In response to Bill's Post About King Lear and the Erosion of Mountains:
"Bill, I really like these analogies you've made between the characters of Lear and the natural forces that wear away at mountains. I know what you mean when you talk about using comparisons to better understand literature; I think that even if they don't realize it, everyone employs this method when they read."
In response to Merrick's Post About A One-Handed Basketball Player Winning A DI Scholarship:
"Merrick, this is a great post and I particularly liked the theme of work ethic and its significance. I agree that in many things, including but not exclusive to athletics, hard work is something that is universally necessary and will pave the way to achieving your goals. Something my coach has told us countless times is that "there's no shame in giving it all you've got and falling short." Some people are born with talent, some people aren't. You can't control that, but what you can control is what work you put in."
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Monday, November 16, 2009
iMedia: Canon Rock
Christmas is getting closer and closer. Maybe not too close, but close enough. Anyway, this song reminds me of wintertime and Santa Claus, nevermind the fact that it's really not affiliated with Christmas at all, so I decided it would serve well for this post.
This particular version of Pachelbel's Canon is quite different from more traditional performances and recordings in that it's played on an electric guitar. Now if you just turned your nose up in disgust and/or sighed with a disappointed face, bear with me a little longer. The song isn't completely butchered; in fact I view it as an opportunity for two different time eras to meet each other through the greatest medium possible: art. Music, to be specific.
Can I be a truly unbiased listener when comparing this version to others? Probably not, the reason being that this recording was the first Canon that I ever heard. Nevertheless, I'll put my opinion out there that this performance is just as good as any made by some grand symphony orchestra or virtuoso pianist.
If you search "canon rock" on YouTube, lots of performances will pop up. This one is the shining star among them all. Not too heavy, not too mellow, not too long, not too short. You can listen intensely, you can listen easily. There's really no way of describing it, the piece is just beautiful. It also really lets you compare more classical, traditional styles of music with modern forms. It starts off with a soothing orchestral introduction, then slowly builds into the guitar driven body.
The combination of modern and traditional elements of music really in this piece really is what makes it interesting. I feel that it illustrates the connections that exist between all types of music; to me, musical genres simply represent differing methods of expression. I may not like all these methods, but I must be humble enough to admit that they are methods of expression.
Music has changed dramatically throughout the passage of its development. Change is not always universal; conflict is always created. What Canon Rock tries to accomplish is to tie together two differing styles of expression, two phases of music's long life. I respect that.
Canon Rock
For comparison - another, more traditional version, just as beautiful: Canon Non-Rock
This particular version of Pachelbel's Canon is quite different from more traditional performances and recordings in that it's played on an electric guitar. Now if you just turned your nose up in disgust and/or sighed with a disappointed face, bear with me a little longer. The song isn't completely butchered; in fact I view it as an opportunity for two different time eras to meet each other through the greatest medium possible: art. Music, to be specific.
Can I be a truly unbiased listener when comparing this version to others? Probably not, the reason being that this recording was the first Canon that I ever heard. Nevertheless, I'll put my opinion out there that this performance is just as good as any made by some grand symphony orchestra or virtuoso pianist.
If you search "canon rock" on YouTube, lots of performances will pop up. This one is the shining star among them all. Not too heavy, not too mellow, not too long, not too short. You can listen intensely, you can listen easily. There's really no way of describing it, the piece is just beautiful. It also really lets you compare more classical, traditional styles of music with modern forms. It starts off with a soothing orchestral introduction, then slowly builds into the guitar driven body.
The combination of modern and traditional elements of music really in this piece really is what makes it interesting. I feel that it illustrates the connections that exist between all types of music; to me, musical genres simply represent differing methods of expression. I may not like all these methods, but I must be humble enough to admit that they are methods of expression.
Music has changed dramatically throughout the passage of its development. Change is not always universal; conflict is always created. What Canon Rock tries to accomplish is to tie together two differing styles of expression, two phases of music's long life. I respect that.
Canon Rock
For comparison - another, more traditional version, just as beautiful: Canon Non-Rock
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Connection: Lear and An Immature Toddler
Characters in stories like that of King Lear tend to frustrate me when I read about them. Ignorance, arrogance, and an incredibly thick skull are the things that make Lear someone I would not enjoy knowing in real life. So far throughout the story, he's demonstrated his ability to completely miss the important points of his situation while flipping out about minor, unnecessary things. He may be very old, but sometimes he gives the opposite impression.
