I don't know about anybody else, but I definitely see orientalist tendencies popping up all over in these pieces, except for the one by Dallam. In all the others there is a palpable "us v. them" attitude that taints every observation, turns every moment of praise into a double edged sword of commentary on England. Also, the last two pieces, especially the piece by Bashaw, have such a touch of the remarkable as to call into question the reliability of the information that is not couched in religious disgust or backhanded compliments. I can't think of anything else to write right now, but I may edit this tomorrow to include more.
peace
9/17/07
Travel Plans
I guess that my biggest hope in taking this class is to see exactly what not to do if I ever do become a professional writer. I hope that if I am so blessed, that I will not write about anything with such blatant disregard for the truth or take anything as out of context as some of these early examples do. However, I also hope to be able to travel as far as these people did. I also hope to learn a little bit about the culture.
As for my personal experience with people from other cultures, I went to West Bloomfield schools for 6 and a half years, which exposed me to many people from diverse cultures, including Islamic students, Indian students, Jewish students, and Gifted students. These interactions have helped to shape me into who I am today, and my attitude towards other cultures is very much a positive one. However, I have found that I myself have a nasty prejudice against English writers that write about other cultures.
As for my personal experience with people from other cultures, I went to West Bloomfield schools for 6 and a half years, which exposed me to many people from diverse cultures, including Islamic students, Indian students, Jewish students, and Gifted students. These interactions have helped to shape me into who I am today, and my attitude towards other cultures is very much a positive one. However, I have found that I myself have a nasty prejudice against English writers that write about other cultures.
9/11/07
Hmmm...
Blount, I admire that you do not wish to write about the turks without visiting the Ottoman Empire, but shut up about your reasoning already. Also, I like that you said that they were civilized in a different, but not necessarily better or worse way.
Blount, buddy, you lost my respect now in your military section. You didn't go looking to find out the truth about what happens to conquered areas, and instead wrote about what you had heard. I highly doubt that the actions you seem to look down upon in this section are not the norm in all empires of this time.
Ok, now I'm getting sick to my stomach from the lies you're shoving down my throat. I mean, c'mon now, do a little bit of truth telling instead of truth twisting. Also, while I like the concrete imagery, I cannot condone the "These fair works so caused, seemed to me like dainty fruit growing on a dunghill." comment. I understand where your views are coming from, but I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Now I understand why we are reading this: to show a perfect example of the orientalist style of travel writing. It is remarkable to me to see the similarities between Blount and Biddulph in their writing styles: condescending and propagandistic about the Ottoman Empire. Any credit Blount gives to the Muslim peoples, he immediately follows it with the explanation that it was taken from elsewhere and made into a superstition or a habitual action.
I'm glad to be done with that. The misrepresentation of Islam and Islamic rule is rampant, and quite obviously intentional, as the Jewish peoples are shown in a much more favorable light than the Muslim, most likely because they were non-threatening to England and the Christian world.
peace.
Blount, buddy, you lost my respect now in your military section. You didn't go looking to find out the truth about what happens to conquered areas, and instead wrote about what you had heard. I highly doubt that the actions you seem to look down upon in this section are not the norm in all empires of this time.
Ok, now I'm getting sick to my stomach from the lies you're shoving down my throat. I mean, c'mon now, do a little bit of truth telling instead of truth twisting. Also, while I like the concrete imagery, I cannot condone the "These fair works so caused, seemed to me like dainty fruit growing on a dunghill." comment. I understand where your views are coming from, but I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.
Now I understand why we are reading this: to show a perfect example of the orientalist style of travel writing. It is remarkable to me to see the similarities between Blount and Biddulph in their writing styles: condescending and propagandistic about the Ottoman Empire. Any credit Blount gives to the Muslim peoples, he immediately follows it with the explanation that it was taken from elsewhere and made into a superstition or a habitual action.
I'm glad to be done with that. The misrepresentation of Islam and Islamic rule is rampant, and quite obviously intentional, as the Jewish peoples are shown in a much more favorable light than the Muslim, most likely because they were non-threatening to England and the Christian world.
peace.
9/9/07
Forza 2
Forza 2, for the 360, is a blast to play so far. I've played it for about 9 hours so far, and I love the cars I've unlocked so far. My baby is a 67 Shelby Mustang with a few decals over a nice dark green. I also like the difference in handling between a front wheel drive, a rear wheel drive, and a all wheel drive. I also was surprised at the beefiness of the audio when it came to the old school muscle cars. I'm not a tuner type, so i couldn't tell you if the performance is realistic, but the speed blur is nearly perfect, as are the graphics as a whole. Showing off your car is enjoyable, as is driving it, although after some upgrades it can become more of a game to see if you can lap the entire field before the end of the race. Another nice feature of the game is the ability to tweak the difficulty in various areas of gameplay, from the AI's ability level, to the use of stabilizing systems. The changes to the difficulty are given extra weight in that they affect your monetary reward at the end of each race; for example, with the easiest settings on, you lose about 20% of your winnings, in addition to the cost of any repairs needed to your car. I'll keep playing to see if the later portion of the game is as enjoyable, but I think that's a given.
9 out of 10 only because of some strange speed wobbles that tend to hit late race when the AI is charging hard.
9 out of 10 only because of some strange speed wobbles that tend to hit late race when the AI is charging hard.
Confusion
I don't know about anyone else, but I can't find the second reading for tomorrow's class. Also, I don't know if I'm supposed to read the part about the captured sailor or whatever. I hope not, because 10-12 pages of olde english is a fun, but eye strain inducing, challenge to read. That said, I am through the account of the organ maker guy, Thomas Dallam, and I found it to be enlightening that the Muslim people openly welcomed and embraced those that could do things that they could not; this in comparison to the reaction of the Christian nations, which tended to be much more ethnocentric and exclusionary in their actions towards their "others".
It seems to me that the Islamic ideal of inclusion but not of forced change is something that America originally aspired to, but ultimately fell short of implementing. Of course, this is just a generalization based on the limited knowledge I have gained so far in class, but I still find it an interesting parallel to make note of. So I have made note of it. Anyway, I'm signing off now to watch some football and read some Shakespeare. Peace.
EDIT: I am dumb but found the other part of the reading. This piece is very religiously flavored, with a severely negative view of Islamic culture and history. Even his observations of his fellow Christians are negatively influenced by his religious views.
It seems to me that the Islamic ideal of inclusion but not of forced change is something that America originally aspired to, but ultimately fell short of implementing. Of course, this is just a generalization based on the limited knowledge I have gained so far in class, but I still find it an interesting parallel to make note of. So I have made note of it. Anyway, I'm signing off now to watch some football and read some Shakespeare. Peace.
EDIT: I am dumb but found the other part of the reading. This piece is very religiously flavored, with a severely negative view of Islamic culture and history. Even his observations of his fellow Christians are negatively influenced by his religious views.
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