God and Abraham sat down to talk and God was ranting about all the evil people. He decided that he was gonna wipe out these two awful cities - Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham was like woah God, chill. What if there are good people? Turns out the only good people were Lot and his family. Some angels visited them and told them what was about to go down. Lot and his family ran away, but Lot's wife was too curious and stupid and looked back EVEN though they specifically told her not to. Soooo she turned to stone. Lot and his daughters then had some kids that were probably a little messed up thanks to the whole incest factor.
I honestly think that this was called for. Injustice and punishment are both things based on perspective, but it would venture to say that if we assert that we have not done the same thing as God then we would be pretentious ignorant fools. We have sacrificed many lives to rid the world of evil because we believed that it was worth it. Whether that was "right" or not, that's up to you but at least this God had the wherewithal to warn the few good people. I dunno, I just think it's part of life. And the sooner we can accept it, the sooner we can attempt to improve ourselves.
Wednesday, October 30, 2013
If you say "So,dom"mit
These two chapters of Genesis were just messed up all the way around. The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were full of wicked people and sin. So, God and two angels came down onto Earth to smite these two cities for their wickedness. But, first, God stopped to talk to Abraham and tell him that God will be blessing Abraham and Sarah with another child soon, and what his plans were for Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham tried to persuade God to save the city if there is at least 10 righteous people in the cities. Unfortunately, for Abraham, favor (aka God) was not on his side. There was no righteous people in either city. So God rained down fire and brimstone on the cities. Abraham's son, Lot, and his family were lead out of the city by two angels and told not to look back during the destruction. But Lot's wife did,and she was turned into a pillar of salt. Lot's daughters feeling lonely and sexually-deprived; made their father drunk and laid with him so that they could carry his seed. Like I said,the whole thing was just screwed up.
Every action is followed by a consequence. That consequence can either be good or bad. If you do something bad then at some point that will be reciprocated on your life. No bad deed goes unpunished.
Every action is followed by a consequence. That consequence can either be good or bad. If you do something bad then at some point that will be reciprocated on your life. No bad deed goes unpunished.
Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Sodom and Gomorrah
Two angels came to a guy named Lot who lived in Sodom, and he recognized their importance and insisted that they stay the night with him instead of elsewhere in the town. Overnight, nearly all the men in Sodom crowded around the house, intending to hit on the two angels; Lot would have none of this, and, as all kind fathers do, offered his daughters instead to the men. (??!!??!???!) And eventually Lot got back inside, and he was told by the angels to bring everyone he cared about with him, for the town would be destroyed to rid the world of the sin there. And he told his daughters' fiancees (they had fiancees and they were still offered up as sacrifice? I am not amused. Not that I'd be any more amused if they were single. Gah. I can't win.), but they didn't believe him, so Lot merely ran with his wife and his two daughters.
Unfair punishment is a pretty big topic, honestly, and I don't exactly know where to begin. Do I talk about the death penalty? I could talk the ears off of several people if I started now. Do I talk about unfair punishment in my own life? For me, it's more unfairness than really unfair punishment. I mean, sometimes life all the sudden falls into nothing, and it's not because of anything that we've really done. I guess that's the main thing about unfairness in this world--it's going to inevitably come, but with it comes the promise that there will be other golden times sometime in the future.
Unfair punishment is a pretty big topic, honestly, and I don't exactly know where to begin. Do I talk about the death penalty? I could talk the ears off of several people if I started now. Do I talk about unfair punishment in my own life? For me, it's more unfairness than really unfair punishment. I mean, sometimes life all the sudden falls into nothing, and it's not because of anything that we've really done. I guess that's the main thing about unfairness in this world--it's going to inevitably come, but with it comes the promise that there will be other golden times sometime in the future.
Salt life
I don't find this story to be one of unfair punishment and nor do I find most punishment to be unfair. Regardless of ideology whether you believed mankind is trapped in perpetual sin or living in a never ending cycle of karma it is obvious that consequence exists. The student caught cheating despite knowing the rules will argue the injustice of the zero. The man guilty of triple murder and rape will fight against the cruel nature of the death penalty. I recognize that life is unfair. Birth is the greatest source of disparity. You're born: rich or poor, smart dumb, fest or slow, strong or weak and perhaps if birth is based on past life we're being punished through reincarnation. But I think rather, funds dried up and the disc delivery was clutch.
Lots wife is driving the ...
Do I smell s'mores?
Maybe not
there is so much wrong with this story jfc
God gets mad at Sodom and Gomorrah for something,
although some dispute whether it was over homosexuality or lack of charity.
I’ll discuss that in a minute. Anyway, God tells Abraham what he’s going to do,
and Abraham asks if he will destroy the city of Sodom if fifty righteous people
can be found there, then asking if he will destroy it if there are forty-five,
and then all the way down to ten; each time God says he will not destroy it if
he finds at least that many righteous people. Two angels went down to Sodom and
met Lot, who invited them into his house. When they returned to his house, the
men of the city came to his door and demanded the two (male) angels come out so
they could have sex with them. Presumably Lot denies them this because homosexuality
was considered a sin, but Lot also mentions that they should not do so because
they had come under his protection. Here’s the quote and you can judge for
yourself. “No, my friends. Don’t do this wicked thing. Look, I have two
daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them out to you, and
you can do what you like with them. But don’t do anything to these men, for
they have come under the protection of my roof.” The most obvious
interpretation, seeing as Lot preferred that the men gang rape his daughters
rather than that the men have sex with each other, is that the rape of a woman
is more moral than two men having sex. It seems clear that God didn’t like
Sodom because its population had an uncanny resemblance to the population of
San Francisco. Except the people in San Francisco are considerably more decent.
The angels tell Lot to get his relatives out of the city
because they have decided to destroy it. So Lot goes to tell his son-in-laws
pledged to marry his daughters to get out of the city…wait, what? His daughters
were engaged and he didn’t find a
problem with just offering them up on a platter to other men? Whatever.
Anyways, Lot got his daughters and wife and they escaped the city. So they’re
doing their thing, running away, and the angels tell them not to look back, no
matter what they do. But Lot’s wife does, and she’s turned into a pillar of
salt. Uh, Yahweh, what are you smoking? Whatever. Then Lot’s daughters have sex
with their father like it’s nbd and everyone lives happily ever after.
 |
| omfg run faster lot you fatass jfc |
People get unfairly punished for things all the time. I’m
reminded of proposed laws in many states that would require women who’ve had a
miscarriage to report to the police, as it’s possible they might have been
trying to kill their baby. And people have gone to jail for this. It’s pretty
screwed up.
Homosexuals around the world are still denied rights; in
Singapore a man can be publicly lashed for having sex with another man. (But
lesbianism is totally cool with them. Do I sense unfair gender stereotypes
coming into play?) Some countries even call for the death of homosexuals; I’m
looking at you, Uganda.
In Saudi Arabia, a woman recently received 300 lashes for
being raped. The rapists went free. I wish I were joking.
Honestly, this world is filled with corrupt governments that
pass unfair laws, and every day someone loses their life because of it. This
world is seriously screwed up sometimes. I don’t know how to end this, so I’ll
end it here. I hope I don’t have to read this out loud.
Sodom!!
Having never heard this story before, I read it with both an e-reader and bewilderment. The story begins with God telling Abraham and his wife, Sarah, that they were going to have a baby. They are both old at this time, so Sarah scoffs at the thought of her being able to have another baby. Tip: Don't laugh at God, because he will destroy your city if you do so. God was angered and believed that the entire city of Sodom was corrupt. To see if the city is as bad as it seems, he takes a visit--bringing Lot as his tour guide. In the mean time, Abraham finds out from two angels who are also visiting Sodom that God is planning to destroy the city and negotiates a deal--if Abraham can bring 10 good people to God, he will not destroy the city. This proves harder than it looks. As God goes to Sodom, the entire city apparently erupts into a mass of promiscuous men. These men want sex, and they want it now. So they demand to have sex with the two angels, forming a mob outside of Lot's house. Lot refuses to let them have sex with the angels, but offers his daughters instead. Because, hey, if he won't let them have sex with two strangers, it's only logical that he let's them have sex with his daughters instead! So, needless to say, God is disgusted. He destroys the city, but let's Lot and his daughters live. The daughters realize his father is old and there are no other men to impregnate them, so naturally, they get their father drunk and have sex with him. I mean, what else were they to do?
Unfair punishment is very scary. Like, it is actually one of my worst fears. Imagine being in a court room--you are completely innocent--but you have no way of proving that you are innocent? Imagine you are one of the 10,000 people who are wrongfully incarcerated a year. Imagine having no control over your future, even though you are 100% innocent. To me, this is scary, maybe even scarier death. Because what is life if it is spent in a prison cell, rotting away for a crime you didn't commit? Recently there have been many stories of judges being bribed to give maximum sentences to black teenagers who commit petty crimes. This unfair punishment elicits so much fear because it is so out of my control. And, naturally, what I cannot control scares me the most.
Unfair punishment is very scary. Like, it is actually one of my worst fears. Imagine being in a court room--you are completely innocent--but you have no way of proving that you are innocent? Imagine you are one of the 10,000 people who are wrongfully incarcerated a year. Imagine having no control over your future, even though you are 100% innocent. To me, this is scary, maybe even scarier death. Because what is life if it is spent in a prison cell, rotting away for a crime you didn't commit? Recently there have been many stories of judges being bribed to give maximum sentences to black teenagers who commit petty crimes. This unfair punishment elicits so much fear because it is so out of my control. And, naturally, what I cannot control scares me the most.
A testiment by the mother of one of the children wrongfully sentenced under Judge Ciavarella Jr.
Ciavarella was, ironically, sentenced to 28 years in prison in 2011 for this.
Destruction of Sodom and Gonorrhea
This story starts out with God going to visit Abraham. God said that the cities of Sodom and Gomorrha would be destroyed because they were both filled with sin, too much for God's liking. Abraham asked God to spare the city if 30 righteous men could be found, and God accepted. Meanwhile, two angels visited the city of Sodom, and Abraham's nephew, Lot, accepted them into his house. Lot fed them and took care of them. Eventually people of Sodom knocked on Lot's house and demanded to have sex with his guests (the angels). Lot offers the men his daughters instead, and so the angels decide to blind the whole city, and they move Lot and his family to a new city.
