New York Times Post

The article I read on the New York Times website was called "Mars Rover Finding Suggests Once Habitable Enviroment". This article spoke about The Mars Rover, and how its broken wheel helped scientist discover more evidence that Mars was once habitable.Instead of using the pinnacle of scientific technology to find the evidence, it turned out to be a good old- fashioned accident that found it.

After the rover had broken its wheel, it could only go backward, dragging its broken leg behind it. And thanks to this accident, scientists spotted a shiny spot in the trail behind the rover. After scrupulous examination, it was found that the shiny spot was silica. They took divisive action, in a sense, when they broke apart several rocks in order to see if the silica was just superficial. It turns out it was also in the rocks. Can you imagine, real life in this capacious, empty landscape. They didnt need to fabricate any evidence in order to astound the public, they just needed a broken wheel. Almost seems like they connived to do this, doesnt it?

i think this is a very important discovery, because it compounds the idea that there was once life on Mars. And maybe there still is? Who knows? Maybe next time the rover will blow up and discover a city. :)

Edited Waiting Room

The Waiting Room Reflection

By: Coli Barth

Have you ever wondered how different your life would be if you lived a hundred years ago? Two hundred? Can you possibly imagine the changes, the differences you would have to face? Well, after reading Lisa Loomers “The Waiting Room”, you won’t have to imagine.

The play we read last week in class, called The Waiting Room, by Lisa Loomer, was a comical, yet deep story of three women as they are viewed through the changing times. This satire had numerous key messages throughout, and used the quirkiness of its characters to show them. For example, an important message it imparted was that beauty was inside of you, not only on the outside. This was showed by Wanda, who finally realized this at the end of the play after being told she had cancer and having surgery to remove the tumors. She finds this out as she is telling a story to Forgiveness from Heaven. And speaking of Forgiveness, she herself finds a way to free herself from the bonds of "beauty" by the end of the play. We are not sure whether she simply falls asleep or dies, but I think she really does die, because her freedom is so complete. And finally, Victoria, the "tightly corseted Victorian Woman", who was bound by her proper ideals, finally frees herself from the clutches of both her husband, and her era’s beliefs of propriety. Simply by convincing her husband that she can read Freud is something huge for her, because before she had been so ashamed by it. But at the same time, even this came at a price. And this price was her uterus, because she finally agreed with her husband that it was what was causing her hysteria.

Lisa Loomer says a lot in her play about today's ideals on beauty, health, perfection, and the roles of men and women in the world. For example, Wanda plays a powerful role in this exemplification. She had breasts implants because she thought that they would make her beautiful to other people, as well as to herself. However, in reality, they just ended up causing her far more pain and suffering, when it came out that they caused her cancer, and she had to have her breast removed. Women sometimes have to sacrifice themselves and their health in order just to achieve today's standards of "beauty". And Victoria is an example of the standards back in the 19th and 18th century. She’s very controlled, very polite, very mindful of her husbands wishes, not really good for anything except taking care of the children and the house. But under it all, she’s high-strung; she wants something better in life, something more exciting. The same can be said about Forgiveness. She is always cheery, so much that she can be considered a bit of an airhead. And the "beautiful" image in her time was small feet. And she feels no regret about her foot binding, not even when she starts loosing her toes. Her case is a lot like Victoria’s, the women are supposed to be meek, and follow whatever their husbands say.

The characters progress quite a lot throughout the play. Wanda finds the true meaning of inner beauty, and starts caring less about what other people think about her appearance, because that's not what really matters. When she first tells Forgiveness the story of Snow White, she says "If you're young and beautiful, some old broads gonna try to knock you off. And if you're ugly or old, you're screwed." (pg 74) And after she comes up with her own story, she seems to realize that you don't need implants or surgery or magic to make yourself beautiful. You're beautiful as you are. So, she progressed a lot. And Forgiveness found a way to escape her bonds, both through Wanda's story, and through her "possible" death. She unwinds herself from her "chains", theoretically. And finally, Victoria finally lets herself be herself, at least in some sense. She doesn't let her husband have control over her completely. Although he still has a lot of power. He still made her have a hysterectomy.

