Life

I have been thinking a lot today about what we as Americans spend our money on. To me it seems like we work, work, work, and save up our money for more recreational activities than anything else. I was talking to a man at my work, and he said he used to go and see a lot of movies in the theaters until they raised the price to nearly 10 dollars. We also were talking about a restaurant where a single foot long sandwich is 10 dollars. It made me think about how we spend our money, and it seems to me that most people are willing to work all those hours, and spend their money on entertainment, and food. If anybody has anything to say please say it! Now that I think about it more, I guess each one of us has our own hobbies, likes, etc. and we will do what it takes to get them, and to find entertainment, or joy in this world. The world is really diverse!

March ends here.

I just graded the March blogs.  Anything posted hereafter will count towards April.

I am REALLY enjoying reading your posts!  It was especially fun to hear from new voices, such as Joe A. and Jane.  Those of you who have regularly participated since the beginning also generated a lot of food for thought.  I responded periodically throughout March posts, so if you are interested, you may want to go back and see if I commented on your posts.

Keep the blog as a forum for news, musings and controversy!  You all have really intriguing insights with respect to the environment and literature.

Profe's Experiment

After a gluttonous spring break, I have decided that it is time for a cleanse and for me to begin my own eco-experiment, which is cutting out all meat for two weeks.  So far, so good.  My reasons for no meat are ideological, as well as practical.  They are ideological in that I am still haunted by the image of cutting animals' vocal chords.  Also, I am fairly well-read on the environmental impacts of large-scale ranching and grazing.  For the most part, I have tried to stick to eating local, grass-fed and free-range, antibiotic-free meat for the past few years, but even these smaller agricultural practices have negative environmental impacts:  production of methane, use of space that could be put to vegetal agriculture or wilderness, as well as petroleum usage for shipping.

The practical side of my vegetarian experiment is to increase the intensity of a diet effort to shed some pounds gained this semester due to lack of exercise from my skiing injury.  I am also giving up wine and dessert and watching portion sizes.  I'm also making myself go to the natatorium at least 4 times a week to swim (not my idea of fun exercise).  I started this new regimen on Monday, and so far, so good on maintaining these goals.

The part of my vegetarian experiment that is not going so well is that I am not an enthusiastic cook and have not sought out ways to diversify my diet.  On Monday, I had cereal for three meals.  Yesterday, I had cereal for two meals and a Naked smoothie for lunch.  I did make some tabouleh last night, which I plan to eat today and tomorrow for some variety.  Tonight I am planning on making a spinach and feta omelette and am looking forward to some gazpacho this weekend.

Experiment Opportunity

As you may have noticed, experiment reactions are due soon!  I just got an email from REI on a workshop they are having about Sustainability Across South America.  You could attend this workshop as an experiment if you have not already begun yours...

Here's the web link:  http://www.rei.com/event/3387/session/3995

The Color Green

I haven't written in the blog for over a week because I have been in Ohio with my family preparing our house because they are getting ready to sell it to move to Phoenix where my father got a new job. So, I've been thinking a lot about all the things I will miss about Ohio. We moved there when I was 13 and it's become home though I've spent most of my life in other places. One of the things I was thinking was how wonderfully green the state is. Even in winter, the lawn was green because it's fertile farm country and it gets moisture on a weekly, if not, daily basis. Green symbolizes so much to me. It is the color of life really and I find it rather beautiful. I have spent very little time in Arizona but one thing I am sure it is not is a green and fertile state. However, I am sure that it will have its own charms that I will come to discover. (I'm excited that it's warm almost year round and that there are palm trees there). This move won't affect me very much as I live here in Utah and will for at least the next couple of years while I finish school but it is interesting to consider what a vast and different nation we live in. It's different everywhere you look depending on where you are. The midwest I know and love is green. One could say Utah is white for its snow-capped mountains. Maybe the southwest is a reddish-brown for the desert and Florida could be blue because it's surrounded by water. Whatever color you love from wherever you're from is good I think. It's just amazing that there are so many colors. I read on Wikipedia that Arguedas named his novel Los Rios Profundos for several reasons. One of them was that he thought the symbolism of deep rivers could be a metaphor for his Peruvian homeland and represent it's national identity. I wonder what we could use to represent our national identity? I think there are too many beauties here to pick just one. Since it's near and dear to my heart, I might pick the fields of Ohio and the lush greenery that is always there. What would you pick???

symbolism in colors

Because Arguedas loves colorful imagery and in the spirit of my last post:

This is a colorful chalk throwin festival party that took place yesterday down in Spanish Fork. I had work so I couldn't go, but what do you guys think? A tool to maintain connections with people? Forge them with strangers? The festival celebrates the coming of spring with splashes of color. It seems throughout history we've marked the coming of spring with grand symbolic gestures.