I don't believe in unfair punishment. I believe that if you do right and wrong comes your way, then if you keep doing right you'll be alright in the end.
I don't believe in unfair punishment. I believe that if you do right and wrong comes your way, then if you keep doing right you'll be alright in the end.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha
In this story, two kingdoms existed that were viewed as centers of sin. These kingdoms were Sodom and Gomorrha and consisted of Admah, Zeboim, and Bela. God sent angels to investigate the cities and discovered the wickedness and sin that was occurring within the kingdoms. God told Abraham that he planned on destroying the cities. Abraham then bargained with god so that he would not destroy the cities if even 10 people could be found within them that was faithful to God. When two angels visited the city of Sodom to find the 10 faithful men, they went to stay at Abraham's nephew, Lot's house. All of the men of the city surrounded the house and attempted to have sex with the angels that were staying there. Lot gave them his two virgin daughters instead of the angels. The angels led Lot and his family out of the city as God rained fire on the kingdoms and destroyed everything within the city limits. Lot's wife looked back at the cities after she had been told not to and turned into a pillar of salt.
I would not necessarily classify this situation as an unfair punishment, as the cities were overwhelmed by evil. I do not consider myself to be a religious person, but if any place deserved a punishment like this, it was the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrha. Unfair punishment has been a huge problem throughout the ages, but not in this case. However, much unfair punishment has been brought on because of this story. Many people associate the idea of homosexuality being a sin with this story... and because of that, homosexuals have been persecuted around the world for years and unfairly punished in many ways, including being executed
I would not necessarily classify this situation as an unfair punishment, as the cities were overwhelmed by evil. I do not consider myself to be a religious person, but if any place deserved a punishment like this, it was the kingdoms of Sodom and Gomorrha. Unfair punishment has been a huge problem throughout the ages, but not in this case. However, much unfair punishment has been brought on because of this story. Many people associate the idea of homosexuality being a sin with this story... and because of that, homosexuals have been persecuted around the world for years and unfairly punished in many ways, including being executed
Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19)
In the story of Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 19) the story starts out with two angels appearing before Lot and said that they wanted to have sex with the angels. Lot said no but offered them his two virgin daughters. The angels then warned Lot to escape with his family because Sodom will soon be destroyed. When they were leaving his wife looked back and turned into a pillar of salt Once they were safe the daughters realized they had no males to carry on the family name with and slept with their father.
I guess everyone has their own viewpoints on what unfair treatment is but I think that it is when someone is either wrongfully punished or punished too severely for a crime. You can see this happen all the time especially in the walls of schools (including Henry Clay) and is obviously hard to judge. However, I feel that punishment is also a very needed way of keeping civilization in line.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha (Genesis 18-19
Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities, and these two cities along with the cities Admah, Zeboim, and Bela were located on the Jordan River plain. Three angels visited Abraham and disguised themselves as men and went to observe the horrible things happening in Sodom and Gomorrha. God told Abraham, who begged him not to, he was going to destroy the cities. Abraham asked if he wouldn't destroy the cities if he got 50 righteous men to live there. God said yes. Abrahams nephew Lot met the two men at the gate of Sodom and took them in and fed them. People of Sodom came to Lots door and asked where the men were so they could have sex with them. Lot was cursed by the wickedness and offered the men his two daughters instead. The angels then blinded the people of Sodom and took Lot and his daughters to a new city. God burned the cities. The harshness of punishment has many different levels. Punishment can be being put in time out for not making your bed to getting the death penalty. If you do something bad or wrong, you obviously are going to be punished for it, or at least supposed to be. Don't get me wrong, I do think some punishments are a little too harsh but I think people deserve a punishment and it should be based on the severity of their wrong doing.
How Does Anyone Pull Homosexuality Being Wrong From This Story (It's Rape Y'all Nitwits)
Abraham was just minding his own business when the Lord appeared to him, and Abraham quickly went about getting a meal ready for him. He then dined with him, and the Lord told Abraham that his wife Sarah would be pregnant soon - which she laughed at because she was old and then the Lord was like "did you just laugh" and she freaked out and insisted that she didn't because you do not LAUGH at the Lord when he eats with you - and then they got onto the topic of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, who God had deemed as wicked, and Abraham insisted that he musn't destroy the cities if there were upstanding citizens because that wouldn't be Godly (kudos to you Abraham for saying that and understanding it better than God himself). Actually that part went on like "and what if there are 30 righteous people, what would you do then God huh?" and "what about 20 God what about then?" but yeah.
So two angels went into Sodom and Gomorrah to check and see if it really was as wicked as they thought it was and guess what? It totally was. All of the citizens just wanted to rape the angels, and when Lot offered his virgin daughters instead they wouldn't take that, proving that Lot was alright in the eyes of the Lord - but what kind of man just offers up his daughters to be raped though huh? Anyway, God decides they all suck so the angels tell Lot and his two daughters and his wife to leave and never look back. So they all run away but Lot's wife turns around and looks at the city and turns into a pillar of salt because why not. So Lot and his daughters make it out of the city and also his daughters seduce him so that they can continue his line??? Like wow okay what a way to end that section.
I don't know how "unfair" it always is, but God seems to really like the whole punishment shtick. But history is full of unfair punishments. It really just depends on what your view of "unfair" is. I mean, being gay still has the death penalty in some countries. How fricken fair is that? And generally oppression can be seen as unfair punishment in general. A lot of the time through history there has been a punishment of sorts for the oppressed groups so that they'll stay oppressed. Which is pretty dang screwed up.
So two angels went into Sodom and Gomorrah to check and see if it really was as wicked as they thought it was and guess what? It totally was. All of the citizens just wanted to rape the angels, and when Lot offered his virgin daughters instead they wouldn't take that, proving that Lot was alright in the eyes of the Lord - but what kind of man just offers up his daughters to be raped though huh? Anyway, God decides they all suck so the angels tell Lot and his two daughters and his wife to leave and never look back. So they all run away but Lot's wife turns around and looks at the city and turns into a pillar of salt because why not. So Lot and his daughters make it out of the city and also his daughters seduce him so that they can continue his line??? Like wow okay what a way to end that section.
I don't know how "unfair" it always is, but God seems to really like the whole punishment shtick. But history is full of unfair punishments. It really just depends on what your view of "unfair" is. I mean, being gay still has the death penalty in some countries. How fricken fair is that? And generally oppression can be seen as unfair punishment in general. A lot of the time through history there has been a punishment of sorts for the oppressed groups so that they'll stay oppressed. Which is pretty dang screwed up.
Father of the Year
In Genesis 19 two Angels came to Lot, Abrahams nephew, at the gate to Sodom. He accepted them into his house. Then the people of Sodom surrounded his house and demanded to have sex with the foreigners (angles). Lot said no, but offered up his two Virgin daughters to the men, making him father of the year. The angels then told Lot to get his family out of Sodom because they were going to destroy it, if Abraham couldn't find ten righteous people and prove God wrong. Well there weren't ten people. So Sodom was destroyed. But as Lot and his family were leaving, Lot's wife turned and looked at the city and was turned into a pillar of salt. In order to keep his family lineage alive, his daughters got jiggy with Lot and got pregnant. So Sodom must have been in Kentucky because of all the incest.
I Hate unfair punishment, why should the whole group be punished for the doings of one person. In eighth grade a student hit a teacher in the face with a kickball on accident and when he didn't confess the whole grade lost recess for a month. I can think of countless examples of times were unfair punishment has really pissed me off. I know every time I get in trouble, I'd rather just me get in trouble rather than a group of people and have all of them hate me.
I Hate unfair punishment, why should the whole group be punished for the doings of one person. In eighth grade a student hit a teacher in the face with a kickball on accident and when he didn't confess the whole grade lost recess for a month. I can think of countless examples of times were unfair punishment has really pissed me off. I know every time I get in trouble, I'd rather just me get in trouble rather than a group of people and have all of them hate me.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomhorra
Alright, so Genesis 18 starts with The Lord and two of his angels going to visit Abraham. God told him that he was gonna take a wrecking ball to the cities of Sodom and Gomhorra, which were the original Sin Cities, apparently. God said there were too many bad things going on there and he was just gonna start fresh.
So Abraham said to the Lord, "God, you're so awesome and nice. What if you can find 30 righteous people who live in these cities, will you spare them?" God got soft and said "Aw shucks Abraham I guess I can do that." Then Abraham knew he'd found a soft spot, and the barterer in him got God to go as low as ten people. If God found ten righteous people, he would save the cities.
Meanwhile, the two angels had visited Lot, Abraham's nephew, and stayed at his house. People there were going crazy though and asking to have sex with the men (??? what's going on there?) and eventually Lot is just exasperated and offers his own daughters to the men (?????? again, what?). And so then eventually Lot was told to leave the city because it was going to be destroyed. Lot takes his family and flees.
So in regards to the cities, God both saved and destroyed the Lot of them.
Unfair punishment is an outrage!! It all goes back to kindergarten... There was that one kid in everybody's class that would get in trouble and take away recess for the whole class. That's messed up. If you do the crime, you have to take the punishment, you shouldn't have to share it with your classmates who were probably looking forward to playing a nice game of tag that day. That's all I have to say about that.
Sodom and Gomorrha
It begins when God heads over to Abraham’s tent and tell his
that he is going to have another son. This made his wife, Sarah, laugh because they
were both pretty old. Abraham then offers to escort God and his angels onto
Sodom because he knew the way. God was going over there to destroy the city but
he didn’t want Abraham to know. Too bad for him, because one of his angels told
Abraham anyways and Abraham was not so pleased. He actually argues with God
(wow) and they decided if you can find ten decent people in Sodom that it
wouldn’t be destroyed. Apparently there were not so god destroyed the city.
They kinda dug their own graves though when they tried to rape the angels. That
was not smart. But God did save Lot because I guess he saved the angels by
trying to offer up his two virgin daughters. That was considerate of him. When
they were running away from Sodom, his wife looked back and was turned into a
pillar of salt. In order to save the family lineage the two daughters seduced
their father and got pregnant. Lucky they had sons, or all of that incest would
have been for nothing.
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| If you look in the background you can see his wife right before she turns into a pillar of salt. |
As for unfair punishment, when I would be really bad when I
was a kid my parents would take away my books. They would ban me from reading
for pleasure because apparently that was the only true punishment they could
think of. Is it obvious they are teachers? It was cruel and I am still mad.
