Ceramics Field Trip

On Thursday, we went to visit the Snake Kiln in Miaoli County. It is not the biggest snake kiln in Taiwan, but it is still very big. When we went there, they first introduced us to a small kiln, which was not a snake kiln, which they used to make ceramic tiles. They said that when the fire was out in the kiln, they would pour water on the fire and brick the kiln up. Then the inside of the kiln would be covered with black smoke which would turn the tiles black. Then they showed us how their snake kiln usually baked vases, and how those vases made wines taste better because of good clay. Then they showed us how there were stamps or seals on the vases that told what company made the wine and what kind of wine was in it. They also showed us a kiln that was called a bottle kiln or something, and it was used to bake clay bottles. It was also shaped like a large bottle. The guide took us into a room and showed us the snake kiln. It looked like a gigantic leech/slug thing. There was a small hole in the front for putting in wood, and a long tunnel. At the end was the chimney.
We were given a small block of clay to make whatever we wanted. Because my hands were wet to the extent that made my block of clay equal to a slab of mud, they gave me a new piece. I made a bowl, but decided it was boring, so I stacked pieces of clay randomly on my bowl and called it an abstract sculpture. After I finished my sculpture, I went to play with the dog, who kept following Patrick around. It was fun.

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1. The tree of souls is the center of the Na’vi religion and culture, and destroying it will cause the Na’vis to become discouraged and they would not want to fight anymore. They do not seem to realize the fact that destroying the tree will eventually result in the extinction of the Na’vis, because they were concentrating on how to destroy them and to mine the mineral unobtanium.
2. The Vietnam War is a good example of an instance like this. The U.S. just wanted to help South Vietnam, but in the process destroyed both North Vietnam and South Vietnam’s economy.
3. An example happening now is the Iraq War. America says that Saddam Hussein had Weapons of Mass Destruction, and attacked Iraq to stop them. Bush said Hussein did not follow the policies of human rights, and used that as an excuse to attack Iraq. Some people say that Bush just wanted oil and power, but Bush still attacked Iraq. The United States has been criticized for not being able to find the Weapons of Mass Destruction and high death tolls in the war, including civilian injuries.
   

• The Na’vis lived in harmony with nature, and only killed when absolutely necessary. Our modern society uses nature to fulfill our own needs. If our modern society adapted some of the attitudes toward nature that the natives had, it could be possible to save nature. For example, if we imitated the Na’vis, then it would be easy to save our environment. Actually, it should be easy to preserve the environment if we imitated any native culture, because almost all native did not destroy nature. Only the later settlers that arrived in a land would begin clearing land.

Renaissance Quiz

1. What historical event (the fall of a civilization) took place in 395 AD to usher in the middle ages? Fall of Rome

2. What was society and culture generally like in the middle ages? No middle class, church controls everything, not many people knew how to read and write, people very poor (except for royalty)

3. Renaissance means _______________. Rebirth

4. What was being brought back during this time? Greek and Roman ideals

Define:
5. Contraposto : Counter-posed

6. Chiaroscuro : light and dark

7. The painter of the Mona Lisa was ________________ Leonardo da Vinci

8. The man who sculpted the Pieta and the Sistine Chapel was _________ Michelangelo

9. What is different about Renaissance painting compared to painting during the Dark Ages? In Renaissance there is contraposto and chiaroscuro. Art is not as religious.

10. What is meant by the concept of "Humanism?"Art of humans are perfect (ie)perfect musculature, curves, etc.)

Haiti

1. The story I chose is called Resolve. It is about a physician who spent a year in Haiti. He entered the hospital when he got tuberculosis, and left two months later with the tuberculosis under control and 30 pounds fatter. He was confident he could live in Haiti even though he had no place to live. However, two days later, he returned, with his clothes tattered and torn. He said he had no family, no friends, no place to sleep, and nothing to eat.
2. I picked this story because it told me clearly about how life in Haiti is. This man nearly died after two days on the streets of Haiti, and some people live there. This shows me how poor people are in Haiti. Poor people in Haiti have no proper home, and it is difficult for them to find food and water, and they do not have the money to afford medication if they get sick.
3. It is similar to what is happening to people in Haiti now because people are also starving and dying in Haiti, except this time, thousands of people are dying instead of just the physician.
4. We should care about what is happening in Haiti because they do not have the resources to survive properly by themselves and they do not have a government to organize relief efforts for them. If we do not help them then they will probably all die.
5. Helping Haiti is related to global citizenship because right now Haiti needs all the help it can get. Part of being a good citizen is helping people, so helping people that are not in your nation is global citizenship.