A contaminant

A contaminant is matter out of place. "We are stardust, we are golden, and we've got to get ourselves back to the garden," to quote Joni Mitchell's Woodstock song. Everything alive on our earth consists of the same energy and matter. I went camping with some friends last week, and while driving south down that sketchy highway six my roommate said, "This feels like coming home." We all left the desert feeling rejuvenated by its silence and paradoxical simplicity/complexity. The trip reaffirmed for me that people and red rocks are homes more than my apartment or favorite study spot in the library. With my wanderlusty soul it always makes my bones ache to arrive "home" in Salt Lake. I feel like a contaminant back at school.

I'm glad Ernesto and his bullies realize their sameness and shared love for their spinning toys, too.

Alguien me puede decir hasta que capitulo de los rios profundos debemos tener leido para el martes????

Los Rios

He estado leeyendo mucho Los Rios Profundos, y bueno me di cuenta de que si requiere mucho trabajo para leerlo. No porque es dificil a entender pero porque hay tantas palabras desconocidas y lugares que el autor mienciona. Pero algo que encontré my interasante es el uso de la naturaleza en el libro especialmente con Ernesto. Al fin del capitulo 5 y 6 vemos que para él la naturaleza es su refugio. Un lugar donde el puede ir y encontrar paz que el no encuentra en otors lugares. Bueno tambein yo puedo encotrar paz en la naturaleza, porque estoy afuera de la ciudad y todo de la "hustle and bustle" de la vida. Que dicen ustedes?

Wilderness Survival Schools

So as a post script to my last post, I just realized that there are Wilderness Survival Schools that teach people how to live in Nature. I think the nearest one is in Boulder, Colorado, but what a good investment for me! (Especially if I'm going to be vagabonding sometime in the future...)

Check it out! (Well, if you're interested.) It's an incredibly sustainable lifestyle.

My favorite school so far:
http://www.rootsvt.com/

Other schools:
http://www.wilderness-survival-skills.com/wilderness-survival-training.html

MOAB!

So, I spent about 4 days in Moab this week. I have to say, it's a pretty cool place, if you like desert environments. It wasn't quite as breath-taking as I'd heard, but then again, the advertising I saw sort of left me with high expectations. I think I could appreciate the beauty, but it's not level with my personal preferences (which would be more water-oriented).

I went mountain biking for the first time this week too. Does anyone in class do that? Holy cow! It was really fun but it takes some serious cajones! I did some fun drops and trails, but wow. Some people are crazy and really good at down-hilling. I'm not very good yet, but maybe someday.

Anyway, environmentally speaking, I was unimpressed at my ability to be energy and supply efficient. I'd like to go long-term backpacking eventually (when I'm out of student loan debt, that is) and if I do that, I'm going to have to learn how to live off the land MUCH better and to not have so much frickin' gear! It's not like I can haul around camp coolers while I'm vagabonding... that would just be silly.

Doctors Without Borders is coming to campus!

The former president of Doctors Without Borders, Dr. Orbinski, is coming to Libby Gardener Hall at 11 a.m. on April 6th (a Tuesday) to give his 1 hour lecture, titled "Dignity and Global Health". This guy was president of Doctors Without Borders in 1999, when the organization accepted a Nobel Peace prize, so I'm going to go and check it out. My sister is in her 3rd year at the Utah Med School and since she can't go and I can, I'm going to do some recon for her.

I'm not positive, but I thought that a couple of people in class are Pre-Med majors or would like to go on to medical school. Since it seems like we're all interested in Spanish-speaking areas (otherwise, why would we be taking Spanish classes?), I figured that maybe a few of you would be interested in this guest speaker.

Calamiento Global

Calamiento Global esta pasando ahora hoy en día. Esta es un tema muy controversial pero con datos e información podemos ver que hay algo que esta pasando con la temperatura mundial. Muchas personas tienen sus propias ideas, dudas, y preguntas sobre el calamiento global y otros no les importa para nada y muchas piensen que es una mentira. Pero sabemos que nosotros tememos afecto con la tierra como ella afecta a nosotros.
Entre los anos de 1906-2005 la temperatura se creció de 0.74 ± 0.18 °C en esto periódicos. La temperatura subo doble en los últimos anos de estos datos. Cada decaed después 1979 la temperatura se crecio entre 0.13 y 0.22 °C (0.22 y 0.4 °F). El crecimiento es que la temperatura por 1 a 2 mil anos antes 1850 era bien, pero después eso la temperatura subió a niveles peligrosos. La NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies nos dice que el anos que fue lo mas caliente era 2005, otros dicen que era 1998 pero también contienden que fue por causa de “El Nino” que. Hay otros causas que nos da cuenta que hay calamiento global, por ejemplo, la gente en el mundo están manejando mas autos que antes y los autos se hacen aversión que afecta la temperatura mundial y también y el otro peracupacion es la populación de que las personas están creciendo que matando los bosques que ayuda el bajando de calor mundial. Los que se manejan autos internacional creció 50 por cien mas de 20 anos atrás. En los Estados Unidos los que manejan autos creció 20 a 30 por cien en los últimos anos. Las emisiones del auto están mejor que antes pero hay mas personas manejando y es un “wash.” Nos perdimos 40 por cien de nuestros bosques en los 150 últimos anos y 30 por cien de los desiertos perdimos. Por lo tanto, mas de todo es la basura que lo genero humano tirar en el océano y en las calles o por todos lados. Esta no ayuda a quitar la problema de calor mundial pero lo hace se peor. Hay una isla de basura semejante del espacio de Texas flotando en el océano. Hay otro teme que nos hace ser preocupados con calamiento global y es los glaciers que están de punto de fusión. Estamos perdiendo glaciers en el norte y pueden ser un problema en el sentido de diluvios.
Entonces, nos vemos que hay cosas pasando con el calamiento global pero como tan grave que es algo para disputar. Pero no hay espacio para discutir que no nada pasando no importa de que grado, pero sabemos que nos afecta lo que pasa con la tierra como que hacemos nosotros se afecta el mundo.