Nothing Like a Good Fire to Prove a Point
The Lord appears to Abraham and Abraham comes up with a feast for them; as they eat, they talk the Lord questions where Abraham's wife, Sarah is. Abraham points to the tent behind him and the Lord decides that Sarah will have a child. Sarah, overhearing the conversation, chuckles to herself because 'old-age and menopause don't bode well with childbearing, silly Lord, babies are for maidens!'. The Lord sets out for Sodom and Abraham walks with him. The Lord reveals to Abraham that he plans to destroy Sodom if the situation is as bad as he believes. Abraham then begins bargaining with the Lord and asking some deep questions like 'isn't it unfair to destroy everyone and make the righteous pay for the sins of the wicked?' Finally, the Lord cracks under Abraham's insistence and agrees that if there are 10 righteous people, he will not touch Sodom.
The Lord arrives at Sodom and is greeted by Lot who is very hospitable - however, the rest of the city is not. All they wish to do is fornicate, which is not on the Lord's agenda. Lot tells them to back off and he will offer up his two virgin daughters if they stop harassing the Lord. By this time, a mob has formed, and they are not happy with Lot's proposition - they threaten to rape Lot, and then the Lord as well. However, the Lord takes Lot away from the mob and tells him to take his family away for he will soon unleash "brimstone and fire" upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The next day, everything is wiped out, and the only inhabitant left is Lot (who was actually a foreigner so does it even count?) Abraham visits the spot where he bargained with the Lord and sees the city sizzling. The city didn't even have 10 righteous people in it. Only Lot was innocent and God sends him out to the city to remind Abraham that God upheld his end of the bargain that he should not destroy the innocent along with the guilty. So, Lot is pretty much a reminder from God that 'haha, in your face. take that Abraham, i was right and you were wrong. all men are wicked'.
As for unfair punishment, the general consensus seems to be that there will always be 'oppressors' and there will always be 'the oppressed'. I don't see how that will ever change for the better, at least in the near future. Further, it's a general rule that 'the oppressed' usually feel as if their oppression is undeserved. Whether punishment is warranted, I have no say - and thank god, because I do not feel comfortable making that kind of a decision. However, looking at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, I can't help but question the judgement behind the decision to burn and destroy the city. I somehow doubt that Lot was the only righteous person and all the rest just wanted to sex everyone up. I don't know that, that could just be a personal hunch. I am firm in my belief that punishment, if needed, should always be just and have merit, and never be unjust.
The Lord arrives at Sodom and is greeted by Lot who is very hospitable - however, the rest of the city is not. All they wish to do is fornicate, which is not on the Lord's agenda. Lot tells them to back off and he will offer up his two virgin daughters if they stop harassing the Lord. By this time, a mob has formed, and they are not happy with Lot's proposition - they threaten to rape Lot, and then the Lord as well. However, the Lord takes Lot away from the mob and tells him to take his family away for he will soon unleash "brimstone and fire" upon Sodom and Gomorrah. The next day, everything is wiped out, and the only inhabitant left is Lot (who was actually a foreigner so does it even count?) Abraham visits the spot where he bargained with the Lord and sees the city sizzling. The city didn't even have 10 righteous people in it. Only Lot was innocent and God sends him out to the city to remind Abraham that God upheld his end of the bargain that he should not destroy the innocent along with the guilty. So, Lot is pretty much a reminder from God that 'haha, in your face. take that Abraham, i was right and you were wrong. all men are wicked'.
As for unfair punishment, the general consensus seems to be that there will always be 'oppressors' and there will always be 'the oppressed'. I don't see how that will ever change for the better, at least in the near future. Further, it's a general rule that 'the oppressed' usually feel as if their oppression is undeserved. Whether punishment is warranted, I have no say - and thank god, because I do not feel comfortable making that kind of a decision. However, looking at the story of Sodom and Gomorrah, I can't help but question the judgement behind the decision to burn and destroy the city. I somehow doubt that Lot was the only righteous person and all the rest just wanted to sex everyone up. I don't know that, that could just be a personal hunch. I am firm in my belief that punishment, if needed, should always be just and have merit, and never be unjust.
Destruction of Sodom and Gomorrha
The story of Sodom and Gomorrha begins with 3 angels coming to visit Abraham. 2 went to visit Sodom and Gomorrha and the other (the Lord) stayed with Abraham and told him that they were going to destroy the cities because they were full of evil people. Abraham convinced the Lord to spare the cities if 10 righteous people lived there. Lot was Abraham's nephew and he met the 2 angles in Sodom and fed them; then, the people of Sodom wanted to have sex with the angels disguised as men. Lot offered his daughters to the people instead. Lot's family fled the city, and then the Lord made in rain burning sulfur in both cities destroying everything.
Unfair punishment seems to be a common theme in my house (at least in my opinion). My little brother misbehaves constantly and directly disobeys my parents and receives little to no punishment. I don't clean up the kitchen after dinner and my dad yells at me for thirty minutes. Consistency of punishment also depends on the mood of my parents. When my mom has a headache or my dad has had a bad day at work, you do not want to do anything wrong because you will be excessively chastised. On a good day, both my parents can be relatively laid back when it comes to punishment; it all depends. On a much broader scale, society must suffer the consequences from mistakes of few bad seeds in our society. Terrorists have caused us to lose our privacy, school shooters have made it difficult to come in and out of school without checking in, etc. Punishment never seems to be fair, but life is not fair and we must learn to live with it.
The raining, burning sulfur from the Lord (Wikipedia.com)
Unfair punishment seems to be a common theme in my house (at least in my opinion). My little brother misbehaves constantly and directly disobeys my parents and receives little to no punishment. I don't clean up the kitchen after dinner and my dad yells at me for thirty minutes. Consistency of punishment also depends on the mood of my parents. When my mom has a headache or my dad has had a bad day at work, you do not want to do anything wrong because you will be excessively chastised. On a good day, both my parents can be relatively laid back when it comes to punishment; it all depends. On a much broader scale, society must suffer the consequences from mistakes of few bad seeds in our society. Terrorists have caused us to lose our privacy, school shooters have made it difficult to come in and out of school without checking in, etc. Punishment never seems to be fair, but life is not fair and we must learn to live with it.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Daphne and the Laurel Wreath
So Apollo was challenging the power Eros's bows possessed and Eros got angry at Apollo for the constant ridicule. Eros made two arrows: a gold tipped one granting everlasting lust to anyone hit by it, and a lead tipped one granting everlasting hate to anyone hit by it. Eros hit Apollo with the gold tipped arrow, and then she used the other arrow to hit the girl that Apollo was chasing after, Daphne. Apollo chased after Daphne, and Daphne was disgusted and angry. Daphne couldn't escape Apollo, and so she asked her Dad to transform her into a tree so that she didn't have to deal with Apollo. She was transformed into a Laurel tree, and Apollo found the tree and made a wreath out of the leaves and branches. He wore this on his head and swore to never take it off and said that the leaves will stay green forever. Eternally youthful.
Eternal youth had been sought by men for ages. I don't think anyone deserves eternal youth. I think that you live as long as you are destined to be. An eternally youthful individual may easily use his powers of hindsight to alter the course of the world to satisfy his desires. And I don't think that anyone should live that long to figure out the mysteries of the world. Ultimately, this person probably could see the demise and destruction our Earth is heading to, and while they may be able to change the world for the good. More likely, they will watch our world collapse in grief and loneliness.
Eternal youth had been sought by men for ages. I don't think anyone deserves eternal youth. I think that you live as long as you are destined to be. An eternally youthful individual may easily use his powers of hindsight to alter the course of the world to satisfy his desires. And I don't think that anyone should live that long to figure out the mysteries of the world. Ultimately, this person probably could see the demise and destruction our Earth is heading to, and while they may be able to change the world for the good. More likely, they will watch our world collapse in grief and loneliness.
Daphne and the Wreath
The story goes that after a long time of Apollo making fun of Eros, Eros got tired of Apollos crap and shot him with an arrow. But this was not just any arrow. The arrow made him fall in love with a nymph named Daphne (which wasn't so bad). The problem was that Eros also shot Daphne with an arrow that made her so that she would not want to have anything to do with Apollo, thus rejecting his love. Eventually after Daphne grew tired of her admirer chasing her, she called upon the help of her father, Peneus, who transformed her into a laurel tree in order to protect her from Apollo. But this did not change Apollo's feeling for her. He made a laurel wreath out of her trees and branches and wore it from then on.
Though it may be for some people, I do not view eternal youth as a great fortune or as a reward. Eternal youth would be a punishment. Though still at your peak in life for all of eternity, you are fated to sit and watch all of your loved ones die as you remain. You are required to start over with a completely new population of people every century or so, leaving no one person in your life as someone special to you as they are simply replaced later on. Not only are you forced to live with the pain of losing loved ones over and over again, but it never ends because you are never able to pass on. Life is a ephemeral and every second should be cherished. It should not be viewed as something that we have an unlimited supply of.
This is not to mention that if everyone was eternally youthful, the world would be overpopulated and none of us would even be able to live.
Though it may be for some people, I do not view eternal youth as a great fortune or as a reward. Eternal youth would be a punishment. Though still at your peak in life for all of eternity, you are fated to sit and watch all of your loved ones die as you remain. You are required to start over with a completely new population of people every century or so, leaving no one person in your life as someone special to you as they are simply replaced later on. Not only are you forced to live with the pain of losing loved ones over and over again, but it never ends because you are never able to pass on. Life is a ephemeral and every second should be cherished. It should not be viewed as something that we have an unlimited supply of.
This is not to mention that if everyone was eternally youthful, the world would be overpopulated and none of us would even be able to live.
Daphne and the Laurel
The story begins with Apollo killing a giant python, and being very proud. He teases Eros and Eros gets angry and wants revenge. He hits Apollo with an arrow that makes him fall in love and shoots an nymph named Daphne with an arrow that stops her from falling in love. Apollo loves Daphne but Daphne doesn't feel the same. Daphne wants to be a virgin her whole life and runs away from Apollo until he catches her. She begs her father to help her and he turns her into a tree. He makes her his sacred tree. Apollo decorates himself with the laurel leaves and makes it so the tree is always green; the tree bows its head in gratitude.
