Road, Street, Way, TAO

There have been Tao comparisons of many kinds. For example “The Tao Of Pooh” or “The Tao Of Physics”. That got me thinking; if there can be a Tao of something as childish as Winnie The Pooh to something as serious as physics. For example, you could make the Tao of a car. Once the engine is turned on the car has a purpose, the flow of things start. When put in drive, it turns into desiring and when put in neutral turns into desireless and so on.

Recently I heard about a movie called The Tao of Steve. The whole point of the movie is to teach this guy how to get a woman into bed. It involves 3 rules. 1st rule: be desireless, eliminate desire “Basic principle: we pursue that which retreats from us.” This ultimately goes back to: we want what we can’t have, the forbidden. Since the beginning of time we desire most what we are told not to touch, look talk etc. 2nd rule: “Do something excellent in her presence thus demonstrating your sexual worthiness.” What I take from this is do what you can, what you know how to, along the way, along your way. Lastly, the 3rd rule: After doing the former, “Then you must retreat.” This follows the saying, “dangle the bait and take it away”; by this creating temptation. I find it very interesting how something so profound can be taken into such an ordinary situation.

Since we were told to compare the Tao to something without making it the Tao Te Ching I have been thinking of what this actually means. The meaning that is given to Tao at the beginning of the book is the way or path. I took this very much into consideration whilst reading. Unfortunately, I started reading this desiring because of it. In fact, I think it is hard, almost impossible, to read desireless because if you try to understand the symbolism you are desiring to find the symbolism and if you don’t, you don’t understand the book to its full extent.

My idea since beginning of, what to compare it to, was something childish; maybe Sesame Street. Anything you tell a child he will believe. I believe they are ultimately pure. Before anything adult-like we are totally balanced. Going back to Sesame Street, you are introduced to Elmo, described as a friendly, cheerful monster. I was completely shocked by this description. Usually, we think of a monster being frightening and/or somewhat grotesque. This contradiction is the perfect balance of “good” and “evil”. Sesame Street in general teaches you many things, better yet said makes proposals. For example, on their page they have playlists and each song teaches/proposes different ideas. There is one that talks about different approaches to the word baby and taking those differences to a whole new level making them more evident. By music.

Each of the Muppets (characters) characterize a different personality and some that are not thought of fondly. Each character, by just being who they are, teach a lesson. The cookie monster, gluttony, Elmo, the desire to improve, Rosita the Yin Yang,(the mesh of Spanish and English), Oscar, the trash of one is the treasure of another and lastly, Big Bird, the balance between all. Yes, the Muppets and the Tao Te Ching are a put together of what could be described as suggestions to achieve the perfect way of life, although I don’t think there is one.

Overall, I think the Tao really just means your way, because there is no specific way. It is a book of suggestions telling you that it has done its duty of telling you how. Now you have to decide if you want to accept and execute what the suggestions imply. “The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm.” That’s why at the beginning the book talks about itself (not necessarily in a good way); because one within itself leaves a lot of room for interpretation, and at the end it says:

EIGHTY-ONE
Truthful words are not beautiful.
Beautiful words are not truthful.
Good men to not argue.
Those who argue are not good.
Those who know are not learned.
The learned to not know.

The sage never tries to store things up.
The more he does for others, the more he has.
The more he gives to others, the greater his abundance.
The Tao of heaven is pointed but does no harm.
The Tao of the sage is work without effort.

In other words, It’s up to you.

Red Light

GO! This catchy tilte in fact has nothing to do with the game, well how you would usually thing of a game that is go. At the beginning I didn't understand how it could possibly relate to te Tao. It's simple, read the instructions.
The whole point of this japanese game is strategy. To think in advance, to see your possibilities before you make a move. As we know, the Tao talks about simplicity, something easy to understand yet complex because you take it to be your own. It's your strategy your interpretation, your decision.While Go is just a game, you can apply everything to your life, for example when you have one eye, you're in troubler. You have to keep calm and analyze your options, Create a double eye. Always remember not to go through the middle. You have to analayze your options that may not be as obvious but just as simple.
When one is surrounded it is taken over therefore unbalacing the amount of each colored pieces on the game board. Ying and Yang are represented in these game pieces.

Simplicity

Tao Te Ching, is it a guide book? or maybe the truth, or simply suggestions? "The Tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao" P.3 But what is this Tao that you talk about? To find your answer you would've had to read the introduction where it says it is the "way or path". But according to who? What way, what path? These are all questions that the reader must ask himself in order to understand the Tao Te Ching. I have concluded that it is a gathering of reflections about life but made into something so short that it can be interperated in different ways. (Like the short short stories we see in class)

The only detail that tells us how to, is the naming of God. Life and living are linked to God. I don't think that God should be named in Tao Te Ching beacuse by doing so there is a subliminal suggestion that god is fundimental for living. We are bringing different religions into the Tao. What about the other religions? What happenes with their different names for the one we call God? I think we should call it a force, or energy or something religion neutral.

I'm not sure who's quote this is but I've had it in mind for a while now, "Before God, all men were created equal." By this meaning that when we created the concept of God or better yet said the term we created a power for ourselves over the others because we (catholics) are majority. Since then people have been playing God. Belittleing people because of their race, beliefs, stports, sexual preferance, countries etc.

Going back tho the original idea of the Tao Te Ching.
A good door need no lock,
Yet no one can open it. (Pg.29)

Simplicity is key in fulfilling the "Tao"

What is a good man?
A teacher of a bad man.
What is a bad man?
A good man's charge. (Pg.29)

This book is full of fallacies . Most of them don't have good conclusions. This is the interpretation part. Overal, I think that the Tao Te Chin talks about the needs not the wants. Simplicity.

Drops

The highest god is like water. (EIGHT) What this (I guess we can call it chapter) suggests is that water being reflected on god. I goes where nobody wants to, it goes everywhere with its mere fluidness and serenity, never carrying strife. I think that this is the perfect comparison. When God is unhappy it is said that he will do something to a person as a punishment, he will do what is needed to "fix" what went wrong wherter it be of magnitude or not. Kind of like water, when you see a river it changes, it can be calm but it also encounters rapids where it grows to be threatening.

Crashing into rocks , its current pushing and pulling everything in its path not caring how it was before, undergoing this madness to be able to get to the tranquility that it was before. We also think of water as the helper, the extra boost needed (flowers) and in my opinion it also applies to us and god. I don't believe in God but I do think that some people need it to believe in themselves when they say they believe in God in order to make things happen for them or simply to keep sanity. Water is not only the helper but it is the base of all life, like God.
Clear as water, crystal clear, what can you think of being more pure than water? Pure is just, kind, trustworthy. All of those things are what we think God's characteristics are.
So I wonder if God is water so to speak, then what are drops?