In the very first scene of the play, he decides to judge his daughters' worthiness of receiving his inheritance by listening to them describe how much they love him... In other words, he wants them to praise him just for the sake of it. It's just like he's a little kid; he loves to hear good stuff about himself, but when someone tells it to him like it is (Cordelia), he has a temper tantrum and retaliates. The difference is that in Lear's case, he's the one in power, not the disapproving parents. Imagine putting Dudley Dursley in the seat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Lear's stubborn refusal to go anywhere without his full contingent of knights can be viewed in different ways. There are obviously ambitions for power between Regan and Goneril, so one could argue that their trying to impose a limit on Lear's retinue is symbolic of taking away his authority. If this is the case, then his actions can be somewhat justified. However, blindly running out into a storm when you're old and weak is just stupid. It solved no problems at all and it really didn't even make him feel better either.
The Fool states at one point in the play that Lear grew old before he grew wise. I couldn't agree more. There's still a lot left to happen in the play, but so far the impression I've gotten of the king has been very negative. Perhaps the real Tragedy of King Lear his old age has only made him ignorant and rash instead of wise.
In the very first scene of the play, he decides to judge his daughters' worthiness of receiving his inheritance by listening to them describe how much they love him... In other words, he wants them to praise him just for the sake of it. It's just like he's a little kid; he loves to hear good stuff about himself, but when someone tells it to him like it is (Cordelia), he has a temper tantrum and retaliates. The difference is that in Lear's case, he's the one in power, not the disapproving parents. Imagine putting Dudley Dursley in the seat of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
Lear's stubborn refusal to go anywhere without his full contingent of knights can be viewed in different ways. There are obviously ambitions for power between Regan and Goneril, so one could argue that their trying to impose a limit on Lear's retinue is symbolic of taking away his authority. If this is the case, then his actions can be somewhat justified. However, blindly running out into a storm when you're old and weak is just stupid. It solved no problems at all and it really didn't even make him feel better either.
The Fool states at one point in the play that Lear grew old before he grew wise. I couldn't agree more. There's still a lot left to happen in the play, but so far the impression I've gotten of the king has been very negative. Perhaps the real Tragedy of King Lear his old age has only made him ignorant and rash instead of wise.
Monday, November 2, 2009
360: Religion
I have walked into a house of worship once in my life. It was for a friend's bar mitzvah service and I paid more attention to the fly buzzing around my seat than the endless Hebrew litany laboriously being recited. My extremely limited experience with this phenomenon called religion makes me want to write about it.
An alien comes up to you and asks: "What is this thing you call religion?" What do you say? My first answer would most likely be "No." A complete historical look at humanity's religious habits and happenings would take far too long, so after my completely unhelpful one word answer, the alien would have to settle for a couple general statements from me.
"Religion is humanity's way of explaining, understanding, justifying, and regulating our lives and the experiences, actions, and thoughts they encompass. This is often achieved through references and beliefs in higher powers or truths. It often serves as a wellspring of morality (another concept that can be explored in profound depth) and sanctuary for those in need of it. It also has been the cause, directly or indirectly, of an immense number of human deaths because of conflicts in belief and/or doctrine."
The third and fourth statements made above were obviously put forth from very different perspectives. Both seem to isolate a certain aspect of religion, positive or negative. An examination of and attempt to compromise them would be a pretty swell thing to take the alien, and upon further thought, myself, through.
True: religion is generally a great advertiser of high moral standards, altruism, and peace. Think of famous figures related to peace, and who comes to mind? Mother Teresa, Mohandas Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama. Religion's also been a beastly cultural facilitator: there's an endless amount of wonderful art and music that's sprung up as a result of faith. Holidays are a significant part of practically all human cultures. Guess where most holidays came from?
Flip it. The Aztec religion decided that sacrificing human beings was the way to pay off our debt to the gods and keep the world in one piece. As of 2008, at least 1,121 suicide bombers have detonated themselves and their victims in not the world, but just Iraq. The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, terrorist attacks justified by religious ideals. What do they all have in common? Religion, Death, and all his friends.
We took a great idea and then did what we always manage to do: disagree about it. If I only had time to tell Mr. Alien one thing about humanity before he moved on to Alpha Centauri or wherever aliens take vacations, it would be that we are a bunch of greedy, violent bastards.
