Friday, June 10, 2011
Sunday, May 29, 2011
HW # 59 - SOF Prom 2011 & DSPs
I have now read three good descriptions of prom experiences written by my classmates. My first reaction was that I’m glad that the skepticism promoted in our class about this “rite of passage” that seniors are expected to attend did not keep them from having a good time. (Score: students 1; Andy 0 – joke). Actually, it sounds like the healthy awareness they had from Normal is Weird contributed to their having a better time.
Arden:
“I wanted so badly not to care about prom I started a fight against getting involved. And the day of the event I lost that battle. The influence of the event is hard to overcome. So difficult to the point where I ended up with the very typical experience. Surprisingly I am ok with it. I like the classic awkward, and posed pictures. I enjoyed the limo rides and the dancing. A stereotyped, typical experience I was in the end very glad to be a part of.”
What this quote makes me feel is that by being hyper-aware of all the clichés, a prom goer can keep from getting dragged down by them. The awareness gives participants a perspective so they can think “Now here’s the part where I make my entrance and my parents go ooh and ah, and here’s where we have to pose for the photos,” and just see the experience for what it is so they don’t feel they have to rebel against it completely.
Omar:
“I definitely had a bit of cynicism towards prom prior to it…Although I was never against the idea of prom in any way I saw it as a stupid event put on by the school that people go to because, as is said with many things prom related, it is tradition…My views of prom changed slightly because the experience didn’t feel so fake, as is so often described or portrayed…The traditions may be silly but following them isn’t so bad…Seeing everyone dance together and laugh and simply talk was nice.”
Natalie:
“It is funny how for one night people want to be someone else entirely. While dancing there was the circle dance, but not necessarily with “the outcast” in the middle. Everyone was included in the dancing and it was nice to just let yourself go. Nobody cared about how you danced or with whom you danced. Our grade was definitely unified…”
Omar’s quote and Natalie’s quote make me think that SOF did a good job of putting on a
low-key prom that made it possible for most people to have a great time. It also sounds like the school’s efforts to make us all respect each other paid off. Of course it’s possible that some kids had a less good time. Maybe some girls felt they had to spend too much money getting ready than they could afford. Maybe some hated their dress because they couldn’t afford the one they wanted. Maybe some hated the way they looked in the pictures that will get sent to all the relatives. Maybe some guys felt awkward or uncomfortable wearing what they were wearing and wished they hadn’t come. Maybe a few people felt like “outcasts.” I hope not. The only good part about not having a good time at the prom is that your story will be more interesting to tell when you are older. There can’t be a non-boring book or movie about a prom that is 100% fun for everybody.
So – how do I feel now about not having gone? I think maybe I missed something. I was playing soccer the same night in a game that was important because it is almost playoff time. It was a great game that ended in a tie, and afterwards every part of my body hurt. There was blood and there were black and green bruises. In fact, I was in great pain having had both my wrist and my ankle operated on three weeks ago because of game injuries. There’s a physical and a social price to pay if you choose to play these pre-professional sports. I guess I must not mind paying it. I like to dance, but when I’m on a field I love to play more than anything else in the world.
Arden:
“I wanted so badly not to care about prom I started a fight against getting involved. And the day of the event I lost that battle. The influence of the event is hard to overcome. So difficult to the point where I ended up with the very typical experience. Surprisingly I am ok with it. I like the classic awkward, and posed pictures. I enjoyed the limo rides and the dancing. A stereotyped, typical experience I was in the end very glad to be a part of.”
What this quote makes me feel is that by being hyper-aware of all the clichés, a prom goer can keep from getting dragged down by them. The awareness gives participants a perspective so they can think “Now here’s the part where I make my entrance and my parents go ooh and ah, and here’s where we have to pose for the photos,” and just see the experience for what it is so they don’t feel they have to rebel against it completely.
Omar:
“I definitely had a bit of cynicism towards prom prior to it…Although I was never against the idea of prom in any way I saw it as a stupid event put on by the school that people go to because, as is said with many things prom related, it is tradition…My views of prom changed slightly because the experience didn’t feel so fake, as is so often described or portrayed…The traditions may be silly but following them isn’t so bad…Seeing everyone dance together and laugh and simply talk was nice.”
Natalie:
“It is funny how for one night people want to be someone else entirely. While dancing there was the circle dance, but not necessarily with “the outcast” in the middle. Everyone was included in the dancing and it was nice to just let yourself go. Nobody cared about how you danced or with whom you danced. Our grade was definitely unified…”
Omar’s quote and Natalie’s quote make me think that SOF did a good job of putting on a
low-key prom that made it possible for most people to have a great time. It also sounds like the school’s efforts to make us all respect each other paid off. Of course it’s possible that some kids had a less good time. Maybe some girls felt they had to spend too much money getting ready than they could afford. Maybe some hated their dress because they couldn’t afford the one they wanted. Maybe some hated the way they looked in the pictures that will get sent to all the relatives. Maybe some guys felt awkward or uncomfortable wearing what they were wearing and wished they hadn’t come. Maybe a few people felt like “outcasts.” I hope not. The only good part about not having a good time at the prom is that your story will be more interesting to tell when you are older. There can’t be a non-boring book or movie about a prom that is 100% fun for everybody.
