With my masterpiece I have gotten together with my uncle who lives in LA. We are going to put on a one day or so for a couple weeks or months event for multiple hospitals who have cancer patients to help them see the sunshine. We plan on organizing the Dancing Heads "booth" where they come and get their heads recorded on animated dancing bodies. (if you don't know what I am talking about there is a booth at Universal or you can google dancing heads) It is a fun way to create memories and laughs together and get out to help others. I also want to organize, myself, a little week long event where I go to a hospital and put on activities or crafts for the patients to do and get to know each other and share stories. Honestly I really just want to give a smile to those who have little to spare for my masterpiece. I haven't worked out all the details but if you are interested in helping me I need as many helpers as possible so don't hesitate to ask! Or if you have suggestions or information I am more than happy to hear them
With my Big Questions, I know why Americans have different accents than our ancestors from Europe! It's because Europe was made by a motley bunch and there were many languages that came together and not just one. Each person was an individual and had a different background even though they lived in the same area. This was probably a "no duh" question but I am glad I finally can answer it, I have been strangely been wondering that for a long time.
Monday, September 8, 2014
Beowulf, Feminist Remix
X-Men was one of the first, possibly the first, comics to portray a women in power. Many women were seen as inferior and unskilled in former times. This lack of power created a revolution because when something is submissive for so long, it reacts. Unfortunately, Beowulf was written before this time and it came from a different culture with different values. Women were seen as powerful, but surreptitious. They would reel a man in and make him waver from his path setting ingrained connotations towards women in the time. Beowulf is interpreted as a serious, masculine tale of daring adventure and relentless strength and bravery, but when seen through the eyes of a woman, it is nothing but a story of how a man thought himself strong, tested his strength, and when something came along that was stronger, died. If retold, the story would show the characters' submission to the beasts and the slyness of character rather than the brute force.
Beowulf is the search for power. It's the story of man beating man who then gets beat by creature. The hackneyed idea of pure strength fixing everything and ruling the thoughts of those around. Through the culled eyes of a woman, it can be reinvented. Women were seen as sly creatures themselves who tricked men into unfaithfulness and wondering off course. For example, the mermaids in the Odyssey weaned Odysseus and his men off course and got them into trouble. This trait is something that is desirable and can be used for good. Beowulf would use his sense of surroundings and human nature to conquer those around him. Instead of tearing off Grendel's arm, he would slowly poison Grendel with the food he was eating and make him either die of the poison or abandon his harmful diet. The portrayal of mother's intuition helped shape the idea of female dominance rather than slyness. Mother Grendel exemplified the presence of love and compassion of a mother for her child. The reaction was understandable under the circumstances. From a woman's eyes, Beowulf would be told in a satirical voice to poke fun at the little appearance of women throughout the whole piece but embrace the wisdom that comes with the few roles. A feminist would twist the heroic story to emphasize the idea of "thinking on your feet" over strength to defeat the enemy.
Beowulf is a classic for good reason; it shows the values of bravery, pride, willfulness of the culture it was written from. It teaches leadership to the youth of the culture and opens a window into what life was like. It is the typical masculine tale, but has qualities of feminisim. The power and love of women is not to be toyed with are constant themes within the text. But, if told from the perspective of a women, the attributes desired would resemble the way women were looked upon, as snakes.They would reverse the rolls of man and woman to create a paradox of what was seen as masculine and what is newly seen. Women use their skills to teach and solve problems rather than aimlessly fighting to establish circulatory dominance.
Beowulf is the search for power. It's the story of man beating man who then gets beat by creature. The hackneyed idea of pure strength fixing everything and ruling the thoughts of those around. Through the culled eyes of a woman, it can be reinvented. Women were seen as sly creatures themselves who tricked men into unfaithfulness and wondering off course. For example, the mermaids in the Odyssey weaned Odysseus and his men off course and got them into trouble. This trait is something that is desirable and can be used for good. Beowulf would use his sense of surroundings and human nature to conquer those around him. Instead of tearing off Grendel's arm, he would slowly poison Grendel with the food he was eating and make him either die of the poison or abandon his harmful diet. The portrayal of mother's intuition helped shape the idea of female dominance rather than slyness. Mother Grendel exemplified the presence of love and compassion of a mother for her child. The reaction was understandable under the circumstances. From a woman's eyes, Beowulf would be told in a satirical voice to poke fun at the little appearance of women throughout the whole piece but embrace the wisdom that comes with the few roles. A feminist would twist the heroic story to emphasize the idea of "thinking on your feet" over strength to defeat the enemy.
