And now, farewell to you Maria Jose.

Christina, have a glorious day today.

Grammar

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/marks/quotation.htm#footnote

Shakespearean Poem

These lines are written in Iambic Pentameter. They have no rhyme. This makes it seem as if Shakespeare wanted to summon something in a non-cliche manner. 

Why Do We Want Things We Don't Want?

Victor Vainberg

December 7, 2008

Tao of Don Quixote

“What would happen if one day, all of the worlds misfortunes and offenses would disappear?” asked Quijano. 

“Boy, would that be great”, replied Sancho. 

Quixote pondered the question for a moment and then responded, “I would be forced to return to my home in La Mancha. Also, I would feel a great loss and pity for the world’s inhabitants for they would be without the education that experience offers. People would be without objective. Life would become meaningless.”

“Wow, you are so insane!” exclaimed Sancho.

“He is right, Quixote. You’re not being realistic”, added Quijano. 

How do you know that this reality is the real one if you swim in it? Oh, what sweet ignorance is it to not know the boundaries of your reality. But if you seek them, then ignorance shall become bitter”, commented De La Mancha. 

“Alright. I confess that we will never really know unless we do not belong.” continued Alonso.” 

“Do you think you can take over the universe and improve it? I do not believe it can be done,” he interrogated.

Don Quixote replied, “Take over? Never. Improve it? I’ll try my best. I can only do this if I “accept disgrace willingly.” Also, I know that to improve the world, I must begin with myself.” “I believe that I am “aware of the needs of others. I am good to the people who are good. I am also good to the people who are not good.” I believe in justice.”

He then turned to Sancho and advised: “Sancho, always remember this: “Rule a nation with justice. Wage war with surprise moves. Be a master of the universe without striving.” Only then can your nation succeed.”  

“By doing as I say, you shall not only become Good, but also Taoist”, complemented his master. 

“What is the Tao?” Intrigued Sancho.

“I can’t tell you”. Replied the knight.

“Why not?” Questioned the peasant.

“Because I would be lying.” Answered the Taoist. 

Quijano added, “Truthful words are not beautiful. Beautiful words are not truthful.”

“I must disagree, Quijano.” Complained Cervantes. 

Sancho then whined: “I’m hungry.”

Always remember Sancho, “counseled Quixote, “that “he who knows he has enough is rich.” and that “…he who knows that enough is enough, will always have enough.” 

“Well put.”, commented Cervantes. 

“Do you rejoice in victory, Quixote?” Asked Quijano. 

“Certainly.”

“Then you delight in killing.”

“No. I delight in justice.” 

“But you are a violent man, are you not?”

“If violence means that I use weapons as tools for achieving justice, then yes.”

“If you use weapons, you will never achieve justice.”

“Also, if you are a violent man, you will die a violent death.”

“I do not fear death.”

“Then you will never truly die.”

“Aren’t you dead already?” asked Cervantes to Quixote. 

“Me? Not really. I am eternally present. It is Quijano who has perished.”

Sancho then exclaimed: “But then who will be around to give me my power?”

Then, the Tao of heaven answered: “If you want it, you will never have it.”

“But why, then would I have it if I didn’t want it?” asked Sancho. 

“Isn’t that a QUESTion you should be asking yourself?” 

The Way To Go

The Japaneese game of 'Go' can be related to Tao in the sense that they explain how triumph must be achieved without searching for it. You must not strive to win in order to win. Like a Chineese finger trap, the only way to free yourself is to do the opposite. When being persued, the only way to free yourself is to attack. Wher you want to attack, the only way to do so is to defend. You must always do what you don't want to do in order to do it. If we are too focused on winning, the game will not recieve the needed attention. Like life itself. if we are too focused on our achievements, we will not only not achieve, but not live, as well.

Live your live so you can live it.

You Shall Fear Nothing You Don't Wish To Fear

As a Jew, I have experienced religious discrimination not only from non-Jews towards Jews, but from Jews towards Arabs, as well. It shocked me to see that a frequent discussion topic at family dinners was the way in which the Arabs were destroying the world and how we should all hate them. What astonished me even more, was to listen to what an anti-Semitic had to say one day when we parked our car in front of his shop. Both arguments were derogatory. The demeaning remarks made me realize that by making them, we are no worse than they are. In this way, I believe that people should learn right from wrong only when the choice is obvious, like to steal or not to steal. A lesson like this, we should learn. On the other hand, we shouldn’t have to be sent to a school which provides textbooks that deny the Holocaust. People should be able to have freedom on their beliefs, unless they are extremely obvious.

In this way, the Tao can be interpreted to the extent where the author believes that right from wrong can and must never be taught because of the subjectivity of people. In chapter 20, the Tao orders to “Give up learning, and put an end to your troubles. Is there a difference between yes and no? Is there a difference between good and evil? Must I fear what others fear? What nonsense!” You shouldn’t be subconsciously forced to fear what others fear, but your basic morals should be the same as the society’s; however, morals that are the foundations of a civilization should and must always be taught and learned. If this is not done so, then laws would never be followed because people would do as they believe, as they please.

 

Discretion, My Friend, Discretion Is The Key

Belonging to a country which implicitly promotes theft has given me a sense of suspicion, or paranoia, concerning the people I come in contact with on a daily basis. I don’t refer to the people close to me, like family and friends, but the strangers that cross my path during my stroll around the mall. I used to have to constantly inventory my belongings during these trips until I got bored of doing so, and began slacking off. One day during school, a place where I let scarcely expected to be robbed, I left my wallet on top of the Bookstore counter. After receiving my order, I remembered it, only to realize that it was missing. As soon as I finished my futile argument with the cashier, I realized that it was my fault that it had been stolen, since I left my wallet where it would be a temptation for those willing to rob me. Book three of Tao Te Ching has a useful lesson to teach when it advises us that “Not collecting treasures prevents stealing”. My opinion is that we can collect treasures, but it is advisable to not let the public know that you are doing so. We can apply this to any other characteristic one has that might lead to haughtiness and thus to jealousy. You can be smart, but don’t gloat or you will be hated and envied. You can be good, but don’t push it or people will not like you. You can be anything you want to be, just as long as you’re discreet about it. In this way, I partially agree and partially disagree with the Tao.  

