Oh My God

I can picture Gulliver's reaction when he sees the floating island. It's like this: He stands up. He puts his hand on his forehead to block the sun from his eyes as he looks up. He squints his eyes. He has no idea what he is seeing.

I find his whole experience leading up to that point intriguing. He has some bad-ass survival skills. Supplies for four days. A canoe. I don't think I'd be able to do that. 

How Foolish We Seem

Knowing that Gulliver's Travels is a giant satire helps in figuring out Swift's intentions of relating the customs of Lilliput. Everything Gulliver conceives seems to be a joke. At the same time, however, the fact that Gulliver is looking at all these ridiculous customs makes me think about what would happen if we were the Lilliputians.
How would a complete stranger who lives in a world with completely different customs view our world? I think the Lilliputian burial services is ridiculous: "They bury their dead with their heads directly downward, because they hold an opinion, that in eleven thousand moons they are all to rise again; in which period the earth (which they conceive to be flat) will turn upside down, and by this means they shall, at their resurrection, be found ready standing on their feet." (Swift 40,41) In that light, how would our burial customs seem to an outsider? Is putting people in boxes underground ridiculous? What are the origins of burying people? Is it something to do with resurrection as well?
Another weird Lilliput custom is the parent-son relationship. The parents don't do the raising at all and only see their offspring a couple of times a year. Is it weird that our parents raise us? How would it be different?

Conan vs. Health Care

The two feature articles I read were both interesting in different ways. The one about Conan O'Brien taking over The Tonight Show taught me things I didn't know. For starters, I had no idea that The Tonight Show was so old. Second, it seemed really weird that they look for successors to the host. First Johnny Carson, then Leno, and now Conan O'Brien. Furthermore, why is it such a privilage? Why would Conan O'Brien leave The Late Show to be the host of The Tonight Show. I guess when it comes to late-night comedy, The Tonight Show is the most prestigious.
The article about health care was also really interesting. Instead of talking about the inner thoughts of a comedian who is about to take over the most prestigious talk show on TV, talks about one of the biggest problems facing the United States today. In their quest to extend and better their health care system, lowering costs is one of the major goals. This becomes a problem when the doctors will over exercise their power for profit. Money is the problem. I had always thought people became doctors because they wanted to save lives. Somewhere in the inner workings of their minds they are good-hearted enough to want to save other people. Now, doctors become doctors because they know it will make them rich.
The difference in these two articles is the target. The one about Conan O'Brien is a fun, interesting piece that simply tries to inform us what he's thinking as he steps into a much bigger stage. The health care article is a quest to answer a much bigger question. It is the investigation of medicine in the United States. Because it is a much bigger question, this article touches more sensitive topics, topics such as ethics and morality. Why shouldn't the doctors order all the extra procedures? After all, if money is their goal, the McAllen system is what doctors all over the world should be striving for.
The style of writing is different as well. I guess this is to be expected as all writers have a different form.

The Good Guys

When you think about the U.S., you generally think they are good. Good in the sense that they are trying to protect democracy around the world and uphold liberties. However, when it comes to nuclear testing, they haven't really been that way. As this article relates, they have failed to sign the nuclear test banning treaty several times. President Obama is pushing the treaty into the senate once again, but some senators will have to be convinced if it is going to pass.
As the world's power, it should be at the head of banning nuclear testing. If they do it, other countries will surely follow.

The Test Ban Treaty
May 24th, 2009

Figuring Out The Universe

A space shuttle mission has recently returned from space. This mission involved fixing the Hubble Space Telescope, which had had some problems since it was first sent out into space. Now that it is all fixed, however, Hubble is able to take amazingly sharp pictures that further detail the origins of our Universe.
So much innovation and technology makes me wonder what will happen when all of our Universe's secrets are found out. What will happen when we know exactly how the Universe was created? What will happen when we know the origins of mass? What will happen when we can travel at the speed of light?
Since the beginning of our species, we have wondered all of these questions. Once they've been answered, however, what will be left? What will we do to fill up the time we used to spend figuring out the big questions of our existence?

