Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Dissapointment in Fitting In
It can be strenuous to fit in a society one is not accustomed to be a part of. Primarily, it is hard to build expectations you are not sure will not be met. I have studied in various schools and know that not only do you want to fit in, but you don’t yet know exactly what you’ll be fitting in to. I used to want people’s attention because it’s very hard to be a new student where everyone knows each other. Like James, I would have trouble fitting in. God's Secretaries says that “The outcome of his violent, threatened youth was not someone filled with vitriol and vengeance, although James could be foul-mouthed, but what might be called exaggeratedly social behavior, a longing for acceptance and a desire for a life and a society in which all conflicting demands were reconciled and where all factions felt at home.” Pg. 9. I wouldn’t consider myself to have been that desperate for attention that I resorted to bad words, but I did try to fit in and not be a hassle to anybody. Also, my plans, expectations, and hopes weren’t always met, like if I planned to make friends, often people made that really difficult.Nicholas Adams stated that “the new king would soon discover, however, that seventeenth century Englishmen had about as much love for union, whether fiscal or political, as their modern descendants. The dream of unity-an abstract, intellectualized, Scottish and hence European ideal of political togetherness- would within a year fall foul of an English conservatism which valued it own hard-won freedoms far above any high-falutin’ ideas of political unity.” Pg. 13 I have learned now that, as the poet Max Ehrmann stated in his work, Desiderata to “Enjoy your achievements, as well as your plans”.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
The Righteousness of Anonymity
I know from experience, that nothing can be more repulsive than a large ego. I used to be more egotistical with my grades, but in time, I learned that my attitude only tired people an repelled them from me. I had to learn that if I wanted to spend more time around others without them fleeing, I had to change my behavior. So far, my change has been effective. Nicolas Adams believes that "as a result, it does not suffer from one of the defining fault of age: a form of anxious egotistical self-promotion. It exudes, rather, a shared confidence and authority and in that is one of the greatest of all monuments of the suppression of ego." Pg. xii
Like this translation of the King James Bible, The God's Secretaries knew that if they wanted their work to be recognized universally, they had to be self-less, they had to have no ego, no opinion. They acknowledged the fact that if they had an opinion, that there would always be someone to counter it. It wouldn't be taken seriously.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Show Off is for Daredevils
Many times have I gotten overexcited when doing something, that my confidence speeds up too rapidly. For example, when trying to do a trick on a ramp with my mountain bike, if I start to swank, I only end up making a ridiculing myself in front of everyone I was trying to impress. It almost always ends badly. Like myself, Daedalus's son, Icarus, committed the same mistake when he ignored his father's precautions and flew high enough for the sun's heat to melt the wax that held the feathers together. The myth says that "they passed Samos and Delos on the left and Lebynthos on the right, when the boy, exulting in his career, began to leave the guidance of his companion and soar upward as if to reach heaven." It is better to go at it slowly than to take a big leap of confidence. All he ended up proving is that by trying to pose for his father, he can not only make himself appear disobedient and cocky, but can also kill himself in the process. It isn't worth the risk. Confidence can betray you. Your ego can make you look stupid.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Cliches
5 Plot lines that are Clichés:
1. Man rescues woman from bad guy and they live happily ever after.
2. Man in love with woman. Woman or man dies.
3. Bad guy threatens to kill many. One good guy saves them all by killing him.
4. Family rivalry obstructs love.
5. One good guy stripped of job (FBI, police, ect…) no one believes story, ends up correct.
5 Cliché Movie titles:
1. The Sum of All Fears
2. Enemy of the State
3. True Lies
4. Desperate Measures
5. Mission Impossible
1. Man rescues woman from bad guy and they live happily ever after.
2. Man in love with woman. Woman or man dies.
3. Bad guy threatens to kill many. One good guy saves them all by killing him.
4. Family rivalry obstructs love.
5. One good guy stripped of job (FBI, police, ect…) no one believes story, ends up correct.
5 Cliché Movie titles:
1. The Sum of All Fears
2. Enemy of the State
3. True Lies
4. Desperate Measures
5. Mission Impossible
Grammar
Grammar 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 your wearing seat belt.
