Country Music Versus

Many people do not like country music, insisting it's  too redneck, too hillbilly. True, country music can be like that, but not all the time. Taylor Swift, an artist that swept the nation off their feet with her music, sang country music. She is the most popular, some might say, but others just like her have become icons. Shania Twain, is a country star, along with Sugarland. Their songs are strikingly similar to Swift's. Some male singer's, such as Toby Keith and Keith Urban, are loved by many. Some songs are more hillbilly than others, but you have to admit, you can understand what they say easily, and it talks about things like meadows in spring, and beautiful beaches, and the greatness of pick-up trucks rolling through the mud, just having a great time. Country music also talks about the wild west, and real hero's of the world. Happy Ending, by Sugarland, has a part in it that talks about Martin Luther King, and Neil Armstrong.

'Baby's born in the ghetto

Baby's born with a silver spoon

One tells his mama "I have a dream"

One tells his mama "I'll walk the moon"'

Country music also has a lot of patriotic songs. Red, White, and Blue by Toby Keith is a personal favorite. it talks about, well, how about I let the song tell you.

"American girls and American guys, will always stand up and salute.

We'll always recognize, when we see ol' glory flying,

There's a lot of men dead,

So we can sleep in peace at night when we lay down our heads.

My daddy served in the army where he lost his right eye,

But he flew a flag out in our yard 'til the day that he died.

He wanted my mother, my brother, my sister and me.

To grow up and live happy in the land of the free."

It wasn't called country music until the 1940s. They preferred it to the earlier term, hillbilly music. Country music now has many styles and sub-genres. Harlan Howard said "Country music is three chords and the truth." I think that pretty much sums it up. Country music is one of the older styles of music. It originated in the 1900's, although it has definitely come a long way since then. You might prefer more modern country, or maybe you like the oldies. Now the lines between country and rock are blurred. The lines between country and rap are starting to blur slightly. Dirt Road Anthem by Colt Ford helped blur those lines. Country gets more and more popular as time goes on. Country song never get old, where-as pop and rock songs go out of style and it's like they never existed. But, country songs from ten years ago are still played on the radio. Soldier Boy, a very popular rapper a year ago, is unheard of now. Lady Antebellum, a very popular country singer about a year ago, is still a very popular country singer now.

Some radio stations you can go to to hear country music in delaware are 94.7, 97.5, 105.9, 92.9, and 103.7. Go ahead. Give country music a try. You never know, you might like it. I know I do, and so does many other people around the world. Even if you don't end up liking it, well my saying is "I'll try everything once!"

Daddy's Day Poem

This poem was written by Cheryl Costello-Forshey a year before the attacks. The part about the dad being a fireman who died in the attacks on the towers was added later, by Leonard J. Bourret. This poem has touched the hearts of so many people, I truly believe it is amazing. The first time I read it, I cried. So did many other people. It's all over the web, and all comments were along the lines of crying, amazement, an so-on. Happycloud, from Witty Profiles says "This is so touching. I got a lump in my throat and my eyes welled up, why, I feel I could sing a high note ...that would reach all the way up to heaven." Many other similar responses were recorded. When you read this poem, think of everyone who has ever died for there country. Everyone from civil war times to now, people are always giving up everything for their country, their religion, and their beliefs.

"Her hair was up in a ponytail
Her favorite dress tied with a bow

Today was Daddy's Day at school

And she couldn't wait to go.

But her mommy tried to tell her,

That she probably should stay home.

Why the kids might not understand,

If she went to school alone.

But she was not afraid;

She knew just what to say.

What to tell her classmates

Of why he wasn't there today.

But still her mother worried,

For her to face this day alone.

And that was why once again,

She tried to keep her daughter home.

But the little girl went to school,

Eager to tell them all.

About a dad she never sees,

A dad who never calls.

There were daddies along the wall in back,

For everyone to meet

Children squirming impatiently,

Anxious in their seats.

One by one the teacher called,

Each student from the class.

To introduce their daddy,

As seconds slowly passed.

At last the teacher called her name,

Every child turned to stare.

Each of them was searching,

For a man who wasn't there.

"Where's her daddy at?"

She heard a boy call out.

"She probably doesn't have one"

Another student dared to shout.

And from somewhere near the back,

She heard a daddy say,

"Looks like another deadbeat dad,

Too busy to waste his day."

The words did not offend her,

As she smiled up at her mom.

And looked back at her teacher,

Who told her to go on.

And with hands behind her back,

Slowly she began to speak.

And out from the mouth of a child,

Came words incredibly unique.

"My daddy couldn't be here,

Because he lives so far away.

But I know he wishes he could be,

Since this is such a special day.

And though you cannot meet him,

I wanted you to know.

All about my daddy,

And how much he loves me so.

He loved to tell me stories

He taught me to ride my bike.

He surprised me with pink roses,

And taught me to fly a kite.

We used to share fudge sundaes,

and ice cream in a cone.

And though you cannot see him,

I'm not standing here alone.

Cause my daddy's always with me

Even though we are apart.

I know because he told me,

He'll forever be in my heart."

With that, her little hand reached up,

and lay across her chest.

Feeling her own heartbeat,

Beneath her favorite dress.

And from somewhere in the crowd of dads,

Her mother stood in tears.

Proudly watching her daughter,

Who was wise beyond her years.

For she stood up for the love

Of a man not in her life.

Doing what was best for her,

Doing what was right.

And when she dropped her hand back down,

Staring straight into the crowd.

