“Oh God, I could
be bounded in a nutshell and
count myself king of infinite
space, were it not I have bad
dreams.”

I like the idea of dreams as infinite space. It's a new concept to me, but strangely I've thought about it before, if only in a dream. To me dreams have always been an adventure, which is sort of the same concept as infinite space. Things that I could never imagine or create some how come alive when I close my eyes. It's as if the books I read and the movies I watch aren't as far fetched as sceptics, also known as"Negative Nancies," will have you believe. Why can't a fantasy world be real when you live in one for a good 8 hours every night (or day, depending on sleep patterns). Either way when I think about the infinite space allowed for one's dreams it reminds me of the infinite possibilities of one's imagination. Call me crazy, but maybe fantasy is another reality and maybe by allowing ourselves to dream the impossible it is another way of exploring the world/memories of the universe. So this concept could be seen as a stretch and if you think it's crazy then blame Dr. Sexson for brainwashing me, but I think it holds a thread of consideration. If what we as humans do everyday, get up, go to work, play sports, watch t.v., is experienced by our five senses then what differentiates dreams from reality. The only answer I can think of is the type of eye we use to "see" the world. When we dream we are able to see things through our mind's eye, when we are awake we use sight. How big of a difference is this difference? With our dreams we are able to defy gravity, walk through walls, and experience death (hopefully we wake up right before, am I right?). I once had a dream where I walked through a grocery store wall to find myself in a desert, talk about crossing boundaries. Dreams are a way to live a life without boundaries. Even if you think I'm crazy, I think I need to think more about this and will do my thinking while I dream because that is the best way to think (think). Stay tuned while I compare dreaming with the revisitation to the Garden of Eden.

Throughout this semester there have been plenty of connections between this class and other classes that I have. Recently we studied a poem in American/British Contemporary Literature by Seamus Heaney called "Punishment."


"I can see her drowned

body in the bog,

the weighing stone,

the floating rods and boughs.

Under which at first

she was a barked sapling

that is dug up

oak-bone, brain-firkin:

her shaved head

like a stubble of black corn,

her blindfold a soiled bandage,

her noose a ring

to store

the memories of love.



Although gruesome, the poem is a reminder of past treatment towards women. The woman Heaney writes about is one out of numerous amounts of women who were hanged and thrown in the bogs of Ireland for adultery or other similar crimes. Although at the time women's thoughts and feelings weren't considered, Heaney writes this woman's story and gives her a name and a mind, he says, "her noose a ring to store the memories of love." No longer is this woman's life meaningless, by writing this poem Heaney gives her a higher purpose. Heaney suggest that the noose not only contains the memories of this certain woman, but all the forgotten women who were tortured and killed. I was trying to make the connection that if the noose contains her memories then the noose is her memory palace, thus memory palaces are deadly. No, not really, but it is interesting to think about.

For my memory theater I used my house. My room was the best and easiest place to start so I gave it the most names to remember. Here is a list of governors and the pictures of my room to show where and why I placed certain names.

Bob Riley Alabama List Republican 2003 2010 (term limits)
Sarah Palin Alaska List Republican 2006 2010
Janet Napolitano Arizona List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Mike Beebe Arkansas List Democratic 2007 2010
Arnold Schwarzenegger California List Republican 2003 2010 (term limits)
Bill Ritter Colorado List Democratic 2007 2010
M. Jodi Rell Connecticut List Republican 2004 2010
Ruth Ann Minner Delaware List Democratic 2001 2008 (term limits)
Charlie Crist Florida List Republican 2007 2010
Sonny Perdue Georgia List Republican 2003 2010 (term limits)
Linda Lingle Hawaii List Republican 2002 2010 (term limits)
Butch Otter Idaho List Republican 2007 2010
Rod Blagojevich Illinois List Democratic 2003 2010
Mitch Daniels Indiana List Republican 2005 2008
Chet Culver Iowa List Democratic 2007 2010
Kathleen Sebelius Kansas List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Ernie Fletcher Kentucky List Republican 2003 2007
Kathleen Blanco Louisiana List Democratic 2004 2007 (retiring)
John Baldacci Maine List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Martin O'Malley Maryland List Democratic 2007 2010
Deval Patrick Massachusetts List Democratic 2007 2010
Jennifer Granholm Michigan List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Tim Pawlenty Minnesota List Republican 2003 2010
Haley Barbour Mississippi List Republican 2004 2007
Matt Blunt Missouri List Republican 2005 2008
Brian Schweitzer Montana List Democratic 2005 2008
Dave Heineman Nebraska List Republican 2005 2010
Jim Gibbons Nevada List Republican 2007 2010
John Lynch New Hampshire List Democratic 2005 2008
Jon Corzine New Jersey List Democratic 2006 2009
Bill Richardson New Mexico List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Eliot Spitzer New York List Democratic 2007 2010
Mike Easley North Carolina List Democratic 2001 2008 (term limits)
John Hoeven North Dakota List Republican 2000 2008
Ted Strickland Ohio List Democratic 2007 2010
Brad Henry Oklahoma List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Ted Kulongoski Oregon List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Ed Rendell Pennsylvania List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Donald Carcieri Rhode Island List Republican 2003 2010 (term limits)
Mark Sanford South Carolina List Republican 2003 2010 (term limits)
Mike Rounds South Dakota List Republican 2003 2010 (term limits)
Phil Bredesen Tennessee List Democratic 2003 2010 (term limits)
Rick Perry Texas List Republican 2000 2010
Jon Huntsman, Jr. Utah List Republican 2005 2008
Jim Douglas Vermont List Republican 2003 2008
Tim Kaine Virginia List Democratic 2006 2009 (term limits)
Christine Gregoire Washington List Democratic 2005 2008
Joe Manchin West Virginia List Democratic 2005 2008
Jim Doyle Wisconsin List Democratic 2003 2010
Dave Freudenthal Wyoming List Democratic 2003 2010