So – how do I feel now about not having gone? I think maybe I missed something. I was playing soccer the same night in a game that was important because it is almost playoff time. It was a great game that ended in a tie, and afterwards every part of my body hurt. There was blood and there were black and green bruises. In fact, I was in great pain having had both my wrist and my ankle operated on three weeks ago because of game injuries. There’s a physical and a social price to pay if you choose to play these pre-professional sports. I guess I must not mind paying it. I like to dance, but when I’m on a field I love to play more than anything else in the world.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
HW # 58 - Prom Interviews
Interviews: People’s feelings about proms
My age group
1st person – soccer teammate
I am not going to my prom. There isn’t anyone I
I felt that strongly about inviting. The whole thing is too
organized for me. It’s also too expensive for what it is.
I am a more spontaneous type of person and don’t really like
getting dressed up.
2nd person – another soccer teammate
The day that was the deadline for going to the prom I asked a
girl if she wanted to go and she said, “Not really.” So that was
the end of that. I didn’t even feel that strongly about asking
that girl, and there wasn’t anyone else I wanted to spend that
much time with. A group of us are going to a movie and getting
something to eat afterwards instead.
People in their 20s
1st person
I went to my prom with a girl whose parents were friends of my
parents. My mother said that I should go or I would regret not going
later in my life. I can tell you that it was a long night and at the end
we drove to a beach on Long Island. The girl I was with got cold and
asked me for my jacket. Then when it was time to leave she couldn’t
find it. My mother was so angry about my coming back without my
jacket that she actually said that proms were a waste of time and money
and that I should never have gone. My answer was, “That’s what I said.”
2nd person
Like your brother I was the only minority guy in my class. There were two
“minority” girls so the teacher in charge of the prom informed me that I
should take both of them. Actually, this took the pressure off,
and we all laughed about what was expected of us for a long time.
Older people
Friend from my mom’s office
I did go but it was not a memorable evening. There was only
one black guy in my class, and there were three black girls. I
was one of them. It was expected that he would take one of us and
that probably the other two of us wouldn’t go. One of the girls was
way too hot for him, and there was no possibility of her saying yes.
The other girl was shy and serious so he asked me, but he told me that I
would have to buy my own flowers if I wanted them. I said I would think
about it. My mother was so mad at me for saying that. She said that I
had to go and have pictures taken or I would regret it later. At the party
another guy asked me to dance and we ended up on the floor on our knees
shaking our shoulders. My date said that what I did was really embarrassing,
and he hardly spoke to me afterwards. I took a taxi back home to the Bronx
by myself.
My dad
I was 6 feet six in high school and there was one girl who was 6 feet one. My
mother forced me to take Big Betty, as she was known, to the prom. Big Betty
did not dance, but she loved to eat. She didn’t mind my dancing with other people.
I remember her saying, “You go dance. I’ll just have a little more chicken.”
It seems to me that we should have dealt with the “prom” subject in Normal is Weird
before food, birth, and dying. If we had, I might actually have considered going. I think I’m beginning to understand that the reason it is important to go is for its storytelling
value in years to come. And the weirder or worse a time you have the better your story.
It isn’t surprising that there are so many funny stories. The prom seems to have been started as a middle and lower class alternative to coming out society parties. Those parties no doubt were miserable for a lot of people too. In parts of the black community the prom really is considered a coming out into society as a respectable social person who can wear a suit other than to church. Thanks to pressure from mothers, teachers, and peers, many people go to their proms against their will but end up with a great story to use for the rest of their lives. It seems as though minority kids in a school have been expected to go with each other even if there are only two of them. Of course they should like each other that much. Or else they should be good sports and pretend that they do. Hearing about two people who are like each other going to the prom and having a great time has no good story value at all. Hearing about people being forced to pair up against their will has movie-making possibilities.
My age group
1st person – soccer teammate
I am not going to my prom. There isn’t anyone I
I felt that strongly about inviting. The whole thing is too
organized for me. It’s also too expensive for what it is.
I am a more spontaneous type of person and don’t really like
getting dressed up.
2nd person – another soccer teammate
The day that was the deadline for going to the prom I asked a
girl if she wanted to go and she said, “Not really.” So that was
the end of that. I didn’t even feel that strongly about asking
that girl, and there wasn’t anyone else I wanted to spend that
much time with. A group of us are going to a movie and getting
something to eat afterwards instead.
People in their 20s
1st person
I went to my prom with a girl whose parents were friends of my
parents. My mother said that I should go or I would regret not going
later in my life. I can tell you that it was a long night and at the end
we drove to a beach on Long Island. The girl I was with got cold and
asked me for my jacket. Then when it was time to leave she couldn’t
find it. My mother was so angry about my coming back without my
jacket that she actually said that proms were a waste of time and money
and that I should never have gone. My answer was, “That’s what I said.”
2nd person
Like your brother I was the only minority guy in my class. There were two
“minority” girls so the teacher in charge of the prom informed me that I
should take both of them. Actually, this took the pressure off,
and we all laughed about what was expected of us for a long time.
Older people
Friend from my mom’s office
I did go but it was not a memorable evening. There was only
one black guy in my class, and there were three black girls. I
was one of them. It was expected that he would take one of us and
that probably the other two of us wouldn’t go. One of the girls was
way too hot for him, and there was no possibility of her saying yes.
The other girl was shy and serious so he asked me, but he told me that I
would have to buy my own flowers if I wanted them. I said I would think
about it. My mother was so mad at me for saying that. She said that I
had to go and have pictures taken or I would regret it later. At the party
another guy asked me to dance and we ended up on the floor on our knees
shaking our shoulders. My date said that what I did was really embarrassing,
and he hardly spoke to me afterwards. I took a taxi back home to the Bronx
by myself.