Ken and Larry are a sort of connection to the real world during this whole play. They have normal modern day problems, divorces and cats at the vet. But at the same time, they are a huge part of the plot, because they are arguing over whether a controversial serum that supposedly cures cancer should be allowed or not. They're involved in a very large, very twisted plot. Lisa Loomer is really showing how the pharmaceutical industry really isn't in it to help people, but rather for financial gain. They don't care if something actually works, as long as they get paid well for it.

I think Lisa Loomer concluded her play in the way she did because she wanted the play to end itself. She ended it in a way that gave the reader a chance to make their own ending, however they wanted. You could figure out whether forgiveness dies or not, what happens to Wanda, how Victoria fares. I don't think I would change much in the ending, if I was given the chance, Although I would definitely write an third act, just to make it more....fulfilled. I would explain a little more about what happened to Wanda, how she treated her cancer and all. But, overall, I really think this was a satisfactory ending.

The Waiting Room Reflection

The play we read last week in class, called The Waiting Room, by Lisa Loomer, was a comical, yes deep story of three women as they are viewed through the changing times. This satire had numerous key messages throughout, and used the quirkiness of its characters to show them. For example, an important message it imparted was that beauty was inside of you, not only outside. This was showed by Wanda, who finally realized this at the end of the play after being told she had cancer and having surgery to remove the tumors. She finds this out as she is telling a story to Forgiveness from Heaven. And speaking of Forgiveness, she herself finds a way to free herself from the bonds of "beauty" by the end of the play. We are not sure whether she simply falls asleep or dies, but i think she really does die, because her freedom is so complete. And finally, Victoria, the "tightly corseted Victorian Woman", who was bound by her proper ideals, finally frees herself from the clutched of both her husband, and this eras beliefs of propriety. Simply by convincing her husband that she can read Freud is something huge for her, because before she had been so ashamed by it. But at the same time, even this came at a price. And this price was her uterus, because she finally agreed with her husband that they were what was causing her hysteria.

Lisa Loomer says a lot about today's ideals on beauty, health, perfection, and the roles of men and women in the world. For example, Wanda plays a powerful role in this exemplification. She had breasts implants because she thought that they would make her beautiful to other people, as well as to herself. But in reality, they just ended up causing her far more pain and suffering, when it came out that they caused her cancer, and she had to have her breast removed. Women sometimes have to sacrifice themselves and their health in order just to achieve today's standards of "beauty". And Victoria is an example of the standards back in the 19th and 18th century. Shes very controlled, very polite, very mindful of her husbands wishes, not really good for anything except taking care of the children and the house. But under it all, shes high-strung, she wants something better in life, something more exciting. The same can be said about Forgiveness. She is always cheery, so much that she can be considered a bit of an airhead. And the "beautiful" image in her time is small feet. And she feels no regret about her foot binding, not even when she starts loosing her toes. Its a lot like Victoria, the women are supposed to be meek, and follow whatever their husbands say.

The characters progress quite a lot throughout the play. Wanda finds the true meaning of inner beauty, and starts caring less about what other people think about her appearance, because that's not what really matters. When she first tells Forgiveness the story of Snow White, she says "If you're young and beautiful, some old broads gonna try to knock you off. And if you're ugly or old, you're screwed." (pg 74) And after she comes up with her own story, she seems to realize that you don't need implants or surgery or magic to make yourself beautiful. You're beautiful as you are. So, she progressed a lot. And Forgiveness found a way to escape her bonds, both through Wanda's story, and through her "possible" death. She unwinds herself from her "chains", theoretically. And finally, Victoria finally lets herself be herself, at least in some sense. She doesn't let her husband have control over her completely. Although he still has a lot of power. He still made her have a hysterectomy.

Ken and Larry are a sort of connection to the real world during this whole play. They have normal modern day problems, divorces and cats at the vet. But at the same time, they are a huge part of the plot, because they are arguing over whether this serum should be allowed or not. They're involved in a very large, very twisted plot. Lisa Loomer is really showing how the pharmaceutical industry really isn't in it to help people, but rather for financial gain. They don't care if something actually works, as long as they get paid well for it.

