This is me during breakfast club celebrating 6 tedious weeks of 19 credit hours and after reading 34 "cantos" of The Portable Dante. Notice the beads of sweat on my face and the droplets of barf on my shirt...as well as my swollen, baggy eyes...haha

Hi guys,

Purdue has cancelled classes from noon on Tues. Feb. 13 through 6am on Thurs. Feb. 15. Please keep up with the assigned readings, as we are now significantly behind. Also, remember that we are watching Pan's Labyrinth on Thurs. Feb. 15 after our class in our regular classroom (bring pillows for your butts!).

Alice

I was wondering if were still having class today?  The bulk of the snow in lafayette is supposed to hit from 4-5 so I'm a little worried that even if I get there, I won't make it home again?  But if were having it, I'll see what I can do.  Just wondering how we'd know if you were going got cancel it...should we watch for it on the blog?

Me, after flying for fourteen hours this weekend just to keep my airfaire below $300. Create your own visual rhetoric by clicking on the image above and following the instructions, focusing on how you feel at this point in the semester; accompany your image with a small paragraph explaining your design.

***UPDATE: How to upload images:

1. Create your character
2. Do a screenshot of your character (click on ctrl and "prtsc" [print screen])
3. Open Photoshop/MS Paint/MS photoeditor or some other artistic function and open a new file. Click "ctrl-V" to paste your webshot inside
4. Shrink down the image of the fullscreen to only include your picture
5. Save as .jpg file
6. Open the comment or blog entry on the blog and upload your image like last time.

Or you can just follow the same instructions from our last post image blog :)

Wikipedia hit by identity crisis as student admits posing as professor

By Stephen Foley in New York

Published: 06 March 2007

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.

I disagree with the methods of Odysseus going into his home and killing each and everyone one of the suitors, majority of the maids, and various other people that were caught in the way.  Odysseus was gone for almost two decades and had sex with multiple women, yet he comes back to his home where each of these guys hasn't touched his wife, he offs each one of them.  Telemakhos even helps out with the killings which I guess is some sort of father/son bonding experience.  I may disagree with his methods but I know that back then, in order for justice to be served, you had to take matters into your own hands.  I believe our justice system today is a much better system than what it was during Odysseus's time.  Taking one's own revenge today is frowned upon, for the most part, but I also think that until you're in the position to take it, you don't know what you'll do.  I can preach all day long about how I disagree with taking revenge, but if somebody hurt my family I might want revenge.  You never know.  Take for example, back in 2005 in Washington, a man dressed up like an FBI agent killed 2 of 3 level 3 sex offenders living together.  The killings were thought to be vigilante because of the victims past.  If I was a victim of a sex crime, I might want to seek revenge on sex offenders as well, maybe start a real life version of the movie "Boondock Saints".  I wouldn't know until I'm in that situation.  Odysseus's methods wouldn't work in today's society, or maybe I could say they "shouldn't" work, but mafias and gangs all over the world kill for revenge and never get caught.  If Odysseus was the head of some Greek Achaean mafia, maybe he could pull it off today, maybe.

I do not agree with taking revenge into one's own hands. If everyone did that, the world would be completely chaotic and dangerous. We need a governing body to determine the severity of transgressions based on a universal standard. Although the system is not perfect, it is far better than people trying to get back at everyone who has ever wronged them. Our system of freedom and order is what makes our country great, and violating that by allowing every person to make his/her own laws regarding vengence would crumble the system. It is different in the Greek myths. These stories are based largely on the actions of the gods and their influence on the mortals. The system of order at this time was not as structured as it is now, so this behavior was more widely accepted. Recently, Rosie Odonell and Donald Trump exchanged a few remarks of verbal slander toward each other. They each retaliated by attacking the character of the other on various television shows, media reports, and radio shows. This type of revenge does not physically harm anyone, but it does not solve the problem. Revenge never seems to make the situation better.

