"A Valuable Memmory Lasted for Life"

Could anyone imagine and realize how musics have a great impact toward individual daily lives? In fact, music plays a major role in several dimensions of the human development as well as the essential part of the daily lives of today society. For instance, if a person just break up with his or her boyfriend or girlfriend, or even divorced, he or she might feels lonely and do not want to share their sorrow or grief to anybody, and in this case, he or she probably demand more to listen to music for relieving his or her mind from anger, hatred, and depression. Not just only listen to music when he or she encounters a hardship, eventually, people listen to music regularly when he or she drives to work or get back from work or even when he or she have free time. Especially nowadays, musics was not designed to take for granted, and no one can fully appreciate music without knowing the root of it and where it come from. So, one can have a better understanding of today music if he or she willing to take a shoot of becoming a visitor toward the Sun Studio. At the Sun Studio, it will guide you through and explain to you all of the documents and photos and recordings of early rock and roll in detailed. As a matter of fact, rock and roll is important toward today music because all of the music's forms are connected with the modern music style of rock and roll, such as hip hop, trance, and any form of rap. The Sun Studio, in Memphis, was famous nationwide in the U.S. because this was where the early recordings of rock and roll was taken place.

I mention the Sun Studio because I was never appreciated, until I took an actual tour to the Sun Studio. It is a valuable memory for my learning experience, which it will last for a life time. In other words, I do not know much about music that I listened in the past. In the past, I kept listen, but I do not know exactly what is the root of it. When I got out of the Sun Studio, my mind was full of music knowledge like a full stomach of foods. So, I would sincerely thank to the Honor Academy of giving me an opportunity to experience the meaningful of music at the Sun Studio. As a result of a learning trip toward the Sun Studio, I would like to recommend tp those who have not yet visit the Sun Studio to take sometime of your time to visit the excitment of the world of music.

Mystery Train

"Yeah, and when you're dead, you don't get to sleep ever again. Which means no more dreams." - Mitzuko

On the whole I enjoyed this movie, as I have most Jarmusch films. Perhaps it's just me, but I felt the theme of dreams was more pertinent to the soul of the film than the reoccuring symbolism of the train. I won't go as far as others to say that the symbolism of the train was irrelevant; I believe it was. However, the theme of dreams in the city of Memphis resonated far more with me than anything else, possibly because of my own experience with dreaming in Memphis, both literally and figuratively.

While the quote from Mitzuko that I used to open my post was in reference to the literal act of dreaming, their relationship to the theme at hand was more existential. They seemed to be idealistic teenagers like any other, except that they were the product of a hyper-industrialized nation that through it's culture and ideology, one could make the argument that it lacks "soul" in the way that the American South does. Something about this "soul" and it's products (in this case, Memphis rock and roll) spoke to them in a way their own culture did not. Their dream in this case was to finally be in the midst of a culture they idolized, hence their journey through the American South that began in Memphis. On our handout, Doug posited the following question: "What did the Japanese couple come to Memphis hoping to find? Did they find it?" I would argue that the landmarks they sought out were what they were looking for specifically (Sun Studios, Graceland, et al), however to view it in a more broad manner, I think they were looking to find a culture and society like they found reflected in the music of Elvis, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison. As their ennui and polite disappointment displayed, I do not believe that they found what they were looking for.

Then there is the Italian woman. She had no direct connection to Memphis, nor any intention to find herself in it. (The reader will recall the phone conversation she had in which she stated that she was there due to a mistake on the part of the airline.) Her link to the theme of dreaming in Memphis is quite literal - Elvis appeared to her - quite by accident - in a dream during her one and only night in the city. Frankly I have no idea what that incident had to do with anything, save for a possible connection with the idea that we can be made believers in just about anything through a single sincere experience (her dream) amdist so much that seems contrived (the farfetched story about the spirit of Elvis by the man who only wanted her money, the convenience store owner who swindled her into an absurd amount of magazines, and the "hospitality" of the hotel clerk). One could go out on a limb and wonder if this experience injected a little faith in her during a time in which it seemed she had lost so much of her life (e.g. the death of her husband).