My dad
I was 6 feet six in high school and there was one girl who was 6 feet one. My
mother forced me to take Big Betty, as she was known, to the prom. Big Betty
did not dance, but she loved to eat. She didn’t mind my dancing with other people.
I remember her saying, “You go dance. I’ll just have a little more chicken.”
It seems to me that we should have dealt with the “prom” subject in Normal is Weird
before food, birth, and dying. If we had, I might actually have considered going. I think I’m beginning to understand that the reason it is important to go is for its storytelling
value in years to come. And the weirder or worse a time you have the better your story.
It isn’t surprising that there are so many funny stories. The prom seems to have been started as a middle and lower class alternative to coming out society parties. Those parties no doubt were miserable for a lot of people too. In parts of the black community the prom really is considered a coming out into society as a respectable social person who can wear a suit other than to church. Thanks to pressure from mothers, teachers, and peers, many people go to their proms against their will but end up with a great story to use for the rest of their lives. It seems as though minority kids in a school have been expected to go with each other even if there are only two of them. Of course they should like each other that much. Or else they should be good sports and pretend that they do. Hearing about two people who are like each other going to the prom and having a great time has no good story value at all. Hearing about people being forced to pair up against their will has movie-making possibilities.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
HW # 57 - Initial Thoughts on Prom
I will begin my preliminary thoughts about the senior prom by saying that I am
not going to mine. Luckily, I don’t feel any pressure to go, and it’s because it seems like a pressured event that I don’t want to go. The pressure to try to fit into an event that lasts all night and requires getting dressed up is there because I don’t really have a relationship with anyone or any group in my class that would make a long formal event seem like fun. On the other hand, going to Six Flags with class members has great appeal. In fact, I can’t wait to go. What’s the difference? Six Flags doesn’t require getting dressed up, there are no social expectations, and the rides provide great entertainment requiring no other behavior except to have fun. Does a prom require other behavior except to have fun? I think it does.
My older brother said that he was not going to his senior prom or senior dance as it was called. He went to a private school on a scholarship. A teacher he liked very much talked him into taking a girl who wanted to go very badly and with him. The teacher told him that everyone should have the experience of going to their senior dance and that it was a rite of passage. He didn’t agree, but he didn’t want to let his teacher down. (She is still a great friend of his and went to his college graduation last year.) The trouble began when the girl’s mother called Reed a few weeks before the dance and told him that her daughter was going to wear a purple dress and she hoped Reed would wear a shirt and tie that would go with it. My brother the basketball player couldn’t believe this. Then her family arranged to take him to a store to pick out a tie and shirt to go with her dress. They were incredibly ugly in his opinion, but he bought them. Then when the day came, Reed went to the girl’s house. The grandmother met him at the door and took him to the bathroom and told him to take a shower. He said he had already taken a shower. She told him to take another one. She had heard that he had had a game earlier that day. Later, the father took a thousand (that’s how many it seemed) photos of his daughter and Reed. The dance lasted all night with breakfast included the next morning. Even though my brother loves to dance, he said it was the longest night of his life. Not that the girl wasn’t nice, it was just too long a time to be mainly with one person. When in college two years later he started dating a girl from his high school class who was at the dance. They are still together and still laugh about the senior dance which they both thought would never end.
My situation is worse than my brother’s was. At least he knew all the kids in his class really well. I don’t know anyone in my class outside the school day. I have always left immediately after 3 to go to dance class and then to soccer. On weekends I played soccer all year long and still do. It’s not that I don’t like dances. I love music and I really like to dance but not with any one person yet especially hour after hour. At BalletTech, my middle school, we had great DJs, everyone could dance, and we danced in groups. At Cornell recently, I went to a Lupe Fiasco concert and had an amazing time. I just don’t want to put myself in any pressured social position. School, dance training, and soccer training have been pressure enough. Let the people go to the prom who want to go, but I’ll see everyone at Six Flags.
Q # 1 - Why do people ask if you're going to Prom with a serioous look on their face?
Q # 2 - Why don't schools just have a great band for seniors so that everyone would want to go? (For example if Lupe Fiasco were going to perform, I would be there.)
Q # 3 - Is not going to the prom worse for girls than it is for boys?
not going to mine. Luckily, I don’t feel any pressure to go, and it’s because it seems like a pressured event that I don’t want to go. The pressure to try to fit into an event that lasts all night and requires getting dressed up is there because I don’t really have a relationship with anyone or any group in my class that would make a long formal event seem like fun. On the other hand, going to Six Flags with class members has great appeal. In fact, I can’t wait to go. What’s the difference? Six Flags doesn’t require getting dressed up, there are no social expectations, and the rides provide great entertainment requiring no other behavior except to have fun. Does a prom require other behavior except to have fun? I think it does.
My older brother said that he was not going to his senior prom or senior dance as it was called. He went to a private school on a scholarship. A teacher he liked very much talked him into taking a girl who wanted to go very badly and with him. The teacher told him that everyone should have the experience of going to their senior dance and that it was a rite of passage. He didn’t agree, but he didn’t want to let his teacher down. (She is still a great friend of his and went to his college graduation last year.) The trouble began when the girl’s mother called Reed a few weeks before the dance and told him that her daughter was going to wear a purple dress and she hoped Reed would wear a shirt and tie that would go with it. My brother the basketball player couldn’t believe this. Then her family arranged to take him to a store to pick out a tie and shirt to go with her dress. They were incredibly ugly in his opinion, but he bought them. Then when the day came, Reed went to the girl’s house. The grandmother met him at the door and took him to the bathroom and told him to take a shower. He said he had already taken a shower. She told him to take another one. She had heard that he had had a game earlier that day. Later, the father took a thousand (that’s how many it seemed) photos of his daughter and Reed. The dance lasted all night with breakfast included the next morning. Even though my brother loves to dance, he said it was the longest night of his life. Not that the girl wasn’t nice, it was just too long a time to be mainly with one person. When in college two years later he started dating a girl from his high school class who was at the dance. They are still together and still laugh about the senior dance which they both thought would never end.
