Breaths of Nature

It’s amazing what fifteen minutes in the park can do for the mind. I didn’t fill my ears with music from my ipod and I shut my phone on silent. For a December day, it was quite warm out and there was very little breeze in the air. The three o’clock sun was shining through the trees and leaving a crisp shadow on the hardened earth. I chose a spot at the edge of the park were there was a small open meadow with a walking bridge just beyond the trees. I like this spot because I feel like I am on the edge of two extremes. The crowded Upper West Side behind me and a taste of living earth in front of me ( I will refrain from calling this space nature). Here is a taste of what I experienced:

I can hear the sirens blaring, fighting time to get their destination where seconds matter and I in turn sit silent and still feeling moments go by, breathing them in and breathing them out, not holding them but letting them pass through me.

A baby carriage rolls by and I see the smile-less joy that radiates from the mothers eyes as she too breaths in each moment which she will only be able to hold on to with memories. She doesn’t need show me her joy though a smile. I know its there.

How cold the crisp the air tastes like the remnants of autumn. The leaves have fallen but the few that have escaped the park’s cleaning crews sit cuddled up against the foot of my bench where they are preparing for the winter ahead.

City couples walk by in sleek leather jackets while Montana mothers in their fluffy pink and yellow coats take pictures just under the foot bridge to bring back to their husbands. One of the woman is talking about wanting to see Legally blond the musical.

A green and red striped Frisbee lies by a tree

I hear a horse’s feet clop somewhere but I can’t tell which direction its from.

A quite roar rises behind me and it soothes me to know I have stepped out of it for a moment.

I breath in and then I breath out.

Time passes.

Time ends.

Like the straight faced joy of the mother and child, I stand up and walk towards the roar.

I return.

The Dirt in the Dirt in the New Machine

“The Dirt in the New Machine” fails to support its initial condemnation of cell phone use. As the article progresses, Blaine Harden (its author) names factor after mitigating factor that diminishes the link between cell phones and coltan mining. Moreover, he fails to demonstrate that coltan mining is truly a detrimental practice. Harden’s article would read much better if it forwent the initial guilt trip and skipped directly to an analysis of the facts of the situation.

Summary of the Dirt in the Machine

The Dirt in the New Machine

 I have a cell phone.  Many say they “need” cell phones.  I highly doubt that even a small amount of cell phone users has any idea what colton is or where it comes from.  I had never heard of it before reading the article.  The hardest thing about the situation is that coltan is completely necessary for a majority of electronics that we are “dependant” on.How is coltan bad, anyway? Well, some 20 mines were found that year in the Okapi reserve, destroying wildlife, including eastern low land gorillas and the eko tree, which, in turn, affects the pygmies.  they depend on the tree to attract bees and make honey.  Coltan “perpetuates war” in the Congo.  People are killing each other in order to have access to areas where coltan may be mined.  It is also “a win-win situation” for the bad guys, because there is no real government, and many violent people go around threatening others and doing all that they can to take advantage of any and every opportunity to make money off of the coltan.  

Is there any way that coltan is good?  Well, no, not exactly.  However, “there could be worse things that coltan mining.”  The people need the jobs.  As the article says, “the only thing worse than mining coltan is not mining coltan.”  Also, someone in the article pointed out that it is good at least, that the miners are not logging instead.  That would case greater damage to the environment.  Another thing that is good about the coltan situation is that about half of the world’s supply is produced in Australia, I, as a cell phone user, feel ethically responsible for being informed about my phone-service provider’s stance on using the coltan from the Congo.   I do not  (as the article suggests I should,) feel very responsible for specifically helping “Mama Doudou” because I received my cell phone in 2003.

