Everyday Canvas

February 10

For "Blog City Prompt Forum" 
Prompt: Write about culture for today's Blog entry.

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This depends on what you mean by culture. In its most basic form, culture is the name for growing microorganisms in a certain medium placed in a petri dish, possibly in a lab.

Otherwise, it may mean a set of shared values and practices of a group or it may mean customary anything. It may also refer to gained knowledge, excellence of taste and enlightenment.

Since each group’s or nation’s culture may be different, whoever is deemed to be cultured in one society may be seen as a vulgar ignoramus in another. Then, if you shave the word down, you end up with the word “cult.” Now that’s something to think about, isn’t it!

The culture we generally refer to in our lives, however, not only deals with the material but more so with the abstract, such as ideas, education, beliefs, tastes, and attitudes. This shared culture in a society democratizes that society, and in our time and place, it may well refer to the mass media, politics, religion, and learning in general; however, it doesn’t necessarily mean elitism. Most people mix culture with elitism, which, IMO, is a serious mistake.

Being aware of the needs of the society--as to the importance of its history and traditions, its current output in terms of the arts, written material, press, and the willingness of the citizens to engage in civil dialogue—is what makes us cultured individuals who add something to the culture we live in. I, therefore, believe that each one of us is obligated to gather as much knowledge in those areas and not shy away from the positive give-and-take of ideas and opinions or fear those who work against the best interests of our culture.

For: "Space Blog Group" 

Prompt: From ♥noVember tHiNg♥ ’s "Dinner at Eight" 
Select a poem from this book and write about it. "Apple Autumn" 

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I so love the first stanza of this poem. Very few poets and writers can use adjectives that may refer to several things in a short stanza. I mean “crisp and clear” for sure, where the two adjectives define the morning, apples, dawn, and the sounds of a typewriter. This stanza alone is a very strong poem because through descriptions, it hints at several emotions, such as appreciation, nostalgia, delight, etc,, without even naming them.

Another reason I like the poem, however a secondary one, is that it reminded me of one home my family had with seven apple trees in one part of the backyard. We raised our children there, and in my opinion, it was the best place we ever lived in. Then, the kids grew up and we sold the place and moved down south, to find out that, like apples and everything else, what we loved was made to last for only a season.