Antigone

Antigone believe that law is not always just because she doesn't believe the man who's making the laws are a just man. She believes in a force stronger than a Kings words. Creon believes that laws are just because he makes the law an laws of the King is absolute.

In the play women are considered to be aloof and feeble. Antigone is not expected to do anything because she is a women. She has no opinions, significance, or power in anything. When she did stand up against the king the others were just confused as to how she was able to do that.

Creon fears Antigone. But not because she is intimidating. Creon most likely fears the idea of being defied by women, and she shows her disapproval of him from the start. He is afraid of having his pride hurt more than anything, I think.

Real thoughts on Obama's victory

I was so relieved.
I never thought I'd say this, but thank god for electoral college. I can't believe Romney won the popular vote. How can people like his lies at all.

Still, the masses gave Obama the chance again. And I strongly believe its not because of technical progress he's made but because we know he means to do good for the majority of us. I'm very hopeful for this term.

I know a lot of people doubt in him because he didn't make any immediate drastic changes. But I think this is about to change. He has no excuse anymore. Most of the reelected senates are Democrats this time around. (19 of them being women, that is very impressive) We are about to experience something new. They are stronger supporters of Obama, it should get easier for him to do his job. Last term I know the republicans overthrew his ideas and gave him a lot of pressure.

Also, I would like to congratulate the election of Tammy Baldwin. A first Wisconsin women politician, and the first openly gay senator in the history of United States. Hope she makes us proud.

Final Presidential Debate

Why is Romney such a bull crapper.
He's so aggressive, yet he's so unclear all the time. Obama keeps on pointing out the flaws in his opinions and he tries to snake his way out of it.
YES HE DID SAY HE WANTS TROOPS IN IRAQ. He constantly twist his words and change his stories as soon as his opinions begin to sound inconvenient.

Unfortunately I see why people would want to vote for Romney. He may not be compassionate but he's strong in economy and business. But still, he's a bad person and 4 years with him will not be good for our country.
It's also not like all his economical strategies aren't thought out by Obama-Biden. They're promoting the same ideas about the education and small business and all that.

I'm starting to see the distinct different between their foreign relations policy. Obama and Romney both promise to stand by Isreal, and prevent Iran from getting near nuclear weapon. They both talk about peace but frankly the only one who will most likely keep peace is Obama.
"I will not hesitate to impose new sanctions on Iran, and will tighten the sanctions we currently have."
(by sending in more troops).
Thats just gonna push them more into revolt.
It's not like Obama doesn't have them in control right now.

I liked the middle man for this debate. He kept the two in line, because he knew how vigorous these two can be. Lol.

Image of Electra (a possibility)

We chose the image of the original Grimm version of Cinderella as a semi modern adaptation of Electra. We're thinking about converting to the story of Cinderella into Electra's story, since with a twist in the tale we can easily create a revenge story. The image fits because Electra and Cinderella are both abused by her mother and are forced to be dirty.

Cassandra of Troy

http://www.arthistory.sbc.edu/imageswomen/papers/fittoncassandra/cass5.html

Cassandra once bargained with the God Apollo. He said he would teach her the secret of prophecy if she would lay with him; then when Apollo taught her the secret she backed down from her end of the bargain. Angry Apollo cursed her. The curse made it so that although she would always see the truth no one would ever believe her. Later in the years a lot happens but in direct relations to the story of Electra, during the Trojan war she was turned into a slave and Agamemnon claimed her as his prize. He takes her back to his home where she prophecies that they would both die. Clytemnestra and her lover Aegesthius kills the both of them.

This website will lead you to all the information on Cassandra, beginning to end.
Cassandra and Apollo
Cassandra's prophesies for Troy
The rape of Cassandra
Cassandra and Agamemnon

Boys Don't Cry

In Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes knowlegde as something that needs to be exposed. It needs to be discovered and seen in order for it to be anything significant or true. It made me think that knowledge is something that is mysterious and fearsome at first but once it is shown it changes the entire perspective of things.
In Boys Don't Cry everyone in the town where the setting is located is in a cave of ignorance. No one is educated to do anything but what they habituated themselves to do. They have no idea that the world is beyond what their eyes can see. That is why they feared Brandon and his sexual identity crisis; they've never seen anything like it. From what they've heard in the sources they do have access to (churches or parents), homosexuality or anything in close relation to it is disgusting and sinful. I would say the one person who began to see the light out of the cave would be Lana (besides Brandon) because she accepted him. She accepted him because she knew there was more to the world that she is missing out on. We know this because she is distressed with her living conditions, and she often talked about how much she would like to see and discover things beyond the horizon she can see.