Elite 8

So I had the opportunity to go to the NCAA games at the Energy Solutions Arena tonight, and they were awesome, especially between Kansas State, and Xavier. As I was sitting there tonight, and in either the first or second OT, I was thinking about how much money we spend as a nation on sporting events and recreational activities. There was about 17,300 people at the game, and people traveled from all over to come to these games. Profesional athletes get paid millions of dollars, and it seems like any chance people get to go and watch them perform we take it and go. I did enjoy the game, and I am glad that people are made different and have different talents for others to enjoy. Check out the highlights to the game, I am sure they would be sweet!

Climategate

Just kicking up some dust! I got to thinking about why I hadn't posted more on this blog, and it was partly because I didn't feel like there was an engaging conversation to be a part of. For me to feel really engaged in a conversation, there needs to be differing viewpoints. So here's one: climate change is a scandal. Do you buy into it?

Fiji Water

So here I am on spring break in LA, visiting one of my best friends from back home (he had recently moved from Connecticut to LA). Anyway, on my roadtrip down here I stopped at a gas station and decided to get some Fiji water aswell. My friend, who isn't normally very eco-conscious, saw the bottle in my car and proceeded to tell me some horrible facts about the company; a company that holds a reputation for being "green" and responsible. I took note, but also decided to do some research for myself. Didn't like what I found:

http://motherjones.com/politics/2009/09/fiji-spin-bottle?page=2

The True Cost of Cheap Food

http://www.ase.tufts.edu/gdae/Pubs/rp/TWG20ResurgenceMar10.pdf

La Calle Sesame

I wonder if Sesame Street can bridge environmental problems...???  Four points extra credit towards blog if you attend and submit a one-page summary on the blog.

We all grew up with Ernie, Bert, Grover and the Cookie Monster. But did you know that Sesame Street has now grown to be  “the world’s longest street”, working internationally to help children reach their highest potential?

In Kosovo, for example, Sesame’s producers recognized that it’s far from simple to create a children’s television show in a post-conflict region where people still feel the tension of recent violence. But that’s exactly what they did in 2004, working in partnership with UNICEF.  The result - aired in Albanian with the title “Rruga Sesam” and in Serbian as “Ulica Sezam” – has become a powerful tool in healing rifts between the Kosovo-Albanian and Kosovo-Serb peoples as they move toward reconciliation.

This local approach has been repeated with similar success throughout the world, in places like Bangladesh, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine and South Africa.

You now have a unique opportunity to hear first hand how this process works to build bridges of peace around the world.
Gary Knell, the dynamic and highly acclaimed CEO of Sesame Workshop, will be speaking at Abravanel Hall next Wednesday evening, March 31, 2010 (7pm).  His film clips and stories are fascinating. The International Children’s Choir – always a crowd pleaser - will join him on the stage.
Note that as College of Humanities faculty and staff, you can purchase tickets at the student rate (only ten bucks). Tickets are available through Art Tix:

 http://www.arttix.org/tickets/production.aspx?performanceNumber=4931

There are lots of demands on your attention and time – but we encourage you not to miss this unique evening. In addition to attending in a fascinating and fun event, you will also be helping to support the Community Scholarships for Diversity Fund.

