This is a song/poem is for Matthew Shepard and those who were/are victims of hate crimes. This year marks the 10th year Anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death. This is my small contribution to the GBLT Community. I love you, even though I may not have met you. I love you.
Rainbow Descent
They say there’s a statue, made of green stone, who stands for justice, freedom, and liberty….
Yet, we feel the need to hide, never ever, truly free
What’s life without love? Isn’t love something to be cherished?
Then why do people feel the need for our kind to perish?
Harsh words are spoken, Hell is often mentioned.
But if they stopped and listened, perhaps they would realize the ideals that make them Christian.
The world is so lost, so cruel, so cold
To be capable of destroying hearts of gold
Though I may never meet you in time recent
I will always be with you, children of rainbow decent.
And I’m sick of these jokes that make me wanna choke
I’m sick of the hate when I grab your hand as we skate
And I’m sick of the ignorance when they seal up another black bag
and the news reporting ‘ it was just another fag’
And as the world grows more wild, I begin to wonder, is every mother to bury her child?
The world is so lost, so cruel, so cold
To be capable of destroying hearts of gold
Though I may never meet you in time recent
I will always be with you, children of rainbow decent.
And how are teens suppose to be protected, when they ‘come out,’ they are no longer accepted?
And what were they thinking, as those two men tied your hands to the fence,
one homo down? it just doesn’t make sense
Poor Matthew, I’m sorry at what this world did to you, but love you have shown me, and given me strength,too
I’ll give you my wings, so you can soar higher, show the whole world, that love is the highest power.
So fly Matthew, Fly ever free, I’ll never forget, the love you’ve shown me.
The world is so lost, so cruel, so cold
To be capable of destroying hearts of gold
Though I may never meet you in time recent
I will always be with you, children of rainbow decent.
-Christopher T. Cole
April 6th, 2008
“Soul Searching”
Been driving for seven hours now
I know I’ll be out of gas anytime now
All these memories keep chasing me
So I drive faster so they leave me be
It appears you found a new Prince Charming
And now I’m left here alone, crying
And all of them feel the need to say
you ‘weren’t the best boyfriend, anyway’
(Chorus)
I hope he keeps you safe and warm at night
As he kisses your lips goodnight
I have countless miles just for thinking
I’ll find my strength, for I’m Soul Searching
Driving through this deserted town
I turned West to see the sun go down
Red, orange, yellow, and green
blue, indigo, and violet is what I see
As that rainbow-sunset started to fade away
And I know this sounds cliche
But I thought of you, though you have a new guy
Though you found a new love, I still have the star-lit, midnight sky
Chorus x2
Amongst a world defined black and white,
There, taught the difference between wrong and right.
See, Man and Woman were born to be,
Their tandem was meant to set their souls free.
The god that made them taught them how to live,
But Love was not an easy lesson to give.
Then, though the long ages have passed,
Came a new breed, that knew love at last!
Now there laid three sets of people,
Those that loved fair ladies’s hair, and those that loved men’s eyes that twinkled.
The god who made man and woman sat on his thrown,
Hoping his latest creation would have love shown.
But to his surprise, all was not well,
The world he imagined had turn from heaven to hell.
Men who loved women killed those that loved men,
And women who loved women, were slain in their dens.
Blood and fire filled the Earth complete,
And as the god looked down, saw nothing but catastrophe.
He began to see he had made a blunder,
And his dreams for peace and love had gone asunder.
So he grabbed up some bolts, and ordered the loudest thunder,
And turned the whole world, until it was all over.
With winged horses, the god flew down,
Even forgetting his golden-leaf crown.
And saw a few remnants of his latest creation,
Not a bit concerned of the encroaching devastation.
“How now young man, are thee not afraid?”
“Sorry my lord, for us fearless thou made,
Love knows no bounds, even crosses the genders,
And leaves are hearts, soft and tender.”
Quickly moved, the god did cry,
“To show the world love, I’ll place thee in the sky!”
With a wave of his hands, the clouds receded,
And onto his chariot, the new people proceeded.
Once they were high in the sky,
“Make them an example of love!” the god did cry.
The men who loved women, and the women who loved men,
saw the queerest thing in the sky just then.
Out of the world, once craving salvation,
Stood strong and proud, the Rainbow Children.
Hollowed walls,
Minds empty like an acorn one finds on a path in a dim forest,
When hunger starts to consume the body,
Only to find the hope of salvation, feedom from hunger`s grasp, was in vain.
