Hey folks,
I just wanted to thank everyone for a great year. The Excel 10 blog will be taking a hiatus for the 2007-08 school year b/c I am not teaching Excel this upcoming year.
You can always check my other blogs:
Groves U.S. History http://groves-us-history.blogspot.com/
Civil War http://grovescivilwar.blogspot.com/
and the brand new one that begins in December 2007, Honors Philosophy http://grovesphilosophy.blogspot.com/
Thanks.
Geoff Wickersham
"After a hard day's work diggin' up the sod, we're ready for chow."
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Sunday, June 03, 2007
Beat Poems - 2007
The following poems were performed at our end-of-the-year party/coffeehouse poetry slam.
Birth, school, work, death,seems pretty dull in short view.
My first 10 was all backstreets still 'nsync for everybody,
growing up you see thats all frazzle dazzle.
Relationships become real, people change, people get new bigger boyfriends and try to get them to beat you up, its all life.
Already, 16, money blurs it all.
It seems its all that matters, all that can get you there, is in green.
But Lupe said that all the money in the world don't make it painless.
And what's with these american role models, seems to me like false idols.
Really, people can vote on fallacy and not leadership, get a grip country.
Does it really take that campus to open our eyes, everybody hurts, wake up, I know Geist won;t.
Right now, you can't tell Kanye nothing, the Middle East we'll never know,
Plagued with bling bling, status symbols, so much fake Holden would be going crazy with these phonies.
Keep reading your tabloid, keep spreading that rumor, keep checking your myspace, keep texting in class.
But what can I say? I am merely in step 2, dreaming, more hating the outlined future.
Josh "Slam Dunk" Sm.
Birth, school, work, death,seems pretty dull in short view.
My first 10 was all backstreets still 'nsync for everybody,
growing up you see thats all frazzle dazzle.
Relationships become real, people change, people get new bigger boyfriends and try to get them to beat you up, its all life.
Already, 16, money blurs it all.
It seems its all that matters, all that can get you there, is in green.
But Lupe said that all the money in the world don't make it painless.
And what's with these american role models, seems to me like false idols.
Really, people can vote on fallacy and not leadership, get a grip country.
Does it really take that campus to open our eyes, everybody hurts, wake up, I know Geist won;t.
Right now, you can't tell Kanye nothing, the Middle East we'll never know,
Plagued with bling bling, status symbols, so much fake Holden would be going crazy with these phonies.
Keep reading your tabloid, keep spreading that rumor, keep checking your myspace, keep texting in class.
But what can I say? I am merely in step 2, dreaming, more hating the outlined future.
Josh "Slam Dunk" Sm.
Power by Henry M.
I said 1, 2, 3
G-Wick, Zimm, and Barry
Going around and teaching
Why do you tell us what to do
Over and over again?
No drugs, no sex,
Turn right, turn left,
You're wrong, I’m right
Too much arguing in the world
That’s why there’s war
I want oil and I want democracy
More like hypocrisy
Which sort of rhymes with equality
Ironic? I think not
Equality is the ultimate
The ultimate power, the ultimate weapon, the ultimate fear
Fear when used correctly is the ultimate power
Power is what we seek and what we need
They say the people hold the power
So why are we in Iraq?
People over there killin’, dyin’, hurtin’, and crying
Why do we cry?
It’s a natural bodily function
Taught to us in biology
What’s the point of school?
I guess to make our brains strong
Strong like bull
Bull___
I hate that smell
Smells in general; are power
They can strike any emotion
Emotions are the weakness
Of man
When your weak your on your knees
Beggin’ please like Clapton
He was on cocaine and his kid died
Losing family is like losing a friend
A friend is a friend no matter what
Does a tree fall if nobody is there under it?
Yes, no, maybe so
So what?
It’s the passive aggressive statement that we all know
We know nothing and want to know something
So why don’t we?
We want to know why
Because knowledge is power.
Power comes in the form of a teacher, a president, a parent, the MAN
Man oh man do I hate people in power
It is used and abused
Like children given to the state or
Like wives beaten down and silenced
Silence can be deafening or so they say
People say a lot of things but don’t stop to listen or smell the roses
Rose-colored glasses make the world look pink and not perfect
Why don’t you just buy some sunglasses and look through those?
Because we would rather be blinded by the sun than by the propaganda that is fed to us
Babies are fed and grown people aren’t
Well, aren’t supposed to
Drunk drivers and crazies and natural freak accidents leave people being fed through a tube
Tubes from a bag with nutrients going into your arm
My arm?
No
It won’t happen to me ‘cause it can’t
Teachers stress on us to learn this and that
But you only learn from experience
Experience in what?
Drive for 50 hours to get a license
A license to kill?
Just go to our loved Detroit and buy yourself a .44 Magnum and ask yourself a question
Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
I don’t know if I do or I don’t
Let's roll the dice
Roll the dice for foreign language finals
Since we aren’t nervous enough for them
Nervousness can make you do stupid things
Stupid things aren’t stupid unless you don’t know why it’s happening
That’s why Vietnam was a stupid thing
That’s why there aren’t any stupid questions
That’s why the answer my friend blowin’ in the wind
Wind is a very peculiar thing
It is all around us and we can feel it
But for some reason we can’t hold onto it
Can I hold on to you?
