Don Armondo de Lorenzana: From my rotting body flowers shall grow and I am in them and that is eternity. - Edvard Munich

This semester proved to go much better than last semester. Not only did I obtain an A on every single paper, but I managed to write about what I liked more than last semester as well. I really enjoyed writing my product evaluation paper with Mike and my Literary Analysis essay. Unfortunately, I had a mild struggle with the Rant' N' Rave paper and my Research Paper.
Our first paper, the product evaulation paper, was a blast to write simply because we were allowed to write about one of my favorite topics: Music. I love to write reviews for CD's and the opportunity to write about five genres of music I liked made this less of a chore. I enjoyed Mike's comments on the albums as well and though twenty-five CD's may have been a little much, they were almost all enjoyable to listen to. This was the only paper I obtained a perfect 100% grade on and I'm happy I did. Putting pictures on the blog was an extreme hassle totalling to about seven hours. Overall, this was my favorite paper and I learned how to write an effective review. Most of my classmates checked out and liked the music we recommened.
The Rant' N' Rave was a bummer for me. I thought I wrote a clever paper, but it wasn't that special in terms of my grade. I did stray from the norm in what a paper like this should sound like, but I don't know if I could have written it any other way. I felt catharsis while writing this and the events that preceded it definitely drove me.
The Research paper was close to a disaster with how disorganized all my information was. Sadly, I apparently did poor on my citations. On the other hand, the paper had to be cited in APA format and the unfamiliarity definitely cost me a few valuable points. It was definitely a reality check on how difficult it is to write a convincing, professional research paper, but I learned from my mistakes. Next time I write one, I will definitely lay out my information in a more organized matter. I was deeply interested in my research topic though, and my eyes have been opened to some new theories and ideas.
Finally, my literary analysis paper was a breeze because of last summer's online lit class that was full of these type of essays. Reading Ulysses will be one of my proudest achievements for me as it is the second hardest book in the English language and though I may not have read as much as Joyce would want the reader's of his book to have read, I deciphered what I could. I may read it again in hopes of understanding more of this deeply philosophical story. The exposure to Joyce's book showed me how to be an effective writer without always having to follow the general rules of the English language.
Overall, this semester contained some of the funnest papers I have written and has taught me more about the English language and other topics as well. It was definitely better than last semester as I felt I had a since of direction while writing these papers. This shows that as I've gone through this semester, I have grown as a writer and I thank Mr. Schelle for pushing us all to do our best and for the helpful advice he gives when we feel lost. Many say they didn't learn much, but thats because they don't take Mr. Schelle's advice or don't push themselves to figure out exactly what they want to say. Writing about a topic you enjoy helps too. I'm going to miss this class, especially the teacher. Good luck to future seniors and do your best to make writing fun, not a chore. Check out Catch-22 too, if you hate to read this book will feel make you think twice of hating books.

Armond Lorenzana
English 112
Mr. Schelle
May 11, 2010
Catch-22
Comedy and serious issues seem to go hand in hand; however, many classic books do not utilize situational irony to make their statement. Luckily, Joseph Heller’s Catch-22 (1955) is hilarious throughout while still making an important statement, all with no special catch (pun intended)! The novel takes place during World War II on the fictitious island of Pianosa in the Mediterranean Sea. The protagonist of the story is Yossarian, a bombardier for the United States. Yossarian is surprisingly sane and petrified of death in comparison to other characters within the novel. He wants nothing more than to return home; however, Colonel Cathcart repeatedly raises the number of missions needed to be sent home, whenever Yossarian comes close to acquiring the needed number of said missions. The inner thoughts and emotions of every character humorously show through the third person, omniscient narrator.
Heller abandons a chronological order for the novel and shifts back and forth between past and present through different segments of the book. The story starts with Yossarian just being released out of the hospital, since he really isn’t sick. After meeting the various characters within Yossarian’s squadron, the tale shifts to the Siege of Bologna, a mission Yossarian resists and even flees when forced to fly. Ever since Snowden’s death, a comrade of Yossarian’s in a mission continuously mentioned, Yossarian is terrified of dying and realizes the swiftness of death’s hand. Following the demise of nearly all his friend, Yossarian eventually flees to Rome where he encounters every horror known to humanity such as rape and murder, but is immediately sent back due to not having a pass. Yossarian stays committed to staying grounded and going home, even though the upper officials conspire against him, until the end where they agree that he may go home only if he shows his utmost support for the bureaucratic structure and forceful strategies of the military. Knowing that showing support would risk endangering his fellow comrades, Yossarian escapes to neutral Sweden, where his other friend, Orr, had escaped, though presumed dead.
I think this book is an incredible piece of American literature thanks to its uniqueness, mainly by using irony. The insanity people contract from the war is portrayed perfectly through the dialogue of nearly every person involved in the war. One of the funniest situations involves Major Major’s reclusion from society and the details he lays out to his secretary:
‘From now on. . . I don’t want anyone to come in to see me while I’m here is that clear?’
‘Yes, sir,’ said Sergeant Towser. ‘Does that include me?’
‘Yes. . . .’
‘What shall I say to the people who do come to see you while you’re here?’
‘Tell them I’m in and ask them to wait.’
‘Yes, sir. For how long?’
‘Until I’ve left.’
‘And then what shall I do with them. . . . may I send them in to see you after you’ve left?’
‘Yes.’
‘But you won’t be here then, will you?’
‘No’ (98)
Such ridiculous occurrences happen everywhere throughout Catch-22 and they are the reason why I simply love it. This novel takes the politics of war and turns it inside out with its humorous characters. Heller mixes the comedy and serious, dark tones of the novel superbly to not only encourage further reading, but to display very serious themes as well. The book was mildly challenging because of the jumping of events from past or present without any further notice and the inclusion of a vast array of characters to remember. A first read may be slightly confusing for most, as it is not clear which events precede which, but it was relatively easy to infer when the actions in the story happened. The confusing order of the book quickly alleviates, though, through Yossarian’s likeable character as he opposes any sort of crude American thinking with his own self-interested paranoia. Overall, Catch-22 is an exhilarating and enjoyable free read that I recommend to anybody interested in a classic novel without obscure themes and amorous plots. Seriously, read this book; there is no catch to enjoying this hilarious work of art.
Works Cited
Heller, Joseph. Catch-22. First Simon and Schuster paperback edition 2004. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster Paperbacks, 1955. Print.

Armond Lorenzana

English 112

Mr. Schelle

May 5, 2010

The Many Faces of Ulysses

Every few centuries, there comes a manifestation from man with such complexity, such revolutionary ideas that it is impossible to fully replicate or understand such a piece of work. A creation of such magnitude surfaced upon the literary world in the early twentieth century. Ulysses (1922) by James Joyce, an Irish avant-garde novelist, is nothing short of bearing the aforementioned acclamations, as well as being the quintessential novel of literary intellectuals.Joyce, not only a master, but also a tyrant of the English language, bends the rules of common storytelling, grammar, plot, etc. to his very whim and, in turn, has produced a mind-breaking tale of one man’s day.

The Odyssey-based tale tells the story of two men: Stephen Dedalus (Telemachus) and Leopold Bloom (Odysseus/Ulysses). The story focuses mainly on Bloom’s day and how he goes about thinking of remorseful acts in his life, such as the death of his father and son, and of his crumbling marriage as he and his wife engage in frequent adulterous acts. Though Ulysses takes place in only one day, June 16, 1904 in Dublin, Ireland, the novel is incredibly lengthy due to the random, inner thoughts of the narrator, who is Mr. Bloom on most occasions. Bloom starts off his day, eating breakfast, greeting his wife, Molly, going to the baths, and attending the funeral of Paddy Dignam, all the while thinking about his wife and the other women he fantasizes about. He continues his day by heading to the newspaper office, a restaurant, several taverns, and a brothel at Dublin’s red light district where Leopold comes to know Stephen, feeling a father/son relationship between the two. The story concludes with Bloom’s arrival to bed and Molly’s inner thoughts detailing her femininity, adulterous actions, and her thoughts of Bloom, as he has asked her to bring him breakfast in bed, something that would restore his manhood and change his thoughts, which she accepts at the end. Although the plot seems uneventful, throughout the novel, Joyce changes writing techniques to correspond to the theme of each episode such as evolving the language used, writing in a playwright style, or using three enormous sentences with no punctuation. He exemplifies this in three, standout episodes: Episode 14: The Oxen of the Sun, Episode 15: Circe, and Episode 18: Penelope.

On Episode 14, Joyce’s technique focuses on embryonic development, the maturing of a fetus to a full-grown organism. The events occurring in this episode are as follows: Bloom heads to the hospital with word that Mina Purefoy, a mutual friend of his, is in labor and will soon give birth and afterwards, he goes to the pub with Stephen and his friends. The development of the child is not only an event in this episode, but the entire theme and style of it as well. The language of the episode evolves, with the beginning bearing the most primitive and archaic form of English: “In ward wary the watch hearing come that man mildhearted eft rising with swire ywimpled to him her gate wide undid” (385). Crude as it is, the author propels the narrative into a more sophisticated time period near the end of the episode: “Meanwhile the skill and patience of the physician had brought about a happy accouchement. It had been a weary weary while both for patient and doctor” (420).With every new paragraph, a new style of English is introduced to mimic the evolution of the language throughout history along with the evolution of the fetus. The narrator ends the chapter completely immersed in Dublin’s modern day English with the mentality of the newborn baby, slang included: “All off for a buster, armstrong, hollering down the street. Bonafides. Where you slep las nigh? . . . Any brollies or gumboots in the fambly” (424)? This wordplay composes the final ten paragraphs of the chapter, while the primitive, early Anglo-Saxon wordplay composes the first ten paragraphs. Thus, the author has fit the evolutionary period of the English language into forty paragraphs, paralleling the forty-week gestation period needed to develop a fully-grown human baby.

Joyce’s ability to enrich his work with an appropriately fitting writing style becomes evident in the following episode as well, Episode 15: Circe. Narrated in a playwright style, every character is introduced along with his or her dialogue. This allows the narration of the episode to display the inner thoughts of the characters involved fully. This is a needed approach to advance the overall technique of the episode: hallucination. The correlating episode in Homer’s Odyssey features Circe mixing drugs into Ulysses’ comrades’ food, “So she led them in . . . and mixed harmful drugs with the food to make them utterly forget their own country” (160). Accordingly, throughout the episode, Bloom goes through awkward breaks into thought, hectic hallucinations caused by Bella (Circe), the owner of the brothel. As Bloom is being dominated and sexually stimulated by Bella, he begins to break down mentally: “(Clasps his head.) My will power! Memory! I have sinned! I have suff . . . (He weeps tearlessly).” He quickly begins to hear voices: “(Sighing.) So he’s gone. Ah, yes. Yes, indeed. Bloom? Never heard of him. No” (544)? To begin Bloom’s hallucination, the image of the nymph that resides over Bloom’s bed stand appears before him: “(Softly.) Mortal! (Kindly.) Nay, dost not weepest! . . . I was hidden in cheap pink paper that smelt of rock oil. I was surrounded by the stale smut of clubmen” (545). The appearance of the Nymph is only one of many hallucinations Leopold experiences throughout the episode. Other strange manifestations include the swapping of Bloom and Bella’s gender, the talking of inanimate objects, and lengthy and obscure dream segments that occur in the length of one second in real time. The use of these seemingly random situations achieves the author’s goal of adding a sense of pandemonium and inner clarity once Bloom faces his inner sins within Bella’s brothel.

