Group Presentations

All of the group presentations were awesome! They made us laugh and laugh! Good work everyone! I thought that they were all super duper incredible!

Eat the roses!

We are all asses and we just need to eat the roses! Maybe that will create world peace? I doubt it though!

One has to disobey to have a story. That's a really good saying. Dr. Sexson said who said it but I didn't write it down. It's true though. Who wants to listen to a story about the pretty dog who never peed on the floor and ate all his food and was perfect? BORING!!! Life is full of surprises and all these trials and tribulations. Of course you don't want to read about your own life because we, for the most part, don't disobey! Yeah, we may skip class once in a while, but we aren't bad. None of us really has that great of a story to tell. The day to day just isn't that exciting! That Eve though... man she was devilish!

Psyche means soul. Many people think that it is the mind, but that is your brain. Sorry to simplify everyone. Psyche means soul because it is a combination of everything that makes you work. It means the feelings and thought. Butterflies are the image of the soul/ Psyche! She is pictured with wings in the end of the story so that she can be with Cupid. It really is a soul searching adventure. The soul is searching for love and meaning in that love.

Watch The Storyteller by Jim Henson! He truly was a wonderful man... he gave us Fraggle Rock! Here's a UTube of Hans the Hedgehog http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZBy2241X8w&mode=related&search

Cupid and Psyche

The story of Cupid and Psyche is beautiful. It speaks of love. That is why it is so wonderful. That cliche that says All is Fair in Love and War. That is exactly how Aphrodite and Cupid treat that relationship! Psyche gets caught up in all the frenzy and then so do her sisters. I feel for poor Psyche because she went through hell for Cupid! Seriously... that just goes to show that you will do anything for the person that you love. She didn't even know that her lover was Cupid for quite some time. She loved what he did for her and how he loved her. Aphrodite just plays the jealous woman in the situation. Psyche is beautiful and people came to love her and adore her as if she were the next Aprodite. So, Aphrodite got jealous and sent Cupid to make Psyche fall in love with a terrible man. Cupid does the typical thing and does what he knows will make his mom mad! He decides to take Psyche as his wife. What a guy! He disobeys his mom and hurts her feelings all at once! What is that?!?! Then Aphrodite finds out and tries to tell Cupid that she isn't good enough for him. Typical mom... no woman is good enough for my boy! This story is so great because it is everyday life for me!

Test Monday!!!

1. Which birds represent Procne and Philomela?
swallow and nightingale respectively

2. Ate?
infatuation to the point of being ruined

3. Who was the original artisan/ architect/ artificer?
Daedelus

4. Who is the God of sleep, dreams and disguises?
Morpheus

5. What should we avoid at all costs?
Old people

6. What is the aristophanes' theory about soulmates?
Two people were joined in the beginning and then split apart

7. Tragedy emphasizes (blank) and Comedy emphasizes (blank)
individual, society or community

8. Plato- how does one reach immortality of the soul?
knowledge, virtue

9. Everything Socrates learned about love he learned from a (blank)
woman/ Diotima

10. What is Socratic Irony?
claiming to know nothing

11. What does Icarus fail to do that leads to his demise?
fly the middle path/ he flew too close to the sun with wax wings and they melted

12. What was the contest between Minerva and Arachnae? What was the difference between their pictures?
Minerva depicted the good the Gods do and Arachnae depicted the bad

13. What is the final frame of the painting by Velasques "the spinners"?
Europa/ Rape of Europa

14. What does Pentheus mean?
man of constant sorrow

15. How is Cadmus related to Pentheus?
Cadmus is his grandpa

16. What was Ulysses claim to Achilles weapons?
Ulysses is the one that started the Trojan war/ Glory

17. What Shakespeare play was inspired by Philomela et al?
Titusandronicus

18. What is a characteristic of new comedy?
Boy wants girl

19. What is anagnorsis?
recognition/ the end of the Bacchae when it isn't a lions head

20. First instance of framing in metamorphoses?
Story of Pan and Syrinx

21. What is grace?
awareness of Gods' presence in the world

22. omofagia?
eating of living flesh

23. what is love the child of?
poverty and contrivance

24. How old will the Metamorphoses be in 2008?
2,000 years old

25. What was Daphne turned into?
Laurel tree

26. Naso
nose

Museum

Another way to say museum... musey room. The muses inspired that art so why not let them take credit for it!