Frank Borman's Tale

I have an interesting story to tell that is based on my experience Thursday night at work. There is a group of Airforce pilots that meet at Riverside Country Club ever so often. Last night they had an important guest speaker, Frank Borman, who was Commander and Chief on the Apollo 8 crew. I realized, while I was listening to Frank's speech, that soon his personal story about the first trip to the moon will be lost with age. It just so happened that I was in the right place at the right time to hear the story from a man who experienced our world's first successful trip around the moon. Because this was such a memorable time in our countries history I tried to remember Frank's speech as best I could. The memorable moment for me started when the Apollo 8 spacecraft lost its radio signal.

Frank was saying that the crew had been warned of a certain time when they would reach the dark side of the moon and they would lose their ability to communicate with NASA. The crew was watching the time intently and Frank said right as they hit the millisecond that the NASA's scientists predicted, the signal was lost (as a side note, the average age of NASA's scientists at that time was 24). Losing radio signal at the right time was important because it meant that they were right on track. The words that came out of his mouth, Frank said, was "that's a relief." A man who was a bit of a Debby downer interrupted Frank's reassuring thoughts and said, "Ah, they probably turned the signal off from headquarters." After they lost communication from headquarters they were scheduled to circle the moon ten times and take data, ect. After awhile the task became pretty monotonous, "To tell you the truth, it was boring," Frank said. The next major event in the crew's adventure was circling back around the moon and seeing Earth for the first time. Frank expressed his astonishment by saying, "Everything in the universe is black and white and seeing the colors of the Earth are breath taking." Now, once in sight of the Earth they had radio communication again. Frank was suppose to make a speech and was told that the broadcast was sent to every radio station in America. Before Apollo 8 left Earth, Frank was told it would be the most listened to broadcast in American history. Frank had asked the head of NASA what he should say, his answer was perfect, "Something appropriate." Frank said that when he saw Earth for the first time all he could think about was the Freedom he had as an American. Instead of being told to quote Stalin or Lenin, (remember that the Americans were racing the Russians to the moon) he was told to say anything as long as it was appropriate. So Frank quoted the first 20 lines from the Bible.

Later in his life, Frank wondered why NASA was so successful in 1968 and he came up with 4 attributes that the entire NASA crew had at that time:

1. Risk

2. Integrity

3. Knowledge

4. A Clear Goal

When I heard these qualities I knew they could be used when trying to accomplish anything in life. Although, Frank's story has been told a number of times and probably written in a number of books, I know that hearing it from his perspective is much better than reading a book or watching it on the History channel. There are rare instances when greatness is heard from those who are great and I feel lucky that I was able to experience Frank Borman's story first hand.

My 50 to be remembered...

I decided what I want to remember. I figured since I am getting a Political Science minor then I should memorize the 50 Senators. All that's left now is to find a good enough memory palace.

In response to Tai

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qK_335R4b9A

Dear Tai,
This video shows what I think of your article.
And in my own words...you flyt like a biatch.

A Life Changing Thought...

Monday, in class, Dr. Sexson was talking about living everyday as if it were a lifetime. This made me think of the meaning that one day has. It seems, personally, I am always looking toward the future for the next exciting event in my life. Whether it's a concert, a Friday night, or snowboarding, I am always looking ahead. According to Dr. Sexson's saying, (which I'm pretty sure was derived from Mahatma Gandhi's famous quote, "Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.") a day can be filled with enough adventures that a lifetime holds. If we think back to a certain important memory of our past that memory probably lasted a few hours, maybe a few minutes. Astonishing moments of the past, such as a proposal, a day at Six Flags, or winning a championship, can all be done within the time period of a day. When we look back on our memories they are all memories of certain time periods within a day. So it makes sense to live a lifetime in a day. By always looking towards the future I am wasting important minutes where I could be doing something memorable (like writing in my blog), and let's face it, everyone could use more memories in their lifetime.