I think Lisa Loomer concluded her play in the way she did because she wanted the play to end itself. She ended it in a way that gave the reader a chance to make their own ending, however they wanted. You could figure out whether forgiveness dies or not, what happens to Wanda, how Victoria fares. I don't think i would change much in the ending, if i was given the chance, Although i would definitely write an third act, just to make it more....fulfilled. I would explain a little more about what happened to Wanda, how she treated her cancer and all. But, overall, i really think this was a satisfactory ending.

Fairytales

After reading "Experts say fairy tales not so happy ever after" I realized just how common these "damsel in distress" plot were in them. Theyre EVERYWHERE! I cant believe i never noticed it before. And while the stories themselves are sweet, and nice in showing the people falling in love and living happily aver after, it is a bit annoying how it is always women who are in need and distress. Even in popular movies like the new Die Hard, the main characters, Matthew and John are out to save the world from hackers and such things, while his daughter is held hostage and is basically a BIG setback.

Fairytales have always shown women as being innocent, and without fault, and always in need of help, because they are so innocent, they cant fend for themselves. But in reality, women can be just as strong and...problematic as men, but in a different way. Women can be headstrong, can be just as stubborn as men, they can save others just as well. Those traits that have always been given and associated with men.

One of the few female goddesses i can think of that is associated with strength, with self-dependency, is Artemis. And she is a very...unheard of goddess, compared to others such as Aphrodite, the goddess of love.

So, in all, i think its a bit messed up how women are always in need of help, although these stories have a happy ending. See my icon, these stories sometimes give young girls the wrong ideas.

BBC and NY Times articles response

The first article we read was BBC news article called "In the eye of the beholder?". This article talked about the idea of beauty, and the reasons behind the growing issue of gaining it. I found it interesting, for example, when it likened the want of a blemish free face with the finding of a healthy mate. "Those who champion the evolutionary cause, who put all our instincts and preferences down to nature rather than nurture, see this desire for averageness as inextricably linked to finding a healthy partner with whom to reproduce." But at the same time, this left the question of why thinness is so sought after, since it does not give someone the appearance of being a healthy mate. "But the argument becomes more difficult when it comes to explaining western preferences for the very thin, or China's former desire for binding feet to make them tiny, neither of which have any apparent benefit for mating capacities." Our group finally decided that at the present time, our desire for beauty was driven not by necessity for a healthy mate, but rather by what we thought was aesthetically pleasing. It was no longer a matter of the life and death of the offspring, but rather the sheer attractiveness of the other person.

I really found this article interesting, in the way it showed both sides of the topics. The above comments, for example. It also explained the idea that it was the cosmetic industries fault that beauty was becoming so important, while also showing how that industry disagreed and defended itself.

The second article was a NY Times article called "The Morality of Fat". It dealt with the idea that fat has become our number one enemy these past years, and how society has changed to accommodate that. I found it amazing that while the health food craze has increased, so has " the American waistline". Food has always been something iffy in society. These days, the healthier you cook, the "wealthier" it would seem you are, since healthy cooking is more expensive and time consuming. But at the same time "There is a market clamor for low-fat frozen yogurt, there is a steady rise in sales of high-fat premium ice cream."

In our seminar, we spoke a lot about what we thought was personal responsibility and what we thought was the responsibility of others. For example, i thought there was a certain point in someones childhood where they became self-sufficient, while others thought that children should be supported by their parents, and its their responsibility to show them whats healthy and whats not. I think both our seminars were very in depth, and very enlightening. I hope to have more sometimes soon.

The Waiting Room, scenes 1-4

In class today, we read aloud the first four scenes of The Waiting Room, Act 1. This play was a very humorous depiction of women through the ages and the roles they have played in society. And although we have only read the first four scenes, you can already tell that this play takes a very risque, and upfront technique in telling the story of these women.

The women of this play are VERY varied, each having a different culture and style. Victoria is a severe, controlled women from Victorian-age England, experiencing hysterical fits that her husband believes are cause by her ovaries (crazy man!!!). Wanda is a "ditsy", flirtatious, typical American girl, looking for help with her...implants. And Forgiveness From Heaven is a housewife from China, completely oblivious to the fact that there are some things in her life that are less that...average. Like the fact that her husband has multiple wives, and she just lost a toe.