Writing Studies

Quantity Terms with Count and Noncount Nouns: Exercises

Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

In the following sentences, substitute one of these expressions for the underlined words:

little

quite a little or quite a bit of

few

quite a few

To clarify, little means "not much," but quite a little (or quite a bit of) means "a rather large amount." Few means "not many," but quite a few means "a rather large number."

1. Quite a few students have trouble with economics

2. It requires quite a bit of reading.

3. Few advisors spend as much time with their students.

4. He has little hope of passing his exams.

5. George's advisor spends quite a bit of time with him.

6. He does know few people in the class.

7. Bill does spend little money on clothes.

8. She spends quite a bit of money on CDs.

9. He does have few suits.

10. He does understand little of the reading.

 

 

Count and Noncount Nouns Exercises

Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

 

 

Count and Noncount Nouns

Exercise 1

Are the following nouns count or noncount? Put an N next to the noncount nouns and a C next to the count nouns. If the noun can be either noncount or count depending on the context, put a D next to it.

World c

textbook
c

acid d

smoking n

poetry n

applause n

thought d

banana c

conduct n

progress n

biology n

essay c

crystal d

shopping n

 

Exercise 2

Put an X next to the words in the following list that can be used as either count or noncount nouns, depending on the context.

defense x


beauty
x

garbage

experience x

baggage

rain x

rug

nature

bag

emotion x

 

 

Exercise 3

Fill in the blank with the form of the noun in parentheses that is appropriate to the grammatical context of the sentence and the meaning of the passage as a whole.

Diabetes: Beyond the Basics

Because diabetes can cause devastating damage to virtually all body systems, people with diabetes should not underrate the seriousness of their disease. Learning to live with a chronic illness such as diabetes must be an ongoing process.

The Hospital's Center for Family Life Education is sponsoring a five-part educational series on diabetes. The series will begin on April 30 and continue through May 29. The program will be held in the second floor classroom of the Education Center from 7-9 p.m.

The diabetes series is free and open to the public and will be of specific interest to people who have diabetes and their families and friends.

Exercise 4

On the basis of the rules for using articles discussed in the OWL file "Count and Noncount Nouns," which combinations of words below are permitted and which ones aren't? Put an X next to the incorrect combinations.

a table these x person this furniture that assignment a x a boy

the poetry a difficulty a research x this eggs x those argument x

 

Exercise 5

Fill in the blanks with the appropriate article if one is needed.

The Computer Jungle

Though you can make a decision on purely economic grounds, buying a computer is often more like joining a religious cult. Buy an Apple, for example, and almost by default you join Apple chairman Steve Jobs in his crusade against IBM. Every machine has its "users' groups" and band of loyal enthusiasts who tout its merits. That makes it all the more difficult for those uninitiated to decide what machine to buy. Students have a huge advantage, however. The computer companies are so eager for students' business (it builds "brand loyalty") that many offer huge discounts.

In the past six months, IBM, Apple, and others have brought out new computers, and the fierce competition has forced prices down. Also, time is on your side: next year at one time you'll have even more choice and more computing power and features for the same price. On the other hand, this will probably be true for many years. So for those who need or want a computer now, it's a great time to buy one.

 

Confucius's Media, The Moral Dictator Who Will Cause War

After reading Confucius’s The Analects, I have come to realize that the media is a perfect example of rhetorical influence on people. Like The Analects, the newspaper and news broadcast channels have a secondary purpose which stands beside the one that is to inform. This objective is that it wants the people to have their same point of view regarding a certain situation, person, or organization. This text has taught me to be firm on my beliefs when choosing to accept media into my attention and time. Even Confucius has opinions which I disagree with, like when he says that “As for music, listen only to the Shao and Wu. Prohibit the tunes of Zeng, and keep glib people at a distance--- for the tunes of Zeng are licentious, and glib people are dangerous.” (15.11) Here, I believe that Confucius tries to mess with our perspectives regarding the tunes of Zeng and glib people. He contradicts himself later by stating that “When the multitude hates a person, you must examine them and judge for yourself. The same holds true for someone whom the multitude loves.” (15. 28) I believe this applies to the multitude as well as the media. In this way, there are some points of view which I agree with, as well as there are some which I disagree with. If The Analects have taught me something, it is to not believe everything I read. Surely, there are some points which are logically correct, but I think he uses the momentum that such opinions give him to throw other opinions which aren’t so logical at us. While he may be very open minded and is preoccupied on the good of the group as opposed to the good of the individual, I believe he misuses the term individual and transforms group into army of clones which he will lead to a Utopia. In my opinion, he lacks some perspective regarding people’s individuality.

I agree with David’s blog, Conservative Rightness, which speaks about the way in which a society’s rituals is what holds it together, because we are not advanced enough to tolerate people with different rituals within our society. This has made the world divide into very marked cultural groups. The acceptance of variety is limited, and thus, we are left ignorant on our world’s cultural richness. We are blinded by our media to believe generalizations with futher divide us, and which ends up creating war. This is why I believe that the media is primarily responsible for war. It causes repression, hatred, generalization fallacies, and intolerance. It leaves us in the dark.