Beowulf is a classic for good reason; it shows the values of bravery, pride, willfulness of the culture it was written from. It teaches leadership to the youth of the culture and opens a window into what life was like. It is the typical masculine tale, but has qualities of feminisim. The power and love of women is not to be toyed with are constant themes within the text. But, if told from the perspective of a women, the attributes desired would resemble the way women were looked upon, as snakes.They would reverse the rolls of man and woman to create a paradox of what was seen as masculine and what is newly seen. Women use their skills to teach and solve problems rather than aimlessly fighting to establish circulatory dominance.
Sunday, September 7, 2014
Beowulf Essay
A hero is seen as anyone who can save another from life or death. An individual can be walking down the street and save a child from an oncoming car or even an animal from falling off a tree. There are so many ways to "be a hero" and the sense of the word is lost in translation. Beowulf is the exception. The heroic tale of his journey exemplifies the basis of what a hero is all about. The ancient definition of a hero had one solid meaning and now, in contemporary times, there is an ambiguous sense to the word. Beowulf was the image of a dream and a hope, which is what what made him heroic; he was something extraordinary in the ordinary giving rise to the modern sense of the word as someone or something that acts rather than hesitates.
Beowulf was willing and able to be a hero in his time whereas many of the modern heros are not willing but fully capable of performing the tasks entailed. Beowulf had honor and he strove to be the best man that he could. He wanted to repay the favor, as do most men, and his journey began through willingness and not greed. Many of contemporary heros also have this same attribute where most take on the responsibilities of saving those around them, but only after the praise a culture gives. In modern, American culture the idea of honor is lost from that of Japanese ancestry. Kamikaze soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives for the greater good of their society and this shows the absolute submission to the people. It was a privilege to die for your country and become a hero, now it is something you live through to reap out the glories of.
Beowulf embodies the zeitgeist of his time as do those of contemporary works. He showed pride, confidence, strength, and respect to those who did right towards him. In contrast, he shamed, fought, looked down upon, and culled those who had wronged him or had wronged people close to him. He fought Grendel because Grendel was horrid looking, cruel, and beastly; the characteristics that were not desired. The juxtaposition and hyperbole techniques used in Beowulf help create this image of great power beyond reality and help the sense of "tale" or a myth. Beowulf embodies the coalescing of all the attributes that make a man desirable whereas Grendel, his mother, and the dragon embody the undesirables who seem so distant from reality; they are the first villains of early literature. In accordance with this idea of culture, modern heros such as firemen, policemen, and even Spongebob Squarepants are all considered heros. They teach compassion, bravery, and skill in their given field, all of which are valued characteristics and people strive to obtain. They create a sense of fantasy in the real world and allow people to dream or look up to a model figure. Both Beowulf's and modern hero's attributes illuminate the accepted nature of the desirable while simultaneously illuminating the undesirable which are depicted as the "villains" or antagonists.
Although there are many aspects that can be controlled in life, beliefs and habits cannot. Beliefs and habits develop a controversy in the story and make the reader or audience question the characters. The hero's hamartia is an example of human action. Beowulf was confident, but not arrogant. He had the skills to support his claims, but there is a thin line between what he believed was acceptable and what others did. In the end, his downfall was ironically his honor and dedication to save the people. This use of irony helps show the polemic qualities of life and how change is inevitable. Beowulf was stubborn and did not change and did the right thing, but sometimes the right thing is not always the smart thing or most desirable to do. Similarly, pride and compassion is the downfall of many heros today. Those who have the ability and willingness to protect another is vulnerable to pain. Ironically, even though these attributes are what is desired, they lead to their downfall. A firefighter could go into a burning building with the intentions of saving someone and not come out. They are still honored as a hero just as Beowulf was still honored as one after his tragic death. The forces of fate, irony, and hamartias cannot be understood or dealt with, they are things that just happen.
