Act of Resistance

For my act of resistance, I chose to address Breast Cancer Awareness. It's an issue close to the hearts of many, yet so many people aren't aware of the facts.

In 2004 alone:
186,772 women and 1,815 men were diagnosed with breast cancer

(Yes, men can have it too)

40,954 women and 362 men died from breast cancer

Every 2 minutes, there is a new breast cancer diagnosis.

Every 14 minutes, a life is lost to the disease.

Over 40,000 people will die this year; about 400 of them will be men.

85% of all diagnoses have no family history.

1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of death in women between ages 40 and 55.

Those are the facts behind my act of resistance, so now here's for the action. I asked everyone at my job to all wear pink on a day when we come into contact with MANY other people and hardly even realize it - Black Friday(Only THE busiest shopping day of the year lol). I was shocked by how many people actually supported the fight by wearing pink, yet still a bit disappointed at those who didn't. Something so simple as a wardrobe change can accomplish so much in spreading the word. As an aid, we also passed out sheets of paper with the above facts and statistics on them, in hopes that come of the people we came into contact with would spread the word and strengthen the fight. Its only the beginning...

To get involved in the fight against breast cancer, visit:

http://ww5.komen.org/getinvolved/getinvolved.html

Random....

Now that I have met my quota of blogs.....

So what's the speed of dark?

If you're sending someone some Styrofoam, what do you pack it in?

Why do they sterilize needles for lethal injections?

Why do you press harder on a remote control when you know the battery is dead?

Why are they called buildings when they're already finished? Shouldn't they be called builts?

Why is a carrot more orange than an orange?

How come Superman could stop bullets with his chest, but always ducked when someone threw a gun at him?

Why is a person who plays the piano called a pianist but a person who drives a race car not called a racist?

Why is the man who invests all your money called a 'broker'?

Do bald men wash their head with soap or shampoo?

What hair color do they put on the driver's licenses of bald men?

Why are the obituaries found in the "living" section of the newspaper?

Are one handed people offended when police tell them to put their hands up?

How can sweet and sour sauce be sweet and sour at the same time?

If Fed Ex and UPS were to merge, would they call it Fed UP?

What if you're in hell, and you're mad at someone, where do you tell them to go?

taken from http://www.owensworld.com/jokes/read-468.htm

What's in a name?

Lysistrata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Lysistrata (Attic Greek: Λυσιστράτη Lysistratê, Doric Greek: Λυσιστράτα Lysistrata), loosely translated to "she who disbands armies", is a Greek comedy, written in 411 BC by Aristophanes.

If Lysistrata's name had a meaning, do you think that any other characters were named what they were for a reason?

I am in love with this piece of art, named Lysistrata, created by Hecto Casanova......

Spot on representation of the comedy... We see a frustrated soldier breaking his arrow while a woman stands next to him, seemingly giggling in accomplishment....

Not to fall back into Ms. Rupar's class or anything (which i hated), but notice the feminine curves of the woman under her chin, on her neck and her back; then look at the masculine, rough, jagged edges of the man. Also, notice how the woman holds her head up while the man's head is hanging low? The contrast of victory and defeat is evident..... The fact that it is black and white is also significant. The men and women had extremely opposite viewpoints from each other, thus they saw things in black and white....

Well alrighty then....

I just watched an extremely interesting yet mildly inappropriate and funny video on youtube.... Lysistrata Mockumentary.... made by some students at Minnesota state.... although it was very informative on certain aspects of early Greek life, the constant references to the male reproductive organ....... Check it out.... Viewer discretion is advised..... Just kidding. Its not that bad...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abNNfvevXdg

Hmmmmm...

Am i the only one who saw a correlation between this play and the movie 40 Days and 40 Nights with Josh Hartnett and Shannyn Sossamon?

For those of you who haven't seen it here's a summary.....posted by 'Anonymous' on IMDB.com

"Nicole broke up with Matt months ago and is now engaged to someone else. He's very good-looking and has no trouble finding other lovers, but that doesn't help because he's still obsessed with wanting her back. Then he gets the inspiration that swearing off sex for Lent (all forms of sexual activity, even kissing or masturbation) will give him the perspective he needs. So of course a few days later he meets a woman and they fall in love. Now Matt sees his vow as a personal matter, and won't even tell her about it, but his friends think otherwise, and now the complications begin..."

