PlanetUSF

After the recent hurricanes in the gulf, our gas supply has been disrupted on a large scale. This is the cause for the raise of gas prices all across the United States. Even before the natural disaters, it has always been aparent how hard the gas cooperations work to keep the supply and demand on equal rates. For now, the government has taken steps in fixing this problem. A major decision for the government is to tap into the crude oil reserves in order to stabilize the situation. It is still quite early to assess all the damages but it is obious that it is of a catastrophic level. Another temporary change that has affected the prices of gas is the amount of imported gas from foreign countries. At this point, the damages are still being assesed and it will take some time to recover. This is why the federal government has called on all the citizens of the United States to conserve. Although this situation may seem extreme, I don’t think of it to be as bad as what people make it seem to be. I will be optimistic about gas right now…I dont mind paying $4 a gallon for gas instead of living in new Orleans and having to start life over again.

I would just like to start by saying I have no problem with people that drive an SUV, under the condition that it is a neccessary vehical for them. What I don’t understand is when people purchase a SUV when the only use is for transporting short distances. I don’t see the need for me to own one, I drive a Honda sedan and i get great gas milage and gets me where I need to do. My car is economy efficiant. Some people have the preception that big cars equal some kind of social status, obviously ignorant. Most of the individuals like this are the same kind of people I don’t get along with. SUVs in the United States has also givin the rest of the global community the idea that Americans are all egotistical. The majority of those who do have the money to afford an SUV do not care about the amount of gas consumed and the amount of gases emitted to the atmosphere. Maybe I exagerate this issue but obviously others feel the same way I do, that is why there are cartoons that depict this issue.

Well, it’s just another night doing my normal routine. I just gave up on the calculus 3 so I decided to do get some busy work out of the way. Currently I am working at the liquor store that is attatched to a bar, and some enebriated women jus had the paramedics pick her up due to alcohol poisoning. This job can get interesting at times. It’s nice though, most of the time I just do my school work or watch television. My time here is actually a saving grace for my academics. At the same time, this job can be a hassel because I dont get off the clock till about 3:30a.m. and then I gotta get up for school at 10a.m.. Overall though, I like my job because I have good co-workers, the work is easy, and I’ve been here so long I can’t see myself going somewhere else. On top of gettin my school work done and getting paid to relax, plus I meet a good amount of girls.

The rhetorical triangle refers to the three aspects of an effective argument. The three areas are used specifically to make a argument efficiantly persuasive. These points are known as the messege, the writer or speaker, and the audiance. This rhetorical traingle has been around since the times of ancient Greece. Each field was givin a name by Greek rhetoricians; the messege is known as logos, Ethos refers to the writer or speaker, and finnally the audience is know as Pathos. When one aspects is altered, one of the other points must be altered in order for efficiancy.
Logos is the central idea and clarity of the messege given by the writer. It is required to have a consistant idea with logic to support it. The logical appeal is known as the reaction from the audience to the messege. the writer/speaker, Ethos, describes the credibility of the writer. The writer achieves this through tone and stlye. Most often, the writers credibility can be determined or affected by his or her reputation. The audiences is a very key part in rhetoric. Pathos describes the audiences emotional impact or ability to connect with what the writer wants them to feel.
Each of the points on the rhetorical triangle can be improved by the writer asking themself certain questions. For the messege, a writer must ask what evidence or detail can be used to support it. After oberving the audiance addressed, what interest can be used to further engage the audience’s imagination. Finnally, the writer must strive to achieve perfect credibility in his work and further enhance it.

What happens when you mix an unknown florida school with a football team full of good talent, you get a school that went without a second glance to the golden story every sports writter will talk about. You have to ask yourself, is this great story of the unknown second class talent going to spoil it for them, I would have to say it won’t. The only reason it won’t is because the player’s are doing what they should, they are playing the game, and they are playing to win.

For as many years as I have watched football, I have seen my team lose after they started only to talk and not actually do the walking. Will USF make history, by going as far as schools with years of experience have gone, I sure hope so. After 9 years, the true talent of Florida will be shown, and we will know once and for all what South Florida does best.

Did I mention GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO Bulls and Da Bucs!!!

