/**

 * Geometry 

 * by Marius Watz. 

 * 

 * Using sin/cos lookup tables, blends colors, and draws a series of 

 * rotating arcs on the screen.

 */





import processing.opengl.*;



// Trig lookup tables borrowed from Toxi; cryptic but effective.

float sinLUT[];

float cosLUT[];

float SINCOS_PRECISION=1.0;

int SINCOS_LENGTH= int((360.0/SINCOS_PRECISION));



// System data

boolean dosave=false;

int num;

float pt[];

int style[];





void setup() {

  size(1024, 768, OPENGL);

  background(255);



  // Fill the tables

  sinLUT=new float[SINCOS_LENGTH];

  cosLUT=new float[SINCOS_LENGTH];

  for (int i = 0; i < SINCOS_LENGTH; i++) {

    sinLUT[i]= (float)Math.sin(i*DEG_TO_RAD*SINCOS_PRECISION);

    cosLUT[i]= (float)Math.cos(i*DEG_TO_RAD*SINCOS_PRECISION);

  }



  num = 150;

  pt = new float[6*num]; // rotx, roty, deg, rad, w, speed

  style = new int[2*num]; // color, render style



  // Set up arc shapes

  int index=0;

  float prob;

  for (int i=0; i    pt[index++] = random(PI*2); // Random X axis rotation

    pt[index++] = random(PI*2); // Random Y axis rotation



    pt[index++] = random(60,80); // Short to quarter-circle arcs

    if(random(100)>90) pt[index]=(int)random(8,27)*10;



    pt[index++] = int(random(2,50)*5); // Radius. Space them out nicely



    pt[index++] = random(4,32); // Width of band

    if(random(100)>90) pt[index]=random(40,60); // Width of band



    pt[index++] = radians(random(5,30))/5; // Speed of rotation



    // get colors

    prob = random(100);

    if(prob<30) style[i*2]=colorBlended(random(1), 255,0,100, 255,0,0, 210);

    else if(prob<70) style[i*2]=colorBlended(random(1), 0,153,255, 170,225,255, 210);

    else if(prob<90) style[i*2]=colorBlended(random(1), 200,255,0, 150,255,0, 210);

    else style[i*2]=color(255,255,255, 220);



    if(prob<50) style[i*2]=colorBlended(random(1), 200,255,0, 50,120,0, 210);

    else if(prob<90) style[i*2]=colorBlended(random(1), 255,100,0, 255,255,0, 210);

    else style[i*2]=color(255,255,255, 220);



    style[i*2+1]=(int)(random(100))%3;

  }

}



void draw() {



  background(0);



  int index=0;

  translate(width/2, height/2, 0);

  rotateX(PI/6);

  rotateY(PI/6);



  for (int i = 0; i < num; i++) {

    pushMatrix();



    rotateX(pt[index++]);

    rotateY(pt[index++]);



    if(style[i*2+1]==0) {

      stroke(style[i*2]);

      noFill();

      strokeWeight(1);

      arcLine(0,0, pt[index++],pt[index++],pt[index++]);

    }

    else if(style[i*2+1]==1) {

      fill(style[i*2]);

      noStroke();

      arcLineBars(0,0, pt[index++],pt[index++],pt[index++]);

    }

    else {

      fill(style[i*2]);

      noStroke();

      arc(0,0, pt[index++],pt[index++],pt[index++]);

    }



    // increase rotation

    pt[index-5]+=pt[index]/10;

    pt[index-4]+=pt[index++]/20;



    popMatrix();

  }

}





// Get blend of two colors

int colorBlended(float fract,

float r, float g, float b,

float r2, float g2, float b2, float a) {



  r2 = (r2 - r);

  g2 = (g2 - g);

  b2 = (b2 - b);

  return color(r + r2 * fract, g + g2 * fract, b + b2 * fract, a);

}





// Draw arc line

void arcLine(float x,float y,float deg,float rad,float w) {

  int a=(int)(min (deg/SINCOS_PRECISION,SINCOS_LENGTH-1));

  int numlines=(int)(w/2);



  for (int j=0; j    beginShape();

    for (int i=0; i      vertex(cosLUT[i]*rad+x,sinLUT[i]*rad+y);

