Most of us in the modern world believe that we are in control of our own actions and we have the freewill to determine our future. The ancient Greeks felt differently about this idea. Perhaps you may also feel that there is a destiny awaiting you. Before you make a rash choice, think about the following in relation to the life you live. Some philosophers believe that our actions are shaped by our environment and our DNA. Those philosophers use the term "determinism." Your life is solely determined by those two major factors. Muse about the possibilities of all three: complete freewill, destiny and determinism. Which of those seem more plausible to you and why? Can you think of a situation in which the three could coexist? Do they all exist together or does one idea/belief override others?
After looking through some other blogs on this topic, i have found myself somewhere in the middle of this topic. Now, as a catholic, i am inclined to believe that we have definite freewill and that all of our choices are made by us. I also think that this topic begs the question (Deven!!) just because destiny is present, are you destined to make certain choices? Is it genetic that in some circumstances you will go left, or right? Is this still freewill? I obviously don't have all the answers, but i think that it ultimately falls into individual beliefs. How do you answer these questions above, are you really choosing or has the choice been made.
BUUAAAHHHHHAAAHHHHAAAHHHHAAAA
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Battle Royale
How does the title reflect the meaning of the story?
Well i think this is an obvious question. He is fighting in a losing battle with everyone around him. He looks into the crowd and sees the white people who don't respect him, he looks around the ring and he ends up fighting with the other black kids. He has the attribute of being naive so he doesn't know that this is a losing battle.
Rocco
Thursday, August 21, 2008
"The Man With Enormous Wings"
Choose one side or the other, and illustrate your belief in whether or not the man with the enormous wings is just that or he symbolizes some abstract idea. First state your side, and then justify your opinion with evidence from the text (one quote will do) and then explain, given what side you choose, what you think the story means.
I absolutely think that this thing was not human. Too many bizarre things started to happen when he came around, "the blind man who didn't recover his sight but grew three new teeth, or the paralytic who didn't get to walk but almost won the lottery, and the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers."
I absolutely think that this thing was not human. Too many bizarre things started to happen when he came around, "the blind man who didn't recover his sight but grew three new teeth, or the paralytic who didn't get to walk but almost won the lottery, and the leper whose sores sprouted sunflowers."
I think the story is a paradox, the angel who is usually the one saving people's lives is the one being saved. Now i do not think that he is being treated in the best of ways but being taken care of he is.
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Irony of Life
You have four choices for your blog about Cathedral. Your blog should reflect thought, detail and evidence, in the form of passages from the text that explain your answer.
1) Explain the irony that shapes the story
The irony is definetely drawn from the fact that the blind man is metaphorically teaching him to "see" things in a different way. Throughout the story, the blind man supports his efforts and is truly teaching him while the narrator was supposed to be teaching the blind man.
2) Explain how the narrator's voice is definitely male.
Well first of all, he is very masculine in his views on the blind man from the beginnning. Stereotypically, women are much more open-minded and the man suffered from close-mindedness. As is seen when he says, "And his being blind bothered me".
Secondly, he was the one getting the drinks and not leading in the conversation and both of those are traits of a man.
3) What does the Cathedral symbolize?
This is the answer that i am most unsure of but i think that it might symbolize the love the narrator should have for his wife. He puts lots of work into it but somehow can't seem to see the big picture until he closes his eyes and let's it flow.
4) Why is this a perfect ending to this short?
Because it shows that there are no answers and that you can always learn. it also shows that you need to see the lesson in little things shown by his very blatant simple answer, "[That's] really something."
1) Explain the irony that shapes the story
The irony is definetely drawn from the fact that the blind man is metaphorically teaching him to "see" things in a different way. Throughout the story, the blind man supports his efforts and is truly teaching him while the narrator was supposed to be teaching the blind man.
2) Explain how the narrator's voice is definitely male.
Well first of all, he is very masculine in his views on the blind man from the beginnning. Stereotypically, women are much more open-minded and the man suffered from close-mindedness. As is seen when he says, "And his being blind bothered me".
Secondly, he was the one getting the drinks and not leading in the conversation and both of those are traits of a man.
3) What does the Cathedral symbolize?
This is the answer that i am most unsure of but i think that it might symbolize the love the narrator should have for his wife. He puts lots of work into it but somehow can't seem to see the big picture until he closes his eyes and let's it flow.
4) Why is this a perfect ending to this short?
Because it shows that there are no answers and that you can always learn. it also shows that you need to see the lesson in little things shown by his very blatant simple answer, "[That's] really something."
Monday, August 18, 2008
First draft of podcast
First draft of Podcast:
When you take a look at what the Olympics really are, you will notice that it is a time when the World tries to set aside their differences and compete against one another with their top athletes. As an athlete in my own right, i know what it is like to perform in front of a crowd, but when you look at the fact that these athletes are competing in front of over two billion people, you can see somewhat of a difference in the pressure these athletes are under. These super-humans train for four years straight, don't get paid (unless you're Michael Phelps) and all of this is for the glory of standing on that podium and listening to there national anthem ring from Beijing back to there home country.
I think there is something to that, something that binds competitors and hurdles right over the cultural, language, and age barriers. Something that can bind countries, in my mind, can bind anything. I think that is why sports are so important to a child's life. You don't have to speak the same language to play a game of basketball, the, "Little Leage World Series," is a competition between over 20 countries and 10 languages. But, the one thing that these kids have in common is a love for the game. I could go on and on all day with examples but the thing that i am trying to get to is that life is about communication, and i think that sports gives kids in Japan playing little league Baseball, a super-human athlete from Jamaica who has trained his entire life for the chance to win a gold medal, a world-class marathoner from Poland, and middle-aged men who go to the gym twice a week, a way to communicate. This is what I love, this is the power of sports.
When you take a look at what the Olympics really are, you will notice that it is a time when the World tries to set aside their differences and compete against one another with their top athletes. As an athlete in my own right, i know what it is like to perform in front of a crowd, but when you look at the fact that these athletes are competing in front of over two billion people, you can see somewhat of a difference in the pressure these athletes are under. These super-humans train for four years straight, don't get paid (unless you're Michael Phelps) and all of this is for the glory of standing on that podium and listening to there national anthem ring from Beijing back to there home country.
I think there is something to that, something that binds competitors and hurdles right over the cultural, language, and age barriers. Something that can bind countries, in my mind, can bind anything. I think that is why sports are so important to a child's life. You don't have to speak the same language to play a game of basketball, the, "Little Leage World Series," is a competition between over 20 countries and 10 languages. But, the one thing that these kids have in common is a love for the game. I could go on and on all day with examples but the thing that i am trying to get to is that life is about communication, and i think that sports gives kids in Japan playing little league Baseball, a super-human athlete from Jamaica who has trained his entire life for the chance to win a gold medal, a world-class marathoner from Poland, and middle-aged men who go to the gym twice a week, a way to communicate. This is what I love, this is the power of sports.
Quote
Ms. Williams,
I found this quote about five years ago and it is my favorite quote. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, " There comes a time in every man's education when he comes to the conviction that envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide, that he must take himself for better or for worse as his portion, that no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him without the toil bestowed upon that plot of land given to him to till."
See you monday,
Rocco Statone
I found this quote about five years ago and it is my favorite quote. Ralph Waldo Emerson once said, " There comes a time in every man's education when he comes to the conviction that envy is ignorance, imitation is suicide, that he must take himself for better or for worse as his portion, that no kernel of nourishing corn can come to him without the toil bestowed upon that plot of land given to him to till."
See you monday,
Rocco Statone
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