Imagine being at the park using free WiFi to instant message (IM) your coworker about a Powerpoint presentation that you two need to prepare for. In your message you mention that you're going to take a lunch break because you're hungry. "I'm in the mood for sushi," you message. Instantly a relevant text ad pops up on your screen and recommends three of the best sushi restaurants within a close range of the park you're in. Your partner, who also receives the message agrees to meet you at the sushi restaurant of your choice. Since you haven't tried any of the restaurants before, the message box not only gives you ratings of each restaurant, it also gives you directions how to get there by metro, walking, or by driving. You get up to take the metro to the decided upon restaurant but receive a text message on your mobile phone while on the train. "Matt wants to come along but he doesn't like sushi, he'd rather have steak," your coworker mentions. No sooner than you finish reading the message, you're recommended a steak restaurant that's in the same relative distance of the sushi restaurant. While walking the last few blocks to meet your coworkers for steak, your PDA beeps to inform you of a speical message. There's a sale going on at the electronics store that you just walked past. Your PDA knows you wanted to buy a new HDTV because you mentioned it in an email you sent to your brother last night. Not only does your PDA inform you of the sell, the electronics store instantly offers you a special discount on a brand new HDTV because they, too, know that you want a new television.

We have seen instances of Outlook 2003 filtering emails sent from Blackboard into the SPAM/Trash folder. To stop this from happening, you need to let Outlook know that it can trust emails from acomp.usf.edu .

To do this:

1. Open Outlook
2. Go to Actions -> Junk Email -> Junk Email Options -> Safe
   Senders
3. Add acomp.usf.edu to the list

This will allow mail from the Blackboard servers to pass through to the inbox.

In September, 2005, Mark Scott-Crossley was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Nelson Chisale (which occurred in January, 2004). But this murder was nothing ordinary. Chisale worked for Crossley, a farmer, living in South Africa. It is unclear to me whether Chisale had already been murdered and his body was fed to lions or if was wounded and fed to the lions while still conscious. Nevertheless, it is mortifying to think someone could do such a thing.

According to information I gathered from theage.com/au, Crossely hired two men to do his dirty work. The men repeatedly swung machetes at Chisale and tied him to a tree. They were then ordered to dispose of his battered body at the lion reserve.

Some South Africans believe that this was an act of racism. Whatever you want to call it, it is still very wrong. However, unlike the good old U.S. of A., South Africa has no death penalty, Crossley only faced life in prison. If spared from prison, he offered Chisale’s family $210 a month for 10 years as compensation for the wages brought in monthly by Chisale.

There should be absolutely no question as to Mr. Scott-Crossley’s fate because solid evidence was found proving him guilty of premeditating the murder. He has done it once, why wouldn’t he do it again? Perhaps this is not the first time he has committed such an act, maybe it is just the first time he was caught.

What about the lions?

It is said that the lions Chisale was fed to live in the Mokwalo Safaris White Lion Breeding Project. The community would like the animals to be destroyed. Though they really have no say, the court ultimately decides the fate of the lions. Should the lions and the owner be punished for someone else’s wrong doing? The lions were just doing what lions do. The man had open wounds from being repeatedly hit with machetes. It was like throwing a chum bucket in the middle of the ocean and expecting sharks and other fish to just swim on by. The animals cannot be blamed. If anything, the owner should be asked to tighten up on security.

Click here to see story via windows media player.(cnn.com)

This week’s installment of “jeremy attends class” involves plots twists, head-spinning action, and several bizarre comments by classmates. That’s just the hook; unless you have the attention span of a candy-addled kindergartner, you’ll have to read below!

:: How does the plot twist? Madly, I tell you! ::

Just when you thought democracy was getting boring, my POT 4064 class spent the entire evening this week examining the following statement: It is necessary (but not sufficient) to obtain majority support if a given act of government is to be legitimate.

This isn’t hard, right? Every incoming freshman answers “of course!” and everyone who’s done the required reading to this point (Madison, De Toqueville and Mill) says “probably not.” In fact, no single answer was that clear, and the class ajourned without a resolution to the issue. Where’s the plot twist, you ask? Well, instead of answering the question, or even illuminating the debate, our Prof. declared that there was to be a quiz next week, then released the class from the room! Zounds!

:: Head-Spinning Action ::

Tired of life? Come to the library and research a simple double-spaced, eight-paged manifesto comparing two authors. My AMH 3201 Prof. indicated that 250 pages of reading MAXIMUM would be sufficient to explore our topic.

