http://allafrica.com/stories/201304220230.html
I'm Back!
I just read an article about a town in Africa being burnt down which resulted in many men, women and children dying. As I was reading, I thought of how devastated and sad the people must be. I thought about how even though a lot of people weren't there for Hurricane Katrina, many people felt sad and wanted to find ways to help the victims. Do the people of Africa feel the same? Do they too want to help out the victims of this tragedy?
In class, we have been talking about a book called "The Waiting Years" written by Fumiko Enchi and one of her themes is universal emotion. In her story, a wife is asked to find a concubine for her husband and she is saddened by this. When something that we as humans find tragic happens, do we all generally have the same emotion? I think everyone is heartbroken when bad things happen, and happy when good things happen. The way we show are emotions may be different, but they are all the same non the less.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Making my way through the labyrinth that is foreign films
I am back once again to tell you my journeys in foreign film watching. I chose to watch Pan's Labyrinth mainly because it has a creepy looking faun on the cover and it caught my attention. Before I started watching it, I read a little review on it and cherished each word of the summary because without it, I would have been lost.
The film is about a young girl who finds a labyrinth when she moves to a new home which is a Mexican Army base with her mother and new step father. This movie takes the viewer to a new world inside this labyrinth and make you think about the things children can see.
While watching this movie I just kept thinking about how people grow out of playtime and make believe as they grow into the real world. I'm only twenty, which is still young, but I have lost my sense of imagination already. What if Pan in the movie isn't imaging this and there really is another world filled with creatures who see through their hands and creepy fauns? Are we blind to what the world could be? I think maybe growing up kills our sense of wonder. Instead of finding beauty in magic in everything, as we grow older we just try to get through life by paying bills and keeping the government happy.
Something else I found myself thinking was why in the world are people living in the woods to attack the army. I had a really hard time following this because there are two story lines, one is pan finding the labyrinth and the other is her step fathers involvement in the army. And trying to follow this was seriously difficult. I think that because I haven't learned the history of Mexico, I didn't understand. I probably should have done some more research, but oh well. Anyway... I found this movie to be very interesting and I even looked up the film director and found more films that he did. One that I watched was the devil's backbone and I loved it as well!
If you find time in the your busy life to watch at least one of these two movies, I suggest you do because they are both great and you can find that the Mexican culture is not as different as we think it to be.
Until next time!
Stephanie Walker
The film is about a young girl who finds a labyrinth when she moves to a new home which is a Mexican Army base with her mother and new step father. This movie takes the viewer to a new world inside this labyrinth and make you think about the things children can see.
While watching this movie I just kept thinking about how people grow out of playtime and make believe as they grow into the real world. I'm only twenty, which is still young, but I have lost my sense of imagination already. What if Pan in the movie isn't imaging this and there really is another world filled with creatures who see through their hands and creepy fauns? Are we blind to what the world could be? I think maybe growing up kills our sense of wonder. Instead of finding beauty in magic in everything, as we grow older we just try to get through life by paying bills and keeping the government happy.
Something else I found myself thinking was why in the world are people living in the woods to attack the army. I had a really hard time following this because there are two story lines, one is pan finding the labyrinth and the other is her step fathers involvement in the army. And trying to follow this was seriously difficult. I think that because I haven't learned the history of Mexico, I didn't understand. I probably should have done some more research, but oh well. Anyway... I found this movie to be very interesting and I even looked up the film director and found more films that he did. One that I watched was the devil's backbone and I loved it as well!
If you find time in the your busy life to watch at least one of these two movies, I suggest you do because they are both great and you can find that the Mexican culture is not as different as we think it to be.
Until next time!
Stephanie Walker
Monday, March 25, 2013
Otherness
Hey folks,
So... I'm going to tell you ladies and gentlemen about an article I read about a baby born during the Iraqi war. This little girl was and is known as Iraq's miracle baby. She was born with a spinal tumor and one night when the American Soldiers went through homes to ask families questions, this young girls brave grandmother showed her to them. This now young girl is named Noor. After she was shown to the soilders, they went back to camp to see if there wasn't something that could be done for her. That day, God must have been looking out for this family because after talking with people from the camp hospital, Noor was able to go to America and have surgery to remove the tumor. Although the tumor has paralyzed her and she is left with Spina Bifida, she is a survivor.
On a side note, I don't know how she went from living in America to living in Iraq. One struggle she faces is being treated differently because of her disability. She has to take a bus a long way only because there are two schools in all of Iraq that will have children with disabilities. This country is still not used to differences in people and although America is further along, are we really that different? After the news spread that the great and mighty America had given this little girl a second chance at life, it eventually died out and praise stopped coming, and with this so did the support America was giving Noor. A few years later after her surgery, the doctors stopped calling to ask how she was and lost touch. They also stopped sending her cathiders so now she is forced to use them multiple times and suffers from urinary tract infections. Were the American people only there for Noor because they knew they would receive praise from the Iraqi people?
