A Picture of Language: The Fading Art Of Diagramming Sentences,by Juana Summers is an article that discusses a practice of the English Language that was dropped from most learning communities a long time ago, rarely being used today. The purpose of this Practice was to help children who are developing English Language skills, Better organize their sentences and writing so they have a better perspective of using nouns, pronouns, and verbs into meaningful sentences. The Practice originates in Brooklyn, an idea that was proposed by two professors who worked at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute. It was popular for about 50 or 60 years, Spreading throughout America, but soon after died our come the 1960’s. Now a days, if students tried to learn the English Language through this practice, it would be come to frustrating and confusing for them to understand in today’s learning society.
Category: Summary
One of the main purposes route is to give walkers a more dynamic and in depth relationship to the area that surrounds them and what it has to offer to make a persons walk, or even their day, more enjoyable. Currently, this route is best taken place during the Autumn season, but it is possible for the same route to have a different appeal to others in different times of the year. The following route from the train station from Borough Hall to the pier located near the Manhattan Bridge is meant for the sole purpose of creating an enjoyable walk for some, but perhaps not all that enjoy the cross over between nature and urban society.
The first section of the route that will begin to catch the walkers eye is the very beginning from Cadman Plaza around Columbus park, leading to the entrance of Cadman Plaza Park. The entrance itself is quite appealing at first sight with the orange tinted leaves on the trees that arc from the left and right side of the entrance, spreading out to the rest of the park and to the outside areas as well. Combined with the small urban structures of the benches and light posts, and it brings a welcoming sight to the walker coming through the park. Also the bright green that radiates from the center of the park really gives the area a value of color to the area, making it pop out to the walkers. This is just one of the three major points in the walk where urban society and nature join to create a wonderful sight, as walkers will begin to see this theme climax till they reach their destination.
The second area that becomes appealing to the walker is the half way point of the route, within the connection of Hicks street and Cranberry street. Through this section of the route, walkers will have a pleasant scenery of the colored leaves that line up through the street side by side with the houses. Whats so appealing about this section is how the trees blend right into the colors of the buildings that are right next to them. This combined with then yellow and green leaves that compliment the scenary and give it more color to create a pleasant area of interest for almost anyone’s walk. This is especially true going down Cranberry street, as it seems to be the perfect example for such a scenery between Urban society and nature.
The third and final area of the route that gives walkers a great appeal is none other than the destination itself which is the boardwalk itself located near the Manhattan Bridge. The view itself from the boardwalk speaks for itself, as it gives a fantastic view of both the ocean and the city of Manhattan which is right across from the walkers view point. And if the walker looks to their left from the pier, they have a small but decent view of the Statue of Liberty that can be seen from a distance. This view is best on a sunny evening, since the sunlight that reflects off the buildings, reflect into the water, giving the water more of a beautiful gleam to it, catching the eyes of many viewers. Not only that, but seeing the boats and fairies that pass along the water show how once again nature and urban society can cross paths, giving a meaningful viewpoint of anyone’s walk.
In conclusion, once again, the idea of this route was to not only give walkers a sence of enjoyment, but to show them the co-existence of nature and urban society today. Its somewhat like yin and yang, one cannot exist without the other. Only together will they create a balance between each other, giving meaning to something or someone. For a quick example, what if the view of the boardwalk did not have the buildings that are there now? it would still look nice yes, but it would seem a bit boring to look at after awhile. That’s why we have an urban society today, not only to give people a way of living, but to co exist with nature and what it has to offer versus what we have to offer to it in the co-existence we have today.
During our field trip to the Brooklyn Historical Society, we paid a visit to their library to analyze and study a few maps about Brooklyn and how its maps and streets came to be. There were several maps that were spread out, weather they be Subway maps, maps of some areas of Brooklyn, or all of New York state, they all kinda told a small story of the past. during my research, i noticed how back then they used maps a a type of advertisement for companies and what not. the map below is an older map of the brand new subway transit system, before the number and letter system came to be later on. Not only does this map have old subway routes, but it also told you a little about how the economy back then as seen by the 25 cent advertisement in one of the pictures below. also in the back of the map, i found an advertisement to the company who made the maps, also mean that the company who made this subway map has made other maps, perhaps even more of Brooklyn.
