decided where you’re going!  All trip destinations must be posted no later than Monday, April 9th, the first day we are back after break.  I can’t wait to hear where you’ve decided to go!

Have a wonderful week off!!!  Use it to relax and recharge!

This is the stage at the La Guardia Community College Performing Arts Center.

This is where I used to perform, in my heyday.

This is where I encountered stage fright first hand, and the same stage where I overcame it.

This is the stage I walked on for my graduation.

I watched a performance of, In the Heights by Lin Manuel Miranda. To which, reminded me of my days, and made me glad that I have grown for a new stage!I was happy to see that they could still put on a remarkable show without me or my colleagues who would amp up the process of making a show come to life.I decided to come to this stage, to take my seat as a member of the audience, to watch my theater classmates who are still in my previous high school making their final theatrical stretch. Corny as it is, that “stage” is finding myself and who I want to be in the world.  So, in light of that…Cheers to new beginnings!

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all enjoying this unexpected day off from school!  In light of today’s school closing, I’d like to adjust our schedule as follows:

1.  Essay #2 will be due by 11pm on Tuesday, March 27th, via turnitin.com.

2.  Bring 3 copies of a completed draft of your essay with you to class on Monday, March 26th.

Because you have this unexpected extra time to work on your drafts, I expect them to be finished, polished works.  I would be happy to take a look at your draft and give you feedback, so email me if that’s something that you think would be helpful.  As you work on refining your papers, think about the following:

— Does your introductory paragraph spell out a clear thesis or main idea that you will be exploring throughout the essay? Ask yourself, “could a reasonable reader disagree with this thesis?”  If the answer is “no,” that means that you are describing what is going on in the text, but not yet analyzing it.  Ask yourself “so what? why is this important? what do we learn from this?” in order to push your thinking past description into analysis.

–Every body paragraph in your essay should begin with an idea about the text (not with an element of plot summary or description.) . Each paragraph should be organized around a single idea.  Be sure to connect each of your body paragraphs back to the essay’s thesis or main idea.

–Have you included textual evidence to illustrate and back up your ideas?  Remember that when you quote from the text, you also need to explain the significance of the quotation you’ve selected.  Don’t assume that your reader can see what you see in that quotation; offer some analysis of every quote you include in your paper.

I am looking forward to reading your work next week.  In the meantime, don’t hesitate to reach out!

Enjoy the snow day!!

Professor Sylvor

In this photo, I am walking the Brooklyn Bridge (what a coincidence that we were talking about bridges during class… anyways). This is one of my favorite photos I managed to take on the bridge because of what I was able to capture. Despite the rain and greyness outside, tourist managed to walk the whole bridge and continue to enjoy the beauty the city had to offer. By the look on their faces, I can tell they were excited to cross from borough to borough and experience the “adrenaline” a new yorker goes through while crossing this bridge.

New York minute

If you’ve lived in New York you have witnessed the phenomena of people lined out of stores in order to purchase an item. These lines go around the block with people who even camped out. As New Yorkers this has become normal however if you take a step back and really consider what is going on it is truly crazy. These people are doing this line to acquire a regular sneaker or shirt that has some sort clout. New yorkers are fashion forward individuals. Here more than anywhere would you witness people go that hard for fashion. This phenomenon speaks volumes as to the type of individuals that we are. Not only is the youth of new york a group stylish individuals we also grind. We grind from very young it is part of New York culture. Most of these teens on the line end up reselling the items for triple the price once they have worn it two or three times. It has even become a full time job for most of these teens. In New York more than anywhere can people make pieces of clothing so expensive.

New York is a city home to a lot of people with different backgrounds and even some tourists. Having directions out for people who are unfamiliar with the route and streets to get around is an important feature to how transportation works in the city. I remember having to take a different route to a place I had never been before, true Google maps and such apps are really useful at times like this. However, my internet failed to work at that moment, leaving me to depend on the maps and directions posted on the walls of the subway system. I never thought that there would be a time in which such displays would be useful to me due to our technological advances. I looked through the map and figured out where to go and what trains to take for my travel to be safer and time efficient. I have started to appreciate the efforts of the mta and directional posters more often.