Kristine  

Summary of Final Paper from SP

I read part 1 of Breakthrough by Ted Nordhaus and Michael Shellenberger.  I agree that many environmentalists have been so wrapped up in protecting nature that they’ve actually been blinded by their attempt to negate others actions and remove things that we do, instead of coming up with concrete, counteractive ideas to create anew. I think we as a nation (the majority at least) are addicted to our ways of life and our comforts, and that our only way out is a mass upheaval which entails the removal of comforts for a while (although economically speaking this is probably impossible,) so that a balance can be found…I would like to think that we could change as a nation without entirely removing certain distracting comforts which support excess…but I have yet to be persuaded.  One way that the reading inspired me to see the way environmentalists have been focusing on a lot of the same means of persuasion was this idea of visual nostalgia, like the image of the Earth from outer space…”ignoring the values and context that defined the moment and obsessively returning to the same memories…” (P. 24.)  Another point they made that I agreed with was how environmentalists again and again associate us (humans) negatively to the world around us. “Environmentalists are constantly telling nostalgic narratives about how things were better in the past, when humans lived in greater balance with nature.” (P. 25.) I believe that we were no different before except that our limited technology allowed us to be safer with the environment.  Our mindset seems to have remained the same…we have a desire to grow and extend our bounds…the difference today is that we have now expanded to such proportions that we are being neglectful of the complexity and importance of what got us here in the first place, our resources, our support, our life system, the Earth.  All of our previous behavior brought us to where we are now, so the frame of mind involving the environment (amongst the majority of Americans,) couldn’t have been that supportive if it bred generations of people just now realizing the scope of the issue.  I think we should start by looking at what our country can own; the beauty in going industrially very far. From this vantage point we are relieved of guilt; we can look at where the country made rash choices based on productivity and not longevity.  When one is relieved of the burden of having made years of mistakes over and over again, I think one can observe consequence more rationally and not feel the impulse to hide in the comfort of convincing themselves of their own ignorance.  I don’t think the American Dream is inherently “green” in the sense that it doesn’t seem to entail environmentally conscious choices, although it advocates the look of cleanliness and productivity.  Although the picturesque American Dream for each person seems to be inherently personal and within one’s own lifetime, I will argue that in all of us there is a dream of carrying something on and making a mark.  And making your mark is not one-sided; the dream involves the people one would like to affect or change just as much as the one doing the changing.  So for this reason I think the American Dream, whether we like it or not, has got to start being “green,” and can be more “green” so that there are people to enjoy and grow in what we pass on; there is room for green in the American Dream.  I think leaders of the nation need to take action in the way that they have been in the past few years for our security by lengthening airport checks or constantly reminding people to be aware of possessions lying around unattended.  Before September 11th, 2001 many people probably would have found these to be overly precautious; in the same way, we must anticipate the need for making environmental choices now.  I think the leaders of this country should create a separate body of the government just for environmental concerns.  Our country would lead by example in a bold way. This section of the government could contain three groups: one with representatives from every state to take action on their specific concerns; another with representatives from each national corporation that produces things in the US; and another group with US ambassadors that would spend time in other countries where corporations that were international were producing things.  The goal would be to find cost-efficient ways of helping the environment and the economy at the same time.  Many jobs would be created in making this change. People would have to start paying attention more to the issues because they would be much more publicized, and the next generation would be learning all about this new part of our government in their history classes.  I think the government should take action with or without all of the people’s support at this point, just as they’ve done with other issues in the past because it’s necessary to maintain the quality of life we have grown to expect from this country.  Sometimes when you don’t have a choice, the change is less painful than you ever imagined it could be.   I observe in my own life, and others, an overall neglect of health sometimes.  With all the choices available today, it’s hard to always make a healthy choice (like what to eat every night.)  If we continue to be unaware or inconsiderate to ourselves and our needs, how can we ever take the steps necessary to change the world? I think this is a starting place for everyone, and all we need is a place to start. Sean Parker 