I read 250 pages about Wounded Kneed (thank you very much, Brian W. Dippie!) on the toilet tonight. The best part is, I’ve got four more books to go after I finish this one! With action like this, who needs sports and leisure! Tomorrow, I move on to Richard Drinnon’s “Facing West” and Stephen Conn’s “History’s Shadow,” before finishing the weekend with Wooster’s “The Military and United States Indian Policy” and James Clifton’s tastefully edited volume titled, “The Invented Indian.” (Patent Pending)

Now that’s action you can chew!

:: Bizarre Comments ::

“Now you’re just being an idiot. Did you go to idiot school to learn that?”
An unnamed classmate speaking rudely to a waitress at a diner, sometime after 2 AM.

I believe everyone, even amatures, are allowed to be idiots at 2 AM. When you visit a restaurant in the “wee hours,” you don’t expect much more than someone getting the food to the table without passing out. After I see this guy work a double and still keep his wits about him when an obviously drunk customer starts making the sailors blush, then I think he’s got no argument. In fact, he’s basically pulling a Serena Turley. (Hebert: You know what I’m talking about!)

“I think democracy is when everyone … well, when everyone. Democracy is about everyone.”
A different unnamed classmate voicing what must pass for an opinion nowawdays much earlier than 2 AM.

Right. That’s an argument, my friend. Once, while doing my impression of a bad debater, I won a round arguing that we should exempt dog track racing from an affirmative that removed federal restrictions from Indian gaming.

(By the way, can you increase “federal control” by deregulating something? A good test: if the affirmative would be topical under a “decrease federal control” topic, then it probably isn’t doing much increasing.)

Even then, I was an order of magnitude more coherent than the mumble wumpus above. I’ve noticed that POT classes have these folks coming out of the woodwork. My POT 3001 class over the summer must have put off the scent; some of them migrated several hundreds of miles to spread their apathy in the classroom. I tell you, it’s more fascinating than “March of the Penguins.”

That ends this week’s installment of “jeremy attends class.” Tune in next week to see jeremy make a jack-ass out of himself during Paulson’s “Southern Politics” class.

A few days ago, when I was waiting for an elevator to come, I saw the following sign: “Russian Club Meeting Today at CPR 429”. And, of course, being Russian myself I could not simply walk by a sign like that and entirely ignore it. That day I stayed at school later than usual, waiting for the meeting of the Russian Club. At the meeting I met people that I already knew as well as some people I have never seen before. To my disappointment there weren’t any real Russians besides me and our advisor. So, when the members of the club started talking about electing executive board of the club, I volunteered to be president. At the time, I didn’t realize the amount of responsibility behind a president’s position. However, I was elected the president of the club because I was the only native Russian speaker and this fact, for some reason, convinced everybody to elect me as president.
Now I am president of an establishing Russian Club. As a new club we have to write our own constitution following Student Government guidelines. Although I could already imagine how difficult it would be to be the president of this organization, I’m honored to be in this position that allows me to represent my native country.

The issue of global warming and hurricanes after hurricane Katrina has many government officials and scientist puzzled. If it is true that global warming has intensified the hurricanes over the past ten years, we are faced with the problem of finding a solution to this problem. The facts are obvious; the warmer the ocean waters are, the more fuel the hurricane receives. In turn, the water temperature has increased through global warming. The driving force of global warming is the burning of fossil fuels and increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. However, this problem has been ignored by the government for quite sometime now, also there has been reports of censorship in the media by the government on this topic. One reason for this may be because the United States produces almost half of the world’s carbon dioxide release to the atmosphere. To prevent this, much major cooperation will fail and the economy will begin a large scale succession. The economy of our country cannot afford this and therefore the problem may be ignored for this reason. If this is true the government agencies need to start preparing for the future instead of ignoring it because the results will be catastrophic. This issue has now become a heated debate between republican officials and liberals. However, the global community has taken steps to solve this problem. Many people have signed a document called the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto protocol issue emission limits of harmful gases to the environment. Another step taken so far is the organization of the panel on climate changes. This panel is now the largest organization of scientist in the history of mankind. It seems that we may have waited to long to address this problem, but at least there are people are working on the issue. In the end, we can only hope for the best, but also prepare for the worst. At this rate hurricanes like Katrina could be consistent with other hurricanes becoming much more violent and of a larger scale.

