Still Water (Parable)

Once, a very long time ago, people were scattered throughout the earth. These were not the conventional people of four limbs, a head of hair, and opposable thumbs. Some had gills. Others had great, bulging eyes. Some looked near monstrous with hair sprouting from every possible surface. They were all sorts of colors, from blue to gray to white and red.
Oddly enough, though some could be described as hideous, there was no revulsion shown by anyone. You see, there were no mirrors, or even names. No one had any idea what they looked like, and therefore hadn’t the slightest clue that there was a difference. Though their appearances were as varied as the rainbow, there wasn’t even a hint in their minds that anyone was entirely unique. They all lived, died, and eventually vanished without a single trace, so what was the use of names?
Now, one day an odd little creature with no hair, gills, or even color was born. Though It was a VERY strange little fellow, everyone accepted It into the fold. The little creature was given no name, as was the custom, and soon It became just another person on earth.
It was a resourceful little fellow, perhaps due to It’s terrible lack of just about anything. It had no fur, no fangs, no spectacular speed or strength. Other Its had long legs to run, or keen eyes to see, but this It was simply dealt a bad hand. To be honest, It would have been a very helpless little creature if it weren’t for Its clever hands and quick little mind. Indeed, many people found themselves oddly affectionate towards the little It, helping It find food when it suited them.
One day, It woke with a strange thought in Its head. The thought was vague and nigh impossible to grasp, so It went off to find a bite to eat. Throughout the long day, as It searched for berries, the strange thought nudged at Its mind.
It was a very unlucky day for It, for not only was It unable to find berries, but Its friends were far away, still in a quarrel with one of Its not-friends. With a resigned slump, It turned to the river to drink some water. Usually, there was no water, for the river ran too fast to the sea.
How odd! There was no river any more! It had walked the path to the river so much that there came to be groove in Its path. The river followed Its path, but there was no sea to swallow up the water. Instead, the water pooled and stayed still, a most unusual thing! Never had It seen still water! Still, It was thirsty, so It bent down to drink.
“Oh!” It was astonished! What was that in the water? Such a strange face, yet so familiar! It had two eyes, and fur on Its head. A short nose, very different from one of Its friends, a strange pale color to Its skin, and really, what WAS It? It was really very unusual, and It was fascinated by It.
It was just about to shrug and leave, when It blinked. Oh my! The Water It blinked! It cocked Its head to the side and saw the Water It do the same. Now, It was not a dumb person. Far from it! It realized that the Water It was one and the same!
The strange thought finally formed in Its mind and whispered a word in Its ear. “Man.”
Such a lovely word, mused It. Really…Man. So unusual…like the Water It. Guiltily, It glanced around and whispered the word out loud. “Man.”
It went back to Its home and continued on with Its life, but everyday, It snuck back to the Still Water and whispered that word, louder and louder, until one day, It shouted the word and was surprised to find how natural it was. Man. Such a lovely, unusual word, coming so easily to Its mouth. Soon, It found Itself referring to Itself with the word, pleased with how natural it felt. The word didn’t feel right for any other people, but for the one formerly known as It, the word was just perfect. It was Man, whispered the strange thought, and the newly christened Man nodded in agreement.
Man continued with his life, hugging his new name to himself like a particularly pretty flower. It was HIS name, and it didn’t work for anyone else! Day by day, Man went back to the Still Water to speak his new name and watch the Water Man smile and nod. He didn’t notice how the Still Water grew and grew, his steps tracing out more and more grooves, deepening the old. No, how could he notice? Even when the entire earth was covered in the Still Water, and Man was wading in it, he was still blissfully happy. Now, Man could say its name anywhere, and Water Men all around him would smile and nod. As time passed, Man found the Water Men to be more and more fascinating and spent all his entire day with them.
Even when the Still Water crept up his neck, Man spoke his name and the Water Men smiled and nodded. However, this time, Man’s every breath stirred the Still Water, and it was no longer as Still. With a frown, Man turned his attention to the other Them, his old friends. Perhaps it was their fault? Man had found his friends to be jealous of the Water Man, stirring the Still Water as much as they could to chase the Water Man. In time, the Water Men had found ways to discourage Man’s friends, and eventually was no longer bothered at all.
Still, now the water was stirring all the time with every breath! Had Man’s old friends found a new way to chase away the Water Men?
The Still Water was still growing, and Man choked on it as he gasped. All he could see was Water Men, more and more. No Them, not even a single It. There wasn’t a person on the earth besides Man and his Water Men.
“It is Man,” whispered the strange thought as Man joined the Water Men in the Still Water.
“It is Man,” whispered the strange thought for the last time, as Man became the Water Men, and the Water Men became the water, and the water became nothing more than Still Water, with no Man or It to show.

