This is the end, beautiful friend, the end

These words are running through my head this morning. They are from a song by The Doors that I don't actually recommend (kinda violent, although full of Freudian idealism - think Oedipus complex). The song, however, does go on to say, "And all the children are insane; all the children are insane, waiting for the summer rain, YEAH!" I totally agree with that. Some of you are just crazy right now!!! We have come to the inevitable conclusion of another year and I am glad to have shared it with you. I know that I have, for many of you, pushed the limits of what you believed you could capably do. I hope that you rose to the occasion. I hope you leave here full of knowledge. I have loved sharing that knowledge with you. (And I sincerely apologize for being a blog slacker!!!)

The last blog post that I wrote refused to post and then magically disappeared into cyberspace where some drone is probably feeding on it. This is what happens with lost digital material. I am sure of it. So, having appropriately mourned the loss of good verbiage, I feel ready to move forward and spew more glorious word content into the cyber-universe ;)

I know that most of you are little interested in what I have to ramble about and more interested in the extra credit as the year winds down, but let me remind you that extra credit does you little good if you don't turn in your assignments. You all need to make sure that you have turned in at least PART of your Their Eyes Were Watching God paragraphs/essays and your Across the Universe worksheet. These are worth a total of 280-330 (honors) points, and no 40 pt EC will make up for their absence. You will, of course earn late credit, but TUESDAY, MAY 31 is the last day that I will take ANY work from ANYONE! This includes your Lay that Trumpet in Our Hands questions and character guide, which are worth another 200 points and will be due on Tuesday.

1. Consider carefully every character we have read about this year. Choose one character with whom you most identify. Explain who the character is (making sure to include the name of the text in which he/she appears) and then, in a separate paragraph, clearly explain why you chose that character and what you think you have in common. You may receive up to 20 points of EC for this if it is well-written.
2. If you have the ability to burn a CD, make a 5-10 song CD of either Civil Rights Protest music (or music related to it but written later - think Motel in Memphis, which is about the murder of MLK, Jr.) OR Vietnam War protest music (think Woodstock - War, huh, good God, what is it good for?) Make sure that you either put it in a case and design a cover or write all of the song titles and your name on the CD itself. Please include artist names as well. You may receive up to 40 points of EC.
3. Write a biography entirely in your own words of EITHER Sheriff Willis McCall or Walter Lee Irvin. This should be a brief summary of their lives focusing on pivotal events in the 1950s and what happened in the aftermath of the "Florida Terror." (There are some great YouTube videos that might interest you. Take whatever information you would like from them as well, just put it in your own words.) One page minimum. You may receive up to 45 points of EC.
4. This essay is related to Their Eyes Were Watching God. Defend (agree with) or refute (disagree with) the following statement: Death is a positive force in Janie's life because it always results in a positive new beginning. Discuss your answer in relation to a) Nanny's death, b) Joe's death, c) Tea Cake's death. Make sure to include for each one a discussion of who the character is in Janie's life, how they died, and how it was or was not a positive event for her. This should be a five paragraph essay. I will be strict with awarding points, but you can earn up to 75 points EC.

Have fun!!!!