Words

Labyrinth:
"A labyrinth of shop fronts, storehouses, narrow streets and crooked alleys, where the billboards are in English but the protest placards are in German, was built inside a mammoth studio."
I originally said that a labyrinth was a maze or enigma, and this fragment proves it because it talks about the confusion of the streets and the signs as part of a labyrinth.

Palladium:
"At the factory, the sludge is hauled to the metal smelters, mixed with ore and refined into pure nickel and other metals, including platinum and palladium."
From this quote I infer that palladium is a metal or some sort of strong material. i had no previous definition for it.

Museum:
"The first exhibition at the museum, “Inspired by China: Contemporary Furniture makers Explore Chinese Traditions” is an exhibition of 27 tables, chairs, stools and altars made in China starting in the 16th century, paired with 27 contemporary studio pieces."
what I originally wrote is the following: A museum is a place where artifacts are stored and displayed for the public. This fragment supports my definition by saying ti is an exhibition.

Narcissism:
''Mr. Saint Laurent's narcissism and self-loathing are evident,''
What I wrote on my definitions is that narcissism is the word used to describe someone that is in love with him/herself, and this is exactly how the word is used in this fragment.

Odyssey:
"...another film about a cuckolded man who goes on a Homeric nighttime odyssey, encountering women who represent aspects of the wife he fears he has lost."
In this quote, we can see that odyssey is used to describe a journey with obstacles, which is what I wrote down on my definitions.

Meander:
"The Giants know a season is not lost in September, but it can start to meander aimlessly"
On my definitions, I said that meander means to wander aimlessly, which can be applied to this fragment because maybe the Giant´s scores may begin to go nowhere, meaning that they have no more victories.

Protean:
" Since the second test suggested she might have lupus, she would send off blood to see if there was any other evidence that she had this puzzling autoimmune disease. It wasn’t a classic presentation, but the symptoms of lupus were protean."
Using this fragment of the article, I assume that protean means changing or irregular, something that easily changes its shape. I do not have a definition for it inside my notebook.

Stoical:
"Instead, he describes all the more familiar English traits — from a stiff upper lip to stoical humility, from good manners to a good sense of humor — as ingenious strategies for diffusing or deflecting anger"
According to my own definitions, stoical means calm, not showing any emotions. I´m not sure if this fragment either proves or denied it, but when I looked the word up in the dictionary I found that it was true.

Herculean:
"The process took an hour. After that Herculean effort, Ms. Ouellet looked much the way she had before she had her hair done." According to both the article and my definition, herculean means strong, hard work, etc.

Laconic:
" Mr. Shore has reprinted the photographs digitally, with rejuvenated colors as fresh and subtle as the day the pictures were shot. The work’s laconic eloquence speaks of an era and a nation" This article uses laconic as something that uses few words because obviously the photographs cant speak but they still say a lot. This is the definition I put in my notes.

Zephyr:
I couldn´t find any articles in the New York Times that did not use it as the name of a shop, car model and such, but what I inferred was that Zephyr is related to something involving wind, due to the fact that Zephyr is the name if the wind God.

Nemesis:
"Mr. Ahmadinejad’s much-talked-about appearance at Columbia was the opening act of a week of dramatic theater here as the United Nations General Assembly opened its annual session. He and his nemesis, President Bush, are scheduled to address the General Assembly today." Nemesis means the equal of oneself but also the opposite. for example, this article uses it to describe Bush and the president of Iran, both holding the most important position of their countries but hating each other.

Flora:
"Phimphrachanh is known for her refined palette, which she creates by using dyes made almost exclusively from local flora and fauna instead of from the chemicals that produce the brassy hues found in the morning market."
This text gives us the idea that flora has something to do with nature, and because fauna means animals, flora symbolizes plants, which is what I wrote down.

Ambrosia:
" Until the late 1990s, the cupcake often shared the mental dessert pantry with canned peaches and ambrosia; it was nostalgia food, mom-in-an-apron food, happy food." In my notes, I said that ambrosia probably was a herb. Using the text, I still think that it is some type of food but it is not a herb, rather something more sweet.

Hermetic:
"Fortunately, Congress is in the process of demonstrating that such hermetic devotion to secrecy has no place in a democracy." According to this article, hermetic must mean closed, something that doesn´t let anything out. This is what I wrote in my definitions.

