Zooming In

December 05, 2005

Ch. 5 "Sociolinguistic Concepts"

Comments.

1. I think it is interesting that the author correlates educational failure with linguistic failure. I would think home-life and social life would also effect the linguistic process. The educational system just does not seem to bolster different dialects as it should.

2. The fact that dialects affect/reveal social status in Britain is slightly old-fashioned. With the modern technological world and the "in with the new" generation, dialects should not be looked down upon. Having social classes in England continues to repress those "not suppossed to be educated" according to their dialect. Just because one is born into a certain area does not mean one is less able to be educated.

3. I think it is absurd that most teachers are unaware that all speech communities use ranges of different language varieties in different social contexts. Like the author states, it is an elementary idea and should be something an educated person realizes. Even simple observation of the way one talks to a baby and how one talks to his/her boss shows different language varieties.

4. It is certainly true that teacher's judge the students on irrelevant information. We generally assume a person's attitude, social status, monetary status, and home town by their dialect. Unexplanatory judgments are created and the possibility for that student to learn as much as a favored student with a favored dialect dwindles.

5. I think it interesting that the author explained that even caveman language was a complex grammatical system. We generally think of these languages as inferior because of their simplicity. This simplicity is merely a difference in function. Cavemen did not have to use language to describe specific parts to a computer like we do today. Scientific advancement has also arranged a more functional language.

Questions.

1. Why has the British class system based on dialects persevered over time?

2. Why would there be such a dramatic difference between Standard and Nonstandard languages if they are only differences in lexicon?

3. Is it useful to dwell on "superficial linguistic items" in the educational system or could the time spent correcting imperfections be used to teach other languages that would advance a student's knowledge?

4. If colloquilisms are created everyday and jargon accepted commonly, why is it wrong to use them in all situations as long as the listener is aware of the new colloquilism?

5. Judging others is a natural process (whether considered "right or wrong" is your decision) so why should it be excluded in the very social scene of the educational system?

Posted by lcisyeich at 01:25 AM | Comments (0)

Ch. 3 No Kinda Sense

I thought it was correct in saying that people "code-switch" and speak differently in front of different audiences. She later writes that there isnt a necessity in teaching one language for twelve years if students can pick up multiple within a little bit of time. The fact that she puts this code-switch as "the child's camouflage is in order when she must encounter potential enemy forces" is a sadly ridiculous statement. Those that critisize black english to the extent that they become enemies aren't linguists in any way or even grammatarians, they are only close minded.

I thought it was interesting that as a professor, who was hypocritical in her thoughts of being unconcerned about what others think, she kept her "love and use" for ebonics a secret. If she thought ebonics was something to keep a secret, it is hypocritical for her to say that "we've been trying to prove ourselves good enough and this is a setback" (concerning the looking down upon ebonics.

That ebonics may be a "greater source of collective disgrace" in the african-american community is a sad truth. We always consider any sort of ebonics as "improper" and not suited for the work field. I happen to see an integration of both "languages" or "dialects" (whichever way you view it) that could cause tension in the future between different generations.

I thought it strange the tension the author felt was so great. She was happy her child handled the new situation so quickly and in such a good manner yet she was unhappy she adopted to Black English so quickly. If the author knows how to code-switch, I think she should have trusted in her daughter to learn also. It was odd that she didn't speak of students who had much trouble because of their lack of code-switching ability. (She only spoke of adults)

The fact that the workforce "cannot appreciate expertise" with Black English being spoken is unusual in today's world. Though communication is a huge aspect in "getting the job done," high production levels and less time on projects are usually wanted more. In an office where I worked over the summer, one woman spoke Black English, even in front of her boss, and her career with this company has not been sacrificed because of it.

Questions:

1. Baldwin's article claimed that Black English is a seperate language whereas Maya Angelou believed it was appalling to think so. Why is there such a difference in thought? Angelou continues to say that it makes people "not want to learn other languages" but why would this be?

2. The author embraces ebonics as a unifier of Black Americans but why would she say "how dare anyone suggest that ignorant sounding trash was 'our language?'"

3. The author says she must change her "natural self just to be adequate" yet further in the article she admits her use of ebonics. Did she actually change her "natural self?"

4. Could a solution to hearing only American Standard English speaking teachers be to incorporate teachers who use different dialects?

5. Is this tension that the author feels something that all African-Americans feel or it is something she feels because she is a professor? Are there other reasons for her confliction?

Posted by lcisyeich at 01:01 AM | Comments (0)

December 04, 2005

Response to Christina's Question

Christina's question was "what would Americans have sounded like without Black English?"

I believe there would have been less of a conversion of language. In class we talked about the fact that it takes longer for syntax of a language to change. I believe Black English shortened this time because of the fast introduction of the language and its use in everyday culture. Lexicon would also be different because Black English uses a lot of shortened words or new words that shorten previous words. An example of this is "yo" which is shorter than "hello" and is considered more improper. (Maybe improper words are considered improper because of their backgrounds...hmm.) So, without Black English, we would probably still have more "old english" words or even longer words than what we use today. Moving on, I also believe there is a connection between gestures and a language. White English centuries ago would be a lot more formal and wouldn't include much touching. In today's culture we touch each other's arms and are more expressive to the listener. Without Black English I am sure there would be more of a physical distance between the listener and speaker. Also, I am sure there would be more arms at the side then gesturing hands during conversation.

Posted by lcisyeich at 01:45 PM | Comments (0)

James Baldwin Article

James Baldwin’s article refutes the idea of Black English as only a dialect. He continuously gives examples of languages considered dialects and why they are not only dialects. He also continuously defines what a language is. Language, in general, “reveals the speaker.” It allows the people to “evolve a language in order to describe and control their circumstances.” Baldwin’s example is of the language of French. He goes on to say a man in one part of a country does not speak the same French as another man in a different part of the country, nevertheless, these men couldn’t understand another speaker from a whole different country that speaks French. He justifies this by saying that they all have different “realities to articulate.” To Baldwin, articulation (describing) is synonymous with controlling their surroundings. Furthermore, Baldwin writes that language is a political power because of the strong resistance of each of these people to keep their language. Their determination reveals their identity that can “connect one with, or divorce one from, the larger, public, or communal identity.” Furthermore, language is power because it reveals these identities so specifically. Certain languages (all English in Baldwin’s example of England) reveal where one comes from. This area would have particular families, schools, and range of salaries. Furthermore, one’s language will reveal how young one is, one’s self-esteem, and even one’s future.

Even though one can be judged by a language, ironically, the judges will adopt the judged language. Although it will be called something new in order to make it acceptable, it is fully from these judged people. Baldwin’s examples were of the Jazz Age and Beat Generation. White people adopted Black English terms and even acted as if they were Black. This leads us directly into the controversy over whether Black English is a language.

To Baldwin, Black English is not merely a dialect. The language has effected American culture and converted it into what it is. Because it is so obvious that Black English is used, Americans cannot deny its being. Blacks came to America speaking many different languages and needed to find a similar one to unite them and to describe to each other what was happening around them. The bibles given to them were the only article that united them and thus, it was used to create communication. “A language comes into existence by means of brutal necessity, and the rules of the language are dictated by what the language must convey.” There was obviously a “brutal necessity” to not only speak English now that they were in an English country, but to convert it into something that united them and excluded those who tried to suppress them. Blacks needed to make the language their own to convey the emotions they felt and make it known to each other. Baldwin uses an example of himself to describe the necessity for the language. The language not only united all blacks but also protected them. The speed and unusualness (to the white people) of the language allowed for Blacks to help protect each other if they did something “wrong” such as stand in front of a white man.

Just as the languages in Wales and France and other countries defend their language for all the reasons described above, the Blacks are also fighting for the same thing. They know their language to be just so and will keep using it as thus. The reason for this wanting to call the Black English language a dialect is because of education levels. A Black child “cannot be taught by anyone who despises him” and the White people did despise the black race. Furthermore, a Black child cannot be taught to learn White English because it would force the child to “repudiate his experience” and furthermore, his/her identity as a Black child will be taken away. Because of this “failure” to learn what the White people expect but do not give, Black people are still repressed and it is blamed on dislike due to their “inability” to learn something not taught.

Personally, I believe Baldwin has a compelling argument with many truths in it. I never looked at Black English as a totally separate language because it is not separate from English. I believe Baldwin believes that a language is different if it serves a different purpose. Black English did serve a different purpose than White English but now we can understand each other and the purpose is less involved. The date of this article proves there is less evidence in this article for today’s world. Now, White English is molded by Black English and vice versa.

Questions:

1. Are Black people still looked down upon today for the same reasons? E.g. Baldwin says that Black people are looked down upon because White teachers do not want to teach them proper English.
2. Why should Baldwin say that he is appalled by the fact that White teachers do not want to teach Black children if he then says learning the language would take away identity?
3. Why is describing a language and controlling a language synonymous in the article?
4. Why does Baldwin put down the fact that White people adopted the black language? For the language’s survival, wouldn’t that be better?

Posted by lcisyeich at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2005

Chapter Eleven Hypothesis

Languages over time definitely do change, there isnt a doubt about the fact. However, the impact of change in the three catagories (Pronunciation, Syntax, and Lexicon) is dependent on time. These changes can be predicted by observing the first language acquisition of a child. How a child develops speech is usually the same in all children. Most awaiting parents wait for a child's first word (lexicon). These typically are words like "mama" or "dada" because of their easy ability. These words are closest to mumbles "baby talk" as they can get. Next, a child learns pronunciation. With practice, a child will say "mum" or "d-ae-d" For example, my brother could not pronounce Kathy and called my aunt "Aunt Fluffy." After awhile of observing how others said "Kathy" my brother was able to say "Katty" and then "Kathy." This of course happened before he could form sentences. Sentence formation or syntax is vital in communication. It occurs last because of the rules we have in any language. Simple sentences form first such as "Give me" or "me go." Though the correct word isn't used in some cases, the general communication ability at this point is clear and parents can understand what their children want.