10. I would advise you to seek qualified legal advice about how to handle this situation.
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 your wearing seat belt.
10. I would advise you to seek qualified legal advice about how to handle this situation.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Madly In Love
I have never been in love to the point where if I don't kill myself, I go mad, like Sappho. I have had strong crushes, and I know for a fact that if your crush doesn't feel the same way, then you can get a bid depressed. Sappho's case is a little extreme, but I think it has happened in real life, that people kill either themselves or their crush to appease their suffering of love. Sometimes it can be really difficult to gather the courage to take a Lover's Leap like Sappho, but it is always best to take the risk (all or nothing) instead of living with the doubt. " under a superstition that those who should take that “Lover’s-leap” would, if not destroyed, be cured of their love." Sappho was not able to cope with her love not being returned and so, she decided to kill herself, which, I think, is a bit extreme. At that point, it is not just love, but the person is mad (literally, crazy) with love. They don't think straight and often make irresponsible decisions. This does happen presently when people get drunk to take their Lover's Leap, that they end up ruining everything. In conclusion, I believe that this myth's meaning is that it is dangerous to fall in love too passionately.
His Dream Saved My Life
Our soon-to-be hero,
Zynth, knower of knowledge,
Learned The Knowledge from zero.
What he knew, he knew not from college.
But from his adventure that he dreamt
Are we saved from what is not meant?
What occurred, had never before,
And the fabric of time, he tore.
With one swift motion, we were saved
To live one day more.
And so we hear his story
Engraved in stone,
And sung by the sway of the trees,
Which is lent to our ears,
To listen but never to tell.
Forever we must remember,
For forget is repeat,
And repeat, is a great defeat:
Tonight the hunter stole,
Another’s achieved soul.
He has thieved a brother’s
Reputation and sold it to the others.
For this he must pay
That his guilt will eternally say,
What is known,
Solely to his soul.
His actions fueled by greed
Have earned him a great toll none can exceed.
That night he dreamt
A dream, that he will never forget.
But the dream trapped him with a net.
As prey, he never had a choice.
He was dropped upon a world,
That had no voice,
And so into a ball he curled,
Until he had the found the courage to explore.
So then, Zynth was determined to seek,
Seek the secrets to his deceit.
He found he was standing on stone,
Which he knew, was always prone
To be cold to the touch,
Yet the one he felt was warm. Punch
Is was what he did from instinct,
Because to him, extinct
May he become if he is fooled by a predator,
Which is always warm with blood from its prey,
Which never appears to be of topic to say.
Yet here we see the boulder,
Which hummed against his shoulder.
Unresponsive to his attack
Until he found the lack
Of life, or rage.
Either way, he never found a sage
To tell him the difference.
Then he accumulated more confidence,
Given to him by the god of the mountain,
When he found a fountain
That had odd symbols inscribed beneath the stone.
Concerning their meanings, he would have never known
That they warned of a traveller’s drink
That it may never be done without a moment to think
About the effort invested by nature to create that pleasure,
That life. The Thirst he gained upon his first drink was beyond measure,
For he had never been taught to thank nature’s will
Of gifting him with a life he has not appreciated still.
Then, nature’s mercy gave him an opportunity
To live despite his ignorance and lack of sense of community
And to live in gratitude with the gods and nature for life
And yearn for greater knowledge to light the darkness of ignorance.
As he quenched his thirst and thanked the forces of nature,
He continued on with his quest for his departure.
To his home, where he will tell others of his happenings
Was where he seeked to go, but some rings
On the edge of the fountain made him stop to wonder
To whom they belonged, and if there could possibly be anyone fonder
Of the circular objects than him.
For they were seducing him with their beauty, right there on the rim.
As he went to take them, his reflection made him halt,
For the water was informing him of his fault.
A whisper in his head told him of the effects of the rings.