Unfortunately back in the times of Ancient Greece there wasn't an established court system so the practice of seeking ones own revenege was practiced.  I personally don't agree with it, but then again I am off the school of thought that believe that criminals should be dealt punishment not revenge.  These two things are very different.  Revenge is simply a physical reaction to the emotional pain being felt by the victim(s) that solves nothing and creates only more pain and suffering for others.  Sure revenge may make you feel better but what about the innocent loved ones of the criminal?  Do they deserve to suffer for a crime someone else commited? Within society revenge does not work.  There is no order to it.  Different people view different crimes in different ways and think that people should be punished differently because of their views.  What one person considers a crime might be seen as nothing by another.  Just look at the lynching during the civil rights movements of the 60's.  White power organizations lynched African Americans as revenge for "stealing their jobs and money" when it was actually revenge against the color of their skin.  How is that just and right?  Without he, albeit flawed, organization of the criminal justice system the world would be a chaotic place with everyone killing and hurting others simply in the name of revenge.  The very nature of revenge goes against the fundamentals of right and wrong that are supposed to be instilled in us from a very early age. 

When Odysseus takes his revenge on the suitors, it is not so much out of justice for they do not deserve to die for they have killed no one, but in a manner of war.  To Odysseus the suitors are invaders that need driven out of his “kingdom” and just like when driving out an army, he wants to ensure he won’t be attacked again.  This means he must kill all the suitors.  He was justified not in that justice was upheld, but that he did what he had to do to protect himself and his kingdom.  Had there been a higher authority for Odysseus to plead his case to, he would not have been justified in his actions.  This is exemplified when the gods get involved and Zeus stops his rampage.  The Acts of Revenge by the individual in our day are not justified, because we have a higher authority that we must respect to carry out justice, which sometimes but not always coincides with revenge.

The time period of Odysseus is obviously completely unlike today and probably very unrealistic.  During those times it probably was acceptable to take one's own revenge to a certain extent.  The book is entirely based on revenge and it shapes the way all the characters act.  It seems every action is spurred from the need for revenge.  I'm not even sure that I neccessarily agree with it in the book.  In the slaughtering of the suitors, there were some who regreted what they had done but they still had to die because "Athen destined them to die".  I think that what Odysseus did was too strong a reaction, which is the major problem with doing things yourself.  When someone has wronged you, your judgement becomes clouded.  Revenge never works appropriately.  Often times, the punishment is worse than the crime.  This just sets off a chain reaction that doesn't solve anything.  An example of this is the fathers of the suitors who wanted to attack Odysseus because he killed their sons.  For revenge to be actual justice, the punishment of the person who committed the crime should be decided by a group of impartial people.  Odysseus' style of revenge would obviously not work today.  If someone had a relative who was murdered by someone and then they went out and found the killer and killed them, they would still go to jail.  It's wrong to be the "vigilante".  It's not really justice at all.  I don't think that justice can ever be put into the hands of just one person for them to decide.  You have to do what is fair.

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.

I chose this image because it's more abstract than the other ones I found.  The image is at first glance only of the Cyclops.  A closer look reveals a naked man lying in the grass.  To me this hidden image of Odysseus is   symbolic of the trickery that Odysseus uses to first blind the cyclops and then enable him to escape with his men.   This is relevent to The Odyssey because time and time again the trickery and skill of Odysseus is seen and this painting serves as a visual representation of these heroic traits.  The style of the painting lends a dream like and mythical quality to it which fits in well when the subject is a time of gods, goddesses and their magic/miraculous deeds. 

I chose this painting of the Odyssey because it depicts one of the most interesting stories from epic. It shows the Cyclops throwing a giant stone at Odysseus as he escapes with his men. It was his cunning and wit that allows them to escape the Cyclops, but just before they are in complete safety, Odysseus breaks with his level head and shows his emotion. He faces back toward the giant and tells his true name, and taunts the Cyclops to remember and retell what happened. Notice how as Odysseus lowers himself to the same behavior that would common amongst his men, he appears indistinguishable from his other men. This is perhaps Odysseus' most egotistical moment and he pictured that same as the rest of his men.

http://homepage.mac.com/cparada/GML/000Free/003Illustrations/001LiebigImages/odyssey01liebig.jpg

http://wings.buffalo.edu/academic/department/AandL/classics/epicpage/circe_barker.jpg