My situation is worse than my brother’s was. At least he knew all the kids in his class really well. I don’t know anyone in my class outside the school day. I have always left immediately after 3 to go to dance class and then to soccer. On weekends I played soccer all year long and still do. It’s not that I don’t like dances. I love music and I really like to dance but not with any one person yet especially hour after hour. At BalletTech, my middle school, we had great DJs, everyone could dance, and we danced in groups. At Cornell recently, I went to a Lupe Fiasco concert and had an amazing time. I just don’t want to put myself in any pressured social position. School, dance training, and soccer training have been pressure enough. Let the people go to the prom who want to go, but I’ll see everyone at Six Flags.
Q # 1 - Why do people ask if you're going to Prom with a serioous look on their face?
Q # 2 - Why don't schools just have a great band for seniors so that everyone would want to go? (For example if Lupe Fiasco were going to perform, I would be there.)
Q # 3 - Is not going to the prom worse for girls than it is for boys?
Thursday, May 19, 2011
HW # 56 - Culminating Project Comments
For Omar
I like the way you relate the high cost of funerals in this country to our economic system of capitalism.. You don’t blame the funeral directors who are just acting on
the “profit motive” which is everybody’s motive in this country unless they work for a nonprofit organization. Spending so much money on funerals is a great example of “normal is weird” because it makes no sense to spend more than you can afford honoring
dead people who should feel better about your using the money for their grandchildren’s education (as an example) and would probably would not want to be harming the environment if they knew they were doing that. Even if they did want a big send off, they will never know what you did, and you can always feel good about the fact
that you made them be a part of doing things a better way. As you said, people are easy victims when they are in mourning. There needs to be a cheaper and better alternative
to embalming, wakes, and burials in coffins and vaults that people know about and that
is available where they live. I really liked what you wrote.
For Ben
I think you did a great job showing that when it comes to making decisions about what to do with dead bodies, there are complications with all the options. Signing an organ donor card sounds like a great thing to do, but if you only want your organs used to save someone else’s life, you have to find out more about who is getting your organs. Your report makes me wonder about what control a person can have over what happens to his or her organs after signing the organ donor form. I wonder if you can specify a certain hospital or transplant doctor to get your organs. This could be a lot of work. I leave my heart to__________, my liver to _______________, and my eyes to ________________.
Stiff makes the case that parts are needed for research too, and when I saw the BODIES exhibit at South Street Seaport, I understood how helpful once live bodies can be for
teaching and learning. It’s not as though your name is attached to them. And if your family gets a free burial out of it, it’s worth considering.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From AbdulM
Your blog seemed to be about this idea that all humans are going to end up rotting no matter what so why don't we stop being selfish and give back to the earth in a "greener" way. Instead of making the decomposition process longer than it should be why don't we just get it over with and give back, even though this may be hard for some of us Americans.
One aspect of your post that I particularly valued was that you provided five alternative to a a typical burial(slow burial). This is more than I learned in my care of the dead unit book. I guess I should have just waited for you to post this amazing blog and just not have read the book. You took the time out to research and not only state but you explained each alternative which is what I greatly appreciated.
Your project matter to me because these are alternatives to our dominant social practice which as we found out in all of the units is more dominant than we would like. These alternatives all have their pro-s and cons,but it seems as though they all outweigh the dominant social practice. I'm not sure if our dominant social practice will change though it appears as though cremation is next on the list to take over which would send us more in the direction of Japan as far as care of the dead is concered. When you think about that isn't to bad since America doesn't seem to know what there doing with issues like oh I don't know food, illness and dying, birth, and care of the dead. Overall great job best work in the class( as hard as that is to admit to myself) I expect nothing more from Mr. Class of 2015 Cornell.
From Omar
You do a very good job of stating the current situation and evaluating the faults. The alternatives you provide are very insightful not only on a very literal level but they say a lot about our society. There are other reasonable option out there for us yet we hold our selves too basically only two. We are so influenced by tradition thee is no progression. I also really like your last paragraph where you talk about in a bigger picture kind of way. The entire post was strong you stated, analyzed, and critiqued the situation. The alternatives were clear your progressive view on care of the dead was also made very clear. Overall, great job
From Dmitry
Great idea picking Kirk Nowitski and Kevin Garnett to tell us about burial options and recommend the cheapest one even though they could afford a Tutankamen-type tomb. I thought this was a really good summary of all the ways to dispose of our bodies. You should get this flyer printed.
From Mom
I did not know anything about the process of resomation or of promession and found it really interesting that there are better alternatives to cremation for the environment. You make a convincing case for a green burial, but since this has to happen right away and the ground could be frozen, that promession process sounds like the best alternative. Having the basketball players make the case for a better burial for the envionment was a really good idea. Someone should pick up on it! Maybe you should propose it.