I need a friend to hold onto and to cry on
I need to feel the wind in my hair that gives me the power
I need to have the power to cry, to live, and to die
People fear death but that’s a mistake
Mistakes are ok to make
They are just more experiences
Mistakes give you more power
Too much power can go to your head
Just like a brain freeze
I need a slurpee from 7/11
That’s about three fourths or 25%
Einstein’s grade in school
They say he was dumb but who really was?
Mr. Atom Bomb
BOOM
Here comes the
BOOM
Here comes the marching band
The music flows through me
The jazz band takes over me
I am consumed by it
Just like a steak to a lion
The king of the jungle
Who is the king of the world? Hitler tried and so did Caesar
Why are they so different?
Personalities is why
Personally I think a lot
About things
About people
About the world
About life
Life is what we do
What we all do
Some live it differently than others
I want money
No I want life
No I want liberty
No I want happiness
Why?
So I can be happy like everybody
Now if I’m happy won’t you just smile?
Smile with me
Now I’m not asking, I’m telling
Just like I’ve been told that I am a teen
And teens don’t have power but we can apparently still change the world
And teens go to school but don’t know a thing
So if you don’t know, now you know
I said 1, 2, 3
G-Wick, Zimm, and Barry
Going around and teaching
Why do you tell us what to do
Over and over again?
No drugs, no sex,
Turn right, turn left,
You're wrong, I’m right
Too much arguing in the world
That’s why there’s war
I want oil and I want democracy
More like hypocrisy
Which sort of rhymes with equality
Ironic? I think not
Equality is the ultimate
The ultimate power, the ultimate weapon, the ultimate fear
Fear when used correctly is the ultimate power
Power is what we seek and what we need
They say the people hold the power
So why are we in Iraq?
People over there killin’, dyin’, hurtin’, and crying
Why do we cry?
It’s a natural bodily function
Taught to us in biology
What’s the point of school?
I guess to make our brains strong
Strong like bull
Bull___
I hate that smell
Smells in general; are power
They can strike any emotion
Emotions are the weakness
Of man
When your weak your on your knees
Beggin’ please like Clapton
He was on cocaine and his kid died
Losing family is like losing a friend
A friend is a friend no matter what
Does a tree fall if nobody is there under it?
Yes, no, maybe so
So what?
It’s the passive aggressive statement that we all know
We know nothing and want to know something
So why don’t we?
We want to know why
Because knowledge is power.
Power comes in the form of a teacher, a president, a parent, the MAN
Man oh man do I hate people in power
It is used and abused
Like children given to the state or
Like wives beaten down and silenced
Silence can be deafening or so they say
People say a lot of things but don’t stop to listen or smell the roses
Rose-colored glasses make the world look pink and not perfect
Why don’t you just buy some sunglasses and look through those?
Because we would rather be blinded by the sun than by the propaganda that is fed to us
Babies are fed and grown people aren’t
Well, aren’t supposed to
Drunk drivers and crazies and natural freak accidents leave people being fed through a tube
Tubes from a bag with nutrients going into your arm
My arm?
No
It won’t happen to me ‘cause it can’t
Teachers stress on us to learn this and that
But you only learn from experience
Experience in what?
Drive for 50 hours to get a license
A license to kill?
Just go to our loved Detroit and buy yourself a .44 Magnum and ask yourself a question
Do I feel lucky? Well, do ya, punk?
I don’t know if I do or I don’t
Let's roll the dice
Roll the dice for foreign language finals
Since we aren’t nervous enough for them
Nervousness can make you do stupid things
Stupid things aren’t stupid unless you don’t know why it’s happening
That’s why Vietnam was a stupid thing
That’s why there aren’t any stupid questions
That’s why the answer my friend blowin’ in the wind
Wind is a very peculiar thing
It is all around us and we can feel it
But for some reason we can’t hold onto it
Can I hold on to you?
I need a friend to hold onto and to cry on
I need to feel the wind in my hair that gives me the power
I need to have the power to cry, to live, and to die
People fear death but that’s a mistake
Mistakes are ok to make
They are just more experiences
Mistakes give you more power
Too much power can go to your head
Just like a brain freeze
I need a slurpee from 7/11
That’s about three fourths or 25%
Einstein’s grade in school
They say he was dumb but who really was?
Mr. Atom Bomb
BOOM
Here comes the
BOOM
Here comes the marching band
The music flows through me
The jazz band takes over me
I am consumed by it
Just like a steak to a lion
The king of the jungle
Who is the king of the world? Hitler tried and so did Caesar
Why are they so different?
Personalities is why
Personally I think a lot
About things
About people
About the world
About life
Life is what we do
What we all do
Some live it differently than others
I want money
No I want life
No I want liberty
No I want happiness
Why?
So I can be happy like everybody
Now if I’m happy won’t you just smile?
Smile with me
Now I’m not asking, I’m telling
Just like I’ve been told that I am a teen
And teens don’t have power but we can apparently still change the world
And teens go to school but don’t know a thing
So if you don’t know, now you know
Editor's Note: More to be added soon.
Friday, June 01, 2007
The End is Near!
As the end of Excel and school is nearing and we are talking about Beat poetry and finals, I have two questions for you:
1. Do you like the rebellious lifestyle of the Beats? Why or why not?
2. As finals are almost upon us, what have you done to deal with the stress of studying and preparing? Do you study a little every night or none at all? Or cram it all in the night before?
Andrew S.
1. Do you like the rebellious lifestyle of the Beats? Why or why not?
2. As finals are almost upon us, what have you done to deal with the stress of studying and preparing? Do you study a little every night or none at all? Or cram it all in the night before?
Andrew S.
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