Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Architecture Dissappears out of no Where!
Although the Mycenaean civilization could be said to be descendants of the Minoan culture, their technology in their architecture was still below that of the Minoans. Even though the Minoans were alive before the Mycenaeans, their technological innovations were lower. Mycenaeans built their palaces on high mountains/hills. Like the quotation states, it was for both military and social reasons. Building a town or palace on a hill/mountain is extremely smart for the time because as enemy lines would approach the palace to attack, they would need to be angle up while defenders of the palace would be aiming down, making it allot easier to defend. Also it would show from a distance where the palace was and showing off the social status of the people in the area. They also built their walls very thick, 25 feet thick to be exact! This made it extremely hard to think about breaching the walls as it would have been impossible in the time period. But for the time period these were extremely innovated techniques that we will not see for another 1000 years. While the Minoan culture was above the Mycenaeans, they both were extremely innovated cultures that would shape history throughout the ages.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
"Beneath this mask there is more than flesh. There is an idea, Mr. Creedy - and ideas are bulletproof."
The Mycenaean Civilization
Monday, October 18, 2010
History Forms Current Opinions
This quote from Preface: The Value of History, taken from The Ancient Mediteranian World, refers to what effect history has on current culture. The writer is implying that history shapes peoples opinions, and posions in today's society, and that what has happened in the past alters people's decisions in the present time. People learn about historical events, and change their opinion about different topics. For instance, people learn about past conflicts between countries, such as the Arab-Israeli conflict, which has been going on since the 1940's, and use that knowledge to establish their opinion on the current issues.
When reading this quotation in the text, I took notice to it because immediatly many different examples of past issues, becoming present came to mind. Issues such as, the one between The U.S. and Iraq. This issue was occuring in the early 1990's, and became a current issue again after the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
People are too often are reluctant to change and alter their opinions about highly controversial topics. Occasionally their opinion is on based off of correct information, and is not necessarily an unfair opinion, but I beleive that everyone should keep an open mind when it comes to important issues.
Sunday, October 17, 2010
Reading Between the Lines
"History is a series of arguments to be debated, not a body of data to be recorded or a set of facts to be memorized."
History should not just be about recorded data or a bunch of facts to be memorized, although sometimes it seems as if in the classroom, dates, names, and numbers are the only things teachers are concerned about. Because of this, overtime, I think we've lost a sense of priority in what is important in history. A lot of the time we get caught up in all the little tiny details of what went on in the past instead of stepping back and taking a look at the big picture. We really don’t learn anything from memorizing what day the War of 1812 started, but what we are affected by are the mistakes people made, the unruly and unjust things that were enforced, world wide epidemics, and the hardships people endured. Those are the things that with discussion help to stretch and expand our horizons.
The Whole Truth and Nothing but the Truth...?
“Who controls history, and how it is written, controls the past, and who controls the past controls the present.”
What would your view point be on Hitler if you never learned or were exposed to all of the horrendous things that he and the Nazis did? If historians kept all of these crucial bits of information from us, we might think Hitler was a great, positive leader. The point is, people who write about history control the past. The way they write about certain events, and the details they decide to include or exclude influences the minds of modern day people. Historians may not be intentionally lying to us, but if they decide to only include half of the facts, as readers, that’s all we’ll ever know and essentially, that’s all we’ll ever believe, hence also controlling the present. This can drastically change or viewpoint, and although we expect history to be completely unbiased and strictly factual, that is not the case at all. In essence, when we read about history, we are forming our own opinions based on other people’s opinions, not raw facts. So, are our thoughts considered to be valid if what we read is already a skewed version of the truth? My real question is; how is our society supposed to “learn from the past” if we’re only given one side of the story where certain aspects are embellished and downplayed?
"Cometh the hour, cometh the man."
I found this an interesting concept that only an unhappy land looks for heroes. I also find it a true concept. I agree it is the environment that creates the hero. When society faces disaster they need someone to look up to and guide them through difficult times. Further on in the paragraph Hughes-Hallett goes on to say “It is desperation that prompts people to crave a champion, a protector, or a redeemer and, having identified one, to offer him their worship.”
People do not go looking for Heroes on a day-to-day basis. Disaster must strike, and that disaster fuels desperation and desperation sparks the need for a leader, and this is where a hero comes in. Desperation is a powerful notion; it dulls your logic, makes people do things they wouldn’t normally do in the right frame of mind. For example, after WWI the German people were in despair, and Hitler seized this opportunity for power. He was in the right place, at the right time, and desperation clouded the people’s judgment. Of course he did not end up being a hero, but he proves that only in the right time will we seek a leader. Heroes need tragedies, like police need crime, and firefighters need fire.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Products of our Culture
Twisted Truth
Thursday, October 14, 2010
The Hour Makes the Man
“It is in times of emergency that heroes are looked for, and found. Bertolt Brecht wrote, famously, that it is an unhappy land that looks for heroes.”
Extraordinary circumstances foster the heroic qualities in everyday people. In other words, heroes are born when there are surrounded by ideal circumstances. More specifically, it is usually under unfortunate circumstances or tragedy that heroes often emerge. When something goes wrong, as a society, we look for some individual to take lead, step up to the plate, and ultimately "save" us from the crisis at hand. But without these specific circumstances, heroes would not exist. Their success and claim to fame heavily relies on the fact that they were in the right place, at the right time.
Just another thought...