Reflection

*Rages*I WROTE MY REFLECTION IN THE WRONG PLACE AND NOW I'VE LOST IT!!!


The basic gist was: The movie was incredible, but could have had more emphasis on certain concepts. The map, while looking suitably intricate, was not explored in depth and only served as an excuse for Powell to spout some wise-sounding words about man and dominion. The daughter was an unnecessary element that did not serve any great purpose. I did like the emphasis that Powell was not a gorilla, but a MAN amongst gorillas. He was a part of the gorilla's family, and by extension, a part of the world.

Belated Choreographing Ideas

Negative

I had this idea of people carrying 'trash' to the riverside, dumping it there without a care. Then the people would turn to leave, stop, and assume the position of trash. The previous 'trash' would rise up as people and 'dump' the new trash, and so on. Slowly, both sets of people/trash would weaken, until they collapse entirely. They would be dressed in dull, 'ugly' colors like gray, dull gray-green, etc.


Positive

On the other hand, building on my previous 'negative' idea, there could be a new group of people dressed in bright green. One would come and take the 'trash' from one of the current people's arms, walking off camera to dispose it properly. Another would come, and more and more, until the people themselves begin to do the same, slowly shedding the gray clothes to reveal the same bright green clothes underneath.

Reflection on Takers

Reading that one line in Ishmael at the end of chapter 10 sent a shiver down my spine. Maybe it was the way he worded it. To use words like 'ultimately', 'beyond recall', makes the whole sentence that much more solid. The whole thing is made to feel that much more of a truth rather than an opinion.


The worst part is that we can't deny the truth of these words. We can plaster other concerns over them, pretend that those words were never written. We can say, oh, I think we should focus more on global warming, or genocide, or dictatorship in Africa, but it doesn't change the fact that Ishmael's words are very much TRUE.

The fact is, we DO destroy an unbroken chain of real wisdom every time we allow or even encourage a Leaver culture to dissipate in the sands of time. When a species dies, we ARE snapping the chain of its evolution. We are proud that we can trace back our lineage into centuries past, but then we cut off the future of another species' descendants.

"It is ugly."

I don't think those words do this truth justice. This is beyond 'ugly'. This is beyond the language we have invented for ourselves.

Blood, Sweat, and T-shirts

In the clip, there was only a brief look at the six youths getting on a train. An admittedly disgusting train, but still just a train. We learned that most of the people on the train were incapable of rising above their positions in life, not because of personal faults, but because they did not have the money. They did not have the money to feed themselves, let alone pay for education.
It reminds me of one of the passages in "Travels of a T-shirt". The laborers in that bok worked long hours, hours that did not allow for time to study, and the pay was pitifully little, far too little to pay for more than the barest essentials. Like those workers on the train, they could not rise above their station in life, even if they had wanted to. Even an extra hour of work, an extra diligent attention on needle and thread would not earn enough money for one to rise to a higher status. There is, in short, no hope for these workers to become 'better'. They're too focused on actual survival for them to think of the future.

Mugabe

This man has 'eaten' from the Tree of Knowledge...or so he thinks. With that major success of liberating Zimbabwe, Mugabe has been handed the magical apple bestowing knowledge.

It's a pity that he didn't read Ishmael, or even the Leviathan, because no human has the right to say that he is above all others. Unfortunately, his path was littered with minor successes, all of them perfect little rose-tinted lenses to make him believe that his path was truly the right one to take. Killing someone, or many someones? Oh look, we've got diamonds! That's a sign that we're doing right!

He doesn't SEE the whole picture, only the pretty canvas of his 'success'.

The worst thing is that if someone manages to overthrow him, there's a possibility that the whole bloody circle will start again. A single, golden moment of freedom, of flight, then the accelerating fall in which we are fooled into believing is flight.

Scary, how more and more of Ishmael's words are leaking into real-life situations, our true life here on planet Earth.

Dongmen

• How did the site of DongMen alter the choreography that you created in the classroom?

• Now that you know this site better; If you were to go back to Dongmen what would you add or subtract from your choreography to make it stronger?

