Author: cloyde(kingjay)

Cloyde Vandenburg

English 101

Professor: Hall

Come into the light

“I was supposed to have you to hold, but you just kept me in the dark”. Music, a huge influence on society and Serves as a universal language and way to the soul. With just a mere song one’s mentality can change including their perspective on the world. Chris Brown “Heartbreak on a full moon” double album is compacted with a wide range of songs; forty-five to be exact and another ten added as the deluxe version “Cuffing Season”.

Eight:

Since I was eight years old I have been a Chris brown fan; yes, that includes knowing every song on every album and being super annoyed whenever someone mentions the Rihanna incident. It’s hard being a Chris brown fan, the simple mention of his name causes and immediate debate and the main topic is him being a “woman beater”. No, the past cannot be changed, but he took responsibility for his actions knowing that he would lose big time, yet through all struggles and doubt he raises to the top to reclaim the throne as one of the best entertainers since Michael Jackson. Though he may be one of the best in the industry critics say that is music is lacking. Stated by Vulture author Craig Jenkins; who is reviewing the album says that “Chris is better at shattered” (There’s A Decent Album Hidden in Chris Brown’s Bewildering Heartbreak on a Full Moon; seventh paragraph). By this he means the quality of his music is better when he is expressing his feelings and not about what he is going to do in the bedroom. To cap off the harsh but truthful criticism Craig states that “I’m starting to think he’ll be one of those artists whose classic is their greatest hit collection, who could’ve done so much better if he could only get out of his own way”. With this statement, it’s clear that the only person holding Chris brown back is himself, implying that his music could be better. Yes, his controversial life over shadows his music yet instead of talking about the music the conversation is mostly about him constantly being in the courtroom, Stated by Chris himself in his documentary “Welcome to my life” he says “they should be talking about how I’m the baddest mother f@#$%# on the stage; instead of how I’m the baddest mother f@#$%# in the courtroom (There’s Actually a Decent Album Hidden…., third paragraph). It is obvious that the frustration of always being seen in the wrong way can be heard from this statement, but at the end of the day the conversation should be on the music. Even if you’re not a fan, you can’t deny that the man is quite talented, some may say he’s the living legacy of Michael Jackson himself, due to Chris learning from Michael by just watching him on television.

Past:

Ever since I was a kid I’ve loved music, and not only just one genre, or language, it has always been various types of music ranging from: hip hop, trap, soca, Afrosoca, reggae, reggaeton and more. Over the years I’ve always said I don’t listen to music I feel it, what I mean is that instead of just listening to a song; I dissect the song and understand it for more than what it is. The truth is that music got me through many obstacles that life can throw at me, especially Chris Brown’s music. The thing about his music specifically is that I can relate to most of the songs, something I can’t seem to do with other artists. “Heartbreak on a full moon”; double album released on Halloween of 2017 and the album I feel was made just for me with songs like “Trust Me”, “paradise” “hurt the same”, “I love her” and more are all so relatable and coincidentally me getting dumped a month before the release I think it was made for me. Two songs helped me move on and accept what took place. Those two songs were “Paradise” and “Hurt the same”. Two very different yet similar songs, both giving off crazy depressing vibes yet the more you listen to the lyrics the more you understand the words and eventually grow out of the depressing funk, or in my case wake up and move on. Being dumped after two years puts one in that’s unrecognizable to oneself, became someone almost completely different from who I usually am. In a nutshell that was my lowest point ever, with no one to talk to but myself at 2am in the morning the it thing I could do was listen to music and laugh.

Present:

Funny how two songs can change your perspective of everything, never was the type to accept things as it is, always ran away from the truth until there was nowhere left to run. Funny how two songs can make you realize that it is ok to feel the way you do, to feel lost and alone. It is funny, for just two songs to make you feel whole again, that no matter how dark it may get it’ll get better, not immediately but slowly and surely you will. “Paradise” being the more depressing song with the hook “fell out of paradise” was a big reminder of my relationship being that it was a good one in every way, the song takes you to a sunken place only to bring you back towards the beginning of the main rap verse that starts by saying “Yea we fell off, you moved on I’m tryna play it off” hits that soft spot and hype you up at the same time. Even if you aren’t out of that slump by the end of the song there’s “Hurt the Same” which is a mixture of (I’m over it) and (why am I still feeling like this). Starting strong with “Sick and tired of the bullshit you won’t get another chance” sets up the and changes the mood completely. It also a reminder of all the dumb decisions made, giving second chances which weren’t deserved, but if I get the chance to do it all over again, well let’s that’s a story for another time. The songs allow the listener to interpret it in any way they choose, to feel however they choose, like art there is no right answer, it’s only you and the music. Though it may seem that I haven’t changed that may be true but what did change is my approach to every obstacle, with each challenge that is presented to me, I greet it with a smile.