Promethean:
"Mr. Jansons bypassed that question by conducting the movement with tireless vigor and bright sonorities to convey the Promethean high spirits of this deceptively humorous music." This quote makes Promethean sound as if it meant creative or original, which is what I have in my notes.

Nectar:
"Meanwhile, the nurse bees feed the larvae “bee bread,” which is a precise concoction of pollen and nectar, and tend to the queen, which lays up to 1,500 eggs a day during the summer." I originally wrote down that nectar is the semen of the flower, the juicy part, and this fragment supports that definition.

Sibylline:
"In more inventive hands, Orientalism inspired some striking images. Sargent's ''Ambergris Smoke,'' a sibylline study in white and beige, is one." Using this quote, I inferred that sibylline has something to do with a witch or enchantress of some kind. I was not able to find a definition for it before.

Tantalize:
"...This anecdote appears in the second book of Herodotus' Histories, and although its veracity is disputed, it continues to tantalize linguists, among whom it has become known as the Forbidden Experiment -- forbidden because its replication would be ethically..." According to this quote, tantalize is a synonym of bother, tease, etc. This is what I also have in my notes

Delphic:
I was not able to find a fragment inside the New York Times where Delphic was used as a common noun, so I looked it up in the dictionary. The definition of the word is dolphin.

Halycon:
"BR5-49 is determined to recreate the halycon days of country music, from Western swing to trucker songs to close-harmony two-beats, adding slyly modern lyrics." Based on this article, I am guessing that halycon is related to fame, sort of the Golden Age of something. i have no previous definition for it.

Platonic:
"There are some lovely moments between Self and the young woman, a platonic flirtation that's touching precisely because they can't leave the claims of their day-to-day lives behind." According to this quote, many people might think that platonic means impossible, something that just can´t happen. This is also the definition I gave the word in my notes.

Draconian:
"...enforcement system that unfairly focuses on drug offenses and other crimes more likely to be committed by blacks, combined with draconian mandatory sentencing and an absurdly counterproductive retreat from rehabilitation as an integral method of dealing with offenders..." Using this fragment, I deduced that draconian means harsh or hard, but in my notes I wrote down devilish or savage.

Calypso:
"...inspirational symbol of high-minded, do-it-yourself multiculturalism, dabbling in reggae and dub, rap, salsa and calypso -- it sounds like a lot, but in concert it all becomes a steamy, hip-shaking kind of polyglot rock." I guess calypso is a music genre, but in all honesty I had never heard about it before. I have nothing written down for it in my notes.

Amazon:
" Hillary Clinton,who famously refused to bake cookies in the background of her husband scareer, is an Amazon, destined to be asmuch the property of myth as of history,between which lies a vast and unfixed common ground" Because this fragment talks about the Amazons in the myth, I guess that it must be an adjective used to describe a tall, strong woman. I had nothing written down for it before.

Siren:
"That's when Mr. Edwards's inner siren should have started screaming." A siren is an object that is noisy and can be easily notices, reason why cop cars and ambulances use them.

Mercurial:
"It is to throw into relief the political world from which Antony had once triumphantly emerged and to contrast it with the mercurial, evanescent world of desire into which he has been submerged"
Mercurial must mean something that changes easily, resilient.

*****From now on, I don´t have any definitions for the words in my notes****

Procrustean:
"...the entire history around the rise and fall of the welfare state, or North-South relations -- would be arbitrary and Procrustean." Because of this quote, I believe that procrustean has to be a synonym of arbitrary.

Aurora:
"Two new 41-cent stamps featuring the northern lights -- aurora borealis -- and southern lights -- aurora australis -- were unveiled Monday in ceremonies at the Smithsonian's National Postal Museum..." These fragments lead me to believe that aurora are related to bright lights, to illumination.

Iridescent:
"A diagonal line, formed by the bird's iridescent turquoise-and-green body feathers and tail plumage, bisects the tree trunk." Iridescent, according to this quote, means colorful lights.

Panacea:
"Intelligence veterans and experts generally applaud the new technology, but some warn that it is no panacea." Because of this quote and the rest of the article, I think that panacea has something to do with healing, like if it was a cure for anything.