After reading this article, I was first off really mad that the American's would take on a responsibility and then just stop. They should be trying to advocate for children with disabilities and help build schools for these children who deserve an education.
I actually wanted to talk about this article because it relates a lot to Notre Dame de Paris or otherwise known as the hunchback of Notre Dame. This book has a main theme of otherness and how being different was viewed. One of the main characters is a hunchback named Quasimodo... when imagining him, don't think of the slightly handsome hunchback from the Disney movie. This man is grotesque in every way imaginable. He has one eye and he's deaf and has a large nasty boil above his one eye. Anyway back to my point, people don't accept otherness as much as one would hope. Like Noor, when Quasimodo was a baby his mother didn't want him because he was different and he was given up. Luckly for Noor, her grandparents were willing to take her in. For Quasimodo, he was stared at and called a demon and everyone wanted to burn him except one person who was an archdeacon.
For both Noor and Quasimodo life in the place where they live has been hard. I haven't gotten to the end of the book, but I hope it gets better for Quasimodo and I especially hope things get better for Noor who is no fictional character.
So... I'm going to tell you ladies and gentlemen about an article I read about a baby born during the Iraqi war. This little girl was and is known as Iraq's miracle baby. She was born with a spinal tumor and one night when the American Soldiers went through homes to ask families questions, this young girls brave grandmother showed her to them. This now young girl is named Noor. After she was shown to the soilders, they went back to camp to see if there wasn't something that could be done for her. That day, God must have been looking out for this family because after talking with people from the camp hospital, Noor was able to go to America and have surgery to remove the tumor. Although the tumor has paralyzed her and she is left with Spina Bifida, she is a survivor.
On a side note, I don't know how she went from living in America to living in Iraq. One struggle she faces is being treated differently because of her disability. She has to take a bus a long way only because there are two schools in all of Iraq that will have children with disabilities. This country is still not used to differences in people and although America is further along, are we really that different? After the news spread that the great and mighty America had given this little girl a second chance at life, it eventually died out and praise stopped coming, and with this so did the support America was giving Noor. A few years later after her surgery, the doctors stopped calling to ask how she was and lost touch. They also stopped sending her cathiders so now she is forced to use them multiple times and suffers from urinary tract infections. Were the American people only there for Noor because they knew they would receive praise from the Iraqi people?
After reading this article, I was first off really mad that the American's would take on a responsibility and then just stop. They should be trying to advocate for children with disabilities and help build schools for these children who deserve an education.
I actually wanted to talk about this article because it relates a lot to Notre Dame de Paris or otherwise known as the hunchback of Notre Dame. This book has a main theme of otherness and how being different was viewed. One of the main characters is a hunchback named Quasimodo... when imagining him, don't think of the slightly handsome hunchback from the Disney movie. This man is grotesque in every way imaginable. He has one eye and he's deaf and has a large nasty boil above his one eye. Anyway back to my point, people don't accept otherness as much as one would hope. Like Noor, when Quasimodo was a baby his mother didn't want him because he was different and he was given up. Luckly for Noor, her grandparents were willing to take her in. For Quasimodo, he was stared at and called a demon and everyone wanted to burn him except one person who was an archdeacon.
For both Noor and Quasimodo life in the place where they live has been hard. I haven't gotten to the end of the book, but I hope it gets better for Quasimodo and I especially hope things get better for Noor who is no fictional character.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Knowing
Hey there!
I’m back with another close reading of a poem from the Tao
Te Ching. This was a quiz that we had in class and I feel that I was finally
able to properly explain this poem after all the practice I had done.
Since I have done one of these poems before, and I told you
about the Taoist principles, you already have a little background knowledge
about it. The poem I am going to talk about is called Knowing and here it is so
you can follow along..
47. Knowing
Without taking a step outdoorsYou know the whole world;
Without taking a peep out the window
You know the colour of the sky.
The more you experience,
The less you know.
The sage wanders without knowing,
Sees without looking,
Accomplishes without acting.http://www.chinapage.com/gnl.html
When reading this poem I find that there is still the theme
of nature like knowing the world and the color of the sky. I think the first
section means we can know what to expect from the world without interacting
with it. But then the second piece says you know less when you do experience
more this could be a balance between knowing and not knowing. BY experiencing life
and the world, you may come to realize that you knew less than you thought you
did because there is so much to experience. In the last three lines about the
sage, I think they’re saying that the sage just does things without trying to
be prepared. Without this preparedness he sees thing he didn’t expect and he
has also accomplished things without trying to. I think maybe by saying he has
accomplished without acting, they are saying he has found the Way. The Way is
free flowing and from what we have learned is not really something you can look
for and just find. The sage doesn’t look for things, he simply wanders and by
doing this maybe he has found the Way.