From this, we can see that lexicon is the easiest to change over time. New words, like different and "new" words to a child, are introduced everyday. Words change for many reasons such as combination words, (an example for this would be from tv show "the Colbert Report." In his commercial, Colbert says the show is trustegious, a combination of prestegious and trustworthy. My friends even use this term now.) jokes (words such as splendiferous and other silly words that are repeated to reminisce about the joke and then used out of habit.) and for variety purposes (people have been trying to find a new word for "neat" for decades. Words like "groovy," "cool," "awesome," and "hot" are used to replace it. In New England, "wicked" is used.).

Next, pronunciation is changed over a little longer period of time such as the greater part of a century. Pronunciation takes a little longer because in order for it to catch on it needs global coverage. English pronunciation is different in different parts of our country is mainly due to groups that founded the area and immigrants. To change this, we would need a new group to come in or a group to move to another area.

Lastly, syntax takes the most to change. In many cases, it took multiple centuries to change. This is due to the fact that rapid syntax change would make it hard or almost impossible to communicate with others of the same language. This would defeat the purpose of speaking the same language in the first place. Also, syntax change would go against the typical rules we have and these rules are ingrained from birth.

-Jess Y

Posted by lcisyeich at 01:18 PM | Comments (2)

My Fair Lady v. Pygmalion

I would say that My Fair Lady is almost identical to Pygmalion. Because Pygmalion was written as a play, the movie, My Fair Lady, was able to use almost exact phrasing as the play. Even the sound effects of Eliza are pronounced as Shaw wrote them. I found the movie strict to the confines of the play and one of the best movies to represent a play in full honesty.

-Jess Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 12:49 PM | Comments (0)

Origins of Pygmalion

George Bernard Shaw most definitely picked the title "Pygmalion" as a reference to the Greek romance of a sculptor falling in love with his own sculpture. As the story goes, the sculptor, finding human women "immoral and frivolous," spent his life consumed with this craft. One day he found a "large, flawless piece of ivory" and decided to carve a woman's figure into the material. He was so pleased with his work that he became obsessed with the figure and adorned it with jewels and clothing. He even went as far as to name it Galatea, which means sleeping love. He begged the greek goddess of love, Aphrodite, for forgiveness for ignoring her for so long and he pleaded for a woman as ideal as his statue. Aphrodite, interested in and curious about his constant pleas, visited the statue. She was so pleased with it, because it was the image of herself, that she made the figure come to life. Pygmalion then returned to find his love alive and they were soon wed. Of course, they never forgot about Aphrodite and like all Greeks that had wonderful things happen to them, they brought gifts to Aphrodite's temple as a thank you.

This story is unmistakenably used as a reference for Shaw's "Pygmalion". Pygmalion and Higgins are almost one in the same. Pygmalion finds himself consumed with his work and enjoys the ability to transform "waste material" into beautiful beings. Higgins, like Pygmalion, is consumed with his phonetics and also enjoys his ability to transform useless beings into people of society. Like Pygmalion does with Galatea, Higgins soon falls in love with the increasingly beautiful Eliza. Both characters are stubborn and treat the outside world as if it is to be used and not bothered with humanly.

In the same way, Galatea and Eliza are similar in that Eliza is an almost inhuman creature with inhuman sounds and Galatea is made of ivory (thus, inhuman). Both are the subjects of work and both are the subjects of love.

Shaw undoubtedly chose this title for these reasons and in my opinion, it shows a lot about his own character. If Pygmalion and Higgins are synonymous, Shaw says that Higgins deserves Eliza in the end, like Pygmalion deserved his statue. But, even in the first two acts of "Pygmalion" it is seen that Higgins is rude and undeserving of life because of this.

Sources: http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/pygmalion.html and http://www.pygmalion.ws/stories/greek2.htm. I think they are worthy of being called correct in that the two sources are almost identical. The first source is even copyrighted. Plus, that souce has a .org ending and that represents that it is an organization putting out the information. The second is correct because of the first and because the hyperlink is very clear (Pygmalion is the only word in it).

Posted by lcisyeich at 12:29 PM | Comments (2)

November 17, 2005

MFA assignment

1. The museum feels like a lonely old man. Containing bits and pieces of old information and beauty. The one room for modern art seems forced like computers on an older generation. The museum is despair. The walls blank and even alone it seems stuffy. The air is old and the ceilings cobwebbed. The architecture is a poor mind trick; its elements do not give justice to the beauty beheld. The floors are cold and harsh with dabs of carpet to amuse the stray children. It seemed the entire museum was unwelcoming with its harsh corners. There were an abundance of elder people reminiscing as they walked by and for a moment, I felt happy but then consumed with sadness because of the impending end to their lives. The hall felt troubling as if something was missing. I felt panicked and hurried to move onto the next exhibit.

2. The assumption that I brought to the work I saw in the museum was that they would be something I would see everyday. I thought that Adam’s work consisted of mostly landscapes and I see that everyday wherever I am. I was ready to be disappointed yet excited and hopeful for something refreshing. To my surprise, Adam’s work overwhelmed me with exhilaration. I circled the exhibit several times trying to find my favorite work but I couldn’t. I decided to choose his later pieces as my favorite set. I assumed that there would be less meaning to the photos because they were “only” photographs, especially since they are in black and white. I assumed that you could not impose meaning on something that is just there. I thought I could do the same exact thing and be just as popular. And, to my surprise, I was incorrect.

3. Surf Sequence- 1940 (printed in 1973) Adam’s paid special attention to having both the sand and waves present in the photo. He wanted to see not only the waves coming in but also how different each of them are. From my point of view, Adam’s point was to create a symbol for time. The waves in each photo impressed upon the sand a different shape. Each wave was different and unexpected. Adam’s cared little for the sequencing of the photos but more for the fact that eventually each did happen. I believe Adam’s tried to show that time eventually corrodes away at humans and this is inevitable because it is the process of life. Adam’s tried to make the picture smooth and not intrusive. He wanted to show us that life is a in and out of time waves that is calming and welcoming at each stage.

4. Mr. Shepard at his home, Independence, California- circa 1936 In this portrait, Adam’s deliberately included the old fence and the older man. The man is more in the background of the photo making him appear mysterious and aggravated. His facial expression is squinted and he is looking directly at the camera from a distance. This makes the camera look intrusive. Both the fence and the old man symbolize how everything on earth begins to decay. The fence, though weathered by time, will most likely remain for years, but the old man will soon wither. The shadow over the man symbolizes this death and the fact that the fence is white symbolizes survival, or life.

5. Saguaro Cactus, Sunrise, Arizona- 1942 Adam’s deliberately took the photo of the cactus from a bug’s eye view. This view creates a giant-like status for the cactus. For the viewer, the cactus is overbearing and seemingly dangerous. On the other hand, most of the cactus is covered in sunlight, making the cactus holy symbolically. The cactus is ordered with rows of thorns. This could symbolize the fact that the viewer knows that in life we must keep in a certain social line or else we will be pricked by unpleasant and (in this case) giant thorns.

6. Lager by Sigmar Polke- 1982 I like this painting because to me, I see urban decay when I look at it. I see the riots and the shootings and the weathered faces of concerned families. To me it all is like a pit of despair. The black, shapeless blotch in the center combines all of this in one. I see streetlights and electric cords taking up the rest of the painting. There is barbed wire across the top of the painting symbolizing more violence and even the oppression city children face when they try to break out of their bad habits and leave the area. There aren’t any normal colors for the background. By normal, I mean there aren’t any colors like blue in the sky. The colors are ugly neutrals, which to me, symbolizes the way the rest of the world views the situation. It is a work of art because it uses symbolism to represent the way we live and our mentality to an ongoing problem. The texture and the colors also create a disturbed mood in the viewer that furthers the meaning.

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:12 PM | Comments (19)

November 14, 2005

An Idea...

Later today I am going to blog on different degrees of dialects. This is almost a self note. I had an idea that (for example) geography would be the first thing people catagorize others' language from and then social status, etc.

I'll definetly blog my ideas later, but I thought it was something to ponder.

-Jess Yeich (Ica)

Posted by lcisyeich at 11:47 AM | Comments (1)

November 13, 2005

Social Group Influence

Social groups are, in my opinion, the most influencial factor in different dialects. Not only do we have different tones and word choices with our family and friends but we have different dialects too. With my friends I have a more casual tone and even different sentence structure. I use a more urban language and even my sarcasm rate is higher when I am with my friends. In front of my family I try to make things easier to understand and use a more nice tone. I definetly have more of a German accent with my family because they also show it a lot more, being old fashioned. When I worked as a file clerk for the vice president of a high power company, I would be very formal to my employer. Though a certain level of comfortableness was felt after awhile, tone was kept very even. My word choice was more intelligent and more pronounced (for example, I said "yes" instead of "yea."). Not only do we have different dialects with our employers but also around those who are "upper class" or who certainly make more money than I do.

-Jess

Posted by lcisyeich at 09:10 PM | Comments (0)

Questions about Chapter 10 Content

I found a dialect very much like my own on classweb.gmu.edu/accent. My accent is from english99. Typically this is a female from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Many of the ways she pronounced her O's and A's, I also pronounce mine.

