Photo Analyses:
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/04/group-analysis-of-photo.html
(Also my group post pick)
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/04/wirz-remember-andersonville.html
Creative Pieces:
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/04/my-very-own-war.html
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/04/greer.html
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/05/linking-thoughts.html
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/05/haikus.html
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/05/thoughts-on-bowman-2.html
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/05/cause-and-effect-lessons-learned-from.html
Letters:
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/04/turn-it-up.html
http://cpeck.blogspot.com/2008/05/letter-to-soldier.html
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Letter to a Soldier
Dear David Lightman,
Are you the future? You may just be a character from a 1983 movie, but you may also be the answer to war casualties, to battle-inflicted PTSD, to guns, to bombs and even to the kind of war I know. Will World War III be fought via internet, a real-life game of battleship or tic-tac-toe? If this is the case, then the advantages change completely. No terrain, no secret agents, no stealth bombers, just screens, keyboards and mice. The new A-Bomb will take the form of HTML code. Terrorism from a comfy rolling chair. Do you think that the winner of this war will gain his/her title because of technology or strategy? In this new electronic warfare, people will not die; that is the ideal situation. In an age where the digital world is being incorporated into the manual world more and more every day, how long will it be before our wars are just simulated games? I hope it happens soon, Mr. Lightman, because then this world would be a better place.
Sincerely,
Charlie.
Cause and Effect: Lessons Learned from Statues
There was once a perfect man.
This man's name was David. One day, David decided to go out and explore the city, and live his own life. This was a very common thing to do in David's time, because no one really cared what his or her neighbor was doing with their life, unless it was harming others.
David traveled around for miles, just trying to think about what he could do with his life. It had been bothering him that he served no obvious purpose and he wanted to change that self perception.
As he was wandering around a crowded but peaceful city filled with other people minding their own business, a man approached David and asked about his beliefs. David got a little bit angry, and asked the man why he cared what he thought.
David haughtily explained that unless his beliefs were somehow harming others, nobody should care what he thought. Sensing a hostile situation ahead, the stranger struck David in the head with a disc, trying to knock him out and avoid any real harm.
The stranger did not realize how strong he was, however, and David passed away shortly from the trauma. David's death was grieved by everyone throughout the city, especially his 'accident'-prone murderer.
There was once a perfect man.
Thoughts on "Bowman 2"
I decided to find a violent, free online flash game and play it once through. I then spent 5 full minutes writing down anything that came to my mind.
My first question is why? Why would somebody create this game? I know that games are fun and people are supposed to play them in order to pass their time or just get out their stress but this seems like a weird and bizarre way to do that. Stress relief from shooting a stationary stick figure man with an arrow? Is this supposed to relate to the old-tyme duels where people would walk ten paces away from each other and shoot their guns? The bodies in the game are standing fountains of red. When an arrow hits at a certain point on the body, the red either flows or just trickles. Is the faucet always turned on full? Blood conservation is not an issue with stick figures. A realistic game would have the stick men clutch their necks after being impaled by these long wooden bullets. If by clutching their neck and saving some blood they survived, would the game end? Would the stick figures realize how stupid their game is? Would they be mad at the creators? I know that if I were fighting a battle anywhere near the battle of the dueling stick figures, I would certainly be angry. Why is there no option in the game to walk away from the other guy? Or maybe to walk up to him and say, “Hey, can we talk this out? We’re just two stick figures trying to live in our stick worlds.” That would be an ideal game, conflicts actually solved. Why fight fire with fire when a simple trickle of water can do the trick?
Bowman 2My first question is why? Why would somebody create this game? I know that games are fun and people are supposed to play them in order to pass their time or just get out their stress but this seems like a weird and bizarre way to do that. Stress relief from shooting a stationary stick figure man with an arrow? Is this supposed to relate to the old-tyme duels where people would walk ten paces away from each other and shoot their guns? The bodies in the game are standing fountains of red. When an arrow hits at a certain point on the body, the red either flows or just trickles. Is the faucet always turned on full? Blood conservation is not an issue with stick figures. A realistic game would have the stick men clutch their necks after being impaled by these long wooden bullets. If by clutching their neck and saving some blood they survived, would the game end? Would the stick figures realize how stupid their game is? Would they be mad at the creators? I know that if I were fighting a battle anywhere near the battle of the dueling stick figures, I would certainly be angry. Why is there no option in the game to walk away from the other guy? Or maybe to walk up to him and say, “Hey, can we talk this out? We’re just two stick figures trying to live in our stick worlds.” That would be an ideal game, conflicts actually solved. Why fight fire with fire when a simple trickle of water can do the trick?
