Historical importance

             The historical importance of Benjamin Franklin’s autobiography is found when we look at his actions and their effect. This way we understand how Ben Franklin became Ben Franklin. How he changed the people and the structure of the country that changed the world.

Benjamin Franklin was the embodiment of some American characteristics and added even more characteristics to the American world.  For he had the human desire to do good, the colonial intentions to do well and the ancient desire to do his best. He is the idol that inspired Americans and played the part of a hero in our culture.

The country was new and Ben opened it up for the older worlds. Ben’s influence passes from book to mind to mouth to the nations both near and far. Today one can find his influence in businesses, communities, and governments in this country and in others.  

This man changed the country that changed the world. He shows that one needs not to be President to change this world, nor take over hundreds of nations, nor be born with everything, nor re-invent the wheel. His progress started when he decided to progress, not to wealth, power, or fame, but to an un-reachable goal of perfection, though these things may find those who pursue such things.

            Here one may search, how did Ben alter the public and the constitution of the nation that altered our planet? What specific action did he take that changed so much in the world? It is for these reasons and more that people look to his autobiography to learn about the man.

Michael Santayana

11-2012

Tea, the Light-Hearted drink

No matter how busy you are or stressed out you get, make sure you take a few minutes to stop, sit down and settle down so you can think and calm down. The finest way to do this is to make friends with a very old drink that has very old traditions that come with it. The drink is tea. Before beer or Coca Cola, a long time ago, Americans drank great amounts of tea. What is tea? How did we get tea? Why do we drink Tea? 

Now there are all sorts of tea; Arabic tea, British tea, jasmine herbal tea, oolong green tea, white tea, black tea, gold tea, all the colors of the rainbow tae, etc. No matter what kind of tea it is, drinking tea is healthy both mentally and physically. It is almost impossible to be depressed when you are drinking tea. Drinking tea will help your attitude.

What is tea? Tea is a leaf that grows on bushes that are evergreen and grow about 13 feet tall. Some tea plants, if you leave them alone will grow 50 feet. In China and most places, they are not full-grown, they are cut as high as your waist and kept that short because it is easier to reach the leaves. They tolerate shade well and like moist but well drained soils.  It takes three years for a new plant to have enough leaves that you can start picking them to make tea. People chop up the leaves; boil them in water, and then drink the water. Tea is not very creative as far as inventions go. Well, tea has a permanent place because it is as old as dirt. I mean that it will never grow old and we will always have tea. It is a classic; it never goes out of style. Yeah, I know Chinese products are not supposed to last this long but tea is the exception.

            How did we get tea? Tea is so old that even in China, where it started, no one knows where it came from. The Dutch brought tea to England in 1644 but the  Portuguese were the first to bring tea to Europe in the 1550’s. They brought it on ships that were used for trading things with the Far East. However, tea never caught on until the coolest girl in Europe started drinking it. When the queen of England got involved, everybody cool started drinking tea. She set the trends and drinking tea became the new hot trend.

Why do we drink Tea? People drank tea because they liked the taste. In ancient China, before drank tea for pleasure, people thought it was a medicine. Later tea became popular in Japan in the 9^th century and in Russia, Europe and the Middle-East mostly for its taste. All the old things come back because scientists are now saying tea is really good for your health. Scientists are now discovering that it does everything from make you age more slowly to helping you not get cancer as well as heart disease.

Tea is important to our history. Have you heard about the Boston Tea Party? They drank so much tea, and the party was so crazy, they literally tried to turn the ocean into tea, and that is why we do not drink tea anymore, because it is too salty. What really happened is that they were not drinking tea. They were drinking something else, probably whiskey and ale and they threw all the tea from the ships into the ocean. The rebels did something that everyone thought was a prerevolutionary testimony. The “Rebels” probably do not remember what they did the day before, because they were so drunk.

