Halloween, a time for dressing up as someone you aren't, gobbling down candy, watching scary movies, and scaring your friends. But where did Halloween come from, have you ever wondered?
WELL......
Halloween's origins date back to the Celtic festival of Samhain. The Celts lived 2000 years ago in what is now Ireland, the UK and northern France. They celebrated their new year on November 1st, a day often associated with death. They believed that on Oct. 31, the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred. To commemorate the event, Druids built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the Celtic deities. During the ceremony they dressed in costumes typically consisting of animal heads and skins.
By the 800s, the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands. In the seventh century, Pope Boniface IV designated November 1 All Saints' Day, a time to honor saints and martyrs. It is widely believed today that the pope was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holiday. The celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas and the night before it, the night of Samhain, began to be called All-hallows Eve and, eventually, Halloween.
And now you know the origins of Halloween. :D
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Position paper
Humanity has a decision to make; it needs to decide how to balance the rights of the inhabitants of cultural-heritage sites with the international interest of preserving the sites for future generations.
This is my thesis for my position paper, what I mean by this is that cultural and historical sites that are being preserved, need to be preserved for the sake of saving what these buildings and sites once stood, and not be changed in a way that only keeps the facade of the site. Take the "Old City" in Damascus, Syria, for example, it is the oldest inhabited city in the world, but the natives who live there are being pushed out to make way for shopping malls, boutiques, and fancy five-star hotels in what was once historically significant buildings. Not only are people losing their homes, but the history behind these old and beautiful sites is being lost.
This is a decision not to be made lightly or for the sake of making a few more dollars. Preserving these sites with future generations in mind has to be carefully considered so the site is not ruined in its renovation or preservation. A choice has to be made, however, and soon, because some of these sites will not be around for future generations to even see.
This is my thesis for my position paper, what I mean by this is that cultural and historical sites that are being preserved, need to be preserved for the sake of saving what these buildings and sites once stood, and not be changed in a way that only keeps the facade of the site. Take the "Old City" in Damascus, Syria, for example, it is the oldest inhabited city in the world, but the natives who live there are being pushed out to make way for shopping malls, boutiques, and fancy five-star hotels in what was once historically significant buildings. Not only are people losing their homes, but the history behind these old and beautiful sites is being lost.
This is a decision not to be made lightly or for the sake of making a few more dollars. Preserving these sites with future generations in mind has to be carefully considered so the site is not ruined in its renovation or preservation. A choice has to be made, however, and soon, because some of these sites will not be around for future generations to even see.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
A somewhat memorable birthday
On Oct. 18, last Sunday, I turned 19. It wasn't as exciting as my 18th birthday, but it was all right as birthdays go. My family came up from Greenfield, IN, about a 45 min drive, and took my boyfriend and I out to lunch at Scotty's Brewhouse.
My family had never been there before, though Emery and I had. It was great, we got wings as an appetizer. Probably the best wings I've ever had has been at Scotty's. Like no joke, better even than B-dubs. I'd recommend it to anyone. Most everyone got a burger for an entree, which turned out being absolutely delicious. I'd have to say, that just about any food you get at Scotty's will probably be the best you've had in a really long time, and all for quite a reasonable price too.
They had three football games on, and the atmosphere was quite loud and exuberant for a Sunday afternoon. Probably the best game was the Giants vs. the Saints. Two great teams, quite evenly matched, making for a very exciting game.
All-in-all it was a great lunch, and a great day because after they left, I spent the remainder of the day occupied with my favorite past time, laying on my futon reading a good romance book. =D
My family had never been there before, though Emery and I had. It was great, we got wings as an appetizer. Probably the best wings I've ever had has been at Scotty's. Like no joke, better even than B-dubs. I'd recommend it to anyone. Most everyone got a burger for an entree, which turned out being absolutely delicious. I'd have to say, that just about any food you get at Scotty's will probably be the best you've had in a really long time, and all for quite a reasonable price too.
They had three football games on, and the atmosphere was quite loud and exuberant for a Sunday afternoon. Probably the best game was the Giants vs. the Saints. Two great teams, quite evenly matched, making for a very exciting game.
