All Good Things Must Come To an End

I'm in the last full week in Washington D.C. I've had an amazing time, and I plan to use my last week here to the fullest.

I have a lot of information to sort through, and I'm getting pretty excited about the final product.

I finally visited the Smithsonian Castle this week, and went to the Oriental Art Museum that's in the garden.

Yeah, I know that's not part of the project exactly...

Anyways,

I also spent a lot of time at the Museum of the American Indian learning about how Native Americans handle the major, forced changes to their cultures because of the colonization of their lands.

It's really quite admirable that the different cultures all teach about sticking together as a people to preserve their culture, language, and traditions. They also teach that as a people, they are required to integrate into the modern world, but also to preserve tradition and history, which can oftentimes be quite difficult.

The other, immensely cool thing, is the leaders always talk about not hating the peoples who live in their native lands now. They talk about reconciliation and making something of and restoring their people. There is a lot of focus on bettering the circumstances of the youth, to turn them into future leaders for Native communities and enable them to live happy, productive lives all while knowing who they are.

This is one of the best things I've been reading about through the whole exploration of the modern period.

Contrast this to the response of four Polish workers who were mistreated under German rule. They wished for the Germans to work as hard as they had to, and resented the reasonable treatment of the Germans, the careful calculation of rations "as though they [the German people] were being cared for in a hospital."

This statement in itself represents two different ways that those who lost were treated.

On the one hand, there are the other losers of the war, the victims of the victims, who were meant to feel as though they won something, but felt cheated of their true victory because the German people would never understand exactly what they put the other races they conquered through. And, they never would. In the modern age, those kinds of horrible, horrible things would never be repeated to 'prove something' or 'teach a lesson', not on that kind of scale. Not like in ancient times. The earth would not be salted like with Carthage.

On the other hand, it shows some sort of progression that the defeated were being treated as losers, yes, and as a people who were being occupied because terrible things had been allowed to happen in their country. But, they were not punished to the extent that other groups like the Native Americans or Jewish, or Serfs were, where those in charge subjected those who had lost to terrible conditions, and were essentially able to do whatever they wanted with the losing party.

I will say that as a caveat, the Germans were white, European, and had things that the Allies needed, but I would still call that a step in the right direction.

This week's song is Below My Feet by Mumford and Sons. Keep your feet firmly planted on the ground. If the world all keeps a hold of their heads, perhaps we can keep progressing toward whatever humanity (a word we have oddly called after ourselves, humans, oh 'wise man') really is. Some food for thought. Have a great week everyone.

Ciao!

Drip drip

Hi All!

It's been another amazing week in D.C. I've been to the Vietnam Memorial in the rain, played in the snow, and went to the Museum of the American Indian.

Thank was actually one of the best places I've been to. The museum is an amazing structure first of all. The design is really symbolic. The main doors open east and have symbols of the sun on them. The structure was designed by Native architects and surrounded by plants that are representative of the cardinal directions. There are direction stones placed at each of the points of the compass all around the building along with the plants and environments.

The ceiling is amazing. Unfortunately, the walkway that spirals around the structure doesn't go all the way up, but that would probably make this a ridiculously large museum. I still love the ceiling though. It's beautiful.

And I got to see a relatively unusual sight. There are prisms on a certain window that shine in a certain way when the sun shines through them at a certain time of year.

It made rainbows on the floor, wall, and windows. I was really surprised, and pleased that I was able to see it.

I think the trip was made even more interesting for me because I was able to talk to our tour guide after the tour was finished. He is a Native American who is from Bolivia. He was truly amazing. He told us about how, as a child, he went to school and was punished whenever he spoke in his own Native language instead of in Spanish like he was taught in school.

I also got to talk with him about his views and what he knew about how Natives are treated outside and inside the United States. I will definitely try to put some of what he talked about in my final product!

Also, I got caught in the thaw. I was having a reading day at home and I decided I needed to get out and take a walk. Hence, getting caught in my first experience with everything trying to drip on you. (That's a little different than Tucson!)

I went to the Circus, Barnum and Bailey, Ringling Brothers, the Greatest Show on Earth, at the Verizon Center with Holly, Jason, and Jane last night. As we were walking up the sidewalk to the door, there were protesters from PETA outside, handing out flyers and holding up banners. There was even some woman talking out of a loudspeaker.

I apologize in advance if this seems a little political, but I hope no one gets too bored (or offended).

The woman was saying that "Animals are systematically abused every single day."

She then proceeded to talk about how the viewers should think about what they're doing, and how the animals are abused for life to provide the audience two hours of entertainment.

Now, at the moment we were all outside of the Verizon Center, I was just a little peeved. And, it wasn't because they were doing something to me.

