Birth Certificate

     President Barack Obama finally revealed his original birth certificate from Hawaii this week after his being born in the United States came back into question. This was a major issue four years again when he was running for President, but he was still elected. So why did he finally come forward with the certificate now? I know he will be running for reelection soon and he probably want to silence the issue, but why did he not do this four years ago when the issue first came to light. The whole thing just seems a little weird to me and I was just wondering if anyone else had an opinion on the subject.

Royal Wedding

     I understand that royal weddings do not happen all that often, but should it really be that big of a deal here in America? Yes, our country does have ties in our history with England and we have a good relationship with the country, but I doubt enough American's care. It was broadcast on almost every news station and they covered the entire wedding and talked about it all day Friday. I know that Channel 12 skipped showing the local news to make sure that they broadcast the entire wedding. Our country has its own problems and perhaps the news should focus on whats going on here in the United States, maybe looking at the hundreds of people who died in tornadoes all across the country this week, instead of spending all day talking about things that have no bearing on our country.

Shinto Blog (The Peach Orchard)

  

     The Peach Orchard is a section of Kurosawa’s film “Dreams”. In this section, a young boy follows a girl, which is actually a spirit of a peach tree. In Shinto everything is spiritual and there is continuity between humanity, nature, and spirits or gods. The spirit leads the boy to what used to be a peach tree orchard that his family cut down. The boy is then confronted by the spirits of the trees his family destroyed. 

     In Shinto, kami is the word for spirit or natural forces which is the basis for the Shinto faith. Not all nature is kami, it has to be something that is powerful or amazing. To this boy the peach orchard was kami, you can clearly see that it was powerful to him by his anger when he is speaking to the spirits.

     When conversing with the boy a peach tree spirits says, “The vanished trees are weeping in their sorrows.”  The peach trees had a spirit and they are upset about being cut down. This is evident because, as stated by Professor Rasnic in class, “The ancient Japanese did not divide matter and spirit. They believed they were inseparable.”  

     The boy tells the peach tree spirit, “I love this orchard and the peach trees which bloomed here, but they are not here anymore and that’s why I cried.” It even says he tried to stop them from cutting down the trees. This shows that the boy had a respect for peach trees that once grew in the orchard. This is why the peach trees in the orchard were kami to him, but they obviously were not to his parents.

     In Shinto worship the rights are categorized according to size of the festivals. There are large and medium festivals as well as a few other types and prayer. I’m assuming that this would be a harvest festival for peaches which would make this a large festival. One of the peach tree spirits asks the boy how they are going to celebrate “Doll Day”, which is for peach blossoms. It would be hard to celebrate the harvesting of peaches having cut all of the trees down. By the family still celebrating, it is part of the reason for the spirits’ anger.

Pittsburgh

     As I've stated on my blog numerous times before, I'm originally from Pennsylvania, just outside of Pittsburgh. Whenever I make the roughly six and a half drive, depending on how fast I drive, it seems like there is never enough time to do everything or see everyone while I'm back home. Since moving to Virginia about five years ago it seems that as each year passes, I make even less trips back home to see friends and family. However, when I do go back I always have a blast. There are just so many things to do that it makes Richmond look like a small town. You can go see professional sports (Pirates, Penguins, & Steelers), they have finally legalized gambling so there are multiple casinos, for you music lovers there are multiple concert venues, tons of amazing restaurants, and more bars then you will ever want to see for your people who like to get your drink on. So if you are ever in Pennsylvania I highly recommend that you take the time and visit Pittsburgh, be sure to stay long enough to enjoy all of the wonderful things the city has to offer.

Next Weeks NFL Draft

     Normally I would be excited about the upcoming National Football League (NFL) draft, but things are different this year. With the NFL on the verge of a lockout and the two sides no where near reaching an agreement, it has taken all of the excitement out of this event. Shortly after the draft teams start holding rookie  and voluntary  mini-camps which indicate the season is right around the corner, but teams have already canceled these normal practices because of the pending lockout. I surely hope that both sides can come to an agreement and the NFL season will go on as planned. If not its going to be a long fall for me and millions of other Americans who will be missing football. I may have to turn to watching college football  just to get my fix if the NFL season is canceled.

Taoism Blog RLS 311

     I feel that Benjamin Hoff did an excellent job of explaining Taoism in the book the Tao of Pooh. The book was able to explain Taoism by breaking it down into small, clearly defined bits of information. Most books discussing religious ideas provide large amounts of complex information to the reader, but they do not explain it or provide direct examples as does Hoff. Although I do not agree with all of the Taoist concepts, I at least have a clear understanding of them due to the information in this book.
     The Tao of Pooh refers to the American culture as Bisy Backsons, meaning that we are busy bodies who have to be on the go constantly. Its hard to argue against this description of the American lifestyle, but I do not totally agree with this classification. For example, I agree with the Taoist philosophy on time. "You cannot save time, You can only spend it," and it can be spent either foolishly or wisely (pg. 108). No matter what you do there are only 24 hours in a day, its all about how you choose to use it.
     However, I do not agree when they say, "Bisy Backson is always going somewhere, somewhere he hasn't been. Anywhere, but where he is (pg. 97). Yes there are some American's who are constantly going and going, but it is not all Americans. I know plenty of people who like to just sit back and relax when they get free time. My other issue with that statement is that you will find people like that in every culture so I believe that it's unfair to direct that statement towards only Americans.
     Alothough I agree with some of the principles of Taoism, I don't think it's the "solution" to the "problems" of Americans. To be honest, I don't even believe that there is a problem with the American culture. The concepts of Taoism come from Ancient Chinese culture which is nothing like the modern world that we live in today. The American culture as well as most Western cultures, are fast paced due largely impart to all the technological advancements of the 19th century. These technological advancements require us to live a fast paced lifestyle and nothing is going to change that.

It's that time of year again.......

     As the title says its that time of year again, what time of year is that you might ask? It's time to schedule for next semester, which for most of you freshmen here at VCU you will find is normally a stressful time. I'm a Health and Physical Exercise (HPEX) major and scheduling every semester is a struggle. I understand that it is not one of the biggest programs here at VCU, but they definitely need to add more sections to the classes that are also requirements for other majors as well.
     Due to the limited number of sections available it's almost certain that it will take you more than 4 years to get your Bachelor's  Degree. When I first arrived at VCU I thought perhaps it was because I was one of the last people scheduling, but as I have progressed into the program learned that its just difficult to get into the required classes. The majority of class that we are required to take only offer one section per semester and some of them only offer one section every other semester which makes it even harder to get into them. I'm not sure if the program has grown faster than  anticipated or if there is a shortage of professors, but this issue needs to be addressed.

So enjoy your scheduling, I know I'm having a blast!