18 year old student struck by train at Union Square, 14th street. (Image from: DNAinfo.com)
This morning when I was rushing to CCNY for a morning World Humanities class, I saw police stringing yellow tape across the top of the stairs leading down to the 4 5 6 platform at Union Square. I stopped for a moment and glanced down and all I could say was “shit”, and then I kept moving. There was blood all over the platform, the area was packed with cops, and I thought I saw what looked like a few … pieces.
It was interesting, but something about the situation didn’t make me want to stop and take a picture. Maybe it had something to do with the janitor at the top of the stairs, his bucket of water and reddish looking mop sitting next to him. It just seemed so… surreal all of a sudden. We all go through these train stations every day, ride the trains every day, and in a moment of carelessness, we can wind up as a stain on the floor getting mopped up by a underpaid janitor using a dirty mop.
Life is brief enough as it is, and I feel bad for the person who got hit by the train, which I later found out was an 18 year old teen on his way to school. He’s laid up in a hospital now, in critical condition. The area the accident took place is right at the mouth of the tunnel and the trains enter the stations moving pretty quickly, so realistically, the kid will be lucky if he only suffers brain damage. His whole life is shot, probably because he stuck his head out to check and see if the train was coming. Those stations are noisy and there are lots of trains passing through, so he couldn’t have known one was coming up the tunnel right when he poked his head out. It’s still a case of bad judgment though. A very unfortunate case.
On my way home, I walked past the same staircase, so I went down to look around. As I did, a train pulled into the station, and the conductor leaned out and was looking at the floor, where in the image above you can see all the blood. I wonder if he was the rear conductor on the train that struck the kid this morning?
The lesson I’m taking from this is that the train will come, whether or not we stick our heads out over the tracks to look for it. I’ll keep doing what I normally do: stand in the center of the platform and read while waiting on the train.
This is a paper I wrote for my 100 level World Humanities class. It deals with concepts of hospitality in The Odyssey.
The guidelines for this paper are as follows:
What is xenia? What are the basic expectations that come with proper xenia? List TWO examples of good xenia in The Odyssey, and one example of bad xenia. (be sure to include at least one example from Books 13 – 24) What are the consequences, good or bad, of each? Why is xenia important to civilization? What does it represent or establish in the minds of people of ancient Greece?
The paper was supposed to be at least 1400 words, double spaced in 12 point font, and in MLA format with a Works Cited page, so you’ll see that tacked onto the end of this so a reader can make sense of the in-text parenthetical citations that I’ll be copying into this blog post.
Introduction
Odysseus and Athena
One of the most important themes in The Odyssey is the concept of xenia, which is the old Greek word for hospitality. In modern times, hospitality is something we rarely think of, and the first thing that comes to mind is the hotel industry, but in ancient Greece, xenia was not about hotels, or just about etiquette, it was a way of life with many benefits in a world that was still mostly savage.
Xenia was more than just being polite to strangers. It was a set of rules and customs that defined the guest-host relationship between two individuals, two groups of people, or an individual and a group (Wilson 370). Some basic rules of this relationship were that the guest could not insult the host, make demands, or refuse xenia. Additionally, the host could not insult the guest, fail to protect the guest, or fail to be as hospitable as possible. It was also customary for gifts to be given to the guest, or for a gift exchange to be conducted between guest-friends (Wilson 370).
This complicated guest-host relationship placed equal burden on both the host and the guest, starting with the guest finding a ‘proper’ place to seek xenia. The custom was for the guest to take shelter in a home that fit his social standing, so you would not normally see a beggar looking for hand-outs at the palace of a king, or a noble seeking xenia from a commoner under, ideal circumstances at least.
This custom of xenia also carried a burden of trust, where both the host and guest would have to rely on custom in regards to personal safety. This trust was reinforced by both fear of word getting out that the host had provided improper xenia, and fear of retribution by the gods (Biggs, Joseph and Bennet, Mollie), since one never knew when a traveller might actually be a god in disguise, come to test the level of your xenia. All travellers were seen as sent by Zeus and under his protection (Homer 153), so giving proper xenia was also a way of showing reverence for the gods, especially Zeus in the form of Zeus Xenios.