I like the way you relate the high cost of funerals in this country to our economic system of capitalism.. You don’t blame the funeral directors who are just acting on
the “profit motive” which is everybody’s motive in this country unless they work for a nonprofit organization. Spending so much money on funerals is a great example of “normal is weird” because it makes no sense to spend more than you can afford honoring
dead people who should feel better about your using the money for their grandchildren’s education (as an example) and would probably would not want to be harming the environment if they knew they were doing that. Even if they did want a big send off, they will never know what you did, and you can always feel good about the fact
that you made them be a part of doing things a better way. As you said, people are easy victims when they are in mourning. There needs to be a cheaper and better alternative
to embalming, wakes, and burials in coffins and vaults that people know about and that
is available where they live. I really liked what you wrote.
For Ben
I think you did a great job showing that when it comes to making decisions about what to do with dead bodies, there are complications with all the options. Signing an organ donor card sounds like a great thing to do, but if you only want your organs used to save someone else’s life, you have to find out more about who is getting your organs. Your report makes me wonder about what control a person can have over what happens to his or her organs after signing the organ donor form. I wonder if you can specify a certain hospital or transplant doctor to get your organs. This could be a lot of work. I leave my heart to__________, my liver to _______________, and my eyes to ________________.
Stiff makes the case that parts are needed for research too, and when I saw the BODIES exhibit at South Street Seaport, I understood how helpful once live bodies can be for
teaching and learning. It’s not as though your name is attached to them. And if your family gets a free burial out of it, it’s worth considering.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From AbdulM
Your blog seemed to be about this idea that all humans are going to end up rotting no matter what so why don't we stop being selfish and give back to the earth in a "greener" way. Instead of making the decomposition process longer than it should be why don't we just get it over with and give back, even though this may be hard for some of us Americans.
One aspect of your post that I particularly valued was that you provided five alternative to a a typical burial(slow burial). This is more than I learned in my care of the dead unit book. I guess I should have just waited for you to post this amazing blog and just not have read the book. You took the time out to research and not only state but you explained each alternative which is what I greatly appreciated.
Your project matter to me because these are alternatives to our dominant social practice which as we found out in all of the units is more dominant than we would like. These alternatives all have their pro-s and cons,but it seems as though they all outweigh the dominant social practice. I'm not sure if our dominant social practice will change though it appears as though cremation is next on the list to take over which would send us more in the direction of Japan as far as care of the dead is concered. When you think about that isn't to bad since America doesn't seem to know what there doing with issues like oh I don't know food, illness and dying, birth, and care of the dead. Overall great job best work in the class( as hard as that is to admit to myself) I expect nothing more from Mr. Class of 2015 Cornell.
From Omar
You do a very good job of stating the current situation and evaluating the faults. The alternatives you provide are very insightful not only on a very literal level but they say a lot about our society. There are other reasonable option out there for us yet we hold our selves too basically only two. We are so influenced by tradition thee is no progression. I also really like your last paragraph where you talk about in a bigger picture kind of way. The entire post was strong you stated, analyzed, and critiqued the situation. The alternatives were clear your progressive view on care of the dead was also made very clear. Overall, great job
From Dmitry
Great idea picking Kirk Nowitski and Kevin Garnett to tell us about burial options and recommend the cheapest one even though they could afford a Tutankamen-type tomb. I thought this was a really good summary of all the ways to dispose of our bodies. You should get this flyer printed.
From Mom
I did not know anything about the process of resomation or of promession and found it really interesting that there are better alternatives to cremation for the environment. You make a convincing case for a green burial, but since this has to happen right away and the ground could be frozen, that promession process sounds like the best alternative. Having the basketball players make the case for a better burial for the envionment was a really good idea. Someone should pick up on it! Maybe you should propose it.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
xc - COTD3. Go to the "Bodies Exhibit"
After attending the BODIES exhibit at the South Street Seaport, I feel that I have a much greater appreciation of how lucky I am that I was born a human as opposed to any other creature on this earth. The trillions of tasks that occur each second can be mind- numbing (literally and figuratively). Specific parts of the exhibit that will stick with me are:
- Musculature. The skeletons with layers of muscles dribbling a basketball or
throwing a football
- Respiratory system. The section on lungs indicating that after smoking 1 pack of cigarettes, your life decreases by 3 hours and 40 minutes. There is actually a see- through container next to the exhibit where smokers are urged to chuck their cigarettes (already a foot high).
- Birth. Containers of week by week fetuses during the 9 month pregnancy showing the development of the skeleton for example
- Reaction speed. Skeleton throwing a baseball with statement that A-Rod has .458 seconds to identify the trajectory of a 90mph fastball and whether or not to swing.
- Sleep. Purpose may be so that we can process the day’s events and preserve long-term memories.
- Healing. Drugs soon to be tailored to our own specific genetic code. Stem cell research is helping us understand how the body heals itself and changing the way we think about fighting disease.
The controversy about the exhibit has to do with the fact that the bodies are all Chinese, and no one knows for certain how they died. The Chinese government says they were all unclaimed bodies, but this government locks people up and worse if they criticize it. I talked to one of the two doctors who were there to show visitors how to use machines to find out their blood pressure (118/58 for me) and body mass index (22.6 for me). He told me that the bodies belonged to the Dalian Medical University in China and would be returned there after the exhibit. He also said that the U.S. government does terrible things like the torture under the Bush administration, and that these bodies are at least being used for important teaching purposes.
I read that some people call the German scientist, Gunther von Hagens, who is responsible for the preservation of these bodies Dr. Frankenstein and think it is terrible that visitors go to “gawk” at them. This is ridiculous in my opinion. These bodies may be from individuals but they are now not individualized. They are all of us. They are me underneath, and they are fascinating because of the amazing way our bodies are put together and all the systems work. I learned a lot from this exhibit. Seeing diseased organs is upsetting, but having such dramatic evidence about what exercise and good health habits can help you avoid is a good thing.
