:)

This song rocks!

Today, I finished up my last final exam for this semester. The exam, for The History of Anthropological Thought, covered modernist anthropology, post-modernist anthropology, ethnoscience, structuralism, structural-functionalism, ethnoscapes, etic and emic observations of culture and socioeconomic transactions on a global scale. It was rather difficult to remember which anthropologist wrote about what because many have bits in common. Sherry Ortner wrote a rather silly work about how women are devalued because they menstruate, have children and are therefore closer to nature and not to culture. Levi-Strauss, whose ideas were heavily influenced by Emile Durkheim's work, was a leader in the Structuralism movement in anthropology.

I must say I utterly loathe the modernist movement. Instead of human needs, modernists created social structures and buildings to house humans in a dehumanized manner. Apartment buildings from the Modernist movement look like prisons instead of places to raise families because architects thought it would "look better." Jane Jacobs spoke out against the Modernists, because she thought their movement would ruin society. And, in many ways, it did. The Nazis were Modernists, for example.

The test also asked about Arjun Appadurai (who wrote endlessly on "scapes") and how everything is relative. One person may use the word "terrorist" in a way that another would deem incorrect usage. I don't believe in cultural relativity either, I'm afraid. I suppose that's bad in someone who's studied anthropology for four years. I also focused on Ahwang Ong who wrote about East Asians becoming increasing prominent in global business because of their greed for money and power on the same scale as the Jews. These people also have a power-connection based on families, and if you examine the most important and richest Asian businessmen, you'll see that they are related in one way or another.

After the three hour long exam, I spoke with two other fellow American girls in my class. One is married and shall go to Belgium to be with her husband now she is finished with her education. The other girl will be going to Paris to see her American family and they will go to Egypt. I'd love to go to Egypt, I've always wanted to go see the archaeological ruins at Thebes, Giza, Hierakonopolis and up the Nile. I thought it quite amusing how all three of us have European boyfriends/husbands. Yes, our culture are pretty much the same, though slightly different which adds so much character and interest to the relationship.

I have only two more classes this summer before I receive both my degrees. I'm excited. My whole life is ahead of me now, and I don't ever want to make any mistakes. I want to live my life well without causing harm to anyone else. And to be happy and bring happiness to others. That's what I want more than anything else.

In ancient Mesoamerica, there existed a people known as the Olmecs. These people, who lived primarily in San Lorenzo, Mexico had many intriguing cultural aspects, including the transportation of huge stones from 50 miles away to bring to San Lorenzo where they were shaped into large stone heads in the likenesses of the leaders. Each head is different with respect to the facial features. All have the characteristic agonized/angry Olmec face and wear the helmets associated with the cultural game of The Ballgame. The Ballgame was played only by the Shaman-rulers using a human skull wrapped in rubber bands to form a heavy ball. The players would have to wrap and pad their ribs in order to avoid serious injury as a result of playing. Another aspect of Olmec culture was one of the first examples of human sacrifice in the New World.

Here is an acceptable BBC documentary of some archaeological work taking place in the Olmec region in Mexico.

Love one person, take care of them until you die. You know, raise kids. Have a good life. Be a good friend. And try to be completely who you are. And figure out what you personally love. And like go after it with everything you've got no matter how much it takes.

“From Jibaro to Crack Dealer: Confronting the Restructuring of Capitalism in El Barrio”

In the article entitled, “Jibaro to Crack Dealer: Confronting the Restructuring of Capitalism in El Barrio,” author Phillipe Bourgois discusses the Puerto Rican immigrants living and working in New York City. The Jibaro (or as the author used hillbilly) cultural emphasis of respect, or respeto in Puerto Rican society had warped into the socially inferior position as being a different race in the United States . He also goes over how these immigrants, who came to the United States with dreams of improving their lives and that of their families, soon realize that it may be impossible, given all of the social and economic divisions. These then down-and-out people are then enticed into the underworld of illegal drug dealing and other street crimes. In his conclusion, Bourgois states that, “America was built on racial hierarchy and on blame-the-victim justifications for the existence of poverty and class distinctions."