Last semester I was going to take a course on argument analysis. Chapter 5 made me think a lot about some of the things I learned in the time that I was in the class, specifically the information about structure of arguments. I can remember one class where we read through some of the opinion articles that had been sent to the newspaper. One of our assignments was to reconstruct the arguments in these opinion articles. It was actually pretty amusing because I discovered that some authors worded their argument to sound concrete, but their actual premises were very weak. Some articles weren’t even actual arguments, just a string of insults and unrelated information. It made me realize that argument analysis isn’t a very common skill even though arguments are such an essential part of life. I might not have been as surprised if I was deconstructing a tape of a verbal argument, but I had thought that arguments in newspapers would be more logical because the authors had the opportunity to edit their letters. One thing that was new to me in this chapter was the part that said an argument could not take place if there weren’t some “common grounds,” or else it would be futile. I have encountered this problem all the time but never really thought about why certain discussions seemed to be headed nowhere. I guess if you can’t really have discussion with someone who doesn’t share your common grounds because you would be talking about two separate issues.

An item is “fair trade certified” if the grower receives enough of the profits to cover his/her production expenses and maintain a reasonable living standard. Currently, some growers are paid less than the cost of production on their crops which forces them into what many call a “cycle of poverty.” When farmer receives a fair price for their products they are able to get better equipment, and even send their kids to school. Fair trade also encourages gender equality because women are paid for their products based on the quality of their work. Another good thing about supporting fair trade is that you would also be supporting the abolition of child labor because of the strict standards which any fair trade label is required to meet. It is slightly more expensive to buy things which are fair trade certified, but at least I know my money is going to those who need it most. I have also found that the quality of the coffee is better. I know it’s hard when you don’t have a lot of money, but I encourage anyone who reads this to just do a little research into the subject. I have included an active link which has a lot of information and products, I have found this site to be very interesting and I think it’s worth a look. It’s pretty cool because you don’t have to become some yelling activist to support fair trade, all you have to do is buy some chocolate or coffee, and who doesn’t love those?

My life, like every other college student, is full of stress. It’s hard to keep up with a full time job and all my homework. Now that I have so much reading to do, I don’t get much time to research or do something just for fun. My sister once mentioned to me that she had taken some meditation courses at this Buddhist temple near where she lives and that the courses had been very beneficial to her. What she said made me want to research and learn a little bit more about meditation, through my research I ended up learning all about what are called “dry gardens.” Probably you have seen mini Zen gardens that are sold in just about every nature store, but I found the large scale ones to be absolutely beautiful. I learned that small rocks are raked to mimic the shape and movement of a river. The mini Zen gardens are somewhat unconventional because in a “real” garden everything that is placed in the gardens has to be something that is also found in nature, which explains why there are no benches or fountains. The rocks have to be slowly raked everyday to achieve the desired look, it is during this time that the gardener meditates. I read that there was one garden with about 14 stones, but the stones were placed so that a visitor could only see 13 of them no matter where he/she stood. According to the article, one can only see the 14th stone when they achieve true enlightenment. Anyways I just thought I would share this with you because these gardens are like nothing I have ever seen, and I think it’s a cool idea (although impractical considering that I live in an apartment) for stress relief.

I am still not accustomed to this blogging practice, however since I have committed to this experiment, I should at least post something to the regard that I recently completed my master level graduate work in Communication and Media Philosophy. So there it is. That is done and I am now working on my PhD coursework.

More significantly (to me, at least) is that I have recently published a paper concerning a philosophical grounding of the language of Open Source. It is avaliable here for anyone interested in such things. It was my first foray into attempting to articulate this phenomenon. At about the time I finished this iteration, I discovered that I needed to take a step back and articulate some other philosophical conceptions that are related to this topic and pressing in other areas. So if anyone has any thoughts concerning what I call posture, but may be known by another name that I have yet to discover, let me know. My thinking on this is that Dasein, the human, self, an agent, or whatever method of describing an actor that one chooses exists in time. In this movement through time as becoming, this actor’s approach to the processes with which the actor is engaged is shaped not only by action or reception of information, but also through the posture with which such things are approached. A very crude metaphor would be that one might listen differently to criticism depending on how one perceives the situation and the actor delivering said criticism. The internal manifestations related to this interaction could produce feelings of anger, intimidation, fear, gratitude, indifference, etc. This is not simply the product of the content of the criticism, but the posturing that the receiving and delivering agents take toward and with one another. This is a crude example, but I hope it is at least apparent about what I am thinking. So that work is coming.