I have a strange feeling that this play is going to turn out to be insanely hilarious, and more than just a little...mature. :)

"The Heavy Cost of Light Skin" Response

The article "The Heavy Cost of Light Skin" was an enlightening article about the topic of women bleaching their skin in order to make themselves more pallid and "attractive", in their eyes. But, these treatments are not salubrious and end up causing a lot of harm to the women who use them. They use the products to embellish their beauty, and i think its a horrible idea. It's even worse that women who choose NOT to do this to themselves are considered second-class citizens and shunned by those who do use them. Although it may not mention it in the article, I bet the non-use of skin bleachers affects the dowry of the women, if men don't accept the women because they find them "unattractive".

I don't understand how men can find skin bleaching salacious, if all it does is destroy skin and cause major health problems such as skin cancer. It's as if we have returned to the middle ages, where white skin was the pinnacle of fashion, and women tried their hardest to be as pale as possible. Instead of progressing, we have in fact regressed.

While many women jovially explain how they believe lighter skin makes them more attractive, others disagree. Many doctors and specialists are commenting on the unhealthiness 0f this treatment, and warning against its use. Some men even disagree with the idea that whiter skin is more pleasing. And i must say, i don't think bleached-whiter skin is anything other than disturbing and terrible.

Dove Commercial

1. What were your gut reactions to this commercial?
When i first saw this commercial , I was horrified at seeing just how many beauty ploys there were out there. It wasn't until then, until i had seen them all together, that I realized just how drastic the measures were the beauty industry had taken to insure their worldwide spread. I felt bad for being part of this industry, simply by buying products. And when it showed all the surgical procedures taken by women in order to look better, it disturbed me, That women do so much to fit in, to be "beautiful", it appalled me.

2. What do you think about the central message of the commercial? Be specific and give examples to support your ideas.
I believe the central message of this commercial was to show the public exactly how horrible the beauty industry was, and to warn us of how it affects children, even at a young age. When little girls see this kind of thing on TV or on a billboard, they immediately think that its something they should achieve. From a young age, they are taught by the public that beauty is all that matters, not brains or personality. And you really have to teach your children the true meaning of life is not to gain beauty. For example, it shows all the billboards, and magazine articles, and TV shows, and diets, then shows a little girl. Effectively showing us the effect these images are taking on her.

Our Seminar

Today in humanities class, we had a seminar about the four cardinal virtues of society, written by Greek philosophers over 2500 years ago. We spoke a lot about our beliefs on how to reach these four virtues, what they were at the essential root, how they affected everyday life. It turned out to be far more in-depth than i ever expected. Our class has a myriad of opinions and ideas concerning how we think the world should be and why. I spoke a bit about what i thought bravery was, in my opinion, how i think it could be achieved. I thought that bravery shouldn't just be something a HUGE it could also be something small, like talking to your friend, or standing up to a bully, that could be considered brave.

My peers had amazing ideas about other topics, the other virtues in mind: prudence, fortitude, temperance, and justice. for example, when we had the discussion about whether walking into a lions den was bravery or stupidity. I found that its all a matter of perspective. To some, saving a child is to be seen as something to be commended, something brave beyond all reason. And to others, is to seen as the opposite. Why save the life of someone who you care not for? What does this for to you? Some people are truly happy with living their lives with not helping anyone ever, and its just part of their personality. Personally, im of both natures. I would try to help someone in need as much as possible, but there would always be a moment when i would wonder why i am doing it. Wonder why i am being good, why i am being charitable, because it does nothing FOR me. It may make me feel warm and fuzzy inside, but it doesn't help me physically. It doesn't better my position in this world.

And when it comes to piety, and it being considered ignorance. I believe in that, to some extent. There are some who take piety to the extremes, who take it so much to heart, take it so literally, that they forget human nature, They take a simple slip up as a horrible sin, and end up punishing innocent people for something they did on accident, or with no malintentions. For example, the Salem Witch trials, As far as we know, those women did NOTHING wrong, but they were still cruelly captured, many of them killed heedlessly. I think too much piety blinds us to the world, shields us from the truth of it all.

If i were to continue on about our conversation today, it would take many many pages, i kid you not. So, i believe i will stop here, and leave you with the note that our class has a deeper sense of the world than you can ever imagine.

