alwaysmrsghost meanderings!

2011-01-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

Sadly, when a man basks in the warm glow of newly acquired power, modesty is often the first quality to melt away.

Quote

2010-12-03T08:50:00.000-08:00

Well this was on Fringe last night.....

It's a tragic but small price to pay for the common good."

Do you agree?

Watched what?

2010-10-14T09:56:00.001-07:00

A watched clock never moves.

Eureka!

2009-07-12T21:08:00.000-07:00

An idealist don't get to do what they do with out a couple of pragmatists running interference for them.

Blah, Blah, Blah!!~~

2009-05-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Go Confidently in the Direction of Your Dreams!

-- Henry David Thoreau

Finito!

2009-05-11T19:34:00.000-07:00

Block Three Completed~~

Better than my most sublime dreams~

P as in Pass!!

2009-05-04T12:02:00.000-07:00

Goodbye Clinicals!

Quote John left on Desktop

2009-04-29T22:30:00.000-07:00

“Whether or not you write well, write bravely”
-Bill Stout

Pharm is done!

2009-04-25T12:38:00.000-07:00

Good night Faye- Sleep well.

Article Quote

2009-02-28T18:25:00.001-08:00

Skill, not just good intentions, is needed to win a battle.

A Beautiful Mind Noble Prize Speech---->>>>>>

2009-02-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

Thank you. I've always believed in numbers and the equations and logics that lead to reason.

But after a lifetime of such pursuits, I ask,

"What truly is logic?"

"Who decides reason?"

My quest has taken me through the physical, the metaphysical, the delusional -- and back.

And I have made the most important discovery of my career, the most important discovery of my life: It is only in the mysterious equations of love that any logic or reasons can be found.Perhaps it is good to have a beautiful mind, but an even greater gift is to discover a beautiful heart.

I'm only here tonight because of you.

You are the reason I am.

You are all my reasons.

Thank you.

Oriental Proverb

2009-02-20T11:25:00.000-08:00

Speech is silver- Silence is golden.

QUOTE

2009-02-18T09:52:00.001-08:00

Knowing what lies ahead should have a profound impact on how we live now.

Psych! No Nurse Ratched Here!

2009-02-06T11:50:00.001-08:00

87% Process EXAM ONE!

Henry Brooks Adams

2009-02-04T21:56:00.000-08:00

Quote:

One friend in a lifetime is much, two are many, three are hardly possible.

King

2009-01-21T08:28:00.000-08:00

Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or in the darkness of destructive selfishness.
Martin Luther King, Jr.

Henry Ford---------~~~~~

2008-12-17T10:14:00.000-08:00

Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is the probable reason why so few engage in it.

Block Two

2008-12-15T16:02:00.000-08:00

DONE!

2008-11-18T15:33:00.001-08:00

“Do you know what a compromise is?” Finch asks Scout, after she gets into a fight at school. “It’s an agreement reached by mutual consent.” It’s also a perfect example of Atticus-the-lawyer and Atticus-the-father meeting halfway.

Somnus

2008-11-11T14:01:00.001-08:00

SONG: Somnus Nemoris
ARTIST: Yoko Shimomura

LATIN LYRICS:

Tellus dormit
et liberi in diem faciunt
numquam extinguunt
ne expergisci possint

Omnia dividit
tragoedia coram
amandum quae

Et nocte perpetua
ehem vel vera visione
par oram videbo te
mane tempu expergiscendi

ENGLISH LYRICS:

A kingdom sleeps
children make groans that are never diminished
nor can they hope

A man is divided
he faces a tragedy and is sent away
And to travel at night from destruction

Is his other burden
to bear every fear is his punishment
which he must endure throughout time
and from it ascend

More Roosevelt

2008-11-07T08:51:00.000-08:00

Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.
Theodore Roosevelt, Speech in New York, September 7, 1903
26th president of US (1858 - 1919)

Eleanor Roosevelt

2008-11-07T08:43:00.003-08:00

No one can make you inferior without your consent.

Courage and Resolution

2008-11-07T08:40:00.000-08:00

Courage is not the absence of fear but rather the judgment that something is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever but the cautious do not live at all.

Cranial Nerves- All twelve of them- in Memory- No cheating.

2008-10-31T19:37:00.001-07:00

One- Nose/Smell

Two/Three/ Four- eye movement

Five- Jaw movement

Six- Eyes

Seven- facial expressions

Eight Hearing

Nine and Ten- Taste and swallowing

Eleven- shrugging

Twelve- tongue movement.

TEST

2008-10-22T07:43:00.001-07:00

84% on Pharm Exam One!