My accent is infused with Pennsylvania Dutch, which is ultimately German. My parents and grandparents have all lived in the same area for all of their lives so there isnt varying dialects influencing my own. Most of our O's are very pronounced like an O would be. We say "D-ohn-cha kn-oh" exactly how it looks. I grew up in the middle of the Lancaster area, which is "Amish country." Amish dialects are driven by German roots as well. Sometimes I tend to say things as though I am a native german person trying to speak English. At the end of my words, the tone is higher. My tone is even more higher at the end of sentences. In a way, its a very "sing-songy" way of speaking. As well as a rythmic tone to my dialect, I also speak casually and never formal to family members.

Coincidentally, my friend from PA has come to Boston for the weekend and my friends from the New England area and the two PA girls discussed each other's accents and phrasing. For example, we say "outten the lights" for "turn off the lights." Also, we say "wanna go with" to mean "would you like to come with me?" With ends a sentence very often in our area. Very commonly, we say "They're calling for snow" to mean "It is supposed to snow today." Even little things are different. For example, we call subs "hoagies" and creeks "cricks."

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:51 PM | Comments (0)

November 09, 2005

midsemester critique

The three things that assisted my learning in this community so far are: 1) The blogging itself. It has helped me create new ideas and learn from others what might be solutions to questions we have brought up in class. Also, having the dynamic calendars online have helped me keep up and stop procrastinating, for this class anyway. 2) The format of the class being in three different sections has helped tie everything together and made things more understandable for applications. Plus, I think I have found a new major thanks to Nanette's class(unfortunately it isnt offered here). The format has helped me to look around and be more perceptive with all my senses when I'm outside of class as well. 3) Lastly, the lack of extreme pressure with letter grades has helped boost my confidence in my own work and now I can be confident in new ideas that I think may be slightly controversial. It has helped me to stop just absorbing the information in class and regurgitating it but to expand my ideas and give applications to everyday life.

On the other hand, one thing that has prevented some learning in this community is the fact that sometimes it is unclear what we will be doing or how it relates to what we will be learning or have learned. For example, we do a lot of fun things in this community, but I dont exactly think meditation is needed in the middle of class. Sure, it is relaxing and some students may be stressed, but we must find our own time to relax and find a way to put that in our schedules as adults. It is understandable that there is a big transition from highschool to college, but many of us are used to stress in highschool as well. Overall, I can't say anything else that has preventing my learning because this is such a unique class and most everything we do is stimulating for the mind. It is hard to pick out something that is preventing my learning!

Posted by lcisyeich at 11:06 AM | Comments (0)

November 08, 2005

Dissapointed

Depressed Repressed Suppressed Under stress Fallen beneath the roots We’ve been kicked off the trees And sent to live down the seas Keys, keys where are my keys We cant open this tiny door To unlock this heart we’ve been yelling for Rejected as a stranger Far away Pushed away And as we fell Asked them why We can’t stay Nothing ever stays Slammed from one Trap to another We seep from one line to another Like slow honey part of us stays Everywhere we go Why cant we just go Why cant we just stay

-Jess Y

Posted by lcisyeich at 03:33 PM | Comments (1)

November 03, 2005

Eliza's cousins...

Just like other new and wonderful contraptions that science has allowed us to create, people have taken advantage of bots also. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon to get Instant Messages from bots posing as ladies who are willing to sell their services. Even more unfortunate is the fact that now, we can get onto sites that were relatively safe (even homework help sites for kids!), and we get messages from the same bots. It seems that this new revelation in language and how we create it has been abused, just as english has. Every language thus can be manipulated and in turn, used against innocent people.

I read an interesting article in Science & Technology at scientificamerican.com called "baffling the bots" the URL is

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa001&colID=6&articleID=00053EA7-B6E8-1F80-B57583414B7F0103

if anyone is interested

-Jessica Y

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:01 PM | Comments (1)

Postcard

Postcard: Joni Mitchell taken by Annie Leibovitz

Studium: Pictured is a dark scene of mostly green. There is a large fountain in the middle of a forest area. The area is made up of all different vegetation with different leaves. Some are long and thin, almost tropical, and the others are rounder and broad. The fountain is mostly gray but has a green tint from the vegetation.

Joni Mitchell, a slender older woman with long dark hair that is graying, is sitting on the edge of the fountain. Her legs are crossed underneath her long, ribbed, dark green cloak and dress. Her shoes are black boots. She is holding a cigarrette in her right hand, which is crossed over her left. Also, she is looking to her right, away from the camera. She is not smiling, nor frowning. Joni appears to be the object of the photo even tho she is not in the center. The contrast from her olive skin to the background sets her apart.

There is a small potted plant on the opposing side of the fountain. There is a small bit of water coming out of the fountain but even that appears green from all the dark colors. The sun is apparently hitting one of the plants because it is very light green in contrast to the rest of the photograph. There are small bits of flowers around the fountain. Also, there is a wobbly, gray slated pathway around the fountain. In the background, there is a tall oddly-shaped gray pole thats purpose does not seem relevant to the photo. Deep in the vegetation are small blue flowers that stick out from the dark shades surrounding them.

Punctum: To me, this photo represents an older woman reflecting on her life. Joni is looking out into the distance as if thinking and not focusing on what she sees. Her smoking seems to symbolize her confliction, possibly disapointment or aggravation in her life because she does not even put down the cigarrette for a photograph. Reflection on her life seems portrayed by the scenery. It is a calm scenery away from the business of every day life such as cars and buildings. The fountain is a contrast to that because it is man made, as is the pole. It seems she is upset that she cannot fully get away. The tropical looking plants almost seems like she feels she must go to a deserted island to escape her routine, busy life. Her attire reminds me of an artistic person (who she is) that is carefree of conformed styles. But, at the same time, she wants more in life. She seems to want more to her life, make an impact, yet she wants to leave it all. She does not seem overly stressed though because her body is not tense. At the same time, she seems very tired because of her expression, posture, and the way her body is situated. She seemed to have let her muscles go and not worry about looking good for a photograph.

Her mental situation seems timeless. All throughout time we have seen a person escaping their lives and just sitting in the woods. Green has always been a calming color and because vegetation is almost all green, it is soothing.

The small bits of color throughout the picture seem to almost represent flashes of reminders of the world in her mind. As we look over the photo, our eyes flash to and from the color. In the same way, I would think that Joni is thinking about her getting away and then she remembers a business deal that makes her unable to leave.

-Jessica Y

Posted by lcisyeich at 07:28 PM | Comments (2)

October 27, 2005

Memories by Harmon

Harmon's article enticed me in the way that it presented the question of "what is vacation?" For me, I always buy a disposable camera hoping to find great pictures to take...especially this past summer because I was leaving to a place six hours away. Then I get to the vacation, and I become a child again, not caring about the pictures and wanting quality times with the ones I love. It seemed as if in the beginning of her vacation also, Harmon wanted this quality time. She wanted to do all these new things and also spend time with her "Scott." It seemed their whole vacation consisted of "seeing" new things and then looking back at them and never really taking in the whole view of things. He was so focused on the these sights that he couldnt experience the new or even think about how he felt about them because he was always looking back. This picture-taking became part of "vacationing" for them. He waited for the right moments to take pictures and wanted so much to reflect the "perfect." On looking back at these pictures in the future, they would never remember by pictures that Harmon was agitated at picture taking.

The best quote of the article was "But the digital camera doesnt just warp time, it takes up more of it, too." Though this new camera was faster, it seemed as if it couldnt go fast enough so they could go on and take a new picture.

Later in the article, Harmon herself started to keep looking back on pictures and not taking advantage of the sights, like the "stunning red-rock view." Scott, at the end of the vacation, wanted to appreciate his last moments and not take up time with pictures (something he should have realized earlier) and the situation was reversed for the woman.

It seems like in this case, pictures provided them with power in the way that they could capture an "unlimited" amount of pictures and not have to pay. It was a "digital photo fever" and was hard not to give in.

Posted by lcisyeich at 10:38 PM | Comments (1)

Confusion...please answer

Could someone please tell me what page the Barthes article is on...I dont know which, and its making no sense.

Jess

Posted by lcisyeich at 10:26 PM | Comments (1)

Java Jive

Java Jive was a fun article to read because the aurthor, Dave Barry, presented some absurd items that should be brought to the attention of the public. Overall, the article was too sarcastic to make a point. In fact, it made too many indirect points. The article was sloppy, unfocused, confused and a little bit of everything. The article, which I thought was on "java lingo" turned into questions from ficticious people about random questions, even grammar and then turned again into grammar or structure mistakes. The article was funny because we can all relate to these mistakes or notice them at times. The author's talk on java lingo was absurd also. OK, so there are some overly ridiculous names for coffee sizes, but the customers have to use them in order to order things. Employees are used to calling sizes by their madeup company names and customers must conform to their familiarity to them. Overall, it was a great article, but not one to publish in a formal magazine.

Jess

Posted by lcisyeich at 07:49 PM | Comments (1)

October 20, 2005

Persepolis Review

Overall, I think the Persepolis II review was more interesting than a regular review because it was comic style, which helped me remember what the reviewer said. My favorite part was the characters taling about how Persepolis II is about identity contradictions because readers who read the first one could guess what the second was about in meaning.

The review dealt with the difference between men and women who write about the Iranian conflicts. The women characters (Iranians) said they thought they were ignored not only by men writers but also by Americans.

The reviewer goes on to say that Americans neglect to recognize or care about Iranians and the difficulties they have (which is true considering I didnt know anything about Iran until I read Persepolis). She says that Americans need to see the information but the way Americans are closed in thought prevents it. The review emphasized the fact that every other continent has book stores with graphic novel sections but we don't. America is supposed to be open to modern thought and we can't even put sections in our stores dedicated to graphic novels. We have sections for everything else, including books that I am sure collect dust, so why not graphic novels? She "justifies" this American way by saying that we think graphic novels are just comics that "dumb down" culture.

