State of the Planet

I read the State of the Planet by Robert Hass.  I will be taking parts of the poem and interpreting them on what I believe them to mean.

The first section I will be interpreting is:

"The book will say that the climate is complicated, that we may be doing this, and if we are, it may explain that this was something we've done quite accidentally, which she can understand, not having meant that morning to have spilled the milk.  She's one of those who's only hungry metaphorically."

In the beginning of this poem it speaks of a girl with a red book bag with this textbook, "Getting to know your planet" in it.  The author then speaks of how cars like his have trapped emissions and are contributing to the greenhouse effect.  I chose this part because at first it is very hard to understand why spilled milk would be compared to greenhouse affect and the meaning of the last sentence is unclear.  I would take this quote to mean at first that it is silly to call the green house effect an accident.  It compares it to spilled milk to show sarcasm; and to make a hyperbole of spilled milk being such a big accident compared to greenhouse effect.  But if we look at the last sentence it says she is only hungry metaphorically implying that she may have spilled the milk on purpose.  If she is only hungry metaphorically, that would explain that she didn't want the milk and therefore spilled it.  With this information we can assume that the green house effect was not an accident and that people just didn't take care of the planet or didn't want to bother helping because too much work.  This interpretation is important for us to understand the rest of the poem.  If we read this part and think that the author is saying it is only an accident we will read on taking the poem lightly as it talks about all the destruction we have had on our ozone layer.  If we take the poem lightly it will lose the whole meaning of the poem, which is to make it known that our nature is being hurt by certain things people do and they need to be aware and help the greenhouse effect become extinct. 

The second part I interpreted from State of the Planet is:

"We'd have fashioned sexy little earrings from the feathers, highlighted our cheekbones by rubbings from the rock, and made a spear from the sinewey wood of the tree."

In the beginning of this section 4 in the poem it talks about how the child will learn about how the earth came to be from the textbook.  In the couple of sentences leading up to this quote it is talking about how it must be evolution that has created humans to not hold wonder and how if humans had the choice they would never have gotten up.  I have chosen this text because I feel that many would not get why the author chose to say this and what he is saying about people on the earth.  Also to relate this part of the poem to the first section I wrote on.  I feel this section of the poems meaning was about how humans have grown lazy and materialistic on their own.  In the first couple of sentences before this part it says, "It must be a gift of evolution that humans cannot sustain wonder."  With this part and the quote I used it is saying sarcastically that humans cannot sustain wonder and that it is not evolution, it is us who have turned towards using the earths materials and not taking care of it.  We have become obsessed with looks and material possessions because we can't maintain wonder of nature and be in awe of it.  We must use it to make ourselves better.  This interpretation matters because it shows that people have lost the ability to be in awe of our nature and therefore take care if it.  We have turned into a society that uses the earths materials and don't even give back to it by taking care of it.  It relates to my first interpretation because it says how people don't take care of the earth and that it is know accident they just don't care and this interpretation talks on humans selfishness of the beauty of the earth.  This part of the poem expands on the idea of how people have no excuse not to give back to and treat the earth with respect.  If people would learn from this poem to spend more time in nature and think on how we hurt it that we can prove that evolution didn't create us to be careless and not be in awe. 
Another interpretation that I heard others in class talk about, was how this may mean that humans are not capable of maintaining wonder and evolution granted this to us so that we would have the rise of man.  The rise of man comes from the quote in the poem, "We'd never have gotten up from our knees if we could."  But since we did rise from our knees this created man, and how we hurt the world by contributing to the green house effect.  This too could mean that when Hass says how we would soon, though while on our knees, would fashion earrings and use things to make us beautiful.  This showing how man still would not treat the earth right.

Pass!

Omelas

I really found this story kind of depressing.  I am guessing there is a lot of figurative language because I am not getting it. I sounds like the author is coming up with the story as he goes because he keeps saying "if you would like" or "it will not do" when explaining soldiers he did not want in the story. Its like he is writing the story from the perspective of someone explaining a story they want to write.  Another hard part of this story is the separating I don't know if you noticed, but there were huge paragraphs and the sentences sort of just flowed together.

I would hope that if I lived in Omelas I would be one of the people to leave and go to the mountains because I don't think I could live somewhere where they leave someone locked up only because it is what causes them joy because it reminds them that they are not free and how they treat their children better. 

But now talking to Josh apparently I have it all wrong and that we all create a Utopian society and inside that utopia someone is always left out.  So I don't really know.  Sorry I don't get this story.  But what Josh is explaining and you will probably see in his blog that it is a hyperbole about how some people won't lower themselves in order to help someone else.  Like some Christians may donate money or give food to the homeless, but they will not actually go to them and help them and try to get them shelter and food.  So I guess the people that escape are those people that just run away from it because they still didn't even try to help the boy they escaped in the night and just left to somewhere.  Maybe it was to help others or maybe it is when people step out of that Utopia and go help others in need.  Either way I guess I see both groups not doing so well, but I guess the ones that leave are better then the ones that stay and find joy in the suffering of the boy. 

Philippians

I am not sure if I am getting the figurative language right, but bear with me.

The first one I found was 

For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.  But if I am to
live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do
not know which to choose.

If a person read this and didn't understand the first statement they would not recognize that he meant that while He is on earth living a person should be living like Christ or trying to be like Him.  And when he dies he gains eternal life in heaven, so to him that is gaining because he is ging to be with God.

The second part of this section of Philippians means that if he is to stay in the flesh (stay alive on earth) then he will work to bring people to know God and teach them what Jesus did. But if he chooses to die he gains eternal life with God.  So he doesn't know which to choose.