World Water Day

So, this past week was World Water Day (March 22nd). In honor of the event, MSNBC reported on what I believe to be a very disturbing study completed by the UN. The link is provided below, but to summarize the article the UN study concluded that filthy drinking water and water sources contribute to more deaths around the world than war. That is just a sad fact not only for the people suffering from those conditions, but sad because something (water) so vital to survival is no longer usable.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35984832/ns/world_news-world_environment/

Caucaus

Pues hoy fui por la primera vez a una reunion que se llama "caucaus". Esta reunion es para eligir los representantes en su area. Me gusto la reunion mucho, y pensaba del estado en que estamos viviendo ahora. Pienso si queremos hacer una diferencia en nuestra area, ciudad, estado, y nacion, es necessario que participemos en reuniones como asi, y especialmente que estamos conscientes de lo que esta pasando en el gobierno, y mundo. Yo pienso que todos deben votar. Eso es algo muy importante, y si queremos cambiar algo hay que votar para hacer una diferencia.

Las Mujeres

Alright here is the one for the woman, I am still very slow at the reading so I have encountered only the girl singing on the corner so I will start with her.


Young
Tall
blue eyes
sings well enough to make Ernesto nuts for her.

Su Padre

Alright for the Padre first off I must have missed it but what is his name? anyways...

Lawyer, not based anywhere likes to roam
loves music, but can't sing and dances poorly
prefers to stay with the musicians and since the "indios" are most of them he stays with them.

Ernesto

Hey I thought that we could all collect what we know about certain characters in the book that are important and so I am going to start a few out with what I have read and please add to them.


Forestero
interested in the Incas
14 years old
wanted to stop the "fusileros" from killing the "loros"

The Story of Stuff

So as I mentioned in my last post, Annie Leonard took quite a bit of criticism for this video. There are tons of "replies" to this video that either discard of counter any of the arguments made in this video. Either way, its interesting to watch. Keep in mind as you watch this, that it was made for school children and it was designed to shown in schools (this it was sparked most of the controversy). It is somewhat long, but worth it. Enjoy!

Bottled Water

Now I know Annie Leonard (narrator) may not have the best reputation amongst certain groups, particularly conservatives, because of her past videos. But I think this video is great because it shows in a very simple way the impact that bottled water has on the Earth. This was of interest to me because my term project is about only using renewable containers/items; bottled water obviously does not fit into that category unless you reuse that plastic bottle for something else (which I admit I usually dont). Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

http://current.com/items/92335639_the-story-of-bottled-water.htm

Siento bien que muchos estan haciendo post con fotos y videos ahora. No quiero jactarme pero fui el primero de hacerlo la semana pasada. Bueno estoy visitando mi familia en Las Vegas y wow hace calor, es algo raro para mi pero algo tan bueno. Se que el sol da vitamina d a los ser humanos y tambien melatonin que nos ayauda a dormir. Bueno el otro dia estuve pensando en caunto a mis perros, los animales reciben estos mismos beneficios del sol? No lo se, y me pregunto si los perros estan afuera en el sol durante el dia si ellos dormirían mejor? Es algo interesante, alguien lo sabe?

Technology

This is just another thought. My wife and I were talking to some people yesterday about how advanced the technology world has become in the last 10 years. My wife had lasik done 1 year ago, and it is amazing what they can do with those lazers, and how fast and exact they completed her surgery. We live in really great times with all the advances in medicine. From the turn of the last century the life expectancey has raised nearly 40 years. That is incredible! With humans living longer we can definately see the effects of it in our own city. The need for constant construction, and expansion is evident of the increasing population. This makes me ponder how we will effect the planet as technology continues to develop. Just something to think about.

Spring Break

I think this is funny, and I don't know if this happens to anyone else or just me, but it seems like when I am not at school than I try and work as much as I can. The reason why I entitled this spring break was because that is what I am going to be doing for the majority of the time is working. It will be really good especially if the weather continues to be as good as it has been.

Aussie Musicians... Fan-frickin'-tastic.

So lately I've been listening to some musicians from Australia, and they've sort of blown my mind. This isn't really related to literature nor the environment (except maybe the promotion of riding bicycles in the second video), but I think it's well worth taking a look at for anyone who can appreciate musical talent.

Here's Dub FX feat. Woodnote in a song called "Flow":


and here's a Hip Hop Group called Hilltop Hoods doing "The Nosebleed Section" for a BMX bike video that I found on YouTube:

BURN OUT!

So there comes a time in everyones life where we just need a break. Now for me the time has come about 2 days too early! I am really looking forward to spring break and the opportunity to just catch up on life. With the weather turning so beautiful I hope to not just work the whole time but take some time to enjoy nature. The Moab picture that Reina posted made me think about how lucky we are to live in this state with so much diversity in our recreational activities. We are also so blessed to live in the United States where we can choose what we want to study, and are given so much freedom. I don't want ya'll to think I am complaining, but I just feel sometimes we take for granted the blessing to live in such a beautiful state, and we don't enjoy the beauties that God has created for us.

"Unnatural"

According to Dictionary.com, unnatural means:
–adjective
1. contrary to the laws or course of nature.
2. at variance with the character or nature of a person, animal, or plant.
3. at variance with what is normal or to be expected: the unnatural atmosphere of the place.
4. lacking human qualities or sympathies; monstrous; inhuman: an obsessive and unnatural hatred.
5. not genuine or spontaneous; artificial or contrived: a stiff, unnatural manner.
6. Obsolete. lacking a valid or natural claim; illegitimate.