If someone was in love with me and I did not feel the same, I would get a restraining order. Even though Daphne was not able to do this In her time, it would be the easiest and most effective way to get someone to leave you alone because the law forbids them to. Maybe after they complemented me and pretty much worshiped me for months or years, I would grow to finally love them too, or at least appreciate them for their compliments. Hopefully I am never in this situation because it would be hard to get away from them.
If someone was in love with me and I did not feel the same, I would get a restraining order. Even though Daphne was not able to do this In her time, it would be the easiest and most effective way to get someone to leave you alone because the law forbids them to. Maybe after they complemented me and pretty much worshiped me for months or years, I would grow to finally love them too, or at least appreciate them for their compliments. Hopefully I am never in this situation because it would be hard to get away from them.
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
Tower of Babel
Contrary to popular belief, the Tower of Babel was never actually constructed. It was only an idea. As everyone spoke the same language, they were becoming very powerful fast. They had an idea to build a tower to the heavens so they may create a name for themselves. But God saw this, and immediately knew it must be stopped. God decided to scatter these people across the entire earth, and after doing so, decided to create languages for all of the different areas. In doing so, God prevented the people from becoming too powerful.
Thinking about God not doing this is a scary thought. If this obstacle had never been faced, think about how far we could have advanced. Right now could be a real life Jetson's. But seeing how self-destructive the human race is, I trust that God made the right decision in limiting our advancement as a civilization.
My next language to learn would be chinese, or, more specifically, mandarin. It seems as though the chinese are becoming more and more powerful, especially in the financial world. I plan to go into international business, and so if I learn mandarin it will allow me to be better fit for many international business jobs and hopefully will permit me to travel to China, which I have always dreamed of doing. Unfortunately, though, mandarin is said to be very difficult to learn. Almost everything about mandarin is different from english... From the way they form sentences to what words mean to how you pronounce sounds, it is overwhelming. But I am a quick learner, and hopefully it will come natural to me.
Thinking about God not doing this is a scary thought. If this obstacle had never been faced, think about how far we could have advanced. Right now could be a real life Jetson's. But seeing how self-destructive the human race is, I trust that God made the right decision in limiting our advancement as a civilization.
My next language to learn would be chinese, or, more specifically, mandarin. It seems as though the chinese are becoming more and more powerful, especially in the financial world. I plan to go into international business, and so if I learn mandarin it will allow me to be better fit for many international business jobs and hopefully will permit me to travel to China, which I have always dreamed of doing. Unfortunately, though, mandarin is said to be very difficult to learn. Almost everything about mandarin is different from english... From the way they form sentences to what words mean to how you pronounce sounds, it is overwhelming. But I am a quick learner, and hopefully it will come natural to me.
Mandarin alphabet (source)
Pygmalion and Galatea
Pygmalion and Galatea is almost too good to be true. Having read many other greek myths, I kept waiting for the moment where Pygmalion messes up, only to be taught a lesson. But no lesson is to be taught here. Just a beautiful story of a man and his statue.
Pygmalion was a sculptor. He was so invested in his work that he vowed to never marry. Every day he sculpted and sculpted, mostly out of ivory. One day, he decided to sculpt a woman. This statue, he decided, would be named Galatea. He carved away, and once finished, was astonished at what he saw: the most beautiful statue woman he had ever set eyes on. He was so enamored by this statue that he dressed it as if it were a real woman, and often touched it to make sure it was truly a statue. Time passing, he could not shake the fact that this was only a statue, and was sorrowed that he would never meet a woman so beautiful. Having no hope left, he went to Aphrodite and pleaded her to make him a woman identical to the statue. Aphrodite noticed how desperate he was and decided to grant his wish. And, finally, this beautiful real life woman met Pygmalion. He was in love, and they lived happily ever after. No catch. No lesson. Just pure love.
Wow. A character I would like to be brought to life... Hm. This question is quite overwhelming, but after much review I would have to say the number one character I would like to meet is Michael Scott. Everyone could learn a thing or two from Michael Scott, and I would give just about anything to have him in my life. As much as people seem to get annoyed by him, he just buzzes with energy. Everyone could use some Michael Scott in their life. Everyone needs some energy now and then.
I have actually seen a painting of Pygmalion and Galatea that is displayed at the MET in NYC, painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme. (Displayed below).
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Pygmalion was a sculptor. He was so invested in his work that he vowed to never marry. Every day he sculpted and sculpted, mostly out of ivory. One day, he decided to sculpt a woman. This statue, he decided, would be named Galatea. He carved away, and once finished, was astonished at what he saw: the most beautiful statue woman he had ever set eyes on. He was so enamored by this statue that he dressed it as if it were a real woman, and often touched it to make sure it was truly a statue. Time passing, he could not shake the fact that this was only a statue, and was sorrowed that he would never meet a woman so beautiful. Having no hope left, he went to Aphrodite and pleaded her to make him a woman identical to the statue. Aphrodite noticed how desperate he was and decided to grant his wish. And, finally, this beautiful real life woman met Pygmalion. He was in love, and they lived happily ever after. No catch. No lesson. Just pure love.
Wow. A character I would like to be brought to life... Hm. This question is quite overwhelming, but after much review I would have to say the number one character I would like to meet is Michael Scott. Everyone could learn a thing or two from Michael Scott, and I would give just about anything to have him in my life. As much as people seem to get annoyed by him, he just buzzes with energy. Everyone could use some Michael Scott in their life. Everyone needs some energy now and then.
I have actually seen a painting of Pygmalion and Galatea that is displayed at the MET in NYC, painted by Jean-Léon Gérôme. (Displayed below).
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Noah and the Flood
Noah and the Flood may be one of the most memorable stories in the bible. Everyone has heard of Noah's Ark. But the story behind Noah's Ark is actually much more in depth than one may think.
As the earth began to increase in population, God began to see something disheartening. Everyone on the earth had become evil-spirited. So, obviously, the only way to put an end to this is for God to flood the entire earth, killing everyone. There was one man though, who happened to be the only trustworthy man left on earth. His name was, you guessed it, Noah. God called onto Noah to build an ark that could hold two of every animal, him, and his family. He did so, and once it was built, God actually flooded the entire earth. First it rained for, if my math is right, forty days. Then, once again relying on my head calculator, it flooded for a hundred and fifty days. Noah then waited for the earth to dry out completely, sending birds to see if it had. Finally, Noah, his family and the animals exited the ark. God then made a covenant with Noah and the human race to never destroy life on earth again. This is supposedly what God is reminding us of when we have rainbows. Apparently, the point of God flooding the earth was to wash away the wickedness and sin that had plagued earth. Needless to say, this was not the most efficient way, nor was it very effective. But, for the sake of the story, it was important plot development.
An animal that fascinates me is the rhino. I think the main reason it fascinates me is it's prehistoric look. It amazes me that it has not yet become extinct and reminds me of the dinosaurs that once inhabited earth.
I think the earth will end in ice. It is said that in due time, the sun will explode. This means we will have no sun. Without sun we will have no heat. And without heat we will be frozen. So, if the explosion of the sun does not wipe the earth out completely, I believe it will freeze over.
As the earth began to increase in population, God began to see something disheartening. Everyone on the earth had become evil-spirited. So, obviously, the only way to put an end to this is for God to flood the entire earth, killing everyone. There was one man though, who happened to be the only trustworthy man left on earth. His name was, you guessed it, Noah. God called onto Noah to build an ark that could hold two of every animal, him, and his family. He did so, and once it was built, God actually flooded the entire earth. First it rained for, if my math is right, forty days. Then, once again relying on my head calculator, it flooded for a hundred and fifty days. Noah then waited for the earth to dry out completely, sending birds to see if it had. Finally, Noah, his family and the animals exited the ark. God then made a covenant with Noah and the human race to never destroy life on earth again. This is supposedly what God is reminding us of when we have rainbows. Apparently, the point of God flooding the earth was to wash away the wickedness and sin that had plagued earth. Needless to say, this was not the most efficient way, nor was it very effective. But, for the sake of the story, it was important plot development.
An animal that fascinates me is the rhino. I think the main reason it fascinates me is it's prehistoric look. It amazes me that it has not yet become extinct and reminds me of the dinosaurs that once inhabited earth.
I think the earth will end in ice. It is said that in due time, the sun will explode. This means we will have no sun. Without sun we will have no heat. And without heat we will be frozen. So, if the explosion of the sun does not wipe the earth out completely, I believe it will freeze over.
Rhino vs. Triceratops... Eerily similar, right?
Down goes Apollo!!
Apollo, the god of archery, was making fun of Eros, aka cupid, because Eros' arrows didn't have any real power to them according to Apollo. So Eros like most people would took offense to Apollo's harsh words and took offense against Apollo (see how I used the same word but in two different meanings... you';re welcome). Eros had tow arrows, one of love and one of hate. He shot Apollo with the love arrow and Daphne, some nymph, a daughter of Poseidon, with the hate arrow. Due to the effects of the arrows, Apollo chased after Daphne and Daphne thusly ran away from Apollo. Daphne getting tired of that game of cat-and-mouse asked her father to save her. He changed into a tree, and Apollo took the leaves and branches off of her tree and made them into a wreath and wore it forever.
Eternal youth, sounds fun and boring. You would always be youthful, full of energy, wanting to turn up, happiness, enjoyment, make bad decisions, and lots of other stuff young adults do. But there would also be a lot of sorrow and pain. You have to experience a lot of people come and go and that could be very tolling on the mind, body, and soul. So I wouldn't mind eternal youth, but when it is time to go I would like to be able to gggggggggggggoooooooooooooooooooo......................
Eternal youth, sounds fun and boring. You would always be youthful, full of energy, wanting to turn up, happiness, enjoyment, make bad decisions, and lots of other stuff young adults do. But there would also be a lot of sorrow and pain. You have to experience a lot of people come and go and that could be very tolling on the mind, body, and soul. So I wouldn't mind eternal youth, but when it is time to go I would like to be able to gggggggggggggoooooooooooooooooooo......................
The ballad of love and hate
In the ancient days of old a God Apollo challenged Eros to a battle of prowess with a bow. Eros not to be out done made two special arrows one which brought love and one which brought hate. That which brought love flew swiftly into the rear of Apollo. That which brought hate flew swiftly into the rear of Daphne. And when Apollo began to chase the beautiful girl she took flight. Luckily her father Poseidon turned her into a tree because that's obviously the best way to hide because no one ever suspects trees to be beautiful girls except for apparently Apollo who figured out the switch and made a cool headband out of her branches. The tree became a symbol of Apollo and was forevermore.
