Hello my name is Julian Brodsky and I come from Bucks County which is a beautiful little place in the country north of Philadelphia. I would like to start these blogs by telling readers a little about myself. I am the youngest out of three siblings and the last one left, or should I say, starting college. I began my childhood in Easton, which is just north of Bucks County, until my parents got a divorce when I was four. Living through a divorce was a life altering event, but one that when reflected upon, am glad to have gone through. Not only does a divorce force kids to grow up fast, I also became very close with my mother and brother. A few years later my mom met my future step-father, who had two kids of his own. To make a long story short, they got married when I was in third grade and now I suddenly had a new brother and sister, which I thought was really neat. At this time my mother, my brother, and I moved into my step-fathers beautiful farm in the country which is where I still live.

Now that I have told you of my past I guess the logical thing to do is to talk about my future here at Penn State. I am in the College of Liberal Arts, majoring in communication at the moment. Finding what I want to study is my main goal here at Penn State. I really have no idea what I want to do as a career or major, but figured Liberal Arts was my best bet because a lot of my interests fell under the category. Im excited to be here and hope I will grow further as a person and as a student here at Penn State.

The weather is amazing today! I can't stand those cloudy gray rainy days that seems such a staple here at Penn State. I'm usually in a better mood if the weather is good. Sometimes I feel the weather can really dictate how a person will act and feel.

Being the outdoor kind of person I am, I believe there should be more emphasis on nature and hiking here at Penn State. Where I come from in the country, one of my biggest hobbies or things I like to do is being outside. I spend a lot of time at parks hiking the trails and exploring the woods. After some research of my own I found a couple huge state parks close to campus. What we need here on campus is a club focusing on these things dealing with nature and the outdoors. I feel we should take advantage of the enviornment around us and use these parks that are close. There's such a big emphasis on taking advantage of the things this campus has to offer, but no one ever talks about whats just outside of campus. This is something I will look further into.

Hurricane Katrina! Watching those horrible images on TV has been very unsettling and emotinal for me. Last night I spent a couple hours watching the tude with my girlfriend. We sat there in awe as we were bombarded with gruesome and disturbing images from the destruction of the mighty hurricane. The shear power and destruction put forth by this natural disaster is incomprehensible. But what really gets me is the relief effort or lack of. Where is our government when we need them? We are busy pumping troops, money, food, and weapons into Iraq, so no wonder the government has been delayed in it's relief efforts. What a tragedy. We are to busy with suppling Iraq with what they need that when something like this happens on American soil we are unable to help one another. This is a sad time for America right now.

Once again another bright warm beautiful day here at Penn State. This whole weekend has had fantastic weather and I have been trying to enjoy it as much as I can. This weekend I spent most of my time walking the grounds and the city streets. Im always amazed by certain buildings and sidewalks that have seem to sprung up from the ground out of nowhere. This campus is huge! Visiting my brothers and sister in their colleges over the years I have seen many a campus and the campus life as well. It's strange how different each campus can be compared to each other. Where my brother Aaron goes, University of Delaware, the campus is also very beautiful with many trees and classic looking buildings all around. Another cool thing about his campus is his gym. There is no membership fee and plus the gym includes a huge rock climbing section inside. Where my brother Nathen goes to school, American University in DC, his campus is right smack in the middle of the city. The crime rate around his campus is very high because of its location. But its cool having the capital and all the monuments close at hand. I remember one time when I visited him at school we went to the FDR memorial at night and walked all around the Potomac. It was a very memerable experience for me of a different perspective of campus life. My sister went to school at Drexel University in Philadelphia. This was a school that was also right in the middle of a large city. But since it was a metropolitan campus, there was always something to do or see. Penn State is a different kind of college because of its location. Though its located in the middle of nowhere, because of the big campus and little city that surrounds it, Penn State can feel like a metropolitan area. But with the perks of the counrty and beautiful mountains that surrounds it.