Now, I'm not sure I know exactly when to call something "unnatural". If I think about something that is contrary to the laws of nature, like #1 says, then my first thought is that 2 different species cannot mate and produce viable offspring. (A bear and a snail, for example...)

However, when considering something (like this picture of a corset piercing) that is considered unnatural and therefore rechazado, I'm not sure "unnatural" is the right word to use. Don't get me wrong please, I'm not saying that everyone should go out and get corset piercings, bu I do think that it is human nature to push boundaries of what is and isn't acceptable behavior and to push against what is "normal and expected". All of the great artists, poets, novelists, and formidable personalities of history are considered great because they thought up something new and incorporated it into the collective conscious. Not only have they diversified our collective consciousness, making it more colorful, but they have asked us to question our beliefs about what is and isn't natural. They have asked us to question the origin of our ideas and encouraged us to think for ourselves that much more.

So, though I don't particularly want holes in my back through which I could pass a ribbon, I'm glad that someone did it. That way, I am able to appreciate the beauty in what was done, while simultaneously appreciating the grotesqueness of the act. I just hope this girl never gets in a physical fight!

Divertirse en la naturaleza, pero no suciarla

Okay, so, me voy a Moab para el descanso pero estoy preocupada un poco por tener que comprar agua en un contenedor plastico... para tener agua durante el viaje. Mi experimento ecocritico fue no usar cosas desechables, incluyendo botellas para agua, tenedores, servilletas, etc.

Pues, para el problema con el agua, pienso que comprare un "Water Wand". Por eso podre llenar mi botella de Nalgene con agua y purificarla en mi botella. No hay tanta basura y no tengo que usar tanta gasolina llevando 2 galones de agua en mi coche.

El grafiti, hermosa o dañosa

Estuve yo no hace mucho mirando algunos de mis fotos. Tengo uno al frente de una pared pintada por grafiti. Me hizo pensar en la civilizacion vs. barbarie. Como nuestro libro que estamos leeyendo, "Los Ríos profundas," Ernesto ve la bellaza de las iglesias y esculturas que hicieron la gente antigua, la gente que mayormente vemos que viven o vivían el la barbarie. Bueno nosotros que vivimos en la ciudad no tenemos este bellaza pero tenemos bellaza dentro de la ciudad. Por eso hablo del grafiti, es algo que mayormente vemos como feo pero a veces puede ser algo muy hermoso. Como los indios antiguos es una expression de arte en nuestras ciudades, les voy a mostrar su belleza por la foto que voy a post. Y que piensan ustedes del "grafiti?"

Annotated Bibliography...

A short one: I'm curious just how much everyone's scrawling for each source...are we talking one paragraph or three? Incredibly specific details? Thanks, guys!

"The Gods must be Crazy!"

So the other day I watch a movie called "The Gods must be Crazy", the movie startes out showing the differences between urban cities like new york and the simple life of an african tribe. The movie did a great job of showing the two different cultures. Where americans travel using cars and the africans still walk. Its interesting to see that each culture has the basic in common (family, friends, communities, tools, etc...) and uses of the enviornment. However, as I was watching the moving it was intresting to see how each culture uses nature and the eviornment defferently. It seems that the tribes use the nature in a more basic and simple way and the americans seemed more stressful and complex use of nature and its resources. Its a movie that I strongly recommend for anyone.

Cazadores

Mi padre y mis hermanos les gusta cazar mucho tambien. Aunque yo no participo mucho, he ido con ellos a viajes de cazar. Mis experiencias han sido buenos, y he visto el dinero que mi familia ha gastado para obtener las licensias necessarias para participar en el deporte. Dicen que el dinero esta usado para cuidar a los bosques y mantener a las tierras del estado. La mayoria de los cazadores cazan solomente algunas fin de semanas al ano dependiendo del animal. Cazar sirve para controlar la poblacion del animal, por deporte y a obtener dinero para las tierras. La mayoria de los cazadores son buenos y cuidan el ambiente y el lugar donde se quedan durante los viajes. Pero he visto algunos cazadores que vienen con sus (campers) y cuadrones (four wheelers) danan las plantas y manejan en lugares donde no permiten manejar. A vezes dejan mucha basura y el espacio de campar parece mas una fiesta, en vez de un lugar para cazar. Yo se que los cazaores de quien estoy hablando solomente son manzanas malas, pero ello dejan una marca mala por todos los cazadores.

Cazadores y el medioambiente.

