Thursday, October 30, 2008

The Ghost of You

The Ghost of You
by: My Chemical Romance

If I died, we'd be together
I can't always just forget her
But she could try

At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are
Never coming home
Never coming homeCould I? Should I?
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever ever...
Ever...

Get the feeling that you're never
All alone and I remember now
At the top of my lungs in my arms she dies
She dies

At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You are
Never coming home
Never coming home
Could I? should I?
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me
Never coming home Never coming home
Could I? Should I?
And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar me
For all the ghosts that are never gonna catch me

If I fall
If I fall (down)

At the end of the world
Or the last thing I see
You areNever coming home
Never coming homeNever coming home
Never coming home
And all the things that you never ever told me
And all the smiles that are ever gonna haunt me
Never coming home
Never coming homeCould I? Should I?
And all the wounds that are ever gonna scar meFor all the ghosts that are never gonna...
[ The Ghost Of You Lyrics on http://www.lyricsmania.com/ ]


My interpretation of the song, The Ghost of You by My Chemical Romance, is that its about losing a loved one and having regrets for not saying enough and only having memories. The music video for this song is pictured in WWII but the song itself is not about war itself but the feelings one may feel in war and the loss that that comes with it.

One of the versus says “And all the things that you never ever told me/And all the smiles that are ever ever” (10, 11). I feel this represents losing someone and the sadness for not having enough time with this person. The song also repeats the verse “Never coming home” many times. To me this signifies that this will be the end of this person, in this case they will never return from war leaving you with only memories or “the ghost of you”.

Many people can relate to these feelings of loss and the sadness of being left with only the memories of their loved ones. It’s a great song so if you’d like to check it out you can click on the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sJqEccwliQ

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Picture Perfect Pet Photos

If you’re like me and have a camera full of pet pictures, in my case dog pictures, you may find this interesting and helpful to improve your pet shots. As I was scanning through articles I stumbled upon an article about Photography and pets, specifically dogs which I thought was ironic given I had just posted a photo of my dog for analysis.

The article discusses the many techniques to use when photographing your pets, for instance poses, lighting and time of day. Professional photographers such Mary Ludington and Jim Benda explain that getting a good photo takes time and practice so one should be patient. They explain that if you allow the pet you are photographing time to get acquainted with the area and let them establish a high comfort level most pets will pose on their own, this is one advantage for pet owners who take their photos at home. They also advise it is good to get down on to the level at which your pet is at versus having your pet staring up at you. Another key factor is the lighting, they suggest you to learn how to use lighting or they recommend taking pictures near a window or outdoors for natural light if one does not have professional lighting, or else a flash indoors can create the “evil eye effect” or the light can deflect off the coat creating a glare. They say “the ideal condition is an overcast day or "open shade" - not bright sunlight, but not dark shadow, either” (French).

Although these are many things to keep in mind one should not delay to long to start taking pictures waiting for just the right shot cause many people wait tell its too late, when a pet gets ill for instance. So my advice to you is to have fun, practice, follow some of these tips and who knows you may become a pet photographer some day or at least get a few cute pics of your pets!

To get more information visit: http://www.startribune.com/pet_central/30103354.html?page=1&c=y

French, Laura. "Picture Perfect Pet Photos." StarTribune.com. 2 Oct. 2008. 23 Oct. 2008 .

Photograph


Thursday, October 9, 2008

Buddhism May Be Dying Out In Japan

My article focuses on how Buddhism may be dying out in Japan. Japan is a nation that previously, when it came to funerals had been obstinately Buddhist to the point of receiving their own nickname for this religion; “funeral Buddhism”. But this phrase described a religion seeming to cater more to the needs of the dead rather than the living with which it is losing its status in Japanese society. They think one reason attributing to this is that there aren’t enough Buddhist priests who are still holding active sermons. Without this temples are not able to attract newcomers or keep those who are already Buddhist interested and actively participating. Mr. Mori, 48, the 21st head priest of the temple thinks “If Japanese Buddhism doesn’t act now, it will die out, we can’t afford to wait. We have to do something”. This decline in Buddhism is not only affecting the people in the funeral business but also people with family-run temples nationwide. Their business is being jeopardized due to the lack of successors to chief priests. Japan is not the only nation where Buddhism is dying out, it is affecting other countries as well.