All-in-all it was a great lunch, and a great day because after they left, I spent the remainder of the day occupied with my favorite past time, laying on my futon reading a good romance book. =D
Monday, October 19, 2009
Article Analysis
EGYPT: A MOVE TO CLEAR HOMES NEAR PHARAONIC TOMBS
Section: WORLD
Increasing tourism and appreciation of ancient heritage sparks preservation effort
Dateline: LUXOR, EGYPT
In the valley below lies the shattered visage of Pharaoh Ramses II, whose "frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command," inspired one of the most famous poems of the Romantic era in British literature.
"Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" wrote Percy Shelley, imagining the words of the dead Pharaoh after visiting the site in 1817. The poem is a cautionary reminder of the fleeting nature of both authority and art.
Now, in order to save what is left of other magnificent works in the Valleys of the Kings, Queens, and Nobles, Egyptian officials have vowed to cleanse a tribe of former Bedouins from homes and hovels perched atop the tombs of Ramses' relatives.
The plight of the 10,000 Qurnawi highlights a growing international dilemma: How can modern man balance the rights of the inhabitants of cultural-heritage sites with the world's interest in preserving them for generations to come? From middle-class North American suburbs set on top of Indian burial grounds to Bedouins who live atop Queen Nefertiti's tomb, the problems are similar, say archaeologists and human rights activists.
"Our priority has to be to preserve the treasures in the ground below, but, at the same time, respect the citizens who live above them," says American archaeologist and Egyptologist Kent Weeks.
The Pharaonic tombs contain wall paintings that tell us much about ancient Egyptian life as well as human nature.
The government, in its campaign to clear the hills, is accusing the tribesmen of burrowing for hidden treasures, harassing tourists, and dumping human waste into the tombs.
But the tribesmen, who used stone chisels and kitchen knives to help corner a band of Islamic terrorists after the brutal massacre of 58 foreign tourists in 1997, are pleading with the international community to save their ancestral homes.
They deny the charges and accuse the local police of brutal tactics, including using bulldozers to demolish their homes in the early morning hours.
Officials have long accused the Qurnawi of squatting above the tombs and stealing precious cultural heirlooms. Beginning in the 18th century, European archaeologists as well as corrupt antiquities dealers employed the tribesman to plunder the tombs and their artifacts. But despite constant tensions between tribesmen and central authorities, tenacious villagers held onto their valuable hillside plots. Frenchman Vivant Denon, a writer present during the 18th century Napoleonic conquest of the tombs, described a clash with the Qurnawi as akin to a "war against gnomes."
But increasing European tourism and the world's growing appreciation of the tombs beneath the homes of the Qurnawi have sparked a fresh call for their ouster.
"Egypt is working with the entire international community to preserve these sites," says Ahmed Nouby, a government official coordinating efforts to persuade the Qurnawi to leave peacefully. "They say they inherited the land from their forefathers but their forefathers, were squatting on public property."
Mr. Nouby praised the Qurnawi for helping the government in its battle against Islamic terrorists in 1997. He also says that he had personally protested against the government's brutal tactics two years ago when he witnessed a local policeman gun down four unarmed Qurnawi in a dispute over building rights. But he said that the relocation of the village two miles north of the valley is "for their own good."
"Their constant harassment of foreigners with phony artifacts and petitions to 'buy, buy, buy' is not good for the image of Egypt," he insists. "Besides, they dig in the ground for artifacts like moles at night when nobody is keeping an eye on them."
The Egyptian government has already built a modern village, a new mosque, and a tourist bazaar for the villagers farther up the Nile River where tests have shown there are no Pharaonic tombs. Nouby claimed that, despite continued vows by Qurnawi elders that they will not leave, 48 families signed contracts to move last month.
Foreign archaeologists and long-time residents of Luxor are split on how best to save the tombs and help the Qurnawi.
Dr. Weeks, who surprised the archaeological world in 1995 with discoveries of the tomb of the sons of Ramses, says, "They should be moved as long as they are given decent homes and amenities." Several of Weeks's loyal tomb excavators are Qurnawi, who, he says, comprise four clans of Yemeni and Saudi Bedouins who used Luxor, better known as Thebes, as a camp on their caravan route between Africa and the Mideast.