Lethargy:
"We live in a condition of paralysis and are not able to do anything about it, to liberate ourselves from the lethargy." Taking this fragment into consideration, lethargy must mean inactivity, monotonous.

Gorgons:
"plates on the front and back warded off evil spirits. Looking at these, you're reminded of the fearsome visages of Greek Gorgons, Mayan masks or European gargoyles." This quote makes me think that gorgon is used as an adjective that talks about an ugly woman.

Haripes:
" Many things fly and float here: men and women, harpies and angels, birds and beasts, toadstools and stars." Because here the article is comparing opposites and harpies is paired up with angels, I believe that harpies must be evil characters.

Hydra:
"...and Shiite militants operate in his area, he regarded Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia as his most serious problem. ''It's like a hydra,'' he said. ''It keeps regenerating its heads.'' " This quote makes reference to the Hercules myth, where he faces a monster that keeps reappearing. This means that when hydra is used as part of our daily language, it must be talking about a problem that keeps coming back or is really difficult to solve.

Lycanthrope:
"...Jack is killed and soon becomes an ever-more-decayed member of the undead, while David turns (painfully) into a lycanthrope when the moon is full." According to this quote, lycanthrope must be a creature who turns into an animal and back into a human.

Martial:
" ...self-preservation, they were not ready to derail the entire system by challenging a military chief who could then invoke martial law" Using this quote I was able to figure out that martial is related to war, to fights.

Sophistry:
" Whether this is conviction or sophistry, it is very hard to throw Mr. Karmazin off his message, even when he seems to be contradicting himself. " Because of the comparison between conviction and sophistry, I believe sophistry is realted to fallacies or biasing something.

Fauna:
"Its performers look as much animal as human. Further yet: Much of its imagery is vegetable, flora rather than fauna." Because it talks about animals and environmental issues, and also because we already defined flora, fauna means animals.

Stentorian:
"Unlike you, he's able to sleep through the stentorian snoring." Using this quote i guess that stentorian means loud.

Pyrrhic victory:
"''this may turn out to be a Pyrrhic victory for them," I believe that the definition of pyrrhic comes from the Pyrrhus myth, where he had to endure many losses in order for him to win, and this article uses the word in that sense.

Gordian knot:
''I think members of my team listened to the president but did not hear him. And today I have cut the Gordian knot, however difficult it may be.'' According to this fragment, Gordian Knot must be used to describe a really complicated problem or dilemma.

Pandora´s box:
I was not able to find an article where pandora´s box was used, but based on the myth I believe that it must be realted to problems, more specifically the source of all problems.

Cassandra:
"He has been the conscience, the Cassandra, the crank, the nag, the pain, infuriating opponents and, at times, exasperating allies" Based on this quote, cassandra must be a word used to describe someone who is annoying or exhausting.

The sword of Democles:
''It's like a sword of Damocles; you're kind of waiting and waiting and holding your breath..." According to this fragment, sword of Damocles is used to describe a constant danger, one that never goes away.

Achilles heel:
"However, flash memory has an Achilles' heel. Although it can read data quickly, it is very slow at storing it." Based on this fragment, Achilles heel is used to describe the weak point of an object, person, animal, etc.

Oedipus:
"Suddenly the world of psychiatry is abuzz with scientific-sounding terms like penis envy and Oedipus complex" This quote shows us that the word Oedipus is still used to describe the situation where the son falls in love with his mother, just like the Greek tragedy.

Midas:
"His Midas touch in foreign tabloids, television, movies, and more recently, digital properties, turns a little rusty when American..." Using this quote as reference, I can see that Midas is used to describe a special talent of a person or ability at something, as if everything he/she does concerning that subject is golden, precious.

Hades:
"...upon to express outrage over Mr. Ahmadinejad s request to lay a wreath at ground zero, even though ice cubes would be made in Hades before that ceremony ever happened. " According to this quote, Hades is still used when talking about hell.

Spartan:
" In-room comforts are Spartan: a fridge (empty), a hot pot with packets of bad instant coffee, and some leaky paper cups." Using this fragment as reference, I believe spartan to describe anything that resembles the Spartan civilization. This means it is used whenever you are talking about hardships, cold hearts, no luxuries, etc.