She finished with a voice so soft,

But its message clear and loud.

"I love my daddy very much,

He's my shining star.

And if he could he'd be here,

But heaven's just too far.

You see he was a fireman

And died just this past year.

When airplanes hit the towers

And taught Americans to fear.

But sometimes when I close my eyes,

It's like he never went away."

And then she closes her eyes,

And saw him there that day.

And to her mother's amazement,

She witnessed with surprise.

A room full of daddies and children,

All starting to close their eyes.

Who knows what they saw before them,

Who knows what they felt inside.

Perhaps for merely a second,

They saw him at her side.

"I know you're with me Daddy."

To the silence she called out.

And what happened next made believers,

Of those once filled with doubt.

Not one in that room could explain it,

For each of their eyes had been closed.

But there on the desk beside her,

Was a fragrant long-stemmed pink rose.

And a child was blessed, if only for a moment,

By the love of her shining bright star.

And given the gift of believing,

That heaven is never too far."
Sorry about the gap, it happens no-matter what I do. There is no next line or enter key or anything, it just keeps putting the gap in.

Brandywine Festival of the Arts

Has anyone here heard of the Brandywine Festival of the Arts? It is an annual arts festival in Wilmington, Delaware. Featuring hundreds of artists exhibiting hand-made art, the festival has been a Delaware tradition for over 51 years. People from all over the country travel to our small state the weekend after labor day to walk Brandywine Park's Josephine Gardens. There is arts of all sorts, live performances, children's activities, and many different kinds of food. The whole place is filled with the smells of various candles and soaps, flowers, evergreens, cinnamon, funnelcakes, and pizza. The air is filled with the sounds of children laughing, people talking, and people calling out "Water, one dollar!" Everybody is smiling, laughing, and complimenting peoples work.

Ray Berger is one of the artists. He takes metals like copper, brass, and stainless steel and makes them into tree decorations, end tables, and many other cool things. He says "My designs are either abstract, traditional, or contemporary, and reflect subjects that lend themselves to both home and garden decor. The materials that I use are state of the art: pre-finished copper, pre-finished brass, stainless steel and chrome steel, as well as traditional metals such as copper, brass & iron. Normal maintenance requires nothing more than a once over-with a feather duster." His website, http://www.rayberger.com, has his biography, some of his works, and more statements from him.

Another artist named Dona Jones works with copper, making it into pins, earings, necklaces, and window ornaments. She calls it 'Kindred Spirit Designs'. "I am primarily working in what I call torched copper, through repeated heating and cooling with an acetylene torch, I am able to produce a rainbow of color on the surface of the copper." she told me. She let me watch her heat the copper twice, and then let me have the piece.

Katherine Cheetham makes glass decorations. She has multicolored glass shapes and designs. One of her designs is an icicle. She takes thre tubes of glass with colored streaks, and she twirls the glass around and around, until it tapers off in a point. You can hang these on wires, or you can just keep it for good luck. There is a wide variety of colors. You can buy this piece for $2.75. Her website is http://www.katherinecheethamglass.com

There are many other pieces there, including paintings, stepping stones, clothes, belts, bags, dog treats, and more! Everything is hand made, and everything is amazing. Mary Gentner, from our own school, says "Everything is so cool." Alissa Leung, another one of our students that went, says "It's a warm environment. There's so many people creating work and respecting other people's work." This place is amazing." It's every year, during the weekend after Labor Day. Katherine, Dona, Ray, and many other people will be expecting to see you. Will you let them down?

Leonardo Da Vinci (1452-1519)

Leonardo da Vinci is best known for his paintings. The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper are just a few of his amazing works of art. But he was also a genius when it comes to science and math. He invented many things long before their time. He sketched a modern helicopter more than five hundred years before it was built. He invented new kinds of paint. One little-known fact about him was that he was homosexual. His companion since age ten was Salai. The saying "Jack of all trades, master of none." does not apply. I think it should be changed to "Jack of all trades, master of all." when it comes to Leonardo da Vinci.

His biographer, Giorgio Vasari, wrote:

"The most heavenly gifts seem to be showered on certain human beings. Sometimes supernaturally, marvelously, they all congregate in one individual. . . . This was seen and acknowledged by all men in the case of Leonardo da Vinci, who had. . . an indescribable grace in every effortless act and deed. His talent was so rare that he mastered any subject to which he turned his attention. . . . He might have been a scientist if he had not been so versatile."

Leonardo started his art when his father took him to become an apprentice of Verocchio, another artist. The student soon surpassed the master, and by his early twenties, Leonardo da Vinci was downright famous. He was a perfectionist, and turned to science to make his artwork better. He dissected human bodies in order to study the skeleton and muscles, what gives us our shape. He studied geology and paleontology in order to make his backgrounds more realistic. he did not care for painting men with unrealistic muscles, which he called "bags of nuts'. Everything he did was perfect down to every leaf on every tree.

Renaissance Italy was centuries away from our modern day photography and videos, but Leonardo still looked for a universal language in painting. The paintings previously made in this culture were strange and sometimes scary religious paintings. This made Leonardo's way of painting new, a breath of fresh air. This kind of painting became the standard for painters in the 16th century. Leonardo da Vinci died on May 2, 1519 in Amboise, France. He was 62 years old.

All in all, Leonardo believed that artists have to know all of the laws of nature. Opening your eyes and looking around, he believed, was the perfect way to learn these laws, and the artist is the perfect person to portray them.