After seventeen massive episodes, Joyce has displayed an enormous amount of care into the presentation and the relativity to the Odyssey each of Ulysses’ episodes contains; likewise, the final episode, Episode 18: Penelope is no exception to his shifting of techniques. Episode 18 is Molly’s fifty-page soliloquy told in three massive sentences with no punctuation.Molly’s thoughts are constant, yet broken. Her monologue wobbles from her husband to her events during the day to her other lovers and to her childhood memories, all in an unsystematic order. The shifts in Molly’s stream of consciousness are evident whenever she thinks of the word “yes”. The chapter begins with her saying yes and describing her thoughts on her husband’s request that she bring him breakfast in bed later during the day, “Yes because he never did a thing like that before as ask to get his breakfast in bed with a couple of eggs since the City Arms hotel. . .” The events in her head start in specific settings, but once she says “yes”, the events she describes slightly tilt:

Its much better for them go into a hospital where everything is clean but I suppose Id have to dring it into him for a month yes and then wed have a hospital nurse next thing on the carpet have him staying there till they show him out or a nun maybe like the smutty photo he has shes as much a nun as Im not yes because theyre so weak. . .” (738).

Though not dramatically, these slight tilts portray an almost sphere-like concept within the episode; the further she delves into her head, the further she gets from her original starting point until she returns to the start of her entire monologue at the end, where she confesses her love for her husband, accepting his request: “I yes to say yes my mountain flower and first I put my arms around him yes and drew him down to me so he could feel my breast all perfume yes and his heart was going like mad and yes I said yes and I will Yes” (783). The use of this unpunctuated monologue embodies the female mind and the stream of connecting thoughts that a women endures on a common basis, as opposed to Bloom’s slower, less connected stream of consciousness.

Harnessing the various writing methods that exist has allowed Joyce to voice his novel perfectly, displaying his artistic intentions. Each writing style not only assists in narrating the story, but also becomes part the episode itself by becoming part of the theme. From the gradual development of the language told in Episode 14 and the bewildering hallucinations in Episode 15 to the ostensibly endless stream of thoughts in Episode 18, each technique sets the mood and compliments the events and characters each chapter. Joyce’s unconventional methods break the rules of the modern novel, yet deepen and enrich his vision and storytelling to the highest point of meaning and importance. Ulysses will not only remain Joyce’s magnum opus, but the entire 20th century’s.

Works Cited

Homer. The Odyssey. The World’s Great Classics ed. United States of America.

Grolier, Print.

Joyce, James. Ulysses. 1961 ed. Paris, France: Random House, 1922.

Print.

Cultural Morality: Sex, Marriage, and Interpersonal Relationships
A Study of the Theories of Absolutism and Relativism





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Armond Lorenzana
English 112
Professor Schelle
April 7, 2010


“Don’t you dare put me into a nursing home,” shrieks an elderly woman to her middle-aged son.
“This will be for the best. You’ll receive the care that you need at the home, mother,” replies the son in a hasty, frustrated voice.
A deep moral offense was enacted in the situation above, but not in the eyes of a westerner. Though seen as beneficial for the old woman and possibly, financially responsible for the son in western culture, this act presents itself as an incredibly immoral offense by the standards of Chinese culture, breaching the virtue of filial piety, a respect for ones elders. The question of what is ultimately the right and wrong thing to do can be interpreted many ways, but, depending on the culture one lives in and follows, the ultimate decision will be based on the culture’s morality, which judges the actions of interpersonal relationships, marriage and sex.
A culture’s view of morality reflects through its laws and customs and changes overtime. Morality, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, relates to principles that define right and wrong behavior (“Moral,” 2010). In essence, the term establishes what is “good” and what is “evil” based on the actions of human nature. There are multiple interpretations of morality, mostly from philosophical and religious standpoints, but anthropologist Raymond Firth said, “Morality is a set of principles on which . . . judgments are based.” The definition from the Merriam-Webster dictionary and an anthropologist are nearly identical; however, there is a minor difference in Mr. Firth’s explanation: the absence of “right” and “wrong” (p. 125).
Being an anthropologist, Mr. Firth omitted the two words likely because of his beliefs in the theory of cultural relativism. Cultural relativism, a universally accepted, methodological concept in anthropology, claims that every culture is equal in value and that only beliefs and morals can be judged based on their own given culture. The term was coined and theorized by anthropologist Franz Boas and his students (Glazer, 1996). This theory is popular and important in anthropological studies to avoid bias and quick assumptions on the values of a culture.
Different types of values establish themselves in every culture. Out of five different types of values, moral rules are present in all societies (Edgerton, p. 34). Edgerton (1985), an anthropology professor at the University of California, summarized how a moral rule stands in society: “Sometimes we are not at all certain why we follow certain rules; we simply feel that it would be somehow be wrong to do otherwise” (p. 41). Every human society acknowledges moral rules as rules that are right, imperative and unchangeable. These rules work on a reward and discipline basis. In a society, a person who can avoid doing what is wrong, as defined by the moral rules, becomes a good person who is praised and rewarded with virtue (p. 41).
The acknowledgement of these moral rules as the same globally is debated between two moral theories: moral absolutism and moral relativism. As philosopher John Cook (2003) stated in his book Morality and Cultural Differences, an absolutist is one that believes that there are moral principles that are followed by all people everywhere, even to those who do not recognize these certain principles (p. 7). In summary, “Moral absolutism is the ethical view that certain actions are absolutely right or wrong, regardless of other contexts such as their consequences or the intentions behind them.” For example, lying may always be considered immoral no matter the situation, even if it is used to promote good (“Moral absolutism,” 2010).
On the other side of the spectrum is the theory of moral relativism or cultural relativism. This theory states that moral truths vary from one culture to another (“Cultural Relativism,” n.d.). Cook defines the relativist as someone who insists that it is incorrect for anyone to assume that he knows what is right and wrong for everyone, everywhere, even for the people of cultures different from his. (p. 7). For the sake of this paper, moral truths amongst cultures will not be seen as absolute truths, but they will be explained to show how people in various cultures interpret these rules as truths and how they differ to other cultures.
Celibacy
Marriage and sex are two of the most highly regarded rituals worldwide, but the practices associated with these events differ around the globe. A culture placing huge moral constraints on the concept of sex is the Cheyenne Indian tribe. According to Edgerton (1985), the rule requiring women of the tribe to be chaste before marriage was particularly important and this rule was hardly broken. The enforcement of such a rule was difficult due to “repressed” men sometimes raping females. In turn, every girl wore a chastity belt until marriage. The importance of such a rule can be seen through a report describing the outcome of a man touching a girl’s chastity belt: the girl and her mother’s attack. Attacks could go as far having the violator stoned to death with no consequences of such brutal retaliations within the community (p. 146). Contrastingly, in western culture, the idea of placing a chastity belt on a girl from her first menses until her day of marriage exhibits extreme, unnecessary behavior, but in Cheyenne Indian culture, it is a way of life.
Another difference between cultures and sexual morality is the idea of supernatural punishments upon enacting immoral acts. Kim et al (2006) observed that the Chewa and Tumbuka in the African country of Zambia distinguish teenagers and adults (sexually hot individuals) from infants, sick persons, and old adults (sexually cold individuals). If sexually hot individuals engaged in premarital sex, chigololo, then the Chewa and Tumbuka believe that the sexual misconduct from these persons has a polluting power that can make the sexually cold people of the society suffer. Such an issue is viewed as a moral issue for this indigenous culture, while western culture sees the situation as a matter of personal issue or as a convention (p. 229). Moreover, some cultures even disregard celibacy as a necessary part of society, as it is discouraged in the middle east as dictated through the Islamic religion (“Religion and Sexuality,” 2010). As observed, celibacy is indisputably sacred in many societies whether through moral or religious obligations, but it is just as easily discouraged in another. Celibacy, however, is not the only moral constraint of sexual actions in a culture’s population.
Homosexuality
Smaller customs, such as celibacy, between several cultures are bound to be different; likewise, the same can be said for larger subjects regarding sexual morality such as homosexuality. Influencing followers throughout the world, major religions commonly label homosexuality as a grave sin. Islam strictly forbids homosexuality by considering it as a devious and indecent action. According to the Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad, the punishment for homosexuality is to be thrown off the highest cliff and stoned to death (“Sexual morality,” 2010). Especially amongst the world’s major religions, religious texts are all too common at casting down and spiting homosexual actions.
Shared with Islam in its condoning of homoerotic acts, Judaism and Christianity view homosexuality as a mortal sin. A common passage written in Leviticus 22:18 of the Old Testament supports these claims, “Though shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is an abomination.” The opprobrium of homosexuality is shared commonly with Christians from North America and Africa (“Christian views of homosexuality,” 2010). This is apparent within the prejudices of western culture involving homosexuals, ranging from the prohibition of gay marriage in many of the fifty states and the public’s general discrimination towards possibly homosexual political candidates.
Major religions, however, do not govern every culture with their views of homosexuality. In ancient Hellenic (Greek) society, homosexuality was not only accepted, but also encouraged, especially for men going into the military (“Sexual morality,” 2010.) This may be an outdated example with information concerning the ancient Greeks, but views of this are still supported today in Melanesia, a sub region of Oceania, through a tribal culture with a profound interest in semen. Showcased in Sambia culture, Gilbert Herdt (1984), an assistant professor of anthropology at Stanford University, described how the Sambia practice secret homosexual fellatio. Boys from seven to ten years old engage in the first initiation by ingesting semen from older youths, an important ritual in male development and masculinization. Young males continue to do this until they enter the third-stage where the older youths become the fellateds, inseminating prepubescent boys. The drinking of the bodily fluid is viewed as an essential to make boys grow big, strong, and healthy (p. 173). Once adults, youths pass from an exclusively homosexual period into a bisexual one, or until they father children (Herdt, p. 174). Only when the boy is married to a woman can he have heterosexual intercourse. Outside of marriage, heterosexual contact is a moral infraction in Sambia culture (p. 179). From a complete asphyxiation within Sambia culture to a total intolerance in Muslim and Christian regions, the different acceptance levels of homoerotic activities reveal contrasting moral rules and beliefs. Such differences of moral interpretations between societies range into any possible action a human can engage in sexually.
Polygamy
Perhaps one of the biggest taboos of any society is polygamy, illegal in many cultures and yet accepted and practiced in several others. In western society, polygamy is not recognized and bigamy, being married to another person while being lawfully married to another is considered a crime. In all 50 states of the United States, Turkey, Canada, China, etc, this act of bigamy is outlawed (“Polygamy,” 2010).
This would seem like an astonishing amount of cultures that argue the immorality of polygamous marriages and relationships; however, interesting statistics from the Ethnographic Atlas Codebook stated that out of 1,231 noted societies, 186 were monogamous, 453 had occasional polygyny, 588 had more frequent polygyny, and 4 practiced polyandry (having more than one husband) (“Polygamy,” 2010). Explanations for these numbers were stated on Indopedia, noting that polygamy is practiced in many Asian and African cultures, as well as polyandry being an accepted norm in a few Indian and African societies, as well.
One of the larger cultures that supports polygamy is based in the middle east and in Africa as a result of Islamic beliefs. In most countries, Muslims are allowed to have up to four wives while non-Muslims are not forbidden from pursuing the same number of wives (“Polygamy,” 2010). The country of Somalia, due to nearly all Somali being Sunni Muslims, allows marriages that can consist of up to four wives for a single man, as long as he can provide for them (“African Wedding Traditions,” 2004; “Culturegrams Africa”, 2009). Entire cultures that embrace Islamic faith and the polygamist aspects outlined within the religion are not committing any moral fractures within their own communities. This, however, may not be the case in western, Caucasian, Christian culture where monogamous marriages are favored while polygamy is shunned. Obviously, the viewpoints on polygamy are far from universal, but nearly every culture has agreed on the immorality of at least one topic.
Incest
Throughout the entire process of researching, evidence collected from the most primitive of societies to the most civilized provide a scope of universal agreement on the topic of incest: that it is highly immoral and highly prohibited in all cultures. Researcher Lloyd Demause (1991) claimed that the only absolute, universal trait shared amongst every culture is the prohibition of incest (Para. 1). The extremes of incest are detailed in Malinowski’s Crimes and Customs of Savage Society of Melanesian societies: “One day an outbreak of wailing and a great commotion told me that a death had occurred somewhere in the neighbourhood. . . . I was informed . . . a young lad of my acquaintance… had fallen from a coconut palm and killed himself . . . . The boy had committed suicide . . . . The truth was that he had broken the rules of exogamy, the partner in his crime being his maternal cousin, the daughter of his mother’s sister” (p. 77, 1959).
Though incest is not common in many cultures, the definition of incest differs. Trobriand Islanders that live just off the coast of eastern New Guinea forbid relations between a man and his mother and a woman and her father. While a relationship between a man and his mother is always prohibited, a relationship between a woman and her father can be acceptable. This is because the Islanders are matrilineal, meaning that children belong to their mother’s clan rather than their father’s. In fact, it is often that a man and his father’s sister will engage in an intimate relationship and sometimes even marry. To sum up the varying definitions of incest, approximately 50% of marriages in Arab and southern Indian areas are with first cousins or closer. Not only that, but events that would be classified as an act of incest in western culture is practice in the islands of New Guinea, Polynesian, and Melanesian tribes. Mothers are encouraged to sexually stimulate infants (“Incest,” 2010). In summary, the image of incest is morally unacceptable in every society, but the interpretations of the injustice differ between many. A visible trend shows that the definition of “right” and “wrong” behavior alter everywhere based on interpretations, but sexual deeds are not the only cases under analysis within cultures.
Interpersonal Relationships
The emphasis of keeping sexual activities moralized appears to be the dominate form of moral regulation in nearly every society, but these rules spread to other aspects of daily life and human communication. Though not always affected by sexual concepts, interpersonal relationships between people of different gender, color, status, and age also make up the identity of a culture. Considering the Cheyenne Indians, a cultural favor towards people of faith or the priestly class can exist and is shown through the exemption of a moral value (celibacy) for a higher priority. Edgerton (1985) explained, “During several sacred ceremonies, the wife of the man who pledged the ceremony was expected to have sexual intercourse with the priest instructor” (p. 147).
The exemption of moral rule for a greater importance was not just present within the Cheyennes, but in the ancient Greeks as well. An uncle marrying his niece was regarded as acceptable, though it may be incest, because keeping and continuing the family name was regarded as a more important moral act (“Sexual mortality,” 2010). Even the global immorality of incest can be disregarded at the hands of a culture’s expectations and standards, in this case the passing on of the family name.
In contrast, moral values are sometimes believed to be so important in some cultures that it is put before a certain type of person in the society. Cook (2003) supported this point, explaining that in Middle Eastern countries, where Islam is the main religion, if a woman is to have sex with a man out of wedlock (not married), then it is her brother’s or father’s duty to perform an honor killing to restore the family’s honor through murdering her (p. 84). Islam’s treatment of woman within its culture is considerably affected through the high, moral precautions implemented on sex and marriage.
Returning to Sambia culture, the glorifying of semen transaction and homosexual intercourse has stigmatized wives as inferior. The menstrual and vaginal fluids are believed to deplete men to a premature death. In turn, such a taboo is practiced at times, with couples disengaging from coitus for up to two and a half years after childbirth.
Sometimes, contrary to the examples explained before, interpersonal relationships aren’t byproducts of sexual morality at all, but are an integral part of the culture. This is the case for Chinese culture through the belief of filial piety, as mentioned before. Filial piety is a Confucian ideal and is regarded as the first and most important virtue of Chinese culture. The virtue is to be good to one’s parents, to show respect, support your parents, and to pay respects towards one’s ancestors. Filial piety discourages rebelliousness, especially to the wishes of ancestors. Once again, a major difference can be made between the ideals of one culture and another. The Inuit Eskimos killed their elders when the time seemed right. Cavan observed, “An acceptable method of reducing tensions was in the approved killing of members of the community who were not self-supporting as judged by the amount of work they do. These persons were the very old whose days of usefulness were over” (Steckley, 1949). The Inuit are not heartless or cruel based on these cultural norms; their moral beliefs find the act of abandoning those who cannot contribute any longer permissible. It is once again only the interpretation of what is ethical and what is not based on cultural beliefs. The question remains though: are these beliefs truly different in every culture or has the adoption of certain rules universal?
Conclusion
This paper has explored evidence encouraging the theory of moral relativism and moral absolutism throughout various customs around the world’s numerous cultures, past and present. Indeed, several controversial issues have been forbidden in many cultures while embraced in others. However, the universality of incest nearly insists that there is at least one absolute moral rule amongst all cultures.
When one looks back through history, the ideas of what is right and what is wrong has globally changed, specifically towards the treatment of fellow human beings. Universally, the acceptance of slavery merged into everyday life, since the beginning of civilizations. These ancient people could not fathom today’s 21st century mentality that slavery was an immoral act until activists within cultures started protesting for the rights of minorities, thus changing the cultures in themselves over time. Almost like a snowball effect, cultures, major and minor, adopted the thought that slavery was morally wrong. This is not the only issue to undergo a change in every society. Human sacrifices and the taking of innocents’ lives, for example, are no longer practiced, either through religious or moral implications. The taking of human life, though, has always been culturally acceptable when it involves bringing justice to a murderer or contributing to war efforts.
Historically, over a broad sense of time, moral absolutism has evidence supporting itself; however, cultural relativism displays just as much evidence with the overwhelming diversities present on this Earth. Most traditions in a culture, from the homosexual rituals in Melanesia to the practicing of polygyny, are important in keeping the culture’s identity. But all too often, people believe in the absolutism of moral rules and become guilty of ethnocentrism. Cook’s (2003) gave a perfect example to define the term, “Europeans were guilty of ethnocentrism when they condemned as immoral the “wife swapping” practiced by the Greenland Eskimos, who regarded the practice as perfectly natural” (pg. 8). As shown, ethnocentrism is used when one regards the actions his/her own culture as right while others are deemed wrong. Through the topics discussed throughout this paper, the interpretation of what is right and wrong differs everywhere and one culture cannot possibly be more “right” than another. However, every culture has embraced the same belief that slavery, murder, and incest are morally wrong; there exists some form of absolutism as well.
Perhaps this is not a black and white situation where one theory can be applied for every cultural phenomenon. The belief in this dichotomy of what is right and wrong provides no clear rules or explanations of how a group of people or even one person is to define what is permissible in human nature and what is not. A gray area, where the two theories come together, appears to be the most plausible answer due to the complexity of moral beliefs. Even with the mother and her son, when one traverses the two’s minds, spanning one cultural generation to another, the idea of what is right and wrong is not as easy it appears to be.