I've noticed something I love about the enviornment in a college classroom. Instead of the immature and shallow class enviornment that one is used to in High School, here at college I've noticed that the classroom is open to any and all ideas. Discussion is encouraged. I always found myself being stared at in my High School classes because of my vigor and ideas I would contribute to the little class discussions we would have. Being someone who loves to raise their hand and ask questions, I am very glad to be out of the high school mentality. Here I am encouraged to talk and get excited about topics. Here I can voice my opinions, whatever they may be. In college everyone is here to learn and pay attention, especially because of the price tag that comes with it. I love the open manner in which the college enviornment caters to. I feel in a lot of ways my last year of high school was holding me back as a growing student. There was still that childish mentality of being "cool" and not getting excited about topics in class, and I hated that. If I get stared at now in class at least I know its because an informed individual is desagreeing with my comments and wants to voice their own opinion. At least I don't have to be "cool" any more now that I'm in college.

The seminar I'm taking right now on poetry is amazing. It's wonderful coming from a large lecture hall where the prof. talks the whole time and theres no discussion to a tiny classroom of kids sitting in a circle with constant discussions. We have been reading and discussing different kinds of poems in class. I have never done anything like this before in a school setting, only on my own time at home by myself or with friends. Being someone who has always ejoyed poetry this class is someting I look forward to three times a week, and think about when I'm not in it. I find it very interesting all the different perpectives a class can have on just one poem. When we sit around in a circle and discuss the poem we just read, everyone has some kind of a unique interpretation of the words in some form or another. This class had been teaching me to look at things from many different perpectives and to accept other peoples interpretations. I would like to end with a line from a Whitman poem called, Song of Myself, "For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you."

I know my last blog was talking about how much I love my poetry class, but I feel I also need to talk about my philosophy class. I'm taking a philosophy class that focuses on existentialism as well as the underlying problems and facets of philosophy. I find this course fasinating and at the same time, hard to grasp and fully understand. I am someone who has always been one to incorrporate philosophical thought and discussions in my everyday life. But I am learning just how complex and tough certain philosophical concepts are. So far we have read the play, Antigone, and today read two of the meditations by Des Cartes. I found Antigone very interesting, especially because I just read Oedipus Rex last year in high school. I have always loved plays and find I can get a lot out of them. This play focuses on the tragedy that Creon undergoes because of his blunder for sentencing Antigone to death. Since this play is about tragedy it is really all about the human condition and what it means to suffer and be ruled by another human. The play asks an important question which is, who creates law. Should it be man who creates law, or is it the gods we should respect and not one man. The play also discusses death and what we do to make it a more humanistic thing instead of the great unknown, because that is what humans fear the most. Discussing these concepts in class helps me form my own opinions as well as learn other one's I would have never thought of. I am finding that philosophy, to be fully understood, should be talked about with other people and not just pondered alone. Other people's thoughts and ideas are vidal because the more of these you have the more three-dimentional picture you will create for yourself.

>>Prior to teaching at PSU, I taught Fresh/Soph philosphy at Fordham University. Descartes is always difficult, so don't be discouraged. Hopefully you'll enjoy the existentialism such as Sartre. Odd isn't it that they're both French. TheKemBlog

It's hard to grasp sometimes this point that I'm at right now in my life. For the past 18 years, I have been waiting (in a sense) and pondering what it would be like when I finally got to college. Now that I'm here it feels very odd because I am at that point, that pinnacle in my life I have for so long thought about. Watching my sister and two brother's pack up and go off to college over the years has only made my facination and eagerness increase. It's like I have been watching and waiting for so long and now that I'm here I don't really know what to do with myself. I have been trying to focus on my work and complete all my assignments to the best of my ability. I find this helps keep my mind off unnecessary thoughts and helps me stay on track. College life is a lot to get used to and a huge lifestyle change as well. I love the freedom, my classes, and the fact that I'm finally out on my own, but I still can't help but feel wierd from time to time. I'm sure in the next couple months I will grow more used to college life and grow as a person as well, gaining maturity and a better sense of who I am and what kind of work I can produce. It's very exciting to be at college and finally be at that pinnacle in my life because I know now that this is only the beginning.