The Louvre contains some great art that was most likely inspired by the Muses.

Another play on words phenomenal is a fun animal. Given the defention I can see how that is a reasonable play on words.

–adjective
1.highly extraordinary or prodigious; exceptional: phenomenal speed.
2.of or pertaining to phenomena.
3.of the nature of a phenomenon; cognizable by the senses.

Ate- infatuation to the point which you ruin your life.

noun
an ancient Greek goddess personifying the fatal blindness or recklessness that produces crime and the divine punishment that follows it.

I guess that Ate is the reason for the infatuation. She is the Godess that is working her magic on the mere mortals. http://groups.msn.com/TheGreekMythologyAge/ate.msnw

Sophocles said that moral life can never have any meaning without ate. I can see how that is true, but at the same time not. If your life is completely consumed with someone else how do you know that you're infatuated. How do you know that your life has meaning without being conscious to that meaning? I don't really agree with Sophocles.

5 Lines

I chose my five lines from Phaethon because I love that story.

And as the flames devour his ruddy hair,
young Phaethon plummets down; he pivots round
his burning body, trailing in the air
the sort of track that one can sometimes see
when-- through clear skies-- a star will seem to fall

I chose these lines because they made such a tragic even seem like something sort of good. When you see a shooting star you are usually happy about it. They made me feel like I was looking up at the sky seeing Phaethon fall from the chariot with the big horses charging on with no driver. It spoke to me! ;)

Buddha!

We discussed how Buddha was sheltered from sickness, old age, and death from the time when he was a baby. That really makes me sad. I mean I know that it isn't good to want anything bad to happen to other people, but it's life literally. I mean we all search for this deeper meaning and I won't say that I'm exempt from that criteria. I just don't think that we should want the world to be a perfect peaceful place. It never has been even from the beginning. The world started when the gods defeated the titans! I mean really people... the Buddha being sheltered is a pile of crap! Finally he went out and saw the world and that is how he became enlightened or at least that is how I understand the story. I just get really angry that all these people want world peace and they don't see a need for any violence. EARTH to the world!!!! It's here... heartache, depression, illness, death, violence, and murder. We live around it everyday. There is no shelter from it. Sorry buddha, but I'm glad that you finally saw the light!

A little more info on Buddhism from WIKI! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddha

I'm a little partial to the big fat laughing buddha, but that's just me. It just proves that even if you're enlightened and know the not so great stuff exists in the world you can still be happy!

Redemptive Power of Art

I'm not so sure that I understand what Dr. Sexson was saying when he said the redemptive power of art on Wednesday. I just don't think I have quite gotten a grasp on the concept yet. From what I got this means that art can change your life and others. This is like when Daedalus turned his attention to the unknown arts (he made wings among other things). This gave him the power to change his life and others. Art can change people or lift a curse on a family or change a serial rapist like Zeus.

We completed our defenition of tragedy the other day in class. It is comprised of wasted youth, death, and the worst thing that you could possibly imagine. Tragedians used to compete with one another to see who could come up with the most terrible tale of suffering. That's twisted. If you have ever seen the movie Saw it is sort of like this. This "mastermind" makes up these puzzles where you have to give up something you love to live and stuff like that. Would you be able to cut the key to a mask that would smash your face to bits in a minute out of your lover's eye? I mean the saw movies are getting stupider as they go on, but the first one definetly thinks in twisted ways like tragedy. Are the people who wrote this stuff conscious of what tragedy used to be based on though that is my biggest question? If they aren't aware of what they are doing they are just sick individuals! That really creeps me out. I don't like knowing that there are people in our society living today that think like that. Someone could really do that stuff to people! EWWW!

Phaethon

I chose the story Phaethon from the Metamorphoses because I like what the story symbolizes. It is the typical story of a child not heeding to a parent's warning. It also shows good parenting in my opinion because Phoebus decided to let his son make his own decision. As a God Phoebus couldn't deny his son the promise that he made even though he wanted to say no. Phaethon was a child who found himself in over his head and wished that he had never wished to drive the chariot. It is an old example of what every teenager goes through. Some of them live to see another day, learning what could have been and to take heed in their parents advice. Some like Phaethon don't listen and don't live to see another day.