    }

    endShape();

    rad += 2;

  }

}



// Draw arc line with bars

void arcLineBars(float x,float y,float deg,float rad,float w) {

  int a = int((min (deg/SINCOS_PRECISION,SINCOS_LENGTH-1)));

  a /= 4;



  beginShape(QUADS);

  for (int i=0; i    vertex(cosLUT[i]*(rad)+x,sinLUT[i]*(rad)+y);



    vertex(cosLUT[i+2]*(rad+w)+x,sinLUT[i+2]*(rad+w)+y);

  }

  endShape();

}



// Draw solid arc

void arc(float x,float y,float deg,float rad,float w) {

  int a = int(min (deg/SINCOS_PRECISION,SINCOS_LENGTH-1));

  beginShape(QUAD_STRIP);

  for (int i = 0; i < a; i++) {



    vertex(cosLUT[i]*(rad+w)+x,sinLUT[i]*(rad+w)+y);

  }

  endShape();

}

Bittersweet Endings to New Beginnings

We've taken the same journey, learned the same things, and arrived at the end of the road...but does the road end? No matter how you may feel at this point, I believe that we have all grown a little bit during our times in 7th Bell Contemporary Poetry. With new knowledge and skills that allow us to change emotion to word, we have all become poets. Now, where to go from here? How will we ever be able to return to regular English classes?

Soon, we'll be going through a series of changes. Fall term is drawing to a close, the seasons are changing, and final preparations are being made for a long awaited Thanksgiving Break. It seems that Tupac Shakur had some of his own "Changes" he wished to talk about.

We gotta make a change...

It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.

Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live

and let's change the way we treat each other.

You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do

what we gotta do, to survive.

Tupac states in a brief press conference that all he can do is "be responsible for [his] own actions". In reality, thats all, and the best, that anyone can do. As we go through our own changes, we have to keep that in mind. If we keep fighting and arguing, nothing will get done, people will get hurt, and lives will be lost. Shakur calls for changes in the way we live, the way we treat each other, and even the way we eat. What we have to do is survive, no matter what that means. This might go without saying for some people, but others need to understand Tupac's message. He believes that if everyone is responsible for his or her own actions, the world would be a much better place.

I strongly urge everyone to listen to this message, however simple it may be. We are the future, and we have to make the most of what we have.



I'd like to thank Mrs. Lewis for being the most awesome teacher ever. No matter what the situation, Mrs. Lewis is always eager and willing to lend a helping hand. She treats us fairly, as a adults, and our learning experience is all the more enjoyable because of it.

Friends, Seminarians, Poets...you will be missed.

Poetry In Review

How can I sum up the my experience of contemporary American poetry in
one blog post? It is only possible to suggest how much this class has impacted my growth.
The main reason why the class was so effective is because it was taught by Courtney Lewis, who is my adviser, teacher, and friend forever. She deserves a lot of respect. Sometimes I feel like she is a social scientist because of how she studies her students so deeply. I expect she has learned as much from us as we have learned from her love and impressive knowledge of contemporary poetry.

I knew I could write decent poetry before this class but I never took the time to exercise it. Now I cherish my ability to write poetry like it is my greatest gift. Everyday I splurge poetry accompanied by drawings into my sketchbook. Before contemporary poetry all I had was visual literacy without the depth of poetic literacy. At the beginning of the class Mrs. Lewis told us the class expectations, which I thought were far-fetched, but my experience is that I have exceeded the original class expectations.

This class has guided my learning in all subjects. By drawing parallels between poetry and my other classes, Art (history and studio), Science, and Math, I have been able to learn and understand the significance of my education. While testing is not my forte, my drive to understand concepts helps me enjoy school. Sadly, I could not connect this class to my French studies.