The Odyssey “may be viewed as a study in the laws of hospitality” (Pitt-Rivers 13) and is full of examples of both good and bad xenia, where good xenia is rewarded and bad xenia is punished. The theme of punishment and reward for how xenia is offered runs throughout The Odyssey, starting with Odysseus’ encounter with the cyclops Polyphemus to his return to Ithaka and eventual vengeance against the suitors. The story relies so heavily on concepts of xenia that The Odyssey could not have been written without it in mind. Almost every encounter between characters gives us demonstrations of how xenia should, or shouldn’t be carried out.
Good Xenia: Odysseus and Nausikaa
One of the best examples of good xenia in The Odyssey is that of Nausikaa (Homer 104 – 108), a princess on the island of the Phaiakians. Odysseus had been shipwrecked and took refuge under a bush for the night. Late the next morning, he woke up to the sound of girls screaming while at play with a ball they had accidentally kicked into a nearby stream. Seeing an opportunity for help, he decided to approach them. Emerging from the bushes, rough, ragged, crusted with dried seawater and covered only by an olive branch, he approached Nausikaa and her maids-in-waiting. A natural reaction in this sort of situation would be to run and hide, which is what Nausikaa’s maids-in-waiting did, but Nausikaa, remembering the obligations of xenia, as well as the dream Athena had sent her the night before (Homer 99 – 100), stood her ground and waited for Odysseus, to hear him out.
After he spoke, she used what means she had available to her to offer good xenia to a guest on her father’s island. She called back her maids and reminded them that “Strangers and beggars come from Zeus: a small gift, then, is friendly” (Homer 105). She then directed her maids to take him to the river and bathe him, providing him with oils to rub onto his skin. She provided him with fresh clothing, taken from the laundry she’d washed in the river. She also offered him food and drink. These are all examples of good xenia to a stranger. She took care of his needs and then, afterwards, she even offered a parting gift: information about how he could accomplish his task of getting home. She told him how best to approach her parents and how best to win them over, so he would have a good chance of receiving the help he needed to get home.
Odysseus, for his part, also kept up his side of the obligations of xenia. He calculated how best to seek her aid without insulting her (“In his swift reckoning, he thought it best to trust in words to please her—and keep away; he might anger the girl, touching her knees.” (Homer 103)), made requests but not forceful demands, and gratefully accepted her gifts and advice. It’s easy to see the result of good xenia here, in terms of how Odysseus profited by it. He eventually encountered Nausikaa’s parents, was well received, entertained, and was sent on his way in a Phaiakian boat to Ithaka, loaded down with treasures.
It’s more of a stretch to see how the Phaiakian’s benefited from their good xenia, since the boat that took Odysseus home, along with its crew, was turned to stone within sight of Skheria Island, their home. It’s possible that the ability to tell future guests that they once played host to the great Odysseus may bring them some fame and honor. Also, because of their remote location, the Phaikians might have become complacent. This incident caused them to become more wary of helping strangers (Homer 235), which could be a good thing for them, especially in a speculative future where other, less hospitable, groups of people move into their area.
Good Xenia: Odysseus and Eumaios
Another example of good xenia in The Odyssey is Odysseus’ reception by Eumaios (Homer 248 – 249), a swineherd on his estate in Ithaka. Even though Odysseus appeared to be a homeless, wandering beggar, he was still received well by Eumaios. He was immediately invited in for food and drink: “Come to the cabin. You’re a wanderer too. You must eat something, drink some win, and tell me where you are from and the hard times you’ve seen” (Homer 248). Eumaios even arranged his own bed as a bench for Odysseus to sit down, reminding Odysseus that “…rudeness to a stranger is not decency, poor though he may be…” (Homer 249). When evening came, Eumaios made a bed for Odysseus and even offered him his own cloak to keep him warm during the night. This level of courtesy towards a man, who, for all appearances, was nothing more than a beggar, shows Eumaios’ dedication to proper xenia. Odysseus continued to stay with Eumaios for multiple days, but at no point did Eumaios ever insist that he leave. He offered as much hospitality as he could to Odysseus, trusting in the customs of xenia that Odysseus would make no unreasonable demands or overstay his welcome.
For his part, Odysseus made no demands of Eumaios and did not threaten or insult him, despite his humble offerings. In fact, Homer repeatedly indicates Odysseus’ pleasure at Eumaios’ actions. Eumaios’ hospitality, and later his help, enables Odysseus to reclaim his house and get rid of the suitors. Because Eumaios treated Odysseus to good xenia, and proved his continuing loyalty to him during the conversations they had while Odysseus was in the guise of a beggar, his life was spared when Odysseus slaughtered the servants who had turned against him and against his house.
