Laughing During War

Option #1:Choose a text that represents war -- this text could be photograph, a film (or a scene from a film), a short story, a painting, a poster, a news article, a letter, a poem, a novel, a nonfiction account, or anything else. Analyze this text and explain what it reveals/suggests about the nature, purpose, meaning, or significance of humans at war. Consider the following questions in your analysis:

1. Does the author/producer of this text seem to have an argument or to make a claim? Is there a point he/she is trying to prove? How do you know? Consider the ways in which style or tone or genre contribute to this argument/claim.

2. Who is the intended audience for this piece and why? Again, consider style, tone, and/or genre.

3. Do there seem to be underlying assumptions that shape the author's view?What are they? How do they influence the piece?

4. Do you appreciate or agree with this author/producer's work? Why or why not?
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Tim O'Brien presents a bleak view of war: the death, destruction, and utter sadness caused by war, and how in the end it truly accomplishes nothing. He makes the reader feel like they are suffering alongside the imaginary soldiers, feeling the same kind of pain or grief they experience. Most, if not everybody, will agree with the statement that war is a terrible thing. However, not all authors would describe it in the same way or through the same type of writing.

One of my favorite books mocks, satirizes, and generally pokes fun at war and the associated groups. Catch 22, a book by Joseph Heller, mocks and makes fun of war in general and the useless administration it is controlled by. The main character, Yossarian, exploits the system in a large variety of ways, from being sort-of sick with an unidentifiable and possibly deadly disease, to random censoring of letters.

Throughout the book, it is obvious that Joseph Heller thinks war is a convoluted mess of leadership and organization. He uses Yossarian to make a point, using his exploits as specific problems. He shows how the soldiers who are abroad become attached to prostitutes for strange reasons, how the soldiers can exploit the systems for personal gain (such as shipping food supplies), even how the people who censor letters have the power to totally change a letter's meaning. He uses his satirical, non-sequitur writing style to emphasize the seemingly chaotic nature of war.

However, Heller obviously intends for this book to be read by mature audiences, due to certain scenes and language used. Also, it relates to war, so it is probably not a book for children. Also, Heller seems to assume that all military units, wars, and other conflicts follow the same path as the one he mockingly describes. However, I think it is obvious that while this book demonstrates the points he wants to make, it is not necessarily the most accurate depiction of wartime activities. However, his writing style and abillity to bring humor from incongruity is an amazing trait, and makes his writing all the more enjoyable to read.

I love those great places... (in work)

Balboa Park

The sound of people moving,

laughing, loving, crying, adventuring.

The feel of the hot sun countered by the cool winds

gently pushing the clouds across the delicate blue sky.

The old Spanish buildings, covered in stucco and plaster,

beautiful as they age, more mysterious as time goes on.

The small kids running about, their mothers chasing them.

The calls of performing artists or musicians, the air saturated with

the sound of music in the air, of fountains gushing water, all highlighted by

the silence of the old museums, with their exhibits of the past.

Filled with silence and study, leaving them is like stepping into a hurricane

of bright colors, of green plants, of blue water; It is the feeling of being

at home while also being somewhere far away, of being close to others

while being in an old private place of your own. The rose gardens,

the Japanese Friendship gardens, the grass moving under your feet.

The park is a place away from home,

but sometimes seem closer than a house.

The

clusters

of clouds in the sky

send lightning racing down

my back. The empty silence

that normally comes with grey makes

a nice contrast to the normal sounds of

every day. The beautiful grey skies casting

tears over the earth, wishing that the plants

would grow and become tall. The feel of cold rain

on the skin, of splashing in puddles, of getting wet.

I love the rain. The smell of rain, the taste of rain, the

feel of rain on my skin. Every drop is a small package of

beauty, crashing to the earth, living a short but sad, eventful

life that ends with a death so sad that it inspires plants to rise

and catch the other drops, love them. I love the black and white beauty

once the rain has stopped when you see no color, of the silence as the world

recovers,of how an entire universe of silence can be found in a moment.

I love everything about the rain, from being outside splashing to sitting

inside enjoying being dry. No matter where I am, I am only happy

when the sky is weeping and grey. An ironic twist of reality, I

find the moments I hold the most to be the moments of

sadness that put the happiness into perspective,

like the rain does to sun.

"A Matter of Profit: Post-colonial Criticism in Writing"

Recently, I finished reading a book by an author named Hilari Bell. Her books are always in different genres of fantasy, but always make me think about it rather than blindly rushing through. Her characters have motivations, her settings are practical, and her ideas are well presented and encourage readers to look deeper at issues.

One such example that I picked up was in the book A Matter of Profit. This is the story of a military son on a foreign world that is being colonized by humans, but is filled with friendly alien life. Slightly reminiscent of Star Wars, the story takes place in a desert-covered planet. The young male protagonist comes from the "ruler" group, a group of humans who have "taken over" the planet and begun colonization (slightly). In his search to find a possible murderer, Ahvren encounters a race called the T'Chin, a group of giant intelligent insect-like people. He meets and slowly makes friends with a T'Chin information broker, and slowly they grow closer.

