Snakes are arguably the most feared animal on the planet. They are thought to be bad omens, symbols of temptation, and chaos. Perhaps one of the most common examples is the biblical story of the Garden of Eden. In this story, the snake tempts Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, Eve goes through with it and she and Adam are kicked out the Garden of Eden. In Egyptian mythology, the god Apophis was the god of chaos. His most common form was one of a serpent. Their lack of legs as well as their common symbolism as something “bad” tends to lead to people being extremely scared of them. Personally, I was a little apprehensive to holding an actual snake. It is one thing to see one in an enclosure or a cage and have a sheet of glass or wire between you. But there is an entirely different element when the animal is actually in your hands. Another layer is added when you know the snake’s name and its background. The snake I was holding was named Shortstop and was a corn snake. Knowing this information made the snake more like a pet, which eased my fear about actually holding it.
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Episode IV: A New Hope
In terms of high ranking nights in the US, midterm election night tends to rank pretty low on the excitement scale. It’s never as exciting as the presidential election and is generally not considered to be something that is worth keeping track of. However, this past midterm election night you could cut the tension in the air with a knife. There was a palpable feeling of importance that was placed on the night. In the dining room where the real-time results were being given by CNN, I saw people going from being consumed with studying to aptly watching the screen engrossed in democracy at work. I myself was trying to keep up with the polls leading up to election-day to the best of my abilities. My home state was the site of an intense battle for the Senate, and there were extensive hopes of changing what appears to be a deeply red state to blue. Unfortunately, this did not happen but there was at least one change that occurred that I observed and had a direct impact on me personally. I noticed how the midterms changed the position of some of my more politically apathetic friends to caring about politics. The past two years seems to have woken them up and made them realize in the most extreme of ways that politics do affect them and whether they participate or not in the process does not change if the laws passed influence their lives. This gave me a sense of hope that is rare these days, and while nothing in this world is certain it’s nice to have a little hope to accompany the journey through the world.
A Look into the Future….
When I first saw WallE, I was in about third grade. At that age I kind of understood the gist of the movie, but I didn’t fully grasp the concepts given. Now at 19, given the current state of the world, I have a more complete idea of the message behind the movie. Watching it now, I would say that WallE was a commentary on the state of corporations and their interference in affairs of government. In the US there is an obvious and present separation of church and state. At least that is how it should be in accordance with the law, the truth is more complicated. Such is the case with corporations. In terms of corporations, this distinction is more of a blurred line rather than a clear-cut distinction. This line is shown to be non-existent in WallE, as it was one corporation that controlled the entire world. WallE seems to be a cautionary look at potential repercussions we could face if we allow the corporations to consolidate and have control over municipal functions. This appears to be a simplistic cautionary look at what the future could be if we are not careful.
In the movie, it can be assumed that the company Buy N’ Large controls the entire world. This is based on the multiple shots that are shown of the entire globe. Yet, it seems to be Western-centric, more specifically the U.S. Since WallE is a kid’s movie, you can’t really fault it for not showing the nuances of the whole world but instead focusing in the U.S. However, a fault can be found in the absolute lack of diversity in the movie. The robots were the main characters in the movie, and the focus was rightly on them for most of the movie, but when the humans were brought on and given screen time the only humans that were given lines were the white characters. The captain of the ship and the two people that WallE interacts with were both white. Even when there is a shot of the previous captains of the ship, one can see they were all white men. And the few pops of color that are on the screen are most often shown to be black people. This is a problem in many forms because if it really is U.S centric, the U.S has a more diverse population than just black and white people. The critique I have of the movie it’s the portrayal of people as a population that is singular in nature when it is actually multifaceted.
Clay Creations
Art is one of the oldest forms of human expression. For me personally, it is a genuine struggle because I have very few artistic bones in my body if any at all. It was nice to take a break from the stress of studying and instead put my energy into making a clay structure reminiscent of a cup. The discussion of the different ways to form a mug was quite interesting and I found the discussion of the mugs that were on display to be rather intriguing. The artist used vibrant blues and soft, toned, down reds and yellows to accent a beautifully crafted mug. I would argue that the best feature of the mug was the actual form. The mug was curved in an S shape, which upon the first look created an illusion of congruency across the mug. Looking at it straight on, it looked like a regular mug, however, as you get closer to it you realize the mug has a different form than you originally thought. I think this concept of change upon closer inspection can be applied to daily life. We tend to judge situations based on initial inspection and assumptions but should take care to consider viewing it in different ways.
Something Bigger
Walking into the St. Catherine of Siena Church, I didn’t know what to expect. I knew we would be packing meals, but I didn’t know that that entailed. Based on the general title I thought we would be packaging canned goods in boxes. What we actually did was rewarding beyond measure. What do you get when you mix 2 sports teams and about 30 to 40 community members, undergrads, and postgrads? A huge amount of energy and the intense potential to change lives. Assembled in groups, we packaged soy, vitamins, rice, and vegetables in bags that were vacuum sealed and packed in boxes. The idea behind the food packaging was what actually gave me pause. As humans, I honestly believe that we each have a genuine interest and desire to help others whether we may have the resources or not. So for the organization for Feed My Starving Children to be able to partner with and have the resources to provide such a nutrient-rich meal for so many needy children is incredible.
An Apple a Day…..
Who knew that there were so many types of apples and even more ways to use apples? There’s something about walking around Ithaca’s famous annual Apple Festival that just screams fall. Bright yellows, oranges, and reds entered my field of vision from all angles. The air smelled of cinnamon and the sweet aroma of the Apple Fest staple: freshly made apple cider donuts. From apple cider to apple pizza to old fashioned apple pie, there were no foreseeable limits to the application of this delicious, crisp fruit. I had never tasted apple cider in my life and to have it for the first time in an atmosphere of such a community coming together was one of the best experiences I have had so far. The warmth and happiness that radiated from each person making memories all around me was inescapable.
Today is a gift
“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift which is why we call it the present”, a quote from an unknown but probably very wise source. Last Wednesday I had the opportunity to listen to the Honorable Scott Miller speak about his experiences from his start as a scrappy young defense attorney to a sitting judge. While his perspective as a criminal defense attorney was intriguing, I have to say something he said about being an undergraduate student stuck out to me more than anything. He was talking about how in this day and age we have so many causes, as students, that we can protest. Whereas, as an undergrad in the 80s, the government did a wonderful job of keeping college students filled with the ideal that their government was so much better than everywhere else in the world that the students had to protest an institution halfway across the globe: apartheid in South Africa. That caused me to think about why that was possible. Sure, we have better ways of disseminating information now at a quick rate, i.e social media, but something about the statement tugged at my mind.
Today, I would venture to say that social media allows the sharing of thoughts and ideas to an extent allows for the exposure to a wide range of differing viewpoints creating a level of awareness on different issues that may not affect you personally. In comparison to the 80’s where you only knew about certain issues if it became bad enough that it was on the news or it directly affected you. The problem with hearing it on the news is that oftentimes there is a detachment between you and the story that is being reported. This detachment can become dangerous as it can cause a sense of apathy that alienates and causes a false sense of security that everything is okay in the way that you see it. Perspective is important. I’m glad that today, we have the ability to step outside of what we know and interact with people and ideas that we may not be familiar with. With that being said I would have to agree with the wise unknown source, today is a gift and we would do well to remember and cherish that and the gifts of today.