That is a lot of aside. In additon, I have used that paper in fragmented form to begin an open source develoment process of a philosophy of open source. Anyone interested in participating in this process, please contact me for information.

Am I more than you bargained for yet?
I’ve been dying to tell you anything you want to hear
Cause that’s just who I am this week
Lie in the grass, next to the mausoleum
I’m just a notch in your bedpost
But you’re just a line in a song

We’re going down, down in an earlier round
And sugar, we’re going down swinging
I’ll be your number one with a bullet
A loaded God complex, cock it and pull it

Is this more than you bargained for yet?
Oh don’t mind me I’m watching you two from the closet
Wishing to be the friction in your jeans
Isn’t it messed up how I’m just dying to be him
I’m just a notch in your bedpost
But you’re just a line in a song

(Chorus) x2

For this blog I chose to analyze the music and lyrics of one of my favorite songs: “Sugar We’re Going Down Swinging” by a band named The Fall Out Boys. The topics of this song are sex and desire. The singer/song writer is singing to a girl who he once dated. Throughout the whole song, he is being arrogant and conceded. In the beginning of the song, he is singing about himself. He is acting bigheaded and making it seem like the girl is easy to get with. In one of the lines, he tells her to “lie in the grass, next to the mausoleum.” This term is very interesting because you don’t hear people using in everyday. A mausoleum is sort of a tomb for leaders; leaders who are better than others. He is basically making it seem like he is better than any other guy she has been or will be with. He says that he is “just a notch in her bedpost, but she is just a line in a song.” He is pretty much telling her that she did not mean anything to him. In the chorus, he sings about the sex experience that they had with each other. The first line of the chorus is: “We’re going down, down in an earlier round,” which means that they are getting it on sooner than she thought. In the next line he says, “and sugar we’re going down swinging,” which means they tried to make it meaningful. The last two lines are very interesting. He sings, “I’ll be your number one with a bullet; a loaded God complex, cock it and pull it.” When I first listened to this song, I had no idea what he was talking about, so I did a little research. “Number one with a bullet” is associated with the Billboard Magazine’s charting system. It means that when an item on the chart has a bullet by it, the item is number one and still continues to climb the charts. So the singer is saying that he will be the best guy she has ever been with and will continue to be the best forever. “A loaded God complex” is simply a phrase that describes a person who does not believe in God, but thinks of himself as God. Towards the end of the song, he sings about how he sees her with another guy. He tells her that he wishes that the “other” guy were him. He gets jealous and ego-shy because he is scared that there might be a chance he is not the best she ever had. Throughout the rest of the song though, he still sings about himself. The music in this song is really up beat and has a light, punk rock theme. The music was perfect and matched the lyrics very well. I love this song because I think it is just too cute and funny.

Existentialism is a very interesting and controversial philosophy; the movie “I Love Huckabee’s” reveals several aspects of this philosophy.
Throughout the plot of the movie one can clearly see the development of existentialistic ideas as the story progress. In fact, as the movie begins with protagonist’s monologue, it becomes evident that he is deeply concerned about the meaning of his life. Although the main character does not realize that he is deep down an existentialist, he is on his way to learn it, and at the end of the movie he finally finds a resolution.
The movie plot presents two kinds of characters one, Brad, is very shallow, he is only concern with the surface of the things. Another one is Albert who is constantly searching for meaning in everything and anything. And although Albert feels depressed, confused and does not succeed at first like Brad, overall he finds the closure, while Brad gets off track and loses everything because he realizes the uselessness and falseness of his actions.
Another two characters in the movie, the couple, Vivian and Bernard, are existential detectives who try and overall succeed in helping Albert to find his resolution, or as it is called in the movie “close the case”. These characters vividly present important aspects of existentialisms such as principle of “universe being a circle, whose center is everywhere but whose circumference is nowhere”, and the realization of uniqueness in every human being.
Although existentialism is a hard philosophy to understand, especially if one cannot relate to its principle and beliefs, the movie “I Love Huckabee’s” presents this philosophy so that almost anybody can grasp the basic principles of existentialism.