Last week, I got the chance to experience New York City FC Home Opener game at the Yankee stadium. YES!, a soccer game on a baseball field. Regardless of where it took place, I got to enjoy the beautiful game. As some of you may know soccer is something I am very passionate about and to experience it here in New York was very special. I enjoyed every moment of the game, the vibes, the fans cheering, the chants, the songs, etc. I can say that for the last 3 game openers I have been to this one was really fun and worth going to. I really recommend you guys to go to one of their games this season and enjoy the amazing vibes the beautiful game offers… maybe when the weather gets nicer because when I went it was FREEZING!

You have the following assignments to do to prepare for Monday’s class:

1.  Rewrite five sentences from your personal essay.  For each sentence, provide the original sentence as it appeared in the essay, your revised sentence, and a brief explanation of the correction.  (typewritten)
2. In connection with our conversation today about “Story in Negro Slang,” compose a brief, slang-filled dialogue.  Your dialogue should have at least ten lines. (typed or handwritten)
3. Read Walt Whitman, “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry,” Vladimir Mayakovsky, “Brooklyn Bridge,” and Hart Crane, “To Brooklyn Bridge.”  All three poems are in your anthology. Be prepared to discuss and/or write about these poem

Above is a picture of the Woodlawn bound 4 train. I took two pictures to get my point across more clearly. As commuters, we all have to take some mode of private or public transportation. It could be a bus, train or in some cases, an uber. I take the 4 and transfer to the 6 every day as I go to school. Taking the train can get really tiring and most often uncomfortable due to the tightness and lack of personal space. The 4 train is actually one of the least spacious trains with its two-door entrance and a lean space for standing. It gets really tight to the point where people are just up against each other for the whole ride. It might be true that this goes for all trains, however, the 4 train is one to get so packed that the doors cannot be closed, yet the passengers do not feel the need to get off. At most times I end up standing for the whole 45 min commute on the 4 train with the awful traffic. One day I was taking the train with another friend of mine, who also happened to live on the 4 line. She suggested we go to the last car of the train. I was a bit confused at first for I thought it would not make a difference in what car we took. After walking into the last car of the train, I got to understand why she preferred it over the middle and front cars. In the last car, there were a lot of empty seats for my friend and I to sit on. At that moment I thought I had been gifted with the secret knowledge of easy travel, even if it might’ve been common knowledge to anyone else. I highly appreciated my friend giving me this information and hope we all get to find that one place in the trains with fewer people and more space because we all know how annoying taking the trains can be.

New York Minute – Frieze Art Fair 

Last year I went to the Frieze Art Fair on Randall’s Island. This year it will be held from May 3-6. There are a lot of galleries which offer multiple forms of visual, auditory, and tactile expression. Last year I was lucky to attend the event with my AP Graphic Design class. What made this day so memorable was the not only the artwork but my journey to  this event. On May 5, there was a terrible rain storm. The class had to walk from 56th to 33rd St to catch the Frieze Ferry to Randall’s Island. Needless to say everyone was soaked by the time we reached the ferry. When we got there we were given complimentary totes, “art passports” and mechanical color pencils. As I ventured further into the exhibits I found the first painting that really caught my attention. Koichi Enomoto’s  “Phantom Ship/ 1853”, brought over me a sense of wonder. Looking into Enomoto’s artist statement she meant for her pieces to reflect reality. This piece reflects Enomoto’s accepted perception of the world. I like the piece for its delicate detail and color scheme. Green is a predominant color which gives a sense of harmony according to color theory. The asymmetrical placement of red is what makes this piece dynamic. If you zoom into any section of the picture you’ll notice that there are various activities going on. These are activities are narratives which can be interpreted as the factions of Enomoto’s reality. Lastly, this piece really moved me because of the subject of reality depicted. I had a wonderful time with my friends and peers and am looking forward to experiencing new art this year. If you are interested in attending the art fair you can visit them at https://frieze.com/fairs/frieze-new-york and purchase tickets at  https://friezeny.tix123.com . Tickets on Friday, May 3 for 18-25 year olds are $12.00 with a $4.00 service charge per item. This is a great deal when compared to general admission for one day at $48.00 with a $4.00 service charge. I recommend checking it out as soon as possible if you are interested.

– Jasmine Mizhquiri