The story also speaks to another aspect of modern society in the affect that if a parent doesn't step in and stop a wreckless child a higher power will step in and take action. Juno takes the role of police on and stops Phaethon because Pheobus didn't stop his rampage. Phaethon destroyed most of the earth and because of that he was killed by Juno.

I found a link to another translation of the same story from the Metamorphoses... http://www.webwinds.com/thalassa/phaethtrans.htm Just to show everyone what the same thing could look like in from the exact same text.

Graceland

Graceland... Home to Elvis, The King! Grace means a gift from God. God is ever present and we are completely blind to it.

All the time people are looking for the Man behind the Myth. (meaning the author, I believe)

We should be looking for the Myth behind the Man. I suppose that this means that everyone has a story to reduce it to a cliche. I think that is very true. We all have some sort of a story and being the conceited creatures that we are we want everyone to know about and be enthralled by our story.

Pentheus

His name literally means a man of constant sorrow. This is so true!

Metaphor

To carry over from one to another. You are sort of giving something another's quality or likeness. It makes sense.

Tragedy http://ablemedia.com/ctcweb/netshots/tragedy.htm

It appears when there is a huge gap between the crime and the punishment. The punishment is completely unjust or very questionable. When the Gods create a problem for someone they then punish them unjustly for not handling the situation the right way. It explains it more in the link above.

Scapegoat

Scapegoat This is the word that we use to label someone or something that we relieve all of our sins on and exile. In Lysistrata the females do this to the counselor. They dress him up like a woman and then dress him up like the dead.

scape·goat (skāp'gōt') n.
One that is made to bear the blame of others.
Bible. A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent into the wilderness.

Aristophanes was making fun of the phalocentricness (is that a word) of the Greek community. The men thought of themselves so highly and they thought that they were so high and mighty that he couldn't help but make fun of it. That is what the women do when they dress up and humilate the counselor. It's fun stuff! And no one should feel bad for the scape goat. It's not right?!!

Dead Day

This is when women have power for a period of time. It may be a day or a few hours or a few weeks. When there is a dead day no punishment is incurred no matter what these women do. They can humiliate men and act inappropriate and nothing will happen to them.

Bacchants

These were the women who danced for Dionysus, the god of wine. These women were letting go of all repression. It was a celebration that took place once a year. All the women got drunk and danced on the mountain.

Dionysus and Elvis

These men have the common interest that they aren't interested in smart people. They are interested in people who want to do what is natural. Dionysus is pictured as a pretty man. He is meant to look ambiguous... is he a man or woman? Elvis was a pretty man too. Dionysus' purpose is to drive people out of their minds literally. He will make you think too much if you refuse to go "party" with him. Dionysus means the "liberator". He makes chaos equal to enthusiasm. Enthusiasm is an out of body experience.

300

WOW! That is what I said when I saw the movie 300 this weekend! It was incredible! I honestly could apply it to what we have been talking about in class. It had an oracle, creepy ugly old men, and all sorts of hot men! Sorry that had to be said! There were 300 completely beautiful "Spartan" men in that movie. The only thing that I found really inaccurate was that a woman got to speak in front of the council. I don't think that would have happened in Greece even when she was the Queen of Sparta. There was a very good part that applied to Greek tragedy and the theme of it having better to have never been born. There is an extremely deformed man who wants to fight for Sparta and he is turned down. He goes to fight for Xerses and when the King of Sparta finally sees him he said "I wish for you (his name) live forever." It was like wishing the harshest of punishments on someone. It was great! I just thought I would let everyone know! Girls especially don't think there is nothing to see here. It isn't that gory, and there are lots and lots of gorgeous guys in it.

Have a good spring break everyone!

Neurotic!

I find it quite funny that Dr. Sexson said art comes from Neurotic people the other day. I was reading Lysistrata the other day and my boyfriend came up to me and asked what I was reading. I held up the book without even thinking about the cover. He's like,"they assign you porn in school! Are they crazy?" I just thought it was quite an appropriate comment because it is a very crazy book. It's pretty funny too. I let him read some of it and he was actually engaged in reading it. (That doesn't happen very often.) It just proves that the classics will live on forever!

Comedy is about the Community!

Although comedy may focus on one individual there is nothing shameful in comedy. The entire community is affected and entertained. The idea of comedy is that if it is human nature to do something then it is ok.

