The Greek Economy

Like many other civilizations, the ancient Greek economy was based on agriculture. Grapes, cereals and olives were the main crops. In addition, they domesticated animals like sheep and goats. Husbandry was not successful developed due to the bad soil. Bee were kept to produce honey, which was the primary source for sugar. Mining was significant since they had developed metal. Silver was abundant. Bronze and iron weapons were used commonly. Many Greeks were sailors around the Mediterranean sea. Some of them were traders. Some of them were fishermen who sold fish in markets. Some of them were mercenaries who fought for other nations for money. Coins were used in ancient Greece in several ways. They were used as a way to exchange objects. They were a source of revenue. I think the economy of ancient Greece is similar to our modern economy, just not as complicated.

Baraka

I believe that the film "Baraka" is about our environment. At first, the film presents beautiful and magnificent scenes of mountains and glaciers. However, the film goes into various human cultures. For instance, the scene where a African Indigenous group were dancing around was fascinating. This relates to the topic we discussed before: the disappearing Indegenous cultures. Monkeys swimming in hot springs also amazed me. I didn't know monkeys like hot springs. The different aspects of our world are beautifully presented in the film. To me, this movie is absolutely environmental. It's telling me that we should stop destroying. Our world is unique. There will never be a second one. I am grateful that I live on this lovely planet.

Ishmael Parable

There was a long silence. I stood on the ground. I couldn’t believe my eyes. This was not good. I walked and walked. Weird sounds and creatures appeared simultaneously. No. No. Did I travel to the wrong place? That’s not possible. I did it the way professor told me to. I looked at the creature that was looking at me. It’s quite beautiful. But that’s not why I was there. I was there to do something. Research. Yes, I remembered clearly that I was there to do research. I didn’t want to disappoint my professor so I flew.
I flew in the sky. I recalled what the professor said, “Tall square gray rocks”. I was supposed to find those rocks. I couldn’t find them. I saw many brown sticks with green stuff on them, but no gray rocks. Suddenly, I noticed something. In a close distance, I saw a lot of them. “Tall square gray rocks.” I said to myself. That’s it. No joke. That was what my research would base on. “What the heck!” I shouted like a baby. The professor lied. He said there would be creatures that look like us. Nothing was there. Nothing. I forgot what the professor taught me. It was ten years ago. I opened my lab-top and turned it on.
I found the file that professor gave me. It had all the information about my mission. Okay, my mission was to save the world. That was clear. Let me explain to you why. My hometown was in danger. It was facing destruction. My mission was a to find a solution from this place. Our ancestors lived here. I knew what I wanted to find. Our ancestors. They were supposed be around these tall gray square rocks. However, I couldn’t see any of them. I flew again. I flew out of the gray rocks. I was flying on top of green stuff again.
Suddenly, I saw something moving. Quietly, I moved beside the object. It was the creature that I wanted to find. I walked up to that creature and said, “Hi, my people are facing some problems. We’re dying off.” The creature was the same specie as my people. It’s a female. It’s a girl.
“Why?” the girl said.
“I don’t know. That’s why I am here” I replied.
“I don’t know either”
There was a long silence. “I am here to find my ancestors” I broke the silence. “I’m guessing you are my ancestor.”
“No, I am not. I am different from you guys. Your ancestors are gone.” She said indifferently.
“That’s impossible,” I said impatiently, “According to the file, our ancestors are living just fine.”
“That’s a lie,” She laughed. “Why do you think they left this place?”
“They left because…what’s this place called anyway?”
“The earth.”
“I know. That’s what file tells me also. The file tells me that you are my ancestor.”
“Well, I am not,” She smiled “I am not a destroyer.”
“ I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I said angrily.
“Well, your real ancestors are gone. They destroyed themselves. That’s why part of them moved to your world.”
“No, no, that’s not the real story.”
“If you don’t believe me. Then go and fine them yourself. You will never find them.”
I looked at her. She seemed to be serious. So, I believed her in the end. “So, how do I prevent the same thing from happening again?”
“You can’t”
“What’s the truth? How should we live?”
“There’s no truth.”
“She’s talking nonsense.” I murmured in my mouth.
“You guys are doomed to face extinction because of your mindset. There’s no truth. You will never find the truth.”
“Who are you?” I shouted.
“I am the kind of creature you never want to become. A creature that is free.”
I walked away slowly. I couldn’t take it anymore. It was time for me to go. I walked to the machine that brought me here. I sat in the machine. That girl had nothing. She was naked. She was the kind of creature that I wanted to find. Nonetheless, she didn’t possess the technology and all that stuff that are described in the file. I turned on the machine and pressed the special button.
10 years passed. I finally traveled back to my world. I couldn’t believe what I had just seen. My world was destroyed. Everything was destroyed. I saw my professor lying on the floor dying. I sat beside him.
“It’s too late,” he said, “I know what you want to say.”
“What?”
“You haven’t found out the truth yet. You are the only one who can do the job now. Leave now, and create your own world. The world with free men.” He died right after he finished the sentence.
“That’s why I am here,” I said to myself. “I am here to find the truth. I am the chosen one.”