Were these actions logical? To dress up as Indians, drink a lot of whisky and throw tea in to the ocean does not seem like a well thought out plan but somehow it worked get everyone aware of the evils. Dressing up as Indians was the alibi to say it was not them but it did not work. The whisky probably helped them be braver and the real point of the whole thing was to protest British taxes on tea with no American representation. People think America wanted to be detached but at that time, a lot of Americans just wanted to send people to parliament. They would shout “no taxation without representation”. The tea had big taxes on it so it went for a swim. The bad news is the British closed Boston harbor and all for the basis that of the fight over taxes on tea. Tea is a big part of our history in America.

How can I drink tea the best possible way? One key trait of the ideal tea guzzlers is high-class etiquette. The word Etiquette is French, but oddly enough has nothing to do with being French, because the art of etiquette is the ability to make all who surround you as comfortable as possible by showing the most respect. Always remember to say “please”, and so on, “may you pass the sugar”, “thank you”, and “you’re welcome”. You should pronounce words and speak to all people in a respectful way.

You also want a good posture when you drink tea or you will look like a slob. Right now, I want a at ease posture so I relaxed a little and as a result, I feel more calm. This is more potent then you think, since scientist today says that the brain is housed inside the body.  Thus, whatever position our body takes affects your brain. For instance, if I spread my legs out and take up the most amount of room, my brain produces more of a chemical called testosterone and I become more confident and masculine. If I move my legs together and take up as little amount of space as possible, my brain reacts by making me feel less assertive. It is hard to feel depressed if you stand straight and smile but you can trigger a brain reaction that makes chemicals like a depressed person by simply slouching and hanging your head down.

That is why we have something called teatime. Teatime is best when you take your tea, put your feet up and just think a little. I suggest drinking in a group or party. This is called a tea party. In Alice in Wonderland, the Mad Hatter has a Tea party and I think that is one of the most logical reasons he cannot be completely mad. At the party is the March Hare, the Dormouse and the Mad Hatter and Alice is there as well. There are many things related to tea that made clear. First, it is better than wine or at least it is good as needed.

            'Have some wine,' the March Hare said in an encouraging tone. 

            Alice looked all round the table, but there was nothing on it but tea.

            I don't see any wine,' she remarked.' There isn't any,' said the March Hare.”

In addition, the Mad Hatter believed time had stopped exactly at teatime so that it was always teatime. I would love for time to stop on such an important hour on ourselves. This is a book worth studying from the point of view of tea, for it reference tea about 40 times.

  

Also, never have a full plate of potatoes or any other ordinary food laying around at a tea party. The best foods for tea parties should be banana bread, blueberry bread, lemon buttermilk scones, lavender scones, pumpkin scones, fruit pizza, stuffed roasted strawberries, balsamic strawberries, 20-layer crepe cake, meringue cream torte, gingerbread tea loaf, banbury tea tarts, English trifle, Russian teacakes, and my favorite; ginger snap cookies.

            Tea is also an intellectual moment where you sit down and relax a bit accompanied by a good book to read aloud to the other guests. Tea will taste better with a good piece of literature. The best is a book of poetry that leaves a good feeling on your ear just as the tea does to your tongue. If we bring back being slow enough to sit for tea, people will find time for reading good things to each other. Classy music in the background is also a good idea for the event. Enjoy poetry with your cup of tea and both will leave a good flavor in your mouth. If you have good poetry and music to go with your good tea you will be a good host for your visiting parasites.

            Never completely mathamitize anything especially something as organic as a tea party.  So, do not have a schedule. Schedule would be a major hitch. Schedules would boring, nosey and strict and make too much like work at your party. A tea party should have a divine free spirit that is free from clocks and from math so the whole party can have a wild spirit and casual mood. The most you can do is that if you have appointment, like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, is keep a watch so you won’t be late.

            Singing is fun but can get quite awkward quite fast and you will soon be in a creepy moment when you awkwardly stand, walk and talk unconfidently. Then there is an awkward silence with a pause long enough that you could recite your favorite short poem. So keep an eye on the singing. Teatime does not seem like a good time to sing. If someone has a beautiful voice, maybe they can sing to entertain the party but what you do not want is where everyone thinks it is karaoke time.

