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fandomhigh2005-12-20 09:11 am
game-of-you.livejournal.com) wrote in fandomhigh2005-12-20 09:11 am
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Language Classes, 12/20
Written on the blackboard:
LAST CLASS -- Please hand in your final projects
There is a basket on Dream's desk to collect the papers; next to it sits another basket, full of red-and-green wrapped Christmas chocolates. Dream, now free of the plague of balloons, leans against the blackboard with his arms folded. He manages a smile for each student as they hand in their papers.
There is a basket on Dream's desk to collect the papers; next to it sits another basket, full of red-and-green wrapped Christmas chocolates. Dream, now free of the plague of balloons, leans against the blackboard with his arms folded. He manages a smile for each student as they hand in their papers.
Cat, 12/20
Re: Cat, 12/20
Ancient Egypt and Their Worship of Cats
Cats in today’s society seem to think they should adored and get there own way whenever they say so. I believe the main reason for this is that in ancient Egypt cats were worshiped and this memory has been passed down to cats from their descendants.
One of the main reasons cats were worshiped in Egypt was for their hunting abilities, as Egypt’s economy and everyday life was based around grain it was vitally important that this grain be kept safe from vermin. This meant cats were a critical part of the Egyptian household and as such were treated very well as they protected their livelihoods, so much so that in was a crime punishable by death to kill a cat and when a cat did die they were often mummified and buried by temples.
There was also Bast or Bastet, a goddess of protection, love and life with the head of a cat, the cat was her symbol and her subjects would made statues of the animal to honor her. The black cat was also used as a symbol by doctors to heal patients. It is believed cats were chosen as the symbol for Bast due to their natural instincts to protect their kittens and to hunt, hence being associated with a goddess of protection of love.
Attached to the report is A drawing of Bast (http://www.andrew.cmu.edu/user/krb/images/Bast.jpg)
Re: Cat, 12/20
According to Polk, Flamenco originated from "Greek psalms, Mozarabic dirges, Persian melodies, Gregorian chants, Castillian ballads, Jewish laments, African rhythms", and gypsy (they came from India) dances and music. Tango developed upon Spanish culture, spiced by Italian melodies, German Waltz, African rhythms again, and some American Indian influences.
Flamenco means "Peasant without Land". This is related to the huge amount of Ethnic Andalusians who decided to stay and mix with the Gypsy newcomers in Spain in the eighth century instead of abandoning their lands because of their religious beliefs. It was in this socially and economically difficult situation that the musical cultures of the Moors, Jews and Gitanos started to form the basics of flamenco music: a Moorish singing style expressing their hard life in Andalusia, the different compas (rhythm styles), rhythmic hand clapping and basic dance movements.
Tango, by comparison, originated in Buenos Aires during the late 19th century. The music derived from the fusion of music from Europe, the South American Milonga, and African rhythms. The word Tango seems to have first been used in connection with the dance in the 1890s. Initially it was just one of the many dances, but it soon became popular throughout society, as theatres and street barrel organs spread it from the suburbs to the working-class slums, which were packed with hundreds of thousands of European immigrants. English Tango evolved mainly as a highly competitive competitive dance, while the American Tango evolved as an unjudged social dance with an emphasis on leading and following skills. This has led to some principal distinctions in basic technique and style.
So, both dances developed among working and lower classes, and became national and cultural icons within a few decades. Tango is a lead-follow, action-reaction dance, a conversation between pursuer and pursued; flamenco is a single-person show-dance, of steps and rhythm, challenging the audience. Similarities in outlook would be expected, since they have roots in the same music, and the same kinds of sources-- but the dances have very different purposes as means of expression. Just as languages evolve pidgins and creoles, music and dance within a culture also evolve with distance and time.
Re: Cat, 12/20
There are many ways in which the common house cat, Felinus cattus, alters its mannerisms in order to make its wishes known to humans. These methods of communication are not regularly used while the cat is in communication with its fellow cats, and illustrate the cat’s grasp of human emotions and behaviors, as well as its ability to manipulate these to suit its own needs.
One of the most common mannerisms cats use in communication with humans is the ‘Piteous Mew.’ Typically used to express the cat’s needs to its human, in the Piteous Mew the cat looks up at the human and mews. Piteously, as the name of the gesture implies. This is notable, because other cats do not respond to the Piteous Mew. Cats do not have any impression of what it is to be ‘pitiful’ and feel only disdain for those who truly qualify for this status. However, they are not above pretending to be pitiful if it suits their needs.
The Piteous Mew is clearly meant as a method of manipulating the human by making them feel sorry for their four-footed master, so the human will fill the cat’s water or food dish, open a door for the cat, or perform some other mundane task the cat cannot fulfill for itself. It is a classic example of cats’ altering their behaviors to manipulate humans.
((Inspired by my own cat.))