A Circle

"Heaven and earth last forever.

Why do heaven and earth last forever?

They are unborn,

So ever living."(SEVEN)

This quotation makes us wonder, "How can something start living when it has no beginning?" We automatically think that life is linked with birth. No birth=No life. In fact, we assume that nothing can exist without a beggining. I completely disagree.

For example a cirlce. How can you identify the beggining and the end of a circle? Where does it begin? It is forever contiuous.

How do you measure forever? How do you measure life? "In dayligts, in sunsets, in midnights in cups of coffee, in inches is miles in laughter in strife?"-RENT/Seasons of Love .The measurement of something abstract is entirely subjective.

What I take from this is, heaven and earth are eternal so anything in them or that results from them will always be eternal. There is no need for a beginning because there is no end as stated in TWO "All can know good as good only because there is evil. ... The ten thousand things rise and fall without cease, Creating, yet not possesing, Working, yet not taking credit. Work is done, then forgotten. Therefore it lasts forever." Without a beginnning there is no end, creating a circle: it never started so it can't end, creating INFINATE.

OWL

1. Where is my jacket? I wanted to wear it today, and if I can't find it, we're going to be late.
2. Jane wanted to go on the school trip, but her mother said that two hundred dollars was too much for the family budget.
3. As she waited for Rodney to become conscious, Selma was seized with an attack of conscience -- was there anything she could have done to prevent the accident?
4. The map led the intrepid treasure hunters to a ledlead box of precious stones.
5. Have you seen their coats? They're going to need them; it's cold outside. I last saw the coats over there .
6. After conducting careful research, Shufang had a brilliant idea ; she'd write a paper on Thomas More's concept of the ideal society in Utopia.
7. Even though Bob would rather play video games than study, he decided to hit the books and then play some Halo.
8. It's easy to admire a business that puts so much effort into creating its signs and window displays.
9. You're fortunate to have survived the car crash without a scratch; it must have been because you were wearing you'reyour seat belt.
10. I would advise you to seek qualified legal advice about how to handle this situation.

You Big Bully!

God is such a big bully; and sort of a hipocrit. He said "But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."Gen.3:3 But once Adam and Eve do what they were told not to, he kicks them out of the garden of Eden. "And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? " Job 1: 9 This states that he frowns upon the giving into evil, letting yourself be seducted. But how can he say this when he got seducted himself?

"Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought? Hast not thou made an hedge about him, and about his house, and about all that he hath on every side? thou hast blessed the work of his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he will curse thee to thy face." Job 1 :9-11 He gives into the idea of Satan: to torture Job. God, wanting to prove his point, took all he had away from him. Satan wasn't convinced. "And the LORD said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. And the LORD said unto Satan, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still he holdeth fast his integrity, although thou movedst me against him, to destroy him without cause. And Satan answered the LORD, and said, Skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy face. And the LORD said unto Satan, Behold, he is in thine hand; but save his life. So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown. " Job 1 :2-7

How amusing! Kick a man when he's down! That's what we all need! I think that God was blinded by the rivalry, the relentless urge to be right. Maybe it's because we need recognition, someone to tell us that we're doing a good job. We feel threatened when someone contradics us, we get on the defensive and start a little "battle" with our opponent. It's not worth the extra oomph. But there is no true rivalry there... (in the text) Maybe I do understand this need to be right.

Ok, so this is what I don't understand: We're not supposed to give in to evil (that was created by god by the way/represended by Satan) but he can? That's simply too unfair! He was defied by Satan, in other words seducted, and compromised his values. I still don't understand how in the bible there are so may contradictions, or at least inequality due to the amount of power. How can we praise such a big bully? He picks on some of us to the point that it becomes torture, a survival game. God,
PICK ON SOMEONE YOUR SIZE

New Ideas: Are They Really?

"These challenges are all of governments making; but the failure to respond is a direct result of a broken politics in Washington and failed policies of Gorge W. Bush."Barack Obama's acceptance speech in the National Democratic Convention of 2088 capured so many people's hearts and minds and lead them to think of thim as The Candidate. Pursuing the problem concerning the current governing situation, he proposed a very strong point regarding the present/future. "We are here because we love this country too much to the next four years be like the last eight." Because of the proposition being so strong people start chanting "Eight is enough!"

He uses very well Rhetoric, the manipulation of people's fellings and thoughts to get them to agree with you. For example, at one point he talks about John McCain is a former-American Troop therefore making him an American Hero.m This gets us (the spectators) thinking that he has a clean campaign. Although, he later talks about how McCain supports Bush in 90% of the cases. He also quotes Mccain, "We've become " a nation of whiners"."

Teamwork. Supposedly the United States promotes it but apperently doesn't apply it. That they've created an Ownership Society which means that if you're, "Born into Poverty? Pull yourself by your own bootstraps even if you don't have boots. You're on your own." Notice how all through this speech you see Forensic Rhetoric; Using blame and afterward proposing ideas for the future which would make it Deliberative Rhetoric, of choice.

Our inability to see our opponent in a good way has prevented us from seeing all of us as one. We point out some details thay may not be true that drive our opponent to the ground. "The ides that people cannot dissagree without challenging eachothers character, and eachothers patriotism." "So I've got news for you John McCain: We all put our country first." Though we may have different opinions with regard to situations we all have a "sense of Common Purpose."
"We may not agree on abortion. But surely we can agree on reducing the nubre of unwanted pregnancies in this country." Why fight against eachother when we both want the same thing for the overall greater-good?

My point of view regarding the ultilization of rhetoric is that it is corrupt. Clever, but corrupt. It's like publicity: you do something according to the reactions that you will get. Basically you fix a target and manipulate them to try to get them to agree with you. I see that this is a crucial strategic move for campaigns but maybe there is another way. You see him using all types of Rhetoric: pathos, logos, ethos, forensic, deliberative and demonstrative. Pathos: when he talks about his mother lying in bead talkind to the insurance companies. Logos: when he talks about the reasons for the economic slump. Ethos: about his father from Kenya and his mother from Kansas. I thought it was very interesting how he targeted some of the audience such as ecologists, troops, patriots, less-fortunate people, srudents, parents and the overall population.

Giving the people what they want, what they want to hear. Standing up for them when McCain called them whiners. Making promises to"fix" the tax problems, the ones in Iraq with the troops. "As president, as president, I will tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal technology, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. " FAcing and proposing solutions for not only a nation-wide problem but a world-wide problem. We all know about these issues but don't know how to solve them. He is a hero. He will "rescue us"(Very well-written speech)

Overall Obama knows what he is doing. He is winning over the mionds and hearts of all americans.

