All Li Po-ems

Happy Friday, Humanitarians! Did you enjoy the Tang dynasty poets? We wrapped up our Post-Classical studies by taking a look at two of China's most famous poets of all time, Li Po (or Li Bai or  Li Bo) and Tu Fu (or Du Fu). These gentlemen have influenced poets and artists in general for generation after generation, even now. I actually even read an article yesterday about how China's first heavy metal band counts Li Po as his major inspiration, so take that poetry haters!

That moment when bae asks your advice about another guy.

Just a little bit about both of these two gentleman:

• Li Po was (and really still is) considered the greatest of all Chinese poets. He was revered in his lifetime for his poems and was known by his free-spirited, wilder, and eccentric spirit, although a Daoist. He was, in fact, so eccentric that according to legend he died by drowning when he tried to grab the moon's reflection in the Yangtze River. 
• Tu Fu, who was BFFs with our boy Li Po, is also highly revered among the world's poets. He aspired to be part of the government as a civil servant but failed the civil service exam and could just never quite make it into government prominence, no matter how hard he tried. He had a dear love for China, which showed up in his poetry's themes quite frequently, but at the end of his life, China's courts were under turmoil because of the An Lushan rebellion. 

If you're interested, there are tons more Tang poems that are easy to find online. They're beautiful and pretty easy to read.

Lolz.

For my last venture into SXSW's glorious musical selection, I'll wrap up the week with my favorite new song so far this year, Sylvan Esso's "Die Young". Sylvan Esso is an indie duo from North Carolina, and they're coming out with a new album later this spring. Check out "Die Young", a song about how sometimes falling in love shifts your plans (and enjoy the beat).

Happy weekend friends!!! I'm going to leave you with this because it's probably the most adorable video I've ever seen. Just in case you're needing a little pick-me-up for your weekend.

How's your brain feeling?!

How did the quiz go?! Knocked it out of the park?!

Before the quiz over the last two days, we spent some time reviewing and also discussing. Tuesday was filled with lots of rich discussion for the most part (and some terrifying arguing in 4th period). Tomorrow we will wrap up our study of Post Classical East Asia with some POETRY. A little Tu Fu and Li Po coming your way. Don't forget to grab a copy of Life of Pi for Monday as well.

This weekend is your last weekend to get in your Humanities Experiences. If you're a procrastinator, here are some last minute events going on this weekend (in between seeing Beauty and the Beast):

• Til Midnight at the Nasher is starting back up on Friday! Check out the sculpture at the Nasher (which is the actual Humanities Experience) and then stay for an outdoor movie and concert in the back of the museum. 
• Also on Friday next door is the DMA's Late Night event (which does actually cost money). You have to actually look at the art for the extra credit component, but there are a bunch of extra activities going on as well. This week's theme is Medieval, so check out their Art and Nature in the Middle Ages exhibit and then pop over to hear a talk about how J.K. Rowling used Medieval mythological beasts to write Fantastic Beasts.
• Looking for something nearer to home? Frisco is showcasing the opera Madame Butterfly at the Star. Check this out for more info. 

Today's SXSW performer is truly near and dear to my heart. David Ramirez is a Austinite, a songwriter that used to come play at little tiny venues in College Station when I was going to A&M. His shows are the kind where you could hear a pin drop because everyone is entranced. It's definitely not the most beat-bumping mix, but if you are needing something relaxing and/or melancholy, here's my personal favorite, "Shoeboxes".

Spring has sprung!

Happy Monday friends! Daylight Savings makes it hard to get back to school after Spring Break...

 

BUT we hope you had a wonderful week, and now it's back to work, work, work. Today, we got back to SAQ, which is our last one for the nine weeks, and continued our discussion of Asian art and technology. Post Classical Chinese innovations included heavy-hitters like movable type, the compass, and the Grand Canal, among many others. As far as art goes, we can see the long-standing influence of Asian style, with its bold color choices, landscape imagery, and different perspective than previously used. Asian art is the bomb, yo. Here are some different examples:

Chinese landscape paintings and scrolls:

Lacquerware:

Pottery:

Our East Asian artists also influenced many later artists. Read this article about Japanese art's influence on Van Gogh in particular. 

This week is South by Southwest, or SXSW, OR the coolest music, film, and technology festival in Austin. Over the span of two weeks, underground bands, new films, and other creatives display their work or perform, and local Austinites or traveling hipsters can come check out their work. All my Austin friends love checking out the free concerts (worth in despite the awful Austin traffic). In honor of SXSW being this week, I'm going to steal Stanton's music schtick (just this week, I promise!) and highlight bands performing at the shows. Today's artist is Maggie Rogers, a songwriter whose career was launched when Pharrell Williams heard her song being played; she's kind of funky pop that I personally recommend for driving down the highway. Enjoy her single "Dog Years". 

Happy Monday friends! Welcome back :)

P.S.-Jett Wang's film for 6th and 7th period, as promised. Jett rules.

SPRIIINNNNGGGG BREEEAAKKKKK!

I think that should about cover it!! 

We hope you have a great break and get a chance to make all your dreams come true. 

Are we actually in Asia?

Fabulous job on your projects, everyone! Here are images of some of the great things y'all turned in today! Overall, we were very impressed with your creativity. Seriously, museums should be asking for your work!

Anyone else just love the Buddha in front of a Christian stained glass window?

The cutest Asian synagogue anyone's ever seen

Why were the Mongols in such good shape?

They were always going up and down the steppes!! Ha ha ha ha!

Mongols are the bomb, yo!

How cool are the Mongols? Infinity-cool, right? 

This pretty much covers it, eh? 

What's that? You want some dating advice from Genghis Khan? I got you.

God, I hope this conversation actually happened at some point. 

But seriously though...

We'll spend some more time with our Mongol brethren over the next few days, but a few things to consider:

1. We mentioned this in class, but keep mind that a lot of what we know of the Mongols came from the people they conquered. I bet that colors their opinion, don't you agree? 
2. As I mentioned in a few of my classes, I love the historical idea that there is a "proper" way to fight and win a war. You see this happen again and again. The Mongols were never handicapped by this. Their religious beliefs didn't prohibit certain methods or anything. So, they won most battles because they were willing to do things that other societies just willing to do. 
3. Their goals differed radically from many of the other civilizations we've looked at. The aggregation of political, religious, or social power was not anything they were super interested in. You heard in the video today how Genghis Khan defined happiness - basically it is victory in battle. VERY different then some other folks we've met. 

Asia Projects!!

Tomorrow your projects are due! Remember:

• Hard copies of everything MUST be turned in tomorrow. No emails or digital copies. 
• Please include a picture of your visual art projects. 
• Drop your project off in the designated spot in your classroom. 
• Good luck!

Soundtrack of the Week

We're halfway to Spring Break!! Pretty exciting, huh? You can almost taste the freedom. 

After you've spent a few days relaxing and recharging the batteries over the break, it is time to get your groove on. Spring Break should always have a little time to shake your booty. Well, have I got a song for you. This was literally released today. When this is all over the place in a few days, you can tell your friends you heard it here first. 

If this song doesn't take over the radio very, very soon, then popular music in America is truly obsolete. I also predict that this will be one of Ms. Virdin's favorite songs of the year. 

This is "Slide" by Calvin Harris featuring Frank Ocean & Migos. Get funky!