You're as young as you feel and you're young at heart. Apparently that means you can be both old and young simultaneously and I suppose both young and old. I'm rather comforted by this because I can't imagine myself an old fart who can't find his teeth. I don't want to grow comfortable in the world. I want to continue to grow no matter my age. Eternal youth is a very very attractive thing. It's something man has sought for thousands of years. The fountain of youth and wrinkle cream. We oppose that natural succumbing to age. Unfortunately we're not very good at it. I plan on finding a cure , it will probably be within my own mind, but that's perhaps the best way to beat it.
Daphne and the Laurel Wreath
Like most gods tend to act, Apollo was kind of an arrogant
ass towards Eros. He claimed that Eros’s arrows did not have great power to
them. He apparently found the authority to piss him off in this way because he
was the god of archery. This made Eros angry, because shooting powerful arrows
at people was kind of his job. So he shot a love arrow at Apollo that made him
fall in love with a nymph named Daphne. Daphne was a carefree nymph that didn’t
have time for guys because she was too busy being a carefree nymph. She did not
respond too well to Apollo being in love with her. (Other sources say Eros shot
her with a lead tipped arrow that made her hate and Apollo with a gold tipped
arrow that made him love. That way there was no way for her to love him, and no
way for him to stop loving her. Cruel. Effective. But cruel.) Anyways, when
Apollo was chasing her she was like, “NO”, and she ran away from him. When it
became apparent to her that she couldn’t escape him, because he was a god and
all, she got her dad to help. He made her disappear and in the last place she
was standing a laurel tree grew. Apollo took this as a symbol of her and swore
to always wear a laurel wreath around his head to remember her. The Greeks
followed suit.
As for me I’m stuck on the whole Tuck Everlasting thing. On
the one hand, I love history and to be able to live through lifetimes of
history, and see the future become the past would be amazing to me. On the
other hand, high school makes me tired so I don’t think I could handle much
more than one lifetime. I think I would like to live eternally if I didn’t have
to watch the people I care about grow older than me and die. That’s doesn’t sound
fun. I also think there is something special about growing old. If nothing else
you can be cranky and hit people you pass with your cane, and they can’t do
anything about it because you are old. I am looking forward to that. And how
could I ever do that if I was eternally young?
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| Look. Its Apollo. Wearing a laurel wreath singing I Will Always Love You to himself. |
Don't take courtship advice from the Greeks
Greek mythology is so screwed up.
Apollo made fun of the god Eros, so as consequence Eros shot
him with a golden arrow to make him fall hopelessly (obsessively) in love with
Daphne, the Naiad daughter of the river god Pineios. Daphne, in turn, was shot
with a leaden arrow, which quite literally hardened her heart to love,
especially the variety that involved Apollo. Apollo stalked her to the ends of
the earth; running away from him, Daphne prayed to her father to save her from
this creep, and, in a moment of incredible generosity, he transformed her into
a tree. A laurel tree, to be specific. Now, some versions of the story I read
said Apollo actually took the leaves off of this tree (creepy) and made
wreathes out of them; others said he made an effort to preserve the tree.
Regardless, the laurel tree was from that day considered a symbol of the god
Apollo.
Maybe I can stretch the topic of ‘eternal youth’ to talk
about death. I think about death quite often
– that might sound depressing, but I find that thinking about my own mortality prompts
me to do a little more in this moment than sit on the couch and eat potato
chips. Life is, as they say, short – fifteen years sounds like a long time to
the ear, but then you move right through it and realize years can feel like
little more than extended seconds. When I was little, the thought of me being
seventeen seemed so distant and unknowable, but now I feel like I was that
little girl just yesterday. I know it will not be long before I am old enough
to have children of my own, and from that point I will be middle-aged, and not
long after that I will look like a dried prune. Point is, death is not that far
off, and it really can happen any day. You never know if you’ll be that one in
ten thousand that gets hit by a car and dies of internal bleeding while walking
to school. You never know if you’ll be that one to get the rare case of blood
cancer. None of us can bank on tomorrow, and as such, we should enjoy today to
its full extent while we still have it.
Speaking of which, I like to consult the wisdom of the late great Christopher Hitchens on mortality, a man who looked his imminent death from cancer in the face and refused to fear it. R.I.P., Hitch. We miss you.
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| ew get da fuk away from me apollo i can do better z snap |
eternal youth
Daphne was a woman that had no intentions of being married and preferred to hunt in the woods then meet men that she could marry although she had many options due to her ravishing good looks. Her father wanted her to get married but since she cried at the idea of marriage wouldn’t force her to. Eros then got mad because Apollo mocked the power of his love arrows and so Eros shot him and made him fall in love with Daphne. Daphne ran away and her father upon her wish, turned her into a laurel tree. But Apollo was still in love with her and made her always green and would always wear a wreath of laurel leaves.
I personally would love to have eternal youth. I mean who wouldn’t? To be able to live on forever and never have to grow old and deal with the health problems that come with age, how does that not sound perfect? Although I’m not sure it would be as nice if everyone else aged and died and I was stuck alone but nonetheless I would still thoroughly enjoy having eternal youth.
Bow and Eros
The myth of Daphne and Apollo starts when Apollo makes fun of Eros because of his weapon of choice, the bow and arrow. Eros is all like "Yo I'm not gonna let him diss me for drivin a Kia Sorento just cuz he whippin an Audi R8.. My Sorento got Keyless entry AND gets better gas mileage."
So Eros takes one arrow made of lead and one arrow made of gold and shoots the first into Daphne and the second into Apollo. Daphne is filled with disgust for Apollo, but he is infused with the deepest of love for her.
Houston, we have a problem.
So while Daphne is running as far away from his as possible, Apollo is busy growing a pencil thin mustache, selling his Audi and trading it in for a used ice cream truck, and cruising around at dusk constantly looking for Daphne.
Apollo finally catches up to her (they always do, be careful ladies) and Daphne begs her father Peneus to help her, and he turns her into a laurel tree. Apollo, for some reason, thought he had won, and vows to keep the tree alive forever. He also promises that her leaves would decorate the heads of leaders as crowns.
I hope to be forever young. I understand that we have to grow up and get old and wrinkly but I wanna be young at heart. I have no interest in speculating on eternal life or all that junk, I just wanna have a fulfilling life and always be fun and positive to be around. And I hope 50 years from now, when I see the name Peneus, I still giggle because it sounds a little bit like "penis".
So Eros takes one arrow made of lead and one arrow made of gold and shoots the first into Daphne and the second into Apollo. Daphne is filled with disgust for Apollo, but he is infused with the deepest of love for her.
Houston, we have a problem.
So while Daphne is running as far away from his as possible, Apollo is busy growing a pencil thin mustache, selling his Audi and trading it in for a used ice cream truck, and cruising around at dusk constantly looking for Daphne.
Apollo finally catches up to her (they always do, be careful ladies) and Daphne begs her father Peneus to help her, and he turns her into a laurel tree. Apollo, for some reason, thought he had won, and vows to keep the tree alive forever. He also promises that her leaves would decorate the heads of leaders as crowns.
I hope to be forever young. I understand that we have to grow up and get old and wrinkly but I wanna be young at heart. I have no interest in speculating on eternal life or all that junk, I just wanna have a fulfilling life and always be fun and positive to be around. And I hope 50 years from now, when I see the name Peneus, I still giggle because it sounds a little bit like "penis".
Daphne and the Laurel Wreath
One day, the god Apollo was getting all up in Eros's (Cupid) grill so Eros did what any good god would do, and shot Apollo with a golden tipped arrow. This arrow made Apollo fall in love with a nymph named Daphne. Eros then shot Daphne with an arrow that would make her never be able to fall in love with Apollo. Well played Eros. Apollo followed Daphne who then prayed to her dad to make her into a laurel tree so she wouldn't have to deal with the poor love-stricken kid. Apollo, poor poor Apollo, made a wreath of laurel leaves that he put on his head, which was then used for crowns for emperors and victors. He also said that she would have eternal life and her leaves would never lose the green color. (ie she wouldn't age)
Eternal life would be awesome. Especially if I could look like a goddess for the rest of my life and never age. I wouldn't want to live here forever though, with the way our government is looking I am not sure anyone will want to. I would want to live where the gods and goddesses live, where we would hangout all day and shoot people with arrows whenever we felt like it. Also, I totally would wear a toga all day everyday for the rest of eternity.
Eternal life would be awesome. Especially if I could look like a goddess for the rest of my life and never age. I wouldn't want to live here forever though, with the way our government is looking I am not sure anyone will want to. I would want to live where the gods and goddesses live, where we would hangout all day and shoot people with arrows whenever we felt like it. Also, I totally would wear a toga all day everyday for the rest of eternity.
Daphne and the Laurel Tree
The story of Daphne and the Laurel Tree is both depressing and heart warming. Apollo, being the vein man he is, one day doubted the archery skills of Eros. For this, Eros fired two arrows. One was dipped and gold and was granted with everlasting lust. The other was dipped in lead and was granted with hatred toward love. Of course, the one granting everlasting lust hit apollo, and the other hit Daphne. Terrorized by her disgust toward love and Apollo's unwillingness to drop his pursuit for her, Daphne ran to her dad who had the power to transform. He transformed Daphne into a tree. Apollo then declared that this tree was his tree, and made a laurel wreath of it's leaves.
This story is very heart wrenching, as it alludes to what many people spend their lives going through. Insatiable lust. Many people go their whole lives lusting after someone whom they can never get. We have all been through it one way or another, so in a way, this story hits closer to home to many people and has a much more personal connection. It is heart warming in a way that shows man's commitment and loyalty to what he loves. He goes as far as to keep the tree with him for his entire life, showing his utter commitment to Daphne. To me this symbolizes a man's wife dying. A man's love for his wife stretches far beyond her mortality, and many people go the rest of their life, after their loved one dies, clinging on to things that remind them of their loved one.
I believe that eternal youth is overrated. What I would like is eternal sexagenarian-ism. My grandparents are in their sixties, and seem to be happier than they have ever been. The only thing that keeps them from happiness is their death looming over them, so if they were granted eternal life during this time, I believe it would be the happiest age to be granted eternal life. You have lived sixty years, which means you are much smarter and wiser than you are in your youth, and you are respected as an elderly. Not to mention the fact that after 65 you can retire, which means you will not have to work for all of eternity. In the television show American Horror Story, Jessica Lange plays a woman who appears to be in her 60's. She is a witch who is on a quest for eternal life, and it will be interesting to see how her endeavor plays out.