Beowulf called himself to action and didn't wait to be called upon. He did his duty out of love and respect rather than greed and self praise. His journey is the definition of what it means to be a hero and this is supported by the test of time. In contrast, the modern hero can be anyone who either is called upon or acts impulsively. He or she has the intent of getting praise after the deed and don't need special, innate characteristics that qualify them to be looked up upon. The journey of a hero has evolved from Beowulf's idea of static, honorable men to average people who have the willingness to act. The monomyth is something that is shared rather then exclusive to the hero and that is why Beowulf and every other ancient hero have translated into modern society; it is inclusive.
Beowulf was willing and able to be a hero in his time whereas many of the modern heros are not willing but fully capable of performing the tasks entailed. Beowulf had honor and he strove to be the best man that he could. He wanted to repay the favor, as do most men, and his journey began through willingness and not greed. Many of contemporary heros also have this same attribute where most take on the responsibilities of saving those around them, but only after the praise a culture gives. In modern, American culture the idea of honor is lost from that of Japanese ancestry. Kamikaze soldiers were willing to sacrifice their lives for the greater good of their society and this shows the absolute submission to the people. It was a privilege to die for your country and become a hero, now it is something you live through to reap out the glories of.
Beowulf embodies the zeitgeist of his time as do those of contemporary works. He showed pride, confidence, strength, and respect to those who did right towards him. In contrast, he shamed, fought, looked down upon, and culled those who had wronged him or had wronged people close to him. He fought Grendel because Grendel was horrid looking, cruel, and beastly; the characteristics that were not desired. The juxtaposition and hyperbole techniques used in Beowulf help create this image of great power beyond reality and help the sense of "tale" or a myth. Beowulf embodies the coalescing of all the attributes that make a man desirable whereas Grendel, his mother, and the dragon embody the undesirables who seem so distant from reality; they are the first villains of early literature. In accordance with this idea of culture, modern heros such as firemen, policemen, and even Spongebob Squarepants are all considered heros. They teach compassion, bravery, and skill in their given field, all of which are valued characteristics and people strive to obtain. They create a sense of fantasy in the real world and allow people to dream or look up to a model figure. Both Beowulf's and modern hero's attributes illuminate the accepted nature of the desirable while simultaneously illuminating the undesirable which are depicted as the "villains" or antagonists.
Although there are many aspects that can be controlled in life, beliefs and habits cannot. Beliefs and habits develop a controversy in the story and make the reader or audience question the characters. The hero's hamartia is an example of human action. Beowulf was confident, but not arrogant. He had the skills to support his claims, but there is a thin line between what he believed was acceptable and what others did. In the end, his downfall was ironically his honor and dedication to save the people. This use of irony helps show the polemic qualities of life and how change is inevitable. Beowulf was stubborn and did not change and did the right thing, but sometimes the right thing is not always the smart thing or most desirable to do. Similarly, pride and compassion is the downfall of many heros today. Those who have the ability and willingness to protect another is vulnerable to pain. Ironically, even though these attributes are what is desired, they lead to their downfall. A firefighter could go into a burning building with the intentions of saving someone and not come out. They are still honored as a hero just as Beowulf was still honored as one after his tragic death. The forces of fate, irony, and hamartias cannot be understood or dealt with, they are things that just happen.
Beowulf called himself to action and didn't wait to be called upon. He did his duty out of love and respect rather than greed and self praise. His journey is the definition of what it means to be a hero and this is supported by the test of time. In contrast, the modern hero can be anyone who either is called upon or acts impulsively. He or she has the intent of getting praise after the deed and don't need special, innate characteristics that qualify them to be looked up upon. The journey of a hero has evolved from Beowulf's idea of static, honorable men to average people who have the willingness to act. The monomyth is something that is shared rather then exclusive to the hero and that is why Beowulf and every other ancient hero have translated into modern society; it is inclusive.
Wednesday, September 3, 2014
Will Study For Food
I need scholarship money to pay for my college expenses. I want to go to medical school and attend a UC school and I know they range from about $45,000ish, plus the expenses for medical school and extended education. I first am just focusing on getting into college and acquiring scholarships to put me through the general four years undergraduate study. A scholarship that I know of is the Marian Medical Center Scholarship that gives about 1,000 dollars I believe it was to someone who has the most volunteer hours for the hospital. They also give another one away for community service and the general community based activities and scholar achievements individuals have done. I am not sure how much I want to earn but I am hoping for at least $5,000. I don't know if that is underestimating or over estimating but I never really thought about how MUCH I wanted to earn; I just knew that I wanted to earn money.