This was a great extra credit assignment. I think everyone in the class would get a lot out of this exhibit.
- Musculature. The skeletons with layers of muscles dribbling a basketball or
throwing a football
- Respiratory system. The section on lungs indicating that after smoking 1 pack of cigarettes, your life decreases by 3 hours and 40 minutes. There is actually a see- through container next to the exhibit where smokers are urged to chuck their cigarettes (already a foot high).
- Birth. Containers of week by week fetuses during the 9 month pregnancy showing the development of the skeleton for example
- Reaction speed. Skeleton throwing a baseball with statement that A-Rod has .458 seconds to identify the trajectory of a 90mph fastball and whether or not to swing.
- Sleep. Purpose may be so that we can process the day’s events and preserve long-term memories.
- Healing. Drugs soon to be tailored to our own specific genetic code. Stem cell research is helping us understand how the body heals itself and changing the way we think about fighting disease.
The controversy about the exhibit has to do with the fact that the bodies are all Chinese, and no one knows for certain how they died. The Chinese government says they were all unclaimed bodies, but this government locks people up and worse if they criticize it. I talked to one of the two doctors who were there to show visitors how to use machines to find out their blood pressure (118/58 for me) and body mass index (22.6 for me). He told me that the bodies belonged to the Dalian Medical University in China and would be returned there after the exhibit. He also said that the U.S. government does terrible things like the torture under the Bush administration, and that these bodies are at least being used for important teaching purposes.
I read that some people call the German scientist, Gunther von Hagens, who is responsible for the preservation of these bodies Dr. Frankenstein and think it is terrible that visitors go to “gawk” at them. This is ridiculous in my opinion. These bodies may be from individuals but they are now not individualized. They are all of us. They are me underneath, and they are fascinating because of the amazing way our bodies are put together and all the systems work. I learned a lot from this exhibit. Seeing diseased organs is upsetting, but having such dramatic evidence about what exercise and good health habits can help you avoid is a good thing.
This was a great extra credit assignment. I think everyone in the class would get a lot out of this exhibit.
HW # 55 - Culminating Project - Care of the Dead
Go for Green
It’s time to take responsibility for our remains, a euphemism for our dead bodies, our cadavers, our corpses, our carcasses. We have nothing to lose by leaving this earth without hurting it, do we?
Big Problems
In this country most of us are still buried. The problems with burials are:
We are using up valuable land for cemeteries, and cemeteries are running out of space. In fact, there are some places where you have to be buried vertically to be near your relatives. Also, many cemeteries are treated with pesticides and herbivores, poisons, that damage the environment.
In this country most of us are still embalmed. The problem with embalming is:
Most embalming fluid contains formaldehyde, which is extremely dangerous for the mortuary workers using it and is suspected as a cause of cancer, ALS, and problems with the nervous system. It also destroys for a while the microbes that help decompose the body
In this country most of us are put in caskets. The problem with caskets is:
Most caskets here are made of steel, and a lot of them have wood
veneers. They are not biodegradable. The ones made of wood destroy too many trees. Manufacturing them uses a lot of energy.
In this country many of us are put in vaults. The problem with vaults is:
Vaults are made of concrete, which is obviously not biodegradable. A lot of energy is also used to make the vaults.
Cost
The cost of an average funeral is $7,000. This is a lot of money for most people (not including us). Don’t you have better uses for that much money?
All of the above are designed to keep us looking good for a while longer when we are already an empty shell and especially to keep the earth with its worms and other creatures from eating us. But here’s the thing:
We are going to rot no matter what so why not rot in an earth-friendly way and go back to nature without dragging out the decomposition?
Without adding to the loss of resources, the use of too much energy and other pollutants, there are other ways – green ways – to lose the bodies. Sorry. We meant that there are other ways to leave this earth with dignity.
Why do we, Dirk Nowitski and Kevin Garnett, care?
According to the statistics,* there are 22,500 cemeteries in the U.S. that use up each year approximately:
30 million board feet (70,000 m³) of hardwoods (caskets)
90,272 tons of steel (caskets)
14,000 tons of steel (vaults)
2,700 tons of copper and bronze (caskets)
1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (vaults)
827,060 US gallons (3,130 m³) of embalming fluid, which most commonly includes formaldehyde.
(*Compiled from the Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America, Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society)
At 6” 11” and 6” 9” we are going to use up a whole lot of the above, and this does noteven take into account all the energy that would be used. We would be using more that our share in a country that already uses more that its share of resources. But no one should feel left out. You shorties will still be causing trouble if you choose a typical burial - just a little less than we will.
Alternatives to typical burials (slow rotting):
Sky burial
A Sky burial used to be a typical Tibetan ritual. The human corpse is placed on a mountaintop (of which there are a lot in Tibet), cut in certain places, and presented as a feast to birds of prey, especially vultures. Since most Tibetans are Buddhists, the former person is having a rebirth so his or her body can return to nature. This is also a practical form of burial since the ground is too rocky for graves to be dug, and there are few trees to be burned for a cremation.
Sky burial site, Yerpa Valley
Skeletal remains of body after Vultures have fed.
A sky burial is probably free.
Cremation
Cremation is better for the environment than a typical burial involving embalming, a non-biodegradable casket, and a vault. It is also much cheaper.