Pretty much, Matt is fighting his own war against sex.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RTyM05cbio

Lead vs. follow

This is my answer to Naomi's question to 'why Lysistrata?'....only with more stuff added to it :) lol

some people are natural born leaders, regardless of race, gender, class, culture, background...w/e. Lysistrata just seems like the type to lead, while the other women follow. this could be the reason that the uprising hadn't happened until then...some of the women may have been content in following their husbands instead of walking next to them...sure, it may have been a convenient excuse - to end the war....but we all know it was a long time coming. Its as simple as this..... without man, there would be no woman. without woman there would be no man. so neither sex is better (even tho girls RULE lol), but in fact are equally important.

Living without sex.

....So......

Who could we consider to be a modern day Lysistrata, fighting a war against sex ????(reardless of gender)

Lenny Kravitz....saving himself for marriage

Jessica Simpson.... saved herself until marriage

Sandy Denton (better known as 'Pepa' from Salt n Pepa)..... celibate for 2 years and counting

Paris Hilton vowed to remain celibate for a year........... yea....sure....

Isaac Newton was a virgin all his life...good job, dude....

Nick Jonas.....16 and savin it....wears a chastity ring just like his 2 big bros

Joe Jonas....has a chastity ring........

Kevin Jonas...also has a chastity ring -its a constant reminder to live a life with values

Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana....savin it for marriage

Terence Howard......FINENESS.....celibate unless he remarries....

Brooke Shields....virgin until she was 20.

“You wanna know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing.”

Jordin Sparks.....proud of her V-card.....

"It's not bad to wear a promise ring because not everybody, guy or girl, wants to be a slut"

Just thought that was kinda interesting......

SEX ISNT EVERYTHING!!!!

"The weak can be strong when their cause is just"

One of the many themes of Lysistrata, this quote is a summary of the plight of the women. Although i dont entirely agree w/ the women being weak in the first place, i do agree w/ the fact that they became stronger whne they united and began fighting for a just cause. They wanted to end the war and gain equality among the men. The men, rejected this change and contineud to maintain their dominance ..... until it was apparent that the women would not either....... (guys, girls are stubborn, so good luck trying to get your way...lol). the fact that the men gave in was not surprising, however what did surprise me was how quickly some of the men gave in....and how quickly the women began to get their way....... its amazing how much importance society has placed on sex.



"Lysistrata Study Guide." 14 Nov. 2008 .

.......“I would walk through fire–do anything else,” Cleonice says. “But to give up the delights of the marriage bed is too much to ask.”

Why do the men place such an importance on the 'delights of the marriage bed', while the women are ready, willing and able to give it up so easily?

No...i didn't turn hippy.... :)

I just found this and it reminds me of the theme in the play - make love not war. The women are abstaining to accomplish a goal: to end the war.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YtWcjLnGBlM


Listen to the power in the voices of the women.... They are excellent representations of the characters in Lysistrata...

2:16 of Hedda...

Quite an entertaining little clip.... especially when the lego-person's head falls off..... lol. idk y its funny, prolly cuz its so random....

This video took Hedda Gabler from a longer, more serious story and flipped it to turn it into a two minute comedy, while still capturing most of the key points of the story... it included the arrival of Lovberg, the disappearance of his manuscript, the pistol situation with Hedda and Brack, and the death of Hedda.....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTzDnM3Bnzw

Love Triangle????

So omg. wuts up with this whole threesome thing? Wut a freak!!! Such nastiness!!! Lol... Really tho, was Ibsen trying to make a statement about peoples sexual tendencies/abilities/desires and that people should realize that sex is a 'normal' thing or was he trying to say that it is completely out of the question inappropriate and vile???

What a perfect representaion of the story...... even tho this is half of the pic, it says enough. For the full pic, here's the link:

http://images.search.yahoo.com/images/view?back=http%3A%2F%2Fimages.search.yahoo.com%2Fsearch%2Fimages%3Fp%3Dhedda%2Bgabler%26ei%3DUTF-8%26fr%3Datt-portal%26fr2%3Dtab-web%26xargs%3D0%26pstart%3D1%26b%3D141%26ni%3D20&w=500&h=165&imgurl=thehipp.org%2Fhedda_head.jpg&rurl=http%3A%2F%2Fthehipp.org%2Fhedda_gabler.html&size=20.8kB&name=hedda_head.jpg&p=hedda+gabler&type=JPG&oid=edf7175a5b8fc104&no=147&tt=6,039&sigr=114e2dkml&sigi=10qqokki0&sigb=13ruck7sj

It comes from a website for a theatrical production of Hedda Gabler.