Thinking Outside My Head, Tolerance

Now that I think about it, not being aware of a mistake is not our fault. This happens to most people around us. Something that might seem rude or disrespectful might not seem so to another person. It has all to do with perspective and moral background. We can’t blame other people for not feeling ashamed for what we believe deserves to be fixed. The only way that we can help other people realize their mistakes is to explain them to the person, so that he or she can come into account of their error. It is not our job to help people who don’t want to be helped, and we must remember that not all people share our way of thinking. Earlier this evening, I had an encounter with someone who was too stubborn to realize that they made a mistake. He took something that was mine without my permission. While some people wouldn’t be bothered by this, I would. This person couldn’t understand that if I wanted to be asked for permission when he wanted to take something that mine, that he should do so. He believed that since I was his brother, and he didn’t damage it, that he should be able to use my things without permission. After a while of futile attempts to change his way of thinking, I decided to simply let it go. With this experience, I have learned that when people are set on their opinions, it’s very hard to change their minds, and I wasn’t prepared to spend so much energy on such a meaningless task. I had to accept that not all people believe what I do. In conclusion, I would like to add that when blogging these entries, I have to take into consideration the fact that not all people will agree with me, and that I have to be prepared to accept their way of thinking.

Our Perfect Lives

In my opinion, the teaching that states that we should learn from our mistakes has become a bit of a cliché; however, it has correctly proven in almost every situation in which it has been present in my life. For instance, the manner in which I manage my time for homework has always been to procrastinate. Although I recognize my fault, I have yet to fix it. I have come to understand that my true mistake is to not keep the promise I made myself to stop procrastinating. This is not a mistake (because a mistake is supposedly something you do by accident) but more of an error. This error is the only thing that is obstructing an increase of time for myself and a decrease in the time I spend doing homework or watching TV with a guilty conscience. While I’m procrastinating, I’m aware of what I’m doing, but I don’t have the willpower to stop myself. This is something that is at the top of my to-do list which I will, one day, hopefully, complete. What Confucius states that concerns this topic is the following: “The Master said, 'To make a mistake and yet to not change your ways--- this is what is called truly making a mistake.'” (15.30) He is very right at that, and I think that peoples’ problem is that they don’t realize that they have made a mistake, so they don’t believe they have anything to fix. Many people believe they are perfect. I believe that we should always strive for perfection, taking into account the fact that we will never acquire it.

Writing Excercises

1. Where is my jacket? I wanted to wear it today, and if I can't find it, we're going to be late.
2. Jane wanted to go on the school trip, but her mother said that two hundred dollars was too much for the family budget.
3. As she waited for Rodney to become conscious, Selma was seized with an attack of conscience -- was there anything she could have done to prevent the accident?
4. The map led the intrepid treasure hunters to a lead box of precious stones.
5. Have you seen their coats? They're going to need them; it's cold outside. I last saw the coats over there .
6. After conducting careful research, Shufang had a brilliant idea ; she'd write a paper on Thomas More's concept of the ideal society in Utopia.
7. Even though Bob would rather play video games than study, he decided to hit the books and then play some Halo.
8. It's easy to admire a business that puts so much effort into creating its signs and window displays.
9. You're fortunate to have survived the car crash without a scratch; it must have been because you were wearing your seat belt.
10. I would advise you to seek qualified legal advice about how to handle this situation.

The Good Of The People

 

The good of the group as a whole is more important than the good of the individuals because the group involves more people, whereas the individual involves only individuals. The rest of the people are left to suffer. During the Holocaust, a group of Jews were selected to work as money forgers for the bankrupt Nazi party. In exchange, not only were their lives spared, but they were allowed luxuries which their brothers in the concentration camps could only dream of. They had to choose between their comfort and their kind’s wellbeing. It was more important to sabotage the Nazis in order to save many Jewish lives, as opposed to giving in to their demands which gave them an easier time. 

It's Already There If You Want It To Be

After reading The Secret, I have come to understand that if you want something, you won’t have it unless you believe it’s already yours. I have applied this when choosing to better myself in the area of my personality and conscience. If I wish that I could be more aware of other people’s feelings rather than simply my own, and I believe that I have a better sense of awareness and conscious, “I will find that it is already there”, as Confucius said in Book 7 Verse 30 (“Is Goodness really so far away? If I simply desire Goodness, I will find that it is already there.”)

This is crucial, because wishing to have more awareness implies being attentive to the amount of awareness you already have. This self-assessment is the only thing needed to better oneself. This is why people who don’t think they do anything wrong don’t better themselves. When you’re perfect, what’s to amend? 

Being Picky When Befriending

During my life, I have had to move to a different places a number of times, and one thing I learned from the experience, was the art of sizing people up so that I could choose friends quickly and smartly. I discovered that if I chose a friend who’s human values were worse than mine, that I would surely lose my morals in a short period of time. I had to be intimate with someone who had equal or greater morals than mine. Identifying someone’s personal way of living is not as easy as alalyzing their appearance. I had to, as Confucius says in Book 4, verse 7, “Observe closely the sort of mistakes a person makes—then you will know his character.” I knew that everybody makes mistakes, but I would observe how people would react to the mistakes they made. If they simply shrugged at the equivocation, or really endeavored to make amends. This is a great way to identify a person’s heart, the strength of the conscious of the person. I believe I actually got the hang of it after failing a couple of times, and I think this is a skill that everybody should develop. To be in company with equal or greater persons than oneself is the ultimate method of self-improvement.

A Good Public Speaker

Obama uses a considerable amount of Pathos during his acceptance speech, like when he mentions the task at hand, “…for there are new jobs to be created, new schools to build and new threats to meet, and alliances to repair.” (min. 6 Pt. 2) He employs ethos when he states how honest he will be to the people of America in minute 7 of part two. His pathos and ethos statements can be identified as deliberative.  I identified a fallacy when, in minute 8 of part two, he says, “lets remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the republican party of the white house; a party founded on the values of self-reliance, and individual liberty, and national unity.” This is a Non causa pro causa fallacy because he implies that he is as the man who first carried the banner… and in turn, will cause the enforcement of the stated values.