Before reading this article I didn’t realize Buddhism was dying out in areas putting families as well as a religion in jeopardy. It was interesting to learn about the different ways in which Buddhism influences other countries. After reading Siddhartha and learning about the influences of Buddhism in early civilization it was remarkable to see how the religion has evolved over time and how it is practiced in modern day times. I feel this article would be worth your time reading to make connections from Buddhism in Siddhartha to Buddhism today.

Work Cited
Onishi, Norimitsu. In Japan, Buddhism May Be Dying Out.14 July 2008. 9 Oct. 2008. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/14/world/asia/14japan.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

Thursday, October 2, 2008

The link between relaxation and success

My article was on the links between relaxation and doing your best. It suggested that if you are relaxed while doing activities such as running or swimming you are more likely to perform your best. “It’s the paradox of athletics,” said Rick DeMont. It says that tension is inefficient and can slow you down. Although relaxation goes against most athletes’ instinct and is difficult to teach; athletes who are able to achieve this state say that they greatly benefit from it and are able to achieve their goals in their activities. For instance, experts say Michael Phelps is a prime example of someone who is able to relax and get into a rhythm under immense pressure; and if you ever watched the Beijing Olympics you clearly saw how well this worked for him.

I think this is an interesting link that would be fun to test out in whichever sports you participate in. To me when thinking of ways to improve and do my best, relaxation isn’t exactly what comes to mind but it seems like a relatively undemanding way to improve ones skills. And hey what’s to lose besides being tense and nervous?

Article link:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/02/health/nutrition/02best.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

Should Homer be considered an early feminist or an old-fashioned sexist?

I think Homer should be considered an early feminist versus an old-fashioned sexist. Homer may portray Penelope as typical housewife staying home and doing household chores but he also shows how smart and cunning she can be. When Homer was writing Penelope’s character I think he was showing what an average wife was like in that time, not trying to be an old-fashioned sexist. He further shows his feminist views through the character of Athena. Athena is a very prominent and ever present female god throughout the Odyssey. Athena has much power, is respected, listened to and influences many of Odysseus’ decisions.

Athena’s influence is shown when Odysseus confers with her on a plot to kill off the suitors. She is the one who comes up with the successful plan to kill off the suitors. Through this Homer demonstrates that he has nothing against women. He has Athena as the one telling Odysseus, a man, what to do. Odysseus takes her advice and successfully kills off the suitors. This is not the only example where Athena is equal if not superior to men. While Odysseus, Telemachus, the swineherd and the cowherd were killing off the suitors Athena saves them from death many times. She sends the spears the suitors throw wide saving their lives. In this situation Athena can be portrayed as the heroine because without her at his side Odysseus never would have been able to fight off all of the suitors and would most likely have been killed. She was the one who gained them victory. These are all key examples that portray Homer as being a feminist versus a sexist.

Homer also demonstrates his feminist views through the character of Penelope. Although Penelope is portrayed as your typical stay at home doing household chores wife she is also depicted as being smart, cunning and persuasive. She was able to convince all of the suitors that as soon as she finished her web she would marry one of them; but secretly each night she would unwind all of the work she had done putting off the date of when she would finish. Penelope was able to get the better of the suitors with this trick for three whole years. Here Homer illustrates how smart and cunning she can be. Later on in the story Penelope also plays a prominent role when she slyly comes up with a plan that is guaranteed to get rid of the suitors. She devises a contest where the suitors will have to sting Odysseus’ bow and shoot an arrow through a row of axes. Penelope agrees to marry the winner. Little do the suitors know when she persuades them to agree, that Odysseus is the only one who is able to accomplish this challenge. None of the suitors even come close to being able string the bow until Odysseus, disguised as a peasant, tries and successfully strings his bow shooting and arrow perfectly through the axes. Her challenge sets up an ideal situation for Odysseus to reveal himself and kill off the suitors. She is also able to cause the suitors immense humiliation when they fail to even come close to stringing the bow. Here Penelope is cunning and persuasive. I feel these are all good reasons that support Homer as being a feminist versus an old-fashioned sexist.