Bad Xenia: Odysseus and The Suitors
Odysseus slaying his wife’s suitors after returning to Ithaka.
One of the most obvious examples of bad xenia in The Odyssey is the treatment of Odysseus’ house, and Odysseus himself, by the suitors who, in his absence, have come to his home seeking his wife’s hand in marriage. The mere fact that they came to his house, seeking Penelope’s hand in marriage, isn’t necessarily wrong. Odysseus had been gone for nearly 15 years when the suitors showed up. There had been no solid news of him, and no one had any idea if he were alive or dead. What makes their behavior bad xenia is the way they went about it. They imposed themselves on the household, devouring the livestock, consuming the wine, insulting their host, Telemakhos, and refused to leave when their presence and intentions toward Penelope were obviously not wanted. Penelope tells the suitors in the hall, “Others who go to court a gentlewoman, daughter of a rich house, if they are rivals, bring their own beeves and sheep along; her friends ought to be feasted, gifts are due to her; would any dare to live at her expense?” (Homer 325) She also later reminds them, “suitors indeed, you commandeered this house” (Homer 393). The suitors even made plans to kill Telemakhos, to get him out of the way so they could further their goal of obtaining Penelope’s hand and dividing the spoils of the house. Since Odysseus was, in fact, still alive and master of his house, all of these transgressions of xenia can be seen as transgressions of xenia against Odysseus.
Additionally, when Odysseus returned home, though in disguise, the suitors continued to show bad xenia. Antinoos was particularly vicious to him. As he made his rounds of the suitors’ tables, in the guise of a beggar asking for hand-outs, Antinoos threatened him with violence, mocked him by calling him a pest, and then threw a stool at his back that hit him (Homer 326). These actions, along with further demonstrations of bad xenia on Antinoos’ part and from all the suitors in general, show us the exact opposite of what good xenia is.
In the role of the guest, the suitors insulted their host by overstaying their welcome, by making unreasonable demands on the house in terms of provisions, and by attempting to kill Telemakhos. In the role of the host, the suitors failed to provide proper xenia by insulting their guest, Odysseus, by injuring him instead of protecting him from harm, and by not being as hospitable as possible. Their bad xenia was well rewarded, since Odysseus was home with the blessings of Zeus, who avenges bad xenia, and Athena, Odysseus’ patron goddess. As Odysseus prepared to draw the first arrow, Zeus sent an omen signalling his approval, a loud thunderclap. Still playing up to his role, Odysseus proved himself by firing the arrow through the rings on the axe-heads, and then turned bring an end to the mockery the suitors had made of his house. Antinoos, the most vicious of the suitors, was the first to fall. In the end, all of the suitors died, and the disloyal servants with them. Bad xenia met with a bad end.
Importance of Xenia in Greek Civilization
The custom of xenia was, to the Greeks, the mark of civilization in the late 12th century BC, a time when most of the world was still savage. This is evident by Odysseus’ statement: “Now, by my life, mankind again! But who? Savages, are they, strangers to courtesy? Or gentle folk, who know and fear the gods?” (Homer 102) This was his reaction when he woke up on the island of Skheria and heard Nausikaa and her maids screaming while playing with their ball. He wondered if the people of the island would show courtesy (xenia), or if they were savages that had no regard for Zeus Xenios. This shows us that any place that did not practice xenia was considered uncivilized.
Besides being a measure for determining who was civilized and who wasn’t, it was an important part of the religious aspect of their life. Since they believed that Zeus was the patron god of travellers seeking xenia, honoring a guest was the same as honoring Zeus. Failure to honor a guest was to risk incurring the wrath of the gods. Xenia was also a good way for Greeks to develop reciprocal relationships with each other, creating bonds of trust between members of city states, and more importantly between the nobility of the city states. These bonds of xenia could prove useful if one friend were attacked. He could call on the people he’d shown good xenia to, to aid him in seeking reparations, or for making war. Hopefully, though, if good xenia is practiced by all, then hostilities would not be a problem, because proper respect would be shown by both the guest and host, reducing the chances of conflict. In this way, the Greeks’ sense of community is greatly aided by the relationships created through xenia.