Contradictions

There is no homework posted and I was hoping for an opportunity to talk about this.

So this is the problem: in the old testament it states that the "law" is "life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot... Burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe." (Ex. 21:23-25) right? In other words, you have the right to get even. For example, you get robbed and catch the robber, you cut off his hand. (I think this is completely savage by the way.) Here comes the problem. In the new testament it states, "You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well. If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you." as said by Jesus.

So how did we get from being so barbaric to being such pacifists? From this law of retribution(eye for eye) to having so much respect for everyone that you help them in some way. Having this contradiction, I don't understand how the Jews and Christians say they have something concrete as beliefs. Or have a foundation strong enough to be so popular. So common throughout the world.

I understand that as time passes, some things have to change. But what is the final decision? What is the verdict? What do they believe? How do participants in the religion justify one thing, if the bible says both?

A Baby's Life

Unfair. "And he said unto his people, Behold, the people of the children of Israel are more and mightier than we: 10: Come on, let us deal wisely with them; lest they multiply, and it come to pass, that, when there falleth out any war, they join also unto our enemies, and fight against us, and so get them up out of the land. 11: Therefore they did set over them taskmasters to afflict them with their burdens. And they built for Pharaoh treasure cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12: But the more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew. And they were grieved because of the children of Israel. 13: And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigour: "Ex. 1 Because the thought that it might be possible that they might turn on him, the king makes then do horrible things; the Istrealites became slaves of a beautiful country.

I find it incredible that someone can feel so threatened it leads them to do indescribable things unto other people. I mean, the killing of the male offspring of said Isrealites. It's almost like modern-day abortion. The only true literal difference is that these Egyptians had no knowledge on how to do this before birth so the "murdering" part (as some would say) is much more evident.

When a little girl, or a young lady, gets pregnant under dreadful circumstaces (ex: rape) there are many different opinions to what she should do. A personal point of view towards abortion is not what I'm looking for. What I'm trying to get at is the pressure that she feels. To raise a child with possibly no job because she is underaged or she has a job, but simply can't support it.

This baby at some point becomes a threat. A threat to her way of life, to her resposibilities, to her psychological faith, her reputation. At some point they choose to abort to in a way secure safety to all those threats and insecurities. To vanish them. In a way, the king of Egypt could be considered a pregnant woman.

Understandings

"And they said, Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth." After being on an arc, we started to change ideas of what we used to have. We got so used to seeing humans every day, we forgot about what we used to believe and the other god's creatures. God got jealous so ,"Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city."

Why is is that we try to blame everything on someone else? We can never believe that it is our fault. I mean, the missunderstanding is because of the difference of languages. It has to be because of someone elses mess-up. We can never be at fault. Not only us a human race but us as individuals. We also strive to have the power that's whay we strive for money. These papers give us the intoxicating power. We saught this power creating the babel tower. A tower so high that put us close to a level of god. Therefore in a way we get a littlo of his power.

The tower of babel is a sign of racism. The beggining of all prejudice . Because of not being able to understand eachother, conflicts arose. Maybe that's why Hitler tried to "purify" the human race. To go back to the original meaning of the bible. To end all conflict, trying to create a eutopia. Maybe, jus maybe, he thought that if all humans were the same, that thre'd be no further conflict between them. Although I think that in some degree, he knew that this was imposible. Maybe on a physical level it could be accomplished, but on a psychological level by no means could we all be the same.

Swiftly

The touch of something so beloved,
define his mere existence;
Making something of what he loved,
with genuine persistence.
A stroke being so angelic,
but yet charged with so much power,
something being so physic
yet having the grace of a flower.

Curiosity Killed The Cat

Eve's moment of weakness defines the fate of all humanity from there on forth. I think that there was this creation of the knowledge tree as a test to see if the most recent/powerful creation could resist temptation. Because there was no temptation at the beggining the serpant was sent in. "Nothing tastes as sweet as what I can't have"(For you I will by Teddy Geiger) This situation, of the havig acces to something that isn't supposed to be touched or used is presented throughout greek mythology. For example when Venus says to Adonis ,"Beware how you expose yourself to danger and put my happiness to risk." and Adonis does it anyways. It's hard to explain but we are all familiar with the feeling after you do something that you aren't supposed to. It gives you adrelnaline, an edge. Although, as we all know, there are consecuences.

In Pandora's Box, this is obvious. Because of her need to defy the the rules, she unleashed bad things unto the world that later led to war and other unfotunate events. This can be connected to Gen.3 where Adam and Eve eat of the forbitten fruit. The text states that the following generations had to undergo the consequences. Although Pandora's Box is one explanation for what has happened to the world Adam and Eve could be Another.

"And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons." From this time forth this moment there was no comfort zone betweeen two naked bodies to the point in which you can just walk around in your natural coat. This indirectly leading to prejudice and creating ideas of how some things or ideas or situations should be portrayed. This corruption of the original, innocent human. By eating the forbidden fruit, Eve for ever paved our path to be commited to be driven by our wants and not by our needs.
I wonder, if there was a flood(new beggining), why are we still cosrrupt?

Not Quite

King James.... He had a good goal, admirable even, but an incredibly defficient solution. I mean, it's almost impossible for a group of say 30-40 perople to agree, much less a whole country! Ok, maybe agree isn't the right word, maybe you could use be at peace with one belief. It's hard to get through to people that srtongly believe in something and you are proposing something that is contradictory or changes it slightly. For this reason (as we all know) he decided to translate the bible to get the "true meaning" and end with the constant disagreement that was tearing the country in half creating many troubles.
Because translation is such a challenging task because you have to change it on an abstact level and then on a literal ideas get mixed inbetween. In this process, like any other , things are going through your mind and what you think interfers in some way what you're saying. therefore chnges the outcome.
Going back on track, if two don't believe the same thing they need to learn to let be. Of course James' original plan didn't work. Having everyone think the same thing about their god/religion. Overall his idea was valid, but was a recipe for disaster. In general people are closed-minded so won't give in.

Love is Funny Business

The original meaning of platonic love is not the one we have for it today. In english,it is when there is only friendship when you want it o go further. In spanish it is an impossible love. Neither of these is accurate.

According to ______'s peice____, platonic love is a step on our way to diviness(Is that even a word?) , to heaven. He states that we have become humans because we have been smart enough to understand the presence of something so godly. Others who couldn't achieve this goal have become animals or something of less intellect. In order to get to heaven, we must grow wings. In this process, some fall off the beaten path therefore end up un "hell" The most important part of this journey is the growing of wings. This happens when you fall in love. When you recognize this godly feature in someone else and as a result see them extraordinarily beautiful. As you fall further in love with the person, your wings grow more and more. Although, there is a twist to all of this, you have two sides, the one that is good, respectful, and sees and consentrates on the beauty, and the other that is controlled by carnal desires. ______ represents them as two horses and a charriotsman. One horse black and the other white.
Foot-note: Here when he reffers to god (in this case when I refer to heaven or any religious figure) deals with enlightenment. Heaven=philosophy/absolute knowledge. Godly figure=beauty/ the desire to learn.. the ability to ask yourself, why?
In conclusion we are to go unto the divinity of knowledge to be able to grow.

