Bunje Loves You

'Ello poppets. I hope this short pause in school action was restful for you.

After careful consideration and internal debate about what is best for you, I have made an executive decision to forego this week's blog response in lieu of all the mid terms that need your attention. Therefore, you are free from deep, intellectual thoughts, questions with no answers and subjective definitions of words, concepts and ideas that have definitions already. You may use this space as you wish, or you may log off happily with no threat of reprimand.

BTW--have I told you that you're running out of time for occasional papers?

Eye of the Beholder?

After reading that little ditty in class about the varying conceptions of beauty (12th period spoiler alert: you will be reading all about it this Friday), I have been seriously contemplating the idea of what makes something beautiful.
The great and powerful Sophia Loren once said, "True beauty is a mirage." True beauty? What IS that, anyway? DO NOT SAY TRUTH!!
Myself, I am awed by things of beauty, no matter what--or who--they might be (Johnny Depp...ahem…sunsets...butterflies).
This week, I would like you to muse with me about this concept. Over time, across cultures, the mystery of beauty has both vexed and captivated all walks of life. The animal kingdom even has its own notion of what makes them attractive—peacocks fluff their plumage, ducks wiggle their butts, all in the name of beauty.
Men and women have been frustrated and fascinated by beauty, have been rendered powerless in their attempts to capture it, bottle it, enhance it, ignore it, use it and celebrate it. Why? Its importance and its role in our lives will be the subject of this blog discussion, and I would like you to seriously consider what your definition of “true beauty” is. Why is beauty the object of both admiration and envy? Why does the pursuit of beauty bring us pain as well as pleasure? Consider both sexes when you ask yourself these questions—think about the pursuit, the pain, the pleasure from all angles.
(450-500 words/50pts)

Merriam-Webster says....

Warning: You cannot respond to this blog in less than 15 minutes. Manage your time wisely, poppets.

Now that we are back with a brand new year to work with, an actual tabula rasa concept, so to speak, it's time to sit back and do some introspective reflection.

Every day, you wake up, go through your morning rituals, come to school, do your thing(s), go home, go through your evening rituals and then go to bed. There are obviously some variations to this routine from time to time, and I am not trying to downplay your life in any way by making it sound mundane; that is not the idea here. What I am saying is, that through all of this, these daily activities, rituals and routines people interact with you. They talk to you, refer to you, question you, yell at you, soothe you, talk about you, defer to you or, in some cases, though hopefully not many, ignore you completely. The point is, they KNOW who you are, at least enough to do one or more of the previous things. But, when you stop to think about it, do they really know? And, more importantly, do YOU?
Beyond names, job titles or academic accomplishments, beyond labels given by yourself or by others, beyond traits and hobbies and virtues... who are you? Who are you inside? If you had to write your name, and then your definition, what would it say?(substantive response/50pts)

32 names in Eskimo--so where did WE go wrong?

The word "love" gets thrown around so much on a day-to-day basis, it's a wonder the letters haven't broken off and gotten lost forever. Or--have they? How often do you say you "love" something as silly as a pair of shoes or an ice cream flavor? On page 140 in Bees, August tells Lily,"We are so limited, you have to use the same word for loving Rosaleen as you do for loving Coke with peanuts. Isn't that a shame we don't have more ways to say it?" The first time I read that line (Summer of 2005) I pondered it for hours afterward, desperate to find another word to replace the one that should remain sacred. And came up with....exactly nothing. It has never been far from my thoughts since then.
So, your challenge for this week, poppets, is to dig deep inside yourself and think about what it is that you really love. In order to do that, I think it would be beneficial to start out with a working definition of what love is. How would you define it? What characteristics would be a good representation of it? And then, at long last, ask yourself..."What do I love?"
Does putting a classification on things you have previously said you "loved" change your perspective on what the meaning of love should be?
(450 words/50 pts)

Nature or Nurture?

The nature versus nurture debate has raged on for what seems like eternity. The debate, loosely defined, is a dispute between the idea that human beings are born with characteristics that are innate, versus the idea that all behaviors and traits are learned through experience.
If you had to pick a side on the issue, which would it be? None of the usual, "I see both sides” or anything like that. Are you a product of your environment or of your genetics? Pick one and argue for it.
This will be the stuff of a larger class conversation, so your responses should be indicative of reflective thought and intelligence.
(500 words/60 pts)

Cultural Identity vs Societal Expectations

I want you to really think about this question before you answer it. It requires you to closely examine yourself, your surroundings and your experiences.
From your own perspective, what is your definition of racism?
Does ignorance of racism promote or prevent it from becoming an ideology? By ignorance I just mean the lack of knowledge that it exists. Because, if you were raised in an area that is predominantly white and you're white, odds are, you don't see much evidence that it does exist--right? Or wrong?
If you were never exposed to a multicultural environment, would you be more or less attuned to the cultural differences that exist in society? And for that matter...Do you believe that there ARE cultural differences? If so, what are they?
Do you think people hide behind the definition of cultural differences to excuse rude, inappropriate or obnoxious behavior? (450-500 words/60pts)

"Dear Mama..."

So, coincidentally, I was thinking about the idea of mothers the other day. It is a concept that seems almost foreign to me based solely on personal experience. I mean, I have a mother--someone who went through "hours of pain just to give me life!"-- but I think there is a fundamental difference between having a mother and having a mom. Do you? Myself, I had a mother. If you think there is a difference, what do you think it is? What is your definition of a mother? A mom? What is your earliest recollection of your mother (or other maternal figure)? Girls, do you want to be a mom? Boys, are there certain qualities in girls that you associate with the idea of moms? Do you want to be like your mom? In what way? If there was one thing you could tell your mother on this blog that she didn't know before, what would it be? (400words/50pts)