An Even Better Hubble May 24, 2009

War and Politics

Soon after the author is freed, he learns a brief history of politics and war in Lilliput. As explained by Reldresal, principle secretary of private affairs, the problems in this world are silly. "As to the first, you are to understand, that for about seventy moons past there have been two struggling parties in this empire, under the names of Tramecksan and Slamecksan, from the high and low heels of their shoes, by which they distinguish themselves...The animosities between these two parties run so high, that they will neither eat, nor drink, nor talk with each other." (Swift 33) This made me think of the differences between politicians in our world.
In Colombia for example, beginning in the XIX century, liberals and conservatives have been fighting. They distinguish themselves by what they believe is the best course of action in different areas, not by the elevation in their shoes. Still, though, as much as we think that the differences between liberals and conservatives are worth fighting for, the people in Lilliput think the same. The real question is why we divide ourselves. We should be united. It's really crazy to think that thousands of people died because of small differences in economic, domestic and foreign policy.
The same thought comes to mind when we are explained the war between Lilliput and Blefuscu. It all has something to do with religion, and the way to break an egg before eating it. Apparently there have been 6 rebellions since the emperor of Lilliput decreed that the best way was by breaking it on the small end. Big end-breakers found refuge and assistance from Blefuscu, and this is how their war began. Again, a really silly reason.
It reminds me of religious wars and crusades. It reminds me of people killing eachother in the name of God or ancient principles. As dear as we might hold some concept or belief, it is always silly to fight over it, especially when the fight kills thousands of people.

A Giant In Our Midst

All I kept thinking throughout chapters I and II of Gulliver's Travels was this: how would we react in the face of such a giant. The men of Lilliput are about 6 inches tall. If an average person in today's world is about 5'8, that means that the ratio is 68-6, a little more than 11-1. If you flip that over, that means that for us to see a giant like the men of Lilliput are seeing, that man would have to be 748 inches tall, 62 feet. The Goliath from the Bible is only 9 feet tall. 62 feet is like a 6 story building.
What would we do with a 62 feet tall man? Controlling him would be easy because our weapons now a days are advanced. Instead of having hundreds of men ready with bows and arrows, we would just have fighter jet planes or helicopters. Feeding him would be an issue. The council of Lilliput even thinks that feeding their man would cause a famine. This is something that would happen to us as well.
I think the more important question is not how we would feed a 62 foot tall person but how we would see him. What would happen to our religion and our beliefs if we saw a person like this. Undoubtedly, people all over would think it was Jesus' second coming. Others would think apocalypse. We know so much about the world that any mysticism has really gone out the window.
Sure, we can write a story with a 62 foot tall man. However, deep down, we all know that this is impossible. Our extensive knowledge has made the world a small place, a place where something like this wouldn't be able to happen.

Color and Line

The essential components that make up this piece of art are color and line. The artist also does a great job of creating space in the picture. By aligning the "shapes" on the sides, the artist creates a sort of space where he later places the balloon. The very fact that the balloon is in the center gives it emphasis. It sticks out.

Jesus Reaching Out

This painting works a lot with line. If you follow each person's line of sight, you will see that they are looking at somebody else. Each apostle seems to be engaged in some kind of interaction with another apostle. The only two people who don't form part of this pattern are Jesus and St. Peter, who is sleeping on the table. Jesus is looking straight at you. His eyes seem to make some kind of connection with the viewer, a look that says: "Check out what I'm dealing with."
I make this inference because of all the movement going on in the picture. There are some 5 conversations going on. Also, instead of just being seated in their seats, the apostles are in all kinds of weird positions.
Jesus' giving attitude is seen in this picture in that he is offering the lamb head to the table. This is really the only food on the table, other than a little bit of fruit. It's cool to see how a lot of Jesus' "personality" is being highlighted in this piece.

Misery

This chapter of Seize the Day really highlights Wilhelm's misery. "Wilhelm could not restrain himself and joined in with his own panting laugh. But he was in despair." (Bellow 38) We are further introduced to his troubles in this chapter. He's on the brink of divorce. His wife won't stop asking for money. He has two kids.
He's burdened with life itself. I think this is setting up for some kind of redemption at the end. This can't just be a story about Wilhelm's misery, there has to be something more. What he should really do is address his father. Wilhelm needs to tell him exactly how he feels. How he doesn't like it when he corrects him in public, how he doesn't like it that he calls him Wilky. I think that if he improved his relationship with his father, everything would slowly better itself.

Looking Back

The first chapter of Seize The Day is like a big flashback. With Wilhelm's failure as an actor, and all the consequences that came with it, we see why Wilhelm is who he is in the present. The roots of his bad relationship with his father lie in the same acting failure, as he became Tommy Wilhelm, losing his father's last name.
All of his insecurities and problems in the future can be traced back to the call from Maurice Venice, the failing agent. It's funny. Although we see Wilhelm's failures in this story, we also see how sad of a life Venice is living. Failure seems to be all around the book.