As I read this article, I thought about my own immigrant family’s situation. My mother was a registered nurse, working much like a doctor in Chile for she has all the qualifications to perform the job. When she moved to the United States, she was not only prohibited from being a nurse and given the looked-down-upon job of a Certified Nurse’s Assistant, but she also became a major target for discrimination from not only white people (because she has a heavy accent) but also from black people (because she’s white). This came not only as a shock to her, but also a huge humiliation for her. She had worked so hard to become a nurse, and here people completely disregard her ideas because she has the inferior title of CNA. My mother did not resort to criminal activities like the people in this article, but she kept working and obeying all the laws of this country. She learned the language; she became a part of the community. I do not know why these people chose to involve themselves in such dangerous activities in the pursuit of wealth, because nothing is worse losing one’s dignity.

Professor's notes:

Great topic and excellent use of a personal example; but there is also room to include another example and a more expansive link between the readings and the ideas presented in the final paragraph.

We have yet another problem to deal with, that of Nihilism. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nihilism
Nihilism is just as dangerous as religion because it renders people unable to do things to better society. Many of my fellow Atheists, Freethinkers and such are wrongfully depicted as being Nihilistic in nature, when in truth, we do care and want life to be better for all. Nihilists don't believe in anything, even in humanist principles.

Life is so beautiful and there are many things to believe in: love, being kind to others, working hard to have a good outcome - all of these are admirable things to believe in. We need not believe in a god to be good people, but we also cannot live well believing in absolutely nothing.

Hey Friends!

In recent years, the Japanese Fisheries Agency has been telling the world that there had been a 'rapid increase' in the number of fin whales in the southern ocean and this justified the killing of 50 of the world's second largest whale.

Despite spending 3 months of the year scouring the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, the 6 ships of the whaling fleet didn't see a single one of the 'plentiful' fin whales.

The battle to defend the whales now switches to Santiago in Chile where the next meeting of the International Whaling Commission will be held. Japan will again try to overturn decades of whale conservation and enforce a return to the destructive days of commercial whaling in the southern ocean.

Japanese whalers met half their quota of whales killed in the annual Southern Ocean hunt. Returning to Japan after 5 months at sea, the Nisshin Maru brought back 551 whales, all dying for the sake of fake scientific research. That's 551 whales too many. While the Greenpeace ship, the Esperanza, disrupted the hunt for 15 days - in a whale sanctuary - the only acceptable number of whales to be killed is zero. If the Japanese are serious about whale research rather than a commercial hunt disguised as research they should return to the Southern Ocean next year with cameras, not harpoons.

We think Canon cameras, the Japanese company famous for its work to promote wildlife and help endangered species should be the first ones to endorse that concept. Please write to their CEO, Fujio Mitarai, and ask that he join the efforts to make this whaling season the last. A powerful voice in Japanese society, Mister Mitarai could help put an end to a decade-old scientific hoax, and add weight to Canon's claims to environmental concern by actually saving the whales that advertise Canon cameras. If Canon can pioneer a corporate commitment to endangered species and the environment, they can surely take a stand against whale slaughter.

Thank you.

If you are not angry at this, you are not paying attention. Protest against this barbaric custom now!

haha. The stork brings the baby? But who brings the stork?

Here's a clip from a film I watched again and again when I was about ten years old. I saw it just last night, and found this song to be perfect for what I feel for my wonderful boyfriend, Gavin.

And with your love I'll never be alone.

BY ROBERT BROWNING

Oh, to be in England
Now that April's there,
And whoever wakes in England
Sees, some morning, unaware,
That the lowest boughs and the brushwood sheaf
Round the elm-tree bole are in tiny leaf,
While the chaffinch sings on the orchard bough
In England - now!!