Optimism or pessimism: which one should we use to view God, Yahweh, Allah, Vishnu, Ahura Mazda, Nirvana, etc.? The cliche answer is "a little bit of both"... I'm going to be cliche. We can't label faith as a horrible concept that causes nothing but death and destruction; rational people will realize that it's far from being something so malignant. We also can't view it as a perfect concept in theory or in practice; the same rational people, Bless them, would realize that it's simply not how things are.
So. What happened? Why did a humble movement started by a certain miracle-working carpenter lead to numerous bloody military campaigns that swept across and out of Europe? Conflict. You can't tell the majority of the human race to try to explain why we exist and where we came from and what's right and what's wrong, then expect the same answer from everyone; it's not possible. Islam is often stereotyped with violence: planes flying into buildings, men in turbans whipping out their AK-47s, young martyrs blowing themselves up. Are all Muslims like that? I shouldn't need to answer, but for anyone who's feeling a little slow right now, the answer's "No." The people that you hear about on TV calling non-Muslims infidels, people to be killed, bound for hell, etc., they're just the ones who've taken an offensive attitude on faith. They lack something important. That something is called tolerance. T-O-L-E-R-A-N-C-E. If our mutual acquaintance of an alien decided that he could spare another minute on smelly, nasty Earth, that's what I would say: What humanity needs is tolerance.
An alien comes up to you and asks: "What is this thing you call religion?" What do you say? My first answer would most likely be "No." A complete historical look at humanity's religious habits and happenings would take far too long, so after my completely unhelpful one word answer, the alien would have to settle for a couple general statements from me.
"Religion is humanity's way of explaining, understanding, justifying, and regulating our lives and the experiences, actions, and thoughts they encompass. This is often achieved through references and beliefs in higher powers or truths. It often serves as a wellspring of morality (another concept that can be explored in profound depth) and sanctuary for those in need of it. It also has been the cause, directly or indirectly, of an immense number of human deaths because of conflicts in belief and/or doctrine."
The third and fourth statements made above were obviously put forth from very different perspectives. Both seem to isolate a certain aspect of religion, positive or negative. An examination of and attempt to compromise them would be a pretty swell thing to take the alien, and upon further thought, myself, through.
True: religion is generally a great advertiser of high moral standards, altruism, and peace. Think of famous figures related to peace, and who comes to mind? Mother Teresa, Mohandas Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama. Religion's also been a beastly cultural facilitator: there's an endless amount of wonderful art and music that's sprung up as a result of faith. Holidays are a significant part of practically all human cultures. Guess where most holidays came from?
Flip it. The Aztec religion decided that sacrificing human beings was the way to pay off our debt to the gods and keep the world in one piece. As of 2008, at least 1,121 suicide bombers have detonated themselves and their victims in not the world, but just Iraq. The Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, terrorist attacks justified by religious ideals. What do they all have in common? Religion, Death, and all his friends.
We took a great idea and then did what we always manage to do: disagree about it. If I only had time to tell Mr. Alien one thing about humanity before he moved on to Alpha Centauri or wherever aliens take vacations, it would be that we are a bunch of greedy, violent bastards.
Optimism or pessimism: which one should we use to view God, Yahweh, Allah, Vishnu, Ahura Mazda, Nirvana, etc.? The cliche answer is "a little bit of both"... I'm going to be cliche. We can't label faith as a horrible concept that causes nothing but death and destruction; rational people will realize that it's far from being something so malignant. We also can't view it as a perfect concept in theory or in practice; the same rational people, Bless them, would realize that it's simply not how things are.
So. What happened? Why did a humble movement started by a certain miracle-working carpenter lead to numerous bloody military campaigns that swept across and out of Europe? Conflict. You can't tell the majority of the human race to try to explain why we exist and where we came from and what's right and what's wrong, then expect the same answer from everyone; it's not possible. Islam is often stereotyped with violence: planes flying into buildings, men in turbans whipping out their AK-47s, young martyrs blowing themselves up. Are all Muslims like that? I shouldn't need to answer, but for anyone who's feeling a little slow right now, the answer's "No." The people that you hear about on TV calling non-Muslims infidels, people to be killed, bound for hell, etc., they're just the ones who've taken an offensive attitude on faith. They lack something important. That something is called tolerance. T-O-L-E-R-A-N-C-E. If our mutual acquaintance of an alien decided that he could spare another minute on smelly, nasty Earth, that's what I would say: What humanity needs is tolerance.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Metacognition: Kite Runner Essay
Writing is not my strong point. Essays can sometimes take excruciating amounts of times to finish and still end up as dull and bland sheets of writing. This piece on The Kite Runner was not all too hard to write. Having genuine interest in the subject is always helpful and at times I found myself almost enjoying the formation of the essay.