Teenagers, Hard To Deal With

In dealing with students on the high-school level - that is, the second, third, and fourth year of high school - we must b*** in mind that to some degree they are at a difficult psychological stage, generally called adolescence. Students at this level are likely to be confused mentally, to be subject to involuntary distractions and romantic dreaminess. They are basically timid or self-conscious, they lack frankness and are usually very sensitive but hate to admit it. They are motivated either by great ambition, probably out of all proportion to their capabilities, or by extreme laziness caused by the fear of not succeeding or attaining their objectives. Fundamentally they want to be kept busy but they refuse to admit it. They are frequently the victims of earlier poor training, and this makes every effort doubly hard. They are usually willing to work, but they hate to work without obtaining the results they think they should obtain. Their critical faculties are beginning to develop and they are critical of their instructors and of the materials they are given to learn. They are beginning to feel the pressure of time; and although they seldom say so, they really want to be consulted and given an opportunity to direct their own affairs, but they need considerable guidance.

Score: 212/215

The Power

Wow, where to start! The Catholic Chruch has always been intolerant about the different aspects of people and have tried to overpower other religions in order to make the others like theirs. Beacuse they had the "common vote" they had over incredible power

Leading To Gossip

I wonder, what if what we know isn't really what we believe it is? Ok, let me rephrase that. What if, we could just go back and listen to the original story? For example, cinderella. It would be really different even if you read the one that the Brothers Grimm published. For a long time, it was passed down orally and I'm sure that it was added some details to make it more interesting. “ The men who did it, who pored over the greek and hebrew texts, comparing the accuracy and felicity of previous translations, argued with each other the finest details of chapter and verse, were many of them obscure at the time and are generally forgotten now, a gaggle of fifty or so black-gowned divies whose names are almost unknown but wose words continue to resonate with us. They have a ghost presence in our lives, invisable but constantly heard, enriching the language wit the ‘civility, learning and eloquence’ of their translation, but nowadays only whispering the sentence into our ears.”

I take this thext out of context, not literally. Basically I think that this means that we are all translators, somehow when we hear something and pass it over, we change some detials or simply rephrase it to make it our own. This could be our modern-day gossip; we hear it and pass it on until it changes so much that it eventually morphs into a rumor. True, it's tough to rephrase something without changing its meaning without sounding like a robot (ex: today in class with the dinosour story) but at sometime it becomes untrue. This has happened all the time since we developped a language right? So, is everything as true as we believe? I mean if this is a fact from a bible, our base,what do we believe? Leading me back to my question; What if what we know isn't really what we believe it is?

The Box

Why is it that we do what we're not supposed to? I read a peice of Mariana's blog today that talked about how Venus says to Adonis,"Beware how you expose yourself to danger and put my happiness to risk." I understand the need we have to do the forbidden, I think we all do. Why is it that we feel this need? Is it just plain curiosity about why it's being held away from us, to feel rebellious, or to simply contradict or proove someone wrong? Do you think that we could actually be that self-centered? That we constantly need to know everything or, if not, we have to be right?

Maybe that's what drove all of those important people through history to research. Maybe they just felt it more than we (the common population) did. If you think about it, we always knew most of what was researched and presented, although we simply accepted the fact that it happened just because. These great scientists, politicians, rebels, etc. didn't stop there... Why? Why is it that we are so desperate to be right? I mean what would happen to anyone in such a case that it was discovered that there was no god, that we were all dependant on like a cloud or something that doesn't have the powers that we give it? This mirrors a part of the movie Little Miss Sunshine when the brother takes a home-eye test and is told that he is color-blind therefore can't be a pilot (his life-long dream). We would problably enter in a panic attack.

Is that why most of the filosophers in the world end up in mental facilities?Because that have nothing to belive in because thay question almost ANYTHING. Maybe atheists are a little bit filosophers algo becasue thay have to back up their reasons for believing or not. Most filosophers become part of this group that long to know everything, they become the leaders. The type of leader that is silent and intergrates and becomes part of this group. Obviously, they stand out like sore thumbs. They have a"Super-human thirst for knowledge"-Friends. This obssessing craving has become part of our everything. Our studies, our culture, our way of seein things, of living life? It has become one of our flaws... Ironically we have been trying to find an explantion to that also. Since the beggining of time, we've merged many ideas into one that identifies will all, Pandora's Box.

Sound Alike

1. Where is my jacket? I wanted to wear it today, and if I can't find it, we're going to be late.
2. Jane wanted to go on the school trip, but her mother said that two hundred dollars was too much for the family budget.
3. As she waited for Rodney to become conscious , Selma was seized with an attack of conscience -- was there anything she could have done to prevent the accident?
4. The map lead the intrepid treasure hunters to a led box of precious stones.
5. Have you seen their coats? They're
going to need them; it's cold outside. I last saw the coats over there .
6. After conducting careful research, Shufang had a brilliant idea ; she'd write a paper on Thomas More's concept of the ideal society in Utopia.
7. Even though Bob would rather play video games than study, he decided to hit the books and then play some Halo.
8. It's easy to admire a business that puts so much effort into creating its signs and window displays.
9. You're fortunate to have survived the car crash without a scratch; it must have been because you were wearing your seat belt.
10. I would advise you to seek qualified legal advice about how to handle this situation.

Cliche

Cliche Plots: a person is told to be off the case and takes it anyway and wins, a love story of two people that can't be together or shouldn't for whatever reason but end up together, the hero will get the girl always (sidekick won't), typical teenager isn't supposed to go to a party or something and ends up going anyway, a person hates another and they end up in love or together or something
Cliche Movie: Mamma Mia, Its a wonderful life, Life is beautiful, Mission impossible, Me, Myself, and Irene

Questioning The System

What happens when the god of gods and a princess of Argos (Zeus/Jupiter and Danaë) fall in love and have a child? A hero is created!! Perseus and is adventures... his important adventures involve his assasinating creatures. The creation of a hero is not how I explained it previously, its when a person goes through a change in which they grow. I don't really know what to comment about Perseus, so I've decided to post an answer to a comment on one of my previous blog entrees. Venus and Jupiter.