 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of
the false circumcision;  for we are the true circumcision, who
worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no
confidence in the flesh,  although I myself might have
confidence even in the flesh

Beware of false circumcision is going back to where the Jews were circumcised because it was apart of their law.   To be a Christian you don't need to be circumcised because Jesus died on the cross, so to be a Christian you do not have to be circumcised. 



If no one knew what these metaphors meant then it would be very confusing to read this and understand what he means.  But if you think through them the imagery was the perfect way of showing what it would mean to live on earth and how it would be a gain to go to heaven

Make up for AFI

 So this is Sheila when she goes to see Norman and brings him the flowers.  This is when Norman sets the timer for 9 minutes thinking that it was set for 9 pm. Later on he sits on these flowers.

 This is Arnold standing on the chair in the library.  He was practicing his speech to the Senate.

This is Norman as usual eating the donuts from his job.


I am not very good at drawing people.  Sorry.

A Temple of The Holy Ghost

Reading:

• There are two sisters who were sent to a all girls catholic school because really into boys and not school
• when girls describe that they call each other Temple 1 and 2 came from a woman telling them to tell boys they are the temple of Holy Ghost.  The mom says they are and second cousin seems to be content and happy with that
• second cousin daydreams of being the leader of the boys and denying them in war.  She makes them out to be tall and gorgeous, but they turn out to be short and not attractive.
• second cousin very stubborn and sarcastic, defends cousins when they sing a song and boys don't appreciate it 
• sisters go to fair with boys while second cousin imagines being a martyr over and over again
• when child does something bad or gets distracted from praying she thinks on Jesus journey to Calvary
• girls talked about one of the freak that was both man and woman and told no one to laugh because thats how God made it, child confused
• child daydreams that it said that the temple is a holy thing and God would strike anyone down who desecrated the temple
• they took girls back to convent and their the girl prayed not to be so mean and sass people
• priest holds up monstrance ( a symbol of communion) and the center or the host which is sacramental bread in communion is ivory like the sun that she described on her way to convent
• thought about the freak and how he talked about God wanting Him to be that way
•   while going home the cab driver says how the preachers had the fair shut down and the child then describes the sun as a Host covered in blood over the sky

Interpreting:

There are several times where the girl describes symbols of Jesus dying

1. When she has done something bad she thinks about Him dying on cross, so this shows how He forgives and through this ultimate sacrifice He does so
2. She talks about the sun being ivory and this turns out to be the same for the Host and then the girl talks about how the freak said thats how God made him and his body is a temple of the Holy Ghost.  Then when she hears the preacher had the freak show shut down the sun is now red like sacramental bread covered with blood representing that there is nothing wrong with this man that Jesus loves him and died for him as well.  This could also represent how He will forgive those preachers to.
3. While praying in the church the girl asks for God to help her not to be so mean and sass people and then she starts to go off again, but the priest holds up monstrance and she sees the ivory and is reminded of Jesus and Him being perfect and all loving
4. She gets very defensive when the boys make fun of the song the girls sings which in english translates to:

Down in adoration falling,
Lo! the sacred Host we hail,
Lo! o'er ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail;
Faith for all defects supplying,
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father,
And the Son Who reigns on high
With the Holy Ghost proceeding
Forth from Each eternally,
Be salvation, honor, blessing,
Might and endless majesty.
Amen.
V. Thou hast given them bread from heaven.
R. Having within it all Sweetness.
V. Let us pray: O God, who in this wonderful Sacrament left us a memorial of Thy Passion: grant, we implore Thee, that we may so venerate the sacred mysteries of Thy Body and Blood, as always to be conscious of the fruit of Thy Redemption. Thou who livest and reignest forever and ever.
R. Amen.

This hymn talks about worshiping God for all He has done


This story represents this girl who always is told and knows she is not perfect, but she is reminded always that she is the Temple of the Holy Ghost God and she will always be forgiven and no one should ever make fun of who she is or how she is because that is God's temple.

Criticizing:  We should always be reminded, as well, that we can be forgiven and not always worry and be scared that we have done something wrong.  God has grace and loves us always, we just have to remember and one way is through the cross.  And when we remember the love that is always there and can take hold of it.

The Man Who Came to Dinner

On Friday night I went and saw the play the man who came to dinner.  So I didn't really enjoy the play too much this weekend, but I think it was because I was hoping to see The Boys Next Door.  It was really slow in the beginning I thought, but at the end it started to pick up.  So because I didn't really enjoy the play I don't want to just talk about it the play, so I decided to look up the background on this play.

It was written by George Kaufman and Moss Hart.  They wrote their play based off of their friend Alexander Wollcott.  He is supposed to be Sheridan Whiteside.  Alexander was a theater critic and a radio star which makes sense because Sheridan was all those.  Kaufman and Hart couldn't think of a plot for a play until one day Wollcott showed up at Hart's house and took over the whole house.  He treated the staff poorly and slept in the master bedroom.  And of course as you can tell this is where they first found their plot.  Hart while laughing with Kaufman about Wollcott's stay said that he was glad he didn't break his leg and have to stay and that is where the play was created. 

I don't know why the setting was in Ohio considering both the home where Woolcott visited was in Pennsylvania and George Kaufman is from Pennsylvania.  I don't mind though because I am from Ohio and I love it!  Anyways more about Woolcott and Sheridan they made Sheridans character look exactly like Woolcott.  Woolcott was born in an 85 bedroom home in New York City.  His family was poor and his father drifted from job to job while he stayed with his grandparents at the house.  He made his way through college with the nickname of putrid and became a drama critic.  At one point he was even banned from seeing broadway shows.