As for the author's style, it is highly recommended by the reviewer. She says that everyone is interested (women, teens, and men are all shown). It not only combines a story with pictures that kids like but also, it includes the emotion to allow the reader to relate or put themselves in the character's shoes. Lastly, it has a good "rhythm" and its a "coming of age narrative in semiotic analysis of female woman child in Iran" that is smartly combined with a comic book style.

Proof of this taste by all groups (men, women and children) is shown by the following: After reading this book I called my mom and dad and explained the book. They soon got the book and loved it. My brother is now reading it (which is a miracle, especially since he doesn't read much as a 15 year old boy) and I couldn't be happier. By the way, I am going out and buying the next one.

Posted by lcisyeich at 06:00 PM | Comments (0)

Comic Analysis

The comic is I chose is straightforward in both text and picture and uses little amount of symbol and abstraction because she is making fun of everyday life

The artist uses the woman in the green shirt as a metonymy for America. The woman says sarcastically that she might want to footnote the picture she has of an explosion from some sort of bomb that is to represent an RPG explosion on a humvee. The green shirted lady portrays America in that we are starting to question where information comes from or how it was produced. The other woman portrays someone that generally thinks she can put anything out as a project (etc.) and it can be believed and exaggerated and it still is not considered lying.

The first two panels are moment to moment because not only is the speaker in the first panel continuing on in the second, but also she is in the same spot, only the view is different. Also from panel to panel, aspect-to-aspect is used because the woman develops her idea in each frame. Action to action is used from the second to the third frame because at first she is obviously reading and then she is obviously flipping the page at her easel. There is almost a subject-to-subject relation because at first we find out about the woman’s father and then we find out that she is using faulty evidence.

This comic is interdependent in the way that the pictures relate to the text. Without the words, the comic just seems to be a woman giving a presentation on some sort of explosion and without the pictures we don’t know what she “actually got off the web,” so we don’t understand why its funny that the other woman tells her to footnote the picture.

This comic works on several levels and makes the joke funny for those that understand the situation in Iraq and those who understand the nature of people to exaggerate and misinform others. Lately, there has been a trend to take a bad situation and make it seem entirely worse to the point where it is different. This trend has been seen more now with the war in Iraq. Americans are taking situations that happen everyday in Iraq (even before our invasion) and exaggerating it to the public. As a public, we seem to soak in the lies and not question what is going on. Throughout this cartoon, we see a change in that trend. The blonde woman’s audience stares in disbelief at her in other panels from other day’s papers. The people are suddenly realizing that this information is so unbelievable that she (the speaker) just looks ridiculous. For those that don’t understand the war, a similar meaning comes from the comic. The woman giving the speech continues throughout many days’ comics to believe her information and thinks nothing wrong of having misinformation (or pictures that have nothing to do with Fallujah).

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:59 PM | Comments (0)

"On Photography"

Susan Sontag's peice "On Photography" was more straightforward than the other peices we have read in class. Upon reading the first paragraph, I realized that this would be an informational essay instead of a complex, metaphorical story. I enjoyed realizing some of the reasons why we take photos. We can all relate and understand her reasonings because it is true with everyone. What I really liked about her writing was that she took a psychological perspective.

For example, she explains that we tend to take pictures to replace things. Our handicaps might prevent us from acting on what we see, so we take pictures to "participate" or even act on what we see later if our handicap goes away. We take pictures to replace the space of children when they grow up. We take pictures to replace work on vacations in work driven societies. We replace non-existent pasts with pictures from now to make up for it. More, we replace our anxieties over being somewhere new with photos (the photos allow us to "take possession" over these strange areas). Moreover, we replace our lack of friends or colleagues on trips with photos. Meaning, because the ones we talk to daily are usually not there on vacation with us, we must take pictures to prove a point or "certify" that we were there. Lastly, we replace our hopes with pictures. For example, we take pictures of big houses if we want big houses. This could be that we want to make it seem like we have the homes or just to let us keep wishing.

The last and best point of the article was that we take pictures to "encourage whatever is going on to keep on happening." We take pictures of vacations to keep the memory and even to be able to look at it and transfer ourselves to that time.

Overall, I thought the informational essay was indeed informative. Not that I learned new things, but I realize it in the foreground of my mind, versus the background. We all know why we take pictures, but most of the time, we aren't able to say it.

Posted by lcisyeich at 10:13 AM | Comments (2)

October 18, 2005

Iran- Current Information

The Young Population of Iran or "The Satellite Generation"

-65% of the population is under the age of 25 -no remembrance of 1979 Islamic Revolution or the coup de tat of Shah Reza Pavlavi by the Ayatollah Khomeini -seek change and an end to the isolation and social repression of Iran, yearn for modern day culture -internet savvy, use cell phones, "nourished" by satellite tv -hidden shops offer Victoria's Secret, Coca-cola products, Mcdonalds, Kfc, US-style eateries, American self help books, western culture icons, and Barbies -government policies and confiscation of satellite dishes has relaxed...most people now have satellite tv (70-80% of all Iranians) -satellite tv reaches 300 new homes inside Iran every day -Iranian population now considered preferred customers around the world -more Iranian college students studying abroad than any other country (51,300 in the US alone) -most people now live in cities, population is younger, more literate and more affluent than ever before

-Suicide and severe depression are quite common as a result of Iran's multimillion pool of college applicants

Women in Iran •Women Protest: hide bodies but voices are starting to be heard

•By law must cover themselves in scarves and long coats but many wear latest Western fashions underneath coats

•Women now drive cars, own companies, run newspapers, direct films, teach yoga classes, and compete in sports

•Hope hijab (Koran’s admonition that a Muslim woman should cover everything but her face, hands, and feet/a covering for a Muslim woman’s face and head) will fade with mellowing in regime

•“pink revolution”: a silent fashion statement to express contempt for the government and hijab. Women wear pink clothes and brighter, tighter coats, higher heels, scarves pushed farther back

•women wear sexiest, most fashionable clothes possible while still covering requisite body parts

How men protest •men have clean shaves (Islam encourages beards), publicly shaking hands with unrelated women, jeans, and long hair

Contrasts around country:

In villages, life is centered around farm and mosque, young married by parents, few modern luxuries

In Tehran, center of Iran’s social consciousness, artistic creativity, political and economical power

Government

-The Supreme Leader runs inside laws -The President takes care of everything -The Assembly of Experts elect the Supreme Leader from within their own ranks and periodically reconfirm him -The Parliament consists of 290 members elected to a four year term The members are elected by direct and secret ballot. It drafts legislation, ratifies international treaties and approves the country's budget. -The Council of Guardians have the authority to interpret the constitution and determines if the laws passed by Parliament are in line with Islamic law. the Council can exercise veto power over Parliament. -The expediency council- has authority to mediate disputes between parliament and the Council of Guardians and serves as an advisory body to the Supreme Leader -The Judiciary Public courts deal with civil and criminal cases -Constitution created in 1979 called the Qanun-e Asasi -Iran is a Theocratic Republic (government "ruled by God") meaning that it is not ruled by a monarch but instead the head of the government is elected for a limited period of time. -government's policies are strongly influced by the principles of the majority religion, Islam. -The president of Iran is Mohammad Khatami-ardakani. He won the 1997 Iranian election and was re-elected in 2001 due to ffemale and youth vote, who supported him because he promised to improve the status of women and repond to the young generation's demands. -He is Iran's first reformist president that is focused on democracy -the national pride has increased and the image of iranians more positive because of him -The three main ideas of the Iranian government are 1) to rule by Allah 2) to keep strict observance of the sacred writings of the Koran, and 3) to support the leadership of the Shiite clergy (who is a scholar who knows the Koranic laws and gets more power than government officials)

Economy -consists of labor force of 15.4 million -30% of Iranians are unemployed -the inflation rate of the Toman, their currency, is 23% -Iran produces about $371.2 billion worth of goods and services each year including petroleum, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides, iron, and steel. -it imports products such as machinery, military supplies, metal, food and pharmaceuticals -As of today, Iran has an annual budget of $34.9 billion and a debt of $21.9 billion -The economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small scale private trading and service ventures -Iran is attempting to diversify by investing revenues in other areas, including petrochemicals. -Iran is also hoping to attract billions of dollars worth of foreign investment by creating a more favorable investment climate (reduced restrictions and duties on imports, creation of free-trade zones)

Demographics

-The majority of Iran's population speak one of the Iranian languages, though only Persian is an official language. -The major ethnic groups in Iran include the Persians (51%), Azeris (24%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Baluchi (2%), Lurs (2%), Turkmen people (2%), Qashqai, Armenians, Persian Jews, Assyrians and others. -Most Iranians are Muslims; 89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion -About 10% of Iranians belong to the Sunni branch -Non-Muslim religious minorities include the Bahá'í Faith, Zoroastrians, as well as Jews, Christians, and Mandeans.

Climate:

-Iran's varied landscape produces several different climates. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) the temperatures nearly fall below freezing and remains humid for the rest of the year and summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 degrees Celsius. -At higher elevations to the west experience lower temperatures. These areas have severe winters, with average daily temperatures below freezing and have heavy snowfall. -The eastern and central basins are arid and get less than 200 mm ( 8 in) of rain and have occasional desert. The average summer temperatures exceed above 38 degrees Celsius. -The coastal plains of the Persian Gulf and Gulf of Oman in southern Iran have mild winters and very humid and hot summers.

Population Control:

-At one point in the 1980s estimates showed that Iran's population would reach 108 million by the year 2006. But, in fact, through a variety of measures, Iran has managed to check its population growth with the population projected to only be 70 million in 2006. Because… -In 1993, Iran dropped certain maternity benefits for couples who had more than three children. Iran is believed to be the only country in the world where men and women are required to attend classes about contraception before they can obtain a marriage license. -Iran has made both condoms and contraceptive pills widely available

Religion:

-Islam "the submission to God" is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, the world's second-largest religion, and the fastest growing religion in the world.