Myths, a complex topic with many subtopics. Actually I think that the topic istelf is subjective. While I gave a definition to it, that will not change, but what you learn from it and everything going on in your head while you read it affect your meanig of the word, however the definition will stay the same. Myths do the same thing to us as any other peice of literature,specially essays, that is heavily opinionated. Our reacion to such a piece is to reflect on it whilst you are reading information in relation to the topic and/or the writers personal opinions. Later, when you're finished, you draw your own personal conclusion to whatever you were reading about.
Overall, what I mean is that a myth doesn't teach us anything in particular because all that you read is taken into perspective. (Even a scientific fact, for years we believed that atoms were the samllest thing.)

Regarding judeo-christianity... well, you could say anything that you like about it. Although, I do believe that it is or could be considered a myth. To explain this further I first have to explain my belief system. I don't believe in a god, so to speak. I utterly belive in evolution. That we created god so that our quickly developing society had a sturdy base therefore would not collapse. This was all when we still had a society where the power was held my a monarc o a tyran; when we believed that these people were chosen by god to rule. Afterward, we decided to spread tha power througout the people creating a government. With all of the scientific discoveries, some people started questioning this idea that we have been managing for so long. I know that I'll have a comment or you might be asking yourself, "Then, why did we start making the scientific discoveries if we believed in god?" Well because of the reactions of ceratin things that affected us directly. So that's a short description of my beliefs.

I Judeo-christianity , or at least its beliefs, to be a type of myth because like god, they were a bond that held us together in the creation of society.(Reffering to society as: an extended social group having a distinctive cultural and economic organization ) They do teach us things like the bible but its all in the same origin as religion. I also believe that we are spiritual beings but we belive in love and un tangeable thigs and carry moral.

Which Is The Original Arrow?

Greek myths. They're all really around the same bases regardind its content (the main idea or what its about). They all deal either with love, war, or how a hero came to be. In love, they express the many sides that love has and how we deal with them, wether it be jealousy, unconditional love, impossible love , or one that is possible but is wrong. This is where love and war come together. Because of all of these circumstances, the jealousy, the fact that you may sometimes see your parter or when its wrong... for example, The Trojan War. If the myth is not either of these previous topics, it is of how a hero came to be. A hero doesn't necessarily need to be nice to people or anything of that sort; however, he/she in most cases is the main character because he shows transfromation or growth.

Gowing back to the idea of love, it is very much different now as it was in greek times when these myths were created. Cupid was the son of Venus and the god of love, or at least he could create it. Cupid his bow and arrow could have effect on anyone even his own mother the goddess, Venus."VENUS, playing one day with her boy Cupid, wounded her bosom with one of his arrows. She pushed him away, but the wound was deeper than she thought. Before it healed she beheld Adonis, and was captivated with him." We have a completely different concept of Cupid now. We see him as flying a baby in a diper who shoots people with arrows. I wonder if this image was the same in the creation of these myths because women, in general ,have such an uncontrolable desire for children, that it might be like the Odipuss thing where you fall in love with your father or mother at a young age and feel a rivalry with the other. Maybe they're also over-exaggerating the fact that babys spread love and women love them no matter what.(Specially beacuse they're always cute(going back to the original problem that he had with psyche)...)

Grading Rubric For Modern Myths

1=failing 2=average/passing 3=Good/ Outstanding
Fluency/ Clear Ideas

1. Writer's Ideas are unclear, the piece is hard to follow and to understand
2. Writer's main idea is understood, piece can be followed and understood
3. Writer's Ideas are completely clear, well-organized, easy to follow and thourough.

Word Usage/ Grammar

1. Writer has 5 or more punctuation, spelling and/or fragments.
2. Writer has no mistakes, some word vairation, sometime varies in sentence length and correct punctuation.
3. Writer has no mistakes, varies in sentence length uses punctuation as a literary device.(To emphasize)

Answeres the QUESTions

1. Writer doesn't introduce a hero and doesn't answer all the QUESTions.
2. Writer introduces a hero and answers the QUESTions (Both) briefly Hero has values.
3. Writer introduces a hero and answers the QUESTions to a full extent through th hero's values.

Creativity

1. Writer's piece has a blunt title that is not apropriate to text, is not creative, has no hook, is not engaging.
2. Writer's piece has an apropriate title and hook, is fairly entertaining and is somewhat creative.
3. Writer's piece has an apropriate and creative title, strong hook, is engaging and creative.

MIDAS

Midas and Cadmus. Both myths that include men saving others. While in Midas it was very breif, Cadmus is in a battle against a huge snake. Description and Explanation are two topics that we have discussed as a class about their differences. Midas was the one who was to get the gift of being able to turn everything into gold once he touched it.

Our Reflection

The myths that we discussed today in class included Meduza and her death and Narcissus and his. Well I connected these two concepts because they connect with the topic that we've been disscussing in class. Our self- destruction. While Meduza's death was caused by her own reflection when her ugliness/evilness bounced off the mirror and came back to her. While on another hand, Narcissus' fate was because of his influence on Echo, causing there to be a spell on him to fall in love with someone who didn't love him back. Finally, he sees his reflectionnad falls in love though it is imposible to be in love with himself. I know I constantly go back to the same idea that we're leading into self-destruction and we don't realize it, but its a point that I strongly support because I think it's vital for our existence. Because if we don't pay attention to this aspect of our own person, we might be sub-consiously leading oursleves further away from our goals. Reffering to one of my previous titles for an entry, we are Self Induced Victims.

One of the Myths I've read today talk about Hero and Leander. Leander, who is in love with Hero, crosses the river to see her because they each live on one side. Once, crossing the river, he dies and she eternally greifs for him. Well that's as far as I understood.

http://frikosal.blogspot.com/2008/08/el-canto-de-la-rana-arborcora-y-el.html

Venus and Jupiter

Juno (Hera) ,known as Adams wife before eve in greek Mythology, is Known to be Jupiter's (Zeus) wife. She is an extremely jealous being. Because Zeus is king of gods, he's always being hit on by other goddesses, nymphs and mythologiacl creatures. This jealousy is something that we can all relate to. We see how the two most important civilizations of all time that are the bases of today's leading countries, Roman and Greek, have passed down their culture and ideas through time. The ultime method was in Myths.(Myth: often oral tale with an attempt to explain the beggining of the world and relationship between the gods and humans)Simple ideas such as jealousy or the ability become the foundation of most of the scientific explanations today. These were just to stall, but helpped because beliefs were the base of everything. People believed more and more in what they heard and others thought that there had to be another explanation. They all lead to what we have become.

For example: We can see the effect Venus' and other gods and goddesses beauty becoming the primary concern in these tales. This re-states to us that since the beggining of time, there has a been the sensation that attractiveness is so important that it becomes dumbfounding for some. A curse that you can't get rid of. No one can ever say that phisique and attractiveness in general doesn't matter; though they may not care as much as others It'll always be a major part in all cultures. What they consider to be beautiful is another story.