Old comedy contains certain elements

Politics

Obscenity

Death/ Rebirth

Celebration of Women

No limitations or Shame

They have to turn the world as we know it upside down. They have to make fun of the state for what they hold sacred.

Comedy deals with people who are worse than they are and tragedy deals with people who are better than they are.

Comedy comes from phallic procession. (don't google that one)

Comedy is carnal. Very vulgar and of the body and flesh.

Body-the physical structure and material substance of an animal or plant, living or dead.

Bawdy-indecent; lewd; obscene OR coarse or indecent talk or writing

(Both of those definitions come from dictionary.com)

Wizard of bOZeman!

"Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain." The Wizard of Oz says that to Dorothy, the Scarecrow, the Lion, and the Tin man when the dog pulls the curtain back. This is an example of a 3 level story. The first stage is belief, the second stage that belief is taken away and in the third stage you come to terms with it being taken away. Dorothy doesn't give up on her dream to go back to Kansas. She ends up getting back by clicking her heels three times!

Contrive- make something up

Poesis- make something up

Mythos + Logos = mythology~ story + truth

Philosophers are the greatest lovers. When you put Phil and Sophie together you get great things!

Comedy- A life that is shameful is better than no life at all! This is the way comedy is looked at.

The difference between old comedy and new comedy is pretty extensive. Old comedy deals with wars and politics while making the normal completely upside down. New comedy has a simple plot of boy wants girl, he can't have the girl, in the end he gets the girl. That's no fun now is it!?!

Wiki article on Old Comedy hhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Comedy#Old_Comedy

New Test material

Ok! We took the test and I hope we all did well. Now we are onto bigger and better things!

Symposium
The main topic of the symposium in Eros or love. Each person who gives a speech speaks of the God Eros or some aspect of love. The entire book is focused on love in some way. These men focus a lot on homosexuality and how every boy should have a male lover. This love should teach the boy and love him.
Homosexuality is celebrated in the Symposium for a number of reasons that we came up with. Men were considered equals in greek society. For a man to have a lover that is equal to him would be respectable. Women were only around to produce children. They also thought that men could teach eachother. Women weren't smart enough to do this.


VOCAB
frames- this is the story within the story. Can be compared to cocina dolls and russian nesting dolls. Dr. Sexon made a great example of this with the story of the lady on the plane. (I think that lady belonged in the looney bin)

Socratic Irony- the difference between what is said and what is meant.

Erastes- Lover- the older male who loves the younger male in Greek society

Eromenos- Beloved- the younger boy who recieves love in Greek society

Without Issue- long ago this meant without children

Aesthetic- perceptions about beauty- beauty

Tally- this is a coin in Roman culture

TEST QUESTIONS

STUDY EVERYTHING!!!!
Look at Brittini, Amanda, Jann, and Elizabeth's blog! The test is on Friday!

Q:What was Demeter's revenge for the abduction of Persephone?
A: Winter

Q:What is a senex?
A: impotent old man

Q:What are the 3 manifestations of the Universal, White, or Triple Goddess?
A:the crone (Hecate), the mother (demeter), the maiden (Persephone)

Q: Puer
A: archetype of eternal youth (Peter Pan, Hermes)

Q: "I was born yesterday!"
A: The reason why Hermes couldn't have stolen Apollo's cattle

Q: What did Aggy do to get to the Trojan war?
A: he sacrificed his virgin daughter

Q: What is the heart of all tragedy according to Sophocles?
A: The best thing is to never have been born

Q: Sparagmos
A: shredding, tearing or rending of live flesh

Q: Who is the Kore in Demeter?
A: Persephone

Q: Birth of Dionysus?
A: born from Zeus' thigh/ he of the double doors

Q: Stichomythia
A: short exchanges (one liners) between characters in a drama

Q: What are the 5 main conflicts in Antigone according to Steiner?
A: man v. woman, age v. youth, individual v. society, living v. dead, human v. God(s)

Q: Aphrodite-Urania
A: the goddess of spiritual love

Q: Eleusian Mysteries
A: stalk of wheat

Q: Antigone's name (meaning)
A: against the birth

Q: Hubris
A: arrogance

Q: Lines 441-481
A: perhaps

Q: who do you invoke for creative inspiration?
A: The 9 muses

Q: What was the subject of the 1st song?
A: Hermes- birth of the Gods (if you were in class you got another answer)