-Muslims assert that the main written record of revelation to humankind is the Qur'an, which is flawless, immutable, and the final revelation of God to humanity. Muslims believe that parts of the Gospels, Torah and Jewish prophetic books (though originally divine in their nature) have been forgotten, misinterpreted, or distorted by their followers and thus, their original message has been corrupted over time. With that perspective, Muslims view the Qur'an as a corrective of Jewish and Christian scriptures.

-Six articles of belief There are six basic beliefs shared by all Muslims:

Belief in God, the one and only one worthy of all worship. Belief in all the Prophets (nabi) and Messengers (rusul) (sent by God). Belief in the Books (kutub) sent by God (including the Qur'an) Belief in the Angels (mala'ika). Belief in the Day of Judgment (qiyama) and in the Resurrection (life after death) Belief in Destiny (Fate) (qadar). (Note that this does not mean one is pre-determined to act or live a certain life. God has given the free will to do and make decisions.)

-The Muslim creed in English:

"I believe in God; and in His Angels; and in His Scriptures; and in His Messengers; and in The Final Day; and in Fate, that Good and Evil are from God, and Resurrection after death be Truth. "I testify that there is nothing worthy of worship but God; and I testify that Muhammad is His Messenger."

-There is no official authority who decides whether a person is accepted into, or dismissed from, the community of believers, known as the Ummah ("family" or "nation"). Islam is open to all, regardless of race, age, gender, or previous beliefs. It is enough to believe in the central beliefs of Islam. This is formally done by reciting the shahada, the statement of belief of Islam, without which a person cannot be classed a Muslim. It is enough to believe and say that one is a Muslim, and behave in a manner befitting a Muslim to be accepted into the community of Islam.

Islamic Calendar -It is a lunar calendar, but differs from other such calendars in that it omits intercalary months, being synchronized only with lunations, but not with the solar year, resulting in years of either 354 or 355 days -Holy Days depend on lunar calendar and thus, fall on different days each year

Random Facts: -Green is commonly used when representing Islam. It is much used in decorating mosques, tombs, and various religious objects

-Ramadan (pronounced "rom-a-don") is the holiest period in the Islamic year. It commemorates the month in the year 610 CE when revelations began from God, via the angel Gabriel, to the Prophet Muhammad. These revelations memorized by Muhammad and were later written down as the Qur'an. During this month, almost all Muslims over the age of 12 are expected to "abstain from food, drink and other sensual pleasures" from the first light of dawn until sunset.

-One of a Muslim's duties, as described in the Five Pillars of Islam, is to go on a Hajj at least once during his or her lifetime. This is a pilgrimage to Makkah (Mecca) in Saudi Arabia

-Five pillars of Islam (requirements)- a. Testimony of faith (declaration) b. Prayer (five formal prayers each day) c. Fasting (Ramadan) d. almsgiving (2.5 percent of savings to those that need it) e. Pilgrimage (Hajj)

Posted by lcisyeich at 11:33 PM | Comments (2)

October 16, 2005

Body Language influences and Results

I read an article at the following web address http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/psychology/body-language/body-gestures.asp. The most interesting part of the gesture article was the section on where influence for gestures came from. Gestures come from both nature and nurture (that is, environment and heredity). Universal signs are in majority from nature. We can see this in babies with their "yawns and hungry bellows." Emotional gestures vary from person to person. "Most of these responses stem from childhood habits and environment." Furthermore, Dr. Hall concluded that there are four different intimacy zones that we have different gestures for. These zones include conversations with close friendships or family relationships, conversations where we say personal things, conversations with peers or business relationships, and "conversations" with an audience (such as giving a speech). I have noticed that my body language with family is very open and expressive and usually indicates emotion rather than helping the listener understand me. In convesations where I say personal things, I usually use gestures to help the listener understand because I do not like to be misinterpreted/mis-judged. My conversations with peers usually imitate others depending on what personalities I pick up from others. Lastly, my emotions when I give speeches depend on situation. In formal speeches I tend to use gestures to help myself get out clear, concise sentences. In informal speeches, I use my legs and more facial expressions.

Results from rude gestures (the example in the article was snapping at waiters) include "personality development classes" and more relationship conflict depending on our own interpretations of gestures. Body language allows us to judge more harshly or more often. The downside to a world without gestures would be less listening to each other and less getting to know each other.

The end of the article included an "ABC" guide to body language. I thought it was humorous. Also, look at the wikipedia article on gestures. You wouldn't believe what all they include in the catagory of gestures.

Posted by lcisyeich at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)

Emotion based Gestures- A Hallmate's Explosion

This entry, like most entries for Nanette lately, is about gestures. I will give you the background information not only to entertain you but also to show you where this emotion directed at me came from. Recently I have been owing a girl in my hall a dollar fifty. You may ask, why did I not give her such an irrelevant amount of money or maybe you are wondering why she cared about such an insignificant amount, well those questions are not relevant and I couldn't give you an answer because I am obviously biased. In one day she managed to bug me enough times for me to get noticeably annoyed. At last, I did give her the money...in pennies. She obviously was quite upset and continued for a half hour to bang on my door and yell. I sat at my desk and continued to do so for a half hour. When she finally got in not only were her words harsh in tone but also her gestures. Here is the gesture account.

Arms: They flailed in the air to start the conflict. On words like "Why" or "What" she would throw them down. When she mentioned me in a sentence she would harshly throw her arms in my direction. She tried to get her words out so fast that she would flick her wrists in a rhythmic pattern to make sure she said all she could before I got a word in (in which, I never interrupted and I remained calm). When she mentioned how I "ran" out of her room after "throwing" pennies at her, she pointed to her room. Also, when she mentioned that it was ridiculous for her to have to bang on the door, she used the deictic tactic again and pointed at the door. When she mentioned pennies, she made a circle with her fingers. On certain words such as "baby", "run," "angry," "ridiculous," and "throw" she would use a flamboyant gesture such as throwing her arms in the air or just push her arms out and unfold her hands with palms up. This gesture was a gesture meaning for me to give an "excuse" yet at the same time blocked me from giving one. Her movements were quick, powerful and relentless. Thus, emotion definetly affects the motions we make.

Eyes: On the words mentioned above, her eyes widened and her eyebrows furrowed. She would divert her eyes on exaggerated points and on points that didnt even happen.

Stance: Her stance was mostly in one spot and very firm. On agressive points she would take a step forward but she tried to maintain her "strong" body language.

That was the gesturing of an angry fellow peer.

Posted by lcisyeich at 02:30 PM | Comments (1)

October 06, 2005

PAINTING

The painting is a metaphor for how society tends to become obsessed with new technology and the technology is what their lives are based on. I see this because the TV is the center of the painting. Also, there are many random objects around the TV, which means that the owner of the TV is too busy to put things away. If things are around the TV, she must be basing herself there. I think the painter is trying to tell us that by basing our lives on one thing (especially as unrealistic as TV is) we become blinded by darkness and reality is too far to reach. The TV has a scene of night which to me, symbolizes darkness. The night tends to consume everything, even reality in this case. The moon represents the reality which is so far away because it is the only true brightness in the TV. In the painting, the walls are a dark gray (almost black) and there is no carpet, only concete floors. I think this furthers the metaphor of being consumed by TV. The owner of the TV (and presumably, the house) watches TV so much that she makes no time to make her house livable or even humanable. The broom indicates work. It is pushed aside and old looking (because there is no handle). To me, this shows that the girl has even pushed aside her work to watch TV. There is a plate on the TV, which reminds me of TV Dinners (the painting could be of before TV dinners). We generally associate TV dinners with lazyness because usually we eat at kitchen tables. Because the woman assumably eats by the TV, we see her lazyness even further. The phone is pushed to the back of the TV. It almost seems that the woman once was concerned about phone calls (a link to the outside world) but then became so obsessive that keeping the phone near was not important. We see no other furniture besides a folding chair. We can assume she uses the chair to watch TV in. She is so obsessive that she doesn't even furnish her home with things. It shows she doesnt even need to be comfortable to watch TV. The small TV compartment is open. We usually shut things when we leave, out of habit of keeping things tidy, but because she watches TV so much, she leaves it open for convenience. It seems she is even storing her clothes in the livingroom out of convenience. Truly, the painter is showing us that TV (and technology in general)consumes us and transforms us into obsessors.

I say the home owner is a "she" because there are "jelly" sandals in the living room, which a woman wears. Plus, the shoelaces on the steakers are colorful and generally, men do not wear colorful shoes.

Note- If someone else has this exact theme, please comment on mine and tell me and I will redo this. I thought I read most of the painting blogs. :) Thanks.

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:19 PM | Comments (2)

The Lover v. the Stereotyper

Meaning can be made and the process of understanding carried out when one loves something. A mother knows when her baby is hungry with just the tiniest signal, such as a scrunched up face. The mother wants to put herself in the place of her baby to understand him and love him more. Annie Dillard understood this concept after comparing her drawn horse to those of a farm family’s. She admits that “the lover can see, and the knowledgeable.”

In that case, Dillard could not see. She was blinded by her own ignorance. The horse ranch family shared their lives with horses. They fed horses, trained them, raised them and lived with them. The children of the family probably even grew up with horses. Not only would the family have a seeming infinite amount of knowledge about the horses but also, they would love them. The family probably spent most of their days caring for them, so they would understand the way of the horse and the way they look in nature. Dillard probably had seen horses before but only visually. She did not understand the sounds they make or the angles of their legs while running. Her drawn horse came out to be a “monster” compared to the “real horses.” The horses were real because they were drawn by people with a true sense of what a horse is and what a horse can do.

