I have always been one for the outdoors. I’ve spent many an afternoon wading up streams and many an evening driving around potter county looking for deer. The majority of my experiences outdoors, and many of my fondest childhood memories take place at my grandparent’s cabin; from fishing and catching frogs to watching bears and flocks of turkey waltz up the valley. It has always been my escape and my sanctuary, and it is a place that invigorates me in a way that few other places can. The colors in fall are some of the most spectacular I have ever seen, and the sky, the darkest east of the Mississippi, is the ceiling for the absolute and perfect silence from everything this world knows. It teaches you so much and yet asks for nothing, and nothing we can ever hope to create will match the beauty of a single dewed flower.

This past summer I had the opportunity to visit the UK, and went to a number of walled gardens that were truly spectacular. They were put together with such taste and were like nothing I had ever seen before. To pair that with the history of the estates made for a truly amazing experience that left me with very unfair expectations for gardens such as the arboretum. However, I did enjoy my walk around the grounds, and would definitely like to see what they are able to do with it in the future. This was my first visit, and while it was not quite what I expected, it was still nice. I found it very interesting to see the difference in variety between here and in England. In England, there are an unbelievable variety of flowers and other various exotic plants, likely brought to the British Isles during their period of colonialism. It is also understandable why many of these plants aren’t available to us, since we have tried much harder to keep out living organisms that are not indigenous to our regional biospheres. That being said, there were a couple of plants that I was not familiar with, and really liked the lily pads; as they were the largest I had ever seen in person. I was also encouraged by the number of projects that they seem to be undertaking for the expansion of the center in the future. I will definitely come back sometime next spring or summer so I can try and see what it looks like in its entirety, as this probably wasn’t the peak season for colour. On a tangent, there are a lot of trees on campus that I am not familiar with, and I only live an hour east of here. The one thing I was most surprised by since I came last month was the difference in plant life. I hadn’t really considered that it might be different, but this is a much flatter area than I come from so I guess it may make sense. Anyway, I think it would be a great campus project to put placards on the trees, and maybe certain other plants on campus to identify them. This is common practice at zoos and I believe that a number of other Universities have them as well. Just to put that thought out there.

After walking once through the Palmer Museum of Art, I found a piece that drew my eye not for its scale or bold colors, but for its historical significance. This piece, First Communion in the New World by Tompkins Harrison Matteson was a medium sized oil on canvas that hung in the corner of one of the back rooms. What it lacked in stature in more than made up for in containing elements that drew a picture of an entire period of American History, and it was for that that I chose this piece.

The setting for this painting is a small forest glade with a preacher holding the communion cup and bread, surrounded by the first new world settlers. The preachers face is much lighter than the faces of his fellow pilgrims as he gazes towards the heavens. In the background you can see several Native Americans watching the proceedings curiously while a landing boat brings yet another load of “white faces” to shore. In short, this oil on canvas painting gives wonderful insight into what happened as the first white settlers made their way to the New World. Starting with those present in the glade itself, this painting shares the purpose of those original settlers; the pursuit of religious freedom. Those around the preacher further the message of freedom as you see children frolicking in the grass while another man sits writing in a book, a standard necessary for free speech. Behind the main group, you see two Native Americans; one of which holds an inquisitive look on his face while his mohawked compatriot holds a grim, almost hostile expression. In the far background you can see a group of men stepping off a small rowboat holding guns, a clear indication of the violence that the white settlers would eventually bring to the continent. Painted in 1858, this piece was created long after the events in the work took place, and because of that Matteson was able to paint an accurate portrait of the events of that era. This painting evokes pathos in its religious appeal, seen through the pastor and the elements of communion, as well as an emotional appeal to heritage; as these were the people that founded this great land, yet as the Native Americans remind us that it had a very high cost.

Tompkins Harrison Matteson was an artist out of New York State that focused in many of his works on historical, patriotic, and religious subjects. All three of these can be seen in this work, and they can be given credence through our own knowledge of this period. What Matteson does is to put that knowledge in one painting that reminds you of a period that influenced us all so much yet is very easily put by the wayside. This knowledge can be separated into several distinct parts: the goal of the first settlers to find religious freedom, the Native Americans having been belligerently pushed aside, and the imperialists who followed that led the largest and most extensive genocide that took place in human history.

I found visiting the Palmer Museum of Art to be a positive experience. It had a very clean design that separated the art, keeping paintings significant in their own areas. It also had a moderate range of styles and periods, though I thought there were some big ones that were missing. I really enjoy museums in general, though I have never been a big fan of art museums. American and natural history have always been far more intriguing subjects for me. I would be willing to go back to the Palmer, though probably not for a while. It would also be nice to visit with a guide who could give much more detailed histories of the works on display.

My Blog Analysis

Template: I decided on my current format and template because of its clean fresh feel; brought about in a large part by the hazy mountainous background with crisp raindrops appearing to hang on the screen in the foreground. I decided on my design because it was fairly easy to navigate but still has many of the great benefits available through blogspot. I included both a short bio about me on the side-bar as well as an extended biography on a second page that can be accessed through the "About Me" tab to try and be thorough with getting the targetted material to the audience, while not being overwhelming by having the history of my life running down the side of my home page.

Title: I chose my title because I was tasked to create one that had included some thought and when I thought of this one I thought it to be fitting. This title applies to me as a person because of its quirky phrasing and unexpected nature.

Links: I did not add a section to my blog for links, but if I happen across or feel the need to share links in the future it will be an easy enough addition to make at that time.

Tools: I included a search bar for easy navigation through my blog as well as a short bio on my home page to give readers a glimpse of who I am. I also included an archive as an easy way to track what I have done to the blog and a translator in case I get any more cyber-visitors from Germany. The last addition I made was a BMI calculator because I've found having societal standards make you feel bad about yourself is always a good motivator.

I believe that this blog fits me as well as a blog can be expected to. I think that it sets the tone for the topics that will eventually be addressed on it, and if I change my mind on anything it is quite fortunately very easy to change. This is not my first blog using this site, so it is about what I expected. Blogspot has made some improvements since I last used the site but the basic format is still the same. I feel that this blogging experience will be a positive one through the course of this class, and it is definitely nice to break up the standard assignment procedure laid out in most english courses.

Class Project

For the twenty-six Americans and one German who have so far happened accross this page, I was assigned to start this blog as a class assignment and as you can see have so-far posted nothing of interest. I apologize for the energy lost in back-clicking. If anyone else stumbles across this and doesn't quite feel like clicking back yet feel free to say hi.

I want a hippopotamus for Christmas,
Only a hippopotamus will do,
(comment to finish)