Across the Pond 1: Museum Favorites

So. Here is the first in a series of posts about my Classics/Art History Study Abroad to Europe.

 

1: Museum Favorites

I've been kind and edited the pieces/art/pictures that may have unseemly depictions or exposure, despite the Laocoon and the Nike being incredibly fantastic and worth inclusion in this favorites post.

Achilles and Ajax playing dice : Rome 

Raphael's School of Athens: Vatican 

The Dying Goth: Vatican

Alexander vs. Darius mosaic

Atlas!

part of a Roman fresco : Greece

Heracles bossing a centaur: Florence

epic bronze chimera... thing: Florence

Copy of Michelangelo's David
(I did see the original, but that gallery didn't allow pictures - this was a replacement when the original was moved indoors for preservation from pigeons and pollution)

"Agamemnon's" gold burial mask: Athens

Zeus throwing lighting bold / Poseidon throwing spear : Athens

Bronze boy riding horse: Athens

Epic Greek black figure vase: Athens

Pericles!

Egyptian clay piece: Berlin

Socrates

Homer

Hermes / Mercury

 

Painting of the "classics" : Paris

Bronze Hermes / Mercury feet : Paris

Bronze Roman copy of Greek Marble Ares / Mars : Louvre

Adonis - "handsomest man"

Sphinx! : Louvre

On Faith

Professor : You are a Christian, aren’t you, son ?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?

Student : Absolutely, sir.

Professor : Is GOD good ?

Student : Sure.

Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?

Student : Yes.

Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?

(Student was silent.)

Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Is satan good ?

Student : No.

Professor: Where does satan come from ?

Student : From … GOD …

Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?

Student : Yes.

Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?

Student : Yes.

Professor: So who created evil ?

(Student did not answer.)

Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?

Student : Yes, sir.

Professor: So, who created them ?

(Student had no answer.)

Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?

Student : No, sir.

Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?

Student : No , sir.

Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?

Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.

Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?

Student : Yes.

Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?

Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.

Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.

Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?

Professor: Yes.

Student : And is there such a thing as cold?

Professor: Yes.

Student : No, sir. There isn’t.

(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)

Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.

(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)

Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?

Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?

Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?

Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?

Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.

Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?

Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.

Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?

Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.

Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?

(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)

Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?

(The class was in uproar.)

Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?

(The class broke out into laughter. )

Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?

(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)

Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.

Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.

Million Dollar Punctuation

Compare:

Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is all about. You are generous, kind, thoughtful. People who are not like you admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me for other men. I yearn for you. I have no feelings whatsoever when we’re apart. I can be forever happy---will you let me be yours?

Jane

VS.

Dear John,

I want a man who knows what love is. All about you are generous, kind, thoughtful people who are not like you. Admit to being useless and inferior. You have ruined me. For other men I yearn. For you I have no feelings whatsoever. When we’re apart I can be forever happy. Will you let me be?

Yours,
Jane

Inspiring Places

I was searching around flickr and photobucket for some nice pictures and slideshows for the new blog I need to make for my Humanities College Student Council... anyhow, I found these two photographers that I love:
BoazImages
wallygs

And I especially loved this slideshow:
Classical Architecture

Is it any wonder why I'm so excited about traveling to Greece?!

Youtubes

Over the last week I've needed a lot of music and humor to get me through studying. I've found that I like a lot of Jon Schmidt's work. Here are some of my favorite youtubes that saved me from lasting insanity (I'm not going to rule it out completely):

Pain
A Drop in the Ocean
Soaring
Jeffery is Bored
All of Me
Before the Morning
The Sound of Rain
Pachabel meets U2
Prank
Sacred Ground
Rubik's Cube
Elisha and Jared
Long Ago
Hidden Wedding
Pirates
Mad World
Airplane Story
A Place for Us
Here It Goes Again

I may make this a regularly updated post with any youtubes I want to share. We shall see.
Enjoy!

Another one of those days...

So today was, unfortunately, a normal 'me-day.'
I'll guide you through a brief snippet of roughly 15 minutes, so you may understand.

You are rushing across campus to your 6th class of the day in too-big shoes.