Then there's Deedee (Didi?) and Johnny (played by Joe Strummer, one of my favorite people of all time). Their connection to dreams should be rather obvious as it is an age-old cliche; the dreams of starting anew together in the exhilarating experience of "true love". This could also be connected to Charlie, Deedee's brother. His dream of having a successful business in Memphis with his family and (false) in-law close by. Dreams of love are often shattered and the reality of heartbreak and being alone is debilitating. Interestingly, this is a common theme in the music of the Sun Studios artists, particularly Elvis. One has to wonder if Johnny's loathed nickname (Elvis) was more than a resemblance. Was it also perhaps a prophecy of sorts?

Forgive the intense stream of consciousness in which this was written; it's been a rough week. Yes, I realize it's only Tuesday.

The Music of Mystery Train

The thing I liked most about mystery train was, which should be made obvious by the title of my post, was the music. Not Elvis or Roy Orvison or any of the other main strem hits that came out of Sun Studios, but the background theme that was revisited throughout the entire movie. Immagine, for a moment, a couple of vagabonds hopping train to train in the 1930s living out of cloth bags tied to the ends of sticks. They travel wherever life takes them, they venture in and about anywhere living life vicariously through themselves. They are constantly writing the soundtrack to their own lives. This is the theme of mystery train. I didn't see much of the train's importance to the plot of the movie. But aurally, it never left. Whenever the main-stream music subsided, whenever there was walking or traveling of any kind around the streets of Memphis by all three parties, whenever no one was listening, the train was there in the background. I heard guitars, basses, harmonics, bongos, drums, and even an eloquent slide guitar motif all of which constantly echoed the beating of the train. Take the "chugga, chugga, chugga, chugga" and set it to 4/4 rythm, add some instruments, and you have the basic beat for 12 bar blues. If you remove all the racial and criminal stereotypes, the charactars, the statues and scenery of memphis, the words and plots and take only what is left, what you have is a musical exploration of what would have been like to walk the streets of memphis in the 30s and 40s during one of the most expansive eras in the history of music. The instrumentations added suspense and intrigue and filled the gaps where the story line and dialogue were left in abandon. The idea that this "train music" filled the empty spaces to be overlooked, I think, speaks wonders to the history of music in Memphis. We Memphians may take Memphis music for granted, but how many of us could immagine Memphis without it?
On another note, just because I like the parallel, Mitzuko wakes on her second day in Memphis to say "When you're dead you don't ever get to sleep again, which means no more dreams." Compare this to Wade Garrett's (Sam Elliot) take in "Roadhouse" when he says "I'll get all the sleep I need when I'm dead." Both movies made in 1989, they have very differing opinions about the natures of death, sleep, and dreams. Maybe an insider v. outsider perspective or even foreign v. domestic. But that's probably too lengthy a topic to cover in just paragraph. Maybe a rant for another blog.

Memphis in motion

What I most like about "The Mystery Train" is the lack of definition. It refuses to allow a simple explanation or guide minds to a predetermined view point, but instead shows several vantage points to the same event, incorporating new ideas and information in each of its three segments. In doing so "The Mystery Train" allows these ideas to breed and grow organically in the mind of the reader as he or she watches and continue to develop even after the movie ends.

I believe the main idea of the of the film is growth. The train moves, the people move, ideas move, and time touches each character leaving many of them wishing for more. I think that this is where Elvis fits in. Even in death he remains embedded in the perception of the out of towners and in the recollections of the natives. Elvis is a reminder that however we may grow we will always be revered for a rich history and burdened by its mark. The past molds way of living and in turn, affects those who visit, such as the Roman lady.