Lucy Hughes-Hallett’s case on how heroes emerge is very similar to Gladwell’s, author of Outliers, view on how successful people are made. Gladwell insists that successful people are not self-made, instead he argues that they “are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.” Before any other teen on the planet had started programming, Bill Gates acquired 10,000 hours of programming experience by the time he was 19. Now would he be the success he is today without having all of those extraordinary opportunities? Gladwell thinks not. And the same could be argued about heroes and their successes. The average, everyday man who miraculously lifts up a car to save a trapped little girl would be no hero, if the little girl was never trapped in the first place, would he? And would the firefighter who recently rescued a boy from a burning house be considered a hero, if the house never caught on fire? Or how about Martin Luther King Jr., would he have emerged as a hero if racism seized to exist?
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Heroes: dangerous or essential?
Hubris Schmubris?
Hero Worship
Timing is everything...
“It is in times of emergency that heroes are looked for, and found…”
Heroes are rebels, they are the brave souls who defy authority and stand up for what is right. The reason that heroes have such an appeal is because in times of need there they are, capes blowing in the wind, ready to save the day. Take Franklin D Roosevelt for example, 10 years before the depression his New Deal would not have been accepted. It was only after a few years of the Depression, when unemployment rates were 25% that Americans were willing to accept governments help in job creation. “It is an unhappy land that looks for heroes.” When times are tough we look to the sky in hopes of seeing Superman sweeping in to save the day.
The Image of a Hero
A hero does not necessarily need to be wearing a cape, and mask in order to "look the part." However, a hero must be one to stand out in a crowd, whether it be by ones image, actions, or simply just being different. Being a hero does not require any need to demonstrate acts of swagger, as Hughes-Hallett indicates. The simplest, and possibly most discreet of actions can make someone a hero. A manifestation of someone becoming a hero through the simplist actions is an advocate for women with breast cancer. An extraordinary undertaking that few women in support of breast cancer do is to shave their heads regardless of the fact that they are not undergoing chemotherapy, these women instantly become heroes to the millions of women suffering from this disease. This is an example of someone becoming a hero through the most uncomplicated of actions. When people advocate for others at their own will, it makes them a hero, most likely not in a historical sense, but the fact that they put others needs ahead of their own makes them a hero to someone.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Right time, Right place!
A hero does not gain glory by what he or she does at everything they do in their life. It is at one point in the life, where they decide to make a change and stand up for what they believe in. This moment is decided by the hero. Like the quote says, "in times of emergency that heroes are looked for, and found." Heroes magically have found the power to be in the right place at the right time, earning everlasting glory. We the people need this hero, they pull through and know exactly when to step in and exactly what to do.
The more we read about heroes the more we can understand their mindset when it comes to their claim to fame. When they make the choice to do something in their life that their name will be forever remembered.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Slow and steady wins the ambient race
Beyond the Borderline
“The average is the borderline that keeps mere men in their place. Those who step over the line are heroes by the very act. Go.”
To me, a hero is not Superman, or Spiderman, or Batman. To me, a hero is someone that like this quote says, steps past the “borderline that keeps mere men in their place.” Heroes are born when people realize that they are not content with following the steps of every other person in society. Eventually, through their actions they rise above and the average man. Though the point of blogging about heroes may have been for me to say; a hero is a mythological or iconic figure of great physical strength and supernatural powers who always destroys evil, I truly believe a hero is someone with strong morals who is brave, gracious, and humble. True heroes are the types of people that set out to do good not because they are looking to get a cool “hero” title, but because they genuinely want to help and bring happiness to the people around them. They’re the people that put themselves at risk for the sake of someone else and always do the right thing, though it may not make them popular. But in the end, I think true heroes are people who make decisions based on compassion and leave some form of legacy long after they’re gone.
True heroes are finally recognized
- Stanley Kunitz
People do not choose to be heroes. They are ordinary people confronted by extraordinary cirumstances, that result in the very best being brought out of them. Heroes do not seek to be called heroes, heroes are people that we look up to, and strive to be more alike. It is for this reaeson that other people choose to label them as heroes. Acts of heroisim serve as examples to other people. Most people are be saisfied with acheiving modest objectives. If everybody was satisfied with themselves and beleived that they had acheived their reached their full potential, there would be no need for heroes. Heroes remind us that perhaps we too can act heroicly, and they encourage us to acheive more than we ever thought we were capable of. Humanity needs heroes. In todays society, celebrities are commonly confused with heroes. One positive, but unfortunatly temporary outcome of 9/11 was that true heroes were finally recognized. The true heroes in the events of that tragic day were the fire fighters, police officers, doctors, paramedics, the passengers on the highjacked planes that hit the world trade centre, and the office workers in the twin towers. Celebrities were finally reduced to the "cheerleaders" for real heroes, ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. We need to admire the simplicity, the purety, and the nobility of what constitutes a hero. They are role models that we need to emulate and to admire. Heroes remind us of what we are capable of, and what we should aspire to be.
The Wisdom of Our Race
What makes a hero a hero?
My Conception of a Hero
“Virtue is not necessarily qualification for heroic status: a hero is not a role model. On the contrary, it is of the essence of a hero to be unique and therefore inimitable.”
~ Lucy Hughes-Hallett
The quote by Lucy Hughes-Hallett accurately describes the way I perceive a hero; not necessarily someone with high or moral standards, and also not necessarily someone that people look up to or try to imitate. Heroes are rather unlike anyone else, and so much so that it makes the hero someone that is impossible to copy.
Saturday, October 2, 2010
What is a hero?
“Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves.” |
Carol Lynn Pearson To me a hero is exactly what Carol Lynn Pearson said, Heroes take journeys, confront dragons, and discover the treasure of their true selves. People always look up to heroes, they always cheer when they walk down the street or get honored with a medal. A hero is somebody that is a "freak" they have unhuman like capabilities. Such as human strength or ability to see through walls, jump high, just stuff out of the ordinary. My example of a hero is Hercules or Spider-man they do what is needed without thinking about if they would be safe or not. |