I have come to appreciate these poems more now that I am
able to find the deeper meanings. You too should work on analyzing poems; it’s
easier than it looks!
Well…Until next time!
Stay Classy!
Hello again!
So... for the past couple of weeks we have been reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I can't say I immediately fell in love with the book, and I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I even like the book now that it's over. HOWEVER, I do think there are important themes that can be pulled out of the story and I did enjoy Dickens' voice and tone throughout the story.
One part in particular that I liked was towards the end in the chapter titled Calm in Storm. Dickens is describing the "Le Guillotine" (a devise used to cut people's heads off) and uses sarcasm to let the audience see how he feels about it, but also letting his readers know how the French viewed "Le Guillotine". He says things like, it cured headaches and gray hair and it gave the closet shave any razor could. When he is saying this, I sense his sarcasm and even disgust at the people who look at the Guillotine as a nonchalant way to kill people. I can understand that he thinks it is barbaric that people would go watch others be beheaded and not flinch when the blood went flying.
So... for the past couple of weeks we have been reading A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I can't say I immediately fell in love with the book, and I wouldn't be telling the truth if I said I even like the book now that it's over. HOWEVER, I do think there are important themes that can be pulled out of the story and I did enjoy Dickens' voice and tone throughout the story.
One part in particular that I liked was towards the end in the chapter titled Calm in Storm. Dickens is describing the "Le Guillotine" (a devise used to cut people's heads off) and uses sarcasm to let the audience see how he feels about it, but also letting his readers know how the French viewed "Le Guillotine". He says things like, it cured headaches and gray hair and it gave the closet shave any razor could. When he is saying this, I sense his sarcasm and even disgust at the people who look at the Guillotine as a nonchalant way to kill people. I can understand that he thinks it is barbaric that people would go watch others be beheaded and not flinch when the blood went flying.
Thursday, February 14, 2013
Pulling Limitless Apart
After a couple weeks of class I feel that I am finally ready to analyze a poem by Lao Tze. This poem is called Limitless and it is apart of the Tao Te Ching. I'm going start by giving you the poem so you are able to see where I am as far as analyzing it.
Used by the self, it is not filled by the world;
It cannot be cut, knotted, dimmed or stilled;
Its depths are hidden, ubiquitous and eternal;
I don't know where it comes from;
It comes before nature.
In my opinion it is a lot easier to understand the poems if more about the Tao philosophy is known. This feeling about life is pretty easy going and revolves a lot around balance. The yin and yang symbol that everyone loves so much is actually the one that the Tao people use to represent balance. These people also find nature and the Way to be very important. In the poems, the way is talked about a lot and it is not something someone can just trip over on the sidewalk, but Lao Tze tries to bring forth the feel and description of the Way in his poetry.
Now for the moment you have all been waiting for... the analysis of Limitless, a poem by Lao Tze.
This poem starts by comparing the Way to a vessel that is limitless and at first this seems to be contradictory because a vessel holds something so it can't be limitless right? Well after thinking about it, the vessel itself is limitless in that it is able to go wherever it wants or wherever the Way wants. This is the part of Taoism involving balance because a vessel and limitless are opposite yet they come together in a balanced relationship.
In this poem the Way is also described as being everywhere (ubiquitous), eternal and unable to be knotted or stilled. I feel this means that the Way just is, it is not something that can ever be contained or held. It is everywhere and it will always be.
Again, nature is a big part of this philosophy and the last line says that the Way comes before nature and I think this may mean the Way has existed before time and before nature. It could also mean that the Way presents itself in nature and is just something natural.
I hope my description was able to help you find meaning in a poem that doesn't make sense and I hope this helps you to be able to read and interpret other Tao Te Ching poetry.
Until Next Time,
Stephanie :)
4. Limitless
The Way is a limitless vessel;Used by the self, it is not filled by the world;
It cannot be cut, knotted, dimmed or stilled;
Its depths are hidden, ubiquitous and eternal;
I don't know where it comes from;
It comes before nature.
In my opinion it is a lot easier to understand the poems if more about the Tao philosophy is known. This feeling about life is pretty easy going and revolves a lot around balance. The yin and yang symbol that everyone loves so much is actually the one that the Tao people use to represent balance. These people also find nature and the Way to be very important. In the poems, the way is talked about a lot and it is not something someone can just trip over on the sidewalk, but Lao Tze tries to bring forth the feel and description of the Way in his poetry.