Q: What does chthonic mean?
A: relating to the underworld

Q: pomegranate seed
A: Persephone had to stay in the underworld for a while forever

Q: Tirerisas
A: lived both as male and female, female is more fun, all seeing yet he's blind

Q:Polis
A:city

Q: Father of the Muses?
A: Zeus (duh!), mother was Mnemosyne (memory)

Q: catharsis?
A: purging of the systems/ emotions

Q: Jocasta?
A: mother and grandmother of Antigone

Q: Cassie's Birthday?
A: February 2, 1987 Grand Junction Colorado

Class got out at 2:03

Page 64 Steiner

I randomly picked page 64 and I started at the first paragraph.
Steiner begins talking about 'innocent guilt' that is what Antigone is suffering from. She is cursed. She belongs to a family whose sin is being passed on to her. In ancient Greek tragedy this is a common theme. Oedipus is the characters story that Steiner compares Antigone to. He also suffers from this 'innocent guilt'. He is the son of a father who has committed some wrong doing. This father's "sin" is passed on to Oedipus. Steiner also brings up the idea that sins are forgiven in the Christian society. This is an honest belief in modern society. If you repent for your sins HE will forgive you.
Steiner goes on to speak of the secrets that women keep. Women were expected to be the leaky vessel. Then he goes on to say how this idealism has changed over time. Women were the ones who were admired for keeping those secrets. I think that Steiner is saying that Antigone is that woman. She was the vessel where the secrets were locked up. She was a hugely admired character by Steiner. I think that is why he believes that she is a good person.

I'm not quite sure if that's what we're supposed to do, but it's done.

Ok so, Anna Nicole may look like amodern day Marilyn. She is far from the real thing though. We as a society are obsessed with celebrities. That is why I know who Anna Nicole is.
Marilyn was a famous person long before she fell into the Playboy scene. Anna Nicole was defined and made into a star by being a playmate. http://www.marilynmonroe.com/about/bio.html This is a biography of Marilyn. She was a true icon for people. Anna Nicole was a joke. She put her life out there for us to see which is brave. What the public saw as Anna Nicole put it out there was a little too much to see. She is a laughing stock and she puts Marilyn's name to shame by thinking she can be just like her.

Conversation

This is an example of how things go while I'm with my boyfriend and my sister calls me.

Me: Hey! What's up?

Tawnya: Nothing what are you doing?

Me: Nothing Kev and I are just watching t.v. What are you doing?

Tawnya: Oh nice. I'm shopping with Mom. Mackinzie is being a monster cuz she's teething. She won't freaking shut up! But, whatever... What are you doing tonight?

Me: Probably drinking or going out or something. We'll probably just end up sitting at home.

Tawnya: Well, we should get together when I get home for a drink at mom's house. Matt's working so, I have Mackinzie all night. We can't go out.

Me: Damn! Well, I guess I'll call you when we figure things out.

The phone conversation ends. Then my boyfriend gives me a strange look.

Kevan: What did she want?

Me: Nothing really. Just wanted to know what we were doing.

Kevan: Why does she want to know?

Me: I don't know. We might get together for a drink or something later.

Kevan: Doesn't she have the baby?

Me: Yeah. We were going to drop her off with you.

Kevan: Right!?!

Me: I'm serious. Don't you want to babysit for a couple of hours.

Kevan: I wouldn't know what to do!

Me: I was just kidding! We are going to Mom's to have a drink. You can come, but I don't know how much fun you'll have. It's like a girls night in.

Kevan: I don't get how you got all that information from that two second, "what's up?" conversation. You guys confuse me.

Me: You probably won't ever get it so, just let it go.

Kevan: Yeah and stuff!

Slacker

Sorry Im slacking on my posts! I need to post my notes etc. from the 8th till now. So here we go.
February 8th
Stichomythia- row speech
Hubris- an example of hubris is whenAgamemnon walks on the red carpet, which is reserved for the Gods. It's doing something that is reserved only for the gods.
en-theos- being possessed by one of the Gods.