That was a fantastic debate

And VP Biden absolutely Kicked ASS.

This debate was so much better than the presidential debate because the two speakers specified everything, provided examples in there arguments, and actually tried to answer all the questions asked.
Well, no that's not true, Congressmen Ryan often tried his best to avoid directly answering the questions asked. When Martha asked how long it will take to reduce the unemployment to bellow 6%, Ryan repeatedly said "We can debate the timeline". This is another way to say "I don't know and I cant answer but I will act like I know what I'm talking about".

VP Biden was very aggressive during this debate. Yet he wasn't just being belligerent, he called out on every lie Ryan told and told us that it is inaccurate information and explained how and why. 

I really liked that they discussed issues beyond economical issues. And once again I was inevitably faced with the fact that I am completely ignorant about whats been going on in the world; I wish I had kept up with the world so I can make an appropriate reaction to their debate on global issues.

I got the impression that Romney Ryan group wants to bring us to war. I do not approve of that what so ever. When they were talking about the issues going on in the middle east, He looked for reasons to send out more troops to the middle east countries with the exception of Syria; He agreed to pull out from Syria. I think he believes that war will quickly fix economical issues; it will, but i dont think it will do us good in the long run.

In this debate, Biden's age and experience really showed. He seemed well aware of everything that was going on, he was able to make historical references, bring examples from whats happened in the past. Congressman Ryan couldn't stand up against that much experience and skill.
VP Biden shed light to a lot of my confusions. He really spoke out for Obama and made his arguments stronger and better.

Laramie Research

 http://www.adl.org/ADL_Opinions/Civil_Rights/20091101-Oped.htm

"Hate crimes affect the stability and security of our communities. Whenever a bias-motivated crime is committed, the victim's entire community is left feeling victimized, vulnerable, fearful, isolated, and unprotected by the law. Such crimes can also lead to reprisals and a dangerous spiral of escalating inter-group tension and violence. Thus, the impact of the crime is far greater than the already terrible impact on the individual."


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_crime_laws_in_the_United_States 

These websites clarify the importance of laws against hate crimes. It details the things the police are now allowed to do in order to search under hate crime suspicions. The wikipedia site is very useful because it gives us a graph chart on how many crime cases there were per year having to do with hate crimes. It also has description of various types of hate crimes. The only information it doesn't give is why it took 11 years since the Matthew Shepard case to pass the legislation. I can't seem to find that source anywhere, no matter how many times I google it I can only find people talking about how important it is or how it was passed in 2009 by Barack Obama.

Hey guys, Obama decides to talk back today I guess. Thought I should share.

“We had our first debate last night. And when I got onto the stage, I met this very spirited fellow who claimed to be Mitt Romney. But it couldn’t have been Mitt Romney—because the real Mitt Romney has been running around the country for the last year promising $5 trillion in tax cuts that favor the wealthy. The fellow on stage last night said he didn’t know anything about that.

The real Mitt Romney said we don’t need any more teachers in our classrooms. But the fellow on stage last night, he loves teachers—can’t get enough of them. The Mitt Romney we all know invested in companies that were called “pioneers” of outsourcing jobs to other countries. But the guy on stage last night, he said that he doesn’t even know that there are such laws that encourage outsourcing—he’s never heard of them. Never heard of them. Never heard of tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas. He said that if it’s true, he must need a new accountant.

Now, we know for sure it was not the real Mitt Romney, because he seems to be doing just fine with his current accountant. So you see, the man on stage last night, he does not want to be held accountable for the real Mitt Romney’s decisions and what he’s been saying for the last year. And that’s because he knows full well that we don’t want what he’s been selling for the last year. So Governor Romney may dance around his positions, but if you want to be President, you owe the American people the truth.”
— President Obama in Denver, CO today

What do you guys think about this?

Do you think Obama will get back at him in the next debate?

