Article of the Week 26/2/15: Mars One Mission

Article: "Mars One Mission, a One Way Trip to the Red Planet in 2024"

Source: The Guardian  (link to article)

Summary: This article answers the basic questions surrounding the Mars One Mission, which is currently referred to as a project.  The mission is to send a select and small group of humans to Mars and observe their survival, as well as gather information about the planet and its atmosphere. The mission is funded by sponsorship and donations, and theories of a reality show to fund the project are being talked about.  The article also goes over a bit of the selection process of the space-travel hopefuls (who will never return, and their survival could be anywhere from a few seconds to a maximum few months). 

What is the author's purpose?  The author's purpose of writing "Mars One Mission, a One Way Trip to the Red Planet in 2024" is to inform the general public about this exciting and previously rarely covered subject.  The Mars One Project is highly debated from the expert level to the amateur, but this article remains objective.  The article is formatted in a question and answer style.  Facts such as, "From more than 200,000 people who hoped to leave Earth and die on Mars, only 660 remain in the running." are common throughout.

Opinion - Why should the World hear this? - I think the world should definitely hear about the Mars One Mission because it hasn't been covered by the media, and I believe it deserves it. Learning about outer space and completely different environments encourages people to open their minds and fills them with a sense of awe.  As someone who cries when I see more than like, two stars in the sky space has always fascinated me and I've always been frustrated that it was not a well-funded frontier, or a well discussed topic.  "Born too late to explore the earth, born too early to explore space" is phrase that gets thrown around quite a bit, and its truthfulness becomes evident when learning about this Mission.

Word: acclimatise
verb; respond physiologically or behaviorally to changes in a complex of environmental factors.

Invisible Cities ~ Italo Calvino

Look it's a Magritte ^_^

Prompt:  What do you like and dislike about this book?

Pages read: 0-80

The book I am currently reading is unlike the majority of novels I have probably ever read.  It’s a strange mixture of prose and poem, somehow twisted in between.  Invisible Cities has the format and styling of prose; with the detailing and imagery of a poem.  As for the storyline, well the jury is still out.  The famed traveler Marco Polo is relaying his adventures through Kublai’s kingdom to the Khan himself.  Switching between the upright font for the descriptions of the infinite cities, and the italicized interactions between Polo and Kublai Khan, the story does not so much unfold as it does reveal itself.  This novel is similar to my current tastes in it’s use of symbolism and otherworldly metaphor.  However, this book is lighter-hearted than those aforementioned selections - but a darker undertone remains.

So far, I hold this book in high regards.  It has the rare and mysterious power of actually taking you to those described cities.  Sometimes, you willingly are led into intricately elaborate towers and castles and fairy-tale like lands.  Other times, you are dragged into a city with dark secrets and peoples. Either way you are sure to visualize these cities and villages because the description is so detailed.  While only an upwards of two pages is dedicated to each borough (for which I am thankful for), you can distinguish your own version of the city.  Suddenly, they start to blur together, which furthers the theme and symbolism in the story.  Another part of Invisible Cities I really like is the interaction between Kublai Khan and Marco Polo.  It is quite confusing, but it adds a much needed element to the story.  This novel is definitely not for everyone.  Not because it is confusing or cerebral, but because the entirety of it is page after page of city description.  Understandably, you start to become bored and searching for more than meaning in these convoluted cities.  Then the interjection of the aftermath of Polo’s retelling captures your interest once again.  

Mentioned previously, the repetition of this novel starts to wear on the reader.  While I dislike this portion, it is what sets apart the story.  Confusingly, I’ve been having trouble focusing while reading lately, but this novel has somehow grasped my interest.  There’s a peaceful aura to Invisible Cities, which makes it seem unreal at times.  I think I would like to see more of a direction in this novel, but that seems unlikely.  Technically, this is a folktale and consequently, a highly regarded piece of literature.  Another aspect of the story I hope to see developed is Kublai’s and Polo’s characters.  As of my current progress, I haven’t seen any distinctive personality qualities in either, and I think that would add to the story. 

(feedback on my writing would be appreciated?) 

Article of the Week Reflections 20/2/15

Most of us are aware of these current world events taking place, but our level of understanding varies.  I find these gallery walks to be very important and beneficial to our worldview.  There's quite a difference (and ultimately, a blurred line) between knowing about an event and understanding one.  Everyone can pour out their bias after a brief news segment, but thinking critically and understanding not only what is going on but what causes these events is where true world knowledge lies. In the future, it will become more and more important to stay up to date and well informed; but interestingly, I think that task will become increasingly difficult.  There's little need to say why.  Also, understanding conflicts will help in combatting them, and perhaps even solving them.

In the future, I hope we can all branch out more in topic selections and truly find where our interest lies.  I think I've found a few topics that I'd love to learn more about, which is important.  Obviously, this isn't everyone's cup of tea and I understand apathy.  I really do.  But I'm trying to break free of mine (trying to rid myself of all things Nietzsche and Sartre), so keeping up to date is a personal goal. I also hope to see little-known topics being brought up, because those can be equally devastating to world peace. Conversation about our topics, and not just brief summaries, would also be of a great benefit.  But either is equally..cool.