While the main story progresses, the T'Chin broker and Ahvren continue to have conversations about the philosophy of their races and their personal beliefs. Ahvren explains how his race has a survive-and-dominate philosophy, while the T'Chin explains how they are unconcerned except for profit. He slowly explains how commerce is not just commerce itself to them, but a way of connecting to others. To them, money is more than currency; it is something traded between friends, enemies, or even unknowing allies in order for mutual gain.

While their philosophies are very different, Ahvren slowly converts to the T'Chin way of thinking after seeing how brutal his race can be. He finally truly questions the T'Chin, wanting to find out why they are unafraid of being colonized and possibly going extinct due to human interference. The T'Chin shows Ahvren a set of old ruins, and explains how the T'Chin survive: they adapt. They had been conquered hundreds of times before, and each time they were not wiped out: instead, other races joined them and their cities, and the traditions melded to effect each other. The scholar explains how rather than be afraid for the T'Chin, Ahvren should be afraid of his own race, which will slowly wipe themselves out due to their inability to accept other possible traditions into their own.

This entire story builds on the ideas of "the popular" vs. "the other", adapt-or-die, and Marxist philosophies. However, it also shows that while the conquered races are subdued, their cultures refuse to die: indeed, they shine brighter in contrast, and borrow or copy the bits of other traditions that fit their own. To me, this could be an obvious reference to the British imperialistic rule over India; while the Indians are truly subdued and ruled by the British, their spirits refuse to die, they incorporate the beneficial traditions of their conquerors into their own (such as how Ghandi became a lawyer or how the councils and committees came into existence from British organization), and they finally overpower their controllers by their own devices (the committees such as the Indian League finally won Indian Independence from Britain). Overall, the book illustrates to me how even under such powerful opposition the social traditions of societies continue to survive and flourish, and how subservience does not equal being dominated.

The different levels of this book help to explain many different issues, and it is worth reading, whether to see these post-colonial references or just for the enjoyment of reading a good book.

The Current State of Art

As a society, I think we have progressed far. We have become much more intelligent, made advancements in fields, even discovered NEW fields. However, one thing that I have noticed is that music seems to have only gone downhill in the most recent years. Nowadays, it seems as though just about anybody can be considered a rapper for making some stupid song with a slightly catchy tune.

Personally, this really bothers me. Whereas we have developed so much in the other areas of art, such as visual art, animation, dance, and theatrical productions, we have slowly fallen in the field of music. Now, this is not to say all music is bad; in fact, I may just be insane. But sometimes it seems as though we are become more shallow in our tastes, as many songs in the current public view are as shallow as a wading pool, with copied instrumental voicings and lyrics that could be improved on by a kindergarten child. Not saying all music is like this, but more and more I am finding modern music distasteful; few things really stick out to me like they used to, and a lot of good modern bands are totally overshadowed by performers who became famous through either television, media coverage, or because of the cinema.

Overall, I feel that music has recently been sagging in comparison to the other fields. Whereas by now we should have artists who are building on things set by predecessors and finding new ideas, it seems as though we have new musicians who would rather get high, sing incoherently, then smash their instrument to pieces on the stage. Yeah guys, great job; set the example for the industry. Therefore, I feel as though the music business is broadening, but in a bad direction.

Gender Roles in Society

Recently, a large political upheaval has been raise by the feminist rights movements and a gathering of more women in the workforce. Initiated in the 1950's, women's rights activists first gained females their rights. Recently, males in the work force are still having trouble adapting, and to many it seems as though women have come out of nowhere and are "taking over", while to women it seems they are oppressed and unfavored when compared to men.

One thing I think that is overlooked is the behavioral patterns that males have inherited. Over the past 2000 years, societies have been dominantly patriarchal; in that time, males have developed certain "behaviors". While many of these behavioral patterns are due to operant conditioning from society, I think that a major part of it is the historical significance of these behaviors. Studies show that men excel in "objects in motion, fluid reasoning, math, geography, science, and aiming; to me personally, I feel these are due to developments that we made over the course of time that have remained in us as a base line behavior that is never totally present but does influence us in reasoning and development.

Additionally, many times females consider job opportunities 'unequal', or 'favoring men'. Female rights only truly showed up about 60 years ago; male dominated societies have been present since ancient times. This new behavior and rights for women, while they are well deserved, are also so recent that not all industries have fully adapted to allow for an equal opportunity.

So the one thing I hope to make clear is this: while much is based on biological and cultural conditions, another major part of this debate is the historical factor. So instead of trying to be so sudden in changing job equality, think about this: in the history of mankind, something so dramatic has never changed so quickly so civilly.

Winter Break, Went Away, Now I'll be stuck i school all day

Woah, winter break went shooting by like a bullet. Even though I did get to goof off, it feels like I spent the whole time doing homework. Seriously, I finished two projects, studied for every class, and overall did everything I didn't want to.