GILGAMESH.... The beginning.

Once the I, II and III tablets of Gilgamesh were read I could get an idea of the launguage of the novel. It is evident that we are talking about a very VERY old book. The literature is an epic, it talks about a heroe and all the difficulties he has to go through to accomplish an especific goal, it is narrating a myth that could have some of true facts involved. Throughout this novel I believe there will be a lot of gods involved, of mythical characters and events. Gilgamesh himself has mythical characteristics, he is twice the size of a man, said to be two-third a god and one-third a man. He is the stongest of all, the king. Gilgamesh relates to Ishmael because it talks about the world, the men ad animals interralating with eachother. "Enacting a story".

We will be able to draw conclutions about humanity combining the concepts that Ishmael plots to the conclutions that will be drawned from Gilgamesh. Ishmael talks about humanity righ now, the modern humanity, the one that is destroying the world, after thousands of years of existance. Gilgamesh is presenting a humanity or at least the thoughts, ideas and stories of a humanity thousands of years ago! It is a total different point of view. Gilgamesh's society could be considered Leavers, because they hunt and gather, because they live in the hands of the gods, but they think like Takers, that man should rule the world that is why Gilgamesh is the king. It is the beginning of Taker's thought, because Gilgamesh is not completely man, he is part king. Eventually they will make men the rulers no longer the gods.

I am very excited to read Gilgamech and be able to have a broader idea of the world. !!

Final Chapter, final lesson

Ishmael dies. It is not such a big deal for anyone except the speaker. "Oh. Called the county, I guess. Took him off to where they cremate the roadkill. You know." pg, 261. This is the way it is for most of the people who die, the ones who knew their value do know what they are loosing. It it kind of the same thing refering to earth. We waste water like crazy unbeknowed of its real value, we actually do know it but are not concious of it, which is a totally different thing. If we were all concious of the value of our planet we would probably not be in the situation we are right now.

Death is enevitable, what point would life had if it would? This is the excitement of life, the push to make of everyday a life experience. Ishmael's death is a lesson, the final lesson for the pupil. To take advantage of life and not take it for granted like 99% of the people do. Don't take life for granted. So obvious, but most do, until they crash and realize that that's what they have been doing all the time, taking life for granted. The pupil's task is to pass the knowledge he has gained until he takes he last breath. Ishmeal was not exception to death, that is the only law that is NEVER broken. That is the real law, death, everybody follows it. We are destined to die the moment we are born, in other words we are destined to make a change in order to die. What a shame to die knowing tthat your life made no change at all, that is my worst fear; die, knowing that i didn't touch anybody's life, that I didn'd leave a mark in this funcking screwed world. Ishmael did, and it is up to the pupil on how long this mark will stay.

Ishmael, the novel, touches too many subjects to be able to organize them and draw a conclution. I don't agree with all of them, in fact I was quite confused and made me angry at some subjects that Quinn talks about. I don't think humans should be underjugded, we keep on criticizing ourselves and why don't we just try each of us in our own way to do the best we can? Isn't the goal of life to be happy? The only thing that drives me to become a better person everyday is if it makes me happier.

Chapter 12...Is that all?

Once I started watching a movie that was called Apocalipto. I was not able to finish it because of the bloody and horrible scenes. It was about the life of the Aztecs or Mayas, I don't remeber well, their beliefs and society. They were brutal, they killed each other for no good reason. Quinn states that the Leavers were, as i understood, people from other cultures, indians just like Aztexs and Mayas. He says that the Leavers let the world live peacefully and took only what they needed. According to Apocalipto, it was the contrary. I think that by the Leavers, Quinn is refering to the animals because in the study of Ancient History, since the first civilization of Mesapotamia their goal was to conquer, to rule, and sacrified each other in wars for power. The role model we should follow is defenitly the way animals live, they are in the hands of the gods. "Well, they tend to led the people around them live the way they want to live." pg.236. Most of us think that we do that, the truth is that we are being obligated to live the way that some have decided is the right and only way we ought to live.

The prison of which Ishmael talks is quite interensting. I have often thought that our society is like a prison. We are supposed to act in a certain way, dress in a certain way, think in a certain way, we are convinced that we are free when the truth is that we are not. "The world of the Takers is one vast prison, and except for a handful of Leavers scattered across the world, the entire human race is now inside that prison." Pg. 251. We are inprisoned by our one greed, ambition and egocentrism. "But it should be noted that what is crucial to your survival as a race is not the redistribution of power and wealth within the prison but rather the destruction of the prison itself." pg. 252/253. WE can't keep on passing on the rule within ourselves but just give the power up, lend it to the universe itself that is better than is in that. Difficult it is for the idea to go around the world. I really don't belive it could be possibe, it is an extreme change to history and humanity. This leads to to think, what would be of us in a thousand years?

Chapter 12... Discution worth having.