Presidential Debate

I believe that Mitt Romney did well tonight. He was sharp and he was able to communicate his topic with precision. It was definitely not Obama's best night of arguing.
I wish I had studied a bit more of statistics and economy before I had watched this debate, because I had no way of confirming what they were saying as truth in my mind; and I certainly do not believe that all of the statistics they used as reference tonight are true at all.
Altogether I've noticed that these two don't disagree on much of anything. They both want the same things, they have the same goals. And frankly I didn't see much of a difference on how they planned to achieve it, if they had mentioned the "hows" at all because I don't think either got to the point as swiftly as they should.
Obama stressed the point of improving the education system and training the young to rebuild America. I got the impression that he's only offering what he's been working on for the past 4 years of his presidency: which I see why it wouldn't be such a popular idea since many people don't see much improvement made on anything since he was elected. I believe that if we gave him another chance he can make great changes. However I also think that his ideas require long term dedication to truly settle with us, and that isn't something America wants.
But I like the changes he has in mind; he is very pro middle class and pro education.
Romney was very concentrated on the economical progress of America, which is what most people wanted to hear about. His arguments were very seemingly progressive and he made it seem as though he can make quick improvements on our poor economical state.

They both want to invest and sup[port small business, they want North America to become energy dependent but investing in natural energy. Romney wants to stop spending money on things like obama care, pbs channels and Obama wants to lower the tuition and cut corporate tax  25%.
I don't even know the true effects of these actions and what doing this will result in, but I feel like they're saying the same thing.

Except Romney wants to get rid of Obama-care, and I dont agree with that because obama care is important.
They need to re-do this debate.

Letter to Animal Farm Revised Version

Dear Brave and Unsettled Comrades,

Firstly, I'd like all of you to know that you are my heroes. Hearing tales and rumors about your brave acts truly moved every animal in Europe, and it encouraged the rest of us to really pursue Animalism. I am one of those who truly took your actions to heart and convinced my fellow comrades in my farm to launch an uprising as well.

In the early stages of our rebellion, a certain animal helped us greatly. He showed us the true purpose of Animalism and the correct political formula that would help us succeed and support us in our independence. His name was Sir Boaris Snowball.

I know what all of you thought of him. He told me in gruesome detail what had happened at the farm. And I’m sure you still believe all the lies Napoleon fed to you over the years. Foolish Animals, Napoleon never wanted anything more than his own prosperity. He never thought of you; he manipulated and used you, like a human would. And how was he able to do that? Because he knew you were all dimwitted, uneducated, dull and, most of all, unaware.

Think back comrades, what was the first thing Napoleon did after he chased out Snowball off of the farm? ( yes, in fact, it was he who ordered the dogs to go after him that day) He took the democracy that Sir Snowball tried to give you away. Allow me to refresh your memory:

Napoleon…announced that from now on the Sunday morning meetings will come to an end. They were unnecessary and waste of time. In future all questions relating to the workings of the farm would be settled by a special committee of pigs, presided over by himself…there would be no more debates... (Orwell, 54)

            Yes, the failure of the revolution in England Animal Farm was the fault of all parties involved. No one in animal farm paid attention to any of the political activities; you remained consistently oblivious towards the things going on around you. When Sir Snowball was there, he attempted to include you in developing ideas and decision-making. You were even too dull to realize that this gesture was purposed to involve you and your opinions and help build a strong government that would have helped you meet your needs in a just manner. Comrades, in an act of rebellion of this manner, you must be clear on your ideals. You must engage yourself and be aware of what’s going on to inch closer to your goals.
            As aforementioned Napoleon is the one who deliberately exiled Sir Snowball. Think back to the time it had happened, did you not question why he was chased out all of a sudden? I think you did; it was too abrupt and mysterious for you not to feel some form of suspicion about it. But then you allowed Napoleon’s authorities to frighten you; and soon after you’d be convinced that there was perhaps no mystery in the lies they eventually told you about Snowball. Your cowardice, and once again failure to question and think for yourselves silenced all questions about his expulsion and executions. Comrades, you wrote the rules yourselves. You agreed on the commandments when they were established; “No animals shall kill other animals”. So why did you allow them to make you believe otherwise?

Allow me to specify and illustrate to you your political structure:

Your dear friend Squealer played the devil’s advocate for you totalitarian leader and together they worked to manipulate you and bend you to their whim. Did you not notice? Almost everything he said is a form of selective disinformation…in other words a lie. He made excuses for everything, made any wrong seem right. And even in those rare and crucial times you developed doubt for your “government”, he managed to convince you that they were justified. Squealer had this outstanding linguistic talent of being able to strike you right into your weaknesses and distract you from your initial thoughts. Clover, remember the time when you found out the pigs were moving into the farm house and they were sleeping in comfortable beds, and you thought you knew that that was against the rules? Look back to this moment:

Clover, who thought she remembered a definite ruling against beds, went to the barn and tried to puzzle out the Commandments…”It says, ‘no animal shall sleep on a bed with sheets…Squealer, who happened to be passing this moment, put the whole matter in its proper perspective...‘You did not suppose there was ever a ruling against beds? A bed means place to sleep in. The rule was against sheets, which are human invention. We removed the sheet and sleep between blankets. With all the brainwork we need comfort…You will not rob us of our repose…You need us to carry our duties…You don’t want Jones back… (Orwell, 67)

Squealer in this moment quickly managed to take advantage of your inability to think logically, your faulty memory and your fear of Jones’ return to manipulate you into thinking that he and his posse were doing well for you.