Hope

2008-10-12T15:22:00.000-07:00

Life is poor indeed when we are bereft of hope.

Process EXAM

2008-10-03T15:20:00.000-07:00

88% EXAM ONE Nana!

George Bernard Shaw

2008-09-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Youth is wasted on the young.

quote

2008-09-23T20:48:00.001-07:00

Doctors treat the illness; Nurses the patient.

John

2008-09-15T16:03:00.001-07:00

John posted below.

Stupid people

2008-09-14T20:12:00.000-07:00

Quote from my husband.

There are three rules of stupidity.

1. Don't underestimate the power of stupid people in groups.
2. Stupidity has no bounds.
3. Those who think they know everything annoy all of us who do.

Good ole Bennie

2008-09-14T20:05:00.001-07:00

I wonder was Benjamin Franklin called Bennie for short? Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Failure to prepare is preparing to fail.

I guess that's nursing school in a nutshell.

Process Lecture Number Two

2008-09-12T22:47:00.000-07:00

Blood flow of the heart- in my head- no cheating.

Superior and Inferior Vena Cavae,
R Atrium
Tricuspid Valve
R Ventricle
Pulmonic Valve
Pulmonary artery
Lungs
Pulmonary Veins {blood now is oxygenated}
L Atrium
Mitral Valve
L Ventricle
Aortic Valve
Aorta
To Body and Systemic Circulation.

Cake- Let them eat Cake!

2008-09-12T22:42:00.001-07:00

Love the band Cake- you must at least admit that they sound different.

You wont admit you love me.
And so how am I ever to know?
You only tell me
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

A million times I ask you,
And then I ask you over again.
You only answer
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

If you cant make your mind up,
Well never get started.
And I dont wanna wind up
Being parted, broken-hearted.
So if you really love me,
Say yes.
But if you dont, dear, confess.
And please dont tell me
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

If you cant make your mind up,
Well never get started.
And I dont wanna wind up
Being parted, broken-hearted.
So if you really love me,
Say yes.
But if you dont, dear, confess.
And please dont tell me
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps,
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps,
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.

Shakespeare

2008-08-29T21:15:00.000-07:00

Now is the winter of our discontent.

how to make an ethical decision?

2008-08-21T17:49:00.000-07:00

Nursing lecture for monday next~~~~

~~ All life is worthy of respect.

~~ That which causes a good outcome is a good action.

~~ Decisions made in one situation cannot be generalized to another situation.

Quote I found

2008-08-20T17:17:00.000-07:00

Now there is time and Time is young.

~ May Sarton

Quote

2008-08-12T16:33:00.000-07:00

Love what you love without apology.

Gina humour

2008-08-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

People that live in glass houses should not undress.

Age and Beauty

2008-07-27T16:44:00.000-07:00

Age is the enemy of all women.

Potter and Perry

2008-07-25T11:17:00.000-07:00

Credit to Potter and Perry: Fundamentals of Nursing.

"As a caring discipline, nursing is rooted in helping individuals to regain, maintain, or improve their health, prevent illness, find comfort, and retain their individuality and dignity."

Autumn, after all, is o so practical

2008-07-22T22:18:00.000-07:00

Patience is a virtue, but procrastinating, when nothing is to be gained by the delay, is not a virtue.

The young are particularly prone to martyrdom; the consequences are much easier to face when you still believe you're invincible.

A spiritual person seeks not to stumble; a physical person seeks to be stumbled.

Regret is a futile emotion unless humility turns it into experience and gives you the wisdom to prevent you from making the same mistake twice.

For fun: If your mind is too open, all sorts of horrible things can crawl in.

Yellowstone National Park

2008-07-22T15:27:00.000-07:00

Lisa's contributions

2008-07-16T15:56:00.000-07:00

I was here when you were not, now you are here when I am not.

You forgive the trespasses of someone you like; you don’t even see the trespasses of someone you love.

Scientific Ideas versus Absolute Truth

2008-06-26T12:01:00.000-07:00

One professor says that even scientists "often fall in love with their own constructions."

Confuscious

2008-06-23T12:29:00.000-07:00

Only the wisest and the stupidest of men never change.

Doctor Who

2008-06-20T20:27:00.000-07:00

You and the doctor talk such wonderful nonsense, by Agatha Christie in a southern belle accent.

Nietzsche

2008-06-19T12:27:00.000-07:00

“A good marriage is based on the talent for friendship.”

SO I was casually reading on msn

2008-05-31T15:29:00.000-07:00

Of course Audrey would top the list. Here's the synopsis of Top Ten Film Fashion Moments....... Credit to Everett Collection.