The Mirror: Gilgamesh

Injust, sulky, filthy, dark, horrible, appalling; all words that describe The Nether World (HELL/ Spiritual world under our current world full of life). The Nether world is connected to modern day humans and how they live their life. The clean clothes, the fragrance, the shoes, EVERYTHING about him was different from the others, the dead. The connection is not very clear at first, but we are sort of dead (live in the nether world). In this world there is status by amount of offspring or ceremonies after death, there is attraction to smell, there is rejection to clothes; this is all related to us. We reject differences, we are appealled to smells and common public things , our status is divided because of money (sons/offspring) and religion and religious beliefs (pope/catholic church). Any other way would be th wrong way. If there is no spiritual connection whatsoever, you are lower than dirt. Religion is now the base of society. This is Gilgamesh's way of mirroring us.

The drum and drumstick. Metaphors. Parts of a person, in this case
Gilgamesh. I think thwey could be self-confidence and control over your own life. When these two very important parts of one fall into the Nether World, Gilgamesh can't stop thinking of how to get them back and who will do this tedious task for him. These to characteristics of his were held by Enkidu, his companion, so in the moment of his death he was awfully vulnerable. Looking for something thet he couldn't find. The fear death completely overcame this great, powerful king once he realized thay death had sympathy for no one. That no matter how powerful, how good, how brave you are you will die. That even his great companion Enkidu died that he could just as easily die. He no longer had control over his life, no self-confidence. As humans also have this fear though we disguise this as a crisis. We lose control over our lives and have no self-confidence though we might appear thet we do.

Overall, Gilgamesh seemed boring to me but I'm pretty sure it was because I didn't dey all of its symbolism. Its one big metaphor. I still can't quite make the complete connection between nature and Gilgamesh. Though I think Gilgamesh is a metaphore for man and Enkidu was his alter ego.

Find the Courage and Strength to Move on.

In chapters eight and nine, Gilgamesh is in greif for is late friend. Enkidu had become his companion, his right hand, his morals, he had become a part of Gilgamesh. He remembers these times sadly. He later desides to go see Utnapishtim, because he feared that since his companion died he would be next, he supposedly knows how to avoid death. To get there he must go through different levels of the mountain ,all dark, its the cycle where the sun is set. I think this represents that you have to go through different stages of life to reach your goal, your rerward. Sometimes you may think, "ok this is it this one is the last obstacle, the last pace and you get another". That's what I consider the dark to be. Maybe its a persitance thing. What I mean by this is that since you think you're going nowere you have to convince yourself that it'll get better.
"You`re looking for something you can`t find If you give it up, you`ll lose your mind There`s always something in your way " Good Day- The Click Five

This connects to Enkidu's death because Gilgamesh has to learn to deal with such a significant loss to keep on gooing foreward. I find it interesting that this metaphor of the dark is right after the mourn over Enkidu.

Samantha

A cold afternoon in 1991,
there were two men, two siters, a dog and a nun

whitnessing the beautiful miricle of life

though this woman in labor was in strife

A beautiful little girl was born that day

So a smile appeared on her mother, so gay

Though joy had spread from high and low

but still there was a thing they longed to know

"A girl so beautiful,

that face, those eyes

they'll be after her in no time"

said one of the guys

As time went by

though she didn't know why

she had an urge

an urge to fly

She was decided

To the top of a building she went

and there a lot of time spent

she thought it through

and jumped.

Falling, plunging down to the grownd

she glided and glided

and soon was confound

that no, she did not fall flat, splat

she was flying as easily as a bat

From then on she knew

It wasn't normal what she was going through

Not only that she had the power to fly

but that she could travel through time

so she never had to say goodbye

As strong as an ox

as smart as a fox,

the eye of an eagle

and a life with no locks

she became a hero to never regret

this gift that not all of us get

to change the world and redirect

a fate of ignorance that we must expect

without being teased without being taunted

reminding her of when it started

Everything is either white or black

taking us one step foreward and two steps back

Diversity was not taken well before

it was somehing we'd prefer to ignore

In her journey to the past she heard an explosion

making a world with a future of corrosion

In ther attempt to back then to fix it,

there was one thing she had to admit

we were so close-minded, self-centered creatures

people made fun of her and her features.

For our existance, there is no special reason

no day, no month not even a season

she couldn't change the past so fast

so we must change our future at last

in the name of she who was tolerant and willing to forgive

we will LIVE AND LET LIVE

Da dadada, HERO!

The Superhero:

• Honest


• Loyal


• Selfless


• Element of Surprise


• Athletic


• Social


• Conferting


• Dedicated


• Teamwork/Cooperating


• Noble


• Wise


• Toletrant


• Caring


• Generous


• PASSIONATE

Excercise 2- Commas

1. There was no question that John's painting a huge, colorful and ugly mural,, a huge, colorful, and ugly mural, was the worst entry in the art exhibit.
2. Werner von Braun, Willy Ley, and Edward Teller noted authorities in the field of rocket development,Werner von Braun, Willy Ley, and Edward Teller, noted authorities in the field of rocket development, have done much to guide the missile program of the United States.
3. Mr. Cready's ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time is ,I believe, amazing.
4. Running around the house, the dog was abruptly stopped by a fence.
5. If the opposition should win, our candidate would never have any political future.
6. Gracefully, lightly, and daintily the ballerina moved across the stage.
7. Glamour the woman's fashion magazine, the woman's fashion magazine, recently incorporated with Charm , another fashion journal.
8. Joe was born on May 7, 1955 and his best friend was born exactly two months later on on July 7, 1955.
9. Mr. and Mrs. Kwon , my parents' best friends, sat in front of us at the football game.
10. November 11, 1918November 11, 1918, the armistice ending World War I was signed.