Have we humans commited a mistake by doing the neolithic revolution and following the consequences? Would we have been better off if we had never developed? Is the Leaver's choice of life a better one than the one, we Takers decided to have? Does it all have to do with religion?

We happen to be used to the way we live, to have food available always, the one we want at the time we want but do we really need that? do we really need all that we live with? If we were gatherers and hunters, it wouldn't make much o difference if we wear a blue pant or a red shirt. Maybe there wouldn't be so much greed for money because all we really needed was food and shelter and we could find that easily. "We take what we need form the world and leave the rest alone, just as the lion and the deer do."pg 222. It is not easy to swallow, but analysing it make it seem like a relaxed ans peaceful life. We would be just like all the other animals without discrimination nor superiority. This possibility make my mind go crazy!! All kinds of questions pop up and enlightment. "For this people, your facile justificationfor the agricultural revolution would be completely meaningless."pg.218. Is like thinking that all we have had, all that we have believed to be right happens to be not supposed to be, funny. If at the beggining of times all the events that happen didn't what would be of us? If Colombus hadn't found America, then we would probably have much more wealth, not materially but nature wise and spiritual wise.

Is the fact that we control the food we grow and have makes us above of what the "gods" wanted from us? This is a possibility that Quinn gives. "When we have taken the whole world out of the hands of the gods." pg 228. How much further are we going to "develop", until we are able to conquer and rule the whole universe? Genetics are so advanced that we know can modify the way babies are going to burn like. Is this taking too much power of the universe (not ot say the gods)? Maybe that is why we are being some how punished, or better said assuming the counsequences with global warmig, AIDS, cancer, hunger and all the terrible and almost uncurable issues. I have only doubts about the ideas that Quinn is plotting. Is it possible for humans to give up all thay have and go back to the primitive life? I think it is irreversable, too late. We are already screwed up.

Sentence Fragments Exercises

I will just write F if the sentences are fragments or C if complete.

1. F, "I attended then Morris Junior High, a junior high...."
2. C
3. C
4. F, "within each group, there was a ...."
5. C
6. F, "to be so emotional, especially when you..."
7. C
8. F, "goes out for football, to prove..."
9. F, "let us into her home, not realizing"
10. C
11. F, "MAking up his mind quickly, Jim ordered..."
12. F, "having a good time, until one ..."
13. F, Although is the beginning of a clause..it needs a second frase(although,)
14. C
15. F, "sami size and style, with no difference...."
16. F, switch the frases.

exercise 2.

1. "About four weeks ago in a little night club in Louisville, Kentucky, a couple of my friends, Rick and Lon, the duo who were providing the entertainment that night for the club." "Rick and Lon, were the duo who provided the entertainment."
2. "For the past twenty years, the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan has been measuring the level of Americans' trust and confidence in their politicians and quasi-political trust and confidence in their political institutions and their leaders. " "For the past twenty years, the Survey Research Center at the University of Michigan has been measuring the level of Americans' trust and confidence in their politicians, quasi-political, their political institutions and their leaders. "
3. "A public-opinion analysis group has found that large numbers of Americans, at some times and in some places, see themselves as lower on the ladder, adding worse living conditions and anticipation of further decline over the next five years.
4. Well, in looking at the picture at the left you see an old lady. She has a very funny look on her face, as if she's lonely and just wants to be left alone. she also looks as if she has seen a lot and experienced lots of things.
5. A president is an appointed leader, someone who is a decision maker in the executive branch of our government. This doesn't necessarily mean that the person the people elect is capable. Just hopefully assumes, through his past record as a politician, over the years' buildup of experience and handling situations.

exercise 3.

Everything I add, will be in cursive.

My brother was always my best friend when I was a child. Especially as we two were almost alone in the world. We lived with our old grandmother in a little house, almost a shack, in the country. Whenever I think of him now, I see a solemn, responsible boy, a boy too old for his years who looked out for me no matter what. Once there was a bully, John Anson, who looked enormous to me, though he was probably an average twelve-year-old. John had it in for me because he liked Littice Grant, who liked me. He decided to beat me up right before her eyes. I was lucky my brother came by, he didn't interfere any, he just stood there. Somehow though his presence gave me confidence I licked the stuffing out of John Anson. If my brother hadn't been there, I don't think I could have done it.

Chapter 10 read

Quinn escapes from the deep talking for a while and goes back to the real world we all live in, where gorrillas are not part of life, where work has to be done, and paying the rent is obligatory.
This gives us a break and lets us breath a little from the complex ideas. Ishmael is kept captive, but it doesnt impede him to keep on trying to teach and save the world. Nothing should keep us from trying as hard as we can.

Chapter 9

Mr. Tangen I was able to read up to the end of chapter 9, I will keep on reading but I don't want to do the blog too late!!