Al leer el post de la professora que trataba del libro de Los eco freindly "cuellosrojos," empecé a pensar en los casadores. Bueno mi padre le encanta cazar con su flecha y el ha casado varios animales. Mayormente se ve los cazadores como hobres quines no les importa el medioambiente o la naturaleza. Pero no es así, los cazadores donan mas dinero a la naturaleza en los estados que cualquier otro grupo. También cuando cazan lo hacen para que la población de los animales no se supere el almiento que hay para ellos. Que piensan ustedes de los cazadores?

The Headless Woman

Hey all, I thought I'd let you know about this screening. I really hope I can make it but I'm buried in tareas!

"The Film Front organization at the University of Utah continues its screening series of “key recent international features” on Sunday, March 14 at 7 p.m. with the 2008 Cannes Film Festival Golden Palm-nominated Argentinean film The Headless Woman (La mujer sin cabeza). The film will be shown in the Waldemer P. Reed Auditorium (WPRA) in the Orson Spencer Hall (OSH building) on the main U of U campus. The showing is free and open to the general public."

We talked about how Maria Candelaria was the first Mexican film at Cannes, y La mujer sin cabeza journeyed french-bound, also...perhaps a good way to wake up our english speaking weekend brains for Spanish lectures this week!

La Niña de Guatemala

Quiero, a la sombra de un ala,
contar este cuento en flor:
la niña de Guatemala,
la que se murió de amor.

Eran de lirios los ramos;
y las orlas de reseda
y de jazmín; la enterramos
en una caja de seda;

Ella dio al desmemoriado
una almohadilla de olor;
él volvió, volvió casado;
ella se murió de amor.

Iban cargándola en andas
obispos y embajadores;
detrás iba el pueblo en tandas,
todo cargado de flores;

Ella, por volverlo a ver,
salió a verlo al mirador;
él volvió con su mujer,
ella se murió de amor.

Como de bronce candente,
al beso de despedida,
era su frente -¡la frente
que más he amado en mi vida!

Se entró de tarde en el río,
la sacó muerta el doctor;
dicen que murió de frío,
yo sé que murió de amor.

Allí, en la bóveda helada,
la pusieron en dos bancos:
besé su mano afilada,
besé sus zapatos blancos.

Callado, al oscurecer,
me llamó el enterrador;
nunca más he vuelto a ver
a la que murió de amor.

Al leer las leyendas de Guatemala me puso a pensar en esta poema de Jose Marti. Lo unico que tiene relacionado es el nombre de Guatemala pero pienso que es muy bonito como habla de la nina y como ella sufrio al saber que el hombre que mas amo habia regresado con otra mujer y estaban casados. No se exactemente porque Jose Marti lo escribio pero opino que es para nosotros una leccion de que debemos aprovechar de cada oportunidad de amar a las personas que mas apreciamos y no dejamos para manana las cosas que podemos hacer ahorita.

Well for cub scouts on Tuesday, we finished up my experiment. As we were all talking we also had them work on drawing with pastels. Since we had them make art with their recyclables the week before, I thought I would just talk a little about what we talked about. Before they started drawing we had them explain everything to do with art. They came up with brushes, pencils, papers, canvases, paints, etc. Art is fascinating to me, because really we each get to create what we want, and we get to call art whatever we want to. We don't have to please anyone, and you can be creative as you want. That is mainly what I noticed as they turned their recyclable goods into art. They came up with really interesting designs, but all of it was art, and it all meant something personal to each one of them.

Rednecks for Rainforest?

Check out this book, Confessions of an Eco-Redneck:  Or, How I learned to Gut-Shoot Trout and Save the Wilderness at the Same Time, by Steve Chapple.  What would Guha say?

http://www.amazon.com/Confessions-Eco-Redneck-Learned-Gut-Shoot-Wilderness/dp/0738205036

100 ways to save the environment

I found this website while stumbling around the internet but has some great ways to save the environment. http://www.seql.org/100ways.cfm

Now!

All the signs on campus for "Now!" make me think of several things, including the National Organization of Women and Bill Moyers' investigative news show, Now, on PBS.  It also brings to my head either the jingledy song from Disney World's Carousel of Progress (can be viewed at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKz6qdexetY).  Mostly, though, it makes me start singing Lena Horne's song, "Now!", put to images by Cuban cinematographer, Santiago Alvarez, in a short anti-US propaganda piece from the 60s civil rights movement.  Enjoy that video here:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EJ86_jIbLK8.

Now is the time...!!!

Triple Crisis Blog

Check out this blog:  http://www.triplecrisis.com/

Quisera escribir solo un poquito en cuanto a mi projecto final. Estoy empezando una programa de reciclaje alli en la casa de fraternidad donde vivo. Hay mas que 30 hombres quienes viven allí. Ayer saque los tres cubos de reciclaje y los puse en varios lugares de la casa. Durante nuestra reunión anoche dije a todos de mi fraternidad del reciclaje en nuestra casa, muchos les gusto pero algunos no. Algunos se rieron de mi idea y me diejeron que no era un realidad. Esto me soprendio y bueno me di cuenta de que hay personas en el mundo quienes no les interesa el reciclaje. Aunque quizas sería difícil voy a seguir reciclando y animando a los demas de hacerlo también.

