Night Blog #2

Of all the holocaust stories that I have read so far, this is the most realistic. A rabbi that stops believing in God after what he has seen seems incredible. I like it a lot. I think it's dumb to look to God for salvation and what not after bad things have happened. How can people still say "In God we trust" after 9/11? It's ridiculous.
Eliezer and his father are extremely lucky. They got saved from really tough situations by simply being cunning. It also could've easily led to their deaths, so I guess it wasn't really all that smart.
Throughout the entire book it seems Eliezer does everything to stay with his father and stick together. However, towards the end, when his dad begins to die, I found it curious that Eliezer begins feeling relieved. It must have been terribly hard to face this situation and know that you're helpless. All he could do was try to save himself.

Night Blog #1

Going in I didn't know that Night was going to be a book about the holocaust. Being a Jew myself, these stories always get to me. The anti-semitisim and all the terrible stories strike me deep inside. In another way, I have realized through what I have read that they should've acted. They don't believe Moshe when he tells the town of what the Nazis are doing. They show even more disbelieve when Madame Schachter begins to scream about a fire. They comfort themselves saying that she's crazy.
Even though I have heard these stories before, the pain and suffering gets to me everytime. When Eliezer begins to question why he is still praying to God is one of my favorite moments. Obviously it's not a happy moment, but I find it ridiculous that people could still not only believe in but pray to a God in times of suffering like that.

The Analects as a whole work

I really enjoyed reading the Analects. I learned a lot of Confucian values, and also, I learned how much music was appreciated. While it is only a side topic to Goodness, Virtue, and being a gentleman, Confucius regards music very highly and even says you achieve perfection through it. Being a person who cannot live without music, I was very happy to read this. It made me feel that it is indeed one of the most important things in life, that it isn't just a way to get rid of stress or something to dance to.

I really like the fact that the people in the Analects discuss different aspects of LIFE, and do not even mention God. This is what I'm starting to get into; analyzing life without really trying to explain it through an absolute. I also think that it is a little too harsh. It seems as though people who weren't necessarily Good or didn't have that much Virtue wasn't really a gentleman. I think there are thousands of qualities that define you and the fact that they base it on such little things is irrational.

Confucius Books 9, 10, 16, 19, 20

In book 9, when Confucius becomes gravely ill, his disciples go to his bedside and pretend to be his ministers. Confucius then says that they don't need to fool him, and if he doesn't deserve ministers, then let there not be. Was he not hugely important? Why weren't there ministers by his side?

We can see with these pages that Confucius is an extremely respectful man. In book 16 Confucius talks about befriending people. Even though he says it's good to befriend people of desirable qualities, isn't the simple principle of befriending people in that way wrong? I love the amount of affection Confucius shows towards music. He regards it as one of the highest things, and I believe everyone should.

Confucius Books 15,17,18

In book 15, Confucius says that one shouldn't judge by what other people say. Whether a whole town loves or hates a person, one should decide alone if they like the person or not. In book 17, Confucius talks about people being similar. I believe that this is a huge point that we have to look at because he lived in a time where there was slavery all over the world. Even though there might not have been in China per say, it was still relevant. There's also a debate over the mourning period. Everyone mourns three years, but when someone wants to mourn one year, it is frowned upon. Confucius says that it is three years because you are helpless without your parents for three years. Even though that is true, I really don't think that means you have to mourn them for three years.

Confucius Books 12-14

In book 12, Confucius talks a lot about government. Confucius 12.7 "Simply make sure that there is sufficient food, sufficient armaments, and that you have the confidence of the common people." He was then asked which he would give up first, he said armaments. Second, Confucius replied food. This means that above all things, Confucius believed a governor should always have the confidence of the common people. Now a days this isn't really the case, and I wish it was. All the modern leaders should read this line.
In book 13, I found a modern cliche. Analects 13.16 "The master said (act so that) those near to you are pleased and those who are far from you are drawn closer." The cliche is not verbatim, but I think the common saying "keep your friends close but your enemies closer" sort of resembles this line from the Analects. The family first motto also comes in through this book. Confucius stresses this point a lot and it's one of his basic teachings.
In book 14, Confucius begins to talk about people behind their backs. While he doesn't necessarily say anything that bad, we finally see a flaw in a man who was so into goodness and what not.

Confucius-Books 7,8,11

In book 7 of the Analects it is the first time that there is a narrator. Before it was simply "and the master said…" Now it is actually saying things about Confucius in narration form. Also, I noticed that he is a harsh teacher. He says that if he says the first corner of a problem and the pupil cannot say the other three, then he will not teach him. Wouldn't a person who is so involved with goodness and what not actually be willing to help someone with these difficulties?