I realize that, looking back at the evening. At circuses, and carnivals, and things like that, there's always a certain vibe. And, a big part of it is the excitement of the little kids. I agree that children should be aware of the world around them and how things really work, but I do not agree with the way they were doing it.

I think that animal rights are important. Animals have thoughts and feelings, even if it may be only at the most basic level in some cases. I'm currently living with two cats and a dog, who are all super cute and sweet in their own way. I have three dogs at home, and love tigers, and elephants.

But I know that humans are systematically abused every single day.

Does anybody want to talk about Syria, or Ukraine?

What about the children who are kidnapped, in this country, every single day?

It just bothers me, just a little, that organizations like PETA attack the people around them for being ignorant of animal suffering, for eating meat, when people die every single day, because they don't have enough food, because they don't have enough, or even any, clean water, or medical care, or shelter, or a safe place to come back to every night where they know they won't still be snatched away from their families.

I guess this is part of the societal trauma I see. There is so much of the human abuses, human injustices, that we don't even see it anymore. People are tired, and it is so easy to stop seeing, to tune it all out.

And I feel bad for the animals, but there's no easy answer if you try to decide between engaging in a far away land, in a mission that will cost lives, that has little to do with us, or fighting bureaucracy and saving animals at home.

There are really no easy answers. Who suffers from a trauma? I guess I'll find out. It's my job now to be the one to help come up with theories, not just to read about them.

And it's supposed to snow again on Tuesday. Interesting...

Today's song is Muse - Exogenesis Symphony Part III (Redemption). I quite like it. Enjoy!

Ciao!

The Long Walk

This week has been a whirlwind. When I was talking with my mom on the phone, she told me, half-joking, I was going to run out of things to go to at the pace I was going.

Ummm... I think she might have been right, per usual.

The only places in town I can think of right now that I haven't been in yet that I have to go visit are the Library of Congress, Arlington Veterans' Cemetery, and the National Museum of the American Indian.

Which means I've been busy this week!

The time feels like it's passed so fast. I don't even feel like I've actually been here two weeks already. It feels both longer and shorter. It's kind of weird.

But, I've had a really good week. I went to the Museum of American History two days in a row. I spent three and a half hours in a single exhibit entitled "The Price of Freedom" which basically an exhibit covering all of the major wars and conflicts that the US has been involved in since the part of the Seven-Years War that happened in this side of the Atlantic.

It was a really good exhibit, and I was honestly impressed. I got to see George Washington's actual uniform:

I also walked the length of the Mall from the Capitol Building to the Lincoln Memorial, on accident.

I started here

Walked in the WRONG direction

And ended up here:

Yeah, oops, because this is a LONG way from where I was supposed to go. I didn't mind the walk though, it was a nice day, and it was good exercise.

I also got distracted by the United States Botanical Gardens, which was holding an Orchid Symphony exhibit.

Then, I told myself to get to work again and 

I walked down to the World War II memorial.

And found the pillar that was dedicated to Arizona.

 

Then, I went to the Korean War memorial, Lincoln Memorial and the Vietnam War Memorial.

The Vietnam War Memorial really is moving. I'm not even related to anyone who fought in the War as far as I know, and I really felt something. I felt really moved being there. There are so many names on that wall. There are so many young men that never came home. There are sets of brothers and a boy who was less than sixteen years old. There are letters to men, and even a few women, written by students, and relatives. Flags and letters are left there, and it's really amazing that kids are taught to honor and thank these men and women.

It's great, and I really love that there is some kind of effort to help kids remember important moments in our nation's history.

I even went back on the day we had a tornado warning (the warning was earlier in the morning) because the wall goes blank when it's wet. The properties of the way the black marble was carved mean that the names disappear from the rock when it gets entirely wet. I was quite disappointed that it didn't rain (but I was really glad that I didn't have to deal with getting wet).

I also went to the National Gallery again to see the exhibit of modern German art. Much of it is really beautiful, and some of it even applies directly to my project like I guessed it might (because of the time period).

I saw the Dying Gaul for the last time, since he's being removed from the museum as of sometime this week I believe.

I went to a French Cafe for pie day, and was in Annapolis for the Ides of March.

I saw this on a friend's non-BASIS blog, and it's just (snickers) terrible... (my apologies if you read this and really don't like it, I understand)

So on the Ides of March, Holly, Jason, Jane, her friend Ava (sorry if I used the wrong spelling) and I had crabs at a local Annapolis restaurant, which was fun, and a workout in itself. The thing about crabs is that you feel really accomplished when you actually get meat from it, so it was actually really fun.