Clover, dear, I know you knew deep inside that everything had been done incorrectly. And I truly regret that you couldn’t articulate your thoughts and stand up against your corrupt leaders, whom truly ruined everything.

Comrades, I will now recall a despairing moment when Napoleon had performed a sick shrade of execution under the false name of justice, and articulate how your fellow comrade Clover felt in the moment; and while reading this think to yourselves, did you not feel this way too?:

As Clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. If she could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. These scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old Major first stirred them to rebellion. If she had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity…instead came a time when no one dared to speak their minds, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and watch your comrades getting torn to pieces. (Orwell, 86)

You had all the right ideas, Clover. You knew what you wanted and what was right; you had a vision. But you didn’t think about how you could achieve the things you saw yourself dreaming of. Critical thinking is a crucial part of participating in politics. If there is a leading figure, you must think about their motives and analyze their actions; how would their actions effect your life? If they are doing something suspicious you must question them; if there are laws you all agreed upon, you must remember them. Squealer was only able to convince you of his obvious shams because he knew you believed that you had a faulty memory. He was only able to deceive you because he knew you wouldn’t be able to think of a retaliating argument.

If Clover had spoken out against Squealer instead of doubting herself, or if she had thought to articulate her feelings, she might have opened the eyes of the rest of you. She might have been able to expose the injustice taking place. But it wasn’t just Clover who could have made a difference. Everyone on Animal Farm could have.

If the animals want true equality and justice they should pay attention to what they want and focus on how to get it. You should be more vocal and true to your ideas, take initiative instead of being docile and so easily deceived by the pigs. Start by educating yourselves, being observant and aware. And learn from your now deceased comrade, Boaris Snowball. He was truly a good pig and a great leader. He believed in you, and I do too.

Hope this helped clear your conscience. I wish you all the best.
Sincerely with care,
Ambassador Cheshire Cat V of Nether land Animal Farm
Yuka Taga

The Laramie Project

Matt Galloway
Baptist Minister

The Laramie project is a highly intimate play staged in Laramie, Wyoming envisioning the story behind Mathew Sheperds murder, which shook the entire United States and especially Wyoming State in its time period. Mathew Sheperds was an openly gay college student, one of very few in Laramie at the time. He was lured in by two local boys who had told him they too were gay, and beat him into a coma and left him tied to a fence in a deserted place for over 18 hours. This beating results in the passing of Mr. Sheperds three days after his discovery, leaving the two boys accountable for 2nd degree murder. Although this incident had a ground shaking impact on the community of Laramie, the citizens opinions on it varied.
The fact was that gays were not easily accepted in Laramie. And since this particular case was taken upon as a "hate crime" against the gays, people of the town had a lot to agree and disagree on. Firstly, there were people who didn't like what had happened, but didn't feel the need to take this crime as seriously as any other first degree murder crime because they didn't approve of the gays.
For example Sherry Johnson, wife of the highway patrolman of Laramie said
" Alot of that the media is portraying Matthew Shepard as a saint. and making him as a martyr. i don't think he was. I don't think he was that pure...you know about his character and the kind of person he was..everyone got problems. but why they exemplified him I don't know."(Moises Kaufmen 64)
I believe this reaction made by Mrs. Johnson was of an innate nature. Because although she indicated that she is bothered by his being gay, she also described that if it is a first degree murder and a hate crime, it is what it is and it should be tried as what it is. She saw no point in making it a national, even a global scandal. And that sort of opinion formation, I believe, comes from not biased reaction to the particular event, but how she views everything.
An example of a culturally formulated opinion would be that of the priests. The Baptist Minister who was a part of the Laramie community at the time, recognized Matthew Shepards as a sinful being. When one of the reporters interviewed him he had said the following things:
"Now as for the victim, I know that lifestyle is legal, but I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to that fence, that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of Lord to him-and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance yo reflect on his lifestyle." (Moises Kaufmen 69)

The Most Beautiful Bird in the World

Long ago, there existed a land said to be the most beautiful in the world, with beautiful forests and beautiful things and the most beautiful village, populated with the most beautiful people. On this land the trees were massive and vibrant, plants were decorative and artistic; by day the river shone bright in reflection of the sun, and by night it sparkled in luminescence, expressing a deep shade of hue. The sky was washed in color of sweet periwinkle, and softly went peach as the sun met the horizon twice a day.