Women in Ancient Greece

1. How did women's roles in society differ from Athens and Sparta?
Women in Athens were thought of as liabilities, good only for keeping the house and the children clean and well fed, fetching water, doing menial chores around the house. They were never given a high part in society, especially not government. It was vastly different in Sparta. Here, women were taught how to read and write, and were expected to be able to fend for themselves. , Academically, they were treated much the same as the men were. This is only a fraction of the differences between Athenian and Spartan women, but still , you can see the differences in the way the were seen and treated.

2. If the Greeks are considered so advanced, so culturally elite, why do you believe gender equality (equality between men and women) was not established?
I believe gender equality was not established, because there was really no idea of it even being possible. No one had ever imagined the possibility of a woman having the same rights as a man. And even if it had been thought of, i honestly don't think the men could have stood the competition. They probably thought it an insult to even consider a woman as strong and powerful as a man. The mere thought of a woman in government sent chills up their spines. Imagine, this person who was supposed to be at home making dinner, running their empire?!? Impossible! I believe, if they had out higher stock in the women, they could have easily come up with some sort of gender equality. But they would have never allowed themselves to do such a thing.

3. Based on your understanding of women in Ancient Greek society, how do you think women were depicted by artists at this time?
I would think that women were portrayed much less commonly than men, and that when they were, it was either doing some mindless work, or as a goddess. I think this was pretty much the only excuse they had for adding women into art. I doubt that female nudity was insanely common. Once again, i must say that it was usually the goddesses that were portrayed in artwork.

You, Plato, Socrates, and Beauty

1) What is so beautiful about youth?
Youth. When i think of youth, i don't usually think of beauty. I think of recklessness, of immaturity, of innocence, of being blissfully unaware of the problems of the world. But I suppose that, in and of itself, is beauty, at least the innocence and blissfulnesses. I think of youthful beauty not only as smooth skin, and good looks, but as the ability to see the world as it is, unpolluted and untarnished. If you ever want to really know how the world would impact a stranger, ask a child. They see everything at the most basic level, the way some things were supposed to be seen as, before they were blown out of proportion. This is what I imagine as youthful beauty, not only the physical "perfection" of someone who is young.

2) We know what "perfect" most likely means to Socrates by looking at ancient Greek sculpture and art and drawing inferences, but he doesn't describe this "perfect" human form. What are your thoughts on the idea of a "perfect" human form today? What is it in your culture for men? women? What are your thoughts surrounding those ideals?
I think the idea of a perfect human form hasn't changed much since ancient Greek times. at least, for women it hasn't. The ideal female image has always, and probably always be, curvy, proportioned, perfect in every way. But that of itself is confusing. Every culture has a different ideal as to what they believe as "perfect". Some cultures, the American culture for example, think of perfection as a stick thin body, with exquisite features, paying no heed to the emotional or mental beauty of the woman. For men, the standards are less lax, the demands less extreme. I think the only ideal is that they be "handsome". But handsomeness is by perpective. Some people think of some man as handsome, while their friend thinks hes hideous. Everyone has a different idea, different ideals. It has always seemed different for women. And truly, there is no reason for it. The very idea of beauty makes no sense, because no one is ever unanimously "beautiful", its impossible. Socrates may have had his own ideas on the concept of beauty, of it being part of youth, but others may disagree.

Beauty and my thoughts on it

What is beauty? Beauty is a word that explains what we as a person find attractive, not only aesthetically, but emotionally, spiritually, many things as well. These pictures are small examples of what I find beautiful.



I think lightning is beautiful, because its something amazing that we cant really explain. Lightning is part of nature, and just because of that it can be beautiful. When you see it, it makes you feel small and insignificant, because, what are you compared to this? Its amazing, beautiful, and wonderful.

The aurora Borealis, another thing that i find both beautiful and amazing. It is rare, so few people have actually seen it. its another thing that makes you feel small. It makes you wonder what makes this world so fascinating, what makes these things happen. Its awing, is what it is, more than beautiful.

I don't like to think of THINGS as being beautiful, more ideas, thoughts. What we think up can become something beautiful in and of itself.

bloop!

hello!!! first post! o ya! bloop people!