Excercise 1-Commas

1. He left the scene of the accident ,and tried to forget that it had happened.
2. Oil ,which is lighter than water,rises to the surface.
3.Madame de Stael was an attractive gracious lady.
4. Nice is a word with many meanings and some of them are contradictory.
5. The contractor testified that the house was completed ,and that the work had been done properly.
6. Some people refuse to go to the zoo ,because of pity for creatures that must live in small cages. 7. Taxicabs ,that are dirty,are illegal in some cities.
8. The closet contained worn clothes, old shoes, and dirty hats.
9. The uninvited guest wore a dark blue tweed suit.
10. After surviving this ordeal,the trapper felt relieved.
11. Mark Twain's early novels ,I believe,stand the test of time.
12. December 7, 1941 will never be forgotten.
13. The field was safe enough wasn't it?
14. Write the editor of the Atlantic at 8 Arlington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, 02116.
15. He replied,"I have no idea what you mean."
16. After a good washing and grooming,the pup looked like a new dog.
17. Because of their opposition to institutions that force creatures to live in captivity,some people refuse to go to the zoo.
18. Vests ,which were once popular,have been out of vogue for several years.
19. As a celestial goddess, she regulated the course of the heavenly bodies and controlled the alternating seasons.
20. I hope that someday, he will learn how to be polite.

excercises

Take the Bull by the Horns: Gilgamesh

I think that these two parts completely changed the idea that I had of polytheistic peoples and how thir stories reflect their urge to bend the rules to a possibility of breaking them; though they're afraid because they think of the consecuences being worse. This is represented when Enkidu takes the bull by the horns and kills it with the help of Gilgamesh. This was wrong for two reasons: One: Because the bull was there with a task to accomplish and they did'nt let it accomplish it,and Two: because the was a HOLY BULL from the heavens.
I feel that it is interesting how the sumartians represented feelings and simple characteristics. For instance, goddess Ishtar would have the characteristics of a currently "easy" woman, though when Gilgamesh rejects her having physical interest in him, she feels hurt and rejceted(which rarely happens). "The lovely sheperd bird whom Ishtar loved, who's wing you broke and now wing-broken cries."pg. 30
Surely these feelings are known since the beggining of humanity (so to speak.) What makes me wonder is how they had enough words to explain those feelings.
As well, in the Odyssey, since there is great talk about women and there is no way that anybody coul've lived all of those things being that they were so far apart but happened around the same time, there is no sure way to know if Homer is the real author, of if this is just a pen name. For these same reasons, I'm in debate if the author was a Man or a Woman. Or even a group of people.

Ceader Forest : Gilgamesh

I can't say that I understood this chapter very well... actually I only understood the beggining and the end... This story is mucha harder to interpret then Ishmael.. Well, basically the people who wrote this were the sumarians. They believed that there was a god for basically everything. Also, they had a lot of faith in good and bad and how good conquering became a habit. For example, when they are fighting Huwawa in Ceader Forest and how they triumph in the task of killing it.
I think its interesting how Gilgamesh has a little of both. He's feared by the people therefore he can do what he pleases; but also seen as the hero, the king who protects his people...

Tough They May Seem Different: Gilgamesh

Because this story was written a long time ago, it was hard to understand at first. You can also spot repetition in this text making much different from modern. Giglamesh, king of all, ruler of all, and respected by all, is king of Uruk. Two thirds god and one third man, no one could hide from him. One day, the old men pleaded to the goddes Aruru, because she made him, she must make another so they can fight between themselves not beeng pests to society. She made Enkindu,"the hairy-bodied wild man of the grasslands, powerful as Ninurta the god of war, the hair of his head like grain fields of the goddess, naked as Sumuqan, the god of cattle." Pg. 5 He sets the hunters pray free thus making them go to Gilgamesh for help. He sends Shamhat, a prostitute, to blind him with her beauty. Later, Enkindu and Shamhat find out that there will be a wedding in Uruk and "Before the husband, Gilgamesh will lie in pleasure with the bride in the marital chamber."Pg.14 Enkindu thought this unacceptable, so he went to Uruk and stood at the door of the marital chamber. There, the two gods wrestled and shortly after, kissed and made-up. They later become companions and go after a new journey, to go into the forest and cut a ceadar.
I don't think there's much to reflect on. What I do think is that since this was written in the mesopotamian time, later on we will find more tips about the bases of our literature and be able to make connections from Ancient to Modern literature. I also recognized how it was set as poetry.

The Last Cough : Ishmael

"I only mean that I've finished what I've set out to do. As a teacher, I have nothing more to give you. Even so, I would be pleased to count you as a friend."pg.254
After this is stated, you're left in suspense. Sure you could assume that they part or go their different ways and such. But you must keep in mind that this book was never really what it appeared it would. Actually, they do grow apart. In fact, Ishmael dies.
I guess you could interpret his death in several ways. For one, you could say that when the student surpases the teacher he must become one himself. In this case, the student's transition was havily forced on him.
You could expect his death or the end coming, not purely physical (like seeing how many pages were left) but also analyzing the content and the way it was written. What I mean by this, is that towards the end, the book begins to show you simmilar characteristics as the ones at the beggining. I take this to mean that it starts and ends without Ishmael, but for sure he's unforgettable.
This book has not only tought me about life and how things came to be, it also hepled me to clarify my beliefs. I Believe that it could make a difference on people's perspectives on our current "trying to survive" condition. I think this book could save us.
As you can see Ishmael clearly impacted his student. In the same way, Ishmael the novel, had an impact on me. As I said before, it sarts for sure he's unforgettable.
I did'nt genuinely like the last two chapters because I think it kills the frame of mind that the book carried.
Finally, we should take this book further, follow its examples, and exploit them for the good of mankind. Takers and Leavers have to find an agrreable intermediate point and let it be known.

God , good and evil, or neither? : Ishmael

I'm not quite sure how I'm gonna start this entry. (Hope you don't find it horrifying that I used gonna)

"I think that what you're groping for is that people need more than to be scolded, more than to be made to feel stupid and guilty. They need more than a vision of doom.They need a vision of the world and of themselves that inspries them." This quote states that we are in need of improving our way of life for the better, to be able to survive.The problem that we are facing is one that affects us all inmensely. I think we can all agree that this is a completely different approach than the ones we regularly practice, regarding problem that we all face daily. I think we should make use of this precious information that was "handed" to us and exploit it. Spread it over places around the world as our way out, out of this mess that we got ourselves into.

I don't remember what page it was on but there was a part of this chapter that i thought the Takers- Leavers rolls inverted. Maybe not so much inverted but merged. It was expressed that the beliefs of God, good and evil were merged into one society. Modern. I wonder, if there was a poll, which would get most popular vote, God , good and evil, or neither?