I believe that his gestures are acceptable only if one pays no attention to them. It is nice to feel that the speaker refers to the whole audience, but I believe that he switches his viewing side too often, and may cause a distraction for those who pay attention to it. Otherwise, it’s a great method for making everyone feel patriotic.  

Do We Deserve To Die?

Bad things happen to good people so that bad people realize how much worse off they can be if they continue to be bad. People are testes, not punished for  being good so that if they pass, they are really good, but if they fail, then they’re just average. People’s goodness is tested, kind of like quality control, so that God can sort the ones who are really good from the ones who are lemons. Good people who are good just so that they can be rewarded, question their loyalty when bad things happen to them. It is only to the good people who bad things happen and leave their faith intact. In other words, if you’re going to start the trip, you have to finish it. As one can’t be half Jew, half Christian, one can’t be half believer, half doubter when presented with benefits and losses.  

 

Our Faith In Its Teenage Years

We were asked to read Night along with the book of Job so that we could observe the power of our faith, and what it takes to be broken. In Job, he was falsely punished, the thing that destroyed his faith, questioning his prayers and his loyalty to an all-powerful God who was all-demanding. He thought that, if God was unsatisfied with the perfect loyalty of Job, what was he satisfied with? He concluded that God could never be satisfied. Job’s perception of God can also be observed in many parents of present day. For instance, one father may never be satisfied with his son’s athletic or academic performance, while a mother may never be pleased by her daughter’s appearances. This is something that causes the child to lose faith in their parent’s judgment, but after a while of struggles and disappointments. In Night, Elie’s god died within him when he experienced God’s indifference towards the events of the Holocaust. He was shocked at how cruel God can be when standing there, watching the horrors from the outside. In this way, I believe these texts try to show us that God can often display adolescent traits, like mood swings. He can defend someone he favors, or punish whoever he dislikes, simply because of a whim. God’s inconsistency is demonstrated when he doesn’t act during the mass murder of his people, but does help his people to expand. In other words, God chooses to enable expansion as well as suppression of his people. His helping-hand is picky on where it chooses to aid.

The texts we read are chosen to show us during which conditions are people’s faith for God maintained. It is wrong to believe in God only when he helps you. Like a friend, you must not only be someone’s companion when it works to your favor, but vice-versa as well. In other words, you shouldn’t be someone’s friend only when they let you copy off their notebook, but when you let him copy of yours too. In the same way, we shouldn’t have faith in God only when God aids us financially, socially, etc… In the same way that we trust God when he helps us, we should also trust him when he doesn’t.

Faith, in turn, can be limp when being evoked in different circumstances. We should be consistent with it as we are with our daily lives (unless one is a teenager). The inconsistency of one’s faith can be compared to the inconsistency of the emotions one feels as a teenager:

The reality is that, people who don’t often pray choose to do so in a moment where their life is at risk. For instance, people choose to pray while the bank they’re in is being robbed, but never rely on God when his presence is not desperately needed. It shouldn’t take a desperate situation for one to believe and to ask for God’s help. Our faith for God should be like our parent’s love towards us, unconditional. If it is unconditional, then the God in our souls shall become immortal, shall become immune to the events of our lives. If we love God unconditionally, then he will never let us lose faith, as Elie Wiesel says in his book, “You must never lose faith, even when the sword hangs over your head.” Pg. 29.

It's Dr. God, Not Mr. God

Assumptions, as Murphy's Law states, are the "Mother of all mess-ups". It has happened to me that, during an important speech, like for example an NJHS induction ceremony, I confuse an important person's title for one that is lesser than the one the person rightfully owns. I believe I messed up Mr. Bookwalter for Dr. Bookwalter, a mistake I came into account of right after committing it. I now realize how demeaning it must be to be treated as something lesser than what one really is. I imagine God to feel wrathful when he was treated as a human who could be judged for his choices. God gets angry at Job for cursing him and in that way, implying that he's worthy of being cursed. He is not a human to whom one can simply insult without expecting repercussions. The beginning of his anger started with disbelief, as it usually does, when he questioned, "Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?". God is obviously pissed off by his incarnation made by Job. Faith in the LORD must be unconditional, in the good as well as the bad times.  

Presidential Fallacies

1. "Instead of having a discussion, let me ask you as a coda to that. Would you give Congress a date certain to reform Social Security and Medicare within two years after you take office? Because in a bipartisan way, everyone agrees, that's a big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more than the mortgage crisis." 

Here there are two fallacies. First, there is the hasty generalization fallacy when Brokaw states that EVERYONE agrees with his reasoning. Another fallacy that can be found here is the "either or" fallacy which he uses to say that either the Social Security and Medicare is reformed, or a "big ticking time bomb that will eat us up maybe even more that the mortgage crisis", will go off. 

3. Obama uses an "either or" fallacy when he states that, "We're going to have to explore new ways to get more oil, and that includes offshore drilling. It includes telling the oil companies, that currently have 68 million acres that they're not using, that either you use them or you lose them."

4. Obama uses a slippery slope fallacy (also called a Camel's Nose fallacy) when he says that "If they can't get a loabm that means that they can't make a payroll. If they can't make a payroll, then they may end up having to shut theur doors and lay people off."

Be Grateful Or Be Poor

My black Labrador’s trainer told us that we should give her a bone and while she is feasting on it, that we should take it away from her so as to demonstrate our superiority to her. He said that this was important because if we didn’t do it, then one day, she would rebel against us and growl when we deprived her of something. We were supposed to maintain our command status very clear. In this way, I believe that God’s actions have an intention of proving his superiority (not to mention, make us stop taking everything for granted) so that we don’t compare ourselves with him. When “[JOB 12.19] He leadeth princes away spoiled, and overthroweth the mighty. He removeth away the speech of the trusty, and taketh away the understanding of the aged. He poureth contempt upon princes, and weakeneth the strength of the mighty. He discovereth deep things out of darkness, and bringeth out to light the shadow of death. He increaseth the nations, and destroyeth them: he enlargeth the nations and straiteneth them again. He taketh away the heart of the chief of the people of the earth, and causeth them to wander in a wilderness where there is no way. They grope in the dark without light, and he maketh them to stagger like a drunken man [JOB. 12.25].”

