our fearless leader in the windowsill.  what do you guys think of this picture?

So far this semester i feel pretty great. this picture is how i feel at the moment, which is sportingly fantastic because we just kicked the shit out of IU. I felt the headband would show some school spirit and the black and gold appropriately represented purdue. also, since this is my final semester and i enjoy all of my classes i felt a smile would help because i am nervous to leave a place where i wake up pretty happy every day.

Also, i had some free time so i wrote into the exponent over superbowl weekend. not bad for my first forray (spelling?) into journalism.

http://www.purdueexponent.org/?module=article&story_id=4026

any chance we can have an online class today? its pretty cold out...

I do not agree that revenge is the best tactic, even though it is used extensivly in this book. Perhaps on a very small scale (ie your roommate eats your pretzels so you short sheet his bed) it can be useful to deter future agression, but for serious offenses such as murder and rape i dont believe revenge is capable of restoring the victim to his previous state and is therefor unneccesary.  In my opinion, revenge can be most useful for parties not directly involved. for instance i believe that the terrorist attacks on 9/11 was useful to an administration who saw an opportunity to use public support that it had been wronged to push for a military campaign into iraq. Now, since the attacks i dont think there is a majority of people in this country who would agree that they feel better about themselves since the 9/11 attacks as a result of the campaigns into iraq and afghanistan. most people still feel like they had something taken from them and that its an inconvenience to travel and that it is unfortunate the american image has been tarnished abroad. given that revenge is not the answer, i cannot say what the real solution is when terrorism is rooted in ideological beliefs. because revenge is a pretty mortal thing, it does not seem to be an effective deterrent when the culprits believe their souls are destined for a blissful afterlife regardless of whether or not they die a martyr or in battle against the infidels.

this picture reminds me of the odessey because of all the shipwrecks and the wrath of the gods. also in the picture, there is a frothy sea which reminds me of an angry poseidon. i can just see odessyous clinging to the rafters of the splintered ship as all his comrades perish in the sea.

These myths are similar in that they use stories and folklore to explain common occurances that may or may not be understood by the cultures telling them. The african myths seem to be simpler, but they both give a sort of moral or deeper understanding than just "a guy went around and did things". In the greek myths, the tale is told in a sort of poetic form, not necessarily rhyming but following chapters and so many lines per paragraph and the african myths were just one big paragraph (web formatting perhaps?).2. The Dark Tower by Stephen King (actually 7 books but one big long tale) Separation or Departure1.      The Call to Adventure : Roland of Gilead is known as the last knight/gunslinger and is given a call to pursue and climb to the top the nexus of the universe symbolized by the Dark Tower. 2.      Refusal of the Call (the folly of the flight from the god): At first roland does not feel able to achieve the daunting task, and instead flees westward with his friends as he is too young to undertake the quest as well. 3.      Supernatural Aid : roland is assisted throughout the entire novel by various objects/texts/ and people. His biggest asset (although an enemy) is Marten Broadcloak who gives enlightening details throughout the entire story. 4.      The Crossing of the First Threshold: Rolands first threshold is his choice to sacrifice loved ones in the pursuit of his ultimate goal. 5.      The Belly of the Whale: after sacrificing his friends, roland contemplates whether or not he has damned his own soul in the pursuit of his "destiny".   The Trials and Victories of Initiation1.      The Road of Trials : throughout the entire series, roland conquers the low men, Blaine the Mono, illness and vampires along his entire trek. 2.      The Meeting with the Goddess : after defeating the crimson king, roland is tempted by an easy path he does not take. 3.      Woman as the Temptress : rolands mother offers an alternative life to the pursuit of the tower. 4.      Atonement with the Father: roland comes to grips and is exhonorated by his son when he is told "go then, there are other worlds than these"5.      Apotheosis : roland is given the key to the tower6.      The Ultimate Boon: roland begins his ascent and eventually climbs to the top of the tower. Return1.      Refusal of the Return : At first roland doesnt want to believe what he sees at the top2.      The Magic Flight ; he is sucked through the door and is forced to accept reality.3.      Rescue from Without : To save his own sanity, his mind is clensed4.      The Crossing of the Return Threshold : the story ends with the opening paragraph of the first book5.      Master of the Two Worlds : Roland is destined to repeat his quest6.      Freedom to Live: Roland realizes destiny is not set, and that with each passing of the wheel of time he is allowed to improve and adjust his decisions, giving hope that ultimatly there is salvation for him even though it may take ages to achieve.

The stories compare with each other by telling stories of young girls but are different in their styles. the grimm tales seem to be a lot older, and they dont seem to be set in a very contemporary environment like where are you going was. the grimm tales also dont explicitly mention sexuality, wheras the company of wolves and where are you going mention specific sexual acts. overall i would say the grimm tales are more vague in their definition of the path from which it would be wise not to stray.  In where are you going, the story is structured to where you are given a background about the character connie. you are told about her family life and given crucial details about her relationship with her mom and dad as well as her sister. you find out about her attitudes regarding looks and vanity, as well as honesty. then the story progresses by giving a situation where connie faces the fork in the road and you see whatdecisions she makes. I dont know what proairiatic code is though.  The earlier versions have some similarities to the disney versions. they both follow the idea of a pure woman falling for a handsom prince etc. the disney version is certainly much lighter though, and i feel like it emphasizes the good much more. for instance the disney version of cinderella doesnt talk about the sisters cutting off their toes, instead it talks about how perfect cinderellas feet were. i think they do this to appeal to a broader audience as well as to avoid lawsuits and keep the movie tame. in hollywood it seems the original was useful for a rough template, but moretickets could be sold with a "softer" presentation of the story.