It said they had the ability to do many things.
It gave him the power to rule.
It said the rings would use him as a tool
To control the world and take him captive
Behind his back, they would betray him with the motive
To make him forget,
Forget his mistake.
He saw the doorway out a few miles ahead,
But he chose the other path instead.
And so, being as obvious as it may seem, the temptation was unbearable,
For the effect instilled and kindled within him was terrible.
He stopped hearing the whisper in his head,
After it lastly said,
As punishment for your weak will,
I will never again be in your head for you have surely committed a kill
By ignoring the voice, you have capitulated
Your will to the rings, and by doing this, you have surely mated
With the devil, for you are no longer in control of you actions.
All that is left is a memory’s fractions
That will haunt you forever more.
For you have been given the opportunity to bore
Into the fabric of time and peek at what lies ahead if others take your same path. If all goes as you have assured it to go, as you see here. Sane
Will no longer be the people of your village, or of any other for that matter.
And it will get sadder and sadder.
For the people will never hear the voice you just murdered, the voice of conscience, which causes respect, honesty, generosity, love,
And numerous other virtues. The only hope (a trait that can never desert
any person, for it is encrypted in their souls) for your species, that you insert daily into this path of destruction, is that this memory which I have planted within you, shall sprout to be a prosperous and loving team which wanted
we always have, to become. This decision you have taken to accept temptation has not affected your imminent future. Erected
has always been your fate to rule your people during your lifetime,
but how you go at this you can choose to decide every step of the lime-savored path you have now chosen.
The door to my voice will now be frozen,
But in time, I trust that you may yearn to open it,
And so it shall be. Until that day arrives, you are no longer fit
To have a conscience, and thus, will power.
A spark I have left within you to remember of your sour
Choice, so that you may one day recover me. Yet the actual recovering must be done by your brothers, for your choice has left you without the right to live under the consent of the gods. The spark I speak of
Will travel to your time
And speak to your mates in rhyme. Good luck!”
Zynth was astonished at the voice he had heard in his head.
He forgot what it said
The instant he stopped to think about what he read,
On the stone of the fountain, which he could now comprehend.
He saw a white light exit from within his head, travel down to the ring, send
(for it was cold back home) the light towards the north, towards the exit door. For he was left alone with only a candle lit. As he saw his memory and his life flash by, he managed to beg forgiveness to his brother from whom he had stolen, and turn around to find he was in the future of his home if his people did as he did. What he saw made him shriek in fear.
The deserted desert was far too near.
And thus, Zynth woke without waking, for he had become a vegetable,
Trapped within his own mind, trapped by the uncontrollable.
Trapped by the gods.
BY VICTOR VAINBERG
Zynth, knower of knowledge,
Learned The Knowledge from zero.
What he knew, he knew not from college.
But from his adventure that he dreamt
Are we saved from what is not meant?
What occurred, had never before,
And the fabric of time, he tore.
With one swift motion, we were saved
To live one day more.
And so we hear his story
Engraved in stone,
And sung by the sway of the trees,
Which is lent to our ears,
To listen but never to tell.
Forever we must remember,
For forget is repeat,
And repeat, is a great defeat:
Tonight the hunter stole,
Another’s achieved soul.
He has thieved a brother’s
Reputation and sold it to the others.
For this he must pay
That his guilt will eternally say,
What is known,
Solely to his soul.
His actions fueled by greed
Have earned him a great toll none can exceed.
That night he dreamt
A dream, that he will never forget.
But the dream trapped him with a net.
As prey, he never had a choice.
He was dropped upon a world,
That had no voice,
And so into a ball he curled,
Until he had the found the courage to explore.
So then, Zynth was determined to seek,
Seek the secrets to his deceit.
He found he was standing on stone,
Which he knew, was always prone
To be cold to the touch,
Yet the one he felt was warm. Punch
Is was what he did from instinct,
Because to him, extinct
May he become if he is fooled by a predator,
Which is always warm with blood from its prey,
Which never appears to be of topic to say.