And naturally any society or culture that would flourish in such a land would be equally as beautiful and so tastefully detailed. The people strove to compliment their environment by using body art. In other words they only cared for such forms of art; art that is visually pleasing. . Such as painting their bodies with skin dye made from compressed and fermented fruit. Or styling their hairs with Lily Tiger excrement, which gives the hair hold for hours. They held a fashion fiesta at least once a month and it was always the greatest thing. They also developed advanced taxidermy art to preserve certain animal’s everlasting beauty, because some were so lavish in it’s aesthetics. And thus aesthetic art greatly developed in this society

 One day the villagers were spending their day well, ornamenting their beautiful village as usual. Then suddenly, the town’s messenger ran through the streets excitedly, yelling about a bird habituating in a forest, along the river 3 forests down south.

Messenger: “PAY ATTENTION, PAY ATTENTION, ITS SAID TO BE A WONDROUS THING

ITS SAID TO BE A MYTHICAL THING

THIS BIRD IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL THING. THE WORLD’S MOST BEAUTIFUL BIRD”

Villager A: A bird?

Villager B:  A what?

Villager C: A flying bird?

Villager D: No, a glamorous bird

Villager A: Does it fly?

Villager D: No

Villager B: So what good is the bird?

Villager A: Is it good

Villager C: To eat?

Villager D: No it’s a beautiful bird

All: A beautiful bird!?

Villager B: How beautiful?

Villager D: as beautiful as us

Villager A: Why that is perfect!

Villager C: We must have it

All: We must, we must, we must… Capture the beautiful bird!

           So they all decided to capture this bird and ornament their beautiful village with it. They sent the professional huntsmen and a few of the village men to capture it and bring it back in the best condition, so it can be treated well by the town’s taxidermist. These men traveled for 3 nights to get past 3 forests to find the bird.

After 3 nights and 3 forests they finally found the bird. And they learned that the rumor had not done any justice for the bird. It was indeed the most phenomenal thing.

It was almost celestial; this bird exhumed a color that was the coalescence of every dye in the rainbow, creating luminosity that has never been seen before. Definitive fine feathers patterned its neck, long and smooth; its beak stood elegantly, accenting its face with class. Its talons were sharp, fine and heroic. Its feathers so exotic, and extravagant, when it posed it gave such an endearing presence, it made the huntsmen and the villagers absolutely awe struck; in that instance they became desperate to capture the bird and make it theirs.

The hunter used his fine tools to capture the bird successfully. They wrapped her in a soft, tough net so it won’t ruin her fine feathers, and put her in a carry-box made with soft material to shape her well after death. However, as the hunter tried to finalize his task by striking a poison needle at her, she gave out a loud cry of mercy, and it changed their lives forever.

At that moment, the huntsmen lost his entire urge to strike the bird, and so had the others. Her cry, her voice, was the most melodic, harmonic, exuberant sound they had ever heard.

Hunter: Holy mother of molly do you hear that

Huntsmen A: my mother would’ve lived if she had heard this before she died.

Huntsmen B: I’ve never felt this way before. It’s like my ears are happy...my mind is too!

Huntsmen C:  I’m feeling a little high here.

Villager B: I’m getting goose-bumps. It’s the good kind!

Villager A: It’s like that time we had that spring fashion festival. Gosh those tunics were so beautiful. This bird’s voice is as beautiful as that!

Villager B: It might even be better than that, brother.

Hunter: I don’t want to kill this bird. I want to listen to it all the time.

Villager B: Me to

Villager A: Me to

Villager C: Me three

All: We all do

            So they took the bird with them, alive; and a couple more of them actually. Turned out the bird had a family; a family of beautiful birds with beautiful voices. They would later in the years become the symbol of the village. Once they got back to the village, the rest of the villagers were at first confused as to why they left the bird alive. However once they heard the bird sing, they were all convinced.

And that is how they discovered the art of music. They learned from this bird that beauty does not only exist in aesthetics but it does in many other places. The villagers learned to appreciate this bird’s existence in its entirety.

So this land, made of beautiful things with beautiful people and now the most beautiful bird, became beautiful in a sense less superficial, and more so in a multidimensional way.

Fin