Kurosawa Film Response from SP

I don’t think a system of honor and shame makes sense in relating to other species.  And it’s not that I think that other animal species don’t have this same way of relating to each other.  It seems that when dealing with another species we have two things to rely on to communicate: observation and intuition.  We can observe when an animal is afraid, hungry, etc., and we can also intuit impossible things to know, such as loneliness and sadness.  Because we must rely on our own perception in order to observe and assess what we’re seeing, I don’t think it’s helpful to involve what we articulate as humans to be honor and shame, but rather to use the unspeakable language of trying to figure eachother out.  After all, it seems that’s what different species do whenever they are together…spend the time trying to figure eachother out.I absolutely think that grief is an appropriate feeling to have towards peach orchards.  An orchard takes time and the right circumstances to grow; an orchard’s disappearance is the complete leveling of something that is alive.  But even so, the amount of grief seems to be parallel with the amount of our investment in something; whether that investment be thought, appreciation, or love.  Loss is universal, and felt constantly, whether in the smallest or largest instances.  I think that people have the ability, whether conscious or not, to invest their love and feeling in anything on this earth, whether it be animate or inanimate, man-made or not.  It is personal, and it often isn’t a choice; I believe that most humans are often surprised by the things in life that produce grief or other feelings that arrive out of a deep connection. Therefore, I don’t think grief is something that really involves a choice.  One may choose to take the steps to end their grieving and move on, but can one choose to begin to grieve? I don’t know if I’ve seen theater involved in mediating literally between live plants and animals, but I would be interested in seeing how that could come about.  I have however seen theater in which humans take on animals or plants through a transformation using their human body, whether it be using masks, or a technique like Lecoq, which could involve finding the life and spirit of things non-human and becoming that thing with your own body and voice.  I think it’s fascinating to see the human body take on the energy and thought of something else, if nothing else than to reveal the way the human connects to that thing and imagines its life.  Ultimately, its still art that is entirely human driven though, requiring our thought and feelings, so I wonder how far we could actually go in embodying, if that were to be the means of mediation. Also, could we ever be anything but subjective when seeing this, based on the way it would hit all of us differently?  It’s not as tangible as human interaction.    Sean Parker        

DIRTY IN MY MACHINE!

Hey y’all. Stasia here.

 I responded to the Coltan issue with “The Dirt in the New Machine.” and ashamedly I bow my head. To be blunt, I do not feel obligated to feel guilty about my cell phone use because I’m not sure how to connect the dots from the people there to me and my sprint cell phone. I had so much internal struggle about this coltan issue because in my mind and in my heart, I know I should care more about the people suffering there and its relation to my cell phone, but something about this issue does not necessarily spark any particular **fdjklk** in me to either put my cell phone down or call up Sprint and ask them if they are using coltan from Congo in the cell phones.

 If all the cell phone companies stopped using Coltan from that part of Africa, would that stop their suffering? Would their government be any less corrupt than it is now? Would people put down their cell phones if people said that they would continue to get coltan from Congo? We pretty much know the answers to each of these questions….

 It does make me feel a twinge of “Eh, Stacey, what kind of person are you?” feeling, but what can I do? I know I should care, but truthfully, I don’t care so much. I know it sucks a lot the way some of those people are living there, but I don’t want to feel guilty about something I most definitely cannot control or have a dircet link to. My sprint phone doesn’t kill, it’s the middle man crapola that’s happening that kills.

And I will not feel guilty about that.

Final Summary

I answered question 3.

I think the best way to go about getting a fast change in a group of people is fear.I think the future of the world is open until it becomes too late and we cant do anything to change it. People are scared of the truth, based on scientific research the planet earth is doing  so well and wont be able  the abuse for much longer. People find this to be a scare tactic when in fact there just facts which have people worried. people are very fast to make change when they feel like something is going to effect their lives or someone they care about. Fear is a tactic that has been used since I was in kindergarten, people are most likely to change or not do something is they know the consequences.   