Titanic:
"...and the Lucerne Festival Orchestra take up residence at Carnegie Hall for the opening week of its 117th season, offering two titanic works: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony (Oct. 3, 4) and Mahler's Third (Oct. 6)." This fragment leads me to believe that titanic means of great size or importance. It comes from the Titans, and very probably this is why the Titanic (ship) was named with that name.

Marathon:
"The deal came after a marathon legislative session that covered parts of three days." Because of this quote I believe that marathon is used not only to describe the foot race but also any other activity that requires large amounts of time and energy.

New Myths

Today I read the myth of Meleager and Atalanta. I thought it was very interesting how Meleager's mother decided to ally with her brothers and not her son. I say it is interesting because normally it would be the other way around, where the mother has a deeper love for her infants than for anyone else. I also found a detail at the end that I have mentioned before several times. I speak about the part where Diana turns Meleager's weeping sisters into birds. It catches my eyes how often transformation occur. Besides, it is almost always into an element from nature, plants or animals, but never into a bed or a column or such. I believe this helps us realize just how much respect the ancient civilizations had towards nature, while we concentrate on using it only to please our self-centered so-called-needs.

The next myth I read was that of Atalanta, which i related to the story of the Turtle and the Hare. In both stories, 2 characters compete against each other in a race, where one is obviously better at the sport. However, the better one gets tempted by something, in one case it being a nap and in the other a golden apple, and in the end they lose. I thought it was curious how this myth connects to the famous fable, and how with each passing moment I come to realize that our lives are very Grrek-based. On Hebe and Ganymede I have no feedback or comments.

Reading Fallacies

Op-Ed Columnist
Refugees? What Refugees?

By ROGER COHEN
A 16-day overland odyssey has brought Mokaled Gamil, a former Iraqi Army officer, to this southern Swedish town, and what he fears now more than anything is resettlement north of the Arctic Circle in some snow-bound place that will ice over his Mesopotamian blood.

“Please, not far north,” he says in passable English, addressing Oskar Ekblad, an official from the Swedish Migration Board. “Too cold.”

The past paragraphs sort of use the APPEAL TO EMOTION FALLACY because with its extensive descriptions such as 16-day odyssey, ice over his Mesopotamian blood, and passable English, the author is making us feel pity for this suffering man.

Even by the fantastic standards of the Iraq war, the scene is bizarre: Gamil, a 45-year-old ex-colonel from an ex-army, stands outside a hostel full of stained mattresses and stunned Iraqis begging a decent Swede not to be dispatched to some remote reindeer-rich refuge.

“Iraqis are destined to begin their lives again at 45,” Gamil, a Sunni who has fled Baghdad’s Shiite militia, says with a gloomy matter-of-factness worthy of Strindberg.

Again, the author is appealing to emotion by using descriptive situations that sound terrible in hopes that these adjectives will help prove his point of the terrible U.S. position concerning the refugees.

Many are restarting in Sweden. Between January and August this year, Sweden took in 12,259 Iraqis fleeing their decomposing country. It expects 20,000 for all of 2007. By contrast, in the same January-August period, the United States admitted 685 refugees, according to State Department figures.

The numbers bear closer scrutiny. In January, Sweden admitted 1,500 Iraqis, compared to 15 that entered the United States. In April, the respective numbers were 1,421 and 1; in May, 1,367 and 1; and in August 1,469 and 529.

True, the Iraqis in Sweden are asylum-seekers, whereas those reaching these shores have refugee status conferred by the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees. But the numbers — representing the bulk of the Iraqis getting into a country of nine million and another of 300 million — are no less of an indictment for that.

When Tobias Billstrom, the migration minister, says, “Yes, of course the United States should do more,” you can feel his indignation about to erupt like milk boiling over. He notes that given the huge population difference, Sweden’s intake of Iraqis “is the equivalent of the U.S. taking in about 500,000 refugees.”

Here we can see an example of APPEAL TO BIASED AUTHORITY, where only one of both points of views is interviewed. It only asks a person who agrees with the author of the article, but it does not give the other side a chance to explain themselves. In order for this to be a balanced article, it should’ve asked both sides.

Of all the Iraq war scandals, America’s failure to do more for refugees, including thousands who put their lives at risk for the U.S., stands out for its moral bankruptcy. Last time I checked, Sweden did not invade Iraq. Its generosity shames President Bush’s fear-infused nation.