References

African wedding traditions. (2004). Retrieved from
http://www.worldweddingtraditions.com/locations/african_traditions.html
Christian views of homosexuality. (2004). Indopedia, the indologic knowledgebase. Retrieved (2010, March 24) from http://www.indopedia.org/Christian_views_of_homosexuality.htm

Cook, J.W. (2003). Morality and cultural differences. USA: University of Oxford Press.
Cultural relativism. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.moralrelativism.info/culturalrelativism.html
Culture. (2010, March 8). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 15:36, March 12, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Culture&oldid=348557792
Culturegrams Africa (volume iii). (2009). Provo, Utah.
DeMause, Lloyd. (1991). The Universality of incest. The Journal of Psychohistory, 19(2), Retrieved from http://www.psychohistory.com/htm/06a1_incest.html
Edgerton, R.B. (1985). Rules, exceptions, and social orders. United States of America, CA: University of California Press.
Filial Piety. (2010). Wikipedia:the free encyclopedia. Retrieved (2010, March 31) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Filial_piety
Glazer, Mark. (1994, December 16). Cultural relativism. Retrieved from http://www.utpa.edu/faculty/mglazer/theory/cultural_relativism.htm
Herdt et al. (1984). Ritualized homosexuality in melanesia. Berkely and Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
Incest. (2004). Indopedia, the indologic knowledgebase. Retrieved (2010, March 24) from http://www.indopedia.org/Incest.html#Cultural_variations
Malinowski, B. (1959). Crime and custom in savage society. Totowa, NJ: Littlefield, Adams & Co..
Moral. (2010). In Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. Retrieved March 12, 2010, from http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/moral
Moral absolutism. (2010, January 24). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moral_absolutism&oldid=339814778
Moral relativism. (2010, March 7). Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Moral_relativism&oldid=348306746
Polygamy. (2010). Wikipedia:the free encyclopedia. Retrieved (2010, March 24) from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polygamy
Sexual Morality. (2004). Indopedia, the indologic knowledgebase. Retrieved (2010, March 24) from http://www.indopedia.org/Sexual_morality.html
Steckley, John. (1949). White lies about the inuit. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/books?id=iosjdNH3g8C&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=i nuits+elders+killing&source=bl&ots=JoQtJCvysX&sig=12NelaNmSv72xcNF- 3n8EHmeQY8&hl=en&ei=cXqzS77iL4qSNczdmPoI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct =result&resnum=3&ved=0CA4Q6AEwAg#v=onepage&q=&f=false