You just got out of your last class late, having waited for several precious 'rush-minutes' in order to get your graded paper back. Unfortunately, all you got was the words that you wouldn't get your paper back with the others in the class because "the TA gave you a perfect grade." So, of course, the teacher must think the TA is blind, or graded your test whilst he was asleep or on hallucinogens or possessed by a hippo, or encountered some other difficulty that would cause him to have mistakenly given perfect marks. No way do you actually deserve a perfect grade. So, as the responsible and sensible person she is, the professor must sink her claws into your hard-earned A. She'll look over your paper herself, pick it apart, and return it to you with a shaky C.

With a sigh that's more of a gasp because of your quick pace, you try not to knock into all the other students that have deciding to enjoy the lovely 35° drizzle at a sedate pace. Whilst traveling from the previous disappointment to another class of certain enjoyment, your phone begins to ring loudly. You stumble, trying to pull it from your backpack pocket without dropping your umbrella or extra armload of dance gear. Miraculously managing to extricate it, you put it to your ear as the caller hangs up. Lovely.

You look at the CID and recognize it as your ride to an appointment later that day. Dreading what the call could mean, you redial as you again head toward your now-late-for-certain class.

Guess why that dear friend was calling? Wouldn't it just be lovely if they wanted to call and wish you a good day and promise a package of coconut M&Ms when they pick you up later? Well, whether it would be lovely or not, their actual message was to inform you that they can no longer give you a ride. Of course. Because how could your day get better than it now is?

But wait- you still aren't to that class. The fun isn't yet over. In the middle of assuring your friend that you bear no hard feelings, and thanks for being willing anyhow, you trip... over nothing. That happens a lot. This time, your phone goes flying across the sidewalk and into a puddle where both the case, the cover, and the battery separate like three negative ends of a magnet. Meanwhile your umbrella catches on another person (who pleasantly sends you a death glare) and stabs you in the side as you land hard on one knee.

At least you didn't face-plant.

And like an armored vehicle transporting goods on a cop show, you're still not safe because you're still en route. Having collected all your gear, you finally enter the science building that houses your classroom. Or, at least, you try.

A taller version of Frankie Muniz is chatting up some little blond in the doorway. Unwilling to move yet, he half-opens the door (which swings in) for you as you come barreling towards it. He props it open with his arm above his head and, after attempting a little 'oh, I've got it, or okay, nevermind, thank you' dance, you finally duck awkwardly under his arm and between the couple. But apparently that blond really has some hypnotic eyes because, within the 2 seconds before you're all the way through, the 'gentleman' removes arm and the heavy door swings shut.

Of course, you are foolishly thinking that the thoughtful Frankie was going to deal with the door, so you have your attention on putting your phone back together and folding up your dripping umbrella.

Wise move.

The heavy door charges toward you and catches you roughly on the elbow. Your arm is bruised, your is face red as some science nerd chuckles at you, and your phone is once again all over the ground.

After gathering your armload together, (it's a habit by now) you finally, miraculously, gloriously, reach your classroom and plop gracelessly into a chair. You're 10mins late, you've missed the quiz and your teacher gives you a dirty look. But at least you can sit (safely?) for 40 minutes before you are forced to brave the world again.

Isn't life an adventure? It's so much fun to be me.

Why My Professor Cried

I walked into my Judaism and Christianity in the Classical Near East class on Friday and the Professor was wearing jeans and a neon orange-striped shirt. This was NOT normal, as he usually is in a suit, or at least a dress-shirt, slacks, and a tie. He's actually a very lively, bold, and level-headed teacher. He talks fast and intensely and confidently.
But Friday was different.

At the start of class, he explained that he had been at his son's spelling bee, and he hadn't had time to change, and was going to be off his game that day, and his son was amazing, and if we wanted to know about it we had to read his article because there was no way he would get through an explanation. He said all this choking back tears. He really was "a mess" that day, as he put it. He kept getting off topic, and several times he just stopped and zoned out before he would say "stay on track Hunt" or "I am out of it, today" etc.

Anyway, I just read the article and it really touched me. Sometimes, I (we?) tend to be overly critical and emphasize the perfection in something, but miss the actual success. My professor, in one of his 'off-topic moments' tearfully said something that may not make sense before you've read the article.