This could be a type of PERSONAL ATTACK, because the author is making clear his opinion about the president, rather than continue with his explanation of why it is so outrageous that the U.S. is not helping more innocent refugees.

I know, the U.S. is showering aid (more than $122 million in 2007) on Iraq’s neighbors to help more than two million fleeing Iraqis. It set up a refugee task force in February and, when that faltered, appointed two refugee czars this month.

“We want people engaged in this 24/7, breaking down barriers and expeditiously helping the refugees,” Paula Dobriansky, the under secretary of state for democracy and global affairs, told me. “We have a moral obligation, and especially to those who have worked at our embassy.”

Once again, we can see APPEAL TO BIASED AUTHORITY because only one side of the matter is being interviewed.

A commitment has been made to process 7,000 refugees in the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. Visas for 500 Iraqis a year who worked for the U.S. have been promised. But these are velleities. Concern has been unmatched by results. Bush has never addressed the issue, an example of his Green Zone politics: shut out ugly reality and with luck it will vanish.

Again, PERSONAL ATTACK for the reasons stated before.

An aggressive American intake of refugees would suggest that their quick return to Iraq is improbable: that smacks too much of failure for Bush. Moreover, you have to scrutinize refugees from countries “infiltrated by large numbers of terrorists,” Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff opined recently.

The result has been “major bottlenecks,” in the words of a leaked cable from the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Ryan Crocker. Instead of the 7,000 Iraqi refugees supposed to get here this fiscal year, perhaps 1,600 will.

“The numbers are totally embarrassing,” says Kirk Johnson, who worked for the United States Agency for International Development in Iraq. “We can’t recognize a moral imperative any more.”

Again, APPEAL TO BIASED AUTHORITY.

Imperative is right. People who risked their lives for America are dying or being terrorized because of craven U.S. lethargy. Others are in limbo. Bush now says “Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas.” That’s too glib; one may be waiting to be saved.

The I-told-you-so phase of the Iraq invasion is thankfully ending. What is needed now is consensus on American responsibility. That starts with a more open door to Iraqis in flight. Mr. President, say something.

And again, PERSONAL ATTACK.

Gamil lost his job when the army was disbanded. He worked sporadically as a translator. But when threats came — as a Sunni ex-officer he was an obvious target to Shiite militias — “I had to save my life and my wife’s.”

Here we can see once again APPEAL TO EMOTION, because although this part of the article is not fundamental, the author decided to put it in so we could feel sorry for all of the victims and support him in his cause.

Sweden will give him a lawyer to argue his asylum case. Ekblad says the “overwhelming majority” are approved. Refugees then get a permanent resident permit leading to possible citizenship in five years. “Our costs are huge, and we’d like to see more burden-sharing,” he says.

Burden sharing! How about guts? Swedes are polite to a fault.

More Myths...

"The Centaurs" talks about one of the most mythical creatures of all, the centaur. They have bodies of a horse with a torso and head of a man. It talks on the different characters of these creatures. There are some that are rude, mean, and violent, while others, such as Chiron, were noble and smart.

The next myth I read talked about another kind of creature, called Griffin or Gryphon. It is a hybrid between a lion and an eagle. They lived in high nests which were guarded extremely well. Griffins lived around Arimaspians, the one-eyed people of Scythia.

Medea and Aeson is the continuation of the Golden Fleece. Jason asked Medea to make his father younger, which was done after complicated potions, incantations and spells. She also killed Jason´s evil uncle. However, Jason set her apart and decided to marry Creusa. Medea claimed revenge by also killing his new wife, killing the children they had had before and burning his palace down. She then marrried king Aegeus and had Theseus as a son.

The first and third myth are rekated because they show the different characters that exist. The first tells how the same creatures may have different temperaments, while the third shows us how radicallly the mood of one person can change because of one event. The second, however, I feel is unnecessary and do not see its point in this myth recollection, for I have never seen these creatures play an important role in any story.