An illusion brought on from demons and forest spirits to break the mind,
Like waves break the sea shore.
Gradually.
Consistently.
Until the mind cracks under the pressure, and the body,
As the mind has become,
food for the forest.
Blank faces,
Blank eyes, as if all feeling has been drained like a leaky faucet left overnight.
Eyes empty as if a vaccum was sweeped over them,
Leaving nothing but the bear essentials to see. But not truly see.
Eyes that no longer see love, desire, or hope.
Extinguished, like a flame in pit is drowned by a few sprinkles of water and sand.
Barred windows, locked doors
Continuously dehumanize, like a once fearful lion is turned kitten.
Complacent for the food he is delivered daily.
No longer the fierce animal he once was.
Painted ships and stars on the wall act as a reminder of what was lost,
The thrill of adventure, the will to live,
And the warmth of a lover`s comforting arms.
Colors, once bright and clear as a rainbow, now pacify;
Weaken;
And cause pain since the eys have grown accustomed to darkness.
Even the first true power we posses, our voices,
Given to us for use the moment we are born,
The last defense against denial and constant rejection,
Soften,
Make to a whisper, until the loudest Howl the earth has heard, becomes nothing but a fragment in time.
A whisper.
So soft that even Echo herself could not repeat it.
Lost to the Beats of its generation.
The last thing to go is your own movement.
Your arms strapped around your body, tight as a boa constricts its meals,
Placed into a jacket.
Providing the last comfort one will ever feel.
Can a tree become a bird?
Though it feels the bird on its limbs,
Sees the bird land and fly away,
And hears the bird`s song,
It can never become a bird.
Even if this happens,
And the tree sprouts wings,
Grows a beak,
Its bark turned into hollowed bone,
And starts to fly,
It cannot escape its fate.
The tree shall miss the earth,
The cooling rain on its leaves,
The forest life it once held on its limbs,
Where they would build homes and future generations.
The tree shall become immobile once again,
After the air has become mundane,
Its thin, clawed feet returned into the strong, absorbent roots it once took forgranted,
Leaves grow where the colorful feathers it has envied all the years of its existence,
And the forest life returns, along with it, the cirlce of life.
2.15.10
I Live My Life With A Gun Beside My Head,
always pressing against my temple.
Each morning I can feel the outline of the barrel,
never fading until I begin to dream.
This gun is not held by my doing,
but by others .
The others who claim I am a second-class citizen
The others who constantly press harder on the gun.
The others that preach love but practice hate.
It is too late.
I can hear the bullet slowly moving.
Slowly moving as if the bullet itself is showing mercy.
Allowing me more time.
More time to love.
More time to live.
More time to be true.
This is not my own doing.
This is not a suicide.
This is not my own doing.
I live my live with a gun beside my head,
Always pressing against my temple.
Style, which generally refers to the use of “Proper English,” can and in fact be praised for being different. Throughout this course, I have realized that style is like language; it can vary. Style is like putting your own “stamp” on writing. It is ultimately the difference from reading oh let’s say a Shakespearian play and reading an Agatha Christie murder mystery novel. The style guides we have utilized in class have offered us help by means of perfecting our own individual styles, while still suggesting ideas and criticisms. Heck, even the gap of those who liked Strunk and White versus those who liked Williams is an example of this. Style can be compared to pizza, in that we all like our own “toppings” to make something even better (because in reality, it is the cheese, the sauce, and the dough that makes a pizza great or not). Adding one’s own “umph” to writing should be an individual expression, because let’s face it, if we all wrote like Shakespeare, his work wouldn’t be as exciting as it is because we would be used to it.
If someone were to ask me what I learned in this class, I would have to say I have learned to perfect my own individual style of writing. Sure, we learned about the difference between spoken and written words courtesy of the “Phaedrus,” and we learned that multimedia can be a new way of writing, and many other things, but for the most part, I learned to be comfortable with my own writing, and how to perfect that writing even further, by stepping out of my “box” and revising/editing objectively. I also learned that I like writing on the computer (like on websites like WordPress, etc) as oppose to writing and turning it in via paper because I can add hotlinks, videos, and many other things to make my paper “jucier,” but I also know that I learn better with a classroom/face-to-face setting.