Today though, it snowed. The tree-branches are dusted, as are the grass, bushes, (and anything that's not the ground) as if they were covered in powdered sugar. There was an owl sitting up in the tree in the backyard, watching the snow just like we were. Everything is just really pretty, but I think I already have conflicting feelings about the snow. It's cold.

I'm looking forward to another great week. I'll probably be doing a lot more reading though, since I have things I need to finish for that.

Oh, by the way, today's song is The Title Theme from Road to Perdition, which I've never actually seen, but the music is good.

Ciao!

Not in Kansas

Thank goodness.

Just kidding. I'm sure it's a nice place to visit, but seriously, I'm glad I'm not there right now. I'm pretty sure that the last forecast I saw looked pretty grim.

I am however, in Rome:

And it's the most breathtaking thing ever.

I was walking inside Union Station this morning with Holly, and she took me into the main hall, just to show me. Unfortunately, there's still a lot of scaffolding around. I mean, it's a good thing, because that means that the ceiling is still slowly getting fixed, but that also means that you can't see the whole roof at once, which Holly tells me is pretty amazing.

By the way, a few of the other major things I will take pictures of may have similar structure around it, because there was an earthquake out here a few years ago (during the recession) and stuff is now only being fixed completely.

But, anyways, I was standing in the main hall, looking up, and I realized that there were all of these statues standing on top of the archways, above the pillars.

And I just felt this euphoria. It's hard to describe, especially since most of you probably don't spend as much time looking at Roman buildings and architecture and reading about the city as I have over the last month, how that literally makes you feel like you can't take in enough air.

For me, that's because, since I started reading more and more about Rome and the Empire over the years (especially this year, thanks Dr. Williams and Professor Futrell!), I have progressively begun to lament more that I will never see Rome as it was meant to be seen. Not with half-built buildings, and crumbling facades, but with marble covering every surface, and in magnificent patterns on the floors, with 'marble of every color' and bronze letters describing everything, and statues everywhere.

And, as I was walking across these marble floors, that are old by my standard (at least 100 years, I think I was told, maybe a little less), that are in these geometric patterns, and I was seeing statues and columns, and ceilings that seem to be modeled after what the inside of the Pantheon looks like now, I just felt like my head was spinning a little. I was like

'Oh my gosh. I'm in Rome.' I feel like I may understand now, what it was like to just walk into the Empire's capital, and have these massive marble covered structures towering above you. And it's not just the buildings. I was reading Rome, the Cosmopolis, and it was talking about how Rome contained the world, because it had conquered everywhere, and then brought all of the stuff there and how there were so many people from places all over the Empire.

That's like this. See this place:

That's not supposed to be there. I mean, I'm glad they are, but this 'Pret A Manger' doesn't really sound 'American', does it? (The name's a little quirky for American English)

Well that's because it's not.

It still sound English though, a little, maybe? Maybe it does to me because I know where you're supposed to see this place. It's British. Apparently these are English, and they've started showing up in the US, which I think is great. But, I realize now that this spreading of cultural fixtures into other centers of power is not new. It's literally been happening since Rome was an Empire.

And then, there's apparently people from all over the world here, speaking their amazing languages, and there are statues all over the place.

 (Victims of Communism Memorial)

I came here looking for specific monuments, and at every other street corner, I'll stop and often take pictures of memorials to generals and battalions, and causes.

It's fantastic. Oh, here's part of my lunch:

Spinach and Feta, while sitting in the National Gallery Sculpture Museum,
right beside their ice skating rink (which is open)

And then, I went to the National Gallery of Art.

So, just another thing for a second. The city obviously is not really Rome. There are some design flaws that come from the architects basing their designs off of the Rome now, rather than what it would have really been like. There are two really notable things for me. The first is that everything was made using modern technology, whereas Roman buildings are made from a lot more blood, sweat, and tears (the modern buildings are still amazing though). Secondly, all of the engravings modeled after the inscriptions on Roman buildings and monuments, are simply carved into stone. In Rome, the epigraphs on major buildings were often filled with bronze lettering that would slot into the indents, at least, there were, until Christians took those and melted them down to make their own statues and letters. And the buildings that weren't that important still had the letters painted on as well so that they were more visible. Strange, that I should wish for that to be the case here when I've never actually experienced it first had, but I do, especially since the monument's lettering is sometimes worn or covered in residue from the salt on the sidewalks.

But, to walk around the city, in a kind of awe, and then to walk into the National Gallery, and see this statue, that's actually from that era. It's just chilling.

And, it's in the middle of this rotunda, with soaring columns, azaleas around a fountain like in a painting, and a bronze statuette of a pirouetting Mercury, it's fantastic. That whole building is also very Roman. The square doorways lead in some places to plane square rooms. There are also two rooms which are ringed in columns, with a sun roof overhead, and a garden inside - the Peristilium, or Peristyle.