That’s it:

Music, a universal language and way to the soul, with just one song your entire view in life can change the way you approach every obstacle. With two songs, I finally accepted everything I ran from and welcomed each challenge with a smile, all thanks to my favorite music artist Chris brown and his album “Heartbreak on a full moon”. With the double album being his tenth he proves that no matter what it may be, he will always come back stronger proving why he is one of the best entertainers since Michael Jackson. With two songs from the album “Paradise” and “Hurt the same” helped me get out of a slump that would have proven challenging to get out of.

Bibliography:

Jenkins, Craig. “There’s a Decent Album Hidden in Chris Brown’s Bloated Heartbreak on a Full Moon.” Vulture, Vulture, 3 Nov. 2017, www.vulture.com/2017/11/review-chris-brown-heartbreak-on-a-full-moon.html.

https://youtu.be/S9ccpbsbtvE

https://youtu.be/7uv-ntLL4C4

Revised paper (2)

Cloyde Vandenburg

English 101

They are US: We are Them

ZOMBIE!!!!! RUN !!!!! like most horror films, monsters are always depicted as something we fear, yet humans connect and understand these so called “monsters”, so what can stories about monsters, show us about ourselves and our culture?

Beginning:

Throughout history there have been countless stories about monsters, some being iconic some not so much. In American youth culture instead of being afraid of these so called “Monsters” they are rather embraced and understood. Why? What makes there’s monsters so relatable? Is there a specific Kind of monster that’s relatable to or is it all of them. In the article “My Zombie Myself”Chuck Klosterman states that “they knew they would be able to relate to it” basically what he is saying is that instead of being afraid of their unconscious fear humans most likely relates to monsters than fear them. This Makes sense even though is only answers only half of the question, is there a specific Kind of monster that’s relatable to or is it all of them?. The general monster (Dracula, Frankenstein,Zombies) etc are understandable and I agree with Klosterman because typically these monsters are created some freak accident and all you can finished sorry for them. The million dollar question now is, what about the “Monsters” that aren’t created through a freak accident. Klosterman statement is blind rattling until you realize he is correct, our everyday life is more like a monster flick than a get away in paradise.

Wake up:

This is a big Wake up call round because what this is telling us is that we don’t just understand these monsters because their just monsters, we understand and relate to them because WE ARE THEM! We are the monsters. How are we the monsters ? Mostly monsters are created though freak accidents, but that’s the best part of the whole phenomena. This kind of monster isn’t created in such a way but through bad relationships, social media, video games, work, all of these things turn us into the things we fear the most, mindless creatures much like Zombies reading and deleting emails, going to work or school, all makes us zombie like creature, how because like a zombie, whose only desire is to consume flesh, out desire lies with these activities. In other words activities that become a habit can be considered a monstrosity. In his article Klosterman mentions another author who states “opening Safari is an actively distractor decision. I am asking that consciousness be taken away from me”. What the author is trying to convey is that when she opens safari she becomes so distracted, it’s almost like a mindless  zombie, which I completely agree with because it relates to social media and our smartphones.

Wow:

Everyday on your daily commute, all you see is people on their phones and it’s not only pre-teens, or teenagers it’s also the adults. Everyone hear are constantly faced downward almost never looking up, to notice the world around them. Speaking of, I’m also guilty of this act most of the time while on my way my school all I do is scroll through social media or listen to music or both. I can remember a few weeks ago I forgot to charge my headphones and couldn’t listen to music on the train which forced me to look up, to notice the building and my surroundings. The thing is that even as we’re looking down sending a text or email, we are still capable of navigating our surrounding while still glued to our phones. We need to look more often. Video games is another example of how technology males is mindless, kids and teenagers play video games so much it becomes a part of their daily conversation but this is not the part that makes them mindless, that part is staying up late playing, always saying “five more minutes” but those five minutes never seem to end end until It is 4 or 5 am in the morning. How do they manage to stay up so late ? Well the answer is simple and also something I used to do, when parents would check on us we would turn off the tv really fast and pretend to be asleep, wait five minutes then back to gaming. This scam had worked countless times in my experience. The point is that videos become so addicting, the person playing it becomes so mindless that they don’t get up for a long time unless except to get something to eat or go to the bathroom. Put the video games down a bit and interact with others, you may not get that change again.