The achievement I am most proud of is this blog. The class pushed me to design a blog that is functional while aesthetically pleasing. The marriage of functionality and aesthetics drives my artwork.
Because the blogs were assigned to teams, they encouraged us to have cooperative responsibility for each other's learning. My group dominated the score sheet when it came to blogs. We have almost 900 views over only three months. Thanks Jezza, Dylan, and Boaz! We have regular views for Sri-lanka, Canada, Germany, and Russia. Many other countries have visited our blog, which feels amazing. The blog will be a lasting testimony to the most interesting class of my senior year at Wyoming Seminary.

We studied poetry from the beginning of the 20th century till contemporary rap and poetry slams. The most memorable poets we studied were Walt Whitman, Amiri Baraka, and Gwendolyn Brooks.
My favourite poem of the class was "We Real Cool," because it relates to my temptations in many ways. I think it can be understood easily while it has great depth. My favourite performer is Saul Williams because his voice casts a indescribable spell over me.

What A Long Strange Trip It's Been

Wow...final post, hard to believe. This first term has gone by so fast. Senior year fall term, work, lots of work, drama, lots of drama, college shit, well lots of that too. One thing stayed steady throughout the term and I'm sad to see it go, my seventh bell poetry class with the amazing Mrs. Lewis. I have been attending Wyoming Seminary since I was a pre-K student at the Lower School. 14 years have gone by, amazing. This poetry class however, ranks among the best classes I have attended at Sem. Mrs. Lewis is a master teacher to say the least, in the likes of Swanson, Switzer, and Moriarity.

Because of Mrs. Lewis I have been able to find out more about myself in the form of poetry and literature. Mrs. Lewis' expansive knowledge in the subject and her willingness to connect with all the students in the class was evident, she made it a great environment to work, study, and learn in. From the first day of class when we defined poetry, to the last day, where that definition, the no rules aspect, manifested itself in our final poems together it has shown a journey we, as a class, endured on. It wasn't a hard, difficult, laborious journey, but it was one full of laughter, friends, and knowledge, that we all took a part, really it was, as the Grateful Dead made famous in their song 'Truckin'", "a long strange trip."



However, life is a strange trip that we all embark on, hopefully after Sem, mine will continue at Skidmore College which I applied early decision to on November 15, 2010. In a month I will find out if I got in, or if I was rejected. However, I am not too concerned about it, for the hard work is over with, fall term, senior year is completed. Now it's time to sit back, send out the remaining applications, and figure out how to complete this long strange trip that it's been.

Mrs. Lewis, from the bottom of my heart, I would like to thank you for providing the greatest class I have ever been a part of at Wyoming Seminary. The environment that you provided was unlike any other at Sem, the openness, and the trust was what made this class something special. To all of my fellow classmates, many who I have never had a connection with before, thank you. Thank you for letting me see who you really are, thank you for making past judgments false, I am glad to call each and one of you one of my friends.

Seventh Bell Contemporary American Poetry--you will be missed, but never forgotten.

It's Not a Goodbye, It's a See Ya Later

So sad, my very last blog entry of the trimester. Over the last 12 weeks, studying and writing poetry every 7th bell has not only brought me happiness every day, but also challenged me intellectually in a way so much different than any other class. I've learned in poetry class that in order to be a good poet, the writer must be him/herself and have his/her own voice. To be honest, I was not too sure about taking poetry as my English elective before school started; I didn't know too much about writing poetry and wasn't too sure how it was going to go. As everyone performed their "What is Poetry #2" poems on friday, I was astonished to see how much everyone's poetry changed, including my own. At first, I thought poetry was about rhyming every line and keeping a solid beat to the poem. I found out that I was very wrong, as poetry is about expression, and in order to release one's expression, one must write whatever necessary into a poem to convey one's message. A truly amazing thought, in my opinion, and a thought I never dreamed I would think until I took this class.

The only thing I didn't/don't like about poetry is the fact that our class my very well be the last Contemporary Poetry class ever at Sem. Our teacher, Mrs. Lewis, does such a terrific job inspiring every single individual in the class that it seems almost unethical for the school to cancel such a class. I honestly think ever person who experiences Sem should also have the experience of Mrs. Lewis' class. After 14 long years at Sem, I can 100% say that this was my favorite and most fulfilling class I have ever taken!