I guess that's it for today. I spent all day in just the main floor too. I have yet to see the German art, which I may want to mention in my project, which is on the ground floor. Yikes. And it might sleet tomorrow, and it will almost definitely rain, so we'll see if I just make tomorrow a library day or not.

Finally, I found this today the Unicef Tap Project. This is an amazing idea. And, it shouldn't be that hard, not for just a little while. Sign up here, and say thanks to the magnifico Signore Giorgio Armani for his generosity by making this fundraiser as productive as possible!

(Also daylight savings time starts on Saturday night)

Ciao!

Let it Snow

Hi All,

So, I hinted yesterday at a thing I was doing, and here I am!

I am in Washington D.C. It's quite different here. Besides there just being snow everywhere right now, the residents have a very different, and less dazzled view of the nation's Capital.

I'm staying with the Hall's, a family with a daughter in BASIS D.C. in their beautiful brick home. I have the a gorgeous view from my room, facing west, so I can see the sunset in my room everyday.

They've been wonderful already! They have a dog and two black cats, both of which have decided to sleep on my bed. Here's one of them:

It's been a long day of travel. I had to connect through Chicago, and almost got lost. Luckily, there were maps!

I can't wait to explore the city more. Here's a snapshot of the snow for everyone back home. This is Jane, with a huge icicle. (I've never seen icicles before)

Ciao!

Sense and Sensibility

Hi All,

I think I must be getting better at this thing, because my posts are getting progressively less - atrociously long. Although, that may be because I haven't had too much to say.

Last Thursday, I met with Professor Susan Crane, and had a really amazing conversation with her. After I finally managed to kind of explain my project to her (basically put words into a sentence that made sense and meant what I needed to say. Have I mentioned that stringing words together is hard?) we talked about how I was going to incorporate World War I, the Holocaust and World War II into my project. This led to some discussion about the differences in time between events and their commemoration in stone, buildings, and museums, etc. and the differences in, specifically, Holocaust survivor memoirs soon after and further from the event itself.

We also talked a little about the Cold War and how that's memorialized, so perhaps expect some kind of discussion about how most of our parents, who grew up during the Cold War, have that experience incorporated into their behavior now, but that kids don't necessarily understand that. Maybe. I'm not entirely sure I want to try psychoanalyzing my parents (love you Mom and Dad).

(Also, I found out that what I'm doing can kind of be categorized under Collective Memory Studies)

After the meeting, I went and saw an encore showing of a very recent production of Shakespeare's Coriolanus, which was originally broadcast by National Theatre Live back at the end of January. It was striking, to say the least. I don't want to spoil anything for those of you who want to see it though, so I won't go into any detail right now about how the Donmar Warehouse pulled off it's version of the tragedy. I will say though, that it was well done, and the actors made the language quite accessible, so it's worth going to, as long as you're not too averse to blood, because there's a lot of it. (The main character, Gaius Marcius, emerges at some point literally dripping with it *shivers*)

There are actually a lot of subtle little positioning, and set things that are done that I'm really looking forward to writing about (and maybe talking about). I love little, subtle sort of things though, so we'll have to see if I get the vibe that discussing them going to go over well, or just go over people's heads and make them bored.

I spent Saturday with the Science Bowl team, competing in Glendale. So, congratulate Team 1 for a job well done. They took 4th overall.

I felt like a bit of a sore thumb today. I went to the Library to get my books, and ended up with two grocery bags full of them. The only problem with that is that I'm pretty sure I'm the only one on campus that does that. It makes me feel so self-conscious, although I honestly don't know why. I'm pretty sure most people are too busy doing their thing to really care about what I'm carrying.

Oscars were this Sunday. I didn't watch them, but pretty much go the highlights from clips and gifs. Kudos to Ellen for being one of my favorite Oscar hosts yet. Pizza, and the The Selfie That Crashed Twitter. So, if any of you saw that cute little screen where the birds are carrying a whale in a net (I think they still use that) it was her fault. Good job. Oh, and This One, because I that really is her motto. She's amazing.

Anyways, the play and the conversation with Professor Crane put me into a thinking kind of a mood. So this week's song is People Help the People by Birdy, who's been playing with Christina Perri's tour. I think she's really good, and I hope this song makes whoever listens to it think just a little more about what the world's like outside of their own little bubble. I'll probably be posting a lot more soon. Some of you might already know why, and therefore why I'm really scared, and excited, and going to be wearing coats instead of 3/4 sleeves again real soon.

Until next time, keep smiling, dancing, and singing (or whatever it is you do in your 'free time').

Ciao!