Now for the moment you have all been waiting for... the analysis of Limitless, a poem by Lao Tze.
This poem starts by comparing the Way to a vessel that is limitless and at first this seems to be contradictory because a vessel holds something so it can't be limitless right? Well after thinking about it, the vessel itself is limitless in that it is able to go wherever it wants or wherever the Way wants. This is the part of Taoism involving balance because a vessel and limitless are opposite yet they come together in a balanced relationship.
In this poem the Way is also described as being everywhere (ubiquitous), eternal and unable to be knotted or stilled. I feel this means that the Way just is, it is not something that can ever be contained or held. It is everywhere and it will always be.
Again, nature is a big part of this philosophy and the last line says that the Way comes before nature and I think this may mean the Way has existed before time and before nature. It could also mean that the Way presents itself in nature and is just something natural.
I hope my description was able to help you find meaning in a poem that doesn't make sense and I hope this helps you to be able to read and interpret other Tao Te Ching poetry.
Until Next Time,
Stephanie :)
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Welcome!
Some morsels of information you just must know about me.
I have grown up all my life in what feels like one of the smallest places in the state. My hometown is Fairwater Wisconsin which is so underpopulated that it is called a village. So...essentially I was a village person. While in Fairwater, my mother met her prince charming and they fell madly in love... for like nine years. After the love wore off, we moved to Markesan which isn't much bigger, but at least is has a population. It is the kind of town that has two gas stations, a grocery store and a canning factory. In the summer you can see migrants and town members walking their dogs or maybe even their kids. Growing up in a close community was nice some days because everyone new everyone, but other days it was not so nice.. because everyone new everyone. Rumors flew like fireworks on the fourth of July during then big events like prom and homecoming.
On the other side of my life was my Dad and his family. At his house I lived in Berlin Wisconsin which is considered one of the biggest "hick" towns in the area. Here you can see people riding around in small trucks with over sized tires or walking in boots and a flannel in the heat of summer. At my dad's house I have a step mother, two step siblings and one half brother. My step and half brothers both have a learning disability and this has sparked my interest in special education. As for my step sister, her and I have been best friends since our parents first introduced us. Although I am close with my brothers, nothing beats the bond between two people related by marriage.
Moving up to "the big city"
After wiping away the tears from graduation and enjoying a fun summer full of hard work and money earned, I came to Manitowoc Wisconsin where I have started my journey in becoming an elementary special education teacher. When I first came to Manitowoc I was a little in shock because it is a lot bigger than Markesan, but then I started at Silver Lake College. While here I found that it's really not much different than being a part of a small town,we have about one hundred students in the dorms and they all know your business even when it's not important. Although it can become bothersome at times, the people who I have been living with for about a year and a half have started to become family. I have a few close friends who have already helped me through a lot.I never knew I would be able to become so close with people so quickly. It still amazes me the life long friends I have made here at Silver Lake and the friends I am continuing to make.
I have grown up all my life in what feels like one of the smallest places in the state. My hometown is Fairwater Wisconsin which is so underpopulated that it is called a village. So...essentially I was a village person. While in Fairwater, my mother met her prince charming and they fell madly in love... for like nine years. After the love wore off, we moved to Markesan which isn't much bigger, but at least is has a population. It is the kind of town that has two gas stations, a grocery store and a canning factory. In the summer you can see migrants and town members walking their dogs or maybe even their kids. Growing up in a close community was nice some days because everyone new everyone, but other days it was not so nice.. because everyone new everyone. Rumors flew like fireworks on the fourth of July during then big events like prom and homecoming.
On the other side of my life was my Dad and his family. At his house I lived in Berlin Wisconsin which is considered one of the biggest "hick" towns in the area. Here you can see people riding around in small trucks with over sized tires or walking in boots and a flannel in the heat of summer. At my dad's house I have a step mother, two step siblings and one half brother. My step and half brothers both have a learning disability and this has sparked my interest in special education. As for my step sister, her and I have been best friends since our parents first introduced us. Although I am close with my brothers, nothing beats the bond between two people related by marriage.
Moving up to "the big city"
After wiping away the tears from graduation and enjoying a fun summer full of hard work and money earned, I came to Manitowoc Wisconsin where I have started my journey in becoming an elementary special education teacher. When I first came to Manitowoc I was a little in shock because it is a lot bigger than Markesan, but then I started at Silver Lake College. While here I found that it's really not much different than being a part of a small town,we have about one hundred students in the dorms and they all know your business even when it's not important. Although it can become bothersome at times, the people who I have been living with for about a year and a half have started to become family. I have a few close friends who have already helped me through a lot.I never knew I would be able to become so close with people so quickly. It still amazes me the life long friends I have made here at Silver Lake and the friends I am continuing to make.
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