Myths

Pegasus and the Chimaera is a myth that talks about the horse that was created when Pegasus was fighting Medusa, who was later educated by Athena. It also talks about Chimaera, a frightful monster who breathes fire and its body is a hybrid between a lion, a goat and a dragon. The monster was created by Iobates in hopes that a heroe would destroy it someday, and his son-in-law, Proeteus, saw this as a chance for killing Bellerophon, a man he was jealous of. Bellerophon took Perseus with him because of an oracle´s recommendation, and had an easy victory. He thought that he would become an equal to the Gods. Jupiter made him fall off the horse, making him an cripple which eventually killed him.

The Pygmies are dwarfs, who measured around 13 inches. One story about them tells that they met Hercules and tried to attack him, with the response of a laughter and later taking them to the king Eurystheus.

The third myth I read was that of The Golden Fleece, where Jason, a prince, set out in the Argo with several other heroes, such as Hercules, Theseus, and Orpheus to find the Golden Fleece. After many hardships and small victories (one of them including the meeting between Jason and Medea)they finally obtained the fleece and returned to Thessaly, where Jason claimed his right to the throne.

The first and second myths relate in both, the main character does not achieve their goal (Bellerophon died and the dwarfs were taken away by Hercules). However, the third myth talks about the inmense victory of Jason, for he not only obtained the fleece but he also found love, a feeling that is commonly talked about in mythology. This is one of my personal favorites because I love that it includes more than one heroe, each and every one with its own personal story, separating it from the usual one-heroe stories.

Greek Influences

The story of Niobe, another mortal who challenged a deity. She was proud of her children above anything else, and during a feast honoring Latona, the mother of Apollo and Daphne, she declared that a feast honoring her, the best mother of all, should also be done. When the Gods heard this, a fight between Niobe´s sons and Apollo and Daphne broke out, where the mortals ended up losing their lives. Her daughters were also killed when she called Latona inferior to her still, and the intense grief turned Niobe into a stone that still cries.

The next myth I read is titled The Wedding Feast, which talks about the party that took place because of the marriage between Perseus and Andromeda. Phineus, who was previously engaged to Andromeda burst in, claiming their previous agreement. After a fight, Perseus took out Medusa´s head turning some of his friends into stone. When Phineus begged for mercy, Perseus was firm on his decision and turned him into a statue.

The final myth was one that talks about a monster, The Sphinx. Laius, the king of Thebes, was told that his new son would challenge him when he grew up, reason why his murder was ordered. However, the man responsible for it was not capable. A few years later, the king was out for a ride when there was turmoil on the road and he was slayed by his unknowing son, named Oedipus. Not after long, s Sphinx tormented the highroad. Oedipus challenged her, and she asked him a riddle. Oedipus was able to answer it, reason why the sphinx killed herself.

The first and second myths relate because in both of them, characters are turned into stone, both in pitiful conditions. However, I can relate the third myth to Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. During the last challenge, although it was not featured in the movie, Harry actually comes face-to-face with a Sphinx, which will only let him pass if he answers a riddle. Of course, he gets it right and is able to reach the cup that takes him to Voldemort, but that it another story. My point is that with each passing myth it becomes easier to realize just how much our lives are based on Greek influences.

Explanations

Today´s first myth is that of Clytie, a water nymph who falls in love with Apollo with no love in return. For nine days she ate nothing, crying heavily, and watching the sun every day. She finally grew roots and became the sunflower, a plant that worships the sun.

The next myth was that of Hero and Leander, which tells the tale of a youth and a priestess who used to see each other when Leander crossed a river that divided their villages. One night he drowned, and when Hero found out she killed herself.

The one final myth was that of Athena, the daughter of Zeus, goddess of wisdom. She was also very skillful sowing and weaving, so when a mortal called Arachne claimed that she was the best sower of all, Athena was enraged. She dared the woman to a competition. Athena wove twelve heavenly powers, while Arachne wove the mistakes of the gods. The Goddess admired privately the work of the mortal, and out of jealousy touched her forehead, making Arachne feel guilt and shame. She hanged herself, and Athena turned her into a spider so she might keep on weaving forever.

Both the first and third myth explain the creation of two of nature´s wonders. They are perfect examples on how Greeks and every other civilization used Gods and myths to explain natural phenomenons and things that they couldn´t understand. However, I don´t see the purpose of the second myth, because not only does it not talk about important characters but it doesn´t explain anything, it´s just a story.