To Kill A Mockingbird ~ 18/12/14 (Late now)

Prompt:  Final Thoughts on the book

Well after about a month of reading it, I suppose some of my feelings toward the book have faltered and diminished.  But that won't be a problem... Coming of age novels are supposed to stick with you, and reoccur throughout your life.  While I may not be analyzing one of it's predominant themes, I am still seeing its influence in my life, and the world.  And not always the book specifically.  Through further reading, keeping in touch with current events, and keeping To Kill A Mockingbird's message in the back of my mind; I've begun to see the novel's themes take place in the world.  The non-fiction world.  Perhaps this gives me an advantage over the other blogs, as more experience always helps.  
I couldn't properly begin to explain these observations, because the novel should mean something different to everyone.  We're all at different stages of acceptance, or 'living in someone else's shoes'. We've all had different social experiences, and different negative events impact us.  But the one message we can all take as a whole is putting aside differences.  Not just walking in someone else's shoes, which can apply to even the most similar humans.  But actually setting differences aside and standing up for what you believe in, regardless. 

That being said, I am not sure how the world will react to Harper Lee's 'new' installment of Scout's story.  Of course, the outcome is predictable.  There will always be the ignorant and immature critics saying it wasn't as good the second time around.  Which it won't be, unless Harper Lee can defy all odds. There will be the over-exaggerators, and all that comes in between.  Will the new novel have the same effect?  Will it combat the same reoccurring issues with the blunt force it has before?  Or will it be a romantic novel of Scout's future?  How can we be sure.  I might not purchase the book (I have many suspicions), but I will read it.  And over-analyze it.  And try to be more intelligent than I actually am. 

http://clouded-ambition.deviantart.com/art/To-Kill-A-Mockingbird-31766439 (credit to the artist)

26/1/15: Neverwhere (Late obviously)

Prompt:  Where do you think the story is going?  Where would you like it to go?
Pages read: 0-90

While I'm not entirely sure I'll be continuing with reading this book, I definitely have a strong premonition of where it is headed.  For that reason, I am leaning towards finishing the book, because I am definitely enthralled.  And coming from someone who dislikes the entirety of fantasy novels, that's quite a statement.  My personal fascination with morals and the all too human has never manifested itself in a interest in angels and demons surprisingly.  However, through Richard Mayhew's confusion and inadvertent plunge into the metaphorical depths of London I've found myself wrapped up in the storyline.

My feelings for the protagonist, Richard Mayhew, are yet to be determined.  Nevertheless, I wish him the best ending.  Perhaps... Although we all know the happiest ending isn't always the most interesting.  From this point in the story (the first day he 'slipped through the cracks' of London society), I haven't the slightest idea of what can 'realistically' happen in this story.  An educated guess would be that he meets up with the mysterious Door again.  No, not the inanimate object.  Richard met Door on the way to a very important dinner with his ex-fiancé and her boss.  Door had collapsed in a pile of her own blood (mixed with assorted others') on the street, and Richard was adamant in his passive way about not leaving her there to waste away.  Through his and Door's encounter, Richard meets up with some unique and morally ambiguous creatures (who are not quite humans, in my understanding) and is unwittingly transported into this not-quite new realm.  It's London, but not.  His history is erased, his job has been taken, his apartment sold, and his coworkers and significant other have no memory of his existence.  Gathering from that, I reckon Richard will be maladjusted to life in the murky realm which has until this point, remained nameless.  Door and Marquis de Carabas's ambiguous hinting at this world has left Richard dazed and confused, as well as justly angry.  I predict there will be confrontation between the two parties.  Door and her acquaintances are infinitely more knowledgeable about the power and magic and all that, so I'm interested in what will become of their relationship.

As for what I would like to see happen, there are many possible outcomes.  Truly, I need to be further into the story to really grasp my feelings towards its characters and storyline, but I am hoping for an all-out battle of the wits.  As stated earlier, I've always been fascinated by the workings of good and evil, and I'm looking forward to seeing how Neil Gaiman presents these forces in his novel.  At this point in time, romance would seem out of place.  Richard has just been dumped (in his terminology) by his fiancé, and romance right now would take away from the adventure and plot.  Perhaps there will come a time for it, but for right now, Richard should restrain himself.  He's not among the company of humans, so who knows what kind of weird stuff an inter-species relationships entails.  All this being said, I'm looking forward to reading the next few chapters.  This is one of those books when each page can contain a plot-twist and/or vital fore-shadowing.

AoW Impressions 2/2/15

At this time in our lives, learning about current events is one of the most important things we can do.  It certainly broadens my perspective, and I hopefully become more enriched and cultured.  On a less self-centered scale, knowing what's going on in the world will help bring change.  Because of these reasons, and a few more, I'm really impressed with what everyone shared on Friday.  The broad range of topics (climate change to social justice, from neurology to the state of coral reefs) were fascinating, and I could see that nearly everyone had a good time sharing and experiencing.  Personally, being able to share my interests to people my own age is a rare and exciting activity.  In the future, I hope to see our class become more comfortable with sharing, and find out what most interests us.  

Because this should've been two paragraphs, I'll talk about what I learned from the showcased articles.  I particularly enjoyed Emily's article, because it wasn't a go-to or a topic that is widely discussed in the news.  Neuroscience is dark and mysterious, and the article she chose helped clear up suspicions and doubts.  Well I'd already believed gender exists on a spectrum, but now there is evidence to support that claim.  I'm very happy the class was able to hear about it.  As always, ISIL updates are scary but fascinating.  So rarely does televised go into detail or tell an objective story, so hearing multiple articles from different sources was very important to me.