Cremation costs from about $700 to $1,000, and the cheapest box for the remains is $20. but it does have a “carbon footprint” because a significant amount of fossil fuel is used to create the high temperatures needed to turn a body to ashes. According to the Trust for Natural Legacies, “You could drive about 4,800 miles on the energy equivalent of the energy used to cremate someone – and to the moon and back 83 times on the energy from all cremations in one year in the U.S.” Also, cremation causes mercury to enter the air from the coal fires but also from the burning of fillings in teeth. The Trust for Natural Legacies states that from 1,000 to 7,800 pounds of mercury goes into the air every year and one-fourth of it enters the ground and water.
Green burial
In a green burial the body is not embalmed. It is put in a biodegradable container and laid approximately three feet below the ground – deep enough so that it won’t be disturbed but not so deep that there won’t be enough oxygen to speed up decomposition. A place in a green cemetery with burial fees included costs about $1,000, but if you go to a non-profit nature preserve, it could be chaper. Ideally, it’s nice to be buried in a nature preserve because it is a protected habitat for plants and animals, and there won’t be any chemical fertilizers used or wasteful watering as is the case in cemeteries. Although a dead body has bacteria and viruses, they disappear for the most part soon after death. It would take many dead bodies near a water source to affect the safety of the water. As a precaution bodies are not buried near streams. In a natural green burial, bodies usually decay completely in 10 to 12 years. The climate and the soil affect how quickly decay happens.
Resomation
Resomation is a form of cremation that is friendlier to the environment because it uses 1/8 of the heat of a crematorium. The body is put into a steel chamber with potassium hydroxide and the high pressure applied turns the body into a powder. The dental remains can be removed so no mercury enters the air or ground or water. Usually the body powder is put into a coffin for the funeral. Resomation is more expensive than cremation because there are only resomators in six states, and they cost $440,000 each.
Promession
Promession is another form of cremation that is even friendlier to the environment than resomation. It involves freezing the body and then putting it into liquid nitrogen. It was developed by the Swedish biologist Susanne Wigh-Masak and is described in the book Stiff by Mary Roach. The body becomes extremely brittle, and when vibration is applied, it turns into an organic powder. Magnetism gets out the mercury from the dental remains. The powder is clean and has no smell and will turn into compost in 6 to 12 months. It costs about the same as a cremation.
Of all the greener alternatives to death, we favor plain and simple green burials. No embalming and no wake. We figure we can have passed out pictures of ourselves when we were at our best – not puffed up with embalming fluids so people can say how peaceful we look. When did we ever want to look peaceful?
The Sky burial has its appeal… But even though pictures aren’t allowed, someone in a helicopter would probably get a video of a bird eating our liver and put it all over You Tube.
It’s better not to be part of human wastefulness when going out of this world. Going back to nature and helping a plant or a tree grow, especially a tall tree, that’s the way to go.
Sources
“Green Burial: Choose to be Buried the Natural Way.” The New Ecologist June 16, 2010. May 14, 2011.
“The Green Death: Funerals for the environmentally Conscious.” May 14, 2011.
Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.
Sprey, Karen. “Resomation and corpse-composting :green alternatives to cremation and burial.” July 5, 2010..
“What we do – Conservation Cemeteries.” Trust for Natural Legacies, Inc. May 14, 2011.
Evaluations
After reading this flyer by Dirk and Kevin, I have to admit that a green burial sounds more appealing to me now than being cremated, and being buried in a nature preserve sounds better than being buried in a cemetery. If it’s winter and the ground is too hard, my second choice is to be frozen into organic powder by promession. I actually learned a lot from reading this.
Reed Morgan (brother)
Members of my family always get buried. I was planning to break the mold with cremation, but now I like the idea of a simple green burial (like the kind we gave our dog). I like the way you had Dirk Nowitski and Kevin Garnett write this. I wonder if they will end up having really expensive coffins when they die.
Gabe (friend)
It’s time to take responsibility for our remains, a euphemism for our dead bodies, our cadavers, our corpses, our carcasses. We have nothing to lose by leaving this earth without hurting it, do we?
Big Problems
In this country most of us are still buried. The problems with burials are:
We are using up valuable land for cemeteries, and cemeteries are running out of space. In fact, there are some places where you have to be buried vertically to be near your relatives. Also, many cemeteries are treated with pesticides and herbivores, poisons, that damage the environment.
In this country most of us are still embalmed. The problem with embalming is:
Most embalming fluid contains formaldehyde, which is extremely dangerous for the mortuary workers using it and is suspected as a cause of cancer, ALS, and problems with the nervous system. It also destroys for a while the microbes that help decompose the body
In this country most of us are put in caskets. The problem with caskets is:
Most caskets here are made of steel, and a lot of them have wood
veneers. They are not biodegradable. The ones made of wood destroy too many trees. Manufacturing them uses a lot of energy.
In this country many of us are put in vaults. The problem with vaults is:
Vaults are made of concrete, which is obviously not biodegradable. A lot of energy is also used to make the vaults.
Cost
The cost of an average funeral is $7,000. This is a lot of money for most people (not including us). Don’t you have better uses for that much money?
All of the above are designed to keep us looking good for a while longer when we are already an empty shell and especially to keep the earth with its worms and other creatures from eating us. But here’s the thing:
We are going to rot no matter what so why not rot in an earth-friendly way and go back to nature without dragging out the decomposition?
Without adding to the loss of resources, the use of too much energy and other pollutants, there are other ways – green ways – to lose the bodies. Sorry. We meant that there are other ways to leave this earth with dignity.
Why do we, Dirk Nowitski and Kevin Garnett, care?