College: A Nauseating Confection
A few years ago, the newest form of technology, an advanced AI (artificially intelligent) robot, was assembled and utilized by a young, prospective engineer at Colorado School of Mines. The creator programmed and sent his robot, the Apollo 2000, as a college representative when visiting high schools. The robot’s first and last, live presentation took place at Hotchkiss High School. The following truths were deemed too soul crushing and devastating to the average, hopeful teenager and were buried on a deserted island; however, they were recovered in a recent archaeological dig. The document reads as shown.
After rolling into the gym, the Apollo 2000 positioned itself in front of the projector screen, as the human, college representatives finished setting up. The session began; a surprising, vibrant, bright voice emerged from the square, metal head.
“Greetings, students, this is the biggest step of your life. You’re about to begin a new, fantastic chapter of your lives filled with wonderful opportunities. You’ll be enriched in a community of diversity, open, intellectual minds and charity. All that is needed is the completion of the simple admissions proce…ERROR processing original information.”
The robot appeared to be shutting down; its eyes grew dim, but it recovered almost instantaneously. Immediately, it resumed in an informal, brusque tone.
“Pardon me. As I was saying, college is a twelve-scoop high ice cream cone with a scoop of sweet vanilla at the bottom and eleven scoops of cream that taste awfully similar to something that would come out of a cow’s ass. The first scoop is the sweet-talking these institutions give you as they discuss diversity, sophisticated individuals, and leadership: all the qualities that no one they admit has in the end. The majority of the student populous spends their time at “study groups” that become a fiasco and end with piles of vomit, nonsensical games of beer pong, police sirens and dirty sex. If you are in the minority and do follow the rules, your social experience will be heavily crippled. Consider the true story of a student who has been in college for eight years and after all that time has not had a single relationship because he chose to avoid the parties.”
“But don’t standardized test scores show who can actually succeed in college by keeping immature troublemakers out?” asked a student in the audience.
“You couldn’t be anymore wrong,” shouted the technological marvel. “The next three scoops are nothing but the standardized tests required to measure your intelligence. Isn’t it amazing how human beings have finally managed to accurately determine the intelligence of anyone? The process is surprisingly simple; the test taker fills in bubbles to answer questions for four hours. It’s hard to believe but they also give out a thirty-minute writing test that defines and shows your overall skill at writing with absolutely no flaws. These have never been inaccurate with anybody, not even Albert Einstein who failed his entrance exams into college. Obviously, the ones who are incapable of prospering through college are found through these tests.”
The room was silent.
“How about the campus tours?” continued the robot. “Slurp up another two off that sensational bullshit cone you’re being fed. How many tours are the same? Trick question, ALL OF THEM! Don’t expect any unique features to be shown in any colleges during any tour besides DU’s hockey rink.”
“From beginning to end the tours drag on as the tour guide says, ‘These are the halls . . . these are our dorm rooms that were probably the same size of concentration camp cells . . . this is a statue of some animal . . . this is a massive study room where people are stressing the hell out for exams . . . and here is our slob-infested cafeteria. You thought housing was expensive; prepare to consider fasting. Sorry, no one is allowed to starve and die on campus, no matter how financially cautious they are of their future.’”
“And about the classrooms,” stated the machine. “Good luck at feeling the drag of an hour and a half lecture conducted by the foreign math professor no one can comprehend because that’s the learning experience.”
A young girl began to cry.
“Paying,” continued the robot. “This easily accounts for about five scoops because the prices are enormous. Housing alone costs $10,000. Surprising how everyone has to live on campus their first two years. Greed sure is good at concocting lies, just not covering them up. What will help the student body combat these high prices? Scholarships. However, don’t think these are for the “average” zealous person. Financial aid is only for those who live for their community, school, friends (if any), enemies, parents, and fifteen employers simultaneously, while finding the cure for cancer, building a shuttle for NASA, achieving a 5.0 GPA and being a national champion in six sports.
The whimpering girl stood up in protest. “But, but, my ACT score is a 28! I think that’s pretty good.”
The robot chuckles, “Well, you would be right if you weren’t so wrong. Colleges only seek perfection, silly! It’s easier to teach those that know everything rather than those with potential. You can give your entire adult life to the loan companies. It’s only $60,000 to pay off straight out of school without interest. You’ll make enough to pay that off in forty years, they say. It’s alright to better oneself, just not convenient.
Resuming her tears, the girl sat back down.
The robot reacted in a counseling tone. “Don’t worry because finally, the tantalizing taste of vanilla you’ve been craving has been reached. It’s the degree; the recognition of intelligence. There is still a bitter aftertaste from what was on top, like the debt. It’s a catch-22 and you’re all like Yossarian, striving to escape this mess. Not going almost ensures certain poverty, and going starts certain poverty.”
Right then, the human representatives, gaping in horror, rushed in and silenced the robot forever. As for the creator, a true martyr, he was branded and beheaded.

Armond Lorenzana & Mike Burdick

ENGL 112

Mr. Schelle

January 29, 2010

Classics or Gimmicks: Genre Defining Music

“BLAH, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH BLAH” is all that appears to come out of a new, $15 CD, nowadays. There is never a warning on the packaging saying, “WARNING: The following content is mundane, repetitive, and unoriginal.” The following albums, however, are deemed the cream of the crop and will be put to the test to see if they deserve the praise they have gained throughout music history.

In this evaluation, music lovers will find out what the supposed, greatest albums out of five genres are. The following albums have been chosen based off of "The Rolling Stones 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,""The Top 100 Heavy Metal Albums" from Metal Rules and the overall charts from Best Ever Albums - The Greatest Music Albums of All Time.

Criteria

Price:

The overall cost of the album in relation to the amount of music that is on the album. Generally, it is $1 per song—“fillers”/ forgettable songs are worth $0. The best prices go to albums that contain nearly no “fillers” and are worth about as much in relation to the number of songs on the disc. Price information was obtained from Best Buy.

Production Quality:

A great production quality sounds smooth and crisp, brings out every instrument, has “vinyl”/ extremely clear quality and is absent of a static/crackling, grainy, background sound.

Originality/Uniqueness:

The band plays more than just repetitive, predictable, rhythms that have been heard many other times. There is a great amount of musical talent and creativity not found anywhere else. They sound distinct from other bands and distinguish each track on the album. We feel that this particular element is weighted more than some of the others; two will multiply this score.

Infectiousness:

The melody easily becomes unforgettable and causes countless sing-a-longs throughout the day. There are always urges to hear it again, or have withdrawals without hearing it. This score will be multiplied by two.

Music Technicality:

The music contains multiple instruments, different structures, beats, tones/moods and sounds. Musical talent is taken to its peak as it is showcased through solos and complex structures, all while sounding good.

Overall Vibe:

This encompasses the overall atmosphere of the music. The listener easily feels energized or emotional while listening to the music.Two will multiply this score.

Packaging:

Refers to the attractiveness of the overall, physical, artistic appearance of the booklet, CD, artwork, etc.

Lyrics:

The words the vocalists sing. The lyrics are meaningful, interpretive and poetic. They compliment the instrumental music and vibe of the song.

Rankings

Based on a 1-5 scale.

1 – Does not meet most of the requirements listed in the criteria.

2 – Meets some requirements listed but seems to be lacking in many areas.

3 – An average score. Most requirements are met; however they are mostly forgettable.

4 – Above average. All requirements are met and done well.

5 – Meets every bit of the criteria and does it superbly. Truly goes the extra mile.

After both of our scores are finalized for an album, we will combine them to be out of 110 overall points.

1-59 is equivalent to a 1 on our ranking scale.

60-69 is equivalent to a 2 on our ranking scale.

70-79 is equivalent to a 3 on our ranking scale.

80-89 is equivalent to a 4 on our ranking scale.

90-99 is equivalent to a 5 on our ranking scale.

100-110 is not only a 5 on our ranking scale, but an essential to have.

Genres

Classic Rock:

A genre of rock that became popular in the 1960’s – 1980’s. Classic rock bands consist mainly of a vocalist, drummer, bassist, and one to two guitars that are usually distorted. There is almost always a guitar solo in a song.The vocalist usually has a wide range. Basically anything released in the formerly state time era that contains these elements are classified as classic rock.

Alternative Rock:

More of a modern form of rock, alternative rock incorporates special elements not found in hard rock. There is less emphasis on distorted guitars and a stronger focus on clean guitars. It borrows from genres such as jazz, funk, blues, classical, etc. It is not nearly aggressive enough to be classified as grunge or hard rock.

Indie:

Indie can be confused with alternative rock; however indie albums are released through independent labels. This makes indie albums generally more diverse in presentation and lower in production quality. Most new bands are labeled as indie due to the limited amount of money they can use to produce the CD. The artist generally has more freedom in what elements they want to incorporate into the music, though.

Metal:

Metal relies strongly on double bass drum pedals, highly distorted guitar (usually 2), a bassist, and vocalists singing aggressively or in a growl. When listened, many listeners define it as having a “heavy” sound. The music is normally very fast and, at times, has time signature changes.

90’s Hard Rock/Grunge:

This form of rock was introduced from the 90’s to the 2000’s. It has a greater emphasis on distortion and aggression than classic rock. The singer usually has a large range and sometimes screams loudly in aggression with the music.

Contestants

The following summaries were obtained from Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia.

Classic Rock

Led Zeppelin IV – Led Zeppelin

The untitled fourth album by English rock band Led Zeppelin was released on November 8, 1971. Upon its release, Led Zeppelin IV was a huge commercial and critical success. The album is one of the best-selling albums in history at 37 million units. It has shipped over 23 million units in the United States alone, putting it third on the all-time list.In 2003, the album was ranked 66th on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

The Joshua Tree – U2

Released March 9, 1987, The Joshua Tree is the fifth studio album by rock band U2. The Joshua Tree won Grammy Awards for "Album of the Year" and "Best Rock Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal" in 1988. In 2003, the album was ranked number 26 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". The album is one of the world's all-time best-selling albums, having sold over 25 million copies.

Dark Side of the Moon – Pink Floyd

The Dark Side of the Moon is the sixth studio album by English progressive rock group Pink Floyd, and was released in March 10, 1973. Themes include conflict, greed, the passage of time and mental illness. It is one of Pink Floyd's most popular albums among fans and critics, and is frequently ranked as one of the greatest rock albums of all time.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club Band – The Beatles

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock group The Beatles, released in June 1967. Making use of orchestras, hired musicians and innovative production techniques, the album incorporates elements of genres such as music hall, jazz, rock and roll, western classical and traditional Indian music; its lyrics deal particularly with themes of childhood and everyday life. Sgt. Pepper frequently ranks at or near the top of published lists of the greatest albums of all time.

Who’s Next – The Who

Who's Next is the fifth album by the English rock band The Who and was released on July 31, 1971. It was a critical and commercial success when it was released, and has been certified 3x platinum by the RIAA.

Alternative Rock

Blood Sugar Sex Magik – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Blood Sugar Sex Magik is the fifth studio album by American alternative rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers, released on September 24, 1991. The album's subject matter incorporates sexual innuendos and references to drugs and death as well as themes of lust and exuberance. It has sold over thirteen million copies worldwide and produced an array of hit singles.

Only by the Night – Kings of Leon

Only by the Night is the fourth studio album by American rock band Kings of Leon, released worldwide in September 2008. Only by the Night experienced remarkable commercial success, peaking inside the top 10 of over 10 different countries. The album was nominated for Best Rock Album at the 51st Grammy Awards with its song "Sex on Fire" receiving two nominations itself.

Ok Computer – Radiohead

OK Computer is the third album by the English alternative rock band Radiohead, released on June 16, 1997. Although most of the music is dominated by guitar, OK Computer's expansive sound and wide range of influences set it apart from many of the Britpop and alternative rock bands popular at the time. It is listed by music critics and listener polls as one of the greatest albums ever recorded.