Top 10 Film Fashion Moments

1. Audrey Hepburn, 'Breakfast at Tiffany's' (1961)

If there could be a patron saint of fashion, the ultimate gamine Audrey Hepburn would fit the bill, especially in the much-loved "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Her gift to womankind? The simple black dress -- short or long - -that looks perfect at either the cocktail party or just hanging outside Tiffany's with pastry and coffee in hand (as Audrey does so elegantly in the film). Collaborating with famed costumer Edith Head (who could have her own film and fashion list) was Hepburn's style sovereign, Hubert de Givenchy, the couturier who costumed almost all of Hepburn's films. "Breakfast at Tiffany's" is special partially because her character -- the flighty, socializing, "real phony" Holly Golightly -- was the ultimate elegant waif. Those stunning dresses paired with big dark glasses, pearls (not diamonds; Golightly states that wearing them before you're 40 is "tacky") and gloves seemed effortlessly put together, chiefly because Holly could throw them on in a jiffy. More than any other film icon -- including the impossibly cool Grace Kelly or the va-va-voom Marilyn Monroe -- Audrey and her "Tiffany's" look still continually inspire women. Fashion designer Mary Quant said it all when she bluntly titled Audrey "the most stylish woman who ever lived." Who are we to argue? (Everett Collection)

Scarlet O'hara

2008-05-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

I do declare, stated Scarlet O'hara in a southern belle accent.

What my teacher said.... 87 out of a 100- Is that even possible?

2008-05-07T12:19:00.001-07:00

This strikes me as odd..... He didn't even prop up my steller vocab choices. Guess he didn't care too, too much for Heloise. His comments below.

I have four criteria for grading these papers.

Mechanics: Okay.

Sticking to the Question: Good.

Specifics (Use of Required Vocabulary): I feel there are some bare spots. Part of the assignment is to drag in vocabulary from all the units covered, and I feel that the last two units were neglected.

Original Thinking (the Synthesis): Your choices are good, and you wrote about them well. My only complaint is that your focus is very narrow. Again, this paper is supposed to be a take-home exam on all the units covered, and so I wanted you not to give such detailed biographies of the people but to build the context, which would be the way to broaden the focus.

87 points.

Synthesis 2

2008-05-04T17:59:00.000-07:00

Instructions on top----- writing below........ Well I'm a mite more proud of this one than the former. I just warmed to the idea better. Least desirable part is the beginning......... best part is Abelard and Heloise which incited me and warmed my heart. I think I will bid on Ebay for a book containing their letters soon. 1498 total words- maximum word content allowed 1500........

On the page containing the links to the overview for “The Rise of Islam” unit, four covers from Time magazine are presented. Given the events that happened after each of those covers appeared, we might conclude that being on the cover of Time could be a prelude to disaster. BASED ONLY ON THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IN THE SEVEN UNITS LISTED ABOVE, pick four people to appear on the cover of four different issues of Time as if the magazine had been published between 500 BC and 1500 AD. These people are to be your nominees for the four most influential people of this time period. Your first choice is Muhammad; the other three are up to you, but at least one of them must be a woman. DO NOT CHOOSE ABRAHAM, JESUS, OR JOAN OF ARC. Choose a specific date (month, day, and year—make up the month and day if you have to) for each issue of Time, explain why each person deserves to be on the cover, and explain what misfortune happened to each person after the magazine with that person on the cover was published. DO NOT GIVE A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH--EXPLAIN THE PERSON'S INFLUENCE THAT MERITS A COVER OF TIME. Again: Don't tell me the person's life story. Why does the person deserve to be on the cover of Time?

Time Magazine. Time presents itself as one of the most known and thus notable of American news magazines. With Time’s following and august readers it is easily one of the world’s most read and thus influential periodicals. The red cover is its hallmark. Time known for its distinctive writing style, off-shoot candid humor along with serious yet sympathetic look at world events, its photos essays have a knack for the assembling of a pictorial look at life.

So on this date of May 4, 2008, we will take a look back at some of our most successful Time Magazine releases in our most revered category of Time Person of the Year. In order to be nominated in this most celebrated order, an individual must be first passed thorough a rigorous examination of their benefits to society, whether in the fields of medicine, leadership, philosophy or religious study. Influential is defined as exercising influence and is associated with being of consequence, important, powerful or weighty in the minds and thoughts of the world. So in this reiteration of the world’s most influential, European edition, we will consider two males and two females from times past: Muhammad, Heloise, Zenobia and Constantine.