"It is really only a question of money and proper plumbing," says French Egyptologist Alain Fouquet Abrial. "If you build a system that protects the tombs, you've also got to pay to maintain it."
For centuries, the inhabitants here used donkeys to transport water to their homes. That water, when used up, seeps into the soil and down into the tombs, destroying precious paintings that have survived thousands of years. Efforts by sympathetic foreigners to push through government projects that would provide proper sewage systems have been cold-shouldered by Egyptian antiquities officials.
A spokesman for the Qurnawi, Mohamed Abdel Salam Ahamed, defended his tribe's right to live and work in the hills. "We are the guardians of these tombs, and the proof of that is how we hunted down the terrorists who attacked foreign tourists in 1997'ΔΆ" says Mr. Ahamed. "What would the police have done without us? Now they say they have no use for us."
Ahamed, whose grandfather worked as a laborer with the British Egyptologist Howard Carter when he uncovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, looks warily down the hill at the ruins of the temple of Ramses II and sighs: "We have every reason to defend these tombs since they are our livelihood."
MAP: LUXOR, EGYPT: Valley of the Kings
PHOTO (COLOR): ROYAL NEIGHBORHOOD: Qurnawi elder Mohamed Abdel Salam Ahamed at work with a stone carver in the Valley of the Kings. In the distance are their ancestral homes. The Qurnawi are resisting a government plan to relocate them.
~~~~~~~~
BY: Philip Smucker, Special to The Christian Science Monitor
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&bk=1&hid=113&sid=86185c78-ad3e-4cc1-a3d7-daf2bfa8508b%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=4013756#db=aph&AN=4013756
This article is from a newspaper posted to a website. Written by Phillip Smucker for the Christian Science Monitor in 2001, had the purpose of explaining both sides on what shouldbe done about Bedouins living on ancient tomb sites in Egypt. Smucker explains the dilemma of what could happen to these sacred ancient sites if these nomadic people are allowed to live here, but it also explains that these places are the homes of these tribes, how they've been guarding these sites for hundreds of years. The intended audience is most likely citizens of Egypt and their government. He wants these people to be aware of the problem and do something about it. Evidence comes from history, "Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair' wronte Percy Shelley... the poem is a cautionary reminder of the fleeting nature of both authority and art," (Smucker). The writer presents himself as knowledgeable about the situation and aware of both sides.
Section: WORLD
Increasing tourism and appreciation of ancient heritage sparks preservation effort
Dateline: LUXOR, EGYPT
In the valley below lies the shattered visage of Pharaoh Ramses II, whose "frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command," inspired one of the most famous poems of the Romantic era in British literature.
"Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!" wrote Percy Shelley, imagining the words of the dead Pharaoh after visiting the site in 1817. The poem is a cautionary reminder of the fleeting nature of both authority and art.
Now, in order to save what is left of other magnificent works in the Valleys of the Kings, Queens, and Nobles, Egyptian officials have vowed to cleanse a tribe of former Bedouins from homes and hovels perched atop the tombs of Ramses' relatives.
The plight of the 10,000 Qurnawi highlights a growing international dilemma: How can modern man balance the rights of the inhabitants of cultural-heritage sites with the world's interest in preserving them for generations to come? From middle-class North American suburbs set on top of Indian burial grounds to Bedouins who live atop Queen Nefertiti's tomb, the problems are similar, say archaeologists and human rights activists.
"Our priority has to be to preserve the treasures in the ground below, but, at the same time, respect the citizens who live above them," says American archaeologist and Egyptologist Kent Weeks.
The Pharaonic tombs contain wall paintings that tell us much about ancient Egyptian life as well as human nature.
The government, in its campaign to clear the hills, is accusing the tribesmen of burrowing for hidden treasures, harassing tourists, and dumping human waste into the tombs.
But the tribesmen, who used stone chisels and kitchen knives to help corner a band of Islamic terrorists after the brutal massacre of 58 foreign tourists in 1997, are pleading with the international community to save their ancestral homes.
They deny the charges and accuse the local police of brutal tactics, including using bulldozers to demolish their homes in the early morning hours.