And after April, when May follows,
And the whitethroat builds, and all the swallows!
Hark, where my blossomed pear-tree in the hedge
Leans to the field and scatters on the clover
Blossoms and dewdrops - at the bent spray's edge -
That's the wise thrush; he sings each song twice over,
Lest you should think he never could recapture
The first fine careless rapture!
And though the fields look rough with hoary dew,
All will be gay when noontide wakes anew
The buttercups, the little children's dower
- Far brighter than this gaudy melon-flower!

This is a project I've been working on this semester. Hours of research, headaches and a few not-so-enthusiastic group members later, this is my research project about the writing and languages of Ancient Sumeria. This was, for me, a fascinating research topic, for this Sumerian invention impacted most future civilizations.

This is just another example of how religion not only gives refuge to but actually promotes the exploitation of women and children. How dare these religious maniacs be allowed to be free to commit such loathsome acts! If you are not outraged by such malice, you haven't been paying attention. We cannot as a society condone such sects, or religion in any shape, because religion and ignorance give rise to such terrible circumstances. This sort of thing shouldn't be taking place in today's world, for goodness sake.

There's a cultural idea that surrounds bachelors - stupid men find being a bachelor an ideal state. Perhaps this may be true, for a few years after adolescence - if they're still bachelors in their forties, it no longer seems healthy. Long has there been a double standard that associates single males as great and single women as bad. Let's analyze this phenomenon a bit more in order to understand what we women really think. Truth is, we don't find lifelong bachelors attractive, we actually think they are rather pathetic, just like spinsterhood is in women.

I've known a few men who were in their 40s and 50s and still bachelors and they still tried to get young women. I find such behaviour not only revolting but incredibly selfish. These men, if they persist in their erroneous thinking, end up being that "dirty old man" next door who winks at the twenty year old girls. Do you want to be such a social outcast because you wanted to play the field forever? At the end of the day, at the end of your life, whichever you choose, who will be there with you? A kind, loving woman - or perhaps your bachelor mates? Not to mention the fact that if they ever want to start a family- their cells will already be degenerating. Older fathers (past 40) are more likely to have autistic or even schizophrenic offspring:
http://www.simonsfoundation.org/news/father-s-advanced-age-feeds-autism-risk

TYPES OF MALE:
Type 1: Brainless women like this type of a man who is egotistical, good-looking (and knows it), pleasure-seeking, and a committment-phobe (which renders such a man completely ugly in my eyes):

Type 1.5: In-between types 1 & 2, are unsatisfied and disillusioned with life as a party boy, they strive for something more and head towards type 2...some don't make it though, and go back to Type 1.

Type 2: Smart, sensitive, good-looking (but modest) family man - that's what real women want:

This sort of man spells "keeper" all over him- the kind of man that won't drop you for the next thing in a skirt that passes by.

I believe that committment and responsibility form the glue that holds civilization together. Look at the state we are in now because of the general apathy towards and disrespect of personal unions. Was this decay evident in past societies? Yes, but then those societies ceased to exist. What is important is that we maintain our values from the past in regards to family and social life. Far too much emphasis is placed on personal instant gratification and this belief is in itself costly, for it inevitably causes more social turmoil.

*sighs*

Here is a list of a major lack of common sense I witness daily:

* The front entrance to a store is closed with a sign stating, "Please enter through rear entrance." This causes idiots to a) get angry, or b)leave completely, as they do not seem to know what "rear" means.

* Condoms: the label says, "effective for prevention of stds when used properly." Guess what that means? Don't touch or put your member in contact with the other person's genitalia until AFTER you put a condom on. That old, "but I used a condom!" doesn't work if you failed to use common sense whilst using one.

* In public toilets, I've noticed many women emerge from the stalls and turn on the faucet to wash their hands. Ok, so they turn on the faucet with their dirty hands, get the soap, lather, rinse and then, guess what? they touch the faucet again, thus placing all the germs they initially had on their hands back again. I always take a paper towel and turn off the water. It really isn't a complicated concept.