This is a picture of Circe at her home with lions and wolves at her feet.  I thought it was a very interesting painting and exactly what I pictured Circe to look like.  In this picture Circe herself looks very inviting and beautiful.  Her arms are open, shes smiling, and she is exposed on top.  It seems her sole mission is to tempt in travelers.  Her home looks very rich and luxurious with the large colomns and the flowers on the steps.  At the same time, however, she does look very ominous because the lions and wolves are lying and lounging at her feet.  It obviously seems as though they are under some kind of spell.  I think this is the epitome of the "woman as temptress".  She is displaying alot of power by having the lions and wolves at her feet.  I really like how the artist portrayed her and I really like the painting in general.  I think it is a very good representation.

I chose this image to represent the Odyssey because it shows Odyssius's voyage home.  Also if you look in the background you can see a Cyclops trying to throw a large boulder.  The sea looks to be pretty rough in the picture, but if you look you can see Odyssius standing strong at the front of the boat because he always says nothing can hurt him.  The fact that the picture is in black and white makes it look like the crew is about to enter a large storm, which little do they know will be only one of the many troubles they will soon encounter

The image I chose is of Athena looking on as Telemachus embraces Ulysses.  I chose it because of Athena's roll throughout the story.  She was always lending a hand or dabbling in other peoples business.  So I thought the fact that she's sitting by as an observer in this image went along with her roll in the story of the Odyssey.  The embrace takes place after Athena has restored Ulysses youthful appearance.  Upon the embrace Telemachus exclaims that Ulysses no longer looks like the man he knows.  The image is black and white.  It's an engraving that was done by Charles Baude.  It was done in 1892, which explains it's kind of primitive appearance.  The embrace is what interests me the most.  It's such an intimate embrace but it is the embrace of lovers, not of a Father and Son.  The relationships within Greek mythology are somewhat strange by our current standards.  This image is a good example of that.  We would find this sort of embrace to be out of place within a Father/Son relationship now a days.  Really, this sort of embrace would be out of place between two men in our society now.  The surroundings of the men in the image are subtle, so as not to distract from the peopel within the image, which were the artists focal point.  Athena herself is sort of shadowed into the background but her beauty and grace are apparent and keep the viewers eyes upon her as they move through the image.  She has the appearance of a goddess, her clothing being white and elegant, the way her hair is swept up on top of her head.  The delicacy with which she holds herself is regal in appearance.  Over all the image is a good portrayal of the relationships and roles of these three characters from Homer's story of the Odyssey.  Athena as being involved (though with the appearance of being removed) from our story and our image.  It was also gave us some visual insight into the way male relationships worked during that time in greek society.  That's why I chose this image as my depiction of the Odessey through a visual representation. In case my image doesn't work..here's my link: http://students.ou.edu/F/Aaron.C.Francl1/Athena_Odysseus_Telemachus.jpe

I liked this representation of the Trojan horse because it is completely different than any other visualization I have seen. I think the artist portrayed it in this way because this is what would naturally come to mind when thinking of a giant horse. Other versions are typically more simplified representations of the horse using planks and harder lines. This version of the horse makes it look stately and realistic. I enjoy seeing these varying representations because each person's imagination is so much different, yet each offers such unique and fascinating imagry.

I found this image of Kalypso and Odysseus most captivating. Kalypso is staring at Odysseus with longing eyes while sitting on a red cloth. Kalypso's eyes and body language shows how she cares for Odysseus. The red cloth may also represent the love she has for him. Perhaps her body is exposed as an attempt to seduce him. Odysseus is standing on the highest rock with his back turned to Kalypso and looking out to the sea. Perhaps he is standing on the highest rock to show how special Kalypso believes him to be. Odysseus looking out into the sea makes me feel that he has a longing to return home. His back showing to Kalypso shows that he does not care for her. Also, Odysseus almost appears to look like a statue. I think this is to show that he cannot leave the island and is stuck at one place. The distance between them also points out that there is a lack of love between the two.  http://www.hellados.ru/img/pic/calypso_odysseus.jpg