In addition, you should talk intelligent on intellectual subjects. You should go ahead and talk about things like books and such. I once wanted to start a media club back in my old school where we sat around all day and harshly criticized movies, music, shows, and books. My plan was to never leave any important piece of artwork out of the conversation and your tea party should do the same. Yet at the same time be at peace with the artist, do not just demonize all the arts but also remember that we have no perfect art piece even if it is the best of the best.

            The real secret to the tea party is that it is just an excuse to get together with other people instead of watching TV, playing video games or texting. You pour out some tea and sit and look at each other and if you are not alert you might make friends with real people instead of electronics.

Tea time to me is time to think and listen and be at peace. It could be part of the way we solve some of the problems in the world. Imagine if everyone stopped what they were running around doing all day to sit and talk and reflect.

In Japan people drink tea as part of a religious ritual. It is a very special ceremony that is very full of meaning to them. There is something to this. Even if you are alone, you can use a tea ceremony to still your mind and be peaceful. Here are my ideas for you to consider in making your own tea ceremony.  First of all, turn off your cell phone, radio and TV, turn off your environment. Then while you boil the water and prepare the cup, think peaceful thoughts. Find a place to sit where you will not be troubled. This is especially tricky if you have a younger brother.

No matter how busy you are or stressed out you get, when you take a few minutes to bring to a halt, sit down and relax to drink tea. You will find that you can think and calm down. Find a way to make tea your friend and soon you will find that you can become your own friend and be more at stillness with this crazy, wild world.

Black Plague

Imagine something that killed off millions of people in the USA. If a third of Americans died, there would be huge changes to our society. People would have new bosses and employees. Families would lose one or both parents and new families would have to be formed. Whole towns would be full of empty houses with no new people to move into them. The plague in Europe had a huge affect on their society. The Mediterranean lost around 1/3 of its population and numerous villages were abandoned as the result of the plague. The high number of deaths caused a number of interesting things.

First who died? The first to go were people who lived anywhere the Romans once ruled. The time was 1347-1348, two of some of the most important cities on earth, Mecca and Rome suffered terrible losses as well. It is worth noting that in the west, where the Catholic Church had complete control, many of the Holy men were shining examples and cut memorable figures. You see, some good priest immediately went to the sick to comfort, bless, give final rights, and/or unhappily, officiate at their funerals. These priests,  in close in combat with the sickness, often died as examples of sanctity and stood out in the whole world. Some of the priests that survived did not give as good an example.

In Islam, between a fourth and a third died depending on where you lived. This was also a very serious thing affecting everybody. Though society kept more structure during this second end of the world (the first being the fall of imperial Rome), many of the major cities survived but were left badly damaged by the loss of life.

The dead were buried by the living and there was about one dead person for every two living. Some bodies were left without burial because there were so many dead and so much fear. Some people abandoned their families to get away and save their lives. In the Islamic world, people who moved dead bodies or read the Koran at funerals made a lot more money than other people to make up for the danger. To most people, the world seemed to be ending.

One effect was that the survivors of the plague inherited the victim’s land and belongings. The survivors lost family members but gained money, books, and property. The second effect was that the landowners had less and less of a workforce to serve them. Not only did they lose workers but the families of the workers often also died. The third effect was that once the people had more land because there were less people, the law of supply and demand meant that the value of land went down.

 The fourth effect was that because there were fewer workers, there were more job openings per worker. Because there were more job openings, the people could choose to work anywhere that had better pay. Because workers left for better pay, the landowners had to compete with higher prices for labor. Because the landowners competed for workers by having to pay higher salaries, the price of many things went up. Because the prices went up the landowners grew poorer. However, other survivors that were cut off from society who lived in very rough environments survived because there were almost no people to give them the plague. Some major cities, like Warsaw in Poland and Milan in the Italian alps, also were largely untouched by the plague. I was not able to find a good explanation why they were spared all the deaths, but these two cities become crucial in the next age.