The common known story about Adam and Eve, the only difference, viewed from a very different point of view. As we all know the story, Adam and Eve were the first humans in the face of the earth, God provided them with paradise but forbirded only one thing; to eat a fruit form the Forbidden Tree, where the snake of the evil lead. Adam ate from it and since then all human kind has been condemn to have a sin. This is the stroy we know from our parents, teachers, society. But Quinn shows the other side. Adam and Eve were not the first humans, and the story has originally from the Leavers, not from the Takers therefore we "the Takers" don't understand quite all of it. Quinn has based many of his analogies with religion. He states that the gods should be the ones ruling and that Adam took that form them when he ate from the tree. I am not religious at all, I don't believe in the religion, not the church, not the bible. I belive in the potential that we carry within ourselfs, Quinn disagrees with my way of thought, he criticises human kind. I am not happy either with the way humanity turned out to be. But I am not sure if Quinn's way of looking a it is the adaquate. He contradicts himself constantly.

The concept of the "leavers" I am not confortable with it. If the Leavers and the Takers are both humans then how come the Leavers are better, have a higher potential in understanding how to live, how to manage things, if they are both part of one species. humanity cannot be diveded in 2 bands so easily, that's not the way it is. Humans are much more than the selfish, stupid and egocentric figure Quinn represents them as. to make the idea easier to understand QUinn should stablish somethings; did humans came from evolution or from Adam and Eve? What if there is another possibility? Why should the gods be the ones to decide everything? Why are humans judeged with one law or one conclusion when we are such a complex figure? Why can't Quinn give the possibility for humans to be the answer to save the world? What about The Secret? Quinn's conclusions are not based on any scientific explanation but bluf, could it be?

Some doubts to analyse.

Ishmael ... through my eyes.

I am in page 113, Part Seven.

Quinn has made this book a phylosofical story. Ishmael is not the first or only book that talk about the common questions humanity has always ask itself. Quinn touches many subjects through out the novel, and it is not considered a spiritual text, he does talk about god and the universe and human emotions, feelings and mind. But it also refers to facts to material things and their relevance in the world. Quinn talks about the world as it happens to be, material and spiritual. We can't expect the world to be only abstract neither only physical but a mix of both, to take adavantage of the material to improve the spiritual and vice versa. The question, how things came to be this way might never be answered but Quinn way to figure it out is quite interesting, I still haven't been able to catch the point he is trying to make, but I think I will see were he is going further in the reading.

Ishmael reminds me of a book I read called AMI, written by Enrique Barrios in which an elien comes to earth to teach a 10-year-old boy the fawls in our planet and society and how it should be fixed. This elien, who is called AMI comes from a more civilized planet were LOVE is the only "goverment". In this book as well as in Ishmael there someone, a teacher, trying to pass all his knowledege to someone else in order to save the world. I guess it is a different why to see the solution but it is kind of the same idea.

In the novel Ishmael talks about the gods deciding certain things. I suspect that Quinn is somehow religious, but he contradicts himself when he talks about religion as an invention for answers and not the real answer. The whole book can be seen as another invention for answers, therefore either you believe that God created the universe or science was the promoter. The big-bang theory is also mentioned by the narrator as the beginning to the story. The story meaning "a scenario interrelating man, the world, and the gods." pg.41. So far Quinn is trying to summerize the universe's history in a story with a beginning a middle and an end. In the story he explains certain events and draws conclutions about humanity. "The world was made for man to conquer and rule, and under human rule it was made to become a paradise." Pg. 82. As the world shows man hasn't made it a paradise but a total disaster, this doesn't match the conclution that Ishmael gives, therefore there most be a problem that has it made impossible to make the world a paradise. This fawl is the fact that humans dont know how to live... I agree absolutly with that statement, what I don't agree with, is that there is nowhere to obtain that knoweldge. Life shouldn't be like an activity, that you most know all the rules how it ought to be performed or all the tips to win. Life should only be lived as one feels it should be lived, the way to live it is not in books nor in lectures but within ourselfs.

Overall I am pretty anxious to keep on reading Ishmael I don't doubt i will learn much more form it!!

THE ANSWERS

In a book it is only you who reads it and has nos an easy acces to comment about it to the author... in a blog all around the world people see your writings and comment about them. You dont need a publisher to publish your toughts in blog in a book you do.

The blog make changes to the toughts in people, to the way people see certain things ... it may have a bad influece and make the people to do things the shouldnt... blogs can lead toa suicide if they are used as bullying, it a n extreme case but not rare.

To inform myself about a topic, to socialize, to be part of a group, to entretain, to gossip, to do harm, to do good.

Blogs are nor relyable, i can write about the way commets and meteorites behave without having an idea about it and maybe somebody believes it.. No blog should be trust worthy another source shopuld be checked.

"My thoughts"... i would probably only write about my thoughts... ramdom things random believes, events, emotions and ask for help ionn different issues.