Dillard uses the word “see” in her quote. At first glance, even I, a student on a quest for meaning, thought she meant visually seeing. After studying and studying of the same seven words it finally occurred to me to not be so literal. Dillard tells us that seeing is not all about our eyes, but also with our minds and understanding. To actually see is to be able to use all senses. Not only will we picture a four-legged animal on a farm as a horse, but we will smell, hear, feel and see it. We will remember the rough hair and the angles of the legs. We will remember how hard a horse is when we sit on it and furthermore, know the proportions correctly because we had to jump so high to get on it. We will, more importantly, be able to imagine being a horse. We will put ourselves in its place and feel its existence. In class we studied many paintings. In the painting with the two people dancing (woman in white dress and man in black) we knew they were dancing because we understanding the formation of people when they dance and the angles of bodies when they dance. We could decipher what the people in the painting’s possible feelings and thoughts were because we compared our own experiences with how theirs might be (if they were real people). We could probably draw them because we are familiar with dancing and the structure of women and men.

Subsequently, we generally do not know a lot about many things. We may specialize in one area but it is not the same. To understand is to know something in and out, as explained above. Not only can “the lover see” but so can the “knowledgeable.” A horse expert not only would have the experience with horses in study but also would understand why a horse acts the way it does or why it is even built a certain way. She/he would be able to “see” a horse. They would understand and appreciate what a horse is. They would not just associate a four-legged creature with a long nose and a main as a horse. Their mental picture would be detailed and raving in beauty.

A paragraph before the one described is a description of the artificial obvious. The artificial obvious, the stereotyped mental picture (including texture and color) of something binds us and leaves us unable to actually see. Dillard uses the example of searching for a frog that was supposed to be “green.” In the end, Dillard finally realized that not only did she accept the fact that everyone thought frogs were green, but she was wrong by a lot. A lover (and in this case it could be one who realizes the true nature of things) would realize that not only would the frog not be green, but it would not be anything like the stereotyped frog. Frogs generally aren’t slimy and they aren’t small and smooth. When I read the paragraph I didn’t understand why it was so significant that the frog did not look as expected. The frog was a symbol for her typecasting nature. She should have realized then that drawing a horse without love is impossible.

A distinguished teacher of mine told his classes every day the language of love. He said nothing could be done with meaning without having the characteristics of a lover. One requires patience, tenacity, depth, thoroughness, and faithfulness. This fits perfectly in with Dillard’s quote. To be able to see and make meaning from the seeing, we must have the patience to take the time and discover something. We must be tenacious and examine every part of this something. Most importantly, we must be faithful to what we see, not to what we think we see. We cannot force our expectations to be our reality.

As a side note- writing this essay really helped me understand Dillar'd writing. As I wrote I could relate all of the quotes and it really made me more open-minded to Dillard's thoughts. When I started reading the passage for the first time, I was reminded of Thoreau's "Walden." Because I am a more realistic (versus romantic thinker) I could not grasp his concepts and when I did, I did not agree. I can agree with Dillard's thoughts and relate/understand them and the text becomes less redundant; or maybe it just seems that way because she didn't force herself to live in the woods and cut off contact from the world.

Posted by lcisyeich at 03:37 PM | Comments (4450)

October 04, 2005

Assignment 3, writing exercise

The advantages of morphological modifications are numerous. We can make our conversations more creative by using words like "unpretty" instead of "ugly" to put more emphasis and focus on the fact. Also, it gives those who are native to the language a wider range of lexicon to use without using complex words that a unintelligent or young person might not understand. It gives those who are not native to the language an easier time learning it because they could potentially use/learn half the words someone native would. For example, if a nonnative speaker of English knew the word pleasant but not horrid, he/she could put the prefix un- on pleasant and use a totally correct word without learning more vocabulary. This of course, depends on the person learning these suffixes and prefixes. It is relatively easy to learn these prefixes and suffixes, though. There aren't that many available to learn (at least not as much as content words).

We are able to plant more meaning in each word if we have these modifications and we can potentially understand any word as long as we know the little modification suffixes.

I found it really easy to pick up the different languages in the book exercizes. I am not saying that I understand the language and could repeat things back to you, but I understand how the words were set up and it seemed not so hard from the standpoint that the book gave.

Posted by lcisyeich at 09:33 PM | Comments (1)

October 02, 2005

Genie

There are many things about the Genie case that are beyond astonishing. I think there were many downfalls to the research being done but more importantly, the study on language aquisition could not be conclusive because she was mentally retarded from birth (the reason why the father abused her in an act to protect her). The case, though recent, is inconclusive and thus, quite agitating to make any guesses about human nature with.

I am quite interested in why Genie was abused so. Her father (a severly depressed man) commited suicide and left a note saying "The world would never understand." His death is ambiguous also because his suicide could have been for selfish reasons (not wanting to go to jail for child abuse) or because of his mental state. He said he wanted to "protect" his daughter after finding out that she was slightly mentally retarded. His protection could have been from the outside world (which he was quite unhappy with from childhood because he was in so many foster homes) but like his other children, he probably got annoyed that Genie disrupted him from even simple things like thinking. Proof against the father's "protection" claim could be the nonsensical treatment including being "tied into a sleeping bag which restrained her arms (and)she was put into an over-sized crib with a cover made of metal screening." It almost seems he was afraid of her by locking her in restraints. There was no way she could have escaped the room; so the extra restraints seem unnecessary and done for mentally imbalanced reasons.

Also, I am quite interested in her learning the words "stopit" and "nomore." She might have learned these words from her mother who may have shouted when and if the father beat her too. But, the words are so childish, it seems like her language aquisition was activated but not continued.

Lastly, her physical development was strange. We all know about her spitting and her malnutrition and low body weight. Something odd I found was that she had two nearly complete sets of teeth. That could have been baby teeth and adult teeth. But, don't baby teeth fall out on their own? What do baby teeth need to be signaled to leave?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feral_children http://www.feralchildren.com/en/showchild.php?ch=genie http://www.feralchildren.com/en/pager.php?df=leiber&pg=3

JESS YEICH

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:18 PM | Comments (1)

Mimesis v. Social Construction

Every culture uses social construction to put meaning to words. We see a BMW with a woman and we think that the woman is rich. We know that BMW’s are expensive (if they weren’t we would see as many BMW’s as Toyotas). We relate someone driving (and thus, most likely owning) an expensive car to being rich. We do this because cars are not top priority for money to go into (for most people) and if someone used a large amount of money to buy a car, they must have extra money to “throw around.” We associate extra of anything to be of a higher quality and more rich because the average person does not have much extra money to use carelessly. Continuing on, if someone from another culture came here and observed even the most simple of commercials, they could not see the BMW as expensive or come to the conclusion that the woman is rich. This could be because in their culture there isn’t a large social class difference or even because there aren’t BMW’s there.
If every culture used mimesis as a means to represent things, it can be said that there wouldn’t be the mind set to quickly judge. If we could not relate costly items to rich people (or vice versa) there wouldn’t be as many social classes. We would imitate things but not stick our cultural identity labels on things (so to say). Yes, we do imitate things (such as in Freya’s example The Arnolfini Marriage by Jan van Eyck). We use the representations of real looking things (such as the couple and the dog) but to make metaphor and meaning in the world.

-Jess Y

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:13 PM | Comments (0)

September 27, 2005

On Semiotics, iconography, metaphor, and chapter 1

When I first looked at all the reading we had to do, I frustrated myself and mentally prepared myself to severly dislike each word. I started with the Metaphor reading, which was a good idea.

I liked learning about Metaphor and Metonymy. When I think about it, we definetly use metaphor all the time in writing and speaking. When I critiqued my blog, I noticed that I used a lot of metaphor to describe metaphor. It seems talking in metaphors is so common and instilled in our brains. And, it is everyone because I am sure you all understand my blogs for the most part. My favorite part of the article was the breakdown of the metaphor "Love is a game." I laughed when I read each conclusion the author made to that metaphor and then I realized it is true. Though some metaphors may be used out of emotion (making it greatly hyperbolized etc.), they usually are right. Subconciously, we choose the right metaphor to use and it applies in many ways (even if we don't mean to imply other things (such as: in love and games, we cheat)).

Next, I found the semiotics and iconography reading slighty, overdone. The author used so many examples, I found myself skimming through them so I could get to the point. I read that others got caught up in the length and blurry meaning, so I tried my best to undo misunderstanding for myself. My favorite part of the article was reading about interpretations between past and present. It is true, we can interpret anything, from advertisements to paintings, to mean different things. Not only do we take our personal experience, but we either try to figure out how it fit in context to the time period it was made (or how the author thought) or we try to relate it to our modern society. As I read the article, I found myself getting caught up in the similar vocabulary (such as iconography and iconological) but for the most part, I enjoyed learning new things.

Both of the readings seemed very informational yet not terrible to read. I learned a lot in each page and I am excited to share more with you all. It's odd to think that I learned so much about the english language in highschool, yet there is so much more to learn (and this is only the fifth week of school).