Showing good xenia could also be a way of spreading fame for your house or country. When Odysseus is on the island of the Phaiakians, as part of King Alkinoos entertainment (his xenia toward Odysseus) he presents the Phaiakian dancers, in the hope that Odysseus would, “on his return tell his companions we excel the world in dance and song, as in our ships and running” (Homer 132). Later, when Odysseus is in his own house posing as a beggar, he implores Antinoos to give him a bit of bread, telling him, “Let me speak well of you as I pass on over the boundless earth” (Homer 324). In other words, he would tell others he met of Antinoos’ good xenia and raise his reputation and fame. Of course, that’s not what happened in that instance, but it’s still obvious that providing good xenia was beneficial to reputation and fame. Xenia was as important a part of Greek civilization as government, reinforced by religion and constantly producing beneficial results for all parties involved.
Conclusion
The Odyssey, with all of its examples of both good and bad xenia, offers us a look into the world of the Greeks, and the importance this cultural element played in their daily lives. Throughout the story, bad xenia is punished and good xenia brings rewards to those who offer it. It was religious, it was beneficial, and it distinguished the Greeks from their barbarian neighbors. The Odyssey, as well as being an entertaining story, reinforced the ideals of civility among the Greeks who heard it. Today, in addition to being a reference tool to better understand the Greeks, The Odyssey is just as entertaining, enlightening, and exciting to read.
Works Cited
Biggs, Cory, et al. The Value of Hospitality. n.d. 27 March 2011.
Homer. The Odyssey. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, Inc., 1998.
Pitt-Rivers, Julian. “The Stranger, the Guest and the Hostile Host.” Peristiany, J. G. Contributions to Mediterranean Sociology. The Hague: Mouton, 1968.
Wilson, Nigel Guy. Encyclopedia of ancient Greece. Psychology Press, 2006.
You may remember last week I posted about the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s bizarre laptop policy. This post is about the reason I was there. I had to write an essay for my 100 level Art History class on either a Greek, Indian, Egyptian or Sub-Saharan African sculpture from the museum. You’ll notice in the instructions below that it says we could write about paintings or architecture, but the professor told us to stick with sculptures in class. It’s not a traditional essay, since there’s no real opening or closing paragraph, but these are the instructions we were given:
The paper (1 – 2 pages) should consist of four paragraphs. It should be as follows:
Paragraph 1: Identify the work briefly but adequately. Start by stating that “the paper will be discussing the formal aspects and the museum presentation of the following piece”, then give the title of the work, name of artist if known –if unknown write anonymous—medium, country of origin and date. Mention where it is located in the museum.
Paragraph 2: Describe the work by writing a complete formal analysis. In looking at the form you will consider the various aspects of form that are discussed in class, such as: materials, size, texture, kind of shapes and lines, colors, light…etc. A person who is not familiar with the pieces should get a clear idea of how they look through your description.
Paragraph 3: Consider how the piece is exhibited (displayed). That would include, the approximate size of the gallery (room), kind of light used in the gallery, the case where the piece is exhibited; if a painting, the way it is hung. Mention the other objects in the room and their effect on your chosen piece. In case you are working on an architectural piece such as a room, it will be within a larger gallery, consider its relation with its surroundings and what is displayed within it. Do you think the display effects [sic] the piece and the visitor’s experience negatively or positively? Explain. If you were the curator, would you change the exhibit (display)? Yes, no, why?
Paragraph 4: Suppose you’d like to do research on the piece. What questions would you like to answer? Write down any question for which an answer can’t be found by just looking at the piece.
So, those are the guidelines I was given to write this paper, and this is what I came up with:
Three-Headed Male Figure: Formal Aspects and Museum Presentation
The paper will be discussing the formal aspects and the museum presentation of the following piece: “Three-Headed Male Figure”. The work is a 19th century wood and pigment statue by an anonymous artist from the Kuyu peoples in the Congo Basin area of what is now the Republic of the Congo. The work is located on the ground floor of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, New York, in room 352 of the “Arts of Africa, Oceania, and the Americas” section.