First, Muhammad’s reign began in October 3, 610 AD. It was a few months hence when the fateful day came that Muhammad’s accomplishments, in the form of Islam and the Qur’an, to the world were thoroughly examined and deemed notable and important enough to receive the nomination of Time’s Person of the Year. This notable and influential man’s ministry and teaching work, including the five pillars of Islam, has profoundly affected the polytheistic people of Mecca and the Arab world at large. Some call Muhammad a revolutionary, some a prophet, some God’s son or priest. Really, the cusp of the issue in behalf of Muhammad and the weighty message that originated with the angel Gabriel in the cave where he frequented to meditate wasn’t so much the institution of a worldwide religious faith but more the comprehension of what his message was. What made Muhammad important and what made him weighty were two different ideas that made his teaching work divergent: an idea of one God, one prophet was a new uniting concept for the city of Mecca which was intensely polytheistic. Secondly, the concept which had international appeal was of unity of men of all nations under one banner, worship of the God, an Almighty. Muhammad was a man with a brilliant vision, he surpassed much pain and sorrow in his life with the death of his parents early on in his life and his wife of many years, Kadijah yet never in his life did he preach or encourage a divisive, separating or negative view of his fellowman or of religion in particular.

The people of the city of Mecca became used to the concept of Muhammad’s teaching, his wisdom and judging were world-renowned, and the Time designation of Persona of the Year under his belt made him a hot ticket. However, it is regrettable to report that the so-called “Time Curse” has come upon him as well….. Certain prominent, evil men of the business district in Mecca did not feel that Muhammad’s teachings encouraged their bottom line. I mean honestly, if the religious significance of the Kaaba was minimized or completely disregarded, what would motivate people to trade? War broke out among Muhammad’s factions and between those that opposed his belief system and his name, “Messenger of God.” Two years later, we at Time feel a deep sense of loss to report of his demise.

Exceptional in the category of intellectualism is our next designee, Heloise. Heloise was nominated and featured in the November 7, 1110 issue of Time. Heloise lived in the era of political and church instability with conflicts involving William of Normandy, King John, Magna Carta and the Battle of Hastings. In a time when traditionally women were regulated to a subservient role, it was the intellectual prowess that Heloise exhibited that attracted the 40-year-old Peter Abelard to the beautiful enchantress, a seventeen year old girl on the cusp of womanhood. So there in the study of her uncle’s mansion, dressed primly and properly in blue, she would hold the attention of the subservient Abelard, confined to his chaise lounge, with her ideas of the works of Aristotle and debating the universals, the Realists and the Nominalists. She had the habit of facing away from him towards the window, coyly and demurely glancing around to her tutor ever so often, exciting his imaginings of her firm, supple and ripe body covered over in all that blue cloth.

Yet it is neither the intellectual competency nor extravagant beauty that gets the adored Heloise her nomination. It is a single quality: her loyalty to Abelard. What is more important or weighty or influential than that great quality? In a time where disloyalty, power struggles and greed evidenced by simony were ripe, her loyal devotion to her equal, Abelard made Heloise the devoted on by myriads. And it secured her the designation of Time Person of the Year for 1110.

The Time Curse quickly trounced on her and the unsuspecting Abelard in the form of her grotesque, harsh Uncle Canon Fulbert. He swept in the dead of night, angered and misunderstanding Abelard’s actions towards his wife and humiliated him in the worst of possible ways, castration. The real humiliation lie in both parched souls in need of the other, still wandering, in the prison of their lives, they were forced to live out their miserable lives apart with only the written word to comfort and remind them of what was lost. Yet even despite the curse, in her precious written communications, we see the loyalty to Abelard and her eagerness to cherish and remember their romantic and sensuous time together, often times referring to him as my only love and beloved and telling him once that he was near to her heart.

Zenobia is the next recipient for the coveted prize Time Person of Year. Her influence was felt in this time of the Roman domination in the month of April 26 of 269 AD. Yet it was not the claim of many scholars of her chaste virginity or of the rightfulness of her cause against Rome or the wisdom with which she ruled upon her husband’s sudden demise that secured her reign. Bravery. Zenobia’s bravery inspired later generations of “warrior queens” that stirred their people to grand heights, not to mention the image of her windswept locks blowing about under her brilliantly glistening silver armor. I imagine it was very similar to the lovely Cate Blanchett in her final scene of the battle in Elizabeth: The Golden Age. Yet the so-called Time Curse felled the beautiful lady as well. Her army was buffeted from the Roman war machine and the valiant and audacious queen spent the rest of her days confined to Rome, married to a stuffy Roman senator.