"It's the trying that matters. Of course, we, in the church with our emphasis on 'works', know how important it is to do our best. But how can we forget, for even a moment, that Jesus already has everything taken care of? He did all that for us, and it really doesn't matter if we fail or not. We just have to try. My boy- he didn't even get one word out, not even one letter. He stood up there and said 'I can't.' And yet, God loves that amazing kid. He loves him and doesn't care a bit about whether he won or not. Because it's okay to say 'I can't.' Isn't that what He's there for?" (paraphrased)

Here's the article.
The Failure that was a Success
.

Time

This is how I'm feeling right now with finals approaching and so much to get done.

Time
by Chantal Kreviazuk

Time, where did you go?
Why did you leave me here alone?
Wait, don’t go so fast
I’m missing the moments as they pass
Now I’ve looked in the mirror and the worlds getting clearer
So wait for me this time
I’m down I’m down on my knees I’m begging for all your sympathy
But you (I’m just an illusion) you don’t seem to care (I wish that I could)
You humble people everywhere (I don’t mean to hurt you)
Now I’ve looked in the mirror and the worlds getting clearer
I’ll take what you give me, please know that I’m learning
So wait for me this time
I should’ve know better I shouldn’t have wasted those days
And afternoons and mornings I threw them all away
Now this is my time I’m going to make this moment mine.
(I shouldn’t have wasted those days)
I’ll take what you give me, please know that I’m learning
I’ve looked in the mirror
My world’s getting clearer
So wait for me this time

Hedwig's Theme

The Bell Tower on the North end of BYU campus played the theme from Harry Potter today, in honor of part 1 of the 7th movie, which comes out in theaters tonight at midnight..
My friend was with me and as we listened to it, she exclaimed fervently "My life is now complete!"

Quotes from BYU

My Astronomy Professor, Dr. Moody, said that "Scientists are really just kids with big toys."
.
He told us about the cores of a white dwarf, low-mass stars at the end of the lives. The cores are, basically, diamonds. "Like a diamond in the sky."
.
In lecture on day we learned about Zwicky, "very quirky guy. He was once frustrated with a man and called him a 'spherical idiot.' The man, curious, asked "I just have to know. What do you mean by spherical idiot?" To which Zwicky replied, without a twinge of chagrin, "because, spheres are the same in every direction and perspective. Just like you're an idiot in every way and situation."

Some of my favorites that I found on "Overheard at BYU" (a facebook page) are:
"Our professor gave a powerpoint presentation which she said was "done by my insane former TA, whom, if I see, I will slug."
.
" My roommate talking about how many girls are in his classes: 'But one of the girls is engaged, so she practically counts as a dude.'"
.
"While in Washington, D.C. for an internship:
Lady1: You're from Utah? Really? Do you sing and dance and play the piano?
Me: Um, well....actually yes.
Lady1 to Lady2: See?! See?! I told you everyone from Utah sings and dances and plays the piano."
.
"Psychology teacher to student after class:
No, zombies have no frontal lobe- that's why they lack compound reasoning..."
.
American literature professor: "There are certain things that would just cause the space-time continuum to implode, and one of those would be me putting on pleather [pants]."

Courtesy of my D&C Prof, Bro Walsh:
"Bro. Walsh- So, you know that game where one person comes up with a phrase and then it's passed down from one person to the next? What do you call it...?
Student1-Telephone?
Student2- I bet you call it telegraph."
.
"If God thinks you're pretty spiffy, who cares what anyone else thinks (including you)?"
.
"God's capacity to love and forgive exceeds our capacity to sin."
.
"The difference between men and women can be shown simply by how they each would define 'Ward Ball'."
.
"Wickedness cannibalizes itself."
.
"In many burnt offerings, only that which could not be used was burned (entrails, hooves, etc.), leaving the meat and edible parts for the Israelites. When King Lamoni's father wanted to know the Lord, he went passed giving up half, or even all, of his kingdom and said 'I will give up all my sins to know thee.' Just like the Israelites and the Lamanite King, the Lord doesn't want your things. He wants you to go to him, give up everything bad, and keep the good things, to which he will add more."
.

Sharing humor

I have a ton of different quotes, jokes, experiences, etc. I want to share. Mostly from my religion (D&C) class, but also because I just haven't gotten around to posting anything much, lately.
My D&C Professor- Bro. Walsh- is hilarious. He tells a lot of random stories and jokes, but still manages to teach something with it, even if it doesn't exactly apply to the previous subject matter.