This story is very heart wrenching, as it alludes to what many people spend their lives going through. Insatiable lust. Many people go their whole lives lusting after someone whom they can never get. We have all been through it one way or another, so in a way, this story hits closer to home to many people and has a much more personal connection. It is heart warming in a way that shows man's commitment and loyalty to what he loves. He goes as far as to keep the tree with him for his entire life, showing his utter commitment to Daphne. To me this symbolizes a man's wife dying. A man's love for his wife stretches far beyond her mortality, and many people go the rest of their life, after their loved one dies, clinging on to things that remind them of their loved one.
I believe that eternal youth is overrated. What I would like is eternal sexagenarian-ism. My grandparents are in their sixties, and seem to be happier than they have ever been. The only thing that keeps them from happiness is their death looming over them, so if they were granted eternal life during this time, I believe it would be the happiest age to be granted eternal life. You have lived sixty years, which means you are much smarter and wiser than you are in your youth, and you are respected as an elderly. Not to mention the fact that after 65 you can retire, which means you will not have to work for all of eternity. In the television show American Horror Story, Jessica Lange plays a woman who appears to be in her 60's. She is a witch who is on a quest for eternal life, and it will be interesting to see how her endeavor plays out.
Jessica Lange in American Horror Story: Coven
She was a strong, independent woman who don't need no man
This whole thing was kind of Apollo's fault. Apollo was joshing around with Eros one day, and he was making fun of Eros' arrows, and Eros just wasn't 'bout it, so he decided to get even with Apollo. He decided that he would use Daphne the virgin to do this. Daphne was daughter to Peneus, who had this river, and she was a nymph, and she was totally attractive and all the men wanted her. Daphne, however, stopped for no man, and she was like, "Lol you guys are like a two and I'm for sure like an eleven." And she moved on with her life. Peneus wanted Daphne to grow up and get married and have lots of sons but Daphne complained so much he just couldn't force it upon her. So anyway, Eros shot Apollo with a golden arrow so he fell madly in love with Daphne, and then he shot Daphne with a led arrow, meaning she could never love Apollo back, not that she was going to anyway. So Apollo went after the girl, and she flipped the lkjadf out and so she started prayin' to her daddy, who turned her into a laurel tree. Apollo was totally bummed about the whole thing so he made a laurel wreath he would always wear on his head. From then on, the tree was sacred to the people, and was a symbol for victory even though the dude totally lost.
Attitudes towards eternal youth? Don't do it. It's not natural, first of all. Second of all, you get to see everyone die even though you live forever. I mean really. Just read Tuck Everlasting. That book explains everything. Third of all, the best part about life is being able to grow old and see your kids grow up and have kids and being able to tell them about how you walked four miles to and from school whether it was rain, wind, or shine. That's the life.
Attitudes towards eternal youth? Don't do it. It's not natural, first of all. Second of all, you get to see everyone die even though you live forever. I mean really. Just read Tuck Everlasting. That book explains everything. Third of all, the best part about life is being able to grow old and see your kids grow up and have kids and being able to tell them about how you walked four miles to and from school whether it was rain, wind, or shine. That's the life.
Daphne and Apollo
Main moral of the story: don't get Eros mad at you.
(I feel there's a running theme in all Greek mythology.)
So Apollo didn't realize that having Eros mad at him would be a bad idea, and he made fun of him and teased him. Eros, angry, shot Apollo with one of his golden arrows (which I just realized sounds like his name, something very revolutionary to me) so that he would fall in love with Daphne, a dryad who was the daughter of the river god Peneus. Eros also shot Daphne with an arrow, but instead of a golden one, it was leaden, and she could never love Apollo back. Apollo followed her as she ran away, and when she came to her father's river, Apollo somehow made her think that stopping to bathe would be a fantastic idea. Peneus took pity on his daughter, and in order to protect her from Apollo, he transformed her into a laurel tree. Apollo was heartbroken and declared the laurel tree his sacred tree, and then, to honor Daphne, prevented the laurel tree from ever rotting so that it still remains green.
I don't think this is actually a laurel, but I figured I'd include it anyway because it reminds me of this story and I really just love it. I realize that this does not make me sound like a particularly sane person, but I'm starting to wish I could be as carefree as this tree.
Senior year does things to you, man.
I cannot make up my mind about what I think about eternal youth. Generally, the stories centered around it advise against it--think Peter Pan and Tuck Everlasting, both of which featured characters who offered eternal youth to a young girl (Wendy/Winnie... interesting similarity there) only to see her turn it away and value her life through aging. But at the same time, there's really not a big part of me that wants to grow up. I'd rather stick around as a seventeen-year-old than worry about adult problems; who wouldn't, right? Or maybe I'd rather be in college instead of high school... I don't know. Regardless, eternal anything would be great in some ways, but it might also lose meaning at some point, it seems to me. I guess it's fortunate that I'm not being offered the choice now because I'd probably sit and debate with myself for so long that I'd be old before I could ask to be young again.
(I feel there's a running theme in all Greek mythology.)
So Apollo didn't realize that having Eros mad at him would be a bad idea, and he made fun of him and teased him. Eros, angry, shot Apollo with one of his golden arrows (which I just realized sounds like his name, something very revolutionary to me) so that he would fall in love with Daphne, a dryad who was the daughter of the river god Peneus. Eros also shot Daphne with an arrow, but instead of a golden one, it was leaden, and she could never love Apollo back. Apollo followed her as she ran away, and when she came to her father's river, Apollo somehow made her think that stopping to bathe would be a fantastic idea. Peneus took pity on his daughter, and in order to protect her from Apollo, he transformed her into a laurel tree. Apollo was heartbroken and declared the laurel tree his sacred tree, and then, to honor Daphne, prevented the laurel tree from ever rotting so that it still remains green.
I don't think this is actually a laurel, but I figured I'd include it anyway because it reminds me of this story and I really just love it. I realize that this does not make me sound like a particularly sane person, but I'm starting to wish I could be as carefree as this tree.
Senior year does things to you, man.
I cannot make up my mind about what I think about eternal youth. Generally, the stories centered around it advise against it--think Peter Pan and Tuck Everlasting, both of which featured characters who offered eternal youth to a young girl (Wendy/Winnie... interesting similarity there) only to see her turn it away and value her life through aging. But at the same time, there's really not a big part of me that wants to grow up. I'd rather stick around as a seventeen-year-old than worry about adult problems; who wouldn't, right? Or maybe I'd rather be in college instead of high school... I don't know. Regardless, eternal anything would be great in some ways, but it might also lose meaning at some point, it seems to me. I guess it's fortunate that I'm not being offered the choice now because I'd probably sit and debate with myself for so long that I'd be old before I could ask to be young again.
It's All Fun and Games Until Someone Gets Hurt
So Eros and Apollo were trash talking each other, as gods are wont to do, when Eros gets tired of Apollo's crap and shoots him with an arrow like, "haha sucker make fun of my shooting now." And because Eros was really tired of Apollo, he also shot the woman with an arrow to repel her from him. So Apollo fell in love with a nymph, the daughter of the river god Peneus -- who wanted absolutely nothing to do with marriage at all. Apollo was so completely infatuated with her and entitled that he chased her down, attempting to make her change her mind. Eventually he managed to tire her out, and as Apollo approached she begged her father to let the Earth swallow her or for her to change forms so that Apollo would not want her -- so he turned her into a laurel tree. So Apollo kissed her bark and promised her that since she could never be his wife, that her tree will always be his symbol, and so Apollo is often seen with laurel imagery about him.
Greek gods have always known how to charm a woman, haven't they?
So here's my thoughts on eternal youth: it'd suck terribly if you were the only person with it. If everyone you loved was mortal, then they'd all just die. There'd be no family or friends or anything, they'd all just wither before you, and time would have no meaning anymore. Years for your friends would only be seconds for you in the span of everything. It'd be lonely and terrifying and absolutely not worth it in the least. However, like most people I can see how it could be interesting. You'd get to see so much, so much progress and you'd meet so many people. You'd get to meet so many different people and learn their stories and their lives and everything in the history of everything. But, like I said, this is also one of the reasons why it would suck so much. Because as soon as you learned about them and were close -POOF- they'd be gone. Over time I'm sure I'd be unable to learn anything new about anyone.
But then again, even if I had someone to share eternity with, I'd probably want to stab them through the eyeballs or least heavily ducktape their mouth before too long, like maybe half a century or so at most. So really, it's probably better that we all die. I mean, so long as we don't still have something to live for.
I wouldn't be against lengthening our lifespans though, if that's an option. That way everyone is still on an even playing field.
Greek gods have always known how to charm a woman, haven't they?
So here's my thoughts on eternal youth: it'd suck terribly if you were the only person with it. If everyone you loved was mortal, then they'd all just die. There'd be no family or friends or anything, they'd all just wither before you, and time would have no meaning anymore. Years for your friends would only be seconds for you in the span of everything. It'd be lonely and terrifying and absolutely not worth it in the least. However, like most people I can see how it could be interesting. You'd get to see so much, so much progress and you'd meet so many people. You'd get to meet so many different people and learn their stories and their lives and everything in the history of everything. But, like I said, this is also one of the reasons why it would suck so much. Because as soon as you learned about them and were close -POOF- they'd be gone. Over time I'm sure I'd be unable to learn anything new about anyone.
But then again, even if I had someone to share eternity with, I'd probably want to stab them through the eyeballs or least heavily ducktape their mouth before too long, like maybe half a century or so at most. So really, it's probably better that we all die. I mean, so long as we don't still have something to live for.
I wouldn't be against lengthening our lifespans though, if that's an option. That way everyone is still on an even playing field.
Music videos are weird. (Who Wants to Live Forever by Queen)
Laurel Wreath
There was this pretty girl named Daphane. Her father was a river god. He was cool with her hanging out and not getting married yet cause he loved her. Well, up above on Mt Olympus, Apollo was trash talking Eros' puny love arrows. So Eros decided to shot Apollo with one to make him fall in love with Daphane. Apollo pursued Daphane to no avail - she always ran away. After some hard core creeping, Daphane decided enough was enough so she prayed to her father to turn her into a laurel tree. Right as Apollo was about to catch her, Daphane's wish was granted. Thus Apollo lost. But somehow he didn't see it that way, took some laurel branches from the tree and made it into a crown that today still represents victory.