The “Three-Headed Male Figure” is a free-standing, carved wood statue of a partially nude male figure. The statue is cylindrical and appears to be carved from one solid piece of wood. The figure is standing upright, in an erect, rigid posture. The statue’s feet are large and rounded, extending backward from the rear of the leg as far as they do forward. The legs are cylindrical and smooth and are disproportionately short compared to the rest of the body. The lower portions of the legs are covered by sets of raised carved wood lines that resemble simple torques. The arms are narrow and are carved flat against the torso, which is highly cylindrical and lacking in natural definition. The front and back of the torso are covered with an assortment of geometric patterns, as are the upper portions of the legs. A toggle shaped pattern covering the upper legs circles the whole form, but leaves the genitalia exposed in the front. The geometric patterns across the abdomen are mostly rounded, with shapes that include circles, curved lines similar to hills, and beaded areas which are also clustered in circles. The rear of the torso is covered in one pattern of lines with points that extend downward on each side of the spine. The patterns are carved from the same wood as the rest of the statue and are raised from the surface, in relief. They are carved deep enough to provide areas of shadow in the pattern, depending on how it is positioned in relation to a light source. The head of the statue is oblong and taller than natural. The cheeks and foreheads are covered with carved decorations. The features of the faces are carved deeply, with hard, strong lines. The faces are arranged so that one is pointed forward and the other two are angled backwards just behind each shoulder, with no gap between each face. Large portions of the statue were originally covered in white and red pigments. Some of those pigments still remain on the tops of the geometric designs on the upper legs and torso, as well as on portions of the faces.
The statue is positioned in a medium sized gallery room, which is filled with other African art pieces. The pieces are all contained in glass display cases which, in most cases, allow for viewing from all four sides. There are no external windows in the gallery and all of the lighting is artificial. Compared to the Greek and Roman gallery, the lighting is dim, with most of the light being focused on the individual pieces. The lower lighting in the room and the focus of the light sources on the pieces invites the viewer to more seriously consider the artwork on display. The positioning of the lighting also allows for the geometric patterns on the pieces to have areas of shadow, which adds to the viewing experience and gives the pieces more depth, emphasizing the three dimensional aspect of the sculptures. The “Three-Headed Male Figure” is positioned in the center of the rear portion of the room, in its own glass case, with multiple light sources illuminating the statue’s three faces. In addition to focusing the viewer’s attention on the pieces, the artificial lighting in the room protects the wood of the art pieces from sun damage and reduces the damage that could be done to the remaining pigments. The gallery the “Three-Headed Male Figure” is positioned in gives it context. The room is quiet, and the spotlight-style lighting greatly adds to the enjoyment of the viewing experience. The smaller pieces, which are grouped together in large display cases, are well positioned, but to improve the overall experience of viewing the sculptures and other large items in the room, benches could be added, so viewers could sit and reflect.
To better appreciate the “Three-Headed Male Figure”, it would be helpful to have a more thorough understanding of the piece’s background and use. African art is functional, so without understanding what it was used for, you can’t truly understand the significance of the art. To further that understanding, research into the traditions and culture of the Kuyu peoples, and other native peoples in the area, could lend insight into what the sculpture was used for. It would also be interesting to know who in the society made the piece: a professional, a priest, a family member, or the person (or persons) for whom the piece was intended to be used. Besides knowing how it was made and what it was used for, it would also be helpful to know how it was originally displayed in the community and whether or not the people that used it interacted with it, or if it was only viewed. Lastly, it would be worthwhile to find out if similar statues are still used by the native peoples of the region, or if the practice has died out completely.
The paper wound up being 2.5 pages, double spaced and in a 12 point font, which was also required. The paper hasn’t been graded yet, but when it has, I’ll add that to the new “Essays (Graded)” page I added to this blog, which can be accessed from the tab bar under the header.
And now, the moment you’ve possibly been waiting for. What does this “Three-Headed Male Figure” actually look like? (Click on the images to see larger versions).
There’s a lot of fascinating stuff to look at in the Met, and I’m very much looking forward to my next trip there, where I can simply look and enjoy, without having to consider how to write a paper about the sculptures, though I think I will be able to appreciate them more, now that I have a better understanding of how these items are made and what they were used for.
I meant to post this quite a while ago, but I kept getting distracted with school work and other things to blog about. Back on the 11th of February, I wrote a post that was inspired by something we were discussing in my anthropology class, a possible connection between the ancient Egyptians and the Olmecs in Central America, as evidenced by similarities in their cultures. On the 15th of March, someone left a comment on the blog post. In the comment, it said to not reveal his information, which was in the comment, on my blog, so I deleted the comment. Shortly after that I received an email through the blog’s email address, which is listed on the contact page. This is what it said:
Dear Brad
I was doing research on Olmec and seen your site and Sertima info. The only reason I am contacting you is that it will take young educated people like you to consider all the archeology Facts to reveal the Truth of ancient History to the world.