Lastly, we will consider the influence, in the Time magazine of December 14, 325 AD, that Constantine successfully implanted in the form the radical changes to pagan Rome to so-called Christian Rome. Truly, in the deepest sense of the word, Constantine was revolutionary. Notable also, which contributed to the influence that he enjoyed were the building projects he started- Arch of Constantine to commemorate the battle of Milvian Bridge, the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, his Basilica and Old St. Peter’s. Yet it was the hallmark decision that transported his Roman Empire from its clandestine roots to a copy imitation of Christianity that was mind-blowing in its effects. Contributing as well was the council of Nicaea that established the church’s doctrine about the immortality of the soul and other relevant matters involving the heresy known as Arianism although it was only attended by a mere 318 bishops that deigned to attend out of 1800 that were invited. Constantine’s influence was also seen there as the pinnacle of wisdom, the written word of the Bible was not used to authenticate the claims of Arius of Alexandra versus the claim lade bare by Athanasius.

Time curse ended Constantine’s life early as well. However, it has only been seen in later years as some scholars debate the truthfulness, extent and veracity of Constantine’s conversion to counterfeit Christianity. I am assured that he would have some very terse words to share if he knew the doubts heaped upon his conversion and reputation.

To conclude, the hallmark characteristics that abounded in the above individuals truly made them influential as was testified to by the time-honored designation of Time’s Persona of the Year. With Muhammad’s message of peace comes great temperance. Heloise’s loyalty brought about by great pain and suffering, was grandly abstruse. Zenobia’s bravery was without rivalry. Constantine’s impact not only mutated life and thoughts everywhere during his reign but even transcended into our day. Truly influential!

1498

Something odd that was just told to me

2008-05-02T20:40:00.000-07:00

The Devil is in the details.......

Empathy

2008-04-29T10:51:00.001-07:00

Empathy is your pain in my heart.

Heresy and expurgation in all its naked glory! And some Shakespeare for good measure......

2008-04-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

Assignment question on top- my rhetoric below. Enjoy. I fell short on the conclusion but I had already used my quote as a basis for my reasoning so I lacked a sufficient one to conclude. That was the only defiency on my part.

How did this contradiction come about? What factors caused this new schism? Why did this happen? Could this strange split have been avoided?

As I considered this lesson with its debilitating look at the European disaster area named aptly the “Inquisition” and such events as the Hundred Years War, War of the Roses and the Albigensian Heresy, I was reminded of a quote by Shakespeare which just seemed so appropriate. “Now is the winter of our discontent.” While perhaps discontented is not the most apt word to describe what the ancient people of Europe were feeling, when a thinking individual looks at the effects that these events had on a common person they cannot help but feel astonished. One can also ascertain why the schism came about.

Within myself somehow I felt different than in lessons past about the events. Practically from day one, even as far as the prehistoric days, man has struggled against man, fighting, clawing and clinging to their own superior way of managing or supporting their own ideas. This lesson is no different even as Philip IV struggled against the Pope and the resulting Avignon Papacy was installed. Every lesson has its own element of intrigue, strife and in most cases murder to suit the means. Total Niccolo Machiavelli moment….. The end after all does justify the means right?

The two reasons that I felt made this time period and corresponding events peculiar and noteworthy was the course of the Inquisition and the bubos or Black Death. The church decided that they would deal with this new-found issue of the converses Judaizing by having Dominic teach them. Well that didn’t prove successful and the dark rituals, violent and bloody and a complete contradiction versus what the Gospel of Jesus taught, became utilized. I mean honestly, how could the common man or woman, in whom the Church had its strength in, put faith in the institution when such disgusting, infamous and nefarious goings-on where happening in the dark? Plus too, the fact that the people were ruled by superstition, rather than demonstrating rational, pragmatic thinking made the Black Death seem as a curse from God than what it was, a bacterial infection thought to be caused by a bacterium named Yersinia pestis.

Signs and Symptoms of Fluid Volume Deficit and Overload

2008-04-25T14:29:00.000-07:00

Test exam question here:

Deficit-----

B /P falls due to less fluid in body
Flattened jugular/neck vein
Tachy
Weak strength of pulse

Fluid Volume Excess-----

Elevated B/P due to excess fluid volume
Neck vein engorgement
Crackles
Cyanosis
Cough
Dyspnea
Bounding Pulse

Triumph- exuisite is its taste!

2008-04-21T16:18:00.000-07:00

100% ON EXAM THREE!

Peter Abelard and Heloise

2008-04-21T09:38:00.000-07:00

here is my humanities post for the prior week.... the subject content for the week was related to medieval Europe and a touch on the burgeoning British empire. Most of it related to the Church and issues with power-hungry clergy and politicians fighting. Peter Abelard and his Heloise are the only participants worth reading about..