So, after reflecting about the class, I guess this is my final paragraph. I entitled this post "It's Not a Goodbye, It's a See Ya Later" because I can honestly say that after this class, I do not think this is the last poetry I will ever write. Although I am moving onto more generic English classes the next two terms, my interests in English now lie in poetry. Hope you liked our blog, and see ya later!

Complex Poetry

To write poetry, imagination is needed. Good poetry also has a mathematical flow as well. Again it is the marriage of creativity and structure that produces strong work. As I have written before, this rule is not only applied in writing poetry.

To understand math, just as much imagination is needed as in writing poetry. Especially when dealing with imaginary numbers. A better term for imaginary numbers is “Complex Numbers” because in a sense all numbers are imagined. Numbers are contrived to relate tangible objects or phenomena with each other.



The special property of complex numbers is that no “Real Numbers” can be combined to create the imaginary component of a complex number.




A concrete example of complex numbers at work is in an electric circuit that contains an inductor. An inductor is a wire coil with electromagnetic properties, which is used in almost all electronic devices. The flowing current in a circuit can be described by a complex number. The electron flow in the wire can be understood with the real component of a complex number. The imaginary part refers to the magnetic field associated with the inductor. What you lose in electron current you gain in magnetic field and vice versa. When the electron current gets converted into magnetic field energy by the inductor, it is impossible to represent this phenomena with the same positive or negative numbers. Instead a new direction is needed. The new direction is called i for "imaginary". This new direction can also be positive or negative. In other words, the magnetic field can either be growing (the positive imaginary direction) or collapsing (the negative imaginary direction). As the magnetic field grows, it sucks energy from the circuit and stores it in a magnetic field. As the magnetic field collapses, energy is released back into the circuit. So the imaginary part of the complex number represents the quantity of magnetic field present as well as its dynamical state (positive or negative). This can be visualized on the complex number plane. The notation for a complex number is
x + i y.
Where x is the distance along the real axis, and y is the distance along the imaginary axis. So this number is some position in that 2-dimensional plane.

Both the real part and the imaginary parts of the complex number represent "real" quantities in the "real" world, which can be used for “real” applications.



In fact, complex numbers are used in countless technologies today. Some are...
Data encryption,
Wireless technologies,
And...
Poetry?

I attempted to use poetic devices to explain my knowledge of circuits to make it understandable. All good writing should have poetic devices to articulate its meaning. Even when describing scientific topics, there is an art to making it legible.

Everyday I leave Precalc in a mathematical mindset, which must evolve into a much more abstract mindset for Contemporary American Poetry. But for the last week I have found Precalc just as abstract as Poetry class. Through this blog I have managed to dig a deeper understanding in both classes. Thanks to Dr. Cooper for showing me the BBC podcast, which inspired this blog post.

Originality Impossibility

(just to set the mood)

If one were to look back through history, down the list of achievements of mankind, one would be presented with, essentially, a list of firsts. I believe though, as humans, we should begin to understand that nothing is original. For example, the so-called first examples of polyphonic music can be seen in the Plainchant tradition of the Catholic Church. Although ground-breaking for the their time, they had to have been based on some previous music theory. An organum, stemming from the Greek word organon, is a plainchant melody with multiple voices. Hucbald of St. Amand, a Frankish music theorist and Benedictine monk, is commonly given credit for accumulating the knowledge of Greek music theory to develop what is no

w known as the Gregorian chant.

It seems that E.E. Cummings is typically thought of as the father of "unusual typography". Although he may have been the first to go to such lengths as in "may I feel said he", he does identify Gertrude

Stein as one of his main influences. During her career, Stein used her poetic license to establish her own signat

ure style, believing that there was no need for literature to abide by any laws regarding form and structure.This idea can be seen as an answer to Cubism, and is strongly reminiscent of E.E. Cummings' mutation and contortion of his texts.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love new, fancy, exciting things just as much as the next guy. Living in the Age of Technology, though, we tend to value originality a little bit more with each passing day. What exactly is originality, and could anything ever be completely original? Its one of those big questions, but worth some thought.

Please feel free to leave comments below.