Despite the advice of Mr. Allen about writing the paragraphs out of order, I still felt most comfortable going through the essay from beginning to end. Whether or not this was a smart choice will soon be seen.
The aspect that I had the most trouble with was thinking of good transitions between paragraphs. Improving this would probably make my essays flow smoothly, a desirable effect.
I feel that The Kite Runner was an ideal book to write an essay on in that finding evidence to support claims was fairly easy. Fleshing out the ideas in my head became the main task, showing that I still need to work on some basic writing skills.
Despite the advice of Mr. Allen about writing the paragraphs out of order, I still felt most comfortable going through the essay from beginning to end. Whether or not this was a smart choice will soon be seen.
The aspect that I had the most trouble with was thinking of good transitions between paragraphs. Improving this would probably make my essays flow smoothly, a desirable effect.
I feel that The Kite Runner was an ideal book to write an essay on in that finding evidence to support claims was fairly easy. Fleshing out the ideas in my head became the main task, showing that I still need to work on some basic writing skills.
Blogging Around: Bill and Darrell
In response to Bill's blog post about Assef:
Bill, I agree that the topic of Assef's mental state was an important part of the discussion in class. I can't help but notice that you used terms and ideas we learned in health (a class that I despise and sometimes find quite useless). Congratulations, I feel that this is one of those rare moments when some of the less useful information from our health textbook actually gets applied in a meaningful way.
In response to Darrell's blog post about Facebook:
Darrell: Like others, I really liked this blog post. The idea of virtual networks taking away the integrity of our social interactions is a valid thought that carries many potential consequences. I will not lie, I use Facebook regularly and don't see myself giving it up any time in the near future. As Pat said, the complete rejection of technology is not an entirely realistic or reasonable response; there is no perfect solution to this issue (Are there ever?).
Bill, I agree that the topic of Assef's mental state was an important part of the discussion in class. I can't help but notice that you used terms and ideas we learned in health (a class that I despise and sometimes find quite useless). Congratulations, I feel that this is one of those rare moments when some of the less useful information from our health textbook actually gets applied in a meaningful way.
In response to Darrell's blog post about Facebook:
Darrell: Like others, I really liked this blog post. The idea of virtual networks taking away the integrity of our social interactions is a valid thought that carries many potential consequences. I will not lie, I use Facebook regularly and don't see myself giving it up any time in the near future. As Pat said, the complete rejection of technology is not an entirely realistic or reasonable response; there is no perfect solution to this issue (Are there ever?).
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Connection: Hassan = A Bridge Over Troubled Water
Hassan acts like Amir's bitch, and it's tragic. No matter what atrocities Amir puts him through, he can always count on Hassan forgiving him. About twice a page you witness him make some sort of personal sacrifice for Amir. What does he ever receive in return? I specifically chose to compare Hassan to a bridge because Amir treats him exactly like that: he uses him for personal benefit by stepping on him. "Like a bridge over troubled water, I will lay me down." A line that seems to fit on multiple levels, some of which I regret noticing.
It's not even that he's stupid, he's illiterate because he lacks opportunities to receive an education. It's also not exactly a brown-nose type of relationship. So what is it that makes him so devoted to Amir? The social implications of being a Hazara in Afghanistan? That could be it, after all he is Amir's servant. But freedom of personal thought is something that will never be taken away (and in the event that it is, then God/Allah/Yahweh help us all), and Hassan's devotion seems to be legitimate. The only reason I can possibly think of is friendship, and Amir really isn't a great paragon of that. He flat out refuses to acknowledge Hassan as a friend in the early stages of the book.
I have nothing more to say, and I have no doubt some poor souls who have to read this will disagree with me. Sorry.
It's not even that he's stupid, he's illiterate because he lacks opportunities to receive an education. It's also not exactly a brown-nose type of relationship. So what is it that makes him so devoted to Amir? The social implications of being a Hazara in Afghanistan? That could be it, after all he is Amir's servant. But freedom of personal thought is something that will never be taken away (and in the event that it is, then God/Allah/Yahweh help us all), and Hassan's devotion seems to be legitimate. The only reason I can possibly think of is friendship, and Amir really isn't a great paragon of that. He flat out refuses to acknowledge Hassan as a friend in the early stages of the book.