To debate is to have an argument with at least two opposing view points. Dialogue is any form of communication between two or more people. I feel that to debate and to have a dialogue are very similar things but it really depends on the situation. I believe there can be a dialogue between people and the nature of this dialogue can be in a debate. Debating is just a form of dialogue. I also feel that you can have a dialogue and within that dialogue there can be no debate, just an exchange of words that in no way contrast eachother. But I do believe that anytime your debating with someone you are haveing a dialogue with them as well. In conclusion, I think that dialogue is a lot broader of a word than debate. Debate falls under the term dialogue, and can not happen without it. Where as in a dialogue there can be many forms of communication, like debating and arguing for example.

In my philosophy class we read a lecture that Jean-Paul Sartre gave in 1946 in defense for existentailism. I found this text extremely fascinating due to the fact that I agreed with a lot of his views. Unlike Des Cartes’s, Meditations, I found a lot less flaws in Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism. I thought it was interesting to compare these two philosophers while I read this text. I found many differences between them, especially where each of them began from and how they worked their way up. Sartre does not believe a god exists, and this alone changes the way a person will perceive the world around them. I feel this is a truthful statement and one that I hold myself. From this starting point I began to see things a lot clearer than Des Cartes made them out to be. Sartre believes man is responsible for themselves and dismisses things being right or wrong, because if there is no god, there can be no true concept of what really is good or bad. The world is what we make of it, and I have been saying that my whole life. It’s odd how much I can relate to his words and ideas about the perception of reality. I have always thought that each individual has the ability and choices of who they want to become. The title of this text, Existentialism is a Humanism, I feel sums up Sartre’s view of existentialism. He believes, and I feel the same, that to be human is to be existential, and to have existential thoughts, even if one is unaware they are having them. The very thing that defines being human is our consciousness, and any time there is a conscious mind there are existential questions and thoughts that arise. I really feel that existentialism can be related to any aspect of life. I would like to end with a quote from the text that I feel sums up the point that Sartre is trying to make, “Man is responsible for what he is”.

Poetry class was very interesting today. Our assignment, to be done for today, was to read the first half of a poetry book called, All-American Girl, by Robin Becker. It was neat to know that Mrs. Becker works right here on campus and teaches several poetry classes. I look forward to friday where I will get a chance to hear some of her poems read aloud by the poet herself. Today in class, it was assigned from our last class, that me and another girl were to come in with a poem in mind from the book that we wanted to disscus with the class. I picked a poem that was from the perspective of Mrs. Becker as a child. This poem was an account of an experience she had with her family down in Haiti when she was very young. It was about how she was watching these natives jump in the water around her boat and collect the coins the tourists would drop in the ocean for them. The poem showed a striking contrast between this white upper class boat full of tourists and these poor black boys jumping in the water off there tiny wooden boats. I loved the way this poem taught a moral at the end to be gracious for what you have and to acknowledge other cultures in the world. But what was really interesting in class today was when we looked at a couple of her poems dealing with being Jewish. We then had a very interesting conversation as a class about this topic, and I could relate because I'm Jewish myself and understood a lot of points the author was trying to make in her poems. I look forward to firday to hear Mrs. Becker read and talk about some of these poems.

I wanted to post my poem I made for poetry class the other day for my blog space today:

Instrument of Expression

Hollow, wooden, and hungry for life

It exists to be touched.

Glossy and smooth like a rhododendron’s leaf,

It shimmers in just the right light.

Delicate and hushed while alone,

It cries out for the fury and emotion it can be taught,

It cries out for the inspiration it can initiate,

It cries out for a fine tuning.

Neither body nor neck enables this beast

To roar its harmonious tongue.

Neither strings nor frets enable this creature

To reverberate while in solitary peace.

This enigma of human invention,

Relies on a persons contact,

Relies on a beings companionship,

Relies on expression of our intricate mind.

Like a child requires their parents,

Like a student longs for their maturity,

Like a man needs a sense of himself,

It needs and breaths life with every stroke,

With every strum,

And with every passion that is inside of us.