Officials have long accused the Qurnawi of squatting above the tombs and stealing precious cultural heirlooms. Beginning in the 18th century, European archaeologists as well as corrupt antiquities dealers employed the tribesman to plunder the tombs and their artifacts. But despite constant tensions between tribesmen and central authorities, tenacious villagers held onto their valuable hillside plots. Frenchman Vivant Denon, a writer present during the 18th century Napoleonic conquest of the tombs, described a clash with the Qurnawi as akin to a "war against gnomes."
But increasing European tourism and the world's growing appreciation of the tombs beneath the homes of the Qurnawi have sparked a fresh call for their ouster.
"Egypt is working with the entire international community to preserve these sites," says Ahmed Nouby, a government official coordinating efforts to persuade the Qurnawi to leave peacefully. "They say they inherited the land from their forefathers but their forefathers, were squatting on public property."
Mr. Nouby praised the Qurnawi for helping the government in its battle against Islamic terrorists in 1997. He also says that he had personally protested against the government's brutal tactics two years ago when he witnessed a local policeman gun down four unarmed Qurnawi in a dispute over building rights. But he said that the relocation of the village two miles north of the valley is "for their own good."
"Their constant harassment of foreigners with phony artifacts and petitions to 'buy, buy, buy' is not good for the image of Egypt," he insists. "Besides, they dig in the ground for artifacts like moles at night when nobody is keeping an eye on them."
The Egyptian government has already built a modern village, a new mosque, and a tourist bazaar for the villagers farther up the Nile River where tests have shown there are no Pharaonic tombs. Nouby claimed that, despite continued vows by Qurnawi elders that they will not leave, 48 families signed contracts to move last month.
Foreign archaeologists and long-time residents of Luxor are split on how best to save the tombs and help the Qurnawi.
Dr. Weeks, who surprised the archaeological world in 1995 with discoveries of the tomb of the sons of Ramses, says, "They should be moved as long as they are given decent homes and amenities." Several of Weeks's loyal tomb excavators are Qurnawi, who, he says, comprise four clans of Yemeni and Saudi Bedouins who used Luxor, better known as Thebes, as a camp on their caravan route between Africa and the Mideast.
"It is really only a question of money and proper plumbing," says French Egyptologist Alain Fouquet Abrial. "If you build a system that protects the tombs, you've also got to pay to maintain it."
For centuries, the inhabitants here used donkeys to transport water to their homes. That water, when used up, seeps into the soil and down into the tombs, destroying precious paintings that have survived thousands of years. Efforts by sympathetic foreigners to push through government projects that would provide proper sewage systems have been cold-shouldered by Egyptian antiquities officials.
A spokesman for the Qurnawi, Mohamed Abdel Salam Ahamed, defended his tribe's right to live and work in the hills. "We are the guardians of these tombs, and the proof of that is how we hunted down the terrorists who attacked foreign tourists in 1997'ΔΆ" says Mr. Ahamed. "What would the police have done without us? Now they say they have no use for us."
Ahamed, whose grandfather worked as a laborer with the British Egyptologist Howard Carter when he uncovered the tomb of Tutankhamun in 1922, looks warily down the hill at the ruins of the temple of Ramses II and sighs: "We have every reason to defend these tombs since they are our livelihood."
MAP: LUXOR, EGYPT: Valley of the Kings
PHOTO (COLOR): ROYAL NEIGHBORHOOD: Qurnawi elder Mohamed Abdel Salam Ahamed at work with a stone carver in the Valley of the Kings. In the distance are their ancestral homes. The Qurnawi are resisting a government plan to relocate them.
~~~~~~~~
BY: Philip Smucker, Special to The Christian Science Monitor
http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?vid=9&bk=1&hid=113&sid=86185c78-ad3e-4cc1-a3d7-daf2bfa8508b%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=aph&AN=4013756#db=aph&AN=4013756
This article is from a newspaper posted to a website. Written by Phillip Smucker for the Christian Science Monitor in 2001, had the purpose of explaining both sides on what shouldbe done about Bedouins living on ancient tomb sites in Egypt. Smucker explains the dilemma of what could happen to these sacred ancient sites if these nomadic people are allowed to live here, but it also explains that these places are the homes of these tribes, how they've been guarding these sites for hundreds of years. The intended audience is most likely citizens of Egypt and their government. He wants these people to be aware of the problem and do something about it. Evidence comes from history, "Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair' wronte Percy Shelley... the poem is a cautionary reminder of the fleeting nature of both authority and art," (Smucker). The writer presents himself as knowledgeable about the situation and aware of both sides.