I have been collecting artifacts for about 7yrs that will show absolute artifact Proof that the Egyptians and Olmecs have the same origins from a much older ancient advanced civilization that existed before Pangea when the continents were one Super continent. I know this sounds far fetched but please keep a open mind. The discovery I have made has been suppressed ignored and covered up by the authorities so for at least 3 yrs I have not contacted authorities or updated my site because they refused so many times to not examine NOT ONE ARTIFACT. They just say they are not artifacts! I am sure of a cover up. So I have collected for the last 3 yrs in secret have and have learned incredible facts of the ancients.
I did not know how to contact you except through your comment site! will you please take my contact to you off your site before someone acts as you to contact me.
To make a long story short if you want to see some of the artifacts I have a old site and my opinions but a lot has changed since then. If you are interested contact me Michael Ellis xxxx@xxxxxxx I have far more than you will see on the website.
Thanks
Michael Ellis
This email is just weird on so many levels, the biggest one being the credibility of someone who would approach a subject this way (emails to random students who have no real say in the field concerned). If his work were truly credible, it wouldn’t be getting ignored by these mysterious “authorities” in the first place. If there’s anything I’ve learned from the anthropology class I’m taking, it’s that damn near any theory is entertained, with sufficient evidence, until proven invalid. Besides that, if someone is doing this sort of research, which has to involve a lot of archaeological expertise, then you’d think they’d have enough computer sense to know the difference between a comment form and an email. Not to mention that the level of education required would require someone to have a better command of grammar, punctuation and spelling. The overall effect is that this person comes across as paranoid and delusional.
Also, I just wanted to point out that when the continents were one “Super continent” it was called “Pangea”, so it doesn’t make sense to say “before Pangea when the continents were one Super continent” because they both mean the same thing.
The name of the place is a little odd, but it makes sense. This little store on Avenue A between 13th and 14th street carries Filipino goods, most of which I assume are shipped in by air. It’s not a very large store, but it has a lot of the food products that I came to enjoy while living in the Philippines, and earlier by buying them at import stores in Singapore.
Since I’ve been back in New York City, I haven’t had the opportunity to really look around for a place to get Filipino foods, so I was happy, and surprised, to see that there is a shop just a few blocks from where I live, located in a spot I pass by almost every day. I never saw it before because it’s halfway up the block, and I pass Avenue A on 14th street.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find my favorite flavor of Lucky Me noodles, Chilimansi, and they didn’t have the Calamansi flavored Century Tuna. The owner was pretty friendly though. He told me the Lucky Me Chilimansi is usually stocked but he’d run out, and that he’d never carried the Calamansi Century Tuna, but he’d check with his distributor to see if he could get some in. They also had Sky Flakes, Ligo sardines, Milo, sinigang mix, the nasty shrimp paste my wife enjoys, and many other goodies.
I didn’t stock up, but I did pick up some turon on the way out the door. It’s tastier than it looks. It’s a sweet dessert with a crusty outside and banana inside. The shop owner warned me that it wasn’t exactly the same as the kind you get from the Philippines though, since it’s made fresh and the type of banana used isn’t quite the same.
I’m glad to see that Filipino foods will be readily available when I’m ready to do some cooking, or when my wife is. I think it’ll help her to adjust, having some foods from home available.
This was one of those moments where I stopped and did a double-take. I mean, you read about Communists in the US, but the ‘evilness’ of Communism is so deeply ingrained in American society that you never really expect to see people putting their faces on the name. This table was set up on the second floor of the North Academic Center building, by the library. I didn’t stop to ask them questions, and I didn’t pick up their newspaper, but thinking about it later, I realized a college campus is not really that unusual a place to see this sort of thing.
I wonder how this whole thing with Libya is going to play out? I overheard something about impeachment on the news a day or two ago, but isn’t committing troops for up to 60 days the President’s prerogative?
Sunday afternoon I went to the Met as part of an assignment from my Art History class. I was supposed to go there, find a sculpture, either Greek, African, Indian, or Egyptian, and then write a 3 page paper detailing its form and presentation. I had this wonderful plan in my head. I would show up, find a sculpture, pull out my laptop, and write the paper on the spot, while looking at the piece. I thought that would best enable me to write a good paper on the form, while looking at the form of the sculpture, there in person. After writing the paper, or at least the first draft, I would pack my laptop back into my bag and look at the exhibits until it was time for the museum to close. Unfortunately, things didn’t work out quite the way I’d hoped.