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Dude, The Epic Story of Spongebob
Oh my gosh I just realized, the Spongebob Squarepants Movie is an epic hero's journey and incorporates all the aspects of monomyth:
Separation:
call to adventure: wakes up on ordinary day, possibly going to be manager of Krusty Krab, and he must save Mr. Krabs from death and later the town from plankton's crazy obsession
refusal to call: he is mad at mr. krabs for not giving him the promotion and so first denies opportunity to save mr. krab's life
supernatural aid: Princess Mindy
crossing threshold: making krabby patty car and leaving town
belly of the whale: spongebob is actually driving a car and not crashing. He shows the willingness to drive well in the face of danger
Initiation:
the road of trials: monster trench, ice cream old lady, shell city, dennis, bubbles incident, plankton, monster at shell city, and people telling them they are babies
meeting with the goddess: Patrick loves Princess Mindy and Spongebob loves everyone
women of temptress: the love of ice cream that almost gets them both killed and unleashes the creepy old lady tongue
atonement with the father: they make it to shell city and prove to themselves that they are not babies and that they are men
apotheosis: Spongebob and Patrick literally both die and come back to life after their love and genuine heart, love tears save them. Realize that they are kids but that it's ok and they should embrace who they are and not try to be something they aren't
The ultimate boon: After both come back to life, they defeat the monster with help from the other sea creatures in the shop and get the crown to take back to the king and save mr. krabs
Return:
refusal of the return: This is a stretch because spongebob loves everyone and wants to genuinely save mr. krabs and everyone in the town from plankton
the magic flight: riding of David Hasselhoff's back and encountering Dennis
rescue from without: David Hasselhoff and the bag of winds, although wasted
crossing of the return threshold: Spongebob must figure out how to avoid plankton and save the people from his mind controls with his pride in being a kid(what he learned over the journey)
master of two worlds: Spongebob saves everyone with his awesome singing and magical guitar skills and goes into this "spiritual trance" when he plays the guitar and zaps everyone
freedom to live: After he saves everyone, Spongebob isn't expecting to be promoted because he is proud to be who he is, a kid. (fortunately he does get promoted)
Separation:
call to adventure: wakes up on ordinary day, possibly going to be manager of Krusty Krab, and he must save Mr. Krabs from death and later the town from plankton's crazy obsession
refusal to call: he is mad at mr. krabs for not giving him the promotion and so first denies opportunity to save mr. krab's life
supernatural aid: Princess Mindy
crossing threshold: making krabby patty car and leaving town
belly of the whale: spongebob is actually driving a car and not crashing. He shows the willingness to drive well in the face of danger
Initiation:
the road of trials: monster trench, ice cream old lady, shell city, dennis, bubbles incident, plankton, monster at shell city, and people telling them they are babies
meeting with the goddess: Patrick loves Princess Mindy and Spongebob loves everyone
women of temptress: the love of ice cream that almost gets them both killed and unleashes the creepy old lady tongue
atonement with the father: they make it to shell city and prove to themselves that they are not babies and that they are men
apotheosis: Spongebob and Patrick literally both die and come back to life after their love and genuine heart, love tears save them. Realize that they are kids but that it's ok and they should embrace who they are and not try to be something they aren't
The ultimate boon: After both come back to life, they defeat the monster with help from the other sea creatures in the shop and get the crown to take back to the king and save mr. krabs
Return:
refusal of the return: This is a stretch because spongebob loves everyone and wants to genuinely save mr. krabs and everyone in the town from plankton
the magic flight: riding of David Hasselhoff's back and encountering Dennis
rescue from without: David Hasselhoff and the bag of winds, although wasted
crossing of the return threshold: Spongebob must figure out how to avoid plankton and save the people from his mind controls with his pride in being a kid(what he learned over the journey)
master of two worlds: Spongebob saves everyone with his awesome singing and magical guitar skills and goes into this "spiritual trance" when he plays the guitar and zaps everyone
freedom to live: After he saves everyone, Spongebob isn't expecting to be promoted because he is proud to be who he is, a kid. (fortunately he does get promoted)
Paths
Here is a a little experiment you can try:
1. Pick something super simple to draw like a circle or a number etc
2. Try to draw it as fast as you can without picking up your pencil so trace it over and over again for a couple seconds or so, like 10 seconds
3. See how many lines you make that are outside of the general shape made
Earlier today when I was volunteering and there was a lull in activity I picked up a sticky pad and started to draw a 4 and just trace over it again and again without picking up my pencil. I was just doing this for fun and to fill the absense of anything better to do but I realized something. No matter how many lines that you make, there is still a solid shape that comes out of it. There is still an obvious 4 when I stopped tracing even though there were many lines outside of the obvious 4 shape. There are many paths to take but no matter which one you choose, they will all come together and make one path. Our choices are not independent of each other but rather dependent. When we make a choice to draw a line and it doesn't necessarily match the others we change it so it matches. There is always a bigger picture that all the choices end at, the ultimate conclusion. I don't know if I am explaining myself in a way that makes sense but I wanted to share this little cool observation.