It’s come to this

It’s come down to the wire. I’m revisiting old blog assignments that have yet to be posted and posting them now.  Perhaps I give this preface because I’m writing from the computer lab and I question the validity of this environments worth on the Perfect Storms blogsite.  But it’s actually very fitting.Wires. The air is cold, there is a slight draft coming from the vents above my head.  I’m sitting in a side room with only four other people.  I can only see two of them because of the layout of the room and the way my computer screen takes up the space in front of my face.   The air feels colder than it did when I started this blog.Wires.  I’m taking my headphones off to emerge from the dense electronic music I’m absorbing, to completely give over to what this environment has to offer me on its own terms.  I immediately heard the rattle of a scanner.  The footsteps of someone behind me.  The sound of paper being turned over, plastic bag and boxes being loaded or unloaded behind me.  As I write this I’m finding that the very act of blogging while actually in the environment of the computer lab is kind of restricting because a majority of my attention has to go directly TO the computer; its bright, glossy colors seem destined to capture my attention.   I turn my head to the right; I can feel the presence of the computer screen beckoning my return, asking my approval or my attention to alter something on it… like a person standing in front of me waiting for me to say something.  I keep looking at wires.  The computers look grossly exposed right now, like all their insides are left naked coming out their backs and emerging into holes where their power source lies.  Like an alien species.  There are so many whites and blacks in this room.  White and black keyboard (piano), white and black keyboard (computer), white and black computer screens, white-with-black-specks floor, white walls, white-with–black-specks ceiling, black chairs, black and grayish tables, black and white sign, black and white electrical outlets.  The air seems even colder now.   I feel stereotypically drawn away from the earth (as in dirt ground) and absorbed by this sterile environment.  All of these things are things that humans have made from something that the earth gave us, and yet there is hardly any trace, except for maybe the wooden doors.  I’m trying to assess if this makes a difference  in my connection to them.  I’m having a hard time.  I look away; the computer draws me in again.  There’s the silhouette of a plant through two glass windows in the room ahead of me.  It’s a small window and the color of the plant is blunted, so it looks watermarked. The sight of the plant made me feel immediately better.  And I just realized that I used the computer term watermarked to describe its color. Hmmm.  Is the feeling brought on by the sight of the plant and the term I used to describe it the difference between gut response and acquired knowledge? The difference between where we were as humans, and where we are now? Between what’s really meant to be here, and what is a distracting add-on?  I can’t decide if I feel any less connected to the materials in this room than I do when I’m outdoors, in a seemingly untouched environment.   Sean Parker 

Response to the films

I really like the films we watched in class, especially the one about the peach orchard. That was the film that inspired me on some of my ideas for Fables of La Fontaine. During the procession in the forest it seemed like the actors were using a technique called Suzuki which I found very effective. The music and the message in the film also helped the story be told in a more entertaining way.

1)I do not think that a system of honor and shame helps a person relate to other species. it actually might deter some people from wanting to become acquainted with the other species because they might find their system too judge mental.

2) I think grief is an appropriate emotion for anything that had value and is now gone or lost. I think grief shows appreciation and respect for an object or a person, if someone grieves over your lost it means you were of some importance to that individual. You can grieve over the lost of a person, place or thing, If it meant that much to you no one can judge how authentic or appropriate your reaction is.

3) I think the job of theatre today is to depict the reaction humans have on other creatures. Because I consider creatures as part of Nature, I think the relationship between humans and Nature is take and no give relationship and its up to theatre t depict that so humans can make a change in their actions.

4) Proving that a robot and any type of machinery can feel sounds like a hard task to me but if it were proven, I would have to give them the benefit of the doubt. If something feels pain I think it should at least be respected enough that people wont bring arbitrary pain in it life. That doesn’t mean its a person if it feels it just means it has the right to be respected by others.

6) Because they are artificial intelligence I would automatically say no. The world artificial means they are not real, maybe they feel, ok then they be given respect but that’s it. As we see today technology can screw up or malfucntion at any moment, so they couldn’t be very trust worthy. Being part of the UN is a big deal, they would have to make very important decisions which himans cannot relie on a robot for. 

Anthony’s 15 Minutes of Observing Nature

yawn

breath

stillness, nothing is moving

it looks like nothing is moving

stretching reflection of a red exit sign

my shadow is reaching to the left of me for about 5 feet

It is me sitting up against a wall.

yam

I’m having thoughts about other people in my life and I’m not really looking at anything in front of me

It makes me scratch under my nose

stillness

breath

someone comes down the stairway up there

we have a nonverbal conversation and the result is they leave

dim sounds of machines through a lot of walls

yawn

breath

searching for something, alert to anything

nothing looks like it’s moving

yawn and swallow

i feel like someone might come in,

like there’s someone near

people talking downstairs

can’t understand what they’re saying