Subway map from 1940’s
Subway Advertisement
The company information i found on the back
Reading Lucy, by Jennifer Egan is a essay that’s based on a research novel about a woman named Lucille Kolkin who worked for the Brooklyn Navy yard during World War II as a mechanic for about two years. The author begins to create a bond with her as she continues to interview Lucy, not only learning about what she does and her studies as an engineer, but more of her personal life as well. Lucy then tells her about how she met a man named Alfred Kolkin and how they would send letters to each other as often as they could. Through this, they both began to create a close bond to each other as readers can clearly see that they both care about each other very much. But overtime, they began to drift apart, the only thing keeping them together was through the letters they sent. The author could tell that there bond was strong through the letters that they wrote to each other from time to time, discussing their current situations and developments. around the end when Alfred moves to a new Navy yard in California, They discuss things about a possible future with kids and a house and other things that an average married couple would do. The author soon finds out that Lucy dies years ago and is a bit crushed by the fact, but through reading her letters to Alfred along with a few online articles she found, she knows that she died doing what she wanted. In the end, she feels a bit of a reflection towards herself through reading Lucy’s letters and begins to question her future. but in the end, she concludes that you just have to live it out to the fullest.
From what i can learn about this essay is that people should live life to the fullest till the day they pass on. The author further implements this message through Lucy’s letters and the choices that she made throughout her time talking to the man of her dreams. I think its a rather personal thing that the reader can relate to with the story, for the soul fact that Lucy made the decisions that she did to be happy with herself and live life. It’s something sadly not alot of people think about now a days, people are so focused on the future, that they barley even worry about what makes them happy and what they want to do later on in that future time.
What if you Could Choose Between the Fastest Route and the Most Beautiful, by Lex Berko, Is a article that explains how nowadays with Mobile navigation apps, they only take you from point A, to point B in the shortest way possible. Berko explains that this current use of a mobile app becomes boring and non – enthusiastic. Berko wants to make a way that you can get to your location, while also being able to enjoy your walk and its scenery. He conducts an experiment with some people, showing them alternate routes and its scenery and asks them, which route would you rather take and which one looks more pleasant. After gathering the results, it was clear that most people do want to enjoy a peaceful or beautiful scenery as they are walking from point A to point B.
After reading the article, i have to agree with Berko’s experiment and say it is more lively to walk a path that has a more appealing scenary surrounding the area. It get boring going through the same path over and over again, with the same old, boring look. I would rather try and find another route that i can walk through and be able to smile at the appealing scenery that surrounds the area. I feel others should support this as well, since now adays, we live in a more depressing time. Little things like this can do alot to brighten up a persons day in their life.
My name is Kevin Ayala, I’m 17 years old and currently studying in City Tech for a major in graphic design an advertising. Ever since I was a child, I was always passionate about drawing, no matter what I did , I would always doodle about small thoughts that would pop into my head. Majority of the time, these thoughts were inspired from playing video games so much, since that would be the one thing I would always do whenever I had free time . Other times, it would be about cartoons I would watch on television. These two sources of entertainment were the main inspirations I had that began my passion for drawing and creativity.
From every game I played, or every cartoon I watched, I would always have a keen eye for the detail of the characters and the creators style of drawing them, since many are unique. Their appearance, art style, and characteristics were all main points I would always consider when I drew something out of the inspiration I got from it. Throughout my time in school, I would always meet new people that would give me even more inspiration or suggestions for my artwork, not only improving my work, but creating a stronger passion for drawing. Before I knew it, I already had my mind set to what I wanted to do in the future as I grew up. I wanted to take my love of drawing, and create a career out of it. I go by a saying i grew quite fond of, “If it’s something you love to do, go for it”
In five to ten years from now, I see myself as a concept designer either for television, game making, or advertising. I want to be able to present my portfolio to someone with confidence, and show them what kind of ideas I have for a project or an idea for an on going one. Just the thought of seeing something that I created in the public eye of millions gets me exited to do what I love.