Lastly, In the first chapter of POL I found several things to stand out more than others (a lot was repitition from my prior knowledge and the articles). First, I was fascinated by the picture "Their first murder." I looked at the expressions on the children and thought "Oh my gosh, they are devil children!" They all seemed to be either smirking or flat-out smiling. I read a little more of the page and realized that the book was inferring that the adults were just as fascinated. I denied this at first but then i realized, it is true. Our ears perk up to a news story on a plane crash, when there are car crashes we look out the windows and wonder what happened. Then, I looked back at the picture and realized that the adults were craning their necks to see too. This just says some things about human nature (whether its good or bad, we each have to decide for ourselves.). Next, I liked that the chapter pointed out that "no matter what social role and image plays, the creation of an image through a camera lens always involves some degree of subjective chioce..." The best example was the one of surveillance videos. I never thought about the fact that the camera was intented to view a certain area and even the camera maker made aethetic choices of it. It seems we cannot excape the fact that photos can be biased too. I enjoyed thinking about the fact that we put value to things because of where it is and what it is associated with. The book uses the example of Van Gogh's paintings. We generally depict them as "good art" because, foremost, we see them in museams. If something is put on display, we usually think it is a "masterpeice status." One of the articles included the fact that we associate things by what they are put with. For example, if someone is drinking a alcohol in a fine car (such as a rolls royce), we associate the two and assumet hat the alcohol must be fine too.

I found a lot of similarities between the articles and the book (so it got a tish redundant) but I prefer the way/style of writing in the book. Overall, I enjoyed the fact that I constantly learned while I read. Plus, we are learning about how we think, and thats a good thing because I think all of us generally want to know what's going on in our crazy minds.

Posted by lcisyeich at 11:57 PM | Comments (3)

September 25, 2005

Sounds v. Pictures

Number Three:

In Japanese, there are several writing systems. Kana is phonetic (like English – the spelling corresponds to sounds, more or less) and Kanji is symbolic (like Chinese – words are represented as pictures) Reading which language would be more affected by left brain damage (and back it up with reasons) and reading which language would be more affected by right brain damage?

Reading Kana would be more affected by left hemisphere damage because it is based on sounds and syllables (like English). The left hemisphere is where language is laterilized. Those with damage to loss of the left side cannot speak (according to Broca). On the other hand, reading Kanji would be effected by right hemisphere because generally the right side of the brain deals with "mathematics, logic, facial recognition, and drawing." If the right side of the brain is damaged, a patient might not be able to use logic and peice the words together to form coherent sentences.

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:09 PM | Comments (0)

September 22, 2005

Annie Dillard's "Seeing"

After reading Dillard’s story I felt swindled. The story seemed disorganized and off task. She put too much detail and almost overwhelmed her point. She didn’t use every sentence to its fullest. On the other hand, I could appreciate her concepts of appreciation and taking advantage of what you get. I could relate to her going into the woods and looking for something interesting to happen. My favorite part of the story was when she described the blind people coming out of their state and not understanding size, depth and space. They were forced to live a new way that was almost regretted. Most of the patients that she described still used their old ways and found it more convenient and meaningful to do so. We cannot imagine not using our eyes and these people couldn’t imagine using them. Dillard created a sense of hope by describing the blind person that called everything “So beautiful.” It seemed like those who were blind and then cured were the most appreciative of the little things and described things in such a romantic way that it takes us time to realize what they mean. For example, the trees emitting light seems wrong and unrealistic but to these people, every ounce of light meant tons.

-Jessica Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:07 PM | Comments (0)

A blogging mistake

Maybe it is just my constantly malfunctioning computer but I believe our lovely blogging system has not included all of my first paragraph and even made the few words it decided to keep of it very small. So here is the first paragraph.

The introduction to Practices of Looking left me completely ecstatic. I am greatly looking forward to learning about how we make,understand, make meaning, and globalize our visual culture. I completely agreed with the agitated tone of the authors towards the fact that though visual images have become "dominant in our culture," we still learn very little about modern image-based cultures. I know when I was making my hopeful choices for classes, I saw that Simmons offers many classes based on images (movies, television, comic books etc.) of different cultures. It seemed so interesting to me and I think that was because normally we don't think of college offering those sorts of classes because we generally don't think them as useful. It is relieving to know that something we do in our modern culture is useful and unique to the past.

-Jessica Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:44 PM | Comments (1)

Practices of Looking Introduction: The Best I've Read (for an intro)

 The introduction to Practices of Looking left me completely ecstatic. I am greatly looking forward to learning about how we make,understand, make meaning, and globalize our visual culture. I completely agreed with the agitated tone of the authors towards the fact that though visual images have become "dominant in our culture," we still learn very little about modern image-based cultures. I know when I was making my hopeful choices for classes, I saw that Simmons offers many classes based on images (movies, television, comic books etc.) of different cultures. It seemed so interesting to me and I think that was because normally we don't think of college offering those sorts of classes because we generally don't think them as useful. It is relieving to know that <strong>something</strong> we do in our modern culture is useful and unique to the past.

I liked the word choice in the introduction as well. The authors used "cross-fertilization" to describe the process of associating things to others. Such as a TV show with an advertisement. The word gives a living element to our visual culture, which is perfect because our culture is a "process" (as the authors called it) and because it changes so rapidly, it almost is living.

The book focuses on "ordinary people" and how the general population is effected by these visual images. For once, it will be great to learn about us and how we learn; not how the Romans might have learned years ago.

Its also very interesting that the introduction covered an earlier blog entry of mine. I questioned the use of the word "culture" as being high-class and knowing the arts.

So, my response is excitement, not only towards learning about our "ways of looking" but learning about how I learn.

-Jessica Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:06 PM | Comments (0)

How do they move??

The most fascinating illusion I found is called “rotating snakes.”

http://www.psy.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/rotsnakee.html

I think the snakes appear to “rotate” because our brains try to make sense of a picture by relating to a familiar and remembered object. If you notice, if you look at one of the spinning snakes, it doesn’t move, but the others will. This must have to do with our peripheral vision. If we don’t concentrate on an object or see it directly, our minds associate it with the closest “relative” (per say) of the object. Our eyes continue to go around and around the snake’s body (peripherally of course) and we associate the roundness with motion. The fragments also help with the illusion because they create “steps” that our eyes would want to keep going around on. In a sense, it could be our innate inquisitiveness that makes our minds want to keep trying to associate it to a memorized figure.

-Jessica Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 05:04 PM | Comments (2)

September 18, 2005

The Human Essence

What is and isn’t language and why make a distinction?

Language is understanding phonology, meaning (semantics), lexicon, body language (even sign language), expressions, and syntax in a way that the congregation of people who speak a certain language can understand. Language is tracking and understanding sub-consciously the changes over time. It is the ability to manipulate words to create sentences that flow and can create meaning and study by other language-users. It is the ability to use context to react to a phrase or sentence in order to get something done. Complexity develops communication but is not necessarily a requirement, as we see with toddlers. We must be able to understand our thoughts. The key to language is realizing that we think, to know that we can develop language and manipulate it. That is what separates us from the animals.

Making a distinction between what is and what is not language is important because we can learn other languages and adapt to cultures if we understand that something is a language. If something is not a language, there is little reason for the common man to bother learning it if it cannot be used to gain and prosper.

Why Not Say “I Learned a New Sentence?”

We cannot say “I learned a new sentence today” because it is rare to reuse another person’s sentence. We hear and create meaning from “new sentences” but almost every sentence we hear is arranged in a way that we have never heard before. It is our understanding of our language that allows us to say that we learned a new word because with that new word we can create unique sentences that others will understand. Words are the building blocks of language; therefore learning a new word makes language more complex and we can create more meaning for the ones that hear us. It is of more value to learn (and know we learned) a new word.

-jessica Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 03:40 PM | Comments (1)

September 15, 2005

Ode to a Small Ceramic Jar

Round edges, round and imprecise lines. Abstract form meant to be symmetric. As thin as a pencil at the top, the piece starts. As this two-inch wonder is gazed at from top to bottom, it gets wider and suddenly bursts like a rose blooming. Like an hourglass it is timeless. One cannot say which art period the artist was aiming for. Its unique and slightly different in shape at all angles. From the angled open top to three quarters down, it is cream. The shadow gives off hints of gray. Each spun line from a pottery wheel wants to go in the same direction but conformity is lost. Each small ridge is lightly felt yet the cool clay feels smooth, delicate. The glaze starts three-quarters down. It is uneven in starting point as it is turned yet the line separating the clay and the glaze is precise. Tiny ridges in the line are seen up close, revealing the love and unsteady hand of an artist wanting to sell her work. The glaze is smooth and almost even. As I run my finger across it, I feel small bumps, overlapping glaze or bursts in the glaze from the red-hot kiln. The jar slowly pushes in towards the bottom giving it a small foot for its bulky body. In darker light the glaze seems like light and dark grays. In the lighter light, tiny hints of morning blue can be spotted. The dark starts at the top but the light invades from the bottom and creates wisps of light in the dark likes waves upon the sea. As I turn it, I see the lighter glaze clash with the other side’s lighter glaze. In the middle is a large chip, a devastating accident for its maker. It’s an abstract shape, almost resembling a mushroom with one side of the top bitten off. The line is jagged, not smooth like the glaze’s edge. The glaze is raised up a tiny bit from the jar. The top is utterly convenient, a forced convenience. A small hole, like that from a pen point, is forced through the once wet clay and a slippery, almost invisible tight string with a knot is pushed through. It is as if it is a necklace for the neck of the jar. I can hang it on any place just to gander at its multi-toned beauty. Inside is pitch black, darkness in the beauty, but the smell overcomes me. I breathe in deep each time I hold the small item. Each time I breathe in the darkness I smell an oil that reminds me of the sea. It is foreign yet reminds me of teatime in an English manor. I close my eyes as I breathe in as to make that one sense, my smell, heighten. If I put the mysterious hole to my ear, it makes the same noise as if I would put a shell up to my ear. Some say it sounds like the ocean, I say that would be convenient since it does smell that way; yet no, it sounds like night would sound if there were no cars, no people, no animals, and no life. Just the air particles, pushing their way past each other, exist. When I hold it in my hand, I am reminded of home. Smooth to the sight and touch even; a country essence that I miss so. I am reminded of the small beauties of the country and the fact that some things seem one-way to one sense and totally different to another.