The site didn't really change our choreography at all. The escalator was just longer than the stairs, and we just put a bag on the ground to prevent our dancers from getting too dirty. Other than that, everything was the same as it was in school.

I'm not entirely sure. I might take out the weird part where we went 'shopping' and use different choreography,, but that's all.

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Resources in SS

Psychogeography
It's interesting about how anything can be made into some deep and thoughtful simply by really looking at it and considering it. Those psychogeographers could drift into the trashiest part of a city and still find something undiscovered. Or, they could wander into the most visited public area in the world and still notice something unseen by others.

I could walk into a classroom that I've been in for the entire year, and notice a certain crack in the wall that I never saw before, a crack that could symbolize...anything. :D


Site Specific Performances
This piece of writing makes me wonder about the sites I've been, and how that might work as a theatre, how they might convey a certain feel or idea. It's an interesting point, that sites have moods or histories, that they can make a conveyed idea more solid, or a movement that much more meaningful.

So, a rooftop with white billowing sheets 'drying' in the wind could be a site for an incredible dance performance, with dancers flowing in and out of sight amidst the sheets. Or, a performance on youth could be done on a typical playground area, in which the performers act out a child's day on the swings, or monkey bars, or slides, etc.

E.O. Wilson and Ishmael

I find it interesting how E.O. Wilson and Ishmael have such a similar message. Ishmael teaches us that the law of life is that we eat/kill what we need, not for a 'pre-emptive strike' against, say, lions. We kill that which is not what we see as the immediate need for our survival.

So, for example, we kill off the annoying mosquitoes who bite and annoy us, the mosquitoes that do not aid us in our immediate need for survival. However, due to their extinction, the animals such as oh...perhaps fish fry who feed on the mosquito larvae die due to starvation. The fish fry, who grow to become fish that we eat, die out. All the other animals that feed on fish, such as falcons, bears, etc, die out due to the decrease in food supply.

Just by killing off a single species of tiny insects, we cause harm to the entire environment. And that, unfortunately is an incredibly quick, shallow view at what could happen if we wiped out a single species.

Now, Ishmael tells us that we Takers, guided by Mother Culture, are waging war on the planet, on anything that does not obey us (which is pretty much everything.) E.O Wilson aptly describes as a juggernaut. A juggernaut is a great, tremendous force; however, it is comparable to a tank. Though it 'conquers' what we desire to be conquered, its tracks leave deep imprints upon the earth, running over anything not directly related to its goal.

And indeed, that is what we humans do. We crush our 'opposition' through sheer brute force without consideration towards what we defeat. We have a great many species on our planet, but we are fast destroying them, at an acceleration comparable to that of gravity, as Ishmael noted, 9.8m/s.

Unless we realize this and try to stop breaking the law of life, that we kill only that which was set to kill, like a lion and its herd of antelope, we will continue to destroy our existence and our earth at the rate of 9/8m/s no matter how hard we 'flap our wings'.

Reflexión en Español

En el proyecto de la cancion, aprendo muchos vocabularios como 'conejos' y 'gotíco'. También
aprendo las palabras 'milla' y 'incontable'. Practico mi vocabulario en esta projecto, porque haciendo la letra se necessita muchas palabras. También, practico mi gramática porque el mismo razón.

Me gusta a hacer la letra de la cancion. Tambien me gusta a cantar la cancion con mis compañeros. El proyecto era un poco difícil porque no teniamos tiempo para trabajar afuera de clases.

Laws on Civilization

I personally disagree with Ishmael. Perhaps it is 'Mother Culture' whispering in my ear again, and he may bring up something absolutely world-shattering in the next chapter that will shatter my ignorant notions of civilization being an abstract idea. However, I just can't help but feel that there isn't really a LAW of how people, animals act. Alright, yes, you have hunger, self-preservation, etc, but we feel. We hope, we desire, we dream of such varied things, that it's hardly comparable to a rock falling due to the LAW of gravity.

Sorry, this is short, but there's no real explaining this reasoning. Perhaps it's like he said. There is a wall in our minds, the wall constructed by Mother Culture, and I simply cannot bring myself to clamber over it until he himself shoves me up and over.

The world was made for ME! DUH~~~

Everything in the world was made for lovebirds, OBVIOUSLY. Do you see such gorgeous plumage on any other bird? Forget macaws, they're like awkward imitations of us! So big and ugly...They may LOOK like us, but they fail miserably in the looks department. And as for hummingbirds...well, I'll get into that later.