To be honest, I don't like the idea of defining the film or the city of Memphis as postmodern or modern. To me it seems that they are both in flux. In the movie, I see the female native and her brother as a representation of postmodernism, and the other characters as the promise for a more modern existence. The woman who leaves her boyfriend seems wide eyed and child like, and her brother, refusing drink represents his own resistance against progress. His hairstyle, dress, and even his work environment appears to be out of date, and his surprise at the fact that his sister had not actually married the European man suggests that they believed him too old fashioned to accept their arrangement. He also exhibits a fear of the city when he goes to pick up the man he believes to be his brother in law. On the other hand, the Asian couple and the European man represent change. The moment the Asian arrives they are able to communicate with a man from Memphis who thanks them in their own tongue, and as they sit outside in the city, the man describes it as being like their own with less buildings, suggesting room for growth that was not present where they came from. Later in the movie he admits that it is nothing like their origin and says that it was cool to be young in Memphis, amplifying a since of uncertainty for the future of Memphis and at the same time revealing a positive view of it. The European man plays the catalyst of change, moving all of the native characters forward. When he shoots a cashier, he changes the lives of his supposed 'wife' and 'brother in law' in addition to the black man and himself in one fail swoop. None of the characters are completely progressive or resistant to change. Though the native girl is child like and admits a lingering since of sentiment for the European man, she still moves out of the city, and eventually her brother does drink the liquor. While the Asian couple does manage to communicate with the man who needed a light and the motel workers, their attempt to speak with a fellow passenger on the way to their next destination fails. Similarly the European man is still haunted by the stigma assotiated with his hair and Memphis's history. I think this whole movie is stuck between postmodern and modern styles. and that Memphis is transferring from one style of city to the next. In a lot of ways, what happens to the brother is tragic, but at the same time, he illustrates an idea rather than humanity to me and he at least does not die. In fact the constant movement to me suggests that his wound is similar to the pruning of a rose bush, designed entirely for growth.

I enjoyed this movie because it seems like a movie that you could discover a new idea in every time you watched.

"The Hidden Tragedy of Mystery Train"

In the movie "Mystery Train," the primary goal of its is to interpret and give an overview of Memphis and what is significance about Memphis. The Mystery Train is truely a remarkable source for those who are not familiar with the city, Memphis including its geographical location of famous places and events. During and throughout the film, I treat myself as an observer rather than using the film for entertaining, so I could see what is really going on and what type of relationships does Memphis have. Somehow, the Mystery Train is different than all of the other movies which I had have watched in the past. The movie subdivides itself into three parts; in additiom, each part have similar settings and different characters, except the two African Americans who employ in the hotel near the downtown of Memphis. When the movie is over, I realize that the settings and the characters from the three subdivisions of the video are formed into a sum of theoretical argument for an underlying hidden tragedy of Memphis. Because there are underlying facts regarding a hidden tragedy in Memphis, I have to take a closer look of what are the factors, which I consider the outcome of the Mystery Train to be an argumentative tragedy.

First of all, the characters and the settings in all three subdivisions of the video are played a major role in defining the argument of Memphis. People who are not familiar with Memphis along with its historical, famous people might only knew and heard about Elvis Presley due to the fact that Elvis was the king of rock and roll. The phenomena of Elvis appears to be the same conflict in all three subdivisions of the video. To be specific, the Japanese couple from Yokohomain the first subdivisioncome to Memphis because the couple wants to visit Elvis's home, Graceland. However, the couple unaccomplishes their goal of what they come to Memphis for. As a matter of fact, the couple only see the statue of Elvis and take a few photos of the statue and a few photos of Elvis's pictures in the hotel, where a couple spend their night at. The couple seems to be disappointed of visiting Memphis, especially the Japanese lady.

In the second subdivision, the Roman lady incidently have to spend a night in Memphis since her flight back to Rome is delay. The first time of being a visitor in Memphis is the most unpleasant tour for her. All that she know is Elvis as well. Almost to the middle of her scene, the stranger in the restaurant informs mostly about Elvis, and this is all she know about Memphis since she do not give herself a chance to visit elsewhere in Memphis. In addition, she also see the picture and the ghost of Elvis at the same hotel, where the Japanese couple spend the night. This is also the setting which the Roman lady also have to spend her unpleasant night. Because of the little experience which she, the lady left Memphis for her flight back to Rome and know a little about Memphis. Moreover, the characteristics of the characters who live in Memphis are seem to be ugly and unpleasant, which implies Memphis as an ongoing tragic argument. Eventually, the traits of the Memphians make other visitors who would like to visit Memphis to think and feel that Memphis is an unsafe place to visit. The hotel's employees, for instance, are seem to be dishonest by the way they look and when they collect the room's fee. The subdivision of the video, unfortunately, was the most violent part of the movie since it gives the ideas that Memphis is a city, where most of the crimes are located. In this case, the third part of the movie explaining the meaning of how disorder is Memphis, which other needs to consider. As a result, the summation of the entire movie, to me, is defining Memphis as a chaotic place that leads to a long-term tragedy and prevents visitor from visiting the place.