Jessica Yeich

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:24 PM | Comments (2)

September 13, 2005

A thought on culture (not of my own)

After writing my culture exerpt, I realized that if we embrace multiple cultures, why say (for example) "Oh, they aren't cultured." What could being cultured possibly mean. Everyone is cultured because everyone is a part of a group. As soon as one is born, one is in a culture. One could essentially say that babies are even a part of a "baby culture," though they don't realize it. We are so quick to think that our culture is the right one. Isn't it odd that we would say that our culture is right when we are in so many cultures. Maybe we should be specific when saying our culture is better. We should say "my Chester County culture is better than your Lancaster County culture," for example. A person has to be cultured because there never is just one person doing something. I know that was confusing, so let me explain. If one would say that a man living in a cave is not cultured, it would be a lie. That person is not the only man to live in a cave. He is actually a part of the "cave culture." We belong to so many cultures that using the term "to be cultured" can not be used in the way it always is. If a group of people generally do the same things, believe what they are doing is right, and have common beliefs (etc), then they are cultured; that is to say, they belong to at least one culture.

Posted by lcisyeich at 09:03 PM | Comments (1)

Cultures and how I'm involved

Potentially, I could be involved in many cultures, as everyone could. What matters is which ones I choose to embrace.

I could embrace my swiss and Italian cultures because, essentially, I am a part of both. Truthfully, I don't know what generation of my family came to America, why they came, or how they did it. In some ways I do wish I knew but on the other hand I choose not to embrace them because I am so happy with the cultures I am a part of and have the responsibility of passing on and evolving.

I am part of the Chester County culture. In my county, there are plentiful amounts of open area. People generally stick to themselves and live far away from each other. Some roads don't have lines on them because things of that sort aren't needed with the small population and the plentiful Amish population. Its a community of quietness. It's a majority white community with basic christian beliefs. Most people are old-fashioned. With the conformity of young teenagers these days, it is often a laugh to see people dress scantily or how city people often do. Many people are farmers. We see our town slowly decline in small shops and the old-fashioned life. Wal-mart has made it so. People are conflicted whether to love the low prices or to hate the overwhelming corporations. Entertainment is generally a half-hour away. People go to the movies there and the mall. In town, entertainment is staying in or just enjoying the outdoors. It's easy to break people up in stereotypical groups because people (especially younger ages) reach out to other cultures as a guide for how they should act. There are so many mixed heritages and everyone generally is accepted. Towns get together for the holidays and everyone decorates. My Chester County culture has molded me into the type of person I am and has also allowed me to realize that exploring different cultures (like the city culture) helps me appreciate the ones I am in.

I also partake in American culture. As an American, I am one of the millions of ingredients in our "melting pot" country. As an American, I eat burgers and enjoy money. I reason the things I do by saying that it is "human nature" to do what I do. I enjoy a baseball game or two. I know what "The O.C." is, though I don't watch it. I critisize what I want to with freedom. We defined "culture" as a group of people with the same morals, beliefs, traditions, heritages, values, customs, gestures, and experiences, but as an American, it is clear that our culture is almost the anti-culture. We are truly a blend of all of the above and that is truly unique.

Lastly, I am a part of the student culture. I partake in the things students do (studying, eating cafeteria food, making silly mistakes, being cheap, and trying to be my own person). Like America, we all have different heritages, values, morals, etc. but at the same time, we are accepting to other students. We relate to each other and understand because our experiences compare easily. We understand that there are authority figures and also younger, less experienced people. At a beach, generally students flock together. We have a sense of security and a feeling of not being alone in the world when we unite. We think in different ways and do different things and it encourages us to delve deeper into sciences, arts, languages, etc. and thus, we mature each other. The student culture is definetly a necessity in maturing and becoming an experienced human.

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)

September 08, 2005

Why not just eat oranges all the time?

I must say, I have too much to get out about "Ode to an Orange" that I just can not share my feelings on the first class...yet.

Ode to an Orange reminded me of how the world takes advantage of delightful things. They become so taken advantage of that they become little everyday tasks. Like robots, we eat oranges for their minerals, because they are good for us. As a child, Woiwode was innocent and thus, his words become truth because a child has not become a full "robot" yet. Throughout the descriptive, manual-like story, Woiwode tends to continue a theme of godliness and power that the orange ultimately retains. The orange provide a sanctuary-like feeling in the midst of "winters of the 40's." Not only is it a break from war and depression in that time period, but it maintains life in a characteristically filled with death season. Woiwode continues his description of the god-like oranges. Oranges are above human means ("foretold season more explicitly than any calender"), they are powerful ("as if burst by the power of the oranges...," "eruption (like a volcano) of smell.), and they are described in a manner such as a living person would be. They "lie free of the tissue" as if they were birthed from the womb and it has a "watery meat," which they obviously do not have. It is so godly that it was birthed from Eve and handed to Adam and then the author and his brother were honored with the gift ("went from Eve to Adam...to my brother and me."). He then goes through and describes the ways to eat an orange and to truly realize the honor it is to eat one.

Personally, I think the text (dare I use such an unmeaningful word) was hyperbolized. I don't think the author appreciated the oranges until he was older. As a kid, he wanted the oranges because they were not an everyday food item. As he got older, I'm sure he truly saw what the oranges could mean and that the tradition of orange giving (I also received oranges around Christmas) was not to be taken advantage of. Overall, it was redundant, but a necessary redundancy. A child thinks in a repetitive manner usually.

It was enjoyable reading it but I dont think it makes it in my favorites list.

If oranges were actually such a delight for most everyone, we couldnt eat them all the time.

Posted by lcisyeich at 11:32 PM | Comments (3)

September 07, 2005

Hizzah!

Intelligence is the perception of the obvious and then the making of careful distinctions -Mr. Mundy (a previous teacher of mine)

Posted by lcisyeich at 12:16 PM | Comments (0)

July 20, 2005

The Commencement of a New Chapter

Hello hopeful and inspired fellow students! I'm sure all of you are trying to make the most of your summer and hopefully in the middle of completing your goals for these hot days. I will begin with a (hopefully) short introduction of myself and a little of my background. I am from Parkesburg, Pennsylvania. I'm very near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the home of...the Amish. (Notice: I am not Amish and my family is not the only non-Amish family around) My life has consisted of more phases than most kids for mainly not so good reasons. I have moved a lot in my short existence here but luckily, for the past 7 years I have had one home with a truly dedicated family. My best friend, no matter how "dorky" this may be, has always been my father, my "dadeo". As for myself, I am an over-wordy, realistically optimistic, dramatic and ecstatic young lady.

Getting to the point...

This blog was intended for two reasons: To state a "valuable visual experience" and a "valuable verbal experience."

One of the many more impacting visual experiences of my life has been sitting on the ever-chaotic late-bus with the elementary school kids on the way home from my small country school. All of the students have different emotions on their faces and they all have stories to tell. People are yelling, jumping, switching seats, poking each other, crying, and exploring things that I call "icky bus goo." I sit back in my chosen seat with music on and watch these growing minds carry on their daily routines. Its been an honor to watch them grow and mature (a little). Once in a while a kid will peek over the seat just to see if I will look back. Some kids, girls especially, take out their new, little purses to see if I will notice and compliment them. I have come to know that every little word impacts their lives. I myself remember when the older kids would talk to me on the bus and if it was something bad, I usually remembered that more. I try to behave in a way that will set an example to help them become part of a great future. Watching the kids on the bus truly shows the impacts humans have on each other.

One of the more impacting quotes in my life is a rather lenghty but appropriate one from Eugene V. Debs. It reads:

"Now my friends, I am opposed to the system of society in which we live today, not because I lack the natural equipment to do for myself but because I am not satisfied to make myself comfortable knowing that there are thousands of my fellow men who suffer for the barest necessities of life. We were taught under the old ethic that man's business on this earth was to look out for himself. That was the ethic of the jungle; the ethic of the wild beast. Take care of yourself, no matter what may become of your fellow man. Thousands of years ago the question was asked; ''Am I my brother's keeper?'' That question has never yet been answered in a way that is satisfactory to civilized society.

Yes, I am my brother's keeper. I am under a moral obligation to him that is inspired, not by any maudlin sentimentality but by the higher duty I owe myself. What would you think me if I were capable of seating myself at a table and gorging myself with food and saw about me the children of my fellow beings starving to death." (1908 speech)

This quote truly shows the contradictions in our world. "They" tell us that “haste makes waste,” but then, “the early bird gets the worm.” And “don’t put off until tomorrow what you can get done today,” but we’re supposed to “stop and smell the roses”? When do we have time to smell the roses when we’re busy doing everything today? And how do you “shoot for the moon” when you are being told to “wish upon a star”? Who do we listen to when everyone is playing with different rules in a game? It has come clear to me that this is how great wars start. We all do not believe the same things. End of story. We don't think that we should have to think the same as everyone else but when someone thinks differently, we view them as wrong to say the least. More so, this quotes defines, what I view as, the great obligation we have to one another. My communitarian views come out in that I truly believe that by saying "some must die so that others can eat" is tyranic. How is it that we live in such a wasteful country and at the same time there are so many homeless (granted, some bring their burdens upon themselves) and so many starving in other countries (granted, the governmental situation is different)? We praise those that do what should be done like feeding the starving and at the same time, we do the praising while sitting with our TV dinners in front of the 6 o'clock news.

Please forgive my elaborate and (hopefully not unnecessarily) extensive blog.

I am truly (this word is one of my favorites as you can tell) ecstatic to have the honor of meeting you all and have the great opportunity to meet the great minds of both today and tomorrow.

Posted by lcisyeich at 08:35 AM | Comments (2)