 

Thus my explanations proceeds: God gives and takes to prove that he can do so, and to teach us to appreciate what we have, which is what he has given us. If we don’t appreciate our possessions and senses as a product of his kindness, we are rid of them, we are rid of his generosity. 

Fallacies

One example of a camel's nose fallacy is the saying that goes as follows: 

Be careful what you think, because thoughts become words, words become actions, actions become character, and character becomes destiny. 

A Poem, A Manual For Life

Desiderata

By: Max Ehrmann

 

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,

And remember what peace there may be in silence.

As far as possible without surrender

Be on good terms with all persons.

Speak your truth quietly and clearly;

And listen to others,

Even the dull and the ignorant;

They too have their story.

 

Avoid loud and aggressive persons,

They are vexations to the spirit.

If you compare yourself with others,

You may become vain and bitter;

For always there will be greater

And lesser persons than yourself.

Enjoy your achievements

As well as your plans.

 

Keep interested in your own career,

However humble;

It is a real possession in the

Changing fortunes of time.

Exercise caution in your business affairs;

For the world is full of trickery.

But let this not blind you

To what virtue there is ;

Many persons strive for high ideals;

And everywhere life is full of heroism.

 

Be yourself.

Especially, do not feign affection.

Neither be cynical about love;

For in the face of all aridity and disenchantment

It is as perennial as the grass.

 

Take kindly the counsel of the years,

Gracefully surrendering the things of youth.

Nurture strength of spirit

To shield you in sudden misfortune.

But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.

Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline,

Be gentle with yourself.

 

You are a child of the universe,

No less than the trees and the stars;

You have a right to be here.

And whether or not is is clear to you,

No doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

 

Therefore be at peace with God,

Whatever you conceive Him to be,

And whatever your labors and aspirations,

In the noisy confusion of life

Keep peace with your soul.

 

With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams,

It is still a beautiful world.

Be cheerful.

Strive to be happy. 

Odd Legos

I enjoy to construct Lego figures, and it often occurs that while I build it, I realize that the figure I’m building has no resemblance to the object I want to create. I begin to question the instructions, but then resolve to keep following them. I then laugh at myself at the way the thought of doubting the instructions could have even been upon me. I have learned that, as I must never doubt the instructions, we must never doubt God and his intentions, “For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment.” (Job. 9.32) In this way, Job's punishment can be compared to the way people perceive the dreadful events that occur in their lives. 

Presently, people who have suffered a great loss, like the death of a loved one, for instance, tend to question God’s actions. This only makes the mourning so much harder to bear, for, as Max Ehrmann says in his poem, Desiderata, “…you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should. Therefore be at peace with God… Keep peace with your soul.” By doubting God’s actions over our lives, we are only making the journey much more difficult than it really is.  

 

Obama, The Manipulator

Obama’s first argument utilizes pathos when he describes the possibility of the Kenyan couple to pursue their dream in America. He uses more pathos when he explains that “we are a better country than…”, during minute 7 of his speech. He further pushes with Pathos when he talks about the “Nation  of Whiners” during minute 12. It appears as if his main rhetorical method is pathos. Later, we see him use logos during minute 13 when he explains how McCain doesn’t understand the people’s feelings and needs. He uses this logos argument to adapt it to pathos. He talks about progress when he mentions the millions of jobs that were acquired during Clinton’s rule (min. 15). He keeps using pathos when he talks about his grandmother, who “poured everything she had” into Obama’s future (min. 17). During minute 19, he uses logos to describe the “American Promise”, and he implies that all he describes he can provide, evoking pathos. He uses logos when criticizing senator McCain during minute 22 when he describes his (McCain’s) need for obstructing the detoxification of the oil dependency from the middle east. I notice how Obama’s primary rhetorical method is pathos, which he supports with logical (Logos) statements. He reaches his public by understanding their wants. He knows they want health, money (enough for their child’s tuition…), liberty of time management (to be able to tend to their sick child without getting fired), and oil independence from the Middle East. He knows that each of the people present are against Bush’s government and will use the idea to his advantage. He explains the need for healthcare and education during minute 25, evoking pathos. Pathos is so heavily used that I’m starting to realize that it is probably the second most effective method, after Logos. He utilizes a bit of logos when he speaks during the effectiveness of the Iraqi war during minute 31. Near the end, he uses ethos to imply that the responsibility and need of the people is enough to vote for the American Promise. Either way, I felt greatly manipulated by his arguments that evoked pathos, for they were so full of meaning and complete with assurance, that anyone would have been moved, I know I was. (Until I realize what is really happening.)   

To Earn What Was Deserved

It is important to know that we are a race that does unto others what is done unto us. Although this is good in the sense that we are good to the people who are good to us, the downside is that to whoever is bad to us, we are bad. This is a reality. A few minutes ago, I went into the freezer to get some ice cream. I noticed that there was only one scoop left and decided to take it for myself. When my brother asked for some of mine and told me that the fair thing to do would be to split it, I told him that I wouldn't do it because I know that he wouldn't do it for me. My conscience overpowered my greed and I decided to split it, not because he would have done the same for me (because I'm sure he wouldn't have), but because it was the right thing to do. In this way, the lesson I learned is not to do unto others what others do to you, but do to others what you would LIKE to be done to you. 

In this way, David's morals are partially good and partially bad, for he does unto others what others do unto him, not what I said should be done previously. David's morals can be seen when he says that "I will shew kindness unto Hanun the son of Nahash, as his father shewed kindness unto me." (Sam. 2 10.2) We must all take our morals into consideration, including the magnificent King David.