Skeptical at the greatness of lovebirds? Look at the gifts given to us! Strong, powerful beaks, capable of getting any pesky intruder away from our turf (which is, obviously, the WORLD. It's our world, chicky, remember that!) Extremely good hearing, so we can pick up any delusional fool who thinks they're actually SUPERIOR to a lovebird. And our feet!

Hoo boy, just look at 'em! Capable of grabbing things and bringing them to our multi-purpose mouth, it's like God planned it that way! (which He did, because he wanted us to be the epitome of perfection.) They let us hang onto anything with a crack, since our very nice talons can cling onto almost any surface.

And then there's our looks! Oh, those silly hairless things THINK they're our owner, but WHO'S the one with the big eyes and cute bod? That's right. Lovebirds. Chicky, all we need to do is waddle a little, fluff our head-feathers and they come falling to their KNEES to feed us. Humans are our SLAVES, kinda like dogs are the humans' slaves. They snap a command and the dog fetches the stick for them, which is obviously a talent they don't have. However, when a LOVEBIRD squawks a command, the human goes running to get us food.


See the difference? Dog gets human icky, inedible stick. Human get us yummy food and is our pillow. Who's the big boy now??~~ (:>

||
V



Even if they think of disobeying...Well....Look who's got the super-beak? *Snap!*

We've got looks! We got beak! We got feet! And....

We're lovebirds. DUH. Love = Something super cool, because God just loves us that much to make us that way. Bird = Super smart creatures with the God-given talent of flying! (Ignore bats. I've never seen one. They don't exist.)

Love + Bird = Us! The dominant species of this planet!


>.>


<.<


O.O Fear the uber-cute eyes.

Stranger in the Village

Reading this essay was somewhat painful. I mean no offense to Baldwin; he seems to be a great man with a plethora of deep thoughts and incredible insight. However, the sheer abundance of thoughts is somewhat off-putting when you look at a single paragraph and see about 3-4 impressive ideas, all of which could easily sidetrack you for an entire hour.
Still, once you wind your way down to the conclusion of his essay, his intention is made clear in a single sentence.

"This worlds white no longer, and it will never be white again."

Throughout the entire essay, he has been pressing on us the way he has been set apart from this isolated Swiss village, all due to his dark skin, his Negro background. He talks about how the villagers would subtly, unwittingly in the cases of some, mark him as something unnatural, something foreign, alien thing that happened to drop in their town.

We note his bitterness towards such treatment, wince sympathetically when a bistro owner's wife tells him how the village had 'bought' some of his kinsmen in Africa to save their souls. We nod in understanding when he explains to us the contrast of heritages between the blacks and whites, in which the white, with "...Dante, Shakespeare, Michelangelo, Aeschylus, Da Vinci, Rembrandt, and Racine...", is unfailingly superior to the ancient Africans of the past who were "...watching the conquerors arrive."

All of this comes to a head when, finally, Baldwin makes his point. (By this point, you might have developed a slight headache from the overabundance of deep ideas.)

In my opinion, after reading the last two passages of his essay, Baldwin is attempting to make the white Americans see that ignoring, subjugating, oppressing the black Americans will not make them go away. No matter how the whites may wish to erase the black existence from American society, Negroes are there to stay. They are a part of America now. Even if the whites wish to return to a society free of blacks, they cannot, for even the whites have been irrevocably changed, as have the black Americans. Their attempts to erase the blacks from American society only serve to nail in the fact that blacks are an unchangeable part of America, that they feel threatened enough to try and destroy them.

Do we want to be conscious of the rules of a place where we live?

I would say yes, if only so that I could offending someone accidentally. It doesn't matter if the rules were right or wrong, only that I know what they are. That way, if I break a rule, it will be deliberately, because I viewed the rules, looked them over, compared them to the words of my heart and found them wanting.
Yes, you could go your whole life blind, but ignorance does not pave the way for a society of free-thinkers. I would rather know what my world is like so that I would know if there is injustice about.

Scars and Mothers

I was thinking back to my childhood, and I realized just how hard I was on my mom. As a child, all I (and my mother) have ever heard was "Oh, such a pretty child!", "Oh, she takes after her beautiful mother.", "She's so pretty; I wonder what she'll look like when she grows up."

Looking back at my old photos, I really was. The little kid me glowed even through the old picture with cheery precociousness, with that intangible feel of standing out of the crowd. My mother's old photos of herself as a girl are the same way. Both of us stand out in that strange way, just too different, too unique to blur into nothing in a crowd.