Yet here we see the boulder,
Which hummed against his shoulder.
Unresponsive to his attack
Until he found the lack
Of life, or rage.
Either way, he never found a sage
To tell him the difference.
Then he accumulated more confidence,
Given to him by the god of the mountain,
When he found a fountain
That had odd symbols inscribed beneath the stone.
Concerning their meanings, he would have never known
That they warned of a traveller’s drink
That it may never be done without a moment to think
About the effort invested by nature to create that pleasure,
That life. The Thirst he gained upon his first drink was beyond measure,
For he had never been taught to thank nature’s will
Of gifting him with a life he has not appreciated still.
Then, nature’s mercy gave him an opportunity
To live despite his ignorance and lack of sense of community
And to live in gratitude with the gods and nature for life
And yearn for greater knowledge to light the darkness of ignorance.
As he quenched his thirst and thanked the forces of nature,
He continued on with his quest for his departure.
To his home, where he will tell others of his happenings
Was where he seeked to go, but some rings
On the edge of the fountain made him stop to wonder
To whom they belonged, and if there could possibly be anyone fonder
Of the circular objects than him.
For they were seducing him with their beauty, right there on the rim.
As he went to take them, his reflection made him halt,
For the water was informing him of his fault.
A whisper in his head told him of the effects of the rings.
It said they had the ability to do many things.
It gave him the power to rule.
It said the rings would use him as a tool
To control the world and take him captive
Behind his back, they would betray him with the motive
To make him forget,
Forget his mistake.
He saw the doorway out a few miles ahead,
But he chose the other path instead.
And so, being as obvious as it may seem, the temptation was unbearable,
For the effect instilled and kindled within him was terrible.
He stopped hearing the whisper in his head,
After it lastly said,
As punishment for your weak will,
I will never again be in your head for you have surely committed a kill
By ignoring the voice, you have capitulated
Your will to the rings, and by doing this, you have surely mated
With the devil, for you are no longer in control of you actions.
All that is left is a memory’s fractions
That will haunt you forever more.
For you have been given the opportunity to bore
Into the fabric of time and peek at what lies ahead if others take your same path. If all goes as you have assured it to go, as you see here. Sane
Will no longer be the people of your village, or of any other for that matter.
And it will get sadder and sadder.
For the people will never hear the voice you just murdered, the voice of conscience, which causes respect, honesty, generosity, love,
And numerous other virtues. The only hope (a trait that can never desert
any person, for it is encrypted in their souls) for your species, that you insert daily into this path of destruction, is that this memory which I have planted within you, shall sprout to be a prosperous and loving team which wanted
we always have, to become. This decision you have taken to accept temptation has not affected your imminent future. Erected
has always been your fate to rule your people during your lifetime,
but how you go at this you can choose to decide every step of the lime-savored path you have now chosen.
The door to my voice will now be frozen,
But in time, I trust that you may yearn to open it,
And so it shall be. Until that day arrives, you are no longer fit
To have a conscience, and thus, will power.
A spark I have left within you to remember of your sour
Choice, so that you may one day recover me. Yet the actual recovering must be done by your brothers, for your choice has left you without the right to live under the consent of the gods. The spark I speak of
Will travel to your time
And speak to your mates in rhyme. Good luck!”
Zynth was astonished at the voice he had heard in his head.
He forgot what it said
The instant he stopped to think about what he read,
On the stone of the fountain, which he could now comprehend.
He saw a white light exit from within his head, travel down to the ring, send
(for it was cold back home) the light towards the north, towards the exit door. For he was left alone with only a candle lit. As he saw his memory and his life flash by, he managed to beg forgiveness to his brother from whom he had stolen, and turn around to find he was in the future of his home if his people did as he did. What he saw made him shriek in fear.
The deserted desert was far too near.
And thus, Zynth woke without waking, for he had become a vegetable,
Trapped within his own mind, trapped by the uncontrollable.
Trapped by the gods.
BY VICTOR VAINBERG
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