The Battle Of The Judgments

Man's first impulse is to judge a person based on the feedback they receive first, which is appearance. To get to know a person's personality and heart takes much more time. The problem is that basing a judgment on appearances can be very inaccurate. This reality has to be taken into consideration when choosing friends in a new school. When I moved back to Colombia to live after living in the States for four and a half years, I had to acknowledge the fact that while making new friends, I had to keep an eye for people's actions and reactions to daily happenings to be able to observe each candidate's personality. In this way, when I approached someone with hopes of becoming their friend, I already had some type of knowledge regarding their personality. Befriending based only on appearances can be risky, because by spending time with the wrong person, can turn you into the person you tried so hard to avoid. 

God is the type of being who seeks someone to make his anointed based on their heart. Looks are only god to look at, but a noble heart has much greater potential. Our difference between God (one of many), is then that "the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart." (Sam. 1 16.7) We must all try to mimic God in his method for judgment so that we can become acquainted to the people we can learn good from.   

Please Be Human. Be Kind

Good morning fellow brothers. I will ask of you only one favor, which is to imagine yourself in my situation. I hold my dying son’s hand day by day, hearing breath shorter than the last. All I need is the money enough to save my son and have more experiences with him, to see him grow up and become a successful and happy man. Parents here with me today, what would you do to save your son’s life, to see his smile one day more. I have already collected 100 dollars. All I need is 10 dollars more. What are 50 cents from your pockets? To me, 50 cents is one step closer to having happiness from seeing my son live one day more. You will not become any poorer, but I shall become much happier. I know that all of you are nice and generous people who will be no poorer without the spare change I ask of you, the spare change you know is in you pocket in this moment.

Pathos, Ethos, and Logos

PATHOS: Argument that involves the manipulation and interpretation of your opponent’s feelings and emotions to use them in your favor.

ETHOS: Argument that involves control of the contender’s reputation, personality, and trustworthiness to convince the opponent.

LOGOS: Argument that is irrefutable to counter due to its logic. Faculty for reason.

Allegories of History

Exodus VS the Crusades


EXODUS_________________ CRUSADES
Moses___________________ Pope Urban II
The Red Sea_______________ The Crusades (Killing in God’s Name)
Hebrews_________________ Christians and Catholic Church
Pharaoh__________________ Saladin

The Ark Of The Covenant

The Cogen Gadol (Large or great Priest)

This is Aaron

Exodus

I think that the part where Moses discovers his people have given up on him and his god and returns to them and destroys the commandments is an interesting part because it shows how people can lose faith so easily. God was the one who took them out of Egypt, and when they get hungry, they forget the hardships they suffered during their slavery. This event means to teach us that if we are to follow someone, then we follow them in the good times, as well as the bad, or don’t follow them at all. It also shows us how ungratified man can be. Hope is the one thing that can and must never be lost. Without hope, all is lost. Forgiveness is also very important.

This part means that God is forgiving and kind and merciful, and that to doubt his power is to be deprived of it.

Convincing Arguments

I watched the third and final presidential debate in which domestic policies were addressed. I noticed that most of the rhetoric used was deliberative (Future tense). Obama utilizes mostly deliberative and demonstrative rhetoric, as does McCain. The rhetorical form that is almost never used is forensic rhetoric (past tense). Deliberative rhetoric is the one mostly used. 

Obama:

1. Future (deliberative): During the time 5 min to about 6 or seven min, Obama says that “Number one, let's focus on jobs. I want to end the tax breaks for companies that are shipping jobs overseas and provide a tax credit for every company that's creating a job right here in America.

Number two, let's help families right away by providing them a tax cut -- a middle-class tax cut for people making less than $200,000, and let's allow them to access their IRA accounts without penalty if they're experiencing a crisis.” He later added that, (the) “Last point I want to make, though. We've got some long-term challenges in this economy that have to be dealt with. We've got to fix our energy policy that's giving our wealth away. We've got to fix our health care system and we've got to invest in our education system for every young person to be able to learn.

 

2. Present tense (Demonstrative): During the minute 7:50, Obama makes a separation between him and McCain by stating their difference in their intentions on the taxes the people must pay. The division can be seen when he says, “I think tax policy is a major difference between Senator McCain and myself. And we both want to cut taxes, the difference is who we want to cut taxes for.”

 

3. Future tense (deliberative): Obama says that “We need to eliminate a whole host of programs that don't work. And I want to go through the federal budget line by line, page by page, programs that don't work, we should cut. Programs that we need, we should make them work better.” (Min 14)

 

4. Present tense (demontrative): Obama separated himself with McCain again when he says, “Now, what is true is that Senator McCain and I have a difference in terms of the need to invest in America and the American people. I mentioned health care earlier.” (min. 14:50)

 

5. Future tense (Deliberative): “If we make investments now so that people have coverage, that we are preventing diseases, that will save on Medicare and Medicaid in the future.

If we invest in a serious energy policy, that will save in the amount of money we're borrowing from China to send to Saudi Arabia.

If we invest now in our young people and their ability to go to college, that will allow them to drive this economy into the 21st century.” Obama says this during min. 15.

 

6. Past tense (forensic): Obama attacks McCain’s campaign when he states that “100 percent, John, of your ads -- 100 percent of them have been negative.” (min. 27)

 

McCain:

1.   Future tense (deliberative): During minute 7, he counters Obama’s rhetoric with some of his own when stating, “Now Senator Obama talks about the very, very rich. Joe, I want to tell you, I'll not only help you buy that business that you worked your whole life for and be able -- and I'll keep your taxes low and I'll provide available and affordable health care for you and your employees.”

2.   I believe McCain used the deliberative rhetoric, but put it in words of the past to prove that it was possible. In other words, he stated he could repeat something that had success in the past when he said, “And they went out and bought up these mortgages. And people were able to stay in their homes, and eventually the values of those homes went up, and they actually made money.” (Min. 17)

3.   McCain uses deliberative rhetoric when he confirms that “the point is that we become energy independent and we will create millions of jobs -- millions of jobs in America.” (Min. 17) he later says that (I) “would eliminate the tariff on imported sugarcane-based ethanol from Brazil.”