Vocab # 2
ex) Elle did not have an apropos appearance at law school because she was just worried about getting Warner back and not her education.
bicker - noun a quarrel about petty points; verb argue over petty things
ex) Her bickering skills needed a little brushing up since she was use to getting what she wanted.
coalesce - verb fuse or cause to grow together; mix together different elements
ex) While sad with the blues of her hopeless love life, Elle tried to coalesce the characteristics of her new friend from the salon, Paulette, with those of her UPS lover.
contretemps - noun an awkward clash, unfortunate occurance
ex) Her efforts failed when Paulette had a contretemps with the UPS guy and they hit heads:/
convolution - noun the action of coiling or twisting or winding together; a convex fold or elevation in the surface of the brain; the shape of something rotating rapidly
ex) Elle life suddenly became a convolution when she got stuck in the middle of a case that involved a dear friend.
cull - noun the person or thing that is rejected or set aside as inferior in quality; verb remove something that has been rejected;look for and gather
ex) She had to find the strength and motivation to work hard after she was deemed a cull by Warner
disparate - adj. including markedly dissimilar elements;fundamentally different or distinct in quality or kind
ex) Elle found that her disparate approach to law gave her an advantage over the others.
dogmatic - adj. characterized by assertion of unproved or unprovable principles; relating to or involving dogma; of or pertaining to or characteristic of a doctrine or code of beliefs accepted as authoritative
ex) Elle's client was seen as having a dogmatic life because she "killed" her husband and Elle was the only one who believed she was innocent.
licentious - adj. lacking moral discipline; especially sexually unrestrained
ex) Her strong dedication to her morals and style attracted her teacher who surprisingly had a licentious slip and "hit up" Elle!
mete - verb to distribute equally out
ex) She could not and would not mete out her affection for a grade.
noxious - adj. injurious to physical or mental health
ex) The wicked Vivian had witnessed this slip and she believed Elle was the culprit of the noxious actions.
polemic - adj. of or involving dispute or controversy; noun a controversy (especially over a belief or dogma); a writer who argues in opposition to others (especially in theology)
ex) This created a polemic because Vivian thought Elle was sleeping with the professor just to get attention and she disapproved of Elle's lack of morals.
populous - adj. densely populated
ex) The next morning at the little but populous court room, stuff went down.
probity - noun complete and confirmed integrity; having strong moral principles
ex) Elle was determined to uphold the probity of herself and her client after the previous fiasco.
repartee - noun adroitness and cleverness in reply
ex) Elle Woods had become an expert in repartee and she exampled this skill as she hounded the witness on the stand.
supervene - verb something that happens after an event to change the future of what is to come next
ex)The case looked hopeless until Elle's beauty knowledge supervened.
truncate - adj. terminating abruptly by having or as if having an end or point cut off; verb make shorter as if by cutting off; approximate by ignoring all terms beyond a chosen one; replace a corner by a plane
ex) Elle truncated the responses of the witness and practically shouted to the world that the witness could not have had a perm done and been in the shower when the murder was committed and therefore killed her father!
unimpeachable - adj. beyond doubt or reproach; completely acceptable; not open to exception or reproach; free of guilt; not subject to blame
ex) In the end when Elle cleared her name with Vivian and proved her client innocent as well as proving herself by staying true to herself, she earned the unimpeachable respect of her colleagues and found the guy of her dreams and she lived happily,legally ever after!!!:)
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