London Calling – The Clash

London Calling is the third album by English punk rock band The Clash, released on December 14, 1979. Elements of ska, pop, soul, rockabilly and reggae are prominent throughout. This album received unanimously positive reviews and was ranked at number eight on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.

Is This It – The Strokes

Is This It is the debut studio album by American rock band The Strokes. Released on July 30, 2001, the record is considered crucial in the development of other alternative bands and of the post-millennial music industry. It has featured in several publications' lists of the best albums of the 2000s and the best albums of all time.

Indie

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea – Neutral Milk Hotel

In the Aeroplane over the Sea is the second studio album by American indie rock band Neutral Milk Hotel, released February 10, 1998. The album has a folk rock style with accordions and horns included. Today, it continues to sell well, and was the sixth-best-selling vinyl album in 2008.

The Stone Roses – The Stone Roses

The Stone Roses is the debut album by English alternative rock band The Stone Roses, released on Silvertone Records in 1989. It cemented the band's reputation among critics, and is still rated by many as one of the most important albums ever.

Daydream Nation – Sonic Youth

Daydream Nation is the fifth studio album by the American alternative rock band Sonic Youth, released in 1988. In the years following its release, Daydream Nation has risen in stature to become one of the most highly regarded albums of the 1980s, receiving much critical acclaim and appearing on many "Best-of" lists.

Doolittle – Pixies

Doolittle is the second studio album from the American alternative rock band Pixies, released in April 1989. The album's offbeat and dark subject material features references to surrealism, Biblical violence, and torture and death. The album has been cited as inspirational by many alternative artists, while numerous music publications have ranked it as one of the most influential albums ever.

Funeral – Arcade Fire

Funeral is the debut full-length album by Canadian indie rock band Arcade Fire, released on September 14, 2004. The album was nominated for a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Alternative Music Album and received wide critical acclaim.

Metal

Reign in Blood – Slayer

Released on October 7, 1986, Reign in Blood is the third studio album and major label debut by the American thrash metal band Slayer. The record is sometimes seen as "the heaviest album of all time," and a breakthrough in thrash metal and speed metal.

Master of Puppets – Metallica

Master of Puppets is the third album by American thrash metal band Metallica and was released on March 3, 1986. It is now considered a classic thrash metal album by fans, critics, and the band members themselves alike, and is considered one of the greatest heavy metal albums of all time.

Paranoid – Black Sabbath

Paranoid is the second studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released in September 1970, it is considered one of the greatest and most influential heavy metal albums of all time.

Number of the Beast – Iron Maiden

The Number of the Beast is the third studio album by British heavy metal band Iron Maiden. It has been cited as one of the most influential heavy metal albums of all time, and is widely acknowledged as one of the best and most iconic albums of the genre.

Holy Diver – Dio

Holy Diver is the debut album from American heavy metal band Dio. Released on May 25, 1983, the album has been hailed by critics as Dio's best work and a classic staple in the heavy metal genre.

90’s Rock/Grunge

Ten – Pearl Jam

Ten is the debut studio album by the American alternative rock band Pearl Jam, released on August 27, 1991. In 2003, the album was ranked number 207 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Superunknown – Soundgarden

Superunknown is the fourth album by American rock band Soundgarden, released on March 8, 1994. It was nominated for the Grammy Award of Best Rock Album in 1995.

Rage Against the Machine – Rage Against the Machine

Rage Against the Machine is the debut studio album by alternative metal band Rage Against the Machine, released on November 11, 1992. In 2003, the album was ranked number 368 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

Aenima – Tool

Released October 1, 1996, Aenima is the second album by progressive metal band Tool. It won the Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance in 1998.

Nevermind – Nirvana

Nevermind is the second studio album by the American rock band Nirvana, released on September 24, 1991. It was responsible for bringing alternative rock to a large mainstream audience, and critics subsequently regarded it as one of the best rock albums of all time.

Testing

All of our tests were conducted with the same 360 Watt speaker at Armond’s house, allowing for maximum quality, especially in the bass. Our results were hand-recorded on a table: see Appendix 1. Every album was listened to in its entirety before being judged. Both judges (Armond & Mike) are musicians. The overall scores can be seen in the graphs below.

Metal

Reign In Blood:$10; easily displays aggressive vibe and music technicality throughout. Suffers from “fillers” and repetitive lyrics.

Master of Puppets: incredible vibe, musicianship, originality, etc. Suffers from a hefty price.


Paranoid: extremely original and infectious. Suffers from bland packaging.

Number of the Beast: beautiful packaging, clear sound, and impressive musicianship. Expensive and contains some “fillers”, though.

Holy Diver: $8 and unforgettable melodies. However; it fairly lacks in overall depth by being straightforward.

Alternative

Blood Sugar Sex Magik: Entertaining beats, melodies, lyrics. Cutting edge production quality mixed with original, non-stop catchiness.

Onlty By The Night: Incredibly infectious tunes are presented in perfect quality. Lacks music technicality and creative lyrics.

London Calling: $10 for 19 songs. Covers many different alternative styles. Eventually loses a sense of distinctiveness and depth.

Ok Computer: Original with meaningful lyrics, but fails to present a vibe that can be felt, songs that can be remembered, or anything very entertaining.

Is This It: Some catchy songs. Overall, very straightforward, repetitive, unoriginal, and average.

90’s Rock/Grunge

Ten: Addictive songs set in a powerful atmosphere. Only a few songs didn’t seem up to par with the rest of the album.

Rage Against the Machine: Oustanding production quality displayed in a strong, aggressive vibe. Became repetitive and lacked much effect further in, though.

Nevermind: Three very memorable songs with varying styles, at times. Other songs are mostly “fillers”.

Aenima: Superb packaging, lyrics, musicianship, and tone. Not very accessible.

Superunknown: Decent quality with two stand out songs. Many songs failed to keep our attention and showcased a normal, average album.

Indie

In the Aeroplane Over the Sea: Very original, emotional, and atmospheric. However, there was low technicality and spots of repetitivity.

The Stones Roses: Presented strong atmospheres, melodies, and skills in some songs. Many segments seemed to drone on forever with no real hook.

Daydream Nation: Had superb drumming technicality; however, it felt like they focused the entire album on making random noise.

Doolittle: Incredibly original with every song being distinctive and vibrant. Not very accesible due to lyrical content.

Funeral: Achieves a different, positive vibe. Attains desired atmosphere easily. Does not display strong technicality, though.

Classic Rock

Who’s Next: An overall statement of outstanding musical ability coupled with accessibility. Sounds crisp, smooth, and incredibly infectious.

Led Zeppelin IV: Amazing solos and melodies that set a great rock’n’roll vibe. Extremely expensive ($15) and unrelatable lyrics.

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart Club band: Showcases an amazing, diverse tone. However, this album is better left in the past due to a horrible price and musical variation.

Dark Side of the Moon: Has an amazing production quality and atmosphere with abstract, meaningful lyrics. However, the price is generally high.

The Joshua Tree: Great production quality and terrific singles accompanied a nightmarish amount of fillers, unoriginality and an outrageous album cost.

Conclusion

Not every album was as successful as promised. A few managed to be recognized as magnificent albums, though. Here are the overall best albums as shown by the graphs.

Best Albums

Classic Rock: Who’s Next

Alternative: Blood Sugar Sex Magik

Metal: Master of Puppets

Indie: Funeral

90's Hard Rock/Grunge: Aenima

Whenever there seems to be a drought of creative, enjoyable music, these albums will restore the hope in any music enthusiast.

Appendix 1

Criteria	Reign In Blood	Master of Puppets	Paranoid	Number of the Beast	Holy Diver
Price
Production Quality
Originality*
Infectiousness*
Music Technicality
Overall Vibe*
Packaging
Lyrics
Overall Score

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Here is a link to my school's homepage: http://www.hotchkiss.12.co.us/hhs

Armond Lorenzana

ENGL 111

Mr. Schelle

December 17, 2009

Les Miserables: A Masterpiece

If one were to ask what the basis of human nature and civilization encompasses, I would tell them to read Victor Hugo’s epic novel, Les Miserables (1862). Set in various locations in France, spanning from 1815 to 1832, the novel follows the main protagonist, Jean Valjean. The story begins with the Bishop of Digne and his daily life. Jean Valjean, a released convict, stumbles upon the town where the Bishop lives and is shunned from every inn he goes to due to his status as a former prisoner. The only one who will let him take shelter is the Bishop of Digne. This act of kindness transforms Jean Valjean from being spiteful of humanity to being saint-like towards it, in regards to the Bishops wishes.

Several years later, Jean Valjean becomes the mayor of a small French town, Montfermeil, and goes under the new alias of M. Madeleine. Afterwards, he meets a woman by the name of Fantine, who suffers from a great amount of misery. Fantine, having no way to support her child, Cosette, has given her to a family named the Thenardiers to take care of Cosetteuntil she can support her. Oblivious to the mother, the Thenardiers are cruel and treat Cosette as a slave. Jean Valjean promises to retrieve Cosette for her mother; however, he reveals his true identity when someone in a neighboring town is put to trial under his name. Fantine dies and Javert, a police inspector who follows Jean Valjean throughout the novel, arrests him.

Jean Valjean escapes from prison and finds Cosette. He buys her from the Thenardiers and adores her as his own child. They rent a small room in Paris, but Javert soon discovers them. While being chased, Jean Valjean manages to ascend into a convent of nuns with Cosette. They soon settle into the convent and live there for several years.

At this point, Marius, a new protagonist, enters the novel and becomes absorbed in his past. Having never known his father, Marius discovers and respects his father, a soldier of Waterloo. The orphan, Marius, leaves his grandfather’s house and lives on his own after a dispute regarding his deceased father. Marius frequently visits the Luxembourg Park where he spots and falls in love with Cosette. Jean Valjean, noticing Marius’s continuous gazes towards Cosette, stops going to the park and Marius soon becomes depressed. However, eventually, Marius discovers Cosette’s address and visits her frequently.

Cosette disappears and in an oath to die because of her disappearance, Marius acts in the Paris Uprising. In the meantime, Jean Valjean discovers the love affair between Marius and Cosette and goes to the Uprising to assist Marius. Jean Valjean saves Marius and Javert from being killed in the revolt. Afterwards, Cosette and Marius marry, leaving Jean Valjean devastated from having to share Cosette’s love. Jean Valjean reveals his past as a convict to Marius and is soon unwelcome from the house; however, Cosette does not know his secret. Visits stop between Jean Valjean and Cosette and as a result and he remains in his bed. At the end of the novel, Marius learns that Jean Valjean is responsible for saving him in the Paris Uprising. The couple visits Jean Valjean and listens to his final words. He dies as the two kiss his hands.

In my opinion, Les Miserables is an incredible piece of literature. Hugo is the master of similes and metaphors and uses it effectively in this novel. In one of his descriptions of human society and the social classes, he compares civilization as a mountain and the poor as the caverns. How do you expect to know the whole mountain without viewing the caverns? With his poetic skills, he manages to make connections to emotions, issues and history. In the final scene of the book, his metaphors are so powerful he brought me to tears.