Instinct

This is a magnificent and moving film. I like Ethan Powell's unique way of thinking and living. The part I like the most is when Ethan Powell presses Theo Caulder on the table and asks him "What did I take from you?" and Ethan, almost choking to death, said "illusions". That ties back to the book Ishmael. We have all these illusions that we're in control. We're not in fact. Ethan finds freedom in the forest living with gorillas. Theo isn't free. Like the rest of us, he has to play the game. This reminded me of The Catcher in the Rye. The protagonist of the book Holden Caulfield mentions about the game of life also. We are controlled by this game that we have to play. We don't have to true freedom. We play with the rules of the game. I want to experience what Ethan experienced: living in complete freedom. Ethan realizes that we don't control anything. The game controls us. Ethan chooses to quit the game and live outside of it. We won't lose anything living outside of the game because we don't have control over anything in the first place. We only have illusions. This film also tells us that freedom is not just a dream; it can be fulfilled. The last scene of him walking into the forest is absolutely touching. I want to be able to do that too.

The Knowledge

The Leavers have followed the past from the beginning of human existence and the Takers have created new lifestyles for every generation. I actually don't think there's anything wrong with that. That's what make us, Takers, special. We generate new lifestyles. Leaver has a system that works well for them because it evolved among them. They have adapted to the environment. Unlike Leavers, we don't adapt to the environment, we change it so it suits us. I am confused about this one. I kind of feel that something is wrong about that and I kind of don't. I don't know if it's right to change the environment for us. The knowledge of what works well for production is valued in our society according to Ishmael, and I agree on that. What's one big reason we go to school? Of course is to be productive in the future. We are destroying everything that's not suitable for us, I think that's what Ishmael suggests. It's ugly, I concur. This ties back to the theme of how things came to be this way. Things came to be this way since we value differently from others, which, in my opinion, has nothing wrong.

Mugabe and the Tree of Knowledge

Mugabe is a man who controls Zimbabwe. He believes what he does is right without considering the other aspects of the situation. He is probably cognizant of what he has done to the people of Zimbabwe, but unfortunately, he is convinced that Zimbabwe is on the right track even when its inflation rate has reached 11 million percent. He thinks he has tasted the tree of knowledge, the knowledge of right or wrong. Maybe the saying that absolute power equals to absolute corruption is right.

Frankly, I am appalled by the article. The situation in the Zimbabwe is so bad and Mugabe still thinks that everything is fine. I can't believe that a man with such great power is so out of his mind. He thinks he is the God of Zimbabwe and has the right to do anything he wants. Mugabe is crazy. He fought for freedom before and now he fights against it. As Mugabe gained power, he probably became conscious of what power could do. As time passed, as he gained more and more power each day, he began to think of himself as the God.

What Mugabe is doing in Zimbabwe is totally unacceptable. He's slaughtering people who go against him. The fact that there are people in Zimbabwe who are willing to support Mugabe's ferocious attempts perturbs me. I am also upset about the fact that other nations are not doing anything effective. Sooner or later, for Zimbabwe, Mugabe will become the God of Destruction. He will destroy Zimbabwe if things keep on going like this. With inflation rate as high as 11 million, I don't see how this nation can survive in the future.

It's interesting to think about it, Mugabe was like Nelson Mandela, a hero. Now, one is still respected as a hero, one is considered as a devil. In my opinion, no man should own the true knowledge of right and wrong or image he does. It's always not to late to admit one's faults. I hope Mugabe will admit the fact that he has not tasted the Tree of Knowledge and what he has done is totally wrong.

p.s
It's really random, but maybe Obama can do something about this when he moves into the white house? ha ha

Dance Questions

How did the site of DongMen alter the choreography that you created in the classroom?

The site was bigger than we thought so we had to adjust our positions. The floor was rife with ponds so we had to avoid them. Overall, what we created was the same with what we performed.


Now that you know this site better; If you were to go back to Dongmen what would you add or subtract from your choreography to make it stronger?

I would try to make our choreography creepy since the site is creepy. I would add more creepy dance moves so we looked more like ghost dancers. I would maybe shoot it at night so it would look like a ghost town.