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
Article, "Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival"
Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival
Supporters see positive signs after years of fear
Section: News, Pg. 13a
BAGHDAD --The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra wrapped up its performance after 10 p.m. -- a bit later than most functions these days in the capital. But most of the audience stuck around to hear the conductor's short speech celebrating the cultural triumph.
It's no small thing to hold a concert in these difficult times, conductor Karim Wasfi told the nearly 200 people.
Despite a recent spike in violence after U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas at the end of June, Wasfi urged Iraqis to continue to support the arts if they want their country to regain a sense of normalcy.
"What the symphonic orchestra is doing ... is meritorious and deserves attention," he said. It demonstrates "there are also positive things happening in the country."
Iraq's once-vibrant arts culture has been slowly coming back to life in recent months, after years of sectarian fighting and a fierce insurgency made the notion of enjoying a concert or visiting an art gallery unthinkable.
"There is more than bombings and sandstorms in Baghdad," says Safiya al-Suhail, a member of Iraq's parliament. "There is hope that Baghdad's artist will experience a renaissance."
Hopeful signs of resurgence
Signs of Baghdad's re-emerging artsscene are visible throughout the city:
*The orchestra is performing more concerts than at any time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, including the concert last month at the posh Alwiya Club. The show featured classical Iraqi music as well as Beethoven's Prometheus Overture and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The concert even had a corporate underwriter: telecom firm Asiacell.
*On Abu Nawas Street, once a hub for Baghdad's best art dealers, most of the galleries have been closed since the worst days of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007. But several galleries reopened in recent months, and a few have held shows to highlight new artists.
*Al-Suhail now holds "salons," or social gatherings, that she describes as her own small effort to push Iraqis toward recapturing their rich, artistic history.
Over the last several months, the member of parliament has invited various Baghdad artists to display their work or lead discussions, as her guests munch finger foods and drink sodas in her backyard.
About 60 people attended one of al-Suhail's gatherings to view the work of several Iraqi photographers and their pictures of Baghdad. A few weeks before that, she had people over to discuss women's poetry with an Iraqi writer.
War hard on arts, artists
Despite harsh sanctions against the Iraqi government and the despotic rule of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a vibrant arts scene in the years leading up to the war. Private galleries along the Tigris River regularly displayed artists' works, and the famous Mutanabi Street filled with booksellers did a brisk business.
After the U.S. invasion in March 2003, Iraq's cultural identity also came under fierce attack. When Saddam fell, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years.
By the end of 2006, most of the galleries along the Tigris were shuttered, and gallery owners put their most valuable work in storage. In March 2007, the stretch of bookstores on Mutanabi Street was destroyed by a massive truck bomb that killed 38 people. It took nearly two years to rebuild the shops.
Qasim Sabti, 56, a well-regarded Iraqi painter, says the situation has improved, but Iraq's arts scene remains in disarray. Many of his colleagues fled to Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East during the worst of the fighting. Few have returned.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged Iraqi refugees to return home, but Sabti says there is little reason to come back to Baghdad.
"I wonder what it is the artists would be coming back for," Sabti says in an interview at Hiwar Gallery in Baghdad. "Will they come back for the unemployment? Or death? Or for the lack ... of general services, such as electricity and water?"
Samir Basim Youssef, 26, a musician who plays contrabass with the national orchestra, disagrees. He says there are plenty of reasons to believe Iraq can have a cultural revival.
"Iraq has been attacked by many enemies and has lived through lots of hard circumstances, but it continued its march," he says. "We will certainly continue our cultural life in spite of all these circumstances.
"We are determined."
Contributing: Aamer Madhani
(c) USA TODAY, 2009
War has always been an excuse to steal valuable artifacts from the invaded country or destroy their culture. The United States' war with Iraq has been no different. The article above describes how Iraq's cultural arts center has been destroyed and is just now getting back on its feet after almost 7 years in the dirt. '"Iraq has been attacked by many enemies and has lived through lots of hard circumstances, but it continued its march," he says. "We will certainly continue our cultural life in spite of all these circumstances," (Nadeem).