Now, when I look over myself, I realize to my own shock that I did inherit a lot of my mother's good features. My complexion is smooth, my hair is thick, my features are somewhat European, despite my obvious Asian descent.

And yet...I wonder if she's still haunted somewhat by my scars?

When I was seven, I received a gash on my chin, 6 stitches in total. She was there with me in the emergency room, but I wasn't the one who needed comforting. Then, when I was in 5th grade, a large collie bit me squarely in the face. My nose, my cheek was torn, and the doctor said worriedly that the gashes were uneven.

That time, it was my brother who stood with me as the doctor sewed up the wounds, while my mother sobbed outside the door, unable to bear the sight of bright blood, flashing needle, and her own child lying on the bed, pale and shell-shocked. I forget how many stitches there were. All I can remember was pain due to the fact that the doctor couldn't put in so much anethsia on my brain, and my brother's hand growing numb and fingernail-marked as I gripped onto him like a lifeline. I guess...he was, of a sort. He really is my brother, despite our vastly different souls.

After that, my mother seemed to go somewhat mad in my child's eyes. She spent money here and there, buying products promising smooth skin, blemish removal. She got this strange silicon patch that I was to wear to bed, and even through the day if I could manage it. There were powders, creams, and even, to my utter disbelief, a plastic surgeon. I never did actually undergo surgery to remove my scars, but it stuck in my head for a long time. Was my mother ashamed of my scars?

I know now that she was only scared for me. She had given birth to what was like a model of future beauty, a perfect girl child. And now, scars would rip away her daughter's beauty and steal from her something material, but precious all the same. She gave me lectures, tried to impress on me the importance of taking care of my skin, my face, my scars. I rebelled. I was a wild child, not to be bound by rules of physical beauty.

My scars are faint now, hardly visible, but every so often the light will show strange rises and falls on my skin. I wonder sometimes...

Does my mother still wish that I was a quieter child, still unmarred and perfect?

Different Cultures

I think its such a pity that so many languages and cultures are dying out. Like Emerson was saying, it may go against the convention, but the thoughts your own brain creates are your own personal genius. Well, these indigenous people thought up this entire culture, language, beliefs, values. It is their personal genius, and now it's dying out with them. It's not remembered, it's not recorded, and it's most certainly not being valued enough, if we aren't trying to preserve their thoughts in some way.

For the question of whether or not I would go and live with these kinds of people for a year...I would say, yes. Yes, I would. It would be hard, for the first few days, maybe even a few weeks, but the knowledge that it would give me of myself would be of far more value than the ability to go on FaceBook to send virtual flowers to a person I barely know.

Gorilla: Forest to Zoo

"What aspects of human life over the past several thousand years could be likened to a gorilla going from a forest to a zoo?"

Before, a human's life was relatively simple, at least, in terms of thinking. They only hunted, mated, and died. There wasn't a need for them to think deep thoughts, or contemplate the universe, or why things were as they were.

However, once technology came, it, in a way, trapped them with time. Humans were given a period of time in which they had nothing to do, because tools had cut down the time needed to work to survive. Because of it, humans were sort of caged, given plentiful amount of time to just sit and ponder.

If life were just hunting, eating, sleeping, with no time to think, or contemplate, humans wouldn't have the time, or energy to worry or hate. To worry, one has to have the free time to worry, and if technology hadn't given us that free time, I don't think humans would have even had the energy to think about anything other that food, sleep, and sex.

So, a gorilla is taken from the simple, untroubled life of the forest, in which he only need think about food, and would then not even comprehend that there were other matters to worry about. He is then put in a place where food is no longer the problem, but he is now unable to do anything. He is trapped to sit there and do nothing, except *Drum roll*....think.

Humans were once just animals, comprehending only that they needed food. Then, technology came, advanced, and gave them a period of time in which they could just sit. Do nothing. Think.

Choices

What choices have led to our current global situation?

This question is REALLY general, because there are so many things going on around our world that could be defined as a ‘global situation’.

One choice, or rather, one problem is the lack of specific information. Without the information needed to make a real decision, people are forced to make a choice they might not have chosen had they had the necessary understanding of the situation.

For example, the water shortage in Taiwan. The people of the village knew only that the water prices had gone up and that the river was no longer a viable option for their needs. However, when a person gave them the details of their new water situation, the people were shocked and affirmed that they probably would not have chosen this ‘solution’.