When I arrived at the Met, the place was packed, but that’s to be expected. As soon as I went through the front doors, there was a security check point, also not unexpected. When I opened my backpack for inspection and the guard started yelling “Laptop! Laptop! Laptop!” I was taken aback. I half expected to be bum rushed by guards and moved to a secure inspection area. I was shuffled off to the side, but under my own power. I had to go to the security desk to get a yellow security exception form. For a laptop. I also had to open the laptop and turn it on, probably to prove that it’s a working laptop and not a shell packed with explosives. I was fine with all this. The Met houses an incredible amount of art of priceless value. What bothered me, though, were the instructions I received afterward.
I was told that I had to carry my backpack in my hand. Putting my backpack on my back was not permitted. I can understand having my laptop checked to make sure it’s really a laptop. I can tolerate having to carry an exception form and I can deal with having to present it on request to any security guard that asks to see it. However, what possible purpose can it serve to require me to hold the backpack in my hand, as opposed to having it on my back? Whether it’s in my hand or on my back, it’s still the same backpack. Call me weak, but carrying a backpack in one hand that’s loaded down with books, notebooks, and a laptop gets heavy after a while, and switching it back and forth is a poor solution to just carrying it on my back. It also keeps one of my hands full, which meant that I couldn’t properly hold my camera to take photos of anything.
Luckily, before I lost patience and just left, I found myself in the African art section looking at a wooden sculpture with three faces that I knew would be the perfect piece to write my paper on, which I’ll post later this week or next. There were no benches to sit on, and after my treatment at the security desk I was worried that if I pulled out my laptop and actually turned it on and started using it, a flock of security guards would descend on me and demand I leave the museum, so I put my backpack down, took a dozen photos of the sculpture and then left the museum.
I wonder why they even bother to offer free wifi in the museum when they so obviously want to discourage anyone from bringing laptops? I saw the available open network message pop up in my phone’s notification area when I was checking an email. I can’t help but wonder if this nonsense of requiring people to carry bags that way was implemented to drive off students who were taking up space in the museum, writing papers, to make way for more tourists?
10 dollars (the recommended student donation for entry) pissed away for 45 minutes in the museum. Next time they’ll be lucky if I give them a dollar and a smile. Ya, I’ll be going back. How could you not? There’s a lot to see in there and the last time I went I was a little kid. I won’t be bringing my laptop with me though. That’s for sure.
Earlier today, on my way to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, I saw members of the New York Japanese-American Lions Club in Union Square, asking for donations for relief efforts in Japan. I made a donation myself, directly to the Japanese Red Cross through Google’s Crisis Response page. Even so, I found myself wanting to donate more, but I had just gone to the bank and only had big bills on me. I know that sounds cheap, but I have a budget I have to follow too, so I don’t wind up looking for handouts. I wish I had more to give, but it’s encouraging that companies and prominent individuals are also giving donations to Japan.
I saw a Tweet a few days ago that was reminding people to not forget that the tsunami in 2005 (?) killed about 230,000 people. I wonder why it is that this earthquake and tsunami in Japan is eliciting such a greater response? Or am I misremembering what happened in 2005? I might have missed the outreach efforts. I spent part of that year in Kuwait and the rest of it in Singapore and I just don’t remember it being reported on much. I had actually forgotten about it until I went to Phuket in Thailand with my wife and saw a memorial there for the people who had died on that beach in that tsunami. Is it because Japan is important economically? Is it because it’s a world power? Or is it because of the character and history of the people? Personally, I’ve always been fascinated with Japanese history, the ancient history more than the recent history, and I do enjoy Japanese anime and I’ve been toying with learning Japanese for some time.
Anyway, if you haven’t taken the time to donate money to the relief efforts in Japan, there are still plenty of ways to get it done. They’re a wholly deserving people in a time of great need.
Yesterday was awesome. I forgot how good it can feel to sit in the sun and just feel warm. The temperature yesterday got up to 73 F in New York City. People were carrying their coats and unwrapping their neck scarves. The city just felt more lively. Instead of the quick shuffle of bundled people moving up and down the street, people were taking their time, strolling. Unfortunately, the temperatures are going back down over this coming week so I can’t hang up my coat for good yet, much as I’d like to. Still, it felt good, for one day, to walk without being burdened by a coat.