I have nothing more to say, and I have no doubt some poor souls who have to read this will disagree with me. Sorry.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Best of Week: Multiple Hitlers
A cursory glance at the title might make me seem a Neo-Nazi, but bear with me. After reviewing what I could recall from the past week, I decided Nature vs. Nurture would provide ample material to work with. My chain of thought began after the movie "The Boys From Brazil" was brought up. Raising the same person in many different settings to study the effects of environment on development is interesting and frightening to me at the same time. What makes a charismatic leader? A cold-blooded killer? A literary genius? One's nurturing probably is not all that's needed to produce one of the above, but it most likely plays a prominent role. The idea of actually cloning and observing is the frightening part. Research leads to results. Results lead to action. In the future will there be 'super-people' bred with controlled genes and environments? Will there be people reduced to products, engineered and designed like brand-name cars?
These thoughts lead elsewhere: how much of an impact should I consider my environment has on me? If I believed that my heredity sets my fate in stone then I might live my life in a very different manner than I do now. On the other hand, assuming that environment shapes every single aspect of "you" is also disconcerting, in that it removes most of the individuality that we often credit ourselves with. I suspect that the answer (as always) is a balance of the two.
Experiences shape us. I wholeheartedly believe in this. Genetics also shape us. I trust in science enough to believe this too. Will this apply to my life in the future? Of course. It has been applied, is being applied, and will be applied for every single second of my existence because every moment, however insignificant and trivial, is an experience in its own way. "The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind." Peace.
These thoughts lead elsewhere: how much of an impact should I consider my environment has on me? If I believed that my heredity sets my fate in stone then I might live my life in a very different manner than I do now. On the other hand, assuming that environment shapes every single aspect of "you" is also disconcerting, in that it removes most of the individuality that we often credit ourselves with. I suspect that the answer (as always) is a balance of the two.
Experiences shape us. I wholeheartedly believe in this. Genetics also shape us. I trust in science enough to believe this too. Will this apply to my life in the future? Of course. It has been applied, is being applied, and will be applied for every single second of my existence because every moment, however insignificant and trivial, is an experience in its own way. "The answer my friend, is blowin' in the wind." Peace.
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Carry It Forward: The Blue Sweater
Speaking (writing) honestly, I will admit that I didn't like The Blue Sweater very much. I can agree that the story told was significant, but towards the end my interest in it steadily diminished. That being said, I did like the theme of compromise that it offered, the compromise between profit and charity. While this is not the specific idea that I will carry forward, it is an embodiment of it.
The concept of searching for the middle ground between two extremes in order to reach maximum efficiency is something that makes a lot of sense to me. It took Novogratz many attempts and years to reach this, but it seemed to have been worth it. The ability to find the perfect balance in anything would prove to be a valuable skill to have. Unfortunately, I don't think I've ever been able to accomplish this in any area of my life. Great. This is specifically why I'd like to "carry it forward": if I had any semblance of an idea on how to pull a Novogratz, I feel that life might pose less problems to me. Maybe not. But I'll still hang on to the idea.
The ways in which I'd apply it are infinite and depend on what kind of life I might live. I could be investing in stocks and find myself faced with a choice of a high-risk-massive-profit approach or a more conservative strategy. Going someplace in the middle would obviously rock. (This particular situation is similar to that of Novogratz.) My point is that the idea can be applied to basically any problem, so I feel like an idiot listing possible scenarios. I'll stop.
The concept of searching for the middle ground between two extremes in order to reach maximum efficiency is something that makes a lot of sense to me. It took Novogratz many attempts and years to reach this, but it seemed to have been worth it. The ability to find the perfect balance in anything would prove to be a valuable skill to have. Unfortunately, I don't think I've ever been able to accomplish this in any area of my life. Great. This is specifically why I'd like to "carry it forward": if I had any semblance of an idea on how to pull a Novogratz, I feel that life might pose less problems to me. Maybe not. But I'll still hang on to the idea.
The ways in which I'd apply it are infinite and depend on what kind of life I might live. I could be investing in stocks and find myself faced with a choice of a high-risk-massive-profit approach or a more conservative strategy. Going someplace in the middle would obviously rock. (This particular situation is similar to that of Novogratz.) My point is that the idea can be applied to basically any problem, so I feel like an idiot listing possible scenarios. I'll stop.
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