Post IV: Sunken Gardens

Driving through Lincoln several days ago I stumbled upon the Sunken Gardens. I only saw it in passing but I was instantly interested. The gardens stood out not only because of their beauty but also because they are so unexpected. In the middle of a bustling city one would normally not expect to find such a haven. When given this assignment, I knew that I wanted to return to the Sunken Gardens and spend a little more time exploring them. At the entrance to the garden the first thing that I noticed was the large elaborate metal dome engraved with a saying from one founder of the gardens, Ernest Bair. The inscription reads "I expect to make this spot the most beautiful place in the city, either in or out of the parks. The ground lends itself perfectly to the making of a sunken garden, and at the same time a spot rich in beauty.” In the time I have spent in Lincoln this is the most beautiful spot that I have seen in the city.
The gardens also have a very unique history. The project was started during the winter of 1930-1931 during one of the worst times of the Depression era. This project provided 200 jobs, helping men support for their families during difficult times. The garden was originally designed as a rock garden, featuring many rocky structures and waterfalls. A cast concrete sculpture, “Rebecca at the Well” was installed in 1936 and soon became a central element of the garden. Retired in 2004 because of deterioration, it was replaced by a similar sculpture by a local artist. Another striking area was the Healing Garden. Inspired by the famous White Gardens at Sissinghurst Castle in Kent, England, the white blossom are said to inspire calm, serenity and recreation. The gardens did not have quite that effect on me, but I really enjoyed visiting them and learning about their history.

Post III: Reading & Writing

Technology is an ever-present factor in our everyday lives. Imagine your life without your computer, ipod, cell phone, or any of the many devices that we depend on. For many a day without a cell phone is unthinkable and we are barely able to function without it. Technology is becoming a large part of every aspect of our lives. This blog is another example of how vital technology is in our lives, especially in school. There are many advantages to these technological advantages as they can make life easier, enhance the quality of our lives and help us lead longer, healthier lives. Similarly, there are a number of problems and issues that arise because of this increased exposure and dependence on technology. One disadvantage to recent technology is a loss of privacy. This is especially prevalent among users of websites such as Facebook and MySpace. Sites such as these display personal details and are accessible to virtually anyone. One website is taking the idea of MySpace one step further.
A recent article on the website for the Lincoln Journal Star talked about a new website called MyDeathSpace. This site archives MySpace pages of deceased members as a memorial to the dead. When I first read this article I was somewhat mortified that someone would create a website dedicated completely to displaying profiles of the deceased, but I was naturally curious and decided to look at the website. What I found was a respectful website whose purpose was to remember those who have died and preserve a part of themselves that they have left behind. For the most part the website is a place for family members and friends to remembers those they have lost . It is also a way for friends to words of kindness for family members and loved ones of the deceased. Advancing technology, such as MyDeathSpace, have changed the way we live our lives. Many people use this website to pay their respects and remember the dead instead of visiting their graves. I found this article, as well as the website, to be very interesting and I believe that overall MyDeathSpace is a good way to remember the dead.

Post II: National Museum of Roller Skating

When I saw that we were required to visit a local museum for our next writing assignment I was less than thrilled. I am not the biggest fan of museums, but when I saw the list of suggested museums, one sparked my interest. Seeing the National Roller Skating Museum brought back many grade school memories. At my grade school it was a tradition to have an all school skating party every few months and that was definitely one of the highlights of the school year for me and my classmates . There was always a swell of excitement during classes before the night of the skate party. The hallways were filled with talk of who was going to be there and who would skate together that night during the slow songs. By middle school most of the kids stopped going to these skate parties and began to go to dances and the football games, the skating parties were for the younger kids. That is how I remember roller skating, it was something that was fun when I was younger, but it was not very popular anymore. This impression of roller skating and my limited knowledge of the sport left me with low expectations for the museum.
Entering the museum, I felt as though I was entering a cramped office rather than a building dedicated to the history of roller skating. After navigating through a room full of desks, I spotted something reminiscent of a museum. This portion of the museum was filled with antique skates and artifacts from the history of roller skating. From this display I discovered that there are several different varieties of roller skating . One display that caught my attention was that on roller derby. I had actually heard of this form of roller skating as it has in the last few years been shown on various sports television stations. I am not a fan of the modern form of this sport but it was interesting to learn how the event evolved from a roller marathon to wrestling on skates. Despite my low expectations and first impression of the museum, the visit turned out to be quite fascinating and I am now more interested in visiting other local museums to see what the city has to offer.

Post I: Discourse Surrounding the Essay

“For me the ideal essay is not an assignment, to be dispatched efficiently and intelligently, but an exploration, a questioning, an introspection”
-Alan Lightman in “Essayists on Essays”

This quote from Alan Lightman completely contradicts everything that I have been taught about writing an essay in the past. An essay has always been a structured piece of writing with very little room for creativity and expressing oneself. I have always viewed an essay as an assignment that must clearly and concisely convey an idea to the reader without the author imposing too much of their own personality and opinions into the writing. Many of the essays that I wrote throughout high school were research papers that were to contain little of my own thoughts , instead reflecting only facts and thoughts of others. I believe that many students have also been taught this idea that an essay is a structured piece of writing that must be in a particular style and format. Reading Atwan’s opinions on essays and the opinions of other essayists allowed me to understand that an essay can actually be nearly any form of writing. An essay does not have to be written in a particular style or structure, but can reflect the authors personality and the purpose of their writing. Essays can be as unique and varied as the authors that are expressing their ideas. Although this quote contradicts twelve years of being taught that an essay is a formal assignment to be completed, this quote from Lightman reflects how unstructured essay writing can be outside of school. I understand that an essay can be written in almost any format to suit the author, but for the rest of my schooling I will most likely be restricted in my writing and prevented from exploring these different forms of writing outside of this class. This is because an essay written for a class is very different from an essay that is written to be published. Lightman may be referring to essays that are written by professionals and not essays that are written by students. Like students, many professors have a certain expectation of what an essay is and often that does not involve injecting your own personality into the writing. I believe that an essay should be as Lightman describes it, but that usually does not happen because many have a very different view of what an essay is.

Test Post

First post for ENG 001, section 7.