Looking back on the peer-review process for this term, I have learned that peer-review, like much in life, has benefits and disadvantages. Some of the benefits are: your peers are familiar with the paper assignments, know the class readings, can suggest quality material to add or tell you when things can be taken out, have different backgrounds to contribute suggestions (want to be journalists, teachers, etc.) that differ from your own perspective/background, and many other things. But with all that, your peers give you a “narrow-minded” analysis because they are so familiar with the assignment, have an educational background, etc etc. As I discovered during the “non-peer review” process, those who are not familiar with the assignment, lack knowledge on the given subject, etc. have and contribute many important things like: when you’re not being clear, where you need to define terms, have your paragraphs flow better, and so forth. I guess, in my opinion, a hybrid of both peer and non-peer revision is the best, because it takes the advantages of both peer and non-peer review.
When responding to my peers’ papers, I have learned that every writer has a unique way of writing, and not to hinder that said style of writing with your own suggestions. Sure, if there are missing commas, periods, etc. missing that need to be there, sure, inform them of these corrections, but let the writer do his or her own thing. For example, Brett’s writing style is drastically different from mine, so when I reviewed his essays, I had to really think about his writing style and think about constructive criticisms to give him without disrupting his style. After all, this was a course of style!
One thing that really disturbed me in the peer-review process was the lack of completed drafts for me to revise. There were many times when my peers would submit drafts that were not near completion, and it hindered me to give them sound advice since I did not have all the pieces. But as they say, C’est le vie.
After all the peer-review sessions in this term, I have learned, with the help of my peers, that sometimes I lack cohesive paragraphs because I get too excited to talk about many things instead of focusing on one thing within that paragraph. For example, I was often told that I would have paragraphs were I would start talking about one thing, and by the end of the paragraph, I was talking about another. This will help me greatly later on in life. 
At this point in time, my team and I have collaborated, brainstormed, revised, filmed, edited, and *almost* submitted the video for the project. At first, I had apprehensions about working on a group project with an online class (especially a SUMMER online class). I, personally, do not like group collaborations on projects, but that is because of past experiences in high school and other college classes. Luckily though, my team was fantastic. The only trouble thing we had come across was the scheduling to meet all together at a single spot and an exact time. But, I guess that comes with the territory of being grown ups.
I guess my first apprehension about this project, and probably the biggest, was the fact these were going on YouTube. After watching the Anthropological YouTube video, and from my own experiences, YouTube can be good AND bad. Also, I was hesitant working with someone who did not know the references we were making for the parody. I was quite concerned, but my teammate watched some videos as homework and with the group, and she did amazing! I was worried, because in the readings, I noticed a trend in participation and reliance of technology, so I was ambivalent if she could do it or not.
I’ve noticed that the writing process and the video-making process are practically one in the same, but TOTALLY different at the same time. With writing, it is usually the author and the reader engaged in a relationship. Sure, the reader comments and such about the book, author, plot, etc., but with video, it is OUT THERE. In the cosmos of cyber space. Anyone can watch and comment on it. Therefore, it is more critical to be precise and interesting. You don’t see the reader yelling at the author very often, but on YouTube, “trolls” comment and ruin lives through psychological tactics and hurtful words.
Both processes use revision, brainstorming, structure, clarity and concision, and that jazz, but videos rely on many different things. Sound, editing through other software, video, video editing, etc. Video-making is much more difficult because of the reliance of technology and software. Writing is more personal, because it *usually* takes longer to type and rewrite, revise, etc., than it does to make and edit a video.
Looking back on all the readings and such, I would have to say the Barron reading and the Anthropology of YouTube would be the most influential pieces for the up-coming essay. I liked the connections that Barron has about technology and writing, the steps technology must have and undergo in order to be successful, and things like that. I also think the Anthropology of YouTube video will be helpful, being that our videos will be posted on YouTube, and thus a PART of YouTube. Plus, the video was just awesome. :p
In addition, I feel that the Barron article and the YouTube video will help most with our projects being that “The Office” has been used as a parody many many times already, and can give us inside help while we make our own. For example, we can see how others have portrayed “Jim” and the other characters, so that we can easily mimic the characters and so forth. This will help us be more constructive with our time, and make our project go more smoothly!!!
I feel like we will use Barron and the Crowely and Hawhee articles the most in the execution of the video, because we need to be convincing, and we also have to use “The Office” dialog and language. We also need to be clear and concise, being that these videos are going on YouTube, and thus, are subjected to viewers and the like.