Repetition:

“ Zombie killing is philosophically similar to readings nd deleting 400 work emails or filling out paperwork which only generates more paperwork”. Stated by Klosterman in his article he relates lie everyday life as the zombie apocalypse as the more we get done, more of it comes back, same as the more zombies you kill the more they come back. “As long as we keep deleting whatever’s in front of us, we survive” another quote from Klosterman’s article, relating to the fictional world of zombies and monsters, as long as we keep killing them we may survive, this can also relate to the real world as long as we complete our everyday tasks we can go on living. I agree completely Klosterman on this reason being is that in order for us to survive there are several obstacles that need to be overcome, and there obstacles take the form as our everyday tasks. What can these things tell us about ourselves ? One can almost say we are slaves to our everyday life. Each day we wake up and for the things over and over alamot never changing anything, mind blowing isn’t it.

The End:

The thing about monster stories is that if we don’t pay close attention to them we may fail to see the meaning behind them. Some teach us important life lessons, whole some we relate to. Some monsters aren’t just created but already exist, within is with the real world as our domain only to be a slave to ourselves.

Cloyde Vandenburg

English 101

DEADASS BLOWING MINDS

I told my cousin his mom is dead outside and he started crying, bro relax I’m just saying she is really outside, such a cry baby. The thing about slang is that it mostly reflects how we speak, and the way we say certain things, like the way I told my cousin his mom is really outside. He didn’t understand the slang in was using and therefore took it literally. By using the word “Dead” i emphasise the fact that his mom is actually outside at the moment. In a way it was me fooling around with him and i wanted to see his reaction to me saying his mom is dead outside when I could’ve phrased it differently by saying bro your mom is “Deadass” outside.

    Slang, the word slang is defined as words and phrases that are regarded as very informal. Whenever we speak, it’s either in an informal or formal way, it all depends on the audience, if we’re talking to our friends we tend to talk in a more informal way or by using slang, like (bro there’s some bad shawties in my class). Typically the word bad explains itself but in this situation it is used to say that the girls in my class are really cute. On the other hand if we’re talking to our boss we would speak in a more formal way, for example ( Good morning professor hall, I have completed the assignment that you assigned last week) in this form it is a way of being professional. Formal can be defined as using proper English.

    In New York city, Brooklyn to be more precise, you can almost say it is a slang city. On almost every corner everyone speaks in an informal way. One of the most known Brooklyn slang is “Deadass”. Used so often even if one doesn’t want to to say it they say it. The point of the word is to emphasize how serious one is and can have various meanings. For example “professor Hall is deadass blowing minds giving us a (1000) thousand word paper based on one word” *gives her the death stare*. By using deadass I’m emphasizing how upset I am about how my professor really gave us an assignment that is to be done based off of one word, knowing that I’ll be upset because well I hate doing any kind of work, but i have no choice but the write the paper because this degree ain’t gonna get itself. “WHY CARRIE WHYYYY” * CRIES IN A CORNER*.

   Deadass, “ A phrase to emphasize another word, feeling or emotional statement, used by individuals across the United States to mean “very”, “severely”, “extremely” with a specific air of honesty”. Basically it is a word that is used to give meaning to another word and can mean another though change in tone. Interesting thing about the word is that it can be used as a statement and as a question. “Bruh you not deadass”? In this sentence it is asking someone if they are really serious. As a statement, I deadass don’t wanna do this paper. Another interesting thing about deadass is that the phrase has been around for a long time and is often older than the individual using it.

    The origin if the word is unknown, it is not mentioned anywhere as to where it was first used, but there are references of how it was used before it transitioned and become the meaning we known today. Older use of the word meant “frigid woman” one who does not respond, just lays there. An example of it was used is “no wonder Bob strays, his wife is a deadass in the sack.” in other words you can say the woman does not care. This isn’t the oldest use of the word, yes there is a much older use, the older meaning was  a lazy man” quite straightforward, one who just lays around and expects others to support him. In all honesty both of these definitions are weird, I’m so confused, I don’t understand how this makes sense like frigid woman? WHAT!!!! Bruh they blowing minds.

    Personally I love using slang, in a way it is funny to me especially when stories are being told, it just completes the story and make a it much more interesting. The Use of slang is so interesting, it is not proper English yet it is the way we speak and different words can men’s the same thing, how crazy is that like for example “deadass bro I’m mad tired of college, it blows minds, I be up mad late completing assignments and barely getting at most (2) two hours of sleep, I’m finna drop out” *sigh*. In that sentence the words Deadass and Mad means the same thing. Translation for those who don’t understand slang even though you live in New York it almost impossible to not understand but basically I’m saying “seriously bro I’m really tired of college blah blah blah” interesting fact about myself is that i speak in three different ways, formally, informally and what I would call “goody goody” (the way I speak to my parents) if you don’t know what a goody goody is it is someone or child who doesn’t behave unruly in front of their parents, just like coats how he wonders about calling his father by his first name what will be the reaction, only difference with me is that I don’t have to wonder about what will happen if I call my mom by her first name, why well because the moment i do Is also the very moment I either get the ass whopping of the century or in just signed my death certificate.