I was reminded today of a friend I had in highschool who passed away. I was reminded when we read a poem in my poetry class about death. The poem was about the authors sister who passed away when she was a young child. The poem is more like a list of simple things we don't think about but are brought to our attention when someone young dies. As I read this poem, memories of my friend's death flooded my mind. I thought about my first reaction when I heard he got into a car accident, which was complete and utter disbelief. I remember this sudden urge I got to scream at the top of my lungs and never cease. I remember the anger I felt towards no one in particular but towards myself. Why did he have to die?, I remember thinking, wy can't I have died instead of him?, why? These kinds of questions rushed my mind and took a while to dissipate after his death. The poem reminded me of how someone views the world around them after a situation like this. After my friends death I remember just staring off most of the time, meserized by the simplist things. Things like nature and certain objects would now catch my attention and I would give thought and respect to them. But most of all I thought about what could have been. Where he would have went to college. How are highschool graduation would have been if he was there. But these things I will never know.

Robin Becker was a pleasure to listen to at her reading on Friday. I had never been to a poetry reading before and was not sure what to expect. Upon arrival I knew right away that I wasn’t going to be alone. The whole auditorium was packed to the brim so I hurried across the front and sat against a wall with many other eager students, teachers, and fans. From the first words that were uttered out of her mouth I knew right away I was hooked. Listening to her read the beautiful poems almost put me in a trance state. As I let my mind wonder through her descriptive language I gazed around the room watching everyone else, frozen in a hypnotized state as well. It was amazing how differently the poems effected me compared to me just reading them to myself. The few poems that Robin read from All-American Girl were suddenly transformed into something new and were given life from the poet herself. The poems I had read in class were now being told the way they were written. I was shocked how different they now sounded being read by Robin Becker. This experience has taught me how special it is to hear the author of a poem read their work out loud. I was glad to see the humor and humbleness Robin displayed while she read her incredible poems. It showed me a down-to-earth side of her I would not have necessarily gotten from just reading her poems to myself. I loved this experience and will always remember the way she read and put life into her poems.

In my philosophy class we started reading, Sickness Unto Death, By Kierkegaard. This was my reaction to the text that I have read so far. I wanted to post this on my blog page because I felt very strongly about what Kierkegaard had to say:

Though I find Kierkegaard’s philosophy interesting because of his understanding that all humans are in despair of some kind, I view his work as completely wrong due to his religious views. Kierkegaard bases his “sickness unto death” on the narrow minded idea that the true God is this Christian God. I find this extremely ignorant due to the fact that there are so many different types of religions and Gods, and to say that the Christians are right is ridiculous without any proof of some kind. I find his work only based on faith, and therefore, it is unethical for him to make a factual statement regarding the Christian doctrine. I think it is absurd to make a statement such as Christians are the chosen ones and only they can overcome despair. This notion shows us how misguided and delusional Kierkegaard was to have this narrow minded view of the world. He is not looking at the big picture and does not recognize that he may be wrong. Rather he dismisses this idea and thinks of himself as a genus or speaker of truth. Trying to keep in mind the time period in which this text was written only reinforces my points. During this era there was a lot of ignorance regarding other religions because there was this overwhelming population who believed in Christianity and felt other religions were wrong. This same ignorant sentiment is what fueled Kierkegaard to write such an opinionated and false depiction of the world around us and how consciousness is related to how we perceive this world.

I did find his words about everyone being in despair interesting because I agree with certain aspects of it. I believe that humans are in despair in the same sense that they are afraid of death. This fear of the unknown puts everyone in despair of some kind depending on how they handle it. I can relate to this notion because since I do not believe in a God and am an optimistic person, the idea of death concerns me and puts me in a state of despair. But in no way do I agree that only “true Christians” are capable of overcoming despair. I feel every individual has the choice and ability to handle despair or “death” accordingly to what makes them most comfortable.

The weather is beautiful today. A bright and brilliant blue sky hangs overhead, and a cool crisp breeze calms your skin as it passes by. Walking from one class to the next I can't help but remove myself from my sourroundings and become a spectator sometimes. Suddenly I notice the subtle expressions on people's faces, the hurried looks and fast walking paces students embody. I find it so interesting the different kinds of people, and then going farer, wondering and speculating on random strangers as they pass by. Where I come from there is not a lot of diversity so to come here and finally find some is a rewarding feeling. There are so many students that go to Penn State, and most, of course, I will never get the pleasure of knowing or talking to. When I look at a diversified environment such as Penn State, knoweldge and wisdom comes to mind. We all have so much that we can learn from one another. We are each unique individuals who bring a unique look on life and share very different backgrounds and cultures. My only hope is that I keep on meeting people who are nothing like me, and in turn, leave an impression on others.