I have noticed for the last few weeks, our sports writters and editor have not had alot of hope for our 3-1 team, its sort of sad when fellow students don’t even think we have a chance against a given team. I suppose you have to be honest who would have thought we would have won, well I will tell you who, I did…and I was going to go to the game before I even read what was suppose to happen. This team ranked 9th from Louisville thats full of so called great players that were suppose to show up in last weeks game, who didn’t even seem to show up really, failed to impress me with thier 14 points after 60 minutes.

I have told everyone of my professors, when I read The Oracle that day, that the writters “flip flop” more then John Kerry which was alot of you remember. Although after 3 days of basicly saying they were wrong, as well as everyone that didn’t believe in USF, they started to write a different story.

This story was not that of a underdog but of a backyard dog, perhaps rough around the edges but still worth giving some love to. I hope the staff at The Oracle will read this, and in the future, show some school spirit even if its miss placed. There is one thing that even the best college teams need, is people to believe in them, and not doubt them even if the odds are not on their side.

I have to believe that if I went to UF or FSU, I would have never seen the things written in their school paper, it would only be good things to say. I understand you have to be honest to your readers, but at least give us some hope, even if their is no chance. I will honor the team, because I will be the one, to give hope to students for our team to win. Of course now that everyone thinks we can win, perhaps I should turn to the Dark Side but that wouldn’t be fun now would it.

“On the Water Front” with Marlon Brando is a film back from the 1930s when hard times were at a peak. He was a dock worker in New Jersey and a mysterious murder takes place. The man behind the murder is the Union Boss and seems too powerful to take down, so no one does anything about it. The sister of the man who was murdered is desperate to find the killer and bring him to justice. Brando falls in love with the girl and decides to take a stand; this brave action seriously threatens his life in a time of gangsters and poverty. The film is in black and white which is very appropriate, like all classic noir films. The director Elia Kazan uses this to create dreary imagery to capture the dead worker’s family’s situation. The shadows in dark alleys, the black cars, the cold weather; it all symbolizes and demonstrates a poor society run by criminals. This grave setting creates a buildup of suspense as the situation becomes more and more treacherous. Kazan’s goal with this film seemed to be that he wanted to create a dramatically realistic version of what unions were like in the 30s and grasp the atmosphere of the depression. He was a very controversial director of his time and this movie was controversial as well, due to the content. In the end, Brando was beaten up severely by the boss’s hit men, but the other dock workers “saw the light” and the boss was overthrown. This movie falls into the classic noir category because of the dark content, scenery, plot and setting that were all a real issue back in that time period.

I chose to write about the movie Vanilla Sky.
It has been my favorite movie since the first time I watched it, and I have watched it in excess of 30 times.
I believe the whole purpose of the movie is to let us know ‘Hey, it could happen.’
I am one of those dreamers who believes that with technological advancements, anyone can be cryogenically frozen upon death and put into a ‘Lucid Dream’ state, where they live the rest of their ‘eternal lives’ in a realistic dream that they believe to be reality.
But if this were to happen to one of us…would we eventually need to call upon the help of tech support? Would our tech support be a fun British man? Would there be a glitch in our Lucid Dream?
The questions could go on.
Also…
This movie is completely full of amazing techniques, my favorite being the flashbacks. Oh, the flashbacks!
They make the movie more intriguing. They create a ‘what’s going on!?!?’ sense, and they confuse! I love having to think to get the purpose of a movie.

Can you imagine dreaming something strange that couldn’t ever happen, and then waking up to the beginning of that same exact dream?

Creepy.

Or what about waking up to the face of someone you believe to have died months before? Someone who died in the same fiery auto crash that left you with a distorted face and a unfunctionable arm, knowing that as well as taking their own life, they tried to take yours?

Would you scream? Call the police? Beat them senseless?

Another technique is the simple ‘hinting’ that is used to foreshadow what the viewers as well as the protagonist will find later.

Benny the dog.
(a dog who was brought to life after being frozen in a block of ice in a lake.)
LE.
(Life Extensions. The company that got the bright idea to do that with dead humans.)
“The saddest girl to ever hold a martini.”
(when cameron diaz feels as though tom cruise and penelope cruz are getting too comfy.)

These things are talked about and shown various times throughout the movie, and all have something to do with the conclusion.

I guarantee that not everyone will completely understand this movie by watching it only once. There are always new ways to look at things and new things in scenes that you might have missed the time before.
The final verdict? Vanilla Sky is a 100% amazing movie.

