Human trebuchet.. O__o

So trebuchets are the world's coolest things, right? Ours, especially.. [For Narnia!]

but I am so glad we didn't go through with launching a human in ours.. I'm sure our medieval brethern would be terrified to see their sport of human conquest/biological warfare/ultimate torture weapon being used in such a fashion so as to destroy human life, right?

Think about it: what if our medieva counterparts had indeed launched living mortals from their trebuchets? I don't think it would have had the same menacing effect, since humans can't really break down stone castles... and it would have been terrible had it backfired. Instant death both ways, really... yumyum.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67fFDiPRsrk --- mind the Japanese but the gist of it is this guy gets launched out of a trebuchet.. please don't try this at home... it's really quite unstable and dangerous....

Botticelli's Venus

I came across a picture of Botticelli's Birth of Venus and as is every time I see it, I am blown away at the creativity and artship of these Rennaisance painters.. as well as the in-class discussions about this particular piece... [the DaVinci Code thing Dr. Mitchell has going on was pretty cool.. I love the DaVinci Code, both book and movie]


Botticelli's proportions on Venus is what gets me, though. Her stance is sloppy, one shoulder practically missing and one shoulder too big and the weight on balanced on one leg.. perhaps the missing shoulder was created so the arm would be long enough for censorship? Or perhaps Botticelli is signifying that this lady is in fact a goddess and therefore isn't really human at all.. and what is she looking at, eyes cast downward? Is she trying to be demure, this Goddess of beatury and love? I suppose we'll never know, just only deduce.

http://abm-enterprises.net/artgall2/botticelli_birth_venus.jpg

The Story we didn't read but should have

I am of course talking about Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the story I happened to have done my paper on.

One word: Chivalry.

What is chivalry, exactly? is it merely just saving damsels in distress or fighting for the love of a particular noble lady? Is it protecting the weak and fighting for honor?

From a medieval romance's prospective, chivalry is acknowledging God as the giver of all of the traits that create the chivalristic attitude such as grace, mercy, strength, chastity, and honor. According to the unknown poet who wrote Sir Gawain, God doesn't want martial prowess or strength... he wants humble and contrite hearts who acknowlege His prescence and gives all glory to Him.

I mean think about it. In the beginning of the tale, King Arthur's court, the "height" of chivalry and noble attitude, focused more on the merriment and wordly pleasures than giving their God the solemnity and praise He deserved on Christmas... and when the Green Knight comes with a challenge for Arthur's knights and they, in their cowardly pride, sit and quake with fear?

I think not.

The Green Knight exposes the facade of Arthur's court for what they really are.. having strayed the path of chivalry--and at that, strayed from God. Only Gawain is pure enough--and humble enough-- to take on the challenge.. but even Gawain strays from the true Author of chivalry but finally realizes that he can't match magic against the one true God.

So true chivalry comes from God, not from a noble attitude created by lofty nobles... I learned quite a lot from this story...

King Lear, act III, scene ii video

um.. I hope you guys haven't started grading.. just took me till now to get this stupid thing to work properly...


okay. I just found the most brilliant version of Act III, Scene ii from "King Lear" on youtube... this guy is AMAZING!

Watch the fool as well and see how well the two characters play off of each other. There isn't much more than the men and the rain and pure raw emotion and very

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wb9KMnzzAII

very good acting. This scene is a very crucial part of the whole entire story, poor Lear...
and the Fool really plays off of Lear as well.. oh just watch!