Eternal youth sounds nice. Eternal youth with all my friends sounds a lot better. I wouldn't want to be left alone forever by my friends that kept growing up and dying without me. I also want people to take me seriously, something I have youth tends to deter. I guess if you asked me this again when I was older, I'd probably go for it. And I don't really want to grow up exactly, but I do think there is value in growing with the years, not just through them in a perpetual state of any kind.
Eternal youth sounds nice. Eternal youth with all my friends sounds a lot better. I wouldn't want to be left alone forever by my friends that kept growing up and dying without me. I also want people to take me seriously, something I have youth tends to deter. I guess if you asked me this again when I was older, I'd probably go for it. And I don't really want to grow up exactly, but I do think there is value in growing with the years, not just through them in a perpetual state of any kind.
Do the creep
Apollo was bragging about how much he pulls compared to Eros, so Eros shot apollo with a golden arrow to make him fall in love with Daphne. But he shot daphne with a lead arrow so she would never fall in love with apollo. Apollo turned into a huge creep and followed Daphne around everywhere. She finally went to the river Ladon to ask help from her father peneus. So her dad turned his own daughter into a Laurel tree. Apollo took his creepiness to the next level and made himself a laurel wreath from the tree. Now all the olympians wear laurel wreaths because of it.
I plan on being a kid forever. I always have so much energy and I have to keep moving or else I get bored. I can see myself as that over the top dad coaching his 5 year olds soccer team and screaming at all the kids not to bunch up. When my kid gets older, I plan on going to high school parties with him. Yeah I'm gonna be that dad that still lives in his glory days. My kid might hate me for reliving my past to when I was a youth but that sounds like a personal problem.
I plan on being a kid forever. I always have so much energy and I have to keep moving or else I get bored. I can see myself as that over the top dad coaching his 5 year olds soccer team and screaming at all the kids not to bunch up. When my kid gets older, I plan on going to high school parties with him. Yeah I'm gonna be that dad that still lives in his glory days. My kid might hate me for reliving my past to when I was a youth but that sounds like a personal problem.
Love is a Two-Way Street
Daphne was not your typical beautiful Greek nymph for she was a woman completely uninterested in love. However, because of her beauty, she was constantly pursued by suitors, though she would always turn them away. Her father, the river-god Peneus, was insistent that Daphne marry and provide him with many grandsons but due to her constant weeping at the idea of marriage, he could not force his daughter to go through with it.
Somewhere else, Apollo one day made Eros angry by mocking his arrows that Eros decide to exact his revenge on Apollo. Thus, he shot Apollo making him fall desperately in love with Daphne. This caused Apollo to chase after Daphne relentlessly, but that was only incentive for her to run faster. AS he was about to grasp her, she prayed to her father and he transformed her into a laurel tree, thus evading Apollo's grasp. Still not willing to admit defeat, Apollo fashioned himself a wreath of laurel to always wear and from then on, the laurel wreath has remained a symbol of victory in Greek culture. (Though how Apollo won in this situation I'm still not sure I understand...)
I believe my attitudes toward eternal life are for the most part in sync with the majority of us immortals on earth. Mainly, my reasoning is two-field. While on the one hand, it would be wonderful to live forever, and have infinite time to read all the books, watch all the movies, listen to all the songs, learn all the things, but lets just face it, if I knew I was immortal, I would probably spend my first 100 years just not doing anything, because hey I've got forever, right? On the reverse, if I were to suddenly have immortality, that would mean I would never go old, but all my loved ones around me would, I would lose all of my meaningful relationships and not have anyone left (seriously though, we all know how good I am at socializing. I would be left all alone) and I would have to watch as the earth pays for the abuse of previous generations and ultimately combusts. In that case, I'm unsure as to whether immortal beings can withstand combustion...that'll take some research. But that brings me back; I do not know whether I would personally enjoy immortality. Sure, it would be fascinating to get to experience all of the transitions our earth and society would go through and get to be a part of them (I'm thinking the 20s are going to make a comeback and I definitely want to be a part of that). That aside though, I am hesitant to accept immortality if it means I would be witness to all the atrocities and suffering that our earth is almost certainly headed towards. Perhaps I'll reconsider immortality if it comes with an escape button.
Somewhere else, Apollo one day made Eros angry by mocking his arrows that Eros decide to exact his revenge on Apollo. Thus, he shot Apollo making him fall desperately in love with Daphne. This caused Apollo to chase after Daphne relentlessly, but that was only incentive for her to run faster. AS he was about to grasp her, she prayed to her father and he transformed her into a laurel tree, thus evading Apollo's grasp. Still not willing to admit defeat, Apollo fashioned himself a wreath of laurel to always wear and from then on, the laurel wreath has remained a symbol of victory in Greek culture. (Though how Apollo won in this situation I'm still not sure I understand...)
I believe my attitudes toward eternal life are for the most part in sync with the majority of us immortals on earth. Mainly, my reasoning is two-field. While on the one hand, it would be wonderful to live forever, and have infinite time to read all the books, watch all the movies, listen to all the songs, learn all the things, but lets just face it, if I knew I was immortal, I would probably spend my first 100 years just not doing anything, because hey I've got forever, right? On the reverse, if I were to suddenly have immortality, that would mean I would never go old, but all my loved ones around me would, I would lose all of my meaningful relationships and not have anyone left (seriously though, we all know how good I am at socializing. I would be left all alone) and I would have to watch as the earth pays for the abuse of previous generations and ultimately combusts. In that case, I'm unsure as to whether immortal beings can withstand combustion...that'll take some research. But that brings me back; I do not know whether I would personally enjoy immortality. Sure, it would be fascinating to get to experience all of the transitions our earth and society would go through and get to be a part of them (I'm thinking the 20s are going to make a comeback and I definitely want to be a part of that). That aside though, I am hesitant to accept immortality if it means I would be witness to all the atrocities and suffering that our earth is almost certainly headed towards. Perhaps I'll reconsider immortality if it comes with an escape button.
Eros, you imbecile!
Daphne was the daughter of the river god, Peneus. She really wanted nothing to do with men or love or the sort, despite the fact that she was a beautiful nymph and men were constantly falling in love with her. Eros, being the little troublemaker that he is, decided to mess everything up for her one day, by shooting Apollo with one of his arrows, making him fall in love with Daphne. So Apollo went chasing after Daphne through the forest and before he could reach her, she prayed to her father, and being the majestic god that he was, he had the ability to transform. He morphed his daughter into a laurel tree so that she could avoid being pursued anymore. Apollo, saddened by her quite unfortunate transformation into a plant, took some of the laurel leaves to wear as a wreath on his head. The laurel wreath came to be known as one of Apollo's symbols, as well as a symbol for victory. Poor Daphne. I suppose she's happier now as a photosynthesizing plant. I just so happen to have eternal youth! In a way.
So my birthday is on February 29th. Leap Day. Meaning that I have only had four birthdays. Ich bin vier Jahre alt. And I suppose that means that I will be a teenager until I am actually.. what, 80? Yea 80. I'm hoping this means I will always have a youthful spirit! Actually what I think that it means is that I will always have the desire to be a child. Like my fellow leap day baby on Modern Family, Cam, I'm always wishing that I didn't have to grow up. I really related to him when, on his "tenth" birthday, he went and had his party at a carnival like he was a little kid. I might have to steal that idea one day. But for now I have better things to focus on, like being a toddler.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Tower of Babel
The story goes that after some time had passed after the flood, the small amount of people that now remained on the earth all lived together, speaking the same language and having the same culture. When they came to Shinar, a place located within Mesopotamia, they built a giant tower to "reach the heavens" so that they could all live in one place and not be scattered around the earth. God did not like this as he had previously announced that his plans were for Noah's descendants to break up into tribes as they grew. Since god took this as a notion of defiance, he scattered the people of Babel around the world and gave them different languages and cultures.
I take Spanish and hope to one day be fluent in the language. However, though it is probably the most useful language that I could learn, I would really like to learn a language such as French or Italian. I think these are much more beautiful languages. Not to mention that my heritage can be traced back to France. I think it would be cool to speak the same language as my ancestors... they were probably pretty cool since they were my ancestors. But looking from a more practical viewpoint, there are many more Spanish speaking people in my day to day life, therefore Spanish is a much more logical choice for me if I actually intend on communicating with other people.
The Tower Heist
In this story, the people on earth wished to get closer to God so they started building a tower to reach the heavens. God was angered by this, and thought it would pull the people farther away from him. So he decided to disperse the people around the world with different languages so they couldn't communicate. He then destroyed the tower, and any ideas of making another stairway to heaven, that is until led zepplin came around (please laugh).
I'm in spanish right now, and I know if I get called on to read this will f. will laugh at me because he knows I suck at spanish. If I could speak any language I wanted to though, I would speak French. It's a romance language, and It is aesthetically pleasing to my ear canals. One of my good friends always speaks in French when he's feeling philosophical, and It would be great If I could actually communicate and understand what he's saying, if he's even making any sense at all.
I'm in spanish right now, and I know if I get called on to read this will f. will laugh at me because he knows I suck at spanish. If I could speak any language I wanted to though, I would speak French. It's a romance language, and It is aesthetically pleasing to my ear canals. One of my good friends always speaks in French when he's feeling philosophical, and It would be great If I could actually communicate and understand what he's saying, if he's even making any sense at all.
Babbel
So everybody was together on earth because everyone else was dead. So they decided to built a huge city with a great tower to reach the heights of God. God saw this and he was like um no I'm smarter than you all. So he spread them out all over the earth and they spoke different languages the end.
So I really don't like languages. I think they are imprecise and annoying. They don't fit rules without exception and so you can't get any logic in on them. Not only that but there are thousands of ways to say the same thing and none of them are the "right" or "best". I hate it.
So I really don't like languages. I think they are imprecise and annoying. They don't fit rules without exception and so you can't get any logic in on them. Not only that but there are thousands of ways to say the same thing and none of them are the "right" or "best". I hate it.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
baabel
Humans. just like us humans do, couldn't stand just being on Earth. So they tried to build a tower to Heaven to creep on Heaven, because they couldn't be contempt with what God had already blessed them with on Earth. So God, as a teaching moment to us humans, spread us across the Earth and made everyone speaking a different language. Thus abandoning the construction of the tower due to the lack of communication.