According to the statistics,* there are 22,500 cemeteries in the U.S. that use up each year approximately:
30 million board feet (70,000 m³) of hardwoods (caskets)
90,272 tons of steel (caskets)
14,000 tons of steel (vaults)
2,700 tons of copper and bronze (caskets)
1,636,000 tons of reinforced concrete (vaults)
827,060 US gallons (3,130 m³) of embalming fluid, which most commonly includes formaldehyde.
(*Compiled from the Casket and Funeral Association of America, Cremation Association of North America, Doric Inc., The Rainforest Action Network, and Mary Woodsen, Pre-Posthumous Society)
At 6” 11” and 6” 9” we are going to use up a whole lot of the above, and this does noteven take into account all the energy that would be used. We would be using more that our share in a country that already uses more that its share of resources. But no one should feel left out. You shorties will still be causing trouble if you choose a typical burial - just a little less than we will.
Alternatives to typical burials (slow rotting):
Sky burial
A Sky burial used to be a typical Tibetan ritual. The human corpse is placed on a mountaintop (of which there are a lot in Tibet), cut in certain places, and presented as a feast to birds of prey, especially vultures. Since most Tibetans are Buddhists, the former person is having a rebirth so his or her body can return to nature. This is also a practical form of burial since the ground is too rocky for graves to be dug, and there are few trees to be burned for a cremation.
Sky burial site, Yerpa Valley
Skeletal remains of body after Vultures have fed.
A sky burial is probably free.
Cremation
Cremation is better for the environment than a typical burial involving embalming, a non-biodegradable casket, and a vault. It is also much cheaper.
Cremation costs from about $700 to $1,000, and the cheapest box for the remains is $20. but it does have a “carbon footprint” because a significant amount of fossil fuel is used to create the high temperatures needed to turn a body to ashes. According to the Trust for Natural Legacies, “You could drive about 4,800 miles on the energy equivalent of the energy used to cremate someone – and to the moon and back 83 times on the energy from all cremations in one year in the U.S.” Also, cremation causes mercury to enter the air from the coal fires but also from the burning of fillings in teeth. The Trust for Natural Legacies states that from 1,000 to 7,800 pounds of mercury goes into the air every year and one-fourth of it enters the ground and water.
Green burial
In a green burial the body is not embalmed. It is put in a biodegradable container and laid approximately three feet below the ground – deep enough so that it won’t be disturbed but not so deep that there won’t be enough oxygen to speed up decomposition. A place in a green cemetery with burial fees included costs about $1,000, but if you go to a non-profit nature preserve, it could be chaper. Ideally, it’s nice to be buried in a nature preserve because it is a protected habitat for plants and animals, and there won’t be any chemical fertilizers used or wasteful watering as is the case in cemeteries. Although a dead body has bacteria and viruses, they disappear for the most part soon after death. It would take many dead bodies near a water source to affect the safety of the water. As a precaution bodies are not buried near streams. In a natural green burial, bodies usually decay completely in 10 to 12 years. The climate and the soil affect how quickly decay happens.
Resomation
Resomation is a form of cremation that is friendlier to the environment because it uses 1/8 of the heat of a crematorium. The body is put into a steel chamber with potassium hydroxide and the high pressure applied turns the body into a powder. The dental remains can be removed so no mercury enters the air or ground or water. Usually the body powder is put into a coffin for the funeral. Resomation is more expensive than cremation because there are only resomators in six states, and they cost $440,000 each.
Promession
Promession is another form of cremation that is even friendlier to the environment than resomation. It involves freezing the body and then putting it into liquid nitrogen. It was developed by the Swedish biologist Susanne Wigh-Masak and is described in the book Stiff by Mary Roach. The body becomes extremely brittle, and when vibration is applied, it turns into an organic powder. Magnetism gets out the mercury from the dental remains. The powder is clean and has no smell and will turn into compost in 6 to 12 months. It costs about the same as a cremation.
Of all the greener alternatives to death, we favor plain and simple green burials. No embalming and no wake. We figure we can have passed out pictures of ourselves when we were at our best – not puffed up with embalming fluids so people can say how peaceful we look. When did we ever want to look peaceful?
The Sky burial has its appeal… But even though pictures aren’t allowed, someone in a helicopter would probably get a video of a bird eating our liver and put it all over You Tube.
It’s better not to be part of human wastefulness when going out of this world. Going back to nature and helping a plant or a tree grow, especially a tall tree, that’s the way to go.
Sources
“Green Burial: Choose to be Buried the Natural Way.” The New Ecologist June 16, 2010. May 14, 2011
“The Green Death: Funerals for the environmentally Conscious.” May 14, 2011
Roach, Mary. Stiff: The Curious Life of Human Cadavers. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.
Sprey, Karen. “Resomation and corpse-composting :green alternatives to cremation and burial.” July 5, 2010.
“What we do – Conservation Cemeteries.” Trust for Natural Legacies, Inc. May 14, 2011
Evaluations
After reading this flyer by Dirk and Kevin, I have to admit that a green burial sounds more appealing to me now than being cremated, and being buried in a nature preserve sounds better than being buried in a cemetery. If it’s winter and the ground is too hard, my second choice is to be frozen into organic powder by promession. I actually learned a lot from reading this.
Reed Morgan (brother)
Members of my family always get buried. I was planning to break the mold with cremation, but now I like the idea of a simple green burial (like the kind we gave our dog). I like the way you had Dirk Nowitski and Kevin Garnett write this. I wonder if they will end up having really expensive coffins when they die.
Gabe (friend)
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