We had to choose a piece of art from the Cloisters Collection in NYC.

Put simply, I felt strangely drawn to “the Pentecost” of the Cloisters Collection made between the years of 1150 and 1175. Given credit to the Mosan of Romanesque Art in the valleys of the Meuse and the Rhine, of modern-day Belgium and France, this piece of pristine art focused on Jesus apostles and the miracle of the Pentecost with the burgeoning of the Christian congregation. It was made of enamel with a copper gilt.

What make this piece outstanding among its contemporaries are the different manifestations of these men, the Apostles and Friends of Jesus Christ. Each delineation was individual, although each face does show a little of the sadness that Peter Abelard must have felt being separated from his paramour and love Heloise.

Much of the debate of the time was centered on the truth of the “universals” illustrated by the concepts advocated by the Realists and Nominalists. Also too the professing practice of the time was of Lay Investiture and simony {papal blessings which were conditional on the amount of gold cash that was purported to be promised or given}….. Medieval writing was shifting from adoration of God to the worship of females in poetic form of lays.

It struck me as an esoteric idea that Peter Abelard became known as the individual that’s claim to fame and glory lied in the middle ground of the universal debate with the clear “division between reason and faith.”

Somehow those men, those faithful and insightful men, the Apostles, were not too entirely dissimilar in the facet of being examples of both reasoning and knowledge which led to faith as Peter Abelard was.

somesuch nonsense

2008-04-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

A woman's hair is her glory.

Samuel Johnson

2008-04-17T10:35:00.001-07:00

"Few things are impossible to diligence and skill. Great works are performed not by strength, but perseverance."

Humanities Post

2008-04-14T22:13:00.000-07:00

Here's the post from my discussion topic on medieval europa.......... Instructions on top.

Considering what you know about the Franks, the Vikings, the Magyars, the Church, and everybody else covered in this unit, who would you choose to be if you had to choose to be someone from this period? The only person you may not choose is Charlemagne. You may choose to be an anonymous member of a group, or you may choose to be one of the historical celebrities we cover in this unit.

VIKINGS, BABY!

I guess a statement in the text for tonight’s lesson that struck me. It described the Vikings as a “sedentary, agricultural people living in villages.” And that, “life was about survival in the cold climate.”

I mentioned in my first post that a pragmatist is what I am. And that is why I would choose to be a leader in on of the small plunder-seeking camps of the Barbarians: Vikings. I always thought of the Vikings as people seeking out ways to handle their essential needs or desires in a practical way. Can you get anymore practical than this- “if your village wasn’t strong enough to defend itself, then too bad for your village.” Exciting life versus the likes of Pope Adrian I and Pope Leo III {I would forgo the formers lives as the whole pseudo Christian movement is a tad like eating over salted chicken noodle soup…… distasteful.}

And now the losers. First the franks- I’m sorry who? Enough said. With the exception Charlemagne that is. The only astounding fact about that group and their leaders was the Donation of Pepin….. tsk, tsk, political promises never do end well. The only great thing that came out of the Magyars was Otto the Great and in his wake all he did was leave a host of political struggle with Leo as Pope Leo, being a pragmatist himself, didn’t too much care for any infringement on his rights either.

But honestly, people, I didn’t choose the Vikings for that cartoon, “Hagar the Horrible.” I really didn’t!

Theodore Roosevelt

2008-04-13T22:16:00.000-07:00

It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.

Victor Garcia Jr.

2008-03-18T16:42:00.000-07:00

Love is the like the truth, sometimes it prevails, sometimes it hurts.

Quote

2008-03-18T13:56:00.000-07:00

It's always darkest before the dawn.

muscle car mania

2008-03-05T13:52:00.001-08:00

Terra Cotta Soldier

2008-03-04T13:33:00.001-08:00

Venus de Milo

2008-03-04T13:27:00.000-08:00

Humanities 250

2008-03-04T13:13:00.000-08:00

I'm breaking with tradition.

I'm posting my synthesis from Humanities..... it's about somesuch nonsense called aesthetic imperative.

The aesthetic imperative is imperative.

The whole objective of the aesthetic imperative is to state a similarity or a commonality with individuals with whom we relate to or desire to relate to. Here is a few examples- Converse shoes and long shaggy hair: skater. Fishnet stockings: a woman of ill repute. Rolled up cigarettes in a shirt sleeve: James Dean.

This most basic of points even transcends the barriers of time. All ancient cultures left some such aesthetic reference, even as prehistoric as the Skara Brae and the caves of Lascaux.

The most precious fact of these references is that they paint a window into the minds and feelings of those of that time period, similar to what the Rosetta stone did for Egypt’s chroniclers.