This novel is a very deep piece of work that addresses the human soul’s emotions and issues in civilization ranging from religion to poverty. This drama, while being magnificent, does suffer from many chapters of useless information. The book contains three types of chapters: the story, philosophical sermons, and historical lectures. These normally appear in the middle of the story and break the narritive. I had no background knowledge of French history, thus these chapters were dull. A fifty-page chapter on the battle of Waterloo led me only to one point of significance regarding the story. However, the plot is captivating and the philosophical sermons are very convincing and interesting. Those who can make it past the boring, overwritten, historical lectures will found a moving tale of love, misery, and life itself. The story raises the novel back to a captivating status after a slew of pointless information passes over the reader’s head.

Overall, this book is massive. Adding up to 1,463 pages, only the most persistent and dedicated of readers will be able to finish this in one semester. I was rewarded for never giving up as the story is unlike any other drama told. It is truly heart wrenching, but has shone me how the goodness of the human soul conquers all other endeavors.

Works Cited

Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York, New York: New American Library, 1987. Print.

Armond Lorenzana

ENGL 111

Mr. Schelle

December 8, 2009

The Victims of Time

On a mildly cold, autumn afternoon, the final day of November, I had been dispatched on a mission. Located on the outskirts of Paonia, an average sized town consisting of theaters, schools, stores and banks littering Main Street, in a small, but seemingly new and rich suburb, my destination lied. Such a clean, bright suburb is one of the last areas I would have imagined being part of the hippie-populated town. In this small residential community, the houses shined freshly and purely like white pearls pried straight from a clam during a sunny morning catch. Any filth that encountered these homes left no history behind; only the color of creamy vanilla reigned supreme amongst the houses’ clean walls. To finish the setting of the charming neighborhood, large, spacious trucks, sparkling in their black paint job, mimicked the neatness of the homes.

Once the oval-shaped strip of pavement around the suburb reaches its tip, there are massive piles of rocks that lay on top of one another like heaps of bodies after a war, surrendering to the deadness of the color gray. Frosty from the exhales of the faint, autumn, evening winds, the stony piles sloped well about the size of an average person, eventually coming to a bow underneath a row of windows. The few panels of glass are the only places that allow a glimpse of the outdoors from inside. Behind these portals, I caught the sight of a man garbed in shaded, green nurse scrubs. Cocking my head to the northern sky like a deer on alert, I read the dark, green welcome sign naming the long, brick structure in front of me: Paonia Care and Rehabilitation Center.

After passing through the large, double wooden doors, there remains only one last, dark room the size of a closet. On a rectangular white plaque, it asks of only one thing, “Do not enter if having symptoms of a cold, flu or any other sickness”. Looming above this one instruction is a soap dispenser to sanitize myself of the outside world. I request from it and it replies by oozing out its cleanly juices. The clear liquid glides across my hand like a slug as it secretes a bitter cold trail on my once warm skin. I carry this with me through the next door to arrive at my destination.

White, everywhere! The walls, reception desk, rooms and doors were all the color of a cloud beginning to shift its mood to melancholy. It is the fabled color of purgatory: an infinite white waiting room. This dull white stretched to everything besides the green carpet, steel gray bathroom door, the dining room and people. A small amount of yellow and orange ornaments stuck to the walls in celebration of Thanksgiving. A plump, rosy cheeked, aged woman adorned with glasses and garbed in majestic purple with depictions of blooming flowers, who I will call Mrs. Purple, greeted us. As she approached, I could see a group of white headed, elderly quadriplegics cluttered closely together like cattle grazing: still and oblivious.

My attention returned to the Mrs. Purple. Her golden yellow, curled hair stood out in this nursing home. In her cheery, delicate voice, she told Mike and me, her plan: “You guys should do an activity with them (the elderly). You can do anything; we have puzzles, checkers and chess. They really do like to play puzzles, though.”

Entering the main hexagonal-shaped living room ahead of us, with this knowledge in mind, we chose a puzzle of the United States of America. Once we pulled the puzzle box from the shelves of games, Mike and I turned around and were confronted by the everlasting gaze of these hunched, aging bodies.

“Does anybody want to put together a puzzle with us?” asked Mike in an intimidated tone. The silent reply pierced my ears. The feelings of awkwardness and being unwanted took their grips like parasites feeding from my sense of optimism. Even the most charismatic of people would falter in getting a response from such people.

Mrs. Purple, however, had rounded up a few of these silent souls to sit around the table to construct this three-foot, multi-colored model of the fifty states. Three elderly women had joined us in their wheelchairs and lessened the sense of awkwardness with their mildly eager contributions. However, like a toddler in awe of the “I Got Your Nose” trick, they stared at the pieces in deep contemplation, sometimes mouth agape. Not just limited to the three women participating in our activity, many of these ancient people suffered from deformities. The bones of their hunched backs and crooked fingers seemed to be crying for release from the entombment of wrinkled, spotted skin atop of them.

Across the other side of the circular table, bloody red, hollow eyes stared at me and in a raspy voice called to me, “I wanna go home. I wanna go home. I wanna go home….” It was an awkward situation: normally the wounded are looked down upon as they are usually crawling, but now I was witnessing many hardships at eye level as I sat in my seat. I conversed with this forsaken woman hesitantly, unfortunately, having to raise my voice,

“WHY CAN’T YOU GO HOME?”

“I don’t know. I don’t… I wanna go home,” she replied in a guttural rasp.

“WHO…WHO PUT YOU IN HERE,” I stammered to say to maintain conversation.

“My daughter left me here… I wanna go home,” she continued to drone.

I stopped talking to her. I later found out her home was in Oklahoma City. Only she uttered small cries of despair; everyone else seemed to understand the pain, through kneeled heads and silence.

After the completion of the three-foot United States puzzle, we dumped the last bit of Thanksgiving symbols and colors to rest in a small, flimsy cardboard box, our last assignment as the senior citizens departed to the dining room for dinner. After completing the task, I opened the steel, locked door to the bathroom with the keys provided on a high hook. I did my business under the dark orange glow of the room while thinking of what I accomplished to assist these forgotten people. The silver, wobbly handle failed to flush the toilet even with immense amounts of unnecessary pressure. Unsatisfied with my recently, failed attempt at flushing, I explained the stubbornness of the toilet with Mrs. Purple, and since my tasks were finished, I signed my name for my work, and left for dinner.

We departed from the suburb of beautiful homes and reunited with the familiar, lighted streets of Main Street and cool, crisp night air of the outside world, All the while, I wondered: Did I achieve my mission? Did I give these people even a moment of happiness? I smelled with the air of a foreign land, of pinecones and youth, but in their white, infinite walls of purgatory, their senses, memories and loved ones fly like Halley’s Comet, only to come back every seventy-five years.

Armond Lorenzana

Mr. Schelle

ENGL 111

November 13, 2009

DRM: Dupes, Robbers and Moguls

The future of America will be a bittersweet place. For everyday people, they will experience the bitter part. Sharing becomes outlawed even in the nicest and simplest of forms. There will be no such thing as hand-me-downs or non-profit organizations. For dinner, each family member eats his or her own food. If ham is for dinner each individual will need to have his or her own separate ham. Movie nights at home will be a thing of the past, as each person will have to buy his or her own television and copy of the movie. On the other side of the spectrum, CEO’s of major companies will indulge in the sweet part of life. Acting as Big Brother, they will be able to track and make sure everything they produce will not come in contact with the human senses until paid for accordingly. And once purchased, they can still control their products as they see fit. All of this could be traced back to the influence of DRM. Realistically though, DRM is an inconvenient tool that benefits nobody and fails to achieve its purpose.

In the 1960’s, the vinyl age, the copying of music almost never occurred. To duplicate the music from a twelve-inch vinyl record at that time would be a hefty task. People would mainly share their records, which, in turn, would inspire others to purchase the same records later. This concept also continued into the next, newer format of music distribution: the cassette. Record companies started to become aware and cautious of blank cassettes and their ability to back-up music. Not many precautions appeared to hinder the use of this format of media playing; however, the leap of entertainment into the 21st century ushered in an enormous change.

Music and eventually all media would go digital and become accessible on Compact Discs (CD’s). With the portability and convenience of the CD, the introduction of CD burners, and the power of the Internet, the possibilities of non-stop sharing with the single purchase of a song made record companies take huge measures to protect their products. All of these factors have given birth to a contemporary, digital bouncer known as Digital Rights Management (DRM). According to Julia Layton of Howstuffworks.com, “DRM is a general term used to describe any type of technology that aims to stop, or at ease, the practice of piracy.” In other words, any method used to stop the copying of any media is a form of DRM. Today, this technology encrypts the following items: CD’s, DVD’s, all downloadable content from the internet, computer games, media players, cell phones, etc.

For businesspersons, the placement of this technology in nearly every form of media makes it appear as a very popular form of software. For consumers, its unpopularity is caused by its inconvenient methods of restriction. Most of the time it prohibits legal uses of entertainment that consumers have legally purchased as their own. However, defenders of DRM say it is managing these issues better. In translation, DRM is only becoming less difficult to manage; however, most consumers want a hassle free product. It proves to be difficult by defying the Fair Use Doctrine that “gives a consumer the right to make copies of copyrighted content for their own use” (Lesley). Under DRM’s programming, nearly all practices of the fair use doctrine such as burning a CD, transferring songs to an mp3 player, listening to songs on another computer, or making a back-up DVD are strictly prohibited.

Interestingly enough, even advocators of the restrictive software look down upon it for its huge inconvenience. During times when Oscar voters must screen movies, the movie industry issues out custom-made DVD players to voters to ensure that only a specific player will play specially encrypted discs made for it. Even though the player ensures the protection of the content on the disc, voters detested its functionality. As quoted from a blog entry entitled “Movie Industry: DRM Is for Customers, Not for Members,” feedback from academy members stated, “The machine operating the S-View software scored few points for being user-friendly in its brief run. Its user base complained of the impracticality of having to lug the machine around on vacation during the holiday season, the height of the screening period” (Ernesto). To shadow the hypocrisy of the film industry, industry insiders said the decision was enforced because Oscar screeners are not the ones uploading movies to initiate acts of piracy, even though the player was made solely because some voters have in fact done such an act.

Inconvenient as it may be, DRM does give publishers the confidence to distribute media on an unparalleled amount of formats. “Now a consumer has instant access to massive libraries of media. Now you, the consumer, can access any music or video, whenever, wherever” (Advantages). This very concept has built the multi-media juggernaut known as iTunes. Anything from music, movies, audio books and more is obtainable from the player’s online music store. However, all of this merchandise is loaded with DRM. This not only holds true to Apple’s media player, but to all media players wanting to be like it, such as Microsoft’s Windows Media Player. Unfortunately, the DRM existing in the items purchased from iTunes will not be compatible with Windows Media Player or vice versa. In this case, the endless amount of useable formats shrivels so the consumer only uses one platform for media enjoyment.