Haikus
Wrestle in the dirt,
Children playing (or are they?).
Accidents happen.
We all wish to fly,
Glide high and evade struggle.
Bullets can fly too.
Clink clank cock click crush
Can a gun control itself?
If not, then who can?
Life, soil, bombs for oil
The makeup of a just fight.
Whose side am I on?
This I’d like to see:
An onomatopoeia
With a pleasant sound.
Children playing (or are they?).
Accidents happen.
We all wish to fly,
Glide high and evade struggle.
Bullets can fly too.
Clink clank cock click crush
Can a gun control itself?
If not, then who can?
Life, soil, bombs for oil
The makeup of a just fight.
Whose side am I on?
This I’d like to see:
An onomatopoeia
With a pleasant sound.
Linking Thoughts
Google Word Association
I ‘Googled’ the word “war” and found words from the first two results, I decided to do a word-association using these words. I then ‘Googled’ these new word combinations and pasted the first link that came up, along with an explanation of the linked page.
Link 1: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499556/
Word association = Agent : Orange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
This link is to the Wikipedia page about Agent Orange, the “Herbicide and defoliant” that was used during the Vietnam War by the United States. The side effects from exposure to this highly caustic chemical include, “various types of cancer and genetic defects.” This is a great example of an indirect effect of a war; the American soldiers have been harmed in the long run by a substance that was supposed to help them. It is a sadly ironic situation.
Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War
Word Association: Struggle : Futility
http://www.chicagoshakes.com/main.taf?p=2,17,7,1,2
This is a very interesting link stemming from the subject of war; it is a biography of Samuel Beckett, a playwright/essayist/poet from the mid-20th century. This is the excerpt from the biography containing the word association words,
“Beckett joined the Resistance movement first in Paris and subsequently in Roussillon, an isolated town in southern France, where he continued to fight the Nazi occupation. Beckett minimized his contributions, but there is no doubt that he risked his life repeatedly. His experiences as a war refugee seem to reappear in the struggle, futility and alienation of his later works.”
The biography states that Beckett’s works are very much up to the interpretation of the viewers, and that some of the themes in his writing relates to war. This is very interesting to me that the first (most relative) link from the words “struggle” and “futility” bring up an artist, someone who experienced war and then expressed his views through fiction and poetry.
I ‘Googled’ the word “war” and found words from the first two results, I decided to do a word-association using these words. I then ‘Googled’ these new word combinations and pasted the first link that came up, along with an explanation of the linked page.
Link 1: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499556/
Word association = Agent : Orange
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agent_Orange
This link is to the Wikipedia page about Agent Orange, the “Herbicide and defoliant” that was used during the Vietnam War by the United States. The side effects from exposure to this highly caustic chemical include, “various types of cancer and genetic defects.” This is a great example of an indirect effect of a war; the American soldiers have been harmed in the long run by a substance that was supposed to help them. It is a sadly ironic situation.
Link 2: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War
Word Association: Struggle : Futility
http://www.chicagoshakes.com/main.taf?p=2,17,7,1,2
This is a very interesting link stemming from the subject of war; it is a biography of Samuel Beckett, a playwright/essayist/poet from the mid-20th century. This is the excerpt from the biography containing the word association words,
“Beckett joined the Resistance movement first in Paris and subsequently in Roussillon, an isolated town in southern France, where he continued to fight the Nazi occupation. Beckett minimized his contributions, but there is no doubt that he risked his life repeatedly. His experiences as a war refugee seem to reappear in the struggle, futility and alienation of his later works.”
The biography states that Beckett’s works are very much up to the interpretation of the viewers, and that some of the themes in his writing relates to war. This is very interesting to me that the first (most relative) link from the words “struggle” and “futility” bring up an artist, someone who experienced war and then expressed his views through fiction and poetry.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
My very own war
Yes vs. No
Right vs. Wrong.
Whether asking yourself a question as simple as what to eat for breakfast or as complex as asking oneself what to do with life, the real test is whether the decision will be right or wrong.
Some people believe in fate, "I didn't make a bad decision, it was meant to happen and I learned from it." Some people beat themselves up about certain decisions they make, thinking , "If only there was an 'undo' button for life."
One thing I know that I believe is that if I had the opportunity to change something from my past, I wouldn't. EVERYTHING that I have done in the 19 years I've been alive has lead me to this point right now, and I like where I am.
"The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence." If you never get to see your side from the 'other side', then how would you ever realize how green it is?
Bad memories are memories nonetheless. Whether I would want to or not, I cannot relive any experience, so I might as well reflect on it beneficially. That is my decision.
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