If I could learn a language I would want to learn French and Italian, they are romance languages and very beautiful. If you speak at a girl in french and all you're saying is " I have to pee" she would have your babies, as long as she doesn't speak French. And then with Italian i think i would rather be Italian and speak English than speak Italian. Because I just like the way they speak: they elongate words and their voice fluctuates as they speak it's so fun. *Read in Italian accent* "Roberto, where have ya beeeeenaa? I needa da spagheddii!!!"
If I could learn a language I would want to learn French and Italian, they are romance languages and very beautiful. If you speak at a girl in french and all you're saying is " I have to pee" she would have your babies, as long as she doesn't speak French. And then with Italian i think i would rather be Italian and speak English than speak Italian. Because I just like the way they speak: they elongate words and their voice fluctuates as they speak it's so fun. *Read in Italian accent* "Roberto, where have ya beeeeenaa? I needa da spagheddii!!!"
Babel
In this story the humans wanted to build a tower to get to heaven. This group of people was very close to each other, but as they ascended higher and higher, God got angry at their unity, so he cursed the population with the inability to understand each other. The tower fell, and got scattered the people around the world, each group formed their own language, but even so, there was still barrier between the connection of the group.
My next language is Spanish. I hate it. I studied it, it's hard, but I'm probably going to be required to study it in college. Even if I'm not required I will still probably take it, because it's a good skill to have. But as far as connecting with other people to make a huge difference on the world, I don't really have that drive to do it because I feel that certain cultures are stuck in their ways, especially America. I'd rather do what I love to do, and that does not include breaking language barriers.
My next language is Spanish. I hate it. I studied it, it's hard, but I'm probably going to be required to study it in college. Even if I'm not required I will still probably take it, because it's a good skill to have. But as far as connecting with other people to make a huge difference on the world, I don't really have that drive to do it because I feel that certain cultures are stuck in their ways, especially America. I'd rather do what I love to do, and that does not include breaking language barriers.
Babel and language
In the story of the tower of Babel the world consisted of one single language. As people moved they discovered a land called Shinar and decided to build a city and a tower reaching to the heavens. God came down and saw them doing this and thought that they would be able to do anything if they could all speak the same language. So he decided to confuse the language so they couldn’t all communicate. The Lord then scattered them throughout the world.
By “your next language” I’m going to take it to mean the next language I want to learn and that would be Italian. After taking spanish since 7th grade I’d like to think I know a little and since it’s so similar to Italian I wouldn’t expect it to be incredibly difficult. I’ve always been fascinated with Italian culture and would love to experience Italy while being able to completely immerse myself in the culture.
The Tower of Babble
In this eleventh chapter of the bible, the people, who were
a united bunch, decided to be great and build themselves a tower reaching to
the high heavens. Evidently they did what they intended, or close enough,
because God was not to pleased with them near his personal bubble. He was not
super happy with them being great and all, so he destroyed their tower and sent
it tumbling down. In the craziness of this ruckus, the people split off into
groups that would form separate languages. His intention being, to keep them
from easily communicating with each other and therefore keeping them from being
as great as they could be.
It worked. We struggle now. Think of how much easier it
would be if there was nothing lost in interpretation. If nothing else, I would
have never called my friends Nazis. That is one major reason why I want to keep
learning languages. Because the more I understand someone’s language, the more
I can understand their culture, and then the more I will understand the world.
Lofty task, I suppose. I would like to start with relearning German. I'm lucky
because my parents moved me there when I was six so German was hidden somewhere
in my mind like a present that took all of sophomore year to reopen.
Unfortunately, now it’s wrapping itself up again. Maybe this time I’ll unwrap
all of it. Like the grammar part too, because that would be lovely to find it
stuck somewhere in my mind rather than having to memorize all of the articles
of all of the things.
Right now I am trying to decide what would be better: to
know many languages sorta well, or to know a few languages really well. If I
choose the first, I would like to know enough Spanish to get by on, and enough
Italian to live in Rome like I plan to in my dream life. Then French, so I can go
on vacation to Paris and not be tricked into paying too much for a scarf at the
market. If I choose the second I would learn German so well you couldn’t tell I
was foreign and then learn Italian. (Which I would have to do because I will be
living in Rome.)
Blah
I think this is the only time I can use that as a title and it's actually relevant.
Okay so Babel. Humans get all uppity and try and build a tower up to heaven, God does that thing where he gets mad and he makes everyone speak a different language, suddenly nobody can understand each other, tower is abandoned and all languages are born. How nice.
I'm learning Japanese right now, and I've just barely started on French and Hebrew. I've got Spanish already done and hopefully in college I'll be able to study Arabic (as well as Farsi and Pashto, maybe Urdu??) as well as the others already mentioned, and maybe later in life if I've got the time I'll try my hand at Swedish and Icelandic. I want to be a foreign service officer so language proficiency is sort of a requirement, and given my preferred interest in the Middle East and North Africa those are the ideal languages. Except Japanese. Japanese is because I love it and it's actually easier to learn than Spanish was. So if all goes well by the time I'm old I'll have 9 languages (not gonna happen haha), but at the very least I'll have Arabic and Hebrew.
Okay so Babel. Humans get all uppity and try and build a tower up to heaven, God does that thing where he gets mad and he makes everyone speak a different language, suddenly nobody can understand each other, tower is abandoned and all languages are born. How nice.
I'm learning Japanese right now, and I've just barely started on French and Hebrew. I've got Spanish already done and hopefully in college I'll be able to study Arabic (as well as Farsi and Pashto, maybe Urdu??) as well as the others already mentioned, and maybe later in life if I've got the time I'll try my hand at Swedish and Icelandic. I want to be a foreign service officer so language proficiency is sort of a requirement, and given my preferred interest in the Middle East and North Africa those are the ideal languages. Except Japanese. Japanese is because I love it and it's actually easier to learn than Spanish was. So if all goes well by the time I'm old I'll have 9 languages (not gonna happen haha), but at the very least I'll have Arabic and Hebrew.
BlahblahblahblahblahBabelblahblahblah
Everyone in the world had been speaking the same language, but of course that was just too dang convenient.
So these people thought, hey, ya know, we could just build this huge tower deal that would reach heaven and then we'd just be like the coolest people ever. God will be so proud of us. They should have known better. God was, in fact, not proud of the humans. The way he saw it was that if these humans could all understand each other, then there was nothing they couldn't do. So his solution to this was to diversify their one language into multiple languages and spread them throughout the world.
I don't really see this as a punishment from God. I believe that he thought that the humans would have no way to improve themselves if they were already perfect and and could do such things as build a tower to heaven. The language separation was a challenge that he set forth for the human race so that we could still have room for improvement as a species.
Rather than learning a new language, I would like to study the history of languages in general. I find the development of languages throughout history to be fascinating. It's really intriguing how certain words can be morphed from language to language and how words can be shared and incorporated into other cultures.
So these people thought, hey, ya know, we could just build this huge tower deal that would reach heaven and then we'd just be like the coolest people ever. God will be so proud of us. They should have known better. God was, in fact, not proud of the humans. The way he saw it was that if these humans could all understand each other, then there was nothing they couldn't do. So his solution to this was to diversify their one language into multiple languages and spread them throughout the world.
I don't really see this as a punishment from God. I believe that he thought that the humans would have no way to improve themselves if they were already perfect and and could do such things as build a tower to heaven. The language separation was a challenge that he set forth for the human race so that we could still have room for improvement as a species.
Rather than learning a new language, I would like to study the history of languages in general. I find the development of languages throughout history to be fascinating. It's really intriguing how certain words can be morphed from language to language and how words can be shared and incorporated into other cultures.
God is So Fed Up With You Humans, Y'all Need Jesus
There was a time when all of humankind lived together and got along and knew each other. And because that's just a bit too perfect everything started going to their heads and they got cocky and decided to build a giant tower reaching all the way to the heavens. Since this would be encroaching too much on God's territory and he didn't like the fact that these little frickers that he'd put on the Earth were getting so full of themselves, he went down to them and scattered them across the Earth and made it so that there were multiple languages so that none of them could understand each other and, I dunno, reach their full potential because they were now stuck playing a large game of charades.
And that was how and why God created diversity: to punish us.
Now personally, while I understand how that was a punishment then, I also have to say that I love the differences in our languages across the Earth. Even if I can't understand other languages I can understand them as being nice or pretty or complex. That said, boy do I wish I could learn every language, but I'm pretty sure there's a limit to how many languages a person can learn (probably another one of God's punishments, I bet). So my favorites range from somewhat useful to wow you better move to the native country in terms of usefulness. I think that it's possible I might try learning Arabic in the future, and I've always thought that Russian (and other Slavic languages) are quite pretty -- and I might have a better chance of speaking it than some others. I also love some others, like Finnish (which is downright gorgeous) or maybe Hindi or something like that. But like I said, ideally I'd love to learn a ton of languages.
That being ideal because I have no real knack for languages. I can't even roll my /r/ when I speak in Spanish. I just stand there like "hola mis amigos, quietthehhuagnen comida? Tengo buttthirreaguaios"
And that was how and why God created diversity: to punish us.
Now personally, while I understand how that was a punishment then, I also have to say that I love the differences in our languages across the Earth. Even if I can't understand other languages I can understand them as being nice or pretty or complex. That said, boy do I wish I could learn every language, but I'm pretty sure there's a limit to how many languages a person can learn (probably another one of God's punishments, I bet). So my favorites range from somewhat useful to wow you better move to the native country in terms of usefulness. I think that it's possible I might try learning Arabic in the future, and I've always thought that Russian (and other Slavic languages) are quite pretty -- and I might have a better chance of speaking it than some others. I also love some others, like Finnish (which is downright gorgeous) or maybe Hindi or something like that. But like I said, ideally I'd love to learn a ton of languages.
That being ideal because I have no real knack for languages. I can't even roll my /r/ when I speak in Spanish. I just stand there like "hola mis amigos, quietthehhuagnen comida? Tengo buttthirreaguaios"
(And this is just a demonstration of how pretty Finnish is through a song by a Finnish band I like, "Puhu äänellä jonka kuulen" by Happoradio. I mean come on the language sounds really pretty. And if that video doesn't work here's the link.)
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