Since the consumer can only use one platform due to DRM restrictions, competition suffers. For example, the release of Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune may sway potential buyers, but depending on which one the buyers choose will determine which player they will use. iPods will only work with iTunes while Zunes will only work with Windows Media Player. Thus, depending on which player the consumer chooses will determine which platform they will have to use from now on, leaving very little chance for competition. An issue discussed on “The Big Picture” shows that Sony’s DRM encrypted CD’s and their exportability onto iTunes are competitively motivated. “The new copy protection scheme — which makes it difficult to rip CDs and listen to them with an iPod — is designed to put pressure on Apple to open the iPod to other music services, rather than making it dependent on the iTunes Music Store for downloads." Due to the iPod’s popularity in comparison to Sony’s marketed players, Sony would hope to use DRM to manipulate Apple for opportunities instead of bettering its products.

Returning to its proposed purpose, DRM, in its most primitive state, is to be a security system. Supporters of this system say that now a person’s personal information is safer than ever before. Unaware to most people though, are the byproducts of DRM that can put users’ confidential information and privacy at risk. Watermarking, one of the byproducts, labels downloaded content with the information of the user who originally bought the file. This contains information like a receipt, but also contains personal information (history, card numbers, etc.) the buyer may have had on his iTunes account, for example. Hackers could easily access and the view more than the consumer would want.

How does a hacker manage to break into personal files, though? The answer links back to DRM itself, at times. Burrowed in watermarks as well, CD’s tainted through DRM possess trackers.These allow record companies to monitor how people access their material – basically, under DRM, companies still own the released goods; consumers only rent – to track piracy. At the consumer’s expense, a hidden area manifests to track the media, much like spyware. Julia Layton elaborates on the procedure by stating, “. . . The user doesn’t know it’s there and probably can’t find it if he or she looks. It creates a hidden area in the windows that could potentially pose a security risk once virus writers find out it’s there.” Especially for privacy and personal information, the supposed solutions formed by media companies only cause more problems for the innocent buyer.

Even though DRM does not work for users, the implementers of the technology, the various entertainment industries, should be basking in success from this software. However, restricted content does not work for anyone.Ironically, the producers of DRM lose money from their own creation. This loss, according to the article “"The Top 10 Arguments Against DRM" is because “Royalty rates offered to many content producers from online retailers are often pitifully low and DRM is typically used as a main reason why this is so. In addition to the many costs of implementing DRM for content there's a cost that is often overlooked: The sales you lose because people don't want to buy DRM'ed content or have incompatible players.” Not only does it ward away potential customers and any chances of profit, but also it fails to accomplish its most important purpose from all these sacrifices: stopping piracy. Even after Apple abandoned all DRM for music on the iTunes store, rates of piracy did not change. “The industry has finally been able to get some hard data about how removing DRM restrictions from legitimately purchased tracks affects piracy,” DRM specialist Bill Rosenplatt said, “The statistics show that there's no effect on piracy” (“How Apple is Changing DRM”). Nearly none of DRM’s alleged purposes are accomplished.

While everyone faces the endeavors from this controlling software, it brings an ease of mind to think that at least DRM ensures an artist’s pay for his work. The classic argument of how DRM enforces morally right decisions says, “Now the consumer can take the moral high ground and pay for the media so that the copyright owner receives the proceeds they're entitled to” (“Advantages”). Musicians, unfortunately, make very little from album sales. Janis Ian, a songwriter, explains, “If we’re not songwriters, and not hugely successful commercially we don’t make a dime off our recordings” (Obringer). To be exact, each recording sold has a statuary rate of eight cents. However, recording artists/songwriters make seventy-five percent of the statuary rate.

Though not by much, contracts are negotiable, allowing the artist to make more than formerly said, but he will still have to pay back recoupment expenses, money lent by the record company.Lee Ann Obringer of Howstuffworks describes a scenario of an artist who has just sold a million copies of his album but must pay expenses, “Let's see what these recoupable expenses do to our artist's $1,012,500 royalty . . . . The recording costs were $300,000 . . . promotion costs were $200,000 . . . tour costs were $200,000 . . . and a music video cost $400,000 . . . . That comes out to: . . . $800,000. Suddenly our artist isn't making a million plus, he's making $212,500. But don't forget there is also a manager to be paid (usually 20%), as well as a producer and possibly several band members. The artist won't see any royalty money until all of these expenses are paid.” With DRM, companies are the only ones truly profiting; the artist behind all the material is making dirt in comparison. Unless people attend concerts, the musicians will make near nothing.

Overall, the only real solution to a flawed solution is to forsake it. Through boycotting DRM encrypted products, companies will abandon the software and put control back to the consumers. After all, once a company goes out of business, consumers who bought the tainted merchandise won’t be able to access them anywhere, since the company was the one in control. Not only that, but the concept of sharing, prohibited by DRM, is an easy way to increase potential profit. As said by Trent Reznor, a very successful musician from the band Nine Inch Nails, “Forget thinking you are going to make any real money from record sales. Make your record cheaply (but great) and GIVE IT AWAY. As an artist you want as many people as possible to hear your work. Word of mouth is the only true marketing that matters” (Asay). Wise words, Mr. Reznor, but ease it down a bit; the last thing America wants to do is share so much it’ll be as doomed as those socialist Canadians up north.

Works Cited

"Advantages."Home. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://aboutdrm.net/sitemap.aspx>.

Asay, Matt. "Trent Reznor: 'So you want to make money on the Web' | The Open Road - CNET News."Technology News - CNET News. N.p., 10 July 2009. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://news.cnet.com/8301-13505_3-10283886-16.html>.

Ernesto. " Movie Industry: DRM Is For Customers, Not For Members | TorrentFreak ."TorrentFreak | Torrent News, Torrent Sites and the latest Scoops . N.p., 27 Dec. 2007. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://torrentfreak.com/drm-is-for-customers-not-for-members-071227/>.

"How Apple is changing DRM ."guardian.co.uk . N.p., 15 Mar. 2000. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. <http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2008/may/15/drm.apple>.

Layton, Julia. "HowStuffWorks "How DRM Works"."Howstuffworks "Computer". N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://computer.howstuffworks.com/drm.htm>.

Obringer, Lee Ann. "HowStuffWorks "How Music Royalties Work"."Howstuffworks "Entertainment". N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://entertainment.howstuffworks.com/music-royalties6.htm>.

"The Big Picture."The Big Picture. N.p., 21 Oct. 2005. Web. 2 Nov. 2009. <http://bigpicture.typepad.com/comments/2005/10/drm_crippled_cd.html>.

"The Top 10 Arguments Against DRM."LearnOutLoud.com. N.p., 18 Nov. 2006. Web. 12 Nov. 2009. <http://www.learnoutloud.com/content/blog/archives/2006/11/the_top_10_argu.html>.

Armond Lorenzana

Mr. Schelle

ENGL 111

October 9, 2009

The Tainting Wall

            A pile of stones had rushed into my throat as I gasped for words to say. Panic settled into my heart as I paced back and forth. Sweat started to appear on my hands and face in anticipation of the inevitable moment. My breaths became short and fast. My thoughts sped through my mind like locomotives in an infinite maze. At that moment, I knew only that these walls had to be broken and my words had to be heard. I took a deep breath, exhaled and began to speak to her.

            In such a moment, only the truths of the past could console me. I’d be the last person anyone would see in such a position. In the years of my youth, loneliness could always be attributed to me. Unfortunately, self-esteem was a foreign concept to me, leaving myself at the lowest part of my priority list. Though this plagued me, my lonely heart didn’t condemn me into the beliefs of a hermit, but actually made me long for the ability to love. With how social I was, my opportunities were as slim as floss.

            My chances started to rise a week before the school dance. It was cold and snowy, a glistening winter wonderland, my kind of weather. During our lunch break, she came up to me and asked, “Would you like to go to the dance?” I was startled by her request. In front of my friends, I felt foolish and cowardly; it’s not customary to have the girl ask the guy. My automatic response made me mutter, “You don’t want to go with me,” as I looked away from her. I caught her sighing in an angry tone as she walked away, making me reconsider and regret what I said. Immediately, the only thoughts filling my head were of her invitation. I felt warm in the midst of the cold, thinking about her and her flower-like scent.

            As the days passed, so did the dance. Months followed in fast pursuit it seemed. In that time, my thoughts of her consumed me. My regret of missing my one opportunity was imprinted on the surface of my mind. I had resurrected walls on all sides of me, allowing only the rain of my sorrows to drown me. As the clouds settled in, daydreams of what could have been conquered me. And still the rain poured. However, once the water reached my neck, my senses returned to me. I gazed into the murky pool and saw a reflection of my pitiful self. Basic human survival instincts seemed to finally kick in. I began to plan my next actions that would certainly make the clouds depart.

            The months of silence had ended with my decision to pour my emotions out to her. I felt a strange sense of confidence in doing so and it paid off. It was all in the game of manipulation; overwhelm her with emotions and hope it’s enough to win her over. I confessed my obsession and returned to that winter day telling her, “You’re all I’ve thought about. I want to be with you so bad,” when, in reality, she was a need. With her saying, “Oh my gosh…that’s so sweet. Of course,” my flaws had been fixed. My low self-esteem lied deceased and over its carcass sprang the flowers of spring and the air was filled with their scent, nay, her scent.

            From that day forth, every day was a holiday. Celebrations began each day in my heart from the moment I saw her to the moment we went home. There was finally a reason to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Nothing says “thank you for being mine” like an oversized stuffed bear and some homemade, peanut butter brownies. Valentine’s Day or not, I would’ve given her a gift each day. It was a time of celebration, after all. We spent our days in the best of ways: lying in the crisp, green grass with the warmth of the sun in our faces, and the sweet, sweet aroma. There were no words needed only our touch. As her warm hair draped onto me, she could rest her head on me like a pillow or we could simply hold each other. To lose touch was to lose sanity. Eventually, losing even a moment of recognition caused the loss of my sanity.

            I began to lose it after a month. My eyes constantly darted to the sight of her, only to see hers were not doing the same. A wave of disappointment knocked me back. I consoled myself with the logical reasoning that she, like anybody else, had many things to do. Looking at me could wait. Like a child being spoon fed Brussels sprouts, I rejected this logical explanation from settling into my head. In doing so, an invasion of uncertainties started to flow freely through me. A series of questions sprang up, “Does she really like me? Does she really need me like I need her? Does she honestly want to be around me that much? Does she think of me as much as I think of her”? Being noticed wasn’t enough to make me content. I wanted to know that all of her thoughts centered on me as much as mine did on her. As a tidal wave of doubt submerged me, her fragrance that had so intoxicated me, faded. Like the heroin addict in rehab, my inner misery had resurfaced to the point of extreme uneasiness. It infected me even when I was next to her.

            At first, she was concerned. Her sad voice met with mine and cheered me up. Unfortunately, that was only temporary. My never-ending dilemma became nothing but an annoyance to her and an incurable amnesia for me. In my delirium, she could only do so much before she knew there was not much she could do. However, in my blindness, I told her, “You don’t need me as much as I need you”. Her face dropped, she stopped looking at me and her eyes became wet. She sighed heavily and looked away. I finally noticed, what infected me had infected her and I was the carrier. The smell made me cringe.