So, many of the choices that have led to negative global situations are ones made without knowledge and understanding.

Other choices that resulted in a negative global situation are the ones made without proper planning, like the hurried construction of factories in China. Because people did not plan properly for the waste and for the environmental destruction, China’s rivers were made unusable for drinking, or even irrigating. Now, they have this huge problem with clean water.

Making a Difference

A girl named Mary Beth Talley was present when a shooter came into her church one day. Despite the dangerous situation, this senior found the nerve to not only hide herself but to also help hide another girl who suffered from Down syndrome.
It sounded like the 'right' sort of thing to do, and I wasn't too affected by this story until I considered being put in such a position myself. When bullets are shooting past, and my life is threatened, would I be able to move? Would I be able to break past that cloud of terror.?
That was when I realized that this girl really was extraordinary, because she found the courage to risk her own life to save another girl, one who was fighting her all the way. When I consider my own character, I can only see myself frozen, incapable of even twitching.
What affected me the most was this girl's words in response to praise. She said, "...I did the right thing because, why wouldn't I?" For keeping a cool head under fire, and for having such an instinctual understanding of what must be done, I admire this girl.
She could have died. She could have been crippled for life by a stray bullet. The struggling girl that she saved could have kicked her in the way of a bullet. Despite this, despite the thoughts that would have frozen me, she persevered, holding down the other girl at risk to her own safety, simply because it was the right thing to do. Forget fear, this girl knew what was the right thing to do and she did it.
If I am ever put through such an ordeal, I hope this girl's spirit will inspire me to break free of my own fear. I hope that I, too, can do the right thing to do.
What this girl did was small in terms of the entire world. she saved one girl, one life, one that even mentally ill. But then, she also helped save one family from grief. That, if anything else, is enough of a difference in this world.

Peace

Peace? Peace is when conflicts end, and needless death is eliminated. Peace is when everyone understands where others come from, accept it, and take the effort to find a way of life that accommodates all. Peace is that kindergarten poster of a circle of children all around the globe, holding hands and smiling at the viewer.

Peace is an intangible dream, one that is nigh impossible to reach, but is still sought because of the universal wish for a better world, life, and home, for us, our future, and our children.

String Theory

String theory explains everything, gravitational force, strong nuclear force, weak nuclear force, and electromagnetic force. it says that everything is made up of tiny vibrating strings of energy, strings that are so small that they make an atom look like the size of a sun in comparison.
I DON'T CARE!!!!!!!!!!!
Okay, fine, that's a little too much like an ignorant savage. The thing is, I don't WANT to real deal with this kind of science, the one that talks about things that I cannot see, affect, or barely even imagine with my own two hands. I want to learn about things I can touch, create, and generally interact with. Dropping a little ball off of a ramp and calculating where it falls? Cool. Sloshing two liquids together and seeing them cancel each other out with all that acidity, and bases nonsense? Sure. Tiny little atoms, and the even tinier protons and neutrons and what not, and the even tinier things that make up those things, and then the tiniest of all strings?!?!? No. No, no, no, no, no. You, my friend, can find your little string theorist buddies and get together to giggle and cheer that you've found that oh so very wonderful 'theory of everything'
Science is NOT my world. I will quite happily limit my knowledge of science to the typical high school things, and only think of elements and what-not when I must concern myself of whether or not this or that will poison my frog. Or fish. Or tadpole. Or cat. Or dog. THAT would be biology. NOT STRING THEORY.

Escape from Hua-Shin

I hate and love this movie. Love, because it was incredibly moving and introduced truly inpiring characters, but also hate, because IT MADE ME CRY SO MUCH!!! I understand how death was unavoidable, but the symbolism of the kites and the guns firing was a really touching effect.
I liked the quote in the beginning of the movie, where Hogg protested that the Japanese were not savages. His friend made a comment, that maybe the Japanese weren't savages, but they sure thought the Chinese were. It was very blunt, but it really got across his point.
Also, I was really moved to see the faces of the still living 'boys' that Hogg saved.

Landmine Videos

I learned new techniques like 'branding' and I also saw a cool example of satire (Go Max! :P). In class, I saw some interesting variety of music used. Though I chose a sadder, more serious type of song, I saw others use songs that were inspiring, or angry, or soft and sweet. I think it's interesting how different music can complete the same goal.