I am without a computer at the moment. Last night I had noticed a loud clicking sound coming out of my computer from the hard drive. I then turned my computer off, and restarted it. It then seemed to have fixed the problem. But when I got back from my class today I noticed it was making the same noise. So I turned it off again and restarted it. But it then went to a black screen informing me there was an error on my hard drive. This seems to me like a huge deal because I really need my computer for everyday things, such as checking the sllybus before classes, writing my blogs, and so on. Right now I am forced to go to the computer lab to type out my blog. This is a big pain in the ass because if there is something very wrong with my hard drive I am going to have to call Dell and have them ship me out a new computer. I set up an appointment with rescom for tomrrow. If my hard drive is broken then everything on my computer will be lost. This seems to be the case because I have had this happen to me on another computer in the past and everything was lost. This really sucks. I hate computers!

Still no computer! I called Dell yesterday and talked with a technicion about my problem. He informed I would most likely need a new hard drive. So I set up an appointment for next tuesday to have a Dell guy come and install one in my computer. But untill then...no computer! Today I have a test in my statistics class. My first real test in college, so I am very anxious about it. I always get really stressed out before a test, regardless how well I know the information. Next week is going to be hell. I have a lot of reading to do for my psychology class and then a huge test on it for friday. Plus I have to memorize two poems to recite in front of my poetry class. This I am looking forward to. I know I would like to memorie the Jabawoki poem but Im not sure what other poem to find, maybe a Whitman. This weekend is parents weekend so my parents will be driving out on saturday. I can't believe its been almost a month already. Though I am not homesick at all, I look forward to seeing my parents so I can show them where all my classes are and also so they can buy me a bike. Once I have a bike, I feel like I will be able to go a lot more places in a lot shorter of time. Also it will be nice to stock up on some food for my dorm. Anyway, I want my computer to be fixed. Its funny how you don't appreaicate something until its gone or in my case, broken.

Well its monday now and I still do not have a computer to work on. Even more intreging is the fact that when I went down to the computer lab to take an online test for my psychology class, which will be graded, I was denied access due to the fact that in order to take the test I had to download some software but was not allowed to. This is really ridiculous the fact that I get screwed because my computer broke for no reason. This campus must do something about this and fast. If someones computer brakes, then they should be able to do everything they would normaly have to do for their classes in the lab, but this is not so. I know I have been venting about my computer the last three blogs but its because this is a computer driven campus and if you don't have your own, your out of luck. On a different subject I have been watching the news and am once again taken back by the fury of mother nature. Rita has caused much destruction in its wake, causeing millions to flee from their homes. I just can't believe the damgage and money these two hurricanes have caused (Rita and Katrina). It goes to show you that America is not a safe place, whether from terroists or natural disasters, things can and will go wrong.

My computer is fixed! Some guy from Dell came and put in a new hard drive, thus restoring my computer to working order. Its so nice haveing a computer in my room to write out blogs, take online tests, and check class syllabuses befor classes. Anyway, the weather is wonderful today with a clear blue sky and a cool breeze in the air. This week I have been studying for a huge test in my psychology class for friday. This test covers 4 chapters so naturaly I am nervous about it. I hate tests and have always felt that they are a poor judge of someones abilities but I now realize that in a class of 250 students, a test is the simpliest way to give out grades. I know now that I should have been studying the past weeks instead of leaving it for the week before the test. College is a learning process for me and I now know that I need to change my study habbits in order to survive here at college. I plan on studying for hours today so I can become more confident in the course information that these four chapters cover. Hopefuly I will get a chance to be outside some more; its so nice out.