The Furies are the gods and goddesses of the underworld. Here is a page I found that explains them a little more in depth. At the bottom of the page there is a link to a picture of The Furies.
http://www.loggia.com/myth/erinyes.html

February 12th
imaginal- This is different from imaginary because imaginary isn't real.
courtesan- staple in Roman comedy, a prostitute kept by a rich man because she is a gold digger. (Can anyone say Pretty Woman?)
Cleopatra was a courtesan who committed suicide very dramatically. She was not a prostitute, but she was a kept woman.
knot intrinsicate- Cleopatra said it. She meant that it was a knot that could never be undone.
Steiner misquotes her as saying "mortal coil" which she did not say!
Genius- a tutelary spirit inside you. Related to genie, but not I dream of genie. Invoking this genius makes you smart.

Screed ( I found this at www.Dictionary.com)
–noun
1. a long discourse or essay, esp. a diatribe.
2. an informal letter, account, or other piece of writing.
3. Building Trades.
a. a strip of plaster or wood applied to a surface to be plastered to serve as a guide for making a true surface.
b. a wooden strip serving as a guide for making a true level surface on a concrete pavement or the like.
c. a board or metal strip dragged across a freshly poured concrete slab to give it its proper level.
4. British Dialect. a fragment or shred, as of cloth.
5. Scot.
a. a tear or rip, esp. in cloth.
b. a drinking bout. –verb (used with object), verb (used without object)
6. Scot. to tear, rip, or shred, as cloth.

Life is an imitation of art. ASSIGNMENT... go out and consciously imitate art! Write about it.

I found a really good website about the abduction of Europa by Zeus. Lots of pictures too!
http://www.europaallalavagna.it/200644/engmythzeuseuropa.html

Antigones

I haven't gotten through much of Steiner so, I'm going to hold of on analyzing anything from the book just for now. I just wanted to put some of my notes up for the day. Hysterical in Ancient Greece meant that the womb of a woman had become unattached to the woman. This made her crazy or hysterical. Wow! I know a few women like that... sometimes its ok to be hysterical.
hys·ter·i·cal (h-str-kl)
adj.
1. Of, characterized by, or arising from hysteria.
2. Having or prone to having hysterics.
3. Informal Extremely funny: told a hysterical story.
That's what we would define as hysterical now! Funny how when times change the meanings of words change too.

Mythos means story. When asked to tell the story, you don't have to tell the truth because it is a story! I wish I had thought of that when my parents asked me the same thing. Speaking of parents, I agree with Antigone in the story. Laws that govern family are much more important than the laws that govern society. I also think that the laws that govern family are much more bendable. They are not as cut and dry as the laws of society. Families are all disfunctional!

SLEEP!!!

I was soooooo tired today. I still feel like I'm going to die of exhaustion. Maybe I should go take a nap. Today we talked about Hermes a little. He was a jack of all trades. He was the messenger, the trickster, the inventor of music, and the guider of souls to the underworld. At a day old he was taking Apollo's cattle. For doing this Apollo takes his lyre that he made from the shell of a turtle. Everyone eventually laughs at the whole situation because Hermes says to Apollo, "I was only born yesterday!" I honestly like cheese today until a cheese grater was alliterated to the word sparagmos. This means the tearing or shredding of living flesh. "Pull your little feet over a cheese grater," says Dr. Sexson. EWWWW!!! That's all I have to say back! You've successfully ruined cheese for me. I have another page of notes, but I'm just too tired to post them right now! Later on!

I was reading on our wonderful friend Wikipedia about anniversaries because Halo is more important than me right now to my boyfriend. Just kidding! Anyways... a 55th anniversary is an emerald anniversary. Does that mean that you're supposed to give the couple an emerald of some sort? I really hope not because our family is contributing money to a private Catholic school in their name! That's kind of what they would want instead of a gift. They're pretty modest people. But anyway... back to this emerald thing. They're one of my favorite gemstones! They're so pretty and green! OOOHHH! If I ever get married I'd want an emerald instead of a diamond! Hint hint videogame playing boyfriend! Ok seriously like he'll ever read this stuff! But really they're pretty cool! oh yeah! Happy birthday Cassie and happy anniversary Dr. Sexson.

Regretful!

I am very sorry to inform you all that I won't be in class Friday. I have a good reason though... I am going to Pennsylvania for the weekend to attend my grandparent's 55th wedding anniversary. They, like Dr. Sexson were married on groundhog's day. I will be back on Monday so post some good notes!