The movie I decided to write about is Timeline, featuring Paul Walker. I loved that movie because of course Paul Walker is hot, and I enjoy any movie with him in it. That’s what I thought at least. I really didn’t enjoy this movie as I thought I would. I couldn’t really keep my attention and focus on the movie. I don’t think I enjoyed it because I know that what they did wasn’t at all possible, and it didn’t interest me. The acting wasn’t that great either. Basically, the movie is about this group of students that discover a chamber and a letter from their missing professor that was dated in the 1300’s. They don’t know how this is possible, so they try to figure it out. They have a machine that transports 3D objects, not meant for humans, and they go back into a war between the French and English. Some die and some live, and its basically about not messing up our history, but still remaining alive and able to return home. I would recommend this movie to an audience that enjoys action, fighting, kind of cornball themes and nonrealistic adventures. The director, Richard Donner, has also made movies like The Goonies and all of the Lethal Weapons. I would suggest both of those movies, but not Timeline. Michael Crichton was actually the writer of the book Timeline. He has written books like Twister and Jurassic Park. If you enjoyed all of the movies I have mentioned then I guess Timeline is a good movie for you.

Well, considering the fact that two weeks ago I had no idea that blogs existed, I had a lot of trouble thinking of a good topic for my first English Composition 2 blog. After many ideas came to me, I decided to blog about Venetian Carnival masks. Alright, now people are probably wondering why anyone would type 500 words about carnival masks. However, if we didn’t take the time to learn about the different cultures around us, we would never be able to effectively communicate to one another and bridge our cultural gaps.

The Venetian Carnival began in the eleventh century. The practice of wearing masks and costumes came about during the year 1436. The same year, maskmakers created their own guild to produce their artwork. The idea of wearing masks, however, was an ancient practice taken from the Romans during their religous festivals. The Venetian Carnival, like certain Roman festivals, had a religious origin. The Latin meaning of the Italian word “carnenvale” is “farewell to meat”. According to Glotz in his article, “European Masks”, this explains why the Venetian Carnival takes place during the weeks before the Roman Catholic season of Lent, when meat and other festive foods are discarted as a way to spritually cleanse the body.

Yet, the success of the Venetian Carnival grew so much that it contributed to its temporary demise. The 1700’s ushered in a very prosperous time for the carnival season in Venice. The carnival lasted for aproximately three months, during this period. But, so much money, time, and effort went into celebrating the Venetian Carnival, that the Venetian Republic suffered from lack of responsibility and funds. By the time Napoleon came into power in the late 1700’s, the Venetian Carnival had disappeared.

Now that the history of the Venetian Carnival has been covered, I can go into more detatil about the Venetian masks and how they are culturally important. The first misconsception about these masks is that they were just purely decorative accessories for the costumes. The fact is that the mask was more important then the costumes themselves. Venetians, during the time of the carnival, were very socially divided. Classes were strictly separated, preventing any interactions with other class memebers different from that of one’s own. But, during carnival, that all changed. What a perfect disguise! Everyone was wearing a mask and costume, so there was no pressure to stay with one’s own society. Of course, scandals and affairs could take place with out any interference from witnesses, especially when the affair was between different class members. The masks were intended to be social equalizers.

To go into even more detail, masks can be catigorized into three major groups. “Comedia dell’ Arte” masks portray classic traveling theatre characters, such as Harlequin. Next, the fantasy masks are those that are mainly just decorative figments of the masksmaker’s imagination. These are the most popular. In fact, I bought a green and gold one during my summer trip to Venice this past year. The last group can be defined as the more traditional versions of carnival masks. These masks are the “volto” or “half-mask” and the “Plague Doctor’s” mask. The “Plague Doctor’s” mask, according to piedmontarts.org, has a beak-like nose, where Venetians stuffed herbs that were supposed to prevent the wearer from contracting the Black Plague. Of course, we now know that the Plague was spread by the bites of infected rats that roamed unsanitary streets. That was an unfortunate enlightenment for those who thought those masks would actually work.

Finally, I’d like to share how the Venetian Carnival made its full return, during 1978. A group of former art students decided to open a modern maskmaking factory that year. The beautiful masks, being portable pieces of artwork, sell extremely well to this day. Along with the booming sales of masks came the reinstalation of the Venetian Carnival into the daily lives of Italians. The carnival season remains a huge part of the Venetian tourist revenue. Even when it is not carnival season, as with my personal experience, masks and costumes can be found everywhere.