To illustrate, the ancient Greeks. The ancient Grecians had many works. Yet the one that appealed to me is the Abduction of Persephone. There is fluidness to this sculpture. This sculpture illustrated in picture form a tale of which the Grecian people shared an avid interest in.

Persephone was the golden-haired daughter of Demeter, the goddess of grain and the harvest and one of the chthonian gods. I always think of Demeter as an earth child. Hades is out and about doing his daily ramble and he gets shot while riding his chariot by Cupid. WHAM! Persephone melts the dark man’s heart. He must have her! So he does what all men would do in his situation; he kidnaps her.

Demeter is understandably frantic without her daughter’s bright light and cheerfulness. So while she wails and bemoans her existence, the earth without her tender care, begins to fall apart and nothing grows. Zeus, king of the Olympian Gods, intervenes and constructs a compromise. Persephone must be shared with the Lord of Darkness and her earth-loving mother. This arrangement accounts for the changing of the seasons each year. Odd conclusion for a newlywed to be sure.

In that explanation lays the key. The ancient Grecians made art for the purpose of explanation.

So there they were the people of the Hellas, with questions, questions about the events that they observed in the natural world around them. They comprised a solution and illustrated it in the works of art of their day.

“Penelope and the Suitors” illustrates a rich tradition which is important to the kin of Alexander the Great. It’s the lesson of the contrast of the good host and bad guest. Of course not to be confused with the bad host, Penelope and her son Telemachus were hosting some “suitors”. Now while the story of the Odyssey is very much about Penelope’s husband, Odysseus and his adventures battling one-eyed demons named Polyphemus and trying to escape witch’s named Calypso. Its rich oils and very life-like portraits of the ladies painted a picture of the day to day activities that flourished in the ancient Grecian civilization. It also illustrated in a pointed way the behavior which was frowned upon and fawned over in ancient Grecian society.

Art was being a teacher.

To switch gears, let’s jump into the time traveler and go ahead to the Hellenistic Age. This is the year of the ruler named Philip of Macedon, the post Peloponnesian Wars. Philip is father to one of the most genius military commanders that ever graced the planet named aptly Alexander the Great.

The piece of artistry that caught my attention from this Hellenistic Age is entitled the Aphrodite of Melos or better known as the Venus de Milo. This particular piece shares a position of honor alongside the Nike of Samothrace as being named two of the best known statues of the Greek world.

So there perked on her footstool looking lovely and oozing sexiness is the Aphrodite, goddess of love. Her body positioning was purposely made to actuate her graces and heavily erotic. Her drape was more to rouse interest than an attempt at modesty.

It is her face which is the revealing of the secret. There she stands, arguably the world’s most beautiful fixation, coolly indifferent.

Was there a changing of a thought between the Hellenistic age and the Hellenic of their views, perhaps even the roles of women? Had Roxanne, Alexander’s wife, made an otherwise unseen impact on how society views woman in power which is how one could look at Venus?

I think there was one. Clearly there was a jump between how women were portrayed in art between those two time periods with the increasing of sensual clothing, or lack thereof, and the Praxitelean Curve.

Women could have been viewed as indifferent and using their sexual charms for an advantage. The Venus de Milo illustrated that harshness. The change was deliberate.

Alongside that same time period after the untimely death of Alexander the Great, the Laocoon was orchestrated to inculcate a lesson. I think perhaps out of all the pieces discussed her today, the Laocoon revealed the overall air or mood of the inhabitants of the successor states and those that spoke the common language called koine.

Laocoon was a priest to Apollo and was highly unfavored for his message against the inhabitants of Troy. His punishment was the death of his sons, very gruesomely shown with contorted limbs and mouths agape in pain and horror.

This illustrated the instability and uncertainty that came from Alexander’s death and the emergence of the belief systems of Epicureanism, Stoicism, Skepticism and Cynicism.

It taught or very aggressively showed the depressed mood and thinking of the Grecian people yet yielded some of their best art overall.

Back into the time traveler for a trip across the bay for a consideration of the Indians and the Chinese. During the era of Shi Huangdi, ruler of the Qin Dynasty I was vastly impressed to find out that this masterful man was responsible for two of the greatest works of Chinese art and building ever, the Great Wall of China and the “Terra Cotta” Soldier army.

Shi Huangdi was a man that was the polar opposite of Confucius in that he believed in legalism, strict law and punishment. Whereas Confucius was kind, loyal and taught benevolence they truly were the yin and yang of one another.

Shi Huangdi was a harsh man, violent by any means yet he was by all measures a great man. The vision of the Shi Huangdi for the Wall was to provide protection and beauty.