            It was time to take action not long after my harmful statement. I would confront her and begin the first progressive steps. A pile of stones had rushed into my throat. Bringing up such a topic brings out the most extreme forms of nervousness; the kind that suffocates any words before they even cross the mind. As the clouds appeared overhead, I remembered why I was doing this. While exhaling bleak clouds of melancholy, I uttered, “I think we need to talk. I’m impossible to be with. Things aren’t like they used to be and they never will be.” Those sunny, fragrant days had become nonexistent, replaced with my storms of self-loathing. How could she fix the problems I had carried with me from the beginning? “Yeah… I don’t think it is either,” she muttered.

And just like that the deed was done and the outcome was tears, but if they were of sadness or relief I couldn’t tell. Upon going our separate ways, the air no longer wafted her fragrance and, although I accepted her invitation to still be friends, I never intended to use it. Now, back at the beginning, I gazed at the walls. As I stared at its bright colors of happy times past, it became apparent that the paint was starting to chip and underneath was nothing but the bleak color of grey. “It just covered it up,” I thought to myself. With water streaming from my soaked face, I started to discover the wall I never seemed to face. It blocked my way. If I could see what was in front of me, what I really needed to do, I wouldn’t be stuck at the beginning while everyone walks ahead.  Either me, or my wall of self-criticism and personal flaws would have to be leveled. To remain trapped and not make an effort, for the ones that love you is the ultimate form of sorrow. And as a man weighted down with sorrow, there is just disillusion. And in disillusion, there are no chances only the end of the road.

Meditation?!

Armond Lorenzana

Mr. Schelle

ENGL 111

17 Sept 2009

The Pope: Angels and Condoms

The escalation of diseases reaching the level of global infection is truly a terrifying thought, but today most people believe it is something that has been cured from the world after the events of the Black Death in 1348. Many people think this is because of their understanding of how to prevent such diseases from spreading and occurring. Unfortunately, today, another pandemic is spreading in Africa under the name of the HIV/AIDS virus, a sexually transmitted disease that weakens the body’s immune system. According to Annabel Kanabus and Fredricksson-Bass of Avert.org, regarding Sub-Saharan Africa alone, “An estimated twenty-two million people were living with HIV at the end of 2007”. The methods to apprehend this virus are available, but unfortunately one of the most influential people in the world does not mention these methods in a positive light.

Pope Benedict XVI is regarded as the holiest man alive by the Catholic Church and with such a title, his influence is wide. Many of his beliefs and views on various issues can be seen in the book Humanae Vitae (1968) by Pope Paul VI. One section deals with the topic of birth control and its immorality as Pope Paul VI notes, “excluded is any action . . . specifically intended to prevent procreation” (“Religious views on Birth Control”). Today, the Pope follows this same view of sex even in AIDS stricken Africa by stating, “You can’t resolve it [AIDS] with the distribution of condoms. On the contrary, it increases the problem” (Besan). This remark has sparked controversy all over the world, enough to inspire cartoonist’s depictions of the pope and his role in helping Africa.

One artist sending a powerful message with his cartoon is Swedish cartoonist Riber Hansoon. In his cartoon, a small African boy is sitting on a diving plank, tied by a rope of condoms to a falling pope. Condoms connecting the pope and African boy show that not only is the pope’s remark bringing a downfall to condoms, but to his reputation and people of Africa as well. Hansoon’s portrayed situation shows that only the worst can come from listening to the Pope. Everything in the cartoon will eventually fall; and by showing this, Hansoon hopes to show the dangers of society listening to the Pope’s message.

Minor details in the artwork also strengthen the message. The Pope’s facial features and expressions show his lack of compassion towards those with AIDS. Even though he is facing his inevitable demise, the Pope still hosts a disturbing, amused smirk. This grin gives the impression of a job well done, in this case being the downfall of Africa. Fiendish qualities also appear on him. The Pope has pointy, devilish ears as well as eyes nearly rolled up to the back of his head. Such wicked features on a holy man make this situation seem hopeless and terrifying. Hansoon implies that the statement made by the Pope should not have been that of a holy man, but that of a demon.

The Pope’s portrayal as a demon is reinforced by the small child waiting to be dragged down into the abyss with him. The boy is a famine stricken African, which symbolizes the people of Africa. Obviously, the child and the Pope contrast in obvious ways. The wide, plump, happy face of the Pope is the exact opposite of the boy’s bent over, unhappy disposition. The frail child appears to have accepted his fate at the hands of the Pope, even though the Pope has his arms up, acting like he’s not guilty. Overall, the cartoon shows the Pope’s lack of consideration towards the health of the African people for his own stubborn views.

The Pope’s complete neglect of the scientific facts only shows his stubbornness and lack of knowledge on this issue. His statement that condoms actually increase the spread of the virus shows no concern for scientific fact. Dr. Steven Downshen confirms the effectiveness of condoms by stating, “Condoms do prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases . . . . Condoms are most effective at protecting against STDs like HIV/AIDS.” Ignoring this fact can only mislead people into the illusion that condoms don’t truly protect. While the Pope is right that abstinence is the only guaranteed way to keep from contracting the HIV virus, realistically, everyone is having sex.

Abstinence, while being effective towards this pandemic, is unrealistic because people will keep having sex. According to Marcella Alsan, a member of Catholic Online, “Extolling abstinence and fidelity . . . will not protect her . . . . refusing a husband’s sexual overtures risks ostracism, violence, and destitution for herself and her children”. This being the case, condoms will help tremendously in reducing the virus. It is the most realistic solution to the problem, today. Abstinence days that preach the idea of having no sex before marriage to teenagers not only fail, but many of the teenagers have sex unprotected the first time. Wayne Besen of The Huffington Post states that, “studies show that teens taking virginity pledges were just as likely to engage in sex – and less likely to use birth control or condoms when they finally did.”

The beliefs of the Pope are not quite clear now. If he was truly against the spread of such a disease, he would be advocating the release of free condoms. Abstinence may be the solution, in a perfect world, but it will not work for the entire population of Africa. Many Catholic priests recognize it and gladly go against what the Pope preaches. One question can be sprung from this issue: isn’t the Pope advocating murder, the taking of human life, by discouraging the small units of latex that can save millions? Perhaps only God can say.

Works Cited

Alsan, Marcella. “Catholic Church Condom Prohibition Comes Face to Face with reality of AIDS in Africa.” Catholic Online. 24 Apr 2006. 8 Sep                                           2009. <http://www.catholic.org/international/international_story.php?id=19561>.

Besen ,Wayne. “Pope Condom Quote Undermines Credibility.” The Huffington Post. 25 Mar 2009. Web. 14 Sep 2009.<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wayne-besen/pope-condom-quote-undermi_b_178429.html>.

Dowshen, Steven. “Do Condoms really Work?”. Kids Health. Oct 2008. 8 Sep 2009.<http:kidshealth.org/teen/sexual_health/contraception/expert_condoms_work.html>.

Hansoon, Riber. Cartoon. Daryl Cagle’s Political Cartoonists Index. Web.                 17 Sep 2009.

Kanabus, Annabel and Jenni Fredriksson-Bass. "HIV and AIDS in Africa."Avert.org. 9 Sep 2009. 9 Sep 2009 <http://www.avert.org/aafrica.htm>.

"Religious views on Birth Control."Wikipedia. 3 June 2009. 9 Sep 2009                                      <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religious_views_on_birth_control#Roman_Catholicism>.

Prison Essay: The Unbelievable Facts

The basic human question that is asked since childhood: Why? When this question is not answered, people will be fairly disappointed, specifically towards the people they asked. What a coincidence that this is the exact same factor that ruins essays, especially ones about the problems of putting too many people in prisons. In fact, such an essay exists. Entitled “Prisons: Problems and Solutions”, this essay fails to answer the simple question: Why? Authored by a seemingly egotistical college freshmen, “Prisons: Problems and Solutions” completely lacks Idea Development, painfully regurgitates the trait of Conventions and forsakes the deity of Organization thus making it an ineffective essay.

The biggest crime this essay is accused of in the world of writing is the disappearance of Idea Development, the details needed to support deemed facts. One instance out of the countless others is when the author talks about the effectiveness of boot camps by writing, “This form of punishment has been proven successful in many states already”. The statement made should obviously be followed by at least one sentence to provide support, but it immediately goes to another unexplained statement. Nearly the entire essay can be extracted to show more quotes to support this reasoning, but for the sake of being organized not many more should be shown.

Unfortunately, while this essay considers Organization as an important factor, this freshman’s does not. The first blunder can be seen in the first paragraph by lacking a clear thesis to declare what will be examined in the essay. This makes the entire essay feel painfully random to the point of confusion and in the worst case the necessity of a re-read. Transitions are turned away from this essay. Reading from one topic to the next feels jumpy unclear because there are no transitions to make one topic go smoothly to the next. The essay concludes saying, “In conclusion, if we all work together, we can solve the overcrowding problem America has today”. This deepens the wounds the essay has inflicted upon itself by not restating what topics were discussed, leaving the reader lost and perplexed.

While this essay is on its knees bleeding profusely, the neglect of using conventions delivers the finishing blow and nails its coffin.  The first sentence already sends this paper into a crippling state by saying, “There seems to be more people being put into prisons each years”. This shows how little of care the author put into editing the piece of work as well as signifying that this is an essay full of mistakes. Readers then have to decode sentences, especially when the author makes the mistake of saying “countries” instead of “country’s”, making it sound like the issue is over multiple countries rather than the United States. Probably the most amusing mistake is in the sentence, “Some people feel that intermediate feel that intermediate sanctions are guarding people rather than helping them”. The essay becomes a joke; any seriousness is not taken to heart by the reader after such a sentence.

As a whole, the subject matter of this essay can’t be the main focus of the essay, but only the abandonment of Idea Development, Organization, and Conventions can. The shallowness, choppiness and carelessness embody this paper to the point where any message it would strife to make is not recognized. The piece no longer contains a meaningful message, but an eye-aching chore. Even after it all the author could never answer the simple question: Why?

About Me

Why hello there, my name is Armond Lorenzana, son to Mary Ann and Pablo Lorenzana. I am a Senior on this sacred land known as Hotchkiss High School. It appears the great spirits, whoever they may be, have deemed me worthy to reign amongst all the students with my new found status. My four years in this place have changed me more positively than I would have ever thought. My cocoon of shyness has been shed to reveal a far from perfect or beautiful, social butterfly.  I have gained more friends than I ever thought I would and I’ve had even better experiences with the ones who have always been there. I have become more adventurous and outgoing as I’ve joined things such as CFES, National Honor Society, and I will soon be doing Jazz Band. This has all been a major step for me in becoming more of the person I’d like to be.

While it may sound like much of me has changed, I still enjoy the same things. Music has become a humble ambition of mine as it seems to be more of a part of my life than it should be, especially to any normal person. Not only do I play guitar and bass, but my open mindedness of the subject is always growing; first, it was only focused on rock, but has now nearly gone to every genre imaginable. Goofiness is my middle name, in theory. I can’t go through a day without at least being a little bizarre, whether through doing random, weird noises or just thinking of ideas that would make the Joker proud. My goals for life have been fogged over since I’ve grown so many interests. Once I go to college, I don’t know what I’d like to major in. Psychology, music, and computers are some of my favorite subjects, though. Oh well, all the challenges of life will show me my true path and probably other obscene things I’d rather not have witnessed.