How to string and tune a guitar: First you will want to go to a music store and buy the right kind of strings for your guitar. There are different size electric and acoustic strings depedning on your preference. The thicker the string the stiffer and tighter the feel. Once you have your string, upon arriving home to your guitar, sit with the guitar across your lap. Then start with the top or bottom string and begin lacing it through the back of the guitar for electric or on the front side of an acoustic by placing the peg in place to hold the end of the string. Next take the string, that is now fastened to the bottom of the guitar, and put the top of the string through the correspounding hole in the top of the guitar through the tuner dial hole. Then pull the string through the tuner dial hole until taught and wrap the remaining string around the tuner dial hole while starting to twist the dial, tightening the string. Repeat for the other five strings so all are tight, but not too tight. Then plug a tuner in if you have an electric by putting one end of the cord in the guitar and the other in the tuner. If you have an acoustic place the tuner on your lap so the speaker is close to the hole of the guitar. Then start whith the bottom or top string and begin tuning by tightening or lossening the string by adjusting the dial while watching the screen on the tuner to find the correct pitch for each string. Repeat for all strings makeing sure you are tuning the right sting for the right tune setting on the tuner that correspounds to the strings. Now your guitar will be perfectly tuned and ready for some serious jamming.

This weekend I am going with my girlfriend to Hershey Park to see the Stones in concert. Its exciting seeing a band as famous as them live. I never thought in a million years I would get to see them while their still alive. For years now I have been very much into the whole 60's and 70's kind of music. Such bands as The Doors, The Beatles, Hendrix, Zeppelin, Floyd, and the Stones have been some of my favorite, to name a few. I feel like im going back in time in a way seeing the Stones live; I can't wait. Im sure my blog on Monday will be all about the concert. Anyway today is my last day of studying before my psychology test on friday. Im a little nervous about it but feel that all I can do now is keep studying until then. The weather today has been a little odd due to the fact that I thought it was going to rain all day. Because of this I did not take my bike to class; of course I could have because it never really rained. Today was my hearing test I had made at the Moore building. Over the summer I had used a chainsaw to cut down some branches and thought I might have done something to my left ear because since then whenever I am around very loud noises my ear hurts a little. But the test results show I have no damage so I guess the best thing for me to do is try to avoid loud sounds as much as I can. I will bring ear plugs to the concert this weekend just in case.

Because famous celebrities are well known and wealthy they are happy. My assumption here is that all celebrities are happy because they are rich and people know who they are. This could be wrong for a number of reasons. Many times famous people are very deppressed because they do not like being the center of attention. They want to be a normal person but can't excape their fame. Also celebrities with a lot of money have a lot to worry about. It is hard for them to make friends because people will want to be their friends just because of their money. And people tend to treat famous people with money different then they would treat normal people. They are fake to them and want a part of them in a way. Celebrities could be very troubled and deppresed people because of these reasons. Not all of them are happy, but the ones who are very shallow and like attention could be the ones who are happy with their fame and wealth.

This weekend I saw the Rolling Stones in concert. The opening act was Beck, whom I always wanted to see live. First of all Beck was fantastic to watch; he is a great performer and really puts on a great show. Then the Stones came out. I didn't really know what to expect, other then the iconic band I had in my mind for them to be...and they were. They were truly amazing! I couldn't believe how much energy they had for such old guys. They played and sang extremely well with as much vigor as I had hoped for. They played a lot of classics and a couple new tunes off their new album. I was in awe the whole concert; I felt like I was being taken back in time. Painted Black was one of their best numbers they did at the concert; with Kieth on the guitar doing a wicked solo and Mick humming along to the one part of the song, I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. It was a great moment for me and an overall experience I am not soon to forget. Since the concert was at Hershey Park, the venue itself was an open arena and provided a nice backdrop to the Stones on stage. It was a clear crisp night, but the energy throughout the place was hot with excitment. At one point the Stones all got on this middle platform and the platform started to move out into the crowd. From where I was standing I got to be real close to them after the platform had gone all the way out. There they were, jamming away 20 or so feet from my eyes, as if they were in their 20's again and it was the 60's. The whole stage setup was also a site to see. I had never seen such a towering stage setup with screens everywhere and tons of places for the performers to walk. I will never forget this timeless experience and only wish I can see them again before they are to