The first thing he said to us, told us to write it down and he got this serious look on his face, was "There is more to life than school. Chill!" But a few minutes later he did say, "Everyday is a class period- we need to take notes. This life is an education experience."

He likes to share jokes or funny stories at the beginning of each class. He's shown us 'The truth according to 7yr olds' stories, Darwin Awards, Memorable Epitaphs, and You know you're old when... (everything hurts, and what doesn't hurt doesn't work, etc.).

One he said is- "My son was having a hard time getting up when he was a teenager. My wife put a mousetrap on top of his snooze button. I don't recall her ever complaining about it after that."

Another time he said, "There are three kinds of people- Optimists, pessimists, and improvers. And while that's true, sometimes there are days when enduring well just means you got out of bed."

Here's one- "Would the ocean be deeper if there weren't sponges in it?"

Or- "Our Father in Heaven is a God of humor. He's said, men are that they might have joy! Will the Gods tell jokes to each other? Sure!... But they probably don't laugh, because they already know the punchlines."

He quoted Pres. Hinckley who, speaking to the missionaries at the MTC, said, "Well, you're not much to look at, but you're all we've got. I guess we'll use you."

Just today he said "Here's a joke I made up- If Lot's wife was trembling as she looked back, does that make her the first salt shaker?" And after we all chuckled, "Okay, okay. Stop it!"

Whenever someone else in the class says something funny, or people laugh, he gets all mock-upset and insists "You're not funny- I'm funny!" or "Stop being happy- this is a religion class. You're not supposed to have fun!"

On a more spiritual side, his greatest point that he emphasizes the most is that "There is a lot more hope in this plan than we give it credit. God is all powerful, and we underestimate how much he is going to help us, how great his mercy is."

He said defined the different answers you get from asking the Lord a question. He said that a 'right' answer is that you feel peaceful. No anxiety or anything. It just feels right. Whereas the other, rather than just being a 'stupor of thought' ("sometimes not thinking is peaceful!"), it's the opposite of peace- confusion, anxiety, frustration, indecision. And that helped me a lot. Because I've been confused a lot on how to tell the difference between peace and 'stupid thoughts' (which I have all the time).

I'll probably post other quotes or stories from him. He says a lot of good ones. But I think this post is already long enough.

---
A short note on my Astronomy teacher- Prof. Moody. He's also pretty great. Not quite as funny, but still quite a good teacher and he tends to throw in random comments that just crack me up. Like yesterday, he said he was quite tired and, with about a half hour left in our 2hr period, he began going off on this tangent about science movies he really doesn't like (namely Armageddon), and how, if he wasn't an astronomer or geologist, he'd be a movie critic. lol It was great.
---

Cue crazy laugh

You know those days when you just have to give up and accept that it's going to be pointless and miserable and just hope you can get through it with limited damage? I had one of those. I'm sore from yesterday, and I just keep making a fool of myself. I mean, more than normal, that is. :)
As just a small part of this fantastic day, I went to Macey's to get a movie from Red Box and perhaps pick up some bread. But the movie wasn't there and I ended up getting a whole bunch of heavy stuff that wouldn't fit in my backpack because I already had it filled with books, dance shoes, and Mel's computer. On the way back the wind was blowing just short of 1,500mph in my face. I had to get off my bike and walk it because, with all my extra baggage and trying to ride uphill into that wind- well. I was too sore from yesterday and it just wasn't worth it.
I'm pretty sure I looked like a complete goof. But that's alright. Because it's getting later and soon it will be tomorrow and I can focus on doing homework and getting Mel's computer fixed and move past this 'epic fail' of a day.
*Mwahahahahah! ~Crazy laugh* -because it somehow makes things better. And sometimes it's the only option.

Things...

So, I feel I need to jot down a few things so I don't forget.