The Great Wall truly is grand! Notably the most beautiful of all of the world’s wonders it is over 4000 miles long. With its snakelike curves and shiny stone, its presentation and length are the aesthetic imperative that marks the pride of China’s rulers and its various dynasties, whether it is the Zhou, Yuan or Manchu.

Also too, the Terra Cotta Soldier Army, buried until recently underground is also a testament to that self-same pride that the first Emperor employed.

There are more than 7000 life sized soldiers made from hard clay preserved in the first Emperor’s tomb. Instead of being buried, as was the custom of the pharaoh with their women or slaves, the first Emperor of China chose to be buried with his army.

The definer of the aesthetic reference in the Soldier Army was the uniqueness of the soldiers. All those 7000 plus soldiers were peerless, separate men. These weren’t just cut, copied and pasted into his tomb. They are believed by scholars to be modeled after his actual army.

That speaks volumes to me. Perhaps it is I that overanalyzes here but when one reads about his life, his nature and the three assassination attempts made on his life, I find it effortless to conclude that he was a very lonely man and chose to be buried with his protectors, the men that he regarded as being the most trustworthy. So much for greatness.

To conclude, yes you can breathe a sigh of relief too, the aesthetic imperative teaches us much about the lives and thinking of those ancient civilizations. Clues, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle to these old civilizations and societies.

If one was to reason on these six choices what would we be able to contrast and compare? Whether it is the Abduction of Persephone which was used to explain the cycles of the natural world around them or the Penelope and the Suitors to illustrate social convention. The Venus of Milo showed us the changing of the views of women, particularly women in power or the Laocroon showing the depressed view as being the order of the day. The Great Wall testified with an august and imposing announcement to the pride of the Chinese people and the Terra Cotta army was a testament to loneliness of the first Shi Huangdi.

Art and its aesthetic imperative were used in all of these different people and times for different purposes. It really testifies to the oneness of the human family.

1490 words

German Poet Goethe

2008-01-28T20:21:00.000-08:00

He is happiest, king or peasant, who finds his happiness at home.

Lord Byron

2008-01-19T08:44:00.000-08:00

She Walks In Beauty

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that's best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes:
Thus mellow'd to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade more, one ray less,
Had half impair'd the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o'er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express
How pure, how dear their dwelling place.

And on that cheek, and o'er that brow
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Lord Byron (1788-1824)

love poetically spoken

2008-01-05T16:14:00.000-08:00

When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions
May wound you.
And when he speaks to you you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams
As the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you
so shall he crucify you.
Even as he is your growth
So he is for your pruning.

my nana's words

2008-01-02T16:12:00.000-08:00

Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.
Confucius

Aristotle

2007-12-24T15:57:00.001-08:00

All men by nature desire knowledge.

Aristotle

2007-12-23T21:36:00.001-08:00

A true friend is one soul in two bodies.

Louise Gluck, former poet laurete

2007-12-19T16:22:00.000-08:00

A Myth of Devotion
by Louise Glück

When Hades decided he loved this girl he built for her a duplicate of earth, everything the same, down to the meadow, but with a bed added. Everything the same, including sunlight, because it would be hard on a young girl to go so quickly from bright light to utter darkness Gradually, he thought, he'd introduce the night, first as the shadows of fluttering leaves. Then moon, then stars. Then no moon, no stars. Let Persephone get used to it slowly. In the end, he thought, she'd find it comforting. A replica of earth except there was love here. Doesn't everyone want love? He waited many years, building a world, watching Persephone in the meadow. Persephone, a smeller, a taster. If you have one appetite, he thought, you have them all. Doesn't everyone want to feel in the night the beloved body, compass, polestar, to hear the quiet breathing that says I am alive, that means also you are alive, because you hear me, you are here with me. And when one turns, the other turns— That's what he felt, the lord of darkness, looking at the world he had constructed for Persephone. It never crossed his mind that there'd be no more smelling here, certainly no more eating. Guilt? Terror? The fear of love? These things he couldn't imagine; no lover ever imagines them. He dreams, he wonders what to call this place. First he thinks: The New Hell. Then: The Garden. In the end, he decides to name it Persephone's Girlhood. A soft light rising above the level meadow, behind the bed. He takes her in his arms. He wants to say I love you, nothing can hurt you but he thinks this is a lie, so he says in the end you're dead, nothing can hurt you which seems to him a more promising beginning, more true.
"A Myth of Devotion" from Averno by Louise Glück. Copyright © 2006 by Louise Glück. Reprinted by permission of Farrar, Straus and Giroux, LLC.