Relief for Haiti

So Helen and I have been sitting outside the cafeteria on campus to help raise money for Haitian relief and have gotten a myriad of responses. Among the regulars are "I've already donated" and "I don't have any cash," but there have been some real winners interspersed. "Not right now" is fairly common, obviously connotating that they plan to give at some undisclosed place and time. One of my favorites is "Do you take credit cards?" One passerby actually actually took a Burger King receipt out of his pocket, circled the $20.00 with which he paid for his meal and told us to "Write that down as his donation" all the while disregarding the $12.50 he got in change less than an hour before that any rational individual would assume still sat in his pocket. Some have asked for change for various bills. Others have passed by, ignoring our requests which vary from polite asking to shouting at specific people all the way out of the building. It's odd how people can wear a $300 outfit but not afford to give two bucks to help dying, starving people. But maybe that's just me.

conference

I really enjoyed the honors conference this weekend and many of the presenters did a wonderful job of explaining and stirring interest in subjects that I would normally never think of in such depth. Ever since thoughts of the development of linguistic context and changing interpretations of masculine/feminine interrelatedness have been swirling through my mind. I have to agree with Ray. Two of the best presentations were given by Brian Bowman and Chase de Saint-Felix. Something that I would have liked to have heard more on that was mentioned in "The First Sex and the "F" Word: A Male's Response to Feminism" is a new trend in androgyny that has become more and more prevalent in modern times. In today's world, it can be very advantageous to posses skills that are deemed both feminine and masculine. On a biological level, the quintessential male and female are quite different. I am not referring to the obvious differences that we all know of, but some those that originate in the brain. The female mind is generally more equipped to excel in linguistic, creative, and ocular differentiative skills (hence the never ending shopping) while the male mind is often better at mathematical, scientific, and reproduction of already existing art. As honor students we don't fall into these constructs so easily because we are exceptionally qualified on an intellectual level and in order to be such we have adapted skills that would not necessarily be related to our biological sex. I would have liked to hear some of Chase de Saint-Felix's thoughts on this though they did not quite fall into his subject of choice.
Katherine was great too! I think I'm gonna buy The Scarlett Letter and S.

Honors Conference

I am not sure about the rest of you guys but I had a wonderful time at the honors conference. Most of the presentations were good and a few were great. My favorite of the day was a Chase de Saint-Felix's "The First Sex and the "F" Word: A Male Response to Feminism." He was one of the few presenters that was confident enough in his knowledge of the subject to present without having a written presentation to refer too, and he pulled it off well. The presentation itself was focused and he developed his points thoroughly. My next favorite was probably Brian Bowman's "Idiolect: Arbitrariness of the Terms 'Language' and 'Dialect' in Describing Linguistic Variation." Brian was a natural in front of a group. He had the mannerisms of someone that had been teaching for years and I would not be surprised if that is what he ended up doing. Third on my list is a tie between Kevin Tolliver's "Campaign Spending and Voter Behavior" and Jessica Hawley's "Seurat and the Theory of Optical Mixture." I enjoyed Kevin's presentation on campaign spending because it was informative, right in my circle of interest, and he totally rocked the pink tie. Jessica's presentation on Seurat was eye opening. Until now I was only into surrealist art, but I will be adding Neo-Impressionism to my list of artistic interests and I can not wait to make it back to Chicago where many of Seurat's works on on display. So I would like for those of you that attended to post what your favorites were and why. Maybe you saw something that others did not. Well too bad I will not be around to go to next year's with you guys but here is hoping Prof. Branch can get us included in the Oxford trip.

I don't know about "simpler" times

Your not kidding about the accountability of electricity out there in T county.Even though I can completely understand your point of view about evil electronics, I can not completely agree. I myself sometimes long for simpler days but when I start to try and decide when the good old days were, I remember how they were really only good when you were a kid. Just 50 years ago we were a part of some of the most destructive times trying to create a better city for blacks in the civil rights movement. Sixties we were still dealing with civil rights and the Vietnam war, plus all of those anti-war protests. Then the seventies we were have the watergate scandal. Yeah i think the simpler were times were simpler because we were kids.