My profile and avatar shows that drawing and sketching is what I want to do, and how I’m driven to do so. My avatar represents myself, drawn in a sketch, showing that I love to draw, hence the pencils and eraser next to the drawing. I left it uncolored, showing that I’m still incomplete, Although it shows what I’m capable of doing as far as my artistic ability, I still have a lot to learn before I can actually go out there and express myself to businesses and companies. People will see this through my portfolio, as it shows my development throughout my time in City Tech. With these new learned techniques, i can show my future employers that i am ready to work and ready to show what i have to offer to their future operations as a graphic designer.
When it comes to my profile, it shows the past work i have done in my College courses and shows how passionate i am at using my creativity for my assignments, making them as strong as i possibly can. If there is ever something that i know i can do better, i will ask for criticism or opinions. with those idea’s from others that gave me criticism, i revise my work, making it fit the assignment as best as possible, possibly even going above and beyond. I want people to look at my work and know that I’m very serious about what i do and what my employers or professors from me.
“City Limits” by Colson Whitehead is a interesting article that tells readers about different views of New York and how everyone see’s it differently. In the article, Whitehead explains how New York life was for him, and how he see’s New York compared to everyone else. He begins by telling readers what he knows New York to be in his perspective, for example, in paragraph four, he explains his first time building his New York when he was looking out a subway window on the 1 train, describing the area as filthy, and to him, that’s how he will always portray that area, since that’s the way he saw it. He also shows this further on into the paragraph as he begins to describe the Met Life building next to the Grand central station as the Pan Am building since that’s the way he first saw it, compared to a woman that refers it as the Met Life building. Both contradict each other, saying that the other one is wrong and they are right, but in the end, it all depends on how the person first saw the building in their perspective.
Throughout the rest of the article, Whitehead exclaims that everyone’s new York will always be their own personal New York, but there will be times where people will begin to refigure their New York as time moves along, telling readers that you should try to accept the new compared to the old, not trying to judge it just because its different. But no matter what happens, the building you have grown to accept, will still be your own memory of what the building used to be to you in your own personal New York. It’s as if our own New York is like our own Utopia, a happy place that we can go back to remember and wish that we can relive again if given the chance. Its that sense of nostalgia that makes us sad at first, but happy to know that we once knew of such a place when we first saw it. For example, I remember when I was younger, the Nintendo world building in Rockefeller center in time square, wasn’t always Nintendo world, to me, I saw the Pokémon center. It was a building that was dedicated to such a big franchise that was, and still is successful to this day. now, instead of the building being dedicated to the one game, it has its own corner of glory on the top floor of the building, along with other Nintendo titles. However, the building still has the original doors from the old building, retaining its history and nostalgia for most people. To me, that building will always be the Pokémon center in my personal New York.
We were on a field trip to Book Arts on 28 W 27th St. Durring the time we were there, we were given a small tour of the process of how novels are made. There are two parts to making a novel, the process of binding, and the process of printing. At first, we were shown the difference between how printing was back then compared to how it is now. Back then, it was more complex to print letters on paper for a book, since it was done by using stamp like stencils that had individual letters on it. With these stencils, each word and sentence were spelled out by each individual letter on the stencils. after the explanation of printing, we were given time to roam the exhibit they had in the building, showing different pieces of book covers and combining art with words, giving a purpose or meaning behind the piece. After the small roaming around the class did, we were then given a brief explanation of how a book is binded, or held together. there are different types of ways of binding books, one of the two we were shown was an exposed bind, in which the material that is holding the books and pages together can be seen outside of the book. and the other one we were shown was a glued bind, which is the most commonly used bind today. A glue bind is when the bind and the pages are all glued together down the middle of the book. He also explained very briefly about accordion binds, which is where one long page with writing is folded in such a way that when it becomes unfolded, it comes out like an accordion. Afterwords, we left Book Arts to go to a museum to learn a little bit about Modern India, and how pieces of art and sculptures show the development in the area and how their culture se’s the rest of the outside world compared to the rest of us. Overall it was a rather interesting experience and it was fun to say the least. i feel there was a lot to learn from the experience and what we saw.