It is truly admirable that after so much heartache and loss, this country is still willing to get back on its feet and be an even bigger center for the arts than it was before. The work now is in rebuilding the museums and art shops that were destroyed, as well as getting back precious artifacts that were stolen. "When Saddam fell, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years," (Nadeem).
Nadeem, Majeed "Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.
Supporters see positive signs after years of fear
Section: News, Pg. 13a
BAGHDAD --The Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra wrapped up its performance after 10 p.m. -- a bit later than most functions these days in the capital. But most of the audience stuck around to hear the conductor's short speech celebrating the cultural triumph.
It's no small thing to hold a concert in these difficult times, conductor Karim Wasfi told the nearly 200 people.
Despite a recent spike in violence after U.S. combat troops withdrew from urban areas at the end of June, Wasfi urged Iraqis to continue to support the arts if they want their country to regain a sense of normalcy.
"What the symphonic orchestra is doing ... is meritorious and deserves attention," he said. It demonstrates "there are also positive things happening in the country."
Iraq's once-vibrant arts culture has been slowly coming back to life in recent months, after years of sectarian fighting and a fierce insurgency made the notion of enjoying a concert or visiting an art gallery unthinkable.
"There is more than bombings and sandstorms in Baghdad," says Safiya al-Suhail, a member of Iraq's parliament. "There is hope that Baghdad's artist will experience a renaissance."
Hopeful signs of resurgence
Signs of Baghdad's re-emerging artsscene are visible throughout the city:
*The orchestra is performing more concerts than at any time since the U.S. invasion in 2003, including the concert last month at the posh Alwiya Club. The show featured classical Iraqi music as well as Beethoven's Prometheus Overture and George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. The concert even had a corporate underwriter: telecom firm Asiacell.
*On Abu Nawas Street, once a hub for Baghdad's best art dealers, most of the galleries have been closed since the worst days of the insurgency in 2006 and 2007. But several galleries reopened in recent months, and a few have held shows to highlight new artists.
*Al-Suhail now holds "salons," or social gatherings, that she describes as her own small effort to push Iraqis toward recapturing their rich, artistic history.
Over the last several months, the member of parliament has invited various Baghdad artists to display their work or lead discussions, as her guests munch finger foods and drink sodas in her backyard.
About 60 people attended one of al-Suhail's gatherings to view the work of several Iraqi photographers and their pictures of Baghdad. A few weeks before that, she had people over to discuss women's poetry with an Iraqi writer.
War hard on arts, artists
Despite harsh sanctions against the Iraqi government and the despotic rule of Saddam Hussein, Iraq had a vibrant arts scene in the years leading up to the war. Private galleries along the Tigris River regularly displayed artists' works, and the famous Mutanabi Street filled with booksellers did a brisk business.
After the U.S. invasion in March 2003, Iraq's cultural identity also came under fierce attack. When Saddam fell, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years.
By the end of 2006, most of the galleries along the Tigris were shuttered, and gallery owners put their most valuable work in storage. In March 2007, the stretch of bookstores on Mutanabi Street was destroyed by a massive truck bomb that killed 38 people. It took nearly two years to rebuild the shops.
Qasim Sabti, 56, a well-regarded Iraqi painter, says the situation has improved, but Iraq's arts scene remains in disarray. Many of his colleagues fled to Europe and elsewhere in the Middle East during the worst of the fighting. Few have returned.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has urged Iraqi refugees to return home, but Sabti says there is little reason to come back to Baghdad.
"I wonder what it is the artists would be coming back for," Sabti says in an interview at Hiwar Gallery in Baghdad. "Will they come back for the unemployment? Or death? Or for the lack ... of general services, such as electricity and water?"
Samir Basim Youssef, 26, a musician who plays contrabass with the national orchestra, disagrees. He says there are plenty of reasons to believe Iraq can have a cultural revival.
"Iraq has been attacked by many enemies and has lived through lots of hard circumstances, but it continued its march," he says. "We will certainly continue our cultural life in spite of all these circumstances.
"We are determined."