Una Palicula

Entonces el otro dia yo estaba mirando Dances with Wolves. Esta palicula me dio cuenta de la vista la nataraleza nos da. A veces yo pienso que como seria vivir en este tiempo de libertadad con la nataraleza? Al a vece nosotros hacen o sea empenzamos guirras por causa de la naturaleza, como con los indigenas y los Ustados Unidos. Yo estaba pensando en esto nada mas.

Leyendas de Guatemala

No estuve en clase la ultima vez, y queria decir algo sobre Leyenda de Guatemala y que veo como tiene que ver con el ambiente, (la lava como la sangre de la tierra, por ejemplo). tambien, es un libro interesante, hablando de un hombre sin brazo y otro con'sus organos genitales sin sosten en el aire'. es chistoso el libro. a la vez, parece que estas historias, estos cuentos son cuentos aleatorios. ?no se que opinais vosotros?

Deer, Nature, and Avatar

As always I am up late wondering why I can never sleep so I thought I would write in the blog as I haven't done that yet this week. I am amazed at how much I reflect now on the environment around me since beginning this class this semester. I have paid a lot more attention to my surroundings and how close we truly are to nature. I live on the benches in the Millcreek area and so my backyard is pretty much a mountain. Just about every night through the last couple of months as I lay in bed, I can hear the crunching of leaves and snow as the deer come down and traipse about eating the foliage. They don't bother anything so they always fascinate me, especially when they're right outside my window (which happens to face the backyard). A lot of people call them a nuisance and are irritated at their presence. I can understand this if they hurt your yard or eat your garden but, for the most part, they don't and I think they're somewhat majestic in their own right. I'm going to segue now so go with me on this but I have also been thinking about the upcoming Oscars as I am a huge film buff. The big odds-on favorite for best picture this year is Avatar which is the story of an alien planet where the indigenous people live in harmony and commune with nature. Their relationship to their "earth" is almost symbiotic and they are distraught when the humans in the movie want to monopoliza/capatalize on the mineral riches which will destroy the land in the process and throw this symbiosis out of whack. I liked the movie though I thought it was VERY close to being Ferngully (my favorite childhood film) redone. I liked the message and the visuals are stunning. I liked the idea that we as a people should live in harmony with our own planet and protect the natural order of things. So you ask what does this have to do with the deer I see at night that I mentioned earlier? Well, it occurs to me that the deer, though sometimes bothersome, were here first and they are just doing what they need to do/have to do to survive. Mother Nature, in her infinite wisdom, knew what she was doing when she put the deer here so shouldn't we respect them just as the humans in the movie had to learn to respect the nature goddess? (I know I'm stretching the connectedness of my two ideas). I think we should. It would be a shame if future generations didn't have the opportunity to listen to the deer as they fell asleep at night.
One last note: I liked Avatar but I don't think it should or will win best picture on Sunday. I think the award will go to The Hurt Locker which was a very interesting film about the effects of war on soldiers. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it.

Yellowstone and life

So this week has come and gone and I am left to write on the blog. To be honest I don't have a lot on my mind. It could be because this last week I have had an exam or test in every single one of my classes and I think my brain is telling me to relax and let it rest for a bit. At least that is what I am hoping that my brain is telling me. However while I write this I am reminded of the power of doing nothing. Sometimes we as a society try to accomplish all the things on our to-do lists in one day that we forget that we need to stop and let life take care of itself.

In 1988 there occured a seemingly huge tragedy (aren't all tragedies huge?) in Yellowstone National Park. The previous years had not seen much moisture and the forest surrounding and engulfing Yellowstone was an older forest, a lot of trees had died and were rotting and not a lot of new growth had occured. The summer of 1988 was a record setting hot summer for Yellowstone which, when combined with the aforementioned circumstances, created the perfect storm for Yellowstone. Rains eventually came but so did lightning storms that ignited a blazing inferno that consumed a great portion of the wilderness. My family and I greatly enjoy vacationing in Yellowstone and were saddened by the loss, especially since we were part of the first groups allowed to enter back into Yellowstone after the fires had been contained. All I can say is that it was utterly heartbreaking to see the devastation. In 2008 My family and I had the opportunity to return to Yellowstone once again and this time there was a stark contrast to that fall 20 years earlier. The new growth was maturing, the park was as splendid and breath-taking as ever, and except for the recorded images, much of that scene in 1988 could not be seen. The only way that the new growth could have had a chance at developing and maturing was for the older growth to die and to have their nutrients returned to the earth. Life could not continue until the old died and people allowed the forest to perform its function. The forest knew what to do, just step back and let life show that it could overcome adversity and trial.