The Dare

Retrospect is always a blessing and a curse. Personally, it always make me smile. This semester we as the honors class took on some lofty ideas. I had the honor (Amy please note the pun) of leading half of the class to build a trebuchet. This siege weapon is similar to a catapult. The most significant theme of this project was each step was more difficult then planned or even imagined. Most of us thought it would be easily knocked out in an afternoon, however it took well over eighteen hours of building time. The most impressive quality of the project is the team members who didn’t quit and sacrificed valuable time, skipped meals, and perspired to get the job done. Now, there are two highlighted or “kodak” moments that I experienced throughout the project. Ironically, none of them happened during the planned showing on Friday night. The second best moment, and the most humbling came after both the launching of the firearm and the Shakespeare performance. The whole night I was fuming because the trebuchet did not go near as planned. It worked perfectly, consecutively the night before without any problems. The next evening, however, it seemed as if it could only perform 20% of the time. Turns out, we had seemed to fix every problem except for one simeple problem and I was too blinded by my own frustration to see it, despite many others’ warning: we had to much counterweight. None the less, a few hours after the firing (or misfiring most of the time), one of the team members had preserved and wrapped up the launching pin and gave it to me. As moving as that moment was for me, what happened the previous night meant even more. The word trebuchet is not very common, neither is the sight of one. During the designing and even building process there were some that doubted and still others that did not realize exactly what they were making. But, on Thursday night, when the beast was created. I got to see others and myself building something greater than we could have imagined. My hope is not that the next Honors class would build a trebuchet (of course they can if they want) but rather, that they would dare to do something that makes them grow, fail, and succeed. I wish that the returning and upcoming students would tackle something that is unattainable.

Personal Depth Perception

As we begin to review for finals, I reminded myself to look again at all of the art paintings and topics that we discussed. One interesting thing to note is atmospheric perspective, or sometimes called depth perception. Atmospheric perspective is the craft of making objects look less in size and more like a background. The size of the objects will decrease along with the imagined distance. Objects will overlap to show which object has the greater distance. Even the spacing is affected by the concept of atmospheric perspective. As figures grow in distance they are placed closer and closer together. One of the debatably greatest painter however, struggled with his own depth perception. Sure, Michaelangelo Buonarroti Simoni was magnificient at painting with every form of painting, including depth perceptive, yet he never considered himself any good at painting. Michaelangelo’s perception of his own talents was very limited. Fortunately for the rest of the world, this did not stop him from painting. He has paineted some of the greatest masterpieces ever, including the Sistine Chapel. Too many times today and throughout history, people let the perception of themselves from within or from other people limit what the can and cannot do. One of the goals of the Honors department at the University of Mobile is breaking through the limits of society and erasing the limits that we even place on ourselves.

A Glimmering Light Is Not Enough

Light is a very interesting thought. I guess I can call it a thought because even scientists still argue over whether light is a type of energy or matter. In a review of some of the early medieval authors I reread some of Augustine’s Confessions. I came across an interesting concept. In the end of chapter X, section 33, Augustine says, “Why are they not happy? It is because they are more occupied in other things which make them more wretched then their tenuous consciousness of the truth that makes them happy. For among humanity there is ‘still a little light.’ May they walk, may they indeed walk, ‘so that the darkness does not capture them’ (John 12:35).” I like this. Augustine is describing how all people have a hint or flicker of light in them of where true happiness comes from, that is in Christ. I like how he points out that the reason why many never and we all often do not look to that source of light. People begin to become satisfied or desire things that are less than Perfection. We all get ‘caught up’ in busy things throughout the day, week or year that demand our attention. Yet, something more important demands our attention that we often pass by. I hope that as the summer draws nigh and then after a new season of school begins, we can all set aside specific moments and times to recognize where true happiness comes from and meditating on Him. I also would like to translate the passage in a second way. Within Christianity, especially the Christian arts, people often become satisfied with unsatisfactory work. When Christians attempt music, film, and other various industries they often fail. The problem is not their failure, but rather how they fail. You see, Christians should be making the best kind of art. Let me clarify that a song should not be the best song because it mentions Jesus a couple times, how much we love Him, etc… Christians should musically compose the best songs. For instance, Bach was a devout Christian and his songs are orchestrated and often do not have words to accompany them! The way I see this trend relating to the text is that often times an artists and workers become satisfied with becoming more occupied with outside things that make them more wretched. Christians should not go about their work frivolously! They should go at it with a fervor that no other human being can, because one can’t without Christ. They should also have the best films or music or artwork because the eternal Creator that created art, music and film working through them. In short, don’t be satisfied with getting by, but push forth because you have a higher calling and a greater Help.

“In the same way, let your light shine before men so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16.