Wednesday, March 07, 2007
While Plato's Symposium can be discussed in many ways, I will in place of mere notes express my own arguments and positions. But first, some notes.
- Socratic Irony, a discrepancy between what is said and what is meant
- Kachina Dolls. While mentioned as an example of a window within a window, I think our professor may have been confused. Kachina dolls are representative of ancestral spirits which act as a conduit between humans and gods. It is important to note they do not represent actual gods and, if they did, we as a non-native group would not be allowed to know this. While the Hopi are very open with Kachinas, the Zuni are not. Pictures of Zuni Kachina dolls are considered sacrilegious and teachings to non-natives are generally prohibited.
a picture of Kachina dolls
i believe our professor intended to use Russian Nesting Dolls as an example of the Frame Within a Frame
- A man and woman made philosophy. Who were they? Phil and Sophie
- Rhetoric is almost an anagram of Erotic. For internet fun, use an Anagram Generator. I find it particularly interesting that with this generator, the first anagram for 'Michael Sexson' happened to be 'Lexicons Shame'. Read wiki for a definition of lexicon.
- Probably a test question: Why did Aristophanes present at the symposium later than expected? A: Because he had the hiccups
- The Lover is the Erastes and the Beloved is the Eromenos
- Reasons for homosexuality 1) love must be on the same level and women were considered inferior 2) politicians wouldn't be burdened with wives/family
- Probably a test question: On a physical level, Socrates is the Erasstes and Alcibiades is the Eromenos but on an emotional level this is reversed.
- Love, the pursuit of wisdom.
- Angelina Jolie was mentioned as a paragon of beauty. Last December she received Maxim Magazines "Most Awesome" award.
- Do something that makes someones life more interesting. Damnit! This is going to take some work!
ketchup time!
The Bozeman Daily Chronicle, Monday May '07
There are a number of articles about how the past possesses the present and others with nifty mythological interpretations.
- The paper begins with an article covering transportation in Bozeman. Issues such as biking and the impact increased traffic will cause are being dealt with by the city council's appointed comity on transit and transportation. Interestingly, the Exponent carried a similar article recently in which the University was made to look ridiculous for selling several thousand more parking passes than there are spots to park. The university is considering ending the free bus service(which is awesome by the way). It's kind of a shame we don't just walk everywhere the way we did before horses made us lazy. We would be quite a bit healthier.
- The City Commission is getting together today to decide an issue involving the city jail and if a new one should be built. They are also deciding if the the Rialto Theater can be remodeled for commercial realestate and they want to build 2 additionals floors on top of the building for residential realestate. It is sad to think that one of the great homes of the Muses here in Bozeman could be turned into more development.
- A man in four corners still drives an authentic 1931 Yellowstone Park Bus. 1931 was the first year buses were used to transport tourists all around the park. The bus was first purchased by the current owners father in the 1950's and was later sold to a man in Atlanta who used it for publicity purposes. The son described the experience of retrieving the bus by saying “It was a long odyssey to get it back here".
- There is an entire article about the Bobcats Football season of 1984. It is described as being mythologically perfect. Everything fell into place and they won a national championship. The year before, the football team had one of their worst seasons ever. This turn around is touted as a miracle. In the article, alcohol is mentioned as an accompaniment to the comradery teammates share.
- More interesting than anything else in todays rather boring paper is an add for an internet subscription to the Chronicle. It offers 1 month of Chronicle reading for only $4.95. I think this is the most interesting article because it brings up the issue of what form our news takes. By reading it through the internet, the eternities can be brought to you over your phone or cable line. History is forever changing the form that it choses to present itself to us and that is happening in my lifetime. I watched my grandpa check stock quotes in the newspaper when I was a little kid and the last time I visited my parents I watched my dad sell stock over the internet. Computers, the new medium, are not a power unto themselves. They are simply the tools by which we continue to exercise the past.