4.   McCain also attacks Obama indirectly (Demonstrative) when he says that “I oppose subsidies for ethanol because I thought it distorted the market and created inflation; Senator Obama supported those subsidies.”

5.   Present (forensic) McCain also attacks Obama’s campaign when he says that “that's -- that's -- that's an unfortunate part. Now we have the highest spending by Senator Obama's campaign than any time since Watergate.” (min. 27)

I know this isn't part of the forms of rhetoric, but I want to say that I also noticed that the candidates uses many facts and statistics to support their arguments, as well as inspiring pity within us when they talked about the Joe the plumber, etc... 

Giving Up So Soon?

It happens often that when you start something with a negative attitude, the result is always negative. For instance, when I was about six years old, I decided I wanted to take violin lessons. During my first lesson, I learned two things: learning from a Russian teacher who barely spoke english (I was in the same linguistic state) and stank of pungent B.O. was going to be distracting, not to mention complicated because of the weak communication. I also learned that playing a violin was much more difficult than it seemed. From that very first lesson, I resolved to detest my violin class. This conclusion made failure very predictable. As you might have guessed, a couple of months later, I quit. What I must take into account is that my real giving up was done on that first lesson, not when I resolved to take action (by the way, I've been taking violin lessons for almost three years now). 

In this way, the hebrews didn't give up when they chose to build the golden idol, but instead gave up the second they started questioning God's power when they complained about their hunger and thirst during their journey towards the promised land. The tension sprang when "he received them at their hand, and fashioned it with a graving tool, after he had made it a molten calf: and they said, These be thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt" (Ex. 32.4) It is very important not to adopt quitting as a habit, because this is not one that is easy to unshackle oneself from. 

Jealousy: Good Or Bad?

Jealousy is an emotion I don't often experience, but when I do, I testify that it is one of the strong ones. When you're wrapped in jealousy, there's nothing else you can think about. You can't be happy for the other person. Instead, you're bitter and bad humored and it's also an emotion very hard to get rid of because to accomplish this, you first have to accept it, and this is not always a thing you're willing to do. Jealousy can be good only when it's very subtle, weak enough only to avoid the object or person of interest from being too free. In this case, it's not exactly called jealousy, but protection (jealousy, in turn, can also be called overprotection). 

When God accepted that "Thou shalt not bow thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me" (Ex. 20.5), I think that he said he was jealous only because he didn't want anyone who followed him to follow anyone else. This is probably one of many conditions (commandments) which God explains to his people. God's case of jealousy is not negative in this case, for all he wants is to be the sole idol for his worshipers. He is not jealous of other idols for having his followers, for if other idols have followers, then those aren't his. In other words, he can never be jealous of another god or figure because even if someone worships him and the idol, then that person isn't really worshipping the Lord, for he wouldn't be following one of his commandments.    

Secondary Intentions

You must be cunning to be able to teach some one a lesson while you help them in some other problem. I, for one, haven't been able to achieve this manipulative control over anybody... yet. God, however, was able to kindle faith on the Hebrews' hearts without them realizing it when he "hardened the heart of the Pharaoh, and he harkened not unto them" (Ex. 9.12). I believe he did this because he was sure he would be able to free the Hebrews from their slavery, but he had to make the feat appear difficult and he had to make the Hebrews think that the Pharaoh's stubbornness was no match for his power, to ensure his peoples' unconditional faith in his power. He had to make an image of himself that would inspire awe in the hearts of the slaves. 

Faithless Or Stubborn?

Like Moses, I can also be faithless at times. For instance, if my father gives me his opinion on an item I should buy, I have to listen to him, because if I don't, I usually end up regretting it. It's not that I'm stubborn or anything (In this case), but I simply have a small amount of faith in his opinion that is increasing with each day. Other times, I can be stubborn when my mother tells me to bush my teeth and I tell her "soon", or "I'll get right to it". Also, I can be stubborn when I have an opinion that concerns something that others disagree about, I don't usually give them an easy time convincing me. In this way, I think that Moses simply demonstrates an obvious sense of faithlessness with God's commands. He doesn't believe in the possibility of their success. I think that for this reason, God was enraged by his conversation in the cave when he was in the form of a burning, yet never consuming bush. God dislikes Moses's lack of faith in him and his power. For example, God reassured Moses when he stated, "Behold, the children of Israel have not harkened unto me; how then shall Pharaoh hear me, who am of uncircumcised lips.?" Ex. 6.12 This faithlessness is not something to be proud of, for he will one day, as did I, wind up regretting his doubt.  

An Honest Mistake

Whenever i'm punished and prohibited television, for instance, my attention tends to wander to other things, and I forget my punishment and watch TV after a while. Then, my mother returns to find me ignoring her ban. She then punished me harder, giving me two more days of no TV. Like Orpheus's and Lot's wife's mistakes (in Gen. 19. 26), they forgot their conditions as priviledged beings by which their exceptions would be granted. For this, they simply lost their immunity to natural fate. From this I can reflect that often you are punished for things that you do without meaning to. M personal belief is that this shouldn't be. You should be condemned for your actions which led to and effect you intended to occur.

Famished For Victory

It is always joyful, I have learned, to achieve something though one’s own effort. A hollow feeling is always subsequent when receiving credit by someone else’s feats. In a way, sometimes the feeling of accomplishment is greater than the joy from the accomplishment itself. This is why, you must not seek other’s accomplishments (because you would be lacking the moment of achievement), but you must aspire to the joy in the act of triumph as an alternative for being in quest for the happiness in the gain itself. For instance, an A+ on an exam is much sweeter if I know that I studied for it, than if I cheated to acquire it. Another example is that if I practice my instrument dedicatedly, then upon perfecting something simple like a scale would give me more happiness from the feeling of success than the scale does by itself. In this way, Abram was very wise when rejecting the riches offered to him, for he would rather attain it himself and acknowledge his triumph. He supported his choice when he said,
“That I will not take from a thread even to a shoelatchet, and that I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich:”. I believe he was the first man to overcome greed and predict how his choices would affect his future personality, and, in turn, his destiny.