The Evils of Electronics

I hate being late. Tardiness is one of my biggest pet peeves. Having said that, I think it’s also important to note that I have an extreme dislike for pretty much all consumer electronics. From iphones to androids on up the proverbial ladder of profitability to laptops (define irony) and LCD big screens. The reason I abhor these things has nothing to do with their natures. No, it is their use that bothers me, or rather their overuse. We, as an American Society, have become so reliant on consumer electronics that people actually have panic attacks for no other reason than that they left their cellular at home. We have become so used to the instant gratification of information they provide that patience has become a past time, an obstacle to be overcome with a new wave of “next-generation technology.” Point of fact: exactly how many generations can Apple have in a single year? People toss technical innovations out the window every day because the latest and greatest just hit the market. What’s the point of coming up with a new invention? Even if I did, it would be mimicked within three months, made cheaper and smaller by Chinese children working for $0.12 an hour within six months and obsolete within twelve. We have lost touch with one another. Why hold conversations face to face when we can “facebook” and text? Electronics have been forced into our lives whether we want them or not, which brings me back to my original idea. I hate being late. Unfortunately, I live out in the woods of Tipton County. Our services are so reliable that a squirrel fart is powerful enough to knock the lights out. Imagine what little it takes for us to lose the internet and, whoops, I’m late on an assignment all because of the fallibility of “necessary” electronics. Makes me wish for simpler times.

scatterbrain

It's official people... I'm spending my summer in Italy! I am so excited. Now all I need is a job so that I'll be able to eat when I get there, and I am sooooo open to ideas.
Montrose, I went to Ebos, an occult shop. It was illuminating as I knew it would be since there is such a distorted view of it and those who chose to relate themselves with "The Craft."
I was wondering if there by chance was a facebook page for us because we should definitely get one if not and if we do i'd like to know. It might be a quicker and more effective way of transferring quick group messages.
Where did all that snow come from!?! It was amazing. I've lived down south my entire life and I think that's the first time that I ever thought of it as beautiful. I spent the entire day tromping through the woods in big rubber boots with my camera and had a magnificent time.
Hey Cathlynn, easy on the hippies man. If I ever get out of this place I might just slide into Austin, hop on an old school bus covered in stars and grateful dead bears and never look back. Then you can say you know one;)
On Tuesday the 16 of February and Thursday the 18 of February I will be at macon campus from 11:00 to 1:00 volunteering for Hope for Haiti if you would like to see me and make a donation. If that doesn't work into your schedule there are plenty of other times you can come and if you are interested I will let you know in class when that is.

Reading Memphis Response

Tuesday's class gave me a lot of hope this semester. There is always one class every semester that keeps me from committing seppuku inbetween classes, and I think this one is it for Spring.

It seemed to me that everyone did a pretty decent job at picking things WAY out of their comfort zone and taking a lot of positive things (like phone numbers, holler Drew!) from it in the process. Drew was very brave and obviously very secure in his masculinity for going to a nail salon. Hau set aside typical Southern fare for an evening in India, which was much to my delight as Indian food is one of my favorite things in the world. Not just favorite food, but favorite things. Chana masala all day, please. And Charles? Disc golf? Really, dude? Though it was for a good cause and the weather qualified it as being definitely out of comfort zone, I still have to cringe slightly at so many bad memories of spotting loathed hippies in Overton park, reeking of Nag Champa and contraband. At least the St. Jude Tournament sounded interesting. Hippies are just boring and smelly. I don't trust anyone who owns that much corduroy.

I am honestly really excited for the rest of this semester and even more excited at the prospect of making some new friends in the process. To continue the trend of corny blog entries, I think we're going to learn and see a lot of new things over the course of the next several months, and few things cement the bonding process like experiencing the unfamiliar in a group setting. Just please don't ask me to play disc golf.

P.S: I got conned into going BACK to Stella Marris on Friday night. Within 30 seconds of walking in, I saw a fight. It was AWESOME.

Sneg (snow)

I don't know about you guys but I love snow with one exception. I hate how in Memphis, the whole city shuts down and theres nothing to do but stay home.

Cancer Club

So here we go, what I liked most about last Tuesday was not the reading of the papers themselves but what happened after they were done and class was over. I liked how I got to talk to mostly everyone ( and I will eventually get around to everyone) about their papers personally. After hearing everyone talk, it kind've brought the class closer together. The papers were like the icebrealer for everyone. We had went somewhere out of our comfort zone or had relived a good old one and in that unity we got to drop the weird awkwardness that usually lasts most of the semester. This paper alone will bring us closer together which will make it that much more memorable, did that sound a little corny to anyone else? Oh well, I'm not taking it back. Heck, already I can't wait to go play disc golf with charles and go to a mosque and get to talk with cathlynn and her boyfriend. I also want to talk the Hau about his experience and ask him questions about his culture. I also want to hear Helen's paper and see what she was up to. I hope that this Friday and Saturday goes well and i hope we can get a beer afterwards and go have a good time. Peace ninjas catch ya'll this weekend. Oh yeah in case you guys are curious I'm listening to Ready Steady Go! by L-Arc-En-Ciel.