It becomes plain who, of the survivors; got the short end of the stick, the landowners suffered because their land was worth less and they had to pay more for workers. Competition for workers was more relevant and this may be the basis for why feudalism started to decline after the plague. It was in this chaos of death and suffering that capitalism started to show up.  Europe’s future was not completely shaped by the Black Death but the black death did give birth to many interesting changes. 

Benjamin’s Junto

            Benjamin’s club called Junto interested me, because it was an intellectual group with the intentions of self-improvement. It is a place to learn of different influences and to spread some influence in return, a place where friends can be made and progress can be learned.

Twelve of Benjamin’s friends created a club called the Junto where they shared a library and business tips. Benjamin would go fishing for intellectuals in a different more casual business club and would invite them to the Junto. Though to be accepted, you had to answer four questions correctly to join. One of them was “Do you love truth for truth's sake, and will you endeavor impartially to find and receive it yourself, and communicate it to others?” Every Friday night the club would meet and have conversation about morals, philosophy, history, and science.

This club is interesting because the men could celebrate while learning from a variety of friends completely orally. Members can meet and join for a true intellectual conversation. This is also fascinating because the Junto, besides having an American founder, is very much a piece of American culture. The four questions are a great capture of the American philosophy on religious freedom and his conversation starters also shows the American interest of a business oriented and increasingly scientifically innovative civilization. On top of this, the Junto was also for self-improvement and community-improving activities.

Fascinating enough Juntos are rising during the 21st century even in Africa and Canada. Benjamin Franklin created a human structure that is healthy for the community. He founded a place that encourages society to advance for the good. 

3/28/2013

Red Priest

Antonio Vivaldi was born March 4^th, in 1678 in Venice, which was a city-state in the North part of Italy during the time that he was alive. Antonio might have been put in the priesthood against his will. This idea has not been proven. Some people think it makes sense he was put into the priesthood against his will or without really wanting to be a priest. This is because in Antonio’s day training for the priesthood was often the only possible way for a poor family like the Vivaldi family to get free schooling.

            Vivaldi said he suffered from chest pains and that he had trouble saying the Holy mass. This was a serious problem for a priest. Antonio Vivaldi eventually got a job working in the Ospedale della Pietà (this was a home for abandoned children). He worked there from 1703 to 1715 and again a second time from 1723 to 1740. While he worked there, Antonio Vivaldi wrote some works for children to practice their music. While working at this job, Antonio Vivaldi wrote most of his works. He was given the nickname the Red Priest. This name was given to him because he was a redheaded catholic priest.

These Ospedali often had the daughters of noblemen who had a number of mistresses. Despite that, they still called the schools orphanages. The girls perform with the talents that they learned to develop at the orphanage.  While visiting Rome in 1739, the French Magistrate and President of the Parlement de Dijons wrote about his experience in his Lettres familières écrites d'Italie. These were published after his death in 1799. He wrote:

 "the Ospedali have the best music here. There are four of them, all for illegitimate or orphaned girls whose parents cannot support them. These are brought up at the State's expense and trained exclusively in music. Indeed they sing like angels, play the violin, flute, organ, oboe, cello, bassoon... The performances are entirely their own and each concert is composed of about forty girls."

            Vivaldi got more popular after he left his job at the Opsedale. Vivaldi wrote a lot of music including l'Estro armonico (~1710), Ottone in villa (~1713), Juditha Triumphans devicta Holofernis barbaric (1716), Armida, Teuzzone (1719), Tito Manlio (1719) and more. Soon he was travelling all over Italian peninsula and even was invited to play for the Holy Roman emperor, but he died before he got there.