   The thing about slang is that it is predominately used in the African American community with words such as “Deadass” “blowing minds” “mad” “finna”, just to name a few, all which are used on a daily basis. Another interesting thing with slang you don’t have to create a whole new word and give it a specific meaning, you literally take an existing word say it in an unusual way and if it makes sense, boom you have a new slang. It does not take rocket science to understand to get the hang of slang, to some it may be a little different to understand but e eventually they’ll get the hang of it. New York isn’t the only place slang is used, there is Philadelphia, Chicago, New Jersey and other states across the butted states. All of these places have their own way if speaking unfortunately I can’t give any examples because I don’t know any of the slang they use….yea sorry *awkward silence*

   *Sigh* sooooooo, yes I dragged that for no reason, don’t ask why I did that cause even I don’t know why I did that, anyway language isn’t defined as one definition, it is the way we speak, the way we communicate with each other whether it being in a formal way (using proper english) or informally (the use of slang). Throughout the borough of Brooklyn slang is used, one of the most used is “Deadass” manning “seriously””very” and “extremely” mostly bed in the African American community if not only used, the word emphasises emotional feelings and that is the kind of slang to give new meaning to existing words. Being that this is that this is the last paragraph Imma shred Carrie cause she got me tight right now with this paper, like why do you need 1000 words bruh like you deadass ? Got my hands hurting, messing up my sleep schedule like you asking to get roasted bruh, you what FLAME ON wait never mind, just thought about my grade, cause this paper could potentially be an “A” and I ain’t finna play myself and mess that up. Soooooo hi Carrie, hope you’re having a nice day, yes I’m kissing up to you cause I need to pass and graduate on time, so I’m gonna catch you in class and bless you with  my presence and THAT’S ALL FOLKS.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.urbandictionary.com/define.php%3fterm=bruh&amp=true

https://www.quora.com/What-does-the-term-deadass-mean

Cloyde Vandenburg

English 101

Carrie Hall

09/23/18

Second draft

     Whenever the words “shop class” is brought up most people immediately think about working with wood, and heavy machinery, while others think of it as a whole as just hands on experience in the trade you’re interested in. Connecting to the real world you realize that there are more white collar occupations than blue collar occupations, with white being brain work and blue collar being hands on work. In the article “shop class as Soulcraft” it is stated by Matthew B. Crawford that “shop class is becoming a thing of the past”. Knowing this brings up the question how are students going to learn the skills they learn In shop class in the real world? Which in turn brings up the question should schools re-introduce vocational skills classes to prepare students for opportunities outside of white collar professions? To answer this question first one have to to know the benefits of blue collar professions and how it can help you in the real world. To begin vocational skills help you with your communication skills, some of the trades if not most of them require on the be social and be able to communicate well with others, another way it helps you with is teamwork, not only are you required to communicate with others but you you have to work well with them, it’s not going to be all talk, being able to work well with others is essential. Hand eye coordination is another skill that can be learned in the blue collar field, many trades involve either heavy machinery of specialized tools that are used in the workplace that you are not only need to know how to operate such tools but to navigate your surroundings while at the same time focused on the job at hand personally through the trades that’s I’ve took interest in I have learned these skills. Within the white collar field the profession mostly strengths your skills that are used within that field, in other words the skills you learn in most white collar jobs aren’t used outside of that job. Crawford states in his article that “skilled labor is becoming one of the few paths to a good living”, financially speaking that is a a real head scratcher, what is he trying to say/ask is that can blue collar jobs earn you enough money for you to have a comfortable life, from what we know white collar occupations earn more than blue collar occupations, but only if you have all the qualifications, the more certified you are the more money you make, something that is not mention in the white collar field, yet in the blue collar field of you’re able to operate a certain kind of machinery you got the job, but mean you get paid as much, I know this due personal experiences and past mentors. With That being said, why are white collar professions preferred to blue collar professions? The answer is condensed into one word “Future-ism” “in our harsh world we as humans leave the material reality behind and drift into an economy of pure information” stated by Crawford and what he means by this is that we leave a world of hard work and go into one of fantasy, where blue collar don’t exist and everything is either done for you or at a touch of a finger. In a world like this humanity would become dependent on technology, which in the long run isn’t good. Knowing this we go back to our original question should schools re-introduce vocations skills classes to prepare students for opportunities outside of white collar professions? Yea they should, why because students can the learn good communication skills, how to work well with others and special equipment at the end of it all if the student doesn’t find the trade their in as a future career they can change it for another trade that suits them, which would be easier to learn because the skills they have learned prior to the new trade can be carried over into other trades giving one an advantage in the industry. Therefore schools should bring back shop classes because it is an educator itself, being that it teaches various skills that can be used in any trade being white collar or blue collar.