This is a picture of the 9 muses. Mnemosyne, meaning memory, is the mother to these 9 wonderful women who make the world turn. If it wasn't for the muses we would have no inspiration to do anything. The muses are also agents to recollection... that means that to get to memory you must go through the muses first. Get it? It makes sense if you think about it really hard.


Today I've been struggling with everything! It seems like quite a drama filled day! DRAMA!!! The four writers who define classical drama are Sophocles, Euripides, Aristophonies, and Aeschylus. I've never heard of the last one, but I'm sure that during this class I will find out more. OOOHHHH! Wikipedia opportunity! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aeschylus#Biography This is his biography and from there you can find out what plays he wrote! FANTASTIC!!!





The most truthful phrase that I've ever heard in my life was said today in class! Men are useful but not necessary! That is honestly the truth. I don't know that I would want to be A sexual because that's just no fun! Men really are useful, they take out the trash, cut the firewood, and rub your back when it hurts. They aren't however necessary because women can do all of the above, we just don't always like to do these things.





Antigone! What an amazing woman! She is incredibly unselfish! At the same time she is a little bit selfish because you wonder if she didn't bury her brother just to make everyone mad. She's a powerful amazing woman nonetheless. Her name means... against the womb?!?! That doesn't make much sense to me. Another chance for wiki! It means opposite of her ancestors. That makes a lot more sense since all of her ancestors seem to be slightly off their rockers. She was strong and faithful to her values unlike the rest of her family who were backstabbing incest creeps! SCARY! If you want to see more about Antigone's name here's the link!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antigone

That's about all that I have energy for tonight!

WOW!

AHHH!!! I'm so completely lost about how to do this blog thing! I do know how to put up words. I'm hoping to get some help this weekend! So, I'm sorry for all of you that have to look at this boring page! HAHA!!! I just figured out how to put a picture up! That's FUN!

On to bigger and better things! In class today we talked about Darmok from Star Trek and how Picard (I think that's how you spell it!) was reading the Homeric Hymns. The book "contains the root metaphors of Western Civilization." This is intensly true while reading this book. We talk about the Gods doing their thing in ancient Greece, while in the society of today the same things are happening. The really amazing thing to me is that the same stories that were being told thousands of years ago are still being told today. You take the story of Hermes stealing Apollo's cattle. Hello!.... can anyone say spaghetti western?!?! They are the same entertainment that the Greeks were using centuries ago. It just goes to show that quality is an everlasting feature of entertainment. Henry David Thoreau said this in his own way, "Don't read the times, read the eternities!"

The whole reason that I put the picture of Antigones on this post is because I feel the same way about the book that I do about this blog! Totally confused!

view on reading and notes from 1/22

I just finished reading all of the Homeric Hymns. They were pretty decent if you have some knowledge of the Greek Gods. I found this nifty little guide in the back as to who the names are. It was helpful. The hymn about Hermes was hilarious. I honestly was laughing out loud at some of the lines because they were absurd and somewhat crude. I was like is this a way to pay homage to a God? It was really awesome.

The Antigone book. Equally great! It embodies all of these elements that no other play or story can create. There was incest, law breaking, and the five conflicts that we discussed in class. Man vs. Woman, Old vs. Young, Individual vs. Society, Living vs. Dead, and Man vs. God(s). There is so much conflict involved.

Notes

Tragedians in Greece could only talk or write about the past. Current affairs were completely off limits to them. Comedians were given almost no guidelines. They had license to talk about anything that they wanted to.

Obscene- means off stage or off the scene

ME

So... I was born and raised in the Bozeman area. I graduated from Manhattan high school in 2003. It wasn't my first choice in schools, but I made it through ok. I am currently living in a house in Belgrade which I rent from my parents. I live with my friend Jesse and his two year old son. It's fun stuff! I went to Missoula for a semester and didn't like it. I then transferred to Dillon. I loved the school and the staff there, but I had no desire to sever my ties to home. I moved back to the valley and took a year or a little longer to myself. I worked and played and did a whole lot of nothing. It was a faboulous time in my life. I decided to come back to school after months of pleading and begging from my family. When I realized that it was probably the only thing that would keep me from sleeping in my truck i decided that it would be ok. I returned to school a year ago only taking two classes. After that first semester back I decided to go full time and here I am. I've changed my major multiple times and I'm in general studies right now. I would like to be a drug and alcohol counselor someday maybe...