1. Tanya and my efforts in transporting my bike via her car to Wyview was... quite the experience. We first tried the trunk. Silly idea. Then we tried shoving it into the backseat handles first. Again, silly idea. We had to move around to the other side of the car so it was 'downhill' and finally got the bike in. But it was too long. So we stuck one handle out the rolled-down-window, didn't quite get the other door to latch properly and shoved the driver seat so far forward that... well. To save dignity, I will end there. In any case. I laughed quite hard about how ridiculous it must have looked. My hands were black, Tanya had grease marks on her face, and the top-inside of the car was marked up from the handles.
2. I rode to school this morning. In 40° -something weather, with a plastic sack over my ripped-up, water-logged bike seat, and while it was hailing (sort of). Note to self -and anyone wise enough to learn from my experiences- DON'T DO THAT! Bad for you!
3. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to take Astronomy, first half D&C, Dance 380, and Weight Lifting. But who knows, honestly. I'm hoping to get a job Ushering in the HFAC (I turned in an application yesterday), but I'm thinking that might not happen.
4. I'm mostly unpacked. Yup, already. In 2 days. A record for me.
5. My friends Yuri, Grant, and Ben (probably others as well) made Spring team. I almost tried out, but I didn't want to have to get up so early every day. I'm beginning to regret not giving it a go though, it would have been fun. Oh wells.

I think that's all for now...

If at first...

If at first you don't succeed...

... skydiving is not for you.
... read the instructions.
... it might be because General Custer is your great uncle.
...Failure could be your style.

Hmm... That last one certainly seems like me, with this Greek class. Perhaps I should just accept it?

Strange Dreams

I usually never remember my dreams. Sometimes I wake up with a few images or something, but they usually fade. Last night I had some pretty interesting, lasting dreams that I thought I would share. They actually have to do with a few things in my life, so I'll gives a short preface (if I can manage to keep it short).

Yesterday, during one of my short breaks from studying, I watched a couple Britain's Got Talent performances. I saw someone sing, a couple of kids dance, and a dog perform.
Also, yesterday, I was worrying a lot about having time to study and take all my finals, and still be able to pick up my sister (Donalee) from the airport and take her to the MTC. I thought the testing center closed at 5pm on Wednesday (my lovely roommate informed me this morning that it doesn't, fortunately) and I wouldn't have had time to pick her up and take that final.

So, on to my dreams. I had two. The first was that I was on Britain's Got Talent (even though I'm American, I know). But instead of several rounds (semi, finals, etc.) We had to perform three different things in a row, and I couldn't just sing three times. I hadn't known this ahead of time so, panicking backstage right before I went on, I decided to sing an opera piece, then dance the polka in a Tango outfit with my 7 foot tall turtle. Yeah. lol It was crazy. They showed this whole clip of me with my turtle and how I raised it from a little egg and etc. Then I went onstage to perform and some director dude rushed after me and started fixing my dress and telling someone to 'fix up her nose.' What was wrong with me nose? I think I sort of woke up after that or something, because I don't remember how I did, or what my third act would have been.

My second dream, has to do with seeing Donalee and finals and all. I dreamed that I was with Donalee, but we were somewhere... else, where she was living, by the ocean. And I was visiting her because she was going to be leaving. So we were hanging out, taking boats out on the water looking at starfish mounds (I don't those actually exist, tho) and she was super excited to go see this aquarium, but it was like a 5 hour drive, and I told her that I couldn't because I had a final scheduled at 2:30 and it was already 11 and, really, I should probably do some studying. lol Basically, I was just all stressed in my dream that I wouldn't get to spend time with her and do my finals. Ridiculous how obsessed I am with things...

Encore!

The Ballroom Dance Company's 50th Anniversary Performance was amazing! There were a few that I've seen before, but they were still good. My favorites were Kaboom (Cha Cha), which had Toffer and Whitney, Caleb and Amy, and Tia and Katie.
I also really like Micgalaxy- the glow in the dark alien dance thing by the Tour Team. It was just super entertaining.
And the back-up tour team did a Samba to a song called Lollipop. That was a ton of fun. My favorite part was when... I'm not even sure how to describe it. They guys were on the floor in push-up position, and the end guy rolled underneath all of them in a row as they 'popped' themselves up in time to the music. It just looked really sweet.
I also enjoyed Sean Moe's 10:00 team. They did a foxtrot to "Mahna Mahna." It was cute and unique. I love Sean. Miss him teaching...
Anyhow. That's my rant about the performance.
It was quite good.