            Vivaldi wrote works on commission from foreign rulers, such as the French king, Louis XV - the erenade La Sena festeggiante (Festival on the Seine), for example. He also performed personally to the Swedish Queen Christina (or the “Palace of the North”) and Pietro Ottoboni.

            Soon Vivaldi returned to the orphanage he once worked at and continued to write and travel here and there. In 1725, he published Il cimento dell'armonia e dell'inventione (The trial of harmony and invention), opus 8, in Amsterdam. This consisted of twelve concertos, seven of which were descriptive: The Four Seasons, Storm at Sea, Pleasure and The Hunt. The four seasons have four different melodies and he tied poetry to them. This is partly the reason that it has always been so popular. When someone gets tired of one of the season after a couple of years, they can start enjoying a different one. This even affected different time periods in history. For example, in the Baroque era, Spring was very popular and in the romantic era they liked Winter. I personally like winter.

After his stay in Prague, Vivaldi spent his time working mostly on operas. He did not publish any more instrumental music after this time.  However, Vivaldi did keep writing instrumental music but it was only to sell the music manuscripts to private individuals or to the Ospedale della Pietà. After 1735, the  Ospedale della Pietà paid him a fixed honorarium of 100 ducats a year. An honorarium is like a salary given for a service you do that is small enough that it is like a gift. In 1733, Vivaldi met an Englishman who was traveling. His name was Edward Holdsworth.  Mr Holdsworth had been had been commissioned to buy some of Vivaldi's compositions. The man who hired Holdsworth was the English writer Charles Jennens. This is really interesting because Jennens was the author of the texts for oratorios by Handel. What this means is that Handels writer hired someone to buy compositions from Vivaldi. Holdsworth wrote to Jennens:

"I spoke with your friend Vivaldi today. He told me that he had decided to publish no more concertos because otherwise he can no longer sell his handwritten compositions. He earns more with these, he said, and since he charges one guinea per piece, that must be true if he finds a goodly number of buyers."

Venice was at that time in a bad economic downturn. Antonio Vivaldi resigned from the Ospedale in 1740. He was planning to move to Vienna to be under the patronage of his Charles VI. Charles VI was a great admirer of Vivaldi’s and his patronage meant he would cover his expenses and let him work on his music. The very sad part is that his stay in Vienna was shorter than anyone expected including him. You see he died there on July 28th 1741 "of internal fire". He had arrived in 1740 and died in 1741. Antonio Vivaldi, one of the greatest composers ever and the person many people think about when they think of the Baroque era received a humble burial.

Though the “Red Priest's” music was loved during his lifetime, it later became less popular as time went by. Suddenly, in the first half of the 20th century, people started liking him again because things go in and out of style in a way that seems a little bit mysterious. Today, Vivaldi is one of the most famous and easiest to identify of all the famous Baroque composers.

Vivaldi made a very important contribution to music History. There are many composers who are more famous. Even among Baroque musicians, people like Bach or Handel might be more famous or respected as musicians. But when it comes to thinking about Baroque music, Vivaldi almost seems to be the perfect example of the Baroque sound. He is the person whose work most closely seems to fit the word Baroque. That is a wonderful contribution and he made a very important place for himself in history.

3/23/2013

Zeus and God

            Athens and Jerusalem, Greco-Roman and Judeo-Christian, Caesar and Christ; these are the most influential cultural forces in history. What are the differences, what are the relationships, and can you tell a Jewish story in an Athenian way?

            The first thing to know is that Romans and Greeks drive to be rulers. They can be bullies and are second banana to no one. The competitor of Athens was Sparta, another Greek polis.  The Greeks were more divided than the Romans, but were united by religion and language. Athens was a very religious city and the greatest polis ever. However, over time, the population was decreasing in spirituality and the thunder of Zeus was becoming a work of art and little more.