Contributing: Aamer Madhani
(c) USA TODAY, 2009
War has always been an excuse to steal valuable artifacts from the invaded country or destroy their culture. The United States' war with Iraq has been no different. The article above describes how Iraq's cultural arts center has been destroyed and is just now getting back on its feet after almost 7 years in the dirt. '"Iraq has been attacked by many enemies and has lived through lots of hard circumstances, but it continued its march," he says. "We will certainly continue our cultural life in spite of all these circumstances," (Nadeem).
It is truly admirable that after so much heartache and loss, this country is still willing to get back on its feet and be an even bigger center for the arts than it was before. The work now is in rebuilding the museums and art shops that were destroyed, as well as getting back precious artifacts that were stolen. "When Saddam fell, looters raided the Iraqi National Museum, stealing thousands of precious artifacts -- some dating back thousands of years," (Nadeem).
Nadeem, Majeed "Iraq's once-vibrant arts scene looks for revival." USA Today n.d.: Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 13 Oct. 2009.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Peer Review
Does the first paragraph end with a thesis? Rewrite it below. Does the thesis make an argument about the significance of a literary element at work in the song? What is that literary element? In your own words, how is this literary element important to the writer’s interpretation of the song’s “hidden” meaning?
I believe that this question will be the most helpful from the peer review in my revision. I know in my old thesis, I did not mention a literary element and did not connect a literary element in other paragraphs. So I really think by fixing this problem, I'll get a better grade.
I believe that this question will be the most helpful from the peer review in my revision. I know in my old thesis, I did not mention a literary element and did not connect a literary element in other paragraphs. So I really think by fixing this problem, I'll get a better grade.
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Sex in the Dark
If anyone lives on the 8th or 4th floor of Woody Hall in Lafollete you'll know what I'm talking about. Sex in the Dark happened last night when the 8th floor girls and the 4th floor guys went up to the 9th floor lounge together. The lights were turned off and with the girls on one side of the room, and guys on the other, our two RA's, Natalie and Edric asked the questions we'd written down. These questions consisted of things the opposite sex wanted to know about the other in regards to sex. All-in-all, it was a pretty hilarious time. One of the questions, this one asked by the guys to the girls, is probably the one I remember the most. It's, "What is your fantasy, where would you most like to have sex?" At first the girls were just kind of like um...., and then someone shouted out, "In the elevator!" We all started chuckling a little bit, but then one of the girls shouted out, "Oh ya, we all get off on the sixth floor!" At which point, the chuckling turned into outright hysterical laughter. If you know anything about Woody Hall you know the elevator only lets you on or off at the first and sixth floor. That's why that comment was so funny.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Fun Facts you probably didn't know
The animal responsible for the most human deaths worldwide is the mosquito.
The name for Oz in “The Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
China has about $1 trillion in personal savings and a savings rate of close to 50%. The US has about $158 billion in personal savings and an average savings rate of only about 2%.
The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle.
During the chariot scene in "Ben Hur," a small red car can be seen in the
distance.
The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed
the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which
stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
An old law in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman to take
more than 3 steps backwards while dancing.
Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space
because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them. Not to mention the other
drawback.
"Dreamt" is the only word in the English language that ends in "mt".
When a person shakes their head from side to side, he is saying "yes" in Sri Lanka.
Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."
The name for Oz in “The Wizard of Oz” was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence “Oz.”
China has about $1 trillion in personal savings and a savings rate of close to 50%. The US has about $158 billion in personal savings and an average savings rate of only about 2%.
The dot over the letter "i" is called a tittle.
During the chariot scene in "Ben Hur," a small red car can be seen in the
distance.
The very first bomb dropped by the Allies on Berlin in World War II killed
the only elephant in the Berlin Zoo.
The phrase "rule of thumb" is derived from an old English law which
stated that you couldn't beat your wife with anything wider than your thumb.
An old law in Bellingham, Washington, made it illegal for a woman to take
more than 3 steps backwards while dancing.
Astronauts are not allowed to eat beans before they go into space
because passing wind in a spacesuit damages them. Not to mention the other
drawback.
"Dreamt" is the only word in the English language that ends in "mt".
When a person shakes their head from side to side, he is saying "yes" in Sri Lanka.
Colgate faced a big obstacle marketing toothpaste in Spanish speaking Countries because Colgate translates into the command "go hang Yourself."
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