I hope I have brought to life the history behind the Venetian Carnival and highlighted the importance of wearing masks as a part of Italian culture. Remember that amidst the color, intrigue and excitement of the Venetian Carnival lies a deeper meaning. It unifies people of diferent classes and backgrounds to form one mass of people in pursuit of happiness in an troubled world. Such a traditon is certainly worth keeping.

last edited on Wed, Sep 28, 4:59 PM

There were three largely evil roman emporers that stick out in my mind….these three would be: Gaius Julius Caesar Germanicus (Caligula), Nero, and Domitian.

1. Caligula: Gaius was born on August 31, 12 AD. He was the thrid of a total of six children to Germanicus and Agrippina (the grandaughter of Augustus). (Gaius got his name Caligula when he was at a military camp with his father and the troops nicknamed him Caligula because of the sandals he wore which were called caliga.) Gaius had some traits passed down throught the generations: ambition, sensuality, and epilepsy. On one occasion, Gaius was caught in bed with his sister Drusilla before he “came of age.” Gaius’ father died a very suspicious death on October 10, 19 AD. In fact all of his brothers and sisters, his mother and his father were killed or starved to death by order of the emporer Tiberius. Gaius was summoned to live with his great-uncle Tiberius at his “villa” in Capri in 31 AD. Gaius was a salve or prisoner of his uncle Tiberius throughout his adolescence . In March, 37 AD, Tiberius fell into a coma and was thought to be dead. Court officials began congratulating Gaius on his succession when Tiberius awoke. Tiberius was then suffocated with his own sheets by Giaus’ chamberlain, Naevius Cordus Sertorius Macro. Thus Tiberius died on March 16, 37 AD, which put Gaius in a good position to assume power even though Tiberius’ will declared Gaius and his cousin, Tiberius Gemellus, joint heirs to the throne. It was quite ironic though, that Tiberius Gemellus died shortly after the death of his father (since Gaius had him murdered). On March 28, 37 AD, Gaius became emporer of Rome. Gaius reigned from 37 AD to 41 AD when he was murdered by officers of the Praetorian Guard on January 24, 41 AD. Gaius was said to be insane…a crazed lunatic, and that could possibly explain why he was murdered or it simply could just be because of how wicked and evil he truly was.

It is fact that he was incredibly sexually immoral, he was overtly cruel and violent, and he had no respect for the Senate or its’ traditions. To show the extent of his perversion, Gaius committed incest with all three of his sisters. He would keep watch over the women of Rome, and when he found one he desired, he would send for her and seduce her then toss her aside. He even had sexual relations with men…his own sister’s husband. Gaius demanded to be worshipped as a god. He set up a special temple in which he placed a life-size golden statue of himself that was to be dressed each day in the same clothes he wore. Gaius had Macro, the Praetorian Prefect and also the man who murdered Tiberius so he could become emporer, murdered without even the benefit of a trial. In 39 AD, Gaius announced the reinstatement of the treason trials, the bloodthirsty trials which had brought terror to Rome near the end of Tiberius’ reign.

Caligula was an evil man…there is so much more that he did with his power that i cannot even begin to describe without writing a book!

Next week I will begin one on Nero, who is even worse than Caligula.

Pain=Love

There’s pain in my heart
that won’t let me live.
There’s pain in my life
only you can relieve.
I’m so glad it was you
that stayed by my side.
You know and I know that
our love will never die.
Our love will always come through.
It’s like a dream come true.

This poem’s main point is that pain equals love. Most people agree with this statement about love hurting. Love brings a lot of joy and happiness but it also brings sadness when you argue or disagree on something. In the first line she explains that there is pain in her heart that won’t let her live because she could constantly be thinking about it. In the second line she says only he can relieve it. He could be the one that caused that pain and it is up to him to fix it. What she is trying to say is that there are some times when a relationship has its obstacles but in the end the other person is always there to back you up. (in some relationships) In the next two lines she makes a point that he has always stood by her side. He’s probably been there when nobody else has. She also feels confident that their love will be eternal. In the last two lines it seems that the love they have for each other has resolved many of their problems and that to her is a dream come true. It seems like this poem is about one relationship, possibly the one she is currently in. He might even be her first love because of the way she describes her feelings towards him. This poem is about happy love and how much love is involved in it. This poem really stresses how much love they have for each other.