U.S. and Terrorism

There was a major terror attack on a Shia religious ceremony in Iran today by a Sunni extremist group. The interesting thing about this story is that the Iranian government is actually blaming the U.S. for the attack, saying that the advanced explosives used could only have been provided by the U.S. We usually think of the Middle East when we hear the word terrorism, so it’s strange to hear that they think of us as an exporter of terror. It’s hard to gauge how the average person in Iran views us based on reading the news, but it the situation seems a little frightening if we put ourselves in their shoes: we are occupying countries on both sides of Iran, and constantly issuing threats relating to their nuclear power program. It’s actually pretty easy to see how they could be worried.

Hamlet vs. RUR

Overall I agree with many of the others that the Hamlet performance was more interesting. I thought all four actors did a great job. That being said though, I can appreciate the art of a simple monologue, especially with an interactive audience the need for a real performance wasn't necessary. The only thing was the script was a bit boring and too long. Overall, I thought both performances were a success and you could tell it was a semester of hard work and really showcased the talents of students here at Stony Brook.

saturday

This Saturday's event has been talked about since the first day of class. I had no idea what to expect from it back then, and still don't entirely know. Right now it seems to be that it will be two separate play performances with various multimedia aspects added to them. While Hamlet and R.U.R. are clearly very different, I think these two performances are going to be alike in spirit. Both are taking older plays and adding technology to them that did not exist when they were written.

The Big Other

Earlier this semester we learned that we only rely on ourselves for 15 % of the time... maybe. This to me is very sad. We get picked where to go to college, we choose what classes to take, but someone tells us what we have to take anyways. We are chosen where we live (the salary that we achieve.) We don't even choose who we grow up with since they are put into the same school as us.

So who is the other? The other is many people and things. It's the administrators of our university. The professors of our classes. The parents and grandparents in our family. They control who we are and what we do with our life. This could be good and bad. If we are raised in a loving caring family who tells us to go for our dreams and pushes us to do our best, this is considered good. The professors who help us out and explain things, that is also beneficial. But the parents that don't care and let the children do what they please is not very good. The professors who don't explain things and tell us to learn for ourselves, that can lead down a bad path.

In order to surpass the other we have to finish schooling and become leaders of what we establish. This can happen 3 years from now or 25 years from now. The only people that we can really depend on is ourselves.