* Speaking of public toilets, have you ever had a weird urinary tract discomfort/infection? If you use public toilets without cleaning the seat and placing a protective sheet of paper betwixt the seat and your derriere, then you've just let a whole lot of other people's microscopic urinary and fecal material onto your own skin. If you don't believe me, take a microbiology course, that'll show you.

* Trucks that have signs posted on the bumper saying "Keep back 100 feet, not responsible for broken windshield" and those truck drivers shift into the lane right in front of you, hence, creating much less than 100 feet in between their truck and one's own vehicle, with the fragments of debris knocking off one's windshield as a result.

* People sucking on highlighter tips- with the highlighter exposed. Not only is that gross, it probably isn't very healthy either. I see one woman in class do that constantly throughout lecture.

Is it really so very hard to think a little bit more?

Jean-Honore Fragonard

WOW!!! This is going to be awesome!

Sarah's such a lady, and this is a gorgeous song!

According http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=530361&in_page_id=1770
the perfect woman has the following:

1. Blue eyes
2. Long blonde hair
3. Occasionally wears glasses
4. Five feet eight inches tall
5. Weighs around 9.5 stones
6. A size 12
7. Good in bed
8. Earns less than £25,000 a year
9. Extremely fit
10. Very good looking
12. Wacky personality
13. Rents a house or flat
14. Optimistic
15. Owns a Ford Ka or Mazda MX5 16. Nurse or PR Executive
17. No children
18. Drinks occasionally
19. Loves clubbing
20. Non-smoker

They're kidding, right? A perfect woman loves clubbing? Is a PR Executive? Once upon a time, men wanted: a sweet, kind woman who was good with children and was responsible. Now, it appears that the oafs want a party girl with no desire to have a family and who lies for money. That's awesome for the future, isn't it?

Mr. "Right" on the other hand-

...must be a high earner on £60,000 a year who drives a Mercedes and lives in a £300,000 property in the home counties.

Am I the only one left who doesn't want some cold-hearted idiot with a mercedes? Again, I am grateful that neither I nor my darling is a sheep amidst the flock of ignorance. Will the party girl, the PR girl make you happy in the long-term? With the rate of divorce and people opting not to get married, I think I can safely say no.

When I was watching "The Company of Wolves" the other day with my boyfriend, I thought I had seen the main actress before and yes, I had. Here are two clips from the film Snow White from 1987. I used to watch this all the time, as well as Sleeping Beauty. Check out Diana Rigg as the evil stepmother. I think this version is even better than the Disney version.

In that same vein, here is the other fairy tale I watched quite often as a little girl: http://youtube.com/watch?v=v97zMKTF4aI

Here in the United States, medical doctors are more concerned with avoiding lawsuits than they are about providing quality medical care to their patients. At least, this is what I've come to believe after having been in the healthcare system all of my life. Just today, when I went to my doctor to get the results back from an ultrasound, I was given some pathetic hypothesis about what it could be. She obviously has no idea what's going on and I am seriously considering going to another doctor for a second opinion (not that she gave much a first opinion). There was a time when doctors did everything possible to achieve the best care for their patients, and it's about time we went back to that value system- when quality of work and integrity was valued far more than money.

I went to the airport to drop off my darling boyfriend Gavin at the airport and I have to say that airports can be both joyful and sometimes sorrowful. It's only natural for me to be sad to see him leave, but I am mature enough to understand and accept that this is how it must be, at least for the time being. I have to focus on my studies and get a part-time job whilst he does what he has to do as well. I've had a few hours alone now to think about things, and still, he is so very much all that I've ever hoped for in a man and so much more. So, in a few more months, I hope, I will be waiting approximately two hours early for him to arrive at the gate. I will be waiting with open arms for my darling.