A Divine Reflexion

We are here and they are not here.
As water’s reflections, drawn to
Our original, which seems near,
But not before we knew too,
That reality beat us in
A way which made us see our sin.

“Honor Thy Father And Thy Mother”, Or Else

The world abides by one main law: For every action, there is an equal reaction. For every cause, there is an effect, or a consequence, that evens out the event. I have learned that if I disobey my parents on a warning or an order, a I will experience the reaction, if it is a punishment or an uncomfortable situation. For instance, if my father warns me about peer pressure (in Adam and Eve’s case, the serpent) in school and how, if I give into it, would end up with a serious health dilemma. Since Adam and Eve didn’t heed to their father’s, God’s warning, they had to pay for their defiance by having to work the land and eat “from the sweat of their foreheads” and were banished from the garden of Eden as well. From this we can learn that almost all of the time, our parents know what’s best for us even though we think it’s not so.

An Emptied Shelf

It can be soul-shattering to have to sell your life’s passion in exchange for your life. I have never had to commit such a difficult trade, but I am sure that if I would have, then my gained life would be hollow and without meaning, much like Bois’s was after he had to sell his books in order to sustain his family. He didn’t precisely have to sell his passion as a whole, because his knowledge still remained with him, something priceless and unsellable. Nevertheless, Bois’s obligation did hurt him deeply and gave him a sense of defeat. I have seen cases of people who transform, or sell their personalities to be able to fit in. Their desire is so great, that they believe acceptance simply costs a personality. This is a greatly overpriced act of desperation which only leads to regret. The murder of Bois’s “darling” can be witnessed in the paragraph which states that “not so much imagination is needed to envisage the terrible scene in the Boxworth parsonage, the anger and resentment on both sides, the books being loaded into a cart to be taken back to the Cambridge booksellers, the dusty nothing left in the vacated shelves, the atmosphere in the house of failure and betrayal.” Pg. 206 Upon tossing your personality, all that is left is a dusty outline on an empty shelf.

Whatever Shall I Do?

It has often occurred to me that someone annoys me in a persistent and derogatory manner, bullying, one could say, and many spectators pretend they can’t hear. It is incredible the way people take the remark “Mind your own business” a little to seriously. I’m not sure if the situation affects their guilty conscience at all, but what I do know for a fact is that people’s will power in general, is crappy. It is not until the aggressor threatens the bystander, that he gets involved. This example can also be noticed in the Holocaust, where it wasn’t until Germany threatened the United States, that the nation got involved. Without this happening, the States would have continued to turn look away. This problem can also be seen in the narrow-mindedness of the English government when faced with the protestant purist orphans and widows. Adams describes this ego-centered attitude with the paragraph “This moving story of a small group of people, driven by a passionate belief in the strict purity of their devotion to the word of God and an equally passionate rejection of worldly authority in favour of a divinely sanctioned life, scarcely registered on the consciousness of England.” Pg. 179 This quote can be sadly recognized as an attitude many people use when faced with the burden of helping someone else.

An Impossible Solution

Many times have I been faced with a situation in which I must choose the lesser of two wrongs. It does not occur in every occurrence, that the solution is obvious. For instance, when choosing whether to help my siblings with their homework or to do my own so that I don’t fall behind, is a common happening in my life. I choose to help the homework get done properly, for the most part. It is not such a difficult decision, but it isn’t evident either. I simply base my reaction after analyzing the two consequences on both sides in the case of each scenario. It usually turns out all right. It was not so in Henry Garnet’s dilemma. He probably used the same method as I do, which is to ponder the repercussions of both choices, and decided on the one which he thought was less bad. I’m not so sure if I would have done the same as he did… choosing religion over state (and in turn, caused him torture, death sentence, and traitor sentence, among other punishments). I think, that in this way, Garnet was a true Catholic. He way loyal to his duty above his own self. It is difficult to make a decision as this one, more so if one side pressures your conflict as England did to Garnet. The effect can be much more profound if the rejected side convinces you of their correctness, but this isn’t the case. Adams states that “the conflict between his duty as a Catholic priest and his duty as an English citizen they considered no conflict at all.” Pg. 113 Other’s opinions on your decision makes it much more difficult to bear it, however, this is impossible to avoid because on way or another, he would have been judged by one side. It was a lose-lose situation which lead to his gruesome and rather painful execution. I really hope I never encounter a situation as complicated as this one in my entire life. I expect it would be much easier to bear if one had a companion to share the conflict.

"Corect Speling"

In dealing with students on the high-school level- that is, the second, third, and fourth year of high school- we must bare in mind that to some degree they are at a difficult psychological stage, generally called adolescence. Students at this level are likely to be confused mentally, to be subject to involuntary distractions and romantic dreaminess. They are basically timid or self-conscious, they lack frankness and are usually very sensitive but hate to admit it. They are motivated either by great ambition, probably out of all proportion to their capabilities, or by extreme laziness caused by the fear of not succeeding or attaining their objectives. Fundamentally they want to be kept busy but they refuse to admit it. They are frequently the victims of earlier poor training, and this makes every effort doubly hard. They are usually willing to work, but they hate to work without obtaining the results they think they should obtain. Their critical faculties are beginning to develop and they are critical of their instructors and of the materials they are given to learn. They are beginning to feel the pressure of time; and although they seldom say so, they really want to be consulted and given an opportunity to direct their own affairs, but they need considerable guidance. (From A Language Teacher's Guide by E. A. M?ras)