In response to Cathlyn's Reading Memphis paper I have to say that I have about the same view of such places and tend to avoid them for this reason. I thought she had a wonderful and very articulate response for her the experiences she encountered. I felt like I was listening to an am radio station and think that her ability to express herself so well could land her in a public speaking job easily some day. I think she might have a better time, if she were to venture out to a club again, at the Rumba Room. Last semester I took a salsa class at studio 108 and had a lot of fun doing so with a good friend. However, you do not need a partner to do so and after a few lessons you can go to the club with a very basic knowledge of salsa and have a lot of fun there. I certainly did. They also have free lessons at the club before everyone gets there. Its a bit different since they have a theme and sometimes actually play some decent music.
I was also interested in Hau's project. One thing that really stuck out in my mind was when he said that he was more comfortable with the place because there were mostly upscale white people. I always get the impression that a lot of white people feel that a way but I've never heard that from another race and it did make me realize that Mr. Branch was right... there is usually a lot of talk about white and black and not much about other cultures in Memphis. I asl thought that it was strange that the prices were so low and yet the consumers seemed to be upscale. It made me wonder why lower income families were not present , and what drew the white collars in.

My final project idea (TA DA!!!)

Not to completely copy Cathlynn, but I as well am interested in the Muslim community here in Memphis. Specifically a devout muslim family here in Memphis. For my project I present that I would like to go to a Mosque and talk with a family about their life here, leaning more specifically towards a family with a highschool senior as he/she prepares to go to college. I want to interview them about how they are able to practice their religion in school and what discrimination they might or might not go through there. I'm going to flesh out more of this in time but I want to think on it as well. While doing this project I hope to not only get to learn more about the family life, see how they go about their daily lives as well. I also hope to get a better sense of the Muslim religion itself. Yes, I am a christian but not very devout, in one sense you can say I'm a christian by trade. I don't know if I would convert but it's always good to learn more about this world and what better way than to learn about something completely different from what I've already learned.

Wow I'm late

All right yeah I'm late but what you gonna do. My name is Mckenze Drew Graham, yeah yeah get your laughs out of the first name now. I was born in Memphis and at the age of five moved to Munford, Tennessee and lived there till I was eighteen and then moved to Bartlett to live with my father and step mother.I gradutated from Munford High school in 2007. I was an active FFA member (Future Farmers of America). My favorite thing to do in High School was to get out of class and go work in the barn till it was time for me to go to work. It wasn't that I wanted to be alone but I like the simplicity of the work, yes it was backbreaking and tiring but nothing felt better to me. I could sit in the barn and do this monotonous work and think about life and what I wanted and I could also sing as loud as I wanted and no one cared and sometimes I could get the sheep to BAAH! along. The thing that caused me to move to Memphis was my mother, she decided that we were going to move to Lauderdale my senior year in high school, and to make a long story short I pretty much said "later" and moved in with my father. Moving in with my father and my stepmother was different at first because I had only seen this side of my family once every two weeks for 13 years but I came to like it more than Munford. While living in Memphis there was so much more to explore, so much more to do. I found out that I really love to watch soccer, its now my favorite sport and can not wait to watch Italy participate in the world cup this June and win again. While I already loved music, I was able to get a guitar and see that I loved playing it as well and writing music for it, even now I'm listening to Snails by The Format. Another big interest for me, now that I have the means to study it, is my family history. If you were curious as to why my name is Montrose, it's because my family are the Grahams of Montrose from Scotland. We can trace our family back from Scotland to the present day. If your ever curious I can show you the Grahams of Montrose coat of arms, seeing as I had it tattooed on my right arm. For me in the beginning of the semester, I just wanted to take this class because I needed another honors class. But after writing my first paper I think I really want to explore this city a little more and I want to learn more about people here in this city.