Are We Created or Are we The Creators? : Ishmael

Thoughout the book, we have been mainly "supportive" of the takers. Keeping in mind that its narrated in such a manner that we are constantly knowing what the takers do, think, and based on this we learn the reasons behind their actions. Also, we modern-beings (takers) are found attracted by this reasoning because we find out puzzle pieces to get at what eventually makes us who we are. Throughout the chapter, there is a constant ponder on wether we (the takers) took the "right path" or if we would've been better off as leavers, dependant on destiny.
"These, my friend, are incompetent gods.This is why you've got to take your lives out of their hands entirely. You've got to take your life into your own hands."pg. 226 In the passage the student thinks that the gods have nothing of major importance for humaity; or in this case, the Takers. Then why do we as current takers believe in God? Because of past references and this book I believe that this started as a way to keep society from falling apart. We all found one common interest, God. We shared the gratitud we had for him/it. Because this was the being of more importance, the most faithful followers came after. This is how order started to become established. While time passed Religion and Government helped eachother out but started to drift apart. Overall I think we created God out of necessity. The necessity to do something oth
er than simply survive.
"This life of yours is not only wretched, its wrong. Man was not meant to live this way. So don't fight us. Join us and help us turn the world into a paradise for man." Pg.222 If we were to read this quote out of context but knew about the term ,MOTHER CULTURE ,we would assume it would be her dreadful words. This makes me wonder. Are we really under such a big inlfuence that we begin to speak her words? Sue it was like this at the beggining,or at least a while ago, when the europeans came and conquered? Could this be the origin of racsim? Believing that there is ONE right way?

The Apple : Ishmael

We can safely assume that the main idea is, because we are so self centered, we brought this up on oursleves; by this meaning that we have always considered that the world is ours and we are the key pieces to the world itself.Throughout the novel this is represented in both metaphores and direct examples. More recently, the metaphores have been about a society in which there are 3 groups. The A's, the B's and the C's. The C's eat the B's, the B's eat the A's ,and the A's each the C's therefore creating a chane in which no creature is of higher importance. We are then presented with an explanation and a direct exaple; of how the Lions only kill out of necessity, unlike humans, who kill out of pleasure or desire.
*In chapter 9 Ishmael comes out fron behind the glass demonstrating a great deal of confidence between the 2 characters*
Next, we are lead into a chapter regarding religious history/beliefs. About the genisis and how it is seen in our culture... This made me wonder about the common catholic story of Adam and Eve (interpretation of the creation myth) . This deals with a dilemma of a forbidden apple and Eve's choice of eating it leaving Adam at risk of loosing paradise. While this is commonly thought of as weak character in the face of desire, in which i would assume Ishamel would quickly interpret it as another attempt of mother culture to establish that it is the most competent and ONLY ruler of the world.
Getting into the tenth chapter, we are presented with the inconvenience of the absence of Ishmael. Later on we are talked about how culture and humanity are not two co-existent concepts; they merge into one. When a culture ends, the ideas that came with it end therefore making us (humaity) start again. The singlemost important idea that Mother Cculture carrys on is production. Agriculture being the base of the society. This is also the beggining of law and a form of state proclaming thate there is one right way to everything. In my personal opinion, the beggining of this chapter is greatly influenced on the message it carries. Ishmael's absence forced Alan to find a way to deal on his own. The first days he sat around and did nothing, then he was determined to find his teacher, when he finally completed his goal, thing got "back on track". I believe that this secuece is just a metaphore of how culture has evloved though time represented in one man.

Reading/Writing Analysis: Ishmael

I am now farther along in the book and have a new perspective on the reasoning of the all-around theme/moral of Ishmael. Before, Alan was very much into the idea that he must save the world but yet he has not found a way to make this happen, or how we even got to be in this position. That's when Ishhmael kicks in; he starts his "Classes" ( if we can even reffer to them as classes).
An interesting detail that I came across while reading, is that when Ishmael is at a point that is crucial he gives his student clues to the answer so then he will think that it was more his idea. I think that Daniel Quinn wrote the story like this because we can all relate for two main reasons. One: Some teachers use that method Two: because it is written as 1st person dialogue therefore the reader feels it as an experience.(very well written by the way)
Before reading this book I didn't contemplate the idea of Religion and Evolution having two different points of views regarding "THE END OF THE WORLD". Either way, we end up thinking that the world is ours to do what we please with it. So self-centered, that after humans there is nothing left evolution-wise.

On a different note: on page 80 the talk of turning the rain on and of and such reminded me of a rumor or news that I heard about China or Japan making a machine that can do such things. Will this really happen?

Self Induced Victims : Ishmael

I'm on page 37 and I felt the need comment on what is going through my mind. Being captive is an idea that I had never contemplated. I have a way of seeing life and this book has got me thinking of so many things that I had never considered. Beeing captive of ourselves (by ourselves meaning the human race) is inevitable. We have been force fed these ideas of how we should live life and how to react to certain situations. Our main concern is to survive. We are constant victims of eachother per-say. We destroy the earth in an egocentric manner, though we think we still care about others.

"Only 2 things are infinate: the universe and human stupidity, and
I'm not sure about the former."

-Albert Einstein

THE blog

A. What is the difference between a blog and a book?
B. How have blogs changes recently?
C. Why might you read a blog?
D. Is there reason to doubt the objectivity of a blog? Why? Why not?
E. If you kept your own blog, what would you title it?

What I consider to be the difference between a blog and a book, is that a book (as stated in http://www.nybooks.com/) "Books are tight. Blogs are reckless. Books are slow. Blogs are fast. Books ask you to stay between their covers. Blogs invite you to stray. Books fret over copyright and libel. Blogs grab whatever they want with impunity—news, gossip, pictures, videos." In other words books invite you to stay, they tell you a story from a point in wich you understand the idea that the author is trying to get through. On the other hand a blog is a more personal space. It doesn't matter to the blogger if you get their inside jokes or what they mean by some words or abreviations. Also if the blogger considers that they didn't get the emotion that they wanted in, they may use an emoticon. We don't need these in proper literature because the author expresses descriptively and concisely what they want the reader to understand and feel.

Recently blogs have changed I think mostly beacuse of technology. What I mean by this is that technology over the years has gotten faster and better, not to mention cheaper, making it easier for more people to get on the internet. Since the internet has so much space and an even bigger amount of internet surfers, there are more topics to discuss. Because of this same reason, these surfers want to get noticed o they add somethiong catchy like LOOK HERE!!! or THIS IS AWSOME!! Basically over the years, the amount of bloggers has increased greatly therefore more publicity was set in the blogging environment.

Because there are a great deal of topics to discuss, each person can find a topic they're interested in. They can share ideas, information, images and videos about the topic and their thoughts or positions towards it. Since blogging is a world-wide concept, you get an incredible amount of perspectives, analyze them and come up with your own.

Well this question had me divided, and to tell the truth I still can't make up my mind. On one hand I think that I could really doubt the objectivity of a blog but not all. I refer to a blog because it depends on what the topic of the disscusion or the thoughts about it are; We could also get off track easily. For example: one persons idea leads to another of someone elses, and another, and so on; Taking us to a completely different topic. But on the other hand I see the objectivity of a blog, or blogs in general as a modern method of expression.

My personal BLog would be titled: ChAoS
I would choose this because everyone changes; and since I like almost everything and I make an unusual mix... which some how could be considered CHAOS