I took the picture above with a camera I bought to replace a four year old Sony DSC-N2. I went cheap and got a Nikon Coolpix 3100. I thought I could get by with a lower end camera, but I was wrong. I suppose I thought that after four years, a lower end camera would still outdo the four year old, near relic I was replacing. Instead, the photos were coming out blurry, or, at best, grainy when zoomed to 100%. It was really aggravating and after 3 days I decided it just wasn’t going to work out for me. So, I packed it back up in its box and took it ‘home’ to Best Buy to exchange it for a better model. I got the Nikon S8100, which has a lot more features and takes some bad ass photos that are really sharp and clear. So far, I’m loving it, and tomorrow I’ll be taking it with me to the MET. I have to go up there to find a sculpture to write a 2 to 3 page paper about.
(Links go to product pages, not sales pages)
Here are some examples of the S8100’s image quality (click for larger):
See that school over there?
A close up of the relief in the top left corner of the center door:
I’m amazed at how clear the image is, despite how long the zoom is.
Just some tree branches. I took this photo to see how clear the small branches would be. It didn’t focus on the closer one, but on the ones behind it.
I wanted to see how good a close up shot would look, so I took the above photo. Can you guess what it is? Purina cat chow. =)
Anyhow, I’m hoping to get some nice photos at the MET tomorrow, once I’m done with my paper.
Last year in October, I was given a Kindle 3 by my aunt in return for doing what turned out to be a LOT of yard work. Well, a lot more than I expected anyway. It’d been quite a few years since I’d lived anywhere that required yard work, so I wasn’t able to judge it properly.
Since then, I’ve used my Kindle fairly regularly. Whenever I commute here in the city, I keep it with me so I can spend my time doing something constructive, instead of staring blankly at the wall like so many of my fellow commuters. I’ve come to rely on it for entertainment, something I was reminded of today when I realized I left the house with a dead battery. My commute is about an hour both ways, so … ya, I was bored. There’s no cell phone signal in the subways here, so that meant I really had nothing to do but stare at the walls.
The Kindle 3 is light, very easy on the eyes, and makes reading fun again, especially since there’s so much available for free, but some recent events have caused me to see a few shortcomings.
The first problem is that there are still plenty of books being published that don’t have Kindle versions. Even worse, some books are published and the price of the Kindle version is higher than the price of the physical book. I understand that there are some costs that can’t be negated by simply producing a book as an e-text, but there should never be a time when an eBook costs anything near what the physical book does, since you’re cutting out the cost of the paper, printing and distribution. It’s obscene. An insult even.
The kicker that made me write this post, though, was a visit to Barnes & Noble at Union Square. I’ve been going there frequently looking for particular versions of books I need for classes I’m taking at CCNY. I don’t know what it is about physical books, but every time I go in there I find myself wanting to hold and touch them, and maybe just ‘adopt’ them all and bring them home. The cover art is something that can’t be reproduced well on a Kindle, or any eReader. You can’t touch it. You just can’t appreciate it the same way. I’m reminded of something my art history teacher said in class yesterday. He was talking about how people go to an art museum and instead of stopping to appreciate the art, they take a picture and move on quickly. He said that if that’s what you’re going to do, you might as well have just looked the images up on Google. It’s not the same experience. It’s also not the same experience as holding the book in your hands, or putting it on your shelf when you’re done with it. I suppose that desire to collect books is something that not everyone has, but I like to see my books sitting on a shelf, so I can be reminded of how good they are and maybe pick them up and leaf through them to my favorite parts again. Speaking of that, it’s really hard to scan through books on a Kindle, going back to re-examine material you read the a few days ago.
My conclusion is that a Kindle is still an awesome device that will encourage more people to read more often, myself included, but it has drawbacks. I think my Kindle is best suited for ‘light’ reading. You know, those books that you read purely for entertainment, the ones that you’re not worried about looking at again, because when you’re done with a Kindle book it gets lost in the list of available books on the device. For those books that I consider my favorites, or anything heavier that might require thought and retrospection, the books that I would want to flip back and forth through to better understand the ideas being expressed, a physical book can’t be beat.
Bradley's Old Fashioned Weblog 