Reaction of the Presentations

Regarding the presentation of "Reading Memphis" introductory essay, I thought that all of the fellow classmates have done a great job of sharing his or her new learning experience in Memphis. There were two out of four topics from the presentation that I considered the most attractive event to my interest. First of all, I would not imagine of how it looked like for a male customer to visit any particular nail shop to have their nail done, which was a experience event from Montrose. To me, I did not have the nerve to do the same thing like Montrose because I feel shy and a liitle odd to walk alone in a nail shop. I have the the odd feelings because I did not wanted the nail technicians or anyone around the place to think that I am a homosexual. Montrose described that he have a great time for spending his two hours at a nail shop because of a foreign looking shop. However, I did not felt the same way as Montrose. I wanted to mentioned this because most of the nail employees have high self-esteem and egoism , especially when they know my identity and that I am an educated Vietnamese customer. To be specific, nail technicians thought that their career was the most prestigious job than most educated Vietnamese since they made high wage and salary. In other words, They always thought that money was the most beneficiary rather than education. Because of the issue of egoism from the nail employees, I did not liked to interact with them, which also caused me from visiting a nail shop.

Furthermore, the event of the first visiting to the Bartlett Club, somehow, grab my attention and made me wanted to visit the place to learn more about the place and the way that each individual interacted with one another. Cathlynn have done a great exploration of desrcibing the environment of the place. I have not been to such a chaotic club like the Bartlett Club. Cathlynn was taken a risk chance to meet unfamiliar people at the club, especially where it used to be a strip club. In addition, because of this fact, I thought that most of the male members at this club wre not seem to be really nice, but I wanted to take a risk trip to the Bartlett Club as well to see if this was really the case of what Cathlynn has informed. In the past, I been to a club called "Senses," and it does not seemed to be a chaotic place for meeting new friends. Perhap, individual at this club semed to be nice and havetheir own world of socializing with their friends or couples. When the music was turned on, they just danced or drank without bothering anyone pieceful enjoyment. So, the club that I went to was nothing like the Bartlett Club. As a learning experience, I would want to try out to go to the Barlett Club for my own learning knowledge. As a matter of fact, Cathlynn was one brave lady, who took a dangerous visiting to the Barlett Club and willing to share her hardships at an unfamiliar place.

My Memphis: City as Text

As my “Memphis: City as Text” final project for Honors Inquiry I am going to begin writing a book about growing up white in urban Memphis. The work will not be directly autobiographical in the sense that it is a story about my life. It will, however be taken partly from my experiences and from the experiences of people I knew growing up. The format will also be autobiographical, told from the first person perspective. I have chosen this style of writing because most of the human condition is kept within the confines of the human mind. Writing a story from the perspective of “I thought” rather than “he thought” should offer a more personal, less strictly-factual image of growing up as a poor white person in an environment socially-run by black people. I’m not sure what sort of response to expect from being the author of such a book, but I am hopeful that those that read it will take it in the spirit with which it is written, and not read too much into the white/black references that will no doubt fill its pages.

A Little Bit About Me

My name is Charles Bryan Matthews. I am a native of Memphis and its outlying areas. I was born to a farm in Arlington, just northwest of the city limits in March of 1984. I have moved almost 40 times in my life, never leaving the Memphis area so I have lived in most parts of the city at least once. I have driven trucks for three service companies, each catering to separate parts of the city, so I can find my way from almost anywhere to almost anywhere with relative ease. I went to Alturia, Macon road, and Raleigh-Bartlett Meadows elementary schools; I graduated from Craigmont High in 2002. I had my first full-time job when I was 16, pre-wiring houses for electricity and learning as much as I could about Electrical Engineering. I went back to electric work when I graduated high school, but focusing instead on low-voltage technologies and electronics. I have worked with computers, cameras, security systems, fiber optics, access and lighting control, audio/video, and home automation. I took a year off to take care of a sick father and spent another year working in a concrete factory. I didn’t start college until I last summer; I was 25 at the time. Come the end of this semester I will have completed 45 hours of coursework, working toward two degrees in Physics and Philosophy. I love my city and the heritage of being one of most influential cities in the creation of the south. What I don’t love is the tension that still creates racial boundaries and the uncleanliness of the city’s more unscrupulous denizens. I’m not sure exactly what I plan to learn from this class, but I hope to learn much of my city from what should prove to be an outsider’s perspective.