As seen on the website:

"The Hippodrome State Theatre proudly presents, for the first time in its 27-year history, an explosive theatrical masterpiece by Henrik Ibsen. Considered one of the most progressive playwrights of the late 19th century, Ibsen has been hailed as the father of modern drama. Ibsen explored the sub-conscious mind, confronting prejudice and breaking through social tradition, in order to create the intense psychological dramas that made him famous. “[Ibsen’s plays] are full of the most disturbing passion - a passion that breaks through the most conscious concerns of the artist to reach the buried regions of our deepest humanity.” (Newsweek)

Sex and power are at the center of Hedda Gabler, one of Henrik Ibsen’s most intriguing and acclaimed works. A fire rages in Hedda, not to live her own life, but to live someone else’s vicariously -- to form it, control it, use it as a means of self-fulfillment and as a weapon for retaliation. When an ex-lover re-emerges, Hedda coolly calculates the destruction of her new spouse to satisfy her personal amusement. Come join us in celebrating this history-making event and experience a unique examination of sex, scandal and manipulation! "

What more can i say? Its already such an accurate description of the story....

Hedda...the movie??

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKgcjssJgvY


Part 1 of 7

I think this really provides an excellent visual representation of Hedda Gabler. Not only are you able to follow along in the text, but the video provides a backup to what we have envisioned while reading discussing the book in class.....

Who REALLY has control?

Ibsen creates foils for each character but as we, the readers, look deeper, we see that the characters aren’t as they seem but instead are opposite from each other and from the ways that they are viewed by the reader. We see a perfect example of this in the comparison/contrast of Hedda and Thea.
Outwardly, Hedda seems to be in control. George caters to her every whim, or at least the ones he is able to. She is extremely demanding, pretentious, and controlling and seems to be very unhappy with the life she is living and what she is giving. Many times throughout the story, she finds something to complain about or something more that she wants.
“Hedda: Naturally, this means I can’t have a butler now.
Tesman: Oh no-I’m sorry, a butler – we can’t even talk about that, you know.
Hedda: And the riding horse that I was going to have-
Tesman: (appalled) Riding horse (247)!”
Thea, on the other hand, outwardly seems weak and helpless, the true vision of a typical 19th Century woman – a subservient, vulnerable and innocent woman, with the face of an angel, whose only purpose was to sit there and be beautiful.
“Her eyes are light blue, round, and somewhat prominent, with a startled, questioning look. Her hair is remarkably light, almost a white-gold, and unusually abundant and wavy (233).”
As we analyze the roles of these two women, it becomes apparent that the outward view of them by the reader is actually the total opposite of how they really are. Hedda is revealed to be weak, contrary to what she would like to be perceived as. She is also shown to be controlled, especially by her feelings for Lövberg and Brack. Her feelings for Lövberg interfere with her relationship with Thea, which makes her feel insecure, like she is losing control. She is also controlled by Brack. He recognizes the fact that she wants to avoid scandal about her involvement with Lövberg, and uses that against her. This control is what eventually leads him to be able to remove the pistols from Hedda’s hands, symbolizing the official resignation of power and her submittance to male domination. We see that her attempts to control George were really subconscious attempts to gain control of herself.
Thea, on the other hand, seems to have real control, especially over Lövberg. She helps him sort out his life and get back on track. This allows him to write his manuscript, seemingly a product of Thea’s, as it is written in her handwriting and from her point of view. She turns out to be a woman of conviction and of determination. “Yes, yes, Mr. Tesman, Ill do the best I can…….Dear God – if only we can do this! (298).” Thea proves that she is a lot more than what she seems and is more than capable of gaining control, especially of the men in the story. “Oh, if only I could inspire your husband in the same way (302).”
Overall, in Hedda Gabler, things are not as they seem; actually things are quite the opposite of what they seem, and the roles of Hedda and Thea and they comparison are perfect examples of this.