Engagement

1. Community Contributer
2 points: I am usually willing to help my classmates. When we got back our quiz, I helped Ariel understand her mistakes. Also, when we were working on the ball drop challenge, I gave the other groups hints when they were stuck on their problems.
2. Active Learner
1.5 points: I took detailed notes that eventually helped me to solve the challenge problem. Also, I was very interested in the material. However, in the beginning of the semester, I was very sleepy and may not have paid as much attention as I should when we covered the graphs.
3. Effective Communicator
1.5 points: When I worked with Jae, I felt that things went smoothly, even if we didn't end up solving the questions. However, when I worked with Ariel and Tiffany, I may not have communicated as well as I could have.
4. Critical Thinker/Problem Solver
1.7 points: I know this isn't an actual point thing, but I feel that I was fairly good at critical thinking, but still remember my problems with the challenge problem. Back then, I was unable to solve my problem, even though I was using several textbooks to search for something to help myself. However, I was a problem solver in other cases, when I used textbooks to find information, or found a way to bypass certain obstacles during the challenge problem. For example, I solved the problem of finding the initial speed on the x-axis by making it zero.
5. Person of High Character
2 points: I don't remember any instances in which I used my computer to fool around, or any times in which I was consistently late without reason. Also, I make sure to understand my mistakes on the homework problems instead of just ignoring them.

Land-Mines

I think this was a very effective advert, especially for those people in the hapy little land of denial. The fun, relaxed game of a few, bright young girls and the sudden destruction of the peaceful atmosphere really got across the point of the impact a single landmine could have. It also showed how sudden and unexpected it was, from going home with a smile on your face to losing your hopes, dreams, and innocence. For those who have kids, this advert would have really changed their outlook on land-mines.
However, there might be some problems because little kids should know about the danger to children their age, but they are also too young to be seeing something so...gritty. I don't think this advert is pg-13.

What Do I Know About Newton?...

He's nuts. I remember there was something about watching apples and realizing some great, incredible laws about...something(Physics, I think), but I also remember the strange anecdotes in our previous textbook.
Apparently, this guy stuck a needle into his eye and wiggled it around, just to see the effects. (He did not become blind, by the way...) Also, I remember a story in which he stared at the Sun for a very long time, again, just for curiosity's sake. (Again, he did NOT become blind...Despite the bizarre abuse it had gone through) It's odd, how the 'brilliant' guys are not so brilliant at times.
Maybe it's bad that I only remember these odd stories, but hey, I think it's odd that people worship him for a single moment of inspiration when he was obviously (in my opinion) a very weird guy.

World Without Gun Violence?

Well, in that society, there would be no crime that would make people want guns for protection, now, would there? I suppose there could be communal self-defense lessons for the average citizen so that they would feel more confidence in their ability to achieve security. Also, though I dislike the idea of propaganda, there could be movies, TV shows, or just pictures that show guns in an unfavorable light, so that the younger generation could see that guns are NOT a good thing.
If policemen were better trained and were capable of subduing criminals without the use of a gun, then that would definitely help in lessening the image of a gun being the best way of protection. Because of the many movies that show authorities bursting into, say, a crime ring with guns a-blazing, people get the impression that having a gun is a glorious thing, one that gives them the right to act like a policeman. Though there are terrible people out on the streets, we should be able to trust in our police to take care of them. Which means, of course, that our policemen need to be more efficient if the ordinary citizens are to place their trust in the system. If you have seen the movie "The Brave One" you'll see why the main character felt the need to purchase a gun because she was scared. With every example of how the system fails us, the common people feel more threatened than ever, and will want a gun to provide the safety and protection that they feel that the police system does not give.
Another way to lessen gun violence is to make sure that there aren't too many guns around in the first place. If there were taxes on each individual gun that a person owned, then obviously, some people would even want to get something that is so expensive. Also, if someone was required to renew their license often and was also required to undergo a serious background check before buying a gun, then there would be even less people able and willing to buy a gun.
So first, better police training and efficiency. Second, communal training for the everyday citizen to give a feeling of security to people. Third, stronger laws on guns would be a start on lessening the attitude of guns being available to everyone and his uncle (Taxes, background checks, frequent license renewals).

Regarding Science...

Science is something that I like to view from afar, like a very cute kid that you want to cuddle but definitely do not want to babysit at night. It's interesting, it's cool (Occasionally), but eventually, I always end up swirly-eyed with a look of 'Huuuuh??????' on my face.
Yup, Science. Love it. ..........Sometimes.