In book 8 Confucius says that you achieve perfection through music. As a person who loves every kind of music and would die without it, I am really happy to see this in such a major text. I find it really cool that Confucius would say this when he lived, and I actually think it now.

"'May I enquire about death?' 'You do not yet understand life-how could you possibly understand death?'" (Confucius Book 11.12.) I think that this line is really important. I personally ask a lot of questions to myself about death. I wonder what happens, why, where you go; every question you could imagine. It is true though, why do I ask about death if I have no idea what life is. I really don't understand life. I don't understand reality and the universe. A lot of these questions will never be answered, and frankly, they're depressing. We have to live our lives without letting the answers to these questions bother us. It is always important to ask, but it could be damaging.

Paraphrasing Exercise

1. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

The Antarctic is the biggest cold producer on Earth. The cold mixes with the heat around the planet and creates a perfect balance in the climate. However, recent damage from humans is endangering this resource. From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.

In the early 20th century, alcohol was outlawed in the U.S. Just like today people get away with selling and consuming drugs, people in the 20´s always knew where to get a drink. During this decade, the police weren´t a big factor, and they could basically do nothing about the different mobs and mafia that controlled the cities. This was also the decade of a big music change. It seems that in the 1920´s, people stopped listening to the classics and started supporting the new jazz movement. Eventually, the big jazz artists of the time became a huge influence to the younger people. This decade was in fact when America wasa noted to transition from the past into the present. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.

3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.

Every year, 75% of the huge amount of bicycling deaths each year are caused by blows to the head. About 50% of these dead people are in fact just kids, kids who are still studying in their local elementary, middle, or high school. A study showed that the use of the bike helmet can reduce the risk of these blows to the head by a great percentage. In case of a fall, this helmet takes in the blow that your head would if you didn´t wear it, and it keeps your head safe from injury. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.

4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, "Bright Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.

Matisse is the greatest of his time at creating the world of his painting inside his viewer´s heads. Of all the new artists, his art is the most life-like. Using all diferent kinds of colors and painting schemes, Matisse can re-create a huge number of scenes and actually capture their essence. From Peter Plagens, "Bright Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.

5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15.

Even after creating the mighty Sears Tower in Chicago, Illinois, which stands the highest of all skyscrapers in the United States, there is no way that the people who construct buildings of its kind, have given up in trying to build an even taller one. Engineers have designed edifices that stand up to 800 meters to buildings of 500 floors. They claim that modern technology could in theory make these stand, but they still don´t know the limits of skyscraper building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15.

Confucius: Books 4-6

In book 4 Confucius talks a lot about goodness. A lot of the things he says pretty much are modern day lessons which people apply or at least try to. Don't look for something when being good, let it come from inside and what not.
I don't understand what it takes to be good in Confucius' eyes. He doesn't really say that any one is good, yet I think they are. What do people have to do to cross that line?
I liked a part of Book 5 when Confucius realizes that it will do no good to reprimand Zigong for napping. He says that even if he punishes him, it will cause nothing. He learned that you first have to talk and listen and then criticize. I wish my parents did that sometimes.

Confucius: Books 1-3

I remember learning that Confucianism was not a religion but more a way of life; kind of like Buddhism. However, so far all of what we've read are discussions between Confucius, whom I assume is the master, and some other guys. They discuss all kinds of things from how to pray to how to be a good person. I like it. They are saying and discussing what they think about life and how they live it. I also like that there is no God involved. I like theories and analizations to be about life and things like that but leaving God out of it.

Job 12-end

In these pages it seems that men start to analize God and his actions. In all the other stories we've read, it appears that humans simply accept God because they have been told to and because their families do. However, after God tortures Job, why shouldn't he start to question him? In these chapters, Job talks to different men about what his facing, and it's the first appearence of someone analyzing not only God, but life.
I started thinking about all the people who are missing some analyzing now a days. With all the bad things happening in the world, don't religious people and God-fearing people ever think about why these things happen? I know that personally, I stopped believing in God for this reason. I just started to think about all the bad things that happen and why God doesn't do anything about it. Plus, why would you want to believe in a God who destroys his best follower and best citizen to test him?

Job Chapters 1-11

As I read these pages, a thought occurred to me that I would have never thought possible. In these pages, God is possesed by Satan. Everything is fine between God and Job until Satan tells God to test him by first taking away his possesions and children, and then finally attacking Job himself. Is God not supposed to be superior to Satan? Another thing has also to do with the same thing. Why would God hurt Job? It is ridiculous that God hurt the most perfect person in the world.