            The music of ancient Greece reflects their culture; it was sound, calming and simple. When really focusing on the music, it used an elegantly flowing single instrument, maybe by a few or a single musician. Some Italians during the renaissance times believed that the Greeks told their stories in an operatic way, with just a few people. The Greeks were always proud to capture their virtues in their music and art and to be, of course, the best man they could possibly be. Homer’s works (probably sung operatically as well) is like thunder with a crown; political, large, and immortal, this is the adult Greek (and later Roman) bible. Just like Homer is much like their Bible, Aesop’s is also like their Doctor Sues. These stories shaped the ideas of the Greeks and the ideas helped decide what actions they took every day. You could say the stories made the cultures.

Aesop’s 39. the Flea and the Man

“A Man, very much annoyed with a Flea, caught him at last, and said, "Who are you who dare to feed on my limbs, and to cost me so much trouble in catching you?' The Flea replied, "O my dear sir, pray spare my life, and destroy me not, for I cannot possibly do you much harm." The Man, laughing, replied, "Now you shall certainly die by mine own hands, for no evil, whether it be small or large, ought to be tolerated."

Do not waste your pity on a scamp.

            Now truly people do not call Jerusalem the cradle of society. However, Athens compared to Jerusalem is the city of reason. Jerusalem being the city of faith. Jerusalem is a city where the Jewish religion had its center. The temple of Jerusalem was the place where every Jewish person would go once a year or at least once in their lifetime if they lived very far. They would go there to worship. Jerusalem was the place where the Chosen people of God, what the Jewish people called themselves, had their capitol.

            Jerusalem and the Jews lived their whole life in a world that was under the control of laws that holy men gave them from God. Moses, Abraham, and all the prophets got the word from God and passed it on to the people.

            The Greeks and the people they influenced, the Romans, spent a lot of time with laws they made to rule themselves. The government thought up these laws and even the religion obeyed the government. Jerusalem was the opposite. In Jerusalem, the law that everybody obeyed came down from Heaven. God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses so when the government or the king wanted to know what to do they had better listen to God and not the laws they might want to make.

            Both cities seemed to go to the same place from different directions. Athens loved virtue and that gave them a life that might have made their Gods Happy. I think the Greek Gods would be upset if someone were evil. Jerusalem loved their God and obeyed the rules of the prophets that came from their God. That made them live with virtue and that might make them happy in their lives. Athens made their Gods happy by having virtue and Jerusalem had virtue because they obeyed God and then that made them happy. I think both cities are like wonderful gifts to the human race and we can learn from both of them.

December 14^, 2012

Does texting make us lonely?

Can you have two conversations at one time? It is not possible to have two conversations at one time. Even if it looks like you are having two conversations at the same time you are really going back and forth between people. You can really only do one thing at a time. Now texting is a kind of conversation that you are having with the other person. You can either text one person or talk to another person in the same room but you cannot do both at the same exact time. When you text messages you are picking that conversation instead of a having one to the face of another person.

I believe this choice will make you lonelier because when you pick texting instead of speaking to a person you are picking the kind of conversation that does not cure loneliness. Texting does not really cure loneliness because it is missing a whole bunch of things that you get when people look at you in the face and speak to you in the same room while they are breathing the same air as you.

When you speak with a person to their face you hear the sound of their voice. Sometimes this is really sweet like when you are talking to a good friend or even really scary like when an angry, crazy person is shouting at you. No matter if it is nice or scary, face to face is not lonely. You miss the sound of the voice when you only use text.

Another thing you miss with text is the faces that people make. Some people roll their eyes, smile, or laugh. Other people stare with huge eyes that look like they are trying to see germs. This also is interesting and keeps you from being lonely. People sigh, laugh, stare, smile, yell and all of this is missing from texting. Of course, texting makes you lonely. You are replacing real conversations with real people and replacing them with texting. Remember we can only pick one of the two at a time. I love the cartoon because the people are ignoring the people around them who could cure their loneliness. They are surrounded by people that they could really be speaking with. I think texting is a trap that makes the loneliness we are trying to get rid of much worse than it would have been because it separates us from the people who can help us who are all around us.