The message is the same for us. Sometimes I think we as a population and society feel like we are capable of solving the worlds problems, especially when it comes to mother earth and large scale issues. We may be able to change some things but we must also know that the earth is able to take care of itself, without the aid of humans. Life has a way of finding a balance and the more and more we fight it the more and more we are fighting against an inmovable opponent. So please let us all take a break now and again, it will surprise you what happens when we just stop mucking things up.

Ay... me mata.

Necesitare pasar todo el descanso (de la primavera) en la biblioteca! Estoy en el punto de mantenerme con mis clases, pero tengo todos los proyectos finales en que necesito pensar ahora. Blegh. Que tristeza.

Leyendas de Guatemala

I forgot to buy the book and in a panic induced search over the internet I found what appears to be the complete book. So if anyone else is in the same boat and doesn't want to buy it now, here is the link.
http://media.twango.com/m1/original/0134/be3dea8e2f724f439ecc49b52859f2a6.pdf

Experimento week 2

Cub Scouts was fun on Tuesday. As I said, the major part of my experiment was teaching the cub scouts about recycling, and on Tuesday we made art out of all of the recyclables. To my dismay only a few of the cub scouts recycled, but I was pretty impressed with that number. I asked some of them what they remembered, and the thing they remembered most was how if we recycle we can turn them into products and use them for other uses. My wife and I recycled, and are going to continue to recycle. I would really like to recycle on a regular basis, and I hope that instead of just "collecting garbage," the cub scouts will have some desire to recycle also. The art projects were really neat! One of the boys created a bird called "Clorox," of course the main body was a Clorox bottle, with pieces of paper as the wings and tail and beak, eyes etc. Another boy made a temple out of a cereal box. One boy made a photo frame out of a piece of cardboard, and egg carton shells as the border of the box. Another boy made a telescope, and a football player out of a listerine bottle. They were all really creative. It was good to show the cub scouts that they can make things out of recycled goods.

So I guess a moral of the story would be when my wife and I have kids, they will never be bored! :)

Magazine devoted to man-nature relationship: The Orion

Check out this web-zine:  The Orion.  Dedicated to nurturing the relationship between humans and nature. http://www.orionmagazine.org/index.php/mag/5404

El Global Warming

Wow, en estos dias hemos visto mas calor afuera, que bueno. He estado pensando en, "global warming," en estos dias y yo me pregunto si esto en verdad esta pasando porque es que hemos tenido uno do los inviernos mas frios en los estados Unidos y otros lugares. Para mi esto sería para mostrar que esto en verdad no esta pasando. No sé alguien en la clase sabe si lo frio que tuvimos fue parte de global warming o es evidencia contra ello?

Climate McCarthyism

Posted on my Facebook by the U's Environmental Humanities program:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/mar/01/inhofe-climate-mccarthyite

PBS videos

My husband and I just watched "The Dust Bowl," an episode on PBS's popular series, _American Experience_.  It was excellent!  Bert also recommended the episodes on the Hoover Dam and the 1918 Influenza epidemic.  You can find these at http://video.pbs.org/program/979359091/ .

Bert also said that "Ghosts of Macchu Picchu" was outstanding and would be of interest if you like _1491_.  You can find that episode on _Nova_ at http://video.pbs.org/program/979359664/ .  It looks like there are a whole lot of programs on _Nova_ that would be pertinent to our class!

Review for the test Cont...

Another question I have that maybe some of you can help me out with is the idea of ecologia profunda. From my understanding it is the idea that we need to change the human population, and high energy consumption. We should be more aware of economic and natural resources, and use them more so we can have a lasting globe.

Is Beatus Ille just a comparison to the simple life of someone who lives in the country and to the fast paced, confusing life of those that live in the city?

Can somebody help me recall the word Loor?

My understanding of the Falacia Patetica is any natural object that has humanistic feelings. Does anybody understand it different, and have examples from what we read about this?

Does anybody remember the word Silva, and what it means?

Thanks to anyone who participates. Maybe this will help us refresh our memories a little more in preparation for the test.

Welcome, March!

I just read (and graded) all of February's blog entries.  I had meant to grade faithfully each week, but I'm afraid I've slipped on that.  Nevertheless, I am truly excited about many of your ideas and to see such a dynamic exchange going on.

February's Super-Bloggers are Catherine, the two Prestons and Chaz.  ¡Felicidades!

I will try to do a better job of keeping up with the blog more regularly this month.

Review for the test

If anyone gets this before the test, or even after it would be nice to hear some more ideas on the questions she gave us so we all can comprehend them better.
According to Charles Mann, The Mito Pristino is basically about the culture in the Norte Chico region of Peru. Where they farmed a lot of cotton, and did a lot of fishing, and traded these substances. That's what I recall does anybody have anything to add to that?